Uncanny + Unstoppable
Uncanny + Unstoppable
This
year’s Uncanny Inspirado show overcomes obstacles to become the
biggest success yet.
by Will Taylor
The Uncanny cannot be stopped. According to event organizer Mark Parton, somebody or -bodies tried to shut down this year’s Uncanny Inspirado art festival by falsely reporting to the Scenic City’s finest that vendors intended to serve alcohol to minors. Who filed the complaint? A lone cuckoo? A militia of do-gooders? Parton says, “Don’t know, don’t care.” He adds this item of interest, “They called in their report five hours before the start of the event. So, there’s zero chance that their claim was based on anything other than toxic levels of ignorance or pure craziness.”
Most importantly, Parton says, the event was a success. Neither false reports nor ill-informed pomposity could damper the event which drew a Friday night crowd of nearly 600 people, filling the first and second floors of Warehouse Row’s North Building with an enthusiastic and diverse mash of art and music lovers.
“The cops were actually very cool,” Parton says. “They investigated and found no wrong doing on the part of Uncanny. However, the company hired to run the cash bar pulled out. Surprisingly, that didn’t keep people from coming in and seeing the show, or spending money with vendors and on art purchases.”
Parton adds that, if anything, the attempt to stop the show caused the reverse effect.
“We put signs at the door, explaining the situation,” Parton says. “This seemed to spark something in people. It was almost like a rallying cry. Like, if Chattanooga’s fringe scene is going to survive, they had to be a part of making that happen. And they were really into it. It was truly a beautiful thing to see.”
Parton, who also owns the Uncanny Evolution gallery, says that it was good to see that a broad range of people came to support the event. And, obstacles aside, this year came off better than ever.
“Last year’s show had an okay showing,” he says. “But this year? It just blew away all of my expectations. We had older folks and younger people, straight-laced and no-so-straight-laced, all getting into the event.”
While Parton spent the entire evening dealing with everything from vendor relations to attendees’ inquiries and band sound checks to coordinating his tattooed squad of security personnel, Eric Durchholz, manger of the Uncanny Evolution gallery, was in charge of handling sales of the art on display.
“I was running the whole night,” Durchholz says. “Sales were really strong, a lot stronger than we’d imagined. By the end of the night I was completely beat.”
Marcus Evans, whose tightly-crafted, skate-culture influenced work included a large, painting of a man with a megaphone stitched to his face, says he was encouraged by the community support at the event.
“I was surprised by the diversity of the crowd,” Evans says. “Even people from the highest social ladder came down to see the show. It was so big I didn’t even get to see half of the art. But I thought it was an excellent show.”
Evans, who is largely self-trained, says he hopes events like this will change peoples’ perceptions about the art and artists labeled as “lowbrow”.
“It seems like some people have kind of a pretentious attitude when it comes to art,” Evans complains. “Some so-called highbrow artists can get funding or a show by just throwing some shit on a canvas and coming up with a bullshit story of what it represents. I’m not of that school. I like to see a little craftsmanship.”
As an example, Evans asks me if I saw the paintings displayed in front of the Pulse office (inside the mall). I said that I had and liked them quite a bit.
“His name is Eric Findley, I think," Evans says. “He had some pieces that I was really inspired by. Not to put down anyone else. I was just totally amazed by his stuff.”
Christina Braseel, of Xcite Lingerie, says she and her gang of models (who spent the evening wandering the mall in their undies) got a lot of positive feedback from men and women.
“A lot of people came through our area,” Braseel says. “They seemed to be interested in everything. You had to obviously be mature enough to handle some of the outfits, as far as the girls doing the modeling and all that. But it was good to get to talk with people and everyone was cool.”
Braseel says that Chattanooga needs to encourage more events like this if it wants to continue to build its reputation as a progressive community.
“There are people who have to travel out of town in order to see different art or visit different museums,” she says. “This (event) lets the local artists feel really important even though they’re not in New York or California. People are coming to see their work here, instead of going outside the state or the city.”
As with any art show, and certainly any art show of this size, there’s always some art that’s questionable – either it’s trying too hard or not hard enough. A couple of the artists turned in paintings that resembled the stuff I used to doodle on my binder covers in high school – and not in a good, Basquiat sort of way. One photographer looked like his work might be better suited for the Sears’ Portrait Studio. And, then there were a few other photographers who were skilled, but needed to think up some fresh subject matter – as in, “get your girlfriend out of the trunk, dude… David Lynch already covered that ground.”
But, overall, everyone I grabbed quotes from had nice things to say (damnit!). Where’s the negativity when you need it? Perhaps it was subdued by the lure of free food. A brilliant strategy, Mr Parton.
In the event’s café area, volunteers from Moe’s Southwestern Grill served attendees complimentary tacos, rice, beans and beverages, while Pittsburg, PA’s Mama Spell, looking like a lost member of the B52s, performed her one-woman comedy act.
“Everybody seemed to be in good spirits and having their own good
time,” Spell says, giggling. “They laughed and they laughed
and they left,” and after enjoying a lot of free beans, “then
I was REALLY glad they left.”
When asked what piece of art or artist stood out the most, she half-jokingly replies, “I’m so self-centered, I just really want to talk about my paintings. No, but really there were a lot of things to experience.” She has only one small complaint… “I was kind of hoping that Chattanooga would go from having Choo-Choos to having more Jimmy Choos. If anyone has a pair of size 10 Jimmy Choos they’d like to donate to me, I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
Upstairs, in the southeast corner of the building, a band called Moscow Theatre Siege wraps up their rollicking set, and belly dancers take the floor for their second of three sets.
“It’s all much bigger than I thought it would be,” says
Jillanna Marie Babb-Cheshul of the Ballista Bellies dance team Merrybellies. “I
love how the show was sort of mapped out like different parts of the
brain. You know, like the thalamus and the hypothalamus and the cerebrum.
And that was linked (thematically) to what was inside the room.”
Babb-Cheshul says the art and culture represented at the show made her feel right at home.
“I think that it (the show) definitely pushed the limits of some peoples’ comfort levels," she says. "But I think it’s really kind of daring and exciting to show this kind of art in a gallery like this, downtown, taking over the whole mall.”
Up next is the Orange Julians, an energetic pop-punk quartet fronted by Caroline Crews. I stick around for a while as the band plays a number of crowd pleasers and then duck out.
Leaving the mall, the security team bids me a goodnight as they
converse with a couple of the Xcite girls. “Good luck with that,
gentlemen,” I think about saying. But, I’ve always found
that it’s best not to annoy giant biker guys. So, I keep it to,
a “thanks and you too.”
Outside, where the smokers gather, I can still hear the Orange Julians thumping away one floor above me. Strangely, after all the hubbub before the event began, not one patrol car or police officer made an appearance during the show. No need really, I guess. On a Friday night, the cops have their hands full dealing with actual crimes. Why worry about a bunch of artsy types who just want to spend the evening looking at paintings and listening to bands?
Something Parton said earlier pops into my head: “I don’t understand what people get so worked up about. No one is out here trying to cause problems. They’re just here to exercise their talents and to promote their art. And, I’m just trying to give them the space where they can do that.”
Parton adds, “I look forward to next year. I think the more that certain concerned citizens come to understand what we’re about, the less resistance we’ll have. Next year’s going to be even better, I can just feel it.”
Mama Spell brings it all home, saying, “This kind of show is very important as a way to building a community. A lot of times art is not given a priority. When art is squelched, then the quality of life plummets. When a community supports artists, it supports a higher quality of life. So having events like this really bolsters the community and bolsters the city.”
Good point, Mama. Good night, Chattanooga.
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ABOUT THE REPORTER:
Will Taylor is a writer and advertising consultant who recently
moved to Chattanooga from Los Angeles. He’s written for numerous
arts and entertainment publications in California and, on the advertising
side, has worked with companies such as Universal Music Group, Siemens
Transportation, Ebay, The Sacramento Kings and McClatchy News Services.
For more information, visit his website at fortifiedcreative.com
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