Crimes of the Art

Crimes of the Art is a weekly survey of artless criminals’ cultural misdeeds. Crimes are rated on a highly subjective scale from one “Scream” emoji — the equivalent of a vandal tagging the exterior of a local history museum in a remote part of the US — to five “Scream” emojis — the equivalent of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist.

 Details here.

Gateway Arts District's Spring Open Studios

It happens once a year - Gateway Arts District's Spring Open Studios!

Dozens of artists throughout Mt. Rainier, Brentwood and Hyattsville open their spaces.

Heading to Texas this Fall

We're heading to Texas this Fall! Just been accepted to the Texas Contemporary Art Fair!

Call for Artists: The Writing on the Wall

Submission Deadline: Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Painting Center is pleased to announce the exhibition, The Writing on the Wall, running from June 23 through July 18, 2015. Highly publicized by the gallery, and with both a print and digitally archived catalog and an essay written by the artist  Karen Schiff, this exhibition will feature a diverse group of artists who are exploring text-based art. Visual art that incorporates writing engages the viewer on multiple fronts, with letters, numerals or scribbles that bridge the divide between mark making and narrative meaning. Historical examples like Egyptian hieroglyphs or Chinese calligraphy have often served more than a single purpose, including decorative, mundane and the profoundly ritual. From Cy Twombly and Jasper Johns to On Kawara and Jenny Holzer, exceptional artists have long grappled with the signification of words and numbers, which have proven fertile ground in a broadening range of contemporary art. In Mira Schor’s representations of language, Michael Scoggins’ ‘assignments’, the documentary artscapes of Loren Munk as well as graphic novels, ‘zines and the explosion of street art that started back in the day of autographical graffiti tags, we sense the synergy that occurs when text is more than just a caption to the image. We invite representational and abstract artists working in a variety of media to submit work that includes text, numerals or any form of writing. This exhibition will be juried by Susan Post, Colleen Randall and Patricia Spergel on behalf of The Painitng Center Membership.  

They invite representational and abstract artists working in a variety of media to submit work that includes text, numerals or any form of writing.

Deadline: May 5, 2015

Notification Date: May 15, 2015
Exhibiton Dates: June 23- July 18, 2015

To access submission information for The Writing on the Wall, see attached link: http://www.thepaintingcenter.org/juried-exhibition-writing-wall

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this rip off "artist" who rips off artists...

 From: Jena Gilbert <jenagilbert@outlook.com>

To Whom It May Concern:
Could you please confirm i can place an order with you for few artworks, i am located in Northern Ireland and i know the difficulties encountered shipping internationally. I have a reliable courier company am registered with, they pick up and deliver anywhere in the world, they handle pick up and delivery arrangement so shipment shouldn't be an issue. I can email the artwork as i don't place order on websites and payment will be completed in full once you confirm my purchase order with a quotation.
Kindly let me know when you are in office and ready to take my artwork purchase order.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs Gilbert

Hinckley Pottery Holds 24th Annual Student Show May 3rd

​Hinckley Pottery, which has been a vibrant center for pottery-making in the Washington area for more than 40 years, will be holding its 24th Annual Student Show at its studio in Adams Morgan on Sunday, May 3rd, 2015.

 

​Twenty-six experienced students will display a year’s worth of artistry for sale to the public. The potters work in stoneware and porcelain and incorporate more than 30 different glazes available at the studio ranging from vibrant blues and greens to ochre and rust earth tones.

 

The show will feature platters, bowls, mugs, vases, teapots, and other vessels, and all of the pottery is meant to be used and enjoyed. Visitors are invited to come and meet the potters, enjoy delicious food, and find one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts for housewarmings, Mother’s Day, graduations, weddings, and everyday use.

 

This is the studio’s only group show of the year and emphasizes the variety of surface design and silhouette that each potter brings to the clay. “The student show is a fun social occasion and a great opportunity for the public to see a wide array of great pots at very reasonable prices. As a participant I'm always impressed by the quality and variety of the work on display" says Hinckley Pottery Student Peter Rivenberg.

 

During the show, visitors can get information about classes at Hinckley Pottery. The studio offers classes every day of the week for students of all levels to learn and practice wheel-thrown pottery.

 

 ​Student and show participant, Emma Dumain remarks, “The student show is a once-a-year chance to see what over two-dozen diverse potters can produce out of the same clay, with the same glazes, under the same instructors. All of us at Hinckley Pottery love seeing what our colleagues have been working on over the past 12 months, and we love the opportunity to show the public what Jill Hinckley students are all about.”

 

​What: ​​Hinckley Pottery Student Show

​Date: ​​Sunday, May 3rd, 2015

​Location: ​1707 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC

​Time: ​​12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Facebook:​https://www.facebook.com/hinckleypottery​

Obamas over the years

"Young Obama" (Detail)
Charcoal, circa 2008
In a private collection in North Carolina

"President Obama as The Batman
Charcoal, circa 2014 (10x10 inches framed)
In a private collection in Washington, DC

"Obama as Atlas"
Charcoal, circa 2006-2014 Framed to 20x16 inches (Updated Yearly)

"Eyes of Obama"
Charcoal, circa 2014 (Framed to 5x7 inches)
In a private collection in Miami

"President Obama Walking to His Right"
Charcoal, circa 2014 (10x20 inches framed)

"President Obama Looking to his right"
Charcoal, circa 2014 (Framed to 10x10 inches)

"President Obama Walking to the Left" (Detail)
Charcoal, circa 2014 (10x20 inches framed)

"President Obama Walking to the Left"
Charcoal, circa 2014 (10x20 inches framed)

The immense shame at the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland has cancelled a screening of the movie American Sniper in response to "complaints by Muslim students."

"The Muslim Students Association at the University of Maryland started a petition requesting that the school pull the screening of American Sniper. In the petition, the group stated that the film “perpetuates the spread of Islamaphobia and is offensive to many Muslims around the world for good reason.” 

Ironically enough, the group also requested that students “exercise their freedom of speech” by signing the petition to remove the film from campus." - Amy Lutz

In response to the petition (which apparently gathered 318 signatures), the screening was cancelled, or (as described by the University's Student Entertainment Events), "postponed... after meeting with concerned student organizations. SEE is choosing to explore the proactive measures of working with others during the coming months to possibly create an event where students can engage in constructive and moderated dialogues about the controversial topics proposed in the film."

This, no matter from which angle it is examined, is nothing but brutal art censorship, and not only does the Muslim Students Association at the University of Maryland now joins the notorious club of North Korea, Cuba, China, etc. in using suppression techniques in shutting down something that they oppose (for whatever reason), but more concerning, it shows an absolute lack of understanding and immense intellectual dishonesty by these Muslim Terps for the common American values of freedom of speech, inclusion, discussion and constructive engagement, rather than brutal suppression.

The issues that Muslim Students Association at the University of Maryland has with American Sniper may be valid to some of its members and certainly at least 318 people on the Maryland campus, but their demand is not only disturbing and very scary, but also a complete failure at understanding how they could have pursued an acceptable course of action to express their views on the film without the brutal boot of censorship.

Muslim Terps could have held a protest outside the film screenings, they could have authored an opinion piece in the school's paper, they could have held discussions on the issue, etc. These are all constructive and acceptable means to express a difference of opinion about a film, a work of art, or anything else that draws out more than one pro/con opinion.

But the real shame here, the disturbing and reprehensible side to this story, is how the University appears to have folded in this case, rather than using this issue as a constructive teaching event to show all 318 censors, how differences of opinion are handled in free speech societies.

Shame on you Maryland.

What can we do? Express your opinion respectfully to:

Dr. Wallace D. Loh
President
University of Maryland
1101 Main Administration Building
College Park, MD 20742-6105
Phone: 301.405.5803
Email the President: president@umd.edu