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VCCA Multi-Media Art Show

www.bricebrown.com

Central Virginia is preparing for a happening this weekend – a multi-media art show featuring wood frames set on fire and music that incorporates historic hymns with modern bugs.

The land around Free Union, Virginia is lush at this time of year – fruit trees in bloom, birds and frogs in search of mates.  It’s the inspiration for a show organized by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.  Two men who did fellowships at VCCA in Amherst will collaborate at a local farm – setting up a kind of maze made from wood that’s been set on fire to create an effect mastered by the Japanese.

“It gave me an excuse to buy a flame thrower – a propane torch, but I burned them all.  It’s a technique called Shou-sugi-ban.  It makes them more fireproof believe it or not when you burn them – you char them.”

That’s New York artist Brice Brown who was thinking about Free Union’s founder – a former slave named Nick who worked as a blacksmith.  From the darkened frames, Brice will hang printed or hand-painted fabrics.

“The wind and the motion on the fabric would reinforce the fact that you’re outside.  This is not a controlled environment, so I think it will have a nice, sort of organic movement to it.”

As visitors wander through each of 10 areas, they’ll hear music composed and recorded by another artist, Alan Shockley, who directs composition at Cal State in Long Beach. 

“Some of them will have sounds from the natural environment – insect sounds, birds, water, wind, frogs.”

In the eleventh space, Shockley himself will perform live. The compositions will also be based on religious music that a local blacksmith might have loved.

“I’m building these out of 18th century or early 19th century shape note hymns – they’re called shape notes, because the note heads are in different shapes to facilitate people who can’t read music learning to sing,”

The show, titled Glass and Bridle, Pomegranate and Pears: On the Viability and Transience of a Free and Perfect Union, will exist for just one night at Adventure Farm, near Charlottesville’s airport. 

“You know it’s a lot of work for one night, but I really love those experiences where you’re rewarded by the efforts to see this thing that will only exist for a short time," says Brown.

The show was commissioned by the VCCA as a fundraiser to be held May 9th at 6.  The team of artists was selected from a group of 20 who applied. . 

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief