Jill Burton, Tom Miller, Snootin' on the Stairs of the Thomas Center. So, extended-vocalist and master improvisor, Jill Burton and I decide our involvement in Gainesville's Artwalk this month would be attending the best of events at the historic Thomas Center! -- Jill's mother, savior of the Thomas Center, artist, and society goddess, was there having a 'do' with a re-release of a book chronicling the history of the Thomas Center building which, in a large way, wouldn't exist without her. The Gainesville Sun wrote it up like this:
CLICK FOR THE ARTICLE!
And the artists on display were a CONFLUENCE!:
THIS ARTICLE IN THE SUN SAYS WHAT WE SAW SO CLICK THIS FIRST!
Our plan, go directly to the food and drink, the way my friend, Lennie Kesl would. He told me once, "Artists need to eat. You go to the buffet first, because you're there to see the work. You deserve it, and then get a little drink too. The art's going to be there, and you'll like it better after the food." Kesl's work is on the second floor, and presented with remarkably candid photographs of the great legendary artist by his daughter, Charlotte. But before we do, Jill tells me, "Tom, you have to see Jesse Aaron's work (main gallery)." He's passed beyond, into a cosmic forest from Earth in 1979 -- a folk legend, sculpting hidden horses and faces and such from trees well into his 90s. He looked like this:
CLICK FOR THE ARTICLE!
And the artists on display were a CONFLUENCE!:
THIS ARTICLE IN THE SUN SAYS WHAT WE SAW SO CLICK THIS FIRST!
Our plan, go directly to the food and drink, the way my friend, Lennie Kesl would. He told me once, "Artists need to eat. You go to the buffet first, because you're there to see the work. You deserve it, and then get a little drink too. The art's going to be there, and you'll like it better after the food." Kesl's work is on the second floor, and presented with remarkably candid photographs of the great legendary artist by his daughter, Charlotte. But before we do, Jill tells me, "Tom, you have to see Jesse Aaron's work (main gallery)." He's passed beyond, into a cosmic forest from Earth in 1979 -- a folk legend, sculpting hidden horses and faces and such from trees well into his 90s. He looked like this:
So Jill and I go to check him out, my plate of food and glass of champagne precariously balanced in the tangle of my awkward arms. When faced with his work, you realize that visions live in trees, they're looking at you, and if you just whittle away around these beings, they're there to live a long and happy life--and they will sing about you in galleries. Aaron got his calling from the Lord relatively late in life to reveal these beings.
Here's what they look like when they're singing after being freed:
Here's what they look like when they're singing after being freed:
Then, time to saunter up the stairs to the second floor where the Kesl work is. Jill informs me her mom, Rie, pretty much spearheaded saving the Thomas Center such that it is the cultural cornerstone of Gainesville today. Jill points out to me the historically accurate rooms and some of the arranged box-displays of archives from past glory which give the Thomas Center its pedigree. "My mom did ALL OF THAT!" Jill regales me of her mom's battle to keep the restored floors an accurate wood. As beautiful as they are in their current condition, Jill says, "Look. You can just tell it's not the wood that was original to the style." Well, nobody can win every battle, I muse to myself. So we resign to the fact that her mom won every battle at the Thomas Center except for maybe that one deal with the phony floor. We walk on the floor of the future, minus a touch of nostalgia, gub-ment discount-style.
On floor two, we see the Kesl sign:
On floor two, we see the Kesl sign:
Jill says, "Look. The name is HUGE!" Talking about the official poster for the event, really, but it was huge on this plexiglass sign too. She laughs. Bigger than Aaron's name (the headliner in the main gallery) on the poster for the event. Huge, here, on this fancy translucent sign that seems way too fancy for Kesl. "And look, Tom--his name, so HUGE, and underneath it, it's his NAME AGAIN!: Drawings by Lennie Kesl." I think to myself, I write my name huge, sometimes across an entire painting. No wonder Lennie and I got along so well. And sometimes, I sign it again on the back or even twice on the face of the same artwork. I think this is a sign of genius.
We wander around the perimeter of the upper level, looking down on the open area where the band is playing. Jill and I start dancing along the hallway. Why not!
A three-piece jazz combo, featuring my favorite Gainesville bass player, Ali Che'ree. And as we circle, we come face to face (no pun intended) with marker drawings of portraiture. The same style, the double-line contours of the nose, classic Kesl hatch-marks in the shading of the nostrils, the wiggle of the eyebrows, single U-line indications of cheek, the squiggle in the pupil, it's all there. And inset into most of the drawings, lovingly shot candid photographs of Kesl from his daughter. We see Kesl working, playing, magic marker hanging out of his mouth in one (he used Sharpie! ME TOO!!!) And I have two of these type Kesl's framed by Harold and hanging in my apartment, but the difference is, one says 'happy birthday, Tom' and the other says, 'for Tom' - 2008, 2009 respectively. He brought these to me when I was working at the Hippodrome Theatre managing the bar there, and I got the senior management to agree: When Kesl comes in, he gets free popcorn and soda, as much as he could drink. It was a rule! And that's when he told me the great advice about going to the buffet and the drink table before looking at the art. I made a short video about Lennie Kesl with my friends, Frog & Lennie Pearlman. To spend time with Lennie Kesl was something like this, and this is how I like to remember him:
THE FIVE MINUTE ARTIST PRESENTS LENNIE KESL!
Here's just a few of what Jill Burton and I saw upstairs:
THE FIVE MINUTE ARTIST PRESENTS LENNIE KESL!
Here's just a few of what Jill Burton and I saw upstairs:
It was a wonderful evening, we saw many friends.
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But my favorite part of the night was when Jill said I could take a picture of her and her mother at the book table. Gainesville's history is in this wonderful book Rie Burton wrote, "The Thomas Center - An Illustrated History and Guide" in 2002 with her co-writer, Sam Gowan, founder of Historic Gainesville Inc. who sadly left us in 2009 (interestingly when Lennie signed that last picture for me) for more historic locals in the infinite beyond. If you're on Facebook, you can find out how to get a copy of this amazing book here:
https://www.facebook.com/ThomasCenterAssociates/
https://www.facebook.com/ThomasCenterAssociates/
Jill Burton & Rie Burton at the Historic Thomas Center, Gainesville, Florida - 5/27/2016
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