Lehigh Valley Arts Podcast

This week, Ben sits down with artist and curator Elizabeth Johnson.

An artist and exhibition curator, Elizabeth Johnson began writing reviews for
artpractical.com in San Francisco, California, and later covered exhibitions in New York City, Philadelphia, and the Lehigh Valley for theartblog.org. She has written for artcritical.com, Artvoices Magazine, Figure/Ground.org, The Brooklyn Rail, and DeliciousLine.org. Currently she interviews artists for Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia gallerists for theartblog.org. She curated The Big Painting Show at Workspace Limited in San Francisco’s Mission District and has since curated shows that mix local and visiting artists at Lafayette College, Cedar Crest College, Brick + Mortar Gallery and the Soft Machine Gallery, all in the Lehigh Valley. She co-curated Pathological Landscape for Marquee Projects in Bellport, New York, and Residential Tourist for Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia. Solo shows have been held at Café Museo, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA); Canada College, Redwood City, California; Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture SFMOMA Artists Gallery; and, in 2019, Cedar Crest College. After receiving a BA in Fine Arts from Bard College in 1986, she lived in San Francisco, California for 25 years. She moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, in 2011. She makes oil paintings that suggest dimensional space using curved and warped images. You can follow her on Instagram @elizjohnson2018 or check out her website at https://www.elizabethjohnsonart.com/

The show WORRY features twenty-two artists from Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, New Jersey, and New York in the hope of soothing shared political and cultural anxieties by revisiting classical drama. Loosely modeled on Penelope, Odysseus, and Athena from Homer’s Odyssey, WORRY compares Penelope’s suitors to a throng of stubborn anxieties, which might be mitigated through artmaking rather than annihilation. Emphasizing Athena’s association with protection, handicraft, and wisdom but not war, WORRY identifies Odysseus not as military hero but in terms of the joy of wandering and distraction. WORRY is a show at Soft Machine Gallery in Allentown, PA.

WORRY artists include: Rocío Cabello, Matthew Crain, Eva Di Orio, Morgan Hobbs, William Hudders, Duwenavue Santé Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson, Frederick Wright Jones, Elizabeth Keithline, Tom McGlynn, Renny Molenaar, John Mortensen, Jill Odegaard, Joseph O’Neal, Bethann Parker, Celia Reisman, Paul Rider, Anthony Smith Jr., Emily Steinberg, Charles Stonewall, Bruce Wall, and Tenesh Webber

WORRY will be having a closing reception on Saturday, July 1 at 2 pm for a brief Artists Talk and music by Francine Roussel (vocals) and Patrick Paladin (piano) who will present a repertoire of popular songs, in the original French, with a jazz approach.

Soft Machine Gallery is a contemporary art space/performance venue in blossoming Allentown featuring local/national artists & performers.
It is located at 105 Ridge Ave, Allentown, PA 18101. For more information about them, follow them on Instagram at @soft_machine_gallery.

This week, Ben interviews Lauren McChesney & Matthew McClanahan, the owners of Shankweiler's Drive-in as well as The Moving Picture Cinema.

Matt has always known he wanted to work in the movie industry. He has a filmmaking degree from Temple University and has produced numerous independent short and feature films. After completing an internship in Los Angeles, Matt became enamored with independent arthouse theaters and shifted his focus toward the presentation side of films rather than the production. In 2014, Matt helped to revive and run a drive-in theater in Carbon County, PA, and felt he found his niche. Matt teamed up with his friend and fellow theater operator, Brendan Joyce, in 2019 to found The Moving Picture Cinema (TMPC), presenting professional-grade outdoor cinema to unique, non-theatrical spaces in the greater Philadelphia area. TMPC kicked off operations with a handful of small, intimate screenings at local breweries and taprooms.

Lauren spent the majority of her adult life as a medical social worker and healthcare marketer. She met Matt in 2018, when she was a customer at his first drive-in theatre. After traveling around the country together visiting drive-in movie theaters and unique cinematic displays, Lauren found herself gravitating more toward the cinema business. In May 2022, Lauren took a leap out of healthcare and joined TMPC full time to oversee the company's marketing and business development activities, helping to expand the mobile cinema into new markets.

During the spring of 2022, Matt and Lauren met with the owners of Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, PA. The theater had been for sale for several years, and its future was uncertain. They made the decision to purchase the theater and continue its operations. The drive-in re-opened in November 2022 and is now open year-round. TMPC continues to innovate and evolve new events and partnerships to offer the drive-in experience to communities across Eastern PA, allowing Matt to combine his love of vintage cinema with his borderline obsessive DIY spirit.

For more information about Shankweiler's, check out their website https://www.shankweilers.com/ or follow them on instagram at @shankweilers.

For more information about The Moving Picture Cinema, check out their website https://themovingpicturecinema.com/ or follow them on instagram at @movingpicturecinema.

This week, we talk with interdisciplinary artist, designer and arts administrator, Melissa R. Strom.

Melissa R. Strom is an interdisciplinary artist based in the Lehigh Valley and New York City Metropolitan area. She earned her BFA in Studio Art and Graphic and Interactive Design at Moravian University. Primarily working with oil paint and found object assemblages, her practice stems from themes including mental health, relationships, music, and everyday life, and is often informed by a span of historic and current events. Recently, patterns, light, and text have become important aspects of her work, and she continues to explore different approaches to forming, altering, and handling these components. Melissa currently works at the Allentown Art Museum.

To keep up with Melissa and hear more about what she's doing, follow her on Instagram at @artbymelsie or check out her website at https://melissarstrom.com/. 

This episode's opportunity of the week is for The Gold Door Gallery's fundraiser "Heart of Gold Charity Show." Proceeds collected at this year's exhibition are benefiting the Pennsylvania SPCA. This event will be held on February 11, 2023 from 7-9pm. All artwork on display will be for sale or auction. Entry to the event is free, but they are asking for supply donations if possible. These include pet food and general pet supplies. You can follow the Gold Door Gallery on instagram at @golddoorgallery or check out their website at https://www.golddoorgallery.art/. 

On Saturday, January 21st from 11am-3pm at Art Beat Café (@ArtBeatStudioCafe) in Emmaus a group gathered for a New Years Artist Get Together. They made artist trading cards, worked on some of their personal projects, had coffee, and talked with us about what they were most excited for in the Lehigh Valley arts scene this year! This event was planned by David Matzura in collaboration with The Lehigh Valley Arts Podcast

The artists we interviewed (In order of appearance):
David Matzura (@Treeman_Artist)
Tyrone Webb (@Fine_Spray_Paint_Art)
Brandon C. Lay (@Living.Proof.Pictures)
Katie Hovencamp (@KatieHovencamp)
Larry Mason (@touchstone_theatre)
Ben Burrington (@WhyNotFailAgain)
Noel Elvin (@NoelElvinMusic)
Bryana Joy (@_bryana_joy)
Emma Ryan (@Hues_of_Bluez)
Rachel Cavotta (@rkc_artwork)
Chris Singleheart (@ChrisSingleheart)
Robert Pipeling (@ItWasAllaDweeb)
Gabby Gentile (@Gabby_M_Gentile)
Jen Schaffer (@SweetJuneMoon)
Nicole Schaffer (@LazyDaisyDog22)
Melissa R Strom (@ArtByMelsie)

To follow any of our hosts on Instagram, you can find them at:
Elise Schaffer (@EJSchaffer)
Elisabeth Orr (@Li_Beth_19)
Benjamin Orr (@BenjaminDavidOrr)

The Art Beat Café is located at: 432 State Ave, Emmaus, PA 18049

Daniel Paashaus was born and raised in Coopersburg, went away to college.  He studied English literature and writing at Temple University and Temple's Rome Campus.  While there, he immersed himself in film culture, stop motion animation, and self-portrait photography.  He spent time in New Mexico at the Santa Fe Photography Workshops and as a resident artist at Millersville University.  Afterward, he ended up back in Bethlehem, as part of the Wired Artist Co-op. He left Bethlehem, and the LV art scene to pursue farm work, which is around the same time he completed his first short film, Katabasis, which went on to be shown at Lehigh University as part of their "Visions" lecture series. In 2015, Daniel and his wife started their own farm in Quakertown. Running his own vegetable growing operation gives Daniel years full of time to plan and map out film projects in his head. When working on art, Daniel goes by Paas-haus. To keep up with Daniel, you can follow him on Instagram at @paas_haus and his farm at @pansforest. His website is paas-haus.com/.

Alex Luquet is a bass player that's lived in Bethlehem since 2011. He's performed locally and nationally with a wide variety of musicians including Dominic Angelella, Cold Fronts, John Morgan Kimock, and William H. Travis. Alex releases his own albums under the band name Sailcloth, focusing the music on my upright bass. He has also done sound design and composition for film and video games as well. To keep up to date with Alex, you can follow him on Instagram at @alexluquet and @sailclothsounds. You can follow him on Bandcamp at sailcloth.bandcamp.com/. 

Alex Luquet and Daniel started collaborating a few years ago on an ongoing series of short films, using each other's films and music as inspiration. They share a love of nature and an organic approach to art making, giving the pieces a unified aesthetic where the audio and video play equal parts. Currently, Alex and Daniel are compiling their efforts into a performance entitled The Forest Primeval.

The Forest Primeval is the product of a years long collaboration between musician and composer Alex Luquet (aka Sailcloth) and filmmaker Daniel Paashaus (Paas-haus).  This original performance showcases the duo’s short films, photography, spoken word, and live music. Alex will be performing unreleased solo work, including a live score to some of the films, and will be releasing his new EP, Resting Fields. The Forest Primeval will premiere at The Ice House in Bethlehem on February 3rd, 2023.  Gallery opens at 7:00 with beverages.  Show begins at 8:00 with music, video, and words.  Tickets are $10 at the door.  More info at paas-haus.com/. The address of The Ice House is 56 River St, Bethlehem, PA 18018.

The songs at the open and close of today's episode were provided by Sailcloth off the upcoming EP Resting Fields. The opening is titled Silver Star and is the first single off the project. The closing song is titled Earth in Earth and will be available to purchase and stream once the full EP comes out. To preorder the project, check out the Bandcamp page for the project at sailcloth.bandcamp.com/album/resting-fields.

This week, Ben talks with Christa Neu about finding connection through photography, Christa's career, and how the world of photography has morphed and changed over time.

Christa Neu is a photographer and photo editor for Lehigh University. She serves on the board of Healing Through the Arts, a non-profit organization that provides information and resources to encourage and support healing to individuals, caregivers and their families.

 Prior to Lehigh, she was Photo Director and Editor at Organic Gardening, Rodale Publishing’s flagship brand, and a photo editor at TV Guide. She holds her MA in Illustration Photography from Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Public Communications, and her BA in History from Alfred University. To keep up with Christa, follow her on Instagram @cneu, her artwork page @cneu_artjournal, her website christaneu.com. To see some of her work with Lehigh, keep an eye out on Lehigh's Instagram @lehighu.

This episode's opportunity is for Lehigh University's What Matters Most. Over the past year, over 100 Lehigh students, faculty, and staff, as well as community members in Bethlehem were asked what matters most to them.  A broad range of topics were discussed, from protecting our environment to fighting racism to our individual and collective well-being. The contributors were asked to discuss these issues, and then to select works of art from Lehigh’s collection that help us think more deeply about them. Rather than being illustrations of specific issues, or even the central topic of concern to the artist, these selections are meant to expand, explore, and connect our ideas about what matters most. Lehigh University Art Galleries invites you to visit the exhibition in five of our campus galleries, as well as along the South Bethlehem Greenway. Be sure to attend our free programs and events. For more information, visit the Lehigh University Art Galleries website at https://luag.lehigh.edu/exhibitions/what-matters-most or follow them on Instagram at @luartgalleries. 

This week, Ben and Elise interview Doug Boehm LIVE from Studio 248A at the Banana Factory. The conversation focus on Doug's career as an artist, how he developed his style, the meaning behind the colors and subjects he creates in his work, and so much more! Doug also provided the bass loops we used at the beginning and end of the episode!

Doug Boehm is a painter and illustrator whose personal work has been shown in galleries throughout the United States and collected in the US, UK, Australia, and Taiwan. His illustration work has graced the pages of national publications and tour posters. Doug lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three children. You can view Doug's works and online storefront by visiting https://dougboehm.com. You can follow him on Instagram @dougboehmart.

The opportunity of the week is for Doug's Solo Show, Mt. Duality, at Arch Enemy Arts which is located at 109 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. The show opened on November 4th and will be on display all month. 

SPOOKY & EXPLICIT CONTENT LIES WITHIN THIS EPISODE: LISTEN IF YOU DARE!!!

In this special episode, we talk with Kiki Keyser from Mission Spooky about all things death and dying! More specifically, we talk about the history of art in gravestones & graveyards! In our conversation, we talked about gravesites around the world, in the state of Pennsylvania, and even in our local Lehigh Valley scene.

At the beginning of the episode, we talk about our experience at the Midnight Gallery's Halloween Pop Up Show, Elise's guest episode on the Mission Spooky Podcast, and the story of an art piece that was birthed out of Ben's obsession with 7-Eleven.

Kiki's educational background is in archaeology with a concentration in Classical Studies (Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Mexican in that order), and an anthropologist with a focus on physical anthropology. She received a National Science Foundation grant for the study of the taphonomy of grave sites for an extinct indigenous tribe of modern-day Kentucky. She's also the proud mom of a wonderful 6-year-old boy.

Kiki is also a host on the wonderful show Mission Spooky, a historical and folklore-based look at haunted locations in the North East concentrating on Pennsylvania. They have a few nerdy segments which are TTRPG based and their Soil Sessions segments which focus on growing plants in their zone as well as the folklore and history around them. You can follow Mission Spooky on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok by searching @missionspooky.

The Midnight Gallery's Halloween Pop-Up Show is running through November 11th and features spooky art from several artists. For more information, check out their Instagram or website. 

This week, Bruce Ward sits down to talk about his documentaries, photographs, and time as a worker at Bethlehem Steel with Andria Zaia, the Curator of Collections at the National Museum of Industrial History.

This episode was created alongside the National Museum of Industrial History as a way to uplift the prominence of Bethlehem Steel on the history and culture of the Lehigh Valley.

For the opportunity of the week, we invite you to join us for an exploration of all things STEEL! Highlights include the Steelworkers Reunion Party, pop-up exhibits, hands-on youth activities, documentary and archival video screenings, live demonstrations, guided tours and more. Musical performances by Kendal Conrad and Starting Tomorrow and food from Heaven On A Bun Food Truck and a very special Foodways of Steel tasting.

Steel Weekend will be held from 10am-5pm on October 15 & 16. This event will be held at the National Museum of Industrial History, which is located at 602 East Second Street, Bethlehem, 18015. For more information about the event, please visit https://www.nmih.org/event/steel-weekend-steelworkers-reunion/.

This event is presented in partnership with Steelworkers’ Archives, Baltimore Museum of Industry, Banana Factory, Bethlehem Area Public Library, Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem Area School District. South Bethlehem Historical Society, Lehigh Valley Public Media.

Funding generously provided by Northampton County Department of Community and Economic Development Hotel Tax Grant Program, Lehigh County Quality of Life Grant Program, Hank & Joanne Barnette, OneGroup, PA Steel Alliance, American Institute of Steel Construction, MMZ Foundation, St. John Windish Church, Azar Supermarket, Weis Markets, Giant Markets.