Vineyard state of mind

By Duncan Pickard - August 2, 2007

To some, Martha's Vineyard is more than a place; it is a state of mind that inspires many artists to create what some might refer to as "Vineyard art."

"We're not all about the gold frames and beach roses climbing up over lighthouse fence, although there are some wonderful painters who choose to do that," says Chris Morse. "There's soul to our paintings, which is great." What gives a painting soul? According to him, soul requires that Island feel.

Mr. Morse and his wife, Sheila, are the owners of three premier Island galleries: the Granary and Field galleries in West Tisbury, and the Gardner Colby Gallery in Edgartown. While distinct, each gallery offers its own repertoire of local artists with their own perspective on Vineyard life.

"I think there is such a thing as Vineyard art," says Mr. Morse as he shucks corn on his West Tisbury porch. "People need to know that great artwork is being created for this place. Thomas Hart Benton said that it's on Martha's Vineyard that I paint people free from the distractions of the rest of the country. It's that flavor in the art here that makes it good."

The work of Heather Neill, an Island painter recently featured at the Granary, demonstrates this. In "Still Life with Carbs," Ms. Neill has painted a food-laden table next to a chair on which a South Beach teee-shirt is draped, and on the ground, a pair of fluorescent green summer sandals: a still life with Island soul.

"It's not what some people think of first when they think of the Vineyard," said Mr. Morse, "but Heather is a painter who is happiest when she is on the Vineyard, and it complements all the other work in the gallery somehow."

Other work showing at the Granary includes David Fokos's time-lapse photos of the On Time in Edgartown and fishing boats in Menemsha. Mr. Fokos captures the sense of time slowing down - summer on the Vineyard.

Then there's Ellen McCluskey whose soft pastels show the Island in the early morning, capturing the cold dew and sea mist over Vineyard Haven harbor.

"The juxtaposition of our artists' interests is the interest of the whole property," says Mr. Morse. "We find a balance that somehow works. We keep stirring up great artists and they keep meeting the challenge of getting better themselves. It's their mix of focuses that capture the sense of the Island."

The corn shucking done, Mr. Morse continues speaking as his two-year-old daughter Juliet climbed into his lap waving a musical toy: "Ultimately, Vineyard art is about place. Because of the very definition of an island, the focus of the community narrows. The comfort of the Island is what defines the Vineyard art experience. There's a special community sense that is inherent in people that live on an island, and if that person happens to be a painter, it magnifies their sense of place."

Adding to the unique aspect of Vineyard art is the significance of long-time Vineyard residents creating art from their homes. Mr. Fokos is a lifelong Chilmark resident. Photographer Craig Dripps is a high school math teacher who takes photographs around his homes in Chilmark and East Chop. Allen Whiting preserves the Island landscapes that his family has farmed and fished for generations. Painter Ken Vincent's family has been on the Island for 11 generations. He is displaying that year-rounder heritage by capturing the Island in all seasons - Lucy Vincent Beach in January, Cedar Tree Neck in October.

While The Granary, the Morses' flagship gallery, has the most Vineyard focus, the Field Gallery, marked by Tom Maley's dancing sculptures outside, exhibits the contemporary work by less traditional painters: textured oils, abstracts, and experimental styles, such as Jhenn Watts' emulsified glass transfer technique whereby the thin layers on a Polaroid film are transferred to glass so the image becomes transparent.

Gardner Colby Gallery, opened in April, is the newest of the Morse trio. It features Vineyard artists as well as paintings from artists from all over the United States. It's a mix of contemporary and traditional. Downstairs is an old low-ceilinged room lined with photographs from Alfred Eisenstaedt. Leather-backed chairs and a spent bottle of Crown Royal give it the appearance of an old smoking club.

Mr. Morse, who started working at the Granary in 1987 when he was in high school, is well aware of what will sell and what won't. "When I consider showing a piece of art, I ask myself: Would I hang it in my own home?"

Running a successful gallery requires finding the balance between satisfying customers and artists, while still running a business, according to Mr. Morse. "The capacity of the Vineyarder and the Vineyard visitor to buy art ranges greatly and the scope of some art is unattainable by some," he admits. "But I still want people to come in and appreciate the art. People should interact with the art, get close, pick up sculptures and feel them.

"I want everyone who comes to my galleries to be welcome to a good experience, and to have a conversation if they want. I don't want to have a gallery with someone seated behind a pedestal with their nose in a book or clicking away at a keyboard, not welcoming the people coming to see the artwork."

Duncan Pickard is an editorial intern at The Times.