I usually don’t ride with the crowd on Raleigh’s First Fridays. It isn’t because of any particular reason, but it’s usually tough for me to make it to the Bell Tower by 7. This past Friday I was able to make it, and am glad I did.

Everyone gathers at the Bell Tower at 7PM

There’s a unique energy that comes with riding with dozens of other cyclists. Much like a school of fish or flock of birds, the safety-in-numbers factor makes for a comfortable and stress-free ride. No worries about rude auto drivers honking or riding close on a narrow road.

The first stop was Ant Farm in Boylan Heights. While we missed the rumored karaoke, we did get to see work from Rachel Herrick:

Rachel will be using everyday objects (like old slides, furniture, and cookies and milk) to conjure up feelings of familial comfort and loss.

From there, it was across town towards ahpeele.

The works on display at ahpeele made this my favorite stop on the tour. Giant robots, skulls, and birds in various 2D and 3D forms.

Too few ceilings are decorated these days. The one here was beautiful.

Each skull warranted a long look. There was quite a lot going on in each piece.

The robots grabbed my attention, and were my favorite 3D art to view of the evening. Each piece was very affordable, too: prices ranged from $100 to $150 each.

This face seems familiar, but I can’t quite place it. Any hints?

Next stop was DesignBox, to see the exhibit from Lauren Pegram:

A self-described “pink painted plastic soldier,” Lauren Pegram fights a war armed with the only thing she knows to fight with: an insatiable thirst for knowledge and truth. The only peace she finds comes in the form of creating. Exploring identity and sexual orientation, these works also carry subtle anti-racist and feminist undertones. Although not seeking to paint others pink or to rally troops, Pegram seeks to affect and pierce other’s consciousness and emotions, to gain admittance of truths, to extend influence peacefully.

The hanging dress made quite a statement. Someone commented it looked like a shotgun blast. I thought it looked more like a direct impact from a medieval cannon.

Andi Shelton and Matt McConnell at DesignBox

Tim O’Brien (above) was a photographer that was part of the bike swarm. He was kind enough to take the top photo of all the bikers gathered using my camera. (Thanks Tim!)

Lump is always my favorite gallery to visit. The exhibits on display could be as simple as a few crystals in the center of the room with vintage stereo equipment, or a completely immersed and labyrinth-like set of woodcuts and poster prints. It is guaranteed to be something that makes you think about the subject matter.

Lump is pleased to present worms are the words, a collaborative installation by Joy Feasley and Paul Swenbeck. The twisted narrative of this exhibition revolves around Shakerism, Wicca and a Salem legend-trip. Lump will host an opening reception Friday, February 5th from 7 – 10pm during the First Friday Gallery Walk located in downtown Raleigh.  The exhibition will run from February 5th through March 20th and is on view Saturdays from noon – 5pm and appointment during the week.

To convey a sense of this story, Swenbeck and Feasley will transform the gallery into a Shaker interior. Two fundamental opposing forces are at work here. The first motif is a Shaker austerity rooted in the idea that Heaven is right here on earth. The second is the passionate abandon offered up in Shaker religious expression. At first glance, the simple reproductions seem to be a reverent but rough take on the original. On closer inspection, the room is filled with phantasmagorical details that belie a secret Pagan belief. Feasley will be making psychedelic spirit drawings hanging from peg rails, while Swenbeck will offer up sculptures of alien plants and Neolithic ritual tools to flesh out the narrative in real space.

Riding with the crowd down Wilmington Street

Creative bike mounting

Saving the best for last

Although the various 3D art pieces at ahpeele were fascinating and beautiful, my favorite exhibit of the evening was a photography piece by Miller Taylor at the student-run Fish Market. It was a series of photographs of his grandmother in the small town he was from, and it was nothing short of amazing. Beyond the beautiful composition and presentation, each photograph told a story and left you wanting to know more.

I’ve always lived where there were pine trees… and corn grew.
–Geneva Lynette Hester Dailey, born February 12, 1922

Ancestral Lore

The collection of images depicts my Grandmother returning to the major locations of her life, scenes that live on in her written stories and oral histories. She is seen on the ancestral farm known only as “The Old Place” which was purchased by her grandfather. She points to the chimney within the collapsed remains of the house he built there during the Civil War, the place of her birth. In the small community of White Oak she stands in the neatly planted rows of trees that were once her backyard and looks toward the barren hill where her and her husband’s house once stood, many years ago, before it was destroyed by fire. In front of a backdrop of worn wood and peeled paint, she pauses by the doorway of the old Post Office that her husband walked through everyday while serving as a rural Letter Carrier after returning from WWII. In her current home, where I grew up, she plays the harmonica and shows her favorite picture: an image of her father, Graham, posing with a pistol that she still keeps today. These are the scenes still given life through oral history, the settings of our Ancestral Lore.
Photos by Miller Taylor

According to the Facebook event page, the Fish Market is open from 6 until 11PM and the show runs until this Wednesday. I highly recommend it.