Gallery America Features OKC Artist, Joe Slack
Gallery America: Iron Man Premieres Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Oklahoma City artist Joe Slack, will appear on Gallery America, Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA). Viewers may also livestream the episode online at OETA.tv or through the PBS app.
Slack is a sculptor working in metal and wood. He describes his work as, “...figurative abstract influenced by the simplicity of primitive and mid-century aesthetics. The work is intuitive and a direct reflection of my life experiences and personality.” This upcoming episode of Gallery America follows Slack’s largest public installation Birdwatching OKC Thunder Lightning Dance Party. “This episode will give a behind the scenes, step-by-step process of what it takes to create a 660 foot long public art sculpture without totally losing your mind and grip on reality,” jokes Slack. “I hope viewers enjoy this episode half, or even a quarter as much as I enjoyed being part of it.”
“Like Joe’s project, this is an ambitious episode of Gallery America. We have been following Joe and ‘Birdwatching’ for months,” says Dave Tamez, OETA director of documentary. “We’re actually dedicating the entire show to Joe—usually we feature one Oklahoma artist and a few other artists from around the country.”
Slack’s installation stretches along Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City between NW 7th Street and NW 9th Street. It is financially supported by OKC Beautiful, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the image and appearance of Oklahoma City through education, programs and community engagement. According to its website, “$38,000 was raised to install a public art project to bring color and life to the Classen Boulevard divider…” Once it is safe for large gatherings to take place, OKC Beautiful plans to host a street party open to the public.
Fans of Gallery America can follow the program on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or watch past episodes at OETA.tv/GalleryAmerica. To learn more about Joe’s art, visit JoeSlack.com.