[Announcer] Funding for "The Art Show" is made possible by The L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation, Montgomery County, The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, The Virginia W. Kettering Foundation, The Sutphin Family Foundation.

Additional funding provided by... And viewers like you.

Thank you.

(light music) In this edition of "The Art Show," animals made out of paper, (upbeat music) the language of flamenco, (upbeat music) healing the wounds of racism and segregation, (upbeat music) and up close with a breakthrough abstract.

(upbeat music) It's all ahead on this edition of "The Art Show."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Hi, I'm Rodney Veal, and welcome to "The Art Show," where each week we provide access to local, regional, and national artists and arts organizations.

Artist and Professor Hiroshi Hayakawa first discovered paper crafts in the 1990s, when he was a student at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Using skill, patience, and a sharp knife, he cuts and folds cardstock into three-dimensional animal shapes.

Now, let's watch as he demonstrates how to make a simple and elegant paper animal nightlight.

(light music) The paper craft project, I started doing this mid-'90s, when CCAD had a head librarian, Ms. Yu.

She used to have this Chinese New Year's party every year, and she asked me one day to make an animal from the Chinese zodiacs with a small, out of paper, so she can decorate her dinner party tables.

(light music) And then gradually, the number of animals expanded.

(light music) I published four books, and they're all small tabletop-sized animals.

(light music) So this was the very first book I made.

Start with the instruction, then start with the simpler, easier projects.

As you go through the pages, the level gets higher and higher, more advanced.

Then very end of the book has these templates.

So you can take this book to a copy store, and make your own templates, turn them into an animal.

(light music) I used cardstock paper, which is the best material to use for this kind of craft.

And then in order to make projects sort of more colorful, I started to paint.

(light music) (lively music) (drill whirring) (lively music) These paper animal nightlights are a more recent project.

(lively music) It is technically a combination of paper folding and then paper cutting, both.

(lively music) All the projects are constructed out of two sheets of paper, and the reason is so that the light will go through in between those two layers that create interesting patterns like radiating from the center.

The other reason is it's easier to design that way.

(lively music) This is a template for a giant panda.

So I'm gonna start with scoring the lines, and the reason why I'm doing that is that way when these are turning to three-dimensional structure, I will have a nicer, neater folding lines.

So I'm gonna go over all the folding lines with this tool.

I'm just adding the light pressure.

I'm not really following the truthful representation of animals, but they're more stylized versions of it.

So I do have some source material to look, you know, like online, or books.

Then once you got that sort of essence of the animal down, then I can use my artistic liberty to, you know, manipulate the shape a little bit.

The next step is cutting the template out.

So I'll use this craft knife, or you can use any knife, like X-Acto knife.

So I'm gonna start with the eyes, cut the eyeball out.

(Hiroshi mumbles) Then I'll take this rolled up sandpaper (sandpaper scratching) to smooth out the opening.

(sandpaper scratching) And the simplicity and the complexity, I try to target somewhere in between.

The shapes are simple enough for the people to cut out, but the way those papers are folded and constructed together is more complex.

So that is sort of a, you know, brain teaser.

These two templates, front side and back sides are cut out.

So now, I can turn this into three-dimensional objects.

(paper rustling) (paper rustling continues) (paper rustling continues) Okay, the front side is finished.

So now, I'm gonna work on the back template, which is just one folding around the ears, like this and like that.

Now, I can put these two templates together, insert this tab into this cut I made earlier.

I'll apply a little glue to the end of the Q-tip.

(no audio) (Hiroshi mumbles) Okay.

Then I'm going to work on these two joints next.

I'm gonna insert this tab into this cut right here, and this tab into this one.

(paper rustling) Then again, I'm gonna glue these two tabs to the front template.

Let's use... Now, these two tabs are glued to the back.

And now, this giant panda is complete.

(upbeat music) I did a couple of workshops.

I remember one participant said she enjoyed it so much because it's really calming.

So I think there is a, you know, element of this kind of paper craft that puts people into the mood of sort of a contemplative, meditative, you know, because, you know, you work with hands.

So that is, kind of stimulates the brain, you know, puts people into sort of a zone.

(upbeat music) I'd like to continue working on animal nightlights, then hopefully trying to find sort of a distribution network, so people can make their own animals.

(upbeat music) If you'd like to learn more about this, or any other story on today's show, visit us online at cetconnect.org, or thinktv.org.

Up next, we head to Northeast Ohio to meet Alice Blumenfeld, the artistic director of the award-winning flamenco music and dance company ABREPASO.

Founded in 2016, the company presents vibrant creative works from American artists.

Take a look.

(footsteps stomping) [Narrator] Flamenco is expressive, it's percussive, and it's powerful both for the audience and the performer.

One of the things that I think makes it so empowering and powerful and intense is the rhythms, and in just the posture itself.

The chest is always lifted.

There's a sense of tension in the way, in the sort of the way we use our hands.

There's always this sense of resistance, and then it's very much grounded into the earth the way that we hit our feet on the floor.

[Narrator] The dancing fuses with music, often singing and guitar.

Performing here in Northeast Ohio, Blumenfeld says she's introducing many people to what it's all about.

Flamenco, first of all, comes from Spain.

It comes from the southernmost region of Spain, where there was a really interesting mix of cultures over the last several thousand years.

Flamenco itself is a very young art form, so its roots are very old, but it's very young.

[Narrator] She was drawn to flamenco in her youth, growing up in New Mexico, where there's an annual flamenco festival.

and a national institute dedicated to the art form.

Blumenfeld ended up trading in her ballet slippers for flamenco heels.

And I just became enraptured in the rhythm, and had what in flamenco we call an experience of duende, sort of an out of body experience, and I just knew in that moment that this was it, this is what I would dedicate my life to.

(lively acoustic guitar music) [Narrator] She went on to tour with national companies, and even studied flamenco in Spain for a little while.

But as time went on, she says she realized she wanted to find a way to tell her own stories through flamenco.

I felt a lot of flamenco outside of Spain was just perpetuating the stereotype of the woman in a red dress, and it's an image that sells.

It sells tickets to shows, and there wasn't really a company that had space for the American artists to tell their stories.

So a lot of companies bring in artists from Spain to set repertory, and I was just like, "There's so many artists here "that have so much to say.

"Why isn't there a company that's emphasizing that?"

And then it was like, "Well, duh, "I can be the one to start that company."

(lively acoustic guitar music) [Narrator] She started a small pre-professional company called ABREPASO, which means opening a pathway.

ABREPASO dancers performed flamenco recently at Cleveland Public Theater's annual community arts event Station Hope.

-(footstep stomping) -(fingers snapping) An explosion.

-(footstep stomping) -(fingers snapping) Splash.

So the beginning and end of the piece is movement to a poem that I wrote as part of a project called "The Solea Project."

So solea is the flamenco form that comes from the word for solitude, or loneliness in Spanish.

(footsteps stomping) Push me aside.

Dignity takes my hand and leads.

(footsteps stomping) [Narrator] This performance mixed poetry and choreography centered around dignity.

I walk with dignity.

So I was thinking about that word, and the way that flamenco allows for dignity, and sort of re-empowers the individual to find dignity, if they have been dehumanized in some way.

[Narrator] The language of flamenco has helped Blumenfeld since she was first introduced back in middle school.

I think every middle schooler is going through a lot, and trying to figure out who they are, and you know, being inundated by society with lots of ideas, and just trying to search for oneself.

And so, flamenco really helped me in that moment of my life, and has helped me in other challenging moments in my life to find an outlet, and also to have community as well.

So one of the really cool things about flamenco is it attracts people from all different walks of life, different economic backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds, and I think that's because flamenco is a hybrid form to begin with.

It drew from many different cultures and histories, so it still welcomes people from just so many different backgrounds and experiences.

And so, I just wanna give people the opportunity to, when they need that expressive outlet, that flamenco is here for them.

(lively acoustic guitar music) [Narrator] While some people in Northeast Ohio may just be learning about flamenco for the first time, Blumenfeld says she finds this to be a great arts community.

And it takes a community of people to have flamenco.

So that act of witnessing when you're expressing something very personal, I think, is so important to healing and to building community.

(lively acoustic guitar music) (lively acoustic guitar music continues) (upbeat music) Did you miss an episode of "The Art Show"?

No problem, you can watch it on demand at cetconnect.org and thinktv.org.

You'll find all the previous episodes, as well as current episodes, and links to the artists we feature.

(upbeat music) Dean Mitchell is a watercolor artist who grew up in the small town of Quincy, Florida during the '60s and '70s.

As a young African American, he faced many obstacles.

Inspired by his grandmother, who raised him, Dean has become a voice for those who live in poverty and inequity.

Here's his story.

(lively harmonica music) When I was a kid, I experienced racism very early on, and it's an irony that I used to pray if I could do anything with my work, it would help us heal those wounds of racism and segregation.

A lot of these things have shaped my sensibility about what I do.

So a lot of it is not just because I think it's interesting in terms of light, and this and that, and shadow, which does interest me, but the main overture about the work is about poverty and the marginalization of people and how those spaces affect our whole sense of self in a space.

That's been just a part of who I am.

(lively harmonica music) This art thing, however you wanna describe it, is a huge part of my life.

And so, I want it to mean something.

If I can change the world in any way, it would be to help break down certain social constructs that I think are detrimental to us as human beings, -and there are plenty of them.

-(Dean laughing) (lively harmonica music) My name is Matt Cutter.

I'm with Cutter & Cutter Fine Art in St. Augustine, Florida, and I'm also a painter.

(dramatic music) We've got a good track record, over 10 years of selling hundreds of paintings from Dean.

So I think he's a very strong, worthy artist, and I do think he stops people in their tracks, and it's very contemplative.

He's not grabbing you with the brightest color.

He's not grabbing you with bells and whistles.

He's grabbing you in a different way.

He's asking you to like come in very slowly, examine what's going on, feel that nuance, and that's what he brings to the table.

So if you're 30 feet away, you would say, "That's realism," and it is.

It conveys that emotion.

When you look really closely at how he's laid down the watercolor layers, there's a lot of abstraction.

There's a lot going on with the design.

What he does, he plays with the dark and light, and everything, in my opinion, with Dean's work is keyed in on a strong design that sets up everything -for the painting.

-(dramatic music) (pensive music) Dean Mitchell is beyond that of a master.

If you had one where you say, "This is the apprentice, and this is a master," well, the apprentice learns how to do this, or that, and then once they are able to demonstrate that, then they say, "Oh, okay, now, you're a master."

Dean Mitchell is an enigma, and Dean Mitchell was born to do what he does.

(pensive music) When I look at Dean Mitchell's work, I do see science, I do see philosophy, I do see religion, because some of those pieces, like "Rowena," when you see that particular piece, that is a religious piece.

That is an icon.

That is an actual Mary that you say, "Oh my God, she speaks of humanity."

(pensive music) Where in the world would someone painting like a Andrew Wyeth, and in some cases better than Andrew Wyeth, come from?

And therein I think lies that the spiritual quality, because if you look at Dean's background, Dean achieved not because of, but in spite of.

In spite of is when God takes place.

-Therein lies the miracle.

-(pensive music) (gentle brooding music) I was raised by my grandmother from 11 months old.

And so, I was sort of a highly active child.

And so, I would often walk to town with her, you know, 'cause I grew up in the Panhandle of Florida in a little town called Quincy, and I had no idea the kind of wealth that was in Quincy, because we basically stayed in the Black community.

A lot of us, when we first got our first bikes, we would ride over in the area, and we would see these huge mansions.

And so, I began to look at the wealth discrepancy, and I said, "How can somebody have a house that big?"

And really didn't, you know, didn't really understand it.

But I think through the years, as you become more educated, more socialized, you begin to recognize how you fit into the social structure, or social order of things.

And then when Martin Luther King started emerging on the scene, and we would watch him on television.

So a lot of these things have shaped my sensibility about what I do, because I do a lot of things.

A lot of the environments that I do are a window into poverty and a window into that psychological space in which I emerged out of.

(gentle brooding music) This teacher, Tom Harris, who there was four of us who were really interested in art, and he introduced us to local art competitions.

And so, we were often the only Black people at these shows with Mr. Harris and his wife, who were Caucasian.

And I called it the crucible of competition, you know, which can be good, or bad, because it puts pressure on kids.

(bright music) He was even as focused then as he is now, but there were so many negatives.

A lot of it was the Black, white thing.

He paints what he wants to paint, because it fills the need in here to make a visual statement about what's going on, and that's the strength of Dean Mitchell's painting.

Half of his focus and intensity is based on this is, "What I'm doing is extremely important, "and it's never been done before, "and whenever, or however, whatever the recognition is, "I have to do it my way," which to me is almost the definition of what art is and what art's supposed to be.

I will be gone at some point, but what I leave, will it really make the world better in some ways and make us examine our own human behavior toward one another?

He didn't paint to sell.

Okay, that sounds ridiculous, because he had to make a living.

He painted because it's something he had to do, and something he had to say.

He wants people to like examine this work on a deep level, so I do think he's very important now, and I think his work will be very important 100 years from now.

I think art has a way of mirroring back to us what we've become, and it also provides us history in which we can reflect back on to not keep repeating the same mistakes.

It's that kind of troubling world that feeds my passion to try to figure out how to derail some of the destructive behavior.

(gentle brooding music) (upbeat music) If you need more art goodness in your life, the podcast "Rodney Veal's Inspired By" is available now.

You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Learn more and find show notes at thinktv.org, or cetconnect.org/inspiredby.

When looking at artist Joan Snyder's 1971 abstract painting "Smashed Strokes Hope," the first thing you notice is the brushwork.

The energetic, colorful brushstrokes tell a captivating story.

Let's travel to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to look back at the recent exhibit "Epic Abstraction," which featured this work, and learn more.

(lively jazz music) The colorful and attractive painting behind me is "Smashed Strokes Hope" from 1971 by Joan Snyder.

Snyder is one of the contemporary artists featured in "Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera."

The exuberant color and the sense of experimentation breaks from the intense formalism of minimalism, specifically the minimalist grid that was considered to be the most desirable template, or touchstone for composition and design for so many artists, painters, and sculptors coming of age in the late 1960s and '70s.

(lively jazz music) This is a painting on canvas, but she's using a wide range of paint, oil, acrylic, and spray enamel.

(lively jazz music) She's applying paint fairly traditionally in certain instances with a sequence of very clear brushstrokes.

Most of those are with the oil paint.

But in other instances, she's exploring mark-making in other ways.

But her process is both additive and subtractive.

She makes strokes by adding individual brush marks, but she also executes strokes in a subtractive manner, in some cases scraping into thick paint to make an absence of a stroke.

(lively jazz music) Part of the appeal of Joan Snyder's painting is that it almost expands and blows up in scale what an artist's palette might look like, where you have globs of paint, and you get a sense of the paint being mixed, and there's a sense of the full range of an artist's palette that she's preparing to use.

The paint, in certain instances, in certain passages, is piled up.

It's thick, and impastoed, and coagulated.

But in other instances, she's experimenting with the paint diluted, and allowing the strokes to run, and to pour over wide expanses of the painting.

The painting serves as a kind of inventory, or catalog of painter strokes, some thick, some thin, some stable, some strong, others fluid, others weak.

(lively jazz music) Snyder here walks a very fine line between experimentation and deliberation.

(lively jazz music) (lively jazz music fades) (upbeat music) If you wanna see more from "The Art Show," connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You'll find us @thinktv and cetconnect.

And don't forget "The Art Show" channel on YouTube.

(upbeat music) And that wraps it up for this edition of "The Art Show."

Until next time, I'm Rodney Veal.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) [Announcer] Funding for "The Art Show" is made possible by The L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation, The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, The George & Margaret McLane Foundation.

Additional funding provided by... And viewers like you.

Closed captioning in part has been made possible through a grant from The Bahmann Foundation.

Thank you.