Page Pour THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, Septerxiber 7, 1"972, Page Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, September 7, 1 972 a myriad of local galleries By JOHN MARSTON On Jessie Forsythe's desk is an abstraction in a glass box, which, a note explains, was cre- -ated when her grandson drop- ped his model car on the stove. She is the owner of Forsythe, Gallery, the oldest gallery in Ann Arbor, located ab)ve the. Post Office in Nickels Arcade. There is a certain conservative quality about the gallery, al- though it is true, as Forsythe emphasizes, -that works vary from the "realistic to the non- objective." The gallery has more variety in media t han m o s t private galleries in town: photo- graphy, ceramics and sculpture, as well as painting and prints. Nevertheless, with the possible exception of the model ear, there are few displays that could be called daring. Forsythe stresses that the gallery is "very much interested in draftsmanship and craftsmanship" as well as crea- tivity. A child can make a good work of art, she says, but it's .an accident. Art that is shown must be good, substantial pieces by professional artists. She rejects the idea of., art being created for the moment, or standards of art which may not prove durable. "W~e haven't jumped from one fad to ano- ther," she says, giving as exam- ples of fads pop, op, and hard- edge art. The gallery does a lot of work decorating offices and4banks, be- sides its private sales, Forsythe says, adding that she wants stu- dents and people who just want io look to feel free to come to the gallery. Further downtown is the Py- ramid Gallery, younger and less comfortably established. It is a rather sparce gallery, with a large hardwood floor and white walls. It becomes more relaxed because people at the gallery are quick to talk to you, offer to discuss the paintings with you, and begin calling you by your first name. They are very antagonistic to- ward any elitism in art. "Art is fun; it should be enjoyed, by just people," director Marty Nyrkkanan says. The galle'ry would like to reach people be- yond the small percentage who have traditionally bought art. A large part of the gallery's business comes from what they call the Gallery Exchange Pro- gram. The Idea of the program is. to give people a chance to learn what kind of art they en- joy. Under the program, mem- bers take home different paint- ings or , prints every month, keep them in their home, and get some feeling for what it is they like or dislike about them. Essential to the idea of the gallery is that it should genuine- ly represent a wide range of art styles. Nyrkkenan says a typ- ical member of the prograin will > start out choosing the more real- istic pieces, but by six months will be taking home and apprec- iating contemporary geometri- cal and abstract works. The gal- lery looks at the program as edu- cational as well as a means to sell art. The Lantern Gallery does no, aim at any particular type of clientele, but the people w h o come there are generally people who, "know what they're looking for," one of the two women who own the gallery, Alice Simsar, explains. They are "looking for what's happening currently in art." The art shown at the Lantern is consistently more modern than any of the other galleries. Simsar describes it as "V e r y contemporary and yet not to the ultra-experimental." Two Ann Arbor galleries deal in rather specific kids of art. The Judlo Gallery, in the base- ment of Logos Bookstore, deals primarily in arts and crafts, es- pecially arts and crafts by South- west American Indians. It is ore of the few private galleries in Ann Arbor which will show stu- dent work. The gallery is now restricted in size by the children's book section of the bookstore, and thus seems more like a shop than a gallery. But it is still a v e r y interesting shop, and particular- ly authentic. Most of the col- lection was chosen by an anthro- pologist in the Southwest. There are blankets, weavings, jewelry, Navaho sand paintings and pre- Columbian ceramics. All the art in the Collectors House of Art is concerned with wildlife. They deal largely in limited edition prints, the work of five artists. The pritns are for the most part very realistic pic- tures, sometimes a neat carefully detailed bird in the Audobon tra- dition, sometimes a tiger's head or an elephant peaking over the jungle bushes. They also sell es- kimo sculpture and little copPe2 enamel birds on branches, made in Michigan. The gallery attracts a lot of natural science students and people who just like the out- doors. Pleasant viewing can often- times also be found at the Uni- versity's Museum of Art, located in the Alumni Memorial Hall on State St. and S., University St. and open from 9-5 daily and Sunday from 2-5. #I -Books about being, doing and living -600 posters to celebrate life -cards like you have never seen (0 Os 1ookslore 1205 S. University We're here to help PLUS: Gifts, children's books, Bibles, records and stationery ----- them to handle, they said, be- been moving around the cant- cause they could never count on pus for the past 25 years will uac offers place for student artists its repeatable value. A student may do one oil painting but when finished never use oils again. So UAC began searching for places to house a gallery and eventually found a spot in the Union. A number of people pitched in to help with con- struction, but with so much ground breaking work to do, the opening had to be delayed twice. Now the gallery is quickly moving ahead -- and almost breaking even, an incredible feat for any gallery four months old. Besides the normal dis- plays they have had demonstra- tions on the potters wheel, the wood lathe, and in batiking and glass blowing. The Art Print Loan which has now also be permanently in- stalled in the student gallery. Through this system, over 500 reproductions of well known works of art can be rented for a semester at a price ranging from 25c to $3.00. The displays are open to'any- one who fills out an applica- tion form and submits their work to the five member review board. Or you can do volunteer work at the gallery, accepting and checking applications, display- ing the art work, and hope- fully learning such skills as matting and framing. As o-; a :: :r.:: . r:.: ::.::.. :.. ... ....:: :. :... i>. . .:: ::::.:.:... ::?t:: 3:?:.. .,, ... ;o-t:;:a:: . 3 '- .,. :... .:. 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