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New exhibits blend art, music

By THOMAS B. HARRISON

Arts Editor

Synesthesia is rampant at the Mobile Arts Council, where a trio of recently opened exhibits fuse visual art and music.

From photos of rock and pop stars to painted portraits of jazz legends to high-concept visual interpretations of music, the artwork shows what happens when disciplines mingle.

On view through May 29 in the MAC galleries are: "Concert Photography" photographs of musicians in performance by Keith Necaise; "Memoirs of Music," paintings of musicians by Tut Altman Riddick; and "Onomatopoeia: Visual Interpretations of Music" by students of Janden Richards, Spring Hill College. (See information box.)

For nine years Necaise, a Mobile native, has been one of four official photographers for BayFest.

"I like concert photography because I believe it is a much bigger challenge than any other type of photography," he says in his artist's statement. "The subject is moving, the lights are changing, the music is loud, you're limited to the first three songs - and you have to deal with band managers, stage managers, zone managers and the crowd.

"The thing I don't like about concert photography is throwing away photos. I feel that my average is pretty high, but it has taken too many years of practice and too many bad shots to get the good ones."

He says his camera of choice for concert photography is a Canon 5d with a 70/200 (2.8) IS. Necaise says his goal with concert photography is "to capture an image that conveys the energy of the performance."

"I must avoid microphones covering faces, avoid distracting backgrounds, keep the subject in focus and spot the photos that work," he says.

Necaise's exhibit features 29 images matted to 16-by-20 or 18-by-24-inch frames. Performers include Slash (from Guns N Roses), Dwight Yoakam, Alice Cooper, Kid Rock and Charlie Daniels, along with a crowd shot and a photo of a man being arrested by police.

Necaise says his favorite image, titled "In the Spirit," really speaks to what the idea of the exhibit is about.

"It's not just about musicians," he says, "but the whole concert experience."

Necaise, whose parents have owned Necaise Photography since 1982, is vice president of Mobile's photography club, Camera South. He specializes in marketing, promotion and newsletter design, which serves him well as creative director for WHIL-FM, Mobile's public radio affiliate. He designs brochures and newsletters, produces musical CDs, manages Web site updates, books and engineers live performances and plans parties and events.

He has produced 10 musical "Tranquility Base" programs for Catt Sirten's "Radio Avalon" on 92.1-WZEW, and is a second-year member of Mobile Arts Council. Readers can learn more about his work at www.keithnecaise.com, and on Facebook.

Riddick, a venerable presence on the Mobile arts scene, is represented by two dozen acrylics that depict Mobilians Warren Hammond and Lil Greenwood along with icons Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, Sam Cooke, Aaron Neville and John Denver, among others.