On the First Friday of every month, come by ClearStory Arts between 6 and 8pm for all kinds of art fun, including new works in the Gallery, open studios, a Mini Market, live demos, and more.
Signs of Chattanooga’s rich history are not always visible. Our collective memory of the past is under threat from the relentless flow of time. However, there are also other factors that have contributed to this historical erasure, such as land development. A Forgetful Place: 35°02'44"N 85°18'33"W by artist Bruno Poco bears witness to this today.
"Historical erasure is a natural process that occurs as time unfolds," says Poco. "A visit to the Chickamauga Battlefield and walking through its beautiful, wooded areas bear little evidence of the brutality and staggering loss of human life that occurred there. Nature has erased signs of the Civil War battle, forcing forgetfulness. But there are also instances where human progress acts in the same vein."
As the city of Chattanooga grew, many significant historical places have become buried in development. For example, at Ross’s Landing, nothing remains of the Cherokee removal that occurred there besides a small plaque. In other instances, some significant sites have been preserved or marked with monuments or via parks.
"They are important tourist sites in Chattanooga, but often seem to have the opposite effect by trivializing history. Leisure is oblivious to the history of these places," Poco adds.
For this project, he used a large-format film camera that belonged to his grandfather, as well as hand processing and scanned the film. He explains that he chose to use this laborious and outdated process as a technical challenge that would connect this contemporary documentation with the past.
Phil Timm of Studio 33 is ClearStory Arts' May featured artist.
"I've always been a furniture maker, never worked at anything else," says Timm. "Watching my father work started my fascination with making things and it's continued my entire life. Due to it's natural organic nature each piece of wood is fascinating and unique."
"When designing a piece I visualize the finished product and I chose which wood and pieces to use to fit my vision," he explains. "I don't make scaled drawings or schematics because each step of the project is naturally evident. The excitement and euphoria from making each piece never gets old."
Visit every open studio during your time there for a chance to win a handcrafted cherry and walnut box created by Phil.
Also be sure to swing my the Mini Market featuring the art of Jenni Kearns, who creates candles with crystals and herbs, Keith Landrum, who specializes in mixed media painting, photography and sculpture, Teresea Patton, a painter and jewelry designer who loves found objects, antique pieces, and an eclectic vibe that includes unusual color, texture, and style combos, Alexandra Darbe, whose pieces ranged from colored pencil drawings, marker and ink drawings, to acrylic paintings, and Hayden Monfette, a textile artist with a focus in weavings and felting.
ClearStory Arts is located at 1673 South Holtzclaw Ave. Learn more at www.clearstoryarts.com