by Anne Porter
staff associate

Thousands of local artists labored many hours to submit their work to "Art St. Louis, The Exhibition." The fate of these artists is controlled by one man who will select the works to be used. This process produces a juried show.

"Art St. Louis XV, The Exhibition," the largest of the juried showcases presented by "Art St. Louis," offers a wide array of art in all media forms without any particular theme. "The Exhibition" premiers on Nov. 13 and will be on display through Dec. 30.

Tobi Kahn, a professor of art at the School of Visual Arts in New York, decided pieces for The Exhibition. Kahn's work is currently touring the United States in an exhibit curated by Peter Selz.

Robin Hirsch, the associate director of "Art St. Louis," explained that Kahn was nominated by a program committee. Kahn selected 39 works from 32 artists out of the several hundred that were submitted.

Kahn is "a well-known New York- based painter and sculptor," Hirsch said.

"The Exhibition" represents the 15th year of a juried show without a theme.

"The main thing we hope to achieve is to bring recognition to St. Louis regional artists within the community," Hirsch said.

"Art St. Louis" also provides more than notoriety for local artists.

"Artists have gained recognition [and] major gallery representation. Their works have been sold through the exhibition to corporations, sponsors, and individuals who are art collectors as well as people who just fell in love with a piece of work and want to own it," Hirsch said.

Tom Patton, a professor of art and art history at UM-St. Louis, submitted some of his work to "The Exhibition." One piece of his work in digital photography was accepted. Patton's digital photography appears to be a straight photo, but what Patton did was take a normal black and white photo, scanned it, and then made the corrections on a computer.

"[Digital photography] will add some new and less traditional technology," Patton said.

Patton has participated in four other shows at Art St. Louis, but he particularly wanted to be in this show.

"[The Exhibition] is very well attended, particularly the opening," Patton said.

Patton began as a printmaker, but through the use of stencils became interested in photography. The digital method has become popular in the last 5-to-10 years due to the influence of commercialism and University implementation.

"I use photography, not only to learn about myself, but to learn about the world around me," Patton said.

Through his work, Patton discovers the history, the social role, and the cultural context of the objects he pictures.

Patton greatly respects "Art St. Louis" because of itr non-commercial nature which makes them available to any artist.

"It's probably the best of various artist collectives here in St. Louis. It's a mixture of professional and amateur artists. But the quality of the work in 'Art St. Louis, The Exhibition,' in the past has really been quite good and that is one of the reasons I wanted to participate," Patton said.

Barbara Savan graduated from UM-St. Louis with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts in 1998, and since then has been working on her series, "Grandma's Kitchen."

One of her works from that series was selected by Kahn for "The Exhibition." That piece, entitled "Protections," depicts a kitchen scene focusing on women.

"I'm very grateful to get in [to 'The Exhibition']," Saven said. "This is the biggest show of the year."

"Grandma's Kitchen," biographical in nature, shows the experiences of Savan's childhood.

One of the main themes was the importance of the kitchen to the family.

"Everything happened in the kitchen-- meals [were] done in the kitchen, babies were bathed in the kitchen, all family problems were discussed in the kitchen," Savan said.

Savan's work was also displayed in 1993 in the "Windows and Doors" exhibition.

"I go to a lot of the openings [at 'Art St. Louis'] or if I don't make the opening, I do see the shows because they are really great shows," Savan said. For more information on "Art St. Louis The Exhibition," call (314) 241-4810.