Chi-comms try to take down US mural

"Mural draws fire from China," announces the headline in this article by Bennett Hall, in the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

The story so far: An American of Chinese ancestry David Lin (who grew up in Taiwan before coming to the US in the 1970s), hired Taiwanese artist Chao Tsung-song to paint a 10-foot-by-100-foot mural last month on the side of a building that Lin owns in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Lin is is renovating the space for a restaurant and has rechristened the building Tibet House; see images of the mural here.

According to the article,  "In vivid colors, the painting depicts riot police beating Tibetan demonstrators, Buddhist monks setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule and images of Taiwan as a bulwark of freedom."

Forgetting that he was assigned to represent a brutal dictatorship in a free nation and not back in China, the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco got wind of this mural (I wonder how?) and then formally fired off a letter to Corvallis Mayor Julie Manning on September 8 complaining  about the mural’s content and asking for the Mayor to help China have the mural removed.

It gets better; in an implied threat of sorts, the letter "goes on to note the strong economic and cultural ties between China and Oregon and suggests that Corvallis would benefit from cooperating with the consulate’s request.

“To avoid our precious friendship from being tainted by so-called ‘Tibet independence’ and ‘Taiwan independence,’ we sincerely hope you can understand our concerns and adopt effective measures to stop the activities advocating ‘Tibet independence’ and ‘Taiwan independence’ in Corvallis,” the letter states.

On September 20, Mayor Manning responded and in-between the lines reminded the Chinese consulate that Oregon was in the USA and not China, when Manning told the consulate:“As you are aware, the First Amendment of the United States’ Constitution guarantees freedom of speech in this country, and this includes freedom of artistic expression.”

Building owner David Lin has no plans to remove a mural promoting independence for Tibet and Taiwan, despite pressure from the Chinese government. (Andy Cripe | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

Clearly the Chinese Consulate was not aware of what the Mayor was talking about and subsequently two Chinese officials, Vice Consul "Guido" Zhang Hao and Deputy Consul General "Carmine" Song Ruan went up to Oregon and met with Manning and another city official. While munching on their cannoli, they expressed "their concern and the concern of the Chinese government about the mural on Mr. Lin’s building.” They also let the mayor know that “They viewed the message as political propaganda.”

Pardon me while I almost choke... the Chi Comms are complaining about "political propaganda"? That's like Bill Clinton complaining that there's "too many ladies in the audience."

The mayor also "had a conversation with them about the U.S. Constitution,” before the two suits headed back down to Shaky Town to file their report with their capo. On the way there they used their Ipad ripoffs to Google US Constitution and see what the heck the Mayor was talking about. Because they didn't put the search term in quotes, I suspect that their report will note some shock and alarm that Manning was possibly threatening China with naval action using the US Navy's oldest commissioned warship.

I tried to reach someone at the Chinese Consulate today, but couldn't get anyone to call me back, or even understand why I was calling, although I may have accidentally ordered information on how to open a Dollar Store.

When Ron Wyden, who is Oregon's senior Senator, heard about this, he put down his chai tea and fired off a beautiful letter to Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui ; according to the Gazette-Times:

“I am writing to express my deep displeasure and concern with these actions,” Wyden wrote in his letter to Zhang, the highest-ranking Chinese official in the United States.

He called the Chinese tactics “a grave affront” and went on to lecture Zhang on the First Amendment’s guarantee of free expression, as well as freedom of religion and the press and the right of peaceful assembly.

“While these rights may not be respected in China, they are values that all Americans hold dear,” Wyden noted. “Any attempt by your government to suppress these rights is unacceptable and must not be repeated.”

Also according to the story, subsequently "members of Oregon’s congressional delegation stepped into the fight. Rep. Peter DeFazio, whose district includes Corvallis, blasted China in a speech on the House floor, and Sen. Jeff Merkley issued a short statement applauding Manning and Lin for sticking to their guns."

I contacted the Chinese Embassy today for comments on the letter from Sen. Wyden, but was unable to gather any more information, although I was reassured that my Family Dollar franchise information would be sent to me as soon as possible. I then asked what the difference was between a Dollar Store and a Family Dollar store, as I thought that I had ordered info on the former, not the latter. The nice lady on the phone told me that she "couldn't comment on the letter," so I hung up.

While the story has gone viral, it has been curiously ignored so far by both the New York Times and The Washington Post, which I am sure will now result in another Ann Coulter best-seller. I am also told that USS Constitution's crew has noted a large increase in Chinese visitors over the last few days.

And Oh Yeah... for the ChiComms: Fuck you.

Art Scam Alert!

This is a scam - avoid dealing with this moron:

From: Robert Hallins <sgtrobhallins@hotmail.com>

Date: September 18, 2012 12:35:33 AM EDT

On Sep 17, 2012, at 1:28 AM, Robert Hallins wrote:

-- 

Hi there,

My name is Robert,im from hawaii,was browsing through the internet and my eyes caught this particular work("The Life Force Rests in the Liver",),will like to have it for my new apartment probably this month.please let me know if the piece is available and if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about it. i will be waiting to read from you.Regards.

For tomorrow

Wanna know how to tell it apart? Then check out this panel of curators, academics, artists and critics:

1. John James Anderson, Art Critic for the Washington City Paper, Egghead Professor and a really good Artist

2. Bill Dunlap, Artist, Critic for WETA Around Town show, Curator

3. Harriet Lesser, Curator, Strathmore Center for the Arts and Artist

4. Michael O'Sullivan, Visual Arts and Film Critic for the Washington Post

P.S. Please bring your own examples too!

September 19, 2012 7-8:30 p.m.
Hillyer International Art and Artists
9 Hillyer Court
Washington DC 20008
Free and Open to All

EPA blows it...

In what can be best described as one of the stupidest "you really blew it, dude" emails of recent times, the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday sent an e-mail to its staffers on the issue of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The EPA's email stepped on its own crank twice:

1.  It contained passages about Hispanic culture apparently copied word-for-word from Buzzle.com. This is perhaps an indication that the author of the email is either a emerging Bidenist or a graduate of the New York Times' Jason Blair School of Journalism.

2. More offensive to the people being honored this month, was that the email also contained an image of the murdering, hemophobic, racist, psychopath known as Che Guevara. The same Guevara who referred to Mexicans as "a band of illiterate Indians” and noted that “The black is indolent and a dreamer; spending his meager wage on frivolity or drink; the European has a tradition of work and saving, which has pursued him as far as this corner of America and drives him to advance himself, even independently of his own individual aspirations.”

According to the WaPo: "The EPA gave Buzzfeed the typical response to such matters: it was the fault of a staffer, no supervisor approved it, the underling has apologized, etc., etc" - That's what you call modern leadership qualities... throw the GS4 who wrote the email under the bus... it wasn't my fault... no one approved that...

Makes my head hurt.

Bad Art / Good Art

Wanna know how to tell it apart? Then check out this panel of curators, academics, artists and critics:

1. John James Anderson, Art Critic for the Washington City Paper, Egghead Professor and a really good Artist

2. Bill Dunlap, Artist, Critic for WETA Around Town show, Curator

3. Harriet Lesser, Curator, Strathmore Center for the Arts and Artist

4. Michael O'Sullivan, Visual Arts and Film Critic for the Washington Post

P.S. Please bring your own examples too!

September 19, 2012 7-8:30 p.m.
Hillyer International Art and Artists
9 Hillyer Court
Washington DC 20008
Free and Open to All

Opportunity for Latino Artists

Entry Deadline:  November 18, 2012

Call For Entries: Converging Cultures: Works by Latino Artists

September 6–October 4, 2013

Entries must be submitted via email.  Instructions are contained in the exhibition prospectus.

Click here to download the exhibition prospectus.

Click here to download the entry form.

Opportunity for Portrait Artists

Deadline: Monday, October 8, 2012 at 5pm

All portrait artists 18 years or older residing in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Delaware are invited to enter ArtSpace Herndon's 4th Annual Expressions Portrait Competition to compete for cash prizes.  

Up to 25 finalists will be selected from the entries to exhibit in the Post Gallery at ArtSpace Herndon in November.  The prize winners will be announced at the exhibit reception.

This year's judge is Kurt Schwarz.  Kurt Schwarz is a portrait and still life painter whose reputation for exceptional use of color has earned accolades. He earned an MFA from George Washington University and teaches at the Loudoun Academy of the Arts and The Art League in Alexandria.     

Please review the complete prospectus for all the rules, dates, and other information.  

Click here for the full prospectus and to enter online!

WPA Artists' Directory: Tonite!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: September 14, 2012, 5:00pm
FINAL DEADLINE: October 12, 2012, 5:00pm

Register for the 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory

Published bi-annually, this four-color, 8½ x 5½ inch directory is the definitive listing of established and emerging contemporary artists throughout the Washington region. It is widely used by galleries, curators, art consultants, and art patrons. Copies are distributed to selected art critics and other members of the press, and to museums both within and outside of the region. The 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory will be published in the spring of 2013, and will be available for sale on the WPA website and at select area retail locations at the price of $9.95.

Each participating artist will be featured on a full page (8½ x ½ inches). The page will include the artist's name, a color digital image of their work, their studio address and phone number, email address, web address, categories to describe their work and studio practice, and their gallery affiliation.

All current WPA members are eligible for publication in the Artist Directory. There is an additional participation fee that includes a copy of the Artist Directory. Participants who submit before September 14, 2012 can pay a discounted early registration fee of $65. After September 14, the registration fee increases to $75. The final registration deadline is October 12, 2012. No submissions will be accepted after this date. 

Registration for the 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory will be handled exclusively through WPA's website.

Each participating artist can upload one image to be featured on their page. Images must be submitted as .eps or .tif files in CMYK format. They must be 300dpi and as close as possible to, but no smaller than 6 inches on the longest side. If you have any questions regarding the 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory or any issues with registration, please contact Christopher Cunetto, Membership Manager, at ccunetto@wpadc.org or 202-234-7103 x 2.

FotoDC

 

ENTER NOW!

Deadline: Monday September 17th @ 11:59PST

Great Exposure
$26,000 in Cash Prizes
Winning images exhibited at FotoWeek Central during the Festival, November 9-18

SUBMIT

Single Images
Portfolios
Multimedia
Photo Books

Tomorrow at AU

Tomorrow the curious and creative will be conducting an orchestra, making a collage with a living artist as a Muse, learning iconic jazz dance moves, and creating music out of thin air.

Fall for the Arts, a unique celebration of the Arts at AU, will feature an afternoon of dynamic classes and hands-on workshops capped off with an elegant reception and live auction of works by prominent artists. The afternoon classes span a wide-range of activities including creating sound effects, acting Shakespeare, Hindustani tabla drumming, and stage combat, to name just a few. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Arts at AU.

There is also a very cool art auction with some excellent artworks up for auction at some very good starting prices, including an amazing Manon Cleary graphite drawing at a starting price of just $2K. Check out the artwork up for auction here or plaease browse below or use the links below to review available works—and see Artist Bios (PDF):

Lisa Montag Brotman Manon Cleary Joan Danziger Willem de Looper Alan Feltus Robert Gates (two artworks) Sam Gilliam Carol Goldberg

Tom Green Micheline Klagsbrun Edith Kuhnle Lou Stovall Robin Rose Ben L. Summerford Sharon Wolpoff

Come celebrate the Arts at American University. The event is open to the public. Admission is $50 for the entire event.

Register Now for 2012

Tonight!

Tonight, from 6-8PM is the opening of a really cool group show at the galleries of the Takoma Park Community Center - focused on artists from the Latino Art Collective and for Hispanic Heritage Month... and if you're saying, "Campello, you hypocrite" then you'd want to know the history, oddity and meaning of the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino", so come to the lecture as well...

El Rey

Con dinero y sin dinero.
Yo hago siempre lo que quiero.
Y mi palabra es la ley.
No tengo trono ni reina.
Ni nadie que me comprenda.
Pero sigo siendo el rey.

Hoyt's Mid Atlantic

Once again it was my honor and pleasure and hard work to jury my fellow artists; this time for the 2012 Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts Mid Atlantic Art Competition in Pennsylvania.

And like I've noted before, even though I’ve juried, organized, curated or otherwise passed judgment on my fellow artists around 300 times in the last few decades, the process of jurying an art show never ceases to amaze me by both how individually difficult each one is and how inspiring each one becomes.

As a juror, and when done properly, the task of selecting artwork is immensely hard; made harder by the fact that a juror must also reject artwork and artists. More often than not, some rejected artwork floats back and forth between acceptance and rejection – there are variables that dictate how many pieces are included and how the downsizing of a show (it is almost always downsizing) tugs at the visual arts heart.

The Hoyt Mid Atlantic jurying process was an especially difficult show to put together. Why? Because there were so many powerful entries competing for limited wall space and because the vast majority of submissions reflected an amazing variety of genres, media, approaches, ideas and processes.

There was mastery in painting; plenty of that and from plenty of diverse approaches! Bruce Erickson subtle and intelligent approach to composition, light and homage to the classics is vastly different from James O’Malley’s brutally hyper-realistic take on our surrounds. 

They are both the result of artists flexing very powerful technical skills married to even stronger artistic visions.

Carol Wallace’s breathtaking watercolor takes a mundane subject (Pears) and elevates it to a sublime position as only a refreshing and difficult watercolor can do. 

And Ohad Cadji’s lusty photograph is a triumph of the human body’s never-ending ability to engage and warm our mind and body.

For those of you invited to exhibit, I send a well done! It was a tough competition and you should feel pleased and honored. For those artists whose work was rejected, as an artist myself, I your juror shares that experience with you and I know that it is never easy to accept. However, I also pass that as a juror and artist, it is clear to me that one juror’s vision and approach is just that: one juror! Keep on creating!

I have been honored to put my name to this show, and I thank all of you for it.

Go to this tomorrow...

Pencil this in and if you want to know the history, oddity and meaning of the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino", then come to the lecture as well...

Fall for the Arts at AU

On September 15, 2012, the curious and creative will be conducting an orchestra, making a collage with a living artist as a Muse, learning iconic jazz dance moves, and creating music out of thin air.

Fall for the Arts, a unique celebration of the Arts at AU, will feature an afternoon of dynamic classes and hands-on workshops capped off with an elegant reception and live auction of works by prominent artists. The afternoon classes span a wide-range of activities including creating sound effects, acting Shakespeare, Hindustani tabla drumming, and stage combat, to name just a few. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Arts at AU.
 

There is also a very cool art auction with some excellent artworks up for auction at some very good starting prices, including an amazing Manon Cleary graphite drawing at a starting price of just $2K. Check out the artwork up for auction here or plaease browse below or use the links below to review available works—and see Artist Bios (PDF):

Lisa Montag Brotman Manon Cleary Joan Danziger Willem de Looper Alan Feltus Robert Gates (two artworks) Sam Gilliam Carol Goldberg

Tom Green Micheline Klagsbrun Edith Kuhnle Lou Stovall Robin Rose Ben L. Summerford Sharon Wolpoff

Come celebrate the Arts at American University. The event is open to the public. Admission is $50 for the entire event.

Register Now for 2012

Worshiping at the Altar of Modern Art

Herewith the latest work in my marriage of drawing/painting with embedded electronic components. In this piece, titled Nude Artist Worshiping at the Altar of Modern Art, the embedded electronic screen plays a Powerpoint show of what most lay people think of when the term "modern art" is employed in a conversation.

This is a charcoal and watercolors piece, which now begins to see me add a little color to my drawings. It is done on 12x16 inches, 300 weight acid free, pH-balanced Rising paper.

See if you can figure out which artists are being homaged in the following screenshots of the work:

And below a couple of shots depicting me in the creation of the "Jackson Pollock" piece to the left of the work...

Courage Unmasked Tomorrow!

VIP Gala on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
The Katzen Arts Center at American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016

Tickets required

Lest We Forget

"Studio View, 9/11"
Oil on Canvas c. 9/11/2001 by David FeBland

WPA Artists' Directory

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: September 14, 2012, 5:00pm
FINAL DEADLINE: October 12, 2012, 5:00pm

Register for the 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory

Published bi-annually, this four-color, 8½ x 5½ inch directory is the definitive listing of established and emerging contemporary artists throughout the Washington region. It is widely used by galleries, curators, art consultants, and art patrons. Copies are distributed to selected art critics and other members of the press, and to museums both within and outside of the region. The 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory will be published in the spring of 2013, and will be available for sale on the WPA website and at select area retail locations at the price of $9.95.

Each participating artist will be featured on a full page (8½ x ½ inches). The page will include the artist's name, a color digital image of their work, their studio address and phone number, email address, web address, categories to describe their work and studio practice, and their gallery affiliation.

All current WPA members are eligible for publication in the Artist Directory. There is an additional participation fee that includes a copy of the Artist Directory. Participants who submit before September 14, 2012 can pay a discounted early registration fee of $65. After September 14, the registration fee increases to $75. The final registration deadline is October 12, 2012. No submissions will be accepted after this date. 

Registration for the 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory will be handled exclusively through WPA's website.

Each participating artist can upload one image to be featured on their page. Images must be submitted as .eps or .tif files in CMYK format. They must be 300dpi and as close as possible to, but no smaller than 6 inches on the longest side. If you have any questions regarding the 2013 - 2014 Artist Directory or any issues with registration, please contact Christopher Cunetto, Membership Manager, at ccunetto@wpadc.org or 202-234-7103 x 2.

Washington Society of Landscape Painters

While temperatures hit the 100-degree mark this summer, Washington, DC, area painters were donning hats and sunscreen and grabbing their outdoor easels in a quest to create paintings for their 100th birthday party celebration.

One of the oldest plein air painting groups in the USA, the Washington Society of Landscape Painters started out as an all male clubcalled "the Ramblers." Limited to 40 active members, it now includes both male and female artists who pursue their profession locally, nationally, and internationally.

Visitors will see both large and small oil, watercolor, pastel, and acrylic landscapes displayed by member artists at the McGuire Woods gallery at the Lorton Workhouse, at 9601 Ox Road in Occoquan, VA.  For more information: (www.workhousearts.org/visual-arts).

The public is invited to a free reception on Saturday, September 29, from 5-7 pm.  Come early (10-noon) to watch WSLP artists painting nearby in the historic town of Occoquan. The show runs from Friday, September 28 through Sunday, October 21, 2012.

Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11 am-7 pm, and Sunday from 12-5 pm.  For more information, send email to barbaranuss@wslp.org.