Weekend Online

The Weekend staff will be online answering your questions tomorrow, Friday, June 30, at at 11AM. Ask them why they have two to three times more theatre and movie coverage than visual arts.

Details here.

The Real (Art) World Opens Tonight

A few days ago I was invited to talk to the student curators participating in Jack Rasmussen’s innovative curator class at American University.

At the same time that I met, talked to and then spoke to the class, I was fortunate enough to not only get inside the focus and purpose of the five student curators, but also received an early peek at the installation process of the show itself, which opens with a gallery talk tonight, Thursday, June 29 at 5PM, immediately followed by an opening party from 6-8PM.

The exhibition, with the most modern youthful title (somewhat borrowed I imagine from MTV’s "Real World" series) of "The Real (Art) World: 5 Curators. 5 Artists. 1 Museum," has the fore mentioned cast of five students in their first curating assignment; the students are: Bernard Birnbaum, Nicole Ferdinando, Meg Ferris, Roxana Martin and Daniela Rutigliano.

The assignment's starting point was somewhat the same for all the students: review artist submissions and proposals and slides sent to the Katzen since it opened its doors a while back, and select an artist for each curator to showcase in the exhibition.

Birnbaum selected Dave D’Orio, Ferdinando selected Marie Ringwald, Ferris selected Jiha Moon (who seems to be everywhere at once these days), Martin picked Genna Watson and Rutigliano picked Ariel Goldberg.

Of the above artists, I was very familiar with Ringwald (a Trawick Prize finalist and an artist whom I included in Seven) and Jiha Moon (a Trawick Prize winner); the others were all new to me.

Meg Ferris passed the first test of my "why did you select blankety blank?" question, as she answered that she had selected Moon based on her visual impressions of Moon’s elegant work and her statement about her work.

When I saw the work, Ferris had already hung it on the wall, and was preparing to add some wall text. We spoke for a while about “textitis,” that fatal disease of most postmodern minimalist art, where the text is often more interesting than the artwork itself, and Ferris seemed to agree that in Moon’s case the artwork should be allowed to carry the exhibition’s focus, rather than text about Moon’s art.

I also asked her about conservation issues, as Moon uses a variety of inks and pigments to create her deceptively complex works, and the longevity of artwork is something that art dealers often worry about, but seems to be generally ignored by museum curators (unless they are acquiring the work for the museum).

Roxana Martin was busily working on the massive task of installing Genna Watson’s larger than life sculptures, and she was next on my walk-through the exhibit. "I selected Watson because her work spoke to me as soon as I saw it," stated Marin, who clearly identified with Watson’s discernible attempt to deliver a set of powerful messages through her large, organic sculptures.

In the center of the lower floor gallery, Watson has a superb spot for her work, and this exhibition should bring her work much well-deserved visibility.

Martin and I then discussed art and artists who create work specifically aimed at a museum audience (rather than a gallery audience).

In this case, by the sheer size of the sculptures, and their “display needs,” it is clear to me that the artist is aiming to have her work displayed in large public spaces, rather than the more intimate scale of most commercial art galleries.

This was of interest to Martin, who I think had not seen the work from that point of view. It is a thought (I think) that rarely crosses the mind of museum curators.

Next I talked to Nicole Ferdinando, and confessed to her that when I first stepped into the Katzen, even though I am very familiar with Marie Ringwald’s work, I initially thought that the work that first faced me was that of area sculptor Janos Enyedi, a reasonable mistake considering that the work that I am referring to is clearly within the family of faux metal wall constructions of barns and metal sheds that Enyedi has been making for years.

However, as soon as I noticed several of Ringwald’s better-known freestanding sculptures (also sheds in this case) – and was corrected by Rasmussen – I realized that the work was a natural progression for Ringwald’s shared obsession (with Enyedi) for constructed structures. I was also pleased to see the four red pieces that I had selected and exhibited at Seven be part of this show, and shared this curatorial selection with Ferdinando.

I also managed to discover some new (new to me that is) set of elegant prints by this talented artists, and these were my favorite from her diverse canon of works selected by this young curator.

We then all sat down and discussed the whole environment of curating a show, and some of the points that I had earlier pinpointed with Ferris, Martin and Ferdinando resurfaced.

Like her fellow curators, Bernard Birnbaum and Daniela Rutigliano shared an acute interest in the work of the artist that they selected, although is Rutigliano’s case I got a sense that she was previously familiar with the artist that she selected, Ariel Goldberg, and Goldberg’s photography.

It was very clear to me that what Rasmussen is doing with this class is having an important and lasting effect on these students, and I would dare say a profound footprint on both their artistic development and appreciation of art, and the complicated web of multi-layered work that goes into assembling an exhibition.

This is an important test for these students, and an event more significant development in the art curriculum of American University; this new ingredient that Rasmussen has added to the complicated soup of being the director and curator of this magnificent art museum will continue to grow and develop, and I think will provide an excellent breeding ground not only for new, budding curators, but also for new artists, perhaps for the first time showcased in a museum environment.

Keep them cooking Jack!

---

"The Real (Art) World: 5 Curators. 5 Artists. 1 Museum" opens tonight with a reception for the curators and the artists at the Katzen Arts Center. The exhibition runs through August 20, 2006.

Standing Stones

I am somewhat of a longtime aficionado of standing stones sites and stone circles, and a new one has been found in the Amazon.

See it here, and see the amazing images from Scotland here.

It was in large part as a result of those photographs and what happened to some of them, that the Fraser Gallery was started in 1996.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Artists David Hubbard and jodi are having an opening for a new exhibit located at 901 E Street NW (entrance on 9th Street, NW). The opening is presented by Zenith Gallery for Cambridge Management.

The reception to meet the artists is June 28, 5-8pm and the exhibition runs through July 28, 2006.

The ARTnews 200 Top Collectors

Read it online here.

The list includes Washingtonians Aaron I. Fleischman, Steven Rales, Robert P. Kogod, Jo Carole, Ronald S. Lauder, and my Potomac neighbor Mitchell Rales.

The Mystery of Twittering Machine

As I have been traveling so much lately (and I'm heading off to the Poconos this weekend), I have been trying to catch up with some of the art reviews that the WaPo has done in the last couple of weeks.

And I have noticed an interesting mystery in a recent review.

On Sunday, June 18, 2006, Jessica Dawson reviewed the Paul Klee show at the Phillips Collection.

It always bugs me somewhat when Jessica "uses" the Galleries column to review a museum show that will most likely be reviewed by Gopnik or O'Sullivan anyway - to me she's wasting the precious "Galleries" print space, which I believe its supposed to be focused on galleries, on a museum show.

However, in this review she was writing it for Sunday Arts, I guess subbing in place for the WaPo's Chief Art Critic, who as we all know, only writes about museums, and not galleries.

Read that review here. She writes:

At the Phillips, the Duchampian "Twittering Machine" is on view, as is the anxiously Freudian "Girl With Doll's Pram," where the little girl's breasts are the size of Hindenburgs.

Then, later on I read Michael O'Sullivan's review of the same show, published at few days later on Friday, June 23, 2006. Read O'Sullivan's review here, and he writes:

Oddly enough, one of my favorite paintings, MOMA's "The Twittering Machine," is not on view at the Phillips, although you'll find it in the accompanying catalogue.

Uh?

Is the painting there or not?

And so I call the Phillips, and the nice PR lady tells me that O'Sullivan is right, and that "The Twittering Machine," although published in the catalog, did not make it to the exhibition. And she's cracking up because it was highlighted in the Dawson review, and although published in the catalog, it is not listed in the checklist for the exhibition.

"Did she actually ---," I begin to ask.

"Come to the exhibition?" interrupts the nice Phillips lady, "Yes, she did... and that's what makes the mention of a piece not in the exhibition even odder."

Sigh...

Update: As usual, Bailey is crazy.

New Blog

Photographer Greg Wasserstrom has a new blog.

Visit Tubulosity often!

Trawick Prize Finalists

Congrats to the finalists for this year's Trawick Prize.

Christine Buckton-Tillman (Baltimore, MD)

Caryl Burtner (Richmond, VA)

Eric Dyer (Baltimore, MD)

Suzanna Fields (Richmond, VA)

Adam Fowler (Washington, DC)

Kristin Holder (Washington, DC)

Kirsten Kindler (Richmond, VA)

Maxwell MacKenzie (Washington, DC)

Robert Mellor (Chatham, VA)

James Rieck (Baltimore, MD)

Jo Smail (Baltimore, MD)

Molly Springfield (Washington, DC)

Georgianne Stinnett (Richmond, VA)

Jason Zimmerman (Washington, DC)

This year's prize competition was juried by Ashley Kistler, Curator at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond; Jack Rasmussen, Director of the Katzen Arts Center at American University in Washington, D.C. and Gerald Ross, Director of Exhibitions at Maryland Institute College of Art.

The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A "young" artist whose birth date is after April 10, 1976 will also be awarded $1,000.

The Trawick Prize was established by local business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Ms. Trawick is the owner of an Information Technology company in Bethesda, Trawick & Associates.

Last year, Jiha Moon formerly from Annandale, VA, was awarded the 2005 "Best in Show" with $10,000; Dean Kessman of Washington, D.C. was named second place and was given $2,000; Denise Tassin of Baltimore, MD was bestowed third place and received $1,000 and the 2005 "Young Artist" award of $1,000 was given to Michele Kong of Baltimore, MD.

Auction

Last night was Food and Friends Chef's Best Dinner and Auction Event at the Washington Hilton. There were almost 5000 attendees... and the best restaurants in the city were featured there.

The main event came when during the Live Auction segment, Tim Tate's artwork raised almost $20,000 for Food and Friends.... more than twice as much as any other offering! Tim's piece was two of his Archway panel series.

The winning bidder was the owner of the Crew Club on 14th Street, but Tate also gave the second highest bidder two panels as well... doubling the dollar amount. This is his 6th year of donating to that cause.

Nepotista

"When it comes to nepotism, the best strategy is to avoid it."
- Jessica Dawson advising Jiha Moon here

Mmmm... in the artworld, this is often quite impossible... I would advise: "When it comes to nepotism, the best strategy is to minimize it as much as possible."

In writing about art, selling art, curating art, awarding art grants, seeing art, talking about art, we're all nepotistas to some degree or other. Nearly every curator that we've ever hired to jury an exhibition for us, has brought some nepotism into it and nearly every writer that I've read has exhibited some degree of it.

Critics get to know artists, and art dealers, and curators on a nearly daily basis, and they too, being human, develop nepotism in some degree or other, and become nepotistas perhaps without meaning to do so, or perhaps while minimizing it.

Even advise-giving Dawson.

A few years ago, I asked some of the WaPo's leadership why Dawson never reviewed (the now closed) Fusebox.

I was told that Dawson had recused herself from reviewing Fusebox due to private reasons (I was told "friendship with the owners").

Thus Dawson (I assume) did the right thing with the Post's policy (one exists I assume) in writing/reviewing about friends... good for her (although unfair somewhat for Fusebox, although to make things fair for them, the WaPo then apparently had Blake Gopnik review them a few times while they were open).

But as reported here in 2004, she had no nepotista issue in writing that Fusebox is "sharp and savvy," and has "raised the bar for visual art in Washington," and that their openings are "events to see and be seen at" for the 2004 issue of Timeout DC. In the lead page for the galleries (p.189), she even lists Fusebox under a listing of five galleries selected as "the best galleries." And on page 194 she again highlights Fusebox in a special commentary section where the gallery is highlighted after the following introduction:

"While some DC galleries could be accused - justifiably - of playing it safe, the following stand out from the crowd with their interesting programming and sheer charisma."

I'm not even that fussed that Dawson gave Fusebox some well-deserved comments and well-earned kudos on that issue of Timeout DC, but I am fussed that she's now giving Jiha Moon advise on nepotism instead of just reviewing the show.

In the event that you actually want to read a review of the show, then visit Thinking About Art and read Kirkland's, declared nepotism and all.

Odom and Banks (Continued)

The Odom and Banks controversy has a new voice in the mix, as Virginia Pilot columnist Kerry Dougherty opines on the subject.

Read her opinion and quite a few comments on the subject here.

Also, the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, which runs the Boardwalk show that awarded $10,000 to Odom, has decided not to take away the cash prize from Odom.

"We've now consulted with a number of Alabama and national folk art galleries and experts," said Cameron Kitchin, executive director of Virginia Beach's Contemporary Art Center of Virginia , which runs the Boardwalk show.

"We have full confidence that the specific piece that won best in show is by Doug Odom's hand and is uniquely Doug Odom's subject matter," Kitchin said on Friday.

I talked to Mr. Kitchin a few days ago while I was in New Mexico, as he called me to explain the decision, and I appreciate his immediate involvement in this issue.

I respect their decision process, which essentially "consulted with a number of Alabama and national folk art galleries and experts," to arrive at the decision that the piece that won the $10K was not a copy of any known Banks' painting.

This decision does not touch on the ethics of copying another artist's style and subject depiction, which is a superb topic for a future discussion panel, as this is the main "beef" that seems to be the main leftover (other than some legal issues between Banks and Odom) from this controversy.

"We have independent confirmation that these poodles did live on Doug's farm," Kitchin said. "Those dogs were never a subject matter in Michael Banks' work."

See the winning artwork here.

Nothing to do with the decision itself, but I find this quote in the article a little disturbing:

"My feeling is, it's no big deal at all," said Ann Oppenhimer, president of the Folk Art Society of America, based in Richmond. "They're not giving the prize on ethics.

"You don't like to see that kind of thing happen," Oppenhimer said. "But there are very few things that are original, when you get down to it."

According to the article, Odom "sold 20 to 25 pieces at the Boardwalk. His prices ranged up to $7,000."

Update: Bailey has this letter published in the Virginia Pilot.

Powerless

Back home to find out that because of storms, power has been down around my neighborhood for a while, and everything in the fridge has defrosted!

Also my laptop finally bit the bucket while in New Mexico.

Loads more later...

Airborne today and heading back home... tons to report on this amazing state.

Art Panel at DCAC

Tonight DCAC is hosting a panel titled: "The role of art historians, curators and critics in the contemporary art scene". The panel starts at 7:30PM and it's free to the public.

Panelists include:

- Joshua Shannon, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art History & Theory at the University of Maryland.

- Rex Weil, independent curator, artist and art critic covering DC area for Art News magazine.

- Judith Brodie, Curator of modern prints and drawings at the National Gallery of Art

- JW Mahoney, independent curator, artist and art critic covering DC area for Art in America magazine.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Eric Finzi opens at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art in Bethesda tonight with a reception for the artist from 6-9PM.

Party this Saturday

I'm in wondrous New Mexico, but from here I wanted to remind all of you about the Washington Glass School's 5th Anniversary this Saturday.

If you've ever been to one of their parties before, you know that they always have tons of incredible glass art, sculpture and jewelry for sale. This year they have more art to move than you have ever seen!

And this year they arec ombining it with an Artist's Resource Fair. Here's a chance to get your artwork photographed, discuss what your metal work needs are, and to consult with a art web page designer all in one place!

First, Pete Duvall will be set up to photograph your artwork at a workshop rate of $20/2-D and $30 3-D (less for digital) just for this day. He has photographed many artists work in the region and seriously does museum quality work. Bring as many pieces as you want!

Next, George Atherton with the Potomac Area Blacksmiths will be there to discuss what metal needs you might have. If you need metal frames or holders for your glass or artwork... this is your chance.

Also, Arlington Arts Center will have a booth there for "Professional Development and Exhibition Resources." Representatives from the AAC will be on hand to share with you information on regional exhibition opportunities, professional development workshops, and press information.

Finally, Kirk Waldroff, an artist and Web designer (and rock star) will be here to consult with you on improving your web presence or to help you design your pages.

Date : June 24th from 1 to 5pm
Tuition : Free to attend!!!
Location : The Washington Glass School at the Mt. Rainier Studio

Airborne today and heading to New Mexico... more later.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

"Cut" by Bradley McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry, opens at Conner Contemporary tonigt with an opening reception from 6-8 pm.

More on the Odom and Banks Controversy

Teresa Annas, writing for the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk pens a superb article that goes to the point of the "copying" issue between naive artist Michael Banks and his former framer Doug Odom. Read the Annas article here and my posting on the same issue here.

By the way, according to Banks' art dealer, she sold 22 of his paintings during last week's Affordable Art Fair in NYC. Their space was 10 feet from ours and it was humming, so I believe her.

The painting on the left is done by Doug Odom. The one on the right is by Michael Banks.
Update: The Right Reverend chimes in.

At AU

I'll be at American University today as guest lecturer for their Curatorial Practice class (ARTS 596-N01).

More later...