Monday, May 12, 2014

My suggestions for the new US Women's History Museum

This may be a surprise to some, but I don’t think that having a new US History Women’s Museum is a good idea.


Nothing against women; if you read this blog consistently, then you know that I am generally against any and all museums that segregate people by race (there are several race-centric museums in the US), ethnicity (such as the planned National Museum of the American Latino in DC), gender (such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC), or any other label, instead of leading efforts to incorporate those same people into the major museums.


And yes, I do get the point that many of those “other major museums” are essentially mostly focused on mostly men from or of European ancestry.


My original opening argument and position usually falls on deaf ears, and DC’s only Frida Kahlo painting remains in the NMWA instead of the National Gallery of Art, where it belongs. 


Nonetheless, it is my position and I’ve become used to people reacting to it by attacking me, rather than my ideas. That is, unfortunately, collateral spillage from the toxic political dialogue between the vast right wing conspiracy and the even vaster left wing nuthouse: If you disagree with someone’s political ideas/position, then you attack the person, rather than debate the ideas/position.


The new US History Women’s Museum will be built, regardless of what I think, and as such, here are some early suggestions, cough, cough…


First and foremost, mostly progressive, liberal women are allowed to be honored and included in the museum, regardless of any “firsts” or historical contributions that any overtly Republican or Conservative woman has ever made to American history. We’re not sure of Betsy Ross’ political leanings or most of those Revolutionary War women, so they’re OK, as long as the DAR is not too enthused about any particular one of them.


Contemporary women are another issue and the one where all the headlines will be made.


As such, in spite of the remarks that she made about Barack Obama, Geraldine Ferraro must be included and honored as the first woman VP candidate from a major party; but Crom save the poor curator who suggests even mentioning Sarah Palin! Second doesn’t count anyway... right?

However, because of Ms. Ferraro's Obamistic remarks, the whole female VP part of US women's history may have to be skipped all together... cough, cough...


Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman to serve in Congress, and she’ll probably need to be included, even though she was a Republican. But since that was in 1917, those were the “good” Republicans back then, so she’ll be OK. 


All the other such female political “firsts” will of course need to be there – after all they led the way: Hattie Wyatt Caraway (first elected female Senator), Nellie Tayloe Ross (first female elected governor of a state),  Esther Morris (first female judge in the US)… and so on.


Mrs. Clinton hasn’t accomplished any firsts… yet… and may have to wait and see if she gets elected in the next elections to deserve inclusion in the museum… unless Senator Elizabeth Warren decides to run also and somehow beats Mrs. Clinton and then wins the Presidential election and will thus become not only the first female President, but also the first Native American President… cough, cough…


The museum will then, in order to be progressive, have to include also female firsts according to race and ethnicity.


And in the race category, no one deserves to be there more in these segregated categories than the vibrant Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress – and in 1972 not only the first woman, but the first African American (period) whose name was nominated for President. 

She was also my Congresswoman when I lived in Brooklyn and my Congressional sponsor for the US Naval Academy. She nominated me in 1977 (and I was accepted and offered an appointment!) for the class of 1981 – I declined the appointment and instead went on to the University of Washington. When Chisholm found out, she called me and yelled at me for half an hour on the phone and damned near changed my mind. She is one of my personal heroes! If Shirley is not highlighted in this museum, I will be pissed!


The first Latina elected to Congress will be hugely problematic to include, as she is the fiery, brilliant (and very right wing) Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; a fellow peeps Cuban-American and another personal hero of mine. I suspect that she will barely get a mention. Five gets you ten that California’s very cute Loretta Sanchez gets more attention (even though California’s Lucille Roybal was elected first, and no, I am not objectifying congresswomen…).


Susana Martinez, also a Republican, will be also an issue… she’s the first Latina elected to be a governor of a US state… What’s with these Republicans electing all these minority women first? That's no way to win a war... Cough, cough...


And what will the museum do about Condoleezza Rice? After all, according to Rutgers University Professor Francois Cornilliat (who is apparently not a fan of free speech), she’s “not a role model”, and 50 or so opinionated Rutgers students think that she is a “war criminal” … Sorry Condie… cough, cough.


Sally Ride, the first American woman in space should be there… is that the best astronaut name ever? 


Mae Jamison, first African American woman in space and Ellen Ochoa, first Latina in space, will also be there… other possibilities are first Jewish woman in space, first Asian-American, etc.


Nanny Pelosi, as the first female Speaker of the House is a shoo-in and rightly deserves to be there, will be there, and it better be a damned good spot!


Although all the high schools and streets are named after Cesar Chavez, once you do a little research, one realizes that Dolores Huerta actually carried a lot of the load, did a lot of the organizing and seldom got the credit that Chavez did; reserve a spot for Huerta.


Military US women who paved the way for today’s sailors, soldiers and airwomen should also be honored and a special scientific spot as well should be reserved for Admiral Grace Hopper.


And they better have a friggin’ good spot for the incredible Civil War exploits of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, the Cuban woman otherwise known as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford during the war.  Think of how many angles the museum can cover with that selection!


Will female entertainers be part of the museum? That will be entertaining to see… 

I'm pretty sure that today's Hollywood does not allow any Conservative woman to become a leading star, so we should be pretty safe from debate with anyone from the 60s onward.


If entertainers are included, don’t forget Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino  in Brooklyn) as she can cover the Hispanic angle as her father was from Spain, but not the Latina angle, as her father was… ahem, from Spain, and as some people know, Spain is actually in Europe and not Latin America… cough, cough.


Female athletes will be easy: Sports Illustrated has already assembled a list of the top 100 female athletes ever – just pick the Americans out of the list.


If only everything was that easy!


Good luck to the US History Women’s Museum; I know that your intentions are good, but you should have fought better to have American women contributions to American history better represented in the American History Museum, rather than segregating women in their own museum.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival this weekend

This festival is one of the best ranked outdoor fine arts festivals in the nation...

It is this weekend around the Woodmont triangle in Bethesda... All free and plenty of parking.

Details at www.bethesda.org

Friday, May 09, 2014

Thursday, May 08, 2014

Portnoy's Complaint, The Constitution and Fallen Angel

Below you will find three new works. 

"Fallen Angel" (From the Genesis Series). Charcoal and Conte on Paper. 2014. 27.5 x 11.5 inches. Matted and framed under glass in a black, minimalist wood frame to 28x12 inches. 

"Portnoy's Complaint" (From the Written on the Body Series). Charcoal and Conte on Paper. 2014. 11x13 inches. Matted and framed under glass in a white, minimalist wood frame to 16x20 inches. 

"The Last Copy of The Constitution" (This is version II -- also from the Written on the Body Series). Charcoal and Conte on Paper. 2014. 22x17 inches. Matted and framed under glass in a black, minimalist wood frame to 38x34 inches.

These are all available via the galleries which represent my work.
 
"Fallen Angel" (From the Genesis Series). Charcoal and Conte on Paper. 2014. 27.5 x 11.5 inches. Matted and framed under glass in a black, minimalist wood frame to 28x12 inches.


"Fallen Angel" (Detail)

Portnoy's Complaint by F. Lennox Campello
"Portnoy's Complaint" (From the Written on the Body Series) by F. Lennox Campello. Charcoal and Conte on Paper. 2014. 11x13 inches. Matted and framed to 16x20 inches
"Portnoy's Complaint" (From the Written on the Body Series).Detail.

"The Last Copy of The Constitution" (also from the Written on the Body Series). Charcoal and Conte on Paper. 2014. 22x17 inches. Matted and framed under glass in a black, minimalist wood frame to 38x34 inches.
"The Last Copy of The Constitution" (detail)

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

An Open Letter from East City Arts

For the past four years, we have covered the visual arts in NE and SE DC as well as the Gateway Arts District.  The ECA staff met on several occasions to discuss how we could best expand our coverage.  As a result we have decided to include the following areas:
  • Northern Prince George's County, MD
  • The "Mid-City" area of DC or as we like to call it "the East City of NW"
Starting this week, you will see articles and posts related to these areas.  In the Fall 2014 Quarterly, listings for Mid-City will be included in print.

We will continue to diligently serve our original coverage area and we will add a couple of new writers to ensure our content keeps pace with the expansion.

In the future look for the following:
  • An updated website (mid-2014) with posts organized by category (openings, classes, interviews, etc...)
  • Increased ECA Quarterly circulation
  • Notices of June meetings for public participation and feedback
  • The announcement of the creation of an East City Art nonprofit dedicated to expanding the reach of our region's visual arts movement via exhibiting opportunities and documentation through a small press
We greatly value your readership and your opinion here at East City Art. As we undertake this expansion please send us you feedback and comments on how we can serve you better or please attend one of our meetings in early June to discuss in person.

With warmest regards,
Phil Hutinet
Founding Publisher

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Art Scam Alert!

This walking cockroach is trying to scam artists - Beware!
From:     Lindsey Supply Co. (contact@connectagri.com)
Sent:    Mon 5/05/14 11:37 AM
To:    lennycampello@hotmail.com

Good day,
  I want to place an order in your store/Gallery/Company and i will like to
 know if you ship to Singapore and my payment will be remitted via Credit
 Card Issued in United States.

 please let me know if you can assist me with the order,and please do not
 forget to include your website in your reply.Your quick response will be
 highly appreciated,I will be very glad if you treat this email with good
 concern.

 Regards,
Lindsey Supply Co.
 Shun Li Industrial Complex,
 603 Sims Drive, #03-10,
 Singapore 387384

Monday, May 05, 2014

Stephen King Redux



A while back I took this pic while watching an episode of Revolution, the most excellent TV show about an apocalyptic world sans electricity... In this scene, the Aaron Pittman character, who looks like a lot like the world's best selling writer, the amazing Stephen King, stands next to a poster of the great American storyteller.

In this scene, Pittman is hiding in some abandoned school, and the writers of the series pay an homage to King, as in the background we see him next to Papa Hemingway. 

If you've ever seen and met the bearded King of the 90s, as I did, then you'd get the irony and smart scene-making of this clever scene, where SK and an SK-look alike are juxtaposed for a brief moment.

Art Bank 2014 Call for Artists

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is once again calling for DC artists and DMV area artists to submit works for consideration to be acquired for the permanent collection of the city.


There is no fee to enter and the entire process is done online and it is super easy. Ahead of time you will need to have a current CV, and Artist's Statement, 10 images of the artwork and and Image Listing.

The deadline is May 23 and you can submit your materials online at http//:dcarts.slideroom.com

Do it now - not at 11:45pm on May 23rd!

Sunday, May 04, 2014

Little Guy in the Studio

Little Junes getting into some art materials... cough, cough

Saturday, May 03, 2014

Friday, May 02, 2014

Tough crowd... Sometimes pictures tell a story!




Art Talk with Michael Janis this coming Sunday

When: Sunday, May 4, 2014, 2pm

Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Michael Janis, an architect-turned-glass-artist who has become one of the DMV's uberartists - he works with powdered glass, high-fire enamels, and decals to create dreamlike imagery, as he elaborates on his techniques, work, and career.

If you collect DMV artists and don't own a Janis, you have a big hole in your collection. He is represented locally by Maurine Littleton, the premier art glass gallery on the planet.

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium

Tickets: Free

Event Link: http://americanart.si.edu/calendar/event.cfm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D109063429

Thursday, May 01, 2014

Art Scam Alert

Beware of this mutant:
From: Marc Kessper

Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2014 10:30 AM
Subject: Art

Good Morning,

My name is Marc Kessper. I lived and worked in Dallas for twenty years. I'm in the process of moving to Italy to expand my business field. I just bought a house in Milan, Italy and I'm interested in collecting some artworks for some spaces within my house to make it unique and beautiful. Can I have a few images of your recent works?  I won't mind having your website so as to explore more into your works.

I look forward to hearing back from you soonest.

Regards,

Marc

La Frida - an etching from 1979

Another find of a set of 10 etchings that I did as an assignment in a Printmaking class at the University of Washington School of Art when I was a student there... If you wanna buy one, send me a note and I'll pass it to one of my dealers.

La Frida II Etching, 3x3 inches c. 1979 by F. Lennox Campello
"La Frida II" Etching, 3"x3" c. 1979 by F. Lennox Campello

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Wanna be in a show this weekend?

16x16 Small works call for entry! 

Details here.

In this all-inclusive show, artists are invited to submit art limited to 16x16 inches! Each 16”x16” space in the show will have a $14 hanging fee. 

Submit work including, but not limited to, photography, painting, mixed media, sculpture, lead, ceramics, glass, and more. 

This show has a 0% commission for sales in the gallery. All transactions for this show are direct to the artist! If you sell something and value the experience, feel free to pay them whatever commission you think is fair! No price limit!

The 16” x 16” will coordinate with the Gateway Open Studio Tour.
Details here: www.gatewayopenstudios.org May 10, 2014   12-5pm

Install Sunday May 4, 2014 1pm

Reception May 10, 2014   12-2pm (They’ll be open till 5pm for those who can’t make it).

It is an all Madrid final

Has this ever happened before? 

Over in Europe, the UEFA Champions' League Cup is the world's second toughest soccer competition (after the World Cup), some would say the toughest...

And this year it is an all-Madrid final, as the city's storied Real Madrid Football Club (who destroyed the reigning champion - Bayern of Germany) will fight it out with Madrid's other soccer team, Atletico de Madrid (who beat England's Chelsea FC).

That's like the NY Giants vs the NY Jets at the next Superbowl... only bigger... or the Brooklyn Nets vs the NY Knicks.... cough, cough.... or the LA Clippers vs the LA Lakers...

Anyway... congrats to all the Madrilenos!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Iranian Campaign Medal Ribbon finds a home

Iranian Campaign Ribbon by F. Lennox Campello
"Iranian Campaign Ribbon" by F. Lennox Campello
Oil on Canvas, c. 2007
24 x 48 inches
This painting was exhibited first in 2008 at the "Color Invitations" exhibition at the R Street Gallery in Washington, DC and subsequently at the Red Door Gallery in Richmond, VA at my solo show there. It continued the series commenced in 1999 based on my own military awards. With this 2007 work, this series began to create new imaginary military awards conceived as future ribbons and medals to be awarded in future military campaigns. I call this series "The Colors of Wars to Come" and it is discussed here.  

That show at Richmond's Red Door Gallery was reviewed in the Richmond Style Weekly by Amy Biegelsen. Read it here.

The painting is now heading to a major collection in New Jersey.
The Iranian Campaign Medal was established by Executive Order 13875 signed by the President on 13 January 2015. It may be awarded to American military and naval personnel for participating in prescribed operations, campaigns and task forces ranging in dates from 2 November 2014 to present.
The area of operations for these various campaigns includes the total land area and air space of Iran, and the waters and air space of the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean within 12 nautical miles of Iranian coastline.
Personnel must be members of a unit participating in, or be engaged in direct support of, the operation for 30 consecutive days in the area of operations or for 60 non-consecutive days provided this support involves entering the area of operations or meets one of the following criteria:

• Be engaged in actual combat, or duty that is equally as hazardous as combat duty, during the operation with armed opposition, regardless of time in the area of operations;
• While participating in the operation, regardless of time, is wounded or injured and requires medical evacuation from the area of operations;
• While participating as a regularly assigned aircrew member flying sorties into, out of, within, or over the area of operations in direct support of the military operations.
One bronze service star shall be worn on the ribbon for qualifying participation during an established campaigns. However, that if an individual's 30 or 60 days began in one campaign and carried over into another, that person would only qualify for the medal with one service star. The medal is not awarded without at least one service star. 
The executive order provides that service members who qualify for either the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or the Armed Forces Service Medal for service in Iran between 2 November 2014 and 12 January 2015, remain qualified for those medals. 
However, upon application, any such member may be awarded the Iranian Campaign Medal in lieu of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or the Armed Forces Service Medal, but no Service member may be awarded more than one of these three medals for the same period of service in Iran.
The suspension ribbon for the medal's purple and gold colors were suggested by the historical Imperial colors of Iran’s millennial Persian history and the golden sunsets of the Persian Gulf.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Copy Me: a Web Series about Copying

Copy Me: a Web Series about Copying recently launched a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo. Their goal is to develop eight informative animated shorts on the questions people have surrounding copying. Is copying a file fair? Is copyright hurting anyone? Is the public domain a good thing? They hope to debunk the myths of copying and look at copyright in the context of the new “sharing” generation. The Copy Me Indiegogo Campaign lays out some of the topics they will cover including: fairness in the digital realm, how artists can make money without restricting their work, and the effect of copyright on society.

On the surface, these topics sound innocuous, but the producers may be hiding a more controversial message, as this quote written by the producer in the site’s comment section suggests; it’s not wrong to ASK people to pay, it’s wrong to MAKE people pay for creative works.  That message may not go over very well with many production companies, galleries, studios or other business entities who want more control over their properties’ pricing, marketing, production and distribution efforts.  But alternate approaches are starting to become very popular.
Read the whole article here.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Latin America's most racist government continues its oppression...

Another piece of evidence against one of the planet's most racist and oppressive dictatorships...

(Via)Citizen journalist Juliet Michelena Díaz was detained earlier this month shortly after photographing a police operation in Havana. Díaz is a contributor to the Cuban Network of Community Journalists (La Red Cubana de Comunicadores Comunitarios or RCCC), a group known for its critical coverage of the government that has fallen victim to government harassment in recent months.

Díaz's arrest followed an incident on March 26 in which she and other contributors to RCCC witnessed police officers using dogs to break up a neighborhood brawl. The Miami-based daily El Nuevo Herald said the use of dogs resulted in one person being bitten. Díaz was briefly detained after the incident along with other observers and people involved in the fight, but she was able to hide her photographs from the police. However, two weeks later, the director of the group Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello said police returned to Díaz's home to arrest her after they learned that she still had photographs and was writing a report about police violence.
Who were the police dogs being used against? - Black Cubans.

Who was the only RCCC reporter arrested? - A Black Cuban woman.

Actually, I meant to say: A hero! Juliet Michelena Díaz: You are stronger than they are...




Friday, April 25, 2014

Why Gabriel Garcia Marquez is an "hijo de puta" to me...

The gift that we humans have to express and have opinions, and use our subjectivity to apply to all sorts of themes, issues and people are the perfect weapon to express my intense dislike and repugnance for Gabriel Garcia Marquez's personal behavior and standards, while at the same time admiring his written words, although I must admit that my "admiration" is often colored by my intense dislike for the man. 

Charles Lane's article in the WaPo details the main reasons for this attitude:
In 1968, just as “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was propelling García Márquez to fame, Padilla published a collection of poems titled “Out of the Game.” Cuba’s cultural authorities initially permitted and even praised Padilla’s book, despite its between-the-lines protest against the official thought control that was already suffocating Cuba less than a decade after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

Then instructions changed: The Castro regime began a campaign against Padilla and like-minded intellectuals that culminated in March 1971, when state security agents arrested Padilla, seized his manuscripts and subjected him to a month of brutal interrogation.

The poet emerged to denounce himself before fellow writers for having “been unfair and ungrateful to Fidel, for which I will never tire of repenting.” He implicated colleagues and even his wife as counterrevolutionaries.

Intellectuals around the world, led by García Márquez’s fellow star of the Latin American literary “boom,” Mario Vargas Llosa, condemned this Stalinesque spectacle. Many cultural figures who had backed the Cuban revolution soured on it because of the Padilla affair.

For García Márquez, however, it was a different kind of turning point. When asked to sign his fellow writers’ open letter to Castro expressing “shame and anger” about the treatment of Padilla, García Márquez refused.

Thereafter, the Colombian gradually rose in Havana’s estimation, ultimately emerging as a de facto member of Castro’s inner circle.

Fidel would shower “Gabo” with perks, including a mansion, and established a film institute in Cuba under García Márquez’s personal direction.

The novelist, in turn, lent his celebrity and eloquence to the regime’s propaganda mill, describing the Cuban dictator in 1990 as a “man of austere habits and insatiable dreams, with an old-fashioned formal education, careful words and fine manners, and incapable of conceiving any idea that isn’t extraordinary.”

To rationalize this cozy relationship, García Márquez offered himself as an ostensible go-between when Castro occasionally released dissidents to appease the West.

What Gabo never did was raise his voice, or lift a finger, on behalf of Cubans’ right to express themselves freely in the first place.

Far from being “a representative and voice for the people of the Americas,” he served as a de facto spokesman for one of their oppressors.

García Márquez went so far as to defend death sentences Castro handed out to politically heterodox Cuban officials — one of whom had been personally close to the writer — after a 1989 show trial.
 Read the entire article here.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

72 Grams Per Pixel at Gallery B

"72 Grams Per Pixel" is a group exhibition by seven fine art photographers at Bethesda's Gallery B. The title playfully indicates the idea behind the exhibition to explore photographic images using a variety of mediums including prints, hand-made photo books, table-prints and a newly developed multi-screen display system. The gallery show is sponsored by ISProductions, the publisher of the popular FolioLink website service for artists and photographers.

There are some seriously blue chip photogs in this show:
  •     Joe Cameron, fine art photographer and Professor at the Corcoran College of Art and Design for over 30 years.   
  •     Stephen Crowley, award winning photojournalist of the New York Times.   
  •     Muriel Hasbun, fine art photographer and Professor and Chair of Photography at the Corcoran College of Art and Design.   
  •     Laurie Hatch, fine art photographer who has documented at length two of the world's great astronomical observatories.   
  •     Raul Jarquin,fine art photographer, founder of FolioLink, and photo book maker.   
  •     Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, fine art photographer and the founder of the Centro de la Imagen, a well-known venue in the field of photography in Mexico.   
  •     Terri Weifenbach, fine art photographer, author of multiple photography books and educator at Georgetown University.
The sale of all photographic work will be conducted directly by the artists (neither the gallery nor ISProductions will be charging commissions) with the exception of subscription sales that provide subscribers with five surprise table print objects and a signed limited edition book, all delivered during a one-year subscription term. The subscription model is managed by ISProductions.

Private Opening Reception May 10th from 6-9pm
To request an invitation to the private opening please send an email to: reception@foliolink.com.


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Alchemicals!!!!

Preview the works created for Alchemical Vessels 2014, make a list of your top choices, and visit http://www.smithcenter.org/benefit to learn how you can have a chance to own one of the pieces featured in this video!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Eyes On The Border

Opening Reception: Friday, May 16 from 7–9 pm
Show Dates: May 16 – June 1, 2014
Beyond landscapes, cultures, borders and boundaries lies the artistic language of the human race. Eyes On The Border art exhibit opens Friday, May 16 with a reception from 7-9pm at Del Ray Artisans gallery. In this collaborative exhibit, artist members from Del Ray Artisans (DRA) and Art Latin American Collective Project (ALACP) were invited to explore universal themes from the individual perspective of each artist. The show runs May 16 through June 1, 2014.

Eyes On The Border is both a celebration of Latin American art and culture and a look at how we are all influenced by places, borders and boundaries, political, or cultural, real or imagined. Latin American artists living and working in this area, and Del Ray Artisans with their own immigrant experience share their roots and translate their realities into a vision influenced by the virtual world and globalization.

The ALACP curator is David Camero; the DRA curators are Michele Reday Cook and Lesley Hall. A special display of masks from the collection of David Camero will accompany this exhibit.

The art exhibit is at Del Ray Artisans gallery in the Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22301. Gallery hours are Thursday, noon to 6pm; Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 pm; and Sunday, noon to 6 pm.  The gallery is free, open to the public and handicap accessible.
For more details, please visit www.TheDelRayArtisans.org or contact the curators: David Camero (mactrovattore@yahoo.es), Michele Reday Cook (President@TheDelRayArtisans.org), and Lesley Hall (Curating@TheDelRayArtisans.org).

Monday, April 21, 2014

Iran is having an art fair!

I kid thee not... The Most Islamic and Only True Islamic Republic (cough, cough) of Iran is having an art fair!

It runs from 26-29 June 2014 and they are actually paying journalists to come to Iran and write about it! 

According to the invitation that I received via email (and no... fuck you, brutal Iranian Theocracy that enslaves the beautiful Iranian people and have kidnapped its brilliant culture... but I'm not going), someone will pay "selected media professionals" (I suspect Jewish and/or Ahl as-Sunnah are encouraged NOT to apply) to following perks to come to the art fair and write about it:

• round-trip economy-class airfare / train fare;
• accommodation for the inclusive dates of stay; lodging and meal
• transportation to and from airport


The fair is in cooperation with the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance... cough, cough. They might have their own "art critics," who instead of writing a bad review of artists whom they don't like, might also arrest the gallerist and if the artist is not there and can't be arrested, then put the artist on a holy hit list, which would then at least give Molly Norris some neighbors, wherever on the planet she's hiding from those who have kidnapped Islam and continue to try to keep it in the 7th century.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Opportunity for Artists

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Strange Bedfellows

ORGANIZED BY WASHINGTON PROJECT FOR THE ARTS

CURATOR: Blair Murphy, Independent Curator, New York, NY

ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists regardless of media

ENTRY FEE: None

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: June 6, 2014 by 5:00pm

EXHIBITION DATES: October 17 - November 2, 2014

LOCATION: VisArts at Rockville, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville MD 20850

ONLINE SUBMISSION HERE

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
The notion of intimacy is simultaneously idealized and fraught. It describes human relationships, acting as a metric of the physical closeness, emotional bonds, or personal knowledge shared by two people. It can refer to the accumulation of knowledge about complex topics or--as in the phrase intimately aware--a familiarity with difficult truths. Though we strive for it, it can be difficult to achieve and painful to sustain. It provides us with unbelievable joy and immense disappointment.

Strange Bedfellows will explore intimacy in its various incarnations, approaching the topic from a variety of angles. What do we expect from our closest relationships and how have those expectations changed over time? How are knowledge and intimacy intertwined? How does technology impact the way we build connections and what we expect from relationships? How do we build deep knowledge of other times and places? How do our political and civic institutions cultivate closeness (or, alternately, distance)?

The call is open to all artists regardless of media used or geographic location. Artists do not need to be WPA members and there is no submission fee.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Frida, Frida, Frida

I also found a few prints from another printmaking class assignment at the U-Dub - this one (of course), my girl Frida. This plate from around 1980.

Frida Kahlo. Intaglio Etching. Edition of 10. 8 3/8 x 61/2 inches. Circa 1980 by F. Lennox Campello
"Frida Kahlo." Intaglio Etching. Edition of 10. 8 3/8 x 61/2 inches. Circa 1980 by F. Lennox Campello

Friday, April 18, 2014

Rodin After Rodin

Rodin After Rodin Intaglio Etching 1979 F. Lennox Campello
"Rodin After Rodin" Intaglio Etching 1979 F. Lennox Campello
Every time that I'm looking for something in my studio, I find something else that I didn't know I still had... Above is the proof to an art school assignment from printmaking class. That's the proof from an edition of 10 prints that I pulled in 1979. All were sold by 1981 at the Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

WPA News

WPA has some new faces as Jeremy Flick as their new Membership Director, and Mary Resing is the new Development Director.
A practicing artist, educator, and seasoned arts administrator, Jeremy has been an active member of the DC arts community since 2006. 

Mary comes to WPA from Active Cultures Theatre, where she served as artistic/executive director for the past seven years. Prior to running Active Cultures, Mary worked at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

WPA takes great pride in its devoted volunteers, interns, supporters, and our talented artist members. And as we continue to work in service to our mission, we're thrilled to welcome Jeremy and Mary.  

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Artist Talk with Michael Janis

When: Sunday, May 4, 2014, 2pm

Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Michael Janis, an architect-turned-glass-artist who has become one of the DMV's uberartists - he works with powdered glass, high-fire enamels, and decals to create dreamlike imagery, as he elaborates on his techniques, work, and career.




If you collect DMV artists and don't own a Janis, you have a big hole in your collection. He is represented locally by Maurine Littleton, the premier art glass gallery on the planet.

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium

Tickets: Free

Event Link: http://americanart.si.edu/calendar/event.cfm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D109063429

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Shame on Brandeis University

Below is a brilliant letter written to Brandeis president Fred Lawrence by historian and UM Professor Jeffrey Herf, who received his PhD from Brandeis, in regards to Lawrence’s decision to withdraw the offer of an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the courageous Somali-born American who is perhaps the world's leading advocate for women's rights in the Islamic world - and shame on CAIR, for demanding this action and enlisting the drive to kick her to the side:
Dear President Lawrence:

As a scholar whose 1981 PhD comes from Brandeis, I read the news that you rescinded the offer of an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali with particular disgust and anger. Your decision is an act of cowardice and appeasement to those 85 faculty members who signed their document of intolerance, and it has done deep and long-lasting damage to a university whose very existence is predicated on redressing the damage that discrimination within the academy had done to American Jews for so many years. Unless you can find some way to repair the damage you have done, I will not identify with or support Brandeis as long as you are its President.

Ms. Hirsi has had the courage to say unpopular things about the religion of Islam and the ideology of Islamism. In two of my prize-winning books, Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World (Yale University Press, 2009) and The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust (Harvard University Press, 2006), I have had occasion to address the role of Islam and Islamism in fanning the flames of Jew-hatred. In publishing work that documents the role of the Islamist interpretation of the Koran in promulgating the most absurd and idiotic ideas about the Jews, I have faced intolerance from scholars working on the Middle East. They have denounced well-founded scholarship as “Islamophobia” or “Zionist propaganda” and denied that the Koran or Islamism could possibly have anything to do with anti-Semitism. 

Like Tony Kushner and Desmond Tutu, to whom Brandeis has given honorary degrees, they have erroneously argued that Arab and Islamist antagonism to Israel is exclusively the result of the alleged sins of Israel. As far as I know, neither has had anything of substance to say about the role of Islam and Islamism in fanning the flames of hatred of the Jews and of Israel. These critics have said that those of us who point to the anti-Jewish elements of the Koran and the Jew-hatred of modern Islamists are guilty of intolerance towards Muslims. I have seen this up close for years now. The last place I expected to find groveling, embarrassing appeasement of this rubbish was from the president of Brandeis University.

No doubt, Hirsi’s comments about Islam offend many believers. The same was true of Sigmund Freud’s Future of an Illusion. Freud, you will recall, dismissed religion as the product of a universal infantile neurosis of humanity. Yet I doubt that if Freud were alive today, those 85 faculty members would have protested his honorary degree. On the contrary, his criticism of religion in general, especially of Judaism or Christianity, would be seen as simply an entry ticket into intellectual respectability.

Your decision reflects a now-widespread double standard of broad criticism of Judaism and Christianity combined with fear—yes it is fear—to write and speak with equal critical spirit about Islam. We historians of modern Germany and Nazism know that the Nazi interpretation of Christianity as well as the core texts of the Christian tradition itself, were used by the Nazis to justify their mass murders. In our own time, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brothers, Al Qaeda and the government of Iran, despite their differences, all draw on phrases from the Koran and in the texts of subsequent Islamic commentaries to find theological justification for antagonism to Jews, Zionism and the state of Israel.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been willing  to point this out, something Kushner and Tutu have never done. That the president of a university founded by Jews in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust should have rescinded an honor to a woman who has had the courage to attack the most important source of Jew-hatred in the world today is a disgraceful act and a failure of leadership. Instead of appeasing intolerance in your faculty, you should have taken this moment to reaffirm the values for which Brandeis has stood for so long and reconfirm the place of universities as models of tolerance and enlightenment in our troubled society. Once a proud alumnus, I will be forced to disavow my relationship with Brandeis in the future.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Herf
Professor, Department of History
University of Maryland
College Park

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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Free Ivan Fernandez Depestre

The brutal and racist Cuban dictatorship has once again shown its true colors.

Cuban political prisoner Ivan Fernandez Depestre has been brutally beaten and placed in a small, inhumane punishment cell (known as a "tapeada") in the infamous Guamajal Prison of Santa Clara.

Fernandez Depestre, held without charges or trial since July 30th of last year, has been designated by Amnesty International as a "prisoner of conscience."  


He had simply protested against the brutal beating of two fellow black inmates by the Cuban prison authorities.

Once again, I call upon the Black Congressional Caucus to stop treating the racist dictatorship of the Castro Brothers with kid gloves and step up pressure on the Cuban regime to release this brave man and all other prisoners of conscience!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Walk a mile

“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.”

 Jack Handey

Friday, April 11, 2014

Thursday, April 10, 2014

A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books

Since I have now been curating exhibitions focused on comic book Superheroes for the last four years for the Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach, Scope Art Fair in New York, Affordable Art Fair, also in NYC and last December at the Context Art Fair in Miami, I am looking forward to this exhibition.
All it takes is more than 130 works and some Wham! Bam! Kapow! For Strathmore to explore the world of comic books—interstellar, terrestrial, and beyond—in A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books, on view in the Mansion at Strathmore from Saturday, April 12 through Sunday, June 8, 2014. 

Ever since Superman kicked off the superhero comic genre in 1938, the medium has influenced fine and performing arts as well as pop culture. A Shared Universe charts the rise of comic book culture, the evolution of the art form and its influence on the visual art medium, and peers into the future. The show features a collection of original paintings, graphite and ink-based drawings, prints, comic book covers from the Library of Congress, web-based comics and works by undergraduate Sequential Art students who are shaping the genre in new and imaginative ways. 

A free Opening Reception will be held Thursday, April 24 from 7-9 p.m. For more information, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Artists Inspired by Comic Book Culture
The first floor of the Mansion illustrates how comic books have influenced other visual artists who incorporate compositional attributes, stylization or heroic themes into their works. JD Deardourff creates abstracted comic book images by silk screening. Compositionally and in their coloring his works resemble comic books, though the pieces themselves lack words or narrative structure, leaving the viewer to prescribe their own story. Mark Newport knits colorful, multi-patterned superhero “uniforms,” complete with names, bios and narratives for the masked crusaders who would wear his clothing. In addition to his outfits, the exhibition features a film of Newport in the process of creating a piece. Inspired by COSPLAY and identity roles, DMV favorite Andrew Wodzianski projects a superhero persona onto everyday people in his Fanboy series of large oil paintings—a man wearing a Ninja Turtles mask or emblazoned with the signature Cobra logo from G.I. Joe—hinting that everyone has a hidden persona of some type.

Comic Book Culture: Past, Present, Future
The second floor of the Mansion is dedicated to ever-expanding comic book culture. Viewers are primed for their experience in the Reading Room, with more than 300 comic books to thumb through that provide a survey of different artistic and narrative styles. The reading Room is furnished by local retailer Beyond Comics, which is opening a pop-up shop in the exhibition beginning Thursday, April 24. The exhibition next features artists Bob McLeod and Joe Rubenstein, both famous inkers and members of comic’s old vanguard, having worked with the industry’s most recognized and celebrated publishers. On loan from Geppi’s Entertainment Museum in Baltimore, five works by the late Warren Kremer provide examples of a different rounded brush style of illustration that defined the appearance of characters from Richie Rich to Casper the Friendly Ghost—originals of Kremer’s character “Stumbo the Giant” will be on view in A Shared Universe.

Meanwhile, Kate Beaton and Phil and Kaja Foglio represent the evolving Web-based comic universe. Prints from Beaton’s Hark! A Vagrant series and originals from the Foglio’s Girl Genius comic represent the changing, extended narrative that Web-based comics enjoy, as well as the trendy “steam punk” or “gaslamp fantasy” artistic style popular in this medium. Gene Luen Yang, author of the critically-acclaimed American Born Chinese graphic novel, represents this literary niche born from comic book art. Luen Yang’s was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. Graphic artist and New Illustration Chair of California College of the Arts Owen Smith bridges the divide between illustration and narration with his cover images for The New Yorker, as well as Sports IllustratedTime, and Rolling Stone. Anthony Fisher, Dean of the School of Communication Arts and Chair of the Sequential Arts Program at Savannah College of Art and Design, melds comic strip and comic book art with an ink and colored pencil work that is humorous and ironic.

Smith and Fisher, both artists, administrators and educators, segue into a portion of A Shared Universe dedicated to the enterprising and imaginative young minds that will forge the future of comic books. Works by 26 students from Sequential Art degree programs will forecast where comic books might be heading, with the proliferation of Web-based comics, online marketplaces for comics, and independent presses allowing infinitely more freedom for these young artists. Four educational institutions are represented: California College of the Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design, the Center for Cartoon Studies, and The Kubert School.

Education Programming
Strathmore will enhance the visitor experience of A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books with public education programs. Strathmore brings together a panel of experts for Beyond Text and Line: A Discussion on the Art of Comic Books on Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 2 p.m. Moderated by Greg McElhatton, former Executive Director of the Small Press Expo (SPX,) a founding freelancer for Wizard, and a current reviewer on iComics.com. The discussion includes Emily Gillis of Wayward Studios; JD Deardourff, a local comic-inspired artist; Rafer Roberts of Plastic Farm Press; and Monica Gallagher of EatYourLipstick.com. Admission is $5.

On Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 4 p.m., Strathmore presents Stripped, a feature film documentary illustrating the lives of the world’s best cartoonists. Admission to the screening is $10.

On Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 10:15 a.m., a Children’s Talk & Tour invites children to explore the exhibition and exercise their creativity through a hands-on arts activity led by professional comic illustrator Mark Mariano. At the 1 p.m. Art Talk & Tour, adults learn about the artwork in the exhibition from curator Harriet Lesser. Both events are free. Reservations are required for the Children’s Talk & Tour and can be made online or by calling (301) 581-5100.

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Sperm Man

Remember that scene in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask where the sperms are lined up and ready to "shoot" out?

Sperm Man. Charcoal and Conte on 300 weight paper. 10x8 inches. 2010 F. Lennox Campello
Sperm Man. Charcoal and Conte on 300 weight paper. 10x8 inches. 2010 F. Lennox Campello