From UNLV alums - art for everyman, wearable and whimsical

Friday, July 6, 2007 | 6:57 a.m.

Ask James Hough about a line of witty T-shirts, buttons and magnets created with two other artists and he'll talk about democracy.

"It's about creating small, inexpensive, different kinds of art that the public can have access to and keeping the price down so that anybody can buy it."

The intriguing trinkets that offer a nod to popular culture are original and intelligent enough to maintain artistic integrity, yet unapologetically whimsical.

It's another example of Las Vegas artists and designers exploring art as an affordable and wearable commodity.

Hough and partners David Ryan and Sean Slattery graduated from UNLV's master of fine arts program and were drawn here by the reputation of art critic and professor Dave Hickey.

The trio started brainstorming on ways to reach the public with their art and created the company Ripper Jordan.

They're no slouches. Ryan is represented by Mark Moore Gallery and Hough has had a solo exhibit at Patricia Faure Gallery, both in Santa Monica. Hough and Slattery, who most recently showed at Dust Gallery, will be featured in this fall's "Las Vegas Diaspora: The Emergence of Contemporary Art From the Neon Homeland" at the Las Vegas Art Museum. The exhibit showcases students who studied with Hickey from 1990 to 2001.

"There is some optimism, cynicism , and there's a romantic quality to it," Hough says of Ripper Jordan. "A lot of it is just kind of juvenile. We very much believe in our individual art careers and the larger international art world, but we are also actually big fans of popular art forms - television, comics."

Their twice weekly drawing and brainstorming sessions have resulted in a slew of iconography in the images of an angry gnome, rainbows revisited and electric outlets with personalities. You'll also find the pop phrases and slogans "art club pres." and "zombie pride."

The trio has been selling its wares at First Friday for the past three months, but they're moving into the VURB space at the Arts Factory for a special exhibit at today's First Friday.

When they say cheap, they mean cheap. Buttons and magnets sell for $2, three for $5. Paintings are less than $40.

Details: 6-10 p.m. today, VURB Magazine inside the Arts Factory, Main Street and Charleston Boulevard.

Farewell Weldon

Casey Weldon came to town three years ago from Los Angeles and splashed himself everywhere: solo exhibits, group exhibits, magazine illustrations, a T-shirt company and more experimental art projects such as the Obstacle Art mini golf.

But the designer/artist is moving to New York in September, leaving a trail of heartbroken clients and gallery owners.

He'll be joining his girlfriend, who works in fashion design and lives in New York.

Moving to New York has always been part of his plan, he says. There, he'll stick with illustration. "A fine art career in New York is pretty ambitious," he says.

Weldon plans to have a big show before he leaves, possibly at September's First Friday.

State museum

It's nice that the Nevada State Museum looked inward when filling the vacancy for director of its Las Vegas-based Nevada State Museum and Historical Society.

It would be hard-pressed to find an outsider with as much knowledge and community connection as David Millman, who has curated the collections for more than 20 years. Millman, whose promotion was announced this week, stepped in twice to serve as acting director , including a stint since February when Greta Brunschwyler vacated the position for a job in Bend, Ore. Brunschwyler had been with the museum since January 2003.

Millman is more accustomed to history and preservation than administrative work and will have his hands full as the museum is gearing up for its $46.5 million move to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve in early 2009. "Most people don't move museums as a rule," says a good-humored Millman, adding that the museum staff is in good spirits and looking forward to the museum's new role in the community.