Nikitha Kumar
Summer Splash Art Show
The Summer Splash Art Show is a one time event held in a local Frisco center. It’s goal is to promote the works of local artists, and generally to allow art to thrive in modern society. They did not discriminate against anyone based on age, race etc. Infact, one piece I saw was done by a thirteen year old who had won the art show the day before. She drew herself underwater with acrylics, and had done a few other underwater pieces. Although the majority of pieces were acrylic, the gallery had both traditional artwork and photography. I did not see any type of sculptures or 3D work, but surprisingly, there was a lot of mixed media.
The gallery was very different from what I picture in my mind when I think of an art related space. It was very casual and had no specific rules other than not touching the artwork. This was probably due to the fact that it was a small gallery in a center made for many other events as well. The noise level was abnormally high due to the many young children and big families passing by, but not unbearable. The gallery had one curator who managed the front desk, and was quite helpful, answering any of the questions we had. In general, the whole place gave off a comfortable feeling, not the stiff quiet feeling that art galleries usually give.
I personally did not like the layout of the gallery. It seemed as though they had just stuck the artwork in random places with no thought of
organization. The color of the walls was the kind of yellow color you find in homes, and did not bring out the art pieces well. The bright lights made it hard to see the pictures properly, and even harder to take pictures. I found it much easier to look at work that did not have a frame, or did not have shine so the light would not be reflected. I am aware though that this is a problem in many museums. The previous art spaces I have been to have also not placed the artwork in a good place.
The Frisco Discovery Center hosts an auction every once in a while in hope of promoting their artists and bringing more attention to the art community. Their market is quite active, as the majority of people living in the area have money and are willing to spend it to invest, or for the purpose of just buying art. The sad thing is that as more people start buying from a certain gallery, the gallery gets more popular, but most of the artists stay relatively unknown.
My favorite art piece out of everything I saw was an acrylic work that depicted a beach from an overhead view. The artist used colorful clumps of paint to represent the people on the beach, and this can only be understood from afar. From nearby, it could be mistaken for an abstract piece and skipped over by the audience. Infact, I didn’t even realize what it represented until I had already begun walking away toward the next piece.
This experience was overall worth it as I got to experience a new type of art gallery I had never seen before. I’m not sure if I prefer this over galleries I have seen in other places, but I do believe I want to come back for another visit in the future. Everything about the locally made art and the casual feeling somehow worked to bring together the gallery.