First Friday

First Friday
Location: Downtown Knoxville


I'm very sad to say that this was my first time to visit First Friday. I don't know why I have never done it before, because it was great. I'm sad that it was not until my last year of college that I finally started enjoying this wonderful monthly event.



I actually started my First Friday at Holly Lucas' art show titled "Go Sorority!" in the Hoskins Library. It was an interesting show. She used what looked like a combination of print making and water color to create the posters depicting each of the 18 major sororities at UT. I liked the way she placed sorority books in front of the appropriate sorority posters, thus showing the historical documents that were the basis of her artistic interpretation. I also liked her choice of Hoskins Library as the exhibit site...mainly just because I think Hoskins Library is really cool architecturally, but also because the room she displayed in had a nice open feel to it. One thing I didn't like about the exhibit was that there was no general statement describing her thought process behind the entire series nor statements regarding each individual poster and how the elements involved represented that sorority. Although Hoskins provided an adequate space to show this particular series, it would be much harder to display any works that were heavier there, like paintings.

After Holly's show, I headed downtown to enjoy First Friday in all of its glory. One thing I really like about First Friday is the general atmosphere downtown. The place is hoppin' and lively on these days. It's great to see how much of the community comes out to enjoy the art on display.












My favorite exhibition from First Friday was the Shoebox Sculpture at the Downtown Gallery. I think the whole idea of sculptures that can fit in a shoebox is really interesting and unique. Because of the small size of the sculptures, many were able to be displayed in this relatively small gallery space. Another thing I really liked about this exhibition was how the artists statement about his/her sculpture could be found by almost every sculpture. This really added to my experience because it helped me to understand the work of art a little bit better. That little snippet provided a glimpse of the artist and thus helped me to look at the work from a perspective different from my own. I really enjoyed the layout and content of this show.

Boomsday!

Boomsday!
Location: Henley Street Bridge and surrounding areas


Boomsday is one of my absolute favorite things that happens here in Knoxville. Every year, I really look forward to "The Nation's Best Labor Day Fireworks Show," and it never fails to thoroughly entertain me. It really brings out the whole community of Knoxville and provides entertainment that Knoxvillians of every age can enjoy. It has become an annual tradition for me and my friends, and I can honestly say that in recent years I have looked forward to Boomsday more than I have the 4th of July.

Part of the reason I really enjoy Boomsday is because I love to people watch, and Boomsday provides a perfect atmosphere for that. The mix of people attracted to this pyrotechnic extravaganza is really an interesting hodge podge. I could sit off to the side and just watch the crowd go by for hours. Boomsday really attracts a variety of socio-economic levels. While I sit and watch the crowd go by, I can spot a variety of people ranging from rich suburban kids all the way to country hillbillies. It seems rare that you find one event that can attract such a diverse crowd of people. I can honestly think of very few other attractions that would draw in this same crowd. It's refreshing to be at an event that has no particular class association.


I also think that Boomsday is a really well-organized event. Considering the amount of people participating, the city handles all of Boomsday the best that could be expected. One huge factor in a crowd of that size is safety, and the Boomsday organizers make sure that there are enough police officers patrolling to ensure that. Although Boomsday is an excellently pulled-together event, there are some unavoidable setbacks that any major large even is going to face, such as traffic. Even before the fireworks begin, traffic is already backed up, and it only gets worse after the show. Luckily for me and other people living in the vicinity of UT, walking back to your apartment or home is almost always faster than attempting to get anywhere by car right after the fireworks. But the traffic congestion is not due to the poor planning of Boomsday officials. No matter the event, whether a football game or even a concert, traffic is always terrible when large numbers of people are trying to leave an event that took place near campus. The problem lies with the design of the roads in that area. Perhaps this problem could be somewhat alleviated if Boomsday were to relocate, but traffic congestion exists after any big event, no matter the location. Besides, Boomsday's location is perfect. It's purpose is to bring together Knoxville and the surrounding areas, and what better place to do that than in the heart of Knoxville.

The setting for Boomsday is somewhat cramped, although the space that is available is used as efficiently as possible. Vendors are set up all along Neyland Drive, and the fireworks can be seen from any vantage point along this road. One problem with this set up is that Neyland Dr. can get really congested and nearly impossible to even walk down. By about an hour before the show, the crowd has become so dense that there's no way to take a leisurely stroll through the Boomsday festivities. But this problem really can't be avoided, seeing as Neyland Drive can't be widened just for the sake of Boomsday...there's a river in the way on one side and a steep bluff on the other. Thus, the set up for Boomsday is really unchangeable, and they still manage to get the job done in the small area they have.


One really great feature of Boomsday was the more than sufficient amount of port-o-potties provided throughout the festivities. Bathrooms are crucial in any large event setting, especially one where lots of concessions are being sold. The organizers of Boomsday definitely provided plenty of bathrooms, and thus the lines for the port-o-potties were never too long. Although these portable bathrooms can seem a bit unsanitary at times, the area around the port-o-potties remained clean and sanitary throughout the duration of Boomsday. And in true Volunteer fashion, not only were the bathroom facilities ample, they were also appropriately school spirited.

The most essential part of Boomsday is that which the entire event is named for: the fireworks. Not only are they numerous in quantity, they are always immensely entertaining to watch. Shooting the fireworks off the Henley Street Bridge is an excellent planning move. That allows for maximum visibility of the fireworks, with spectators able to watch from both sides of the river. Setting the fireworks to music also adds extra pizazz to the entire spectacle. Although some elements of the firework show remains the same from year to year, the show never ceases to captivate and enthrall the entire audience. Fireworks bring out the little kid in all of us, and thus events like Boomsday will never cease to be a great success.

Unspoken Dialogues

Unspoken Dialogues
Location: Ewing Gallery


I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition. All of the pieces in the Unspoken Dialogues exhibit related to the theme of visual narratives. This theme really added an interesting twist to the entire exhibit. With a few of the narratives, I felt like the artwork could be a narrative of my own.

The first thing I saw, and my favorite part of the exhibit, was the ABC Book by Avigail Manneberg. I really liked the way she created this artwork by stitching the scenes into fabric. I liked the quaint and crafty quality of needlework, but I also really enjoyed how these scenes were not your typical seen-on-a-pillow-in-your-grandma's-house needlework. The pieces moved out of the world of crafty hobbies and into the realm of fine art. I also really liked this series because I could relate to it so personally. The scenes depicted were very normal, every-day shots from life in Berlin. I spent two weeks last year in Berlin and this previous semester I studied abroad in Germany, so many of the pictures were of things I saw everyday during those two times. I especially liked how she chose to depict mundane objects such as the "Altglascontainer," which is a uniquely shaped container where you recycle glass. These containers are normal to the average German, but to the American exchange student, these funny shaped vessels are new and memorable. Her stitched depiction of this one mundane object brought back a tidal wave of memories which composed a unique narrative all my own.

I also enjoyed the disturbing paintings of Appalachian serpent handlers by Gary Monroe. Although the paintings were really creepy, I think the style he painted them in and the subject matter were extremely interesting. The paintings were based on the style of classical Renaissance religious and mythological art. Thus, the scenes were extremely dramatic and vividly colored. I'm glad he chose to paint them in this style because the dramatic nature of his style only further emphasized the bizarre subject matter of the paintings. Although these paintings were scary and unsettling, I just couldn't turn my eyes away from them.

On a final note, I also really enjoyed the Ewing Gallery in general as an exhibition space. One main feature I like about the gallery is it's convenience for me (since three quarters of my classes are in the Art and Architecture Building) and it's lack of entrance fee. Free is always better for me as a poor college student. I also like the setup of the Ewing Gallery...it's large enough to display a good amount of artwork, but not so large as to overwhelm you. Thus, my entire experience was very nice.