Closing time

Friends,

After two years of sharing great art, live music, and good times with you, Noir Art Emporium is closing its doors at the end of September.

Our last exhibit features paintings by Lincoln Land Community College faculty Thom Whalen. We'll be hosting an opening reception for his exhibit during the Sept. 5 Downtown Gallery Hop from 5-8 p.m. We'll also be saying goodbye to you during the reception, so we hope you can stop by for some cake, cocktails, and fond memories.

We give you our sincerest thanks for sharing the last two years with us. We feel great having been a part of the emergence of a downtown arts scene and look forward to being a part of it in the future. Stay tuned for news about possible new ventures and we hope we can say goodbye to you in person Friday night.

Thanks again for all your support,

Josh, Julie, Guido
your friends at Noir

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.

June 2008 artist: Jessica Forys

"Objects of Affection" by Jessica Forys

Beginning with an opening reception 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 6, Noir Art Emporium presents new paintings and sculptures by artist Jessica Forys.

Ms. Forys, in addition to her traditional painting, works with a variety of domestic processes and materials. These include hand-embroidery, historical doll construction, tea-staining cloth, and salvaging scraps of fabric from curtains, bedspreads, and pillows.

Inspired by a personal fetish for old things, Ms. Forys's whimsical, abstract paintings are an inviting world of nostalgic imagery. Also on display are hand-made, fabric sculptures that are strange reminders of "loved to death" stuffed animal toys. 

"This exhibition is an opportunity for viewers to be inspired to reclaim the awe and compassion for the material world that we forget with age," says Ms. Forys. "When we step back from our fast-paced lives to appreciate what is simple, we can rekindle suppressed memories and feelings through the power of objects. They are a source of reminiscence, help us cope with mortality, and inspire us to care for them. These works investigate this magical power."

Ms. Forys recently earned a master of fine arts degree at the University of Missouri.

The exhibition will be on display throughout the month of June.

May 2008 artist: Kyle Horton

Noir Art Emporium presents paintings by Kyle Horton, of Jacksonville.

About his work, Mr. Horton says "As an artist that has grown up in the Midwest, much of my influence comes from this region. I see a blank canvas that is ready and waiting for completion. However, this process occurs with only a sense of the creation in mind. As I begin, I often find myself without any one particular conceptual motive. The influences from my habitual environments, and those accidental influences found in my day to day, will be the ones to stir the pot.

"I chose to present these influences to the viewer in the form of color. Typically, only a third of a paintings stucture is concentrated on the foreground. Realistic colors are not of my concern when reality compromises the atmosphere of the environment itself."

The exhibition will be on display throughout the month of May.

Altered lineup Saturday

We finally got wind of changs for the Saturday, April 26, show at the gallery. The updated lineup is: Alliswell (of southern Illinois), Sealife (of Springfield), and The Weaker (of Springfield).

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The White Tie Affair, who played at Noir in June, have a new album out today on the Epic label.

Artist Site

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