WHAT: An exhibition and sale of revisioned vintage postcards to benefit Friends of the North Carolina Room projects
WHEN: Friday, June 1, 7-9 p.m., and Saturday, June 2, noon-5 p.m.
WHERE: 305 Hillside St.
WHY: Local artist and self-described “amateur history sleuth” Terry Taylor has collected postcards all his life. Some he purchased from the Asheville Post Card Co. in the late 1970s, while others he’s acquired from antique shops, postcard shows and, more recently, eBay. Once they’re in his studio, he puts his own inventive spins on them.
“Using illustrations cut from vintage dictionaries, I create vignettes of Asheville that could have existed,” Taylor says. “I cut and paste — I cut apart and stitch cards together as I am moved to do so.”
In 2017, Taylor used this approach to made a series of “eclipse” views of Asheville and Western North Carolina, crafting 40-50 postcards that he mailed to friends prior to August’s total solar eclipse. He then spent the winter creating over 150 new pieces, each with an Asheville or WNC connection, which will be on display and for sale Friday, June 1, and Saturday, June 2, at the 305 Hillside St. private artist’s studio that occasionally presents small exhibitions.
Titled Re:Views of Asheville & WNC, each card in the exhibit is unique and encased in a hard sleeve that protects the creation. For the show, they will be pinned to the wall and sold for $35 each or three for $100. They are suitable for framing.
Fifty percent of proceeds will benefit the Friends of the North Carolina Room’s projects at Pack Memorial Library. Taylor is a board member of the Friends group and says the funds will “help us continue to present our well-received, free lecture programs and purchase needed equipment and supplies for our Community History projects in the branch libraries. This year’s project is in the Fairview community. Last year’s [was] North Asheville.”
The artist’s studio was built in the 1920s as a neighborhood grocery store. One of the Friends’ upcoming lecture programs in June is on neighborhood groceries, which is why Re:Views of Asheville & WNC is being held there.
Re:Views of Asheville & WNC takes place Friday, June 1, 7-9 p.m., and Saturday, June 2, noon-5 p.m. at 305 Hillside St. ncroom.buncombecounty.org
My husband and I have been collecting vintage postcards of the Swannanoa Valley and Asheville for some 30 years, have written 3 histories of the area using the postcards , We also teach the history of the Swannanoa Valley using power point presentations of the postcards to visualize the past– actually the only way to see “the past” in color- not in a black and white photograph. ow have a collection of over 2000 postcards– some 650 .. just of Montreat…all unique.
Looking forward to seeing this new vision of postcards by Terry Taylor.
Wasn’t this gallery space on Hillside St known as SemiPublic? Is the current writer aware of its history as a place for art?
Yes and yes. Here are some more details on the space: https://semipublicgallery.wordpress.com/about/
Thank you for that information.