The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
A crowd gathers at the Teepee Burner Saturday, July 31 for An Evening with Charles M. Russell, with historians Jennifer Bottomly-O'looney and Kirby Lambert with the Montana Historical Society.
Sculpture in the Wild calendars and copies of Destination Art by art Historian Amy Dempsey, a book on the worlds inspiring art destinations, including BPSW, lie on a table for purchase during last Saturday's presentation.
ennifer Bottomly-O'Looney discusses a humorous illustrated letter Charlie Russell sent to Ed Lapeyre in 1925 recalling an encounter witha very large and rotund female tourist. Russell's letters are well known for both the artwork and the humorous tales Russell often told in them.
Kirby Lambert with the Montana Historical Society talks about Charlie Russell.
After forcing the cancellation of last year's Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild programs, COVID-19 is still affecting events planned for this year, through both ongoing concerns about transmission of the disease and an artist's backlog of commissions resulting from 2020's restrictions.
While most of the schedule remains unchanged, circumstances led Bently Spang to push his residency back once more, into 2022.
Spang, a Northern Cheyenne artist, was originally slated to be the Artist-in-Residence last year. Due to the pandemic that got pushed back to this year. However, BPSW President Becky Garland said a backlog of work and commissions that had piled up during 2020, as well as personal issues, prompted his decision to again postpone his residency. Nevertheless, she said Spang will be here next year.
"We just don't know if it will be a summer residency or a fall residency," she said.
Both 2021 Artist-in Residence Michael Brolly and 2021 Emerging Artist Beth Korth remain onboard for their residencies in September. Brolly, a woodcarver, is expected to bring a somewhat different dimension to Sculpture the Wild, while Korth, a multimedia artist, will take on the job of painting the park's large and rather unsightly metal storage container
"She'll need some volunteers," Garland said.
Korth, who served as the BPSW education program manager in 2016, will also play a role in this year's education program, which will once again bring in students from schools around the region during the second and third weeks of the three-week residency.
"Those kids will talk with Beth, then meet Michael Brolly and have their lunch, then go out and build their sculptures," Garland said
Another impact to the schedule this year came when the BPSW board chose to cancel the Café' Music Night fundraiser, which was planned for Sept. 18. The fundraiser, which was to feature a performance by Composer-in-Residence Philip Aaberg, was called off when it became clear that several supporters who were invited weren't entirely comfortable getting back together in an enclosed building, given the current situation with the increase in COVID cases related to the Delta variant.
"We just thought better of it," Garland said. "We thought what the heck. We'll wait for another year."
The Café Music Night decision also prompted cancellation of a public concert by Aaberg slated for Sept. 19.
Aaberg will nevertheless be in Lincoln from Sept. 13-17 to work with Lincoln music students and music teacher Darryan Gonzales. He will also be creating an original composition for Sculpture in the Wild that will debut in 2022.
In the run up to the artist residencies, BPSW has been hosting weekly "Music in the Wild" concerts and presentations.
Last week's presentation was a break from the music as historians Jennifer Bottomly-O'Looney and Kirby Lambert with the Montana Historical Society looked at the life, perspectives and artwork of Montana's original cowboy artist, Charlie Russell.
"They have been going great," Garland said. "We've had anywhere from 50 to 125 people every time. It's really been good, and people have really enjoyed it."
She said visitors have been making donations as well as buying the new 2022 Sculpture the Wild Calendars. The calendars, a new fundraising item, feature images of the sculptures and information on the artists and sell for $20 each. They are available during the Music in the Wild performances or from BPSW board members.
Three more concerts are scheduled Aug. 7, Aug. 21 and Aug. 28. The concert series will take a break Aug 14 to support the efforts of the Lincoln Arts and Music Festival in Hooper Park that weekend.
Despite the changes to the fall calendar, Garland said BPSW is still fundraising for a new utility building that will be located next to the park's restrooms.
"We'll be putting down a concrete slab for the building this fall. We have the money for that. Now we just need to fundraise for the building itself," she said. The building will house equipment, the park's electric golf cart and a first aid station.
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