The semi-blockbuster, for lack of a better term, seems to be everywhere in Nashville this fall. Rather than going for a lot of well-known pieces by star artists, these shows are smaller in scale and less ambitious in scope. They’re often organized around themes or feature a well-known artist’s work from a period generally unknown to the public. Three such exhibits, two already in the midst of their run, make up the cornerstone of this fall’s visual arts schedule.

The Parthenon weighs in with an interesting premise—to look at the parallel existence of the famed Parthenon in Greece and our own replica in Centennial Park. Currently running through Nov. 9, “A Tale of Two Parthenons” features two major works on loan: a second-century Roman copy of a bust of Pericles from the British Museum and, from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, a landscape depicting the ruins of the ancient Parthenon by Hudson River School painter Frederic Edwin Church. While these are impressive works, the most interesting pieces may be the renderings by Manolis Korres, the Greek architect in charge of restorations to the original Parthenon, and the photographs of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, for which our own replica was built. Taking the viewer on a journey from ancient times to the present, the photos and drawings provide a fascinating historical context in which to place these twin structures.

At the Tennessee State Museum, the theme is iconography—in the form of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Subtitled “2 X Immortal,” the museum’s current exhibit purports “to examine the cultural impact” of these two entertainment icons—though the censoring of three pieces makes one wonder how effectively the show will be able do this. Included will be works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, and William Wegman, along with a host of other contemporary artists, both well-known and lesser-known. The exhibit kicks off Sept. 7 with a seminar featuring scholars of popular culture, exhibit curators, and people who knew the duo. It runs through Nov. 3.

Following “Elvis and Marilyn” will be “Souls Grown Deep,” an exhibit of Southern folk art, from Nov. 23-Feb. 23. Another semi-blockbuster, it comes to us fresh from the Olympics in Atlanta.

“The Olson Saga,” the Andrew Wyeth exhibit up at Cheekwood through Oct. 20, primarily features studies completed for some of the painter’s major paintings of his Maine neighbors. It has all the appearance of being a “big” exhibit, particularly since a number of weekly events centered around eating and wine tasting have been scheduled to coincide with its run. But the art events that promise more creativity, verve, and participation can be found in three collaborative efforts happening during the next few months.

First is an event called Artopia, which takes place Saturday, Sept. 28, at Marathon Village and largely features the efforts of the local arts group untitled. Multimedia performances and two-dimensional works by members of the group will be augmented by works from other visual artists, live music from Thee Phantom 5ive and Victor Mecyssne, dance by Contact Improv, and food by the Bound’ry and Clayton Blackmon. It has all the makings of a happening.

Oct. 11-13 brings 40 artists, including Red Grooms, Olen Bryant, Sylvia Hyman, John Baeder, and James Threalkill, to Zeitgeist for the Elephant Art Show. This three-day event, which will feature art “inspired by the magnificent image of the Asian elephant,” benefits The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., a refuge for old, sick, or needy Asian elephants retired from zoos and circuses.

Finally, Artrageous takes over the town on Nov. 9. This annual benefit for Nashville CARES amounts to a citywide gallery crawl, with art aficionados traveling from Cumberland Gallery to Cheekwood to Zeitgeist and many points in between. The event has become a yearly success and has done as much as any single gallery to raise awareness of the visual arts in our community.

As usual, our area universities are a good place to see interesting works of all types. Belmont’s Leu Gallery starts off its exhibition season with engravings from Rouault’s Miserere series. This should be a truly exciting show: Rouault is considered one of the greatest printmakers of all time. Dating from the turn of the century, his prints were an amazing amalgam of expressionism and craftsmanship. The artist would use any number of processes on a metal plate to achieve his images, and the Miserere prints are but one of his series deemed to be a landmark in the development of printmaking techniques. In November, the Leu does a 180-degree turn with a show of digital computer images by California artist Corinne Whitaker. Fisk’s Van Vechten Gallery will also be showing prints—old master prints and drawings from Cornell University’s Sonnenshein Collection—starting in November.

Vanderbilt continues its reputation of showing nontraditional work in traditional gallery settings, starting its exhibit schedule once again with an installation—only this year the installation can be found at the university’s Fine Arts Gallery rather than at Sarratt. Even so, Knoxville artist Joel House’s “Interpreting the Past” is showing in tandem with Sarratt’s current show, “Stereoscopic Vision,” as part of Vandy’s “Collaborations” series. Sarratt’s exhibit features mixed-media works by two Clarksville artists, Susan Hicks Bryant and Billy Renkl. Both shows share a joint opening this Friday, with a slide show from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building and 6 p.m. receptions at both galleries. In October, Sarratt follows up with “Book Arts,” featuring contemporary interpretations of hand-bound books; the works will be shown in conjunction with the Southern Festival of Books.

Meanwhile, about the only sculpture this fall can be found at MTSU’s Barn Gallery. “Carving and Casting” showcases Maryland stone carver John Flynn, wood carver Michael Spencer of Ohio, and Norman Mercer of New York, whose work is done in cast Plexiglas. That show is currently up and runs through Sept. 19.

Local artists who have done well in New York are coming home to exhibits in town this fall. Cheekwood continues its Temporary Contemporary series in September with works by Charles Brindley, who is concurrently holding his first New York show at the Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery. Will Berry, whose 1995 show at Dru Arstark in New York garnered praise in Art in America, opens Zeitgeist’s fall season with large works on canvas and paper. And while Red Grooms is coming to town, as I mentioned, for the Elephant Art Show, his mock-up of the carousel for Riverfront Park can be seen along with designs for works in progress this October through December at Vanderbilt Hospital. Occasional Scene contributor David Ribar opens Cumberland Gallery’s fall season on Sept. 7, showing new works along with North Carolinean Herb Jackson’s abstract expressionist paintings from his “Veronica’s Veils” series.

Finally, a few news items worth noting: The Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery will be moving at the beginning of 1997 to the old Citizens Bank building on Charlotte Avenue. Until then, the gallery only has only one exhibit, by Johnson City ceramic artist Erik Bright, and that will close Sept. 13.

The Metro Nashville Arts Commission has a new Acting Chair. Andree LeQuire has stepped in to serve following the resignation of Dianne Neal, who was named Chair of the Nashville Sports Council earlier this summer. LeQuire will serve until the MNAC’s regular election in January 1997. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, MNAC will team up with artists from untitled and the Visual Artists’ Alliance of Nashville to sponsor a free workshop about MNAC’s Artist Registry, an online art gallery that should open up even more national and international opportunities for Nashville’s visual artists. The session will be held 6 to 8 p.m. in the rotunda of the Social Religious building at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.