Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
Wausau, WI
715-845-7010
http://www.lywam.org/
Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects
A craft double-header opened at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
on July I, 2000 with "Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects"
and "Tempe Tea Party" scoring a home run and then some. Together
these two exhibitions present 80 contemporary artworks that lightheartedly
look at
two of America' s favorite pastimes - baseball and sipping a brew (tea,
that is). They remain on view through August 27, 2000. (left: C.
R. "Skip" Johnson, To You My Dear, cherry, northern white
ash, 36 x 27 x 27 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation,
Louisville, KY; right: David Sengel, Thorn Goblet, cherry, rose thorns,
black lacquer, 7 x 2.5 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation,
Louisville, KY)
"Bats & Bowls," the brainchild of Tennessee-based
artist and wood turner Craig Nutt, pays homage to baseball while simultaneously
highlighting the skill, daring, and inventiveness of artists whose primary
tool of choice is the lathe. As Nutt sees it, the game of baseball and the
art of wood turning have much in common. The batter steps up to the plate,
the wood turner approaches the lathe. The player's bat and the turner's
gouge become extensions of the body, each seeking the sweet spot of the
object spinning toward it. Both the player 
and the turner are focused on the results yet fully
involved in the process. They are linked by a turned object, the baseball
bat.
Each artist in "Bats & Bowls" was invited
to create a bat-related artwork, using an ash blank provided 
by
Hillerich & Bradsby Company, maker of the Louisville Slugger, or from
materials of the artist's choice. These works reveal a flair for fun and
derring-do, while a second piece by each artist reflects their more recognized
turning style. Whether a bat, a bowl, or a variation - each piece invites
a closer look. (left: Michael Brolly, Self Portrait of Artist
as Young Man, 27 x 16 x 10 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft
Foundation, Louisville, KY; right: Michael Hosaluk, Sluggo, Courtesy
of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, Louisville, KY)
The Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery in Louisville organized
"Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects."
Read more on the Leigh Yawkey
Woodson Art Museum.in Resource Library
Magazine
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This page was originally published in Resource
Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for
more information. rev. 3/18/11
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reserved.
A craft double-header opened at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
on July I, 2000 with "Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects"
and "Tempe Tea Party" scoring a home run and then some. Together
these two exhibitions present 80 contemporary artworks that lightheartedly
look at
two of America' s favorite pastimes - baseball and sipping a brew (tea,
that is). They remain on view through August 27, 2000. (left: C.
R. "Skip" Johnson, To You My Dear, cherry, northern white
ash, 36 x 27 x 27 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation,
Louisville, KY; right: David Sengel, Thorn Goblet, cherry, rose thorns,
black lacquer, 7 x 2.5 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation,
Louisville, KY)
