It's like this: Nicholas Negroponte head of MIT's Media Lab, declared in 1998 that the digital revolution was over. If that's the case, what's up with all this "digital" media around us? How is it shaping the way artists create work? The answer is, in surprising ways!
Polk Museum of Art decided it wanted to find out how artists in the state of Florida were taking advantage of technology, so it created a juried competition that was open to instructors and professors at Florida's public and private universities and colleges. They got the typical digital photography and films, but they also got paintings, prints, and (...get this!...) ceramics!
The show is called Digital Art in the Post-Digital Age: Works by Florida Faculty and it opens for viewing on Saturday, May 24. Don't worry, though. You don't have to rush over to see it THAT DAY. It'll be up through September 7.
Oh, and don't miss the reception on May 30. It's for this show and Karsh, Leonard, and Bagert: A Photographic Legacy. Herman Leonard and Jenny Bagert, two of the artists in that exhibition, will talk about their work at 6:00pm, and then the reception will begin at about 7. Stetson University's Mobile Performance Group will be doing their thing a couple of times before the whole thing ends at 8:30. $10 gets you in the door and it's a cash bar. I know I'll be there!
Whew! It is hot out there, but let me tell you, Volvo Mayfaire is EXCELLENT this year.
People of all ages are coming out and enjoying the great art and the great food to be found around the lake. And a lot of people are wandering into Polk Museum of Art for a few minutes of AC and to see even more wonderful artwork.
So far, the MayFerries have been a big hit. Every time I see one, it's full! And when I was driving one this morning, the people I picked up were really pleased to be able to catch a lift.
We're looking forward to finishing off a great day, and celebrating some more at Mayfaire Saturday Night tonight. Be sure to come on down to Lake Morton in Downtown Lakeland before 5pm to see the art, and then mosey over to Lake Mirror for music by The Rogues and fireworks at 9pm. I'll see you there!
Friday night, I went to see the FDT2 performance at Florida Dance Theatre. And it was excellent!
Yes, I know. I'm a bad blogger. I actually waited almost THREE WHOLE DAYS to post this. And, of course, I didn't take a camera. I'm still getting the hang of this whole blog world. But anyway...
For those who don't know, FDT2 is like the understudy group for the professional dancers at Florida Dance Theatre and it's composed of the best of the Academy's students. These students seem to average about 14-18 years old.
The performance only featured these dancers, and about half of the pieces performed were choreographed by the students, as well. I was really, genuinely impressed. In fact, no offense to Carol, Freddy, or Kim (the three professionals who choreographed pieces for the show), but I think I enjoyed the student pieces even more in some cases! Since I'm no dance critic, and I'm still a fairly low level student, I'll leave further comments or criticisms on the performance to others, however.
It is amazing and wonderful to me that Polk County has such a talented pool of young artists to draw from, and I know that the students at Florida Dance Theatre are just a very small percentage of that. There are other talented dancers, musicians, visual artists, and actors here just waiting to be seen!
So KUDOS to FDT2! Keep up the great work guys, and I'll be seeing you all in class!
Last night at the Central Park Stroll, Winter Haven resident and artist Albert Kriston found out that his sculpture, Reach, won Best of Show in the Eighth Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. Not only that, but it also won the People's Choice Award by popular vote of the crowd that attended the Stroll!
Kriston was so thrilled he was absolutely speechless. Grinning from ear to ear after the award was announced, he stood on the stage at the microphone and just said, "I don't know what to say!"
The Central Park Stroll was held in honor of the Eighth Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition, a joint project of Polk Museum of Art and the City of Winter Haven. Besides Kriston's surprise win of the coveted Best of Show and People's Choice Awards, two other awards were announced as well. Rob Lorenson of Middleboro, Massachusetts, won second place with his sculpture Red Lion, and Dennis Howland of Tallahassee, Florida, received the Honorable Mention for Steppin Out (To the Moon, Alice!).
The Sculpture Competition is a national competition that has been gaining a great reputation among sculptors from all over the country. Every year they compete for a chance to have their work display in our community, and they have nothing but good things to say about the Competition, the Museum, and the City of Winter Haven.
The sculptures will all be on display in the Central Park area of Downtown Winter Haven through early February of next year. Be sure to go check them out. And if you see Al around, tell him congratulations!
Saturday, February 23, Polk Museum of Art hosted its annual black tie benefit event, The Gala. And believe me, the night lived up to its theme: Floating Away on a Perfect Florida Evening. Sure the weather was a little drippy to begin with, but who cares when you're having such a great time?
This year's event Chairs, Steve and Carol Boyington (pictured left with Lynda Buck and Museum Board of Trustees President Steve Buck), along with The Gala Committee, planned a fantastic party for the nearly 300 people who attended. With real trees scraping the 16 foot ceilings, and beautiful moving skyscapes projected onto cotton "clouds" overhead, the atmosphere was set.
I was there, as usual, with my camera in hand to document the event. As I worked through the crowd, I kept hearing over and over again how great the event was and how much fun everyone was having. And the food? Incredible! The event was catered by Black Tie to Barbecue, and they proved what pros they are because not only was the food great, but the service was amazing as well.
So congrats to the Boyingtons and committee for putting on such a great party! And congrats to Polk Museum of Art for another successful Gala! It truly is one of the best parties in Central Florida.
Last Friday night, February 1, a crowd gathered at Polk Museum of Art to celebrate Judy Barger's retirement after 21 years at the Museum. The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of a photograph by Florida artist Jerry Uelsmann. The piece, called The Philosopher's Desk, will be housed in the Museum's Permanent Collection in honor of Judy's years of dedication and service.
Judy has been a fan of Uelsmann's work for many years, and when she officially retired at the end of December, Daniel E. Stetson, the Museum's Executive Director, told her that funds had been donated to puchase a piece in her honor. He asked her for a list of artists or pieces that she found appealing. It was from that list that the Uelsmann was selected, but Judy was unaware of which piece was chosen until the unveiling.
Jerry Uelsmann creates photo composites by layering negatives and manipulating them in the darkroom. He has been creating his surreal images for over forty years -- and long before Photoshop was even invented! He is considered one of the best artists in his field, and Judy is thrilled that one of his pieces will be in the Museum's Collection in her honor.
There were some big snakes at Polk Museum of Art today. And I mean big. Like sixteen feet and 140 pounds big. There were a couple of smaller ones too, but that big one is the one that caught everyone's attention.
Bruce Shwedick from Reptile Discoveries was here today to talk about snakes and show off a few of them. We figured that since the current exhibition, Robert Stackhouse: Swimmers & Floaters, has so much snake imagery in it, having someone bring some live ones to talk about would be great. And it was!
Shwedick discovered his love of reptiles as a young boy growing up in Maryland. He and his brother shared this passion, and spent most of their childhoods learning about snakes, crocodiles, lizards and turtles. So they have dedicated their lives to caring for and teaching about reptiles. Not only does Shwedick give lectures for students and children, he also helps teach US military doctors and medics about poisonous snakes and what to look for in snake bites. And, at one point, he was in charge of the reptile habitat at Cypress Gardens.
He gave everyone a lot of good information and interesting facts about snakes in the wild and in captivity. But the things that kept everyone enthralled were his stories and his snakes as he brought them out of their custom made boxes. One of the most interesting things I learned was that a snake's head can continue to bite - and inject venom - for several hours after it has been decapitated! So don't just cut its head off and assume you're safe.
So, if you missed it, you missed a great show! The kids in the audience all got a chance to hold one of the snakes, a 4 foot long Royal python named Bashful. Everyone walked away with a little more knowledge about these beautiful reptiles.
If you're Puerto Rican, or into Puerto Rico, or maybe just into learning more about other cultures, then I have the event for you. Una Noche de Estrellas will be held Friday, November 9, at Polk Museum of Art. It's a partnership between the Museum and the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Polk County, and it looks like it's going to be an exciting night. $40 per person will get you a cocktail hour sponsored by Rums of Puerto Rico, great Puerto Rican food, a Bomba y Plena showcase by Florida Dance Theatre, a screening of the movie "Cayo", and the chance to meet a real live foreign dignitary, the Honorable Velda Gonzales, former Vice President of the Puerto Rican Senate. Visit www.PolkMuseumofArt.org and click "Una Noche de Estrellas" for more details or to buy tickets.
On a different note, I know it's entirely too early to be thinking about the Holidays, but I've been thinking about them off and on since June. Now, I'm going to share the joy by putting a little bug in your ear:
The Museum is hosting its annual Holiday Festival, formerly known as the Festival of Trees, November 16 - 19. It's a weekend full of beautiful decorations and many great events, some of which are specifically for kids. There's a lot of information on our website: www.PolkMuseumofArt.org, so mosey over and click the button that says "Holiday Festival."
It's only three weeks away, but I'll post more as we get closer to the event!
Back in September I asked when the Ritz Theatre renovation would ever be complete. It looks like there might be 'some' movement on that front. I say, 'some' since a meeting/fundraiser has been scheduled for this Thursday to talk about this very subject.
According to one of the Ledger's blogs, "Lets Finish the Ritz" will discuss the completion of Winter Haven's Spruce Goose. The event is being held on Thursday, Oct 11th at Scores Cafe.
Unfortunately I'll be in Indianapolis for business, but hopefully some news about the event will be posted somewhere.
This past Saturday I attended the Concert Under the Stars at Historic Bok Sanctuary. The Imperial Symphony Orchestra performed a number of classics along including the 1812 Overture to conclude their concert season. There was a little bit of rain before the concert started, but by the time the music started the weather was perfect.
There is nothing I love more than live, lovely classical music with a cool breeze blowing in my hair, sitting below a blanket of stars peeking through the branches of the huge oak trees.
It seems Chuck and I had the same idea, photograph and post some picture of the new sculptures in downtown Lakeland. The location of the Lakeland sculptures make them tough to photograph. Many of them are in the shade with glimmers of light sneaking through.
All but one of the outdoor sculptures have been installed in the downtown area of Winter Haven for the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. I snapped some shots of new ones and have created a photoset. Once the last piece has been installed I will add that one to the mix.
While I was shooting downtown I talked to one of the sculptures, Al Gilewicz. Al was installing his work, Out of Water. It's an interesting 360 degree piece that surrounds the fountain in the park with fish.
The first of many new sculptures slated for Winter Haven has recently been installed. If you remember, a new set of sculptures are due for the Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. Volute by Michael Shewmaker has taken the location of Split Ring near the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce building.
It's that time of year again, sculpture time. A new series of sculptures have been chosen for the Seventh Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. The sculptures will be installed in Lakeland and Winter Haven during the weeks of March 5th – 16th and will remain on display till February 2008. Listed below are the selected sculptures by city. If the artist's name is linked it will go to a bio, if the name of the sculpture is linked it will display a picture of that sculpture.
As you can see the pieces are very similar in style. Also, like the Lakeland sculpture, the FGCU installation is not without controversy. One student I talked to said, "That thing just doesn't fit in this location."
The Polk Museum of Art held their annual Family Day today. It also was their 40th Anniversary. It was a great event with plenty of stuff for the kids to do. I took some photos and have uploaded a gallery on Flickr.
The Mote Marine Laboratory offered a fun hands-on experience and the stunt bike riders were a bit hit with the kids.
The City of Lakeland plays host to the fall season of Lakeland Electric’s Music on the Promenade starting Friday, August 18, 2006 when renowned jazz saxophonist Eric Darius and his band take the stage from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. during the FREE music series.
The monthly music series takes place at the Lake Mirror amphitheater which is in-between Hollis Garden and the Lake Mirror Center. The event is free to the public and families are encouraged to attend. There will be food and drink vendors on site so bring a blanket and enjoy the lake setting with music under the stars.
Music on the Promenade Fall Schedule
• August 18, 2006 – Eric Darius (Jazz)
• September 15, 2006 – Azwon (Reggae)
• October 20, 2006 – Michael Bell & the Boogalizers (Rock)
Eric “Smooth Breeze” Darius will start the fall series in support of his newest recording entitled Just Getting Started. Darius took the contemporary jazz world by storm with his 2004 Jazz debut, Night on the Town. The critics raved! Fans clamored! His awesome talent and unjaded enthusiasm make him an instant favorite everywhere he performs.
His current release is a bold statement by a jazz star well on his way to the top. Darius said, “I have to admit this was by far the most incredible recording experience I’ve ever had.” He added, “Throughout the past year, I have progressed as a songwriter and a player, and in my opinion, this new CD clearly reflects that.”
Darius quotes his influences as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Kenny G and David Sanborn. He plays the saxophone, flute and the piano. This young star is fast becoming a regular on jazz radio and his current CD is climbing the jazz charts. Eric Darius is an exciting emerging saxophonist whose versatility will be demonstrated as he hits the Music on the Promenade stage on August 18th.
When I was in Lakeland last week I snapped some photos of all the outdoor sculptures that were part of the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. The majority of the pieces were in heavily shaded locations so it made it tough to get decent shots. You can view all of the photos over at Flickr.
Lemon Street Celebration honoring the Sixth Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition will take place on Friday, April 7, 2006 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Lakeland. The public is invited to this FREE event to see the new sculptures that have been installed along the Lemon Street Promenade.
Prize winners for the sculpture competition will be announced during the event and the public will vote for their favorite piece of artwork. The piece that receives the most votes is awarded the coveted People's Choice Award.
This year's event includes the pop sounds of Blind Ambition on the stage and there will be street performers strolling along Lemon Street adding to the festive atmosphere. Local restaurants and vendors will have food and drink samples available for purchase. The sculpture competition winners, including People's Choice will be announced shortly before 7 p.m.
Lemon Street will be closed from South Florida Avenue to Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate the event. Portions of Tennessee Avenue and Kentucky Avenue will also be closed from Lemon Street to Preservation Alley.
The artists and their artwork on view this year are:
Andrew Arvanetes (Colleyville, TX), City Mouse
Carl Billingsley (Ayden, NC), Three Graces
R.F. Buckley (Miami, FL), Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care
James N. Burns (Santa Fe, NM), Tastego
David J. Eisenhour (Port Hadlock, WA), Dandelion
Ted Sitting Crow Garner (Chicago, IL), Uppercutted
Ralph Provisero (Miami, FL), Rider
Derek C. Riley (Buzzards Bay, MA), Lash
Edwin C. White (Siler City, NC), Game of 12 Ball
Glenn Zweygardt (Alfred Station, NY), Verde Voyager
The exhibit is a joint project between the City of Lakeland and the Polk Museum of Art. Sponsors include Heritage Plaza, MIDFLORIDA Federal Credit Union, Publix Super Markets Charities, Inc., Peterson & Meyers, P.A., Smith Barney, SunTrust Bank, The Ledger and Watkins Motor Lines.
If you never saw/heard anything about The Big Bang, it's an independent film set in Lakeland that was written and directed by Philip Cruz and James Hyde, both graduates of Lakeland High School. The film won an award at the 2003 Tambay Film Festival. Just recently though the trailer was uploaded to YouTube. The trailer does contain some violence and adult situations, but what independent film doesn't?
Check it out and see if you can identify all the Lakeland locations.
Over the past few days there have been a number of sculptures appearing in central park. They're part of the Sixth Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. Most of the sculptures mysteriously appear, but one is being built right before our eyes.
Christopher Fennell is building a large wave from discarded wood. Chris has been hard at work the past few days and I've been checking in every so often. Using a chainsaw in a downtown area usually draws a crowd.
Checking out his web site you'll see some cool structures that he's created with a variety of objects from wood to bicycles. In a quick audio-capture I asked Chris what he was doing and where the material came from. You can listen to the MP3 here.
I've updated my photoset of the Winter Haven outdoor sculptures. There are now a total of 35 pictures in the set representing eight of the ten sculptures. The final two have yet to be installed. One of which is the 'mosquito'.
The first of 10 sculptures from the Annual Florida Sculpture Competition is being erected in Winter Haven today. Typically a Lakeland-based event, this year the sculpture competition is placing 10 works of art in the Winter Haven area. This morning the first piece was being placed in the small park between the Winter Haven Library and the old 505 on the Park building. As more of them go up I'll get some photos.
I'm not sure if you know this or not but this is just a little information that I can pass along if you're not aware. It doesn't have much to do with your fundraiser but it'll make downtown a bit more interesting.
This year Polk Museum of Art and the City of Lakeland have teamed up with Winter Haven to have 10 sculptures from the Annual Florida Scultpure Competition be displayed in Central Park. The sculptures will be installed in April. So...Downtown should be looking a bit cooler soon. You guys will be getting some of the biggest sculptures because you guys have the room to display them. Here in Lakeland, short trees get in the way. :) It will be a great exhibit. Lakeland will also have 10 that will be located on Lemon Street, as usual.
The outdoor sculpture display in Lakeland is always a great public display of the arts, I'm glad to see part of it coming to Winter Haven.
Wordcore! is a brand new Lakeland-based blog/initiative to stimulate a passion for literature in Lakeland, FL. From the introductory post:
Wordcore is a new totally D.I.Y., non-profit literary project dedicated to building a lit scene right here in Lakeland and beyond. We are here to feng your shui and hai your ku, we are here to emancipate the human spirit and liberate poetry from stuffy academics and dreary mainstream poetry journals. Like the Beats and Walt Whitman before them we are here to give the word back to the people.
The first section I pick up is the Life section and quickly peruse until I get to books page, after the literary alienation of the main book selections, I glance to the bottom right hand corner to find an excerpt so small you almost miss it, Polk Prose were the Ledger graces a local author with a tiny thumbnail of the cover, complete with a whole one sentence summary of the book.
C'mon Ledger, you can devote half of the book page to some book that we've read a million times with a million different names, but the hard work of aspiring local writers get a miniscule corner on the bottom of the page.
I recently blogged about P.A.M or the Polk Art Mafia, a MySpace group created to bring artists and art lovers together in the area. I sent a few questions via e-mail to Bonnie the creator of the group. Below is our conversation:
What prompted you to create the group? Did you sense that there was a large group of people interested in the arts, but that they just didn't have an outlet/face?
Thats exactly why! Also, growing up in Clearwater.. There was always something to do. Great bands to see, awesome art openings, etc.. And James is from Orlando... Need I say more? We discussed the idea of P.A.M.. seeing how myspace is really growing and thought we'd give it a shot.
Almost 100 members, are you surprised by the response?
I am surprised.. I did spend about 2 days just going through peoples profiles.. If they were interested in art, photography or music, I sent them an invite. The numbers are great, almost 100 but I hope people actually get involved and post and not just join because they got an invite. I could have a thousand members and not be successful if no one posts.
Any sort of agenda or manifesto for what you hope the group will accomplish?
Just basically getting more people involved in the arts.. I do have a few ideas up my sleeve but it's top secret for now. :)
Do you think the arts culture is stronger in Lakeland than it is anywhere else?
Definately... But I have a feeling that it may change.
Any plans to reach-out/coordinate with some of the art establishments in Polk, i.e. PMOA, Ridge Art Association?
You wake up one day to find you are living smack dab in the center of the sunshine state. No one really plans to end up here, it just sort of happens. Yes -that's right, it's not just a salad that Elvis sang about, its Imperial Polk County. Up until now you might have thought it was devoid of culture and art, but good news, there's a new set of art thugs hittin' the scene. That's right- we are the Polk Art Mafia and we are going to lift up every rock and tip over every cow until we make this county cool.
Join us will you???
P.A.M. is on your side and let's face it, how long has it been since you conversed with captivating creative types? So help P.A.M. out - be our eyes and ears for art openings, live music, and other artistic events. We welcome all dancers, artists, musicians, bohemians, free thinkers, poets, and wayward cowboys and cowgirls.
As of this post there are 89 members. It looks like a great group of people that are passionate about the arts in the Orlampa area.
Tomorrow, the second, I'll have the day off and will have no reason to wear a tie. For my four-day work week, I'll wear on Tuesday a tie (II) with a nautical theme, complete with a few lighthouses (great symbols); you can see one in the lower left of the photo. (Unidentified material; Wilson & Grace, Fairhaven, Vermont)
On Wednesday, my tie (III) is a good example of what is called the "Bold Look." It's stark geometric pattern seems plenty bold to me. (Unidentified material; Adam, America's Famous Hatter)
Strange? Turns out there are plenty of 'Necktie Blogs' out there. Just check out Michael's list of 'Neckties Online'.
Welcome to Empirical Polk, a blog all about Polk County, Florida.
Why Empirical? It's a play on words. In 1914 Polk County was named 'Imperial Polk County', twist that a bit and you get Empirical Polk County. Empirical is defined as:
being based upon experience or observational information and not necessarily on proven scientific data
Why a blog? A number of community blogs have helped citizens report news and comment on issues outside of the traditional media. If there is a hot-topic in a paper and 100+ people write letters to the editor only a few will be printed, the commentay aspect of a blog allows all those people to be heard/read. In some cases people may have advance knowledge of news or other items and are able to report it before the local media (Sticks of Fire in Tampa does this all the time).
The blog will always be written by a number of authors (hopefully that list will expand) and feature of different points of view, sometimes opposing views on the same topic. Interested in writing? Contact Us
This blog, like others features the ability to comment on articles. Have something to add? Want to tell us we're wrong? Comment away. Comments will only be moderated or removed if they violate the comment policy.
Main Street Winter Haven wants to showcase the architect's influence through self-guided tours of more than 25 Leedy-designed buildings around the city.
The tour will use printed maps and other materials to guide visitors. My main concern is that printed materials are dated as soon as the ink dries. Utilizing podcast audio and video tours would enable content to remain up-to-date and allow for an interactive tour. I'd love to hear/see Gene describe the buildings as I walk through them.
I wonder how many of the buildings will open themselves to interior inspection? Some of them are businesses, while many of them are homes (mostly on Drexel Avenue).
A few days after the article was printed I ran into Gene at Richard's Coffee Shop by the library. He was meeting with a representative from Main Street Winter Haven. I was able to tell the two of them my ideas for the tour. We'll see what comes of it.
I've known Gene since 1996 when I worked with his son Ingram. Gene is a tell-it-like-it-is guy, which is refereshing sometimes. I've worked in a few Gene Leedy buildings over the years and had I listened to Gene in 1998 bought a Leedy home.
A hyperlocal blog about Imperial Polk County, Florida. It is written by local residents that wish to provide an alternative to traditional media sources. The focus is commentary and open discussion of the issues that face Polk County, FL.
A blog is about participation. The easiest way to join in is to leave a comment on a post or send us a tip. If you would like to become an author just contact us. We're always looking for new opinions.
