THE JASPER PROJECT PARTNERS WITH THE SC PHILHARMONIC ON THE ART OF SYMPHONY

“Eyes closed, I listened to the piece and was surprised by the immediate imagery I experienced …” - Eileen Blyth

The Jasper Project is delighted to announce a collaborative project with the South Carolina Philharmonic – THE ART OF SYMPHONY.  

When Chad Henderson, marketing director for the South Carolina Philharmonic, first posited the idea for the Art of Symphony project to Jasper, they were immediately intrigued. As Henderson explained, the SC Philharmonic had scheduled an upcoming concert on April 27, 2024, at the Koger Center for the Arts, around which the SC Phil hoped to engage with local visual artists. The concert would feature: Karen Tanaka’s Rose Absolute, Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op.33, and Shostakovich’s Symphony Number 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 and be conducted by Morihiko Nakahara featuring guest artist Sterling Elliott on cello. Henderson proposed that the music be divided into 14 singular sections and the Jasper Project invite and work with 14 of the Midlands’ finest visual artists, who would each respond to a unique piece of music artistically.

The newly created art will be projected on screens during the live performance of each of the 14 sections of music, as well as presented as an arts exhibition in Jasper’s Nook Gallery on the grand tier level of the Koger Center for the Arts.

The Art of Symphony Art Exhibition will open on Thursday evening, April 18, 2024, with a reception that is open to the public from 5:30 – 7 pm. The Art of Symphony Symphonic Convergence of Music & Visual Art will take place on Saturday, April 27th with the concert at 7:30 pm and a Meet the Artist Reception in the Nook Gallery at 6 pm. 

In keeping with the Jasper Project’s founding priority of cultivating multidisciplinary collaboration, Jasper will also publish a book of the featured art, entitled The Art of Symphony, which will be available for purchase at both events. 

The 14 visual artists participating in the project include Fred Townsend, Wilma King, Lori Isom- Starnes, Eileen Blyth, Stephen Chesley, Thomas Washington, K. Wayne Thornley, Alejandro Garcia-Lemos, Anthony Lewis, Lindsay Radford Wiggins, Michael Krajewski, Keith Tolen, Regina Langston, and Laura Garner Hine. Garcia-Lemos created an animated short in response to his designated section of music which will be shown on monitors in the Koger Center lobby before the concert, during intermission, and at The Art of Symphony Art Exhibition opening on April 18th. 

Eileen Blyth, who created Overheard Overhead in response to the first movement of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, said, “Eyes closed, I listened to the piece and was surprised by the immediate imagery I experienced. I was eye level before a roof top. Bird-like objects dipped and soared. Buildings stretched tall and then wide, up and down, back and forth. Objects moved in harmony. I saw the Maestro in my painting directing the symphony of shapes, lines, and color.”

Wilma King, who painted in response to the third movement of the Shostakovich said, “This project, much like a symphony itself, goes deep into the hearts, minds, talents, and expressions of myriad artists, culminating the various parts and facets into this paramount event.”

For more information visit JasperProject.org or SCPhilharmonic.com.

Koger Center’s Third Thursday Lineup in the Nook Kicks Off with Wilma King

It’s a new calendar year, which means a brand-new lineup of talented artists from the Midlands will decorate the walls of each Jasper Gallery location. In the Nook at the Koger Center, Wilma King is the opening artist. King is a South Carolina native who endeavors to combine her experiences of living around the United States with her educational background into a visual storytelling collaboration through her painting.

King’s featured exhibit in the Nook is titled Love Heals: The Margins and Time In-Between. This body of work expands upon her Love Heals collection, which debuted at our Bernie Love Valentine’s Day event in 2023. The addendum includes 14 new works and received funding by the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Emerging Artist Grant. King notes that the pieces are a “series of montages comprised of memories of two generations before and after [her] -- thus, the time ‘in-between.’” She highlights the dreams, hopes, and desires of individuals at different stages of their lives while facing different obstacles like cancer or mental illness. Much of the subject matter derives from King’s own memories of adolescence and the relationships she fostered with her family. No moment is too small or grand for King to make compelling subject matter. Memories and storytelling often mesh to create a brand-new path for her work to take.

The opening reception will be held from 5:30 – 7 p.m. on January 18, 2024, on the Grand Tier Lobby of the Koger Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Excerpt from Wilma King’s Artist statement:

“I tell stories of my parents, their lifetimes, their influences. There are memories of me playing with my grandfather Manuel’s gold pocket watch; wallpapering the walls of my aunt Sedonia’s house (which was destroyed by a Louisiana storm last year); me ritually painting my mother’s nails; or dancing like nobody’s watching just to keep my cousin upbeat during her last few months!

We all have turning points in our lives -- some are cataclysmic. But I believe that the persistent, more powerful triggers are those that are slow, unforgettable images, sometimes rising out of nowhere, that quietly give us a heartfelt thump. Words are not needed, but touches, smells, soft sounds, and even tastes lend to the very intimate and secret thoughts that we hold close inside. These moments are the perfect companionship and fulfillment – a very pure form of love and loveliness – for whatever voids we need or want to fill. Although faceted, these “ordinary” and “frequent” thoughts and memories are what I wish to capture in my art.

I usually rely on memories, and sometimes collaborative storytelling with family and friends. Most often, the fusion of these memories and recollections are didactic approaches manifested in the art that I enjoy creating. I fully enjoy the outcomes as I see the bits and pieces of the storytellers’ realities and attempts to bring the pieces together in a relationship-building effort and artwork.”

— Emily Moffitt

Jasper Presents a Two-Part Valentine's Day Event -- An Evening with Bernie Love A Tribute to Elvis AND Love Hurts/Love Heals - New Art from Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley

Jasper Presents a Two-Part Valentine’s Day Celebration:

Love Hurts/Love Heals featuring the art of Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley followed by An Evening with Bernie Love—A Tribute to Elvis, both at 701 Whaley

Worried about taking that special someone to yet another crowded and overpriced boring Valentine’s Day dinner? Put your fears aside as The Jasper Project has your Valentine’s Day festivities figured out!

Join us on Tuesday February 14th at 701 Whaley for a two-part arts party.

Part One – from 5 – 7 pm in the 701 Community Hall Gallery we welcome esteemed Columbia-based artists Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley for their interpretations of the phenomenon of Love Hurts/ Love Heals. Both artists’ works will line the halls for your interpretive pleasure, and you and your date are invited to enjoy wine and light snacks as you view the work.

Part Two – from 7 – 10 pm and following the Love Hurts/Love Heals exhibit, wander just a few feet over to the 701 Whaley Market Space where a night of Vegas-style entertainment awaits you both at An Evening with Bernie Love – A Tribute to Elvis. Featuring Patrick Baxley in the title role accompanied by Marty Fort, Jay Matheson, and Kevin Brewer, this tribute will focus on some of the King’s most romantic musical numbers performed in a classic Vegas cocktail party type setting.

Food will be provided by Chef Joe Turkaly and champagne and beer will be available for purchase.

Did you wait too late to shop for a special little something special for your beloved? No worries! Columbia artists Cait Maloney, Lindsay Radford, and Gina Langston Brewer will be on hand with a selection of their original romantic art gifts, and portrait artist Jamie Peterson will be commissioning small portraits of you and your sweetie based on photos you have taken at the event.

Doors for Bernie Love open at 7 pm with the main event kicking off at 8:30 pm when the King arrives in true Vegas style. Tickets to An Evening with Bernie Love are $20 and are available in advance at www.Jasper.org or by clicking here. A limited number of tables are available for $500.

Love Hurts/Love Heals is a free drop-in event. .

PROFILE: Visual Artist Wilma King Uses Rich Colors & Clever Object Juxtapositions to Create Warm & Inviting Images

If you haven’t seen the work of Cottontown visual artist Wilma King now is your chance.

Check out this virtual exhibition of King’s art and read about her background and inspirations below.

Jasper had the great pleasure of touching base with visual artist Wilma King this week and we asked her a few questions about her work. We’re delighted to share details of our exchange with you.

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Jasper:  When did you first begin to pursue visual art? Where and when did you train, or are you self-taught? 

Wilma King: I  remember an incident in fourth grade that helped me focus in on my love of art and design. My teacher, Ms. Hendrix, knew how to inspire and cultivate creativity and internationalism. She read books to us, held in-class competitions, and infused applied learning into our coursework way back then. Our school was on a military base in Fort Greely, Alaska which helped in the spirit of all of these concepts. My mind was full of dreams of being a nurse like Clara Barton, until she announced a fashion design competition for us girls. My classmates who saw my design convinced me that I would surely win – but I didn't. So, I launched this compulsion and intrigue to design paper dolls for my sisters, friends, and anyone who would allow me to do so. It was an experience that allowed me to delve deeply into individual, and cultural preferences for design, color, shape, size, and form. 

But it was in junior high school that my art teacher helped and encouraged me to see a broad range of ideas and topics from which to draw and paint. In eighth grade, I won a scholarship to what was then the Columbia Art School (a part of the museum), and sold my first painting that year, as well.

My first job, literally two weeks after graduating from the University of South Carolina, was with an international trade magazine, while still learning about cultural preferences and communication design. 

I have a BA degree in art studio (advertising design) from the U of SC and went on to earn a MA in Journalism (PR and Advertising) from Texas Southern University (Houston, Texas), because I always felt that there should be a collaboration between words and images. I taught graphic design, computerized design, or some form of public relations design most of my career, beginning with launching, teaching, and designing the first courses and curriculum in commercial art here in Columbia at Benedict College. From that point, I taught at the Art Institute (Houston, TX), O'More College (Franklin, TN), and was an Associate Professor in PR at both Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY), and Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY).

Jasper: Where did you grow up?  

King: I was born in Lexington, SC, and continued to “grow up” in Alaska, and Columbia (Lower Richland area near Hopkins). My father was born and raised in Louisiana, ten miles outside New Orleans (St. John Parrish), so that's also part of the “growing up” experience. I have lived in eleven different states and did domestic and international sabbaticals that took me to a cumulative  nine months of slow travels and teaching abroad in Italy. 

After more than 30 years of doing some of the things that I found interesting and exciting, and to become my mother's primary caregiver, I moved back home to SC.

Jasper: What mediums in visual arts do you typically use and why? 

King: My very wonderful art professors at USC, particularly Jim Edwards, taught me that acrylics are extremely adaptable and can convincingly disguise as other paint mediums, so as a painter, which is my medium of choice. 

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I sought ways to bring people together over a meal, coffee, or drinks. Nursing homes and hospitals were closed to visitors making it impossible to share meals with elderly, ill, or hospitalized family and friends -- so I began painting on glassware -- wine glasses, wine bottles, mugs, vases, etc. (using oils): Table Companions was born! A "table companion" is someone that you enjoy sharing a meal or drink with. 

Jasper: Who have been your greatest influences as an artist? 

King: Dony Mac Manus, sculptor/founder of the School for Sacred Art in Florence,  Italy, and Giancarlo Polenghi,  the school's director of the master’s program who is an Italian art historian and who also teaches theology of the body. They both helped me to understand that the purpose and power of art is to elevate the status of individuals in communities and in society!

Jonathan Green has given me some very good advice and critique on my work, as well.

Now, each day, before I begin to paint, I study some of the great Christian art. I enjoy Biblical stories through the eyes of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Cristofo de Predis, Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Salvador Dali. 

I have had the great privilege and opportunity to visit many churches and museums across the US and Italy, particularly the Uffizi, The Vatican Museum and St. Peters Cathedral several times, on numerous occasions, as well as the Prado in Madrid. I also love two fashion museums focused on telling the stories of the family: Ferragamo and Gucci. A yet-to-realize goal is to see Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son in the Louvre.

Jasper: What do you feel makes your art unique?

King: I enjoy telling my stories as well as those of people I have met along the way. An avid nonfiction reader, I try to incorporate a level of authenticity, through descriptive and narrative detail in my paintings. I focus on the story to give it broader meaning – that is, the painting’s relationship-building potential. People often comment on my style. I paint from memory, not photos (unless commissioned to do so), and I rarely use references. Various elements in each painting are carefully outlined to show that the story is a composite of different places and spans of time.

Of course, I believe Table Companions fills a different type of need and experience than merely doing handprinted glassware because I am finding a unique way for people to share being together and building memories over meals. I am still telling their stories through perhaps flowers, colors, etc.

Jasper: Who is your favorite SC-based visual artist and why? 

King: There are three. I am watching and loving Gerald Erley's paintings! His technique and artistic ability are unapologetically akin to that of the "great masters,” not only in his artistic ability, but also in the way he commands his storytelling.

Jonathan Greene has been a favorite for a very long time. I love his use of color and form, and the stories of the African American experiences in the south. He depicts an enjoyment, pride, and  love for life that is seldom seen these days. His viewpoint and perspective are necessary against a backdrop of sadness, anger, and bitterness in the world.

Finally, I have always loved the works of my former drawing professor, Phillip Mullen. I learned to be meticulous in the details and still develop a style distinguishable from everyone else.

Jasper: What are you working on now, will we get to see it, and if so, where, and when?

King: I try to produce at least one painting a week. I sometimes take time out to tell my own family's stories. To that end, I ended 2021 with an addition to my private collection titled: “Grandparents” 12/30. 

I began 2022 with a painting titled: “Wings to fly,” to be included in an upcoming exhibit along with six other paintings at the Richland Library’s “The art of being: Woman” exhibit  – February.