August 2008 artist: Cindy Kaylor

"A Hundred Years"
Paintings and mixed media
by Cindy Kaylor

Paintings and mixed media artwork by central Illinois artist Cindy Kaylor will be on display at Noir Art Emporium throughout the month of August. An opening reception for Ms. Kaylor's exhibit at Noir will be held 5-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1.

Ms. Kaylor's work — most of it made from toilet paper — is highly politicized with a strong basis in recent U.S. military action.

"I use toilet paper," Ms. Kaylor says, "because my husband and I sent it to my son on a regular basis while he was deployed in Iraq. Toilet paper is a cheap commodity and this refers to the lack of value place on human life by people in power. My work is about that imbalance of that power and how it affects our lives and therefore our memories, which become part of the landscape of our lives."

Ms. Kaylor utilizes repetition, vertical forms, layering, and non-traditional materials to make memory landscapes.

"Memory has layers and debris similar the layers of the earth," Ms. Kaylor says. "We could bore into the earth's core and see a history in the layers (horizontal layers in vertical form) and if we could cut a sample core out of our minds, perhaps memory would look the same."

A current resident of Niantic, Ill., Ms. Kaylor earned a BFA in painting, drawing, sculpture from Millikin University in 2005 and is an MFA candidate at the Art Institute of Boston. Ms. Kaylor has exhibited extensively throughout central Illinois and Ireland.

July 2008 artist: Donovan Foote

"Four Boom Dang"
Drawings, prints and posters
by Donovan Foote

Beginning with an opening reception 5-8 p.m. Friday, July 11, Noir Art Emporium presents drawings, prints and posters by Donovan Foote. The exhibit continues through Saturday, July 26.




Donovan Foote has always drawn pictures, and, for nearly as long, played music. About five years ago, he decided he could continue to do both of these things satisfactorily or shift his focus and try to be great at one thing.

He chose drawing.

Although he continues to play music occasionally, Donovan no longer read sheet music. This started happening about 10 years ago and since then music continues to grow increasingly abstract — an odd system of patterns, visual cues, and sound.

Recently, while practicing a song from my old college band days, he realized he was remembering the progression for the chorus as "four, boom, dang." He finds it strange that those two sounds and one number would mean anything. For him they represented notes on a bass, which represent sounds, which are part of a song, which tells a story, which conjures up images, which takes place in a whole different world.

The recent drawings, posters, and prints in his show at Noir represent the last two years of daydreams, ideas, songs, and stories.

Downtown Gallery Hop

Join us for the monthly art walk, 5 p.m. on first Friday of each month.




1. On The Wall, 23 S. Central Park Plaza
2. Three-Legged Dog, 27 S. Central Park Plaza
3. Cheryl Kelly Photography, 29 S. Central Park Plaza
4. Inner Harmony, S. Main St.
5. NOIR ART EMPORIUM, 208 E. State St.
6. Sandy's Clip To Mania, 74 E. Central Park Plaza
7. Eclectic Artist Co-op & Gallery, 68 E. Central Park Plaza
8. The Wax Pot, E. Central Park Plaza
9. Karen Anderson Designs, 56 N. Central Park Plaza

* Locations may change from month to month.