Loose Leaf Co. Grand Opening

Tulsa birthed a new urban art gallery on Friday night as Loose Leaf Co. opened it’s doors for the first time. To mark the occasion, the illustrations of David “HEK” Rogers marked their territory along the white walls of this otherwise sparse venue. Although the event ran from 7 to 10pm, I showed up relatively early to avoid the bustle of the blue dome crowd, but to my surprise the room had already filled-in.

Something refreshing about the throng of artgoers was the mixed bag of age brackets. There was no particular demographic on display this particular night, as is usually the case with more traditional institutions, and most everyone seemed to be familiar with the crowd in attendance, indicating a tightly knit creative community.

The color on the wall was courtesy of the aforementioned artist, and while the illustrations were a familiar genre for anyone who’s ever ventured outside of Tulsa, the technicality and vibrancy of Mr. Rogers work did not disappoint. At times the work represented a style reminiscent of Sailor Jerry tattoos, or even popular body art in general. Stylistically, the vernacular also included motifs from both Asian and Spanish-Catholic cultures as made evident by the depiction of dragons and effeminate skull and cloak characters.

Although the work on display was already familiar territory for the urban art scene, the one recurring element that really impressed was a faux-wood grain effect that HEK brought to life by creating a lively maze of delicate strokes that would ebb and flow across the page. Anyone who bothered to stay awake during their art history course in college would likely compare this treatment to the woodcut masterpieces of old, and they would be right. More than a couple of compositions showcased this gorgeous effect and I marveled at each of them.

While rubbing shoulders with the patronage, a dialog commonly overheard was how much Tulsa needed more places like this. That sentiment can’t be overstated. One correlation that’s constantly being reaffirmed is between the health of a community and the vibrancy of it’s art crowd. Tulsa, like many comparable cities, is looking to integrate itself with the progressive 21st century mindset of the more metropolitan areas.

Those who forego the trite migration to NYC in favor of making a community of their own right here in T-Town should be applauded for not giving in to one of our more prevalent cultural cliches. There is nothing stopping Tulsa from becoming a scale model of the notable metro areas scattered along the coast, and although such a transformation will take many more years, it’s apparent that we are heading in that direction.

The new Loose Leaf Gallery and all of the other haunts that make up the bohemian-like pockets of Cherry St., Brookside, Blue Dome & Brady will continue to sprawl, consume and enrich the outlying areas. I look forward to the coming years in North Tulsa and Loose Leaf is just one more reason to maintain faith in that direction.

Interested in experiencing Loose Leaf? Make your way over to 328 E. 1st ST. in downtown, just North of all the Blue Dome attractions. You’ll be glad you did.

- Trevor_B