 | As artists ourselves at Venison Magazine, we love speaking with our peers, discovering new works and learning about their methodologies. What do we love just as much? Connecting with artists in other parts of the world, who also love speaking with, and voicing artists' creative paths. We connected with SOUP Experimental last year via social media, and have been following them ever since. We reached out and learned so much about who makes up this team and what they do. SOUP Experimental, just one year in operation has been spreading their talents in showcasing emerging artists in and beyond Florida. Ashton Bird, director, Chelsea Raflo, artist, and Victoria DeBlasio, Opinion Writer, tell us about how SOUP got its name and their very first exhibition. |
SOUP Inspiration
Tallahassee’s cultural scene is in many ways an artist refined do-it-yourself community. Everything from the bright, bold and anonymous folk art of local tradition to the beautifully blended dynamics of poetry and hip-hop becomes a reflection of expressive resourcefulness. The city’s flowing demographics and overall amount of creative variety cultivates unique curiosities with inspirations pulled from various ethnicities and geographic backgrounds. This blend of thought and personal origin emits a strong unique glow that’s easily noticeable as outpost here in northwest Florida. Ironically, the DIY definition is very communal with artists curated exhibitions hosted at random geographic coordinates, abandoned
 Nobodies // Oil on wood // 14" x 15" // 2016 // Chelsea Raflo | warehouses and of course, the pop-up house shows. Even the ‘art-park’ in our city prides itself in its inventive solutions to showcase artworks by offering gallery spaces in what was once a lumberyard. Sections of unpermitted artist constructed lofts from previous tenants intermingle with new, now safe, additions only adding to the artist imprint on the city. The combination of what was left by the artists prior and diverse experimentation happening in Tallahassee made us romanticize about stories heard describing SoHo, Manhattan in the 1970s; moreover, the explorations that expanded the definition of contemporary art. One artist we’re particularly fond of |
 A Means to an End, and What an End Means // acrylic yarn // 21" x 18" // 2016 // Lucia Riffel | is Gordon-Matta Clark –his art, dinner parties, cooking and philanthropic mindset. Our name and our collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach were inspired by an important chapter in contemporary art history: FOOD, an artist-runspace co-founded in 1971 by Caroline Gooden and Gordon Matta-Clark with Tina Girouard. Located in SoHo on Prince and Wooster Streets, FOOD gave a platform to any creator, from cooks, poets, and performers to visuals and architects. The restaurant provided low-price meals to support those in need and invited members of the community and artists a-like to be |
guest chefs, resulting in memorable artist-rendered concoctions. FOOD quickly became known for Matta-Clark’s, Matt-Bone” soup, which featured oxtail, roasted marrow bones, frogs’ legs among other bone-type of entrees. Finishing the bowl, the bones were scrubbed then strung together as a necklace of leftovers the participant could bring home.Here at the intersection of art, performance, and social engagement, participants found that something as a bowl of soup could leave an imprint to last a lifetime.
 Unfulfilled Living room // mixed media // 10" x 30" 18" // 2016 // Chelsea Raflo |  Left to right: Red Sherbert on Teal // White Ice on Blue // Video Projection // 2016 // Mark Crowley |
SOUP has developed in response to the artistic vision and spirit behind FOOD, and though we’ve put forth a menu of decidedly less edible offerings, we are looking forward to the years ahead and all the possibilities they might bring. At the heart of it all is the spirit to strengthening our community. For us, this means exploring creative ways to form connections between all kinds of people and projects that might, on the surface, appear to have little in common, yet stirred together, produce something of delicious substance.
Tallahassee’s supportive atmosphere has allowed us to extend nationally to where we are today and, it’s amazing to see how this seed of an idea has taken root and begun to thrive beyond what we could have predicted. It didn’t feel quite like a seed at the time – in fact, it felt huge – but in hindsight, we can recognize that it was still just powerful potential that could only take shape through the resourceful act of collaboration and participation. Today SOUP is a blend of all these inspired efforts, simmering together to create a space of creative nourishment and free expression.
-Ashton Bird, Chelsea Raflo, Victoria DeBlasio
-Ashton Bird, Chelsea Raflo, Victoria DeBlasio
SOUP's Anywhere But Brooklyn
| SOUP experimental’s 1st exhibition Anywhere But Brooklyn featured – Brittany M. Watkins, who showed a magnificent installation titled Lucia;Not-Self in our Middle gallery. The second artist, Matthew Lawrence had four large, 60”x 60” paintings in our Main Gallery. It was wild. We renovated the warehouse in three weeks, so the work was literally being installed as the gallery was being built. Ha! I would never work those shifts again, but I had tons of help and support! What do I mean by support? One night in particular, Gisela Fernandez and I were up until 8:00 am sanding joint-compound; the next day, Matthew Lawrence, Austin Yorke, Kathleen Saunders and Matt Adams were painting primer and moving walls while I was out cold from the 24 hour shift prior. The little moments too, friends would stop by with coffee, beer or pizza and check up on things or say hi. The excitement really caught on. |  Anywhere But Brooklyn |
The opening reception flew by in seconds, and I remember Lucia, Matthew, Brittany and myself crouched on cheap folding chairs in the front. We popped a bottle of champagne, sipped and soaked up our accomplishment. I don’t think I will ever forget that night.
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To be completely honest, at the time of selecting the two artists to exhibit –the selection was based more on my personal intuition and how the artists knew each other. Brittany’s installation displaying the inner-world of consciousness or lack of had a similar metaphor as Lawrence’s; both, the installation and paintings complimented each other very well.
After the next few months, we quickly realized we needed reliable assistants, coordinators and volunteers. We started off with five people and now we are at 18. SOUP experimental, including myself is a volunteer ran space that is exuberantly growing through people passionately believing in the idea of resourcefulness and experimental creativity. We’re scrappy. SOUP has grown to have gallery exhibitions, performance and music nights, open-mic, facility rental, a touring exhibition, an off-site exhibition, written artwork opinion and artist interviews.
After the next few months, we quickly realized we needed reliable assistants, coordinators and volunteers. We started off with five people and now we are at 18. SOUP experimental, including myself is a volunteer ran space that is exuberantly growing through people passionately believing in the idea of resourcefulness and experimental creativity. We’re scrappy. SOUP has grown to have gallery exhibitions, performance and music nights, open-mic, facility rental, a touring exhibition, an off-site exhibition, written artwork opinion and artist interviews.
Untitled // asphaltum felt, construction adhesive, wood, plaster, gesso // 87" x 192" x 4" // 2015 // Ashton Bird
The exhibitions are ultimately selected by me, but our coordinators do have a huge influence on the final decision. Beyond the exhibitions, each section of staff delegates what events we should manifest or who we should interview.
We are all artists, which I believe makes communication much more understanding. I definitely wouldn’t say we all think the same though, which is even better –all of us have a flavor the other doesn’t, and each very much so complements one another. It’s been amazing being able to see what and how much we’ve been able to do.
-Ashton Bird, Director
We are all artists, which I believe makes communication much more understanding. I definitely wouldn’t say we all think the same though, which is even better –all of us have a flavor the other doesn’t, and each very much so complements one another. It’s been amazing being able to see what and how much we’ve been able to do.
-Ashton Bird, Director
SOUP Experimental *List of artists mentioned in article available on SOUP's website. |  |
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