Photographer's notebook

By Phil Hollenbeck

  "Creative Vision ll" -- the 2007-2008 Artmobile Exhibition from the Arkansas Arts Center, made its way to Eureka Springs recently.

  Parked in the middle school's lot for a week, the exhibition was open every day during school hours. Students were encouraged to visit the semi-trailer transformed into a very cool gallery, replete with track lighting, gallery white walls and snappy wood flooring.

  Twenty five pieces created between 1758 and 2002 and ranging from paintings and sculpture to traditional and pinhole photography were selected from 25 artists.

  I can tell you first hand that the show was awesome! I can also tell you that if my artist friend Regina Smith, a newbie to Eureka Springs, hadn't been to the school enrolling her kids, I would never have known about the exhibit.

  She came back to my house fairly yelling at me, "You've gotta go see this art in a trailer over at the school!" Regina was real excited because she knew one of the artists represented -- Red Grooms.

  I skeedaddled on over to the school with my camera on my shoulder. Virgil Lawrence, the official Artmobile Education Specialist who travels with the art road show, asked me if I was with the "media." I told him no, not really, but I'd be happy to shoot a picture. So I did.

  Funny thing is, both Regina and I asked people around town if they knew this art trailer thing was available to view. No one knew a thing. What's wrong with this picture? Maybe more attention should be paid to what's going on with the arts and less to what's going on with our local politicians.