JT has an excellent review (over at Thinking About Art) of the Kelly Towles show at David Adamson Gallery.

I'll try to go and see this show soon. I must admit that I am a bit surprised to see David Adamson exhibit a young, new artist like Kelly Towles, as Adamson has historically, at least in my memory, rarely exhibited emerging local artists, and has focused more on exhibiting established artists and the Gyclee reproductions of the many art superstars that his superb digital printmaking reputation brings to his fold.

Congratulations to Washington, DC painter Maggie Michael, who was just awarded a $20,000 grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

Earlier this year, Ms. Michael was also awarded $5,000 from the the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Maggie Michael is represented locally by G Fine Art.

An Open Letter to the Washington Post

As I've discussed before, the Post's Style section will soon have a new Assistant Managing Editor leading it. Deborah Heard will be the person in charge of Style starting January 1, 2005.

I believe that this offers all of us in the area's visual arts community an opportunity to see if we can convince Ms. Heard to augment the WaPost's tiny coverage of art galleries and area artists and I have asked all of you to write to her, or at least email her, with copies to her boss, Lenny Downie and the Arts Editor, my good friend John Pancake. Ignore the fact that they are all focused on politics and a card-carrying member of the Fake News Industrial Complex.

In this spirit I have written a letter to Ms. Heard, with copies to Downie and Pancake.

December 19, 2004

Deborah Heard
Washington Post Style
1150 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20071

Dear Ms. Heard,

Congratulations on your promotion to Style section editor. It is our sincere wish and that of the artists whom we represent that you not only enjoy this important position, but it is also our hope that you may consider bringing some needed changes with respect to coverage of our area’s art galleries and visual artists.

It is thus why I am writing to you, in the hope that I can bring to your attention the perception by our area’s visual arts community of artists, fine arts galleries, alternative arts venues and artists organizations, of the poor coverage now afforded by the Washington Post to them/us.

As an artist, freelance art critic, radio arts commentator, publisher of DC Art News, and co-owner of the two Fraser Galleries, I believe that I have my finger on the heartbeat of our region’s visual art scene, and as I have discussed many times in the past with my good friend John Pancake, it is also my subjective opinion (but backed by empirical facts), that the Post does a very, very poor job in covering our area’s art galleries and visual artists, especially in comparison to your excellent coverage of the local theaters, area performance venues, as well as movies, fashion, books, etc.

For example, although there are almost twice as many art galleries in the Greater Washington region than theatres, for the last several years, the Style and Weekend section have consistently offered five to six times more print space, in the form of reviews, for theatres than galleries. Even plays in Olney get reviewed consistently (and we applaud you for this), while important visual art shows get ignored, simply because the Galleries column is the only regular column in the Post to cover local area gallery shows, augmented occasionally by the On Exhibit column in the Weekend section.

To make matters worse, the Washington Post is the only major newspaper that I know of, that has a Chief Art critic (Blake Gopnik) who does not review local galleries, and only (with a very, very rare exception) reviews museum shows. In fact, it was quite embarrassing earlier this year, when Gopnik was asked on the air (at the Kojo Nmandi show on WAMU) to discuss his favorite Washington area artist and he could not come up with a single name. In comparison, the chief art critics of major newspapers such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, etc. not only review museums, but also the galleries in their cities. It has been a mystery to our art scene why Mr. Gopnik has been allowed to segregate himself to only review our area and other cities’ museums and other cities’ art galleries and other cities’ artists, but not Washington area art galleries and artists. Does this make any sense to you?

Furthermore, your Thursday Style banner still claims that Thursdays is focused on Galleries/Art News, and yet, and consistently, there have been more theatre reviews on Thursdays than actual gallery reviews. Additionally, as you know, several years ago, the Arts Beat column, which used to be published every Thursday, was reduced to twice a month. Not only that, but that column, which used to often augment visual arts coverage, now has become, under the last two or three writers, a jack-of-all-arts column, more often than not writing about theatre, or music.

The evidence that the Washington Post has unexplainable apathy towards our area’s visual arts community is also highlighted by the recent issue with the reduction of the Galleries column to a twice-a-month column rather than weekly.

While we realize that a final decision has not been made in this issue, and that you are awaiting John Pancake’s return from his teaching sabbatical to finalize the issue, it nonetheless shows and adds evidence to the claim that the Post simply does not care about our city’s regional visual art scene (when it comes to our galleries and artists).

Why? Simply imagine that several of your many theatre critics all quit at once, leaving you with only one theater critic, who could only write one theatre review every couple of weeks. Would you reduce your theatre coverage from its very generous, almost daily occurrence, to twice a month?

I doubt it.

Why? Because it is clear that the Washington Post is dedicated to helping to grow our theatre scene, and this is a great effort that has yielded brilliant gains to our area’s cultural tapestry. Your effort includes not only daily coverage of the theatre, but also (I believe) around $300,000 in pro bono advertising for theatres.

This is great! And we all applaud the great theatre coverage. But what about us?

We also applaud your consistent coverage of our area museums, and as we are lucky enough to have some of the great museums in the world in our city, we are also grateful that the Washington Post affords great coverage through Mr. Gopnik in Style and the Sunday Arts, Mr. Richard once in a while in Style, and through Mr. O’Sullivan in Weekend, with Jacqueline Trescott and Teresa Wiltz also adding news articles and stories also dealing with our museums.

This is great! And we all applaud this informative coverage. But what about us?

And the Style coverage of movies (often then reviewed again by a different writer in Weekend), music (often then reviewed again by a different writer in Weekend), and dance is also adequate and informative, if somewhat repetitive, putting into question one excuse given in the past for not augmenting gallery coverage: "lack of newsprint space."

I will close this verbose letter with one last statistic: In the last couple of years the Style section has had over twice as many reviews and articles about fashion shows in Europe, New York and other cities, elegantly illustrated with color photos of gaunt models on the runways of Rome, New York, London and Paris, than reviews of art galleries in the Greater Washington area.

In my prejudiced opinion, I find it hard to believe that your readers would be more interested in un-wearable fashion from the runways of Europe than on our area’s art galleries and artists.

We welcome the change in command at Style and I sincerely and warmly wish you the best of luck in the job. I also hope that you bring an open mind to this subject, and consider augmenting gallery coverage to a level commensurate with Style’s coverage of the other cultural genres.

Warmest regards,

F. Lennox Campello

Cc: Leonard Downie
John Pancake

I hope that some of you write Ms. Heard as well, and I think that with enough notes and emails, she will realize that some changes need to be made under her leadership.

Last Thursday's Reviews

"[Contemporary] photography no longer bears any resemblance to photography in the past century's sense. If anything, it's a lot closer to the way old-fashioned figurative painting used to be."

Read Jessica's reviews of The Staged Body at Curator's Office, Athena Tacha at Marsha Mateyka and Brandon Morse at Strand on Volta.

And at the WCP, read Jeffry Cudlin's review of Brandon Morse here.

And also at the WCP, Louis Jacobson has three reviews: Christopher Burkett at Kathleen Ewing Gallery, and "Opening on 14th" at Hemphill Fine Arts, and "All the Mighty World: The Photographs of Roger Fenton, 1852–1860" at the National Gallery of Art.

Philip Barlow's Top 10 DC Art Shows of 2004

This is the first of about a dozen Top 10 art shows of 2004 that I've received so far. It comes from Philip Barlow, a well-known DC area art collector, board member of several DC art organizations and a knowledgeable member of our visual arts scene. I'll be posting the others during the rest of the week.

Barlow passes that his list is in order and that it was unintentional that he wound up with 10 different galleries in the list.

1. Invisible Things, Dan Treado, Addison/Ripley Gallery, May 15 – June 19

2. Run, Maggie Michael, G Fine Art, September 18 – October 16

3. Evidence, Robin Rose, Numark Gallery, February 27 – April 10

4. Leo Villareal Show, Leo Villareal, Conner Contemporary, May 15 – June 26

5. Concentrics, Craig Dennis, Jae Ko, Kathleen Kucka, Andrea Way, Marsha Mateyka Gallery, June 5 – July 24

6. AM I THE BeST, Carroll Sockwell, Washington Arts Museum (Edison Place Gallery), November 3 – December 17

7. On The Line: machines, maps and memory, Perry Steindel, Sylvie van Helden, Jennifer Swan, Andrew Krieger, Andy Holtin, Katy Uravich, District of Columbia Arts Center, April 30 – May 30

8. These Things Happen, Brandon Morse, Strand on Volta, November 18 – December 18

9. The Out-of-Towners, Laura Amussen, Lily Cox-Richard, Harrison Haynes, George Jenne, Michele Kong, Transformer Gallery, December 13, 2003 - January 17, 2004

10. Thom Flynn, Thom Flynn, Nevin Kelly Gallery, April 21 – May 9

The Sculpture-Stealing Capital of the World

What's going on in Fairfax County? As James W. Bailey points out, in 2004 there were three large sculptures stolen or dumped in Fairfax County!

1. Marc Sijan’s $40,000 "Legs Folded" from the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. (It was eventually recovered from the apartment of the thief in Fairfax County).

2. Zach Oxman’s sculpture of Robert S. Simon in Reston. (Also recovered from Lake Anne and reinstalled at Lake Anne, Fairfax County).

3. And the PandaMania Panda found dumped in Fairfax County. (Recovered in Fairfax County - In today’s WaPo Metro section there is a picture with a photo caption line of a Fairfax County Police Officer pulling a stolen PandaMania Panda (originally stolen from the corner of Connecticut and Florida Avenues NW) from the Pohick Creek in Lorton.

Top 10 DC Area Art Shows of the Year

I had such an overwhelming response to my call for Artomatic Top 10 artists, that I thought that it may be fun to also have a call for readers' Top 10 DC area art shows.

I will have my top 10 listed soon.

Email me your Top 10 list and I'll post them here. I'd like to restrict the list to the Greater Washington area galleries and museums and other visual arts spaces.

A couple of Florida opportunities for artists

Since I was just there...

Deadline: December 3, 2004
The John S & James L Knight Foundation seeks work for permanent installation at the foundation's Miami headquarters. A total of 26 works will be selected, corresponding to each of the communities where the Knight brothers operated newspapers. For submission guidelines contact: Steven F Greenwald Design.

Deadline: December 3, 2004
The Fifth Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition, a joint project of Polk Museum of Art and the City of Lakeland, is accepting submissions for a Public Art exhibition in downtown Lakeland. Open to sculptors working in North America. Ten works will be accepted and will receive $1,000 to offset transportation expenses. $3,000 Best of Show. Deadline is December 31, 2004. Non-refundable $15 entry fee.

Artists should submit labeled slides of up to three completed works, with 2-3 views of each work, along with a resume, and one paragraph artist statement. Electronic submissions will be accepted via email or PC compatible CD. Images must be in .jpg format, no larger than 600 pixels wide at 72 dpi; and artist statement should be in plain text, Word, or .pdf format.

Send all materials to: Polk Museum of Art, Att: Outdoor Sculpture Competition, 800 E Palmetto St, Lakeland FL 33801-5529. No incomplete works or project proposals will be considered. All works must be able to be anchored to concrete and maintenance free for the duration of the exhibit. For full prospectus/further details, visit this website or call 863-688-7743 ext. 289.

There's an old Henny Youngman joke that goes like this:

I just flew in from Miami... boy are my arms tired!

Anyway, back in town; came straight from the airport to my opening at Fraser Gallery Georgetown. Thanks to all of you who came down and said hi and also thanks to those who bought some work!

Anyway... a couple of good online links:

One of the reader's of Jesse Cohen's excellent ArtDC reports on one of the art casualties of the baseball move to DC. Read it here.

Jesse, in a separate thread, asks the question: Should blogs follow the rules of journalism? Read all the interesting comments here.

And in today's Post, Michael O'Sullivan has a nice review of Alex Bay's terrific sculptural show currently at our neighbor MOCA. There's a couple of spectacular wall pieces in this show that ought to go directly to one of our area's museums.

Kelly Towles, whose work appeared in quite a few of the Artomatic lists, also opened tonight at David Adamson. This should be a good show to visit. This is the second (that I know of) of quite a few Artomatic artists' exhibitions that are mushrooming all over the city. And last week Jan Sherfy opened at Delila Katzka Fine Art.

JT Kirkland, over at Thinking About Art has a great opportunity for artists to discuss their work through the Ellipse Arts Center's space in Arlington. Read about it here.

I'm flying back to DC tomorrow... hopefully I'll make it in plenty of time for my opening at Canal Square at 6 PM.

See you there!

Opportunity for Visual Artists

I'm still down here in Miami, but I thought that this opportunity may be of interest:

The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), a working retreat for writers, composers and visual artists, has received a grant from the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation to support fellowships for Washington area writers, composers, and visual artists. Applications are currently being accepted.

The program will support Fellowships for Washington area artists to attend the VCCA over the next several months. Artists, writers, and composers who are making serious work are encouraged to apply.

The next postmark deadline for applications is January 15 (for summer 2005). For more information, or to print an application, visit their website at www.vcca.com or call 434.946.7236 between 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays, or to receive an application in the mail, please send a #10 self addressed, stamped envelope to the VCCA at 154 San Angelo Drive, Amherst, VA 24521.

Greetings from Northern Havana

Hello from the land of exiles, still buzzing over Art Basel. Three of our represented artists, Sandra Ramos and Tania Brugera and Marta Maria Perez Bravo did exceptionally well during Art Basel.

Today I received a wonderful tour of the public art collection of the Federal Reserve Bank - Miami Branch. A beautiful building with a predictable collection of forgetable abstract paintings (lest we insult anyone with a representational painting that someone might actually understand visually).

It is astounding to me the buzz and interest and support that this area gives to the visual arts. I am jealous (and fired up).

Anyway... Another painter mocking Bush is getting publicity over idiots censoring his painting. Read the story here.

On the flight here, I began to read Louis Perez voluminous On Becoming Cuban (what an appropriate book to read before heading to Miami, uh?).

I discovered quite an interesting fact.

The father of the modern Irish republic was Eamon de Valera, who was born in New York in 1882. His father, Juan de Valera, although technically a Spaniard, was really a Cuban, born in Cuba (which was part of Spain back then), the son of a Cuban sugar planter and escaped to New York during the Independence Wars with Spain. There he earned his living as a piano teacher. He met and married Irish immigrant Catherine Coll. Juan died shortly after the birth of their son Eduardo. After Juan's death, his wife sent Eduardo to Ireland, where her family changed his name to the Gaelic version of Eduardo: Eamon.

Whodda thunk it?

I'm heading down to Miami this morning. I'll be posting later tonight. Y'all come back now, hear?

Do not however, forget that this coming Friday is the third Friday of the month, and thus the five Canal Square Galleries (Alla Rogers, Parish, Fraser, MOCA and Anne C. Fisher) in Georgetown's Canal Square will be having their opening nights and extended hours. From 6-9 PM.

We will be having an exhibition of my recent charcoal drawings. About 20 new figurative charcoal nudes.

Warning: More self promotion coming.

I've had the December show since 1997, not just one of the bennies of co-owning the gallery, but also because of the curious fact that December (at least in Georgetown) is a very dead month for art in general, and my past shows have sold well and even generated some press.

My 1997 show consisted of portraits of porn stars. Several of the women attended the opening, as well as a few thousand men! The Washington Post's review called that show "irritating."

The 1998 show was based on my interest in Celtic history and legend. The Potomac News wrote that I was a "throwback... but in tune with the times." It was also reviewed by The Bowie Blade.

The 2000 show was "Literary Drawings," and consisted of drawings inspired by some of my favorite books and literary characters. It was reviewed by The Georgetowner

The 2002 show was "27 Years of Frida Kahlo" and it consisted of my work about Kahlo since I first came across her work in 1977. It was reviewed by The Washington City Paper and was a "Hot Pick" in the Washington Times.

Last year's show was Pictish Nation and it was reviewed by The Washington Times and The Georgetowner.

Pictured above is "La Llorona" (The Crying - or Weeping - Woman), one of the new drawings in the exhibition. Learn more about the legend of "La Llorona" here. It is based on a photograph by the great Danny Conant.

Openings are from 6-9 PM. See ya there!

Studio Visits!

Blake Gopnik, the Chief Art Critic of the Washington Post is now making studio visits and writing a terrific and highly readable plug of the artist and his art. This is great news!

Read his first studio visit here. This character Jonathan Grossmalerman sounds like a Peter Sellers who can also paint.

By the way, Blake went to Brooklyn for his studio visit.

I am sure that LA is next, but I am also sure that will soon be making studio visits to DC artists as well. After all, it's easier to catch a cab to a DC area artist studio than the train to New York and then the cab to Brooklyn. Unless Blake subways to Brooklyn.

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, my house was within a couple of blocks of the Atlantic Avenue stop of the LL subway line and by the time I was 12 or 13 I was a master of the New York subway system.

Betcha he took a cab.

Anti-OPTIONS 2005

As J.T. noted over at Thinking About Art, photographer J.W. Bailey, in response to the whole recent controversy of the WPA/C's OPTIONS 2005 show, has created his entry for the new OPTIONS curator Libby Lumpkin in the form of an Anti-OPTIONS 2005 website detailing his extensive and deep correspondence and research and battle (still ongoing) caused by the firing of Philip Barlow as the original curator.

This is either brilliant or demented. I am not yet sure which, but it is certainly interesting and certainly shows what can be fused when you mix talent, passion and a human pit bull like Bailey.

See Bailey's site here.

Fridaphiles of the World: Unite!

I am curating an online exhibition for Art.com on the subject of an "Homage to Frida Kahlo."

There is no entry fee and Art.com is funding the following prizes:

1st Prize: Airfare, hotel and expenses for 3-day/3-night trip for two to the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, Mexico. (Total package valued up to $2,500)

2nd Prize: $1,000

3rd Prize: $150 towards a Print on Demand order through Art.com Original Art & Photography

Work is uploaded online and there is no entry fee. The work must in some way relate to Frida Kahlo and her life, work, etc. No reproductions of Frida's own paintings will be considered, unless they introduce a new idea or vision or concept to the Kahlo phenomenom. To enter, click here.

Connie Imboden to Jury Annual Bethesda Photography Prize

The 2005 juror for our annual photography competition has been selected and it is acclaimed photographer Connie Imboden. You can read about the juror here. Her work is represented in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The National Museum for Women in the Arts, The National Museum of American Art, Washington D.C., Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, France, and many other public and private collections in Europe and the Americas.

This is our annual juried opportunity for photographers. The deadline for entries is February 3, 2005. In addition to cash prizes, the Best in Show winner will be offered a solo show in 2006. Other award winners will also be included in some of our future group shows.

To look at the prospectus for the competition, click here.

Washington City Paper reviews Aimee Garcia Show in Georgetown

Louis Jacobson reviews our current exhibition of Cuban artist Aimee Garcia Marrero in our Georgetown Gallery.

This is a very young Cuban artist and perhaps one of the most intelligent and talented painters pushing the ancient medium forward. Her show runs until December 15, 2004.

Want an Interest Free Loan to Buy Artwork?

You spot a Chris Ofili print and think it would look lovely in the front room. You simply must have that Tracey Emin drawing to hang above your fireplace. Then you see the four-figure price tag and think again.

Those frustrations are over, if the Arts Council England gets its way. It is planning to offer interest-free loans of up to £2,000 to aspiring contemporary art collectors, aiming to encourage uninitiated buyers into galleries.

I don't know how I missed this story, but I guess the British, with their 17% Value Added Tax (VAT) on top of things can come up with ideas such as this.

Of course don't forget to add 17% VAT to the Chris Ofili print or Tracey Emin drawing. So the loans appear to be a way to gather some new tax revenues in the form of loans.

Ha! Those devious British taxmen! The Beatles were right!

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Opening Night: It Must Mean Rain!

Just back from opening night in Bethesda... and guess what? It rained again!

Not only that, but apparently there was some kind of a huge sinkhole on Wisconsin Avenue just a block from the gallery.

The avenue was closed (which really did a number on traffic of course) and The Madonna of the Trail statue was in such danger because of the sinkhole that opened up right in front of it, that a huge crane was brought up to remove the 17-ton statute. The sinkhole was caused by a water main break.

Nonetheless, small but decent crowds and even a nice group for the guided tours. There were even Christmas Carols singing groups going around making the rounds.

But rain plus street sinkholes plus a large statue in danger of tipping over into the sinkhole plus the closing down of a main street artery do NOT add up to being very helpful for a good opening...

The joys of being a gallerista.

Makes my head hurt.

Tonight is the second Friday of the month and thus the Bethesda art galleries are having their opening night and offer the Bethesda Art Walk.

The Bethesda Art Walk now features free guided tours to participating galleries and studios during select Art Walk Fridays. Guided tours will give Bethesda Art Walk patrons the opportunity to learn about downtown Bethesda’s galleries and studios as well as their current shows featuring exhibiting artists. Tours will begin at 7pm. Attendees can meet their guide at the Bethesda Metro Center, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue.

We will host our annual Winter Group show, showcasing new work by gallery artists as well as invited artists. Our catered opening reception is from 6-9 PM. Free and open to the public.

See ya there!

Museum of Modern ARF AOM Exhibit Opens Tomorrow

John Aaron's Museum of Modern ARF presents "Hand Picked," the first of several city wide exhibitions by diverse galleries derived from the recently closed Artomatic mega exhibition.

Aaron has picked a select group of small affordable works by around twenty of his favorite artists from Artomatic. The opening reception is tomorrow, Saturday, December 11 from 6-9 PM. The exhibition runs until January 5, 2005.

Congratulations!

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, based on our recommendations has awarded the following fellowships to DC area artists, shown in order of votes by the advisory panel members (by the way, the fellowships are partially -- and substantially -- funded by Pandamania "profits"):

Artists Fellowship Media:
Jonathan Gann
Celeste Crenshaw
Holly Tank

Artists Fellowship Visual Arts:
1. Prescott Moore Lassman
2. Joey Manlapaz
3. Byron Peck
4. Margaret Steinhilber (Maggie Michael)
5. Daniel Steinhilber
6. Luis R. Salcedo
7. Patricia Tobacco Forrester
8. Cheryl P. Derricotte
9. Allison Miner
10. Anne Marchand
11. Elaine Langerman
12. Roderick Turner
13. Kris Swanson
14. Anna Demovidova
15. Colin Winterbottom
16. Stuart Gosswein

As I've noted before, I was disappointed on the low number of applications that were submitted by DC visual artists, and hope that the next cycle (deadline is next June) has more applicants.

To get an application, contact the DC Commission and ask them to put you on their mailing list. Congratulations to all selected artists!

Jonathan Padget discusses Linda Hesh's Art Ads Project in today's Washington Post's Arts Beat column.

There was no "Galleries" column. Get used to it. There were, however, four music reviews on the day that the Style section is supposed to focus on Galleries and Arts News.

The Last Few AOM Top 10 Lists

Angela Kleis was one of the participating artists in this year's AOM and is the President of the Centreville Regional Art Guild. She says that "these are the artists whose work I searched out and spent a lot of time at, as much as I could."

1. Colin Winterbottom - Photography; his is my absolute favorite!
2. Kathryn Cornelius - Installation, before it was shut down. I LOVED it! I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience it before it was closed. Very powerful.
3. Robert Weiner - Glass. Beautiful!
4. M. Rion Hoffman - Lightboxes. So much to see inside those little lighted boxes.
5. Kay Lane - Abstract painting.
6. Gregory Ferrand - Painting. Faces with Desperation. They made me very uncomfortable, and it was great!
7. Haya Alhossain - Photography; Cities-Paris. The only foreign city I've ever visited, and these photographs captured it perfectly.
8. Meghan Taylor - Drawing/painting
9. Scott Davis - Photography
10. Ruza Spak - Painting; very simple, very powerful, very large.

---

Matt Hollis is DC area artist, who also exhibited at AOM and submits the following list:

1. The lips on the boys painted by Rob Van der Zee.
2. The richness of Richard Kightlinger's coilor pallet.
3. Scott Davis' River Tower photo.
4. Christine Cardellino's Tower of Babel paintings.
5. The pictures of Beth Hinners as a child at the Children's Museum she had next to her collage.
6. The swirling masses of debris and color by Inga McCaslin Frank.
7. The subtle beauty of the plants in Aaron Flemming's drawings.
8. The personalization of another culture's craft in Mark Jenkins' pubic hair quilts.
9. The flashbacks of being at the Children's Museum as a child.
10. The opportunity to meet and share with other DC artists.

Just returned from a few days in San Diego. On the flight over I read Mario Vargas Llosa's erotic novel In Praise of the Stepmother, nicely illustrated by Jacob Jordaens, Francois Boucher, Titian, Francis Bacon and Fernando de Szyszlo (one of the lesser recognized but certainly a key and influential Latin American abstract artist - Peruvian like the author).

On the flight back today I read Mea Cuba by Guillermo Cabrera Infante, a spectacular book that documents (from the perspective of perhaps the greatest living Cuban writer) what Castro has done to Cuban artists, writers and poets, and Cuba.

I had an interesting experience on this flight back.

I had originally planned to fly back on Friday, but I finished my business early and thus changed my flights so that I departed from San Diego early this morning. So I called Moe, who is a taxi driver that I've been using for years to pick me up to and from the airport. I called him and told him that I had taken care of everything a day early, so he needed to pick me up tonight at BWI.

From San Diego I flew to Phoenix, and I was sitting there, waiting for my connecting flight to BWI, reading Mea Cuba , when this very large, cop approached me and asked me:

"Excuse me sir, are you Lenny?"

"Yes," I answered, wondering how this very large cop knew my name and why was he asking me for it.

"Can I speak to you for a minute?" he said.

"Sure," I answered getting up and walking with him, while a few dozen Baltimore-bound passengers looked at us in alarm and my mind was running several algorithms trying to figure out what was going on.

We walked a few feet away, and I looked at his name (Officer Contreras - a very large, shaved-head, imposing cop).

He was very nice and professional, and it turns out that someone in San Diego, a fellow passenger at the terminal, had overheard me talking to Moe, and somehow deduced from my conversation with my taxi driver that I was a Mafia hitman, so this alarmed citizen, as soon as the plane landed in Phoenix, went to the airport police and demanded that they investigate.

"How did you know my name and what I looked like?" I asked Officer Contreras, intrigued and impressed at the efficiency of the whole event (and after showing him some ID, which he dutifully recorded in his notebook). He explained that this concerned citizen had listened to my conversation (where I mentioned my name to Moe) and then taken a snapshot of me with his cell phone, which he had then shown the Phoenix Airport cops and demanded that they arrest me before I completed my next Mafia job in Baltimore.

Now, I sort of feel like Dan Rather with the whole "What's the frequency Kenneth?" episode.

I'm expecting black helicopers to fly over my house tonight.

Blake Gopnik's Art History Challenged (Again)

Last year, the Washington Post's Chief Art Critic Blake Gopnik's art history was challenged by William Woodhouse.

William Woodhouse scolded Blake in a Letter to the Arts Editor, for "being misled" about the importance of Toledo in El Greco's Spain as described in Gopnik's review of El Greco at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In his review Blake anchors much of El Greco's unusual success with his odd realism upon the fact that El Greco was working "in the safe isolation of a provincial Spanish town" and essentially the locals didn't know any better. But William Woodhouse corrected Gopnik's perception of Toledo by pointing out that "it is a mistake, however, to characterize the ambiance of 16th-century Toledo as 'the safe isolation of a provincial Spanish town' vs. the court of Philip II in Madrid."

Woodhouse thus delivered a big hole in the review's central theory. But I defended Blake by pointing out that his Oxford Anglo-centric education probably gave him a skewed and flawed view of European history, especially of England's arch enemy, Spain.

But now Kurt Godwin, who is an Adjunct Art professor with Virginia Commonwealth University and a lecturer at Catholic University of America, writing in the new (and excellent) Signal 66 Gadfly makes a series of powerful points in reference to Gopnik's recent review of Gerhard Ter Borch and reveal a lot about Gopnik's surprising art history weakness and even more about his use of his pulpit to preach his own personal art history agenda.

Godwin writes:

Why Seer Jeers Vermeer Remains Unclear

Blake Gopnik begins his review of the Gerhard Ter Borch exhibition that recently opened at the National Gallery proclaiming this artist's superiority over his more familiar contemporary Johannes Vermeer (Washington Post, Style section 11/7/04).

Intrigued to see how this conclusion was derived I looked forward to finding a solid argument supporting this declaration. While, alas, this wasn't to be found other notions expressed proved to be real head scratchers.

To wit: Crediting Ter Borch with introducing the Netherlands to the supposed Velasquez "bare bones" means of portraiture Gopnick forgets that Hans Holbien the Younger perfected this method almost one hundred years earlier in neighboring Germany. Ter Borch could have easily been caught up in the sway of such readily accessible influences.

Gopnick continues to enthuse that Ter Borch's paintings in small scale are "almost as impressive" as Velazquez's large-scale work. Such a statement begs for further analysis.

Perhaps we'll be clued-in some other day.

Despite Gopnik's assertion otherwise, many of these paintings are narrative driven using such classic allegorical metaphors as letter reading and writing, the faithful dog, as well as playing card symbolism. Discussing the genre painting "A Gallant Conversation," Goethe is presented as an interpreter of that painting's implied narrative. Mysteriously, Gopnick refers to the German philosopher's novel not by title but solely by its publication date of 1809.

If famous authors serve as any sort of aid to art criticism, for good measure, let us not forget Marcel Proust's reference to Vermeer's "View of Delft" that played such an important role in the classic novel "Remembrance of Things Past."

The admiration Gopnik bestows on Ter Borch's supposed lack of narrative or allegorical pretensions is because, as he states, it favors "a kind of uninflected realism like cryptic reality itself." He goes on to chastise Vermeer for his "hint of portentous, poetic mystery." It's hard to imagine much of a chasm between describing a portrayal of life either as "cryptic reality" or "poetic mystery."

Later he refers to this artist's rendering of life as "captured in all its cryptic contingency." The repetitive use of this adjective is very cryptic indeed.

In his description of Ter Borch's innovative techniques and discoveries Gopnik offers this explanation: Observing "light bouncing from form to form and then into our eye, then coming up with surrogates for them using a handful of pigments."

With the exception of two painting done with collaborators, these paintings are rather dark. Vermeer's subtle, light infused paintings are their antithesis. What Gopnik has described is the painting process in generic terms rather than some unique 17th century development.

Continuing he exclaims the kind of "micro-bravura" (a phrase that seems to be an oxymoron) that Ter Borch provides should thrill us as much as the "macro-virtuosity" of a Hals or Rembrandt.

What these terms mean I can't attest to. Except for the fact they are all of Dutch origin lumping together these artists with such different painting styles is unclear.

To solidify his case for Ter Borch's superiority over contemporaries like Vermeer, he suggests it necessary to put ourselves in the shoes of a "17th century art lover."

Whoever that may be.

If we have to do that, and as he states, "rejecting modernism's hackneyed taste for the capricious," we are dealing with an artist who cannot transcend his own era much less achieve the timelessness and universal appeal that is the acknowledged mark of a true master. In other words we can't just merely be our selves to fully appreciate this art. We must have the specific perspective of an "art lover" four centuries ago. Maybe he's just suggesting that may help.

It is Gopnik's prerogative to champion anyone. Pairing two painters like a couple of racehorses might have proved interesting if a case was made.

Painting isn't a competition anyway. Perhaps posterity's fickle spotlight will further illuminate this particular artist's reputation. Despite Gopnik's wish I have a hunch there won't be long lines eager to gain entry to see this show unlike exhibitions in the recent past by a couple of other dead Dutch guys.

Professor, Therein lies the key to Gopnik's attempt to bring Vermeer down a notch or two: The public loves Vermeer and lines up for hours to see his paintings. In the mind of old-fashioned elitists like Gopnik, if the public likes something or someone, then it can't be any good.

Bravo Godwin!

DC Art News reader Nathan Martin, in response to my question about the Kennedy Center honors, passes that "unfortunately, the Honors aren’t given to visual artists, nor are they given to poets, novelists or playwrights. Given that it’s the Kennedy Center "for the Performing Arts" it makes a certain amount of sense. Here’s the description from their web site:

"The Honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts: whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines."

He also suggests that "if visual artists were eligible, though, it would have to go to relatively respectable, late-in-their-career types like Jasper Johns, Wayne Thiebaud, Rauschenberg, etc. Maybe Joseph Stella or Louise Bourgeois in sculpture. Philip Johnson in architecture, maybe Gehry, Venturi and Graves in 10-15 years."

Good nominations! My question now: So what's the equivalent of the Kennedy Honors for visual artists? Should the National Gallery of Art institutionalize something? Do we even need it?

I recall that one of my art school professors, Jacob Lawrence, received a Presidential Medal of Freedom (I think) in the 1980s from Pres. Reagan. And yet he was and has been ignored by the NGA for a retrospective, although the Phillips Collection did organize a great one a few years ago.

One of the main reasons that the WaPo Style and acting Arts Editor have for reducing their “Galleries” coverage by 50% is the unexpected quitting of Glenn Dixon. It is thus apparently “too hard” for them to look for a replacement freelancer to augment Jessica Dawson’s coverage.

“Lack of available print space” was an older excuse that the Post hierarchy once gave me when I challenged them as to why they only had one “Galleries” column a week, while they have extensive multi column coverage of theatre, opera, performance, movies, dance, books and music.

And yet, yesterday's Post was a good example of the kind of pap that the Style section offers its readers and which takes up valuable print space.

No, no, I am not referring to their orgasmic coverage of the Kennedy Center awards; well-deserved and my congratulations to all the award winners (are visual artists eligible for these awards? Has any visual artist ever been nominated? If not, who could we nominate?).

Back to the pap:

One is a piece by freelancer Jennifer Silverman titled “Swinging Singles, Lost in a Forest of Smug Marrieds,” and the other beauty is by freelancer Martha Randolph Carr titled “That Wonderful Glorious Summer of Perfect Hair.”

They don't even deserve a hotlink.

Makes my head hurt…

I'm on the road, presently in San Diego. My laptop is acting up and I have a busy schedule, but I will be posting sporadically and at odd times. I have several last AOM Top 10 Lists from AOM artists, plus some more commentary on the Post, plus the adress of a new restaurant in San Diego which makes the best mole in the world!

The Writing is on the Wall

Everyone seems to be predicting the end of newspapers as we know them.

Today the WaPo has a story by Amy Argetsinger titled California Enclave Tires of Being Artsy. It discusses a story first published here and in other Internet art sites and BLOGs several weeks ago, but just making it to the newsprint pages of the WaPo. Chances are that quite a significant percentage of the Post’s readers may have been already exposed to this story.

How can the WaPo and other lamestream media survive the future? it is not a matter of if, but of when, and the future (as George Carlin said) is just now becoming the past.

But the WaPo (and some other newspapers) can (and must) adapt and they will survive if they do so.

The WaPo has made two smart moves already, but a third, and very important one is needed if it is to check-mate its own future demise. I will tell them, by the end of this posting, what they need to do.

The first good move that they made was their decision to go online a few years ago. Incredibly enough, that decision (I am told) was made pretty much against the will of the corporate hierarchy, which thought that going online was a waste of money and would shrink newspaper subscriptions. It’s a good thing that more visionary thinkers won that battle and that the WaPo went online. Subscriptions to the Post have declined substantially, but that is a trend that has affected all newspapers, regardless of website presence.

Now their website receives near a million visitors a day, and generates substantial income for the paper through banner advertising and those annoying pop-up ads.

The second smart move was to create the Express, which although free, is widely read by the morning commuter crowd. It is made of short, quickly read, stories, highlights, etc. As I’ve discussed here before, it is interesting to me that a small mention of an exhibition in the Express generates substantially higher number of inquiries and attendance than a full fledged review in the Post.

So how can the Washington Post prevent their imminent dismissal as a source of news, information, opinion and culture (cough, cough)?

Simple: Marry the two concepts!

Actually, not just marry the two concepts, but expand on them! Have the marriage yield a child, an issue; a WaPo Saviour, if you will.

This is what they have to do: Expand the printed version of the paper, with its army of editors stuck in “this is how things have been done” land, with a fresher, rawer, online version. Not just an online version of their print version, but that plus online-unique content.

For example, in their much criticized and anemic coverage of the arts, they could augment the various fields and genres of art with online columns, reviews, commentary, photography, and yes even BLOGs! All the major cable news programs and cable newscasters are already doing this – it is the lamestream media that doesn’t seem to get in step with the 21st century.

And this can be done without reproducing their bricks and mortar hierarchical structure that publishes their old fashioned newsprint edition. An online Post writer – freelancers all of them, I would assume – would never have to set foot inside 1150 15th Street, NW. No need for secretaries, no need for assistants, etc Just online editors whose job would be editing and editing alone; the software handles the rest.

Biggest obstacle in this idea (other than the mindset of an old fashioned business empire rapidly declining?): The unions, I suspect.

The Gallery at Flashpoint Call for Proposals

Deadline: Friday, January 21, 2005.

The Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC) is requesting proposals for exhibitions in the Gallery at Flashpoint for the September 2005 to August 2006 season. This request is open to artists, independent curators, arts organizations, private galleries or anyone choosing to present contemporary work in any medium. Deadline for proposals is 6pm Friday, January 21, 2005.

For a 2005-2006 Request for Proposal application, please visit their website or email them

ArtHelps Charity Art Auction

Faith Flanagan passes that ArtHelps will be having their Fourth Annual Art Auction and Reception for Charity with DCAC as one of its beneficiaries. The auction is on Wednesday, December 8, from 5:00pm to 10:00pm. It will be held at JAM Communications, 1638 R Street, NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20009.

Please take a moment to view the ArtHelps website and download a donation form, and you can designate DCAC as your charity. If you have any questions, please give Faith a call at 202/744-8770.

Marilyn Banner's Top 10 AOM List

DC area artist Marilyn Banner is an exhibiting AOM artist and the is co-founder and co-director of Washington Musica Viva, a popular new music, poetry, and visual arts performance series which takes place in her Kensington, Maryland studio.

Greg Minah
Dylan Scholinski
Ira Tattelman
Elena Patino
Gina Marie Lewis
Louise Kennelly
Sheila Crider
Anne Marchand
Matt Sesow
Joyce Zipperer

WPA/C Anonymous Returns

The WPA/C concept of ANONYMOUS returns with an opening preview reception on Thursday, Dec. 9, 6:30-8:30pm and the first day to purchase artwork is Friday, Dec. 10, 6-8pm.

This is a second installment of this popular show concept featuring all new artists and curators. 100 artists create two feet by two feet works of art to be sold for $500 each. Buyers will not know the artist until the work has been purchased. No works will be sold at the preview reception and only one piece is allowed per patron. Curated by: John Aaron, K.B. Basseches, Mary Del Popolo, Djakarta, Chawky Frenn, David Jung, Prescott Moore Lassman, Anne Marchand, Marie Ringwald and Alan Simensky.

Sales will commence on Friday, December 10 at 6:00pm. One piece per patron. You may send a proxy if necessary. Cash, checks and credit cards accepted. First come, first served. The show hangs until December 23, 2004.

Location: 1027 33rd Street, NW (Georgetown)
Times: Thursday & Friday 12pm-8pm
Saturday & Sunday 12pm-6pm

New Transformer Show Opens Next Saturday

Transformer celebrates the work of six artists furthering a new and engaging fashion sensibility in Washington, DC with Rejoice! This new Transformer show Features dynamic visual creations by Washington DC area artists and designers Jess Feury, Sarah Hagen, Jennifer Potter, Karie Reinertson, Valerie Soles, and Justin Spivey.

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 11, 2004 7-9pm. The show runs until January 22, 2005.

Blake Gopnik Buys Artwork

"At first glance, any big survey of contemporary art is likely to come across as an anything-goes mess of unrelated objects. But hang around in the art world long enough and you start to notice that a certain sameness, built around a handful of recurrent themes and strategies, underlies all that variety."

Gopnik does a pretty good mini-review of Jennifer Dalton's PowerPoint presentation at Curator's Office and buys a CD ROM of Dalton's piece.

Bravo Blake!

Postcards from the Edge

Why doesn't somebody in Washington do this?

Postcards from the Edge is an annual Visual AIDS benefit and this year it is being hosted and held at Brent Sikkema in New York City. I have participated for several years and encourage all artists to join us next year.

The Preview Party is tonight Saturday, December 4, from 6-9 PM. $50 cover at the door (Participating artists get in free) Door cover includes one free raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets are $20 each. Special Host: Alan Cumming. There's also an open wine bar sponsored by Wine & Spirits Magazine.

This is the only opportunity to get a sneak peek at the entire Postcards From the Edge exhibition. No work will be for sale on the Preview Night. One lucky raffle winner will be able to select any artwork that evening before anyone else!

Postcard artwork is hung anonymously, so come to the preview party and scout your favorites early!

Benefit Sale: Sunday, December 5, 2-6 PM
First-come, first-served - No entrance fee
Postcards sales only $50 each.
Cash and checks only – ID needed for checks

Over 1400 original postcard-sized works. This exhibition is famous within the art world as the most exciting and affordable way to build a collection of work by internationally renowned artists as well as young and emerging artists. Postcards are displayed anonymously and the artists' names are only revealed upon purchase. A collector might end up with a work by a famous artist or someone they don't yet know. Either way, they walk away with a great piece of art while supporting the programs of Visual AIDS.

Postcards from the Edge exhibiting artists include: Karen Abato, Samira Abbassy, David Abbott, Joshua Abelow, Rachel B. Abrams, Vito Acconci, Diyan Achjadi, Irina Adam, Faith Adams, Raymond Adams, Suzanne Adams, Chuck Agro, Ruben Ahumada, Tatiana Akoeva, Yasmin Al-Mutawa, Norman Alcantara, Susan Alden, Meredith Allen, Antonio Allotta, Jacie Lee Almira, Carol Alonge, Alonys, Barbara Alper, Cristina Alvarez, Jose Alvarez, David Ambrose, Blanka Amezkua, Shannon Amidon, Mohammed Aminyar, Emma Amos, Marie Anakee, Joseph Anastasi, Chad Andrews, Stephen Andrews, Jonn Angelbeck, Larry Angelo, Victor Angelo, William Anthony, Tijana Antonic, Polly Apfelbaum, Tomie Arai, Joan Arena-Mastropaolo, Goil Arm, Karen Arm, Bill Armstrong, John Felix Arnold III, Yelena Aronson, Andrea Arroyo, Mike Asente, Dotty Attie, Dominick Avellino, Patricia Ayala, Alice Aycock, Nancy Azara, Aziz + Cucher, Franny B, Adam Baer, Ralph Baginski, Kayode Bahard-Adowa, Sung Baik, Allison Bailey, Bradford Bailey, Patrick Michael Baird, Francis Baker, Paul Baker, John Baldessari, Ranjan Banerjee, C. Bangs, Gerard Barbot, Perry Bard, Sarah Barker, Burt Barr, Byron Barrett, Frank Barrett, Katie Barrie, Megan Barron, Rita Barros, Mark Barry, Michael Barry, Beth Bartholomew, Hugo Xavier Bastidas, Larissa Bates, Virginia Batson, Hilary Batzel, Amy Bay, Kristin Beal-Degrandmont, Robert Beck, Michael Bedlin, Guy Beining, Adam Bell, Andrew Bell, Caroline Bell, Tom Belloff, Stuart Bender, Barton Lidice Benes, Garry Benet, Robert A. Benevenga, Brian Benfer, Lynda Benglis, Andrew Sumner Benson, Stefany Benson, Kermit Berg, Katherine Bernhardt, B. Berrner, Adriana Bertini, Victoria Bevan, Stephen Beveridge, Rebecca Bird, JoAnn Bishop, Darla Bjork, Jill Blagsvedt, George Blaha, Nayland Blake, Julie Blattberg, Ross Bleckner, Meryl Blinder, Theresa Bloise, Deborah Boardman, Marcelle "Malka" Bock, Marion Boddy-Evans, Daniel Bodner, Sarah Jane Boecher, L. Webb Boles, Debby Boman-Lawrence, Helen Bonham Short, Jerome W. Bono, Chakaia Booker, David Borawski, Dane Borda, Frank Boros, Michael Boroskey, Desiree Borrero, Filip Bosevski, Matthew Bourbon, Louise Bourgeois, Jacqueline Bovaird, Susan Bowen, Astrid M. Bowlby, Aaron Bowles, George Box, Mark Bradford, S. Kendall Bradford, Meghan Brady, Maea Brandt, Dana Brauckmann, Mai Braun, Susan Breen, John Breiner, Corey R. Breneisen, Nancy Brett, Val Britton, Ann Brody, Mona Brody, Nancy Brooks Brody, Candyce Brokaw, Molly Brooks, Alana Brown, Miriam Brumer, Matthew Buckingham, Trang Bui, Amy J. Bullano, Ann F. Bunn, Christopher Burke, Kathe Burkhart, Tim Burns, Nancy Burson, Scott Burton, Dietmar Busse, Preot Buxton, Kit Callahan, Michael J. Cambre, Mary Campbell, F. Lennox Campello, Maria Capolongo, Rene Capone, Suzanne Caporael, Marina Cappelletto, Karlos Carcamo, Claudette Carino, Luis Carle, Arnold Carlson, Joel Carlson, Victor Carnuccio, Kate Carr, Mary Ellen Carroll, Mark Carter, Rob Carter, Amelia Caruso, Diane G. Casey, Janice Caswell, Andrew Catanzariti, Corliss Cavalieri, BJ Cavnor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Cawley II, Celso, Bindu Chadaga, Mark Chamberlain, Anthony Champa, Richard Lang Chandler, Wade Chandler, Jennifer Chapek, Christiane Chaponniere, Alejandro Chavez, Amy Cheng, Julia Chiang, Michael Chiarello, Kim Chivers-D’Amato, Soyeon Cho, Cecile Chong, Alice Jee Chung, Amanda Church, Diane Churchill, Vincent Cianni, Kate Clark, Stephen Taro Clark, Nuala Clarke, Rob Clarke, Robert Clarke-Davis, Christopher Clary, Veronica Jay Clay, Judy Clifford, Aaron Cobbett, Colin Cochran, Jon Coffett, Orly Cogan, Susan Colgan, Cecy Colichon, Chris Collicott, Sarah Colligan, C.J. Collins, Greg Colson, Matthew Liam Conboy, Ernest Concepcion, Elisabeth Condon, Rhys Conlon, Graham Connell, Emily Conover, Lauren Cook, Monica Cook, CB Cooke, Cyndi Coon, Marcia Cooper, Pam Cooper, Stuart A. Copans, David Correa Muñoz, Margarida Correia, Jose Luis Cortes, David Corwin, Geraldine Cosentino, Eileen Costa, Fiona Couldridge, Erika Cramer, Peter Cramer, Fred Cray, Brian Crede, Kathleen Creighton, Elizabeth Crisman, Judith Croce, Jerstin Crosby, Ave Maria Cross, Sarah Crowner, Albert Crudo, Pedro Cruz-Castro, Janet Culbertson, Alan Cumming, Daphne Cummings, Megan Cump, Amie Cunningham, Doris Currier, Anne Cypcar, Peggy Cyphers, Brita d’Agostino, David Dalessandro, Amanda Dalmat, Harriet F. Damianakes, Priyanka Dasgupta, Edgerton Y. Davis, Eric Davis, Reginald Davis, Xiomara De Oliver, A. De Shong, Blase DeCelestino, Elisa Decker, Gloria DeFilipps Brush, Cezar Del Valle, Brent Delf, Tom DeLooza, Jason Deneault, Dustin Dennis, Priscilla Derven, Susan Deseyn, Anjali Deshmukh, Yoko Devereaux, Denise DeVone, Uday Dhar, Max Diel, Erica Dietrich, James Diffin, Denise Segreti DiGiovanna, Simone DiLaura, Danielle Dimston, George Dinhaupt, Scott Dolan, Rory Donaldson, Todd Doney, William Donovan, Elissa Dorfman, Jessica Doyle, Jeffrey du Vallier d’Aragon Aranita, Melanie Ducharme, Daniel Dueck, Beth Duerr, Jeffrey Dugan, Lauren Dunkle, Heather Dunn, Jeanne Dunning, Chad Durgan, Julie Durkin, Matthias Duwel, Annie Dwyer Internicola, Marcel Dzama, Michael Eade, Brent Nicholson Earle, Janae Easton, Jonathan Easton, Mat Eaton, Brad Eberhard, Marlene Eckhardt, Adam S. Eckstrom, Melissa Eder, Allison Edge, Cynthis Edorh, Frank Egloff, Per Eidspjeld, Eric Elias, Fredrick Elms, Elise Engler, Donna Jean Engstrom, Joy Episalla, Mitch Epstein, Patricia Erbelding, Christa Erickson, Yvonne Estrada, Dore Everett, Branden Ezell, Joan Fabian, James Fackrell, Lisa Fain, Chris Fang, Neil Farber, Adriana Farmiga, David Faulk, Nicholas Fedak II, Tony Feher, Josh Feldman, Wynn Fermin, Ramon Fernandez-Bofill, Eliza Fernbach, Brad Fesmire, Suzanna Fields, Angelo Filomeno, Janet Filomeno, Hannah Fink, Michael A. Fink, Brian Finke, Lisbeth Firmin, Christina B. Fischer, Joseph Fisher, Louise Fishman, Jacques Flechemuller, Mark Fleming, Sean-Michael Fleming, Robert Flynt, April Fontaine, Roy Foo, Jean Foos, Tom Foral, Juliana Forero, Taylor Forrest, Alison Foshee, Johnston Foster, Nicole Fournier, Bradley Fox, Mark Fox Morgan, Tara Fracalossi, Audrey Frank Anastasi, Travis Frazelle, Christopher Frederick, Sharon J. Frey, Sabra Friendman, Steven Frim, Gina Fuentes Walker, Adam Fuss, Felipe Galindo, Kristen Galvin, Asha Ganpat, Arturo Garcia, Laurel Garcia Colvin, Milton Garcia Latex, J.J. Garfinkel, Joy Garnett, Yvonne Gaspar, Alexandra Gates, Bob Gates, Jeff Gauntt, Paul Leroy Gehres, Asya Geisberg, Madeline Gekiere, Terri Gelenian-Wood, Amy Geller, Mike Geno, Timothy W. Gerken, Elena Mercedes Getto, Cris Gianakos, Eric Gibbons, Sam Gibbons, Byron Gibbs, Haya Gil-Lubin, Stacy Gilinson, Eric Ginsberg, Frances Giron, Luis Gispert, Christopher Glancy, Judy Glantzman, Milton Glaser, Marilyn Glass, Robin Glassman, Sybil Gleaton, Angela Glennon, Virginia Glessner, Godforbid, Michele Godwin, Monika Goetz, Anthony Goicolea, Jo Going, Kenneth Sean Golden, Keren Golden, Michael Golden, Ellen Goldin, Ben Goldman, Lance Goldsmith, David Goldstein, Ana Laura Gonzalez, Maria Elena Gonzalez, Kathy Goodell, Alicia Goodfarb, Johnny L. Goodwin, Kay Gordon, Lee Gordon, Kalika Gorski, Alyce Gottesman, Meira Gottlieb, Shaun Gough, Michelle Grabner, Leor Grady, Deborah Grant, Garry Grant, Robin Graubard, Joanne Greenbaum, Holly Greenberg, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Meryl Greenblatt, Kira Greene, Sarah Greer Mecklem, Stan Gregory, Peter Griffin, Michela Griffo, Samantha Grimm Hallenus, Ellen Grossman, Katrin Grotepass, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Edgard Guanipa, Patricia Guardiola, Lynn Gufeld, Carl Gunhouse, Sophia Guntherz, Juan Pablo Gutierrez, Hans Haacke, Theresa Hackett, Patricia Haemmerle, Bill Hall, Lavonne Hall, Katy Hamer, Harmony Hammond, Jane Hammond, John Hampshire, Victoria Hanks, Kim Hanson, John Hardy, Allison Harkavy, Joann M. Harrah, Dike Harris, Pamela Harris, Mary Beth Harry, Keira Hart, Dominic Harvey, Ellen Harvey, Peter Harvey, Michael Harwood, Naj Hasani, Ava Hassinger, Skowmon Hastanan, Sarah Hauser, Stuart Hawkins, Tom Hawkins, Joseph Hayes, Karen Heagle, Valerie Hegarty, Mary Heilmann, Mara Held, Amy Helfand, Neddi Heller, Miranda Hellman, Thomas Hellstrom, Doug Henders, Sarah Henderson, Geoffrey Hendricks, Jon Hendricks, John Hendriks, Ed Herman, Molly Heron, Matthias Herrmann, Valerie Herteen, Alex Hetherington, Corin Hewitt, Laura Heyman, Amy Hill, Jan Hilmer, Juan Hinojosa, Bryan Hiott, Annamarie Ho, Sarah Hoddy, Jim Hodges, E. Featherstone Hoff, Chet Holcomb, Anamika Holke, Kim Holleman, Frank Holliday, Andrea Holt, Joel Holub, Gregg Hoover, Rinaldo Hopf, Brooke Horne, Jarrod Houghton, Joel Hoyer, Mary Hrbacek, Amanda Huang, Arthur Huang, Heather Hudson, Robert Huff, Kat Hughes, Morgan Hughes, David Humphrey, Sheryl Humphrey, Jennifer Hunter, Yolanda Hunter, Adam Hurwitz, Nancy Hwang, James Hyde, Nash Hyon, Jessica Iapino, Shigeno Ichimura, Ijeoma D. Iheanacho, Jasmine Imperial, Ketta Ioannidou, Shaun Irons, Carmen Isasi, Junichiro Ishida, Anna Jaap, Alfredo Jaar, Tim Jablonski, Sandra Jackman, Clarke Jackson, Derek Jackson, Georgia Jackson, Jackson Photografix, Brooke Jacobs, Bill Jacobson, Jimmie James, Matthew Jankowski, Benjamin T. Jarosch, Allison Jarvela, Janusz Jaworski, James Jaxxa, Jim Jeffers, Bill Jensen, Gerry Jensen, Tom Jezek, Jiro, Lennon Jno-Baptiste, Jessika Joe, Simen Johan, Laura Johansen, Chris Johanson, Christine Johnson, Eric Anthony Johnson, Erick Johnson, Hasan Johnson, Holly Johnson, Liz Johnson, Paddy Johnson, Bill Jones, Darrell Jones, Darren Jones, Rula Jones, Ken Jones Jr., Michael Joo, Saskia Jorda, Jovani, Michael Joyal, Emily Joyce, Jenny Jozwiak, Roberto Juarez, Miranda July, Paul Justice, Patricia Kaegi W., Ellen Kahn, Kai, Indra Karpaviciute, Elaine Karton, Marie Christine Katz, Andrew Kaufman, Betsy Kaufman, Jessica M. Kaufman, Pat Kaufman, Dionisios Kavvadias, Eleni Kavvadias, Takeshi Kawashima, Ameer Kazmi, Judy Kazmi, Marya Kazoun, Darra Keeton, Betsy Kelleher, Marthe Keller, Jamie Kelty, Sebron Kendrick, Michael "Misha" Kennedy, Shirin Khaki, Swati Khurana, Hee Sook Kim, Heige Kim, Jaesung Kim, Jingyung Kim, Jullian S. Kim, So Jung Kim, David King, Kelly King, Marcy King, Matt King, Susan Kirby, Michael Kirwan, Barbara Klein, Rosanne Kleinerman, Elisabeth Kley, Lucretia Knapp, Barbara Knight, Elizabeth Knowles, Woon Won Ko, Viktor Koen, Philip Kogan, Carol Kohn, Francine Kohn, Kathy Koller, Thomas Koole, Fran Kornfeld, Aaron Krach, Kara Kramer, Michael Krasowitz, Andre North Krauss, Fawn Krieger, Larry Krone, Liliana Krynska, Louis Kunsch, Melissa Kuntz, Michelle Kurlan, Allison Kurtz, Anita Kushner, Michael Kwiecinski, Ben La Placa and Mary Klie, Eliot Lable, Jaclyn Labozzetta, David Lachman, Stephen Lack, Miles Ladin, Thomas Lail, Emily Noelle Lambert, Lehni Lamide Davies, Lisa LaMonica, Marc Landes, Klara Landrat, Eve Andree Laramee, Erin Lareau, Larian, Kristin Larson, Catherine LaSota, Heidi Lau, Ayala Laufer-Cahana, Louis Laurita, Shelley Lavell, Glenda Lavin, Louise Lawler, Beatrice S. Lebreton, Roberto Lebron, Amanda Lechner, Charlie Ledbetter, Marjeta Lederman, Cal Lee, Deanna C. Lee, Margaret Lee, Brian Lemond, Taliah Lempert, Zoe Leonard, Barbara Leven, Les Levine, Barbara Ann Levy, James Levy, Georgina Lewis, Sol LeWitt, Julia Lichtblau, Daniel Licul, Michael Liddy, Edward Lightner, Glenn Ligon, Yuki Lim, Alexandra Limpert, Conner Limpert, Nicole Limpert, Tai Hung Lin, Nikki Lindt, Martha Link, Megan Lipke, Marcia Lippman, Lump Lipshitz, Jackie Lipton, Frank Liu, David Livingston, Luis A. Locarno, Patricia Lofgren, Amy Lombardo, Tim Lonergan, Jason Longchamps, Aimee Louchart, Chris Louchart, Whitfield Lovell, Gina Lovoi, Michael Lownie, Robert Ludwig, Cecilia Lueza, Vera Lutter, Annica Lydenberg, Holly Lynton, Noah Lyon, MacDermott and MacGough, Mary Macey, Marci MacGuffie, Megan Maguire, Charles Werner Mahal, Jr., Jennifer Mahlman, Rebecca Major, Sakura Maku, Luis Mallo, Linda Mangan, Craig Manister, Ed Manner, Erica Mapp, Philomena Marano, Mitchell Marco, Harriet Regina Marion, Thom Markee, China Marks, Sandy Marostica, Adria Marquez, Norma Marquez Orozco, Christopher Marquis, Kathleen S. A. Marquis, Charlotte Marra, Mary V. Marsh, Kerry James Marshall, Katy Martin, Trevor Martin, Max Carlos Martinez, Magdalina Martinez Franco, Bob Marty, Amy Mascena, Scott Massarsky, Christina Massey, Thomas Matsuda, Amy Matthews, Kegera Matthews-Lawrence, Mary Mattingly, Meghan Matuza, Brooke Maxwell, Esperanza Mayobre, Michael Mazzeo, Xanda Mc Cagg, Emma McCagg, Maureen McCarron, Melissa McCarthy, Paula McCartney, Mark D. McComb, Peter McCoubrey, Janice McDonnell, Tim McDonnell, Sarah McEneany, Dominic McGill, Alison McGoran, Thomas McGovern, Conor Mcgrady, Paul McHale, John Mckaig, Craig McKenzie, Anne Q. McKeown, Chuck McKinney, John McLachlin, Mark McLoughlin, Meridith McNeal, Sarah McNulty, Jamie McPartland, Beverley McQuillan, Bill Mcright, Justin McSimov, Lisanne McTernan, Michael Meads, Roberto Medina, Russel Mehlman, Julie Mehretu, Linda Meisenhelder, Brad Melamed, Derick Melander, Margery Mellman, John Melof, Ann Messner, Lucia Alba Mettler, Chris Metze, Michael Nathaniel Meyer, Mica, Maggie Michael, Ellen Miffitt, Holly Miller, Judith S. Miller, William H. (Billy) Miller, Shizuka Minami, Marilyn Minter, Elizabeth Miseo, Kenneth Mitchell, Michael Mitchell, Tadashi Mitsui, Joseph Modica, Sharon Molloy, Jorge Luis Moncayo, Sean Monesson, Sarah Monroe, Gregory Montreuil, Cindy Moore, James Moore, Jessica Moore, Nik Moore, Randy Moore, Paul Moran, Tom Morbitzer and Gail Amornvivat, Janet Morgan, Andrea Morganstern, Lora Morgenstern, Ricardo Morin, Juri Morioka, Amy Morken, James Morrison, Leo Morrissey, Arezoo Moseni, Adrienne Moumin, Carrie Moyer, K-- Mroczek, Roger Mudre, Fred Mugford, K. Muldoon, Matt Mullican, Vik Muniz, Margaret Murphy, Elizabeth Murray, Kevin Muth, Pieter Myers, Jeremy Nadel, Stefanie Nagorka, Andrew Nance, Chuck Nanney, James Nares, Antonella Natale, Marcia Neblett, Joseph Nechvatal, John W.M. Neely, Rodrigo M. Negreira, Heidi Neilson, David Nelson, Laura Nelson, Diogo Neto, Brandon Neubauer, Chyna Ng, Christian Nguyen, Sophia Nilsson, Martha Nilsson Edeheit, Michelle Nixon, Liz Nofziger, Nick Normal, Scott Norris, Emily North, Mardi Nowak, Paul Nudd, Robert O’Donnell, Elin O’Hara Slavick, Veronica O’Hern, Carrie O’Neil, Leah Oates, Angelo Ocasio, Dustin Odgin, Sun-Duck Oh, Eri Oishi, Nancy Olivier, Ron Omlin, Soner On, Tomomi Ono, Yoko Ono, Patricia Onorato, Christian Oppel, Richard Orjis, Dianne Orkin Footlick, Novella Osuorah, Tom Otterness, Michael Ottersen, Vivian Outlaw, Joe Ovelman, Rachel Owens, Tori Pace, Carol Padberg, Enrique Padilla Jr., James Paladino, Kelsey Palmer, Marcy Palmer, Ruby Palmer, Wilna Panagos, Nicole Parcher, Eung Ho Park, Jung Eun Park, Jennifer Parker, Margo Parker, Robert Miles Parker, Suellen Parker, Charles Parker Boggs, Sam Parks, Avani Patel, Laura Paulini, Sarah H. Paulson, Jim Pavlicovic, Manuela Paz, Junanne Peck, Carol Peligian, Elisabeth Pellathy, Claudia Pena, Sheila Pepe, Keith Perkins, Quimetta Perle, Jules Perlmutter, Perry, Daniel Perry, Gilda Pervin, Lamar Peterson, Kyriakos Petropoulos, Christina Pettersson, George Pfau, Laura Sue Phillips, Sisavanh Phouthavona, Doug Piccione, Tracee Pickett-Armoni, Pietrapiana, Mary Pinto, Kim Piotrowski, Drew Pisarra, Joe Piscopia, Jesus Polanco, Anne Polashenski, Bekky Pollack, Ben Polsky, Nuno Pontes, Sabrina Pooler, Dayna Poon, William Pope L., Tara Popick, Amy Jean Porter, Chuck Potter, Maggie Prendergast, Lily Prentice, Jennifer Presant, Mel Prest, Rhiannon Price, Rick Prol, Amy Pryor, Susan Prytherch, Dianne Purdy, Antonio Puri, Matthew Pych, Wayne Pyle, Michael Raaum, Svetlana Rabey, Magdolena Rachwel, Dean Radinorsky, Carol Radsprecher, Helaine Rainier, Christina Ramirez, Paul Henry Ramirez, Debra Ramsay, Lisa Ramsay, Fernando Rangel, Jessica Rankin, Meryl Lynn Ranzer, Rappel, Kaylyn Raschke, Moriah Ray, Lisa Reddig, Erwin Redl, Catherine Renae, Richard Renaldi, Andreas Rentsch, Reto, Cynthia Rettig, Barbara Jo Revelle, Paolo Reverbel de Souza, Miguel Angel Reyes, Reynolds, Eric Rhein, Alice Rice, Barbara Richards, Robert W. Richards, Brian Riley, Joyce Riley, Brooke Ripley, Meg Ripley, Barbara Ritz Jenny, Greg Rivera, Daniele Robbiani, Dale Roberts, Daniel H. Roberts, Marie Roberts, Sandy Lee Robertson, Andrew Robinson, Steven Robinson, Roberta Rocca, Gabriel Rocha Z., T.M. Roche-Kelly, Dorothea Rockburne, Debbie Rodenhauser, Anthony Rodriguez, Tim Rollins & K.O.S., Dan V. Romer, Roncallo, Yarminiah Rosa, Francisco Rosado, Matthew Rose, Kay Rosen, Michael Rosen, Rob Hugh Rosen, Robin Ross, Phyllis Rosser, Alfredo Rossi, Arnold Roth, Ryan Roth, Andrew Roy, Lisa Rubin, Christina Sitja Rubio, Donna Ruff, Mayda Rumberg, Lisa Rundstrom, Thomas Rupich, Arlene Rush, Dan Rushton, Craig Russell, Ellen Ryan, Betye Saar, Ken Sahr, G. Sampson (Bieberich), Joel Sanders, Toni-Lee Sangastiano, Edward Santalone, Carmine Santaniello, Santiago, Katia Santibanez, Nelson Santos, Jennifer Sarkilahti, Gordon Sasaki, Anthony Satori, Amelia Saul, Richard Sawdon Smith, Joe Saxe, Denise Schatz, Sebastian Schaub, Dimitri Scheblanov, Irys Schenker, Carolee Schneeman, Kenny Schneider, Mira Schor, Collier Schorr, Susan Schwalb, Molly Schwartz, Sandra Scicchitani, Chris Scroggins, Greg Seagrave, Christinea Seely, Anson Seeno, Analia Segal, Jessica Segall, Joan Semmel, Luciano Senger, Gregory Sengletary, Christina Serchia, Jennifer Serchia, Emily Severance, Paul Kent Sewell, Grant Shaffer, Don Shanley, Amy Edith Shapiro, Norman Shapiro, Denise Shaw, Dr. Gerald Shaw, Emma Shaw, Herb Shaw, Marc Shaw, Nancy Shaw, Patrick Shaw, Renee Shaw, Erica Shearer, Frank Sheehan, Mark Sheinkman, Kate Shepherd, Rudy Shepherd, Etienne Latour Genore Hughes Sheppard, Kayo Shido, Taki Shimura, Heesun Shin, Jean Shin, Sangah Shin, Ellen Shire, Peter O. Shire, Kiriko Shirobayashi, Shmuel, Allison Shockley, Alyson Shotz, Joyce Siegel, Amy Sillman, Tawnie Silva, Kelly Simbirdi, Ellen Singletary, Sonita Singwi, Carri Skoczek, Jennifer Skoda, Tom Slaughter, Susannah Slocum, Aminah Slor, Oren Slor, Wendy Small, Michael Smit, Clifford D. Smith, Lory Smith, Louise Smith, Michael Smith, Eleni Smolen, Bambilee Snyder, Dorothy Snyder, Christopher T. Sojka, Deanne Sokolin, Lori Solondz, Hector Solorio, Thomas R. Somerville, Mario Sostre, Jeff Soto, Lisa C. Soto, Beverley Southcott, Teddy Spath Jr., Maria Spector, Nancy Spero, Gary Speziale, Margot Spindelman, Jered Sprecher, Francis Stallings, David Staniunas, Tamara Staples, Jessica Steele, Barry Steely, Pat Steir, Joshua Stern, Lindsay Stern, John Michael Stevison, Michael Still, Rae Stimsom, Mark Stockton, Steve Stone, Claire K. Stringer, Michelle Stuart, Bobbi Studstill, Christine Stuht, Kelly Anne Sturhahn, Pablo Sue-Pat, Kunie Sugiura, Ilene Sunshine, Rachel Sussman, Ferenc Suto, Rilette Swanepoel, Jane Swidzinski, Edward Swift, Liam Swon, Betty Sword, Paul Szabo, Radek Szczesny, Don Tabler, Barbara Takenaga, JD Talasek, Herb Tam, Jeff Tambussi, Sam Tan, Joey Tang, Kim Rae Taylor, Morgan Taylor, Steed Taylor, Sonia Tedsen, LaVerne Telles, Mary Temple, Austin Thomas, Gwenn Thomas, Sharon Thomas, Emily Thompson, Lex Thompson, Mark Thompson, Chrissy Thomsen, Brenda Thour, Michael Tice, Elizabeth Tillotson, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Zdravko Toic, Jutka Tolcser, Mette Tommerup, James Tomon, Anne Marie Torrez, Jennifer Toth, George Towne, Bill Travis, Richard J. Treitner, Becky Trotter, Daniel Trout, Janaina Tschape, Marina Tsesarskaya, Arlene Tucker, Colleen Tully, Spencer Tunick, Chris Twomey, Type A, Kako Ueda, Christopher R. Ulivo, Penelope Umbrico, Alex Umen, Peter Urban, Urbanthropologie (Carol-Anne-Ryce-Paul), Maria M. Valez, Teressa Valla, Marc Van Cauwenbergh, Kathryn Van Steenhuyse, Chris Vander Schans, Maura Vanderpoorten, Sharon VanStarkenburg, Marsha Vaughn, Tony Michael Vecchio, Alberto Velasco, Jayastree Venkatadurai, Guido Vermeulen, Alejandra Villasmil, Grazia Vita, Don Voisine, Bruce Volpone, Anna Von Gwinner, Natasha von Rosenchilde, Leonard Von Webb, Whitney Vosburgh, Elysa Voshell, Melanie Wadsworth, Lori Wakefield, Robert Walden, Glen Walls, Shelton Walsmith, Lucia Warck-Meister, Jeff "Jeffu" Warmouth, Tom Warren, Rebecca Wasserman, Jack Waters, John Waters, Rose Watts, Mary Weatherford, Hannal Weaver, Patrick Webb, Tenesh Webber, Joan Weber, William Wegman, Theres Wegmann, Ellen Weider, Louise Weinberg, Dan Weiner, Lawrence Weiner, Ejay Weiss, Barbara Weissberger, Alan Wells, Carolyn Weltman, Kimmy Wentling, Frederick Weston, Dirk Westphal, Charmaine Wheatley, Stuart Wheeler, Jojo Whilden, Ken Whitbeck, Lili White, Mark Wiener, Veronica Wilkinson, Darrell Wilks, David M. Williams, Diane Williams, Shane Williamson, Emily Piah Wilson, Fred Wilson, June Wilson, Kate Wilson, Letha Wilson, Albert Winn, Edie Winograde, Sue Winton Parrish, James Wodarek, Ann F. Wong, Colby Wong, Virgil Wong, Thomas Woodruff, Aicha Woods, Cindy Workman, Suzanne Wright, Jennifer Wroblenski, Brooke Wyatt, Tamara Wyndham, Noel Wynn, Rob Wynne, Cathy Wysocki, Junko Yamada, Lynne Yamamoto, Carrie Yamaoka, Chin Chih Yang, Bernard Yenelouis, Maria Yerman, Leyla Yildiz, Bo Sung Yoom, Sunhee Yoon, Irene Young, Laurence Young, Penn Young, Candice Yu, Kosuke Yuki, Carlo Zanni, Patricia Zarate, Valerie Zars, John Zaso, Richard D. Zauner Jr., Jody Zellen, Emna Zghal, Chuck Zimmer, Alice Zinnes, Anthony Zito, Katherine Zuckerman, Nina Zurier, and Gary Zyra.

All Postcards from the Edge proceeds support the programs of Visual AIDS. Founded in 1988, Visual AIDS strives to increase public awareness of AIDS through the visual arts and supports artists living with HIV/AIDS.

Why doesn't somebody in Washington do this? In fact I'm going to contact the organizers and see if there's interest in staging one of these here next year!

Adrienne Mills Top 10 AOM List

Adrienne Mills is not only a woman of mystery, but she's also a very talented photographer, a participating AOM artist and body painter extraordinaire. She told me that she has "walked AOM at least 50 times," and thus her list (and her comments) comes after miles of re-visitng these works (the links lead to Mills' photos of the AOM artists' works):

Christopher Edmunds (I came to the realization that I have a head fixation).
Kathryn Cornelius then and now (I luuuuv you! ...I guess you had to be there before it was shut down.)
Sherill Anne Gross
Rob Vander Zee (The heads behind Bryan T)
Erwin Timmers (I like his stuff way better than Tim's but Tim gets all the press and play).
Thomas Edwards (I want to lick you! ... you can't imagine how many times I've thought that about different people. It's good to know I'm not the only one).
Lisa Schumaier (I like cats. Maybe that's why I want to lick people).
Jared Davis (even better when he has the music going).
Video guy (I don't remember his name).
Joyce Zipperer
*Amy Marx* (Amy gets the "close, but no cigar" award. The black fabric stretched on the frames was a bit ragged but I still like the overall effect. I would bump Sherill if the black fabric was in better shape).

More AOM Lists coming...

Artists are finally sending me their Top 10 AOM Lists. I'll be posting Marilyn Banner's and Adrienne Mills' later today.

For the next two weeks I'll be on the road; traveling to Miami and to San Diego. Nonetheless I will still be posting from the road, including my final mathematical compilation (from all lists) of the Top 10 AOM artists, whom will then be offered a group show at a DC area gallery in 2005. I am working the details with that gallery and will announce it all next week.

By the way, four other galleries that I know of (both Fraser Galleries, the Anne C. Fisher Gallery and Gallery Neptune) are also offering shows to AOM artists based on some of the DC Art News AOM lists. Is that great or what!

Whole Foods and art

I love shopping for food at Whole Foods, and how there's always all kinds of foods, cheeses, dips, etc. around to taste and eat as you shop. If the grubs knew about this, I am sure they may stop attending art gallery openings and start hanging out at Whole Foods.

But I digress... Every Whole Foods store has a resident artist, and several of them (such as Kelly Towles) are also exhibiting artists at this year's Artomatic.

And the Whole Foods area management sent all their employees the below email, encouraging them to attend the final weekend of Artomatic.

Bravo Whole Foods!