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closeSunday, Sep. 20, 2009
Living for art: Kennewick woman's paintings, doll art at Allied Arts Gallery
By Dori O'Neal, Herald staff writer
KENNEWICK -- There's an engaging sass in Kimberly Camp that shows in her art, whether it's a painting of a woman with a pensive look or a dramatically-themed handcrafted doll.
About 20 works of Camp's doll art and paintings are featured through Oct. 2 at the Allied Arts Gallery in Richland.
They show another surprising side to the director of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center in Richland -- a renowned black artist who has loved art since she was a child.
Camp's art breathes new life into the phrase, "Art imitates life," because many of the themes in her paintings and dolls reflect world social issues. She sees some of her pieces as reflections of the strife, general hardships, customs and wonders of life that are part of her African heritage.
And then there are some that are just plain whimsical.
"Some of my work is a bit weird," Camp admitted with a chuckle. Like a doll with exceptionally long, striped legs and a small squat body with feathered wings and topped with an even smaller devil's head.
"I just love art, in all its wondrous forms. I love creating it, teaching it," she said.
Camp lives in Kennewick with an adorable Siamese cat named Farfi who she says often provides her with inspiration as she paints.
"When I first got him as a kitten he would constantly jump up on my lap when I sat down to paint," she said. "I'd put him down and he'd be right back up on my lap. So, one day I pulled up a stool next to me and put him on that and he seemed to like it and stayed put. Now he's always there when I'm painting and I find that comforting."
Although Camp holds a bachelor's degree in studio art and art history from the University of Pittsburgh, she has traveled the world to further enhance her artistic education.
She has served as a panelist and speaker at many arts events around the world. She also received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kellogg National Leadership Program, was a visiting scholar for Tokyo Gedia University and received the Stevens Award from Carnegie Mellon University for her contributions to art culture.
In addition, she holds a bachelor of science degree in arts administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Camp says there was no way she could escape the artistic genes she was born with.
"I come from a family of artists. When I paint it's my portraits that I feel I'm best at."
Her Uncle Jim was a wood sculptor, Uncle Herbert a ceramicist, Aunt Sylvia a painter, Uncle Don a photographer, Uncle Bill a pianist, and cousins Valerie a painter and Billy a sculptor and filmmaker, Camp said.
"My dad was an oral surgeon who was also a wonderful designer, and my mother was a fabulous seamstress," she said, noting that she began expressing herself in art when she was young.
"I had my first art show at age 12. It was held at my art teacher's home and I sold all my paintings that day," she said.
That love affair with art has followed Camp through life, and she's been nationally recognized for it.
She is featured in the coffee table-size book, Studios and Workspaces of Black American Artists. Her art also was featured in a five-page spread in the 1986 edition of National Geographic World magazine and in Ebony magazine in 2007. She's also had exhibitions at the Smithsonian and International Sculpture Center in Washington, D.C., and at New York's American Craft Museum.
Camp said she's been a painter since she was 11 years old, but her interest in doll-making began in 1983 as a temporary diversion from painting.
"I love to stretch myself," she said. "My mother taught me the art of sewing."
Her doll art took off in high gear during a visit to the hospital where her mother was being treated for a serious illness.
"I grabbed an old leather coat, scissors and needle and thread that day before I headed to the hospital to see my mother," she said.
Camp began cutting the fabric into pieces, which she later used to create the first of her one-of-a-kind soft sculpture dolls. Some of those dolls were cited in a 1980s feature story in Essence magazine along with renowned artist Faith Ringgold.
Camp's paintings have sold for anywhere from $200 to $10,000 over the past three decades, and her dolls have sold from $200 to $4,000.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Camp has spent most of her adult life working in the cultural world as creative director for various museums from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia to Detroit.
She has been the director of Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, which is the largest black-oriented museum in the United States. She also served as president and CEO of the historic Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa.
She came to the Tri-Cities in 2007 to become director of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center and later CEO of the Richland Public Facilities District. But her administrative tasks in helping organize funding for the showcase facility haven't dulled her enthusiasm for art and arts education.
"Kimberly's enthusiasm and personality seem to transfer seamlessly to her artwork,' said Bob Allen, publicity chair for the Allied Arts Gallery show.
Camp, the first black woman to be featured in a solo exhibition in the gallery's 60-year history, first came to the attention of the gallery when she spoke at a volunteer luncheon last year, Allen said.
"Members were impressed by her passion for art and before the lunch was over she'd agreed to do a show at the gallery," he said.
Allied Arts member and artist Nancy Shade agreed.
"Kimberly Camp brought a new artistic perspective from outside the Tri-Cities," she said.
As for Camp, she is thrilled to have a show in the Tri-Cities that she hopes will enhance an appreciation for art.
"I would love to see the Tri-Cities grow even more culturally," she said. "There is so much talent here and I'd like to see more people get introduced to the wonderful world of art culture."
* Dori O'Neal: 509-582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com
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