“View From Louden Heights,” acrylic, bubble wrap, and mixed media on canvas, 17″ x 17″, 2007

There is an opening reception at Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. , Friday (June 1) for Mark Tobin Moore’s show, “Bubble Rap,” featuring 20 recent mixed work on canvas. Moore will speak at 5:30 p.m. In a nice example of life imitating art in the digital age, Moore’s son, Toby, crafted a collage of his father’s work in the show at the young filmmaker’s myspace page. (Click on image at left to see the collage).

In remarks accompanying the exhibit, Richard H. Ressmeyer, former W.Va. Division of Culture and History Art director and an independent writer and curator, writes:

“Mark Tobin Moore remains dedicated to mixed-media and its variations-collage, assemblage-and all the baggage of the genre: Gnostic and enigmatic metaphor, appropriation, political statements and the most clever of “found art” tool kits. As a mid-career artist, he is deserving of a fresh retrospective exhibition. In “Bubble Rap” he again demonstrates his eclectic range and skills to interest, to comment and to amuse.”

“Peeps Gone Wild” is the name of one offbeat video installation featured during last Thursday’s ArtWalk in downtown Charleston at the Good News Garage on Hale Street. The video, created by local art teacher and artist Rebecca Burch, was part of “Peep Show,” an exhibit conceived by Amy Williams, in which area artists were invited to submit works on the theme of either: A) Peep shows of the traditional unclothed female variety; B) Marshallow Peeps made famous by the JustBorn company; C) Some combination of the above two. Burch chose ‘C’. Click the start tab above to view.

Photoshopped photo by Douglas Imbrogno

It being an artsty event, the above treated photo from last Thursday’s monthly ArtWalk in downtown Charleston features half of the busker duo Martyranny’s Collective Pulse, performing outside the Good News Garage at 212 Hale Street.

Click to enlarge photos

Click to enlarge

Keith Allen constructs a decidedly different take on a familiar icon with his “Crosses” exhibit, constructed of exactly what it looks like — cereal boxes. They were featured as part of the “Inside-Outside’ exhibit, put together by Mark Wolfe,” at the Good News Garage space, 212 Hale Street, as part of the monthy ArtWalk in downtown Charleston on May 17.

Photo by Douglas Imbrogno

It’s a bit hard to communicate the surreal strangeness and pleasures of this video installation by Rebecca Burch (an occasional blog contributor to this blog), titled “Peeps Gone Wild.” But it featured marshmallow peeps doing a strip-tease, chick-on-chick action (or peep-on-peep, to be specific) as well as chicks aflame. The work was one of several that were part of the one-day “Peep Show” exhibit during the May 17 ArtWalk in Charleston, an exhibit at the Good News Garage space on Hale Street pulled together by artist Amy Williams. Artists were invited to contribute works on the theme of either marshmallow peeps or the phenomenom of the peep show itself (as in Keith Allen’s painting below). Watch for Burch’s video on this blog soon.

Photo by Douglas Imbrogno

“Outdrink the Devil” by Charly Jupiter Hamilton casts its challenge from the wall of the Good News Garage gallery space during the “Outside-Inside” exhibit. Keith Allen mixed media pieces “The Vail” and “Strippin’ Copper” hang to the left.

Click to enlarge photos. By Douglas Imbrogno

Orion Ross, seen here on the steps leading to an upstairs gallery and below in close-up, contributed the video “Rivision” to this month’s ArtWalk, as featured at the “Inside-Outside” exhibit.

Click to enlarge. Photo by Douglas Imbrogno

“111– A Collection of ATCs” is a mixed-media work by Amy Williams from the “Inside-Outside” ArtWalk show, featuring hand-painted figures with pithy, biographical quotes on the obverse side.

Photo by Douglas Imbrogno

“Picasso Self-Portrait Study” (left) and “Portrait #1″ and “Portrait #2″ is a triptych of oil paintings channeling Picasso, done by James Ferguson. The work was featured in the “Inside-Outside” show at ArtWalk on May 17 at the Good News Garage gallery space on Hale Street.

photo by Douglas Imrogno

“Nude Man,” by Chris Dutch was a set of crayon on paper sketches as part of the “Inside-Outside” show that made its debut during the May 17 monthly ArtWalk in downtown Charleston.