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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sondheim Semifinalists Announced
Twenty-six visual artists or groups from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia were named semifinalists a few days ago for Baltimore's fourth annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize.
The 26 (dominated by Baltimore area artists) are:
• Seth Adelsberger, Baltimore
• "Alzaruba," also known as Al Zaruba, Baltimore
•The Baltimore Development Cooperative, Baltimore. The cooperative includes Scott Berzofsky, Dane Nester and Nicholas Wisniewski, who are working on a community farm/art project in East Baltimore. Berzofsky and Wisniewski are former founding members of the artist collective known as Camp Baltimore.
•Lisa Blas, Washington, D.C.
• Rachel Bone, Baltimore
• Jessica Braiterman, Beltsville
• Travis Childers, Fairfax, Va.
• Mary Coble, Washington, D.C.
• R.L. Croft, Manassas, Va.
• Alyssa Dennis, Baltimore
• Liz Ensz, Baltimore
• Leslie Furlong, Baltimore
• Ryan Hackett, Kensington, Md.
• Christian Herr, Lancaster, Pa.
• Jason Horowitz, Arlington, Va.
• Jessie Lehson, Baltimore
• Kim Manfredi, Baltimore
• Katherine Mann, Baltimore
• Baby Martinez, Washington, D.C.
• Sebastian Martorana, Baltimore
• Lisa Moren, Baltimore
• Ellen Nielsen, Baltimore
• Louie Palu, Washington, D.C.
• Molly Springfield, Washington, D.C.
• "TwoCan Collective," Baltimore. TwoCan Collective consists of two women, "Emily C-D" and Jessica Unterhalter, who often make work using recycled materials.
• Karen Yasinsky, Baltimore
My money is on either Mary Coble or Molly Springfield. Both of them are superbly loaded with talent, and both of them are perennial finalists in all of our area's top art prizes. The judges for this year's prize are Ellen Harvey, a New York-based artist; Valerie Cassel Oliver, curator of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; and Elisabeth Sussman, a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
The winner of the $25K prize will be announced July 11 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. This year's competition drew 334 entries.
Worldwide courts have consistently recognized the right of owners to the return of artwork which has been looted by governments and dictatorships, confiscated, sold and re-sold.
It has taken in some cases several decades for the artwork to return to the familial descendants of the original and rightful owners, but essentially international law is pretty clear on the subject that generally no government can confiscate private property.
There are, of course, many dictatorships worldwide where one of the foundations of those regimes is that private citizens under their yoke cannot own private property.
It occurred to me recently that when the current Cuban dictatorship took control of that unfortunate island on January 1, 1959, one of the first things that they did after they executed thousands of people, burned and banned books, jailed all political opposition, and closed down newspapers and magazines, was to confiscate most private property.
And there was a lot of artwork confiscated in Cuba.
We've been led to believe that in 1959 Cuba was just another Latin American cesspool, but the facts are that in 1959 Cuba had one of the highest standards of living of any nation in the Americas and a higher per capita income than several European nations and higher than Japan, as well as a positive immigration flow from Europe to Cuba, as well as the third highest protein consumption in the Western Hemisphere. Today the island's food rations are actually lower than the slave rations mandated by the Spanish King in 1842.
The island also had the lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America and the 13th lowest in the world, ranked ahead of France, West Germany, Belgium, Japan, Austria, Italy and Spain. The average wage of a Cuban worker was higher than for workers in West Germany, France, Denmark and Belgium and in the late 50s Cuban labor received 66.6 per cent of the nation's GNP, again higher than several European nations (the US figure is 68%). And the 8 hour week was mandated by law in Cuba in 1933, five years before FDR's New Deal got to doing it in the US. And in the 1950s, 44% of Cubans were covered by social legislation, a higher percent than the US at that time.
And while we've been led to also believe that Cuban peasants and farm workers lived in a near feudal state, the average farm wage in Cuba in 1959 ($3.00 a day) was higher than those of farm workers in France ($2.73), Belgium ($2.70), Denmark ($2.74) or Germany ($2.73). In the US it was $4.06. And in 1959 only 34% of the Cuban population was rural and the nation had the lowest inflation rate in the Americas, 1.4% - the US was at 2.73%
So this was not a nation mired in poverty, as we have been led to believe, but a nation under the yoke of a very brutal dictator in the person of Fulgencio Batista.
The very wealthy Cuban upper and business class hated Batista and became the financial backers of the Castro Revolution, raising millions of dollars for the rebels. They also owned many art masterpieces from both European and Latin American masters.
As a thank you, nearly all of this work was confiscated by the Castro dictatorship and by 1961 most of the best work had made its way to government-owned museums and collections, and most of the owners had made their way to the United States in the largest proportional mass exodus in contemporary history.
When the abomination known as the Soviet Union collapsed in the 90s and Cuba's sugar daddy stopped sending billions of dollars in subsidy to the Castro brothers, the Cuban economy collapsed, and one of the results of that collapse was the mass selling, by the Cuban government, of those confiscated masterpieces, most of which found their way to European museums and European and Asian private collections via French auction houses. Thus many masterpieces once owned by the Fanjul family, or the Bacardi family, or by sugar magnate Julio Lobo (whose interest in Napoleonic memorabilia led to him amassing one of the world's largest collections of Bonaparte memorabilia such as weapons, furniture, paintings, letters, etc.) were sold to European museums and collectors.
But now I think that the end of the brutal Castro dictatorship is nigh, and one day soon, when the rule of law and democracy and freedom returns to Cuba, one of the first things that the descendants of those families should do is to go after whoever now possesses their families' stolen artwork and goods, and in some cases even copyrights.
And the details of these illegal sales have left bloody footprints. For example, according to Maritza Beato's excellent article in El Nuevo Herald titled "El Saqueo del Patrimonio Cultural Cubano" (The Looting of the Cuban Cultural Patrimony), the sale of the Julio Lobo Napoleonic collection to a French museum was orchestrated by a French official attached to the French Embassy in Havana. His name is Antoine Anvil.
And if I was one of those auction houses or museums in Europe or collectors or dealers around the world, I'd be a little nervous.
What goes around comes around.
Jury Duty
I just finished jurying the next exhibition for the D'Art Center in Norfolk, Virginia and it was a very pleasant (and hard work) surprise to find some many really excellent 3D entries in this national show.
Mark Miltz. The Game. Sculptural Installation
Usually when there's a call for artists, the 3D genre is under-represented in the submissions, but in this particular exhibition, several hundred artists from all over the country submitted work, and there were several outstanding sculptural entries.
Tonight I will award about $3,500 in award prizes.
Lesley Hildreth. Hares, multiplying like rabbits while waiting for the tortoise. Clay
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Click on the image for more details...
DCist Exposed
DCist will offer the third annual DCist Exposed photography show running February 20 to March 7, 2009. DCist is partnering with the Gallery at Flashpoint to exhibit nearly 50 amateur and professional photographers chosen from more than 300 entrants who submitted their work through Flickr.com. A free opening reception will be held Friday, February 20, 2009 from 5 to 9 pm at the Gallery at Flashpoint.
Flashpoint is located at 916 G Street NW, in Washington, DC's bustling Penn Quarter neighborhood. The 2007 and 2008 DCist Exposed events saw over 500 people attend each opening night, with lines forming around the block and a ton of photographs sold because of their superb quality and extreme affordability.
DCist is also bringing back last year's special event for emerging collectors, Emerge Exposed, on Tuesday, March 3 from 7 to 9 pm at Flashpoint's Mead Theater Lab. Co-hosted by DCist, Flashpoint and the Pink Line Project, a panel of experts will share tips and ideas on how to begin collecting art. There will be a $10 suggested donation at the door for Emerge Exposed. The panel will be moderated by The Pink Line Project Chief Creative Contrarian Philippa P.B. Hughes and will be comprised of FotoweekDC Founder and Chrome Imaging President Theo Adamstein, Photographer Jason Horowitz, Collector and Jackson Design Group Principle Veronica Jackson and Corcoran Gallery of Art Senior Curator of Photography and Media Arts Paul Roth. For more information: Call 202.315.1310 or visit flashpointdc.org.
Opportunity for Artists
Deadline: February 23, 09, 5pm.
The City of St. Helens Arts & Cultural Commission is seeking proposals from artists interested in creating decorative street banners as part of its new multi-phase Gallery Corridor project. The first phase of the project includes artist-designed and created aluminum banners to be mounted on poles and placed along Old Portland Road, Columbia Blvd. and Gable Rd. in St. Helens. Artists selected to participate will be awarded $1,000 for their work and be provided with a 2’ by 6’ aluminum sheets, donated for the project by Pacific Stainless Products in St. Helens.
Contact: Kathy Payne, City Recorder, City of St. Helens, P.O. Box 278, St. Helens, OR 97051.
For more information about the project, contact John Walter at 503.397.4544. Requests for Proposals can be found on the City’s website at www.ci.st-helens.or.us, or can be requested by phone at 503.366.8218.
Museum Circus
A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger, on view at The Baltimore Museum of Art February 22–May 17, 2009, features more than 80 prints, drawings, paintings, and books by Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Fernand Léger, and other European artists fascinated by the extravagant spectacle of the circus and the bohemian lives of the performers outside the ring. This special ticketed exhibition brings together major works from museums and private collections to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the circus during its heyday as a form of popular entertainment.
The Fine Arts League of Cary is seeking entries for its 15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition to be held from May 8th to June 27th, 2009 in Cary/Raleigh, NC. Show awards and purchase awards will total over $5,000. Entries can only be mailed via CD. The postmark deadline for the mail-in registration is March 27, 2009. I will be the juror for this show.
Full details and a printable prospectus are available on the web at www.fineartsleagueofcary.org or call Kathryn Cook at 919-345-0681.
Fair Use Redux The Stuckists, a group of anti-conceptual artist-activists that is the anti-thesis to Britain's Turner Prize exhibitions and award ceremonies, have opened their own online store, selling objects inspired by Damien Hirst and other uberartists works.
Prayer for Obama I (detail), 2008, Polaroid prints by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
One of the most important artists to emerge from post-Revolutionary Cuba, María Magdalena Campos-Pons creates multimedia installations, large-scale Polaroids, sculpture, painting and performance that investigate history and memory, and their roles in the formation of identity. Drawing from her personal narrative as an Afro-Cuban woman living in the United States, Campos-Pons’ work transcends individual experience to explore crosscultural, universal phenomenon. Issues such as cultural hybridity, displacement, ties to family and home, and the dualities present in each individual are themes that continue to permeate her work.
In this new body of work, Life Has Not Even Begun captures the anticipation and tension inherent in exploring the unknown. From the artist re-discovering her Chinese ancestry, to her intensive study of midnight-blooming flowers, to the unexposed horrors of war, to the future of an imagined peaceful world, each work in this exhibition makes its own unexpected revelation.
Life Has Not Even Begun is curated by Neysa Page-Lieberman. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies this exhibition at the Glass Curtain Gallery at Columbia College Chicago (1104 South Wabash Ave., 1st Floor, Chicago, IL 60605). The exhibition goes through March 6, 2009.
Vagina Monologues at Theatre Widener
One of the great benefits of living in any area with lots and lots of universities and colleges (like DC or Philly) is the terrific and affordable opportunities to enjoy the theatre and the visual arts at most of them.
Because I live so close to Widener University, I go to a lot of their plays and have nearly always been impressed by them, although I did get one harsh email once from a director (when I was a little tough on a particular play).
Theatre Widener at Chester, Pennsylvania's Widener University is currently producing The Vagina Monologues, the well-traveled Obie Award winning play by Eve Ensler that has been raising eyebrows and making people laugh and cry for over a decade.
The Vagina Monologues has been described as a "hilarious and poignant tour of the last frontier, the 'Ultimate Forbidden Zone.'" At is core, to many people it is often just a very diverse and entertaining celebration of female sexuality. Eve Ensler now classic play delivers real women's stories of the most intimate nature, sometimes funny, often revealing a surprising vulnerability, and nearly always some sort of sexual self discovery.
The Widener production is directed by Bohdan Senkow, the Director of Theatre Widener, and this production features an outstanding cast that includes Heather Astorga and Lauren Greenberg, two undergraduate seniors, Lisa Eckley-Cocchiarale, a staff member who directs the Widener Fresh Baked Theatre Company, and Roni Cibischino, Shanna Tedeschi, and Jennifer Woo, three graduate students from Widener University's Human Sexuality program.
All six performed superbly at opening night, and Senkow made some great choices in the assignment of individual monologues to specific actors, and the chemistry between them was palpable and added a very positive effect to the overall production. This is not your typical play, there's no plot or music and a very austere set, so the production's success is almost all based on the actors' ability to grab your attention with their stories and interaction with each other.
Cibischino and Greenberg were terrific and nearly flawless in their delivery and interpretations of their specific monologues and Lisa Eckley Cocchiarale had the audience cracking up from the beginning. Jen Woo easily had the hardest and most difficult monologues, especially the one dealing with the "C word," which she delivered in a funny and valiant performance.
Shanna Tedeschi was also surperb and often very funny, especially when she donned a hat and scarf and related an old lady's experiences with her "down there."
Also superb was Heather Astorga, who delivered two of the most moving monologues of the evening, one dealing with wartime rape and another with a young woman's discovery of her sexuality. For some constructive criticism, the very pretty Ms. Astorga should refrain from biting her cheeks during her colleages' monologues. I suspect that she's not aware that she's doing it (neither is this writer when he does it), but it is very distracting once you see her doing it in the background of someone else's monologue.
Profits from this very well done production will be contributed to support organizations that combat abuse against women.
The Vagina Monologues opened on Thursday, February 12 and will be presented on Friday and Saturday, February 13, 14 at 7:30pm, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 19, 20, 21 at 7:30 and Sunday February 22 at 2:00pm. Widener Students and Staff are invited free of charge, Staff Guests are just $8. Adults are $15 and Non-Widener Students are just $8. To make reservations please call Theatre Widener at 610-499-4364.
Theatre Widener is at 15th and Potter Streets at Widener University in Chester, PA.
The Fifth Annual Bethesda Painting Awards
Deadline: Submissions must be received by Friday, February 20, 2009
The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is currently accepting applications for the fifth annual Bethesda Painting Awards. Eight Finalists will be selected to display their work in an exhibition from June 3-July 4, 2009 at the Fraser Gallery in downtown Bethesda, and the top four winners will receive $14,000 in prize monies.
Best in Show will be awarded $10,000; Second Place will be honored with $2,000 and Third Place will receive $1,000. Additionally, a “Young Artist” whose birthday is after February 20, 1979 may be awarded $1,000. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. All original 2-D paintings including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimensions should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions.
Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Each artist must submit 5 slides, application and a non-refundable fee of $25. Digital entries will be accepted on CD in JPG, GIF or PNG format.
For a complete application, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Painting Awards, c/o Bethesda Urban Partnership, 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD. 20814, visit www.bethesda.org or call 301/215-6660.
Arts get their cut
Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill by a vote of 246-183. We can now confirm that the package does include $50 million in direct support for the arts through the National Endowment for the Arts grants. The exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds has also been removed. Tonight the Senate is scheduled to have their final vote, and President Obama plans to sign the bill on Monday - President's Day.
We all hope that these art funds make their way down to artists and are not swallowed up by art burocrats lest I rat on them and have them sitting in front of Barney on the same seats still warm from all those banking moguls.
Moves
My good friend Mark Coetzee, who for the last eight years has been directing the Rubell Family Collection in Miami is moving on.
Mark will soon become the Program Director for PUMAVision and Chief Curator of PUMA.Creative and work out of Nairobi, Kenya.
Artomatic 2009: Tenth Year!
Time for DC area art critics to roll their eyes: Artomatic is back!
The tenth version of the massive art shows that artists, collectors, gallerists and the public loves and most DC art critics hate (but would love if it took place in NYC, or Berlin or London) will deliver over five weeks of art, music, theatre, workshops and more this year in Washington, DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood from May 29 - July 5.
The 2009 Artomatic will be held at 55 M Street, S.E. - atop the Navy Yard Metro - celebrating its tenth anniversary in a newly built 275,000 square foot "LEED Silver Class A building", whatever that means.
Registration for Artomatic 2009 will begin in March, and is open to all artists - including painters, photographers, sculptors, graphic designers, musicians, poets, actors and dancers. Artomatic is an unjuried open event, so all artists are welcome and that is precisely the reason that makes Artomatic great and unique and precisely the reason that most art critics, art writers and some art bloggers hate it, in their odd need to have art shows curated, trimmed and ruled.
Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished building space into an exciting arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays by hundreds of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children's activities, as well as music, dance, poetry, theater and other performances.
Artomatic 2008 attracted a record-breaking 52,500 visitors and 1,540 participating artists. Visit their Flickr site to see over 4,000 photos captured at Artomatic 2008 or check out the below video.
Who will be the emerging art star of this AOM?
Who will be the artist who cracks us up?
Will "The Collector" make a comeback?
Who will be the prima donna?
Congrats!
The Washington Project for the Arts has selected my good friend Jack Rasmussen as the 2009 recipient of the Alice Denney Award for Support of Contemporary Art.
The award will be presented on Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 6:30 pm during the WPA Auction Preview Night event in the Abramson Family Recital Hall at American University’s Katzen Arts Center.
The event is free and open to the public but a RSVP is requested by February 25 to (202)234-7103x4 or aatkinson@wpadc.org.
Rasmussen's work as curator and director of the beautiful Katzen Museum has been nothing short of spectacular and a lesson on how a museum can combine local, regional and international shows.
A well done to Jack!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Five-Year Plan
Don't worry, the Soviet Union is not making a comeback; this five year plan is the District's thinkologists trying to assemble one and Heather Goss has the skinny here.
WPA Auction
The Washington Project for the Arts 2009 Art Auction Gala is Saturday, March 7, 2009 at the Katzen Arts Center at the American University. The Auction Preview Night is Thursday, February 26 from 6:30 pm to 9 pm. Details here.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Lawsuits all over the place
The street artist Shepard Fairey has filed a lawsuit against The Associated Press, asking a judge to declare that he is protected from copyright infringement claims in his use of a news photograph as the basis for a now ubiquitous image of President Barack Obama
This weekend in DC's Capital Riverfront neighborhood...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
How to Build Your Resume
An artists' resume is one of the key factors not only in potentially helping to sell artwork, but also in getting grants, residencies and awards, as well as attracting gallery and collector attention. In tonight's webminar I will cover a variety of proven tactics for building your resume quickly and easily. The tactics are applicable to new Art school graduates, emerging and mid career artists as well as those starting a new career in the visual arts after retiring from another career.
Click on the image below for more info. The webminar starts at 7PM and there's a 50% discount on the prices.
Opportunity for Artists and Curators
Deadline: April 3, 2009
Boston's Center for Latino Arts (CLA) Gallery is now accepting portfolio submissions for solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art for its 2010-2011 season.
Participating artists will be selected by the CLA Curator, and one of four 6-8 week shows will be awarded to qualified and relevant artists whose proposed works are closely aligned with their mission and goals (see below). Artists working in any number of mediums are eligible and encouraged to apply; suggested mediums include painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, digital media, video, new media and installation. Exhibitions will be scheduled between September 2010 and August 2011.
The CLA Gallery presents contemporary works that are unique and innovative in concept and presentation. The CLA Gallery will provide promotional flier design, printing and distribution for each exhibition in addition to extensive listings and press releases. Each artist is responsible for providing finished works for awarded exhibitions, to include framing and/or other gallery presentation materials (for new media and video, this includes monitors, projectors and other devices inherent to the presentation of the work).
To Enter, Please Submit, an Exhibition Proposal to include: - Call to Artists Application (available here) - Exhibition Statement (Please make clear if proposal is for existing or new works to be created. If submitting for a group show, please explain how each artists’ work is related to, inspired by or compliments the other, with a maximum of 3 artists per group show) - Artist Statement(s) and CV(s) - 10 to 15 proposed images/works per artist on CD/DVD. Printed images or links to websites will not be accepted. Each submission should contain 3 copies of a printed list that corresponds to the images on CD (and numbered accordingly) including the title, year, dimension and medium(s). Images should be provided at, or near, 300 dpi as a JPEG, TIFF, PDF, BMP, or GIF file - 250-500 word Statement of Purpose explaining why you would like to exhibit at the CLA Gallery and how your work furthers their mission.
Mail to: CLA Gallery Artist Call Attn: Evan J. Garza 405 Shawmut Avenue Boston, MA 02118
Janis is a finalist in the category of Outstanding Emerging Artist. The Mayor’s Arts Award is the most prestigious honor given by the District of Columbia to individual artists, arts organizations and patrons of the arts.
Join Mayor Fenty as award recipients are selected from among the finalists and announced live from the stage at the Mayor’s Arts Awards Ceremony on Monday, March 23, 2009 at 6:00 PM at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Concert Hall.
Admission is free and having been to many of them, it is a boatload of fun, with great live music and entertainment and loads of good food and drinks.
Buy Michael Janis now!
New drawing for the Habatat Auction
I told you a few days ago that Habatat Galleries in Tyson's Corner, Virginia is sponsoring a special art auction for charity. Already many prominent artists have donated works of art with 100% of the proceeds going to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The artists will display their art work for silent bidding in an exhibition titled "Habatat for Healing."
Lindsey Scott, President of Habatat Galleries was nominated by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for their Man and Women of the Year contest. Ms. Scott has conceived "Habatat for Healing", a special exhibition and auction of exceptional works of art in support of LLS.
Artists such as Jon Kuhn, Mark T. Smith, Bennett Bean, Tim Tate, Tanija & Graham Carr (Australia) and Petr Hora (Czech Republic) to name a few, have already generously donated art works ranging from the $100s into the $1,000s for this wonderful event.
The exhibition opens on March 5th for display and the start of silent bidding. The exhibition will continue through the evening of April 7th when several key-pieces will be auctioned live and winning silent bids will be announced.
Woman Jumping into the Void. Charcoal on Paper. 11x14 inches framed. F. Lennox Campello, c. 2009.
I plan to donate the above drawing to to this charity, and in the event that some of you are interested in donating a work of art for the auction (deadline is end of February), please contact:
Lindsey Scott 8020 Towers Crescent Drive Tysons Corner (Vienna), VA 22182 703-989-7110 lindsey@habatatgalleries.com
The Art League's 42nd Annual Patrons' Show
If you were crazy enough to be hanging around Old Town Alexandria about 4 AM on a cold morning last January 17th, about that time you would have noticed people forming a long line in the brutal cold outside the Torpedo Factory. They were waiting for a chance to get original art for their collections – or perhaps some brave souls starting to collect art.
"A line for art?" you must be asking, "who is crazy enough to freeze lining up at Oh-dark-thirty just to buy artwork?"
Hundreds.
They were lining up for one of the great art deals of the year: the Art League's Annual Patrons' Show. It's very simple: artists donate original artwork to the Art League, who inspects it, selects it and often frames it. It is quality stuff, ranging from huge abstracts to delicate pencil drawings. The Art League represents nearly 1,800 artists in the area, so there's plenty of possible sources of art donated by generous artists. See some of the donations here.
It is one of the largest art events in the country, with around 600 original works of art finding a new home in one day.
Usually about 600 pieces are donated and hung salon style in the Art League’s gallery on the first floor of the Factory. The raffle tickets went up for sale at 10 AM on January 17th, and they usually disappear within an hour or two; and each ticket equals a guaranteed a work of art. Thus as work is donated, more tickets become available.
The Art League's annual Patrons' Show usually features between 500-600 works of fine art donated by Art League and Torpedo Factory artists, and the number of tickets sold matches the number of works donated. The show may be viewed in The Art League Gallery from February 4-15 (or some of them online here, and ticket-holders may come during this time to view the show and note their favorite pieces.
The actual drawing for the 2009 Patrons' Show will be held Sunday, February 15 in the main hall of the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Thus on that Sunday, February 15 at 5PM, people who have a ticket begin gathering into the main floor of the Factory and they bring chairs, tables, food and loads of booze (this is like an art picnic) as it will be a long, loud, fun, cheery and boozy evening as the tickets are drawn at random; and as they are called, ticket-holders select a piece of art from the work on display on the walls.
Everyone with a ticket is guaranteed a work of art. The tickets cost $175 each - an amazing deal once you see the work that you can get.
The first ticket called gets the first choice and so on - you get to pick the best piece (to you) from around 600 works of art). You better pick one quickly, or the crowds begin to shout and whistle and demand a choice be made.
It is without a doubt, the most sought after art ticket in town, and often incredible acquisitions are made... and I hear that there are some tickets available on the wait list.
Call the Art League at 703/683-1780 and more details here.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Went to Projects last Friday
I went to Projects Gallery in Philly's Northern Liberties neighborhood on Friday night for the opening of dual shows: Guilty Pleasures and Obama-rama. I have a drawing in each one of these shows and several lithographs of Obama done in 2007 and 2008.
The gallery was packed and we were greeted at the door by the amazing team of Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof, as they were handing out copies of their Obama OK book, edition of 100, to people as they arrived. Roberta and Libby also have the cool paintings that make up up the book on exhibition.
Seems like I have been to and in a dozen Obama shows in the last month alone, but in my own prejudiced and subjective view, this was one of the best ones that I have seen, mostly for its spectacular diversity of interpretations of the theme and the media that artists used to express their Obama viewpoints.
The below huge installation of black and white portrait paintings by Frank Hyder titled Fifty States of Obama to me was the most visually striking piece in the show, and maybe a predictor for the next election?
Frank Hyder. Fifty States of Obama. 100”H x 40”W. Ink paint on canvas
I also liked Cheryl Harper's Count on Me Obama Bank, a stoneware and acrylic paint 3D work that when executed in 2008 had one meaning and now, in view of the spectacular financial mess that we are allegedly in, acquires a whole new meaning and presence.
Cheryl Harper. Count on Me Obama Bank. 15"H x 8.5"W x 9"D. Stoneware and acrylic paint
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's Is He Black Enough? smartly touches on the revolving issue of Obama's "blackness." During my frequent drives between Philly and DC, one of my favorite radio spots in the morning is the Baltimore area's Larry Young Show on WOLB, where Larry and the Coach discuss a lot of issues affecting the African American community in Baltimore and in general. I recall the early days of the Obama campaign, and the sometimes heated discussions on that same topic as WOLB's audience opined on Obama's blackness. Fazlalizadeh's oil flexes the representational genre's ability to take a subject and present and ground it viscerally.
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Is He Black Enough?. 24”H x 18." Oil on canvas
I also liked Mia Rosenthal's January 19, 2009, another ink and graphite on Bristol board which continues Rosenthal's intelligent tiny composite and obsessive drawings addressing all facets of history and issues and Alex Queral's Yes We Can!, another one of his 3D acrylic on carved phone book pieces that must be seen to be believed, as they are difficult to describe the brilliant effect that this artist accomplishes in carving a phone book. See the exhibition online here.
Guilty Pleasures was exhibited in the gallery's rear and lower spaces, and for a show with a "viewer discretion is advised" warning, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not all of the pleasures were about sex.
In fact my favorite piece in the entire show was Atticus Adams' Love Spasm, a potent wall sculpture that was not only an unique interpretation of the subject, but also had the interesting, and perhaps unintended ability to create very sexy shadows on the wall because of its overhead lighting in Projects' lower gallery. It was also a steal at $250. Call Projects right now and buy this piece.
Atticus Adams. Love Spasm, 11"H x8.5"W x 7"D. Found Objects.
I also liked Brooke Holloway's two drawings and Cara Jung's smart sculptures as well as Jack Thompson's Siamese (Conjoined) Twins. Also quite good were Craig Cully's 49 Kisses, a wall installation of 49 tiny oil paintings and each one a steal at $180 each or $5,000 for all 49 paintings.
Craig Cully. 49 Kisses, 2.5"H x 2.5"W each, oil on panel (detail)
See the Guilty Pleasures exhibition online here.
Finally, here was talk at the show about traveling the Obama-rama exhibition to a few cities, including Washington, DC, and there was also talk from a publisher who came to see the exhibition, about compiling and publishing a book about this show. More on that later.
After the show we walked a couple of blocks to Standard Tap for dinner and brews. I have been there a few times and need to devote some time writing about this superb Philly gem of a bar with a spectacular kitchen. Suffice it to say for now that this place offers some of the best grilled octopus, if not the best, that I have ever tasted. Coming from someone who lived in several Mediterranean countries, that is quite a statement.
More on Standard Tap later; for now, the octopus was delicious, the Lancaster Stout was great and the scallop salad out of this world.
DC gallery to move to Brooklyn
Heather Goss over at DCist has the story on the Randall Scott Gallery move to B'klyn.
Yesterday afternoon the Senate voted for the Coburn Amendment to the massive economic recovery bill and the amendment, which virtually eliminates all art funding from the package among other things, passed by a wide vote margin of 73-24, and included support from many high profile Senators including Chuck Schumer of New York, Dianne Feinstein of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, and several other Democratic and Republican Senators.
Shepard Fairey arrested
I've been told that artist Shepard Fairey was arrested last night in Boston, where he was for the opening of a show at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art.
Apparently the arrest was because of warrants due to graffiti tagging of private property.
Clearly the Boston police must know that they just added a huge new publicity boost to Fairey and the ICA show.
Update:Boston Globe says arrest was due to the fact that the "Police said they had warrants on Fairey from last month after he allegedly tagged property in Boston with graffitti based on his Andre the Giant street art campaign."
Friday, February 06, 2009
Art advice for the White House tenants
Life has an interesting way of forcing us to sometimes either reversing what we once thought were final positions, and other times life offers us a chance of defending both sides of a position.
I have been generally against the segregation of artists by race (black, white, Asian or native American) or by ethnicity (Hispanic, Semitic, etc.), and yet sometimes a void or need is so egregious that the solution is very clear and may cross lines that we may have thought as cast in concrete.
When we all discovered a couple of years ago that 66% of all the artwork by black American artists currently in the White House art collection had been acquired by the Bushes, depending on what side of the political aisle you stand, this fact may either raise an eyebrow from right wing nuts or some sort of conspiracy theory from left wing nuts.
But when we also discovered the fact that only three works (out of an estimated 375 pieces) were by black Americans, both sides of the aisle should find that surprising... and maybe in need of attention by the Obamas.
A little recap and an update: In 2007 I reacted in my usual self-righteous, irate manner to having American artist Jacob Lawrence described as a great African-American artist, rather than just a great artist. And then the Washington City Paper in the process of policing that whole issue, came up with an interesting fact.
Jacob Lawrence, pen and ink, circa 1980 by F. Lennox Campello In an Private Collection
According to the City Paper, Betty Monkman, the curator of the White House, revealed that, "while Lawrence’s painting isn’t the sole piece by a black artist in the executive mansion, it’s close to it — there are only two others."
That's now three out of "an estimated 375 total in the White House’s art collection."
So let's take off the first century and a half of the White House's art acquisition process. During that time we can safely assume that they probably just focused on American artists from one of the four races, and somewhat let me reverse my stand on segregating artists by race, rather than just artistic merit, and let me take the uncomfortable side of trying to again ask the question, "Why aren't there more works by black artists in the White House art collection?"
Even if one ignores skin color, and just looks at the art and artistic achievement, there are plenty of great American artists, who happen to be black, whom I think would make a great update to the White House collection.
Some art greats, by artistic default, I would think, would have to be Black, or Asian, or Native American, not just Caucasian artists of all ethnicities - after all, all four races of mankind create art and all four and their many mixtures, live in America.
Back in the 1980's, Jacob Lawrence was awarded the National Medal of Arts from President George Bush The First. Why did it take 27 years for one of his paintings to become part of the White House's permanent collection?
The City Paper research identified the other two paintings: "Henry Ossawa Tanner’s Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City (1885), which hangs in the Green Room, its home since 1996, and an 1892 painting by one “Bannister” (possibly Ed Bannister) acquired in 2006 and which was then undergoing conservation.
So two of the three have been acquired by the Bushes, and before 1996 there wasn't a single work of art by any black artist in the President's home, in spite of the fact that artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, Martin Puryear, Alma Thomas, and others are all just great American artists, period, and have even broken the National Gallery of Art code, and should all probably have been acquired by the White House years, and years, and years ago.
But let's say that a traditional acquisition focus on painting were to remain, and thus we would immediately unfortunately eliminate a lot of good contemporary choices. After all, the White House is not an art museum, and the case could be made that it sort of "feels" that it should be an art collection where all things somewhat say "America" in a variety of traditional visual ways, and I submit that for that goal, painting is still first among equals. That still leaves Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, Alma Thomas and others I am sure.
So if the Obamas were to continue what President Bush started, and expand the White House's collection to be more representative of American artists and the American people, I would suggest that (in addition to perhaps more Lawrence), Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, Martin Puryear, and Alma Thomas would be a good start. And, if as Malber suggests, the Obamas should expand the White House collection to more than just paintings, then in addition to some Lawrence collages, I would suggest work by other blue chip artists such as Kara Walker, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons (who is not only a brilliantly accomplished artist, but also happens to be both Hispanic and Black) and Lorna Simpson.
But I don't know if the Obamas personally collect art, and even though I am one myself, I don't really buy the idea of a staff White House art adviser.
If the Obamas are like most people, they probably don't "really" collect art with a focus or intensity to say, the Podestas in DC or the Rubells in Miami (either one of whom, by the way, would make excellent unpaid volunteer art advisers to the White House, if having an adviser was the choice made to change the visual arts acquisition status quo).
So... since the odds are that they would be beginning collectors, then I would suggest the same thing that I do to all beginning collectors: start looking first at emerging artists, which generally can be acquired for much less money than a well-established artist from the upper crust of the rarified artmosphere. Do this until you establish your tastes, desires and somewhat of a focus, and then, if your financial status allows it, begin expanding into the big museum-level names.
And if the Obamas listen to Malber's excellent point of looking locally (as Clinton did in selecting Simmie Knox to do his Presidential portrait), then I would add one of the terrific works by Rikk Freeman to the White House.
A huge Freeman painting would do wonders for the White House collection and also do wonders for Freeman. Not only would it add a presence and feel to the collection that is missing right now and which is an integral part of American history, but it would also set a new, fresh change of venue of how artwork has been acquired in the past, and the kind of artists that get acquired.
Change.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet Gonzalez is a Cuban physician, imprisoned in Cuba since 2003, for his work for democracy and freedom for that unfortunate island.
“I am of the opinion that as long as a Castro-communist dictatorship exists in Cuba, we, Cubans, will not be able to live in freedom and democracy and that the violations of human rights will continue. I ask the democratic governments of the world and the individuals who love justice and freedom to support the Cuban people and not the government of the island which usurped power, betrayed the people, by sullying them. The conquest of liberty for Cuba is the present priority and will require a struggle that is detailed in its organization and persevering. My steps are headed towards the conquest of that priority. Hear, oh God, my cry, listen to my prayer fulfilling my vows day by day. Free me and free the Cuban people.”
Click on the image for more details...
On the road...
Heading back up North today.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Charity Auction
Habatat Galleries in Tyson's Corner, Virginia is sponsoring a special art auction for charity. Already many prominent artists have donated works of art with 100% of the proceeds going to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The artists will display their art work for silent bidding in an exhibition titled "Habatat for Healing."
Lindsey Scott, President of Habatat Galleries was nominated by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for their Man and Women of the Year contest. Ms. Scott has conceived "Habatat for Healing", a special exhibition and auction of exceptional works of art in support of LLS.
Artists such as Jon Kuhn, Mark T. Smith, Bennett Bean, Tim Tate, Tanija & Graham Carr (Australia) and Petr Hora (Czech Republic) to name a few, have already generously donated art works ranging from the $100s into the $1,000s for this wonderful event.
The exhibition opens on March 5th for display and the start of silent bidding. The exhibition will continue through the evening of April 7th when several key-pieces will be auctioned live and winning silent bids will be announced.
I plan to donate to this charity, and in the event that some of you are interested in donating a work of art for the auction (deadline is end of February), please contact:
Lindsey Scott 8020 Towers Crescent Drive Tysons Corner (Vienna), VA 22182 703-989-7110 lindsey@habatatgalleries.com
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Southerning
I'm down South all this week... y'all keep coming back y'heah.
Opportunity for Photographers
Deadline: March 15, 2009
The FotObamaWeek Photography Contest is a team effort by FotoWeek DC and The Newseum: an international photography contest celebrating the Presidential campaign and the Inauguration of Barack Obama.
- Top 100 winning images, selected by The Newseum's judges, will be exhibited at The Newseum.
- All 100 winning images will be published in a limited edition book sponsored by FotoWeek DC.
- Grand prize winners will be announced at a reception at The Newseum. Cash prizes totaling $5,000.
- All images submitted will be on display at FotoWeek DC's on-line gallery, along with People's Choice winners.
All except Minnesota absentee ballot voters can vote here.
...there are two million trained, entrepreneurial working artists across the country who are assets to their communities. Representing 1.4 percent of the U.S. labor force, artists constitute a sizeable class of workers -- only slightly smaller than the total number of active-duty and reserve personnel in the U.S. military (2.2 million).
The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts current exhibition Reflections, is an exhibition of black-and-white and color photography by Baltimore's own Connie Imboden.
For twenty-five years, Imboden has been photographing nudes, in the process creating some of the most unique interpretations of this traditional subject in the history of contemporary art. The exhibition runs through April 12, 2009.
Tape as Art
He created a makeshift apartment in the parking garage of the Providence Place mall, where he and fellow artists lived off-and-on for more than three years until the stunt was squelched by security guards. He has designed art projects using everything from chain-link fence to snow.
Now he's trying to take his primary artistic love – tape – to the masses.
Townsend, 38, has for 15 years used colorful painter's tape to construct murals and spice up drab walls with quirky images including giant teddy bears and aliens. Now he is working on a book that he hopes will document the history of tape art and encourage schools to incorporate the off-beat medium into their curricula.
Read the AP story about Rhode Island artist Michael Townsend here.
My own favorite tape artist is DC's own Mark Jenkins.
New Art Fair Model?
A group of 20 Old Master paintings dealers are joining forces with Christie’s and Sotheby’s to launch London’s inaugural Master Paintings Week with a series of gallery openings from 4-10 July.
The week coincides with the auctions of Old Master Paintings and Master Drawings, and will provide an alternative to art and antique fairs.
Good luck with that Ms. Arana; it has been clear to the most casual observer that those sections of the WaPo are not really interested too much on "satisfying" their readers; at least those readers with niche interests such as book, visual arts, etc.
Think more celebrity focus and you've got the Style section. A few years ago the decay of the Style section's coverage of the visual arts in the Post started under then Style's editor Eugene Robinson, and this blog is a historical record of the decay of that section in covering the arts, as well as some outright lies by its editors over the years about some of the issues raised over the years.
In 2004 the Style section used to have one column a week to review DC area art galleries. 52 articles a year to review from a potential field of over 1,500 or so gallery shows. But 52 is better than nothing. The columns were shared by freelancers Jessica Dawson and Glenn Dixon, both ex-Washington City Paper writers. Then Dixon quit over some dispute with the Post and the art review column was reduced to twice a month.
But we were told on Monday, December 27, 2004 that the Post had "decided to hire a second freelance writer to augment Jessica Dawson's 'Galleries' reviews."
We're still waiting for that second additional freelance art critic. Instead, since then the Post has reduced its galleries' coverage even further. And it's not like we don't understand the economical reasons for this. With newspapers all over the nation slowly bleeding away readers each month, the end of the line is near for these major, once dominant moribund giants of the printed media. But what fires me up is when they still try to tell us that nothing will change and that they still "get it" as the Post's annoying radio ads proclaim.
In a phone interview with the NYT, Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of The Post said that “Our intention is to have nearly as many reviews as we’ve had in the past, though clearly there will be somewhat less room.”
Goodbye Book World.
Today in Chadds Ford
The family of Andrew Wyeth and the Brandywine River Museum invite the public to a celebration of the life and work of Andrew Wyeth, who died on January 16. This special event will be held Saturday, January 31, from 9:30 to 4:30 p.m. Complementary admission will be offered to all visitors today.
Andrew Wyeth's most famous painting, the iconic Christina's World, will be on view at the Museum for the celebration.* On loan from The Museum of Modern Art in New York, this is the first time the painting has been on view in the region. It is rarely seen outside New York City. The Brandywine River Museum currently displays 38 other paintings and watercolors by the artist.
In addition to Christina's World, Wyeth's last painting, titled Goodbye, will be also on exhibition. The painting depicts a friendship sloop sailing out of the picture past an island with a single white frame building reflected in the ocean and in the wake of the boat. The painting was completed by Andrew Wyeth in Maine in 2008.
"Andrew Wyeth once told an interviewer that 'Painting has been my one interest, nothing else but art,'" recalled Jim Duff, Director of the Brandywine River Museum. "The finest way to honor him is to enjoy the art he created."
The documentary film, Self Portrait: Snow Hill, produced by Betsy James Wyeth and narrated by Stacy Keach, will be shown in the Museum's Lecture Room every hour on the hour starting at 10 a.m. Incorporating many of Andrew Wyeth's works of art along with family photographs, home movies, personal letters and footage of Andrew Wyeth, this moving program provides insight into his private world.
In addition, memory books in which visitors can leave their thoughts will be located in the museum.
Exhibiting American art in a 19th-century grist mill, the Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting.
The Brandywine River Museum is located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The museum is open daily, except Christmas Day, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
DC's Phillips Collection is teaming with the American Poetry Museum to present a panel about poetry and hip hop. It should be really great. Here are all the details…
Phillips after 5 Feb. 5 5–8:30 p.m. Admission: By donation Cash bar Music: DJ Adrian Loving will spin hip-hop tunes in the Music Room. 5–8 p.m. Discussion: Poetic Voices: Hip Hop Here and Now at 6:30 p.m.
African-American music and poetry have become a soundtrack for a migrating global audience searching for its character. Artist Fred Joiner moderates a panel of poet-scholars in a discussion of hip hop as a force that blends cultural identities with the realities of modern life. In collaboration with the American Poetry Museum.
Gallery Talk: Once upon a Picture — Lawrence as Storyteller - 6 & 7 p.m.
Explore how Jacob Lawrence’s use of patterns and bold colors tells the story of the Great Migration of African Americans to the North in the early 20th century.
Free Podcast Tonight at 7PM
I'm going to be doing a free radio podcast tonight at 7PM talking about some of the issues from the Artists' Boot Camp Webminars and answering questions. Click on the image below for details and to sign up for the free webminars.
Obara-rama at Projects Gallery
Not unlike the groundswell of support during our recent national election, what began as the bubbling excitement of a few artists has swelled into a tsunami of artistic pro Obama output. Through word of mouth and passing conversations, a wide range of artistic talent and media has enthusiastically embraced the idea of celebrating the historic Presidential event. Perhaps as no other elected official in history, Obama is a canvas on which is projected the hopes and fears of a nation.
“Obama-rama” brings together many prominent Philadelphia area artists, as well as others, united in the celebration and critique of our nation's new commander in chief, including Elizabeth Bisbing, Jim Brossy, James Dupree, Roberta Fallon, Cheryl Harper, Frank Hyder, Tom Judd, Alex Queral, Libby Rosof, Shelley Spector, Ira Upin and others, including yours truly (I have a couple of drawings of Obama as well as several lithos and etchings done in 2007 and 2008).
Projects Gallery is located at 629 N 2nd St Philadelphia, PA 19123. Gallery hours are Wednesday & Thursday 4 - 7 p.m. and Friday & Saturday noon to 7 p.m.
The show opens with a First Friday's opening reception for the artists on Friday, February 6 from 6-9PM, and continues through February 28th, 2009.
Tax Dollars for the Arts
Singers, actors and dancers can stimulate audiences, but can they stimulate the economy? The authors of the current stimulus package seem to think so — they have included $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and $150 million for infrastructure repairs at the Smithsonian.
I'm going to be doing a free radio podcast tonight at 7PM talking about some of the issues from the Artists' Boot Camp Webminars and answering questions. Click on the image below for details and to sign up for the free webminars.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Rosenbaum on Comforti
In early June, when Michael Conforti became president of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), no one could have anticipated the challenges that he and his colleagues would face just a few months into his two-year term.
The creator of an inflatable artwork ignored safety concerns and blocked its evacuation shortly before the walk-in structure broke free of its moorings and soared into the sky with catastrophic consequences, a court heard today.
Two women fell to their deaths and others were injured when the giant PVC sculpture, hit by a gust of wind, became airborne as members of the public relaxed on a hot summer’s afternoon at a popular park in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.
Maurice Agis, the 77-year-old artist who designed and supervised the multi-coloured Dreamspace installation, is accused of manslaughter by gross negligence over an alleged litany of safety failings.
Read the article by Andrew Norfolk in the Timeshere.
Free Podcast Tonight and Tomorrow Night
I'm going to be doing a couple of free radio podcasts tonight and tomorrow night at 7PM talking about some of the issues from the Artists' Boot Camp Webminars and answering questions. Click on the image below for details and to sign up for these two free webminars.
Jury Duty
I'm jurying and curating nearly a dozen shows this year, but I wanted to let you know about this very special one that I will be jurying for The Fine Arts League of Cary in North Carolina.
Deadline is March 27, 2009 (postmark).
The Fine Arts League of Cary is seeking entries for its 15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition to be held from May 8th to June 27th, 2009 in Cary/Raleigh, NC. Show awards and purchase awards will total over $5,000. Entries can only be mailed via CD. The postmark deadline for the mail-in registration is March 27, 2009.
Full details and a printable prospectus are available on the web at www.fineartsleagueofcary.org or call Kathryn Cook at 919-345-0681.
Show Highlights:
Location - Cary/Raleigh, NC Awards and Purchase Awards total over $5000 Mail-in Registration (Digital images on CD) - Deadline: March 27 Postmark Notification of accepted work: April 13 Receiving of shipped accepted work: April 27 - May 1 Receiving of delivered accepted work: Sunday May 3 Receiving of delivered accepted work: Monday May 4 Opening Reception and Awards - Friday May 8 Show ends: June 27 Pick up work: Sunday June 28 Pick up work: Monday June 29 Shipped work returned: June 29
Wanna go drawing tonight in Vienna, VA?
The Soundry's figure drawing open studio with a live model is tonight from 8pm-11pm. To register and ensure your spot, please call The Soundry at 703-698-0088. Cost for non-members is $15. They will have a large table or two in the room and a few drawing boards but feel free to bring your own easel if you prefer.
Also, absolutely no cell phones, cameras, or any recording devices allowed in the studio. Must be 18 years or older to attend.
The Soundry 316 Dominion Rd Vienna, VA 22180 www.soundry.net 703-698-0088
Visual appropriation, a technique for adapting borrowed imagery which Shepard Fairey admits to using, has a long, time-honored tradition. Religious and political graphics have especially relied over the centuries on this sort of repetition. James Montgomery Flagg’s famous “I want you for the U. S. Army,” recruiting poster, for example, was “borrowed” without credit from British artist Alfred Leete’s image of a pointing-finger Lord Kitchener. Appropriation became a common tool of fine art in the 1960s in the hands of Andy Warhol and various pop artists. Fairey’s description for this approach is ““hijacking something with cultural relevance and switching it up.” Of course, wholesale borrowing can violate copyright issues legally and ethically if you are not “switching it up.” But in the case of Fairey’s portrait of Obama, his adaptation and translation of the face into something quite different falls squarely into the “fair use” category.
It is also true that the Portrait Gallery staff values pictures “from life” that represent an artist’s direct interpretation of a known subject. But there are exceptions to that standard. The engravers of George Washington’s day copied paintings for their prints; Currier and Ives’ political cartoons were based on photographic faces; designers of movie posters and political graphics typically adapt film stills and photographs. We consider all these forms valid, authentic expressions produced during the sitter’s lifetime and rich with biographical information.
Therefore, when I was told a few years ago that in order to be considered for acquisition by the NPG, a contemporary portrait had to be done from the live subject, that was wrong.
I thank the NPG for their response, but on a separate issue, I still think that Garcia's photo should accompany the Fairey artwork and that the wall plaque should detail the entire story for future generations.
Congrats!
To Philadelphia-born artist Barbara Steinberg, whose solo shows opens with a private view 19th February 6 - 9pm and an opening on 20th February, 2009 at London's Signal Gallery.
Barbara was born in Philadelphia and she studied at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she won a scholarship to study at Yale University summer school. On graduating from Smith, she received a grant to study sculpture in England, first with Ralph Brown at the West of England College of Art, then privately with Michael Ayrton in London. She returned briefly to America, to teach sculpture and take a Master of Fine Arts Degree at California State University at Long Beach, before settling permanently in London. She has exhibited across the UK in group and solo shows, most notably her solo exhibition at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh. This is her first solo show at Signal Gallery.
VSA arts, is seeking artwork by artists with disabilities for display at the Smithsonian Institution’s International Gallery in the S. Dillon Ripley Center in Washington, D.C. from June through September 2010. Artists are asked to consider the theme “Revealing Culture” as it relates to their work. Accepted mediums include two- and three-dimensional art, craft, digital art, installation, and time-based media. Work that is not selected for this exhibition will be considered for alternative spaces throughout Washington, D.C. during the 2010 International VSA arts Festival.
VSA arts’ International Festival is the largest arts and disability event in the world attracting thousands of participants. The festival will take place in Washington, D.C., June 6–12, 2010. Venues across the city will play host to artists from all media—visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and media arts. This signature event features the achievements of people with disabilities, as well as the diversity of the arts and cultures of the participants.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Cuban revolution’s grim executioner, put people to death and wrecked Cuba’s economy. Steven Soderbergh’s two-part epic puts people to sleep and wastes their time.
In an interview given to the London Daily Worker in 1962, Che Guevara said that "if the nuclear missiles had remained we would have used them against the very heart of America, including New York City... we will march the path of victory, even if it costs millions of atomic victims... we keep our hatred alive and fan it to paroxysm."
All of the dark side of the man who once urged "atomic extermination" for American "hyenas" is missing from the two current films about his life. I've got another review of the Che movies here.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Museum troubles
After splurging on new facilities, expanded staffs and blockbuster exhibitions that drew millions of new visitors, museums are now confronted by shrunken endowments, less-wealthy benefactors and cuts in government funding, experts say.
The roughly 17,500 museums in the United States receive 850 million visitors annually.
Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery/College of Saint Elizabeth. For an exhibition opening on March 15, 2009, The Maloney Art Gallery is interested in receiving digital (jpg) submissions of art in any medium that constitutes a response to Cuba, its art and culture, people, history, landscape, geography etc. Please send up to 5 jpgs labeled with last name and title of work, a one-page resume, an artist's statement about the submitted work, and an object list with title of work, date, size (h x w x d"), weight (if over 10 lbs), owner, location. Please send to Dr. Ginny Butera, Director, by email to: artgallery@cse.edu.
Monday, January 26, 2009
An Old, Bad Idea for the Arts
Many will say (often in a testy voice) that the arts deserve a cabinet-level presence because they are just as important to the country as the Defense Department. While that's something of an apples and oranges comparison, the deeper problem is that it assumes that the country's defense and its arts can be furthered via the same sort of bureaucratic means. But while our nation's defense would collapse in the absence of the centralized power of our Defense Department, having a Department of Culture -- or even a "Cultural Czar," to use that awful label we've apparently become so fond of -- would be neither an effective nor necessary way to guarantee the health of cultural expression in America.
Usually about 600 pieces are donated and hung salon style in the 
