Anarchy of artists and art lovers

New London - Frosty air outside the Hygienic Art Gallery drove art lovers inside Saturday to rub shoulders with artists quietly lurking near their work, eavesdropping on conversations.

Elizabeth Preli of North Stonington, herself a pastel artist, stood staring at the glint of light in beads strung along wire in a piece by Michelle Behr called "Archway." An attached note by Behr stated the work took 100 hours. Unbeknownst to Preli, Behr stood a short distance away, listening in.

"I just like it," Preli said, when asked why the piece held her attention. "Beautiful colors. It's my favorite."

Earlier in the evening, Jim Stidfole, a member of the Hygienic's Board of Directors who takes it as his personal mission to draw artists of all stripes into the anarchy of the annual exhibit, showed New London Police Chief Margaret Ackley a piece by Simon John in which a sterilized toilet bowl is filled with chocolate and topped with popcorn.

John has a tendency to drive his motorcycle without a license, aggravating local police, Stidfole said, but Stidfole convinced him to submit an entry to the show after a long hiatus.

"There's a little art in everyone, isn't there?" Ackley said. "Sometimes, you just gotta point it out."

Now in its 31st year, the Hygienic Art Show is modeled after the Salon des Indépendants, an outsider art event held annually in Paris since 1884. Like the Salon, New London's show is open to all artists, with five caveats: one piece per artist, and no judge, jury, fees or censorship.

Hygienic Weekend offered the now-familiar mix of inspired antics - the art show proper, the Rock Fix at the Crocker House, a Cabaret ("more risqué than ever," the Hygienic Web site boasts) and a youth art exhibit.

David Foulkes, the gallery manager, said that three new events have been added to the art show this year, including two feature film nights and a "photogienic" treasure hunt in which photographers have 24 hours to take and develop photos related to 12 one-word topics.

"The next 30 years starts now," Foulkes said.

A silent auction of a painting that served as the basis for a poster was also held and the money raised will go toward relief for the Haitians.

Because of the 20-degree weather, doors opened at the Bank Street gallery and nearby Annex at 7:15 p.m., Stidfole said, giving viewers more time and room to partake in the diversity.

At the Annex, Connecticut College sophomores Aditi Juneja of Princeton, N.J., and Canissa Grant of Cambridge, Mass., admired a photograph of a flower on canvas called "Columbine" by Sean Flynn.

"It looks so real," Grant said. "It's just so vibrant."

"It's fun to look at the different pieces," Juneja observed, "and think what it evokes for myself, and then read the title and compare what the artist was trying to convey. For me, it's never the same. You can see how your baggage impacts the way you perceive things."

Another viewer, Amy Jensen of Gales Ferry, said one of her favorite exhibits was a giant bra made of cardboard and entitled simply, "The Bra," by Sara Bailey.

"This is my first year coming and it is extremely cool," Jensen said. "I really appreciate the openness to any form of art and everything being displayed equally."

Over the years, Stidfole said, the artwork has become less political and sexual in nature, but there is a benefit to the more traditional submissions because "people take this show really seriously" and it shows in the high caliber of material on display.

Still, some renegade art got people's attention, like "The iK47," a fake AK-47 with an iPod embedded in the gun that was playing music by the Beastie Boys.

Representational art held its own as well, in pieces like "Saint No. 48," a striking portrait of a young woman in oil by Doc Hammer of New York City, who grew up in Ledyard, and "Spring Freshet," a landscape by Denise Hickey of New London. This was Hickey's first Hygienic show, but Hammer said he's been exhibiting here since he was 16.

Hammer later played guitar and sang with his band, Weep, at 10 p.m. at the Rock Fix.

"It's always been my home, here," said Hammer. "Since I was completely incompetent, I always wanted to be part of this."

As the artists mingled surreptitiously, fans continued to pile in, steaming the windows and admiring the work.

Jim Benway of Waterbury, a year-in, year-out regular at the show, brought Mimi Begin of Waterbury to see what it's all about.

"I've always wanted to see something artsy, see what people can create," Begin said, adding that she hopes to come again.

"I'm hooked on it," she said.

Hygienic Art XXXI runs through Feb. 13. The gallery is open today from noon to 6 p.m.