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SPOTLIGHT
ON THE ARTS - April 2005 by Deanna Mascle An Appalachian State of Mind Although a well-known Appalachian artist, McKinney’s audience actually spans the nation and the globe. While his subject matter is not limited to Appalachian subjects it is where his inspiration is derived. “I am blessed and proud to have been able to stay within my cultural region and have reasonable success as a visual artist,” McKinney says. “Most of my childhood friends had to leave this region in order to make a living, no matter what their field of expertise.” McKinney was raised, schooled and established as a successful artist in Kentucky and it is from Eastern Kentucky that he draws his inspiration and his artistic energy. “I had the opportunity to move to Boston to study with a great artist, but after much introspection I decided to choose a life of quality instead of quantity. I stayed close to nature and reconstructed 1700-1800s log houses for studio and dwelling (graced with my wife, Ingrid and six-year-old daughter, Jasarae) on 50 acres of woodland, which was conducive to my nature… to dream and manifest.” Ranging from the conventional to experimental, his body of work includes collaborative mural projects; realistic life-size bronze sculptures, busts, and memorials; commissioned formal oil portraits; personal, abstract and realistic watercolors; and progressive musical recorded compositions in traditional bluegrass. For the past 20 years, much of his work has been commissioned and belongs to private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Due to his heavy commission load, McKinney doesn’t usually hold exhibitions of his work although he does have a home gallery that is open by reservation. However, he has done a number of works that are on public display. His most prominently displayed work is one of Carl D. Perkins completed in 1995, hanging in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. (Congressman Perkins, a native of Hindman, Kentucky, was commemorated with the painting as the longest reigning chairman of the committee for education and labor.) Others can be found at the CSX Railway Headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes,KY, UK Regional Health Care Center in Hazard, King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, and Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum in Hamilton, Ohio. His current projects include three for King’s Daughters Medical Center and he has also begun preparations for a project for Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum, projected to be installed in 2009. The concept is Romeo and Juliet in bronze, in a setting with an architectonic element of marble containing a wrought iron balcony. This sculpture is commissioned by patrons of the arts in the Cincinnati area, spearheaded by Mr. and Mrs. Duncan White. In addition, McKinney has been asked to be the artist for a proposed project with the Eastern Kentucky Heritage Monument, a grassroots economic development project involving dozens of government agencies and civic organizations. The Eastern Kentucky Heritage Monument consists of three main features: the Monument site, the Visitor Information Center, and the auxiliary facilities. “The monument site consists of three large, stylized traditional musical instruments- a guitar, banjo and fiddle- arranged in a triangular pattern and resting on a round, stepped platform. ...The instruments, in addition to their attributes as sculpture, are giant wind harps- the largest in the world. A visitor standing between the instruments will hear the harmonic vibrations caused by wind blowing across the strings. ...The combination of visual and auditory stimuli will be quite stunning, truly astonishing and absolutely unforgettable.” Music, bluegrass and jazz, is another form of expression and experimentation for McKinney. “I mainly do it for fun, an escape from other intense art projects that I might be working on. It also is a wonderful means of fellowship with other friend musicians, a group meditation of a sort. Bluegrass music is another cultural signature, like hillbilly, that has helped define our heritage.” McKinney attended college at Morehead State University and earned an MA in studio art. The atmosphere of the art department during this time was jumping with innovations and creativity, encompassing both the students and the faculty. The instructors were more like mentors, and McKinney was influenced by their teaching-by-example style. Now, teaching classes at Morehead, McKinney also gets the personal satisfaction of seeing art students “bloom” by realizing what they can achieve. “My view is that being an artist is living one’s life with strong intent, hopeful vision, and a sensitivity to ‘being in the moment.’ Consequently, being an artist becomes a lifestyle and one’s work, whether it be mundane or sublime, becomes art, tangible and intangible.” Deanna Mascle is a
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Copyright 1996-2005, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content is copyright 2005,
Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
For Sam McKinney, art is not a state of mind, but rather a state of being. He lives surrounded by art and spends his days focused on the creation and sharing of art. He is immersed in his art and the inspiration for it.