Mid Atlantic Art News

McLean, Va.: How can the Weekend section give out a little more info on gallery shows, etc.? It seems like a lot of space is used to list page after page of museum shows (a lot of which are static and never change) on every issue ...

How about a once a month museum listing like you do now, and the other three weeks only list those museum shows that are new or opening (like you do with galleries).

That would free up additional space to discuss (maybe mini reviews) more art gallery shows ...

Bottom line is that the static museum listing, issue after issue ... seems a little "dusty" and that whole part of Weekend may need to re "re-freshed" -- We're starving for more art reviews out here ...

Aficionado de Arte

Curt Fields: More art reviews would be nice. We also hear from people who want more on Classical music, theater events, etc. And we'd love to write more on all those topics. Unfortunately the amount of space we have is not unlimited. It's a tricky juggling act.

Anthony A. Lewis is the current president of Verizon Washington, D.C.

He succeeded Marie C. Johns, who is now running for mayor of DC (AND doing "meet and greets" at local white-owned art galleries).

Here are a few organizations that Tony Lewis is part of:

- he is a member of the DC Chamber of Commerce's Governing Board,

- he is a member of the board of directors of the Greater Washington Board of Trade,

- he is a member of the Washington Performing Arts Society,

- he is a member of the Federal City Council,

- and he is a member of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington

Now here is a black man who maybe ought to be tapped to be on the Hirshhorn's Board of Trustees or be groomed to become a purchasing friend who might buy a Lois Mailou Jones and give it to the Hirshhorn.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden generally accepts gifts of art only if it intends to accession them into its collections. The museum must, of necessity, be very selective to ensure that objects acquired are appropriate to the collections and can be properly cared for and displayed.

So maybe Tony Lewis will drop into the local DC white-owned gallery and maybe someone will convince him to buy up a Renee Stout and give it to the Hirshhorn.

McLean, Va.: How can the Weekend section give out a little more info on gallery shows, etc.? It seems like a lot of space is used to list page after page of museum shows (a lot of which are static and never change) on every issue ...

How about a once a month museum listing like you do now, and the other three weeks only list those museum shows that are new or opening (like you do with galleries).

That would free up additional space to discuss (maybe mini reviews) more art gallery shows ...

Bottom line is that the static museum listing, issue after issue ... seems a little "dusty" and that whole part of Weekend may need to re "re-freshed" -- We're starving for more art reviews out here ...

Aficionado de Arte

Curt Fields: More art reviews would be nice. We also hear from people who want more on Classical music, theater events, etc. And we'd love to write more on all those topics. Unfortunately the amount of space we have is not unlimited. It's a tricky juggling act.

"Last year, the city pledged $20 million to support a major expansion at Arena Stage. This year's budget would raise the contribution from DC taxpayers even further, to $25 million, with $10 million coming in 2007. Overall, the budget would devote more to the Corcoran and Arena Stage in 2007 than to all other arts programs combined."

"I just want to celebrate life by saying to hell with death. What better way of saying that than by taking the ultimate symbol of death and covering it in the ultimate symbol of luxury, desire and decadence?

The only part of the original skull that will remain will be the teeth. You need that grotesque element for it to work as a piece of art. God is in the details and all that.

I've always adhered to the principle that the simplest ideas are the best, and this will be the ultimate two fingers up to death. I want people to see it and be astounded. I want them to gasp."

"it's INFURIATING thru the whole article they keep referring to some museum in North Carolina where Carter's work will be featured in group show... after searching on the curator's name you can dig up The Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum. Would it kill them to mention the name of the museum? would this kind of writing be tolerated for a political story or a sports story? That town hall meeting that happened somewhere in North Carolina? That game that was played somewhere in the south? I dont think so..."

Washington, D.C.: While I understand that there is concern for cultivating the "new" reader (i.e., the under-35 demographic) it seems the Weekend section believes that the cult of celebrity is what is of chief concern.

Why else has the erudite O'Sullivan been assigned to waste his talents interviewing Hollywood celebrities when the Metro area under-35 crowd really HUNGERS to read more in-depth analysis of why the young artist Laurel Nakadate creates artwork that is "almost sickening in its soul-deadness" yet this very "soul-deadness" has "undeniable power" WHY IS THAT this reader wants to know?

This 32-year-old reader finds the celebrity interview sickening in its soul-deadness. It is noteworthy, that today's thought provoking piece on artwork featured in a local commercial gallery occurs when O'Sullivan has not split his focus with Hollywood.

I want more of The Weekend section HERE, not in Hollywood.

Michael O'Sullivan: I think there's a question buried in there somewhere, and I'll try to address it, along with another point only implicitly raised by my erudite questioner. Laurel Nakadate's work is powerful for exactly the paradox you've put your finger on -- not despite, but because of its sickening soul-deadness. There's a kind of power in art that makes us angry, or scared, or even nauseated. Not everyone may like that feeling. I kind of welcome it. I think this would have been clearer if I had written more extensively about Nakadate's work, instead of including her with four other artists showing in three different galleries housed under the same roof. I wanted to get them all in though, even if only briefly, since they're all worthwhile shows in my opinion. Other questioners (and perhaps even this one) in previous chats have wanted more coverage of local art. That's what I'm trying to do, with occasional "round-ups" of multiple shows like this, which are, of necessity, less in-depth than if I had devoted all my attention to a single artist.

Hi Lenny,

I was just now going to post to you about the scam.

I, too received email from the same person (who calls himself Mclaren Welis from the UK) beginning in April (and I have art on the MD State Arts Council website).

I don't know if I'm the person that is refered to in your posting today. I think not since I didn't recognize the postmark, only that the stamps were from Benin (a country next to Nigeria).

I was skeptical as well from the first contact in April, but via email, he said the same thing, interested in purchasing several of my artworks. I'm so glad you've posted the warning.

The person who manages the MD State Art Council's website is aware of this, and posted a warning to artists who are on the registry. (Well, that was before I got the check yesterday -- also for an additional $3000, which I suspected was phony).

I talked to the manager at the bank, and he called the bank that the check was written on, and of course, its no good. The manager said they would have deposited it in my account, not knowing it was phony, made the funds available to me. And, a week later, when they would have learned that it was a bad check, would have debited my account.

I'm sure the person "Mclaren" would have contacted me and asked me to send him the extra $3000, or an amount just under, saying something like, he could make it profitable to me... or for my troubles, keep an extra $500 or whatever.

The bank manager said this past month another customer came in w/a similar check. That person was contacted by email from someone supposedly interested in renting an apartment, and received a check for thousand/s more than the agreed amount.

The police advise me to not respond to any email from this Mclaren Welis and not to return the check. I just got another email from Mclaren today asking for a response.

Thank you again for posting to your blog about this creep.

A DC area artist and I were both contacted by a Mclaren Welis with a yahoo account -- supposedly from 36 Greenfield Wrexham UK LL11 2NR (Wales) to buy our artwork -- that he discovered on the Maryland State Arts Council website.

I thought it was legitimate because I googled the address and found an artist who lives nextdoor at 34 Greenfield, a glass artist by the name of Chris Bird-Jones who is affiliated with the Arts Council of Wales... so my brain made the connection that Chris Bird-Jones had introduced Mclaren Welis to arts council databases and Mclaren was out to buy directly from artists.

The other DC artist received a check today that is for exactly $3000 more than the cost of her artwork and the shipping fees. The check came in an envelope with a very weak cancellation mark from Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

These scams have come to be associated in the public mind with Nigeria due to the massive proliferation of such confidence tricks from that country since the mid-eighties, although they are often also carried out in other African nations, including Togo, Cte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Africa, and increasingly from European cities with large West African populations, notably London, Amsterdam and Madrid, and lately also Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Canada.

So I finally emailed Chris Bird-Jones who informed me that there is no 36 Greenfield.

Chris Bird-Jones, whose work is displayed on the Arts Council of Wales website was recently a victim of a similar scam where a person with the name Lineaux Swave wanted to buy Bird-Jones' artwork... a fradulent check (aka Akwukwo, chekere, pepper in Nigeria) was sent to Bird-Jones and the matter is now in the hands of the police and the bank.

We fall mugu (To be fooled, to become victim of advance fee fraud); Supposedly a check is in the mail to me

This must be going all round the Maryland State Arts Council website; it's called an Advance Fee Fraud or a 419 scheme.

From: Luis Mackarel
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 5:53 PM
To: lennycampello@hotmail.com
Subject: Paintings

Hello,
I came across your paintings from maryland state council website and i will appreciate it if you can let me know if the works displayed on the website is still
available and prices of eachwork.
Regards,
Luis

Potomac, Md.: Can we get more art reviews?

"On Exhibit" usually has one large or two joined reviews, but there are usually multiple movie and multiple theatre reviews ...

So can we have more art reviews in Weekend?

Style section now only does about 24 "Galleries" column a year ... so we're really starving for something to read about our local galleries!

Please ...

Joyce Jones: Michael O'Sullivan (who will most likely join me on this answer) does an exceptional job of covering a very large art scene. Since he began covering art for the section, Weekend has done more features on galleries than ever before. But speaking as the person who has to try to come up with a representative mix of all the entertainment options out there, I have to say that we try to divvy our space based on the popularity (and thus reader interest) in different topics. I listen to reader feedback, like what you're giving me now. And I also look at research into how people in this area spend their leisure time. Movies are a big draw and our coverage reflects that. We try to give both theater/dance and art exhibits a relatively equal shake though we structure the coverage differently. The mini art reviews idea is a good one, but our space constraints make it difficult to add a lengthy feature like that. Though week to week our section varies a little in size, over the course of a year it averages to a set amount of non-ad space each week. That's all we have to work with; we can't just go as big as we want. If that were the case, we would be twice as big each week.

Michael O'Sullivan: I know it can be frustrating. I have a list on my computer of somewhere between 100 and 200 art spaces (commercial galleries, nonprofits, alternative exhibition spaces, universities, embassies). That's not even counting the museums. And don't get me started on Baltimore, which has a very lively art scene, and whose boundaries with the DC art community are very porous. We try to distribute our coverage fairly, but given a limited amount of space--and the fact that I am, despite rumors, merely human--it's going to be impossible to make everyone happy.

Other glass works, such as those by 31-year-old newcomer Carmen Lozar, a teacher at Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University, delightfully intrigue and puzzle.

An artist with impeccable credentials -- study at Alfred University, Corning Museum of Glass and the Pilchuck Glass School -- Miss Lozar presents "Tenuous," three tiny glass sculptures named "rabbit," "lizard" and "baby with umbilical cord."

She writes that many of her charming pieces emerge from her dreams. "Sister in Butterflies," an intricate, four-piece construction of flameworked glass and mixed media, comes apart to reveal the engraved words, "I dreamt my sister has beautiful long eyebrows. I dreamt she fought off butterflies while laying beneath a dogwood tree, thinking they were threatening when really they were just searching for her smile."

Japanese artist Hokusai probably never imagined that his work would inspire tentacle porn. The Edo-period great master, who coined the term “manga,” created wood-block printings and drawings that are considered the forbearers of all things anime, from Sailor Moon to hentai and everything in between. In “Capricious Comics,” American cartoonist Colleen Doran will explain the connections between manga and anime, and how both relate to American comics, in conjunction with the current exhibit of Hokusai’s work. Though Doran’s résumé includes Captain America, Wonder Woman, and fantasy series A Distant Soil, she doesn’t enjoy the accolades in America that Japan showers on contemporary manga artists—in Japan, everyone reads comics, not just maturity-delayed men. In addition to a discussion of the Hokusai exhibit, Doran offers a showcase of her own work at 1 p.m. (see City List for other dates) at the Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Free. (202) 633-4880.

"It's addictive to make the perfect vessel," Tate admits. "The trick is to overcome that." Janis calls this hard-to-resist attraction "the quest for the perfect bubble," and he, too, confesses he is not immune. But, like a growing number of artists, Tate and Janis subscribe to the motto their glass school hammers home to students: "Learn your craft, then move beyond it."

In response to Rachel Beckman’s City Desk Blog, Pinder’s Ships Have Sailed (4.25), I would like to clarify and address some key points not raised in Ms. Beckman’s piece that provide a full perspective on the story.

While it is unfortunate that Mr. Pinder’s work was de-installed by his curator (not "pulled off the wall") from the CORE lobby gallery prior to May 12, his work was installed on March 12, and remained on view for a full six weeks. This point was not only unreported in the article, but six weeks is an average if not slightly longer typical exhibition time in similar alternative spaces and true 'art gallery' spaces around town.

Perhaps even more unfortunate is that Mr. Pinder's work didn't receive this type of attention during its run so that more viewers could have enjoyed it. We welcomed the opportunity to share his work with our colleagues and clients, though did not commission the work or ask him to create work specifically for our space, as the article implies. In actuality, Mr. Pinder's curator was the one that approached CORE about installing Pinder's work in our space, and the ‘hundreds’ of announcement cards that were sent out included the CORE logo, not Mr. Pinder’s gallery was also responsible for sending out announcement cards, not the gallery, as reported. We wrote the press release, we included information on Mr. Pinder’s exhibition in our electronic newsletter and linked to him on our web site. Despite these efforts, CORE was never contacted by interested visitors, writers, critic or members of the media to view the show over the course of six weeks.

Though not a professional 'art gallery', the CORE lobby exhibition space has seen at least three other exhibitions by regional artists and is also used to display the firm's own art collection, and as business warrants, displays of the firm's professional architecture and design project boards. In showcasing the work of regional artists, our goal is not to draw hundreds of visitors, nor to engage in artwork commerce, but to enhance our space and engage colleagues and clients with examples of contemporary art, which we accomplished with this most recent exhibition and will do so again in the future.

Despite these non 'art gallery' characteristics of our space, Mr. Pinder saw some advantage to having his work on view at CORE, and could have made better use of the opportunity by reaching out to the press during the actual run of the exhibition which could have resulted in far better exposure and visibility for both he and his gallery. Finally, if content of the exhibition were in ANY way related to a need to remove the work prior to the anticipated closing date, it would have involved a meeting in person with Mr. Pinder to discuss the issues and a decision would have been made as to proceed or not to proceed with the exhibition. Content was not the issue, but we hope that these discussions bring Mr. Pinder the attention he deserves in anticipation of his first solo exhibition at G Fine Art in the fall.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Motruk Loy
Director of Marketing

ps thanks for the web site hits