Guest Blogger: Nick Nelson

“When asked to contribute to this blog I immediately saw it as an opportunity for shameless self-promotion. Unfortunately, the guilt and shame built up from years of catechism class and art school got the better of me and I decided to do something high-minded.

I decided to do something never attempted in the blogosphere. I decided to write something that would stimulate discussion. In November of 2006, I had the opportunity to attend a retreat for artists hosted by the Fire House Gallery in Louisville, GA . The purpose of this retreat was to discuss Southern art and aesthetics, if there are such things.

This Vase For America, Anthony Faris

There is such a thing as Southern Literature (Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee, etc…) so it follows that there should be a counterpart in the visual arts. Since the retreat, I have been preoccupied with this notion of a regional aesthetics and the resurgence of regionalism in an increasingly globalized world.

So my question to “Internet-land”: Is there an aesthetic or artistic style unique to the South? Is a regional aesthetic or style even possible in such a small world? Is it even something that should be sought after? Because Flint River Gallery, the good folks hosting this blog, specialize in art and artists of the Deep South, I thought these questions would be appropriate.

I have a few offerings. The first is an artist named Anthony Faris who lives and works in Swainsboro, GA. The second is Parrott, GA’s own Meg Anderson. These artists have never met or seen each other’s work, but have adopted similar styles.

To me both artists make art that is about tradition but in non-traditional ways, both make art about sentimentality without being sentimental, both explore nostalgia through contemporary forms and both offer a sense of place through the use of found objects that once haunted places. Those are my humble thoughts.

Worn Gears and Missing Gear, Meg Anderson

What qualities do you, the good people of Internet-land, I think are indicative of a Southern aesthetic? Are there any artists out there, past or present, that you consider quintessential Southern Artists? Let the comments begin! ” — Nick

Nick Nelson graduated with a BFA from Georgia Southwestern State University in 2000. He went on to earn an MFA from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia where he taught observational drawing and two-dimensional design for two years.

He currently works in the Education Department of the Albany Museum of Art in Albany, Georgia. Nelson has shown his work regionally and nationally and is a member of the Stillmoreroots Group, an artist collective that exhibits site-specific installation in non-traditional spaces.

You can learn more about him at Still More Roots Gallery.