​Huntsville residents will be aware of the Harrison Brother's Hardware building on Courthouse Square. This hub of arts, crafts, and community with an intriguing name is hosting the latest showing of genuine folk-art from the Alabama area. The collection made up of work mostly from black artists is drawing in the crowds who want to get a glimpse of their own soul.


The old hardware store that was built in the 19th Century is the ideal location to host this extraordinary amalgamation of thoroughbred home-grown art. Drawing on local symbolism and stories, plus bringing in a host of new experiences from recent times, the 21st Century exhibition demonstrates how the locale has evolved and grown as a society.


Because of recent events, a lot of the work on offer shows relevance to Covid-19. One poignant image comes from Tracie Noles-Ross from Birmingham (AL) which shows a woman wearing an untied mask while being perched on by a bird. Freedom and restriction and feelings we've all had to chew over in recent months.


The submissions came from all walks of Alabama life, and artists came from every room. There were college artists with degrees, engineers who work with materials, people who just do art, and people who have never even taken a class. This multi-dimensional approach gave the curators exactly what they were looking for with a broad scope of intention and creation being displayed in one setting. A snap-shot of the local area in one room, all the voices of Alabama are speaking through pictures.

Visit Harrison Brother's Hardware online

Story source: Al.com
​

You can visit Sonya Clemons on Instagram

Last spring, Fat Red Bird Productions created a virtual reality display called (Hi)Story Of A Painting. An immersive and interactive multi-media experience allowed visitors to experience the world of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Made with a pointillist style, tiny strokes of colour are given the opportunity to merge into vivid imagery thanks to the ability of the human eye. Showcased at the SXSW, the first chapter of the film series was a big success.


Now, as reported in Variety, the same production company are in talks with The National Gallery in London over the installation of their next film. Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi is about to be revealed like never before. Again, a 12 minute experience will allow visitors to learn about and become part of the painting and its history. The designers want to elevate the artist into the same iconic field as Seurat and believe that, because of her gender and place in time, the opportunity for major recognition was unfairly missed.


The Fat Red Bird team are looking at expanding their (Hi)Story Of A Painting franchise further. By acknowledging their cultural power as their technology offers cutting edge experiences, the company want to enrich the world of art as much as they can. By presenting their VR with expertly created graphics and progressions alongside professionally recorded entertainment style voice-over with concise and dense detail to match, education and entertainment can be simultaneous. That's what we do here at Alternative Fruit, too.


It's not just paintings and their painters that Fat Red Bird want to explore. By delving into the works and lives of a range of artists, they hope to enable to backstory and work of some truly fascinating yet never-the-less undermentioned names. It's hoped that once the National Gallery are confirmed and the show is underway, other galleries will accept the crew for equally as inspiring visits in other locations.


What artists do you feel could do with a lift from media producers? There have been plenty in the past and there are a lot today, many of them needlessly to say have been somewhat over-looked. Can you recommend any in the comments?

When you're a famous artist like Andy Warhol, you are usually lucky enough to be introduced to some huge cultural icons. When invited to events and parties, you're not the only one with a famous face to get the nod. The chances are that everyone there is some kind of big-player in their given field. As much a networking event as a social gathering, it's always worth your while making connections and friends.


A lot of people recognise Andy Warhol from his paintings. He helped to bring Pop-Art into the mainstream and ensured that artists in the future would have a reputation for excess even if they don't. Some of the lesser known works by Warhol are his photographs. He took every opportunity to take pictures of the people he met on his agendas and travels. Mainly in the form of Polaroid, a mixture of formats were made. Collectors have eagerly purchased the items over the years and many have never been seen by the public.


Now, in L.A., a show called Andy Warhol: Photo Factory is set to exhibit. Curated by Fotografiska, Hedges Projects, and Jack Shainman Gallery, the show has collected a whole range of images taken by Warhol as famous faces joined him at work. The collection ranges across the artist's career and identifies key aspects in his development and cultural relevance.


Visitors can expect to see images of many heroes including the fabulous Grace Jones, Dolly Parton, and Debbie Harry. He also captured images of other artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It's not just people that enchanted his eye, Warhol took images of many things. Some of them we might wonder why, however when considering his artworks, we can see suggestion, shape, and flow that only a true creative would notice first time around.


Andy Warhol: Photo Factory is now open at NeueHouse Hollywood until the end of July. The exhibition is then to display at New York’s Fotografiska during the Autumn 2021, then Stockholm in 2022, and Tallinn, Estonia, in 2023.


Read an interview with Hedges Projects founder James R. Hedges, IV about the exhibition in Dazed. 

​