More balls on the court

Alexandra opines on the whole Jacob Lawrence, race and art issue.

Read it here.

Can Bailey and Capps be next?

Update: Capps here and he makes a good point.

For Emerging Artists

Deadline: October 1, 2007

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists "strives to provide the essential support services and programs emerging artists need to build sustainable careers." They're offering a career development and Exhibition Program for emerging artists

Their free two-year Career Development Program offers a select group of highly talented artists:

• Two-year fellowship period and lifelong alumni affiliation
• Exhibitions in regional, national, and international venues
• Professional development seminars
• Opportunities to meet patrons, gallerists, and curators
• Assistance with the marketing and sale of artwork
• Individual career counseling sessions
• One-on-one sessions with mentors, chosen from the Board of Artistic Advisors
• Opportunities to gain career experience while giving back to the community
• Alumni exhibition series
• Alumni goal-setting group
• Alumni Travel Grant Program
• Monthly newsletter updating fellows and alumni on regional, national and
international opportunities for artists.

Eligibility requirements include:

- Applicants cannot be in school.
- Applicants must live within 100 miles of The Center (Artists in Baltimore, Harrisburg, and the five boroughs of New York City are eligible; Washington, DC artists are not).
- Applicants cannot have a contractual agreement with a commercial gallery.
- Applicants cannot have had a solo show in a commercial gallery.

For more information and an application, log on to www.cfeva.org or call 215-546-7775 x 12 or email Amie Postic at amie@cfeva.org.

Art Bucks

Cultural organizations and their audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region apparently spend $1.3 billion annually.

This is according to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s report released today: Arts, Culture, & Economic Prosperity in Greater Philadelphia.

"The report documents 40,000 jobs generated by the economic activity of the cultural sector and $158 million in taxes returned to state and local communities."

Read the report here (scroll to bottom).

This evening at Transformer

Today, Thursday, September 27, from 6:30 - 8pm, DC's Transformer has Holly Bass in "Pay Purview."

Pay Purview is an ongoing multidisciplinary work combining live performance with original recorded music and video. Pay Purview is an exploration of the role of women in commercial hip hop music and videos.

In the live performance for Transformer, Holly Bass wears a "booty ball" costume piece made of playground balls to create an exaggerated, oversized, Hottentot-style derriere. Presented in Transformer's storefront window space, the audience, participating from the sidewalk outside the gallery, is asked to pay a dime for each viewing. A curtain opens for a short time and the performer dances to a selection of songs ranging from Rodgers & Hart's "Ten Cents a Dance" to Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back." The dance scenes range from mock burlesque to video-ho-booty-shaking to ethnographic display depending on the selected tune and the performer's impulse.

Details here.

Back to me

The Seattle PI's sharp art critic Regina Hackett takes me to task for my description of Jacob Lawrence a few days ago while I was in the process of delivering an irate and foul-mouthed rebuke on how Lawrence was labeled. Read her post here.

And in retrospect, that description obvioulsy delivered more than intended, which wasn't a character attack on Lawrence, but simply my recollections, observations and opinions from the perspective of a young art student about one of his teachers. All in a handful of words selected at the speed of light to be complimentary, or so I thought!

The comments about Lawrence as a teacher - especially coming from me, and let me tell you I was a beauty of an asshole student: demanding, combative, loud-mouthed, challenging, feh! - would essentially be how (unfortunately) I would describe practically any of my art professors at the time and somehow still translating to 2007 - from the eyes and memories of a juvenile art student - not just to Lawrence but probably could apply also to Alden Mason, Frances Calentano, Everett DuPen (who was very gentle) and others from that lively period at the UW.

Perhaps I should have used the adjective "difficult" (in fact I have corrected my post to say just that). I did say that he was also a "brilliant teacher" to others, as a way - I thought - of showing that I was relating my own biased experience and perspective as a student about a faculty member.

Are there any art students out there who don't think that some of your prefessors are assholes difficult?

All it takes is a B minus and you're doomed, partner!

I also described him as a good drinking buddy - that's a good thing - I think.

I also described him as an opinionated bastard - That was meant as a compliment - I certainly consider myself an opinionated bastard, and Lawrence's opinions, especially when translated to canvas or paper, were what made his work earn him the title of a great artist.

And Hackett is correct: he was also a very generous person; especially with his time and opinions, and even with his artwork (which as I recall used to drive his art dealer crazy).

And a great artist.

PS - Here is an earlier 2007 post on Lawrence where I wrote: "He is/was of one of the most influential and courageous American artists who's never been given a show at the National Gallery of Art."

And here in 2004 I also question why the NGA has ignored Lawrence for so long.

Big changes

I hear that there are big changes coming to the Washington Post. Stay tuned.