Space 101 features New Mexico artists

Space 101, a little known alcove above Blimpie's is becoming a haven for budding young artists looking for outlets for their work. Anyone interested in having a show at the space may rent it out from Dave Britts, the owner of the Collective Chaos record shop. This week the "gallery" will host a show featuring three artists from New Mexico.\nNew Bloomington resident Sarah Atlee graduated from the University of New Mexico in the spring of last year and afterward moved here with her mother. She hopes this show will help her meet other Bloomington artists and lay the ground work for a future exhibition. \n"I had the idea to have a show here in part because Bloomington is so supportive of the arts," Atlee said. "I had seen shows at Space 101 and admired the general (do it yourself) ethic of the scene. I'm hoping that people will come to the show to see things they haven't seen before."\nAlso exhibiting at the show are two of Atlee's friends, Paho Mann and Leigh Merrill, who also graduated from art school at the University of New Mexico. They hope to bring the show to Chicago, where Mann now lives, and to New York City, Merrill's new home.\nAtlee will be showing work a series of small acrylic paintings on canvas.\n"I'm taking a step back from more intricate work that I've been doing," Atlee said. "These paintings are a series of fictional portraits entitled 'The Goth Girls.' They're meant to be amusing. I'm enjoying making work outside the realm of art school and the freedom of not having to be deep and meaningful all the time."\nThe goal of Mann's photography is to capture the uniqueness develops out of contact with the mass produced products of our everyday lives.\n"With my photography, I document the physical manifestation of our individuality," Mann said. "The most efficient way to do this is through repetition of objects that are seemingly alike. Using precisely repeated compositions further reinforces this repetition. \n"Eliminating as many formal variables as possible emphasizes the differences imparted by the individual owner or user of an object. Examples of this documentation in my work include medicine cabinets, junk drawers, wallets, tract housing, playgrounds and old Circle K markets."\nMerrill, who works in the mediums of photography, sculpture and drawing, will be displaying a series of charcoal drawings of body parts.\nAlthough the artists feel their work does not have much similarity, they feel they have a lot in common concerning their inspirations and feelings about art education. \n"Paho and I were in a lot of classes together, and we spent a lot of time looking at each others work," Merrill said. "And the professors that influenced us both are the same."\nAtlee said she shares common experiences with Mann and Merrill rather than a common artistic goal.\n"I think all three of us are deeply aware of the flaws inherent in an art education. We talk all the time about what it's like to try and be artists completely on our own, with little or no support except from each other." Atlee said.\nMerrill feels that being from New Mexico has affected her work.\n"I think any experience I have had comes into play in my artwork," she said. "I'm not sure what to attribute to experiences in my life or being from New Mexico."\nThe show will run from July 3 until July 7. Gallery hours are from noon to 6 p.m. Space 101 is located at 6th and Walnut, above Blimpie's.