Macon-born artist’s work returns home for First Friday

Art has been central to Christopher Haun’s life since he was a child growing up in Macon.

He’s worked construction, been maintenance coordinator for the university dorm he lived in, taught, and, since moving back to Macon five years ago, been Historic Macon’s director of construction and now an estimator-project manager for Arriscraft, a producer of stone and brick products.

But art – creating art – is central to Haun’s life, his main calling. It’s what he’s practiced and studied deeply, along with ventures into subjects like math and science, and it’s what’s occupied most of his lifetime yielding exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and points in between.

But he’s never had an exhibition in Macon, at least not until this First Friday when his show, “They Want My Soul,” opens at Green Light Gallery, 462 1st St., at 5 p.m. with an artist talk at 5:30 p.m.

“I’ve never shown in Macon though I’ve shown my work in galleries and museums all over the place,” Haun told me in a phone conversation earlier this week. “I’m excited about having an exhibit here now since most of the people I grew up with and many I’ve known recently have never seen my art. A few have seen pictures but there’s something about a piece being live right in front of you that makes a big difference. Its size and scope and context. I’m glad some will see it and think of me as an artist.”

Haun’s father’s work as an architect helped him develop his multi-disciplinary interests as well as construction experience that have added to his art endeavors. That plus the fact he said, “I’ve always been interested in fixing stuff.”

But it was his pursuit of art that led to his switching high schools for a greater creative focus landing him at Stratford Academy where studied under and was mentored by Dot Brown. He said she guided him in creating a professional portfolio which, after his 1989 graduation, led to him getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California and participation in the BFA Residency Program at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

Following that, Haun taught for several years and spent more than three decades exhibiting his work across the U.S. in museums and commercial galleries such as the Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, and Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University, Malibu. His work has been reviewed by the Huffington Post, Art on Paper and LA Weekly and elsewhere.

Concerning his art, Haun said, “I’m very scrupulous in my approach. My work is meticulously constructed in its details. That’s why it’s important for me to be well-versed in art history because art folds in on itself. It’s cyclical. Knowing that helps me understand what I’m doing and what I want to do.”

Haun said it was important that he learn the “rules” of art when younger in order to use and break them to his desired effect later. He now pursues what might be considered avant-garde.

He has written “I’m interested in making artworks that are equally intuitive and calculated, that are seemingly becoming whole even as they are disintegrating and that are simultaneously recognizable and unidentifiable. My works have to elevate the mundane towards the sublime, to transform ordinary everyday occurrences into extraordinary life-changing events.”

Intentionally, painstakingly, he spends time using varied intricate techniques to create unrecognizable images that are still somehow familiar. He talk a lot about spending time with a piece, about having it seduce you into viewing it carefully and letting it bring about reflection in ways combative against the tendency toward modern, short attention spans à la common, quick, internet imagery fixes.

This is part and parcel of his Green Light Gallery show as it reflects societal and cultural attempts to rush and dominate individual’s attention and interests.

And it’s also a reflection of where life has brought Haun.

He partially explains “They Want My Soul” saying, “The phrase ‘they want my soul’ means that someone is trying to infringe on sacred personal domain. The idea is that one’s soul is a most sacred personal domain that should be defended no matter who tries to infringe upon it.”

Questions about where Haun sees himself and his work now and what brought him back to Macon can essentially be answered together.

“Well, you could say I drank Ocmulgee River water and whenever you do that you’re both cursed and blessed to return to Macon,” he said laughing. But more seriously, he went on saying it was to be close to family, to be in a quieter place, a place closer to nature and not so hectic or traffic-riddled as his life of California with its skyrocketing cost of living.

He said he’s at the age he doesn’t like congestion and people living on top of each other.

“But I came back thinking the art would have to be done with for a while,” he said. “I thought I’d just work and make music; let that be my creative outlet. Macon’s known as a music town, right? But I found Macon has a growing art scene though I’m fairly reclusive to my own disadvantage. Anyway, the art side just wouldn’t stay away.

“At this point in my trajectory, I’m at a sweet spot where I’m not relying on art to make a living. My day job supports my wife and three kids so I can do whatever I want to. I have creative freedom without relying on commercial sales. It’s sort of like being in an indie band where you just have your integrity and don’t want to sell out. You’re not trying to be a big star fast. You’re just being true to your vision. My trajectory has always been slow.”

Haun can be found on Instagram as @ateliercchaunstudio. Green Light Gallery is at www.greenlightartgallery.com.

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Other First Friday gallery-related happenings include:

-Wesleyan College Leadership Lab: Materials will be on hand for continued work on the Makin’ Macon project, a 3D map representation of Macon with significant spots created and placed by individuals, organizations, schools and others. Open 5-7 p.m. Frist Friday, 522 Cherry St. 

– The 567 Center: “Bodies in Motion, Bodies Still,” an exhibit of paintings by Heatherly Day and pottery by Johnnie Skelton. Light refreshments and a chance to meet the artists, 5-8 p.m., 456 1st St.

– The McEachern Art Center: “Foodface” featuring works by Winthrop University Professor Stephanie Sutton. It’s a first-time gallery exhibit of Sutton’s diptych photographs recording her face and the last thing she ate for six months intended to create a photographic system of accountability for daily food choices and their impact on physical appearance. A secondary gallery features an installation of “Foodface” videos. 6 p.m., 332 Second St.

– Gallery West: Mary Proctor: Queen of Folk Art. Meet and talk with Proctor about what inspires her and how she makes her creations, some in museums and collections including The Smithsonian Anacostia, The American Visionary Art Museum, The Metropolitan, The High Museum, The Mennello Museum for American Folk Art and The Museum of Florida History. 5-8 p.m. 447 3rd St.

– Macon Arts Alliance Gallery: “It’s About Time,” an exhibition of the work of fiber artists, Marian Zielinski of Macon and JoAnn Camp of Greenville, Ga. While their works are different in style and technique, both render moments in time capturing the stillness and beauty of a single moment and questioning our experience of time, replete with memories and daydreams. 4-7 p.m., 486 1st St.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com and join him on Instagram at @michael_w_pannell.