June 5th, the 6th first Friday Art and Gallery walk day of 2009, but the first for the little brick gallery building at State and English. Downstairs a single artists exhibit, upstairs the buildings owners living quarters and a gathering of friends. The owner, Mr. Christopher West purchased the building some months ago with express desire to have a gallery and on this day a gallery he was having. While this event was not the first event held in the young gallery it was the first official first friday gallery happening in the young gallery's existence. This made it special, this is why Jenni and I decided it was our first stop on our First Friday events whirlwind calendar. As is always the case Yin and Yang were ever-present and the first and best day of the baby gallery was offset by a somewhat bad or possibly even worst day for a family just outside the space of art at English and State Avenues.
Both events, sharing the same stage brought out the contemplative nature of the viewers.

"Interesting, but is it in and of itself art?"
"The artists random movements make it seem more of a happenstance than a deliberate attempt to create a visual moment, but to be in the moment makes the viewer also a participant, and that is always random and unplanned."
"You may be onto something, I think All art requires a non participant's subjective opinion to validate its validity, right?"
"You're saying that art unseen, has no valid purpose?"
"No not really, creation is itself 'purpose', but if it is just a release of primal creative instinct, then why wish others to see what is created? The creator has to share or at least make others aware of the act, if not the object or idea in order for the creation to have purpose."
"So it's meaning is not as important as it's being?"
"Exactly, it has no meaning without being!"
"No, I think the guy in the Pontiac mini-van was trying to make a left hand turn and didn't see the little Chevy SUV coming with the setting sunlight directly behind."
"And the Firemen?"
"Planned, prepared and practiced behavior, a job. Poetic movements brought on by repetitious and rigorous training. Surely not art."

"Think there's more wine?"
"Probably, but I'm having a PBR?"
"Did Chris tell you the story about the place on the other corner?"
"You mean that it used to be a Pabst storage building? And that it'd make a great bar?"
"So he did."
"Yup, liked it."
"What did you think of The Shopping List?"
"Yup, liked it too."
Chuck Pace ©2009 
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