Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter/ Chef Rebecca Barron's Gulf Red Snapper with Riverview Farms grits, bacon-coconut collard greens and a shaved pepper and tomato salad is seen in front of "The Life Work of R.A. Hunt" painting by Cessna Decosimo at St. John's Restaurant on Monday, Aug. 12, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn.When I moved to Chattanooga nearly 30 years ago, I could not have predicted the evolution of either the restaurant scene or the art scene. The North Shore, a now-branded "hip to historical" mecca of shops and eateries, had yet to be reimagined, so it goes without saying that the city's dining options were limited.
Town and Country Restaurant (now Walgreen's) was the Frazier Avenue go-to, The Loft on Cherokee Boulevard fed lots of executive types at lunch and the after-work crowd at dinner, and that was about it. Mudpie Coffeehouse and Restaurant (1994-2010), long hailed as the harbinger - and ultimately the anchor - of more good things to come, wasn't yet even a gleam in the city's eye. The Bluff View Art District, which brought River Gallery, Tony's Pasta Shop, Back Inn Cafe and Rembrandt's Coffee House to the other side of the river, didn't burst onto the scene until the early 1990s, the beginning of a trickle that has since turned into a deluge.
Three decades later, the Scenic City is home to a multitude of restaurants, bars and breweries, two James Beard Award finalists and one nominee, and several art galleries.
Eat Your Art Out
TaconoogaMindy B’s DeliFoodworksCafé on the Corner, Lookout MountainChattanooga Brewing CompanyStone CupMojo BurritoHealven and Ale Brewing CompanyWanderlinger Brewing CompanyAlimentari Cucina and BarRiver Street DeliGoodman Coffee at Warehouse RowThe TerminalAlleiaSluggo’s NorthThe Tap HouseBack Inn CafeTony’s Pasta ShopRembrandt’s*This is only a partial list of local art in local restaurants.
Alongside the evolution of the arts and eats scene, a third aesthetic has grown up: art where you eat. Chatter wanted to know what restaurant owners, artists, gallery owners and diners had to say about the trend and how it contributes to the vibe of an already vibrant city.
To begin with, we asked Peggy Wood Townsend, a longtime arts administrator and co-owner of the teaching and retail space Townsend Atelier, how she thought the local art-in-restaurants movement got started. She says it was Dr. Charles and Mary Portera, the visionaries and economic force behind the Bluff View Art District, who started aggressively integrating art into public spaces - including their aforementioned restaurants - early on in Chattanooga's redevelopment.
"They did an amazing job of incorporating both decorative and functional art into everything they did," Townsend says. "They really got people used to seeing art in public spaces, and as a result, it raised the bar on our expectations. It gave us an appetite for art."
It's an appetite that, 25 years and a multitude of creative culinary and art venues later, seems to be insatiable.
Since opening River Street Deli in Coolidge Park in 1998, Bruce Weiss has welcomed artists looking for exposure. Weiss says it's a win-win for him, the artists and the community.
"Artists have the opportunity to showcase and sell their work, the work brings character to the deli, and art in public makes a city a better place to live," he says.
While Weiss realizes not all diners are outwardly engaged by the art - "It may go totally unnoticed by some people while drawing admiration and awe from others" - he nevertheless believes it gets into people's consciousness in a subliminal way. So while they might not pay a lot of attention to it, it still informs their dining experience.
Michelle Richards, the general manager and sommelier at downtown St. John's Restaurant (whose chef, Rebecca Barron, was a James Beard semifinalist this year), says the art hanging in St. John's and neighboring sister restaurant The Meeting Place not only enhances the dining experience, but embodies the restaurants' aesthetic as well. Whether seated beneath Cessna Decosimo's painting "The Life Work of R.H. Hunt," which was commissioned by owner Josh Carter and then-chef Daniel Lindley when St. John's opened, or at The Meeting Place beneath Mia Bergeron's expressive portraits of people, " diners recognize that our chefs are excellent at their craft, and that the artwork reflects the same attention to detail and excellence," Richards says. "These artists tell a story with their art, which is what we do with our food."
Catharine Bahner Daniels, owner of Plum Nelly Shop and Gallery on Frazier Avenue, suggests that, in the best-case scenarios, the art mirrors the atmosphere. "I wouldn't put expensive art in a dive bar, for example," she says, as it doesn't do justice to the aesthetic of either the bar or the art. By the same token, she says she'd like to see more farm-to-table restaurants, those that source their produce and meats locally, source their art locally as well.
In any case, she feels that the art-in-restaurants trend is nothing but positive. "I agree with the European ideal that art is for the masses," says Daniels, "and I appreciate all the local art we have here."
Angie Supan, manager of River Gallery, agrees that in most cases, the trend brings both sides of the experience full circle. "The Bluff View restaurants function as an extension of the gallery, which our artists and diners love," she says. "If you are having an enriching food experience, why not round it out with original art, architecture and plants?" - all of which, like food, appeal to and heighten the senses, ultimately elevating both the dining and viewing experience.
For a number of diners, the effect of art on the walls where they eat is impactful, and sometimes unforgettable.
The "sly, subversive humor" in the work of the late Dennis Palmer on display at Mrs. B's Reggae Café - a quirky painting on a flattened McDonald's Happy Meal box "canvas" - always reminds Flo Connor of her first date with her husband-to-be, Palmer's Shaking Ray Levi partner Bob Stagner. Mark Northern still recalls the "epic" painting "Dolly and the Goldfish" at long-defunct David's Restaurant on Vine Street. Winder Binder owner David Smotherman will never forget the beautiful shadows that marched across the walls of the now-closed Terra Nostra, the result of metal cutout animals backlit to create an intriguing display.
Kristy Graves, music promoter and editor of Black Creek Magazine, says she definitely notices art in restaurants and loves when it changes out regularly.
"It's really been the main way for me to discover new artists," she says. "Seeing art hanging in restaurants is a great way to get introduced to a variety of styles, artists and mediums."
Local artist Kevin Bate got his "big break" as a result of hanging his work in a restaurant eight years ago. "Artist Shaun LaRose saw my paintings at Mojo Burrito in St. Elmo and invited me to participate in a mural project," he says.
Eight years later, Bate's own murals, "The Fallen Five" and "Fathers of Technology," grace the sides of buildings on McCallie and Frazier avenues.
Bate and Carylon Killebrew, whose work hangs by the bar at The Edwin Hotel, agree that such free exposure can be a boon to unrepresented or budding artists, but for established artists, it's the restaurant (and diners) who really benefit. Still, while Killebrew appreciates the effort made by many area restaurants to purchase the work of local artists, she can't overlook the benefit of exposure for those just starting out, or for those who enjoy the process of making art and simply want an outlet for their efforts.
Michael Jenkins falls into this latter category. A horticulturist who paints almost daily for the sheer joy of painting, he says he's happy if his art sells but he doesn't wrap his life around outcomes. A self-taught mixed media artist, his work incorporates oil, spray paint, stencils, markers and acrylic on panel board, though not necessarily all at the same time.
Jenkins sold his work for years at Winder Binder on Frazier Avenue before he decided to approach the owner of Sluggo's restaurant on Cherokee Boulevard and ask to hang his art there. He's been there eight years now.
"It's been nothing but positive," Jenkins says. "I just sold a piece about a month ago to someone traveling through from Washington State."
Most of his sales from the restaurant are to out-of-state people, he says. "I don't know that the people who live here really notice the art in there anymore."
Jenkins adds that while the restaurant doesn't take a commission, he always gives them a portion of his sales. "If my work wasn't hanging in there, it wouldn't be selling," he says.
Cindy Procious, a local artist whose work has been recognized internationally, doesn't necessarily need the exposure to potential clients, but appreciates the exposure to other people's art and the aesthetic the trend brings.
"I love dining in a restaurant that has beautiful art on its walls," she says. "I get to spend at least an hour and a half enjoying and studying that art while sharing a meal with friends. Compared to the [few seconds] most people spend in front of any one painting in a museum, that's a virtual lifetime to feed your soul while feeding your body."