Wherefore Maine Art?

This issue celebrates art in Maine.

We discovered a diversity of opinions just among ourselves about what constitutes art, and I suspect that each of our choices reflects our own interpretations. Art is very personal, not only for the artist, but also for the observer, and is expressed in many ways. As a bit of a departure, we have turned to members of the art community to define the state of art in Maine. "the way they see it."

-Laurie Hyndman,
Publisher and Editor, Port City Life

Through schools like the Center of Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockland and Haystack Mountain School of Arts it has been demonstrated that Maine does indeed attract and educate gifted artisans. As Mainers, we should be sensitive toward supporting local talent and provide encouragement for the emergence of fine art.

-David Moser,
Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers

The arts community in Maine is extremely nurturing and energetic. It serves as a place where ideas develop and grow. In the winter we hunker-down and work, during the summer we develop and grow. Here, artists emerge. In the general world they become. Like many small cities, Portland feeds the world with new ideas. It is the oven to bake the bread.

-Aaron Stephan,
artist and MECA MFA '02

I am convinced that Maine's gigantic role in the visual arts has all but disappeared. In the sixties and seventies, John Laurent, William Kienbusch, Bernard Langlais, William Thon, Andrew Wyeth, and a significant number of truly great artists kept the bright flame alive‹the flame brought to life by the great Maine artists like Winslow Homer, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Rockwell Kent, William and Marguerite Zorach. Today, we have Brett Bigbee, Alan Magee, and a few other great artists‹but not the giants of the past 100 years. We are missing huge opportunities to build on the great heritage that is Maine Art.

-Tom Crotty,
painter and director of Frost Gully Gallery in Freeport

The art scene in Maine seems to be thriving. More galleries have opened in the last few years, and the breadth of work being exhibited ranges from photorealistic to highly abstract to downright cutting edge. More Maine artists are showing in New York‹Sean Foley, Kathy Bradford, Linden Frederick, Alan Magee and others‹and more artists are making terrific work in Maine, for Maine audiences.

-Peggy Golden,
Owner, Greenhut Galleries

In Maine, the arts rely on the young, the impassioned, and on those who believe. Since the beginning of time, individual artists have made huge sacrifices, both financial and personal, in the name of art. Show me an artist who isn't ecstatic when their work is seen and appreciated by many . . . We have a governor who understands the importance of the creative economy. Our state is small enough that individuals can truly make a difference. Maine is in a position to acknowledge the importance of the arts, to celebrate the arts, and to support the arts through adequate funding, and . . . to shift the way we value art.

-Anita Stewart,
Artistic Director, Portland Stage

Maine's sky at dawn and dusk is truly Mother Nature's greatest contribution to art.

-Denise Rubin,
proprietess of On the Marsh Restaurant, Kennebunk

Extraordinarily healthy, solving, evolving, revolving. One of Maine's best miracles.

-Phil Isaacson,
Art columnist for the Maine Sunday Telegram for 38 years

I have adopted the New York City artists who summered in Maine from the 1930s to the 1970s as the focus of my gallery. In my view, the work of these artists was part of an important movement that ultimately put the United States into the forefront of modern art.

-Elizabeth Moss ,
Owner, Elizabeth Moss Gallery

There is a growing number of collectors who appreciate abstract work, which is a good sign that a full range of fine art is being purchased Š It is about time we see more people pursuing the joy that comes with owning and living with fine art.

-Suzanne Gagnon,
Art Director, The Clown

It has finally occurred to us that art is what Maine has to offer the world. If it isn't big business yet, it will be. And not just the Maine landscape now, but the super real and the utterly abstract, the inside and out, the ups and downs, the foreign as well as the familiar‹it is all part of the heart and soul of Maine art today shaking us up, standing us on our heads. We are lucky to be here to get it.

-Anne B. Zill,
Director, Art Gallery at University of New England

The state of creativity within these 16 counties is astonishing. In fact, it's frustrating to consider everything that's going on that I can't get to and write about. Yet my frustration pales compared to that of the artist whose work gains no attention. While the state of art in Maine is robust, we could use many more voices to give it its due.

-Carl Little,
author of nine art books, including Art of the Maine Islands and Paintings of Maine.

Whether you are talking about affordable studio space, scenic landscapes, quality of life, the art market, or the much-ballyhooed creative economy, art in Maine is essentially driven by real estate. Always has been. Geography is destiny. Art is a function of real estate.

-Edgar Allen Beem,
freelance writer and art critic, author of Maine Art Now