As the most requested magazine in the industry, Art Business News stays true to its mission of reporting the latest industry news and emerging trends driving the fine art market. ABN: The art industry's news leader since 1977.
Page 36 of 67
it's a city you've visited once in your life or a special hideaway you take off to every year to recharge your batteries, an art- ist's surroundings dictate a number of things—inspiration and productivity chief among them. T at's not to say that you can only have a single place of inspiration. Even within one's own city, there might be
M
BY JENNIFER M. WOOD
ovement, stillness. Light, darkness. People, places. History, present, fu- ture. Inspiration comes from a variety of sources and reveals itself in many forms. But conscious or not, place is a key part of any artist's ritual. Whether
And there's a clear diff erence in the ener- gies that exist between American creative capitals and international ones. As such, we've decided to break this list into two parts—with this, the fi rst part, off ering your picks for the 10 most inspiring Amer- ican cities. (Keep your eyes open for our March/April edition, where we'll unveil the most inspiring international locales.) In the meantime, here are your picks for the 10 most inspiring American cities...
FOR THE ARTISTICALLY-MINDED
hundreds of buildings, views, nooks and crannies that bring about an idea that forces itself onto your canvas of choice. But if you speak with enough people, you'll start to hear
an echo. T e same cities will come up time and time again as key sources of inspiration. So which cities have had the most infl uence on ABN readers? Well, we asked and lots of you answered. Lots of you. But coming up with just one city of choice wasn't always an easy task. "Choosing a favorite city is like choosing dinner from an
over-large menu in a wonderful restaurant," says fi gurative painter Ken Orton (www.kenortongallery.com), who makes his home in New York's Catskills Mountains. "If I have the Pa amb Oli, I have to miss out on the Lamb Balti." When pressed to think about the places an artist has been,
it's not diffi cult to recount the many spots where he or she has felt creatively charged. "I have spent many months in Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona," continues Orton. "I have lived in the beautiful Palma de Mallorca and the sublime Venice. I am a frequent visitor to family and friends in majestic Lon- don and have been reduced to tears by the plaintive beauty of Havana de Cuba. T ey are all unique and have provided copious amounts of inspirational grist to my mill. But there is one city that surpasses them all, and indeed one city that has taken what the rest of the world has to off er and made of itself that dazzling and dark, mighty and poignant, bustling, slightly broken, oſt en-patched but always monstrously mag- nifi cent New York." Orton's right about more than just the "dazzling and dark" power of New York. Choosing just one city is diffi cult.
Q JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING
"Stunning, ruggedly enticing yet smooth, so-
phisticated and as natural as a baby's behind," is how photographer Linda Shinkle Rodney (www. shinklephotography.com) describes the gate- way between the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. "I fi nd sheer and utter inspiration from Jackson Hole, Wyoming." She's not the only one. Ansel Adams created a
picture of America in its purest state when he shot his famous 1942 image, T e Tetons and the Snake River (which infl uenced that image you see to your leſt ). In fact, Adams' image was one of 115 recorded and brought aboard the Voyager spacecraſt , as a way to explain life on Earth to any possibly-encountered alien civilizations. A place where breathtaking views are the norm,
though the area attracts artists of all types, it's been a refuge for photographers and landscape artists for decades. It's also a community where art is a collaborative—not competitive—endeavor. T e downtown area is speckled with unique
galleries, including the Wilcox Gallery (www. wilcoxgallery.com), one of the area's oldest and largest art retailers. T e nearby Center for the Arts (www.jhcenterforthearts.org) showcases art exhi- bitions from artists near and far, and off ers classes to the public, making this a city with art for all.
A view of Jackson Hole's Grand Teton Mountains, made famous by Ansel Adams
35
