| There they were, sitting on the steps of the Art and Architecture building on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The hip art kids. Sure, I took my History of Graphic Design class as an elective towards my Anthropology degree (thus giving the art deco prints of old booze ads in my kitchen a shred of credibility, maybe), and later even took a stab at Sculpture 101 during my senior year. This ended miserably in my final project (a very “cerebral” interpretation of a nightmare in the medium of mud) being mistaken for trash and hauled off by a janitor at an annoyed art professor’s behest. |  |
Subversive Beauty: The Knoxville Arts Scene – Molly Kincaid
There they were, sitting on the steps of the Art and Architecture building on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The hip art kids. Sure, I took my History of Graphic Design class as an elective towards my Anthropology degree (thus giving the art deco prints of old booze ads in my kitchen a shred of credibility, maybe), and later even took a stab at Sculpture 101 during my senior year. This ended miserably in my final project (a very “cerebral” interpretation of a nightmare in the medium of mud) being mistaken for trash and hauled off by a janitor at an annoyed art professor’s behest.
But, whenever I passed by the art kids, smoking their hand-rolled cigarettes and wearing their unkempt clothes with an air of cool, careless complacency, I always knew I could never be a part of it. I studied Western Civilizations with anal compulsion while the art kids partied and talked about color theory and postmodernism.
After college though, I realized I’d had it all wrong. Being on the outside of the art world could be just as stimulating, and less of a commitment, than being on the inside. I may never dye my hair black and make bedraggled fishnets look effortlessly chic, but I can appreciate a shadow or shape as well as the next guy or gal.
When speaking of the Knoxville art scene, one really has to take into account its historically underground nature. In the past few decades anyhow, the art scene here has depended on a close-knit group of names that have kept the grassroots efforts alive. When the city granted the art community use of the old Candy Factory and accompanying Victorian Houses shortly after the 1982 Worlds Fair, the site became, for a short while, a thriving bohemian scene, with constant art shows and concerts and “happenings.”
In those days, the Fort Sanders scene revolved around eccentrics like poet/songwriter RB Morris and artist Eric Sublett. It was around the same time when metal sculpting master Preston Farabow began his First Friday art events. Even before it became a nationwide trend, Farabow and his cohorts celebrated the first Friday of each month with a raucous party underneath the noodling intersections of the interstate overpasses at Broadway, an otherwise derelict area termed “The Spaghetti Bowl.” Farabow is fond of saying that the events—which featured rock bands, fireworks, huge feasts, and live art-making—often attracted a diverse mix of people (from the mayor on down to the local prostitutes).
So it’s with the recognition of this stubbornly underground tendency that Knoxville’s recent art boom is impressive. In the tradition of once-vacated downtowns experiencing redevelopment, there’s been a great shift in the art scene here. And there has been a slightly negative aspect of the shift—the displacement of some artists who, in this same tradition, only occupy the abandoned areas until they become hip spots for gentrification, at which point rising rents force them out.
But, for the most part, downtown’s renovation has had overwhelmingly positive effects. Essentially, it’s brought art down from its platform and enmeshed it in everyday life. For one, there are more people downtown, either living in the proliferating lofts or just frequenting the nightspots. Most notably, the whole of the 100 block of Gay Street—a block that, just two years ago, was all whistling wind and tumbleweeds—is colored almost exclusively with galleries and the lofts above them. The cornerstone establishment is the Emporium, a beautifully-renovated warehouse space that’s home to many community organizations like the Arts & Culture Alliance. There is always local art on display here and it’s a nice place to start an art walk through Knoxville, whether it’s First Friday, which has been reinvented in the past year, or not. The Three Flights Up Gallery, otherwise known as the most bustling First Friday locale, is housed within the Emporium and has recently featured local work—from politically-charged junk art to fine art painting to illustration.
From the Emporium, you’ll want to stop in next door at UT’s Downtown Gallery, which has been hosting an interesting mix of nationally-known as well as local artists since its opening. Then head across the street to the 1010 Gallery, a small space which used to be housed in the Candy Factory, and which is now enjoying its more prominent locale for showings of Knoxville’s younger, often more avant-garde artists, from students to recent grads.
Afterward, you’ll want to head south on Gay Street to purchase affordable regional art at the Art Market Gallery and to marvel at the woodblock creations at Yee Haw Industries, Knoxville’s internationally-known printshop. After that, hit up Market Square, the newly energetic city center in Knoxville. Stop at Preservation Pub for a pint and a look at Knoxville’s quirky history, which is documented with blurbs and photos along the wall. Then stop by Bliss Home + Art for some unique housewares and local-made jewelry. If your stomach’s rumbling, stop into the Tomato Head, a Market Square staple for pizza, salads and sandwiches. The market also features local art on a monthly rotation as well as occasional film and music performances.
Make sure to make time for The Art Gallery of Knoxville on North Gay Street, which is always hoppin’ with wine-fueled conversation on First Friday, and features a rotating line-up of cutting edge artists from all over the world. The relatively new gallery usually brings the artists in for talks and hosts a series of weekly art discussions.
Also, visit the Knoxville Museum of Art for the area’s largest and most prestigious art collection, as well as for musical and social events on most Thursdays and Fridays (check local listings).
To dig even further into the underground scene, check listings for occasional local film exhibitions and constant local rock music at the Pilot Light in the Old City, where you can swig PBRs in dark corners and call it a cultural experience. And, while you’re in the Old City, check out Knoxville’s newest art spot, The Basement Gallery.
Just down Central Avenue from the Old City, the more enigmatic and handbill-advertised Fluorescent Gallery (you’ll know it by the random bike in the window and the stenciled spray-paint sign) hosts sporadic showings of young local artists.
Then, if the soles of your Converses aren’t worn too thin, wander down Broadway and find Preston Farabow’s new studio. Amidst the cluster of adandoned, rust-stained warehouses, Farabow envisions a bustling artists’ village. While it seems a lofty dream, the desolation of the area might parallel that of Gay Street just a few years back.
By the time you complete the trek, or even just a portion of it, you’ll have more than just free food in your belly and free wine swirling in your head; you’ll have had countless inspired conversations with artists and local yokels. The Knoxville art scene is, after all, anything but intimidating. It’s a place where artists, critics, revelers, mayors and prostitutes come together to celebrate the simplest, most easily relatable joy in life: beauty.
