Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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36 UCW OCTOBER 5 - 11, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM COVER STORY Like moths to a flame, most of us are interested in seeing original works of art by our favorite celebri- ties. What would be the subject of a painting or drawing by Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash or Moham- med Ali? What art style would Jimi Hendrix prefer that reflects his mu- sical genius or Richard Petty when he was not racing cars? From sophisticated paintings to whimsical watercolors, the new- est exhibit at Gallery 208, e Alex Munroe Collection: Artwork by Celebrities, which opens Oct. 11, reveals what multitalented super- stars have chosen to create in paint, colored pencils or watercolors dur- ing their private life. e exhibit is also as much about the collector as it is about the ex- hibition. e Alex Munroe Collec- tion: Artwork by Celebrities reveals much about the collector's person- ality, his personal life choices, and why he has chosen to collect over 200 works by celebrities. Curiosity will bring you to the gallery to see the original works by the following celebrities: Janice Joplin, John Lennon, Grace Slick, Mohammed Ali, Jacques Cousteau, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Sid Cesear, Nancy Wilson, Red Foxx, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Curtis, Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson, Charleston Heston, Phyllis Diller and Richard Petty. You will leave the exhibit with an unexpected and surprisingly pleas- ant experience. We can compare what we have already experienced, the mass media way of know- ing a celebrity, juxtaposed with something that feels personal and private. e more you know about each star, the more you will appre- ciate the experience of seeing the exhibit. For example, Jimi Hendrix's ca- reer gained popularity with his first single, "Hey Joe," and his follow-up, "Purple Haze." A pioneer as one of the most outstanding instru- mentalists in rock music history, Hendrix manipulated the distor- tion and feedback from an electric guitar into a type of fluid language. While superstar Hendrix is on the road traveling, in a motel room waiting for a concert, or home — what and why did he choose to paint, and what style best suits the fluid language of his music? Would it be a narrative story and have a figure in the painting? What would the figure be doing? Hendrix was likely sensitive to seeing color as sound. Instead of a narrative style, Hendrix selected patterns and abstract-colored shapes to create movement across the surface of the page. Each color chosen creates a rhythm: the color yellow pops forward, sky blue slows down the repetitive beat and holds us in a musical pause, while the color deep red, like a symphony slowly increasing in volume, gains momentum in the overall composi- tion. Hendrix didn't need to know Chromesthesia is the name of a neurological phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sen- sory pathway leads to an involun- tary experience of another sensory way. If we are familiar with Hen- drix, all we need to know to enjoy his work is that a musical genius chooses only colors to create mood and rhythm in his design. It's noteworthy that country singer Johnny Cash, like Jimi Hen- drix, also abstractly uses patterns of color. Unlike Hendrix, whose design does not reference an object or person, the color mosaic pat- terns of Cash result in the image of a bird in movement. Centered on the page, Cash's bird seems to be ascending upward. e imaginative, whimsical and minimal watercolor by John Lennon hangs on the gallery wall in contrast to a large painting by a cultural icon, the actor Tony Curtis. An American film actor, well known for six decades, he was the most popular in the 1950s and 60s. Of the 100 movies Curtis made and always performed with award- winning academy actors, the pop culture generation may know him for his role as a supporting actor in "Spartacus" or by his daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis had a passion and talent for painting in the post-impres- sionist style. His choice of subjects were colorful still lifes, landscapes and portraits. His painting titled "Red Table" is in the collection of the media wing in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Seeing another of his works, the sizeable figurative painting at Gal- lery 208, visitors will easily recog- nize the influences of Van Gogh and Henri Matisse. Whereas some of the works in the exhibit reflect a relaxing hobby, Curtis created a large body of work during his lifetime and was very clear on his intent. Artnet quoted Curtis saying, "When I paint, I don't paint shapes; I paint colors." If you attend the Oct. 11 opening, you will not only be fascinated by the exhibit but also by the collec- tor. Alex Munroe will briefly discuss the art of collecting at the opening reception. Gallery 208 only exhibits 18 of an extensive body of work — over 200 pieces in his collection. What someone chooses to collect tells us a lot about the individual. All collectors like the works by the artist(s), but they also assume the work could appreciate. For many investors, their collection symbol- izes success within social circles. Attending the exhibit, you will not assume Munroe's eclectic col- lection is a way to affirm himself as a social success. Instead, it is easy to sense the collection represents the collector as having an entrepre- neurial passion for the unexpected and a highly creative way of seeing the world and culture around him. Upon meeting Munroe, you will readily see the collection as a self- expression of a fun-loving person- ality with various interests and a positive outlook. Munroe stated, "I buy art for the sheer enjoyment of sharing it with people. Research has shown that when people view art, the brain releases chemicals that make them feel secure and happy. My art takes Art by Tony Curtis Gallery 208 presents The Alex Munroe Collection: Artwork by Celebrities by SONI MARTIN