The P.R. Miller show
at the Massillon Museum attracted a variety of creative souls to celebrate the
work of the “junkman artist.” I was really amazed at
Massillon itself; I’ve lived in Canton for almost seven years, and that was
my first time to actually walk the street of the downtown. Massillon
has an advantage over downtown 
Canton in that its infrastructure still has most of its businesses intact.
Of course, Cantonians could say that the advent of the Belden Village
area destroyed all semblance of a downtown, but the businesses that are in Massillon-
ranging from quaint little coffee shops to a Scorcher’s restaurant, all add
to the character of a square in the downtown like Massillon.
I was really surprised-
I thought Massillon was a backward football oriented town, and who knows- it
may be… but for the night I was there, the air was alive with people walking
the streets and having a great time. Of course, there
was a classic car cruise in going on (it seems that every town in Stark County
has to have a cruise in), but the Massillon Museum was a beautiful space to
display P.R.’s work. It’s right downtown on the square,
and as one approaches the building, you see several of his pieces on the grounds,
and the viewer can actually sit on and touch them. It
gives the entire artistic experience a more hands on feeling, which I feel is
one of the goals of P.R. Miller in his approach to art.
The crowd at the
show wasn’t the stuffy anal group you’d expect to see at an opening- there was
a wide range of ages, the people seemed really laid back and appreciative. John
Klassen has to be commended for having the vision to bring P.R.’s work into
the museum setting in a way that caters not only to the artist, but to the public
as well. The space was set up beautifully, and everyone
seemed to be having a wonderful time.
I walked around the
area and got to see some of the other activities that were happening in conjunction
with the 175th birthday of the city. One of
the cooler events was the Back Alley Blues Festival (that unfortunately I didn’t
have a ticket to). I got to talk to one of the organizers
of the event (see the lady who stuck her tongue out at the camera) who said
the blues concert was one of many events the city is offering in its celebration
year. It seemed so odd to actually walk around a downtown and see a mass of
activity going on without someone being pissy drunk or yelling about a football
team.
Is it wrong to compare
Canton to Massillon? Are they simply two different animals
with different characteristics? Although Canton has a
new downtown streetscape project, it also has buildings galore that are boarded
up. Why not looking into developing some more green space
for the people? Is the notion that downtown Canton is
not safe the determining factor in keeping those building intact?
Is the fact that the downtown is basically nothing more than government
buildings whose workers get the hell out of town as soon as 5 o’clock rolls
around? What can be done to keep people in the downtown
area at times besides the ribs burn off? Has Canton sold
its soul to the Belden Village Mall and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and lost
its downtown in the process?
art and the masses converged,
or an indication of just how progressive the city is. I
can honestly say in all the time I’ve lived in this area, I have NEVER found the
opportunity to come to downtown Canton and enjoy myself the way I did during the
P.R. Miller opening. I even saw Al Albacete and his wife
in Massillon that night checking out the blues festival. Maybe
someone can tell me if I was only dreaming- was there actually some real nightlife
in a downtown in Stark county?
Photos Galore!!! Click on the small pic to see a big pic! A big thank you to Jerry Domokur for the excellent digital shots :)
