Lake Worth Guerrilla Art

This, from "O" street in downtown Lake Worth, on a property that has long been abandoned.
Love it. More please.

Florida Art History, the Materios, & A Manufactured Controversy

       Generating a little controversy through art, whatever the medium, is quite entertaining, especially in a local arts scene dominated by the mundane.  So it was with much anticipation that I attended the recent exhibition of collector Phil Materio’s compendium of Florida art, as part of the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority’s series exhibiting on Clematis in the heart of West Palm Beach.

                “Foul play!”, shouted one pedantic local blogger, the self-styled “FireAnt” of the Broward/Palm Beach New Times.  It seems that this “FireAnt” felt that Materio’s exhibition violated “fair dealing,” as he is the husband of West Palm Beach City Commissioner Shannon Materio, and his exhibition may somehow generate business for Mr. and Mrs. Materio's McMow Art Glass business.

                We at the FAD blog compliment the anonymous “FireAnt” on his dizzying intellect – suggesting that somehow Mr. Materio was given preferential treatment for exhibition is surely worthy of a journalistic prize of some third world country or cow town. Bravo for Holmes-like deduction skills.

                For our purposes, and for our readers, who presumably are concerned more with the aesthetic than with scoring minor political points, we will judge the exhibit on its own merits. Spanning a range from 1890 to the present day, Materio’s collection was an impressive tutorial on the history of certain schools of regional Florida art.

                Included were examples of the Flagler-funded art colony of St. Augustine, the traveling Black artists dubbed the "Highwaymen", and tourist and local art ranging nearly the entire 20^th century.

        Some of the tourist art seemed to almost revel in its saleable tackiness:

      What exactly are we to make of number six in this set of tourist art from the 1920's to the 1940's?  To this critic, #6 calls to mind a nuclear meltdown at Hialeah Park.  Yet while this set of paintings might not exactly make the heart sing, Materio's historical notes explained that such works enabled artists to earn their living from painting and selling their finished products to tourists flooding Florida and searching for a little reminder of paradise to bring home.

      I most enjoyed the earliest paintings from Flagler-era artists in and around St. Augustine.  Flamingos and crocodiles call hotel art to my mind, but depictions of the winding Spanish influenced architecture of St. Augustine represent something more substantial and timeless:

        

      So in totality, Materio's exhibition was an enjoyable immersion into several schools of regional art in Florida.  Whether Materio had an inside track to display his collection (or if the exhibition generated publicity for his art glass business) is of no consequence: hopefully, the manufactured controversy surrounding his exhibition publicized even further - and generated higher attendance at - this impressive array of schools of art we may not have previously been aware of.  If such a refreshing experience is the consequence of benevolent cronyism, we at the FAD blog can only say, "More, please."     

Team Fashion in South Florida

You know, I've never really been into watching televised sports of any kind.  I am, however, working on it.  I've been told that I will never get a man to commit if I don't adopt a team; any team.   I've at least started tolerating watching a basketball game here or soccer game there.  

In Houston, I only went Astro's games; as a patron a few times and as a waitress.  So I was either in a sundress or a uniform.  I never really put much thought into my outfit in relation to a sports team, well other than my uniform.  I did purchase some cute Astro's earrings once.   However, living in Florida during the era of the Miami Heat, has really made me pay attention to sports fashion in a way that went unnoticed in Houston.  

Floridians get dressed in team regalia just to watch the game at home.  And if they have tickets to a game they will most definitely don their flyest team sportswear. That's dedication to support your team through fashion, even when the can't see you. Sports fans are intense and in Palm Beach County that intensity permeates their fashion choices on game day.  I am in  South Florida so I see either Miami Heat or Miami Dolphins tank tops, hats, t-shirts and everything else. Oh also plenty of soccer jerseys.  

I have yet to adopt a Florida team, and really don't plan on feeding the franchise machine.   The only time you will catch me dressing for a team is when I am going to work, or are playing for that team.   I may wear a team shirt that someone gave me if I so happen to be going to a game.  But it better be a Texas team.  

Team fashion in Palm Beach will give you an easy way to ALWAYS be in style.  It is an easy trend to keep up and can be like a uniform in your wardrobe rotation.  Additionally, there are higher fashion options when it comes to team wear for fashionistas.