by Rebecca M. Alvin
All Photos: Rebecca M. Alvin
Provincetown musician and artist Bill Evaul has shown his work widely, often connecting his musical and artistic talents in stunning white-line prints. A new solo exhibition at the Cape Cod Museum of Art (CCMOA) in Dennis, Mass., celebrates Evaul’s music-inspired artworks. The show, Song and Dance: Expressions from Life is currently on view and runs through November 30.
Featured in the show are not just Evaul’s renowned woodcuts, but also many paintings and drawings of musicians ranging from Louisiana jazz bands to the late rap innovator Tupac Shakur. In the exhibition notes, Evaul says his white-line woodcuts usually originate as paintings or drawings. Looking at the work in this show, which includes some pieces from original drawing to final woodcut, the connection is clear.
Likewise, Evaul’s musical sensibilities are apparent in the movement and rhythms of many works, such as Lead Singer. But he also has more straight ahead portraits that incorporate three-dimensional objects into vibrant paintings. Good examples include Tupac and Biggie, each one featuring the face of the titular musician with actual jewelry and metal adhered to the painting, bringing them out of the frame somewhat.
Even paintings such as those in the appropriately named Dancing Houses series demonstrate the cross-fertilization of the artist/musician brain as the subject matter is simply Provincetown, but you can almost hear jazz coming out of the houses and dunes, with their staccato angles lending a kinetic sensation, as if they are bopping and swaying on the canvas.
Evaul’s work has been exhibited or collected by numerous museums in addition to the Cape Cod Museum of Art, including The Zimmerli Museum of Art at Rutgers University, The Georgia Museum of Art, The Sunrise Art Museum, The Kresge Art Museum, The Provincetown Art Association and Museum, The Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum, and others. He came to Provincetown in 1970 as a Fine Arts Work Center Fellow and has been on the Outer Cape ever since. He is the 2020 recipient of the CCMOA Muse Artist Award for his contributions to the Cape Cod arts community as not only an artist, but also an educator, historian, and curator.
The artist will be in attendance at the museum on Thursday, November 5, 3 – 7 p.m. for CCMOA’s Artfull Thursday, with free admission during that time period.
Song and Dance: Expressions from Life is currently on view and runs through November 30 at Cape Cod Museum of Art, 60 Hope Lane, Dennis. Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month after 4 p.m.; other times: Adults $10; 62+ $8; Kids 13-18 and Students 19+ $7; Members and children 12 and under Free. For more information and hours call 508.385.4477 or visit ccmoa.org.
