Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Errors, omissions, etc.

Someone formerly from the Washington Projects for the Arts just pointed out a big error in the CP article by Kriston Capps. In the article Capps compares my 100 Washington Artists book to WPA efforts to expose DC area artists; he writes:

"And the gains may be limited for the artists, whose peers are many, and who compete for a vanishingly small slice of the pie. Half of Campello’s selections appear in the WPA’s Artfile, a browsable archive where member artists upload artists’ statements and images—a lot like what Campello is offering. Until recently, the WPA Artfile was published in print: a guide, not a game-changer."
This is completely incorrect and inaccurate.

The WPA Artfile has never been published in print.

What was published in print in the past was a separate WPA project which had nothing to do with the Artfile, and it was done at a very reasonable cost to the artists ($80 per artist as I recall) and open to anyone who submitted their inclusion fee and WPA membership fee. There are hundreds of artists in these WPA guidebooks, and each artist had one page with contact information and one image.

Also, as far as I know that WPA guidebook was never offered for sale in bookstores or Amazon, etc. as my book will be. And in my book none of the artists pay a cent to be in it.

Thus the comparison (erroneous to start with) is like comparing apples and mangoes.

Kiddie art

...child's art is often displayed prominently on the family fridge, but one English boy has far surpassed that standard, recently exhibiting and selling his collection of paintings for more than $200,000.
Photo: Painting Prodigy: Kid's Art Sells for Over $200,000: People from as Far Away as South Africa and Arizona Traveled to U.K to Buy Seven Year Old's Paintings
Seven-year-old Kieron Williamson, known in the British media as "Mini Monet," recently exhibited and sold his collection of paintings for more than $200,000.
(picturecraftartgallery.com)

Seven-year-old Kieron Williamson of Norfolk, U.K., known in the British media as "Mini Monet," has impressionist style and impressive impact: All 33 works in his latest collection sold in 27 minutes, earning $236,850.
Read it and weep here.