Walk this way to First Friday
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BY LIZ STINSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Every first Friday of the month, a four-block radius of downtown Lincoln teems with people moving from art gallery to art gallery.
As they walk among the old brick buildings, their cheeks are blushed by wine, their minds inspired by art.
For this one night, the streets of the Haymarket become slightly more cultured, perhaps even vaguely reminiscent of places far from here.
For doubters, or for those who simply don’t know the art culture of the city, the First Friday event is proof that there’s an appreciation of the arts in Lincoln, there’s talent here, and there’s an outlet for both.
First Friday activities revolve around a handful of galleries — the lights from their windows creating a makeshift map of what is often called the gallery walk.
With so many choices within such a small area, it’s inevitable that each person has a completely different First Friday experience.
The following are observations and stories from a few stops along the gallery walk on a chilly night in March.
Lux Center For the Arts, 5:15 p.m.“Welcome to the Lux Center — there’s food and refreshments over there,” says Kat Coller, operations manager, as she points to a table covered in platters of finger food.
The out-of-the-way art haven is an early stop for people who are looking to see what the rest of the city has to offer before heading down to the art epicenter in the Haymarket.
On this particular night, the Lux Center has a family-oriented draw as it showcases artist-in-residence Carlos Guerrero’s “Cupcake” exhibit.
Guerrero is poised to give a talk on his artwork at 6 p.m., but in the meantime, an increasingly filled Lux Center buzzes with the familiar chatter of friends greeting one another and parents calling after curious children when they get too close to sculptures.
The bright room is filled with small pockets of people, giving the center a welcoming, family-like feel.
“Sometimes art can make you feel like you’re not smart,” says Brent Martin as he sat on a bench in the Lux’s main gallery. “But no one here carries any real pretension — you don’t see a lot of judgment, which I find refreshing.”
Martin was on his way to Las Vegas for a conference when he made an impromptu decision to stop in his hometown of Lincoln for a night. The 38-year-old conference planner at Cornell University had come to the Lux Center to surprise Guerrero, whom he has known for years.
“He doesn’t actually know I’m here,” Martin says, as he studies the bouquet of flowers he picked up for Guerrero on his way over.
Ten minutes pass, and eventually Guerrero, a jolly-looking man of 29, walks into the gallery, a beer in hand.
“What’s up, beautiful? How you doing?” he asks Martin in the midst of a hug.
“I brought you something,” Martin says, handing the flowers to a smiling Guerrero.
“No you didn’t,” he says, obviously surprised.
“No, for real. I picked them up on the way,” Martin replies.
Guerrero takes the bouquet and studies the unexpected gift.
“I really can’t believe I have flowers. I guess I’ll give them to my wife,” Guerrero says as he wandered off.
As the evening wears on, the mix of art novices and elders becomes intermingled, giving each other a fresh perspective on an ancient form of expression.
“It’s really not so intangible or abstract,” Martin says as he surveys the artwork. “This (event) is proof that art is accessible to everybody.”
Sheldon Museum of Art, 6:20 p.m.The shake of the martini mixer echoes through the marbled entrance of the Sheldon Museum of Art.
Polite embraces and masculine pats on the back are visible at every turn as the lively crowd exchanges their requisite “how are yous.”
The social and art elite of the city gathers at the museum for the monthly event, but the banner that hangs from the railing in the Sheldon’s Great Hall is an indication that this night is different from any other.
Reading “Sheldon Museum of Art,” the giant, plastic nametag boasts the building’s change in name from Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery to its newer, sleeker moniker.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman gave a quick speech earlier in the evening, commemorating the change, but now that the pomp and circumstance is done, the event takes on a more relaxed feel.
“They’re drinking more tonight than they usually do at these things,” says bartender Ben Johnson.
Maybe it was the cause for celebration or maybe it was solely the desire to live up to the month’s theme of Martini Madness, but sleek glasses fill a good number of hands.
“Martinis are my favorite way to go,” says Jim Seacrest as Perlman sweeps behind him, giving him a slight pat on the back.
Seacrest is at the museum supporting his wife, Rhonda, president of the Sheldon Art Association.
After Rhonda took the job two years ago, Seacrest told her he’d attend the occasional gathering and reception, but tonight he is hungry and anxious to get to his dinner reservation at the Nebraska Club.
“I’m ready to go to dinner, but my wife is having such a good time talking to people I don’t think I can tear her away,” he says.
The Sheldon, like many of the other galleries on First Friday, is a place for people to see and be seen, a monthly rubbing of the elbows with the who’s who of the Lincoln art scene.
But even as big money and high culture fill the air of the museum, it’s clear that this reception draws a varied crowd of people.
To the left of Seacrest, a group of young boys, most in their late teens, amble awkwardly over to a table full of elegant foods.
“Brent said there was going to be pizza. Maybe we’re at the wrong event,” says Josh Heinke, 18.
Heinke came here with three friends after hearing about the event earlier in the week. The three UNL students, along with a senior at Lincoln Southeast High School, might have gotten First Friday confused with the Sheldon’s College Night that had taken place earlier in the week, where they did, in fact, have pizza.
“I don’t know, it looks kind of high class,” says Mike Cleveland, 19. “I see guys in suits with nice drinks in their hands. It seems a little too classy for college students.”
The issue of accessibility to museums is a recurring theme of First Friday. Each gallery wants to attract the most people possible and expose art to those who might find the concept intimidating.
“We want to provide a social experience with art. Our main goal is to get people into museums and feel more comfortable coming into museums,” explains Monica Babcock, administrator at the Sheldon.
“This building itself has a grand, cold feeling to it, and if you don’t know a lot about art or art education, going into a reception where there are a lot of people, you may feel like you don’t know enough to talk about art.
“I think our First Friday provides an opportunity to mingle with others and learn,” Babcock says.
Haydon Art Center, 7:15 p.m.
Standing still is the easiest thing to do at the Haydon Art Center.
A constant swarm of people fill the entirety of the Haydon’s relatively small space, allowing only little passageways for those hoping to make their way through the gallery.
“It kind of comes and goes,” says painter Keith Jacobshagen of the gallery’s large crowd.
From the look of things, people only seem to be coming — not going.
But the night is cold, and the mass of people gives the Haydon the feel of warmth and comfort.
Within the crowd, small colonies form.
“This is my social life,” says local artist David Routon. “If you’re really wanting to look at the art, it’s better to come back when the room isn’t full of people.”
Routon is a regular at First Friday receptions and now is busy mingling with the art crowd, which, to the eyes of an outsider, has dubbed the Haydon its meeting place.
But amid the core group of art supporters, there are some new faces.
Travis Beck and Arthur Nelson had just finished eating sushi at Wasabi when they decided to head down to the Haymarket to check out the galleries.
Beck, a photography student at UNL, has gone to First Friday off and on for the past two years and always makes it a point to stop at the Haydon during his rounds.
“I think they’re the most diverse,” Beck says.
The Haydon is celebrating the opening of its new exhibit, “Woman.” The ode to the many shapes and faces of women fills the room with brightly colored paintings and curious sculptures.
One piece in particular catches Beck’s eye. It hangs on the wall across from the door.
A woman’s face.
Beck likes the vibrancy of the eyes. The colors of the face. The intensity that starts with the artist and ends with the artwork.
“It’s a connection to a stranger, almost,” he says of the power of the work. “You don’t know the person, the artist, and you may never know them, but you come together by the art.”
Modern Arts Midwest, 8 p.m.
“This one’s my favorite, but it kind of has that ‘let’s rub elbows with each other and talk about how much we know about art’ vibe,” says Teresa Franta as she looked around Modern Arts Midwest.
The 22-year-old UNL graduate came to MAM with her friend Frank Holm, 23, to conclude their night at what they deemed the “coolest” of the galleries.
“Yeah,” Holm says. “You get to see a lot of cool stuff, and you get free booze. I’m big on free booze.”
Like many of the other galleries, MAM offers up free glasses of wine to those milling about the artwork, and on this particular night, there is plenty of it to go around.
The usually packed MAM has a sparse crowd this evening, mainly due the decision to open Michael James’ textiles exhibit in conjunction with the opening of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum instead of on the first Friday of the month.
The usual wait in the building’s lobby is non-existent on this night. It’s a quick trip up to the third floor in an elevator that is usually filled with people clamoring to see a new exhibit at the loft space.
Situated above The Mill, MAM is undoubtedly the most cosmopolitan of the galleries, with its shiny concrete floors, track lighting and stark white walls that are covered with contemporary and at times provocative artwork.
“It (MAM) seems a little more worldly than the other places,” says Rachel Dermody, as she studies a nearly wall-size acrylic on linen by Larry Roots, artist and director of the gallery.
Dermody and her friend Lindsey Auten, both art students at Concordia University, Nebraska, drove in from Seward to see what the galleries had to offer.
“We like to do this every so often because there’s not much art in Seward,” Dermody says.
The mix of larger-than-life paintings and photos included in the gallery’s exhibit, dubbed “Big Works,” give a burst of color to MAM’s sterile atmosphere, making the space feel more like New York City than Lincoln.
It’s an atmosphere that was conceptualized from the beginning of MAM’s existence and provides a distinctive niche for the 5-year-old gallery.
“We model ourselves after some of the major markets,” Roots says. “It’s all a part of what we want to bring to Lincoln. …
“The artwork you carry becomes your identity.”
Reach Liz Stinson at 473-7254 or estinson@journalstar.com.
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