Friday, April 09, 2004

People who know me well, know that I am an absolute and devoted fan of Camille Paglia. In my prejudiced opion she's one of my contenders for the title of "Most Brilliant Human Being Alive On the Planet."

Passion aside, she has a brilliant essay that should be a must read for anyone interested in the arts and/or education, and especially for anyone who curates, organizes, teaches, or writes about the arts. The article is an expanded version of a lecture delivered at a conference, "Living Literacies: What Does it Mean to Read and Write Now?," at York University, Toronto, Canada.

It is titled The Magic of Images: Word and Picture in a Media Age and here's an insightful paragraph:

"Post-structuralism and postmodernism do not understand magic or mystique, which are intrinsic to art and imagination. It is no coincidence that since postmodernist terminology seeped into the art world in the 1980s, the fine arts have receded as a major cultural force."
Go read it now.

Our art scene is just bursting with activity!

There's a great profile of artist Mark Clark in this weeks Washington City Paper. Can't read it online, as WCP does not archive - so go get the paper while it's out this week. Mark Clark is in the middle of a really interesting project to document his neighbors. Mark is the brother of Michael Clark, who runs MOCA in Georgetown, and who I am told fell a few days ago and broke his shoulder.

Tonite is the Bethesda Art Walk from 6-9 pm featuring 14 downtown Bethesda galleries and studios.

Studio Gallery will jury for new artists on Thurs, April 15, 2004, at 6:30pm. $35 jury fee. For info, call Lana Lyons, Director, at 202-232-8734.

Austrian Photographs (The Estate of Inge Morath. Curators: Kurt Kaindl and Brigitte Blueml) Reading by Honor Moore: "The Photographer and the Poet: A Friendship" is opening Thursday, April 15, 2004 7:30 pm at the Embassy of Austria. At the opening of the exhibit, American poet, Honor Moore, will read poems about Inge Morath and talk about their mutually inspiring friendship. The exhibition will be on display until June 10, 2004, weekdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Embassy of Austria, 3524 International Court N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 (Van Ness Metro Stop). RSVP for opening reception required: (202) 895-6776.

Mark Jenkins has a nice review of Muriel Hasbun in the Weekend Section of today's Post. Hasbun, who teaches at the Corcoran College of Art, has "Memento: Muriel Hasbun Photographs," an exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Hasbun, who is from El Salvador, represented her country at the last Venice Biennale. She is represented locally by Conner Contemporary. One of my pet peeves with the Weekend section is their lack of attention to DC art galleries. Their reviews, by a huge percentage, concentrate on museum shows, often repeating a review that the Style section critics have already covered. I really wish that Weekend section editor Joyce Jones was a bit more receptive (or firm) in letting her "On Exhibit" writer also write about DC area art galleries. Either Michael O'Sullivan (who is now reviewing movies) or Mark Jenkins (who is now freelancing the "On Exhibit" column on Weekend) are well-versed and quite knowledgeable about our area's artists and galleries, so c'mon Joyce!

The 2004 Senior Thesis Exhibitions at the Corcoran are on until May 17, 2004. They consist of a series of ten, week-long, rotating exhibitions featuring photography, fine art and graphic design produced by members of the Corcoran graduating class, grouped by major. They are at the Hemicycle Gallery of the Corcoran. I will soon be swinging by to look at the current exhibit and will discuss it back here.