N

When I arrive in Hardwick, I've
got twenty minutes to see the town
before I'm due at Compost Gallery for
an interview. In other words, I've got
plenty of time. I stop at Good and
Ready Take Out for a cup of coffee
and a homemade cookie after the
hour and a halfdrive from Burlington.
Tacked up on the bulletin board inside
is an “Ally” card, along with fliers ad-
vertising in-home childcare, Buffalo
Mountain Hours (Hardwick’s local cur-
rency), and Life Drawing classes at
Compost, the local artspace. The life-
drawing class is one of the many ar-
tistic opportunities available at this
cutting edge gallery in the middle of
Vermont’s northeast kingdom.

When I arrive, I find that the
gallery space itself takes up only half
ofthe firsl floor. The other half is given
to a classroom/performance space for
occasions like the life-drawing class.
The two are separated by thin black
curtains. From the gallery side I see
the eerie red glow of the other half of
the room, where red curtains filter the
sunlight. This is a strange post-mod-
ern kind of a place to wander into on
a sunny afternoon.

Rural Hardwick is hardly the
place I'd expect to find a vibrant “multi-
disciplinary environment dedicated to
creative efforts" that offers art shows
like “Shopping for Salvation” (Decem-
ber 1997), and art openings featuring
music by a techno DJ. But co-
founders and —directors Juliet King

 

and Clifford Jackman disagree with
my jaded appraisal of theirtown. “This
is a great community for what we're
doing," says King. “It's not Connecuit-
ized.” And what exactly are they do-
ing? “We try to tell secrets here,"
Jackman says. A

Sandwiched between the
Green Mountain Variety Store and the
local V.F.W., the Compost Gallery,
says Jackman, serves as a “breed-
ing ground for ideas and inventions".
The building itself has been home to
several different ventures over the
years. “It used to be a knitwear fac-
tory, and I think they used to make
coffins here,” says King. This same
building currently provides artists with
exhibition, classroom, performance,
and assembly space; and will soon
offer a darkroom, a ceramics facility,
office and personal studio space, as
well.

It's also home to its two direc-
tors. Ever thought of living the artist's
life in a vast lotl—one enormous room
that's kitchen, dining room, bedroom,
and office, with plenty of space to
spare? King and Jackman pull it off
in the massive expanse of space on
the third floor. Another good thing
about Hardwick—it's cheaper than

Manhattan, which is where Jackman '

and King were before they came here.
“What were you doing in Manhattan ?”
I ask. “Paying lots of rent,” says
Jackman. The New York natives, who
met while they were students at the

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___.‘

I
I
I

COMPOST A
GALLERY:

Everything But
the Kitchen Sink
in the Northeast
Kingdom

Massachusetts College of Design,

were also doing interior design work

and curating independent shows in
different places before they moved to
the country. Now they're responsible
for scheduling exhibits, coordinating
classes, and renovating the physical
space—“We do everything our-
selves,” says King.

“Everything” includes develop-
ing the vision for what their galleryl
artspace should be. “We'd like it to
be a functional incubator space for
career artists," says King. “We want
it to be a starting place, where people
can do their own thing. We're look-
ing for serious people producing seri-
ous work—radica| stuff." “We want
to cultivate a school,” says Jackman.
To that end, they're developing resi-
dential quarters for an artists’ retreat,
which should be accessible next
spnng.

While I’m there, I take a look
at “Contemporaries,” the exhibit that
will come down the following day to
make room for “Cornish Homecom-
ing”. “Contemporaries” is a combina-
tion painting/scuIpture/photography
exhibit by Charlie Emers, Torrin Por-
ter, and Tori Zolonoski, three local art-
ists. I spend the most time on one of
Porter's sculpture pieces, a circle of
small chairs that resembles a sort of
Stonehenge, above which hangs a
group of several metal fish. “It's not
the rural landscape type of ‘safe art”
says King.

“Cornish Homecoming," the
next show (September 18-October
19) sounds intriguing; the gallery is
hosting a collection of work from the
Cornish family—six siblings who grew

 

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email: Iavender@fogefher.neI

Lavender Visions Productions, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3)
organization and all contributions are tax deductible

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up in Hardwick before moving to and we’re going to keepthe soilwarm

places as diverse as Tokyo and Sante up here by doing good shows and

Fe. The oldest, Daryl‘Cornish, S.J. is
a Jesuit priest who lives and works at
St. Louis University. He lost the use
of his hands due to Multiple Sclero-
sis, but his works have been shown
in Chicago, and an exhibit is planned
for New York. I've missed it by a
couple days.

Before I head back to B-town,
I have one last question: “Why Com-
post?” I ask. “Where’d you get the
name?" King tells me, “It's about re-
using raw materials, like these aban-
doned old buildings. Nobody wanted
them." Jackman gets more philo-
sophical. “The arts are at the bottom
of the barrel right now,” he says. I'm
not sure if he's referring to the recent
national obsession with salacious
details, or to the constant barrage of
junk that comprises ourAmerican con-
sumerculture, but I think I know what
he means. “It'll come back, though,

good work ourselves."

If you go: Leaf peeper season
is upon us, and it's a beautiful drive
from wherever you are. The exhibit
is “Cornish Homecoming" runs until
Oct. 19"‘. After that is “The
Unexamined Life", an open calling
show, which runs from Saturday Oct.
24”‘ through Monday December 7"‘.
While you're up there, check out the
Galaxie Bookstore, get some quick
food at Good and Ready Take Out, or
sit for a spell at “The Parlor”, located
opposite the take out place, where the
signs say you can “read the paper or
a book...have conversation...eat a
meal...or use the public restroom.”
Call Compost at (802) 472-9613 for
more information about shows, or
classes, or artist in residence pro-
grams.

in Norwich. For more information call
Beth at 802-649-5297. Donation is
$8.00 at the door

Putney - Putney School Harvest
Festival.Vermont Freedom To Marry
Task Force information table 9am to

3pm

up SUNDAY

Burlington - 7 p.m., Campus Center
Theatre, Billings Student Center,
UVM: Janice Perry aka Gal,
Comedian will perform OUT FROM
UNDERGROUND. ‘

w MONDAY

Brattleboro - Public Forum on Civil
Marriage for Same Gender Couples,
short video, panel, and discussion.
Hosted by Vermont Freedom to Marry

’ -Task Force. ‘Brattleboro Savings and

Loan Assoc. Community Room, 221
Main Street (enter from the back of
the building) 7 p.m FYI 387-5788

Burlington - 6:30 p.m., Campus
Center Theatre, Billings Student
Center, UVM: LGBT film fest

g) TUESDAY

Burlington - 7 p.m., Campus
Center Theatre, Billings Student
Center, UVM: Keith Boykin will speak
on ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS:
BEING BLACK AND GAY IN
AMERICA. Boykin is the Executive
Directorofthe National Black Lesbian

and Gay Leadership Forum and was‘

part ofthe Clinton White House.

wf WEDNESDAY

Burlington - noon: Pride\Speakout

' and Rally organized by the 'UVM

student group:. Free To Be: LGBT.
Front steps of the Bailey/Howe
Library.

Burlington - Burlington - RBA
(Rainbow Business Association)
Mixer, 6:30 - 8:30 at Luenig's Bistro
on Church Street. Door prize and a
speaker. Bring a friend and learn more
about your association in a delightful
atmosphere. $10 hors de ouerves.

Burlington - 7 p.m., UVM Women’s
Center, 34 S. Williams St., film:
SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES:
PORTRAITS OF GAY AND LESBIAN
YOUTH.

Burlington - 8 pm, Billings North
Lounge, UVM: Sara van rsdale will
speak about her lesbian novel

1

Montpelier - 7:00pm, Public Forum
on the Right To Marry at the Pavillion
Auditorium which is at the corner of

State St. and Gov. Davis Dr. Call 223-‘

7620 for more info.

§ THURSDAY

Deadline for November 0/TM.

Burlington - 7 p.m., Billings North
Lounge, UVM: Stephen McCauley.
UVM grad and author of the book THE
OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION will
give the talk: SECRETS, LIES AND
HALF-TRUTHS: A UVM GRAD
TELLS ALL.

Colchester - Rep. Bernie Sanders will
introduce Charles Kernaghan, the
tireless crusader against the use of
child> labor and sweatshop working

TDWAFID AM/V55/A AND 5-EYDND conditions, who will speak at Saint

r...rt

Michael's College on at 7 p.m. in the
McCarthy Arts Center. The lecture,
titled “Sweatshop Labor and the
Global Economy: Demanding the
Right to Know,” is free and open to
the public.

w FRIDAY

Keene, NH - Women’s Music Night
at the Night Owl Cafe in the Student
Center at Keene State College,
featuring the Therapy Sisters and
otherwomyn performers (See What's
Hot), $5-7 admission, part of the take
wil be donated to ALMA and the BAD
Grrls.

I cnuzmn

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