#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
#inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
Norman attracts creative people from around the nation and world. It’s one of this small city’s most endearing features. AnnaVittoria Conner-Pickett is one of these folks. She came here for a 2018 Master of Fine Arts from the University of Oklahoma and is now Director of Education at Artspace at Untitled in Oklahoma City.
Pickett is organizer and curator of an art group exhibition titled “Confluence” at Resonator Institute, 325 E. Main. The show opening reception is Friday, November 10, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as part of Second Friday Art Walk. In addition to work by Pickett the other artists contributing to Confluence are Nicole Emmons, Kai Gregory, Zoeen Wasim Janjua and Lety Rios.
“The exhibition is fairly loose,” Pickett said. “We wanted to have one where everybody got to celebrate and highlight their heritage in whatever way made best sense to them.”
In name order from above the women’s heritages are Italian, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Sac and Fox Nation, Pakistani and Mexican.
“For me personally I’m recreating archetypes from the Italian side of my heritage,” Pickett said. “I’m half Italian and half American. They’re objects that take me back to the homeland. There’s a series of enlarged Briscola cards and also my own version of Sicilian tiles.”
Briscola is an Italian card game with imagery that recalls Medieval Queens, Kings, Knights and Knaves. Pickett has played the game since she was a child. She’s spent a significant part of her life in Italy, visiting family during summers and holidays. Her mother presently resides there.
“I’m doing a cyanotype type piece that has images of all the famous Italian people I think of when I’m trying to imagine my culture and best describe the people who are important to me,” she said. “Everybody in the exhibition is doing their version of what’s important to them in their heritage and culture. It’s a celebration we want people to partake in and learn about our cultures.”
It could be viewed as an alternative to the idea of “cultural appropriation.” The artists encourage viewers to purchase this work and celebrate these cultures in their homes.
“Kai Gregory who is one of my former students is making ceramic moccasins and I think it’s an important conversation to have and everybody’s going to have their own perspective on that,” Pickett said. “If you want to support Native artists who create moccasins then how else can you do it other than buying them. It’s about creating a dialogue around supporting people of different cultures and wanting them to respectfully participate by owning the art work made by people of those different cultures.”
Nicole Emmons is the best known artist of the exhibition group. She’s a stop-motion animation filmmaker who famously created a sequence for the Netflix children’s culinary show “Waffles + Mochi” starring Michelle Obama.
“Emmons has participated in a lot of really big projects,” Pickett said. “She has created heritage specific stop-motion animations at some really big institutions to teach people about Native culture. They’re really beautiful and she’s one of my favorite artists in Oklahoma.”
As an arts educator Pickett sees the difficulty younger artists such as Gregory and Rios have getting their work exhibited. She wanted to be the one providing a conduit for shows.
“A Resonator exhibition in Norman will be a really good opportunity for them,” she said. “Their art work blows me away already and they’re so young. It’s important they get chances in the art world. In ten years they’ll be well known in the area if they decide to stay.”
Gregory recently graduated from high school and Rios is a senior.
“Zoeen Wasim Janjua and I met through Artspace at Untitled’s annual Steamroller exhibition,” Pickett said. “She was a participating artist and brought in work that just blew me away. It fits in perfectly with the narrative we want to tell. We’re all straddling the line of being part of two different cultures or of one that is not the American culture. We’re all women and all practicing artists in Oklahoma.”
Resonator Institute has an ongoing history of providing a work and exhibition outlet for young artists.
“It’s not that it’s easy to get an exhibition there but they are so open and welcoming to having younger artists that aren’t as established in the Oklahoma art show world,” Pickett said. “I just can’t thank Curtis (Jones) and Tammy (Gordon Jones) enough because they really are wonderful people.”
Confluence will interest viewers in no small part because of its accessibility. Pickett explained that in terms of reasonable art purchase price.
“Most of it is under $500 with much in the $100 to $250 range,” she said. “That’s a positive experience for the collector to own a piece of art work, for the gallery to make some money and for us artists to be reimbursed for our time making it.”
Pickett’s day job includes mentoring and teaching printmaking to over a 150 students a year. She likes that she’s collaborating with some of her former and current students on the show.
“That’s a first and I think the quality of the art work is going to blow a lot of people away,” she said. “They’re new and upcoming artists that most people won’t be familiar with.”
Personally Pickett is excited to shift gears because much of her art work has been western USA-centric.
“Exploring and sharing my Italian side will be nice as well,” Pickett said.
Even though these five artists come from distinctly different cultures she sees similarities in their work.
“We’re all very experimental,” Pickett said. “We have a lot of ties visually in that we’re whimsical and playful. It’s the content of the work that separates us most. We’re all kind of weirdos and that shows through in our art.”
#inform-video-player-3 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
