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'Being Green' And Scooters Inspire Museum's Art Exhibits

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

TAMPA - The Tampa Museum of Art is offering two noteworthy attractions.

The first is the recently opened exhibit "It's Not Easy Being Green," a one-liner meant to elicit empathy and made famous by Kermit the Frog.

In the exhibit, the green refers to the environment: A diverse group of professionals was asked to present ways in which people can live better lives while caring for their surroundings.

The artists, architects, urban designers and developers display their ideas and talents in three sections: urban design issues; environmentally friendly products and fine art.

For the third section, local and international artists created personal works about sustainability, the place of activism and other environmental issues.

"We didn't tell them what to do," said Elaine Gustafson, director of exhibitions and collections and curator of contemporary art. "These are artists who feel that this is what they want their art to reflect. This is their way of life."

The pieces include photography, works on paper, jewelry, furniture and a conceptual piece that uses found materials to explore the notion of sustainability.

In the exhibit, functionality is often married to the artistic form.

One example is a bamboo bowl by World of Good. It's environmentally friendly, functional and beautiful, Gustafson said.

The exhibit continues through Sept. 28. Admission is by donation.

The museum also will present Art After Dark with Starbucks from 8 to 11 p.m. Friday. This month's theme is "Kick-Start My Art," with a showcase of scooters displayed along with scooter-themed art by local artists.

Four artists will display their works on easels behind their scooters inside the museum. They are Chad Cardoza, Todd Gross, Kieran Walsh and Amy Wells.

Artists providing scooter-themed works but no scooters are Joe Bagley, Linda Chaney, Daniel Mrgan and Deborah Muller.

There will be music by DJ Gabe as well as gelato, Starbucks coffee, light hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

Admission is $10; free for museum members. The museum's interim location is 2306 N. Howard Ave. Call the museum at (813) 274-8130 for information.

Sculptures, Prints Spotlighted At HCC

The Hillsborough Community College Ybor Art Gallery presents an exhibition of new sculptures and prints by Kendra Frorup.

A native of the Bahamas, Frorup has an eye for the common as well as unusual things that define a culture. She often uses them in her art.

"They're large things, like rings and large rusted pieces," said Dorothy Cowden, director of the University of Tampa's Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, where Frorup was one of three featured artists in a show in October.

"One piece is wood that's bent in a circle and glued; she leaves it natural and raw," Cowden said. "That's the strength of it all. It looks impromptu, like she just picked these pieces up and put them together. But, of course, it's not."

Frorup's black-and-white prints are also large and often reference something she found.

"One major work that will be on the wall consists of old flooring that she pulled up and rolled the ink over and made a print of it," Cowden said.

Frorup earned a bachelor's in fine arts from UT and a master's in sculpture from Syracuse University. She teaches sculpting and printmaking at UT.

Frorup will discuss her new works at 6:30 p.m. Thursday during the free opening reception from 8 to 11 p.m.

The gallery is on the first floor of the new HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building at Palm Avenue and 15th Street.

The exhibit continues through Aug. 8. For information, call gallery director Carolyn Kossar at (813) 253-7674.

Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 259-7662 or ehammer@tampatrib.com.

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