Nebula sent the email: "When internationally acclaimed street artist Faring Purth arrived in St. Louis last week looking to paint, all signs pointed to Cherokee as a vibrant creative district that embraces public art. With generous support from the greater St. Louis community of art lovers we pulled together funding and a boom lift to make it happen. A few days later in 20 degree temps, the form of a giant 80’ mural is taking shape on the South wall of Nebula."
Who is Faring Purth?
A 2012 article by by Nastia Voynovskaya in Hi-Fructose says the protagonists of her paintings “appear to be in a state of transformation; they reference the generative powers of femininity rather than painting the woman as a beauty icon.”
On the Wall/Therapy website, Furth is described by places she has lived: “Paris helped her become a starry eyed child, Florence a drastic youth, homelessness a delinquent teenager, and Boston a student of human nature.” Wall/Therapy uses “mural art as a vehicle to address our collective need for inspiration” in Rochester, N.Y.
Her work in Rochester, “ Etty,” is 12 feet high by 125 feet long. The image, which centers on an elongated female figure, was defaced almost as soon as it was finished. As Purth told, Brooklyn Street Art, “It was a profoundly difficult experience for me; That after giving so much to a single piece of work, she could, with one cheap can of Rustoleum, be so grossly wounded.”
Indeed, the work that is in progress has sparked controversy. As noted in The Riverfront Times, some have called it oppressive symbolism. But Purth told the RFT, "This is the base coat of an immense work of art, one that will undoubtedly give you another fifteen layers of symbolism to knead through (one that I have undoubtedly had to face fifteen layers of oppressive thought to create.)"
Some of her work can be seen at the Anno Domini Gallery site and Faring’s own website.
COMING UP
St. Louis Soup Across the Delmar Divide
The Anti-Defamation League, the Missouri History Museum and the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts will host the presentation of ideas to “activate our city and bridge racial and socio-economic divisions in the community surrounding Delmar Boulevard.”
The event is at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at the Sanctuary, 4449 Red Bud Ave. St. Louis 63115. People who come, donate $10 for refreshments, which include soup, and then vote for their favorite among the proposals. All of the money raised goes to the winning idea.
RSVP to http://delmardivide.eventbrite.com/#
Regional Arts Commission: Artist Support Grants
The deadline for artists to apply for individual awards is March 5. The grants -- $500-$3,000 – are designed to help with such things as “Equipment and materials, rental space, arts-related travel, conference fees, project completion, salaries, professional and artistic development, training and other resources for individual artists of all disciplines.
For more information about the grants, go to http://www.art-stl.com/artistscount/index.php/grants/
One of 40
It was good to see the Philip Slein Gallery on the list of 40 galleries you should know if you love paint by Steven Zevitas on the Huffington Post.
