Art Deal of the Week

Starting this Sunday I will commencing showcasing artwork that I think are great deals. My call and opinion(s), but will gladly take recommendations and submissions; just email me with the details.

The first pick is this intelligent photograph by Russian photographer Aleksei Pechnikov.

It is titled "The Swing" and the photograph measures 20x20 inches and then it is matted in a white pH-balanced acid free white museum mat and framed in a black metal moulding under plexiglass to a framed size of 34x26 inches. Photo is signed by the photographer on verso. The price (including frame): $300.



To buy it call 301/718-9651 or email the gallery.

Still brewing

As the Peter Panse story continues to cause a cyber storm all over the blogartmosphere, it brings forth the quote by Lewis Black that "a child will never be as damaged by seeing a tit as they will be by adults going insane over a child having seen a tit."

Wanna go to a couple of openings today?

Then head down to Old Town Alexandria and there are a couple of openings happening today from 2-4 inside the Torpedo Factory.

One is for the monthly Art League group show on the ground level of the factory and the second one, also from 2-4PM, is for new photographs by Danny Conant (one of the most innovative photographers in our area) and Colleen Spencer at Multiple Exposures Gallery on the upper level of the factory.

Curate Your Own Museum

The WaPo's Linda Hales has an interesting article that describes the project that the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is about undertake. She writes:

The Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is about to take its Web site where no museum has gone before.

Where that is isn't absolutely clear, but it merits getting excited about. The so-called "online national design museum" promises to open the museum and its vast collection to visitors anywhere in the world. What's more, if development can keep up with vision, the site will turn museumgoers into participants in a bold cultural experiment.

Essentially, they're putting the power of the curator out to the masses (I already hear the elitists gasp)

The Cooper-Hewitt's existing site offers a glimpse of what's on view at 91st and Fifth Avenue. Exhibitions can be sampled, but only 500 items from the 250,000-piece collection of decorative arts, industrial and graphic design and fine art are viewable.

The revamped site will allow curators to play catch-up. The museum also wants to enable Web visitors to curate shows and build virtual collections, to circulate favorite digital photos. Web visitors also might be able to fill in the blanks on works that have yet to be researched fully. Shifting the curatorial responsibility might seem risky, but in 2002, a visiting researcher helped the museum by discovering an unsigned Michelangelo in a box of drawings.

"There are experts in the field who have spent whole careers studying a single period," says Matilda McQuaid, who, as deputy curatorial director, will have a leading role in online content. "Put it out there. See what comes."

She wasn't worried about an onslaught of bad taste from amateur curators and would-be designers.

"If enough people think they're awful, they get voted out and deleted from the site," she says. "Majority rules."

Hales takes a curious dig at the Smithsonian's blog Eyelevel when she writes:

The Smithsonian's only museum blog, EyeLevel, was launched by the American Art Museum in September. It drew 50,000 visitors over the first three months. But entry after entry is followed by a tally of "0 comments." There is little of the rat-a-tat-tat of cultural engagement that interactivity promises.

Read the whole article here.

The Art of Compromise (or Compromising Art?)

This St. Paul, Minn. school struggled with a quandary: How do they teach art to Muslim students who are not allowed to create human images?

According to this article:

That presented a challenge for Higher Ground Academy, a K-12 school just west of Central High School on Marshall Avenue that has about 450 students. About 70 percent of them are Muslim immigrants from eastern Africa.

Executive Director Bill Wilson said he had concerns for some time about how to reconcile the school's art curriculum with the views of Muslim families, but the departure of the art teacher at the end of last school year gave him a window to act.

This fall, he hired ArtStart, a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization, to offer more options for about 150 kindergartners through second-graders, including visual arts and drumming. But parents were still upset that their children were drawing figures, Wilson said, and some pulled their children out of art class altogether.

Wilson then sat down with teacher and parent liaison Abdirahman Sheikh Omar Ahmad, who also is the imam at an Islamic center in Minneapolis, to work with ArtStart in determining how to meet state standards without running afoul of Muslim doctrine.

Part of me is glad that we live in a society that can accomodate and adjust, and respect cultural beliefs that have become religious dogma (and that we can serve as an example to societies that have zero capacity to adjust), and yet, part of me is a little concerned, although I am not really sure why.

Read the whole story here.

Bethesda International

The 4th Annual Bethesda International Photo Competition opened last night and the gallery was packed! Curator Catriona Fraser selected the following photographers as the award winners:
Best in Show: Lee Goodwin
First Prize: Adriana Echavarria
Second Prize: David Myers
Third Prize: Prescott Lassman

See all exhibited photos here. Below are some pics from the opening:

Packed gallery listens as award winners are announced

Another view of the award announcement

Catriona Fraser and the legendary Lida Moser

Main wall of the gallery

"How to Get Noticed" Panel at the Arlington Arts Center

Next Wednesday the Arlington Arts Center is hosting a workshop titled "How to Get Your Work Noticed by the press, galleries, and museums." The workshop runs from 7-9:30 pm on Wednesday, March 15, and will be held at the Tiffany Gallery in the Center.

The panelists are:
Michael O'Sullivan - Washington Post Art Critic
Lee Lawrence - Contributing Editor for American Style Magazine
Claire Huschle - Executive Director- Arlington Arts Center
Phylis Rosenzweig - Former Curator, Hirshhorn Museum
and Me!

The panel will take questions from the audience, as well as answer the following questions from the moderator (which I think are quite good):

1) In what context(s) do you come across a new artist’s work? (Press release? Gallery visit? Art or craft fair? Referral?) Do you have one way that you prefer?

2) What is the most effective "marketing" tool that an artist can have today, besides high-quality slides and/or images? Website? Blog? Resume? Etc.

3) Is there more than one person at your publication/business/project that covers similar material? How important is it to get the right information to the right person from the start?

4) How aggressive is too aggressive for an artist to be in trying to get a review/ exhibition?

5) The biggest faux pas an artist can make in approaching a reviewer/gallerist/curator is ___?

6) The most important thing an artist should, but probably doesn’t, know about the press, galleries, or museum exhibitions is ___?

7) Do you recognize any trends in your field that artists should pay attention to?

Cost: $40 in advance - $45 at the door. To register, call the Arlington Arts Center at 703-248-6800. They will take credit cards over the phone.

Location:
Arlington Arts Center
Tiffany Theater
3550 Wilson Boulevard
Right across from the Virginia Square subway
Arlington, Virginia

See ya there!

Reviews

In the CP, Cudlin reviews "Cézanne in Provence" and also Doug Hall at Numark.

Jacobson reviews Anne Rowland at Hemphill.

Sarah Godfrey reviews Doll Noir IV at Graham Collection.

In the WaPo, the paper's former Chief Art critic discusses the arrival of American Gothic to the DC area.

O'Sullivan checks in with a terrific review of Robert Bechtle's retrospective at the Corcoran.

This last one is a must see show.

Capitol Hill Arts League Show

The show that I juried for the Capitol Hill Arts League opens tomorrow, Saturday at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop with a reception from 5-7PM.

Here are the award winners that I've picked:

Best in Show - Pete Van Riper "Master Drawing Class" Graphite/conté
First Place - Mary Deleyiannis "Figure Study" Chalk
Second Place – Amy Lin "Affinity 3.2" colored pencil
Third Place – Shannon Chester "Vines" Gicleé print

Honorable Mentions
Marcus Lundell - "Sour Sixteen" acrylic reverse painting on glass
Jacqueline Saunders - "Deirdre" Ink
Marilyn Christiano - "Moroccan Lemon" Digital Photo

Goss on Arty Gras

Heather Goss reviews Arty Gras at the Warehouse.

Read the review here.

Me in the CP

Me in the Washington City Paper.

Let's see how many Incas get pissed off at being called Maya.

Openings

Thursday, March 9 - New works by Ed Cooper at Susan Calloway Fine Arts. Opening reception is Thursday, March 9, from 6-8:30pm.

Friday, March 10 - The Bethesda Art Walk from 6-9PM with 12 participating galleries, art venues and studios. Free guided tours begin at 6:30pm. Attendees can meet their guide at the Bethesda Metro Center, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Attendees do not have to participate in tours to visit Art Walk galleries. On exhibition we have the IV Annual Bethesda International Photography Competition.

Saturday, March 11 - Open Studios at Load of Fun (formerly Lombard Office Furniture) located at 122 West North Avenue in Baltimore. Includes work by painters Gloria Mack, Jerry Prettyman, Bart O'Reilly, Daniel Stuelpnagel and others. They will have numerous paintings on display and will provide refreshments and information about future events in the Station North Arts District. From Noon until 4:00pm.

Saturday, March 11 - "Little Differences" at 87Florida, which is a new art venue located at 1st and Florida NW, and their grand opening reception is Saturday, March 11 from 5-7 pm.

Saturday, March 11 - "Sweet and Sour" juried art show at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop with a opening reception from 5-7PM.

Sunday, March 12 - Photographs by Danny Conant and Colleen Spencer at Multiple Exposures Gallery (inside the Torpedo Factory) in Alexandria. Opening reception 2-4PM.

Thursday, March 16 - Roxanne’s ARTiques, located at 3426 9th Street NE, on Historic Brookland’s emerging Gallery Row and across the street from the neighborhood landmark Colonel Brooks Tavern, will feature original prints by artist and professor George H. Smith-Shomari. An opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 16th. A graduate of Howard University and the Pratt Institute, where he worked under Jacob Lawrence, Professor George Smith-Shomari has taught printmaking and African-American art history at the University of the District of Columbia for 26 years.

Saturday, March 18 - Itsy Bitsy Bollocks at Transformer. Featuring the work of artists Mr. Eggs, Mark Jenkins, Travis Millard, and Kelly Towles. Opening Reception on Saturday, March 18, 2006, 7-9 pm. The show runs through April 22, 2006. There's an artists' talk on Sunday, March 19, 2006, at 3 pm.

Saturday, March 18 - "Other Than Art," curated by Milena Kalinovska (who is the Program Manager for the Education Department at the Hirshhorn Museum) and on view at three different District art venues: Provisions Library, at Curator's Office and at G Fine Art. Kalinovska selected the following artists: Siemon Allen, Allora & Calzadilla, Kendall Buster, Richard Chartier, Carlos Garaicoa, Linda Hesh, Virgil Marti, Ivan Navarro, Olaf Nicolai, Lucy Orta, Jorge Pardo, Marjetica Potrc, Elissa Slevy, Do-Ho Suh, and Atelier van Leishout.

Friday, March 24 - League of Reston Artists (LRA) 2005 Award Winners Exhibition at the University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus. This exhibition features award winning artists from 10 exhibitions sponsored by the League of Reston Artists during its 2005 exhibition season. Some of the featured artists include: James W. Bailey (yes that Bailey), Shannon Chester, Pam Coulter, Leo Deege, Helen M. Goodrum, Laura Howell, Susan Isakson, Christine Lashley, Vicki Kirby, Loy McGaughy, Gennara Moore, Edward J. Reed, Irene Renslow, Yelena Rodina, Carla Steckley, and Amie G. Tannenbaum. The exhibition opens Friday, March 17, and runs through Friday, April 28. An opening reception will take place Friday, March 24 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus, 11730 Plaza America Drive, Suite 200, Reston, Virginia. For directions, see the LRA’s web site at www.leagueofrestonartists.org.

Here we go

Kriston over at g.p. polices my piece on Pete Panse and writes that it would be "disturbing, if true."

Read his case endorsing Panse's suspension here and my comments as well, as I think that Kriston actually helps my case!

Disturbing, period.

Gazette on the Bethesda Art Walk

The Gazette has a nice piece on tomorrow's Bethesda Art Walk.

Read it here.

A little help

DC you're letting me down!

Yesterday I brought you the case of Pete Panse and asked you to sign an online petition to help this gentleman get his job back.

And yet only a handful of DC, MD and VA signatures appear on the petition so far, and most of them are from fellow bloggers.

C'mon! Go here and sign the damn petition!

Art Teacher Suspended for Recommending Figure Drawing Classes

The case of Pete Panse takes the cake and makes our own DC area's antipathy towards nudity in art seem tame by comparison.

Pete Panse is a High School art teacher in Middletown, NY whom we are told uses traditional techniques to train his students.

Last December Mr. Panse was suspended from his teaching job for apparently recommending (that's right: recommending) that some of his advanced students consider taking figure drawing courses that included nude figure drawings.

Panse was suspended from his teaching job pending hearings. Depending on the outcome of these hearings, he may be permanently fired, ending a 25-year teaching career. Panse is a National Board Certified Teacher (in Adolescent and Young Adult Art), the highest level of certification that a teacher can achieve in America. He is also one of only two National Board Certified Teachers in his New York District, and "is a trained Facilitator for helping teachers explore and pursue the requirements needed to achieve National Board Certification."

According to this excellent summary by Brian Yoder:

"In his discussions with students Mr. Panse mentioned several options for advancing their figure drawing skills; the local community college, a nearby frame shop that sponsors art classes, and the prestigious New York Academy of Art. He also described pre-college figure drawing programs at several other New York City art schools, and a highly successful art college prep program called the Mill Street Loft.

In addition to these established courses, Mr. Panse also indicated that he was considering the possibility of offering an intensive figure drawing program of his own (8 hours a day every Saturday for 35 weeks). This proposed course would also be open to area art teachers, and would have required that parents serve as chaperones to ensure a strong adult presence. Ultimately, Mr. Panse was unable to locate inexpensive space for a studio and was prevented from carrying out his plan because of the controversy that erupted over the proposal.

Panse told his students that if his own figure drawing class materialized, he would be obligated to submit any advertisement to the school principal for approval, and that a denial might preclude him from offering the course to his own students, for their consideration."

It was the mention, or discussion of the "possibility" that Panse would offer an intensive figure drawing class, that apparently got him suspended and may get him fired.

As Brian Yoder points out in the article:

"This seems particularly odd, since the ninth grade art history survey course includes dozens of images of nudes. Mr. Panse's students had completed that unit previously, and are now upperclassmen.

Moreover, art teachers are required to speak of career options in the art field, what training is required, and how students might prepare for art school, so according to the official school policy, art teachers are required to show nude images to their students and are required to tell them about nude figure drawing courses that they might enroll in."

And Yoder further clarifies that:

"Just to be clear about the charges in this case, it is worth mentioning what Mr. Panse is not being accused of.

He is not being accused of recommending that these students attend these classes without parental permission or without proper supervision and chaperones.

He is not even being accused of carrying out any figure drawing courses, only of recommending them and proposing that he offer such a course.

Nobody is accusing him of forcing anyone to go to these sessions and indeed, neither the four students who attended the sessions last summer nor their parents have any complaints at all about the experience.

Nobody is claiming that anything unsavory was going on in any of these figure drawing sessions, involving Mr. Panse, Academy instructors, his students, the models, other artists, or anyone else."

What can we do?

Write Letters of Support: Letters of support (especially if you have some kind of professional qualifications) will help bolster Mr. Panse’s case. In order to prevent a flood of mail from overcoming Mr. Panse, Brian Yoder has volunteered to collect the letters and deliver them to Mr. Panse in bulk. You can send letters to him at:
Brian Yoder
972 Cornell Road
Pasadena, CA 91106

Write to the Board of Education:
Middletown School District Board of Education
223 Wisner Avenue
Middletown, NY 10940

Sign the online petition:
ArtRenewal.org has created an online petition at this website for supporters to sign. Add your name to the petition as I will.

Read the entire Brian Yoder article here.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!

Studio space

The folks over at ArtDC.org have been working hard to get studio space for area artists and Jesse tells me that there is now a great space available.

If you are looking to find studio space and have several artists to work together, then visit 411 New York Ave, NE DC 20002 and ask for Gail on the 4th floor. Be sure to tell them that the ArtDC group with Steve Mead sent you.

It's between 1,000 and 2,000 square feet. Prices up to $1500 a month. It's a great deal for this area. Bathrooms included and space has just been renovated. 4 to 5 artists could fill it well in a building that already has other artists' studios.

Email Jesse for more info.

New art space

87Florida is a new art venue located at 1st and Florida NW, and their grand opening reception is Saturday, March 11 from 5-7 pm.

DC artist Ceci Cole Mcinturff recently purchased the building and it houses her studios upstairs and on the mainfloor she has an exhibition space. There she will host a series of fine art exhibitions, musical events, digital mixed media events, as well as some "Art in Community" events.

The initial exhibition, titled "Little Differences," features the work of Melissa Glasser and runs through March 20, 2006. The reception is Saturday, March 11 from 5-7 pm. There are also viewing hours Fridays 4:30-7:00pm, Saturdays 1-6:00pm, Sundays 1-5pm and Mon-Thurs by appt.

Wanna go to a couple of openings tomorrow?

"Stretchted Tight" is a painting exhibition juried by Dr. Jack Rasmussen, (Director and Curator of the Katzen Arts Center at American University, Washington, D.C) and opening tomorrow at the Target Gallery in Alexandria. The exhibition goes through March 26. The opening reception is Thursday March 9 from 6 to 9 pm.

Dr. Rasmussen selected the following artists for the exhibition: Aaron Bowles, Anna Davis, Francoise Dureese, Heidi Fowler, Kurt Godwin, Pat Goslee, Kimberly MacArthur Graham, Arlette Jassel, Felice Koenig, John Mattson, John Alan Nyberg, Cara Ober, Victor Pytko, Bonnie Ferrill Roman, Amy Royce, Arielle Sandler, and Laura Yang.

Also new works by Ed Cooper at Susan Calloway Fine Arts. Opening reception is Thursday, March 9, from 6 - 8:30pm.

Gordon Parks

I just received word that Gordon Parks passed away today.

He once said that he "picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapons against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty."