Flat Out Under Pressure

Imagine a day when easels and artists sprinkle the streets like candy and confetti at Mardis Gras -- as color and brushes fly in a fury to get down the details of an historic building with clouds passing by. A woman in a suit stops by, looks over the shoulder of the artist and marvels. She has never seen all those colors in the sky before. A visitor to Greenville puts a can in a recycling bin and discovers a beautiful Carl Blair Landscape.

This is my vision for Flat Out under Pressure, important to my work as an artist and supporter of the arts to strengthen a sense of pride in the profession of the arts, and to take art out in the open to benefit my community.

Plans are underway with the approval of City Council to create an "outdoor gallery" of recycling bins to be installed in ten locations on Main Street next year. Coming May of 2009, Flat Out Under Pressure is the art competition sponsored by Vantage Travel and presented by the Metropolitan Arts Council, the City of Greenville and area businesses that will fund this great collaboration.

The name Flat Out Under Pressure comes from the nature of the art competition, as area artists, both student and professional, will be challenged to create a piece of work from start to finish within 24 hours. After the flurry of the competition, the winning artists’ work will dress the recycling bins that will line Main Street, along with the logo of the businesses which sponsor the bins. The art will showcase Greenville, and the recycling bins will keep Greenville green. Anyone interested in sponsoring a recycling bin should contact Janette Wesley, 864 289-0103 or Alan Ethridge at the Metropolitan Arts Council, 864 467-3132.

Artist applications will be available online in June, 2008.