Eagle Rock Art Guild 2006 Sidewalk Show

Posted by Joe Vandal
July 25, 2006

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I dissed the Idaho Falls art scene a few weeks ago, pretty much saying it was too vanilla and bland for my tastes. I took one of my kids out the annual art show on the greenbelt last Saturday (as I do every year). I wanted to interview a few artists about their work and photograph some pieces or booths. Unfortunately it was crazy-hot out there and my little one wanted to test how well the art played, so I didn’t get the chance. Perhaps another time? Here are my thoughts on the event.


As usual, I was under whelmed by the majority of the art on display. None of it engaged me intellectually, and not much of it stood out as being very original or unique (in that I have not seen it before). The artists all obviously take great care in making their art, but I wonder about the value of fine craft in our world anymore?

I must admit I always like the guy who carves old wooden men out of wood pieces, especially the one that is smoking a pipe (of which another wooden man face is carved). I also liked the artist who painted hyper-real scenes, the artist who painted horses in fantasy scenes, the photographer with extremely focused minutia blown up large, the artist with carved and painted flat stones, and the artist who made recognizable forms out of metal shards (leaving gaps everywhere). I felt these artists had the most original and unique art, and came the closest to challenging me intellectually.

One thing bothered me about the show, and that was the guild’s assertion in the Post Register that they accept only art work and not crafts at this show. What is the difference between arts and crafts? I saw several booths full of what I would consider crafts rather than arts. Examples include the many jewelry and pottery booths. I have to admit pottery has never turned me on much, so I’m likely biased against that art form.

I have appreciated fine jewelry art, though, and I distinguish fine jewelry art from the jewelry on the greenbelt by size and quantity. Most fine jewelry art I have seen is enlarged so as to be seen and make a statement on gallery display podiums. They are meant to be shown rather than worn. The jewelry being displayed and sold at the greenbelt art show was all sized to be worn, and was produced in mass quantities as to suggest they were crafts rather than art.

I have seen crafts displayed at local shows that I would consider more art than crafts. I have seen some extremely well-crafted scrapbook pages which communicate more powerfully than local graphic design pieces.


I must therefore question what is art and what is craft? I wholeheartedly welcome comments on this subject.

Finally, as much as I would like to see other things displayed at the annual art show, I am genuinely grateful that it happens at all. I appreciate art deeply and think it fills out the gaps in our culture. I believe Idaho Falls’ art scene is smaller and lacking compared to other cities of comparable size, and I want to see it grow. I hope more local art events start happening.

I would just like to see the scope increase in intellectual meaning along with quantity and quality.

Design Matters, Out and About

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