What’s up this week in Charlotte’s visual arts? | Aug. 26-Sept. 1
Where to go
The release party for “The Beautiful Book of Exquisite Corpses” is 7-9 p.m. Aug. 28 at at Goodyear Arts. You may have heard it called something else, but we all know the game: Draw something on a portion of paper, partially conceal your work, pass it to a friend for completion. Or the same method, but with words. Exquisite Corpses was a game dreamed up by the Surrealists in the early 20th century to help tap into the subconscious. This book, published by Penguin Random House, is full of perforated tear sheets of just-begun drawings and sentences for you and a friend to complete together. The results of your collaborations will be either genius or drivel ... and there’s only one way to find out! Editor Gavin Edwards, a writer living and working in Charlotte, invited more than 100 artists to participate by drawing or writing the beginnings of masterpieces, and familiar names include de’Angelo Dia, Holly Christine Keogh, Wesley Mancini, Felicia van Bork and Jeff Jackson.
Who to meet
“Breaking Down Boxes,” a presentation for all ages, will be Aug. 29 at Elder Gallery. Hosted by Charlotte MAP (Millenial Art Program), Andy Smith, digital editor and arts contributor for Charlotte magazine, will talk about the outmoded practice of categorizing creatives, and the exhibition “The Fine Art of Art-Pop” will be on view.
What to see
Go to the opening reception, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 30, for “Ponytails and Souvenirs,” a solo exhibition for Rebecca Drolen at The Light Factory. The exhibition will showcase two bodies of her work, “Hair Pieces”and “Particular Histories.” The first is an investigation into our fickle relationship with our own body hair. (Her statement says, “Once hair has become disconnected from our bodies, we treat it with disgust, yet it has an archival, lasting presence that outlives the body and defies death and decay.”) “Particular Histories” constructs “daydreams, longings, memories, and fears as they pertain to aging and the transition from childhood to the acceptance of adult roles.” On view through Oct. 12.
Each week, Grace Cote and Lia Newman offer Observer readers a to-do list on immersing yourself in visual arts around town. Newman is director/curator of the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College, Cote is senior coordinator at Jerald Melberg Gallery, and they collaborate on the blog HappeningsCLT (happeningsCLT.com).