Abandoned Rural Art Reception Images

Hello Reader

Here are a few photographs of the Abandoned Rural America Show opening on the 25th of March. As you can see the weather was superb. The reaction of the guests and visitors was encouraging. Now we will need to top this for the follow up show at the Steffen Tomas Museum of Art in September.

Pre-show setup in center gallery area.

One of Don’s paintings next to Blake’s photograph.

 Visitors at the Film showing.

 Wayne and Liz Jones from Pennsylvania eye the art.

A visitor eyes the show artworks.

Charles Dyer and Don Jolley with wives.

Dan from Penna with Jewel.

A visitor with Don’s wife Linda.

Erik and Bea Ekstrom from Denmark.

Gallery 1, right wall.

The hallway to the back of the Gallery. 

We have art and photographs displayed everywhere.

Art patron Ira Block.

The Greenwoods, Jacqui and Tom.

Jewel, my greatest fan.

Musician and scrimshaw artist Joe Reynolds.

Don’s son talks with narrator John McCarthy.

Jewel with visitors.

Judy Pace on right with her sister in front of a

painting of their old family homestead.

The main Gallery wall 1.

Mason at show entrance.

GAA president Mev Roszman.

Joe remarks on the show’s video.

Gallery personnel; Randy Cannon, executive director, 

Amy Davis, office manager, and Brian Renko, 

program coordinator.

Reception desk area.

Great reception food prepared by

the Civic Woman’s Club of Milledgeville.

My son Rex in front of the Gallery, The Marlor House.

More visitors to the show’s reception.

Special Guest Samuel Clements (played by Bill Scholly)

gives an introduction to the show’s film.

Daughter-in-law Vicki with granddaughter Janna.

More visitors to see the show artworks.

We artists give a brief description of our technique.

Abandoned Rural America

Hi All!

Reception only 9 days away!

The show is almost upon us and all of the art pieces are at the gallery. I was fortunate to be able to speak to the Milledgeville Kiwanis 2 weeks ago and then the Milledgeville Civic Woman’s Organization yesterday. There is a lot of interested in these old abandoned farms and I expect to have a lot of folks enjoying the works and the video at the upcoming March 25th reception. There is more about the show here and I’ve posted a little video trailer below. There will be a much bigger and interesting video production shown at the reception. Hope to see you there next Sunday from 1 pm to 3 pm, The Marlor House, 201 North Wayne Street, Milledgeville.

Notes on Abandoned Rural America Exhibit

Why I Planned This Show

Throughout my life I have marveled at the beauty of nature, been drawn to the time-worn lines of character in the faces and hands of older folks, was inspired by the mysteries in untamed woodlands and wetlands. When I was a kid growing up in the mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania I would hike for hours in the woods to explore old trails where I would discover old rock structures thought to have been created by Native Americans for shelter. Old farmhouses are kind of like that to me. A wonder of people’s past lives, now devoid of human development, at the mercy of the elements and left to the wiles of nature’s transmutations. 

Some of the abandoned farm buildings were built so well that they would last for generations making one wonder why anyone would leave these houses empty and deserted. I can almost feel the spirits of the people who once settled in these rural buildings, visualize the children playing in the yards, husband chopping wood for the fire, wife preparing dinner for the family or working at the spinning wheel or sewing machine making clothes for them all. It occurs to me that the folks settling in these places had hopes and dreams for the future of their families and that they were possibly laying the foundation for future generations of their descendants to have an estate the family will always call their own and then have everything change direction forcing them to desert the homestead forever.

My grandparents came to America from the Ukraine and Russia in the early part of the twentieth century and worked hard to establish such a foundation for the Muzyka family. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way and each of their children went their own way abandoning the family homestead. This has always affected the way that I view the loss of family ties and the vacant, sad and lonely structures that represent broken dreams. It is often said that the eyes are a window onto the world. I see the windows of these abandoned homes as eyes that have seen the lives of vibrant people gone away leaving behind the spirit of their hopes and dreams.

I‘ve invited 3 artist friends to participate in this opening exhibition. Possibly in the future, if this show is accepted and travels to other areas, I may be able to invite other artists to participate as well as add new works to the exhibition.

This book and exhibit is dedicated to the memory of all the dreamers and planners whose prospects for the future were irrevocably changed leaving behind an ethereal visage of what once might have been. 

The Seasons Section of ARA

Another book and show section for the Abandoned Rural America exhibition will be highlighting the seasons. Various photographs and paintings will be dedicated to showing the rural scene, especially containing old abandoned rural buildings during the 4 seasons. I believe that displaying the beauty of the rural landscape along with the vanishing culture puts an engrossing perspective on the imagery that we might otherwise overlook.

Here are the opening pages to the Seasons section:

Abandoned Rural America Part 4

Traveling Section of the ARA Book and Exhibit

Here are the opening pages from the section on abandoned farmhouses outside of Georgia that are part of the exhibit. I:m also considering doing some large (24“ x 48“) posters for the show to be available for sale to exhibit attendees. I'm really interested in feedback on this as it takes a lot of ink and archival paper to produce these large prints and have them mounted to foam board etc. So, if you think that you or a friend may attend and be interested in seeing or purchasing an oversized poster on the show, please send me an email or make a comment on my blog site. Also, all 4 of us (me, Blake Smith, Don Jolley, and Chuck Dyer) would love to get feedback about the exhibit either through this blog or during the exhibit in Milledgeville - March 25- April 20 2012). Copies of the book will be for sale and I plan to include a copy of the DVD video to anyone who purchases a book. Not sure of the price yet but I will post it when it becomes available.

A teaser trailer of the ARA video can be viewed on YouTube here: AbandonedRuralAmerica–trailer
If the link gets broken you can view the trailer by doing a search on You Tube for Abandoned Rural America trailer.

Abandoned Rural America update

Happy New Year everyone!
Here's hoping it is a lot more prosperous and uplifting than 2011.
These following pages are from the section of the Abandoned Rural America book about rural Georgia. By no means do they represent all of what is in the book, or images that will comprise the show. The exhibit will have much more imagery and information. If you click on any of these images, they should enlarge on your computer screen.

Abandoned Rural America

Artists Profiles for ARA Show

Here are profiles of the 4 artists included in the Abandoned Rural America show. All of us, like most Americans, have connections to the rural life in our earliest years. This may be a significant factor in our art  and photography choices. I've tried to present an insight into our personal lives so that viewers can gain a perspective on our connection to the show elements. Please email me and let me know what you think about this presentation. petermuzyka0@gmail.com

Abandoned Rural America Exhibit

I plan to exhibit the works of myself, Blake Smith, Don Jolley, and Charles Dyer in Milledgeville, GA beginning March 25th 2012. Here is a preview of what to expect. I will be posting more images and information as the exhibition develops.