Lucien Freud Rules in YBAland

German-born British representational painter Lucien Freud has been voted as Britain's favorite artist "in a survey of the UK artistic community."

According to the BBC story:

"He beat the likes of Rembrandt and Van Gogh - who also made the top ten - to become the artists' favourite artist.

Other modern day giants such as Howard Hodgkin and David Hockney also featured in the poll, carried out by The Great Art Fair.

But so-called Young British Artists such as Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili and Damien Hirst were overlooked.

Hirst, who won the Turner Prize in 1995, garnered only one vote from the 500 artists polled, while Emin and Ofili failed to get a single nod, although 70% of the top ten artists are still alive."

How else does one say to those YBA's: "You are so yesterday!"

The Top 10 Artists, according to the survey were:

1. Lucien Freud
2. Howard Hodgkin
3. David Hockney
4. JMW Turner
5. Antoni Tapies
6. Rembrandt
7. Jack Vettriano
8. Barbara Rae
9. Frank Auerbach
10. Van Gogh

The real bad boy of British art, the plebian ex-miner and self-taught Scottish painter Jack Vettriano (apparently the world's best selling artist), who is both despised and ignored by the British art establishment while he laughs all the way to the bank and gets great publicity for his work as a result of their dislike of him and his work, made the list once again, this time as the 7th place artist.

Vettriano might as well not exist in the eyes of British museums and the hot curators of the upper crust of the British arts cabal, and yet this somewhat harsh man seems to have touched not only the nerve of the British art establishment, but also the pocketbooks of both art collectors and poster-buyers all over the world, including the US.

I think of Vettriano as the planet's counterbalance to Thomas Kinkaid. They are both hugely popular with the public, but while Kinkaid delivers saccharine scenery ad nauseum, Vettriano delivers an immense range of work that has proven to be both popular and often edgy, as his darkly sexual work testifies.

If an American museum curator had the balls to give the world's best selling artist his first museum show, it would not only be immensely popular, but also create an amazing storm of publicity, arguing and debate as American elitists join forces with their Brit counterparts, while the public votes with their attendance records. It would also plant the opinion that museum are public spaces, not the playground of the rich and snobby.

I can almost smell the gunpowder of debate between those who say that he's nothing but a glorified illustrator, and those who say that he's a sexist pig, and those who say that he's a "fill in the lines" painter, and those who say he's just an ex-miner who has never been educated, and those who pay millions for his paintings at auction, and the Hollywood illuminati, who curiously enough, are some of his biggest defenders and collectors.

But I daydream, as I know not of a single museum director, or curator, who even looks in the direction of where the Vettrianos of this world exist.

The Great Art Fair, the UK's largest art show, will be held at London's Alexandra Palace from 30 November to 3 December, 2006.

Washington City Paper hires new Arts Editor


From: Erik Wemple
Date: November 21, 2006 2:44:30 PM EST
Subject: New Arts Editor

Washington City Paper editorial managers are excited to announce the hiring of Mark Athitakis as our new arts editor. Mark comes to us from a familiar place. The Chicago Reader has employed Mark as an assistant editor since October 2004, and in that time Mark has done everything his people have asked and more. He's been involved in the Reader's Web makeover and is a champion of clean, strong narrative copy. The guy came in here with barely a couple day's notice and produced an outstanding critique of our arts coverage and showed a command of all that you must know to be an arts editor in a town like D.C. He'll be starting shortly after the New Year.

Katie Tuss on Mark Cameron Boyd at the Katzen

Logocentric Playground at the Katzen

By Katie Tuss

Washington area based artist Mark Cameron Boyd has been using his own deconstructed, re-contextualized sentences as the subject of his current body of work since 2003. Boyd’s thoughtful, challenging pieces utilize “text as a language for painting” while questioning the accepted systems of meaning and conventional constructs of art and communication.

In the installation Logocentric Playground, currently on view at the Katzen Arts Center, Boyd encourages visitors to engage him in an unspoken conversation using any of the three blackboards in the first floor gallery space. The boards display handwritten, original text by Boyd in red and white chalk.

Employing painter’s tape in his signature erasure method, Boyd obscures either the top or bottom of the upper case letters in each sentence. Crisp black lines alternate horizontally between truncated peaks of the letter “A” and severed curves of the letter “P.” Bisected red words meet bisected white letters, one on top of the other, altering the artist’s initial transcription.

A piece of chalk, but no eraser, can be found underneath each blackboard. Seemingly without hesitation Katzen Center visitors have picked up the artist’s discourse.

Viewers have interpreted the inconclusive text by completing interrupted letters and adding words and original symbols above, on top of, and around Boyd’s phrases.

Despite the interactive component of the piece, it doesn’t require any contribution to the installation to appreciate the original enigmatic markings and the development of Boyd’s relationship with the viewer and the piece over time.

Boyd plans on returning to Logocentric Playground at least once a week to remove, restore, and respond to his conversation partners. The installation's progress can be tracked on the artist’s Web site.

Logocentric Playground is on view through December 15, 2006.

---

Disclaimer: I (Lenny not Katie), in the past, have curated Boyd's work into several shows focused on "text."

City Hall Art Collection Walkthrough

A few days ago I had the opportunity to walk through the new Washington, DC City Hall Art Collection at the Wilson Building.

Together with Jonathan Binstock and Sarah Newman (both curators at the Corcoran), and Kristen Hileman and Anne Ellegood (both curators at the Hirshhorn), and Kim Ward (Executive Director of the WPA/C), we were given a personal tour of the collection by its curator, Sondra Arkin.

I had never been to the Wilson Building before, and I must admit that I have probably walked or driven by it a dozen times in the past without being aware that this is the place where the District's business as a city take place. The building is very beautiful and recently renovated, and the insides incorporate and marry the building original neo-classical appeal with a modern sense of stainless steel and minimalist design in places.

Sondra Arkin with Kim Ward, Anne Ellegood and Kristen Hileman

After passing through the excellent security check-in at the front entrance (ID required), Sondra gave us all a copy of the superb catalog that she was able to create in about six weeks.

The Hirshhorn curators and I were astonished that Arkin was able to pull off such a quality catalog, plus do a huge number of studio visits, plus curate the exhibition, and organize the framing, in a handful of weeks.

Arkin begins tour
I am always complaining that DC area museum curators seldom pay attention to district artists, and I think that the major contribution that this collection offers is a central point for them and visitors to see the vast array of talent that our capital area has to offer.

One exception and a DC area artist who needs little introduction to curators is the ubiquitous and hard-working Maggie Michael, and one of the first works that we were taken to was "Phantom," a large painting by Michael on the first floor.


Arkin, Ward and Hirshhorn curators in front of Maggie Michael painting
I must admit that as we approached the painting I thought that it was a piece by Trawick Prize winner Jiha Moon and said so, which brought some quizzical looks directed at me from the fair Anne Ellegood. But I stuck to my guns and noted that the painting seems to borrow heavily from Moon's visual ideas, and the "center" of it appears to be a Jiha Moon on top of a Maggie Michael painting.


Curators Looking at Prescott Moore Lassman's photographs

Another artist whose work caught some good detailed attention were the photographs by Prescott Moore Lassman, which when associated with the story behind them (the subject were the people in one of the first integrated churches in the nation), seemed to merit some extra time from them. Prescott's skills with the camera to capture the essence and depth of a moment, while making the image burst with attention-grabbing intrigue, is what makes his work special.

The Hirshhorn curators both seemed to like "In Red," a beautiful canvas of Tom Green's invented symbols, which also appealed to me based on my interest in "text" in art. As such I had to take the opportunity to taken them to Mark Cameron Boyd's "No Way to Convey," and explain Mark's fascinating process to create art out of textual references.

Somewhere along the tour, we discovered Judy Jashinsky's 1980s vintage portrait of Corcoran photography curator Philip Brookman, and Binstock, Ward and Newman had a bit of good fun enjoying their fellow curator's portrait. "He still has that watch!" someone said.


Philip Brookman by Judy Jashinsky


Jonathan Binstock records the Brookman

The representational holdings in the collection, as usual, brought out interesting stories about them, and the reaction to them from the building's occupants. The ability of a representational work to clearly convey an idea or suggestion immediately makes its selection for a public art display a very difficult process - at least in the United States.

One artist who must have been very hard for Arkin (no pun intended) to select is the talented Joe Shannon, who regularly appeals in his own paintings, not only nude, but also often sporting a massive erection. But not the piece in this collection, "Two Poets with Champion," in which Joe does sneak in a shirtless male.

The physical attributes of the space itself, and the occupants themselves, also played an important role in Arkin's selection and placement process, as some of the city fathers and mothers "own" certain halls (where their offices are) and were part of the process for what "hung" there.

Tucked away in the furthest corner of one such hall is Michal Hunter's "The Fountain," a overtly sensual 1981 painting by one of Washington's top realists. There is no nudity in this work of two women enjoying the sun and refreshing themselves in a public fountain. But there's plenty of implied sensuality and Eros in this work, which may be the sexiest public art piece in the nation's capital.

The DC glass gods are also well represented in this collection (although so far ignored by DC area museums and curators, while at the same time being picked up by other American museums), with two mixed media pieces by Tim Tate and Michael Janis.

Photography is an important part in the collection, with the usual suspects represented by a mix of well-known work or new images. Works by top photographers such as William Christenberry, Maxwell MacKenzie, and Chan Chao are complemented by newly emerging camerartists such as Alexandra Silverthorne, Prescott Moore Lassman, Holly Foss and others.


Curators looking at Maxwell MacKenzie's new work

The collection is also well stocked with some of the District's top names from the "old school", such as Gene Davis, Jacob Kainen and Felrath Hines, while active well-known names such as John Winslow, Sam Gilliam, Michael Clark, Robin Rose, James Huckenpahler and others are also augmented by very good works by Pat Goslee, Jiha Moon, Lisa Montag Brotman, Anil Revri, Michele Banks and Andrew Wodzianski.

Not all is perfect. While looking at Kainen's two rather forgettable etchings in the collection (Blue Cocoon and Dr. Mabuse), I made the comment that I wasn't a big Jacob Kainen fan, which brought out an alarmed look and immediate response from Jonathan Binstock. We discussed the issue, and while I certainly admire Kainen's amazing work ethic and his persistence in making an art footprint in the District (which he did), I have never been particularly attracted to his work, although I will allow that a DC collection without a Kainen is missing a key component, so I am glad that he's represented here.

Talking about "missing," there are some notable missing names from this collection, such as Maggie Michael's talented husband (Dan Steinhilber), some Color School guys like Morris Louis (completely unaffordable at this point, so a donation would be nice), Margarida Kendall (same issue), Annie Truitt (same problem), Manon Cleary, Erik Sandberg, Molly Springfield, Kelly Towles, Mark Jenkins, Colby Caldwell, Kathryn Cornelius, etc.

Finally, I've been getting some emails complaining about the scarcity of sculpture in the collection. This is always an issue in "indoor" public art, as a large range of sculpture does not adapt well to being exposed and inside public buildings. But I think that Arkin did an excellent job of acquiring a good set of three dimensional works, such as the previously mentioned works by Tim Tate and Michael Janis, plus excellent pieces by Margaret Boozer, Marie Ringwald, Jae Ko, Andrea Haffner and F.L. Wall. Well-known sculptor Yuriko Yamaguchi is represented by an interesting litho.

I think that I know district area artists as well as anybody, and yet even I "discovered" some new artists who have excellent work in this collection. One such artist is printmaker Alexandra Huttinger, whose series of small linoleum prints not only capture a visual record of people, but also push the limits of that difficult medium. Brenda Hoffman's photographs also caught my attention (and that of a couple of the curators).

In spite of Sondra Arkin's spectacular effort, there are still plenty of empty walls left in this building, and it is my hope that the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities will expand on this $400,000 investment and continue, on a regular basis, to grow the collection, and to add to it on a yearly basis, so as to truly make it into an almost Washington Art Museum.

The Gross Clinic

"The Board of Trustees of Thomas Jefferson University has authorized the sale of Thomas Eakins' painting The Gross Clinic (1875) to the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, Arkansas). Through a private sale arranged by Christie's in New York, the Board has accepted an offer of $68 million for the painting, the highest price ever paid for a work by the artist and, by far, a record for any work of art created in the United States before World War II. Local art museums and governmental institutions have the opportunity to match the offer with a preemptive bid within 45 days."

And in order to "match the offer," The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and various public and private Philly institutions, city officials, and civic leaders are joining forces in an effort to raise $68 million to keep Thomas Eakins’ 1875 masterpiece, The Gross Clinic, in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street gave his endorsement of the effort. He said: "I am encouraged by the strong voices of support within our community for keeping this magnificent painting in Philadelphia. Our city has an extraordinary fabric of arts and culture which makes us a magnet for visitors from all across the nation and around the world, and provides a great quality of life for all of our citizens. Retaining The Gross Clinic will underscore that reality and ensure a place in the heart of our city for this treasured painting."

The public can help by giving to the Fund for Eakins’ Masterpiece, established to raise the money to match the sale price of $68 million. Make a tax deductible contribution online here, or mail a check made payable to Fund for Eakins’ Masterpiece and send it to:

Fund for Eakins’ Masterpiece
c/o Philadelphia Museum of Art
P.O. Box 7646
Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646

The Fund for Eakins’ Masterpiece HOTLINE is reachable by calling 215-684-7762.

New blog

DC area artist Melissa Hackmann as a new blog.

Visit her often! Her blog is here.

The Baileyfication of Washingtonian

Washingtonian magazine comments on the Downie memo that I published here a while back.

And am I the only one that notices that the tone and writing style of this Harry Jaffe article reads like a Bailey?

And as if we didn't already know this was coming: according to the article, "Style editors have already put out a memo this week ordering major cuts in length. For instance, 60-inch stories should be 40 to 45 inches."

If you don't get it, you don't get it.

Projects Gallery

Adding to my list of Mid Atlantic area art galleries and private dealers heading to Miami next month, Philadelphia's Projects Gallery will be at Bridge Art Fair Miami at the Catalina Hotel & Beach Club - Room 212.

They will be featuring artists Steve Cope, Peter Gourfain, Tom Judd, Frank Hyder, Florence Putterman and others.

Projects Gallery also has "surprising and unusual works by big-name artists" in an exhibition titled "little secrets." First Friday reception on Friday, December 1st, 2006 5 - 9 PM and running through December 1st - 22nd, 2006. The exhibition includes works by Chuck Close, Sidney Goodman, Peter Gourfain, James Havard and James McGarrell.

The Rise of Gaming

Interesting editorial in the WaPo today.

"The Rise of Gaming - The 21st century's oil painting?" offers the suggestion that "Social observers are beginning to deem video game design an emerging art form, especially as companies ratchet up production values."

Fair enough, but the 21st century still has oil painting... and acrylic painting, and encaustic painting, and spray painting, etc.

Nowhere in the editorial is the practice of painting mentioned. But the fact that it is in the subtitle greatly indicates what the WaPo's management thinks about the function of the fine arts in our society today.

And I keep hearing through the grapevine that the coming changes in the WaPo, including the fact that "work is underway to create a new Sunday Style and Arts section," will actually mean less fine arts coverage by the newspaper.

This is not good.

Caroline Altmann Story

"Reflecting on My Retrospective" by Caroline Altmann is presented below, and it is without a doubt one of the most interesting introductions (by the artist) to the exhibition space's "official" news releases that I've read in a long time.

Caroline Altmann on Becoming An Artist

What is a portfolio manager doing twisting, turning and shaking around cacti, hydrangeas, and hostas? Five years ago, I left Wall Street to raise my children near their grandparents. (They live in Mount Vernon.) I then sat down to meditate, something I was too busy to do while managing $2 billion in assets for Bankers Trust. Every time I sat down, complete art ideas rushed into my mind. It was as if a door to a creative bank vault had burst opened. So, out went the notion of starting a new career at the World Bank and in came the idea of becoming an artist.

This change was in fact a bridge to an earlier phase in my life. My parents were collectors of baroque sculpture. Art was the fabric of my Brazilian birthplace’s culture. A family move to England brought new sensibilities – rawness of punk aesthetics and classical sophistication of European capitals. Museum outings to the Prado, for example, were highlights. Then at Tufts University, late nights increasingly devoted to the darkroom rather than early mornings to US diplomatic history precipitated a change in majors -- from international relations to art history. I studied photography at the joint program with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Thereafter, I found work in local galleries and interned at the museum. But that didn’t bring me enough satisfaction. I continued to photograph but I wanted to collect. Gallery pay was low during those recession years. So getting an MBA seemed a good idea. But it came at a cost. No more time for making art. And, after living in Japan with no possessions, I lost the urge to collect. Fifteen exciting years were marked by the Tokyo Stock market crash, the 90’s Bull Market, a new fabulous husband. With a 9 month-old baby in my belly, I move away from New York to Virginia where grandparents and a new career awaited. After we were settled, I attempted to leap from managing money to making art.

That change was as overwhelming as blank canvas can be. How do I become an artist? Do I deserve to become an artist? Shouldn’t I have known from an early age that this was the only thing I could do? And then, struggled for years? Artistic myths, hmm. But the voice of the budding artist tentatively suggested, “Roy Lichtenstein only turned to fine arts in his late thirties. And, how about Philip Johnson? He only got his architecture degree later on in life.”

I called Ingo Günther in New York. He is a successful international artist and dear friend. "Ingo, I am going to be an artist. Do not discourage me. Tell me how to do it." I blurted. I ordered the book, "The Artist’s Way," joined a couple of art groups, Secondsight, for women photographers and WCA-DC, recommended by a neighbor for women artists. The closest I have come before to joining groups was adding my name to business directories. And then I got lucky.

The woman who founded Secondsight, Catriona Fraser, also sponsored a seminar, "Success As An Artist." The all day event was a neatly organized agenda of all the lessons she and Lenny Campello (of "dcartews" blog fame) learnt over 20 years, plus a fabulous packet of resources. I started sculpture and then dove back into photography – a passion at college. Then I got lucky again.

Late for a lunch in Georgetown, stopping too quickly at a stop sign, a police officer gave me a moving violation. To boot, my lunch date called, postponing by an hour. I felt so foolish and mad at myself that I was determined to make something good of it. So I went into several high-end furniture showrooms with perfect walls to sell my multi-piece compositions. Two places said, “Yes!” One space is so large that I will have over 50 pieces in it. A showing of that size is unique. So after a few years of struggling, I’ve got my first solo show and it’s a retrospective!

What is an ex-portfolio manager doing twisting, turning and shaking around cacti, hydrangeas, and hostas? Come see the work – it is a unique portrait of nature moved, turned and swayed. There are also examples of my studio work where movement comes from posed dried flowers. The opening is on December 7th at Poltrona Frau at 1010 Wisconsin Avenue at 6:00PM. Please rsvp to info@frauwashington.com or call 202 333-1166. My work can also be seen on www.altmann.us

Where: Poltrona Frau Washington 1010 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in Georgetown

When: From December 8, 2006 to March 8, 2007

Contact: 202 333 1166 or info@frauwashington.com

Artist: Caroline Altmann

Exhibit Title: “Undercurrents of Pure Joy”

Hirshhorn Museum Acquires 24 Contemporary Works of Art

From the Hirshhorn news release:

The Hirshhorn Museum has acquired 24 new works of art—many of which complement current holdings and reinforce the Hirshhorn's commitment to collecting key artists' work in depth, as the Museum’s founder, Joseph H. Hirshhorn did. Several of the works were included in recent exhibitions at the museum. Most notable among these acquisitions are 13 photographs from the "Seascape" series by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, which were installed in one long dramatically lit gallery last winter as part of the acclaimed "Hiroshi Sugimoto" exhibition. These large-format photographs are the gift of The Glenstone Foundation, founded by Mitchell P. Rales. One photograph, "Caribbean Sea, Jamaica," (1980) was given in honor of Kerry Brougher, chief curator and director of art and programs at the Hirshhorn, who organized the Sugimoto exhibition.

"We are immensely grateful to The Glenstone Foundation for this generous gift. These works will be a highlight of the Hirshhorn's growing contemporary collection—and because Glenstone has given the entire seascape room from the exhibition, we will have the opportunity in the future to recreate the original installation in addition to presenting the photographs in other contexts," Brougher said.

Two of the new acquisitions are purchases from "The Uncertainty of Objects and Ideas: Recent Sculpture," the exhibition currently on view at the Hirshhorn: Rachel Harrison's "Pretty Discreet" (2004) and Isa Genzken's "Untitled" (2006). Works by Jim Lambie, whose recent site-specific "Directions" project transformed the museum's lobby into a lively, interactive space, were also acquired: "Male Stripper" (2003), a black-and-white striped floor installation, and "Boobaliscious" (2004), a sculpture made from glitter, PVC pipes and sequined tube tops.

A brightly painted and sculpted canvas by Washington artist Sam Gilliam, "Ruby Light" (1972), a museum purchase and partial gift of the artist and Marsha Mateyka, and a stacked and cut paper installation by Uruguayan artist Marco Maggi, "Hotbed (DC)" (2006), the gift of the artist, will increase the Hirshhorn's holdings of these artists, giving visitors a deeper understanding of the breadth and scope of their artistic production.

Several purchases by the museum bring artists into the collection for the first time, including three photographic works by Christopher Williams, a triptych by Troy Brauntuch and a framed collage by Al Hansen.

The Glenstone Foundation, was established by DC area ubercollector Mitchell P. Rales, who also happens to be on the Hirshhorn’s board.

Heading to Miami Beach

Many Mid Atlantic area art galleries and dealers are heading to the December Floridian arts extravaganza centered around Art Basel Miami Beach.

Here are some; email me if you want a shout out here for your gallery's booth.

Philly's Pentimenti Gallery will be at Bridge Art Fair Miami, Booth #206. Also from Philly, Ashley Gallery will be there (and in SCOPE).

Potomac, Maryland's hard-working (and world travelling) dealer Rody Douzoglou will be at SCOPE Miami, where you will also find Richmond's ADA Gallery, Philly's Ashley Gallery, the District's Curator's Office, as well as Conner Contemporary's new "gogo art projects." Scope Miami seems to be overloaded with NYC and German galleries.

Update: Conner Contemporary will also be at Pulse Miami

Artist Websites

Artists are always emailing me and asking me at various forums questions about website design for their art.

The KISS rule really applies here: Keep It Simple Stupid.

Avoid cute little buttons; have your contact info on every page; keep the site clean and minimalist and professional; and offer (not force) info. Above all, avoid cute little musical backgrounds and annoying flash loaders.

In the 21st century, the digital footprint is as important as a telephone and a business card, so everyone who is serious about their artwork should and must have an online presence.

DC area artist Rosetta DeBerardinis, a proud Vassar alumni (I discovered that in her website), has a new website and it is a perfect example of good and easy design that offers all the visual info needed for an artist website.

According to the website itself, it was designed by www.websiteforartists.com, so consider this an unrequested plug for them.

Visit her new website here.

Notes, Icons, and Symbols

Remember the Rockville Arts Place (RAP)? Well, they are now called VisArts and opening with a reception from 3 to 5 on Sunday, November 19 (the exhibit runs through December 16, 2006), they have what sounds like a very interesting show.

The exibit is "Notes, Icons, and Symbols," and as his contribution to the exibit, the very talented John Borstel will be presenting a new installation titled "Closet Opera" which has been described as a "grand romantic and Fairy opera in 40 fragments."

According to John, "the piece features a series of photo-based images in which the artist himself portrays nine characters, altering his appearance through the use of simple props, accessories and a single costume manipulated into various distinctive configurations."

Notes, Icons, and Symbols also features work by Sharon Murray and Carien Quiroga. A panel discussion with the artists, titled “A Question of Identity” takes place on Sunday December 3 at 3pm.

VisArts is located at 9300 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg, MD. Further information is available at www.visartscenter.org or by calling 301-869-8623.

City Hall Collection in the WaPo again

The WaPo's District Extra section has a nice review of the new City Hall Art Collection curated by Sondra Arkin. So far the collection is getting very positive reviews from all sort of unexpected sources.

Read the piece by Paul Schwartzman here.

Recently I walked the collection with Kristen Hileman and Anne Ellegood (curators from the Hirshhorn) and Dr. Jonathan Binstock and Sarah Newman (curators from the Corcoran), as we were taken around by Sondra.

I will offer my impressions of the visit soon.

A Phenomenon of Nature

Curated by the vastly talented Dr. Claudia Rousseau, A Phenomenon of Nature, opens tomorrow (Nov. 18) with a reception from 5 - 7 pm at the unexpectedly huge and gorgeous BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland.

The exhibition includes work by Syl Mathis, Michael Janis and Tim Tate, and also features a retrospective of photographs by Mark Evan Thomas.

If you haven't seen this massive arts venue yet, this is a perfect opportunity for a Saturday drive. The BlackRock Center for the Arts is at 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD 20874, Phone: 301.528.2260

Veni, Vidi... Volo In Domum Redire

I've been to DC most days this week, but yesterday (when I planned some 3rd Thursday gallery stuff) was an absolute traffic and weather nightmare! More later.

Girl with Roaches
Remember this post where I discussed gallery-goers' reactions to Scott Lassman's photograph "Girl with Roaches"?

"Girl with Roaches," has been published in Black & White Magazine, one of the premier national magazines dedicated to black and white photography.

The photograph was selected as part of the magazine's 2007 Single Image Contest Awards and is published in their B&W Special Issue, which is available in bookstores and newsstands now.

Congrats to Lassman and it's on page 167. Check it out!

Congratulations



To my good friend Bill Dunlap, whose monograph will be published by the University Press of Mississippi later this month. And on December 4, 2006, at the Corcoran, there will be a book signing and also Dr. J. Richard Gruber, director of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, and Julia Reed, senior writer at Vogue and contributing editor at Newsweek will "discuss and deconstruct" the book. Details here.

The Paradise Institute at the Corcoran

By Katie Tuss

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller’s highly lauded installation The Paradise Institute has returned to the Corcoran Gallery of Art to join other ground-breaking modern and contemporary works of art as part of the Corcoran’s museum-wide exhibition redefined: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection.

On the outside The Paradise Institute is little more than a shed with stairs, but inside the set up is far from plebeian. Upon entering, the maximum audience of sixteen people has a choice of the first or second row in a balcony of a perfectly modeled, technically astounding miniature theater. Cardiff and Miller succeeded in fitting a full-scale classic movie house, complete with architectural molding, red velveteen seats, and a big screen into a one-room gallery space. But the illusion has only just begun.

Viewers don headphones and a thirteen minute film noir mystery starts rolling. Within ten seconds of starting, a latecomer scoots noisily along the back aisle. This disturbance is followed by a couple’s unsolicited commentary, popcorn crunching, and a requisite cell phone ring shrill in your left ear.

As the movie unfolds, the plot grows murkier and the separation between the action on the screen and the activities of the audience blurs. The rankling sense of inescapable narrative immersion is more palpable than the dark story told by the film projector.

For those who have experienced any of Cardiff’s acclaimed sound walks, including Words Drawn in Water, which was commissioned by the Hirshhorn Museum last fall, the female whisper in your ear may sound familiar. But it may also feel distinctly different. Both use binaural audio soundtracks to capture the texture of surround sound. Whereas Words Drawn in Water seemed to be an intimate stroll amongst friends, The Paradise Institute is an unnatural, sometimes disconcerting expansion of the viewer’s understanding of narrative.

Cardiff and Miller are married and work both independently and as a team. Their multimedia pieces are internationally recognized, but none more highly than The Paradise Institute, which rightly won the prestigious Benesse Prize at the 2001 Venice Biennale.
_______________________________________________________________

The Corcoran Gallery of Art is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm, and until 9:00 pm on Thursdays. The Paradise Institute every half hour daily, starting at 10:30 am with the last viewing beginning at 4:30 pm and at 8:30 pm on Thursday nights.

Washington Post reorganizes

Memo from Leonard Downie, Jr., the WaPo's executive editor:

Phil and I met yesterday with the newsroom's senior editors to discuss proposals and make decisions as we continue to transform our newsroom, the newspaper and our relationship with washingtonpost.com. We have much more to do to maximize readership of the printed newspaper, build audience on the Web site and further reduce costs in the newsroom.

As you have noticed from developments at other newspapers, readership and economic challenges remain daunting. Our goal is to be the one newsroom that does this right. We must produce high quality, compelling journalism and carry out our public service mission while adjusting our cost structure to shifting advertising revenues.

We are not just cutting costs. We believe that everything we are doing will make the newspaper stronger and increase readership of the printed paper and washingtonpost.com.

We are re-directing newsroom staff and resources to our highest priority journalism in print and on the Web. In form, our priorities include original reporting, scoops, analysis, investigations and criticism. In content, they include politics, government accountability, economic policy and what our readers need to know about the world plus local government, schools, transportation, public safety, development, immigrant communities, health care, sports, arts and entertainment.

We are moving reporters and editors within and among staffs to accomplish this. In particular, we are moving a number of reporters from general assignment positions to more specific assignments and beats. We also are centralizing reporting and editing of some core subjects across staff lines. Metro now has responsibility for all education coverage. We will build on the model of Sandy Sugawara's cross-staff coordination of immigration coverage to do something similar for that and other core subjects. This may lead to the movement of more reporters and editors around the newsroom.

In the process, we will continue to shrink the newsroom staff through attrition, as low-priority positions become vacant. We also are tightening up the paper's news hole, beginning with the reconfiguration of the financial market tables in today's Business section, which saves two pages of newsprint each day. Other newshole reductions will be scattered throughout the newspaper, so readers will not lose significant content.

We are continuing to renovate sections of the paper to make them more attractive to readers. The re-launches of the Health, Food and Home sections are scheduled for early next year. Work is also well underway on creating a new Style and Arts section in the Sunday paper. The revamped Outlook section is an example of the improvements we are seeking.

We will make more progress in presenting our coverage more effectively in news sections. We will take a new approach to story length, which remains an important challenge, despite the progress already made in some parts of the paper. We will soon publish story length guidelines for the staff, along with ways to adhere to them. Our goal is for the newspaper to be filled with stories of different sizes and forms, and to provide both reporters and editors the tools to better edit for length. Our philosophy will be that every story must earn its length, so readers will want to read and finish more stories.

As part of this approach, we will better coordinate the preparation of related stories, photographs and graphical elements, and the design of pages on which they will appear. Visual journalism will be given still more importance in the printed paper.

We also are working on ways to expand and increase the impact of our journalism on washingtonpost.com. The re-launches of Health, Food and Home will be accompanied by the launch of a related section of the Web site. Our plans for coverage of the two-year 2008 campaign, which is beginning now, will include both re-direction of newsroom resources for expanded political coverage in the printed newspaper and significant initiatives on washingtonpost.com. In her new role as editor of washingtonpost.com, Liz Spayd will help us think first about the Web site for all of our best journalism.

The senior editors will meet again early next month to take more steps to re-direct resources to provide high quality journalism on key strategic subjects that matter most in print and stand out on the Web. We will have another newsroom staff meeting on Thursday, December 14 to tell you more about what we are doing and answer your questions.

This remains a challenging time, but also one of great opportunity, the opportunity to transform journalism for a new era in The Washington Post and on washingtonpost.com. Even as we reduce newsroom staff and costs, we will have amply sufficient staff and talent to make this transformation.

It is the most important change that I will lead as executive editor. It reminds me of my early days in the newsroom, when Ben Bradlee began boldly transforming the paper during the 1960s and 1970s. The newsroom was well less than half the size it is now, and we were underdogs. But we found our edge, produced original journalism and had fun creating The Washington Post all of you joined. Now, we're taking the next step.

I'm excited about the re-invention of the Arts section, and as far as the online version of the paper, I wish Liz Spayd and Downie would read this.

At the Katzen

I have just received the Katzen Arts Center at AU coming schedule and let me tell you, there's a ton of terrific shows coming up soon.

Jack Rassmusen, the energetic director of the Katzen, seems to have broken the code that has elluded most DC area museum directors and curators: DC museums can offer a mix of national, international and DC area art and artists and still be at the leading edge of an important and diverse exhibition program.

Here's what'coming:

Opening November 14, 2006
Carlos Saura: Flamenco
November 14 — January 21, 2007
Spain’s most talented, best known Flamenco performers and musicians over the past several decades are caught in these photographs by the eminent film director, Carlos Saura. Together the photographs reveal the dazzling talent of Saura, not only an authentic artist of film but of photography as well. Organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain (which by the way is a jaw-dropping building that managed to marry an existing Georgetown structure with a super-modern addition).

Gifts from the Katherine Dreier Estate
November 14 — January 21, 2007
This AU Museum holding, part of the Watkins Collection, was donated by the Katherine Dreier estate in 1952 through the efforts of collector-patron Duncan Phillips. The exhibition features nine modernist works by Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Kurt Schwitters and others. Katherine Dreier’s much-studied Société Anonyme, a loose knit group that included Marcel Duchamp and other progressive artists working in Paris and New York, helped launch the 20th century’s first trans-Atlantic avant-garde.

William H. Calfee and the Washington Modernists
November 14 — January 21, 2007
Calfee was chair of the American University art department from 1945 to 1954 and a central figure in the development of post-war art in the Washington area. This exhibit concentrates on Calfee’s cast bronze sculptures and features works by other artists working in Washington during the 1940s and 50s including Law Watkins, Robert Gates, Sarah Baker, Karl Knaths, and others. Calfee and the other Washington modernists played an important role in mid-century Washington art and through their work at the Phillips Gallery Art School, Studio House, American University, and Jefferson Place Gallery and they helped to establish a contemporary dialogue for art in Washington, D.C.

Mark Cameron Boyd: Logocentric Playground
November 14 — December 15, 2007
Washington area artist Mark Cameron Boyd has been exploring “text as a language for painting” through the use of his original text transcription process since 2003 (disclaimer: I love Mark's work and have curated him into two "Text" exhibitions myself). In Logocentric Playground, the artist seeks to engage visitors in the making of art, to invite their interaction and consideration of the possibilities of communication through art and language. The installation also incorporates reading and interpreting texts.

Opening November 21, 2006
High Times, Hard Times: New York Painting 1967-1975
November 21 — January 21, 2007
This comprehensive traveling exhibition by Independent Curators International — in Washington for its only mid-Atlantic showing — tracks an under-recognized but fecund period in New York painting. Artists such as Lynda Benglis, Yayoi Kusama, Blinky Palermo, Elizabeth Murray, and Richard Tuttle moved paint onto floors, built eccentric canvas structures, used their own bodies to create compositions, and incorporated traces of reality to deepen the power of the image.

Twenty-first Century Ibero-American Art
November 21 — January 21, 2007
Ibero-American Art Salon 2006 presents an exhibition of approximately 40 paintings and mixed-media pieces that reveal the diversity of contemporary art in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking worlds of Europe and the Americas. The exhibition, drawn from a pool of 20 artists from Central and South America, Spain and Portugal, is presented in conjunction with the Association of Ibero-American Cultural Attachés and juried by museum director/curator Jack Rasmussen.

Talia Greene: Entropy Filigree
November 21 — January 21, 2007
Building on her continuing exploration of our control of nature and the body, Philadelphia artist Talia Greene transforms the detritus she finds around her into an intricately woven filigree of hair, dried flora, and bug parts. Her work questions dichotomies surrounding aesthetics and the body by drawing them closer together, finding sensuality in abjection, decoration in waste, and design in entropy.

Guy Dill: A Decade
November 21 — January 28, 2007
A new series of dramatically curved sculptures in bronze by this internationally known, Los Angeles-based artist will be exhibited in the museum’s sculpture garden. This body of work by Guy Dill, composed from a similar ‘palette of shapes,’ emphasizes in distilled forms, architectural conflict, movement, and an unlikely grace from decisive geometric components. Certain works in the exhibition may at first glance appear incidentally figurative, but only enough to evoke a physical relationship with the viewer.

All I have to say is WOW!

O'Sullivan on "Me, You & Those Other Folks"

Michael O'Sullivan checks in with an intelligent review of "Me, You & Those Other Folks" at the Gallery at Flashpoint.

He discusses the work of all three artists in the exhibition: the highly talented Ian Jehle, Nekisha Durrett and Al (nee Allison) B. Miner.

I'll say it again: Buy Al Miner now, buy Al Miner now.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: January 15, 2007

The Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts in New Castle, Pennsylvania is currently seeking artists to fill its 2008-2009 Exhibition Schedule. Artists living in the Mid Atlantic region (PA, OH, MD, NY, NJ, VA, DE, WVA and Washington DC) over 21 years of age are invited to apply. Review fee (this is a fancy word for entry fee): $25.00.

Visit www.hoytartcenter.org for prospectus or call 724-652-2882. Questions? Contact Patricia McLatchy at hoytexhibits@hoytartcenter.org.

Art for Life

The 14th annual cocktail reception and live auction benefiting Whitman-Walker Clinic's Latino Services event will take place on Friday, November 17, 2006 at the beautiful Organization of American States, one of the capital city’s premier venues.

If you've never been inside this beautiful building, this is your chance to explore a gorgeous setting and also enjoy some good food and terrific art for a good cause.

They will feature the live/silent auction format again this year allowing them to accommodate a larger number of works of art from artists, as well as keep their guests engaged in the auction throughout the night. Look for the mayor elect to make an appearance.

This is one of my favorite art auctions and a major fundraiser for the Whitman-Walker Clinic. As I have for the past several years, I have donated an original drawing for the auction. See all the donated artwork online here.

For details and info call Martha N. Miers , Associate Director of Special Events
Whitman-Walker Clinic, 202.797.3529 or visit www.wwc.org

Gopnik on Morris Louis

I agree with JT and also think that Blake Gopnik has written a superb piece in yesterday's WaPo of the Morris Louis retrospective at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

And also like JT, this review has sort of thrown me for a loop, because it appears to reverse some "set-in-concrete" Gopnikisms that often re-appear in most of his writing, as Gopnik defends Louis' reputation in the art world.

He writes:

By the 1980s and '90s, there came to be a sense that Louis's work was just fiddling around with pretty paint. It was billed as self-indulgent, disengaged from things that really matter in the world or in art. It was simple-minded and content-free -- all looks and no brains. The art world equivalent of the hunky jock or dumb blonde.

I wish he would have quoted some evidence for these statements, which are the heart of his defense argument. I was in Israel for a while in the 1980s and seem to recall a big Louis exhibition there in the 80s. Also Louis' Catalogue Raisonné was published in the 80s.

It's also interesting in the sense that Gopnik is essentially saying that "they" were wrong in judging that "Louis's work was just fiddling around with pretty paint," when in fact Gopnik routinely writes pretty much the same thing about any contemporary painter today, as he preaches from his WaPo pulpit the "painting is dead" slogan.

Anyway - it's a minor point.

There are things that interest me on a local level about Louis (who studied art at MICA and then worked on WPA murals in Baltimore public schools), but another Gopnik point raised my interest as well.

Gopnik points out that "he [Louis] often started his paintings by pouring on pleasant veils of color, to make something like the spillings of a watercolorist. These echo the passages of pastel color in the "stain" paintings of Helen Frankenthaler, which Louis saw on a rare, career-changing visit to New York in 1953. (That was when his Washington colleague Kenneth Noland introduced him to the painter and her new techniques, as well as to Clement Greenberg, her lover and the most influential critic of that time. He became Louis's great champion.)"

Mmm... although it is clear in an art historical sense that Louis' visit to Frankenthaler was indeed very influential on Louis's future, I think it was more so in the meeting of Greenberg, who later became the inventor and father of the Washington Color School and indeed their great champion.

It's hard to imagine where Morris Louis' standing in the rarified upper crust of the art world would be today had it not been for Clement Greenberg. In Tom Wolfe's "The Painted Word," Wolfe describes (and makes fun of) the meeting of Greenberg and Louis and pokes fun at Greenberg:

Greenberg in particular radiated a sense of absolute authority... Likewise his prose style, he would veer from the most skull-crushing Gottingen scholar tautologies, "essenses" and "purities" and "opticalities" and "formal factors" and "logics of readjustment" and God knows what else.

According to Wolfe, when Greenberg described painting as "flat" to Louis, a light-bulb went on in Louis' head, and the rest is art history (see page 49 of Wolfe's book).

Anyway, Gopnik elevates this visit to NYC as a "rare" event, which I find peculiar, since Louis had actually lived in New York for four years (1936-1940) while he was in his mid-20s, and while there attended the workshops of Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros.

I find it peculiar, because I had always understood that Louis' began to develop a sense of abstract style in his painting upon his return to Washington, DC in the 1950s, in somewhat of a personal response to the New York School of abstract painters, many of which he may have known personally and met while a young twenty-something living in NYC.

While it was indeed the exposure to the Frankenthaler "stain" paintings that kick-started the Louisian mature "response" (both Kenneth Noland and Morris Louis have cited their exposure to Frankenthaler's work as a catalyst to the formation of their own mature style), and it was indeed the enlisting of Clement Greenberg, the world's most powerful art critic (at the time), that sealed Louis' future as an modern art icon, I'm not sure if the visit to NYC was such a "rarity."

I know, I know... but I'm a Virgo.

AU looking for an Associate Dean for the Arts

Deadline: January 5, 2007

American University's College of Arts and Sciences is seeking applicants for a tenured position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor to administer the arts programs at the university, beginning in Fall 2007.

Details here.

Congratulations

To Annandale, VA artist Joseph Mills, who is highlighted in this month's issue of Art & Antiques magazine.

Dawson on the City Hall Art Collection

The Washington Post's Jessica Dawson proves me wrong whan I predicted that she would dismiss the new City Hall Art Collection and writes a really good and insightful review on the subject.

Over the years, in my opinion due to her youth and insecurity over being the WaPo's sole gallery reviewer, Dawson has often resorted to being nasty on a semi-personal level, and even preachy and incendiary, in a cheap attempt to be "noticed."

In the past, she also has made huge mistakes in her writing, and DC area gallery owners and artists have laughed about it publicly, and in many letters to her hard-working, but benign editor, they have complained about her writing and art history ignorance consistently and brutally, and because she bruises easily, she has taken the negative feedback about her writing personally, while at the same time dishing out loads of negative writing in return.

And maybe it is maturity in this young critic, or perhaps the result of her taking Art History classes to solidify her writing background, but in any event, after years of reading her writing, I'm detecting a maturity (and security) level as a writer that now allows her to give a positive review without doing it as a back-handed compliment.

My kudos to Jessica for an excellent review. Read it here.

Bravo Jessica!

The Print Center Annual Auction

On Saturday, November 18 from 5:00-8:00pm, The Print Center, one of Philadelphia’s oldest and most prestigious nonprofit cultural institutions, has set the goal to raise $35,000 with this year’s auction to support its many cultural and educational programs. Online Preview at www.printcenter.org

Exclusive Champagne Preview: Saturday, November 18 at 4:00pm. The Print Center Auction includes work by talented Philadelphia area artists and international artists, including Edna Andrade, Henry Horenstein, Neil Welliver and a new commissioned camera obscura photograph from "Taken with Time" by Ann Hamilton.

Talking about fundraising auctions for visual art spaces, Transformer Gallery in DC tells me that they grossed over $90,000 in art sales and ticket sales surpassing their fundraising goal for the night of their 3rd Annual Transformer Silent Auction & Benefit Party which took place this past Saturday, November 4 at the Edison Place Gallery.

arthelps Auction

JAM Communications is again the sponsor for this year's Arthelps 6th Annual Silent Art Auction Benefit and Reception to raise money for Food & Friends and the DC Arts Center (DCAC) – two organizations are in their own way are key components of the DC area's social and cultural tapestry.

Support from artists and art donors is integral in making this night a success and that is why they are asking for your help. They welcome a variety of art donations–from original and limited edition paintings and prints, to photographs, glasswork, jewelry and sculpture.

See donated artwork (so far) here.

For more information on how you can donate art, and for additional details on the arthelps event, please go to www.arthelps.org – where you can download a PDF art donation form.

Please RSVP for the event at www.arthelps.org or call Martin at (202)-986-4750 ext. 19.

"Food Glorious Food II" Opens Tomorrow in DC

Zenith Gallery in downtown DC, the Zenith Community Arts Foundation (ZCAF) and the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) redefine the term “great taste” by bringing art, food, and charity together in the second iteration of "Food Glorious Food." Details here.

Tickets for the November 10th reception, 6 - 10pm: Couple $90 Individual: $50. Proceeds to benefit the Capital Area Food Bank.

Reception: Friday, November 10th, 6 - 10pm. Show Dates: November 10th – December 3rd, 2006.

Artists in this year's calendar include Bert Beirne, Connie Desaulniers, Drew Ernst, Leslie Exton, Gary Goldberg, Stephen Hansen, Frank Holmes, Robert Jackson, Dominie Nash, James Tormey, and Alyson Weege. It will delight food and art lovers alike. In addition to the impressive display of artwork, the lineup of featured chefs at the reception will include Nora Pouillon, José Andrés, Yannick Cam, Todd Gray, John Paul Damato, Marci Flanigan and Katsuya Fukushima.

Pollock in a Thrift Shop

California truck driver Teri Horton "devoted much of her time to bargain hunting around the Los Angeles area." In the 1990's she found a $5 painting in such a place and now, according to the NYT's Randy Kennedy:

Even the most stubborn deal scrounger probably would have been satisfied with the rate of return recently offered to her for a curiosity she snagged for $5 in a San Bernardino thrift shop in the early 1990s. A buyer, said to be from Saudi Arabia, was willing to pay $9 million for it, just under an 180 million percent increase on her original investment. Ms. Horton, a sandpaper-voiced woman with a hard-shell perm who lives in a mobile home in Costa Mesa and depends on her Social Security checks, turned him down without a second thought.

Ms. Horton’s find is not exactly the kind that gets pulled from a steamer trunk on the “Antiques Roadshow.” It is a dinner-table-size painting, crosshatched in the unmistakable drippy, streaky, swirly style that made Jackson Pollock one of the most famous artists of the last century. Ms. Horton had never heard of Pollock before buying the painting, but when an art teacher saw it and told her that it might be his work (and that it could fetch untold millions if it were), she launched herself on a single-minded post-retirement career — enlisting, along the way, a forensic expert and a once-powerful art dealer — to have her painting acknowledged as authentic by scholars and the art market.

She is still waiting, defiantly, for that recognition and the payoff it could bring. But as a kind of fringe benefit, her tenacity has made her into a minor celebrity, a pantsuited David flinging stones at the art world’s increasingly wealthy Goliaths. Now it has also landed her the starring role in a documentary scheduled to open next week in New York and later around the country, called "Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?" (When Ms. Horton asked this of her art teacher friend, the original question included a word that cannot be printed in this newspaper nor, apparently, blown up on movie marquees.)

The NYT goes on to describe the movie and writes that:

The movie, directed by Harry Moses, a veteran television documentarian, was produced by him; Don Hewitt, the creator and former executive producer of "60 Minutes"; and his son, Steven Hewitt, a former top executive at Showtime. Mr. Moses said he first became aware of Ms. Horton’s quest when he was approached by Tod Volpe, a high-flying art dealer who fell to earth, and landed himself in prison, in the late 1990s for defrauding several of his celebrity clients, including Jack Nicholson and Barbra Streisand.

Mr. Volpe, who has harbored dreams of breaking into movies, proposed collaborating with Mr. Moses on a 10-hour documentary mini-series about corruption in the art world, a subject he said he knew well.

It gets better! "It became, really, a story about class in America," Mr. Moses said. "It’s a story of the art world looking down its collective nose at this woman with an eighth-grade education."

One aspect of the story that bugs me is the following:

She is arrayed against a formidable team of establishment skeptics, including Ben Heller, an early Pollock collector, and Thomas Hoving, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who examines the painting in somewhat dramatic fashion, tilting his head and almost touching his nose to the canvas before pronouncing it “dead on arrival.”

Later in the movie Mr. Hoving says that Ms. Horton has no right to be bitter about her treatment by the art world and adds sternly, when told that she would vehemently disagree: “She knows nothing. I’m an expert. She’s not.”

And here is what bugs me:

Hoving, in spite of his "False Impressions" book, as far as I know, is not a Pollock-specific expert.

And that counts. Although a Rembrandt expert could probably have an educated opinion, after some real examination, if a Vermeer painting stands a chance of being a real Vermeer, only an experienced Vermeer expert, armed with some forensic tools, can make a semi-final determination about a suspected Vermeer being real real or fake.

And "experts" are wrong all the time! Remember this "fake" Vermeer?

The only thing that the best of experts can determine quickly by examining a drip painting close-up is to verify that it is indeed a drip oil painting (as opposed to a reproduction, or a flatter watercolor, etc.).

An expert with an open mind would have turned the painting around, and examined the back of the painting to see if the canvas was stretched like Pollock canvasses, if the nails or the staples used to anchor the canvas were the same that Pollock used, if the type of canvas was the same type (or brand, or weave) that was used in real Pollock paintings, if the canvas was stapled/nailed on the side or on the back (artists are creatures of habit, and Pollock probably did it the same way all through his life), if these nails or staples has the same aged appearance that a decades old painting should have, are the sides of the painting "painted" or left virgin?, is the canvas primed or raw?, etc.

In other words, no real open-minded expert just looks at a painting (which is so closely visually similar to Pollock's work - at first sight) and makes a haughty judgement like that.

And then science takes over to verify the work, looking for other scientific consistensies (or lack thereof) between this $5 Pollock and the multi-million dollar ones.

Hoving may have been a decent and flamboyant Met director, but he's dangerously approaching being labeled a hack as an "expert" if he claims to be able to determine a painting's validity with a quick glance.

Read the whole article here and then read Bailey's take on the whole subject and his offer to Ms. Horton here.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: Friday, December 22

Original Digital Images Wanted for Art Walk Project. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is seeking 12 artists to take part in a thought provoking large-scale outdoor exhibit entitled "Drift", for the next phase of the Art Walk Project.

The Art Walk is located along 10th Street, NW between New York Avenue and H Street at the former site of the Old Convention Center which is now a parking facility.

Artists are asked to submit original digital images based on the theme DRIFT to be considered for reproduction on 7 ft. by 24 ft. banners. To apply visit this website or call (202) 724-5613.

The deadline is Friday, December 22, 2006 at 5:30 pm.

Maggie Michael at G Fine Art

By Katie Tuss

Washington, DC based artist Maggie Michael's third solo show with G Fine Art, "Open End," draws to a close with a party this Saturday from 6-8 pm at the 14th Street gallery.

Michael derived her new body of work from an explosion drawing she exhibited in September 2005. The paintings are expansive and complex, controlled and graceful, and executed with thoughtful precision.

The majority of the paintings featured in Open End are composed as if in momentary suspension between restraint and release. Michael uses latex house paint to create thick, organic forms that often read as internal organs or body extensions. These forms create disparate, yet cohesive images that overlap and merge bold colors, with frequent black accents, across a uniform neutral background.

Spray-painted details and meticulously placed contour lines further define the drips, tendrils, and masses of paint that fill the canvas. These meandering lines become veins, musculature, or just visual infrastructure along the way.

"Valley: bat" is one of the smaller pieces in the show, but has one of the heaviest applications of paint, which Michael allowed to run off and gather on the side of the canvas. A portion of the top layer of paint has been peeled away from the painting like a used bandage or a flap of skin, and is held in place by a piece of tape. The layer underneath is exposed and vulnerable, showing strings of paint that seem to be entrails.

Michael uses this partial deconstruction of a thoroughly crafted piece and subsequent revelation of a vulnerable layer to maintain a delicate balance between growth and deconstruction, healing and injury.

"Cage," another painting in the exhibition, is a tightly executed cascade of irregular shapes, drips, and lines moving down the center of the canvas. The dominant black heart shape anchors the composition, with its tail streaming behind it, transient yet momentarily frozen.

G Fine Art is located at 1515 14th St. NW, Washington, DC.

Baltimore gallery space option

Light Street Gallery in Baltimore has two gallery spaces, one of which is located upstairs above the Main Floor Gallery. This upstairs space is available for sublet to artists and craftspeople to exhibit their artwork.

The space is available to artists, art dealers, artist representatives, art brokers, and independent curators. The space can be used for a solo exhibit or a group show, wherein the artists share the rental expenses, and it is not necessary for Artists to live within the region to sublet the gallery.

For more information, check out their website at www.lightstreetgallery.com or contact Linda Krensky, Owner & Gallery Director at 410.234.0047

LRA Online

Chawky Frenn recently juried the The League of Reston Artists Annual Judged All Media Theme Exhibition in Reston, VA and you can see his selections in a cool slide show here.

And if you think that serious political art is not being made by DC area artists, then you haven't seen the work of Professor Frenn!

Go Vote

Do not forget to go vote today - otherwise your bitching rights are rescinded.

I voted for the first time as a Pennsylvanian today and was somewhat surprised by the fact that I just walked in, they asked my name, found it in the book, had me sign it, and that was it.

"Don't you need to see some sort of ID," I asked.

They looked scared, as if I was setting them up.

"No," said the lady; 90 seconds later I was done.

Interesting... I find it amazing that you need ID to buy cigarrettes or booze if you look anything under 30 (although I still haven't figured out where I can get a six pack in this state), and you need ID to cash a check, and you need ID to get on a plane, and my local supermarket wants ID if you charge over $80 to your credit card, but no ID is needed to vote.

City Hall Art Collection Comments

I've been overwhelmed by the number of comments that you have emailed me about the new City Hall Art Collection, and have somewhat fallen behind posting them. Below are a few, with more to come. I am also told that Jessica Dawson will have a review in the Washington Post this coming Saturday and there will be an article in the WaPo's Metro section on Thursday -- I think in the District Extra.

Comments:

Tim Tate wrote:

"At the opening last night at the Wilson building it was community building at its finest. Probably 3/4 of the artists represented were in attendance.... and they represented a comprehensive and thoughtful cross section of the Washington art scene, from the old guard to the newest burgeoning faces.

Sondra Arkin once again pulled off a wonderful flawless event with all the enthusiasm that she puts into Art-o-matic. While is was great to see surprises around every corner (from new artists you weren't familiar with to new directions from artists we knew), the real pleasure was to see work from the artists we've come to know well in DC. it somehow felt comfortable, as the city's collection should feel.

My favorite wall included works by Rima Schulkind, Margaret Boozer and Sean Hennessey. Each of these pieces worked incredibly well together and represented an established artist, a new artist and a new direction for another established artist.

Some of the work you hoped top see was there.... William Christenbery, Sam Gilliam and six wonderful Gene Davis pieces. Also some of the older school had some great pieces like Judy Jashinsky, and Richard Dana and Ellen Weiss.

Two smaller repetitive works had a great sense of discovery about them. One was from Georgie Deal and one from Lynn Putney, who share a similar sensibility. Also two smaller paintings by Andrew Wodzianski had all the depth and lusciousness of his larger works.

The collection as a whole was spectacular and extremely professionally well done. It seemed to have always belonged in that space. I hear there will be a second round of purchasing, so all those who didn't have work ready for the last call will be getting another chance. I'm sure Lenny will post it on his this site!"

Adam Griffiths wrote:

"Sorry to hear you didn't make the opening, it was pretty great. A lot of abstract work, but quite a variety of stuff. Presentation was great, although some pieces were tucked away in offices that weren't open until halfway through the night.

Wow! There was a lot of art to look at, and all of the selections were exceptional. There was an excellent Gilliam piece on the first floor, and two nice Renee Stouts.

And while I don't seek to make a large point of it, there really wasn't that much representational work in the show. In addition, it seems that wall-friendly work took priority over 3D artworks. There seemed to be plenty of places for sculpture to go in the building, but I guess when the building was remodeled, no one thought to put in more than the few 1st floor niches for future artworks. Otherwise, I must say I was quite pleased with it.

The complimentary catalogue was very beautiful and is definitely worth seeking out if you know someone who got one.

The place was really packed by 7pm and you could barely move in the center hall. Lots of people watched the opening remarks from balconies all the way from the 5th floor. Linda Cropp gave a speech that I could barely hear from the back of the room, but people were quite excited by it. Otherwise, the energy was pleasant just about everywhere I went, I saw some artists talking to folks about their work, and people eating the yummy fruit and buffalo wings from Whole Foods (there was a line at each table setting on every floor and the food lasted about an hour from 6pm to 7pm)."

Andrew Wodzianski wrote:

"The reception was a blast, and the collection is truly awesome in scope/breadth. I have only three
criticisms:

1) While a majority of the artwork had gorgeous frames, a few pieces suffered from poor presentation. Glare from glass was a main culprit.

2) I don't recall the submission requirements, but there were too few sculptures (in the round).

3) Political back slapping. Linda Cropp and Anthony Williams are windbags.

Still, those are minor complaints for such a large exhibit in such a large venue."

Karen Joan Topping wrote:

"Frankly, I'm impressed and amazed at the wonderful job that has been done with presenting the first group in the city's art collection.

The range of style displayed in the actual art objects purchased was professional, daring, and spot on. With only, what-153 pieces?, from established and emerging artists alike it is a collection that is ready to expose DC artists to a broader audience. From Margaret Boozer's process-oriented clay relief wall hanging to Judy Jashinsky's character portraits, to Pat Goslee's abstract encaustic painting, all in addition to some household 'names', the collection definitively gives voice to the great range and depth of talent that has been present in DC for decades.

Yet, as a 15 year artist-resident of DC, what I am most refreshed by is that while the art scene in DC may have been provincial in the past, this collection stands as tangible proof that the actual art & artists are not and never have been the P-word. It seems like the rest of the city is finally catching up with what those of us practicing in 'the field' already knew.

I was quite amazed to see the number of catalogs and maps that were given away at the opening. The business side of my brain says BRAVO - commitment to that kind of documentation will do wonders for promoting the city and no doubt inject a new fire into a 'scene' that has come a long, long way. That kind of fancy paper is one of the best ways to get non-artists on the outside of the scene to come on in because it lets them bring the experience into their home and life in a tangible way. Bravo to the city for financially making it happen.

I've only read about half of the catalog. There's a surprising amount of text, though given the weird color on a few of reproductions, I guess they had artist’s provide their own reproductions. I’d be curious to know.

If I have any criticism, it is that while each of these authors that contributed has done a great job capturing a slice of the collection, the fact that one section reads like an art history text, another like a press release, another a scientific manual; I find it a bit jarring. Turns out I know a few of these authors, so while I know why their piece sounds like it does, maybe a little more than a job title by each authors' name would have introduced each specific POV.

I'm being uber-critical here because the catalog is really, really nice and having worked at a museum and been on the fringes of the trials involved in making this kind of document, what is present in this HeART of DC catalog is an aspiration for producing a catalog nothing short of the gold ring, it just so happens on this first time around they only got the silver.

But that is just in terms of the catalog, which is a fleeting document at best. I'll say it again, the conceptual work that went into these first purchases and the quality of the art objects-SPOT ON!"

Also, JT Kirkland has a quick set of comments here.

And later this week, together with several DC area art museum curators, I'll be walking the collection myself, and hope to provide you with my and their comments.

Mama Love

DMV photographer Camille Pasley is one of the District's hardest working photographers in all her incarnations. Photos from her soon to be published book "Mama Love" go on view this week at Touchstone Gallery in Downtown DC. The opening reception is Friday, November 10, 6-8:30pm and the 3rd Thursday Gallery Walk is November 16, 6-8pm.

This is an opportunity for collectors to acquire images from the book at pre publication prices. Visit here for details.

Shock & Awe: Artists Look at War

Since according to what the press and pollsters have been hammering into our collective voting will for months now, the election is all but over, and Nancy Pelosi is packing up her office for her move down the hall, and DC area moving companies are in a hiring frenzy to pick up all those hard-working guys who hang around Casa de Maryland, tomorrow, after you vote, then go to the Warehouse in DC, for a good ole political art show: "Shock & Awe: Artists Look at War."

Artwork hangs in all of Warehouse's eight galleries, and the reception is from 6-8PM, although Molly is also having an election night party to watch the victorious returns on the tube -- with drink specials - all night!

"Shock and Awe" features work by 32 artists: John Aaron, Sondra Arkin, Paul Bishow, Laura Elkins, Gabriella Bulisova, Tom Drymon, Dana Ellyn, Garth Gardner, Seth Gomoljak, Jason Gottlieb, Ken Gwira, J Gavin Heck, Michael Janis, Mark Jenkins, Joroko, Joanne Kent, Karl Kressbach, Heather Levy, Carolina Mayorga, Paul Notzold, Piero Passacantando, Dino Paxenos, Mark Planisek, Rima Schulkind, Matt Sesow, Erwin Timmers, Ruth Trevarrow, The Scroll Project*, Joanne Wasserman, Ellyn Weiss, Andrew Wodzianski and Peter Wood.

Hirshhorn Looking for New Art Curator

The Hirshhorn is looking for a new Associate Art curator! Salary range is $54,272 - $70,558.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, seeks an experienced museum professional to serve as Associate Curator with a focus on modern art. This position is responsible for conducting research relevant to the understanding, use, loan, display, and care of works of art in the collection, with particular emphasis on modern works (up to 1959).

Candidates should also have an interest in and familiarity with contemporary art. Position identifies international work for potential and organizes temporary exhibitions and collection installations. In addition, position serves as coordinator for exhibitions organized by other institutions traveling to the Hirshhorn.

Please see announcement # 07JW-7007 at www.sihr.si.edu for the full description and application instructions/procedures. This is a federal position that closes November 20, 2006. The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

13

"My Secret" - the new PostSecret book by Frank Warren - hit the # 13 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list this past week.

Camera Works

I know that I'm constantly hammering the WaPo for their miserable and pathetic coverage of the Greater DC area visual art scene, especially when viewed in the context of their decent coverage of theatre, dance and music, and their unexplainable orgasmic coverage of fashion shows.

But as a good friend pointed out to me recently, they do deserve some kudos for their exceptional Camera Works feature on their online site.

This slideshow of the photography of Korda is perhaps the best example of what can be done online when a newspaper's leadership wants to do something different and right.

Tangent: Most of Korda's original vintage photographs, the ones which he actually kept for his own private records, and which he gave to one of his daughters a few years before his passing, made their way to the United States when the daughter escaped from Castro's island prison. They are now in the possession of a private collector in Bethesda, as well as many letters and notes from Korda. I mention this in case some DC-based (or any place) curator ever wants to mount a Korda retrospective in the US and wants access to the original vintage work.

Back to Camera Works.

I also share my friend's favorite online column: Frank Van Riper on Photography.

His recent article discusses vintage photographs and a previous article by Frank Van Riper: "The Wet Room Lives!" was also extremely informative and interesting.