by Rachel Staggs

And Something Different studio/gallery

Leslie Pierce, owner of And Something Different, was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent time in Long Island and Denton, Texas, before making her way to Austin. As an artistic child, Pierce felt no support and in fact was put down for being creative. When she joined the Artists Coalition of Austin she found support from the other members and artists, along with a boost in confidence.

When I spoke with Leslie Pierce, she was insightful and open about a variety of subjects. I asked her several questions before giving her the floor to share with me anything she wanted to. She told me about her brand of radical feminism in art. "I consider myself a radical feminist. I am heterosexual which seems to put people more on edge because I am the most dangerous kind of feminist to the 'old school.' I enjoy the male body in more than one way.

"I'm having fun with getting in their face about the inequality. There are different ways women are subjugated to being second-class citizens, and one of the ways is having visual imagery withheld from us. Guys are socially allowed to look at Playboy and gawk at women, and do all the things that they do. But we are constantly told that women are the ones who buy the women magazines with the airbrushed babes on the front. I feel like that has been a conditioning, and it's a load of crap. Men are too nervous to see really good-looking hunks and have their wives bring those magazines home. Then they would start to feel as insecure as we do at times when we are standing at the checker line in the grocery store."

Pierce shared many pieces from the Penetration Series with me. The work in this series is some of the most creative photography/artwork I've seen. Her method involves combining the human figure with images of buildings via a slide projector and silver metallic paint on the body. She photographs buildings and projects those slides onto her models. The result is geometric pattern magic. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the beauty in these images. One of her pieces was banned for male frontal nudity.

She's A Real Dish Series is another series Pierce has been working on. The short name for this series is RadFem, short for "radical feminist." This series focuses on how women are treated as objects. The first piece in the series is housed in a stripper's booth, which Pierce built herself. With broken dishes and fishnet-covered silverware, this piece is destined to intrigue many.

We spoke more about feminism in today's society and Pierce told me about a bumper sticker she saw. It said, "Feminism is the radical notion of women being people." Maybe we should post that sticker all over the restaurant Hooters, or bring Pierce's idea to life by opening a restaurant called "Peters" or "Dickies" and have guys in tiger shorts come wait on women.

After having several problems with the gallery scene, Pierce turned her frustration into power and developed her concept of having a studio/gallery where people could watch her work. Pierce said, "I know this is going to sound cocky, but I knew my work was good and that I would make it as an artist. I just needed a chance. So, if no one else was going to give it to me, I was going to create it for myself. And then, later on I thought it would be really nice to give that opportunity to other people, struggling." She started out with a small room downstairs at the ArtPlex and has slowly added more rooms and turned her space into one of the most aesthetically pleasing hidden galleries in Austin. The work she shows is different. She's not looking for your traditional landscape painting. "Now, if you want to show me a landscape painting that has been ripped up, put back together, hung upside down and painted in a good slick presentation, then we'll see. Sometimes it's really hard when you hurt peoples' feelings and turn their work away because it's too 'normal.'

"I just think being an artist is really hard because of the rejection that can happen to you," she says. "You're always jumping through hoops: how am I paying the rent, what is my next series going to be, when am I going to have the time to actually think of my next series or buy the supplies and do my next series? So being part of the ArtPlex is wonderful because it's such a networking of people, struggling, doing the same thing."

And Something Different studio/gallery is located in the ArtPlex at 1705 Guadalupe, Suite #104, (512) 875-4784. Stop by for a radical art experience.

Little Gallery @ DiverseArts Production Group

The concept for the Little Gallery developed when DiverseArts was first organized in 1994. Starting out on Congress Avenue at Café Solaire, then moving to the Heritage House on East 13th, DiverseArts and the Little Gallery found their ArtPlex home last November. The Little Gallery has been featuring local and regional artists working in two-dimensional media since the beginning of this year. Paintings, drawing and photography are shown here, along with small sculptural work.

When I spoke with founder, Harold McMillan, I asked him if it was difficult to bring an audience into the gallery. "It has been challenging, but it's getting markedly better with each month. We are primarily known as a presenting organization. Most people connect DiverseArts with the Austin Jazz Festival, or the Blues Family Tree Project. One of the ways we have been trying to get more people to come into the building to see what we are doing is once a month we have what we call "Second Sunday Salon." Most of the time, these coincide with the opening of a show. With those Second Sundays we usually try to mix the showing of a new artist with a social activity. There's food, often times there's poetry or music. In addition to bringing people in to have conversation and have refreshments, we want them to know that we do rotating art shows here. The work that we choose to hang is quality work. We want the work to be exposed to new people and get out into the community."

Shows run four to six weeks, an average of seven shows a year. Now showing through August are paintings by Lynda Dubov and sculpture work by Max Smith. In her artist's statement, Dubov says, "Often I am asked, as I am sure most artists are: What does it mean? Do you just splash a bit of color about at random? What were you thinking about at the time of creation? Well, I answer this differently at different times, but essentially I answer the question with a question (or two or three): What does it say to you? What do you see? Can you enter into a dialog with the painting? With the person who can answer these questions, I can discuss the feelings we might share. To the person who feels that the work violates the natural order of things and is offended by it, I say: Examine your reaction. If my work suggests to you more than you need or it touches a delicate nerve, then look closer. You may see yourself all too clearly in the drawing from which you seek to escape."

Currently the gallery has poetry books for sale and has plans for a gift shop that will include smaller artworks, books and locally produced music.

Little Gallery @ DiverseArts is located in the ArtPlex at 1705 Guadalupe, Suite #234, (512) 477-9438.

Pro-Jex Gallery

After spending ten years on East 5th Street, Neil Coleman moved his gallery to the ArtPlex. Pro-Jex Gallery has been housed in the ArtPlex for the past two years and presents a variety of photographic works. You may have missed this gallery because it is tucked away in the back of the building. Now is your chance to check it out. On Saturday, August 7th from 6 to 9pm, Pro-Jex Gallery will have an opening reception for its newest show. The show, entitled New Work, New York will feature the photography of Michael Morlan.

When I spoke with owner Neil Coleman and asked him what keeps his interest in the gallery he shared with me "the three P's: Presentation = the exhibits; Preservation = showing other photographers how to store artwork and protect artwork archives; Promotion = promoting photography." Not only can you visit the gallery to see artwork, but it is also a frame shop.

Pro-Jex Gallery is located in the ArtPlex at 1705 Guadalupe, Suite #122, (512) 472-7707.