Variety of art on display at Girardot Nation Juried Art Show

Art, like accents, varies. A painting from New York may be edgy and sharp and loud while a sculpture from Missouri might be smooth and flowing and natural.

Natives and visitors to Southeast Missouri have the opportunity to pick out the similarities and differences in local and nonnative art at the Girardot National Juried Art Show at the Southeast Missouri Arts Council. The show hangs until July 26 and a rescheduled First Friday reception will show off the art from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday.

The Girardot show brings the diverse art from across the country to Cape Girardeau for its yearly summer display. This year's juror, George Tutt, president of the Missouri Watercolor Society, chose 65 paintings, photographs, sculptures and other forms of art to be displayed in the 2008 show.

Artists from 15 states submitted 125 pieces for consideration. Gallery director Erin Schloss said they had never received submissions from that many states before.

"It's always neat to see what other artists are doing around the country," she said.

Many of the entries are from Missouri — including 24 "local" artists from Cape Girardeau, Jackson and the surrounding towns — but some come from as far away as New York City or Bakersfield, Calif.

"It gets art from all over the country, and it brings them here," Schloss said.

The show, the only national juried show held by the arts council, gives locals a chance to see different perspectives and techniques, and also puts Cape Girardeau on the arts map as a worthwhile national show.

"That's what makes it unique," Schloss said.

The show has more paintings than usual, but the juror determines that mix, Schloss said.

Tutt, or Papa Tutt as he is known, is a painter. Schloss said people tend to send in pieces they think the juror will like and choose.

More sculptures were submitted and accepted this year, but no medium was left wanting. Plenty of photographs, graphics and paintings adorn the walls of the two back galleries of the arts council. The front gallery still hosts local Visual Arts Coop pieces.

WINNERS

The following artists and pieces placed in the Girardot National Juried Art Show:

Best of show: "Jess" a painting by Linda Ray of Blythville, Ark.

Juror's choice: "Air, Earth and Water" by Sarah Capps of Belle Rive, Illinois

1st place in experimental: "Hankerchiefs for Sale," digital photography by Teresa Gemeinhardt of Anniston, Mo.

1st place in painting: "Emergence of Spring" by Vicki Outman of Jackson, Mo.

1st place in 3-D sculpture: "The Agreement" by Nathan Pierce of Cape Girardeau

1st place in experimental graphics: "Wendover" by Rochelle Steffen of Cape Girardeau.