MARTI JONES DIXON’S ‘NASHVILLE’

Paintings Inspired by the Iconic 1975 Robert Altman Film

Marti Jones Dixon’s ‘Nashville’ is a new series of paintings that capture “fractions” of human movement inspired by the iconic Robert Altman film. The collection includes a dozen works, mostly “in wide-screen”, or a 10” x 20” or 15” x 30” rectangular format to complement their cinema graphic nature. Moments captured may include scenes with legendary actors like Lily Tomlin, Karen Black, Shelley Duvall, Jeff Goldblum depicted at the Parthenon, Nashville International Airport, or Elliston Place’s Exit/In, where Keith Carradine sings his Oscar-winning “I’m Easy”.  However, the artist’s goal is not to recreate stills of the film, but to simply “elongate the fraction of a second that a still image conveys, that implies movement”.

“Four decades before becoming one of America’s “it” cities, Nashville was the subject of a sprawling, 24-character study that was simultaneously hailed by critics as a cinematic masterpiece…. Directed by Robert Altman, the big-screen Nashville opened in New York City on June 11th, 1975, although the movie didn’t host its actual Music City premiere until two months later” – The Rolling Stone.

Marti Jones Dixon has studied various disciplines of visual art, but her interest in the human figure as a subject has consistently been the central focus.

The movie ‘Nashville’ is a cornerstone of 1970’s American moviemaking with Robert Altman’s panoramic view of the country’s political and cultural landscape set in Music City. The exhibit will offer an occasion to celebrate the monumental and enduring effect of our city’s deep and very rich culture, in a modernly retrospective way.

Marti Jones Dixon’s ‘Nashville’

April 28, 2018 – June 2^nd, 2018

Opening Reception for the Artist – Saturday, April 28th 6-8:00pm.

LeQuire Gallery 4304 Charlotte Ave.  Nashville, TN 37209

Marti Jones Dixon, is a multi-talented singer-songwriter and contemporary realist painter in the United States, who has been praised for her ability to interestingly and accurately capture the spare, mundane moments of urban, everyday life often using strong, defined lighting in unassuming scenes. This artist’s knack for revealing human nature at and of the commonplace is shown deceptively simple, yet it is her decided and complex use of color, contrast, and geometry, that subtly bring casual life moments to attention with an overwhelming familiarity.

The Nashville series showcases Marti Jones Dixon’s passion for human nature depicted through one of the most iconic films about one of the country’s most iconic cities.

Marti Jones Dixon, sings, records, and performs under “Marti Jones”, and exhibits under “Marti Jones Dixon”. She grew up in Ohio where she performed with her sisters in a folk music group and went on to graduate from Kent State with a degree in studio art. Marti has continued with a duel artistic career having recorded and performed with her producer/husband Don Dixon (REM, The Smithereens, Fetchin Bones) for decades while creating and exhibiting new visual art. She has more than 10 albums under her belt, and has appeared on more than 35 albums including Joe Cocker, The Smithereens, Robert Crenshaw and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

ABOUT Marti Jones Dixon’s ‘Nashville’

“I am interested in the human animal and the manifestation of movement.  The fraction of a second we capture with a glimpse of someone, even if frozen by the image caught by camera, is always followed by implied movement.  Elongating the fraction of the second that a still image conveys is my goal.  But unlike DuChamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2), which depicts the positions of movement, I want it to happen in the viewer’s mind. That requires putting movement in the paint.  Painting from the moving image allows for me to see the literal movement in the moment it’s happening and to decide what best conveys the anticipation of what will happen next.  As a medium, painting allows for fluidity of movement.  

I began to examine this process with the Maysles brothers’ documentary, Grey Gardens.  A friend brought me the dvd. I had never heard of it.  Several of us were watching and inevitably we would have to pause the movie so someone could get a drink or go to the bathroom.  It was great fun, but I became transfixed with the image that would be frozen on the screen.  In the middle of an intended movement, each image in my head continued to move with the lift of the wrist, the shift of the waist, the structure of bone and muscle ready to land.  The way the younger Edie carried herself was so lyrical and beautiful.  I wanted to paint that.

I further examined the idea with scenes in Alfred Hitchcock’s films, narrowing it down to his cameo appearances in which he would be an incidental passer-by.

Valley of the Dolls became my next filmed subject, and most recently, Robert Altman’s Nashville.” – Marti Jones Dixon

OF SPECIAL INTEREST

Illustrator, Bill Myers, who happens to live in Nashville, worked on the iconic ’70’s film creating much of the artwork including the opening credits, the soundtrack cover, the movie poster and the cover of the screenplay. Myers has agreed to exhibit some of the original artwork from the film during the run of the exhibit.

Marti Jones Dixon’s Nashville coincides with the 2018 Nashville Film Festival. LeQuire Gallery will host this year’s Film Festival Closing Night Reception. As a tribute to the season, LeQuire Gallery will donate a portion of sales to Nashville Film Festival for any sales in May from those who show proof of purchase of new membership to that organization.