Spring Break
First Friday fires up Broad Street
Richmond shines under the brilliance of the arts
ROBERTO CURTIS- Associate Spectrum Editor
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The First Friday Art Walk brought thousands to Broad Street last weekend to watch artists and performers display their creativity.
Eager wanderers were drawn to a plethora of galleries fresh with new and exciting material.
Art6 displayed wonderful works in an exhibit titled, "Hispanic Roots." Nora Pozzi, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, brought a few of her surreal colored pencil works, which were reminiscent of Joan Miro and Wassily Kandinski.
Truly showing what her family is made of, Pozzi also displayed works by her late father, Max Soler, who created stunning twisted interpretations of reality through black ink on paper. Equally as intense were the welded iron sculptures he created. Comical yet strong, his "Rey Actor (King Actor)" saw many smiles that night.
Other notables Javier Tapia and Jorge Miguel Benitez brought their work to display, representing VCU's faculty very well. Every minute touch in their respective media were marvelous in their complexity as they showed what sets the pros apart from the novices.
ADA Gallery had some fascinating ideas made into reality thanks to the brilliance of Bruce Wilhelm. He used a wide variety of frames and mirrors to create optical illusions that really challenged perception. Using LCD screens, Wilhelm created looping graphics that caught many people's eyes.
Rarely outdone, Gallery 5 stole the night with an extravagant event titled "The Carnival of 5 Fires." With five different arenas of performance and wonderful art throughout the former firehouse, there was something for everyone.
Costumed freaks were abundant and welcomed the guests with their extra extremities and decaying flesh. One unfortunate freak had a foot growing out of her forehead while another zombieesque fellow had a PBR can protruding from the top of his head.
The Furries paraded around in their cougar, cat and dog costumes, reminiscent of a "Trigger Happy TV" episode.
No BS Brass Band brought the flavor of New Orleans to the fray with nasty attitude and tight lines to march around to, while an array of fire performers lit up the night with their spinning balls of fire.
Outside the event, the Art Cheerleaders performed and sold baked goods to raise money for the arts. With a goal of unifying the voice of the art world, the squad's members come from a wide variety of media, including writing, painting, sound design, fashion design and theater.
The event coordinators did well to bring in talent from outside the city, too. Danse Oriental brought its Turkish- and Egyptian-style cabaret all the way from the Big Apple.
Vaudeville guitar trio OK Bird sang about Jesus and seemed as if it came straight out of a fundamentalist Fox News infomercial, condemning and shunning sinners for not accepting the love of the Lord. It was difficult to tell if they were joking.
Many people's hearts were swept away by the sultry moves of Sweet Teas Burlesque. Composed of VCU dance and choreography department alumni, their flawless technique, natural grace and academic brilliance shone right through their transparent robes and gave a glimpse of burlesque.
Well worth the price of admission, Gallery 5's extravagance paid off with a unique showing of culture no city could hurt to have.
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