Evie Quarles Performance Art
The Shiraz
December '99 - January '00

Review by Paul "El Dormido" Taylor

Click here to view more of Evie's photography.

When I was in charge of the KC Blues Society newsletter, I was introduced to Evie Quarles and asked if I could get her into the ’98 Blues & Jazz Festival so she could takes some photos. I put the strong arm on Connie Crash at the fest office to get Evie a pass, she took some incredible shots of the performers, and she’s been going strong ever since.

Since then she has been a regular on the KC blues circuit shooting just about every live performance she can get to. Now she has mounted a photo exhibition of her work at the Shiraz restaurant, 320 Southwest Blvd., that continues through January 2, 2000.

This is a display that shouldn’t be missed. Not only do the photos stand on their own as photographic fine art, Evie’s knack of capturing the pith of performance makes viewing the photos an experience in and of itself.

Each shot communicates a palpable excitement of the moment of creative performance. They are not the usual ‘man playing guitar’ shot. Somehow Evie is able to hone in on that something that makes each performer and performance unique.

My favorite shot is of Lionel Young. His face is in quiet repose, ghostly white beneath his black hat against the black background. But his furious bowing is captured in a blue of motion that displays the tension of his performance. And that is what Evie does, over and over again, capturing that something that suggests that performance excitement, almost like being there.

B’Nois King with a smile crooked to the side, holding his guitar slightly away from his body, pulling the song together. K.C. Kelsey looking straight out of the photo with that guitar slinger expression on his face, his guitar gunning you down, the word “Caution” on his guitar strap aptly summing up the shot.

There’s a double exposure shot of Fast Johnny Ricker that nails him dead on. He’s standing, eyes closed, playing, and then, in motion, leaning over, intense, wringing out his unique sound.

There’s a one-of-a-kind shot of Miss Honey grinning, leaning into her left hand while her right is poised over the keyboard in mid-run. Another of her looking on behind Rod Piazza who is bent over just about to take a bite out of his harp.

Dick Dangerous is caught in mid-howl, her face framed by 2 long, dangling curls that shows a certain delicacy in performance of this bass playing blues singer.

L’il Ed is shown eyes wide, mouth in an ‘O’, his fingers flying on the fret board.

Russell Jackson, his bass held tight up to his chest, mouth clenched intent pulling the song out of those heavy gauge strings.

Linda Shell, her body in a soft “S” curve, singing.

Big Jack Johnson flicking the guitar strings with his fingers, head cocked, eyes closed.

Corey Harris looking clear eyed out to the audience, smiling beatifically in mid-song, sweat stains on his shirt and beads of sweat on his face and chest.

Snooky Pryor, a dark man dapper in hat and suit, looking off into the distance, his harp to mouth.

Link Wray in shades, chord gripped with left hand, his right hand holding the guitar out above the outstretched arms of the tattooed crowd.

Robert Cray in the more traditional type of shot, standing in front of the microphone playing the guitar, but his eyes are closed and you can feel the song welling up out of him.

And Ron Prince, blurry, capturing his face in repose, skeletal, handsome, showing the inner fire of his playing.

There are over 40 photographs on display, not all of them as intense as I’ve described, like the shot of B.B. King leaning back in his chair, his florid shirt spread out over his body, gently playing the blues. But the overall effect on me was a steadily mounting excitement of witnessing something special, the pith of performance. Even without hearing them, the viewer feels privy to the intimate experience of the performer in the midst creation.

Performance art is unique in that it exists, and then is gone, when the amps are turned off and the instruments are packed up. But Evie has captured the art of performance in such a way that it continues to live and breathe and excite within the frame of her photograps. Its something not to be missed because its just as good as being there.

Evie Quarles can be contacted at funknflash@webtv.net.

--Paul "El Dormido" Taylor

Click here to view more of Evie's photography.