Field near Battledykes

"Field near Battledykes, Forfar, Angus, Scotland"
Pen and Ink Wash. 1992. 28x40 inches
In a private collection in Scotland

Scotland Independence Vote

Scottish voters (starting at the age of 16) are voting today in an attempt to once again secede from the 307 year-old union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A union that was started by a Scottish king, not an English king.

I love Scotland - I lived there from 1989-1992 and was seduced by one of the most beautiful nations on the planet and some of the hardest working, smart, people on the same planet... when you are in Scotland, and walk around the glens, and see the sun poke a hole in the clouds and shine on this planet's greenest pastures, one understands why people believe in magic. And thus my my heart says yes to independence, but the Scottish National Party -- like most politicians on the planet - are a bunch of crooks with half lies, empty promises and jingoistic fervor that history teaches us leads to no good end! What they have promised the Scots, if they vote yes, has been built mostly on deceit and promises of a super nanny state funded by disputed oil resources in the North Sea.

In spite of that, I would think that I would let my heart rule and I would vote yes to secede and take my own chances as an independent nation of very tough, brilliant people... same for the Catalans, who are in a similar situation in Scotland's ancestral home in Spain...

Here's what I'm afraid of -- if they secede...

1. The English will force them off the pound - as they should! Why would Scotland vote to leave, but keep the old currency?

2. They will also boycott any attempt by Scotland to join the European union - Even if they don't, it will take years for the Scots to join the EU.

3. They will actively work to isolate Scotland and teach those Celts a lesson!

4. Scotland is essentially a rural country with a very strong sense of identity, but lacks an industrial infrastructure - because the English have designed it that way for centuries; even the shipbuilding in Scotland is dependent on English imports.

5. The international courts will rule against Scotland for the oil wells outside of the CTML 12 mile limit - this is where future funding for the SNP nanny state is supposed to come from...

6. Scotland will depend on imports to form an industrial base.

7. The English will work to make that difficult.

8. A desperate Scotland will present a BRILLIANT opportunity for China (or Putin) to step in and "help the Scots."

Result? English arrogance and ethnic insolence (they consider Scots as WOGS) - will push the Scots into the arms of the old Reds and the new Reds; Mark my words... So I hope the Scots vote no. And of course... "IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH ---- IT'S CRAP!"

Lida Moser 1920-2014

I am sad to report that legendary American photographer Lida Moser, who for years lived in retirement in nearby Rockville, Maryland, passed away today around 2:30PM.

This grand photographer was not only one of the most respected American photographers of the 20th century - respected by fellow photographers, curators and all human beings -- but also a pioneer in the field of photojournalism. Her photography has been in the middle of a revival and rediscovery of vintage photojournalism, and has sold in the five figures at Christie's auctions and continues to be collected by both museums and private collectors worldwide. In a career spanning over 60 years, Moser has produced a body of works consisting of thousands of photographs and photographic assemblages that defy categorization and genre or label assignment.

Additionally, Canadian television a few years ago finished filming a documentary about her life; the second in the last few years, and Moser’s work has been for years in the collection of many museums worldwide. A couple of the years ago, the Smithsonian Institution purchased over 200 photos by Moser of her beloved New York.

She was once called the "grandmother of American street photography" by an art critic, which prompted a quick rebuttal by Moser, who called the writer's editor and told him that she wasn't the "fucking grandmother of anything or anyone, and would he [the writer] ever describe Ansel Adams or any other male photographer as the 'grandfather' of any style."

Tough New Yorker.

I once sold one of her rare figure studies to a big famous photography collector from the West Coast (who collects mostly nude photography). There were four or five prints of the image, taken and printed around 1961, but one had all the markings and touch-up evidence of the actual photo that had been used by the magazine, and thus I sent him that one.

He called me to complain that although he loved Moser's work, that he wasn't too happy with the retouching, and could I ask Lida for one of the untouched photos.

Now, you gotta understand that these images were taken and touched-up by hand for publication in a newspaper or magazine (since they were nudies, the latter probably). They were not touched up for a gallery or an art show - they were "battlefield" prints of a working photographer.

I called Lida and explained the situation over the phone. "Sweetie," she said to me in her strong New York accent, "you call that guy right back and tell him that you talked to Lida Moser and that Lida Moser told you to tell him: Fuck You!"

I didn't do that, but just sent him an untouched vintage print.

Tough New Yorker.

Lida was a well-known figure in the New York art scene of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and a portrait of Lida Moser by American painter Alice Neel hangs in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Neel painted a total of four Moser portraits over her lifetime, and one of them was included in the National Museum of Women in the Arts' "Alice Neel's Women" exhibition.


"Charles Mingus in his Apartment in New York City", c. 1965.
Among her body of works there are also loads of photographs of well-known artists and musicians that either hung around Lida's apartment in NYC or who were part of her circle of friends.


Lida Moser's photographic career started as a student and studio assistant in 1947 in Berenice Abbott's studio in New York City, where she became an active member of the New York Photo League. She then worked for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Look and many other magazines throughout the next few decades, and traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

In 1950 Vogue, and (and subsequently Look magazine) assigned Lida Moser to carry out an illustrated report on Canada, from one ocean to another. When she arrived at the Windsor station in Montreal, in June of that same year, she met by chance, Paul Gouin, then a Cultural Advisor to Duplessis government. This chance meeting led Moser to change her all-Canada assignment for one centered around Quebec.

Armed with her camera and guided by the research done by the Abbot Felix-Antoine Savard, the folklorist Luc Lacourcière and accompanied by Paul Gouin, Lida Moser then discovers and photographs a traditional Quebec, which was still little touched by modern civilization and the coming urbanization of the region.

Decades later, a major exhibition of those photographs at the McCord Museum of Canadian History became the museum’s most popular exhibit ever.

She also authored and has been part of many books and publications on and about photography. She also wrote a series of "Camera View" articles on photography for The New York Times between 1974-81.

Her work has been exhibited in many museums worldwide and is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, the National Archives, Ottawa, the National Galleries of Scotland, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, the Library of Congress, Les Archives Nationales du Quebec, Corcoran Gallery, Phillips Collection and many others. And that iconic photo of the window washers cleaning windows at the Exxon Building in NYC was actually made into a 3D sculpture at Leggoland (without Moser's permission) in Florida.

Moser was an active member of the Photo League and the New York School.

The Photo League was the seminal birth of American documentary photography. It was a group that was at times at school, an association and even a social club. Disbanded in 1951, the League promoted photojournalism with an aesthetic consciousness that reaches street photography to this day.


"New York City, Office Building Lobby" c. 1965

If you are a female photographer, I hope that you didn't miss the opportunity to visit the Arts Club a couple of years ago when they hosted a wonderful show of her works... and hopefully met one of the women who set the path for all of you.

The Arts Club show was curated by my good friend Erik Denker, the Senior Lecturer, Education Division at the National Gallery of Art, who is also an authority on all things Moser. The show was titled "The World of John Koch" and depicted Moser's portraits of the renowed New York portrait artist John Koch taken over a 20 year span from 1954-1974. These photographs were exhibited in Washington for the first time and are only one of two portfolios of the portraits ever printed by Moser (the other was given to the Koch widow once the painter died in 1974).



John Koch, Silver Gelatin print by Lida Moser, c.1970
The Fraser Gallery represented Lida's works for many years, and also gave her several solo shows. Read the WaPo review of one of her DC solo exhibitions at Fraser here also also the CP's review of another one of her shows here and lastly the CP's profile of Moser from a decade ago.

Lida Moser signing a copy of 100 Artists of Washington, DC in 2011

This hurricane of a woman lived a fruitful life and has left a magnificent artistic footprint on the history of American photography. She will be missed, and we are saddened by her departure, but happy to know that Moser's enormous legacy will live forever.

King Robert The Bruce heads to Europe

This drawing is "King Robert The Bruce." It is a charcoal and conte drawing that I did as an art assignment in 1980 while I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art in Seattle.

The assignment was to do a drawing in the style of the great masters, and me, being me, chose the late great American master Frank Frazetta, and took one of his paintings and re-did it as a drawing with my visualization of the great Scottish king, who after a personal struggle (well documented in the great Mel Gibson film Braveheart) faced the great English armies, defeated them, and sent them back home to England, thus preserving an independent Scottish nation.

By the way, most of you are not aware of this, but next month the people of Scotland will be voting to secede from their union with England and once again become a separate nation.

In any event, this drawing was just purchased by an European collector, 34 years after it was created, and it is now heading to Sweden of all places.

2013 Bethesda Painting Awards Finalists... cough, cough

Below are the finalists for the top painting prize in the region (thank you Carol Trawick!!! and congrats to the final eight!). 

My nepotista side says that the DMV's own Joan Belmar should win it - he's an amazing artist and richly deserves this recognition... my instinct would guess that brilliant Baltimore artist Cara Ober also not only richly deserves the prize, but is also due the recognition afforded by this prize by all the stuff that she does to support and expand the Baltimore art scene. I also really, really like Christine Gray.

And yet... being a pedantic Virgo (and batting about .800 in predicting both this prize and the Trawick Prize winners), I always look at the jurors, and then try to figure out who's the big mouth most persuasive voice in the jury panel and then try to guess who's gonna win based on that juror's own nepotism and ability to strong-arm the other jurors...

Everyone bring nepotism to the table when it comes to this sort of stuff... I've been in dozens and dozens of these panels and seen it surface every time. It's OK though... it is part of being human and a sincere mensch (if you admit that objectivity, when it comes to this sort of process, is only plausible for Vulcans).

These are this year's jurors: Tim Doud, Duane Keiser and Christine Neill.

Both Doud and Keiser are brilliant painters - and great choices for jurors; I don't know the third juror (Christine Neill), but because she's a professor of painting at MICA, and because three of the final eight finalists actually work at MICA (including her boss)... cough, cough... and 50% of the finalists are from Baltimore, I'm just guessing that she was the big mouth most persuasive in the jury panel.

Since I'm usually the big mouth in any art selection or art jury panel that I'm asked to be in, I think that I'm pretty good in figuring out my fellow big mouths persuasives. And yet, it takes some brass balls to keep a straight face while picking three painters who work with one of the jurors (including her boss) to be in the finalists.

Didn't someone in the panel think and then say: "What will the City Paper say once they find out that one of the juror's boss is one of the finalists? ... C'mon people!"

Awright, awright... maybe I'm being too much of a Kriston-Capps-wannabe here... and we're all pretty sure that she would recuse herself from voting, or discussing, or even being present when her co-workers came up for jurying... right?... right?...[Update: I am told that Ms. Neill recused herself from the panel when her boss was selected], but, I'm just sayin' - it just doesn't look good; but maybe it's just me.

And I'm not even touching the issue that three of the other finalists are also grads of American University... cough, cough.

You are asking by now: "Who's gonna win Campello?"

Sooooooo... based on all of the above, and the angry denial emails or cool and collected clarification emails that I am about to get, I suspect that I may have just about hosed the MICA contingent for this year's prize. If that's the case, then I say that either Belmar or Ilchi get the prize.

If no one gives a fuck about potential nepotism or potential conflict of interests (both of which I have been accused of... and both of which are rampant in the world at large)... then pick any of the MICA employees.

Now you are asking: "Nice tap dance... Who's gonna win Campello?"

Let me split: Ober or Gray - and both would be great choices! Although I may have just tipped the scales in the favor of Belmar, who'd also be a terrific choice. 

Here are the finalists:

Joan Belmar, Takoma Park, MD Joan Belmar was born in Santiago, Chile. He came to Washington, D.C. in 1999, and was granted permanent residency in the U.S. based on extraordinary artistic merit in 2003. Belmar's recent work uses a unique technique of 3-D painting, which produces changes in transparency as light and the viewer move in relation to the work.  Joan Belmar's work is in the permanent collections of the DCCAH Art Bank; the District of Columbia's Wilson Building; the Airport Art Collection in Ibiza, Spain and the Union of Concerned Scientists permanent collection in Washington D.C. His work has also been shown in national and international exhibits. Belmar was a Mayor's Award Finalist in 2007 as an outstanding emerging artist in Washington, D.C. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities awarded him an artist fellowship grant in 2009. In 2010, the Maryland Arts Council awarded Belmar a 2010 Individual Artist grant in Visual Arts: Painting.
Dennis Farber, Lutherville, MD Dennis Farber has been a professor at Maryland Instutute College of Art since 1998. Prior to working at MICA, Farber taught at the University of New Mexico, New York University and Claremont Colleges in Claremont, CA. His work has been exhibited regularly in the United States and abroad. It was included in MoMA's millennial exhibition, OPEN ENDS, 1960- present, Innocence and Experience, and has been included in major museum exhibitions and traveled by both the Museum of Modern Art and the Jewish Museum in New York. Farber's work is in permanent collections of major museums, universities and corporations around the United States.
Christine Gray, Alexandria, VA Christine Gray received a Bachelor of FIne Arts from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Fine Art from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is currently a Visiting Artist at the George Washington University.   Gray has participated in numerous group exhibitions across the United States, most recently at Torrance Art Museum in Torrance, CA and Salisbury University Art Galleries in Salisbury, MD. Gray received Dean's Faculty Research Grant from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.  She has also received the Jentel Foundation Residency Fellowshop, Golden Foundation Fellowshop, 7 Below Arts Initiative Residency Fellowship, and more.
Hedieh Ilchi, Rockville, MD Hedieh Ilchi was born in Tehran, Iran and draws her artistic intenstions directly from her dual cultural identity as an Iranian/American. Ilchi received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the Corcoran College of Art + Design in 2006 and her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the American University in 2011.  She has received many awards including Robyn Rafferty Mathias International Research Mellon Grant from the American University and the Sons of the Revolution in the District of Columbia American Art Essay Prize. Ilchi was recently selected as the semifinalist for the eighth annual Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize. She is an active participant in the local art scene and is currently an artist in residence at the Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, VA. Ilchi has shown her work in numerous group exhibitions in the Washington D.C. area including at the Corcoran Gallery of Art + Design, American University Museum at the Katzen Art Center, Irvine Contemporary gallery and Civilian Arts Project. She had a recent solo exhibition at the Contemporary Wing gallery.  Her work has been reviewed in a number of publications including the Washington Post and Art Papers magazine with a reproduction of her work on the front cover page. She is currently represented by Contemporary Wing gallery in Washington D.C. and Shirin Gallery in Tehran.
Barry Nemett, Stevenson, MD Barry Nemett, Chair of the Painting Department at Maryland Institute College of Art, studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Pratt Institute and his Masters of Fine Arts at Yale University. His awards include The Hugh Fraser Foundation, Ford Foundation Grant, MICA Trustee Grant for Excellence in Teaching, Maryland State Arts Council Individual Fellowship Grant, ITT International Travel Fellowship/Fulbright Hays Grant, Ely Harwood Schless Award for Excellence in Drawing and Painting at Yale University, Faculty Enrichment Grant and the Berkeley T. Rulon Miller Award. Prof. Nemett has curated numerous traveling exhibitions, and has exhibited his own work nationally and internationally. His publications include: Images, Objects, and Ideas: Viewing the Visual Arts and Crooked Tracks. He has published articles in Arts Magazine, Museum & Arts: Washington, New Art Examiner, Washington Review, Baltimore magazine, Forays Review and many artist catalogue essays. Nemett has been a Visiting Artist at numerous colleges and universities in the United States, and has been Artist in Residence at Alfred and Trafford Klots Residency Program, Rochefort-en-Terre, France, Bates College, Glasgow School of Art, Keisho Art Association (Japan), Studio Art Centers International Florence and Summer Scholarship Program, Scotland.
Cara Ober, Baltimore, MD A painter, teacher and writer, Cara Ober layers drawing, painting and printmaking into mixed media works that examine and reinterpret sentimental imagery.  Ober is commercially represented by Civilian Art Projects in Washington, D.C., with solo exhibits in 2012 and 2009. She has participated in numerous international art fairs, including Art Miami, Aqua Wynwood Miami and Bridge Fair in London. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Washingtonian Magazine, Hamptons Magazine and US News and World Report.  In 2009, Cara received a “Best Of Baltimore” award from Baltimore Magazine, calling her “practically an art scene unto herself.” In 2007, Cara took second prize in the Bethesda Painting Awards, after being a finalist in 2006. She is a 2006 Maryland Individual Artist Grant recipient for painting and received a Warhol Grant for Emerging Curators in 2006.  Cara Ober earned an Master of Fine Arts in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from American University. Cara writes art reviews for The Urbanite Magazine and ArtNews Magazine, and publishes her own award-winning art blog, BmoreArt.
Erin Raedeke, Gaithersburg, MD Erin Raedeke earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from Indiana University and a Master of Fine Art from American University. She has participated in exhibitions at many galleries in the United States and London. Raedeke is a 2013 winner of the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award. Past honors and awards include a Carnegie Melon research grant, William H. Calfee Foundation Painting Award, Merit Scholarship at American University, First Prize in Particular Places and a Creative Arts Research Grant at Indiana University.
Bill Schmidt, Baltimore, MD Bill Schmidt studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, ME before moving to Baltimore in 1969. He received an Master of Fine Art from the Hoffberger School of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art in 1971.  He has exhibited his painting, drawing and sculpture extensively in the Mid-Atlantic region. Schmidt has received numerous grants and awards including two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards, one in Sculpture (1990) and one in Painting (2008). In 2004 he attended the Alfred and Trafford Klots Residency Program in Rochefort-en-Terre, France. After teaching for a decade following graduate school, Schmidt began working in the field of restoration, first on gilded objects and then on furniture finishes. In 2001 he became the Interim Director of the Post-Baccalaureate Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art after being its Resident Artist since 1996. In 2007 he was appointed Director, a position he continues to hold.

Skyfall

Saw Skyfall, the newest 007 movie tonight and then made the mistake of commenting too much about it on Facebook without a spoiler alert; my apologies.

My revised thoughts:

• Terrific action movie; the franchise seldom disappoints
• I'm lost on the whole "new" Moneypenny angle
• Javier Bardem sucked as the bad guy: what's with the blond hair?
• Ending is a bit of a take off on another movie
• Old Scottish guy looks and dresses like a Scot, but must be the only Scotsman in all of Scotland without an accent!

Jobs in the Arts

Several nice job openings at the Guggenheim in NYC. Check it out here.

Want more art jobs? See below:
 
Various job opportunities at the Guggenheim Museum: NYC, USA.Deadline: asap.
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/about/jobs/full-time
Current available positions at The Museum of Modern Art, MOMA NYC: NYC, USA.Deadline: asap.
http://www.moma.org/about/jobs

Current available positions at The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC. USA.Deadline: asap.
http://whitney.org/About/JobPostings

Current available positions at the TATE. UK.Deadline: asap.
http://workingat.tate.org.uk/pages/job_search_results.aspx?searchtype=all

Current available positions at Christie's. Worldwide.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.christies.com/about/careers/

SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) current Opportunities. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://sfmoma.snaphire.com/home

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute offers a broad range of career opportunities. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.clarkart.edu/about/employment.cfm

Victoria and Albert Museum: View current vacancies and apply online.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/jobs/apply/

University of Glasgow, College of Arts: View current vacancies and apply online.
Deadline: asap.
http://goo.gl/3QFv6

University of Cambridge Museums (UCM): View current vacancies and apply online.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/contact/jobs/

Cincinnati Artswave current Job Opportunities. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.theartswave.org/connect/jobs

Association of Midwest Museums current Job Opportunities. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.midwestmuseums.org/jobs.html

School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Current Full-time Faculty Positions. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.saic.edu/about/jobsatsaic/facultypositions/full-timefacultypositions/

New York Foundation for the Arts: Jobs in the Arts, current vacancies. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.nyfa.org/opportunities.asp?type=Job&id=94&fid=1&sid=54

Marketing and PR Coordinator at de Cordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Interested candidates should send their resumes with cover letters and salary requirement, by email to hr@decordova.org . USA, MA, Lincoln.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.decordova.org

Das Badische Landesmuseum, eines der bedeutendsten kunst- und kulturgeschichtlichen Museen Deutschlands, sucht zum 1.1.2013 eine(n) Mitarbeiter(in) für das Referat PR und Marketing in Vollzeit befristet bis 31.12.2014. Germany.
Deadline: November 12, 2012
http://www.landesmuseum.de/website/Deutsch/Museum/Freie_Stellen.htm

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste: im Departement Kulturanalysen und Vermittlung, Forschungsschwerpunkt Transdisziplinarität suchen wir für das Forschungsprojekt „Size Matters. CH.
Deadline: November 12, 2012
http://www.zhdk.ch/fileadmin/data_zhdk/Personal/DKV_FSP_Trans_2xDoks_Okt_12.pdf

National Galleries of Scotland: Assistant Curator (Maternity Cover) - (NMS12/273) Scotland.
Deadline: November 12, 2012
https://vacancies.nms.ac.uk/nms/vacancies/microsite.asp

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery: Conservation Project Manager (Staffordshire Hoard) UK.
Deadline: November 14, 2012
http://www.bmag.org.uk/about/vacancies

Herzog & de Neuron: Das Communications - Team sucht per sofort oder nach Vereinbarung für mindestens ein Jahr einen engagierten und motivierten Praktikanten (m/w) am Hauptsitz in Basel. Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung unter Angabe der Referenznummer B12-6. CH.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.herzogdemeuron.com/index/practice/jobs/current/praktikum-communications_121004.html

Tate: Assistant Curator, Collections International Art. UK.
Deadline: November 15, 2012
http://workingat.tate.org.uk/pages/job_search_view.aspx?jobId=895&JobIndex=2&categoryList=&workingPatternList=&locations=&group=&keywords=&PageIndex=1&Number=11

Leiter/in Institut für Theorie (ith), 100 % - Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. CH.
Deadline: November 15, 2012
http://jobs.zeit.de/jobs/zuerich_leiterin_leiter_institut_fuer_theorie_ith_100_80785.html

Lund Humphries, long-established publishers of illustrated art books with a particular reputation within Modern British Art, are seeking an experienced Project Manager to join their Editorial and Production team. UK.
Deadline: November 16, 2012
https://www.ashgate.com/pdf/vacancies/Project-Manager-Lund-Humphries-Oct-2012.pdf

An der Hochschule für Künste Bremen ist in direkter Anbindung zum Rektorat zum nächstmőglichen Zeitpunkt die Stelle einer/eines wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiterin/Mitarbeiters für Forschungsfőrderung und wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs (Kennziffer DL 12/06) mit der Hälfte der regelmässigen wőchentlichen Arbeitszeit einer/eines Vollbeschäftigten (zunächst) befristet bis zum 30.09.2014 zu besetzen. Germany.
Deadline: November 16, 2012
http://jobs.zeit.de/jobs/bremen_wissenschaftlichen_mitarbeiterin_mitarbeiters_fuer_forschungsfoerderung_und_wissenschaftlichen_nachw_81461.html

The Dacorum Heritage Trust is an Accredited Museum based at The Museum Store in Berkhamsted, with collections covering the Borough of Dacorum. The Curator will continue to run this small, but busy museum service, assisted by an Assistant Curator and a large group of volunteers. A job description and application form can be obtained by emailing: Finance Manger finance@dacorumheritage.org.uk . UK.
Deadline: November 16, 2012
http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk

Das Landesmuseum Württemberg sucht zum 1. Februar 2013 eine/einen Pädagogin/ Pädagogen im Bereich Kulturvermittlung in Teilzeit (50%). Germany.
Deadline: November 16, 2012
http://www.landesmuseum-stuttgart.de/ueber-uns/stellenangebote/

Cubitt Gallery is looking for a manager. One of the UK’s most established artist-run spaces,  renowned for its programme of innovative and challenging exhibitions. Please note that there is no curatorial element within the role. UK.
Deadline: November 19, 2012
http://cubittartists.org.uk/about/opportunities/

Die Prof. Hans Jürgen Kallmann-Stiftung sucht für das Prof. Hans Jürgen Kallmann-Museum in Vollzeit eine/n Museumsleiter/in. Germany.
Deadline: November 19, 2012
http://jobs.zeit.de/jobs/ismaning_bei_muenchen_museumsleiter_in_81430.html

Director of Education at Young At Art Museum, USA, FL, Davie.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.youngatartmuseum.org/employment.php

Das Schweizerische Institut für Kunstwissenschaft (SIK-ISEA) sucht für seinen Hauptsitz in Zürich ab Anfang Januar 2013 eine Praktikantin / einen Praktikanten für das Schweizerische Kunstarchiv (6 Monate zu 50%). CH.
Deadline: November 20, 2012
http://sik-isea.ch/Aktuell/OffeneStellen/tabid/307/Default.aspx

Open Eye Gallery is looking for a new Director to lead the organisation through what promises to be one of the most exciting periods in its history. UK.
Deadline: November 22, 2012
http://www.openeye.org.uk/get-involved/opportunities/

Das Kunsthaus Zürich sucht sucht eine Ausstellungskuratorin / einen Ausstellungskurator. CH.
Deadline: November 23, 2012
http://www.infoclio.ch/en/node/27854

Derby Museums are looking for an Assistant Exhibitions Officer. UK.
Deadline: November 23, 2012
http://www.derby.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/jobs/job-vacancies-information-and-advice/

Chinese Arts Centre is looking for a curator. In the coming months, we will be recruiting new positions to join the team. UK.
Deadline: November 23, 2012
http://www.chinese-arts-centre.org/index.php?cID=254

Center for Curatorial Studies and Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College (CCS Bard) seeks Director of Graduate Program. Candidates must have an advanced postgraduate degree (M.A., M.F.A, or Ph.D.) in a field pertinent to the graduate program, close familiarity with the contemporary visual arts and current curatorial and exhibition practice, and significant experience teaching at the graduate level.Applicants must submit a letter of interest including salary expectations and c.v. by email only to hr12705@bard.edu. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.bard.edu/ccs/study

OSLO10, the independent exhibition space for contemporary art in Basel, is looking for a curatorial team for the period from April 1st, 2013, to March 30th, 2015. CH.
Deadline: November 30, 2012
http://www.kulturmanagement.org/fileadmin/user_upload/redaktion/Stellenausschreibungen_2012/25_10_12_OSLO10_engl.pdf

The Otago Museum is seeking an outstanding Director/Chief Executive to lead this well-established and popular museum who will enhance its reputation both locally and internationally. Dunedin, New Zealand.
Deadline: November 30, 2012
http://www.eqiglobal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=e2smarty_item&id=521&Itemid=17

Die Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung in München sucht ab 01. Januar 2013 eine/n Ausstellungskurator/in. Germany.
Deadline: November 30, 2012
http://www.hypo-kunsthalle.de/newweb/informationen/stellenanzeige.html

Université de Lausanne: la section d'histoire de l'art de la Faculté des Lettres met au concours un poste de: Première assistante ou Premier assistant en histoire de l'art de la période contemporaine (XIXe-XXIe siècle). Référence no: 2723. CH.
Deadline: November 30, 2012
https://applicationsw.unil.ch/adminpub/?MIval=PoIntHome&TypelC=811&PoId=2723

CCA Wattis seeks new Director: Screening begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled. USA.
Deadline: asap.
http://www.cca.edu/about/jobs/60075

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC): Full-time Faculty Position, Art Historian, North American Art, 1865–1945. USA.
Deadline: December 1, 2012
http://www.saic.edu/about/jobsatsaic/facultypositions/full-timefacultypositions/

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago MCA Chicago. USA.
Deadline: December 1, 2012
http://www2.mcachicago.org/andrew-w-mellon-postdoctoral-curatorial-fellowship/

The School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position in the history of modern and/or contemporary art, at the rank of assistant professor. USA.
Deadline: December 2, 2012
http://jobs.illinois.edu

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC): Full-time Faculty in Sculpture. USA.
Deadline: December 14, 2012
http://www.saic.edu/about/jobsatsaic/facultypositions/full-timefacultypositions/

Mardin Artuklu University is looking for an additional staff member to teach classes in Turkish. Although a preference would be shown to applicants with a background in Modern, Early Modern or Medieval European Art, all specialisms will be considered. To apply, please send a CV with the names and contact details of two referees to Dr. Elif Keser-Kayaalp (Chair): ekayaalp@artuklu.edu.tr. Turkey.
Deadline: December 31, 2012
http://sanattarihi.artuklu.edu.tr/en/

An der Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Wien ist die Stelle eines / einer Universitätsprofessors/Universitätsprofessorin für Kunstgeschichte Asiens zu besetzen. Austria.
Deadline: January 4, 2013
http://personalwesen.univie.ac.at/fuer-mitarbeiterinnen/professorinnen/job/prof/singleview/article/an-der-historisch-kulturwissenschaftlichen-fakultaet-der-universitaet-wien-ist-die-stelle-eines-ei/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=11881&cHash=4b16cfebf25c8d55c84bbce7065b377a

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC): Full-time Faculty Position in Architecture. USA.
Deadline: January 4, 2013
http://www.saic.edu/about/jobsatsaic/facultypositions/full-timefacultypositions/

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC): Full-time Faculty in Fiber and Material Studies. USA.
Deadline: January 7, 2013
http://www.saic.edu/about/jobsatsaic/facultypositions/full-timefacultypositions/

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC): Full-time Faculty in Painting and Drawing. USA.
Deadline: January 7, 2013
http://www.saic.edu/about/jobsatsaic/facultypositions/full-timefacultypositions/

The Department of Fine Arts and Art History at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon, invites applications for the Mary Fox Whittlesey Visiting Professorship in the fields of Art History, Art Theory, Studio Arts, Performance Art and/or Music for a non-renewable period of one year, starting September 1, 2013. Lebanon.
Deadline: January 15, 2012
http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas

Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellowship at The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA). USA.
Deadline: January 31, 2013
http://www2.mcachicago.org/marjorie-susman-curatorial-fellowship/

Das Kunstmuseum Luzern bietet laufend Kunstwissenschaftliche Praktika (80-100%). Geeignet sind Bewerberinnen und Bewerber mit abgeschlossenem (oder, in Ausnahmefällen, sich im Abschluss befindlichem) Kunstgeschichtsstudium an einer Schweizer Universität. Switzerland.
Deadline: Anytime.
http://www.museums.ch/assets/files/stellen/2012-02-02_Ausschreibung-Praktikum.pdf

Death of a dialect

With the political news flush with commentary about the opportunistic use of dialects, this is sad news for the language:

In a remote fishing town on the tip of Scotland's Black Isle, the last native speaker of the Cromarty dialect has died, taking with him another little piece of the English linguistic mosaic.

Details here.

Thoughts on the Trawick Prize

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards is a visual art prize produced by the Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District (through the spectacular generosity of Ms. Carol Trawick)  that honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The annual juried competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to selected artists and features the work of the finalists in a group exhibition. The 2012 finalists and their bios are at the end of this posting.

The 2012 exhibition will be held September 1-29 at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814 (the former space of the Fraser Gallery). Winners will be announced September 5.

The finalists were selected by:

Dawn Gavin
Dawn Gavin was born in Bellshill, Scotland, and currently lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. She has received a Bachelor of Arts (First Class) in Drawing and Painting, a Master of Fine Art and a Master of Science degree in Electronic Imaging from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, Scotland. Her work investigates issues of identity and displacement, employing a range of media from collage and installed drawings to digital video. She has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, The John Michael Kohler Art Centre (Sheboygen, MI), Maryland Institute College of Art, Meyerhoff Gallery (Baltimore, MD), The DCA Visual Research Centre (Dundee, Scotland), The Philadelphia Art Alliance and The Washington Project for the Arts (Washington D.C.). She is an Associate Professor in Drawing and Foundations at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Barbara Kelly Gordon
Barbara Kelly Gordon is an Associate Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian where she focuses on contemporary international art, and especially film, video and new media. She has worked on major exhibitions ranging from a retrospective of Douglas Gordon to Visual Music to The Cinema Effect, which completes a three-city tour of Spain in 2012. During the 2011-2012 season her exhibitions include Directions : Pipilotti Rist; Directions : Grazia Toderi; EMPIRE3 (with Andy Warhol); Directions: Antonio Rovaldi and Black Box shows with Hans Op de Beeck (Belgium), Larent Grasso (France), Nira Pereg (Israel), and Ali Kazma (Turkey). Gordon, who was born and raised in Washington D.C., has lectured widely on contemporary art and recently served on the jury for Emerging Italian Artists at the Strozzi Palace in Florence, Italy.

N. Elizabeth Schlatter
N. Elizabeth Schlatter is Deputy Director and Curator of Exhibitions at the University of Richmond Museums, Virginia, where she has curated more than 20 exhibitions, including recent exhibitions of art by Carl Chiarenza, Andreas Feininger, Hans Friedrich Grohs, Sue Johnson, and Fiona Ross, and the exhibitions “Art=Text=Art: Works by Contemporary Artists,” “LEADED: the Materiality and Metamorphosis of Graphite” and “Form & Story: Narration in Recent Painting.” Prior to working at the University of Richmond, she was an exhibitions project director for the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in Washington, D.C. She has a bachelor’s degree in art history from Southwestern University in Texas, and a master’s in art history from George Washington University.

My picks from the finalists to win it all?: David D'Orio or Dean Kessman - both are intelligent conceptual artists who also have the rare talent to actually deliver a concrete and interesting product married to their conceptual ideas. However, usually the winner from any sort of allegedly objective art competition is determined by the biggest and most vociferous voice, and not personally knowing any of the three jurors, I don't know who's got the biggest mouth.

Another however: since five of the eight semifinalists come from the Baltimore area, I suspect that Scotland-born Dawn Gavin had the biggest and most vociferous voice over the two Sassenachs and the odds are (once again) stacked for a Baltimore-based artist to win the Trawick.

Who then? I'm betting Lillian Bayley Hoover, a brilliant and talented painter who now officially replaces Andrew Wodzianski as the "always the maid never the bride" of the major Bethesda Up! generous art prizes.

Lillian Bayley Hoover Lillian Bayley Hoover earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina, Asheville and her Master of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Hoover’s work has been featured in the Baltimore area and beyond, and recently appeared in the 94th edition of New American Paintings and the Summer 2011 issue of the Little Patuxent Review. She is the recipient of a grant from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, which enabled her to conduct research and make photographs in Istanbul, Turkey. Hoover has received many awards, including “Young Artist” for the Bethesda Painting Awards and two Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, and she has thrice been a semifinalist for both Baltimore’s Sondheim Prize and Bethesda’s Trawick Prize.
David D’Orio David D’Orio is the executive director of DC GlassWorks, a public access glass blowing facility in Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Hartford/Hartford Art School in Hartford, CT. His work has been shown at Artomatic in Crystal City, the Marlboro Gallery of Prince George’s Community College and as part of the Arlington Arts Center Fall Solos. In his work, D’Orio explores “the ideology of technology as the source of solutions for social problems (both real, invented and imagined). … This work has the sense of a forgotten or undiscovered manufacturer/inventor whose sole purpose is to create objects that defy classification.”
Skye Gilkerson Skye Gilkerson grew up at the edge of the known world, in the space that Thomas Jefferson thought would take 1,000 years to populate. After her childhood on a farm in South Dakota, she’s slowly migrated along the rust belt, landing in Baltimore, where she has a studio at Current Space. Skye has been an artist-in-residence with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts and the Philadelphia Art Hotel. Her work is in the Robert F. Pfannebecker Collection, the Notre Dame of Maryland collection and numerous personal collections in the U.S. and Germany. She received her Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI, and a Bachelor of Arts in studio art from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN.  Gilkerson was a finalist for the 2011 Trawick Prize.
Dean Kessmann Dean Kessmann lives and works in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in solo exhibitions at the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida and Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C. among numerous other locations across the United States. His work has also been featured in many group shows, including those at Strathmore in North Bethesda and Meyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. He received a Master of Arts from Sothern Illinois University, Carbondale and is currently the chair of the Department of Fine Arts and Art History at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Nate Larson Nate Larson is full-time faculty in the photography department at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. His work with photographic media, artist books and digital video has been widely shown across the U.S. and internationally. He serves on the board of directors of the Society for Photographic Education. His current project GEOLOCATION, in collaboration with Marni Shindelman, tracks GPS coordinates associated Twitter tweets and pairs the text with a photograph of the originating site to mark the virtual information in the real world. Larson has a master of fine Arts from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University.
Joshua Smith Joshua Wade Smith was raised on the outskirts of a small border town in South Texas. He is a nationally exhibited object-based performer and sculptor and currently a fellow at Hamiltonian Artists in Washington, D.C. His work has been featured in exhibitions at the Contemporary Museum-Baltimore and the Arlington Arts Center, among others. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Mt. Royal School at MICA in 2010. In his recent work, Smith explores themes of labor, masculinity and gymnastic investigations of landscape. His installations and performances feature contraptions and repetitious actions that emphasize the transfer of value through absurd or thankless tasks; his work is often about making a show of the “Work” itself through schematics, photo documentation and endurance based on drawings.
Diane Szczepaniak Diane Szczepaniak earned a Master’s degree in art education from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Kentucky University. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions including SCULPTURE NOW 2012 at Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, D.C., InLiquid Benefit Auction in Philadelphia, PA, among others and in many solo exhibitions. She was named a semi-finalist for Baltimore’s Sondheim Prize in 2011 and received an Individual Artist Award in Visual Arts: Sculpture from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2009. About her work, Szczepaniak says: “Colors naturally hold meaning for me and I have painted in response to images from poems that I find mysterious, feelings aroused by music, that familiar experience Wallace Stevens calls ‘passions in rain, or moods in falling snow,’ and even meditations on thoughts.”
Hannah Walsh Hannah Walsh earned her Master of Fine Arts in sculpture and extended media from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Indiana University. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions nationally and abroad, including The Boiler, Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn; Little Berlin in Philadelphia; The Wayfarers in Brooklyn; Nominimo Gallery in Quito, Ecuador and the Reynolds Gallery in Richmond. Walsh explains her interest in cheerleading as a subject: “All-star cheerleading squads are not affiliated with any sports team. They only cheer competitively, in other words, for themselves. These squads embody several of my interests: the simultaneous occurrence of sincerity and extreme artifice, skilled physicality, gender performance and American identity.”

Callanish Stone Circle

Callanish Stone Circle (Clachan Chalanais), Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

My favorite stone circle on the planet - even more spectacular than Stonehenge and a lot harder to get to... I took a million photos from all angles and have done about 100 drawings as well, like the one below... sort of.

"Cross Stitch" or "Claire Beauchamp at the stone circle"
 c. 1991, charcoal and conte on paper 

The above 1991 drawing was done after I read a book titled "Cross Stitch" by Diana Gabaldon,  which is about time travel and stone circles.  At the time those were (and still are) two of my fave subjects! The circle is made up of a couple if real stone circles in Scotland,  heavily influenced by Callanish.

More Scottish watercolors

You can probably tell that I've got a new gizmo that scans slides (remember slides) as digital files at the push of a button. Subsequently, I've begun the process to scan the thousands of slides that I have accumulated over the years.

The story so far: I lived in Scotland from 1989-1992 and while I was there, I was seduced by that ancient land and produced a lot of artwork focused on all the Scottish visual offerings around me.

Below are some watercolors (and one charcoal drawing) of some the birds which seemed to be constantly flying in formation all year round (especially the Canada geese). Most of these watercolors were rather large (30 x 40 inches) and all of them are in Scottish or American private collections, and a few have even shown up in British auction houses since they were done over 20 years ago.

Canada Geese, Brechin Skies, Angus, Scotland

Flight Formation, Edzell Skies, Angus, Scotland

Flight Formation, Fettercairn Skies, Angus, Scotland

When the farmers plowed the field, 100s of seagulls would fly from the North Sea and hover over the fields looking for insects to eat; as soon as the farmer was out of the way, they would land and start the buffet

Canada Geese, Montrose, Scotland, Charcoal and Conte, c. 1991

Edzell Arch

Queen Victoria, on her way to the Highlands, used to travel through the tiny Scottish village of Edzell, in the Angus region of Scotland. Thus, the locals built an arch to honor their English queen.

From 1989-1992, I lived a few minutes from the village of Edzell, and the arch was a much visited subject of my drawings back then. Below are some examples of those works from those years. These are all in multiple collections in Scotland and the US.

Edzell Arch, Edzell, Angus, Scotland - as seen from the village - c. 1989

Edzell Arch, Edzell, Angus, Scotland - as seen from the village - c. 1990

Edzell Arch, Edzell, Angus, Scotland - as seen from the Edzell to Fettercairn Road - c. 1991

Scottish road

This watercolor shows a winter snowfall on the road from the Scottish farmhouse (where I lived from 1989-1992 (Little Keithock Farmhouse)) that lead from the farmhouse to the the B966 (I think it was also called the Trinity Road) paved road. It was about a quarter of a mile from the farmhouse to the road, but at night in the winter you could not see your hand in front of your face because it was so dark out in brooding Angus.

Winter Road, near Brechin, Angus, Scotland, c. 1990

Olympic Games Opening

What the hell was that opening all about? Was I the only one who thought it was rather unintelligible? And that opinion is coming from someone who lived in the UK for a few years...

What were those guys (dressed like the Monopoly guy) in the top hats supposed to be?

Jitterbugging nurses and doctors?And the scary huge puppets being taken down by the dozens of Mary Poppins (who looked like giant flies coming down)... and what about that giant creepy baby!

Interesting that the Scottish kids sang an anti-English song (Flower of Scotland)... the ahh... National Anthem of England's pesky Celtic Northern neighbor...

Cool part: When the Olympic rings lit up and rained fire... did anyone notice that one of the rings was sort of "leaking" fire for a bit while all the others had stopped?

Awright... the Queen's entrance was cool too...and that bit with 007 eclipsed the robotic Chinese opening four years ago. And Mr. Bean (Blackadder!!!!) was really funny in that subtle English way

I am a big McCartney fan, but... has Sir Paul become the duty "closer" for anything British (or big name musical)? Didn't we just see him doing the same skit for the Queen's 1000th Jubilee?

And after Kobe and LeBron made the comments about this team being better than the dream team, they better not get surprised by Spain, or Argentina, or some Eastern European country...

I'm just saying... cough, cough...

Little Keithock Farmhouse

Little Keithock Farmhouse, Near Brechin, Angus, Scotland

One of the most influential times of my life were the years that I lived in Scotland (1989-1992). Above is a drawing that I did in 1990 of the farmhouse where I used the live. This haunting (and haunted) place was built in  1681 and there was even an older dovecot right next to it. Its farm fields were adjacent to the Brechin Golf Club, which I think is the second or third oldest golf playing ground in the world.
 
In fact, the dovecot next to it was so much older (built in 1534), that it merited an entry in the Scottish Ordnance Map as an "antiquity," not an easy thing in Europe's most ancient nation.

Anyway, the farmhouse had a beautiful garden, which was surrounded by a tall stone wall. One day, one of the trucks that used the dirt road that ran in front of the house, and led to the nearby potato and turnip fields, lost control, and slammed into the wall, destroying a couple of feet of wall.

A couple of days later, another truck dumped a small pile of new rocks, and soon afterwards an elderly gent showed up, and using nothing but a small hammer, began to rebuild the wall. He re-used the old rocks that had been disturbed by the accident, as well as some of the new ones.

Slowly but surely, over a few days, the wall was rebuilt before my eyes. When it was done, other than the fact that the moss on the stones had been re-arranged, it was impossible to tell that an accident had happened. A year later, the moss was back everywhere and no visual evidence that a chunk of the wall was "new" existed.