Karen Joan Topping on the Corcoran Acquisition of the Randall School

Last Thursday I mentioned the acquisition of the Randall School by the Corcoran and asked to hear from some of the MAC artists who have studios there, since there have been some past issues between them and the acquisition process. So far Ellyn Weiss has responded and now Karen Joan Topping has the following to say:

Mr. C, thanks for giving us the incentive to speak our minds. This is a little long - I could not resist a "Dylan Thomasy" sort of response, considering my feelings for my time at the Randall School.

You mentioned that DC's lack of affordable studio space was a factor in the deal with the Corcoran to include space for practicing artists in their plan. While no one would argue that financial and real estate issues have touched everyone in the past five years, personally I think that the Randall School community of artists and our cultural presence is of equal importance in explaining what lead us into this Jonah & the Whale scenario.

When I saw the artists that were residents in the building when I was a prospective renter 3-4 years ago, I knew I had to get in on this space. There were a number of artists that I really respected by reputation and work that had just recently cut the graduate school cord and had taken DC by storm. There were artists that I knew as bastions of the Downtown Art Scene in the 80's and 90's, that had had their studios over the porn and wig shops across from the National Portrait Gallery. Back in the day, this group had put on events of smaller scale but greater intensity than almost anything that's been seen at Art-o-Matic. Not surprisingly, many of these people now work their asses-off to make Art-O-Matic's possible.

Lastly there were plenty of people like me; not legendary, not the toast of the town; but with work ethic and solid bodies of work that appeals to some little niche otherwise we would not keep doing it.) Really, at the core that's what almost every resident of the Millennium Art Center (MAC) was, that kind of community is often harder to come by then available space.

Unfortunately when I became a renter at MAC the future of the building as studios, let alone an art center, was already on shaky ground. I was lucky to have my studio in one of the older parts of the building; Randall is a beautiful and old building and honestly it would not have lasted much longer without a deal like this happening. I hope the developers are held to refurbishing as much as they are allowed to demolish.

I had tried to rent studios in the preceding years and had not been successful. I once lost a space to a former employee because the landlord said his voice was on his answering machine before mine. The competition for individually leased spaces was and is high. Most artists are not willing or capable of taking on a lease and responsibility for the bankroll and slum-lording it takes to get the rent paid for an entire floor of a mid-century office building or an unused warehouse, let alone a 6.5 million complex of school buildings. Income statements, credit reports are as much a part of getting a studio as a "regular" person renting or buying a house or apartment.

There is studio space is out there, but there is sorry little initiative out there from investors and agencies that could afford to cut up larger spaces and offer them for fair prices. This was what was on the table at MAC, the opportunity for renting a studio - not having to become a landlord too.

While I've barely left the building, I'm nostalgic for the neighborhood already. Many of the remaining artists had been tenants for close to ten years, I can't imagine how they feel. I'm concerned that this project is a positive move for the neighborhood. There is a lot of public assistance housing in the neighborhood and it needs an art center that is going to reach out to the community more than anything.

Many other mixed use development projects seem stalled in this neighborhood and the Corcoran has not been very forthcoming about exactly what's going on with their project. I'm concerned that this project gets off the ground and doesn't become another shipwreck in the "Corcoran Triangle". Like the large historic church that sits behind the Randall building, it could end up sitting there boarded up for a decade which would break a lot of hearts.

There are only a few entities that can presume taking on a building that fills a city block and a leadership role in supporting a community of more than thirty artists and at least two non-profits; think about it, that's bigger than most graduate schools.

Private entities and city governments come to the top of my mind as good candidates.

The Corcoran has already put some roadblocks in the way of establishing good relations with the artists and the SW community. With the Gehry building not happening, it's hard to say what they have in mind.

Given that these are my feelings at the present moment, why would I presume that the Corcoran would be open to truly working in consort with the community, the government and private investors to create a truly visionary art center that could eclipse the Gehry or a ubiquitous mixed-use development. Outstanding not because of what it looks like or how financially good it looks on paper but in the positive and supportive impact it has on the community and the city. I know that running a museum or any arts organization is not a cakewalk, but I wish I could have more faith in the Corcoran assuming a role that maximizes the leadership role by at least trying to bring in the resources and a spirit of community and communication and could really make something happen.

I am willing to admit, it’s a little unfair to saddle our ‘local’ museum with this huge responsibility when they really do need to fix their school. Sadly, I think it took this bleak lack of faith to spur the Ex-MAC community get organized. If it’s not prudent for the Corcoran to do it, listen up isn’t there “someone” else out there that sees what I am talking about and can step up to the challenge? Stay tuned. Ex-mac'rs will hopefully be having a celebration of some sort in the spring in the hope that we can galvanize much more of the DC community to support art, artists and the positive investment that art is to the city as a whole.

Thanks.

Karen Joan Topping

Could Another Eakins Leave Philly?

"Three years ago, the Philadelphia School District went on a treasure hunt to gather up about 1,200 artworks. There were paintings, sculptures and tapestries from more than 260 schools, including Wilson.

Officials said some of the art was too valuable to hang in the schools. At least one piece by Thomas Eakins was found in a boiler room, the Washington Post reported.

A Chicago art consultant brought in to catalogue the works said the entire collection could be worth $30 million.

"This is an incredibly unusual and extraordinary find," consultant Kathleen Bernhardt-Hidvegi told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004.

But now that the School Reform Commission is struggling to resolve a $73.3 million budget deficit, art experts, along with members of various school communities, are worried that district officials could be tempted to sell the artworks.

At least one commissioner, Daniel Whelan, voiced the idea at a budget hearing last month. The art has been stored away from public view since 2003-04.

Read the report by Valerie Russ here.

Hotel Art As I end up the travel nights in my hotel room in San Diego's Hotel Circle, and after a massive meal at Ortega's (still the best Mexican restaurant in San Diego by the way), I again noticed the crappy "wall decor" that goes for art in most hotel lobbies and rooms in this nation. And it reminded me of a stunt that I used to pull with hotel artwork years ago (which now would be called an "art project"). And I mean years ago, somewhere between the late 70's and the early 2000's, during the time before the crap that passes for art in most hotel rooms was attached to the wall so securely that it would take a small nuclear device to remove it from the wall. Anyway, between the late 70's (I'd say around 1976 or so) and the early 2000's, it was my usual practice, as sort of a personal artistic jihad, to take down the framed "art" in these hotel rooms, take the frame apart, and remove the usual poster or reproduction that was the art, turn it around, and draw (and once in a while actually paint) a "new" original work on the verso of the poster. It was usually a simple, figurative line drawing, more often than not done while watching TV, and often inspired by the TV show itself. Some were more elaborate than others, and every once in a while a really involved drawing would emerge. Once finished, I would re-frame the new work, and re-hang it on the wall. I did this probably around 200 times in hotel rooms in Europe, Canada, Mexico and all over the United States.

These days I am doing a similar, but modified project - which I will call my "art deployment" project, where I use frames from area thrift shops, remove the cheap reproductions (usually) that are in these frames, replace them with my own artwork -- usually art school era vintage "real" prints such as etchings, linocuts, lithos, etc. and even some original work -- and then "sneak" it back into the thrift shop for some lucky and sharp-eyed person to acquire and "boom" a Campello gets into another collection.

Crazy December

I'm gonna pack the miles in December. Between flying to California, and then to Florida and a gazillion parties and things to do in DC, will make for a crazy month, so please check often, as the posting will be done at all times of the day.

Educating Blake

As we all know, WaPo art critic Blake Gopnik is a devoted acolyte of the "painting is dead" gospel. Perhaps he should attend this panel in order to realize that as long as there are artists, painting will never die:

Roundtable Discussion: Fresh Paint: Process and Possibility

Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 7-9 p.m at the Arlington Arts Center.

Why is process a fresh topic these days? Fourteen invited artists from around the region, including Anthony Brock, Byron Clercx, Eric Finzi, Pat Goslee, Christopher P. Hoeting, Tati Kaupp, Kevin Kepple, Isabel Manalo, Michael Matarese, Cara Ober, Susan Palmisano, Stefan Prosky, Lynda Ray and Shinji Turner-Yamamoto will discuss why paint is their medium of choice.

As well, they will discuss why they use a variety of alternative painting techniques and materials (including robots that sing and make art) in search of mystery, pattern and meaning, and as a significant way to question contemporary life. Carol Lukitsch, curator of FRESH PAINT: Process and Possibility will also moderate this important roundtable discussion.

By the way, the opening reception for the show is Friday, December 8, 6-9 pm.

Airborne again today and flying from you-know-where and heading to the Left Coast...

Proof at Theatre Widener

Last Friday night I attended the opening performance of "Proof" at Theatre Widener at Widener University.

Written by David Auburn, "Proof" has been a spectacular success on Broadway, and has won the Joseph Kesselring Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Drama Desk Award, and the Tony Award for Best Play of 2001.

"Proof" is a play about Catherine, a 25-year-old Chicago woman who had been taking care of her mentally-ill uberMathematician father (Robert) for several years prior to his death in their home in Chicago.

Following his death, she then begins to deal with her own issues, including the fact that she's troubled by the many traits that she shares with her father, including a potential mental instability and an apparent gift for Mathematics.

The arrival of her bossy sister Claire from New York, to attend to their father's funeral, and the re-introduction of Hal, a former student of their father, who is now a professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago (and who hopes to find some new and valuable mathematical insights in the 103 gibberish-filled notebooks that Robert left behind), set in motion the various elements of this play.

We learn a lot about mathematicians in this play. We are told that it is a young man's profession (most mathematical discoveries have been made by young men under the age of 25), and that it is young men who are the key mathematicians, and it is inferred that mathematicians may be predisposed genetically to mental instability, and finally, that mathematical research and the discovery of something "new" is the ultimate goal for "real" mathematicians.

When Hal is directed by Catherine to a locked drawer, and discovers a notebook filled with a mind-boggling new mathematical proof, the audience is initially led to believe that the old mathematician has shattered the foundations of (a) and has made amazing new advancements in the field while enjoying a one year remission in his mental illness.

Because "Proof" also makes a heavy-handed point that mathematical research is a young man's game, we are ready to gasp when the play then tackles the issue of Catherine (who has been trained by both her father and by undergraduate classes in Math at Northwestern as a beginner mathematician), as she stakes the claim at the midpoint of the play that it is she - and not her father - who has created the new proof.

Both Hal and Claire doubt the claim, and Catherine begins to descend into a depression that seems to put her on the same mental road as her father. Eventually, the play eases into a closing where Hal and Catherine, now romantically involved, work together to resolve some of the "less than elegant" parts of the proof.

The play spends a lot of dialogue talking about the culture of mathematicians. Since the author of "Proof" apparently does not have any mathematical background, I was surprised in the sense that he certainly does show remarkable insight into the culture of mathematicians.

For example, "Proof" introduces into the dialogue the rarity of female names in the top names for the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition and the total absence of any female names on the list of Fields Medalists - prizes and competitions apparently well-known only in the field of Mathematics.

With the exception of Ted O'Tanyi (who plays Robert), these are all very young collegiate actors, and sometimes their youth shows, both in a positive and negative (no pun intended) manner, most often in their facial expressions to deliver an emotion.

Kristen Hearty, who plays Catherine (and whose character manages to somehow get cuter with each act in the play) uses her youth to plant her acting skills deep into the part. Her facial expressions and vocal range add a lot to the frustration and mental anguish of her character as she progresses through the various acts, and she is best when she interacts with Hal. She is also especially good in delievring some of the funnier lines in the script, during the second half of the play, and almost exhausting in her depiction of a very negative young woman.

Brian Harrington (who plays Hal) delivers the best performance in "Proof." He is believable as the Math geek professor, struggling to make Catherine believe that he's really interested in both her and her father's work - and not in getting his hands on the proof to make a name for himself. He stepped into the role from the very first line, and that singularly noticeable, since it took all the other actors a bit to "warm up," especially in the first act, which was a bit stilted and shrill.

Elizabeth Epright and Ted O'Tanyi are adequate as Claire and Robert respectively. O'Tanyi started a little shaky at first, but his performance matured as the play went on, and by his last appearance in the second half of the performance, was very good in the role of the mentally ill genius.

I was somewhat bothered by the choice of costumes for Claire and Catherine, which (especially in the case of Claire) seemed to be cheap suits off the rack from some outlet and apparently someone's ill-conceived notion of what a New York businesswoman wears. Claire ranged widely in costumes, from typical jeans and T-shirt, to a very pretty dress that takes the character from being a frumpy mid-20s Chicago girl into a sexy woman, and then again ends in the final act in a weird ochre pantsuit that must have caused gasps when finally purchased in some discount women's clothing store somewhere in Philadelphia.

Overall this is a very good collegiate production of a very strong play (directed by Dennis Bloh), which manages to raise some interesting issues about the ignored role of women in a male-dominated field.

"Proof" runs through December 9, 2006.

Altar Boyz

A while back a regular reader of Mid Atlantic Art News, who I think is also a producer for the show Altar Boyz, sent me a couple of complimentary tickets for one of the show's performance in our area at the Hippo in Baltimore.

I didn't know this at the time, but Altar Boyz is an award winning play, and somewhat (if we're to judge by the screaming girls in the audience) some kind of a "under the radar" cult hit, that somehow takes the phenomenom of pop boys groups, seriously athletic dancing, catchy tunes, and religion, and puts it all together in an unexpected, sort of fun musical show.

At first I thought that the show was an effort to poke fun at religion, Christian religion of course, but as the musical got going, I realized that this was an effort to well... bring some harmless pop into religion, while delivering a positive, and 100% harmless, religious message.

The "boyz" are Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham; sort of a pop Christian Mod Squad, that is ethnically diverse ("Juan" (Spanish for John) is Mexican, and "Luke" plays an Italian street toughie stereotype (I think); and even includes a Semite ("Abraham" is Jewish), and one of the boyz (Mark) is gay.

The characters played by the boyz, especially the gay, the Mexican and the Jew, are little more than cliché Hollywood cartoonish stereotypes, but this is somewhat overcome by their interaction and the whole "fun" attitude of the show.

This Christian boy band, mike-in-cheek (I think) hopes to save souls in their travels with a power-packed ninety minutes of diverse music (rap, Latin, rock, gospel, etc.), well-choreographed and sweat-producing dancing, and a ton of laughs - in fact many more that one would expect... from (ahem) this kind of musical play.

And this is a show, that if someone would have described it to me ahead of time, I would have skipped it; and yet I will admit that I actually quite enjoyed the songs (includes "Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait" and "Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone"), the dancing, and even the post-modern Christian message of acceptance.

The show is based on a book by Kevin Del Aguila, and it is choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who deserves a "well done" for the dancing and moves on this show.

More on the Altar Boyz website here (be prepared for annoying musical effects).

The Case of the Kennedy Portrait

Jessica Gould and Dave Jamieson have a really interesting report in the Washington City Paper about the fact that "Phillip Bailley took a handsome portrait of Robert F. Kennedy from his presidential campaign office. So why is he suing Ethel Kennedy?"

Read the story here.

Ellyn Wise on the Corcoran Acquisition of the Randall School

Last Thursday I mentioned the acquisition of the Randall School by the Corcoran and asked to hear from some of the MAC artists who have studios there, since there have been some past issues between them and the acquisition process.

Several artists have responded and below is Ellyn Weiss take on the subject:

Personally, I would characterize The Cork "under new management" as every bit as imperious and high-handed in its dealings with the local art community as was the old regime. It truly amazes me, not to say pisses me off royally, that after the Millennium artists - at The Cork's explicit request - supported the Cork's acquisition of the Randall School when they needed City Council approval, they never even deigned to meet with us and let us know what their plans and schedule are for the rehab.

Instead, they chose to communicate, on the rare occasions when they did, only through scary lawyer-drafted letters that ordered us to do one thing or another. For example: thanks to our truly amazing pro bono lawyers, Norman Sinel and Rich Lucas from Arnold and Porter, the deed for the Randall School now contains the requirement that, after rehab is completed, the Cork must offer the artists comparable studio space.

In an apparent nod to this, we all just received a registered letter informing us that we would be offered, in 48 - 52 months, a studio of no less than 72 square feet, but only if we sign a "legally binding" document now committing to rent it.

This magnanimous offer pretty much says it all. It couldn't be more clear that The Cork views itself as on a whole different planet than the one that local artists inhabit.

But not all gloom and doom from us Millennium artists! We have a show right now at 910 E St. NW organized by Zenith Gallery (thanks, Marjory) and are planning a big old party soon to which all of you artists and art lovers will be invited. We DO plan to rise again.

Peace and love, Ellyn Weiss

As there are always two sides to every story, I have asked the Corcoran to respond. Later I will publish more comments from other MAC artists.

New Painting a Day Blog

DC area artist Molly Brose joins the new wave of daily online painters kick-started by Richmond's Duane Keiser with her new "A Day's Work" Blog.

Some really excellent watercolors created each day here.

New Hoyas

DC area artist John Murray has been commissioned to create four religious paintings for the Jesuit Chapel of Georgetown University. He has just finished the first one:

More details, including prep sketches, here.

Another one heading down South

In addition to all the galleries and dealers mentioned here (and elsewhere since), the Black Artists of DC (BADC) are also heading to Miami where they will be exhibiting during the Art Basel extravaganza in the LoGlo exhibit at the Buena Vista Building in the Design District.

O'Sullivan in the WaPo

"Hoping to foster a little cross-pollination in the visual arts scenes of Washington, Baltimore and Richmond, the Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran's ongoing series of "Exchange" exhibitions -- in which art spaces from those cities have been trading shows with one another -- is a great idea, if for no other reason than it saves gas. Washington art lovers curious about what's going on in the Baltimore scene, for instance, had the recent opportunity to find out (without driving an hour) when the WPA/C, in a collaboration with Baltimore's Creative Alliance, brought a slew of Charm City's finest to the Warehouse for a showcase earlier this fall. At the same time, Baltimoreans could check out what Washington had to offer at a simultaneous roundup of D.C. artists there. (Both have since closed.)

The final two "Exchange" installments are on view now: "Richmond @ DC" at the D.C. Arts Center, and its counterpart, "DC @ Richmond," at that city's Gallery5. (Oddly, the triangle was left incomplete, with no art-swap planned between Richmond and Baltimore. Oh, well. Maybe next year.)"

Read the WaPo review here.

New Baltimore Gallery

Diliberto Gallery recently opened in Fells Point in Baltimore and this Friday they are having a show titled "Land, Sky and Water," showcasing the work of five landscape artists: David Shevlino, Lisa Egeli, Eva Carson, Mary Bickford and Michael Diliberto. The opening reception is Friday, December 1 from 6-9PM.

Of these I am quite familiar with Lisa Egeli's technically superb work, and I think that she still holds my personal record for the most expensive painting that I've ever sold, sight unseen (not the most expensive painting that I've sold ever, but the most expensive "unseen" painting), to a collector (in Texas if I recall): $11,000 as I remember (it was a few years ago).

Diliberto Gallery website here.

New DC gallery

Gary A. Christopherson (Chris) has opened a new art studio/gallery called GChris "Progressive Art" Sculpture Studio/Gallery on Dumbarton Street in Georgetown.

Details here.

Corcoran Finally Closes MAC Deal

Jacqueline Trescott reports in the WaPo today that the Corcoran finally closed the deal to buy (for 6.2 million) the building where the Millenium Arts Center is located.

Gallery officials announced yesterday that they had signed the contract Tuesday night to give the city $6.2 million for the Southwest Washington property and had hired Monument Realty to oversee the project, in which the Corcoran will occupy part of the building and the rest will be converted to apartments.

When this deal started brewing a while back, there were some flies in the ointment.

When the Corcoran's plans were announced two years ago, advocates for the homeless protested, as did the artists, who complained about the lack of affordable studio space in Washington.

But apparently the artists will be given an option to move:

As part of the purchase contract, the Corcoran is offering some of the space at Randall to the artists who used to lease space there when it was called the Millennium Arts Center. "If they are interested in coming back, we are offering them space," said Rebecca M. Gentry, the gallery's vice president of institutional advancement.

I'd like to hear from some of the MAC artists to see what their point of view on this issue is...

Read the WaPo article here.

By the way, the MAC artists currently have an exhibition (opened yesterday) at Zenith Gallery's Alternative Space located at 901 E Street NW (entrance on 9th Street). On exhibit are works by my good friend Richard Dana, Inga McCaslin Frick, Wendy Garner, Georgia Goldberg, Lucy Hogg, Bonnie Holland, Judy Jashinsky · Kevin Kepple, Sherrell Medbery, Mark Planisek, Russ Simmons, Ellen Sinel, Walter Smalling, Frances Sniffen, Charles St. Charles, Betsy Stewart, Karen Joan Topping, Andres Tremols, Bert Ulrich, and Ellyn Weiss.

Dorkbot

I am somewhere over the Mid Atlantic coast, airborne on an ailing Freedom Air (the little guys who do the puddle jumps for Delta) prop job which was four hours late out of New York this morning, and yet through the wonders of technology, and my new laptop with the little wizard box that allows me Internet access practically everywhere in the nation, here I am, ahem... blogging.

And it is appropriate that the subject is to announce the next Dorkbot DC meeting of that strange group of area artists who (in their own words) are "artists (sound/image/movement/etc.), designers, engineers, students and other interested parties from the DC area who are involved in the creation of electronic art (in the broadest sense of the term)."

These geekartists will host Paras Kaul, a.k.a. "The Brainwave Chick."

Paras Kaul is an adjunct professor and Web developer at George Mason University, but when she pulls on her electrode-studded headband and steps out in front of an audience, she is “The Brainwave Chick.”

Why?

Kaul uses "a brain wave interface as a neural artist, researcher, and music composer. She creates brain wave music for multimedia productions that have been performed at the Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage, the Walker Art Center, and at SIGGRAPH conferences. Kaul’s research also involves the development of neural games for attaining preferable brain states for learning. Her neural art and games are intended to call attention to brain matters and to invoke a dialogue to discuss neurological learning to develop human potentials for self-healing, nonverbal communication, and remote viewing."

I'm sorry whaaa?

Also presenting at the Dorkbot DC meeting will be Philip Kohn, an artist whose interactive video art explores audience participation. He will be discussing his recent collaborative work “Your Two Cents” which records video of viewers opinions, then distorts them using video effects including face part identification

Maybe it's just me, but there's something slightly fascinating in a weird way about the ability of these, uh... scientists cum artists to create artwork that jumpstarts the 21st century into an area where (Blake Gopnik should love this), almost everything is new.

And the DC area, with its large technogeek base of cutting edge technology companies, R&D outfits and megahuge defense contractors, is the perfect place to fuel artistic development that marries real cutting edge science with "new" forms of art.

And these artists are working right here, in the DC area, under the noses of DC area museum curators. And if you or I were a young, up-and-coming curator, say Anne Ellegood, or Kristen Hileman, or Sarah Newman, maybe dropping in and seeing what these geekartists are up to could be worth the visit.

I think that they might see something new.

Date/Time: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 7-9 PM
Location: Provisions Library
Suite 200
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20009
Price: Free admission
Public Contact #: 202-299-0460

Airborne today and heading to New York and then to Norfolk. More later...

Visual AIDS Postcards From the Edge Benefit

Postcards From the Edge is a show and sale of original, postcard-sized works on paper by established and emerging artists. The works are signed on the back and exhibited so the artists' signatures cannot be seen.

This year's Visual AIDS Postcards From the Edge Benefit is hosted in NYC by Sikkema Jenkins & Co, has the preview party on World AIDS Day, Friday, December 1 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM with a sneak peek only -- $75 admission includes one raffle ticket. One Lucky Winner will select any postcard that evening! Additional Raffle Tickets $25.

A silent auction of artworks by Barton Lidice Benes, Nan Goldin, Jenny Holzer and Richard Renaldi, will be held at the Preview Party, Dec. 1 from 6-8PM. Details and images here.

The Benefit Sale is Saturday, December 2 from 12:00 - 6:00 PM & Sunday, December 3 from 12:00 - 4:00 PM. $5 Suggested Admission. Over 1,000 original postcard-sized works of art. Only $75 each. Buy four cards and get one free. Participating artists are:

Mary Jo Aardsma, David Abbott, Joshua Abelow, Rachel B. Abrams, Vito Acconci, Brillion Adams, Derrick Adams, Farah Ahmad, Mason Akers, Tatiana Akoeva, Michael Alago, Courtney Alan, Michael Alan, Lynne Alexander, Alexander 23, Mary Alford, Stacy Alickman, Meredith Allen, Scott Allen, Carol Alonge, Anthony Alvarez, Jose Alvarez, David Ambrose, Blanka Amezkua, Shannon Amidon, Kim Amlong, Marie Anakee, Marina Ancona, Jack Anderson, Micki Anderson, Terry Ray Anderson, Kristin Anderson & Danny Licul, Carl Andre, Chad Andrews, Stephen Andrews, Brandon Andrzejczak, Elizabeth Andrzejczak, William Anthony, Polly Apfelbaum, Sally Apfelbaum, Rosaire Appel, Tomie Arai, Sol Aramendi, Michelle Arbeit, Wendy Arbeit, Kristoffer Ardena, Lauren D. Ari, Rebecca Armstrong, Yelena Aronson, Andrea Arroyo, Todd Arsenault, Julia Arzberger, Sabrina Asch, Mike Asente, Richard Ashe, Walter Askin, Kisito Assangni, Dotty Attie, Emily Aull, Anthony Austin, Lacy Austin, Dominick Avellino, Mehmet Ayanoglu, Joseph Ayers, Luke Ayres, Aziz + Cucher, Adam Baer, Miki Baird, Patrick Michael Baird, Raina Bajpai, Heti Baker, John Baldessari, Phyllis Baldino, Angela Barbalace, Gerard Barbot, Perry Bard, Frieda Bard Wirick, Julia Whitney Barnes, Scott Barnes, Malena Barnhart, Jill Baroff, Burt Barr, Paula Barr, Katie Barrie, Alex Barry, Mark Barry, Elliot Bassman, Hugo Xavier Bastidas, Larissa Bates, Peggy Bates, Mindy Baughman, Erica Baum, Sarah Baum, Miriam Baumer, Gail Baxter Cohen, Jeffrey Beall, Helena Beban, Kate Beck, Robert Beck, Tania Becker, Elizabeth Beckmann, Maureen Beitler, Valerie Belin, Adam Bell, Caroline Bell, Laura Bell, Mina Bellavia, Anne-Marie Belli, Chris Bellingham, Susanna Beltrandi, Ronnie Ben-Ami, Yael Ben-Zion, Barton Lidice Benes, Robert A. Benevenga, Stefany Benson, Micah Beree, Kermit Berg, Marina Berio, Peter Berlin, Katherine Bernhardt, Rakel Beruie, Rachel Berwick, Stephen Beveridge, Brett Beyers, Marieke Bier, Andrea Biller Collins, James Bills, Colby Bird, JoAnn Bishop, Mariella Bisson, George Blaha, Nancy Blair, Nayland Blake, Dana Blanco, Sonia Blanco-Florentino, Martin Bland, Julie Blattberg, Peter Blazek, Ross Bleckner, Lucinda Bliss, Stephanie Bloom, Deborah Boardman, Mel Bochner, Bianca Bockman, Mara Bodis-Wollner, Daniel Bodner, Sandra Boer, Elizabeth Bonaventura, David Borawski, Teresa Bosko, Lynn Boudreau, Matthew Bourbon, Nina Bovasso, Diane Bower, Astrid M. Bowlby, Cyd Bown, Dave Bown, Ryan Bown, Bruce Wesley Boyce, Daniel Boyer, Kelli Boyles, S. Kendall Bradford, Madelyn Bradley, Bradford Branch, Michael Brandonisio, Gladys Grey Brannum, Marcelo Brantes, Cariya Breemen, Susan Breen, John Breiner, Dagmar Breitenbauc, Corey R. Breneisen, Matthew Brennan, Lisa Breslow, Jacklyn Brickman, Kevin Bright, John Brill, Matt Broach, Mona Brody, Patricia Brody & Tom Kostro, Moazzam Ali Brohi, AA Bronson, Arnold Brooks, Nancy Brooks Brody, Jude Broughan, Christopher Broughton, Jenny Brown, Kim Brown, Maggie Brown, Louise Brown Kennett, Neil Bruce, Samantha Brugger, Tom Brydelsky, Thomas Bugarin, Stephanie Buhmann, Jessica Bumpass, Christopher Burke, Selene E. Burke, Amy Burns, Tim Burns, Hannah Burr, Tricia Burr, Nancy Burson, Jordan Buschur, Ernie Button, Mary Button, Theresa Byrnes, Marcus Camacho, Michael J. Cambre, Sherry Camhy, Elsa Campbell, F. Lennox Campello, Julio Candelario, Hector Canonge, Dulcie Canton, Suzanne Caporael, Miss Lyn Cardinal, Luis Carle, Joel Carlson, Curtis Carman, Lisa Carney, Victor Carnuccio, Kristen Caroselli, Rob Carter, Harriet Casolin-Silver, Marco Castro, Rick Castro, Niccolo Cataldi, Ananda Cavalli, Jennifer Cecere, Lynn Cella, Robert Cenedella, Seung Hun Cha, Stan Challenger, Beau Chamberlain, Anthony Champa, N. Janan Chandler, Frederick Chang, Ling Chang, Sunny Chapman, Michelle Charles, Cynthia Chatman, Ignacio Chavarri, Amy Cheng, Edward Cheng, Asa Chibas, Hollie Marie Chicalese, Ogechi Chiek, Eun Woo Cho, Abby Choi, Cecile Chong, Henry Chung, Elsie P. Church, Monica D. Church, Vincent Cianni, Laura Ciarcia, Lauren Cipkin, Susan Cirigliano, Rania Cisternas, Stephen TARO Clark, Rob Clarke, Christopher Clary, Veronica Jay Clay, Dawn Clements, Estate of Buster Cleveland, Wanda Clouston, Dominic Clouter, Anthony P. Clune, Jon Coffelt, Aaron Cohen, Michael Cohen, Neal Cohen, Susan Colgan, Cecy Colichon, C.J. Collins, Michael Roque Collins, Fernando Colon-Gonzalez, Elizabeth Colrick, Greg Colson, Nicoleta Coman, Hyakamooks Compton, Victoria Compton, Elisabeth Condon, Sherri Conley, Emily Conover, Juliette Conroy, Susan Constanse, Mallory Cooper, Pam Cooper, Stuart A. Copans, David Corbett, David Correa Muñoz, David Corwin, Geraldine Cosentino, Steve Cox, Del Craig, Patrick M. Craig, Peter Cramer, Brian Crede, Carla Criqui, Elizabeth Crisman, Robert Cronin, Sage Crown Parker, Albert Crudo, Gannon Leigh Crutcher, Shawn Cuddy, Janet Culbertson, Megan Cump, Colleen Cunningham, S. Purvis Cykes, Peggy Cyphers, Martin Dabrowski, Dennis Dahill, Steven Dalachinsky, David Dalessandro, Laura Dandaneau, Becky Daniel, Belinda Daniel, Vinod Dave, Jill Daves, Julie Davidow, Anna U. Davis, Jennifer Davis, Mark Davis, R. Clarke Davis, Kate Davis Caldwell, Keina Davis Elswick, Victor Davson, Marguerite Day, Laurel De George, Joe De Hoyos, Jesus De La Rosa, Frank de Las Mercedes, Regina De Rozario, Sandra De Sando, Elisa Decker, Gloria DeFilipps Brush, Jay Deleon, Nana Deleplanque, Tony DePew, Lori Der Hagopian, Priscilla Derven, Wendy DesChene, Robyn Desposito, Aasta Deth, Geoffrey Detrani, Yoko Devereaux, Mary DeVincentis, Louie Devito, Jenn DeWald, Linda Di Gusta, Mike Diana, Justin Luis Diaz, James Diffin, Amy DiGennaro, Simone DiLaura, Roz Dimon, Danielle Dimston, George Dinhaupt, Aureo Diniz, Christina Dipaci, Abigail Doan, Eric Doeringer, Rory Donaldson, Todd Doney, Elissa Dorfman, Judite Dos Santos, Tim Doud, Christopher Dovas, Sean Downey, Kathleen Drescher, Melanie Ducharme, Schuyler Duffy, Angela Dufresne, Laura Duggan, Mark Dumschatt, Maureen Duncan, Chad Durgan, Rodney Durso, Matthias Duwel, Jeremy Dyer, Michael Eade, Brent Nicholson Earle, Masako Ebata, Marlene Eckhardt, Marta Edmisten, Cynthia Edorh, Erin Edwards, Tiffany Edwards, Sally Egbert, Frank Egloff, Michael Eichhorn, Per Eidspjeld, Jason Eisner, Yosra El-essawy, Eric Elias, Robyn Ellenbogen, Jared Ellison, Erin Emanuelle, Lorena Endara, Elise Engler, Joy Episalla, Mitch Epstein, Sam Erenberg, Erich Erving, Carol Es, Donelle Estey, Yvonne Estrada, John Evans, Julie Evans, Dore Everett, Todd “Clemence” Everette, Patricia Fabricant, James Fackrell, Neil Farber, Adriana Farmiga, David Faulk, Kate C. Fauvell, Nicholas Fedak II, Tony Feher, Shelley Feinerman, Elyn Feldman/Kenny Gaye, Margaret Ferraro, Celeste Fichter, Toma Fichter, Luc Fierens, Janet Filomeno, John Findysz, Brian Finke, Lisbeth Firmin, Michelle Firoozan, Christina B. Fischer, Brad Fisher, Matthew Fisher, Louise Fishman, Roddy Fitzgerald, Joan Fitzsimmons, John Fitzsimmons, Gail Flanery, Samantha Flechaus, Jacques Flechemuller, Christine Flores, Frances Flores, Robert Flynt, Roy Foo, Jean Foos, James R. Ford, Cacy Forgenie, Jennifer Formica, Martine Fougeron, Stephen Robert Frankel, Christopher Frederick, Maya Freelon, Martin Freeman, Sharon J. Frey, Art Frick, Leni Friedland, Meagan Friedlander, Sabra Friendman, Matthew Fritze, Nichole Frocheur, Gina Fuentes Walker, Ivan Gaete, Tali Gai, Felipe Galindo, Sean Paul Gallegos, Linda Ganjian, Lauren Garber, Angelica Garcia, Arturo Garcia, Julio Garcia, Laurel Garcia Colvin, Milton Garcia Latex, Joy Garnett, James Gasowski, Allyson Gaston, Jeff Gauntt, Christopher Gauthier, Robin Gaynes-Bachman, Claude Gazengel, Mike Geary, Madeline Gekiere, Andrea Geller, Sandy Gellis, Mike Geno, Alexa Gerrity, Leslie Getz, Gilles Giacomotti, Cris Gianakos, Tony Gilardi, David Gilbert, Laura Gilbert, Paul Gillis, Audrey Gim, Eric Ginsberg, Frances Giron, Sean Gittens, Judy Glantzman, Milton Glaser, Sydell Glasser, Robin Glassman, Daniel Glendening, Megan Glickman, Bonnie Gloris, Jo Going, Connor Goldberg, Jack Goldberg, Kenneth Sean Golden, Nan Goldin, Janet Goldner, Lance Goldsmith, David Goldstein, Josh Goldstein, Rupert Goldsworthy, Nidia Gonzalez, Kathy Goodell, David Emanuel Goodman, Lee Gordon, Sam Gordon, Daniel Gorostiaga, Shaun Gough, Dana Grabelsky, Michelle Grabner, Leor Grady, Deborah Grant, Robin Graubard, Jeffrey Grauel, Victoria Gray, Nathan Green, Joanne Greenbaum, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Eriq Gregg, Clint Griffin, Peter Griffin, Stewart Griffin, Sonya Gropman, Ellen Grossman, Virgil Grotfeldt, Todd Grousdahl, Joan Grubin, Magalie Guerin, Kathy Gulrich, Carl Gunhouse, Diana Gurfel, Robin Guterson, Ana B. Gutierrez, A. Gutwirth, Ira Joel Haber, Harriett Hache, Rebecca Hackermann, Theresa Hackett, Patricia Haemmerle, Cristine Haft, Shauna Haider, Katy Hamer, Jane Hammond, Kelsey Hammond, Geugin Han, Marc Handleman, Linda Handler, John Hanning, Sandra Hanny Ahern, Erik Hanson, Jody Hanson, Lynn Hanson, Yvette Hao, Brent Haradas, Gwen Hardie, Millie Harper, Sherry Harradence, Patricia Harrigan, Christopher Harris, John Harris, Jan Harrison, David Greg Harth, Rose Hartman, Peter Harvey, Michael Harwood, Shari Hatt & L.M. MacMillan, Susan Hauser, Tom Hawkins, James A. Hawley, Kirsten Hawthorne, Joseph Hayes, Jodi Hays, Karen Heagle, Mary Heilmann, Emily Helck, Geoffrey Hendricks, Jon Hendricks, Jan Henle, Maxine Henryson, Ed Herman, Jeannette Hernandez, Arturo Herrera, Caroline C. Herrick, Matthias Herrmann, Elizabeth Hertweck, B. Heyboer, Laura Heyman, Kate Higgins, Amy Hill, Meredith Hilt, Julie Himel, Dahn Hiuni, An Hoang, Pamela Hochschartner Viola, Jim Hodges, Naomi C. Hoffman, Nick Holliday, Joseph O. Holmes, Brece Honeycutt, Shelia Horne, Jarrod Houghton, Sisavanh Houghton, Joanne Howard, Joel Hoyer, Mary Hrbacek, Andrea Huber, Linda Huff, Scott Hug, Laura Hughes, David Humphrey, Angela N. Hunt, Kyle Hunt, Brian Hutchison, Winifred Hwang, Pat Hydak, James Hyde, Nash Hyon, Phillip Ianchici, Jessica Iapino, Shigeno Ichimura, Ilian Ivanov AKA Rikka, Mikhail Iliatov, Lindsay Iliff, Asia Ingalls, Ketta Ioannidou, Lora Elizabeth Irwin, Carmen Isasi, Monique Isham, Junichiro Ishida, Stephani Isles, Michael Itkoff, Alfredo Jaar, Larry JaBell, Tim Jablonski, Sandra Jackman, Derek Jackson, Peter Jacobs, Merlin James, Lisa Marie Jankowski, Matthew Jankowski, James Jaxxa, Jim Jeffers, Bill Jensen, Diana Jenson, Tom Jezek, Amado Jimenez, Simen Johan, Kyle Johnsen, Carin Johnson, Courtney Johnson, Erick Johnson, Holly Johnson, Jack Johnson, Liz Johnson, Nikki Johnson, Timothy Johnson, Alexandra Johnston, Bill Jones, Darrell Jones, Mablen Jones, Mark Jones, Leeah Joo, Michael Joo, Nicole Jordan, MD, JORIAL, Jovani, Jeff Joyce, Roberto Juarez, Karen Jane Justice, Jonathan Kahle, Ellen Kahn, Jennifer Kakaletris, Amy Kao, Vicky Kao, Gareth Kaple, Rhea Karam, Cyrus Karimipour, Elaine Karton, Norman Kary, Nina Katchadourian, Betsy Kaufman, Jessica M. Kaufman, Pat Kaufman, Dionisios Kavvadias, Richard Kearns, John Carlos Keasler, Andrew Keating, Casey Kelbaugh, Marthe Keller, Leah Keller-Transburg, Millan Kelley, J. Lynn Kelly, Jamie Kelty, Doreen Kennedy, Michael “Misha” Kennedy, Doug Kent, Victor Marchand Kerlow, Jen Keshka, Mariya Khalt, Brian Khele, Kianne, Jen Kim, Kyung Kim, Yong Hee Kim, David King, Matt King, Polly King, Dave Kinsey, Susan Kirby, Lori Kirkbride, J.T. Kirkland, Barbara Klein, Charlotte Klein, Seymour Kleinberg, Michelle Kloehn, Lucretia Knapp, Barbara Knight, Frances Knight, Alison Knowles, Barbara Eden Kobrin Klein, Maya Koenig, Carol Kohn, Francine Kohn, Melissa Kojima, Thomas Koole, Jeff Koons, Sonya Korder, Fran Kornfeld, John Kotula, Jennifer Kozel, Joyce Kozloff, Dimitri Kozyrev, Aaron Krach, Helmut Krakie, Ellie Krakow, Josh Kramb, Peter Krebs, Fawn Krieger, Justyna Krygowska, Liliana Krynska, Xana Kudrjavcev-DeMilner, Melora Kuhn, Ida Kumoji, Louis Kunsch, Melissa Kuntz, Lauren Kurki, Sylvia Kwon, Eliot Lable, Jander F. Lacerda, Stephen Lack, Eliza Lamb, Emily Noelle Lambert, Jesse Lambert, Marc Landes, Jason Laning, Aldo Lanzini, Barbara Victoria Lapin, Yngvar Larsen, Jamie R. Lasden, Paul Laster, Mary Ellen Latas, Joan Laufer, Ayala Laufer-Cahana, Louis Laurita, Victoria Law, Louise Lawler, J.C. Lazarus, Abigail Lazkoz, Marjeta Lederman, Calvin Lee, Deanna C. Lee, Herenia Lee, Jennifer Lee, Jieun Zaun Lee, Jim Lee, Joyce Lee, Paul Lee, Sally O. Lee, Theresa Lee, Leeladhar, Jennifer Lehe, Roz Leibowitz, Catarina Leitao, Diane Leon, Charles Leonard, Marion Lerner-Levine, Miriam A. Leuchter, Sue-Yee Leung, Barbara E. Leven, Joe Levickas, Heather Levy, Joshua Dov Levy, Judith Levy, Martha Lewis, Ross Bennett Lewis, Cheng-Shu Li, Sophie Library, Vivian Liddell, Justin Lieberman, Edward Lightner, Glenn Ligon, Nicole Limperopulos, Clarence Lin, Ming Lin, Greg Lindquist, Richard Lindquist, Sharon Lindquist, Markus Linnenbrink, Stephen Lipman, Marcia Lippman, Lump Lipshitz, Jackie Lipton, Bruce Carl Lisanti, Penelope Lisk, Frank Liu, Mindy Liu, Rita Lombardi/Jon Petro, Daniel Long, Gaddiel Lopez, Emilee Lord, Hilary Lorenz, Whitfield Lovell, Lovett/Codagnone, Gina Lovoi, Joy Low, Heather Lowe, Leslie Lowe, Scott Lowenbaum, Michael Lownie, Rebecca Loyche, Barbara Lubliner, Monique Luchetti, Robert Ludwig, Cecilia Lueza, Pamela Lum, Lexie Lumiere, Brian Lund, Deborah Lutz, Annica Lydenberg, Lucinda Lynch, David R. Lyon, Giles Lyon, Noah Lyon, Diana Lyons, Thessia Machado, Ian Mack, Keith Maddy, Sanae Maeda, Matt Magee, Catherine Maguire, Cecilia Mahal, Charles Mahal, Matt Mahler, Mailarta, Alice Major, Elim Mak, Laura Makinen, Allison Malinsky, Suzanne Malitz, Barry Maloney, Patrick Maloney, David Mandel, Karyn Mannix, Ann Manolino, Mineko Marayama, Mitchell Marco, Karen Marie, Robert Markey, Norma Markley, China Marks, Shelley Marlow, Susan B. Marlowe, Rochelle Marmorek, Sandy Marostica, Beth Mart, Fernanda Martin, Trevor Martin, Sam Martineau, Charmaine Martinez, Max Carlos Martinez, Magdalena Martinez-Franco, Mah Moneer Masih-Tehrani, Christina Massey, Frank Mastropaolo, Joan Mastropaolo, Malorine Mathurin, Igor Mattio, Brielle Maxwell, Robert Adam Mayer, Katie Mayhew, Mayo, Susan Mayr, Bradi Mays, Stanley McBarnette, Melissa McCarthy, Stepana McClure, Dave McDermott, McDermott & McGough, David McDonnell, Tim McDonnell, Sean McDonough, Sarah McEneany, Florence Alfano Mcewin, Dominic McGill, Alison McGoran, Elaine McKay, Craig McKenzie, Anne Q. McKeown, John McLachlin, Brad McLean, Mark McLoughlin, Patrick McMullan, Jamie McPartland, Beverley McQuillan, Lisanne McTernan, Gerald Mead, Sandra Meadows, Sudana Medrano, Julie Mehretu, Stephen Meierding, Linda Meisenhelder, Neil Meitzler, Brad Melamed, Robert Melee, Reyes Melendez, Margery Mellman, Matthew Mendieta, James Merrell, Arnold Mesches, Mica, Gordon Micunis, Anthony Miler, Kerri Miles, Dana Miller, Judith S. Miller, Mireille Miller, Tracy Miller, Sarah Min, Marilyn Minter, Richard Mirabile, Ellen Miret, Marilyn Mitchell, Joseph Modica, Catherine Molland, Cheryl Molnar, Ali Moon, Nik Moore, Pat Moore Carroll, Paul Moran, Humberto Moreno, Jed Morfit, Amelia Morgan, Janet Morgan, Joshua Morgan, Michael C. Morgan, Andrea Morganstern, Lizeth Morocho, Kenneth Morrison, Lee Morrissey, Arezoo Moseni, Leslee Mounger, Carrie Moyer, Roger Mudre, Shayok Mukhopadhyay, Molly Mullahy, Mario M. Muller, Matt Mullican, Lynn Mullins, Carla Munsat, Naoki Muramatsu, Mary Catania Murphy, Rob Nadeau, Stefanie Nagorka, Kazuya Nakao, Phil Napala, James Nares, Yamini Nayar, John W.M. Neely, Sheila Neill, James Nelson, Kathleen Ney, Annysa Ng, SuGing Ngouv, Linda Nicholas, Linda Niemann, Martha Nilsson Edeheit, Millie Niss, Ellen Noone Flocco, Sarah Noreen, Nick Normal, Anne Novado Cappuccilli, Michelle Nugent, Jill O’Bryan and Joanna Frueeh, Robert O’Donnell, Robyn O’Neil, Leah Oates, Jane Ocylor, Mascha Oehlmann, Jeanine Oleson, Debra Olin, Steven Olivieri, Elizabeth S. Olsson, Christopher Olszewski, Ron Omlin, Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh, Joe Oppedisano, Sarah Oppenheimer, Nicki Orbach, Janelle Ortiz-Scolaro, Harold Osmer, Karen Ostrom, Alina Oswald, Yuko Otomo, Tom Otterness, Michael Ottersen, Joe Ovelman, Brook Overline, Kanaan P., Lindsay Packer, Carol Padberg, Warren Padula, Alexandra Paez-Quijano, Mervi Pakaste, Anne Paleudis, Jennifer Palmer, Sachin Pannuri, Cheryl Papasian, John Papasian, Sky Pape, Aegi Changsuk Park, Stephanie Park, Yoon Park, Evelina Parrini, Ritchie Patterson, Laura Paulini, Chelsea Paulson, Sunny Payson, Nylorac Peaj, Leanette Peles, Marc Pelletier, Leemour Pelli, Sheila Pepe, Osvaldo Perdomo, Linda Permann, Christopher Perry, Daniel Perry, Mark E. Perry, Oliver Person, Gilda Pervin, Kevin Peters, Elise Peterson, Susan Peterson, Alexander Petti, Barbara Petti, George Pfau, Daniel Phillips, Laura Sue Phillips, Richard Phillips, Tracy Phillips, Corina Pia, Doug Piccione, Claudia Piehler, Liana F. Piehler, Lee Alice Pierce, Jack Pierson, Pietrapiana, Karl Pilato, Kim Piotrowski, Philip Pirolo, Lola Planells, Catya Plate, Maria Politarhos, Tiffany Pollack, Heidi Pollard, Ben Polsky, Shanna Polyn, Nuno Pontes, I.C. Pool, JME Pool, Amy Jean Porter, Linda Porter, Chuck Potter, Pat Power, Alexandra Pratt, Hanrijs Preiss, Maggie Prendergast, Heidi Prenevost, Donna Pressman, Mel Prest, Candace Price, Sara Pringle, Jason Pritchard, Elisa Pritzker, Rick Prol, R. Prost, Michael Puckett, Elizabeth Puetz, Ernesto Pujol, Andrew Purchin, Stephen Pusey, Matthew Pych, Ronnie Queenan, Fred Quintiliani, Barbara Rachko, Carol Radsprecher, Marian Radu, Helaine Rainier, Christina Ramirez, Paul Henry Ramirez, Debra Ramsay, Nekenasoa Randresihaja, Jessica Rankin, Jenna Ransom, Meryl Ranzer, Ray Rapp, Kaylyn Raschke, Ramya Ravisankar, Jo Beth Ravitz, Karey Rawitscher, Valerie Razavi, Annelise E. Ream, Virginia Reath, Michal Rebibo, Al Red, Catherine Redmond, Mardee Reed, Jim Reich, Leon A. Reid IV, Ken Reker, Richard Renaldi, Paula Rennis, Jesse Reno, Judy Rey Wasserman, Reynolds, Eric Rhein, Lauren Kathleen Rice, Barbara Richards, Robert W. Richards, Carol Rickey, Francie Riddle, Sarah Riedel, Marie Rim, David Rios Ferreira, Maria Ivette Rivera, Sara R. Robb, Sam Robbins, Dale Roberts, Daniel H. Roberts, Marie Roberts, Suloni Robertson, Andrew Cornell Robinson, Dorothy Robinson, Jack Robinson, Steven Robinson, Debbie Rodenhauser, Abnel Rodriguez, Amber Roettger, Christine Rogers, Travis Rogers, Jorge Rojas, Natalya Rolbin, Viviane Rombaldi Seppey, Dan V. Romer, Aya Rosen, Kay Rosen, Ned Rosen, Jennie Rosenbaum, David G. Rosenberg, Barbara Rosenzweig, Jessica D. Rosner, Carol Ross, Robin Ross, Ryan Roth, Barbara Rothman, Lisette Rotman, Cody Rounds, Gail Rousseau, Christian Routh, Dirk Rowntree, Andrew Roy, Sandra Ruark, Nancy Rubens, Nell Ruby, Alena Rudolph, Stephanie Rudolph, Lee Ruelle, Alissa Rufino, Brian Ruger, Arlene Rush, Dan Rushton, Craig Russell, Robert Rust, Carol-Anne Ryce-Paul, Zachary Sala, Dean Sameshima, Terry Samilson, Nancy Sampson, John Sanchez, Joel Sanders, Hope Sandrow, Toni-Lee Sangastiano, Barbara Sansone, Carmine Santaniello, Jonathan Santlofer, Nelson Santos, Anthony Satori, Susan J. Sauerbrun, Richard Sawdon Smith, Joe Saxe, Jenn Scarola, Karen Schiff, Cecilia Schmidt, Gary Schneider, Aynsley Schopfer, Holli Schorno, Collier Schorr, Tom Schreiber, Dustin Schuetz, David Charles Schulze, Michaela Schumaci, Susan Schwalb, Molly Schwartz, Caroline Scott, Coleen Scott, Dread Scott, Jennifer Scott, Greg Seagrave, Analia Segal, Shulamit Seidler-Feller, Amy Seidule, Jackie Seles, Jonathan Seliger, Christina Serchia, Harriet Serenkin, Martha Sermier, Judy Servon, Emily Severance, Marcia Sewall, Defna Shalum, Irma Shapiro, Frank Sheehan, Mark Sheinkman, Ellen L. Shepard, Glen Shepard-Siple, Kelly Shepard-Siple, Susan Shepard-Siple, Kate Shepherd, Lela Shields, Beth Shipley, Ellen Shire, Peter O. Shire, Jon Shireman, Sarah Shirley, Ethan Shoshan, Joyce Siegel, Rebecca Siemering, Hrafnhildur Sigurdardottir, Artur Silva, Luis Silva, Tawnie Silva, Lauren Simkin Berke, Patricia Simko, Jimmie Mack Simmonds, Lauren E. Simon, Thomas Simon, Kelley Simons, Katherine D. Singh, Ellen Singletary, Emily Skaer, Ski, Ruth Sklut, Christopher Skura, Tom Slaughter, Jill Slaymaker, J. Sloman, Jill Slosburg-Ackerman, Benjamin Sluat, Sarah Small, Wendy Small, Allison Smith, Charlie Smith, Clare Smith, Clifford D. Smith, Jessica Smith, Kiki Smith, Lory Smith, Michael Smith, Eleni Smolen, Karen Smul, Lanya Snyder, Yasmine Soiffer, Thomas R. Somerville, Erik Sommer, Erika Somogyi, DeDe Sorensen, Christina A. Soriano, Mario Sostre, Teddy Spath Jr., Hilary Spector, Maria Spector, George Spencer, Tracey Sperling, Nancy Spero, Gary J. Speziale, Janice Spillane, Andrew Spina, Margot Spindelman, Janine Spittle Montoya, Enisa Srdanovic, Gail Staal, LCSW, Stacey Stambaugh, Kelly Starbuck, Craig Starger, Starr, Jiri Stavovcik, Rene Stawicki, K-Fai Steele, Barry Steely, Clint Steib, William Steiger, Laura Stein, Stanley Stellar, Joseph Stengel, Jeff Stevenson, John Michael Stevison, Karen Stiehl Osborn, Bruce Stiglich, Michael Still, Sam Still, Linda Stillman, George Stills, Ben Stock/Brainpower, Dani Strand, Lisa Studier, Bobbi Studstill, Go Sugimoto, Sabina Sule, Hiroshi Sunari, Sur Rodney (Sur), Rachel Sussman, Ferenc Suto, Philip Swan, William Swanson, Daniel Swartz, Liz Sweibel, Jane Swidzinski, Helen Sykes, Lauren Szwech, Barbara Takenaga, Dafna Tal, Sam Tan, Tattfoo Tan, William Tarnowski, Nuri Taub, Caroline Tavelli-Abar, Hana Mori Taylor, Morgan Taylor, Scotti Taylor, Steed Taylor, Don A. Tedesco, Ron Terner, Andre Terry, Ron Testa, Wendy Testu, James Thacker, Michael Thalassinos, Richard Thatcher, Elaine Theodoropoulos, Austin Thomas, Gwenn Thomas, Andrew Ti, Arno Tijnagel, Elizabeth Tillotson, Mary Ting, Zdravko Toic, Gozan Tomcic, Ava E. Tomlinson, Mette Tommerup, Nancy Tompkins, Anne Marie Torrez, George Towne, Breanne Trammell, Bill Travis, Miyuki Tsushima, Elton Tucker, Meg Tulloch, Chris Twomey, Rhonda Tymeson, Kyle Tyujillo, Penelope Umbrico, Alex Umen, Peter Urban, Irving Uribe (CATV), Chea Ryan Urioste, Mary A. Valverde, Diane Van Cort, Jeff Van Kleeck, Pamela Van Sant, Annina Van Sebroeck, Connie Van Winssen, Johana Van Wyk, Carlos Vanegas, Dan Vasseur, Mary Veale, Jesse Veasey, Lorrie Veasey, Tony Michael Vecchio, Alberto Velasco, Wilmer Velez, Michael Velliquettee, Daniel Venne, Venske & Spanle, Carlo Vialu, Carrie Villines, Marlene Vine, Rachel Vine, Jemina Vita, Anthony Viti, Conrad Vogel, Judith Vogt, Don Voisine, Nadya Volicer, Whitney Vosburgh, Robyn Voshardt and Sven Humphrey, Melanie Wadsworth, Nomi Waksberg, Robert Walden, Daniel R. Waldron, Athena Waligore, Joy Walker, Kara Walker, Emily Walley, Kristin Walsh, Shane Canyon Walsh, Katherine Walton-Myers, Lucia Warck-Meister, Tom Warren, Phoebe Washburn, Marcy Wasserman, Jack Waters, John Waters, Robert Waters, Judy Watt, Patrick Webb, Tenesh Webber, Joan Weber, Valerie Wedel, Laura Weed, William Wegman, Michael Weidrich, Heather Weikel, Elizabeth Weinberg, Louise Weinberg, Dan Weiner, Emily Weiner, Lawrence Weiner, Ejay Weiss, Barbara Weissberger, Taryn Wells, Carolyn Weltman, Michael Werner, Robert Wersan, Alisha Cecelia Wessler, Larry Westler, Frederick Weston, Kurt Weston, Dirk Westphal, Charmaine Wheatley, Stuart Wheeler, Ken Whitbeck, Bridget White, Eileen L. White, Jack White, Susanne E. White, Tom White, Mark Wiener, Meghan Wilbar, Christine Willcox, Dan Williams, Danie Williams, Diane Williams, Jennifer Williams, Jennifer Williams, Jim Williams, John Williams, Ross G. Williams, Shirley Williams, Todd Williams, James J. Williams III, J. Williamson, Corey J. Willis, Wendy Willis, Dean Wilson, Fred Wilson, June Wilson, Kate Wilson, Letha Wilson, Millie Wilson, Mikey Windy, Deborah Wing-Sproul, Albert Winn, Edie Winograde, Adela Winter, Gene Wisniewski, James Wodarek, Marcie Wolf-Hubbard, Espie Woods, C. J. Worlein, Jennifer Wroblenski, Tamara Wyndham, Noel Wynn, Rob Wynne, Cathy Wysocki, An Xiao, Junko Yamada, Riichi Yamaguchi, Lynne Yamamoto, Carrie Yamaoka, Frank Yamrus, Alessandro Balteo Yazbeck, Mie Yim, Yoichiro Yoda, Robert Yoder, Mika Yokobori, Tim Youd, Laurence Young, Laurie Young, Nicole Young, Jennifer Zakrzewski, John Zaso, Brian Zegeer, Jody Zellen, Yvonne Zhu, Dan Zinno, Anthony Zito, and Kristin Zottoli.

Preview Conner's Pulse Booth

You can preview Leigh Conner's booth at Pulse Miami here. The gallery will be at booth 311 and will feature new digital light sculpture by Leo Villareal, new video and photography by Maria Friberg and large-scale figurative paintings by Erik Sandberg.

Speaking of Erik, his latest works at Conner Contemporary were reviewed by ArtForum's Nord Wennerstrom as "tremendous achievements in figuration - masterfully painted and richly sculptural, they establish the artist as a worthy heir to John Currin and Lisa Yuskavage."

Subject matter aside... say what? Has Wennerstrom ever actually taken a close look at either a Currin or a Yuskavage? Upon close inspection they fall apart as "paintings," and reveal themselves more as flat washes of "straight from the tube" works, which (as any experienced painter will tell you) is often the first gritty evidence of a painter lacking technical skill (few seldom "avoid" it, like Picasso often did).

Sandberg can paint circles around both Currin or Yuskavage, with one hand tied behind his back, an eye-patch covering one eye, and an old brush with only sixteen bristles left in his left hand. His painting skills are in part the result of a lot of hard work, and having benefitted from the amazing teaching and painting skills of GMU's Margarida Kendall (now retired). Since her retirement, Kendall has sort of disappeared from the DC area "scene," while enjoying spectacular success in Europe.

This is a case where the "heir" is far better than the King and Queen.

Washington Glass School's New Spaces

The Washington Glass School's Annual Holiday Party and Glass Sale will be on Saturday, Dec. 9th from 2 to 6pm. Food ,music, class specials and a lot of glass and art for sale as well as a Fire Spinning Performance by Sarah Lovering and her class from 4:30 to 5:30!

They will also be showing off their new space bringing the school's size to a total of 6500 sq ft.!

Having done this in the past, this is a great way to get some great art at incredible prices while having a great time!

What : Washington Glass School Annual Holiday Party and Open House
When : Saturday, Dec 9th from 2pm to 6pm.
Where: Washington Glass School, 3708 Wells Ave., Mt. Rainier, Md. 20712. 202-744-8222

Catch these two three this Saturday in DC

Angela Jerardi's "CONSUME" opens November 30 at the Gallery at Flashpoint. The opening reception for the exhibition is Saturday, December 2 from 5-7 pm. Timed to "coincide with the busiest shopping time of the year, the exhibition features a diverse group of artists from the region taking a playful look at consumption in its broadest terms, exploring what it means to consume, or be consumed, from eating and drinking, to using and squandering, to our obsessive desires to buy, and our consumption of popular culture in its myriad forms. The show will include installation, video, photography, painting, and prints, as well as a "store" selling exclusive 'CONSUME' products."

CONSUME features a video installation by Lani Iacovelli (Washington, DC); mixed media paintings by Chris Lawrence (Philadelphia, PA); an installation (made of blown sugar) by Jessie Lehson (Baltimore, MD); prints by Heidi Neff (Baltimore, MD) - Heidi is "fascinated and inspired by our consumption of and connection to sexuality. Her present project takes inspiration from pornography magazines; through her appropriation of these images they are recreated as quiet, softly colored hand-pulled prints." Finally also photographs and video by Michael Wichita (Washington, DC).

Jayme McLellan's show at the Warehouse Arts Complex opens the same night from 7-9 pm, so it's a nice night to catch two DC openings within walking distance to one another. More on this show later...

Update: Keep on walking and over at Irvine Contemporary you can also see two concurrent exhibitions opening Saturday, December 2: The Trophy Room, a solo exhibition of new sculptures by Joshua Levine, and Three New Chinese Artists: A Preview, featuring new paintings by Li Jian Ping, Liu Jian, and Ye Qiang. Opening Reception, Saturday, December 2, 6-8:00 pm. The exhibitions run through Saturday, January 7, 2007.

With the exhibition Three New Chinese Artists: A Preview, Irvine Contemporary also announces the representation of Li Jian Ping, Liu Jian, and Ye Qiang through their newly-established office and artists’ agency in Beijing, China.

This exhibition is a first preview of three artists whose work has already achieved international importance, and who will be featured in solo exhibitions at Irvine in the gallery’s 2007-2008 program. Li Jian Ping, Liu Jian, and Ye Qiang are already widely recognized in China and Asia. This show is their first US and international exhibition through gallery representation in the US.

Job in the Arts in Philly

The Philadelphia Museum of Art seeks an art historian and experienced leader for the position of Curator of Education for Adult Public Programs.

This position heads up a team of museum educators who plan and implement a broad range of programs for adult and college audiences, and who work with curatorial departments on interpretive strategies such as audio tours, didactic gallery material, and interactive technologies that engage the adult public in learning in and about the collections. The Curator of Education for Public Programs reports to the Senior Curator of Education, and plays a key management role in a 26-person Division of Education. The individual lectures in the galleries and in auditorium settings on a variety of art historical topics related to museum collections and exhibitions and participates in training museum guides. He or she represents the Museum in the regional academic community and in the broader community.

Qualifications: The successful candidate will have an MA or PhD in the History of Art and a minimum of five years museum experience. He or she should have strong experience in teaching, working on interdepartmental teams, supervising staff, training volunteers, and implementing programs. Communication, leadership, and organizational skills are important, as is familiarity with new technologies for interactive interpretation. Physical requirements include the ability to stand for 2 hours at a time and climb multiple flights of stairs. Weekend work required. Please send resume and cover letter to: PMA-HR, 215.684.7977 or jobs@philamuseum.org.

Please include salary requirement and JOB TITLE. Resumes will not be considered without a job title in the subject line. No phone calls.

Job in the Arts in DC

Deadline: January 5, 2007

American University is looking for a new Associate Dean for the Arts.

The College of Arts and Sciences invites applications for a tenured position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor to administer the arts programs at the university, beginning in Fall 2007.

The Associate Dean for the Arts will be expected to ensure excellence in each of the arts disciplines and to work collaboratively to create an integrated identity for the arts at American University. Responsibilities include leadership and coordination of arts activities; recruiting students and faculty; teaching in an appropriate arts discipline; fostering inter- and multi-disciplinary academic and public programs; and outreach to the region and the arts communities. Applicants should hold the appropriate terminal graduate degree in an arts discipline represented at American University (studio art, art history, graphic design, multimedia, theatre/music theatre, music, dance, audio technology and production, and arts management) and have a proven track record of academic leadership in the arts. Excellence in teaching and scholarship or creative work required. Experience in both academic and professional settings preferred.

Send letter of application addressing teaching and research interests and experience, curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation to:

Dean Kay Mussell
Attn: Associate Dean for the Arts Search Committee
College of Arts and Sciences
American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Housing for Artists in DC

Brand new renovation of existing units! Hardwood floors throughout , ceramic tile in kitchen and bath, built-in storage, new stainless steel appliances, central air conditioning, skylights, 500 square feet with one bedroom, 1 bath.

Address: 1706 16th Street SW, Washington DC 20020. They will be renting the units to local artists for $700/month (utilities not included). Qualifying artists can work in visual, performing or literary fields. They do not have to make their full living as an artist, but they must be able to supply documentation of being a working artist, for example a portfolio, recording, writings, etc.

For an application and to make an appointment to view the housing, email bevans@archdc.com or call 202-889-5000 x 113.

Some Philly Galleries

Last weekend I finally had some free time and once again I dropped by some of the excellent Philadelphia galleries located in a big cluster around North Second Street, in an area apparently once the center of the universe for restaurant supply retailers, none of which I visited, although next time I will pop into one of them and see if they will sell me a Jaccard machine, which is the real secret as to why steaks always taste better and are super tender in restaurants.

You never know whatcha gonna learn by reading MiddieArtNews do you?

Anyway, I spent quite a long while chatting with the fair Christine Pfister, owner and director of Pentimenti Gallery, who was getting ready to head down to Miami, where she will be at the Bridge Art Fair (booth 206). She was more than generous with both her time and sharing her knowledge of Philly's art scene. It was easy to discover that this is one of the key independent commercial fine arts galleries in Philadelphia.

Also saw Nexus, which is moving and will reopen January 2007 at the Crane Arts Building. Also spent some time in Muse Gallery, which is a nice co-op, at Artists' House, where I really liked the paintings of Anthony Palumbo, who also shows in the DC area at Principle Gallery in Alexandria.

One final quick pop in to the curiously named Third Street Gallery, which is also on Second Street next to Muse Gallery, and which also appears to be a nice co-op, and then ran out of time.

AOM and ArtDC

In part because they did not find a physical space in 2006, Artomatic has linked up with ArtDC.org to create a virtual Artomatic for participating galleries and performance venues to see the work of Artomatic visual artists and performers.

Details here.

Gross Protests

Philadelphians protest the sale of Eakins' Gross Clinic.

Details and pictures here from artblog.

Moore College Looking for new Curator

Moore College of Art and Design is looking for a new Senior Curator/Director of the Galleries. Interested applicants should forward their resume, statement of background and qualifications and salary requirements to:

President Fernandez
Moore College of Art and Design
20th Street and The Parkway
Philadelphia, Pa. 19103

William J. Marrazzo to Lead Effort to Keep Gross Clinic in Philly

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announced today that WHYY President & CEO William J. Marrazzo will "convene and lead a committee of national cultural, civic, and community leaders to broaden the public’s understanding of the social and artistic importance of Thomas Eakins’ 1875 masterpiece, The Gross Clinic, and to ensure it stays in Philadelphia."

According to the news release, "Marrazzo will convene the group, members of which will be announced in the next few days. The members will be national and regional leaders who share the view that The Gross Clinic should remain in Philadelphia, the city in which it was painted."

"I am honored to have been called upon to facilitate the process of generating a dialogue," Marrazzo said. "I feel passionate about the importance of this artwork, and the richness of its history and importance to the city. For me, it is a surrogate of what a mature American city stands for. Projects like this committee represent what it takes for a community to become the next great American city by encouraging civic engagement about a city’s history, and what it means for the present and the future."

WHYY is the leading public broadcasting station in the greater Philadelphia region, and they also offer the Arts & Culture blog called The Sixth Square.

On Thursday, November 30th at 10PM, WHYY will air its documentary from 2001: Thomas Eakins: Scenes From Modern Life.

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.