THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411250390
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Teresa Annas
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
ART EITHER COMES from within an artist or from without.
Art that emerges from exterior motivations usually comes across as contrived. The object may be clever or smart; it may even be beautiful. But if it was created in response to the latest art market twinge, or collectors' desires, that vibe will emanate from the piece. It's a kind of lying. And liars always give themselves away.
That could be a reason for the burgeoning fascination with folk art. One word that gets bandied about by critics, scholars and trained artists in regard to folk art is ``honest.''
Having spent nearly two decades as an untrained folk artist, Cher Shaffer has arrived at a strong belief about the deeper origins of art.
Shaffer feels her art is guided by spiritual forces, and sometimes by the spirits of her ancestors.
``For me to deny that and say I'm doing it all by myself would be real dishonest,'' said Shaffer, speaking last week from her country home in Cutler, Ohio. ``Any visionary artist who's working is not working by themselves. We're the medium it comes through.''
Shaffer is the subject of a solo show opening this week at the Arts Center at the Portsmouth Museums. Titled ``Paradise Lost and Found,'' the exhibit consists of expressive drawings, paintings, masks and spirit figures suggesting a connection to the spirit and animal world, an approach she feels is partly derived from her Cherokee heritage.
Shaffer and Ramona Lampell, the top folk art collector who helped organize the show, much of which is drawn from her collection, will be in Portsmouth for the Thursday night opening.
Lampell's husband, screenwriter and playwright Millard Lampell, also will be on hand. Millard's achievements range from touring America in the '40s singing and writing union songs with Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie to writing the first television miniseries, the 1976 ``Rich Man, Poor Man.''
For the book ``O, Appalachia: Artists of the Southern Mountains,'' Millard profiled 20 folk artists championed by his wife. Works by those artists, one of whom was Shaffer, were shown in the summer of 1992 in the same Portsmouth gallery.
Admission for the gala reception, which starts at 7 p.m., is $15 per person, $25 per couple. Norfolk minstrel Bob Zentz will entertain on traditional folk instruments, including banjo and dulcimer.
Friday at 10 a.m., Shaffer will give a free tour of her exhibit, with comments by the Lampells.
As Shaffer works, it's not unusual for her to get swept away by some unseen force. At times, she has snapped out of such a state, feeling surprised by what she's made.
Once, Shaffer made a painting that finished itself.
She was working on a series called ``The Ghost Dance.'' It included a work shaped like a buffalo robe with a red background, on top of which she painted small white figures of warriors and animals.
The magic happened in that painting's lower right corner, where she had painted a spirit warrior.
She was working on it while in the process of getting a divorce.
``Some very strong emotions were coming through me,'' she said. There was so much anxiety in her life, she worried she might be blocking out the spiritual side of the work. ``I kept asking for a sign or a symbol, to let me know I was working in a spiritual way, and doing a good job of it.''
She finished the painting, and left it overnight to dry on her screened-in back porch.
``The next morning, I got my coffee and went out to look at the painting. And on this little spirit warrior figure, a circle with a cross inside it had been drawn. It looked like it had been scratched into the wet paint.''
Because the room had been locked all night, she couldn't see how anyone could have tampered with her work. Anyone existing on the earth plane, that is.
``I'll never forget my reaction. This was like a physical manifestation, a response to my prayers. I was absolutely amazed.''
Museums usually have a hands-off policy, but this is one piece Shaffer would like people to touch. ``I would like it if people could put their hands on that symbol. I think you can feel what happened there.''
Shaffer, 47, became aware of her gift as an artist-channel after her mother's death 16 years ago. Her way of mourning and healing was to create a series of memory paintings of her childhood.
``Once I realized how powerful a medium art could be, I began doing it more and more.''
Increasingly, Shaffer allows herself to flow with the art muse, wherever it takes her. ``I resisted it for a long time. I absolutely did. To delve into the abyss or the unknown can be frightening.''
More often, the process has been healing - for herself and others. ``It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to see other people react to my work. I know I'm striking a deep, primal chord.''
The museum is at High and Court streets. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $1.50; $1, beginning Dec. 10. 393-8543.
Day Without Art
The AIDS plague has devastated the art world, especially in urban centers like New York and San Francisco. Hampton Roads has hardly been immune to the deadly virus, either.
Here's a celebrity roll call no one would want to be part of: artist Keith Haring, dancer Rudolf Nureyev, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Portsmouth-reared fashion designer Perry Ellis, choreographer/director Michael Bennett.
All died from AIDS.
Here's a startling thought: The average age of death from AIDS in America is 35, Time magazine reported last year, but most works hanging in the Museum of Modern Art were created by artists older than 35.
In memory of those who died and in hopes of an AIDS-free future, the sixth annual ``Day Without Art'' and ``World AIDS Day'' is set for Thursday.
The free, public events are centered at The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, where a 12:30 p.m. program is planned, and at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, where a series of performances begins at 7:15 p.m.
At the Chrysler (245 W. Olney Road, call 664-6200) the hourlong program will include a poetry reading, a concert featuring guitarist Sam Dorsey and dance presented by Virginia Ballet Theater.
In Virginia Beach, participating groups will include the Actors Project, Generic Theater, Hurrah Players, Virginia Opera, Virginia Stage Company, Virginia Symphony and Young Audiences. The center is at the westbound entrance to the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway, across from the Pavilion. Call 425-0000. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``Adam and Eve'' is part of Cher Shaffer's solo show, which opens
Thursday in Portsmouth.
Photo
Cher Shaffer
by CNB