Larry Stark

A friend captured artist Larry Stark during a dip in the Gasconade River for the Missouri photo in Stark’s “Fishing America,” an exhibit that debuts today at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts. Globe/David Stonner

Jo Mueller, executive director of the Spiva Center for the Arts, arranges a boat net crafted by area resident John Boots for display in the main gallery in preparation for the next exhibit "Fishing America". Globe/David Stonner

Jo Mueller, director of the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, displays a poster with all 50 pictures that will appear in the gallery’s latest exhibit, “Fishing America: A Work of Art.”

Each of the photos was taken in a different state by Wisconsin artist Larry Stark.

“The Missouri photo shows a particularly large and rare fish,” Mueller says.

“I’d say that’s about a 170-pound, white-whiskered photo fish.”

The photo is of the artist himself, his head bobbing out of the water of the Gasconade River.

As with all of the photos in the exhibit, there’s a story behind it.

“I was fishing with a friend and his brother-in-law,” Stark says. “We rented a canoe and fished the Gasconade River. It was over 100 degrees. Fishing’s not good when it’s that hot. We didn’t do well.

“It just got so hot that I jumped out of the boat and they took a picture of my head sticking out of the water.”

Stark’s “Fishing America” exhibit opens with a member reception today at Spiva and will run through Oct. 24.

Chronicling a cross-country fishing trip was an idea that didn’t require a fancy lure to get Larry Stark to bite.

Already an avid fisherman, Stark says once the idea came, he was in — hook, line and sinker.

“I think I’ve got the (fishing) disease,” the 64-year-old artist says. “I told someone once that I didn’t have it, and they said that it was called denial.”

The idea was simple, Stark says — fish in each of the 50 states, catch a different fish in each one and fish with a different person.

As for its execution, that was a different story.

He figured that the project could be accomplished in about two years’ time. It took 13.

“Money was the issue,” he said. “It didn’t take long at all before I knew I was in deep.”

Things didn’t always go according to plan, either.

“There were a few states where I didn’t catch the target species,” he said. “And there were some states where I didn’t catch anything.”

The exhibit features a number of ink-jet prints of Stark’s photos and more than 30 photo silk screens.

They range from photos of fish caught during his travels and pictures of the landscape to the fishers who went out with him on each of his trips.

“Everybody fishes differently,” Stark says. “Sometimes we’d go out in a boat or a canoe, and sometimes we’d fish from shore. I also did some ocean fishing, so long as we left from that particular state.”

Stark says he researched fish for each state to decide what he wanted to catch on that trip. He sometimes contacted the Department of Natural Resources to find out if there was a fish that they thought best represented a particular state.

As for his fishing partners on each of his expeditions, some were friends and others were referred to him, he says.

Of course, the experience provided him with a number of fish tales.

For his South Carolina trip, Stark says he wrote to the fish and game department, who suggested that he try to catch a red breast sun fish.

“They also suggested a man that I might fish with,” he says. “I spent three days with him. We didn’t get the fish.”

Stark says that he recorded each of the trips and chronicled them in a book, which has already been submitted to a publisher.

Larry Stark will share his stories with Spiva members, guests, and Fishing Main Street! teams at the opening reception Friday, September 17 between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The opening will be hosted by Red Lobster, Robert W. Albright, General Manager.
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From Spiva Reports>

“We’re pleased to exhibit Fishing America at Spiva,” Jo Mueller, executive director said. “In fact, we’re welcoming Stark to Joplin with our own ‘hook’ for his exhibit. We’re calling it Fishing Main Street!”

On August 28, teams of children armed with brightly colored glass markers transformed Main Street windows into a ‘river’ of whimsical fish. “Fishing Main Street! is a great opportunity for community involvement in the arts,” Mueller said. “The downtown merchants were excited to see what the children created for them.” Main Street Joplin is sponsoring the event.

Watch a slide show of Fishing Main Street

Along with Fishing America, another exhibit opens at Spiva the same evening. Donna Gilbreth Remembered features pastels and watercolors by the late artist. “Donna was a gifted artist and a dedicated Spiva Board Member,” said former director Darlene Brown. Much of Gilbreth’s work depicts the natural beauty of the Ozarks. The exhibit will be displayed through October 24 in Spiva’s second floor Regional Gallery. Donna Gilbreth

To add to the opening night events, Spiva’s Seventh Annual 12 x 12 Auction, a silent auction of 65 works by Spiva artists to benefit the Center, will close at 7 p.m.

Online bidding for the pieces at:

4statearts.com will end at 4:30 that afternoon.

Financial assistance for “Fishing America” is provided by Friends of St. Avips and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. “Fishing Main Street!” is made possible by Main Street Joplin and downtown merchants. The 12 x 12 Online Auction is sponsored by The Joplin Globe.

Spiva Center for the Arts is located at Third and Wall in downtown Joplin. The Center’s galleries and gift shop are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is by donation.
For more information, please call 417-623-0183.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org

Jo Mueller, Director