Feb. 19--It is highly unlikely that any of the seven little children packed around a couple of tables in the Bridgeport Coffeehouse, which is tucked inside the Hyde Park Art Center, will have careers as artists. On Tuesday they were eating brownies and drinking hot chocolates while awaiting late afternoon classes in drawing and ceramics. They seemed not at all concerned with far-off professions -- none was older than 12 -- but with another bite of brownie.
One of them, an 11-year-old girl, did say to the pint-sized Picassos gathered around her, "When I have a job and they pay me money, I am going to use it to fill up my house with so much art it will be amazing."
Let's hope. An appreciation and desire for art is as old as mankind -- "Hey, that drawing of a saber-toothed tiger on the cave wall really brightens up the place. Can you make more?" -- but for many there is this tricky question: "Where do I get it?"
Visiting an art gallery, and there are many fine ones around the area, can be an intimidating experience, often offering an atmosphere that borders on snobbishness. That is one of the reasons so many people are attracted to the outdoor art fairs and festivals that punctuate our summer season -- less pressure. Others opt for posters or other forms of art available at department stores or drugstores or, increasingly, online.
The HPAC has been at the business of showing, promoting and advocating for the visual arts since 1939. It moved around a bit until getting its own beautiful building at 5020 S. Cornell Ave. in 2006. It does not get the attention that downtown or North Side arts institutions receive but it is a gem, a creative beehive and essential thread in the city's cultural fabric (www.hydeparkart.org).
And it has an innovative and transformative mission. In 2010 it began what is called "Not Just Another Pretty Face." Billed as a "collaborative commissioning project," it actually is a rarefied matchmaking service that pairs an artist from a roster around 90 deep with potential buyers.
This has been done over the years at salons held at the HPAC and at the homes of some of its members. At these events guests have been able to look at the works of artists (refreshingly ethnically and stylistically diverse) digitally (www.hydeparkart.org/njapf) or arrayed in thick photo books.
Something catches the guests' eye or fancy? They can easily contact the artist and start a conversation that may lead to the creation/purchase of paintings of all styles and media -- sculptures, photographs, even jewelry. There have been nearly 300 such matches made, with some of the pairings forming relationships that have produced friendships and more art. Some of the artists are quite well-known and some just starting out, which makes for a wonderfully wide price range with all proceeds from the commissioned work split between the artist and HPAC.
The program also has inspired similar efforts at institutions in Tucson, Ariz., and Salt Lake City, among others. It is such a great idea that it will surely spread further.
Among the works born here is that of colorful flowers titled "Nelson Family Portrait." It is the 2013 creation of artist Adelheid Mers, commissioned by Rho and Ben Nelson: "We were looking for a one-of-a-kind piece that was personal, interesting and of course beautiful. Not only do we feel that we have that in Adelheid's work, being in the creative process has provided our family an experience we will treasure as much as the piece itself," they said in an email.
In January the HPAC entered into a partnership with the Thompson Hotel, which sits at 21 E. Bellevue Place amid an area better known for thick steaks and dry martinis than for fine art. It is a stylish place, and there is some artistic sensibility in its DNA. The first hotel on this site -- replacing, among other structures, a small and cozy tavern called Jay's -- was Hotel 21 East, in 1988.
The next year, internationally renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, most acclaimed and controversial for his images of nudes, was commissioned by that hotel's owners to create 10 sets of 10 images of flowers that were hung in 100 rooms. There were also specially created Mapplethorpe posters hanging in other rooms, and all 10 flower photos adorning the walls of a lower-level restaurant.
One of the hotel's executives at the time, a pleasant woman named Julie Hanahan, said: "We're serious about style and design. Our goal is to be committed to the arts."
Now, the Thompson Hotel's general manager, Steve Shern, says: "We are what is called a luxury lifestyle hotel, but when we opened two years ago it was important to me to have authenticity, to be a vital part of the city. We did a lot of research and eventually came upon the Hyde Park Art Center and what was going on there. So we reached out about doing something together. They were thrilled and we are thrilled to be involved with something so distinctive."
And so, in addition to availing themselves of traditional hotel amenities and a stylish design by Britain's Tara Bernerd, Thompson's guests will soon be able to "meet" some of the HPAC-affiliated artists whose work they can see via computer. If they find an artist whose work intrigues them, guests can set up an in-person meeting through the hotel's concierge, and the hotel plans to offer discounted room rates for guests planning return trips for future meetings with the artists (thompsonhotels.com).
"One hope is that some of these people might then be compelled to further explore the city, to come down here to the art center and maybe visit the working studios of artists," says Aaron Rodgers, Individual Giving and Special Events manager at the HPAC. "We are here to initiate the conversations and it has proven a wonderful connecting mechanism."
The Thompson is putting its money where its mouth is too. Shern and his staff have been exploring the HPAC artists' work and will soon decide on which to commission for a piece that will hang on the wall above the hotel's concierge desk.
"I have a great appreciation for art but sadly no talent at it," says Shern, who grew up in San Francisco. "I am very lucky that both my mother and father were serious about making and buying art and filled the house with it."
Later this year and into the next (Dec. 10 to Feb. 5, 2017) there will be an exhibition of the fruits of the Thompson Hotel-HPAC collaboration at the HPAC. As are all the place's shows, this one will be open to the public, and free.
Don't want to wait that long? On March 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. the HPAC will be hosting another in its series of "Not Just a Pretty Face" salons, as will the Thompson, from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 14. Throughout the year the Thompson will also be showcasing the work of HPAC's artists in all of its public spaces. The hotel does not, as far as I know, serve hot chocolate and brownies.
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