Opportunities for the flesh and the spirit

"Dancing Prosthesis" by Amy Wendland, the chair of the FLC Art Department, hangs in the Art Department on Monday. The Women’s Health Coalition is currently accepting entries into its “Boobs and Bras” fund-raising exhibit for local women undergoing cancer treatment./Photo by David Halterman.

by Jules Masterjohn

With the river nearly too low to paddle and the mountains threatened by midday monsoons, artists can look forward to getting back into their studios as the summer lollygags into fall. All those gorgeous sticks, bones and unusual-shaped rocks along with the many sketches drawn on sweat-soaked brewpub napkins and photos taken of the toe-stubbingly beautiful midsummer skies, may finally find their place in works of art.

A few exhibit opportunities mark the fall season. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Durango will hold its 2^nd annual juried art exhibit, “ICON: Visual Expressions of the Sacred,” to be displayed in the parish hall from Sept. 14-30. As part of this year’s Sacred Arts Festival, which includes a poetry reading and concert, visual artists are invited to submit artwork in any medium that expresses their concept of the sacred.

The origin of the word “sacred” comes from the Latin, sacrum, and makes reference to the gods and their powers. According to the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, today many people do not associate the word “sacred” with religion: it holds, instead a secular meaning referring to something awe-inspiring. One contributor to the site adds: “Religion is just one route to the sacred. In contemporary usage, the word is much broader. I regularly teach workshops on this subject, and ask people to define the word. Out of maybe 200 participants over the last year, only one has used the word religious to describe the sacred, and that person said, ‘the sacred is the opposite of religious.’”

Hopefully, ICON’s jurors Larry Chalmers, a past president of The Art Institute of Chicago, and Art Meyer, a Lutheran minister, will adopt this more open view of that which artists find holy. Lovers of metaphor, symbolism and the visual pun, the artist’s job is to reveal hidden truths. This is an intriguing theme and will be a very enlightening to see how area artists embody the sacred.

Scott Hagler, minister of music and art at St. Mark’s offered, “We are hoping that the festival will bring out a diversity of perspectives and the richness of talent among us.” Last year, 33 artworks made by 21 artists were on display.

If the theme of the exhibit doesn’t inspire your spirit, perhaps the worship of money will be a motivational factor. The “Best of Show” award is $150. But until your artwork takes home the big prize, you might want to hold off on buying that new upper body-warming purple polar fleece vest for those upcoming chilly nights.

Speaking of the torso tops, the Women’s Health Coalition (WHC) is inviting artists to submit an artwork to the exhibit and fund-raising auction, “Boobs & Bras,” a theme that encourages unleashed creativity of the most playful and serious kind.

In these days of rampant sporty and sexy support, it’s hard to imagine, let alone see, breasts without brassieres. They seem inevitably bound together, ever since the apparel’s invention in the 16^th century. The propaganda began then, convincing women that bras prevent breast sagging in latter years: gravity, however, has proven this false.

There is a growing debate over the merits of wearing a bra. The multibillion-dollar foundations industry has admitted that the choice ‘to wear’ is an aesthetic and comfort choice, abandoning the once believed idea that the device spared women from the inevitable droop factor. New research even suggests that wearing a bra may be harmful to a woman’s health. Due to the tight-fitting nature of the undergarment, the lymphatic system near the breasts can become constricted, causing toxic wastes to build up. Some believe that the congestion of toxins can lead to unhealthy breast conditions, even cancer.

Cancer statistics for American women are grim – one in eight women will have breast cancer in her lifetime. In 2006, nearly 500 Colorado women died due to the disease. Breast cancer rates have risen in our state over the last 20 years, partly because of an increase in mammography screenings that detect the cancer. However mortality rates have declined due to early detection and treatment.

In an effort to raise money for their cancer screening and prevention programs, each October the WHC holds its event, the “Pink Ribbon Affair.” The “Boobs & Bras” auction will take place at the event on Oct. 12, but will be enjoyed by patrons at the Steaming Bean coffeehouse beginning Oct. 1. Money from the auctioned art will provide local women undergoing reproductive cancer treatment with nonmedical assistance.

“Boobs & Bras” will be a juried exhibit and auction, offering a top prize of $250. When asked if I would jury the artwork for the event, all I could say was, “Absolutely, this will be a hoot(er).”

“ICON” submissions are due Sept. 10. Entry forms are available on line at www.SacredArtsFestival.com or by contacting Scott at ScottH@StMarks Durango.com or 247-1129, Ext. 14. “Boobs and Bras” submissions are due by Sept. 30. For an application contact B.J. at bj.boucher@cancer.org or call 259-3527.