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Author: Susan Viebrock

[click "Play" to listen to Susan's conversation with Jeff Elliott]

 

 

122015_extralarge Minor White was a major American photographer. Just how good, how influential is evidenced in the work of one of his former students. Jeff Elliott's moving show, "Another Face of Islam," is on display in the Daniel Tucker Gallery at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts.

In Minor White's perspective one does not photograph something simply for "what it is", but "for what else it is." In creating his series of images of the Islamic world, Telluride local Jeff Elliott claims to have abandoned any notions of photo-documentation, choosing instead to use his eye to capture the "depth and serenity of the Islamic faith." Not what Islam is, but all that it is in form, spirit, light and the influence of the Muslim world.

Put another way, like White's images, Elliott's photographs are not about record keeping. Not about a "Kodak moment." They are as interpretative, magical and powerful as any abstract painting. And just as capable of delivering a gut punch – albeit with a velvet glove.

08 February, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan speaks with Marc and Christa]

MarcChristaSM.book_embed The world of dreams is as mysterious as it is fascinating, a place mundane rules of reality do not  apply. Hmm... Sounds a bit like Telluride, a decidedly dreamy place. Day and night, in winter in Telluride we dream of powder. But what other thoughts run through our subconscious minds when we turn off the lights? And what do our dreams mean?

Other individuals may share elements of our backgrounds, but their experiences are never exactly the same. No one else feels exactly as we feel or reacts as we react. Our dreams are connected to our unique reality, and have the power to unite body, mind, and spirit. But do my chase dreams mean the same thing as yours? What abut falling dreams? Flying dreams? Naked dreams? Dreams about murder and mayhem? What about recurring themes in dreams?

Like backcountry trails, these constellations of archetypal images trying to speak through us are best explored with a guide.

07 February, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Seth Berg's discussion of two "Depression Era" films]

 

2-7 TFF Telluride Inside... and Out goes out on a limb with a prediction: the five-star Wilkinson Public Library should attract its biggest audience ever for the upcoming installment of the Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque's  "Films of the Great Depression."  The momentous event takes place Monday, February 7, 5:30 p.m. for pre-SHOW snacks.

Telluriders are no exception: Americans love anti-heros to death. Indiana Jones, Dirty Harry, Michael Corleone, Tony Soprano, select members of the cast of "Broadway Empire," Bill the Vampire in "True Blood," Dexter of Showtime fame, and the countless no-counts who inhabit the world of reality TV are just a few examples.

05 February, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan talks with Meehan Fee about the "Fling"]

 

DSC_5621 Telluride's San Miguel Resource Center's Chocolate Lovers Fling, the non-profit's only major public fundraiser, takes place Saturday, February 5, 7:30 – 11:30 p.m., at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. This year's theme: "Heroes and Villains."

Interesting challenge.

The paradigm of hero versus villain dates back to the split between God and the Devil, when the villain came to be defined as everything the hero is not, a model that is fast fading into the mists of time. Viewed through the lens of pop culture today, who is good and who is bad is about as clear as mud.

When James Bond first appeared on the silver screen in 1962 in "Dr. No," his license to kill gave him a kind of hip immorality, endowing the character with a cold-blooded ruthlessness quite antithetical to the Knight In Shining Armor do-gooder from days of yore. Think Dexter (now) versus Superman (then). Or the cast of reality TV's "Lost?" What we find on "Lost"  are very messed up would-be heroes, who mostly need to be saved from themselves.

03 February, 2011 /
[click "Play", Pip talks about what to wear to the "Fling"]

 

IMG_0820 Fashion Friday is a regular weekly column identifying fashion trends and translating them into Telluride style with help from our fabulous fashionistas at Two Skirts. This week, however, is an exception.

Two Skirts owner, Kristin Holbrook, is a longtime supporter of the San Miguel Resource Center, the Telluride's region's only nonprofit working with victims of the the grave challenges of interpersonal violence. On Saturday, February 5, Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village, 7:30 – 11:30 p.m.. the Resource Center hosts its only major public fundraiser. The 2011 theme is "Heroes and Villains," and there are prizes for best costume.

In support of the event, one of the best parties of the winter season, Kristin and Ashley Deppen have turned over their regular Fashion Friday interview to our town's vintage/costume queen, Pip Kenworthy of Pip's Fine & Funky Consignments,100 West Colorado (downstairs from Overland).

03 February, 2011 /

 Whoever said "You can't have it all," never met Telluride local Amy Boebel, who is into building things – a family (she is the mother of two successful young adults) and businesses (see below)  – sometimes from building materials (ditto).

Amy's resume suggests her appetite for challenging situations began well before Telluride and rock and ice-climbing, twin passions. Successful careers in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors range widely from managing director of The Maryland Ballet to founding partner, MarketTech, software to facilitate trading commodities. Amy is now board chair of the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities, the non-profit which founded and hosts the town's monthly First Thursday Art Walk, when Telluride's  art venues and stores stay open late until 8 p.m. to strut their stuff.

This Thursday, February 3, the Stronghouse Studios , 283 South Fir, features a show of Boebel's latest work, "Lost For Words," a collection of female icons, sculpted out of lath and wire, tulle, nails and tarp, covered in paper, maps, words, and phrases. The event is part of Art Walk and includes an artist's reception with chocolate and champagne from 5 - 8 p.m.

02 February, 2011 /

D300 Passing Through 2m It's getting to be a habit with Telluride locals – and that's a good thing. We are talking about the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities' First Thursday Art Walk, a stroll about town that showcases our fine arts scene. Galleries and other arts venues, located in and around Colorado Avenue (Main Street), plus retail stores, stay open late until 8 p.m.

New to Art Walk 2011, many local restaurants offer Art Walk Specials, including The Cosmopolitan, La Cocina de Luz, La Marmotte, The Llama, The New Sheridan Chop House, and Pescado.

Free Art Walk brochures, available at any participating venue (and our hotels and coffee shops), offer a self-guided map of the participating establishments which include:

02 February, 2011 /

Longtime Telluride local Johnnnie Stevens is on a roll. His weekly Ski into History tours, every Monday, starting at 10 a.m. at The Peaks light up the phone lines at the Telluride Historical Museum, the tour sponsor. And now, national TV ramps up his...

02 February, 2011 /

The Telluride-based The New Community Coalition came roaring out of the gate in the New Year and is on a roll. The first Green Business Roundtable of 2011 launched the EcoAction Initiative, a local program tailored to engage individuals and small businesses in taking action...

01 February, 2011 /