The artwork of Ann Pineda, local Fairpark community resident, is on exhibit at Anderson-Foothill Public Library October 8-Novembe 13.  A reception will be held October 8 from 7:00-8:30pm at the library.

Artist Statement:

For the Fairpark

Does no one else see the Fairgrounds as I see them? Beautiful in their humble but strong malleability. I
love the flexibility of these spaces and their untethered usefulness. Periodically, the dirt gets heaped up
into small, bumpy mountains for who knows what use and fences are moved around for various events.
I got curious.

For a number of years, I have been coming to draw and paint in the open spaces of the Fairpark. The different qualities of light playing off its surfaces and spaces wind up in the paintings. The Fairpark glows each evening under its peach-colored lights. In mornings, the light is soft, of course, as it is in late afternoons; but more usually, I have been working in the bright sheen of mid-day, trying to figure out what it is I’m seeing. It’s a bigger subject than I could paint in several lifetimes. I like that. I like trying to do more than I know I can presently do or even understand. (Oh, I believe I’m talking about “Reach.”)

At the fairgrounds, hundreds of skills are showcased each year. The work I’m showing here, only one of those skill-sets, has become a request for these beautiful spaces to be appreciated and in a way that is consistent with the history of this place. Because the Fairpark needs advocates.

For this event, it matters less that this person gave the best performance or made the best thing in that category. What matters is that people were extending their reach beyond what they could do before. They not only worked and prepared over a length of time, they learned from the experience of making it public. A further reach.

In Utah, in Salt Lake City, we have a place for this. The Utah State Fairpark stands for something. It’s not just another piece of real estate. To Utahns, the Fairpark stands for this huge and steady encouragement for all who want to contribute something that they choose to offer. It stands ready to champion the good beginning effort as well as the masterly. Because skill is not an accomplishment but a continuing and evolving project.

The work I’m showing stands in appreciation for the investment that the State of Utah has continued to make in the “business” of encouragement. Too many people have too little encouragement to even try to thrive doing something they love to do. The Fair exists to help with their discovery of new possibilities and then it promotes their effort to extend their reach.

Here on the Fairgrounds, people find a champion. The Fairpark has an attractive humbleness that does not sparkle or dazzle but attracts with a glow of confidence in what it is about.

Visit the art exhibit page here.