Look/Listen

A look at Dana Smith’s works may evoke a sense of familiarity among some viewers. That is, of course, if those viewers are familiar with the underground music scene of St. Louis. Smith uses photographs he’s taken at local shows to create the 40 or so acrylic paintings that will be displayed at Southtown Famous, his second solo exhibit opening Saturday at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts.

The display will kick off the 10th anniversary of Fort Gondo, and will feature paintings that Smith has completed over the last few years, as well as one new piece.

A former musician, Smith has a deep interest—and connection—to the music scene that lends him his artistic inspiration. He hasn’t always wanted to be a painter, though.

He first became interested when he was able to observe other artists while traveling as a sponsored skateboarder in the early ’90s.

“It’s something that I really wanted to try and figure out and consciously develop,” he said.

Smith continued both his music and his painting for a few years, until his focus eventually shifted to painting alone. He says he now paints every day. He maintains his connection to the underground music world by occasionally creating cover art for local bands.

Not fully aware of how the art world might classify his work, Smith prefers to use the term indie, a nod to the type of music that he’s capturing with his paintbrush.

“I’m not trying to make it look like anything; I’m not borrowing a style,” he says. “I capture this moment on film with a picture and I’m trying to recreate it with paint the best that I can.”

And so he does. The dimly lit venues, sometimes absent of an audience, the sound of a bass guitar and the unmistakable pounding of the drums–all can be heard or felt as if the painting is as real as the photograph it was derived from.

To document this oft-overlooked or forgotten genre is Smith’s overall goal.

“It’s documenting this thing that happened,” he says. “Maybe there’s not very many people in the crowd, or it’s a very small local club and it’s a Tuesday night or something. They still performed great and it was still very moving. I just want to somehow save that or preserve it.”

Southtown Famous opens January 14 at 6 p.m. and runs until February 4 at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts (3151 Cherokee). The exhibit will be viewable on Saturday afternoons through the run of the show. A live performance by musical guest .e (pronounced “Dottie”) will take place at about 8 p.m.