Introduction 

October 2024

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Dear Readers,

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This issue presents artists and writers who have a relationship to the South. When I thought about publishing these three articles in the October issue, I recognized that they are quite diverse in media and content. However, I think there are connections among them of which it might be said, “all roads lead to Rome,” or should I say, Atlanta, the city originally called Terminus and this journal’s home.

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For The Chromatic Palette, I asked 18 artists who live and work in the South to create a twelve-by-twelve-inch, two-dimensional work with one dominant hue so that the work is almost monochromatic. I thought I would receive a traditional spectrum of color, a rainbow if you will, of artworks. The wonderful result is that the artists responded to my query with a range that exemplifies each artist’s thought process about the color they chose. The palette of works I received ranges from an array of verdant greens to turquoise (phthalo blues and ceruleans) to a rich umber that melts into pinks and roses to a series intense blues that range in saturation and transparency. The works made me reflect on Sir Isac Newton, who demonstrated that color is a quality of light.

 

The artists who rose to my challenge include Philip Carpenter, In Kyoung Chun, Susan A. Cipcic, David Clifton-Strawn, Susan Cofer, Craig Dongoski, Sabre Esler, John Folsom, Shanequa Gay, Cheryl Goldsleger, Roxane Hollosi, Sayma Hossain, Tracy Murrell, Amanda Grae Platner, Nicolette Reim, David Robinson, Jena Sibille, and Jerry Siegel.

 

A dialogue between Atlanta writer Robert Stalker and Atlanta poet E. Hughes on Hughes's new book, Ankle Deep in Pacific Water: Poems addresses their personal roots in the American South and their previous home in the Bay Area in California. The Art Section is very pleased to present this first book of poems by a young poet whose work will resonate with many readers. 

 

The third article in this issue of TAS is by scholar and art critic Sara Buoso who currently lives in Rome, Italy. I asked Sara to talk with artist Hew Locke, son of the sculptor Donald Locke, and Brenda Locke, who was married to Donald and runs the Donald Locke Estate. When doing some background research, I was surprised to hear both artists speak on videos about the relationships between their work and power.  This intergenerational conversation is a remarkable reminder of Donald Locke’s oeuvre, which is only now being acknowledged for its importance. Here in Atlanta, many understood that Donald was an artist ahead of his time.  And the legacy and poignancy of his work lives on. An exhibition, Donald Locke: Nexus, will open at the Atlanta Contemporary on October 24, 2024. Those who have lived in Atlanta for a long time will remember that Nexus was the former name of the Atlanta Contemporary, which began as an early grassroots artists’ cooperative in 1973. Thank you, Sara Buoso, Hew Locke, Indra Locke, and Brenda Locke, for your conversation.

 

Warm regards,

Deanna

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Deanna Sirlin

Editor-in-Chief

The Art Section