Boasting a diverse and eclectic array of rising artists, organizations and downtown entrepreneurs, Carrboro is already well known as a hub for underground art and music scenes. This Friday night, these two creative avenues will merge in the fourth annual Minus Sound Research opening.
Part rock concert and part gallery exhibition, MSR4 features the works of seven local musicians who use visual art to show another side of their creative talents. The seven artists come from such music scene stalwarts as Bull City, Strange, the Sames, Shark Quest and Phon.
MSR has garnered immense popularity in a short timespan, much to the delight of showcase curators Maria Albani (of Organos) and John Harrison (of North Elementary). The two first conceived the idea of MSR while on tour with their respective bands.
“We were talking about our other musician friends who were creating visual art but not showing it, and that kind of bummed us out,” Albani said. “Since many musicians make their own CD art and posters, it’s not surprising that someone who makes music also makes art.”
Drawing from this inspiration, Albani and Harrison approached several musicians and asked to display their visual works in the first MSR. As the show developed, musicians began submitting work of their own accord. The acceptance process is laid back and without stringent regulations, according to Harrison.
The requirements for the works are just as lax. Each artist created five to seven pieces using a variety of techniques, including sculptures, photography, mixed-media paintings, pastel portraits and screen-printing. Often the musicians had no formal training in the arts but simply wished to express their creativity in different ways. Kurtz’s ceramics, for example, stemmed from his fascination with animals.
“I’ve been preoccupied with drawing and sculpting animal forms for a long time,” Kurtz wrote in an email. “There’s this weird element of animal life. Some of the beasties in the world are just freakish and awesome. I try to create pieces that echo that affinity for me.”
The rest of MSR is bound to be equally eclectic with pieces focused on sound, advertising and fantasy creatures. There is no set structure to the showcase; Albani and Harrison will collect and spontaneously arrange all the pieces on Thursday night.
“While galleries are usually more streamlined, our actual show ends up being quite diverse,” Harrison said. “We don’t group like pieces together, and so a sculpture could be right next to a mixed media. We’re a little off-center.”
Thus, MSR breaks the norm of traditional exhibitions. Albani said they acted as though they were setting up a concert, complete with posters, refreshments and, of course, live music. Despite praise from the media and public, she and Harrison intend to continue holding this spectacle once a year rather than creating a more permanent space.
“We’ve definitely talked about how nice it would be to have a permanent gallery, but to me, it could be too time-consuming,” Albani said. “I think we enjoy it so much because we’re able to put 100 percent into it.”
With hundreds of people attending past shows, their efforts have certainly paid off. This Friday will likely follow suit.
“I think the public will be delighted, dazzled at the show and the music, and the entire production,” Kurtz wrote. “I’m excited.”
The opening of MSR4 is Oct. 9 from 7 to 11 p.m. at Wootini Gallery in Carrboro’s Carr Mill Mall, 200 North Greensboro St., Suite A-9. MSR4 will run through Dec. 14.
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