A View From The Top Greg Busceme, TASI Director Hope all is well in your world. The Theatre Ensemble. Winners of the contest Studio is buzzing with activities. will have their scripts performed that To start with, April has been a great evening. Each play is no longer than 10 month for growth and progress. We had a minutes. That’s right, 10 minutes! A great great member’s show this year, thanks to idea and a it promises to be a fabulous the curatorial skills of Lamar art instruc- night. ISSUE Vol. 15, No. 7 tor and printmaker, Xenia Fedorchenko. Along with these festivities, we have It is an exciting collection. “Transmogrify,” an exhibition of paintings Publisher . The Art Studio, Inc. Rocky Horror will return with the by Nathan Jones, winner of TASIMJAE annual Arts and Anthropology “Rocky 2008. The show opens May 2 with a Editor . Andy Coughlan Horror Picture Show” film presentation. reception form 7-10 p.m. Copy Editor . Tracy Danna April 24. We are happy to accomodate the All of these activities have been gen- Contributing Writers . Julie Garcia, anthropology department at Lamar erously funded by our special friends at . Andrew Strange, Kristyn Davis University, and Mike Clanahan is a good the Southeast Texas Arts Council and the friend of The Studio, anyway. Who doesn’t City of Beaumont. Yes, your tax dollars! need a fresh hit of RHPS once in a while? Might as well make good use of them — Distribution Director . Terri McKusker Band Nite was on the 25th. My sweet you’re spending them anyway! child Olivia put together yet another fes- Sue Bard is the new SETAC director tive concert of local musical talent. Come and we are lucky to have such a good The Art Studio, Inc. Board of Directors watch and later you can say, “I remember administrator on our side. when.” Admission is only $5 and you get Lots of things are going on inside The President Ex-Officio . Greg Busceme to see some great bands. Studio. Terri McKusker has generously Vice-President. Angela Busceme We have an impromptu performance offered to sit the studio from 11 a.m. to 2 Members At Large. Beth Gallaspy piece presented by D. Boone and his p.m. when I come in. She is a honey to . Maribeth Jones, Sandy Pate, combo Algo Rithm on April 27.I’m just talk to and she is a wonderful addition to . Angie Phares, Les Warren as curious as you are. The Studio staff. The Boomtown Film and Music Terri has been working with Deborah The Art Studio, Inc. Festival will be held May 15 and 16, with Ragsdale and Sheila Molandes to fix up 720 Franklin opening night Friday at The Studio. the office and make it pretty again. It The next weekend we have the 8X10 Beaumont, TX 77701 Playwright Contest festival, put on by 409-838-5393 Joanna Clark and the Take A Bow See VIEW on page 15 www.artstudio.org IN THESE TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES, [email protected] UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART STUDIO The ISSUE is a monthly publication of The Art MAY JUNE JULIE AND AUSTIN HAD A TOUGH CHOICE. Studio, Inc. Its mission is to publicize The Art Studio and Nathan Jones (TASIMJAE 2008 winner) The Alternative Show its tenants, and to promote the growth of the arts in Southeast Texas. ISSUE is also charged with informing Opening. May 2 Opening . June 6 NEW CLOTHES OR STUDIO MEMBERSHIP? TASI members of projects, progress, achievements and setbacks in TASI’s well-being. Further, ISSUE strives to promote and distribute the writings of local authors in its “Thoughtcrime” feature. NO CONTEST. ISSUE is provided free of charge to members of TASI BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ART STUDIO and is also available, free of charge, at more than 30 loca- tions in Southeast Texas. Membership in The Art Regular features include local artists of note and rep- Studio, Inc., provides invita- utation who are not currently exhibiting at TASI; artists tions to all exhibitions and Name(s) currently or soon to be exhibiting at TASI; Instructional one year of ISSUE, the articles for artists; news stories regarding the state of monthly arts magazine of Address TASI’s organization; and arts news features dealing with The Art Studio. It also gives general philosophical issues of interest to artists. free eligibility for members City/St/Zip to enter the annual mem- bership art exhibition Phone e-mail (TASIMJAE) and partici- Contents pate in various exhibitions Credit Card Type: Visa MC Amex Disc throughout the year. Number MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Herman Hugg . Page 4 Exp Date THE ART STUDIO, INC. Boomtown Film & Music Festival . Page 6 Day Phone e-mail 8x10 Playwriting Festival. Page 7 Nathan Jones “Transmogrify” . Page 8 SUGGESTED MEMBERSHIP AMOUNT for office use TASIMJAE Winners . Page 10 Individual: $35 Patron: $500 Prince Thomas at HCP . Page 11 Family/Group: $50 Angel: $1,000 pd $ Lamar Senior Thesis Show . Page 11 in comp Around & About. Page 12 Friend/Business: $100 Benefactor $2,000 issue Thoughtcrime. Page 13 Sustaining: $250 Life Member: $10,000 thanks SEE MEMBERSHIP FORM ON PAGE 3. AMSET Spring Show. Page 14 New? Renewal? Artist? If yes, list medium The Art Studio, Inc. 720 Franklin, Beaumont 77701 Cover: Nathan Jones by Andy Coughlan. 4 • ISSUE May 2009 Volume 15, No. 7 Volume 15, No. 7 May 2009 ISSUE • 5 An arts life well lived and still going strong Story and This is the first in a two-part Why the coach deserved a car and not photos by story on veteran artist and the other teachers struck him as unfair. He teacher Herman Hugg. Part 2 Andy said that literature has meant so much to will appear in the June ISSUE. him throughout his life. Coughlan “Well, I have an ongoing war with the HERMAN HUGG SITS IN his local media — at least in my mind,” he Beaumont house surrounded by said. “I read the newspaper every day and clutter. It is the clutter of a life have done for 80 years.” well lived for 88 years. Herman’s show at the Beaumont Art Today the house is a little League in May is more than a simple art more cluttered than usual — but only slightly. Herman retrospective. It is a visual and written is sorting through things in anticipation of his upcoming biography. He plans to have photos, writ- retrospective at the Beaumont Art League. The show ings, scrapbooks, photographs, newspaper opens May 16 with a reception 3-6 p.m. clippings of people he has known — it will Interviewing with Herman is simple, mainly be an eighty-eight year journey. because one has to do very little work. Just turn the “There’s no such thing as a human recorder on and relax as he moves from one story to the being on Earth that doesn’t have a lot of next. interesting things about that person,” he “In the CBs, in 1943… a young man with the corps said. “There’s no such thing as a hum- of engineers and old Herman Hugg were loading gaso- drum worthless little home town.” line onto a ship with a fork truck,” he said. Herman Herman was born Jan. 21, 1921 in enlisted in 1942 in the construction battalion, the Navy’s Strawberry,Ark. The family moved to the equivalent of the Army corps of engineers. “Well, we Texas Panhandle when he was six. would catch up and have time to kill, so we’d sit around “I remember growing up in the pan- and read. And I had a little pocket copy of Omar handle, and me and the other boys would Khayam’s verse. And this young man came over and we say,‘If I ever get out of this blankety-blank got to be friends. place I’ll never come back here,” he said, “One weekend he invited me to go into LA with laughing at the memory of it. him to a dinner party. Being an old country boy, and transport the listener back to the place and time. “I tell you, I get sick to my stomach watching pro Even at 88, Herman looks fit. Despite being a bit shy, I backed off. The next week he came One central theme weaves all the stories together football and the announcing men up there — it takes his small stature, he carries himself like the around and said, ‘Sure wish you’d gone with me. The — his love of the arts. His house is lined with quota- four or five of them — they praise and talk about gods body-builder he used to be, a passion he guest of honor was Thomas Mann.’” tions, paintings, drawings, sculptures and newspaper clip- out there on the football field. It turns me off,” he said. picked up when he went to boot camp in Herman laughs loudly as he recounts his missed pings, all of which he uses to illustrate one point or He tells a story about his high school football coach Virginia. encounter with the Nobel Prize-winning author. The key another. being presented with a car during halftime of a game at “We trained with the Marines,” he is not to turn down invitations as you never know what Herman said he has a huge love for sports, but this the conclusion of a successful season. said. “I was very much husky and strong you’ll miss, he said. leads him to his ongoing crusade, one he says he has “Now I had admiration for the coach, but the other then.