A. Jacob Galle on trees, video art, + NYC
By IAN PAIGE | January 24, 2007
FOREST + TREES: Work by A. Jacob Galle. |
If you were Little Red Riding Hood, you’d want A. Jacob Galle to save you. Every inch a woodsman with a signature beard and tall figure, the young artist looks like a cover boy for an LL Bean catalog circa 1910. He has been hopping between his native Maine, other New England states, and areas of the Midwest since receiving his MFA from Vermont College. After a brief return to curate the current show at SPACE Gallery, he’s off for a two-month artist residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City.Let’s talk about the inception of and goals for the "Rural Vernacular" show at space.
SPACE Gallery asked me to put together a list of artists that might be willing to show for January and February. Looking at all the people on the list, I realized that the names felt good together. So I proposed this group show. Everyone has distinct conceptual directions in their work, but this theme of rural, whether it’s landscape, lifestyles, or influences, is equally apparent visually.
I thought to have a show concerning the idea of rural, as opposed to nature, was really interesting. Nature is such an overused theme in art, whether it’s contemporary concepts or traditional landscapes. I was interested in focusing on how rural and nature are not the same thing.
There are seven other artists. I personally knew all but two of them prior to the show. I also know their backgrounds, where they live now, and where they came from. Everyone came from a rural upbringing, which I feel plays a big part in the kind of work that you do.
How does your upbringing relate to your piece?
I don’t think my piece is as strong as when I first created it in Omaha in the spring of 2006. My upbringing is living and working on a farm in Bowdoinham. People have these strong ideas of farms being wide open fields. Ours is largely wooded. It’s a little more Maine than Midwest. So I was in Omaha doing all this video work and I just needed to build something with my hands. As I was constructing the installation, I realized I was creating a very peaceful and relaxing environment. It was very artificial, made of cardboard and tar paper, but reminiscent of the place I grew up in. A home away from home.
I don’t feel it’s as successful as it was in Omaha if anything because it’s in Maine where people are used to the real thing. In Omaha there’s no density to the few forests so people were awestruck when they walked into it. It’s also a quarter of the size. However, I’m really glad I was able to get my piece in the gallery; even if it wasn’t my piece it’s just nice to see three-dimensional work in that space. I’m also really excited to see all the video work in the show. I’m not in Portland all the time, I’m not able to see all the openings, but I try to keep my ear to the ground and it seems to me a big deal to have all these video pieces in one show.
Related:
Quivering timbers, Growing pains, Form to a voice, More 
- Quivering timbers
What’s a tree without roots? Usually it’s the kitchen cabinet or a sheaf of inkjet paper, but for Maine artist Jacob Galle, the answer is a lot less complicated.
- Growing pains
Although no one piece in this spartan biennial is lacking in value, the collective effect is one destined to get lost in the Rolodex.
- Form to a voice
Only 24 years old, Klimt has transitioned from his studies at Bowdoin College to a life in Portland as a professional artist and an adventuresome alter ego that has traversed as far as Antarctica.
- Coffee lids by design
Sage Lewis makes pinpricks on white paper, a constellation of dots, interrelating references or access points to dualistic planes of existence.
- Spring thinking
We asked the arts community what they’re excited about as warm weather turns Maine back into Vacationland.
- Myth-making
The infusion of a personal panoply of mythological motifs allows Kinsella to create highly decorative pieces that still speak to the soul.
- Bam Bam
There are a few people in town who really know how to throw a party. Three of them (Jen Batchelor and Phoenix scribes Chris Gray and Ian Paige) amalgamated their powers on Saturday at Bubba's for a party to remember.
- Collective mentality
"We wanted to expand our reach as wide as possible and from that field create a program of film and videos that explicitly address duration."
- Design time
Mitchell Rasor is changing the way your city looks.
- Finding Portland
Petra Fogie, 27, is an architectural designer living and working in Portland.
- The space invader
The Portland Museum of Art’s new exhibition immediately confronts you with the transformative power of John Bisbee’s sculpture.
- Less
Topics:
Museum And Gallery
, Culture and Lifestyle, Food and Cooking, Foods, More
, Culture and Lifestyle, Food and Cooking, Foods, Fruits and Vegetables, Jacob Galle, Less
