To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.–Thomas A. Edison
When one thinks of art treasures, the mind goes to Paris, Rome, New York, Los Angeles, or even Washington, D.C., and rightly so. These locations have carefully defined and curated the art world. Although I have been privileged to visit Le Louvre, the Vatican Museum, the British Museum, and the Phillips Collection, I enjoy finding art treasures close to home: Wichita, Kansas, the Air Capital of the World.
“The Mother Ship Has Landed” is a show recently curated at City Arts, Wichita. The twelve artists featured in this show averaged an age of 75. We know one of the artists personally through our church. I knew Greg Johnson created art by recycling car body parts, but I had no idea how stunning his work was until I attended this show. If you are ever at the Texas Motor Speedway north of Fort Worth, you will see one of his sculptures going “through” the lobby wall.
More Art Treasures
We met several other artists – One lady discovered her artistic talent later in life. Her gifts have come out in painting, sculpting limestone and marble, and turning mature Kochia weed into wonderful, even provocative, walking sticks! The latter have hand-formed copper handles in a variety of creatures. They are such fun.
Age Is Just A Number
She reminds me of my grandmother, Nonna, who began painting later in life. I have one of her paintings of my childhood home, which my family purchased from her. It hangs in my kitchen where I see it every day. This local art show of late-blooming artists is a testament to being wise, gathering treasures from the old and the new.
For instance, the paint technique on one of Greg’s creations took him 50 years to perfect! Wisdom and its application come from experience over the course of time. There was a depth to all of the works on display at this show that only years could produce.
Art Treasures From Junk
The underlying current of this show was the recycling of otherwise useless material. To quote Greg, “All this comes from the junk lying around my body shop.” Who would have thought that a weed growing along railroad tracks could become a useful, decorative art, walking stick!
Soon, my Pontiac Vibe, which sustained cosmetic wind damage a few weeks ago, will be submitted to the artistic hands of Greg Johnson. It will be in his daily life in his auto body shop, but still, I am excited. I am also inspired to return to some of my upcycling!
Please comment by emailing: nhcullen@cfaith.com