First Thursday

Photography by Mark Murphy at The Artist Within Photography by Mark Murphy at The Artist Within Photography by Mark Murphy at The Artist Within Flyer for "New Work of 5" at Gordy's "Floor Lamp" by Chris Vorhees at Gordy's "Good Vibrations (Honky Chapeau)" by Academy Records at Gordy's "Cup" by Nat Russel at Gordy's Photography by Tony Morris at Rose Court Photography by Tony Morris at Rose Court Photography by Tony Morris at Rose Court Photography by Tony Morris at Rose Court

111 Arts Gallery
111 E Main
The work of Alexa Camacho will be on display.

The Artist Within
313 S Walnut
"I Rounded Life’s Corner and You Caught My Eye" - The photography and digital artistry of Mark Norman Murphy

The First Thursday opening reception will be held from 5pm to 8pm. Light refreshments will be served and there will be an opportunity to meet the artist.

A Pentax K-1000 provided Mark Norman Murphy with his first opportunity to explore the world of 35mm photography.  Since that time, his view through the lens has delighted many with sweeping landscapes, unusual views of "ordinary" objects and places, and an inspirational vision of the world around us.

Along the way, Mark's photography has garnered multiple awards and also the happy occasion of publication in Life magazine and other national publications.

Recently the iPhone has become his newest camera of choice.  With his iPhone always at hand, it now provides the option of engaging his artistic eye in combination with the many applications available to create a masterpiece.

Taking advantage of many miles travelled across the USA, Mark feels that his photography is surely a gift from God:  "God created the view.  I just get the privilege of capturing it for others to enjoy."

Gallery 308
308 E Main
11th Annual Auction Preview Show

Gallery 308 opens its 11th Annual Auction Preview Show with a free reception from 5pm to 8 pm on First Thursday.  The Auction Preview Show is a sneak peek at the art for sale at the 11th Annual Wine Dinner and Art Auction hosted by Vera Mae’s Bistro on November 15.  The combination dinner and silent art auction is mounted every November as an opportunity for areas artists to show off their artistic talents and to raise funds for A.R. F. and Gallery 308.

Bidding will begin on the original artwork at the preview show and be on display through November 14 at the gallery. All auction items may be previewed online at http://www.gallery308.org.  Gallery 308 will be open special hours to preview the art auction items on Friday, November 8, 3:00 – 7:00pm; Saturday November  9, 12:30pm – 5:30pm; and  Wednesday & Thursday November 13 & 14 from  12:30- 5:00pm.  Admission is free.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main
New Work of 5

Through years of art business – first as an art supply store, more recently as an art gallery and frame shop – Brian and Genny Gordy have enjoyed the company of dozens of Ball State art students. Both graduates of that program, the Gordy’s found many student applicants were readily trained to work in their downtown business. Some of these employees graduated to become professional artists, art professors or game developers. For their November art exhibit, the Gordy’s will feature five of these former co-workers who have continued to collaborate and create, exhibiting from Chicago to New Zealand, Los Angeles to Bologna. Sometimes solo, often in collaboration, these men weave music, live performance, film, installations and other artisans into their bigger-than-life exhibitions.

Steve Lacy, Matt Lynch, George Shumar, Jr. and Chris Vorhees may be remembered for their late 1990’s downtown art gallery, “Sandbox,” or their rolling art gallery, “Object D’ART,” a fully-functioning mini gallery on wheels, pulled by a 1973 Dodge Dart. Filled with juried works of art, the project toured each quadrant of the country and produced a bound “Tour Diary 1998-99” of events, stopping points and stats, such as:  “Actual Total Stops Nationwide: 87. East Coast: 48. Avg. Viewers per Day: 48.” Joined by Nat Russell, the D’ART project was just a starting point for the ongoing collaborative art produced by this very active group of creative thinkers, art and music makers.

New technologies have enabled these five artists to reach ever-wider audiences, in their trademark “more is more” fashion, with more than a sprinkling of humor. Examples include a Styrofoam car created by Vorhees for installation in a tree at a Phish concert, and a huge wooden skate bowl, installed it at a Chicago art venue, and then moved to Los Angeles.

Steve Lacy placed a mock TV studio in a Chicago storefront, complete with a 1960’s variety show set, and then filmed it all as performance art to be broadcast through his Academy Records and Actual Size websites.

Vorhees, organizer of the event, owns Theoretical Woodworking, a custom design and build company. He is an installation specialist, working with artists, museums and architects.

Skateboarder, installation artist, surfboard and poster-painter, Nat Russell is famous for his hand-scrawled posters, and served as artist-in-residence at Facebook in Menlo Park, CA, and art venues in Australia, Canada and Berkeley.

Lynch, an art professor at the University of Cincinnati, works under the name, SIMPARCH, creating site-specific and responsive, large-scale artworks that strive to encourage communal interaction and social exchange. He claims an infatuation with “absurdly functional forms.”

Shumar, who studied metalsmithing at Ball State, discovered quilting after moving to Vermont and will exhibit “Hot Weather Quilt 2013,” made from jersey mesh, mosquito mesh, key rings and balloons.                         

The opening reception for “New Work” will be held Thursday, November 7, 2013 from 5 to 8 PM at the downtown Gallery. Light refreshments will be served and the artists will be introduced at 6:15 PM. The exhibit will continue through November 30th, and may also be viewed during normal business hours: Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday, 9 to 3.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. is located at 224 E. Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit http://www.gordyframing.com. 

Rose Court
125 E Charles
Photographer Tony Morris

Anthony (Tony) Morris was born in 1969 in Fort Wayne, IN to parents Richard and Norma Morris. He is a graduate of Eastbrook High School and attended Ball State University. Tony currently lives in Muncie, IN and works in Daleville, IN at First Merchants Corporation. Tony is married to Nicole and has two daughters; Gabriella, 16 and Mackenzie, 9. He belongs to the Muncie Camera Club and has had the privilege to judge on its panel. He has also entered a couple of online contests and received honorable mention. His most recent entry was for the Indiana State Fair in 2013 where he had three pictures displayed in their gallery. 

Tony is an artist who mainly works with close up and macro photography. He loves exploring the concepts of nature in a simple way using minimal equipment and has also started to explore other subjects as well. His photos establish a link between nature’s reality and that imagined by its viewer.  Tony tries to increase the dynamic between audience and photographer by objectifying different emotions and investigating the duality that develops through different interpretations.  Many of his prints are smaller, to draw you into the photo.  The realistic sense of the objects comes through the photographs.  In his words, "As a very amateur photographer, I am pleased to have been given this opportunity to showcase my work."