America at The Edge

Sounds ominous, doesn't it? But, it's true! America is at The Edge. How many crazy political extremists are totally disappointed that I mean my America paintings are at the Edge Coffee House? If I haven't lost you, stick around to hear to the controversy at the end.

I first heard about The Edge from my friend and fellow-artist/photographer Lora Mercado. It's a cool coffee shop in Crete, IL. She had a show of her photographs there last year. She'd been referred by someone else we both know. When she was installing her show, she showed the gallerist my facebook page on her phone, and just like that, a potential show.

This is why you need to know other artists. You need to support them and they will support you. And that's how things happen.

Yesterday and today I delivered and installed. I have twelve paintings form the America series up all month. A portion of all sales (20%!) is going to the Crete Food Pantry, so purchases are not just helping a starving artist, they're helping local people who are in need. Compliments were coming in as I was hanging, so I was very pleased.

Today, when I went in to wrap up the final details, one of the employees said a customer wanted to speak to me about the artwork. He said he saw human figures in the artwork and asked if he was correct. I confirmed this for him. It's in my artist statement, hanging next to my work. I don't know if he read it before or after he looked at it, or even if he bothered. He was very nice and enthusiastic about my work being there. Later, the employee came back and said he had complained that my work was "too explicit" for the coffee shop. That's right: My landscapes were too explicit. 

So, what do you think? Are they too explicit? This is my first art controversy. It's kind of exciting!