Framers (or, the Fall and Rise of the American Presidency)
Bo List
Artist Statement: The year 2020 brought two plagues to the American people (and, by extension of our nation’s influence outside its borders, to the globe): Covid 19 and the presidential election. Both events changed the way we live, interact, and express ourselves. Both events have taken a great toll on our trust in institutions and in one another. Both involve (to borrow from Lincoln) the “better angels of our nature” to stamp out a virulent scourge. One, a disease. The other, ignorance exploited by deceit.
Meanwhile, little ol’ me, Bo List, was spending a lot of time socially distanced at home - soldiering through gins-and-tonics, a slow and creeping weight gain, and all 275 episodes of Cheers. A theatre artist by training and profession, I was divorced (temporarily, amicably) from my art and compelled to look at the world through new lenses and at my spare time through new pursuits. Hours in rehearsal rooms became outdoor excursions, and opening night receptions gave way to activities that pushed me away from crowds rather than pulled me in; one of them was thrifting. In Covid’s early days, thrift stores were largely empty but open. They were a great place to wander, look, see, and spend no (or little) money.
Picture frames caught my eye. As a storyteller, and one that uses a library of visual and aural tools to shape stories, the simplicity of the frames as an essential ingredient in the presentation of an image fascinated me. Frames are not the wine of perception, rather the bottle. So, I started collecting these metaphorical “bottles” and searched for wine. Our former president’s antics and subsequent White House loss inspired reflection on that storied home’s previous occupants, and how their ascents – and descents – shaped our nation through its adolescence and into its present state of rebellious and contradictory day-drunkenness.
Artist Bio: Many years ago, as a young man and aspiring artist, Bo List wandered into the Loudoun House seeking studio space. He was shown the tower, which he thought was the coolest thing ever. Alas, a maintenance issue (Wasps? Water? Condemnation? Who can remember?) prevented that space from being usable at the time. The next week he was cast in a play, and his life took a semi-permanent artistic veer toward the theatrical and away from the visual.
25+ years later, he is thrilled to, once again, find his way back to the tower as a visual artist of some sort. In the intervening years, he would go on to work as a director in Lexington (with Actors Guild, the Lexington Shakespeare Festival, the University of Kentucky) and elsewhere (California, New York, Chicago) and playwright (with his plays performed across the United States and even New Zealand!). He serves as Director of Theatre at Sayre School and as Producing Artistic Director of AthensWest Theatre Company.
Meanwhile, little ol’ me, Bo List, was spending a lot of time socially distanced at home - soldiering through gins-and-tonics, a slow and creeping weight gain, and all 275 episodes of Cheers. A theatre artist by training and profession, I was divorced (temporarily, amicably) from my art and compelled to look at the world through new lenses and at my spare time through new pursuits. Hours in rehearsal rooms became outdoor excursions, and opening night receptions gave way to activities that pushed me away from crowds rather than pulled me in; one of them was thrifting. In Covid’s early days, thrift stores were largely empty but open. They were a great place to wander, look, see, and spend no (or little) money.
Picture frames caught my eye. As a storyteller, and one that uses a library of visual and aural tools to shape stories, the simplicity of the frames as an essential ingredient in the presentation of an image fascinated me. Frames are not the wine of perception, rather the bottle. So, I started collecting these metaphorical “bottles” and searched for wine. Our former president’s antics and subsequent White House loss inspired reflection on that storied home’s previous occupants, and how their ascents – and descents – shaped our nation through its adolescence and into its present state of rebellious and contradictory day-drunkenness.
Artist Bio: Many years ago, as a young man and aspiring artist, Bo List wandered into the Loudoun House seeking studio space. He was shown the tower, which he thought was the coolest thing ever. Alas, a maintenance issue (Wasps? Water? Condemnation? Who can remember?) prevented that space from being usable at the time. The next week he was cast in a play, and his life took a semi-permanent artistic veer toward the theatrical and away from the visual.
25+ years later, he is thrilled to, once again, find his way back to the tower as a visual artist of some sort. In the intervening years, he would go on to work as a director in Lexington (with Actors Guild, the Lexington Shakespeare Festival, the University of Kentucky) and elsewhere (California, New York, Chicago) and playwright (with his plays performed across the United States and even New Zealand!). He serves as Director of Theatre at Sayre School and as Producing Artistic Director of AthensWest Theatre Company.
Public Gallery Hours
Wednesday 12pm-5pm
Thursday 12pm-5pm Friday 12pm-5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm Viewings also available by appointment |
The Loudoun House
209 Castlewood Dr. Lexington, Ky. 40505 Email: [email protected]
Phone 859-254-7024 |
All Lexington Art League programs are made possible through the generous support of LexArts.
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The Kentucky Arts Council, a state arts agency, provides operating support to the Lexington Art League with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided by Lexington Parks & Recreation.
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A yearly online giving challenge from the Bluegrass Community Foundation.
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