tfs Culture
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011
The Clackamas Print 5
)C Artist Beat
By Erik Andersen
Co-Editor-in-Chief
the Earth is proof
that great things can
be found just about
here, even in the least expect-
aces. A four-member heavy
rock hand from Beavercreek,
the Earth consists of Matt
¡dt on drums, Ryan Keogan
ithtn guitar and lead vocals,
Adams slapping the bass and
¡Herrick HI on guitar.
aw metal vocals have never
something I get too much
Btfhave always admired the
Denial work that seems to be
¡genetic in heavy metal and
ock music. Just five minutes
ig to this band turned me
fan. Keogan was superb on
ythm guitar and it’s been a
ong time since I have seen
me pick as fast and pull out a
Kiting guitar solo as good as
L who seems to be capable
ig it every time. Schmidt on
¡plays with such intensity
ombined with Adams’ bass
nance, tends to shake the
¡on which you stand. Every
¡like that of the hammer of
lashing down.
lied in a somewhat wooded
ext to a logging company
-est house where Schmidt
nd the rest of the band prac-
AIso on the property is a bam
the band has thrown local
¡and shows but more inter-
recorded their first demo,
only what they had lay-
mind o build the necessary
^ ove
enclosed place for noise control and
quality and spending very little on
extra equipment. Move the Earth
¡created a surprisingly legitimate
sounding demo.
There was something else that 1
thought was very interesting hang
ing in the bam, which is more like
a man cave than a bam; Gantic’s
paintings, clipped onto the sup
porting beams across the ceiling
bringing color and abstract person
ality to the band and their home.
Adams is, not just the bass player
but their newest member, the one
who named the band and an artist.
He paints these giant pictures and
uses them in shows for stage art.
“I’d have to say Lucas is the
craziest,” Keogan said.
“What? Maybe artistically,”
Adams responded.
Now inspiration for this talented
group are such bands as Across
the Sun, Tool and Alice in Chains.
Schmidt also throws in the band
Mudvayne.
On Saturday, Feb. 5, Move
the Earth rocked the house at the
Hawthorne Theatre, delivering a
show that took me into a scene
from “Metalocalypse.” In fact now
that I think about it, the different
personality types but overall hard
core rocker mentality reminds me
a lot of Dethklok. The crowd raised
their hands to the air and cheered
as the band performed wave after
wave of some of the best heavy
metal/hard rock music I’ve heard.
Once again, I am shocked by
the performance of a relatively new
band. For all you “Metalocalypse”
watching, Alice in Chains listening,
metal heads out there looking for
something a little newer than the
dusty handful of artists that rule
the genre, you absolutely need to
check out Move the Earth. To find
them and listen to their work, go to
myspace.com/movetheearth.
- If you or someone you know
is in a band or performs any type
of music in Clackamas County or
at Clackamas Community College,
Erik would love to get in touch
with you. Feel free to e-mail him at
chiefed@clackamas.edu.
Ryan Keogan and LucaSTOams perform Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Hawfhorne Theater along
with bandmates Matt Schmidt and Pitrfck Herrick. The four talented men make up the
heavy metal rock band Mothe Earth.
Nathan sturgess ciackamas Print
thur Pierson shows his many faces
¡Nathan Sturgess
le Clackamas Print
it’s fascinating about any
i artist is that they have
ik nd individual reasons
lives for the creative work
tjji' Though these motives
an \ ague to the viewer and
mes \ ague even to the artist
(the iction of creating the
tries with it a compulsive
>n
1110
5
, a
M
y |
|
Arthur Pierson, Clackamas
unity College’s most recent
In display in the Alexander
■■the impetus for self-expres-
of this same quality.
I putting much effort into
abstract art in his earlier
feon hit upon the figura-
®s that comprise much of
tent work. The incentive for
inge came from a need for
® called “given connected-
W began sculpting faces
^thought that would be the
foiate and explorative for
id Pierson.
described his journey
fc as a sort of continuous
¡Ms
Me as he began to reveal
fees in his art more explic-
1
1 the course of the last
Or so Pierson hasrepeat-
edly incorporated human faces in
his work, but the materials that
surround and envelope them varies
greatly from wood and canvas to
wire and glass.
When Pierson considers his
position in artistic traditions, he is
hesitant to apply any generalized
descriptors to himself. Though, as
Pierson describes it, abstract art
has tended since the 1960s back
towards more realistic themes.
“The realism that I’m bringing
back to it would still be considered
abstract. I don’t see them ay totally
realistic; there’s a little bit of surre
alism in there as well,” he said.
Pierson started formally study-
ing art in the 1960s at the Rhode
Island School of Design. After fin
ishing there he went to work for
a graphics workshop headed by
George Lockwood, who had a big
influence on him. Pierson was later
drafted into the military, but when
he returned he moved to New York
and became involved with many
influential artists. One such art
ist was Betty Parsons, who ran
an important gallery in New York
City. Pierson eventually began
showing work in her gallery and
gained from her insight.
His artistic process begins with
mental and emotional impulses.
As he describes it with the faces,
Pierson felt a desire to allow them,
to emerge gradually into free space,
giving them an environment to
connect to. Then he takes that idea
and discovers the physical limits
involved in creating it by initiating
a dialogue with the material itself.
“Basically, my process is to start
physically building a thought rather
than sitting down and sketching it
out ahead of time,” he said.
Kate Simmons, the CCC art
instructor in charge of managing
the Alexander Gallery, has a class
dedicated to setting up and present
ing work in the gallery. This term
she had two students that assisted
Pierson in organizing and installing
his work.
“It was challenging,” said
Photos by Brad Heineke Clackamas Print
Left: Arthur Pierson is known for showing self-expres
sion through his artwork. Above: Pierson’s work can be
seen in the Alexander Gallery at Clackamas Community
College’s Oregon City campus until Feb. 25.
Nikelly Ames, one of Simmons’
students. “He didn’t have any set
decisions that he wanted ... but it
was also easier that way because
we didn’t have to try to accommo
date what he wanted.”
Marie Ramberg, Simmons’
other student, also found it enjoy
able but challenging. “His pieces
were the same, but different. You
had to figure out how to separate
them to give them their best advan
tage; to shine separately but not
to reflect on each other so much
that they counteract each other,”
she said.
Simmons also mentioned the
challenge and easiness that Pierson’s
flexible and down-to-earth person
ality brought to the process. “There
were so many ways his work could
be exhibited, and to start narrow
ing down the different relationships
pieces had with each other was part
of the challenge,” Simmons said.
The exhibit runs until Feb. 25
in the Alexander Gallery in the
Niemeyer Center.