Outside the gallery

This article began as a nod to unconventional art spaces, a tip of the hat to walls that do not profess to holding up a gallery, museum or institution of art, but nonetheless make room for it. It was to be an abridged reference to where one could find local art in everyday or unsuspected places. But while writing this thematic tour guide, a book showed up unannounced in my living room: Varieties of Visual Experience by Edmund Burke Feldman. It was clearly lost, not belonging to my roommate or me and marked only in blue ink with the name “Jackson S. Harris, Jr”. I carried the book throughout the variety of interviews that compose this article. When I was done, I cracked it open.

Not once in hundreds of pages did the former University of Georgia professor of art discuss the effects of art in the home, workplace, or doctor’s office or underneath the interstate. It struck me that since the 1967 publication date of Feldman’s thorough, well-written textbook, society has actually demanded a closer relationship with art. It no longer stands to just talk about line and form, tools of expression and ’isms. We abandoned the notion that “art” is a pastime of the tortured, anemic, eccentric or horrifically wealthy. We become appalled when an unnecessary baldness overtakes a coffee shop wall.

“When it comes to the artwork on the wall most customers will offer mild comments like ‘it’s good’ or ‘it’s bad,’ but when the work isn’t there at all we get a lot of complaints,” says David Welsh, manager of Perks Coffee and Tea.

With that in mind, a review of unconventional art-friendly places can come with an evaluation of why an artist would choose to hang on the walls of a physical therapy office without expecting the therapist to pay for the work, or of an “audience,” shuffling in and out of a coffee shop, why they expect to have local art looking over their newspapers and croissants, or why a small business, regardless of its success, would lend time, space and money to an endeavor it’s not likely to profit from.

Decent exposure

Chelsea’s Café2837 Perkins Rd.

Elise Toups worked at Chelsea’s Café while attending Louisiana State University, graduating in 2006. Owner David Remmetter encouraged Toups and other artists to display their work in the restaurant. Toups was awarded first place in the 2005 Art Melt and is represented by Ann Connelly.

A few years ago Toups organized an art show at Chelsea’s with fellow artist Dave Smith.

“It was a great show, and Dave [Remmetter] is and was so supportive,” Toups says. “But it is difficult being your own agent and gallery manager.”

Though she sold several pieces, and the crowd at Chelsea’s was receptive, it was a challenge to install, promote and arrange payment for all the pieces.

“What makes doing something like that worth wearing all those hats is there is no split commission,” Toups says. “The artist keeps all the proceeds from the sale.”

Customers can see Toups’ “Aretha Franklin” commissioned by Remmetter as well as work by TJ Black, Charles Barbier, Hunter Roth and Trey Pentecost.

“Ultimately,” Toups says, “Chelsea’s is going to give you broader exposure, and you’ll be seen by people who wouldn’t normally walk into a gallery.” chelseascafe.com

Keeping it fresh

Stabbed in the Art1284 Perkins Rd.

When the artist-organized art show Stabbed in the Art debuted in February 2009, it wasn’t poised to be a reoccurring art show. But a warm reception inspired collaborating artists to keep the ball rolling. A large, eclectic display of work stacked salon-style can now be seen on the first Friday of every month at 1284 Perkins Rd. in the warehouse of Tiger District owner Jared Loftus. Among the pioneering spirits who contribute to Stabbed in the Art is Otto Orellana.

“Jared has been really generous to us,” Orellana says, noting that bringing 200-plus people through the warehouse is good business for the Tiger District. “But with that being said, he doesn’t charge commission or anything to use the space, and he’s even installed track lighting.”

The mutually beneficial arrangement between the artist and the business owner is clear in the cross-promotion, but it benefits the audience, too. Cost of the artwork goes down when the tag isn’t being torn between the agent or gallery and the artist. In addition Orellana explains how Stabbed in the Art provides something even more for their peers and the viewer.

“We’ve been really insistent that the work is fresh, we want there to be new work on the walls every month so people have a reason to keep coming out,” he says. “The good thing about encouraging artists to keep contributing fresh work is you can see a progression in style and content from month to month.”

Regulars include the prolific TJ Black, Brad Jensen, Yvette Creel, Jill Mulkey and Katrina Andry, among others. stabbedintheart.com

No prudes, just peers

Perks Coffee and Tea2008 Perkins Rd.

For more than 15 years Perks Coffee and Tea has been as much a cocoon for mid-term students as it has been a social gathering spot for professors, writers and artists. It makes sense that the red cement block walls should reflect the spirit of the clientele.

“Two years ago when I started managing Perks I began working with artists to put art on the walls,” manager David Welsh says.

His motivation was to create an inviting space for customers and to expose local artists to hundreds of customers every day. Work rotates every six to eight weeks.

Artists Michael Crespo and Libby Johnson have a studio nearby, and Baton Rouge Gallery is just down the street at City Park, so the artistic peers of the city pass through often to get their caffeine fix.

“I also know artists that produce a lot of work, and it is just sitting in their studio, not seeing the light of day,” Welsh says. “This is a way to actively promote and sell the work.”

Perks has never shied away from displaying maturely themed work. Whereas a family restaurant, even a public gallery, may have issues with a nude subject, Welsh contends it has never been an issue at the shop.

“Demond,” Welsh recalls, “is a painter who has had success selling his work here, displayed some nudes and no one ever said anything.” perkscoffeeandtea.com

Art that heals

LSU Satellite Gallery at Dutch PT5627 Bankers Ave.

Renee Diagle’s bum knee could be responsible for an entire extension of the LSU School of Art. After visiting a physical therapist and noting the blank, austere walls, she contacted Malia Krolak, manager for Glassell and Foster galleries.

“I thought, art can heal too, not as much as physical therapy, but it’s not just fluff,” Krolak says.

She worked with LSU alumni artists still residing in Baton Rouge and Philippe Veeters and Mirjam Maassen, owners of the physical therapy office, Dutch PT, to create LSU School of Art Satellite Gallery. In March 2009, Krolak and artist Jonathan Pellitteri arranged for several works of art to be installed there.

The line up includes Kathryn Hunter, Shawn Foreman, Todd Hines, Stewart Kimball and Meg Holford, among others.

“It’s so important to give artists a place to show their work so they will feel encouraged to stay in Baton Rouge, and it’s important that people get to look at a beautiful painting instead of a poster of crawfish,” Krolak says.

Beyond the power of pleasing aesthetics whilst having one’s rotator cuff painfully manipulated is illustrating the concept of living with art.

“For art in a gallery people have to make a point to come see it, specifically. But putting it in an office or grocery store shows people how art can be a part of your everyday life,” Krolak says.

This summer the second Dutch PT location began hosting additional LSU alumni work at 10343 Siegen Ln. dutchpt.com

How to draw

Red Star 222 Laurel St.

It’s hard to remember when Red Star and the long-lost Thirsty Tiger were among the very few selections for entertainment downtown. Five years ago, before the Shaw Center, Happy’s and Punchers, Red Star flickered its mini-atomic burst like a make-do holy grail. Randall Harrison began working behind the bar in 2004 and soon arranged for art shows at the location.

“The first show I did was Mark Cannariato,” Harrison says. “We wanted to give artists a place to display, but we also thought it would draw people downtown and improve business.”

Since then a rotation of artwork at Red Star is the rule rather than the exception. The bar hosts artist Hunter Roth’s Day of the Dead exhibitions every November. And the bar has pushed the possibilities of its limited real estate by hanging furniture from the walls along with weighty ceramic pieces.

Making wall space accessible to artists of every kind allowed Chris Rodriguez to show his photography at Red Star while he was an architecture student. Soon he changed his major to photography, and now he studies the art in New York City.

Harrison reserves curatorial control over the work in Red Star but is always open to a wide spectrum of art.

“The art openings are really good at drawing the artist’s friends, sometimes people who don’t normally go to Red Star, who may have pretenses about it,” he says. “We benefit from the artist, and they benefit from us.” redstarbar.com

Authenticity guaranteed

Highland Coffees3350 Highland Rd.

In Baton Rouge, Highland Coffees owner Clarke Cadzow will be among the first to extol the virtues of authenticity. He has made his living by his committment to the homegrown flavor of beans he roasts in-house, at one location, all while betting against the odds of competing with Starbucks. That mentality has naturally led him to hang local artwork over his chatting, brooding and chess-playing customers.

“Having local artwork on the walls of a coffee shop not only makes the interior much more interesting, but I believe it also adds to a shop’s authenticity and vitality,” he says.

Since 1989 Highland Coffees has been lending space to numerous art pieces, displaying about 100 individual shows during the course of two decades.

Cadzow recognizes the benefits of getting work outside of a gallery space where not as many people would see it, but he’s also realistic about the arrangement.

“I tell the artists not to expect to sell many pieces from Highland Coffees, because people do not come to coffee shops thinking about buying work. But I’m always happy when it does sell, and I do not ask for a percentage,” he says.

Cadzow makes a point of only showing one artist at a time. He says he has to make sure the work is not too “challenging,” and he uses the word with quotation marks.

“Offending customers on a regular basis is a good way to go out of business,” he says. “People sometimes sit in coffee shops for a very long time and return on a daily basis. They do not want artwork that is too provocative or too intense hanging over them.”

Regardless of possible restrictions, Highland Coffees has attracted the work of Elizabeth Pratt, Vitalija Svencionyte and William Schuette. highlandcoffeesbr.com

Also check out…

Stroubes Chophouse at 107 Third St. hosts the work of artists Christy Diniz Liffman, Kassi Picou and Steve Schmidt. Tsunami, atop the Shaw Center for the Arts at 100 Lafayette St., rotates work on a monthly basis. Salon Dolce Vita at 5720 Corporate Blvd. rotates local art, too.

Rigsby Frederick Salon Gallery Spa at 7520 Perkins Rd. as well as The Gallery Salon and Spa at 7645 Jefferson Hwy. host art shows occasionally featuring work by Brian Baiamonte, Alexander Harvie and others. Brew Ha-Ha at 711 Jefferson Hwy. is home to several pieces, including art by LSU alumnus Dave Smith. And if you get really adventurous wander underneath I-110 and see a Clark Derbes banking against Main and 10th streets, or a faded ICON graphic peeling from the cement columns.

On Friday, Sept. 18 law firm Keuhne, Foote, Gaudin and Mensman at 10839 Perkins Rd. will host a show for Lafayette artist Adrian Fulton from 6 – 9 p.m. The Lafayette-based cartoonist and painter was a 2008 White House honoree, and for more information on this exhibit and others visit kfgmlaw.com.