[Scmusenet] Two New Exhibitions Opening this coming Saturday at the Pickens County Museum of Art & History

[Allen Coleman]

     The Pickens County Cultural Commission is pleased to announce the
opening of two very special exhibitions at the Pickens County Museum of
Art & History. Please join us from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on this coming
Saturday, September 8, 2007 as we host a reception to open "Charles
Councell: 1896-1985" and "Rock Paper Scissor". Both exhibitions will
continue through November 17, 2007.

 

 "Charles Councell: 1896 - 1985"

A Life Remembered


 


     A retrospective of the artist's life and extensive travels,
"Charles Councell: 1896-1985" will be on display in the Museum's new
wing Focus Gallery. 

 

     Charles Clemens Councell lived a life that was reflective of his
three great passions: architecture, art and travel.

 

     Born in Marion, Indiana, he served in the U.S. Army cavalry in
France during World War I. 

 

     He graduated from the Arts and Architecture School of the
University of Illinois in 1923 and launched his career with Arthur G.
McKee, a major engineering firm in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was here he met
and married his wife, Mary Brewster Marcy, on August 13, 1926. 

 

     He later became an architectural engineer with the U.S. Government
in Washington, D.C., designing many Federal buildings and participating
in the celebrated 1949-1952 renovation of the White House during
President Truman's term.  

 

     During this period he pursued his avocation as a painter and had
his work displayed in numerous art galleries.

 

     He retired in 1960 and then spent almost two years touring and
painting in Europe.  Upon his return he published "Viewing Europe: From
the Sketching Stool of Charles C. Councell," a limited-edition
collection of 58 sketches of distinctive European scenes which sold out
quickly. 

 

     The Councells selected Clemson as a retirement location and built a
home there.  He maintained a vigorous painting schedule through the rest
of his life, studying under noted artists and traveling in the U.S.,
Mexico and Central America.  He also wrote a book of childhood
recollections entitled "A Hoosier Schoolboy."

 

     He died in Clemson in 1985 and was buried in the Odd Fellows
Cemetery, Marion, Indiana.

 

     After his death, his widow established The Charles Clemens Councell
Memorial Fund in Architecture at the University of Illinois.  This gift
is used to provide scholarships for students to participate in a special
architecture Study Abroad Program at Versailles, France. Six to twelve
of these scholarships are awarded each year.  These scholarships are a
way for Mary Councell to continue the passion her husband had for
architecture, art and travel with the aspiring architects of today.

 

     "Charles Council: 1896-1985" is sponsored in part by Allen's
Creations, Inc. in Clemson, SC.

 

"Rock Paper Scissor"

 

     The invitational exhibition, in the museum's G-1 & Sealevel
Galleries is made up of thirteen regional artists working in or with
rock or paper. From this diverse group, the exemplary stonework of Dave
Appleman is surrounded by a cross section of styles and techniques from
a group of  artists drawn to the many facets of paper; its rainbow of
colors, world of textures, and agile versatility, all incorporating
paper, an unassuming material that we use every day and often take for
granted. This sundry mix of paper art includes manipulated paper such as
origami, cut and folded paper sculpture, German paper cutting, and a
variety of paper collage. The paper artists represented are Chad
Chrysler, Tamao Chrysler, Joy D. Ellison, Kathy Justice, Karen Maters,
Rosemary Moore, Molly Morin, Lynda Slattery, Carole Knudson Tinsley,
Judy Verhoeven, Jason Waggoner and Barbara Yon.

 

     Speaking of his carved stone sculpture, Greenville's Dave Appleman
repeats the quote, "All the parts work together as a whole." He
continues, "Simplicity of form and design has always interested me.
Line, form, balance, rhythm, harmony, contrast - these are the parts
that play the major role in creating my sculpture. I like to keep it
simple, often only geometric and without subject."

 

     A sampling of the artists fulfilling the exhibit's paper niche
include: Tamao Chrysler of Pickens who puts new twists and folds on an
old tradition when she revisits the art of Origami that she learned and
has practiced since her childhood in Japan; Joy D. Ellison of Clemson
produces artwork using paper-cutting, an age old tradition that involves
cutting intricate, white designs to be displayed over a black
background; Kathy Justice, from Easley, views her collage work as a
process of deconstructing images and integrating diverse pieces into the
creation of something new as an ongoing intellectual and visual
experiment; Clemson artist, Molly Morin's site installation "DIY
Reliquaries" consists of computer generated cut-and-fold paper creating
housings for objects representing the people around her; Liberty's Karen
Maters enjoys, "putting together bits and pieces of paper. It is
especially fun to use a scrap of paper that depicts one thing in such a
way that it becomes something totally different to the viewer;"
Greenville's Carole Knudson Tinsley creates rhythmic and layered
paintings with collage inspired by ancient cultures, especially American
Indians. 

 

     The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by
Pickens County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the
South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National
Endowment for the Arts.

 

     Located at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307 Johnson Street in Pickens
SC, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m.
until 5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays
from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are
welcomed.

 

     For more information please contact the museum at (864) 898-5963

 

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