Au Naturel: The Nude in the 21st Century Clatsop Community College 3rd Annual International Juried Exhibition Building Art by Exhibition by Dinah Urell Nicole Amore applied countless layers of glaze to the skin of the nude in her painting Out From Under, a painting that she worked on, on and off for about 5 years – the painting on the cover of HIPFiSH this issue and the Second Place award winner in Clatsop Community College’s third juried international art exhibition. Amore, who moved from Los Angeles to Portland 4 years ago to focus on her art, deconstructed a 1969 Thomas Guide (our culture’s precursor to Map Quest), and reconstructed the landscape underneath her subjects feet, uniting the places in Los Angeles with which she had connection. The painting says Amore, ‘is about self-enabled change.’ Encouraged to enter Au Naturel by her friend Paul Middendorf - Director of galleryHomeland, an experimental exhibition space located in the Ford Building in SE Portland - Amore works exclusively with the nude female figure. Second place in an international juried nude exhibition, of 67 selected works of art from over 370 submissions, juried by renowned Northwest figurative artist Rick Bartow, puts Amore in just about the right place at the right time, a sweet victory for an artist (with a Fine Arts Degree from U of O and study at the The School of the Art Institute of Chicago) who has recently finished pieces she has been working on ‘a very long time’ and at the age of 31, is looking toward creating a new body of work and expanding her career. Rick Bartow was born and raised in Newport, Oregon, where he lived most of his life. Part Yurok Indian, his grandfather walked across the Oregon border from a northern California reservation and settled in Newport. Although his work exhibits a strong connection with the natural and spiritual worlds, Bartow says they are personal symbols and not necessarily a reflection of his ancestry. Represented by the Charles Froelich Gallery in Portland, you can view a vast selection of Bartow’s work at the gallery’s website; vivid imagery, often featuring birds and animals fusing with humans, summoning the experience of transformation, the densely drawn figures in unfilled space creating a heightened focus. One of Bartow’s works, a dry point pen drawing for example, may go for $400; a painting $20,000. 1st Place, Michael Reedy She Knows How to Use Them Mixed media/paper, 43”x35”x2”
	2nd Place, Nicole Amore Out From Under - oil/paper/canvas 91.1 x 91.1 cm
	3rd Place, Matthew Davey Lily Lily Rose - charcoal/paper 30x22
	Juror Rick Bartow Laughing Woman, 2006 Drawing – charcoal/pastel/ paper - 40 x 26 inches

In his address to 200 attendees, and 15 participating entrants at the opening of Au Naturel this past February, Bartow was as highly empathetic to the rejected as he was in his congratulations to selected artists. He spoke earnestly and openly about the pain of rejection and the importance of having your work valued, and the enormously demanding undertaking of the jury process, of which he humorously stated, “You’re looking at my last judgment.”

CCC Drawing instructor and founding creator of the Au Naturel show, Kristin Shauck (see photo at right) commented on Bartow’s award selections, “While he didn’t discuss specific criteria, Rick Bartow responded to pieces with strong drawing skills that demonstrated the understanding of the human form.”

And to that, the First Place award by artist Michael Reedy of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is taken to the extreme. His striking mixed-media drawing She Knows How To Use Them is representative of Reedy’s concentration of contemporary trends in figurative and portrait based works, as well as fringe images of the body.

Reedy is Assistant Professor in Drawing at Eastern Michigan University, a three time Au Naturel entrant with two of his pieces in this year’s show. His anatomical creations are based in traditional portraiture and the use of digital cadaver medical imaging. His work was featured recently on the cover of Direct Art Magazine; a yearly progressive fine art publication (found along side such institutions as ArtNews and Art Forum) choosing artists based on their work rather than the resume and associated commercial ventures.

Direct Art labels Reedy a “spontaneous revisionist.” In his desire to explore visual complexity, Reedy says, “My goal has been to make each new image more beautiful and self-indulgent than the last, while still challenging notions of pain, violence, optimism, and beauty, all with some perverse desire to see where it leads me.”

You can view many more of Reedy’s incredible, anatomical fantasy drawings and paintings at his website (mikereedy.com).

“A significant part of the whole” says Shauck, “ figure drawing plays a fundamental role in what we teach in the studio arts.” While Bartow honored the craft of figure drawing in his award selections, Au Naturel shines in its diversity of medium and visual art as a conveyance of message as well as technique. “Through the limitation of the juried nude we can witness infinite possibilities,” says Shauck and she furthers, “ The show is a teaching tool meant to be shared with students, but we have such a strong community of artists here, it’s purpose becomes manyfold.”

On the local level, Astoria artist Kitty Paino was one of two honorable mentions, with After the Argument (a glazed water color and acrylic painting on rice paper). Other local/coastal artists in the juried selection included painters Darren Orange, Kyle Matthews, Virginia Laughery, and Janet Bland.

The juried exhibition is for the artist a basic route, a resume builder, exposure, prize money, a particular playing field in the world of art. This year’s Purchase Award was granted to Joseph A. Miller, Associate Professor of Art at Buffalo State College in New York, and three time selected artist in Au Natural. CCC according to Shauck selected Miller’s graphite drawing, Girl in Rising Water, for its classical treatment, technical skill and powerful expression.

Canadian artist Robert Creighton, second place winner of the 2008 Au Naturel, and also selected to exhibit in the 2009 show, says, “It is really quite exciting that the Au Naturel exhibition at Clatsop Community College continues to provide a venue for figurative art.” Creighton believes that the nude human figure is a timeless subject that is “as relevant in artwork today as it has ever been, perhaps more so.”

This year’s Solo Show Award winner is Elizabeth Malaska, a Portland artist who will be opening the CCC Art Center’s 2009-2010 exhibition season with a one-person show of her impressive large-scale acrylic, ink and gouache paintings in October. At 30 years of age, Malaska very much considers herself an emerging artist and has been painting seriously for 12 years. She holds a BFA from California College of the Arts and will return to PNCA for the masters program this fall.

Shauck was impressed with Malaska’s accessibility as an artist and ability to articulate her work, as there was equal interest from Charles Froelich in her work. Malaska will also join Shauck this summer in a variety of summer workshops.

“Au Natural definitely provides networking opportunities, and builds and expand our arts department that extends into our coastal community and beyond,” says Shauck.

Revered for his spiritual side that intertwines with his work, Rick Bartow (see photo at left) at one point in his address had promised that he was finished speaking on spiritual matters, and then proceeded to enrapture opening night attendees with his messages.

“I know its hard times, but if we come together like this, and we look at what’s available, maybe we forget for a moment, that we feel so sad, or that we feel scared,” said Bartow.

To close, as he segued into an intense ritual prayer song, Bartow said, “ Look at us, we look pretty good tonight, and what we see, doesn’t have any clothes on – its not hidden – what’s there is there, as we are, if we open our minds.”

CCC’s Au Naturel: the Nude in the 21st Century is Open to the Public, 8am – 5pm, Monday thru Friday, and 11am – 5pm on Saturdays. The exhibit will show through April 9. 1653 Jerome Ave. in Astoria, ADA Accessible. Purchase Awards from Au Naturel I and II are on display at the Badollet Library in the Desdemona Room.