The man Inside City Hall

This post is taken from the universe-famous Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof's Artblog, written by Funnel Pages contributor Dustin Metz:

[We've been waiting for this for six months--the re-establishment of the Office of Arts and Culture and the appointment of its head. Then, neither of us could make it to Mayor Nutter's announcement. So we asked Dustin Metz to go. Here's his report. (If you want to skip to the all important who, it's down after the subhead "Drum roll please...").]

As I entered the Reception Room for the Mayor in City Hall the TV cameras were in the process of setting up and there were still a few seats open, so I jumped in one. For the next 20 minutes a river of people flowed in, quickly filling up the setting and proceeded to fill the room until standing room was a luxury. There were suits and babies, men and women, boys and girls all with smiles and an air of giddiness, filling the place.

Surrounded by portraits of old men, some in wigs, all looking towards the grand chandeliere hanging in the center of the ceiling, we waited for Santa- aka Mayor Nutter to present our long awaited gift to the arts community.

Finally Mayor Michael Nutter and his entourage entered the room; actually they had to squeeze in past the crowd. He started his speech by thanking his board of advisers and the arts community at large. He then proceeded with the task at hand. "Philadelphia cannot become the strong center for the arts recognized nationally without an arts office in City Hall."

Walking from the podium to the desk where he would sign his executive order to recreate the Office of Arts and Culture, the Mayor received a roar of applause and standing ovation from everyone one in attendance. Once he sat down he jested, "What are you going to do when I actually sign the thing?"

He then went on to describe what the newly reinstated Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy will be responsible for:

• Improving access to the arts for both residents and visitors
• Expanding arts education for young people
• Overseeing all the City's arts programs
• Supporting the growth and development of the City's arts, culture and creative economy sector, by promoting public and private investment in the creative economy sector
• Coordinating with relevant City agencies to unify the City's arts efforts
• Serving as a liaison between the City's many cultural institutions

After the Mayor laid all of these details out, he signed the order and received yet another standing ovation. Returning to the podium he commented on the how the arts community expected him to create this office in January, between his inauguration and lunch the same day...then he looked at his watch and said, "Well its before lunch today, only 6 months later". He said that he understood the importance of this office and wanted to give it the respect it deserves by working hard to put it together rather than doing it hastily.

He then went on in announcing the Chief Cultural Officer, who will head the Office, and sit directly on the mayor's cabinet.

Drum roll please......

The new Chief Cultural Officer for the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy is Gary Steuer!!! Steuer was former Vice President of the New York based non-profit Americans for the Arts. Here's a link to his bio.

" After an exhaustive national search, I am tremendously pleased to have Gary Steuer join my Administration," said Mayor Nutter. "His experience both as an arts manager and as an arts advocate will give him a unique perspective on how to best grow the arts community--an important step to creating a healthier and more vibrant Philadelphia."

As Steuer took the podium, he too received a warm welcome in the form of a standing ovation.

"I am extremely happy and looking forward to meeting and working with all in the arts community of Philadelphia," said Steuer. "I am thrilled by the opportunity the Mayor has provided me to work with him, his team and the great arts and civic leaders of Philadelphia to serve this City. ...With the growing recognition of the importance of the arts in workforce development, business attraction and retention, community revitalization, civic engagement, and tourism, it is more important than ever that cities integrate the arts into City programs and policies. Mayor Nutter understands this and I look forward to serving him and the people of Philadelphia."

He kept his speech short and sweet commenting on the work ahead of him and on his switch from a Mets hat to a red Phillies cap.

Nutter then announced that the Executive Order also re-established the Cultural Advisory Council which will serve to advise the Mayor and Administration officials on issuses relating to arts and culture. Mayor Nutter introduced his appointee to head this council- Joe Kluger. Kluger is currently an Associate Principal at the arts consulting firm WolfBrown and previously worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra and has served on other regional art boards. Kluger said that the rest of his team is still forming and asks anyone interested in being on the council to send in their resumes!

In the Q and A after the speeches a reporter asked if the Mayor could comment on the inferiorty complex the arts has in Philadelphia. Nutter said that he was "unaware that we had one." He proceeded to point out that Philadelphia has the most public art in the country and is constantly breaking records in exhibition attendance and other notable areas in the arts. He reminded us that people are constantly coming down from our "little sister city of New York" and moving to Philadelphia for the arts.

He concluded that the newly created Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy is not just a created for a financial need (which he doesn't deny the need for funds to the arts) but also as a way to coordinate and unite the city's vast art communities.

[Dustin Metz, originator of the Funnel Cast, is an artist and curator who lives and works in Philadelphia. If you are interested in participating in the Funnel Cast project by conducting your own interview, or have an idea for an interview, contact pages@funnelstudio.com]


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Christopher Davison's Had

Contributed by Andrea McGinty
Had, Showing at Jenny Jaskey Gallery
Through July 31st, 2008

Currently showing in the Cabin Project Space of the Jenny Jaskey/Tower Gallery in Northern Liberties is the work of Christopher Davison. The Philadelphia artist is showing twelve works that feature a variety two dimensional media, such as ink, pencil, paint, and cut paper, as well as one sculpture.

The project space, existing in the very back of the gallery, provides a private, intimate locale to delve into Davison's show. The pieces fill the walls, overtaking both the viewer and the space. At first glance, most of the works are seemingly simple, featuring one scantily clad or naked figure that dominates the page. Painted in a pared down style, the intricacies are reduced to bold streaks of color. On further inspection, the viewer discovers delicate details, in the face or extremities. Soon the eye discovers even more levels of hidden detail as entire line drawings, covered by layers of bold paint, peek through the figures and background. The depth of detail exhibited in Davison's work soon become as overtaking as their installation in the space.

Furthering the reach of his work, Davison's titles are comically dualistic. They are bluntly descriptive, "Man With Church" shows a man physically holding a church, though this title brings up many other conceptual connotations. The titling also actively omits the innumerable details not mentioned directly, thus calling attention to them by way avoidance. This also echoes his method of painting bold streaks of color to conceal elaborate line drawings. The paintings pose as portraits, while existing as dark, open-ended narratives.

His sculptural "Yellow Doll", made up of fabric scraps, wood, and string, is a natural three dimensional realization of his two dimensional works. Jagged portions of cloth, crudely attached together, are accented by drawings created with marker. The individual works as well as the show in its entirety, are as layered as they are deliberate. While this show on its own is well worth making a trip to the gallery before July 31, you can also visit the new show opening in the main gallery space on July 10th, from 6 to 9pm.

[Andrea McGinty is a South Florida expatriate and artist living and working in Philadelphia]



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A Short Story

by Sasha Fletcher

he came down from the carriage house to find us gathered
around everything we had ever lost
which we had made into a bonfire.

someone had,
just that instant,
returned from nepal
with news of artificial glaciers.

someone’s wife had packed a series of orange slices
which were being distributed as mouth guards,
to safeguard our mouths.

we asked
can things be done for us?
can we be made comfortable?
we asked who said the evening news was a suitable replacement for bedtime stories?
and demanded to know who was responsible for the myth of self-sufficiency
and why must we all be better harder faster stronger?
would everybody just mind backing the fuck up?

the president took to the podium,
and addressed us.
“my fellow americans,” he went,
“who said that anything is ever really lost?
is it so hard to think everything just moves around when we’re not looking?
why must a myth be anything other than an explanation?”
after a pause,
where he was very dignified,
“questions I am better at asking:
why did it take so long for coffee to taste so good?
what should be made for dinner tonight?
does anyone have a cigarette?”

we muttered, and awed.

he told us
“keep your distance.
keep serious.
look, a convertible is approaching us, with what appears to be great urgency.”

and it was, but we could not see who was driving.

they fired at the president several times and shot him
first in his leg
then in his good eye
then in his ribs
and then got him right in the neck,
which exploded with blood
as he stood very still
and then, very quickly,
lay down.

we looked to the distance.
our hearts stood still
for they were exhausted,
and we felt overwhelmed by possibility.

very quietly, and with little notice,
some children had gathered.
they looked at us,
at our science.

we looked to the president
with thoughts about his teeth.

those children stood stock-still
and stared out into the night
with expressions on their faces
we had every intention to read.

we again wondered what we would tell our wives
and would emergency elections be held?
was there anything that could have been done?
could this sort of thing be placed on our permanent records?
and where are these records, anyway?

we had, communally, never seen them.
we had also never seen a puppy kicked
or a tree fall in a forest outside of the tv.
someone asked what that had to do with anything.
they were quickly silenced.

we wondered what was for dinner
and how he had managed to keep his teeth so clean
and sparkling
and free of cavities.

the children slipped drawings
of their favorite convertibles
racing
into our pockets.

their mothers called to us
that dinner was ready
that dinner was on the table
that dinner was cold
that where have you been?

with one hand we tried to illustrate
the entire history of country music
while the other flipped furiously through the yellow pages,
for we had appointments to make.

it was in all the papers and on all the televisions and all over the internet
it had been mentioned in several text messages
and hurried phone calls.

some of us did not vote for him, this is true,
but even they think of him like an iceberg.

as life unfolded like the evening news,
there were those of us who still had a meal to plan
because there are only so many take-out restaurants in the world
which is a sad fact to come to terms with.

questions were being asked
about what should be done
about those assassins.

rumor had it they had tunneled to some foreign land
where our influence could never fully extend
like iran
or colorado.

it was said you could look into their eyes
and see the face of evil.

we tried to explain how looking into their eyes was no different
than looking into anyone else’s
and various ideas about ways
to make an extradition treaty with colorado.

we strove to be reasonable here.

somewhere behind us,
a chinese food restaurant was being established
with rumors of a buffet
and a lunch truck.

there were those who did not believe it,
but when presented with certain facts
who were we to argue?

we had thoughts on this,
which we recorded
directly to a portable home stereo system
with a plastic handle
for posterity
and the children.

we imagined them finding it later in life
when they have grown to become anything they ever dreamed of

if only we had any idea what that might be.

sometimes, we felt if it weren’t for christmas lists
we might not know them at all.

[Sasha Fletcher is an artist and writer living and working in Philadelphia. He also runs a blog.]


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