Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 5 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By DIANA BIRD
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
Three visits to the Middle Street Gallery's February "Small" Show have not been enough tor me to do justice to the many worthwhile pieces of art on display. A small work can be as demanding, or more so, as a large one since it invites precision, detailed crafts-' manship and a concentration that tends to personalize the work.
The judge awarded Rene Ruffner's "Icon" a second prize. It is an oil painting of brilliant colors depicting a landscape with deep space. A ruined, stylistically Gothic architectural structure is a principal feature. Standing in front and to the right, a woman, whom I identify as Ruffner's wife, holds a kind of obelisk on the face of which appears a hand. This is a picture to be studied and reflected upon.
Don Becher's "Merman” also was given a second prize. This object, made of molded plastic and painted as well as decorated in other ways, is one of three marionettes; their limbs and other body parts are assembled with wires and attached to threads so that the figures can be made to move. While t "Merman" is grotesque, it doesn't have the crudity of plastic toys designed to amuse children.
Jeffrey Bussell's three tiny oil paintings on wood — "Silo”, "Mountain", and "Farm" are lovely, shadowy landscapes whose mysterious atmospheres draw the viewer to look closely to be sure to find all that is there. "Farm" was awarded a first prize. It is the most complicated of the three paintings.
I should say that this is a juried exhibition where items first had to be accepted and then were judged for relative excellence. The works are so varied in kind, the judge, Howard Klein, decided to select three firsts, three seconds and three thirds.
Some of the entries that did not receive judicial notice were interesting to me. Two of Gary Colson's sculptures are both amusing and
85.9%