Arts Collinwood Gallery is pleased to have been chosen to host the GuitarMania® 2012 designs that have been submitted by nearly 200 artists. The designs will be viewed by sponsors at a private gala opening. After that, the designs will be [...]
Gallery Exhibit: The Carter Excavations
Maybelle, 2009
Terry Durst’s exhibit opens at Arts Collinwood Gallery Friday January 8, reception from 6:00-9:00p.m.. The show runs until Saturday February 8 with a closing reception featuring a performance by Mystery of Two at 8:00 p.m.
Terry Durst is a sculptor and installation artist who has been making and exhibiting art in Cleveland and surrounding areas since graduating from Kent State University in 1987.
Recently he taught art for five years at The Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus, and for two years at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
The title of this show, The Carter Excavations, refers to several things – mostly, the artist’s exploration of sculpture as an excavation of emotional states. The name Carter was chosen as it is a common American name, suggesting that these finds could be from a viewer’s own personal excavations.
Secondly, the songs of the original three members of the band The Carter Family, Maybelle, Alvin and Sara, were inspirations for these pieces – the influence of these early recordings resulting in wall sculpture made mostly from old wood and found material.
Also, the name Carter suggests the major excavation of Howard Carter, English archaeologist and Egyptologist, who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun on November 4, 1922.
The Arts Collinwood Gallery is open for viewing during all of the hours of the adjoining Café: Tuesday-Saturday 11 am – 11 pm and Sunday 9 am – 5 pm.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
I’ve made and observed art since my early teenage years, my biggest influence and obsession has been and continues to be Neil Young, and rock and roll in general. My favorite film in the entire world is David Lynch’s INLAND EMPIRE. (Yes, this title is in all caps.) This film has taught me how to work in my studio. I think it is Lynch’s masterwork. Dan Tranberg and I have been partners for 14 years. We have one dog, a young Basset Hound named Duke (after Ellington). My degree is from Kent State – split major, sculpture and film. I taught several subjects in the Art Department at Tri-C East for 5 years. At CIA, for 2 years, along with classes in the Painting Foundations program, I taught a class in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks TV series. I love students but find most Administrations crazy and evil, evil like the cult in Rosemary’s Baby. Currently I work at The Beachland Ballroom as a doorperson/bouncer, but will be bartending there very soon.
STATEMENT ABOUT THE WORK:
I cast myself as a fictional character, Zeke Carter, and dug up my family’s site in Alaska – this is where I found these pieces. The Carter Family – the original 3, Maybelle, Sara and Alvin – were excavated as well, in that the pieces are about how I feel when I hear them sing and play. Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s remains, and hopefully that piece of history exists throughout the work in a subliminal sense. I was thinking about Euclid Beach Park, my first experience at an amusement park when I was 5. truTV’s Forensic Files has been a major influence on this work.
