A Tale of Two Temples
New installation piece thoughtfully considers the Parthenonís long and varied history, while the massive Athena statue gets covered in gold
By Angela Wibking
Adrienne Outlaw and Terry Thacker: A Collaborative Installation
Through Oct. 19 at The Parthenon in Centennial Park
Summer hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sun.
$3.50 adults, $2 ages 4-17 and over 62
For more information, call 862-8431 or go to www.parthenon.org
Nashville artists Adrienne Outlaw and Terry Thacker have known each other for years but have never worked together until now. The duoís collaborative, site-specific installation in the East Gallery of the Parthenon considers the original fifth century B.C. Greek temple as a living document—or ìtext,î as Thacker calls it—that has evolved over time. The artists hope the installation will spur viewers to reexamine the Parthenonís cultural identity both as a religious gathering place in ancient Greece and as an architectural curiosity in a modern Southern city. ìIf you had lived in 438 B.C., you would have read the building in a particular way,î says Thacker. ìBut even though the Parthenon was built to be stable, its meaning shifts and changes over time—just as when human beings reread text and see it differently each time.î
The ìtextî of the Parthenon in Athens remained unchanged until 529 A.D., when the temple devoted to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, was converted to a Christian church; it then became a Muslim mosque in 1458 A.D. It was used for artillery storage in the late 17th century, a use that resulted in an explosion that altered the original temple into the ruin we know today. The Nashville Parthenon was originally constructed as a temporary exhibit for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897 and then fashioned into a permanent concrete structure in 1931. Today it houses art galleries and a gift shop, as well as a 42-foot statue of Athena and other replicas of Greek artifacts. A massive renovation of the current building, which obscured the exterior in scaffolding for 10 years, was completed earlier this year.
The installation explores the ideas of permanence, structure, conversion and renovation in terms and materials more associated with construction than with art. ìWeíve made most of this out of items from Home Depot,î admits Outlaw. ìI think we may have gone to an art store once.î Materials run the gamut from sheetrock and aluminum studs to house paint and a partially stripped wooden door. Thacker even refers to the installation as ìAthenaís mobile home.î
The dominant conceit of the Outlaw/Thacker installation is the mirror image. One gallery wall is painted a deep charcoal and provides the backdrop for a 26-foot-long arrangement of aqua sheetrock, a twisted length of corrugated pipe, black mesh and a life-size photograph of a door. Positioned on the floor below the photograph is a sheetrock platform containing a red-dirt-lined ditch and a honey-colored design of resin suggesting flowing water.
The wall opposite the sheetrock construction mirrors it in an aqua and white design painted directly onto the wall. Six metal frames covered with sheer silk fabric and the actual door in the photograph lean against the painted image, suggesting elements of a construction project yet to be assembled. Six white plaster molds that mimic the impression of the corrugated pipe in rust velour are positioned on the floor and serve as a connecting link between the walls.
Interpretation is deliberately left open to the viewer. ìItís like a parable where the listener has to fill in the gaps,î says Thacker. ìGood stories always leave chunks out because that invites intimacy between the reader and the text, rather than having the text be the authority. We want the installation to encourage people to read it in their own ways.î
Both Outlaw and Thacker are based in Nashville. In addition to her work as an artist, Outlaw also teaches and reports on the arts for WPLN-90.3 FM. The artist, who was recently profiled in Southern Living, is pursuing a masterís in liberal arts from Vanderbilt University. Thacker is also an artist/educator and is currently an associate professor of art at Middle Tennessee State University. A reception for the artists and the installation takes place 5-8 p.m. Aug. 30. At 6 p.m. that evening, Parthenon curator Susan Shockley and Barbara Tsakirgis, an art historian and classical studies professor at Vanderbilt University, join Outlaw and Thacker in a discussion on the collaborative experience and the installationís relation to the ancient Parthenon.
Golden goddess
The gilding of the Parthenonís 42-foot-tall Athena that began in mid-June is complete. The all-white sculpture by Nashville artist Alan LeQuire, installed in 1990, is now so flashy that viewers may have to shield their eyes from the glitter of the gold leaf that covers Athena from head to toe.
The project was supervised by Lou Reed of Reedís Custom Framing of Madison and LeQuire, but 12 trained volunteers also put in hundreds of hours applying the gold leaf by hand. The original Athena in the fifth century B.C. temple was thought to be covered with gold plates as much as an eighth of an inch thick, something that would be out of the question, financially, today. Nashvilleís Athena has instead been covered with approximately 65,000 individual sheets of 23.75 karat gold, each sheet three times thinner than a cigarette paper and less than 4 inches square. Not only that, but all the portions of the statue not covered with gold leaf have been painted by LeQuire and four assistants to resemble human skin, as was also the case with the ancient Greek statue. The arms, hands, face and feet of the formerly pasty-white Athena are now a subtle flesh tone, her lips are tinged ruby and even her toenails and fingernails have a pale pink blush. An elaborate design has also been painted on Athenaís shield.
According to Kimberlie Bloodworth, executive director of Parthenon Patrons, there will be an unveiling on Sept. 5 for donors who contributed to the $195,000 project. The public is invited to celebrate the gilded Athena 2-4 p.m. Sept. 15 during a free event that includes mythology readings at 2 and 3 p.m., face painting and other activities. Bring your sunglasses.
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