Stone Canoe/ Vein 8
Syracuse, NY
January 11th – February 8th, 2013
Health of the Planet #504, 2008, 1/1, carbon inkjet on cotton rag paper, 29.75 x 24 inches
The dynamic images in this show of artists from Stone Canoe Number 8 draw the viewer to reflect from a visceral place. This group of images has a gathering effect, allowing us to consider distinct ways of reaching a consistent vitality. There is a sense of the world as we see it and the world as part of a larger imagined universe. Although the artists all have a connection to New York State, I find the diversity of style, approach, subject matter, technique, and materials, is broad. The work has an intelligence and sensitivity that supports the population of talent connected to this rural area. New York State is as rich in creativity as any other state. The artists represent the second circle in the number eight.
Melora Griffis, Vein 8 Curator
Stone Canoe, A Journal of Arts, Literature and Social Commentary, is published annually by University College of Syracuse University. The prize-winning journal, now in its eighth year, is committed to communicating to the world at large the depth and diversity of the Upstate New York arts community, and each issue features a provocative mix of artists and writers, both well-known and emerging, with ties to the region. The journal’s name is inspired by the oldest recorded Upstate New York story, the journey of the Peacemaker in his sacred canoe of stone from Lake Ontario to the Finger Lakes, where he brought the resident warring tribes together to form the Iroquois Confederacy. Each year, the journal’s prize-winning writers and artists are presented with an original stone canoe carving by noted Native American sculptor Tom Huff. The current journal, Stone Canoe Number 8, features the work of 26 artists chosen by 2014 arts editor Melora Griffis.
Robert Colley, Stone Canoe Founding Editor