Art:

At City Hall, artists from 50 states salute, or chide, their homes

Courtesy photo

Postcard from Indiana, part of the National Invitational Postcard Exhibit

By Kristen Peterson (contact)

Monday, June 22, 2009 | 2 a.m.

“The National Invitational Postcard Exhibit”

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Culture

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Most Las Vegans have in common that they are from somewhere else — Texas, Florida, California, South Dakota, wherever.

Jeanne Voltura had that in mind when creating “The National Invitational Postcard Exhibit” for the Bridge Gallery, a walk-through space at Las Vegas City Hall.

On display through July 2, the exhibit features the work of artists from 50 states. Artists created 5-by-7 inch “postcard” works that tap into political or environmental issues, portray urban or rural areas, people of note or events in history.

Artists were asked directly to create something that related to a city, state or town. They could use any medium.

Voltura planned the exhibit as a way to capture the interest of those walking through the space who might not normally stop and look at the art.

Styles vary, as do media — collages, watercolor, etchings, photography, digital works.

Some of the works are personal. Some are plays on cliches.

This was not a juried competition. Voltura selected many of the artists via recommendations from artists she knows. The quality and subject matter were a crapshoot.

New York artist Harvey Weiss addresses gay marriage in an inscription on an otherwise old-fashioned, colorized image of the Statue of Liberty. The inscription includes the phrase “Love is a higher law.”

Hawaii’s Maria Lee included a portrait of President Barack Obama, and Tennessee artist Annette Fournet of Memphis incorporated a photograph of an Elvis statue and other landmarks.

Colorado artist Jean Gumpper represented aspens through woodcut and gouache. Nevada’s Justin Favela created a mixed media representation of a now-razed Las Vegas neighborhood, blended with iconic Las Vegas imagery.

Most jarring is Deirdre Pope’s postcard from Texas: a pink pillbox hat, a la Jackie Kennedy, left on a road in a spattering of blood. It’s title: “Texas Roadkill.”