HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS: Sister Louisa

A stream of consciousness e-mail conversation with artist Grant Henry and his “altar” ego Sister Louisa: my gallery Sister Louisa's Art Gallery in the Church of The Living Room And Ping Pong Emporium is in my home in a loft in downtown atlanta...i live in a work/live loft spacewhich caters to the art community by offering moderate income housing to artists,as opposed to single mothers raising litters of kids. it is what it is.

i bleed sister Louisa because that's what i do to process my former relationshipto societal institutions such as religion, politics, family, and community.

i love playing with the symbols of what we all are taught to believe, without necessarily attaching myself to any of those beliefs.

i love the south. i love when one's faith is more sophisticated than the believer herself.i love injecting humor into serious, forbidden places.

foremost: i believe that god's love for me IS GREATERthan anything i can do, or say, to fuck that up!to diminish that sense of unconditionality.

i never apologize for my art. it's a balance.

i'm an artist who doesn't paint (i use found paintings/boards/windows), and a writer who doesn't write (i use as few words as possible), and i don't pursue a gallery because i'm the ultimate anti-artist, i don't do my art to sell my art (however quickly it DOES fly off my walls), i do it to process my feelings, process world events, (i'm working on the VIRGIN SARAH PALIN, and jesus peering across the water saying: I CAN SEE RUSSIA FROM HERE!)

i can't be so intentional as to be part of a DIY MOVEMENT, i just do it myself. i'm not a joiner.

i put SISTER LOUISA pieces on my website, i put SISTER LOUISA pieces on my facebook and myspace pages, i donate SISTER LOUISA art about 20 times a year to anyone who needs it, and i participate in shows if i'm asked.

we have monthly creative writing seminars in my space...going with the flow gets me where i'm going. i'm fortunate to have a local writer who writes about me, grant henry, and about my art, sister louisa, in newspapers, magazines, and books to have gotten some exposure for SISTER LOUISA.

people crave content, yearn for the truth, and want to say things they aren't "supposed to say", so sister louisa provides the levity and courage to face people's shit.

as far as galleries go? Hmmmmmmm…i've never pursued a gallery, i am fortunate to have a huge in home gallery, in the center of atlanta, in a space that give me ample exposure.

i price my pieces based on biblical numbers, not profit.

$33 for a small piece. $66.6 for a little bigger piece.$133.00 for an even bigger piece. $166.60........$266.60........not for religious reasons, but for giggles.

laura dern (actress) has pieces. tammy faye bakker (fabulous religious nutcase) has(had) a piece. ben harper (musician) has a piece. kate pierson (b52's) has several pieces. fred schneider (b52's) has several pieces. david arquette (actor) has a grant trucker hat. anne kristoff (blogger to the arts) needs one.

i've done several art cars and also an art house.......put an ad on the wall of the coffee shop with the art car on it stating: CRACK CAR FOR SALE: $80,000.00 (INCLUDES CRACK HOUSE)

my space has a last supper table complete with a jesus chair and 12 disciple chairs,church pews, a pulpit, revival lights, and real church chandeliers, and, of course,the ping pong table:

SISTER LOUISA'S ART GALLERY IN THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING ROOM AND PING PONG EMPORIUM...

Come On In, Precious....

Sister Louisa will be serving up some Spiritual Sangria:
December 6th & 7th, 2008 at
The 13th Annual Telephone Factory Art Show

828 Ralph McGill Boulevard NE, Loft 202
Atlanta, Georgia 30306

SCENE/ART/BOOK: Rejoice!!

"Rejoice" by Vicksburg, MS artist H.C. Porter seems to sum up how at least 50+ million folks are feeling this morning!!

H.C. Porter's mixed-media paintings begin as black and white portraits. Using a printing technique called serigraphy, Porter screens her photographs onto paper and begins painting. It is an unusual process but it's one that reflects a way of life. Beneath the vibrant colors are the black and white images that begin each piece.

Porter takes this process to the next level with her extensive documentary project, BACKYARDS AND BEYOND, which combines mixed media visual art with audio allowing each image itself to tell the story of Mississippians affected by Hurricane Katrina. “Amazingly, my time on the Coast has revealed that many people throughout the United States have no idea that Mississippi was affected by Hurricane Katrina,” states H.C. Porter, “much less that our entire Coastline has been annihilated. People’s lives have been altered for generations. This is not the Great Depression or The Dust Bowl Days, but it is Hurricane Katrina, a part of our nation’s history that unfortunately landed head strong into every single Coastal community of Mississippi. I am simply a vessel through which the story is being conveyed. It is about the faces and emotions and words of those I am documenting. This Exhibition will be their stories …our story … Backyards and Beyond … a story that must be told for a very long time.”

Porter is currently on tour throughout the south to promote the exhibit's companion fine art coffee table book.

ART/SCENE: Prospect.1 New Orleans opens 11/1

On November 1, 2008, Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1], the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, will open to the public in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans. Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1] has been conceived in the tradition of the great international biennials, and will showcase new artistic practices as well as an array of programs benefiting the local community. Over the course of its eleven-week run, Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1] plans to draw international media attention, creative energy, and new economic activity to the city of New Orleans. Events include a ribbon cutting ceremony, second line parade, jazz funeral, and all-night dance party in addition to tons of great art exhibits and installations in a variety of spaces and venues.

GOOD NEWS! There are still some very cool ways to get involved. Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima has issued a call for participation in his Work Shop On Line for PILE UP LIFE 2008 to be exhibited in the Biennale (sic)! Also, the [P.1] organizers are still looking for volunteer art assistants and interns. Contact: Aimée Farnet Siegel, Volunteer Coordinator504-615-5391 asiegel@prospectneworleans.org

ART: If You Can't Keep Your Baby, We Can

7:14 pm. Welcome to Arkansas. Alex bought one of those white-trash lighters that have a half-naked guy on it, wearing ripped up jeans.

1:10 am. Mississippi state line.

sugar never was so sweet. day four.

8:30 am. I do believe this was the earliest we ever got up in a motel room, but it had to be done. This was Mississippi, and there's nothing like waking up in the Delta for the first time in your life.

Alex collected the breakfast bagels and coffee, Beth was doing Yoga, and meanwhile I was busy being paralyzed with the anticipation of seeing the land where the blues began. I guess if you woke up one morning and knew you were going to fall in love for life that day, you'd feel just about the same. How could you even turn a door handle or squeeze toothpaste on your toothbrush without your heart thumping up in your mouth?

Outside, the humidity hung heavy in the air, and the breeze smelled sweet and warm. We drove over a small, country road with an overcast, yellow sky above us just aching to let loose. The road was awkwardly patched-up and flooded on either side by deep green. Whole trees were smothered by vines, creating strange landscapes that looked like science fiction.

"One of these nights, you're sure gonna love me right

And I'll come and I'm gonna be your baby

All the rest of my life. . ."

Coahoma.

It seemed to be election time. The roadsides were cluttered with little colorful signs, demanding you vote for a whole array of bizarre governmental positions." Re-elect Scotty Meredith - Coroner", "Elect Alfonzo Buford - Constable Northern District", "Elect Ed Seals - Coahoma County Superintendent of Education", "Re-elect Rybolt - Constable", "Please elect Carolyn Parham - Tax Assessor Collector".

"If you can't keep your baby, we can" - billboard.

(Excerpted from Devil Got Religion. Mercedes Helnwein. (c) 2004)

Influenced by the blues and a lifelong obsession to see places with names like Arkansas and Mississippi, critically acclaimed Los Angeles-based Austrian artist Mercedes Helnwein has birthed such works as America Motel Project and a body of drawings described as "photo-realistic," "lucid fairy-tales," "strikingly bizarre," "haunting," "southern Gothic," "evocative" and "unexpected."

Whistling Past the Graveyard featuring new works by Mercedes Helnwein and hosted by Jason Lee opens at the Merry Karnowski Gallery in Los Angeles on August 30.

ART: "She Smiles"

Printmaking and collage converge in this piece by Louisiana artist Kathyrn Hunter. She offers "fine printed goods made with care in Bayou Country since 2003" on her site and in her Etsy shop.