art beat / By Jennifer Savage

No Limits

The world waiting for them at last Saturday night’s Arts Alive! was populated by people thronging Old Town’s gazebo plaza, weaving through giant telescopes that revealed Jupiter and his moons to eager stargazers — to see such a wonder in December in Humboldt? What a lovely example of art and science joining together. The entire AA! scene rocketed to a new high Saturday night. The December version of the monthly event typically demands attendance and 2009 proved that tradition remained strong. Couples availed themselves of the holiday-decorated horse-drawn carriage, friends and families wandered in and out of endless storefronts and galleries; folks came from as far away as Arcata to revel in the festivities. This rejoicing, inspired by art and the rewards we find within it, is what we need to ensure our children can carry forth.

Sometimes the generational mantle is shared more directly. Over on 318 Fifth St., in what was Wachovia and is now Wells Fargo Advisors, cousins Shawn Griggs and Floyd Bettiga shared wall space. Bettiga is so well known locally that one of the Morris Graves Museum of Art galleries is named for him. His oils brim with color and texture — the sunsets over Humboldt Bay make a particularly dramatic impact. Color likewise dominates Griggs’ work, but where Bettiga paints suggestions of scenes that turn sharp in the mind of the viewer, Griggs’ makes use of bold outlines, specific objects, then inflates them into more than the observer would have otherwise imagined. The central figures in his paintings, however, are skeletons, whose black-and-white selves would never be construed as dead — not only are they surrounded by color so intense it nearly vibrates off the wall, but the skeletons themselves are infused with bliss. We living should be so lucky.

Disclosure: Jennifer Savage is the proud parent of an Arcata Arts Institute student.

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