*All photos by Manya Kaczkowski

Some people go to Nashville to hear music. I go there for the art.

For whatever reason, the city is largely ignored by the public in terms of being a destination for fine art—probably because the Music City reputation dominates everything else. But the art scene in Nashville has been building up steam in the last few years; galleries are springing up everywhere, and art crawls get folks out and about several times each month, all  year-round.

For just a moment, though, let’s flash back to the Nashville of yesteryear, right around 1896. By that time, Nashville was already known as the “Athens of the South” because of the many institutions of higher learning there. The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition (think World’s Fair) was about to take place. The grounds of the Expo were at what is today known as Centennial Park. A built-to-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon (built as a temple for Athena, goddess of wisdom) was constructed to hold the Nashville art display. (The Memphis exhibit, by the way, was housed in a pyramid at the Expo because of the city’s Egyptian name.)

Nashville’s Parthenon was really meant to be a temporary building, but it was so popular that in 1920 they used the old foundation, put reinforcements in the walls and ceiling, and turned it into the solid structure it is today. It’s still an art museum; the lower level contains a permanent collection of American paintings donated by James M. Cowan and rotating art exhibits by Tennessee artists.

I’ll never forget stepping into the main chamber of the Parthenon. Inside, there is a nearly 42-foot-tall statue of Athena (Athena Parthenos), gloriously gilded in gold. Seriously, this gal knows how to fill up a room.

She's big, bold and beautiful: Athena Parthenos

She was commissioned by the city of Nashville in 1982 to local sculptor Alan LeQuire, who conducted much research on the original Athena from Greece. That ancient lady, however, is in sad shape—a mere collection of fragments—so LeQuire was afforded significant artistic license. He sculpted ancient stories into every aspect of his lady, from the Greek tribe fighting off Centaurs on her sandals to Amazon women fighting the Athenians on her shield. She’s all warrior, and she’s magnificent.

One look at Athena, and I want to meet the man who created her. LeQuire, a native of Nashville, has his studio and gallery in the Sylvan Park neighborhood west of downtown.

The first thing I see upon entering his gallery is Dream Forest, a collection of sculpted tree trunks stretching up to the ceiling. Or are they gigantic torsos, assembling their headless selves together for some mysterious meeting? Either way, they seem alive. LeQuire says Dream Forest really did come to him in a dream, frightening him badly. Even after sculpting them, the mammoth trunks still visit his subconcious, but he says the fear has vanished.

LeQuire Gallery is compelling, with sculptures and paintings of mostly figurative art from LeQuire and other artists. But the really fascinating part of the building is the back room, where he molds and carves his creations. It’s almost a spiritual experience: clay and bronze sculptures are everywhere, some finished, others in various stages of development. The vast majority are lovely, and female—LeQuire is trying to change the idea of the bust.

“It’s not just white guys—there are women as well,” he says.

"Wanted" sculptures by Alan LeQuire

There is a row, however, of oversized, tormented male faces on the back wall. LeQuire tells me that he was inspired by “Wanted” posters in the post office. “These faces have a lot of pathos, and they’re intriguing to me,” he says.

LeQuire achieved national renown with Athena Parthenos—she is, after all, the largest indoor statue in the Western world. But he’s also known for another, more recent sculpture. Musica, a 40-foot tall sculpture dedicated to Nashville’s musical diversity and history, has nine 16-foot-tall figures in a joyous dance at the entrance to Music Row.

There was some controversy when the piece, after being trekked across the country (it was built in Wyoming) and installed in the middle of the night, was unveiled in 2002. You see, the dancers are naked, and some folks just don’t like that (although I can’t imagine why). Thankfully, the naysayers have quieted, and the dancers continue to leap gracefully over the roundabout at Division Street and 17th Avenue South. For a quirky video by Andrew Rozario depicting Musica’s trip across the US, click here.

Alan LeQuire: the sculpture at work in his studio

I ask LeQuire how he was able to dedicate eight years of his life to sculpting Athena, and he said he supported himself during that time with smaller commissions. “And after the first year,” he says, “I stopped worrying about the deadline, because I’d already missed the deadline.” When I inquire about his inspiration for Athena’s features, he says, straight-faced, “I used Elvis for the face.” Not one to let that detail go unnoticed, I squeal, “Elvis?! Elvis Presley?!”

Turns out the King has perfectly classical features. Now that I know this, I’ve seen his face in other sculpture galleries—I’m not even kidding. The latest sighting was in the Greek and Roman collection in the Ewing Halsell Wing at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Speaking of museums, I’ve heard that the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a not-to-miss venue for art lovers, so I head there next. This is one of the more unusual museums I’ve been in—first of all, there’s a tiny U.S. post office in the main hall, as The Frist is located in what used to be the main post office for Nashville. When the city bought the property from the United States Post Office for $4.4 million in 1999, it came with the stipulation that they had to include a post office satellite on the property.

The building is a gem. Built in 1934, it’s a work of art—classical on the outside, Art Deco on the inside—that houses major traveling exhibitions. Docent Mansel Esell tells me that somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 railroad cars full of Georgia marble were brought in to create the interior.

The art exhibits at the Frist are major: recent installations have included The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957 and The Birth of Impressionism (shown in only two other cities worldwide: San Francisco and Madrid). This place, at its tender age of 10 years, is highly regarded in museum circles.

Chihuly concept drawings, shown at the Frist

There is no permanent collection, and as such, nothing to trade for exhibitions. Despite this, the museum is able to attract rare and fabulous collections for displays that rotate every seven or eight weeks.

I stroll through a Chihuly exhibit, marveling at his wall of concept drawings. Splashed with bold colors and strong lines, they’re works of art all on their own. In fact, it’s amazing to me that what I’m looking at is the genesis of the delicate glass sculptures in the rest of the gallery. Chihuly’s art could be just a cacophony of shining hues and swervy shapes, but it’s not. It’s organic, musical colors fused forever into a melodic glass menagerie.

This building is leased to the Frist Foundation for 100 years; the Thomas F. Frist Jr. family is the private owner. They consider the Frist Center an educational institution, and a place families can enjoy together. It’s free to visitors 18 and under (even special exhibits), and there is an activity center called Art Quest, where one can create an art project—for free. I can even make a digital portfolio, if I like.

I’ll have to take a pass this time. Gallery Night is calling.

The latest of crawls in Nashville (launched May 2010) is the Hillsboro Village Art Walk, which takes place on the first Thursday each month from 5-8 p.m. year round. It’s a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood close to Vanderbilt University, and a terrific place to find affordable local art, live music, drink specials and giveaways from participating shops.

Also on the first Thursday of each month is Art After Hours, when some of the major galleries stay open until 8 p.m., giving locals a chance to explore them after work. The venues are spread throughout the city, and include Cumberland Gallery, LeQuire Gallery, Gallery One, Local Color, Midtown Gallery and Zeitgeist.

But I’m headed toward the First Saturday Art Crawl, the most popular of the three major crawls in the city. It’s a great way to spend a night on the town: free shuttles travel between four stops, where you can visit more than 20 galleries and studios. Most of them offer free wine, and the art ranges from sublime to downright freaky.

LeQuire Gallery figurative exhibits

One of the places I like best is the Rymer on 5^th Avenue. It’s basically a big open space filled with mostly contemporary art, and tonight it’s packed with people drinking wine, visiting and viewing installations. There are some great pieces here, including industrial grade wall sculptures by Jason “Twiggy” Lott, whose artist statement begins: “I collect, archive, categorize, reassemble, disassemble, reclaim and repurpose the garbage trail of lives.” Gotta love that, right?

What really intrigues me, though, is a sculpture that looks much like a pair of men’s briefs, only it’s made entirely of gold crayons. Gold Member, by artist Herb Williams, has a price tag of $3,400. A handsome man standing nearby smiles at my “Wow, that’s pricey,” expression and introduces himself. It’s the artist, of course, and as I painfully blush and bat my eyes at him, he tells me about his work. Although he sometimes makes art with other mediums, it’s crayons that fascinate him. He’s made guitars (“wax axes”), animals, even a life-size Johnny Cash, all out of crayons. His work is in hospitals, museums, and the White House.

Coolest of all? He’s the only man in the world to have a personal account with Crayola.

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