MSN versus The Fraser Gallery

Our gallery is suddenly battling Microsoft for our survival, and I am at a loss as to what to do next.

Yesterday, out of the blue, and in the middle of responding to emails, our computer screen suddenly declared that our Hotmail account had been closed and access was denied.

"So why are you still using Hotmail," some of you technogeeks must be asking?

When we first opened The Fraser Gallery in 1996, we literally funded it through our credit cards, and yet, one of the first things that we did was to create a website (a free one back then via Geocities) and used Hotmail as a free email account service.

As the gallery did better and better, the website grew larger and larger and we migrated from a free online website service to a paid one (it's one of the largest gallery online sites in the world now by the way... nearly 3,000 pages).

And as the website grew larger and larger, the Hotmail email address became so closely attached to our business, that it became impractical to replace it with a more formal one. So we continued to use frasergallery@hotmail.com as our main email address, while trying to "switch" slowly to "info@thefrasergallery.com"

When Microsoft bought Hotmail a few years ago, we immediately upgraded to their paid service (Hotmail Plus), which costs $19.95 a year.

Since 1996 the business has grown tremendously, and now we probably do about a third of our business strictly online. We receive anywhere from 100 to 200 emails a day, as well as a few hundred spams, which the Hotmail filter is pretty adept at catching.

So that's why, in 2006 we are still using Hotmail. Too many people, too many collectors, too many webpages, etc. already have it listed as our email address. A couple of years ago we began developing the use of info@thefrasegallery.com, but the vast bulk of email stuff still comes to frasergallery@hotmail.com

Also, since 1996 we've been using email to send out our press releases and also invitations to our openings to people who have signed up and given us their email address for that specific purpose.

We've also kept a pretty good record of electronic correspondence with museums, collectors, etc. online through the use of Hotmail folders, etc.

Again...So that's why, in 2006 we are still using Hotmail.

And then yesterday, our account was unilaterally and without warning closed! And then people started calling us telling us that emails to us were being bounced back as "undeliverable."

Now, even though this is a paid service to MSN, there's no phone support to Hotmail, and so I sent them an email asking them "what's the problem?"

About 30 hours later I received a message back from their Technical Support people (clearly in India) with the following:

From : MSN Hotmail Technical Support
Sent : Thursday, April 27, 2006 8:03 PM
To : frasergallery@hotmail.com
CC : lennycampello@hotmail.com
Subject : RE: SRX1013082496ID - MSN Hotmail Plus:I need something fixed:My Mail:Others

Hello Fraser,

Thank you for writing to MSN Hotmail Technical Support.

I apologize for the delay in answering your e-mail. We appreciate your patience as we handle every customer request as quickly as possible.

This is Shamy and I gather that you have been having issues accessing your frasergallery@hotmail.com account and getting the message that it has been closed.

I realize how important this account is to you since you are using it in business purposes. I appreciate that you have written to us regarding this.

Fraser, I have verified that your frasergallery@hotmail.com account was closed in accordance with the Hotmail Terms of Use (TOU). It is a strict violation of the TOU for our members to send objectionable material of any kind or nature using our service.

To read our Terms of Use, visit http://privacy2.msn.com/tou/en-us/default.aspx

Additional information about MSN Hotmail's anti-spam policy can be found here: http://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/anti-spam.aspx

We appreciate your understanding and continued support of MSN Hotmail.

Sincerely,

Shamy B.
MSN Hotmail Technical Support

"Objectionable material of any kind or nature" Come again? (And by the way, the next person who calls me "Fraser" is getting his ass kicked!)

And so I began to frantically try to call and contact every possible telephone number and email associated with Microsoft, only to be told that Hotmail only deals with any issues via email.

Several emails to managers@microsoft.com nonetheless have resulted in this one response:

From : Customer Feedback for PSS Customers managers@microsoft.com
Sent : Thursday, April 27, 2006 5:18 AM
To : "F. Lennox Campello"
Subject : RE:'RTCProd=011-770-387' Why is my account closed? I can't get any answers! 1013078543

Hello Lenny,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Customer Service.

I understand from your message that you are unable to log on to your Hotmail account. I realize the importance of your issue.

As your issue persists to Hotmail, I request you to contact Hotmail support team. They will be able to assist you better in this regard. You may contact them at;
http://www.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/dasp/ua_info.asp

Lenny, I hope the above information can help you. If you have further questions or concerns regarding Microsoft Products and Services, please write back to us. We will be glad to assist you.

Thank you for using Microsoft products and services.

Arun
Microsoft Online Customer Service Representative

If you have any feedback about your Online Customer Service experience, please send an e-mail to my manager, Biji Balan, at: managers@microsoft.com

So I am taking deep breaths, and realizing that this is not Shamy B's or Arun's or even Biji Balan's fault... and yet.

We are losing business everyday, as online inquiries about our art and artists get returned as "undeliverable." This can really hurt the gallery, as we have just laid out a ton of money to pay for the various art fairs that we're doing this year.

What can we do? How does a small, independently owned business get heard from a giant like Microsoft?

Here's what I think happened:

1. I doubt that it is any "objectionable materials," unless email invites to the Bethesda Literary Festival talks are deemed objectionable by MSN.

2. I think that Hotmail has recently implemented some sort of fuzzy logic threshold to catch spammers; they probably did this a few days ago.

3. This "catch" is probably simply based on the number of emails sent over a certain time period. It doesn't take into account (a) that we've been doing business with them for over 10 years (most spammers I suspect get a free account, send out a ton of spams and then go away) and (b) Our "usual" email pattern has these monthly hikes, when we pump out a few hundred emails all in one day for invites to openings, etc. But on a daily basis, we just respond and/or send 30-50 emails a day.

4. When we sent the Literary Festival invites to our subscription list, it tripped that arbitrary number, and without even checking with their customer (us), their software killed our account.

5. And now I cannot get Shamy B or Arun or even Biji Balan to understand that they may be killing an independently owned small business' online presence and a lot of its business.

I am at a loss as to what to do, immensely pissed off and in dire need of some advice.

Microsoft started in a garage somewhere near Seattle; even in its current incarnation, I am hoping that a human being will still be able to do something to fix this issue.

Help!!!!

He who owns the walls

Decides what goes up and when it comes down.

The CP's Rachel Beckman has an interesting story about Jefferson Pinder and an early take-down. Read it here

Pandas Cows on Parade

Cows on Parade is the international traveling version of the concept that gave birth to our own Pandamania, Donkeys and Elephants and those giant Testudos all over the University of Maryland's campus.

And now Vach'Art has landed in Paris, where local artists have obviously not heard that it may hurt their career if they decorate a silly plastic cow with artsy motiffs. Among the French artists participating are Thierry des Ouches, Marika de Moro Giafferi, Yanne Kintgen, and Hubert Le Gall.

Congratulations

To our own Samantha Wolov (who will be soon moving to the Left Coast), as one of her photographs will be on the cover of "Best Women's Erotica 2007" from Cleis Press.

Connie Imboden at Heineman Myers

As most of you know, over in hard-to-find Bethesda, a new independent fine arts commercial gallery opened last month, Heineman Myers Contemporary Art, directed by the energetic Zoe Myers, who chose well-known Baltimore photographer Connie Imboden’s photographs for her grand opening exhibition.


And Zoe Myers definitely stacked the deck for the grand opening, for Imboden’s photographs are absolutely spectacular.

In addition to the breath-taking photographs, there’s also a video that shows Imboden at work, and before any critic or writer pens a word, this video is a "must watch." In the video we discover Imboden, working the pool, the cameras, the models and the mood; we also listen as she describes and discusses what she is trying to achieve.

"These images are seen through the camera, they are not manipulated in the darkroom or computer. I am often amazed at the shapes and forms that have appeared in my work.

My intention has always been to explore the body, not to alter it. I want to find the camera angle from which the forms can be the most that they can be-whatever that is. If it is a grace to the limbs, then I want the angle from which that grace becomes the absolute most it can be at that moment.

And so it leads me on, to explore angles, space, reflections, and light. I strive to make forms make sense visually, and trust that the metaphor, the poetry will follow."

Why is the video a must-watch? Because unless one watches Imboden at work (the photographs are all taken around, in or under water), and listens to Imboden discussing her work, it would be easy for less-than-patient jaded critics to fall under the trap that these are photographs that use water to deliver a gimmicky visual image.

They are not.

These are photographs that celebrate the human body, in all its imperfect and yet sensual bits and pieces. And this celebration of sensuality and Eros and moisture is highlighted by the immense ability of water to distort, redirect and sexualize any and everything that it caresses, especially a nude body.

And in that moment in time, when Imboden presses the shutter and captures an image of light and flesh, she also captures the moment when a seed of sensuality will be place inside the mind of a future viewer, who will admire the photographs behind the safe glass of a solid frame and in the white cube of a shiny new gallery.

If you enjoy the many beautiful thoughts that viewing the human body can create, do not miss this show. The exhibition runs through May 13, 2006.

Stats Brag

In April of 2003, DC Art News averaged around 1,000 hits a month, a year later, in April of 2004, we averaged around 2,000 hits a month. In April of 2005 we averaged around 10,000 hits a month, and now in 2006 we're well on our way to average over 30,000 hits a month.

And this is just for a website focused generally upon the Greater Washington DC visual arts scene.

What does this say? I believe that it re-affirms that we have one of the healthiest and most vibrant art scenes in the nation, and also one that thirsts for some media attention; any attention! And for information, and ideas, and healthy feedback about the visual arts.

Keep coming back, and I'll keep writing.

Thank you!

Express has a Blog

Readexpress.com, the online web companion to the Express, the popular freebie newspaper for the Washington D.C. metropolitan area that is owned by The Washington Post Company has a new site that offers "frequently updated features and a variety of interactive tools including locally-oriented blogs, real-time polling on hot issues and a lively classifieds marketplace. The site will also feature a dynamic map centered on local classifieds, and extensive restaurant and entertainment listings drawn from Express and washingtonpost.com."

The Express has done a pretty good job, considering its size, in covering the visual arts, and we sincerely hope that the re-vamped online presence will also expand the newspaper's look at our galleries, museums and artists.

Update: Just saw this, which answers my above plea, as now we know that Kriston will be policing the DC area art scene for the Express' blog, in addition to his Eyelevel blog duties, his CP writing assignments and his own G.Police work. You better get a car Texan!

Reminder: Women's Caucus for Art's 2006 Annual Networking Day

This coming Saturday, the Women’s Caucus for Art of Greater Washington DC will be having their 2006 Annual Networking Day, focusing on exhibiting and marketing your art.

I will be presenting a focused talk covering marketing. This presentation has been derived from our Bootcamp for Artists seminar. This event is free and open to the public.

When: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 29, 2006
Where: Goodwin House
3440 South Jefferson Street
Falls Church, VA 22041
1.703.820.1488

The Women’s Caucus for Art, a major national non-profit member organization, was founded in 1972 and is an affiliated society of the College Art Association. It is unique in its multi-disciplinary, multicultural membership. WCA members are artists, art historians, arts administrators, museum and gallery professionals, teachers, students, curators, critics, collectors, and others who are committed to WCA’s goals.

For more info call 301.910.1231 or email Authentic_Art@att.net.

See ya there!

Small Grants Seminar

Co-hosted by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the folks at Artomatic.

When: Monday, May 8th at 6:00 PM at the Warehouse Café.

As most of you know, there will be an Artomatic later this year, and all DC artists considering participation in Artomatic 2006 this fall should consider this seminar.

The Small Projects Program offers grants up to $1,000 for individual artists and arts organizations. The program seeks to make grant funds more accessible for small scale arts projects with budgets under $3,000 and gives priority to individuals and organizations new to the Commission's grant program.

Projects may include but are not limited to the following: arts presentations; technical assistance services to aid fundraising, marketing, and managerial efforts; documentation of activities and artistic product through photography, brochures, portfolios, "demo" tapes, or slides; or art related conferences, workshops and seminars which enhance and strengthen artistic and professional development.

The deadline for the Small Projects Program is June 2, 2006 at 7pm. Program Officer for the grant is Tania Tam, who can be reached at 202-724-1400.

If you are planning to participate in AOM 2006, then plan ahead and apply for a project grant to expand your AOM 2006 participation!

Job in the Arts

Exhibits Administrative Assistant, Smithsonian Institution.

Announcement Number: 06AM 6054. Administrative Assistant in the Department of Exhibitions and Special Projects, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. GS-7, salary $35,671 - $47,669 + benefits.

The incumbent provides administrative support to departmental staff in a fast paced creative environment. Establishes procedures for ordering supplies and equipment, generates purchase orders and purchase card transactions, maintains long-term exhibition and special projects calendars, establishes and maintains filing systems, makes travel arrangements, assists designers with the layout and production of labels and exhibition graphics, organizes the office's electronic data.

Experience in PeopleSoft, Excel, Word, and graphic production software is preferred. Position closes April 28, 2006. Salary: $35,671.00 +.

Please see Announcement Number 06AM-6054 at www.sihr.si.edu for application instructions.

Bethesda Literary Festival

The Bethesda Literary Festival takes place in various venues throughout Bethesda April 28-30 April.

We will be hosting three authors this year:

On Saturday, April 29, 2006 the Fraser Gallery hosts Frank Warren, sole founder, curator of the PostSecret Project and editor of the best-selling book of the same title. Commencing at 7PM, Warren will be discussing the project and the book and signing copies of the book.

On Sunday, April 30, commencing at noon, we will be hosting author Barbara Kline as she discusses her behind-the-scenes memoir: White House Nannies, which reveals the nation's capital as you've never known it before.

Also on Sunday, commencing at 1:30PM, talented area photographer Grace Taylor will speak and answer questions about her book, A Tibetian Odyssey. Taylor spent a month in Tibet and her book contains many images and comments from her journal. When Taylor had a show of her Tibet images in Baltimore, Glenn McNatt, art critic of the Baltimore Sun, wrote that "the art of photojournalism lives in the strong, black and white works of Grace Taylor" and also "Taylor has a wonderful sense of light and shadow and a natural empathy for people that allows her to suggest something of her subjects' personalities through the smallest gestures and most fleeting expressions."

Bring your own book or they will be available for sale from the authors. To reserve a copy of any of the books ahead of time, call 301/718-9651 or email us at info@thefrasergallery.com.

Opportunity for Photographers: Slideluck Comes to DC

Deadline: April 28, 2006

Slideluck Potshow I: Washington, DC.

Born in the tiny living room of a NYC photographer who is fond of food, drink, friends, and photos, Slideluck Potshow is a slideshow and a potluck all at once.

This has grown into an inspiring and spirited event that regularly brings hundreds of creative folk to interesting New York City venues.

To get a better sense of what this event is about, then visit this website for photo galleries from past events, archived slideshows, feedback, or even recipes.

And now Slideluck comes to DC in a surprising venue!

They are looking for submissions and this is your invitation! Show them anything you like, but keep in mind, you are allowed a maximum of five minutes. There is no theme, so feel free to submit portraits, stories, outtakes from a job, personal work, it's up to you.

The submission guidelines can be found at this website.

Ignore the dates on the site, and keep in mind these two:

Submission Deadline: Friday, April 28th, 2006.

Show Date: Saturday, May 6th, 2006 at the Numark Gallery.

After you have prepared your submissions, email Karine Aiger for FTP instructions.

Then, bring a tasty dish (you MUST bring some kind of dish/food), and something good to drink, and join them for a fantastic slideshow!

More on Google and Miro

Theory Now's Mark Cameron Boyd, in response to Cindy Engquist's previous points on the subject:

Your "understanding" of the issue is absolutely correct, in that "for visual arts, an image was protected but not an idea or concept... so no one can copy Dali's melting watches, but anyone can paint a melting watch of their own." This is one of the risks that artists take, in addition to the "risk" of even making "art," that their work is no longer "their own" once it enters the "public arena."

In addition to the "meaning" of their work being misinterpreted, misunderstood or misrepresented, artists have to realize that it can be appropriated and even "misused" for other purposes than their own. However, Ms. Engquist is correct in her assumption that Google does not have "the right to exploit any artist’s work for its own marketing purposes," but they are already more than questionable in their "marketing" procedures, as the information about possible Chinese "dissidents" that Google has reportedly released to the Chinese government approaches nothing less than criminal negligence.

Ms. Engquist states: "Even if misuse of an idea of an image or concept is not legally enforceable, the damage to the artist and the impact on the artist’s future income can be significant." True, but only those who have the time and money to engage in extensive litigation over the "misuse" of their images, or the supposed misuse of an "idea," will be able to determine these "intellectual property issues" for the rest of us.

Call for Artists

I'll be jurying our 10th Annual Juried Competition, and now is the time to start preparing as entries are due May 19, 2006.

All the details, entry forms and prospectus are at this website.

More on Google and Miro

Reader Cindy Engquist offers a different point of view in my issue with Google and Miro posted here. Cindy writes:

This is not pettiness at all. This is an intellectual property issue, a marketing issue, and a legal issue.

Google’s "party line" is that they are "honoring" artists by doing interpreted renditions symbolizing the the artists’ work in their Google logo, but the fact of the matter is, Google is using the artists’ concepts and ideas for Google’s own profit. From a marketing standpoint it is very creative, timely, and differentiating that Google does an ever-changing representative logo. It helps to make them distinctive as a search engine and a company. But Google does not have the right to exploit any artist’s work for its own marketing purposes without paying for the right to use the artist’s work, not to mention without even asking permission for temporary rights.

This is a legal as well as an ethical issue.

The team at Google is either: a) creative and exploiting; or b) creative and uniformed about the legal and ethical ramifications of what they are doing. I would hope it’s merely the latter, because some people might be willing to forgive them for being uniformed as long as they make reparations. However, there’s really no excuse for a business of Google’s stature to be uninformed.

The team at Google is not doing this out of goodwill (by so-called "honoring" the artists). Anything like this is always about money.

Best regards,

Cindy

I responded to Cindy that as far as intellectual property, it was my understanding that for visual arts, an image was protected but not an idea or concept... so no one can copy Dali's melting watches, but anyone can paint a melting watch of their own. Cindy responded that she "believe[s] that there is a rather large gray area between misuse of an image and misuse of an idea or concept. Even if misuse of an idea of an image or concept is not legally enforceable, the damage to the artist and the impact on the artist’s future income can be significant. I am aware of this through my own work, my research and work in the art licensing world, and my work and interactions with artists and graphic designers."

PostSecret Talk and Booksigning

On Saturday, April 29, 2006 the Fraser Gallery is honored to host Frank Warren, sole founder, curator of the PostSecret Project and editor of the best-selling book of the same title. Commencing at 7PM, and as part of the Bethesda Literary Festival, Warren will be discussing the project and the book and signing copies of the book (bring your own or available for sale at the gallery).

Frank Warren is the sole founder and curator of the PostSecret Project, a collection of over 30,000 highly personal and artfully decorated postcards mailed anonymously from around the world, displaying the soulful secrets we never voice.

A New York Times best seller, PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (ReganBooks) is Warren’s first book. In 2006, his PostSecret website (which receives over 3,000,000 visitors every month) was awarded six weblog awards including "Best American Blog" and "Blog of the Year."

His WPA/C exhibition of PostSecret cards was called by the Washington Post "One of the five best art shows in 2005."

Warren has appeared on the Today Show, 20/20, CNN, MSNBC, CBC, NPR and Fox News. USA Today called Warren: "An award winning Blogger, a first-time author, an artist with a traveling exhibit, a possible documentary subject, the inspiration for a music video and the all-around media ‘it’ boy of the moment."

In 2005 The All American Rejects approached Warren about using images of actual PostSecret images in their "Dirty Little Secret" music video. They offered Warren $1,000 but instead he asked them to donate $2,000 to 1(800)SUICIDE where Warren is a volunteer. The donation was made and the music video became one of the most requested on MTV. The National Mental Health Association will be presenting Warren with an award later this year for his work in raising public awareness about suicide.

Warren continues to receive between 100 and 200 postcards everyday. He updates his website on Sundays and is working to produce four more PostSecret books.

Germantown, Maryland is where Warren, his wife and 11 year-old daughter call home. He continues to call himself an "accidental artist" because he has no artist background or training. "I have been asked many times why I started this. It still feels to me as though this project found me. All I try to do is make the right decisions every day to protect the integrity of the project – and learn to trust the journey."

The discussion and book-signing is free and open to the public and will start promptly at 7PM. To reserve a copy of the book call the gallery at 301/718-9651 or email us at info@thefrasergallery.com.

Affordable Studio Space

From 190 square feet for $206 month to 970 square feet for $1053 month, utilities included.

Shown Wednesdays 6-8PM at 6925 Willow NW in DC or call 202/882-0740 or visit this website and then click on A. Salon.

This is why we need more voices

Three critics look at the same show, in this case Connie Imboden at the new Heineman Myers Gallery in Bethesda. Two offer intelligent views and one dismisses it without a second thought.

Glenn McNatt in the Baltimore Sun.

Jessica Dawson in the Washington Post (scroll down).

Kriston Capps in the Washington City Paper.

One more opening

In addition to all the openings listed here, there's one more opening taking place tomorrow, Sunday April 23: Harvardwood, DC launches itself at Project 4 Gallery on U Street this Sunday, April 23, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. as they are hosting a special viewing of Terrie Pipa's oil and watercolor exhibit "Small Gestures." The launch party is free.

Petty

This is a new high in pettiness.

Home

Back home from the Left Coast, but with a ton of work to do! More later...

Airborne today and heading to California... more later.

Openings

April 19. "Drawings" at Robert Brown Gallery. Works by William Kentridge, Trawick Prize finalist Linn Meyers, David Nash, Kojo Griffin and others. Opening reception on Wed. April 19 from 6-8PM. Through May 13, 2006.

April 20. "For Women By Women" Photo Exhibit from Turkey at Warehouse Gallery. Reception for the benefit of a Women's Shelter in Urfa as part of the "For Women By Women" Photo Exhibit. Reception/Happy Hour on Thursday April 20, 2006 6 - 9 pm. Space is limited. Please RSVP by 19th of April at fwbw@art4development.net or call 877/580-6670.

April 21. Norman Parish will open the fourth of six group exhibitions commemorating the Parish Gallery’s fifteenth anniversary in Georgetown. Opening reception on Friday, April 21, 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Artists in this group show include Carreno, Elliott, Garemedhin, Farrell-Johnson, Lesser, Piechocinski, Plotkin-Mates, Miller, Roberts, Stuelpnagel, Underwood, Van Esso, Van Helsland, Woodson, and Young.

April 21. "Russian Realism 2006" at Principle Gallery in Alexandria. Reception Friday, April 21 from 6:30-9PM. Forty contemporary and Soviet era realist works.

April 21. "Adam Ross: Recent Work" at Numark Gallery. Opening reception on Friday, April 21 from 6:30-8PM. Show goes through May 27, 2006.

April 22. "MFA Thesis Exhibition" at American University's Katzen Arts Center. Reception 6-9PM on Saturday, April 22 and open studios 4-9PM. The exhibition goes through May 7, 2006.

April 22. "Crossings." New photo collages by Judith L. Smith at Gallery West's new location in Old Town Alexandria. Opening reception on Saturday, April 22 from 6-9PM. Show goes through May 22, 2006.

April 22 and 23. "Art and Artifacts Show." Featuring the art of Penny Ross Burk and Afrika Midnight Asha Abney and hosted by The Culture Shop. On April 22nd and April 23rd from 11am-5pm. Info: 202-726-2211 or email them at customerservice@cultureshop.com

April 23. "Place and Time." New works by Juan Bernal, Mary Ott and Stanley Wenocur at RAP, temporarily located in Gaithersburg while their new space is being finsihed in Rockville. Opening on Sunday, April 23, 2006 from 3-5PM. The show goes through May 20, 2006 and there's a panel discussion (and dessert!) on Sunday, April 20, 2006 from 3-5PM.

May 6. Amy Lin is an amazing minimalist artist whose work has grown in leaps and bounds over the last year. Her very first solo show ever opens at the Rachel Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center's Gallery in Alexandria with an opening reception on Saturday, May 6 from 4-6pm . The exhibition goes through June 10, 2006.

May 7. "Bobbi Pratte: Lotus" at the Art League in Alexandria. Opening reception on Sunday, May 7 from 2-4PM. Through June 5, 2006.

When artists buy art

When an artist buys original artwork by another artist, I think that it is a special honor. At least I am always highly honored when I sell one of my drawings to a fellow artist.

So you must understand that I am not only honored, but somewhat dazed to find out that Ida Applebroog has bought one of my drawings for her collection.

New name

The Rockville Arts Place, which has been temporarily located in Gaithersburg, MD while their great new space in being built in downtown Rockville, will be renamed VisArts once the move takes place.

The new space looks terrific, and will certainly be one of the key exhibition spaces around the Greater DC area.

Congrats

To DC's former JET Gallery's co-owner, Thomas Robertello, who has just opened the Thomas Robertello Gallery in Chicago.

Good luck Tom!

Printmaking

Union Printmakers Atelier announces that registration is now open for Traditional Printmaking Classes. Sign up to study Lithography (stone and plate), Intaglio (etching, aquatint, drypoint), Relief (wood or linocut) and monotype; methods, techniques, materials and histories will be covered.

For more information or to register please contact Scip Barnhart at 202/277-1946 (sBarnhart@corcoran.org) or Jenny Freestone at 301/408-0660 (freeston@erols.com).

Union Printmakers Atelier is located near the new convention center at 926 N Street Rear, Blagden Alley, Washington DC 20001.

Art in Embassies

Established by the United States Department of State in 1964, the Art In Embassies Program is a global museum that exhibits original works of art by U.S. citizens in the public rooms of approximately 180 American diplomatic residences worldwide.

To submit images to the Art In Embassies Program staff for consideration in upcoming exhibitions please e-mail .jpg or .gif images of your works no larger than 50k in size, to: artinembassies@state.gov. Website: www.aiep.state.gov/index.cfm.

Survey

ArtDC.org is conducting an online artists survey. The goal of this survey is to gain a deeper understanding of the DC area art scene from the artists' perspectives.

Take the survey here.

The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding

Having lived for many years in Europe, I have direct experience with the great benefits and astounding shortfalls of many of those nations' heavy-handed governments, where the massive burocracies of socialist minds are involved in nearly every facet of daily life, including the arts.

Local GMU economist Tyler Cowen has an interesting look at this issue. Cowen is the author of many books, including Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World's Cultures (Princeton) and In Praise of Commercial Culture.

He is the Holbert C. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University, and his most current book is Good and Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding.

Cowen argues that "American art thrives through an ingenious combination of small direct subsidies and immense indirect subsidies such as copyright law and tax policies that encourage nonprofits and charitable giving. This decentralized and even somewhat accidental--but decidedly not laissez-faire--system results in arts that are arguably more creative, diverse, abundant, and politically unencumbered than that of Europe."

More on the book here.

Taxing Reading

From the tone of these mini-reviews, Jessica must have had a tough tax day last Saturday.

Read at your own risk here.

Parsons on Compelled by Content

DCist's Adrian Parsons reviews our current "Compelled by Content" exhibition.

Read the review here.

Art Deal(s) of the Week

This week's super art deal are these beautiful mixed media Mermaid boxes by Illinois artist Carmen Lozar, currently on exhibit as part of the "Compelled by Content II" exhibition.

Each of these interesting sculptures starts with a found object, in these cases an antique cigarrette or snuff box. Lozar then transforms the object by casting a blue ocean made of glass, and also creates a small glass mermaid that can be rotated through the ocean through a small lever handle that she builds into the side of the box. The inner lid of the box is also a small oil painting of the ocean's horizon. These interactive pieces can then be "rotated," making the small glass mermaid jump in and out of her glass ocean.

Two of the three boxes below are still available for sale. The one below is an old "Maryland Club" tobacco tin measuring four inches long by 2.5 inches deep (closed) or five inches deep open and about three inches high with mermaid in the up position.



An a detail looking from the top:



The second box is an antique J.G. Dill's Best Cube Cut Plus tin measuring 3.5 inches long by one inch deep (closed), two inches deep (open) and 3.5 inches tall with mermaid in the up position. Each of the sculptures is $600.



An a detail looking from the top:



To buy them call the gallery at 301/718-9651 or email them at info@thefrasergallery.com.

Student Prints

The 21st Annual Corcoran College of Art + Design Print Portfolio is now on view through May 27, 2006 at the Kathleen Ewing Gallery.

This year’s portfolio contains the work of Corcoran College of Art + Design faculty and students from the BFA and Continuing Education programs. as well as guest faculty and artists.

This year they have included work by Frank DiPerna, Claudia Smigrod and Renee Stout.

This exhibit has been titled Thinking Voodoo ; Why? Because as the city of New Orleans is historically linked to the practice of voodoo and the supernatural, Thinking Voodoo seemed an appropriate title for this year’s portfolio following the events of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath of destruction.

One copy of the full portfolio is placed in the permanent collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Corcoran College of Art + Design and the College Printmaking department, however copies of the work will also be on sale.

Compelled by Content Opening

I'll have some pictures of the opening later, but the show looks great and once again artists using glass (among other things) are dragging the genre away from the bowl and vessel and to the fine arts. This is an amazing show.

The preview went well, and a major New York museum commissioned a Tim Tate piece for their collection! More on that later.

The public opening was really packed as well, and in fact so many people showed up for the guided Bethesda Art Walk that two separate walks were done.

I've been really taken by the work of Illinois artist Carmen Lozar, more on her and her work later. I've also been impressed by how much Michael Janis' work has progressed in the last year or so. More on him later as well.

Colloquium on African American Art

Authentic Art has all the details about the 17th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art, which will be held April 20-22, 2006 at Howard University.

Agenda, schedule and details here and here.

DC Mayoral Candidates Forum on the Arts

Moderated by Renee Poussaint and featuring all of the DC Mayoral Candidates taking questions on their views of the arts.

Date: Monday, May 1, 2006
Time: 6:00- 8:00pm
Place: Tivoli Theater, 3333 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC.

Free Grant Development Triathlon Workshop

Attend presentations by the experts regarding upcoming funding opportunities and how to respond with competitive proposals. Representatives from the Federal Government, DC Government, and Local Foundations have been invited.

Date: Thursday, May 4, 2006
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Place: Sumner School Museum & Archives
Metro's Red Line to Farragut North

Space is limited and early reservations are recommended. Registrations will be accepted through May 1, 2006. To register, e-mail dawn.mitchell@dc.gov.

Women's Caucus for Art: 2006 Annual Networking Day

Women’s Caucus for Art of Greater Washington DC will be having their 2006 Annual Networking Day, focusing on exhibiting and marketing your Art. I will be presenting a focused shortened version covering marketing derived from our Bootcamp for Artists seminar. Event is free and open to the public.

When: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 29, 2006
Where: Goodwin House
3440 South Jefferson Street
Falls Church, VA 22041
1.703.820.1488

The Women’s Caucus for Art, a major national non-profit member organization, was founded in 1972 and is an affiliated society of the College Art Association. It is unique in its multi-disciplinary, multicultural membership. WCA members are artists, art historians, arts administrators, museum and gallery professionals, teachers, students, curators, critics, collectors, and others who are committed to WCA’s goals.

For more info call 301.910.1231 or email Authentic_Art@att.net.

See ya there!

Coop Gallery Seeks New Member

The Artists’ Undertaking Gallery, 309 Mill St. in historic Occoquan, has an opening for an artist member working in oil, acrylic, watercolor, collage, art quilts or wall hung fiber arts.

This is a cooperative gallery in its 29th year. Applicants must be able to work in the gallery one day every other week and attend the monthly business meeting. Juried entry is on the first Monday of the month.

Please call Carol Holmes at 703/897-8990 for more information and to make an appointment.

Taxes: Foul Mood

I can't believe how many Samolians I have to send Uncle Sam by tomorrow, and to make matters worse, this year I'm also sending the Soviet Socialist State of Mary's Land a ton of rubles - in fact almost three times as much as Uncle Sam gets.

Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) seeks Executive Director

Deadline: Tuesday, April 18, 2006

This is quite a LATE announcement on the part of GRACE, with a deadline in just a few days.

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE), a well-established non-profit arts organization located in the Reston Town Center, seeks an executive director who will be a highly visible and effective leader able to take the organization to a new level of achievement. GRACE serves the Northern Virginia community through art exhibition and arts learning programs for all ages, including the innovative Art in the Schools (AIS) program and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, one of the top ranked fine arts festivals in the United States. For detailed description of GRACE and its programs please visit their website at www.restonarts.org.

The executive director reports directly to the GRACE Board and is responsible for the overall direction and management of the Center overseeing an experienced staff of 4 employees operating with a $600,000 annual budget. The executive director should be a leader with the right combination of education, work experience, and talents to manage GRACE.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to lead in a "participative" team environment, to continue building an organization through proactive fundraising activities and community outreach, and to develop and manage within detailed budget. Ideally the candidate should also have an understanding of and appreciation for contemporary arts, progressive responsible management experience, excellent oral and written communication skills, and high degree of comfort working in a dynamic growth oriented organization.

Interested candidates should submit resume and letter of intent no later than April 18, 2006 to:

Greater Reston Arts Center
Search Committee
12001 Market Street Suite 103
Reston, VA 20190

Resumes and letter of intent may also be emailed to director@restonarts.org. No faxes please.

For more info:
Greater Reston Arts Center
t: 703.471.9242 or f: 703.471.0952 or info@restonarts.org

This announcement does not tell a salary range, but I can reveal to you that it's quite a well-paying job.

McNatt on Imboden

The Baltimore Sun's art critic finally takes a trip to Bethesda and reviews the great Connie Imboden exhibition at the new Heineman Myers Gallery.

Read the review here.

This coming Friday

Next Friday is the second Friday of the month and thus it's the Bethesda Art Walk with 13 participating venues and with free guided tours.

We will open "Compelled by Content II", which is an exhibition of contemporary narrative glass curated by Catriona Fraser. This is the second iteration of an annual group exhibition of emerging and established contemporary fine arts glass sculptors from around the nation who use glass as their main medium to convey narrative ideas in a genre generally only associated with bowls and vessels.

The 2005 exhibition established a new footprint and direction for glass, and began the task of pushing it away from pretty, decorative art and towards narrative work with context and meaning. It generated a substantial amount of discussion, both pro and con, which at the last count included over 80 pages of comments on various art websites as well as several reviews in the printed media.

This exhibition brings the focus of the art to a place where it is no longer just about glass, but about artists who use glass in their process to tell stories, discuss events, narrate biographies and make social statements.

The exhibition includes work by Jeanne Brennan, Robin Cass, Mel George, Michael Janis, Carmen Lozar, Syl Mathis, Liz and Lindsey Mears, Michael Rogers, Alison Sigethy and Tim Tate.

An opening reception for the artists, free and open to the public, will be held on Friday, April 14, from 6pm - 9pm as part of the Bethesda Art Walk.

An artists' talk, sponsored by the James Renwick Alliance will take place at the gallery on Saturday, May 20, 2006 at 2PM. The talk is free and open to the public and will also offer an opportunity to learn more about the Renwick Alliance.

In the below piece, titled "Lost" by Carmen Lozar, a damsel in some distress, gently vomits from a pier.

Opportunity for [some] artists

Deadline: May 30, 2006.

For Latino/a, or Hispanic, or Latin American ancestry Artists - The Hispanic AIDS Forum announces an open call for its Estampas de Vida, a juried contest featuring works by Latino/a, or Hispanic, or Latin American ancestry visual artists, celebrating community, health, self-respect and self-esteem.

The winning art will be used to create a series of 10 "estampas" or cards that will be used to promote AIDS/health awareness within the Latino/Hispanic/Latin American ancestry communities.

They invite all Latino/a, or Hispanic, or Latin American ancestry visual artists to get involved with this project and make a difference in the community. There are no fees for submissions.

A total of 10 winners will be selected. Winners will be announced on June 12, 2006 via email and HAF webpage. Each will receive a $200 cash award. For more information and the full prospectus go to: www.hafnyc.org/estampas.

Joe Shannon

An exhibition of one of our area's most influential painters, Joe Shannon: Past and Present opens at Gallery Actaeon with an opening reception, on Sunday April 23, 2006 from 1-5 pm. Joe's gallery is at 21180 Beallsville Road, Dickerson MD. RSVP to 301-349-5858.

What is a Curator?

The University of Maryland’s Union Gallery presents, What is a Curator? A panel discussion on the topic of what it means and can mean to be a curator of contemporary art at the beginning of the 21st century. Tuesday, April 18, 2006, 5-7PM.

The panelists include:
Leigh Conner, Director of Conner Contemporary, Washington, D.C.
Annie Gawlak, Director of G Fine Art, Washington, D.C.
Scott Habes, Director of The Art Gallery, University of Maryland
Andrea Pollan, Director of Curator’s Office, Washington, D.C.
Stewart Watson, Director of Area 405, Baltimore, MD

The panel will be moderated by Jeffry Cudlin, Adjunct Professor of Art and Art Theory at the University of Maryland and art critic for the Washington City Paper.

The panel will be in the Prince George’s Room of the Stamp Student Union. Both the Prince George’s Room and the Union Gallery are located on the first floor of the Stamp Student Union on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. Admission to the panel is free and open to the public.

Ouch

This is what happens when art bloggers offer political advise: The Right Reverend has a ton of fun with your written words.

Heading back

WIll have loads to post later today...

On the road again

Getting underway later today and heading to the East Stroudburg University of Pennsylvnia for a variety of business stuff.

Will continue to post from PA, so keep reading...

Art Deal of the Week

My pick this week is this almost painterly color digital photograph by American photographer Sandi Croan. She has captured the side of a ship, where the tires (serving as bumpers), have created a painting on the side of the ship's seaborne bulkheads. As a result, at first glance the photo looks like a painting or a watercolor, until closer examination reveal its true details.

It is titled "UMS" and the photograph measures 17.25 x 12.5 inches and then it is matted in a white pH-balanced acid free white museum mat and framed in a black moulding under glass to a framed size of 29x23 inches. Photo is signed by the photographer. The price (including frame): $300. That's an incredible deal for this large photo.

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

Call for Erotica

Deadline: October 1st, 2006

Erotic Signature has launched the World's Greatest Erotic Art Competition (WGEAC).

With prizes ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 and the opportunity to have your work viewed by the world's leading publishers, curators, artists, academics, collectors, editors, and established masters in the field of erotic art.

This competition will culminate into a coffee table book entitled The World's Greatest Erotic Art of Today. This annual publication will be comprised of each year's 200 WGEAC's winners and all profits from its sale donated to an organization fighting to find a cure for HIV/AIDS.

All entrants are required to submit an entry fee of $45 for the first artwork, another $40 if you submit two and a total of $110 if you submit the maximum entry of three artworks during your initial registration.

Entries can be done via both their website application system online or by mail. Mail-in entries must include payment, CDs and all application forms, and be sent to:

Erotic Signature
P.O. Box 014837
Miami, Florida 33101

Visit www.eroticsignature.com for more details.

Opportunity for Photographers

Deadline: May 15, 2006

My good friend Philip Brookman, who is the Senior Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Corcoran Gallery of Art will be the juror for the 2006 Photo Review Photography Competition.

The Photo Review, a highly acclaimed critical journal of photography, is sponsoring its 22nd annual photography competition with a difference. Instead of only installing an exhibit that would be seen by a limited number of people, The Photo Review will reproduce accepted entries in its 2006 competition issue. Thus, the accepted photographs will be seen by thousands of people all across the country and entrants will have a tangible benefit from the competition.

Also, the prize-winning photographers will be chosen for an exhibition at the
photography gallery of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and will be
exhibited on The Photo Review’s website.

Awards include a Microtek i800 scanner, $350 in gift certificates from Calumet Photographic, two Lensbaby 2.0 SLR selective focus lenses with macro kits, two $100 gift certificates from Sprint Systems, a professional level membership in Women in Photography International (worth $235), several Case Envy portfolios from Lost Luggage, and $250 in cash prizes.

An entry fee of $30 for up to three prints, slides, or images on CD and $5 each
for up to two additional images entitles all entrants to a copy of the catalogue. In addition, all entrants will be able to subscribe to The Photo Review for $34, a 20% discount. All entries must be received by mail between May 1 and May 15, 2006.

For a prospectus and details, send a self-addressed, stamped business-size (#10) envelope to:
The Photo Review
140 East Richardson Avenue, Suite 301
Langhorne, PA 19047

The prospectus may also be downloaded from The Photo Review website at www.photoreview.org/compete.htm. For further information call
215/891-0214.

Back from H-M Opening

Just back from the grand opening of the new Heineman Myers Gallery in Bethesda.

Tons of people, including a rare sight: major collectors from Baltimore in a DCish opening. This was a class opening, with uniformed waiters, a beautiful catalog of the exhibition, and the great photography of a proven big name and talented photographer: Connie Imboden (and a magnificent video of how Imboden does her photography on a large screen flat TV).

And also a good warm sight, in seeing all the major gallery owners in Bethesda show up to wish Zoe Myers a warm and auspicious opening. Unfortunately, we also learned that Ozmosis Gallery will soon be closing its doors, and its owner moving to New York in hope of finding greener pastures in the Big Apple.

Pics later...

Openings on 1st Friday

There's a ton of openings tomorrow, being first Friday and all...and most of the Dupont Circle area galleries will have extended hours from 6-8PM. Go see (and buy) some artwork!

And Saturday don't forget to swing by the grand opening of the new Heineman Myers Gallery in Bethesda, just a few minutes from the Bethesda Metro stop.

And also on Saturday, Engineers Without Borders, which is an University of Maryland student group on campus that works with developing communities around the world to improve people's lives through specific projects are hosting an art auction to be held Saturday April, 8th from 5-8pm and Sunday, April 9th 2-4pm. The auction will be held at the Leland Community Center, located at 4301 Willow Lane in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

O'Sullivan on TEXT

The WaPo's art critic Michael O'Sullivan reviews the current Text exhibition at the Greater Reston Arts Center.

Read the review here.

On the Return of Art and Antiquities

You can't pick up a newspaper or visit an art blog these days without running into a story about some country suing an American museum or institution over the return of some artwork or antiquities which may have made their way to the US through either shady means or even forgotten formal agreements.

And now Bloomberg reports that the government of Peru plans to sue Yale University, over hundreds of artifacts taken from the ancient city of Machu Picchu nearly a century ago.

And this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back (or in this case the llama's back).

The artifacts made their way to the US through Yale archeologist Hiram Bingham. One side claims that the artifacts were on loan. Yale contends the artifacts were legally excavated and exported "in line with the practices of the time."

And if these artifacts were sent to the US through some agreement with the Peruvian government nearly a century ago, then Yale has a case for keeping them; otherwise -- in the event that the American archeologists simply found them, crated them and shipped them to the US - all on their own -- then today's courts may well rule in Peru's favor.

And that straw that may break the camel's back may also unlock Pandora's box (which Greece will soon be suing for).

First: let's get one thing clear: Nazi art loot should and must be returned to their original owners or descendants.

But for most of all the other demanding of artwork returns: where does it stop?

Because unless you have some official paperwork signed, stamped and approved (and recognized as valid) then...

Does every Roman artifact in museums around the world have to be returned to Italy? And do Italian museums have to return Roman antiquities that were made in other parts of the Roman Empire to the nations that now exist there? And Italy better start packing the 13 Egyptian obelisks that are all over Rome: Cairo is clearing out some spaces for them.

Every Greek vase back to Greece? But do Greek museums have to return Cypriot antiquities to Cyprus?

Does every mummy have to find its way back to Egypt?

That "official" cadaver of Christopher Columbus in the Havana Cathedral? Sorry... back to Spain; or is it Italy, or Portugal? All three of those nations currently claim him as a native son, although I suspect that the Grand Admiral's descendants, currently living in Spain, have first dibs on Chris' bones.

And the fake Columbus cadaver in the Seville Cathedral? Back to Genoa, even if it's fake (just in case).

After all, that fake Scottish Stone of Destiny has made its way back to Scotland (God only knows where the real one is), but there are probably hundreds of thousands of antiquities (if not millions) from all over the world disseminated... all over the world.

Our own Smithsonian has over 100,000 pre-Columbian antiquities in its inventory (most of which are not even on display). Do the ones that were created by pre-Columbian artisans from north and south of our border have to be returned to the countries that now exist there?

Unless these museums have a provenance with lots of country of origin stamps authorizing the removal of the antiquity, I'd be pretty nervous if I was one of those museums.

And even if you have such a paper, what's to stop today's version of a country's government from saying that they do not recognize the authority of their predecessors to allow the removal of a national treasure from their nation.

And where does it stop?

Frida Kahlo was essentially ignored by Mexico while she was alive, and yet decades after her death she was deified outside of Mexico, and eventually the government of Mexico made her works a national treasure and forbade the export of any of Kahlo's works from Mexico. I think that this is a good (if late) thing for Mexico and Mexicans.

But what's to stop a future Mexican government from demanding the return of any and all Frida Kahlos outside of Mexico back to her mother nation.

It would just be a case of this "return" trend being pushed a little more.

Personally, I think that from now on, when I visit foreign museums, I will be making a list of American Indian artifacts in those museums, and they better damned have a piece of paper somewhere full of stamps and signatures from the Sioux, or the Walla Walla, or the Cheyenne, or the Seminoles or the Oneida or whatever indigenous Native American nation that currenly lives in the USA created them.

Official export paperwork from the United States government is not valid, and will not be accepted, regardless of how many non-Indian Washington, DC officials have signed it.

Of course, that may also mean that every non-Indian museum in the USA itself, would have to return every Native American Indian artifact back to their tribes.

Makes my head hurt...

The show, as a whole, is garbage

So writes JT Kirkland as he trashes what has been called the worst Whitney Biennial of all time.

Kirkland is kinder to some, including Zoe Strauss when he writes:

Zoe Strauss' photos are thought-provoking, quiet, striking and humble. They feel very real... well, because they are.

Unfortunately, in the WB they have a hard time grabbing a viewer's attention... even when shown as a slideshow. One must sit down and just look to get swept up in Strauss' world.

But, while I viewed the show I lost count of the number of people who walked in and out almost immediately looking for the next porn video or loud sound. Speaking of loud sounds... the curators really hurt Strauss' show by allowing the incredibly loud noises from neighboring installations to creep into her space.

Strauss' work is more enjoyable when in silence. But silence allows thought and the curators couldn't have that. Funny thing is that Strauss' work stood up to the noise and certainly could have handled silence.

Read Kirkland's review here.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: April 15, 2006

unRappahannock County, Virginia is a juried exhibition of themes and visions contrary to the scenic, small town, and natural settings of Rappahannock County, VA. The gallery is looking for work that captures visions of urban sprawl, waste, pollution, traffic, mass culture, etc.

Open to artists living in DC, MD, PA, VA, and WV.

Jurors: Jane Livingston, who is a well-known independent author and curator living in Rappahannock County and Chris Johns, Editor in Chief of National Geographic Magazine.

Size Limit: No larger than 42" in length or width. No 3D works or prints (monoprints & photos accepted). Work must have been created within the last two years.

Prizes: $600 in cash awards. 30% commission to gallery.

Dates: Show June 2 - July 2.

Entry Fee: $25/1-3 slides labeled with name, title, medium, dimensions.

Send slides and application fee to:

Middle Street Gallery
P.O. Box 341,
Washington, VA 22747

Include SASE for return of slides. Info at 540-675-3440.

Irvine's new space

Martin tells me that it's all done and that Irvine Contemporary has signed the lease for Fusebox's old space at 1412 14th Street, NW.

And the fair Heather sent me the below pic showing the new space entrance.

They will be moving in May 1st, and having a kickoff party on May 12th.

This coming Friday Irvine will be hosting Susan Jamison & Robert Mellor’s solo exhibitions and the farewell to their old space.

Opportunity for UMD artists

Deadline: April 13, 2006

The Union Gallery at the University of Maryland has a call for artwork for Unjuried II, a campus-wide showcase of student creativity.

All University of Maryland students are invited to exhibit their artwork in an upcoming exhibition at the Union Gallery, located in the Stamp Student Union.

This unjuried student exhibition will open on April 29th and run through May 12th. The exhibit will be on display during Maryland Day and Art Attack! One piece of artwork from the exhibition will be selected for purchase by the Union with a purchase award of $400.

Submissions are accepted from all UM students (not just art majors). That means all you architecture, journalism, theater, music, landscape architecture, English and yes, even Engineering students are encouraged to submit! The exhibition is also open to acts that can be performed in the Union Gallery, such as readings and musical performances.

Registration forms are available on the Union Gallery website at www.union.umd.edu/gallery or can be picked up in the Art and Learning Center and the Union Gallery.

Registration forms are due by April 13th. No late registrations will be accepted.

There is a limit of two (2) submissions per student and only one (1) piece is guaranteed entry in the show. Artwork may not exceed five (5) feet in any dimension and must be finished work that is presented in a professional manner (i.e., mounted, framed or otherwise ready to hang or display). Please include directions for hanging or displaying.

All work must be dropped off on Thursday, April 20th or Friday, April 21st , between noon and 6PM.

Got questions? Please contact them at uniongallery@umd.edu or visit their website at www.union.umd.edu/gallery.

Phillips Collection Launches Interactive Online Catalogue

The Phillips Collection is now providing worldwide access to its American art collections with the launch of a new interactive online program.

The virtual catalogue, American Art at the Phillips Collection, is centered on a timeline of world events, providing a context for 150 years of American art. It features detailed biographies of nearly 150 artists and full-screen images of hundreds of works.

Check it out here.

Numerically Singular

According to someone's Cray supercomputer, on Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 am, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06 and that number sequence will never, ever happen again happens every hundred years.

Trawick Prize Deadline Coming Soon!

Deadline: April 10, 2006

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The 4th annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for slide submission is Monday, April 10, 2006 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work from September 5 – September 29, 2006 in downtown Bethesda at Creative Partners Gallery, located at 4600 East-West Highway.

The competition will be juried by Ashley Kistler, Curator at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond; Jack Rasmussen, Director of the Katzen Arts Center at American University in Washington, D.C. and Gerald Ross, Director of Exhibitions at Maryland Institute College of Art.

The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A "young" artist whose birth date is after April 10, 1976 will also be awarded $1,000.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Original painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video are accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards. Each artist must submit five slides, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.

The Trawick Prize was established by local business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Ms. Trawick is the owner of an Information Technology company in Bethesda, Trawick & Associates.

Jiha Moon from Annandale, VA, was awarded the 2005 "Best in Show" with $10,000; Dean Kessman of Washington, D.C. was named second place and was given $2,000; Denise Tassin of Baltimore, MD was bestowed third place and received $1,000 and the 2005 "Young Artist" award of $1,000 was given to Michele Kong of Baltimore, MD.

For a complete submission form, please visit www.bethesda.org or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc.
c/o The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
7700 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814

Good Arts Related Job

Individual Gifts Officer: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Closing date: April 14, 2006.

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Individual Gifts Officer is responsible for creating and implementing strategies and programs which generate ongoing unrestricted and designated funding from individual donors.

He/she will be responsible for developing and managing patron affinity programs and managing a portfolio of individual 4 figure gifts and higher. A Bachelor's degree is required with a minimum of three years of demonstrated success in fund raising, including cultivation and solicitation of donors.

Knowledge of art and or cultural organizations and contemporary art are a plus.

Salary: $54,272-$84,559. Please see Announcement Number 06JW-6072 at www.sihr.si.edu for a full description of the position and for application instructions.

Tim Tate Opens at Arlington Arts Center on Friday

What : Solo Show By Tim Tate - "Windows into the Past and Future"
Where : Arlington Arts Center
When : April 4 thru June 3, 2006
Opening Night Reception : Friday, April 7 from 6pm to 8pm

This solo show will feature 22 new pieces from Tim Tate... one of his largest openings ever. This show focuses heavily on redemption as a theme and showcases some of the exciting new work that Tate has been creating over the last few months.

This is an excellent opportunity to catch up on the constantly evolving work of one of Washington's most visible artists, who will be also having his first major exhibition outside of the DC area later this year at Vanderbilt.

Art Deal of the Week

My fourth pick is this sensual photograph by American photographer David Myers.

It is titled "Nude Number One" and this pigment photograph measures 11x10 inches and then it is matted in a white pH-balanced acid free white museum mat and framed in a black matte moulding under glass to a framed size of 24x17 inches. Photo is signed and numbered from an edition of 25 by the photographer in pencil recto on the lower margin. The price (including frame): $200. That's an amazing deal for this sexy and professionally framed photo.


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

Therman Statom Workshop

The Washington Glass School will be hosting the Renwick Alliance's upcoming workshop with Therman Statom on Saturday, May 6th, 2006, from 10am to 3pm.

Raised in Washington, DC, Therman studied at the Pilchuk Glass School, Rhode Island School of Design, and the Pratt Institute, where he studied sculpture.

He has become known and revered worldwide for his innovative use of materials, processes, and forms, and particularly for his unusual uses of glass that do not require extensive equipment, hot shops or teams. Much of his signature work is done with glass plate, and includes a diverse array of forms.

The workshop costs $20 and it is mostly filled, but there is still gallery space left. Its a great affordable way to see Therman Statom and get to hear his unusual approach to sculpture.

Reserve your space at 202-744-8222 or email the school at WashGlassSchool@aol.com.

Heineman Myers Contemporary Art to Open

Heineman Myers Contemporary Art is set to celebrate its grand opening at 4728 Hampden Lane in Bethesda on Saturday, April 8th with a reception open to the public from 5-8pm for Baltimore photographer Connie Imboden.

According to Zoe Myers (the new gallery's director), "a mix of international and local artists working in all media will be shown in this newly designed art space, including large-scale works by such artists as sculptor Rick Cleaver, Grand Prize Winner of the 2003 Trawick Prize, and sculptor Javier Marin, Mexico’s participant in the 2003 Venice Biennale."

"Heineman Myers Contemporary Art will engage the D.C. area’s local, national and international community of artists, business leaders, collectors, curators, educators, public officials and students by providing a program of events and exhibitions for everyone who is interested in art," also said Zoe Myers.

"We are thrilled to have Heineman Myers Contemporary Art opening in downtown Bethesda. Our goal of making Bethesda a regional destination for the arts is further achieved by attracting fine art galleries such as the Heineman Myers," said Carol Trawick, Chair of the Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District.

Zoe spent over two years went into the search for space around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

For the new gallery, the award-winning project team of HOK Architects and AR Contracting created a state-of-the-art exhibition space. In 2005 the team of HOK and AR Contracting won both the Gold Award from the International Interior Design Association for Retail Category in the Mid-Atlantic, and the Award of Excellence for Best First Floor Use from the D.C./Maryland chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks for the Numark Gallery project in downtown Washington.

I have no doubt that this new gallery will be a powerful new presence in our area and I am looking forward to its exhibitions and wish Zoe the best of luck.

The Power of the Web

Photographer Scott Lassman writes:

"I've got another power of the web story for you. I have a pretty pathetic website -- it's on my list to fix this year -- but at least I have a web presence. And it worked.

I received an email two days ago from a collector in Beverly Hills, California who found my website while surfing the net and loved my work. She asked about purchasing some of it, we arranged payment through Paypal, and completed the sale yesterday.

I'll drop the print in mail on Monday. And she's already got the print listed on her own website as part of her growing collection (along with prints by Sally Mann and Will Van Overbeek). Pretty cool!"

I agree with Scott: pretty weak website with great photos!

Text Opening

TEXT opened last tonight at the Greater Reston Arts Center.


Left to right are Denise Wolff, Kriston Capps, Michael Janis and Molly Springfield. Behind them is the great artwork of Victor Ekpuk. More pics later... meanwhile, the Right Reverend Bailey (who is a Restonian by location) has an early look at the show here.

New Blog

DC area artist John James Anderson has a new art blog.

Visit him here.

WaPo looking for Style Section Arts Editorial Aide

Received the following from the WaPo:

Full-Time Editorial Aide
March 28, 2006

We are pleased to announce that Jonathan Padget, Style's arts editorial aide for the last three years, is moving to the Style copy desk, as a two-year intern. While filling in on the copy desk for the past two months, Jon has clearly demonstrated his talent for editing. We're very happy to welcome him to the corps of copy editors.

The editorial arts aide job is pivotal to our arts coverage, and our aim is to find a replacement quickly.

We seek someone with infinite patience and civility, as well as broad knowledge and interest in the arts and literature. The job involves many hours on the phone tracking down photos and talking to publicity agents, museums and publishers' reps. Strong organization skills are a must as the position serves as information central and provides support for all arts beats, visual arts as well as the movies. The job also involves occasional writing and reporting.

I suppose that interested parties should call the WaPo and ask for the Arts Editor or the Human Resources Office.

On a related note, Ben Forgey, who has been the WaPo's architecture critic since August 1981, will retire on June 2, 2006, so I suspect that the WaPo will be looking for a new architecture critic or more likely, promote someone from within.

Art Fair in DC?

It's too early to announce formally, but one of the major art fair outfits, who puts up art fairs at all the US cities where people actually buy art regularly (NYC, Chicago, LA and Miami) has been sniffing around the DC region to see if they have the groundwork, interest and reputable dealers aligned to do a major DC art fair at the new Convention Center.

If they are serious, I hope that:

(a) they are prepared to lose a ton of money for the first few years while the fair takes a solid footing in the region, which I think (if done right) it will. And this will be good for DC in the long run, because if the fair takes hold and makes money for the galleries, eventually it will grow and make money for the organizers and for DC galleries.

(b) they have a business model that allows soem flexibility and scaling and even haggling in pricing, so that local galleries can be attracted to participate, and also so that national and international galleries are given breaks to accommodate travel and expenses for a new market trial, and that non-profits are given some sort of price break as well - maybe scaled to the size and budget of the non-profit.

(c) they have some way to attract collectors from the region - rather than just DC.

More later as this solidifies.

Text Opens Tonight at GRACE

TEXT opens tonight from 6-8PM in the beautiful new spaces of the Greater Reston Arts Center.

The exhibition brings back all but one of the original Text artists from Seven.

It's super easy to get there off the Dulles Toll Road - See ya there!

Opportunity for Photographers (Under 25 that is)

Deadline: April 28, 2006

Duke University has an excellent competition for photographers under 25 years of age.

Every five years, the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University publishes a collection of work showcasing the talent of twenty-five of America’s most promising photographers, twenty-five years old and younger. The second book in the series, 25 Under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers, was selected a Best Book of 2003 by Photo District News.

Submission guidelines and all other info is available online here.

Richards on Color

The WaPo's former Chief Art Critic checks in with an interesting article on colors, reproductions and what happens to colors over time.

Read the article here.