[NEohioPAL]5th Annual Environmental Art Exhibition

[Standing Rock Cultural Arts]

*Greetings,

WHO: Standing Rock Cultural Arts presents

WHAT: Group Environmental Art Exhibition (including renowned Akron 
Artist PR Miller)
-5th Annual Environmental Group Art Exhibit.
-Featuring P.R. Miller, Vince Packard, Stephanie Garisto, Lori Fields, 
Bob Tubbesing, and Kim Richardson
-Scrapyard Sculptures, Oil, Watercolor, Acrylic Paintings, Collage, 
Painted Instruments.

WHEN: Opening Reception April 7, 8pm.
-Show runs through May 5, 2007

WHERE: North Water Street Gallery, 257 N. Water St. Kent OH

GALLERY HOURS: Thursday-Saturday, 1-5pm or by appoinment

Contact Jeff @ 330-673-4970 or info at standingrock.net

www.standingrock.net for updates.
*
(This exhibit leads off a month of Earth Day Activities planned by SRCA 
which include a “Who’s Your Mama” environmental Film Festival, April 
19-22. Details forthcoming.)

Standing Rock Cultural Arts is proud to announce our annual Earth Day 
Exhibition, curated by Vince Packard. We welcome artists new to the 
gallery, renowned Akron Artist P.R. Miller, Bob Tubbesing and Kim 
Richardson.

This exhibit takes the perspective that the Earth is a Living Being, 
Gaia. All living things are connected. Taking it further, the artists 
have been given permission to depict our world in whatever way they see 
fit, be it fantastical and dreamy, or stark and sickly.

_*THE ARTISTS*_

P.R. Miller: http://www.prmiller.presskit247.com/

PR Miller was born and raised in Mars, Pennsylvania on a salvage yard 
not far from Butler County’s Callery Chemical Company. He recalls the 
multi-colored burning off of waste from the company that took place 
every Friday evening – an event the locals took in with fireworks-like awe.

His father’s junk yard was Miller and his sibling’s backyard. His 
mother, a school teacher, punished the children by not allowing them to 
play among the piles of scrap metal and broken down cars. PR struggled 
in school with an undiagnosed learning disability. His teachers said he 
was retarded. His mother encouraged him to use his hand and make things. 
So he did.

After high school, PR traveled to Oslo, Norway, where he studied the 
work of Gustav Vigland. Upon returning to the U.S., PR enrolled at the 
University of Akron, and earned a degree in Art Education.

Growing up in a scrap yard is a key ingredient in the recipe for making 
a demolition man, which is exactly what PR made a career in. He created 
artwork on his own for his own pleasure. In the '70s and '80s, PR was an 
anomaly in the Akron art community; an outsider artist who had the 
training, but remained on the outskirts of the museum and gallery 
circuit. PR's ever-changing canvas incorporated unusual materials - 
metal, glass, and other industrial scraps.

PR says his art has a statement: "Why did you people throw all this 
stuff away?"

His appearance is unlikely, with wild gray hair and grungy clothing. PR 
can often be found philosophizing in his rough, deep voice on politics, 
religion, or the environment – you know; the usual niceties. His flare 
for conversation and contempt for the “establishment,” in addition to 
his unique industrial art earned him the nickname “The Grizzled Wizard.”

Devoted fans of PR, known as “patrons,” are eager to meet his needs – 
from paying for dinner (and his company) in a restaurant downtown to 
creating films about him. He continues to attract attention and his work 
can always be found on display in numerous areas.

While it is obvious that Miller’s creative inspiration is borne out of 
what others consider “waste,” his purpose is to achieve more than 
artistic greatness or national recognition. A bout with brain cancer 
(which he credits to exposure to toxic waste while living in 
Pennsylvania) manifested a near-death experience in which Miller was 
told “to go back,” because his job was not done. It was then that he 
discovered his true purpose: ridding the world of waste and pollution.

PR has current exhibits at The Cleveland Botanical Garden and The 
Massilon Museum of Art

Bob Tubbesing:

Bob Tubbesing was a display designer and mural artist for Higbee's and 
has, in different periods of his career, been; poster artist, window 
trimmer, interior designer, illustrator, editorial cartoonist, package 
designer and educator. He was once, dean of Cooper School of Art and is 
presently teaching graphic design at Cuyahoga Community College campus 
west.

Kim Richardson: www.keekart.com

I am a self taught painter born in St. Louis, Missouri where I currently 
make my home. Although my work is often cathartic and autobiographical, 
I like to think it transcends the artist and reaches an audience who is 
moved on a personal level. I practice the witchery of bringing darkness 
to light. I'm a patron saint of discarded objects, a back alley nomad, a 
connoisseur of trash. Between the actual painting surfaces which are 
often found objects, the imagery and the title I hope to challenge the 
viewer to unlock each painting's meaning. An invitation to journey 
inward and ponder your own paths or deeper universal truths.

Lori FIelds: http://myspace.com/moosedusty

Lori Fields work can be described as paintings and collages that are 
anthropomorphic and visually hypnotizing. She says in her artist statement,

“My collage and drawing based works begin as streams of consciousness. 
The beings depicted evoke subliminal, mysterious worlds. It is another 
planet of my own creation; a demi-monde peopled with anthropomorphic 
'angels with attitude', mutants, exhibitionists, seducers, chimeras and 
other intimate strangers. The animal and Asian imagery in particular 
seem to be obsessions that have chosen me rather than the other way around.”

Thank you for supporting the arts,

Standing Rock Cultural Arts
257 N. Water St.
Kent, OH 44240
330-673-4970
www.standingrock.net
info at standingrock.net