Sept. 8, 2009 issue
Charles McGee retrospective spotlights fall at gallery exhibitions

By Amy E. Whitesall

 

At 84, master artist Charles McGee is not only still making art, he's making art that's as honest and relevant as ever. The Kresge Foundation recently recognized him as its first Detroit Eminent Artist, and he's widely considered one of the best — and most loved — artists in the state.

So, when Julia Myers, an Eastern Michigan University art history professor started delving into McGee's work a few years back, she was surprised to find that, despite hundreds of newspaper articles, there was no definitive written material about McGee, who taught at EMU from 1969-1987.

ARTISTICALLY AGELESS: A retrospective of Detroit artist Charles McGee's work, entitled "Energy — Charles McGee at Eighty-Five", will take place in both University and Ford galleries Nov. 9-Dec. 19. Photo provided by Kresge Foundation

Myers decided to take on the task and, beginning in November, EMU will showcase the fruits of her work — a retrospective of McGee's art and a talk by the artist himself that promises to be one of the highlights of the art department's diverse fall lineup.

"Much of his art is about the interconnectivity of all life on earth," said Myers, who organized the Nov. 9-Dec. 19 exhibition, entitled "Energy — Charles McGee at Eighty-Five" (He'll turn 85 Dec. 15). "He believes that all creatures are equal and you can very much see this in his art. It's filled with people, bugs, worms, snakes. It's the belief that all living beings should be treated with respect. And that's an environmental message, but also a political one."

The earliest piece in the show was created in 1951, the most recent in 2009. Work from the intervening six decades will be on display in both the Ford Gallery in Ford Hall and the University Gallery in the Student Center. McGee will speak during a Nov. 9 reception at the University Gallery.

"Energy is what his art is all about — the life force, that energy goes through our bodies and the bodies of all living things," Myers said. "As I said in the catalog introduction, there are three common themes in his work — energy, interconnectedness and equality. Plus, his art is really fun and accessible."

McGee has work displayed in hundreds of museums, private collections and galleries, including the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. McGee received The Kresge Foundation award, which came with a $50,000 prize, in December 2008. It honors a top-flight Michigan artist who's contributed selflessly to the artistic growth of others. It was one of many honors over the course of his long career, during which he's also founded the Charles McGee School of Art, Gallery 7, and the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID).

Over the past three years, Myers has compiled a 100-page catalog of McGee's work, which was published with a $15,000 grant from the Michigan Humanities Council. The exhibition, which includes many of the works in the catalog, caps Myers' project.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: This photo, made up of smaller negatives, is called "44#04 Rome, Inauguration at St. Peter", and was shot by Thomas Kellner. This photo is part of the exhibit "The Elements of Photography: Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Images."

"I also was interested in the historical context of Detroit over all these decades," Myers said. "You know he came to Detroit in 1934 as a 10-year-old. Charles had to report for duty for the Marines in 1943 during a race riot. He has witnessed an immense amount of Detroit history. Hopefully, the catalog will reveal the larger artistic and social context out of which his work was emerging. It has been a fascinating journey. I feel like I've been in territory nobody's touched before."

Here's a look at some of the other arts events coming to EMU this fall:

Elements of Photography, Sept. 3-Oct. 2, University Art Gallery. Based on the book "The Elements of Photography: Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Images" (Angela Faris-Belt, Focal Press, 2008), this exhibit uses the photography of Faris-Belt and other nationally known photographers to explore technical, creative and conceptual approaches in contemporary photography. A reception is scheduled Sept. 9, 4-6 p.m., University Art Gallery.

Coping with the Unknown, Sept. 8-Oct. 2, Ford Gallery. Using painting and mixed media, sculpture and performance, Adrian Hatfield and Joe Meiser examine the way we use science and religion to explain the inexplicable. The two artists have been friends since their undergraduate days at Ohio University and their work creates a dialogue about the ways humans cope with the limits of knowledge. Meiser is now on the art faculty of Bucknell University. Hatfield teaches at Wayne State University. A reception is scheduled Thursday, Sept. 10, 4-6 p.m., Ford Gallery.

CONDON LECTURE: Artist Brody Condon will give a lecture Sept. 30, 7 p.m., in Strong Auditorium. This Condon image is entitled "Sonsbeek Live: The Twenty Five Fold Manifestation."

Brody Condon lecture, Sept. 30, 7 p.m., Strong Auditorium. Go to the edge of art's intersection with technology, take one giant step forward and you'll find Condon there waiting for you. He's hacked video games to create video graphic art, turned live-action role-playing Internet games into mass performance art, and compiled a 15-minute video installation from clips of stoned people talking to the camera. Born in Mexico and currently based in New York, Condon has had exhibitions all over the world. His lecture is co-sponsored by the art department, the College of Technology and the School of Technology Studies.

2D/3D, Oct. 5-Nov. 5, University Art Gallery and Ford Gallery. Curated by EMU faculty, the 2D/3D exhibition showcases contemporary sculpture in the University Art Gallery while contemporary painting takes center stage in Ford Gallery. Sculpture professors John DeHoog and Brian Nelson gathered the work of eight established and emerging sculptors from all over the country for the 3D portion of the show. A reception is scheduled Oct. 6, from 4-6 p.m. with a gallery talk by DeHoog and Nelson at 5 p.m., in University Gallery. 2D curators Michael Reedy and Amy Sacksteder asked EMU's painting faculty to invite one of their favorite painters to be in the show, and the resulting collection of work that runs the gamut in scale, media and subject matter. A reception is scheduled Oct. 7, 4-6 p.m., in Ford Gallery.

ARTISTIC ENERGY: This painting is part of the Charles McGee retrospective that will take place Nov. 9-Dec. 19 in Ford Gallery.

Energy — Charles McGee at Eighty Five, Nov. 9-Dec. 19, Ford Gallery, University Art Gallery. McGee's artwork includes sculpture, assemblage, painting and collage, but the themes of energy, interconnectedness and equality run through all of it. This retrospective features 70 pieces of art, borrowed from private collections around the state and beyond. The exhibition includes a reception at the University Gallery, Nov. 9, 4-7 p.m., with an artist discussion at 5 p.m.

Steven Assael lecture, Nov. 10, 6 p.m., room 310A, Student Center. Figure painter Steven Assael works with live subjects that range from nudes to elaborately-pierced and tattooed Goths, and his paintings and drawings capture an uncanny degree of personality, mood and attitude. Assael, whose work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, has a studio in Brooklyn and teaches at the School of Visual Arts and the Pratt Institute in New York.

ART LECTURE: Writer and visual artist Yedda Morrison will present an art lecture Dec. 1, 12:30 p.m., in room 310A of the Student Center. Her work pictured is entitled "Biopsy."

Yedda Morrison lecture, Dec. 1, 12:30 p.m., room 310A, Student Center. Writer and visual artist Yedda Morrison combines photography, sculpture and text in thought-provoking installations that explore questions of life and death, nature, permanence and reality. A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Morrison now lives and works in Montreal. She has shown her visual work in the United States and Canada, and published three books. In her most recent, "Darkness" (little red leaves 2009), Morrison "whites out" all of the words in Chapter 1 of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" that don't reference the natural world, salvaging the nature from the original work. Her lecture and reading is co-sponsored by the art department and the creative writing program's BathHouse Events.

For more information, contact Gallery Programs Interim Director Jennifer Locke, 487-0465, 487-1077, or e-mail jlocke1@emich.edu