12×12 Show
06/14/07 • Posted in: Art, Downtown Jacksonville, Events, Reviews by Joey Marchy No Comments »
I wrote this for the June issue of CREATEjacksonville which should be appearing later this month
To get the entire experience, listen to this live track from the 12×12 show while you read the article. And turn it up!
12×12 isn’t just the name of the show it’s a math equation for how hot it is in here: 144 degrees! There are lots of sweaty armpits and people fanning themselves with flyers collected throughout the night. The Royal Treatment are on the turntables spinning hiphop and dance hall. When I walked in, they were doing shout-outs over the music just like the old days. “Say ho-oo-o-o! Say ho ho.”
Stepping into the Knight Building an hour ago the music was overwhelming, enveloping you, smacking on your ear drums. As I’m writing this now, the music is at a tolerable level. Loud enough to feel it, but not too loud to think. So I started thinking about the show, as some woman crouched over my shoulder to read what I’m writing. Maybe she’s trying to get into the mind of the people who organized the show.
The show isn’t art in the traditional sense, like paintings from an artist hung on a wall. This show is more of an installation, turning the entire Thief in the Knight gallery into a work of art. 12-inch vinyl artwork covers the walls from floor to ceiling. That’s about 15-feet of record art and it’s an impressive site. It makes for in interesting aesthetic, juxtaposed against the multiple layers of spray paint, stickers and posters from past shows.
The show was a little different than it was first described to me. I anticipated original artwork on blank 12-inch vinyl sleeves but when I arrived the majority of the show was records from a DJs record collection. Ian Ranne, owner of Shanty Town Pub in Springfield, contributed a majority of the records. Curtis Mayfield, Mobb Deep, Ghostface, EPMD, Digable Planets, Sir Mix-a-lot and Tribe Called Quest.
Someone told me Ian was using this as an excuse to organize his collection. I guess a 15-foot visualization of your collection will do the trick. Richard Reichstadter did create some original pieces by cutting out scenes from record artwork to form 3-D dioramas. These came out looking very cool.
I had lunch with Richard next door at Chew the day of the show and we talked about the 12×12 show a bit. Richard, who helps organize all Thief in the Knight shows, called the 12×12 show a group show and alluded to the fact that he hoped to have more group shows in the future.
When he said that I remarked that all the shows had been group shows. “Multiple artists, multiple pieces, a group.” Richard said that was true, but what he meant by group show was artists collaborating in a group to create a collective piece of art. Not individual works of art from individual artists.
All-in-all it was another great show from my point of view. When I go to art walk I like to hangout at the Knight Building. It feels comfortable, like home to me. I see friends, I listen to good music and just take in the whole scene. On some level, it’s a very satisfying and encouraging experience to witness an event like this in Jacksonville and to be there taking part.
I watch people roll in through the front door, back to the beer line. Talking close, head to head, then back outside. By the end of the night I’ve retired to the sidewalk and the beer line stretches from the back of the gallery almost to the front door. I’m glad I’m leaving soon so I don’t have to wait in the beer line again. But I’ll be back next month.
