AFTER HOURS: Shutter bug talent dominates second Friday
Since the first Friday of January fell on New Years' Day, the downtown galleries moved the well attended First Friday celebration to Jan. 8, extending the holiday mood and attracting crowds that were not quite ready to close the book on another Christmas break.
Macon Arts Alliance hosted two photographers, Maryann Bates, a presence in Macon at every event worth filming, and Beth Smith, a newcomer in the gallery, from Kathleen.
These photographs are not bucolic scenes of Middle Georgia; they are manipulated images that tell stories -- some frightening, some happy.
Bates' "Home, Scary Home," a familiar Mulberry streetscape with the tide lapping at the sidewalks, reinforced the ominous message of climate change and the ensuing rise in sea levels. "The Once and Future Queen," a poignant memento dedicated to Bates' mother, is a solemn reminder of her loss.
She credits the surrealistic approach in this exhibition to her frenetic schedule, which might take her from photographing classical ballet to finding a playful squirrel in the park, ending up with a "squirrel in a tutu!" Bates' down time is reflected in "Tread Softly," a serene misty beach scene, absent any footprints, which has a painterly quality.
While Bates' photographs are altered and augmented depictions of familiar surroundings, Smith's are lively interpretations of events, the untold story of what might have occurred. The remnants of "The Wedding Supper" leave the impression of unfinished business or a celebration gone awry. The image of an imploding urban business center, metaphorically stated in "The Decay," features a rotten apple at its core, eaten away by a roach, the bane of city dwellers' existence.
The symbolism is not always so heavy, but worth the time to peruse these photographs, which will be in the gallery until the end of the month.
JUST IN TIME FOR THE CONCERT
Outside Gallery West on Third Street, the lines were long for the young fans of musicians who once recorded on the Capricorn label, and even longer for the old fans who remember those musicians and can rattle off statistics about how many times they appeared in Macon, where they ate and when they hit the big time.
Gilbert Lee and Sidney Smith memorialized those musicians and the people who managed their careers with their photographs, which comprise "The Capricorn Years," the exhibition that opened Jan. 8 in the gallery.
The Allman Brothers Band figures prominently in the display, fueling the frenzy for tickets to the four days of concerts Jan. 12-16 by Gregg Allman at the Grand Opera House. By the time this column appears, the Grand will be dark and the most memorable moments of the concerts will be the topic of discussion where purveyors of the strongest coffee keep the mugs full.
Lee and Smith are contemporaries of many of the subjects of their photographs and, like the groupies who followed the bands in their heyday, never left home without cameras in tow. Col. Bruce Hampton, Gov't Mule, Lynard Skynard, the Marshall Tucker Band and Percy Sledge were on the roster in Capricorn's early years, the Macon years; groups signed by the label during its Nashville years included 311, Cake and Widespread Panic.
The pictures in Gallery West predominantly cover the Macon years, when long hair, bare chests, shabby jeans and the definitive slouch personified a member of a rock 'n' roll band.
Bobby Wallace, who once worked with Phil Walden, founder of Capricorn, was at the exhibit's opening, visiting with Mama Louise Hudson, former owner of H&H restaurant, who ensured no starving artist went to bed hungry. Wallace remembers well the salad days of Phil Walden Artists and Promotions, located within walking distance of H&H, before the halcyon days of Capricorn.
Kirk West, his hands full with sales of his recently released book, "Les Brers," which chronicles his years on the road with the Allman Brothers Band, never left his station at the front door. West, who also sells prints of his photographs in the gallery, juggled orders for prints of Lee's and Smith's images, many never seen before.
John Griffin, whose book of poetry, "After the Meltdown," debuted in the fall at Gallery West, entertained patrons as they waited in line at the front door. Griffin, recognized as an ambassador of Macon's rock 'n' roll scene, knows personally most of the musicians featured in the exhibit -- at least those who have survived.
On Jan. 11, he was informed by the Georgia Writers Association that he has been nominated for a Georgia Author of the Year award in the poetry category, another feather in the cap for Griffin and Macon's arts community.
Katherine Walden is a freelance writer and interior designer in Macon. Contact her at 478-742-2224 or kwaldenint@aol.com.
This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 9:47 PM with the headline "AFTER HOURS: Shutter bug talent dominates second Friday ."