Trash & Treasure
by Ric Kasini Kadour
Art Hop comes and Art Hop goes. Over 500 artists display work in approximately a hundred venues. The Art Hop Committee of the South End Arts and Business Association (SEABA) allows and encourages anything, anyone, and any group to contribute work and participate in the event. This noble position makes Art Hop one of the most democratic and popular art events in the country.
The heart of the event is the Juried Show which took place at the Soda Plant for a second year in a row. “Unlike most juried shows, all of the works submitted will be displayed,” explains SEABA’s website. As such, calling it a juried show is a misnomer and confusing. Too many of the pieces in this year’s show were older works recycled from past exhibitions. Too many of the pieces were from hobbyists and debutantes. What is lost in the event is the serious work by professional artists. What is lost is respect for the art.
This complaint is not new. It’s been made before by us and by others, in print and in person. The South End Art Hop has become an important event in Vermont’s art community. It involves a huge amount of resources and energy. It is successful at bringing people to Burlington’s South End and SEABA and the Art Hop Committee should be proud of what they have accomplished. However, for Art Hop to play a meaningful role in the development of Vermont’s art scene and its artists, the event must evolve. In order for Art Hop to be taken seriously by the broader art community, the event must find a way to respect the art and those professional artists whose livelihood depends on their work being taken seriously. There is room in Art Hop for both the democratic, popular, anything goes philosophy, and a meaningful presentation of work by artists who deserve recognition and respectful presentation. If Art Hop can find a way to accomodate both, financial and critical success will follow.
image above: Sacred and Profane Love by Titian (1513-1514)
