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Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra

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Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra is traveling. Please help get it there.


Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra is a painting and video project that explores the gradual dissolution of culture in contemporary society through the symbolic ruin of a personal and cultural icon, the violin. Using the violin as a metaphor, I raise questions about the relationship between advancing technology and diminishing cultural heritage. I invite the audience to consider what makes the instrument precious in their own experience, and also the cultural context that could allow for its loss. Please view the project at juliecomnick.com .

During the eight years of its production, Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra was exhibited in partial form at contemporary venues including Hardesty Arts Center, Tulsa, OK (2016); Firehouse Arts Center, Longmont, CO (2016); and Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ (2015), where The Phoenix New Times named Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra as one of the top ten Phoenix art exhibitions of the year. Selections from the project have been included in group exhibitions at the Spartanburg Art Museum, SC (2018-19) and the Tucson Museum of Art, AZ (2016). The completed project premiered at Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ (2018), where it received the Flagstaff Arts Council’s 2019 Viola Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts. Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra is supported by an Arizona Commission on the Arts’ 2017 Artist Research and Development Grant.

Now that the project is in final form, the art stays alive through exhibition. I’m happy to announce that Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra has been selected for four upcoming East Coast solo exhibitions: ArtSpace Gallery, Richmond, Virginia (Jun 28 – Jul 21, 2019); Doris Ulmann Galleries at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky (Aug 26 – Oct 10, 2019); Rice Gallery at McDaniel College, Westminster, Maryland (Nov 7 – Dec 6, 2019); The Factory, Long Island City, NYC, New York (Jan 9 – Feb 7, 2020); Ormond Memorial Art Museum, Ormond Beach, Florida (Feb 28 – Apr 10, 2020); and 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida (May 1-30, 2020).

As artists know all too well, exhibitions at non-profit galleries and museums seldom compensate the artist, as is the case with these venues. After countless hours spent creating the work and the cost of art supplies, artists often shoulder the transportation expenses to have their work exhibited and experienced. Fair? No. Customary? Yes.

And this is a large body of work, including 12 paintings that are each 6.5 feet tall x 8 feet wide, plus other installation components.

So, I’m asking for your help. Could you please help fund the traveling exhibition of Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra to enable a wider national audience to experience the project? I’m thrilled to have been able to align these four East Coast shows in succession, which has significantly reduced the cross-country travel costs to transport the large-scale works from my home in Flagstaff, AZ to each show. However, there are still enormous expenses including driving a trailer of artwork to and from the East Coast, making separate trips to each destination for presentations and performances, and moving the work from venue to venue.

My goal is to raise $12,000 to fund transportation costs associated with the traveling exhibition of Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra. I’m aiming to raise at least $6000 by May 15, 2019. That’s when the project departs for the East Coast. This campaign will continue into October to raise the remaining funds.

Breakdown of expenses:

Transporting the exhibition to the East Coast and back:
Roundtrip fuel to drive exhibition from Flagstaff, AZ to the East Coast $840
Roundtrip lodging, meals and incidentals $1900
Estimated total to get the exhibition to the East Coast: $2740

Once on the East Coast, each exhibition will cost:
Roundtrip airfare to install the exhibit $500
Lodging, meals and incidentals during installation $1160
Truck rental to move trailer to next venue $375
Fuel to next venue $280
Estimated total for each exhibition: $2315

x 6 Exhibitions = $13,890

Total Traveling Exhibition Expense: $16,630

Every donation helps! Even $10 or $25 will make a difference. $100 supports a night of lodging, $500 a roundtrip flight. Please participate in whatever way is within your reach. Thank you!

Julie Comnick | Prelude | oil on canvas | 80" x 95"

Julie Comnick | Allegro | oil on canvas | 80" x 95"

Julie Comnick | Scherzo | oil on canvas | 80" x 95"

Julie Comnick | Largo | oil on canvas | 80" x 95"

Julie Comnick | Postlude | oil on canvas | 80" x 95"

Julie Comnick | Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra | installation view
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Donations 

  • Dana Mccormick
    • $100 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Julie Comnick
Organizer
Flagstaff, AZ

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