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Title: Tease
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Title: Line Of Defense
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Title: Conjure
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Original text for Conjure, 1997He is standing in the air, hovering above a large pot on a stove in the middle of the living room of his high-rise apartment. He is standing, hovering clothed in a finely tailored blue business suit. Outside the large living room window is the great skyline of the great city. He does not know what is boiling in the pot but there is a strong unidentifiable aroma. The high-rise apartment building is completely vacant except for him. As the stove becomes hotter, voices begin to emerge from the pot beneath him. They are the voices of his past girlfriends. The room temperature rises yet he does not sweat there, standing in the air above a boiling pot in the living room of his high-rise apartment. He can hear the voices of his past lovers, they are all talking at once; not to each other, but to him. They want to be his lover again, all of them all at once. The pot begins to glow bright red with heat. |
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Title: Antennae
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Title: Gift
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Title: Impossible Infatuation
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Title: Memory
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Title: Relativity
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Exhibiting Visual Artist, paintings, bookworks and installations. Inter-disciplinary Artist, performance, theatrical environments, sound, music and electronic media. Lecturer and Teacher, painting, foundations, inter-disciplinary performance, design, graphics and computer-based design. Sound Designer/Musician, soundtracks or original music. Arts Producer and Activist, exhibitions, projects, panels or organizational activities.
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI MFA in painting with studies in printmaking, 1980
College of Wooster, Wooster, OH BA in fine arts with studies in music and liberal arts, 1977
Apprenticeship with artist Agnes Denes in New York City, 1976
Additional studies include graduate studies at Wayne State University and studies at Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.
Residency, Harvestworks, Studio PASS sound studios, New York, 1996
First Place Award, Celebrate Michigan Artists, Michigan Foundation for the Arts, 1994
Creative Artist Grant, Arts Foundation of Michigan/MCACA, 1992/93,
Art Matters Inc., New York City, NY funding for The Missing Persons (States of Mind), an art/theatre piece, 1988/89
Creative Artist Grant, Michigan Council for the Arts, 1986/87
Focus Gallery Award, Michigan Foundation for the Arts, 1982
Creative Artist Grant, Michigan Council for the Arts, 1981/82
Purchase Award, City of Livonia, MI, 1981
Gold Medal Award, Detroit Scarab Club, 1977
Nelson Smith, Bunting Gallery, Royal Oak, MI, June 1997
Recent Work, Lower Gallery, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI, 1995
Victims of Circumstance & Other Bookworks, Michigan Gallery, Detroit, MI, 1988
Points Of Reference, Is Inc. Gallery, Pontiac, MI, 1986
Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan Artists Gallery, Detroit, 1985
Nelson Smith, MacKenzie Gallery, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH, 1984
Figures Of Speech, Detroit Council for the Arts, Detroit, 1984
Missing Persons and Scenarios, Kingswood Gallery, Kingswood School Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 1983
Used Flyswatters and Abandoned Refrigerators, Pontiac Art Center, Pontiac, MI, 1982
Nelson Smith, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 1981
Nelson Smith, Willis Gallery, Detroit, 1980
GALLERY SITE - Bloom's Day Group Exhibition and window installation Royal Oak, Michigan - 6/98 - 7/98
GALLERY SITE - 20 CHAIRS / 20 ARTISTS +4 - Internet Exhibition
GALLERY SITE - Inaugural installation 6/97
The Clothes Show, objects for and about clothes, curated by Dennis Nawrocki and Rose Dalessandro, Center Galleries, Detroit, MI, 1997
Michigan Fine Arts Competition, juried by John Walker, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association, Birmingham, MI, 1997
Art in the Spirit of Detroit, curated by Margie FitzSimons, DEGC, Detroit, MI, 1997
Moveable Feast, Bunting Gallery, Royal Oak, MI, 1996
67th Annual Juried Exhibition, juried by Phyllis Rosenzweig, associate curator of the Hirshhorn Museum, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA, 1995
about Books, a book art exhibit curated by Karen Anne Klein, Arnold Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI, 1995
1995 Great Lakes Regional Art Exhibition, juried by George Adams, Frumkin/Adams Gallery, Arts Midland, Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI, 1995
Group Exhibit, Edge Gallery, Pontiac, MI, 1994
Celebrate Michigan Artists, juried by Mary Anne Wilkinson, associate curator of Modern Art DIA, Paint Creek Center, Rochester, MI, 1994
The Detroit Show, curated by Dennis Nawrocki, director, Center Galleries, Detroit, MI, 1994
Go Figure, Gerry Craig & Nelson Smith, Willis Gallery, Detroit, MI, 1993
Detroit Painters, five painters from Detroit, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, 1993
Soma Psyche, six artists dealing with body and mind, Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, MI, 1992
Contents Under Pressure; Robert Edwards & Nelson Smith, CADE Gallery, Royal Oak, MI, 1989
Installations; Caskey, MacGaw, Smith, Strickland, The Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, MI, 1989
Spine Tingling and Spell Binding Book Arts, Art Center, Pontiac, MI, 1989
Paper/Wood/Nails, T'Marra Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI, 1989
The 11th Michigan Biennial: Recent Trends In Painting, Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI, touring the state to various institutions, 1989
Extended Media - Fresh Visions, Detroit Institute of Arts, On-Going Projects Gallery, Detroit, MI, 1987
X + Y =, Andrea Eis & Nelson Smith, Buckham Fine Arts Project, Flint, MI, 1986
20 CHAIRS / 20 ARTISTS +4 - Internet Exhibition 3/98 - 6/98
GALLERY SITE - Bloom's Day Group Exhibition and window installation Royal Oak, Michigan - 6/98 - 7/98
Fore Art, an art/miniature golf installation commissioned by the Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, MI, 1994 and 1995
Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone, Detroit, MI, 1993
Neiman Marcus, Houston, TX, 1992
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI 1992
Ameritech, 1987
Mural, commissioned by Holtzman & Silverman, The Martin Luther King Center, Detroit, MI, 1982
Western Michigan University, Print Collection, Kalamazoo, MI, 1981
City of Livonia, MI, 1981
Franklin Furnace, Book Archive, New York City, NY, 1980, 1987
and many private collections
Home, a solo performance piece. Music, objects, video, with texts, Work-in-progress; Detroit Focus Gallery, Detroit, MI 1997
HumanRadiation, a solo performance/installation piece. Music, installation, with texts, Realized; Ann Arbor, October, 1996
Electricity (Natural Selection), a performance/installation piece. Music, installation, with texts, 1994, Realized; Detroit, April,1995
Psychological Gravity, a performance piece. Music, settings, multimedia with texts, 1993, Realized; Detroit, Sept. 1993
The Missing Persons (States Of Mind), a theatre/art piece in five parts. Music, settings, multimedia with narration, 1989, Realized; Detroit, April, 1989
From A Distance Or Approaching, a music/theatre piece with text for four voices, settings and projected media, 1979-83, music by Edward Weiss, Part I realized by Edward Weiss Ensemble, 1985
June Before July, a dance/theatre work, Nelson Smith (sets), Paul Feinberg (music) and Deborah King (dance), Realized ; Willis Gallery, Detroit, 1982
Downtown Arts Festival, Smith, Puglisi, Clark, Greenwich Village Center, NYC, NY, (September 18, 19, 1997)
Detroit Focus, Short and Sweet III, one of 5 artists, Detroit, MI, 1997
Performance Network, a performance/installation presentation of HumanRadiation, Ann Arbor, MI 1996
Convent Studio Space, a performance/installation presentation of Electricity (Natural Selection) and Radiation (a work-in-progress), Detroit, MI, 1995
Detroit Focus, Short and Sweet, one of 5 artists, Detroit, MI, 1995
Marygrove College Theatre, music and sound for Heaven, by Sue Carman, Detroit, MI, 1995
Cleveland Performance Art Festival: Open, performance of Radiation, Colonial Arcade, Cleveland, OH, 1995
1515 Broadway, a cabaret performance of excerpts from Psychological Gravity, and Missing Persons , Detroit, MI, 1994
Magic Bag Theater, a cabaret performance of Electricity (Natural Selection), Work-in-progress, Ferndale, MI, 1994
Detroit Artists Market, premiere of Psychological Gravity, Detroit, MI, 1993
Detroit Chamber of Commerce Theater, as a sound artist with the Catharctic Circle, Greenhouse, Detroit, MI, 1990
Alternative Worksite/Detroit Artists Market, premiere of Missing Persons (States of Mind), 2000 Brooklyn, Detroit, MI, 1989
Rackham Auditorium, as performer and primary collaborator, the Edward Weiss Ensemble, From a Distance of Approaching, and other works, Detroit, MI, 1985
Home, music for solo performance with live and prerecorded sound, produced in-part at Wayne State University Elect. Music Studios, 1997
HumanRadiation, music for solo performance and installation with tapes, produced in-part at Harvestworks/Studio PASS, New York, 1996
Electricity (Natural Selection), music for performance/installation work, realized in Detroit, MI, 1995
Heaven, music and sound for live performance work by Sue Carman, created in collaboration with Frank Pahl , Detroit, MI, 1995
Heaven Film, music for 16mm film by Sue Carman, created in collaboration with Frank Pahl , Detroit, MI, 1994
Psychological Gravity, music with texts, created in collaboration with Doug Cannell and Frank Pahl , Detroit, MI, 1993
Greenhouse, music and sound design for performance by Sue Carman and Catharctic Circle, , Detroit, MI, 1990
Cross Dressing, music for 16mm film by Sue Carman, award winner, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Detroit, MI, 1990
The Missing Persons (States of Mind), music with texts, , Detroit, MI, 1989
Lecturer in Architecture, Lawrence Technological University, instructor in foundation program; basic 2D design, color theory, basic 3D design, and environmental graphics, 1991- present
Instructor, Marygrove College, instructor in graphic design, computer graphics, and foundations, 1994- present
Victims Of Circumstance, published in a cloth bound edition of 110, 1987
HumanRadiation, Shaun Nethercott, Ground Up, Vol. 12, 11/1996
Flash and Fizzle, Bruce Martin, Ann Arbor News, 10/11/96
HumanRadiation Reflects Creative Spark, Chris Potter, Ann Arbor News, 10/9/96
Recent Works, Nelson Smith, Matt Holland, Ground Up, Vol. 6, 9/1995
Electricity (Natural Selection), Christine Hagedorn, Ground Up, Vol. 5, 7/1995
Sue Carman's Heaven, Christine Welch, Ground Up, Vol. 2, 3/1995
Defining Michigan Through its Artists, Marsha Miro, Detroit Free Press, page 3G, 9/4/1994
The State of the Arts Thrives in Rochester, Joy Hakanson Colby, Detroit News, page 9/2/1994
Michigan Art in Context: DIA, Thomas Wojtas, Detroit Focus Quarterly, volume 12, number 2-3, page 12-13,1994
Closure and Its Discontents, An examination of Nelson Smith's performance event Psychological Gravity, James E. Hart, Detroit Focus Quarterly, volume 11, number 5, pages 8-11, Winter 1993
Artists Market Show Takes a Spiritual Journey, Marsha Miro, Detroit Free Press, page 12D, 4/11/1992
Mystery and Reality Chart a Landscape of the Soul, Joy Hakanson Colby, Detroit News, page 4C, 3/6, 1992
Soma/Psyche, Gerry Craig, Det. Artists Market Journal, vol. 4, number 3, 1992
Nelson Smith, The Missing Persons (States of Mind), Robert Marsh, Detroit Focus Quarterly, volume 8, numbers 1 & 2, page 9, spring/summer, 1989
Book Art Touches Heart, Mind, Marsha Miro, Detroit Free Press, page 4B ,
Curator, Inventions; Crise, Diaz, Mirek, Nava-Moreno and Pahl, Marygrove Gallery, Detroit, 1996-97
Curator/Producer, Short and Sweet 1-3, evenings of short performance works, Detroit Focus Gallery, Detroit, 1996 and 1997
President, and Co-Director, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Detroit, MI, 1990-1994
Co-Producer, Ear Whacks, Festival of New Music, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Alvin's Bar, Performance Network and Urban Park, 1994
Co-curator, Cultural Commentary, installations by artists working in groups, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Paint Creek Art Center, Rochester, MI 1993
Co-Producer, Ear Whacks, Festival of New Music, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Alvin's Bar, 1993
Panelist, Arts Foundation of Michigan, Theater/Performance Art Review Panel, Creative Artists Grants, 1993
Panelist, Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, Visual Arts Grants Review Panel, 1993
Panelist, Ohio Arts Council, Individual Artist Fellowship Review Panel, 1992
