I have to admit to being more schooled in science than in art, having been forced in the Jefferson County, Alabama, public school system to choose only one art. I chose the high school band and played the drums. So I never got to take an art class.

Even in college, as a print journalism major and a political science minor, I never had to take an art appreciation class.

Into my master’s and Ph.D. years in the 1990s, I spent most of my time studying science and communications research.

But as I crest middle age and once again take up the camera, I find myself more and more interested in art.

What is art? What makes it special or mundane?

I learned something of art from my close friend Spider Martin, an artist turned photographer. He idolized the artistic genius Pablo Picasso, not only for his art but for his personal life as a renowned womanizer.

I can only know what I read about his personal life, but looking at his art work it is clear he has impacted the development of modern and contemporary art with unparalleled magnitude.

His prolific output includes over 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, theater sets and costumes that convey a myriad of intellectual, political, social, and amorous messages, according to James Voorhies with the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Picasso’s creative styles transcend realism and abstraction, Cubism, Neoclassicism, Surrealism and Expressionism.

Photo by Glynn Wilson

Pablo Picasso’s depiction of the dying bull at the end of a Spanish bullfight

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The older I get, the more I am interested in art as well as science. Perhaps that is a function of being forced to choose between art classes and music in the public high schools of Alabama. Since I played drums in the high school band, I was not allowed to take art classes.

After seeing the ad for the Nova show on Einstein’s Big Idea, I am strongly considering taking an art history class and using my photography on the Web as a seperate thing from journalism.

I’m watching an interesting show about art on public television right now. Check it out when you get a chance. I’m sure they will rerun it.

Episode 303: Structures

Each one-hour program is loosely organized around a broad category or them - Power, Memory, Structures, and Play - that can help audiences analyze, compare, contrast, and juxtapose the artists profiled. The themes are intended to inspire interpretive possibilities and are introduced by the celebrity hosts David Alan Grier, Grant Hill, Isabella Rosellini, and Sam Waterston, who are well known in their respective fields as well as passionate and knowledgeable about contemporary art.

If it was up to the Republican Party, there would be no public radio or television. Everything would be capitalized and privatized. Maybe there would be no art - just religion. That’s only one of the reasons why here at The Locust Fork, even though we are not strictly liberals but liberaltarians, we tend to vote for Democrats.

For more samples of my work, hit the Feature Photos links down the left. Perhaps I should consider a different title not so driven by my own journalism background, but for now, the most recent photos are archived under Feature Photos 2.

We would certainly welcome your thoughts on this issue.

The downtown Birmingham loft district will become the setting for Artwalk, an arts festival showcasing the works of more than 100 regional visual artists that has drawn a crowd to downtown Birmingham for the past two years. Musicians and street performers will perform, food vendors will vend, and visitors can take in all that is happening in the loft district environ.

Artwalk will take place on Friday September 9 from 5 to 10 p.m., and Saturday Sept. 10 from noon to 6 p.m., in the downtown loft district along Morris Avenue and 1st and 2nd Avenues North between 22nd and 25th Streets.

For more information, call 591-7708 or visit:

www.birminghamartwalk.com