Friday, January 23, 2004
Last two weeks to catch Generation Vexed
By Allyson Jacob
You might not have heard of ArtWorks, but you've definitely seen their work around town: the Big Pig Gig and BatsIncredible! are two of their past major endeavors. They also have a great summer program that gives arts-inclined high school students the opportunity to apprentice with talented professionals in the city and serve the community at the same time.
ArtWorks is showcasing work by some of Cincinnati's most opinionated and talented youth. During the summer of 2003, a group of teenage apprentice artists worked with lead artist Thom Shaw, and writers Kathy Wilson and Dean Blase, to sharpen their skills in writing and drawing editorials based on current events. Over the course of six weeks as part of the ArtWorks Summer Program, these apprentices studied local, national and international newspapers, held discussions and chose current topics on which to base their editorials.
"We read newspapers like The New York Times, The Onion, The Village Voice and The Cincinnati Enquirer," explains Dean Blase, one of the staff members who helped guide the apprentices. "Once or twice a week, we had editorial debates about issues in the news. The apprentices had to produce one finished product a week."
For six of the apprentices, those products took the form of editorial articles or commentaries. The other ten produced editorial cartoons. The apprentices' finished products are on display on the ArtWorks Time Warner Cable Gallery downtown in Generation Vexed: Editorial and Cartoons until Friday, February 6.
"The writers had to keep a journal," Blase says. "Most of their ideas came from their own neighborhoods."
Blase currently teaches 11th and 12th grades at Clark Montessori in Hyde Park. She has been involved with ArtWorks since its inception; a twist of fate had Blase seated next to ArtWorks' executive director Tamara Harkavy at a wedding in California. The two started talking, and next she knew, Blase was writing grants for the budding non-profit. Blase has worked in a behind-the-scenes capacity for the past few years, coordinating the video installation of a past project at a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Clinic for teens among other projects. This summer was the first time she was hired to staff a project, and she calls the experience "great."
"The apprentices were super smart and very dedicated," Blase relates. "Their work is a sometimes searing, sometimes funny commentary on the Cincinnati scene."
The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Original works and the published collection will be available for sale.
Allyson Jacob is a freelance writer and playwright living just outside of Cincinnati.
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