MIA Day Five – Rainy Saturday

0800 – I’m awake and out of the Little Havana apartment bright and early as I want to do some visiting before heading out to Miami Beach. It is rainy and cold (in the 40s).

1200 – Fair opens and there is also another fair at the Convention Center which is now open; appears to be some sort of medical expo.

1400 – There seems to be a marked increase in traffic; maybe the bad weather is driving people indoors. I’ve shot a little video of the fair and dropped by to talk to LA gallerist Seth Carmichael. He represents DC-based artist Mark Jenkins (DC’s famous Tape Dude) and will give Mark a solo in his LA gallery in a couple of months. Seth has a well-known Jenkins sculpture in his booth.

1500 – The lady whose husband busted the Ann Plan piece on opening night comes back and buys a Sandra Ramos original collage. You reap what you sow.

1510 – The curator of the Latin American pavilion at the Shanghai Art Fair comes over and invites me to exhibit at the fair.

1605 - A local curator who has been walking around the fair invites me to leave some of my artwork with her for some of her curatorial projects. She is one of the curator's at MIA's "Next Generation" hall and so I agree to leave some drawings with her.

1630 – The woman who put the Tim Tate on hold a few days ago returns with her husband and another couple. They ask a million technical questions. She really wants the piece, but hubby is tough. He then wants to switch video cards between two separate sculptures and offers $5,000 for the piece. I say no. The wife still wants the piece. He then wants to see if he can work directly with Tate. I tell him that Tate can consider a commission. Wife still wants the piece that she wanted. He then mulls back about $5,000. I say no. He says he only wants the glass part and the Digiviewer and not the stand. I tell him that what he does with the piece once he owns it is his business, but that one can never tell what the future holds and that separating the pieces may harm the integrity of the work. I suggest that he can install the work so that only the glass part shows, and give him a couple of ideas on how to do this. He seems to like that aspect. He wants to come over to Washington and see what else Tate has. I tell him that he is welcome to do that, but that I have his latest work here and Tate is preparing for a museum show and doesn’t have that much more work available. Wife still wants the piece. They give me their contact info and promise to come back after they debate it. He mulls about $5,000 and I say no.

1645 – The director of the fair comes back and tells me that I have the best installation in the fair.

1730 – German collector comes by and is really interested in a Tate piece. As I am working with him, the 1630 couple comes back. I’m in the booth by myself and can only work one at a time. The German collector notices that the other couple when they say: “Let’s close the deal.” He tells me that he’ll be back and leaves.

1900 – 90 minutes later I am exhausted after working the most difficult sale in my life with the most difficult man in Boca Raton. They buy a Tim Tate and I believe that they will swap video cards and play their own videos in the sculpture once the piece gets delivered. It is an exhausting exercise which is fueled by a bad economy and the need to at least break even in this fair.

2100 - Saturday is over. Tomorrow is the last day. I head over to Little Havana; it's in the 30s in Miami Beach and raining.

MIA Day Four - The Weekend begins

0800 - I'm up and about as I need to get some new video cables to see if I can make the digital player work and project Tate's videos onto the wall. First I stop by a new bakery and grab three Capresse empanadas for breakfast. Then I drop by a Radio Shack and get a new video cable. Sounds easy, but it actually involved going to two Radio Shacks and one Office Depot before I found the friggin' video cable.

1100 - I arrive at the Convention Center and start fiddling with the video projector. My hunch was right and the video cable was bad. However, I also discovered that the Digiviewer is also bad. I then hunt down a new Digiviewer to replace the bad one. By the time it is noon the damned thing is finally working and the Ophelia video is projecting onto the booth wall.

1200 - 1800 - Yawn. Somewhere in there I sell an Erwin Timmers recycled glass sculpture.

1820 - Someone is interested in buying my Ophelia drawing, but they can't get over the title association with the character.

1915 - A curator from a Central American museum is interested in seeing how she can get some Sandra Ramos and Tim Tates for the museum. She tells me that the museum has no acquisition funds, which makes the issue an usually difficult one. In this case, however, I happen to have two collectors lined up to donate both Tates and Ramos' to museums who want them (hear that museum curators?). We exchange cards. She apologizes by saying that her National museum is privately funded and they don't get any money from their government. I remind her that in the US all museums are privately funded. She looks a little quizzical until I explain that even though some museums are funded by the federal government, the said government gets its funds from private citizens and private companies, and thus, by extension of my logic, all US museums are privately funded as well, with some having the government as a middle man.

2000 - I sell a Ann Plant sculpture, her second sale of the show, which is her first show ever. First sale of the day.

2100 - Day over; they're expecting a really cold rainy day tomorrow... great.

2130 - Dinner at El Chalal again with Frank and Helen. Great seafood as usual and two good Peruvian beers. Then I head back to Little Havana.

2200 - On the drive home I talk to my daughter Elise, who tells me that she just finished doing a song in a CD and will be in DC and NYC soon to do some promotional work on the radio and on TV. All the others in the CD compilation are big names; very impressive! More on that later.

MIA Day Three - Opening Day

0717 - I am up and trying to catch up on work email and returning phone calls.

1030 - I am out of the apartment and heading to the bakery to get food and water for the day. I get a Cuban Pork Sandwich for breakfast and a Medianoche for lunch later plus an assortment of stuffed potatoes, stuffed yucca rolls, pastries and sweets. Enough food for a week actually. I also get some soap, as in my cousin's apartment, which is vacant all the time, there's no shower soap and I've been using some old shampoo to cleanse my body and I am a little tired of smelling like kiwi and watermelon all day.

1100 - Arrive at the Convention Center for the long day of the actual opening.

1400 - Tim Tate video is put on First Right of Refusal till Sunday. I've handed out about 25 cards about his video work today as his work continues to attract people like moths to my booth. The digital video player is still not working and I am contemplating switching the DigiViewer to see if that's the issue.

1430 - Prof. Chawky Frenn swings by and we chat a little. Chawky is an amazing painter; he's looking for representation.

1500 - It's really slow and so I stroll around the fair a little. There are a lot of Argentinean galleries in this fair. They all seem to have German names. One of the gallerinas is the spitting image of actress Tia Leoni.

1630 - A major collector, who last month bought a Sandra Ramos from me at Red Dot comes by to say hello. I discuss with them that I have a couple of donors looking to donate Sandra Ramos' works to museums. They give me the name of a curator at a local museum and tell me to use their names.

1900 - Prof. Chawky Frenn comes by again. He has been trolling the fair looking for potential galleries for his work, which is so politically and homo-erotically charged that it is very difficult for some. He looks a little dejected. We walk over to the Argentinean worldwide art project next to me. They take gold fingerprints of people all over the world and are staffed by several beautiful girls from the Americas. Chawky goes over and does the whole fingerprinting part and then begins to chat the girls. He then meets Carlos Woods, a gallery owner from Guatemala and Chawky shows him the last book published of his work. Minutes later Woods is offering Chawky a solo in Guatemala. Prof. Frenn has accomplished his mission.

1930 - A curator from the Miami Art Museum comes by and we discuss Sandra Ramos. I pass to her that I have two collectors in the DC area who are looking to donate several Sandra Ramos' pieces to museums. She leaves me several names at the museum to contact.

2000 - It's all over; heading to Little Havana for the night.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Washington Sculptors Group: Sculpture Now 2010 (January 5 until February 12, 2010).Opening Reception - Friday, January 8 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. at Pepco’s Edison Place Gallery (702 Eighth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001). The reception will include an awards presentation of first and second place prizes with top honors being named after long-time WSG member and artist Tom Rooney. Juror’s talk - Saturday, January 9 beginning at 2:00 pm

The exhibition was juried by Ryan Hill, Curatorial Research Associate for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Adjunct Professor at George Washington University, and artist. Speaking about his selections, Mr. Hill stated that he was "interested in artworks that used non-traditional materials, explored layering and decentered compositions, and reflected our information-driven society."

Artists selected to participate in the exhibition include: Karen Bondarchuk, Leah Frankel, Kerry Furlani, Tom Greaves, Jason Haber, Ray Hau, Leila Holtsman, James Mallos, Bill Moore, Elena Patino, Mike Shaffer, John Simpkins-Camp, Erwin Timmers, Patricia Tinajero, Elizabeth Whiteley, and Alice Yutzy.

MIA Day 2 - Set Up & VIP Night

0245 - I wake up, thinking that I've heard Little Junes crying. Even though I am exhausted, it takes me forever to go back to sleep.

0730 - I wake up half an hour before the alarm. After S-S-S (read yesterday's account to know what that means), I head out to MIA. On the way I stop over at a Cuban deli and buy some Cuban pastries to share with the Hyders. I end up eating my share on the drive to the Miami Beach Convention Center.

0930 - Arrive at MIA. It's $15 to park all day, but the parking lot is directly on the other side of Exhibit Hall A, which is where MIA takes place. It's a long assed walk and during the walk I discover that one should never wear brand new shoes to an art fair. Today I have to hang and prepare my booth, so I'm wearing jeans, but I've brought the suit and tie for later tonight, when the VIPs come. It's gonna be a long day, as the fair ends at 11PM.

0945 - My booth still doesn't have electricity, and I discover that I've forgotten my power drill, so I start hanging seven Tim Tate self contained videos using a screwdriver. I'm concerned because I can't test the videos until I get electricity into the booth. SO I start arranging the other work to be hung. As soon as I am finished, a floor cleaning crew shows up and wants to clean my booth's floor. I remove all the work and wait while they steam clean the cement floor.

1015 - The cement floor is nice and clean, the booth's walls are freshly painted, and the work is all back in, spread out and ready to be hung. But no electricity. I begin to hang all of Tate's metal boxes components of his video work, and unpack Sandra Ramos, Cirenaica Moreira and Marta Maria Perez Bravo's work. A dozen long trips to the Hyder's van to store away the packing detritus follows.

1200 - All the Tate's metal wall boxes are hung, and the cardboard boxes containing the glass and video parts are aligned under them, on the floor, like soldiers itching to join a war. But there's no electricity.

1225 - I hang Michael Janis' heavy-assed "Lovers" in a few minutes, then spend a friggin' hour aligning and hanging his four smaller pieces. But at the end it looks good.

1230 - The sculpture floor stands arrive, and I open the FEDEX shipment box containing Erwin Timmers' two sculptures. When I open the box, they are both broken.

1330 - I've hung Ramos and Moreira, and the electrician arrives! I then hang my own work last.

1400 - I've got electrical power, so I begin the process of testing and then hanging the video components of Tate's seven sculptures.

1640 - Tate is done being tested and hung; it all works fine and even the digital projector has been set and is projecting Ophelia video onto the wall.

1700 - The electrician (a really nice guy) finishes my booth and now I have lights. I am sweaty and my feet are killing me.

1715 - I borrow a ladder and put up artists' names and adjust the lights, managing to cook some hands in the process.

1730 - I head for the bathrooms with a suit and a cordless shaver. I emerge a few minutes later as "Mr. Art Dealer," all clean and slick. The digital video player has ceased to work and 30 minutes of fiddling by me and my neighbor yield zip results. This means that I can't project videos onto the wall; my master plan for attracting moths to the light. Great...

1800 - The fair starts and I realize I don't have any "merchandise removal passes" which is the piece of paper given when you sell something so that the client can take it with them. Someone points out to me that my front wall is unlit, and I realize that the electrician forgot to install one key light fixture. I rush to the office to see what can be done. Result: That front part of the booth will be dark tonight, but at least I've got plenty of sales exit forms.

1900 - Slow, some family members who live in Miami show up. My cousin Estrellita, a high powered "green" lawyer buys one of my drawings. Even though it is VIP night, unlike other fairs, there's no free booze or food anywhere to be found. I realize that I haven't had a drink of water all day and that my lips are parched. I pay $4 for a bottle of water.

1905 - Prof. Chawky Frenn comes by with a few friends and we chat a little.

2000 - Women in Miami really like to wear those spiky boots, I notice. Because there's no free booze, the crowds are lethargic.

2050 - More work sold: more of my drawings and a cool Ann Plant glass landscape. The client who buys the Plant also buys one of my drawings. And he knows about the WPA Auction and Mera Rubell's part in it (have the Miami papers done a story???). He also asks if I was one of Mera Rubell's "sweet 16." I launch into my Rubell story. I talk him into flying to DC for the WPA Auction after I show him online the piece that Rubell selectd. As usual, the Tate videos attract a lot of attention. I almost sell Janis' "Lovers" but can't close the deal.

2100 - A husband and wife couple who are on the Collectors' Committee for the Miami Art Museum come to check out the Sandra Ramos work - they love one of her collages, but ask for a card and then leave. A while later they return with a local art dealer, who also has a booth at MIA. He gives the piece a good endorsement. Then the husband backs into the pedestal holding one of Ann Plant's sculptures and knocks it down on the floor, where the glass piece shatters into a million pieces. A hush envelops the floor. It looks like the poor old guy is about to have a heart attack. It's a $500 piece (thank God only $500). They apologize; no one offers to pay for the broken artwork. The guy looks really frail and I'm really nice to him because I don't want him to stress out any more. The client who bought the other Plan piece returns and he almost breaks into tears when he sees the demolished piece. "Iwanted that!" he cries to the couple. I wrap it up and give it to him. He now owns two Plants. The museum couple tell me that they're really interested in the Ramos, but then they leave again.

2215 - I notice that a glass of champagne costs the same as a bottle of water. Weird... And my new shoes are killing my feet.

2300 - VIP night over. Tomorrow the show opens to the public. And tomorrow I am bringing food and water. I've never been to an art fair where the exhibitors don't get any refreshments.

2315 - I walk the long-assed walk to the parking lot and drive back to Little Havana. Once I get there I realize that I've forgotten to call my wife and that I've left my suit bag back in the booth with my shaver.

2355 - My new shoes are off my wounded feet and I am heading to bed, but I start to write this post. My cousin has filled the fridge with beer; is he a mensch or what?

2359 - Blog updated with this post. I am exhausted but OK. Tomorrow the show opens to the public at noon. It would be nice to make enough sales on opening day to cover costs.

Wanna go to an opening this Saturday?

Apronology.

It’s defined as “the study of the art of the apron,” and it’s a word that appeals to Virginia-based artist Trudi VanDyke, curator of the upcoming mixed media exhibit “Personal Armor: Artists’ Concepts of Aprons” at BlackRock Center for the Arts.

“I thought that was just a hoot,” said VanDyke, an independent curator, consultant and juror who is also an adjunct professor of art management at George Mason University, a freelance writer on the arts and the former director of both the Ellipse Arts Center in Arlington and Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory. “But I like to work with themes that artists can interpret independently – and I’m always on the lookout for artists whose work I admire, because I want to see how their work might come together in the show.”

In this show, which runs from Wednesday, January 06, 2010 through Friday, January 29, 2010, the work of 31 artists from Maryland, DC, Virginia, Colorado, Florida, South Carolina and Pennsylvania reflect on the common theme of the apron – with intriguing results.

“What does the apron represent?” muses VanDyke. “There are a lot of feminist statements in the work: for some artists it represented how they’d been held back by the apron, the Father Knows Best sort of theme.”

Other artists used the apron to represent their own apron-wearing mothers; VanDyke says even the plight of battered women comes to light in the exhibit. Wood, wire, glass and metal make appearances, along with more unusual media, and the moods run from sentimental to mysterious to whimsical.

VanDyke points out that the Artist Reception will be held on Saturday, January 9, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. She hopes art lovers will gather to learn more about this unusual and interesting show – whether they themselves wear aprons or not.

Personal Armor: Artists’ Concepts of Aprons
Wednesday, January 06, 2010 through Friday, January 29, 2010
BlackRock Center for the Arts
Gallery Hours: Monday to Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Admission is free
Artist Reception Saturday, January 9, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

MIA – Day One: Travel and Hang

0200 – I’m having trouble sleeping, and the alarm is set for 2:45AM, and the taxi will arrive at 3:30AM. I look at the alarm clock and it reads 2:07. I hope to catch at least half an hour more of sleep. Today will be a long day, as I’m flying down to Miami with a 6:10AM departure from BWI. It’s installation day for the Miami International Art Fair (MIA), which opens formally tomorrow with a VIP reception.

0245 – The alarm rings and I’m surprised that while I thought I was awake most of the time, I was actually catching some Z’s. I spring from bed, hoping that Little Junes will not awake, and proceed to what the morning wake-up ritual known in the Navy as “shit-shower-and-shave.”

0305 – I’m out of the shower and dressed, and I close the luggage and carry it from the bedroom to the front door, hoping that the squeaky hardwood floors will not wake up Little Junes. My wife awakens and follows me to the door and kisses me goodbye. I send her back to bed; this will be a tough week for her as a single mom to a four month old. I pack up the laptop, remember to grab a box of red dots and then step outside to the 25 degree Potomac early morning to get my Blackberry ear plugs out of the van. Bones (that’s his real name), my cab driver, is already there in the driveway and waiting for me.

0320 – On the way to BWI Bones tells me about his daughter who is about to graduate from Maryland. This burly cab driver has three daughters and he’s put all three of them through college. He is a hero. Bones is originally from Nigeria, and he likes to talk about art. On this trip I discuss the work of artist Viktor Ekpuk for him. Bones dissects the name and tells me where in Nigeria Viktor is from. He promises to look for Viktor’s work in the Internet.

0410 – We arrive at BWI. Outside the airport is quiet, almost deserted. Inside it is also deserted except for a huge line at the American Airlines counters. I’m flying AA, so I resign myself and join the line. I’m really early anyway. A gregarious AA Skycap is herding people along to the check in counters. When I check in I discover that AA now charges $20 for your first checked in bag. It used to be $15. It also used to be explained that the charge was because the price of airline fuel was so high and was “temporary.” But now that the price of fuel has dropped, the checked-in charge not only remains but has increased. And flights are packed but airlines still lose money. Something doesn’t make sense to me in this industry.

0430 – I’m surprised to find the security line almost non-existent and go through the TSA portals. Something in my laptop backpack catches their attention and they search for it. The backpack is filled to the brim with assorted electronic junk such as the GPS unit (I find that now I can’t drive without GPS aid), the removable hard drive, the Flip video recorder, the digital camera, assorted power cables and books. Finally they find the offending item: a wine corkscrew. I had no idea that it was inside the backpack. Since the corkscrew doesn’t have a blade, it’s OK and I’m passed through.

0440 – I find a seat by a wall outlet and plug in the laptop to do some Facebooking and surfing. A teen it’s a couple of seats from me and begins to alarm me with his coughing, sneezing and snorting. It is obvious that he has a cold. It is also obvious that no one has told him that he should cover his mouth when he sneezes. I debate whether to move seats or tell him to cover his mouth. As electric wall outlets are not easy to come by at BWI, I elect for the latter and tell him. He doesn’t respond, but simply moves away from me, to infect someone else.

0540 – We begin boarding. The flight goes to Miami and then to Cancun. It is loaded with folks dressed for tropical weather and who earlier on froze their butts getting to the airport, but by noon will be sipping Margaritas by the beach while I’ll be installing the artwork at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

0610 – We actually depart on time, and I get prime seating on the first row, with the extra leg space and on the aisle with two empty seats in my row. Good start to the flight day. I’m reading “Seven Days in the Art World” by Sarah Thornton and rediscover what an asshole Chris Burden is.

0840 – We actually land a few minutes ahead of time.

0915 – 1100 - I swing by Casablanca Bakery in Hialeah and have breakfast (eggs, Cuban bread, ham and coffee for $3) and pick up two boxes of Cuban pastries and two Cuban breads. I visit my parents in Hialeah and my aunt in Miami Beach, drop the pastries and bread. I am also forced to eat in both places even though I am full.

1130 – I arrive at the Miami Beach Convention Center; the big leagues of art fairing and home to Art Basel Miami Beach. I meet Philadelphia artist Frank Hyder and his wife, Helen, director of Philly’s hardworking Projects Gallery. They are my Philly dealers and we’re doing this fair together. They tell me that my booth has been moved to a new location by the fair management. Also, about 75% of the booths still have not been finished nor painted. There is clearly a lot of work still to be done before a single thing can be hung.

1230 – 1430 – Lunch at the Hyder’s Miami Beach condo – the one with a breathtaking view of the ocean. We load up a vanload of artwork and take to the Convention Center. Poor Frank is hobbling because he took a nasty spill in Philly ice recently. The booths are still far from being finished. Lots of painting and wall re-arrangements being done. Frank Hyder walks me through the spectacular sculptural works by Federico Uribe. His work, done from shoe laces, sneakers (Puma gave him 30,000 running shoes for a particular project), and other common objects – including a toilet plunger which has been transformed into a flower via the use of wooden clothes’ hangers – make him the best WalMartist that I have ever seen. Uribe’s work alone is worth the price of the entrance to the fair. The bright yellow sun made out of yellow shoelaces, thousands of them is a transformative piece worth of worship by the Egyptians.

1500 – I find the guy in charge of painting and construction and tell him (more like beg him) that my booth has been moved from its original location and now the booth design closes up the booth too much and I need one wall moved. The booth still needs to be painted. It may be hours before a crew can get to it. I used the Cuban angle and the HMFIC sends the painting crew to my booth. Now I just need to get one wall moved to open up the gallery.

1700 – Construction guy shows up and says that the wall will be moved in ten minutes. 45 minutes later I am still waiting.

1800 – Wall crew arrives. They are very friendly and quite experts at their work. After a 15 minute Union-mandated break, they start adding a new wall and removing the blocking wall in my booth. It is hard work.

2000 – All the booth hard labor is done. The crew has done a terrific job. And I have a shiny, newly painted booth, in a new arrangement and in a new spot. Now at G-11 instead of G-13.

2001 – I hang one large photograph by Cuban artist Cirenaica Moreira, and exhausted call it quits for the night. Loads of other galleries are nowhere to being close to being ready.

2015 – The Hyders and I have a terrific meal at a Peruvian Restaurant called Chalan in Miami Beach (at 1580 Washington Ave) . I have one of the most amazing seafood dishes that I’ve had in a long time. It has a rather forgettable Peruvian name, Cau Cau something. It is very yummy.

2345 – I'm at my cousin's beautiful home in Little Havana, staying in his empty maid's quarters' apartment in the rear of his home. I post this blog and exhausted get ready to sleep a few hours. Tomorrow we hang the artwork and by 6PM the VIPs arrive.

Great exhibition opportunity for artists

Deadline: January 17, 2010

This is the kind of opportunity that I like: absolutely no fees to submit and zero commission on sales: click here for the prospectus.

I'll be jurying this show, which will be in Norfolk's best gallery (in my opinion).

Airborne

Heading to Miami for the Miami International Art Fair at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Fair is from 6-10 January.

If you want some free tickets to the fair, drop me an email.

Drawing Show Extended

More art writing

Philippa has a superb round-up of the sudden surge in visual art writing around the DC region. Read it here.

I agree with her. I also know that now that I'm back in the DC area, I plan to get back to my old ways and write a lot more about the DC area visual arts.

Running for cover(age) Tonight

Running for cover(age) is a panel discussion on arts criticism in the DC area presented by the WPA.

Moderator: Kriston Capps
Panelists: Jeffry Cudlin, Isabel Manalo, Danielle O’Steen
When: Monday, January 4, 2010 from 6:30-8:00pm
Where: Capitol Skyline Hotel (lounge), 10 I Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
(Free and open to the public)

Coverage of Mera Rubell’s DC studio tour by journalist Jessica Dawson in The Washington Post touched a critical nerve in the DC arts community, and set off impassioned conversations here and on social networking websites such as Facebook here, about the quality of life for artists in the area. Artists, writers, and arts professionals weighed in on aesthetics, isolation, ambition and support for the visual arts.

This panel discussion will address questions about local arts media coverage and its effect on the cultural life of the city. During the Q&A portion of the program, panelists will provide suggestions of both existing and new models for generating dialogue about the arts.

I've noted this before, several years ago, but when I was the co-owner of the Fraser Galleries, one thing that I noted, and thus qualifies as empirical, rather than anecdotal data, was that we would get a lot more responses and new visitors to the gallery when our show was mentioned in the recommendation section on the first page of the Post's Weekend section.

You know the section that I mean (its title escapes me now)... the one where someone recommends a theater show, or a dance show, or a visual arts show?

I know this for a fact, because the usual mention would detail a bit about the gallery show, give the gallery name and the phone number. For the next few days our phone would ring off the hook with people wanting to know the gallery's address.

In fact, a mention on that Weekend section spot did a lot more to get new visitors to the gallery than any review in the Galleries column! I suspect this is because the Galleries column's demographics tend to be mostly people interested in art: artists, gallerists, art symbiots and the rare collectors. On the other hand, the people who glance and read that recommendation section in Weekend are your average reader and average public; precisely the "new" section of the population that a gallery hopes to reach.

Interesting huh?

Congrats!

To former DC artist (now residing in Brooklyn) Matthew Langley, who is having a show at New York's Blank Space (along with Heejo Kim). The show 0pens January 14, 6 - 8pm - The exhibition runs into February.

Blank Space
511 25th Street Suite 204
New York, NY 10001

DCist Exposed Photography Contest -- 4 days left!‏

The 2010 DCist Photography Show is currently open for entries -- but only until January 6, this Wednesday! Heather Goss' Ten Miles Square is a sponsor of the fourth annual exhibit, which will be held at Long View Gallery in March.

Over 1000 people attended last year's opening reception of photography featuring the music and nightlife, sports and recreation, and the historical as well as the quiet moments of the people who live and work in D.C. It's only $5 to enter three photos -- head over to DCist for all the details. Hurry!

Happy 2010 to All!

Amidst all the economic and political woes of 2009, the year was a magnificent year for the Campello clan, highlighted by the arrival of the extended Campello family's first boy since my own birth (my family genetics tends to favor women, and Anderson is his grandfather's first boy and his great-grandfather's first name-keeping great-grandson).

I wish a great 2010 for all of you!

Running for cover(age) this Monday

Running for cover(age) is a panel discussion on arts criticism in the DC area presented by the WPA.

Moderator: Kriston Capps
Panelists: Jeffry Cudlin, Isabel Manalo, Danielle O’Steen
When: Monday, January 4, 2010 from 6:30-8:00pm
Where: Capitol Skyline Hotel (lounge), 10 I Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
(Free and open to the public)

Coverage of Mera Rubell’s DC studio tour by journalist Jessica Dawson in The Washington Post touched a critical nerve in the DC arts community, and set off impassioned conversations here and on social networking websites such as Facebook here, about the quality of life for artists in the area. Artists, writers, and arts professionals weighed in on aesthetics, isolation, ambition and support for the visual arts.

This panel discussion will address questions about local arts media coverage and its effect on the cultural life of the city. During the Q&A portion of the program, panelists will provide suggestions of both existing and new models for generating dialogue about the arts.

Kriston Capps is a critic, reporter, and commenter. He contributes regular news and reviews to the Guardian, Art in America, Art Papers, Art Lies, the American Prospect, Huffington Post, and other publications. Kriston taught a graduate studio colloquium at the University of Maryland College Park and will teach an arts journalism course through the WPA ArtScribe program at George Washington University in the Spring.

Jeffry Cudlin is an artist, curator, art critic, and musician living and working in Washington, D.C. He serves as the Director of Exhibitions for the Arlington Arts Center and writes for the Washington City Paper.

Isabel Manalo is an artist represented by Addison Ripley Fine Art and Assistant Professor at American University’s Art Department in Washington, DC. She runs the award-winning blog The Studio Visit which features artists from the DC region in their studios.

Danielle O'Steen is a freelance journalist, contributing to publications such as Art + Auction, Capitol File, Flash Art and Washington Post Express. She previously worked as an editor at Art + Auction magazine in New York. Currently, she is also a graduate student in art history at George Washington University, specializing in modern and contemporary art.

Bruce McKaig on CHAW's 4th Annual Photography Exhibition

By Bruce McKaig

Why have an exhibition of contemporary photography? Why send out a call-for-entries, review submissions, select some to hang on the walls of a gallery? Why have an opening reception, attended mostly by the participating artists and their social circles, then return most of the work to the artists a few weeks later? How did such a ritual begin and why does it persist?

Exhibitions at art galleries are a fairly modern practice. As submitted by Ethan Robey in The Utility of Art: Mechanic’s Institute Fairs in New York City 1828-1876, they are an offshoot of state or national fairs, where booths are set up and visitors can look at mechanical gadgets, scientific discoveries, jellies, pies, and well-bred livestock. By the late 19th century, some artists were hosting public receptions in their studios.

Eventually, some entrepreneurs – like Steiglitz and his Gallery 291 – decided to propose a year-round place where art and public could meet. As I looked at submissions for CHAW’s fourth annual photography exhibition, and as I gear up for my next solo exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art, I find myself asking: Why not open year-round places for public and livestock to meet? Who doesn’t love beautiful sheep, especially a young one? Would a galerie des moutons be more preposterous than an art gallery?

Photography became public property in 1839 when Daguerre read his process out loud to the French senate. Photography was democratized in the 1880s when Thomas Edison invented 35mm film and George Eastman invented the word Kodak. In the mid-to-late 19th century, both the making and the viewing of photographs were not so much a daily bombardment as they were occasions. In most cases, if several people were to look at a photograph, they would usually be in the same room at the same time.

Clearly, that has changed.

According to The Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA), the number of digital cameras shipped in 2008 was 119,757,000, not including cell phones. As of October 2009, there were four billion images on Flickr. With over 300,000 images uploaded to Facebook every second, there are over 850 million images added every month. Last summer, I photographed a wedding and had to edit out numerous images that were overexposed because of how many other flashes kept firing. It seemed like most guests were also photographers.

On a recent field trip to the US Botanical Gardens, the number of people taking pictures was truly phenomenal. From cell phones to cumbersome SLRs with hefty attached flash units, people were lining up to photograph or be photographed in front of various floral arrangements amidst the holiday decor. Such colossal production rates beg the question, how much time do people spend looking at photographs? Has the priority, the principle activity, become making, not viewing?

The persistence of exhibitions and the excitement over the Internet coexist because one confronts confusion with a semblance of order; the other confronts the semblance of order with confusion. The gallery’s elitist approach strives to select and organize works in a momentary setting, as much an event or performance as a body of work, all in an effort to provide ground for discovery, debate, and direction.

The Internet’s democratic approach strives to neither select nor organize images, and the 24/7 open call-for-entries results in a bubble that can never burst because it has no dates, deadlines, or locale. The perception that the Internet is everywhere and always open implies both a trust in its availability and a lack of urgency, or even preciousness, when it comes to discovery, debate, or direction.

I suggest that people go to exhibitions because sometimes there is a precious urgency to discovery, debate, and direction.

The Fourth Annual Photography Exhibition at Capital Hill Arts Workshop is, once again, a sampling, an across-the-board look at diverse ways artists chose to approach the medium of photography, produce a piece, and connect with a viewer. By no means exhaustive, the diversity of the works conjures thoughts on defining what is an artist and what is a successful photograph. The diversity, however, does not succeed in masking the various themes that appear across the works when compared and contrasted.

Several of the images are formal studies, exploring shape and color. Red Deck, by Mark Walter Braswell, is a color image of the side of a building. Not an architectural study, with a confusing rather than informative perspective, the geometry and color are all that is left, is needed, to contemplate. Sue Weisenburger’s works are also formal studies. Foundation is more rigid, V&A in December is more organic, but both brush up against the narrative with their poetic use of geometry. In Vickie Fruehauf’s black and white scenes of water, the formal qualities have been wedded to an almost spiritual presence, in her words, “the silent observers within the natural world.” Judy Searles’ images are close-up looks at elemental materials. The materials, initially man-made, have been shaped and colored by the battering of weather and time. The temporal aspect to her work is explored in different ways by several other artists in the show.

Time as an element in photography is explored in several artists’ works, through the blurry stretching of time, or the juxtaposition of images side-by-side or sequentially in a slideshow format. Tom Pullin layers the fourth dimension of time into Fussa-Tokyo33107 thanks to a slow exposure. Similarly, Jim Blackie’s Down depicts an isolated traveler descending a quivering escalator. In the Motion Studies portfolio by Mark Issac, temporality is explored through, in Issac’s words, “the manner in which solid objects break apart and dematerialize.” Patricia Goslee and Siobhan Hanna both work with multiple images and the juxtaposition of different angles or objects has an element of time travel. In the back-and-forth observation for a viewer, the passage of time becomes a part of the experience. Leland Bryant also uses multiple images, but strings them out in a slide show. In this format, the images move by at the author’s chosen pace, not the viewers, and they run from first to last per author’s selection. Goslee, Hanna and Leland all use somewhat cumbersome titles or text that the viewer is left to appreciate or ignore.

Photo documentary works are also part of the exhibition. Gabriela Bulisova exhibits three images of anonymous Iraqi refugees. Heads cut off – by the picture frame – or eyes banded – by a wooden railing – or the human body replaced by its shadow, these images speak both of the individual and the collective. Kristoffer Tripplaar exhibits five images from Galveston Texas in the wake of a natural disaster. There are no people in Tripplaar’s images, just man-made structures with signs of nature’s rage. The absence of people succeeds in broadening the images’ story to a more universal struggle between urban humanity and nature. Another image in the show that uses absence to create atmosphere is Christopher Schwartz’s Off Duty, a shot of a deserted lifeguard station. Without people or activity, the strong colors come across bleak and doll-like. People are full-face present in Michael Stargill’s documentary sports images in a somewhat comical, somewhat iconic mixture of reportage and theater.

Photo by Jared Ragland
Several other artists in this exhibition turn directly to iconic elements and theatrical approaches. Jared Ragland’s socio-political commentary uses iconic items to construct blunt social commentaries. Ragland’s artist statement says, “While not always adhering to the traditional structure of narrative I seek nonetheless to open relationships between fragments of content and combine images to form loose associations and representations of the subconscious.” Whereas Raglan constructs his choreography with photomontage, Carolina Mayorga goes directly to theatrics in her exploration of religious ritual and rhetoric. Mayorga’s artwork addresses issues of social and political content and are produced as a mixture of drawings, sculptures, videos, or performances.

This exhibition fails to answer my questions about photography but succeeds in furthering the discovery and debate. I still don’t know how much time people spend looking at photographs. I still don’t know if a gallery of sheep would be more or less preposterous than a gallery of art.

What: CHAW”S 4th Annual Photography Exhibition
When: Jan 9th – Feb 4th 2010, opening reception Sat Jan 9th 5-7pm
Where: Capitol Hill Arts Workshop 545 7th Street SE WDC 20003
202 547 6839
www.chaw.org

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: Januray 15, 2010

Art of the Soul: A Woman’s View of Sexism & Oppression

If oppression was art, what would it feel like? If sexism was art, what would it look like? Art of the Soul is an exhibition of the feelings, thoughts, and prejudices of those often unheard, in this event, women! Since the Victorian age, women have been a target of sin and disgracefulness, an oppression that has affected our sexuality, self-esteem, and character. Through the collaboration of fashion and visual arts, this event will educate the public on issues affecting women that are often deemed “inappropriate” to talk about.

This 18 day exhibit will explore the prevalence of female injustice present in our community. Our collaborative event will strive to facilitate communal dialogue surrounding female related issues and explore ways we can contribute to overturning these injustices, both collectively and individually. Art of the Soul will highlight and discuss the topics of self-esteem, judgment, sexism, AIDS, beauty, domestic violence, FGM (female genital mutilation), and many other issues affecting women.

What we are seeking are visual artists of all disciplines; painting, sculpture, photography, film, etc. to take part in this movement. Art of the Soul will be featured in a unique space in downtown Washington, DC with over 1200 sq ft. of wall space, large windows for display, and heavy foot traffic. We have paired up with local and national organizations, Hamiltonian Gallery, and Albus Cavus organization/artist collective, to gear this exhibit towards success.

Be a part of something great by becoming an Art of the Soul featured artist. You have the option to sell or auction your art and take part in our opening reception with over 150 expected guest where you can discuss your work, network, or explore future opportunities in the DC metropolitan area. With programming scheduled within the space throughout the life of the exhibit, Art of the Soul is more than just a collection of art but a voice for women and all others that have been oppressed.

If interested or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact Kaira Johnson at theartandsoul.dc@gmail.com. Also, if you know any organizations or persons that would like to organize a program or workshop under the Art of the Soul, please forward this information to Kaira as well.

Art of the Soul
Feb 12-28, 2010
486 K Street, NW
Washington, DC

Presented by Fever Couture and Sponsored by Hamiltonian Gallery and Albus Cavus.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: Feb 28, 2010

The M-NCPPC space in the Gateway Arts Center is actively seeking both exhibition proposals for the 2010-11 season, as well as craft artists interested in showing & selling work at the center.

Craft proposals are being reviewed immediately and on an ongoing basis.

The next deadline for exhibition proposals is Feb 28, 2010.

The Gateway Arts Center (formerly called the Brentwood Art Center) will celebrate it’s grand opening on March 19, 2010. The center, located at a gorgeous space at 3901 Rhode Island Ave. in Brentwood, is dedicated to presenting and promoting the visual arts.

It is home to a dozen artists’ studios (Studio rents are starting at $13 s/f, plus utilities. For more information or to make an appointment to see the studios call John Paradiso at 301-864-3860 ext.3.), a gallery operated by the Gateway CDC, and the Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center and certainly the heart of a new area home to many artists studios and several emerging art galleries.

The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission occupies approximately 1/4 of the building, featuring a gallery, a contemporary craft store, and an arts class/meeting room. It is a place for people of all ages to meet, engage and learn about art, purchase one of a kind craft objects, and explore new talents.

Proposals/applications should include:

* A résumé or CV
* Appropriate digital documentation with a list of images that includes titles, media, size, and dates.
* Exhibition proposals should include and artist/curator’s statement.

Send to:

Attn: Gateway Arts Center
Arts & Cultural Heritage Division, M-NCPPC
7833 Walker Dr. Suite 430
Greenbelt, MD 20770

If you have any questions, would like additional information or a full prospectus, please contact:

Phil Davis, phil.davis@pgparks.com

tel. 301-277-2863; tty. 301-446-6802; fax. 301-277-2865

Museum woes in 2009

So, what's a museum, with all its fixed costs, supposed to do at a time when people have less money (or less confidence) to give? One solution may be to just give up. The Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, Fla., the Claremont Museum of Art in California and the Las Vegas Art Museum all closed for good. North Carolina's Fayetteville Museum of Art, with a $400,000-plus debt and no funds coming from the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, is on life support and its building is listed at $1.2 million. Add also to the list the Fresno Metropolitan Museum in California, which defaulted on a $15 million loan (as part of a $28 million renovation) and is expected to close "in the very near future," according to a statement by the bankruptcy lawyer representing the museum.

Read the WSJ article here.

Kirk Waldroff at NVCC

Saint Funiculus | 2009
left: woodcut on unryu | 3.5" x 24" | edition of three
middle: glass, oak, flourescent lighting | 9" x 30" x 6"
right: concrete, grout, gold leaf | 3.5" x 24"
Kirk Waldroff, a DC-based printmaker and sculptor who uses traditional woodcut techniques to create non-traditional prints in glass, concrete and on paper has been for quite sometime one of my favorite up-and-coming artists around here.

Why? It helps that we seem to share an interest in some of the same subject matter that interests me as his work often depicts invented saints and never-told fables.

He invents the saints in the same way that I invent medals and ribbons for non-existing conflicts and he invents new or non-existing fables while I often draw inspiration from the real ones.


Candy for Sachiko | 2009
left: woodcut print on Rives BFK | edition of one | 7" x 32"
right: glass and oak | 11" x 36" x 6.5" (closed) | 22" x 36" x 6.5" (open)
He has a show opening this coming January at Northern Virginia Community College's Waddell Gallery in Sterling, VA and the reception is Friday, January 22, 6:30pm - 8:30pm and there's also a gallery talk on Wednesday, January 20, at noon.

Saints and Fables
Prints and Print-based Sculpture
January 11 - February 12, 2010
Waddell Art Gallery
Northern Virginia Community College
1000 Harry Flood Byrd Highway
Sterling, VA 20164

Gallery Talk: Wednesday, January 20, noon
Reception: Friday, January 22, 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Tapedude Update

Mark Jenkins on Flavorpill.

Empty wine glasses

Philippa on Gopnik:

Blake Gopnik began a series in this morning's Washington Post on his experiment with "extreme connoisseurship," which entails looking at "a tiny corner of one work. If the art is really good, there will be at least a morning's worth of looking in a few square inches of it." In his first foray, he visits The Phillips Collection to look at the wine glasses on the table at the center of that collection's most famous work, "Luncheon of the Boating Party," by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Gopnik admits that, "It isn't how most of us look at pictures. It's not even how most critics or scholars get to look at art, most of the time. But give it a chance, and it's the best kind of looking there is."

Read the whole thing here.

I'll have to re-read the Gopnik piece, which at first reading just sounded like art jargon semantic kabuki to me. But a closed mind is just as bad, so I'll give it a try again. The WaPo readers' comments (as usual) are also precious!

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: January 14, 2010

Searching for God at The Ohio State University at Marion. This exhibition focuses on the visual appearance of, the manifestations of, or the individual explorations of God. Works should address what is the visage of God? How do we search for God? What do we find? And what do these findings reveal? This exhibition is open to traditional and non-traditional systems of belief and also seek those beliefs that challenge the notion of God and religion.

All media considered. Submit work on a CD or DVD and include
1. 10-12 image slideshow in PowerPoint only, each slide labeled with number, artist, title, medium, date, and dimensions.
2. JPG files of each image, 1mb+.
3. For video, submit up to 3 videos as Quicktime files. 10 min max per video.
4. A statement explaining how your artwork relates to the concept of the show, 500 words max, and one-page CV.
5. image/video list.

Searching for God
Kuhn Fine Art Gallery
Attn: Sarah Weinstock
1465 Mount Vernon Ave.
Marion, OH 43302

614-292-5072. Email: weinstock.15@osu.edu

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: March 5, 2010

The Visual Arts Committee at the University of Minnesota organizes nine solo, group, or theme-based exhibitions per year at the St. Paul Student Center's 520 sq. foot Larson Art Gallery. It also organizes four solo exhibitions at Coffman Memorial Union's Coffman Art Gallery.

To be considered: Please make sure to include all of the following: Note which Gallery you are applying for (Coffman or Larson). 3-5 slides of your artwork or digital images in jpeg format. Artists' statement and contact information. Self-addressed stamped envelope for return of images. Send proposals to:

Visual Arts Committee
University of Minnesota
Coffman Memorial Union RM 126
300 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Miami International Art Fair

Just purchased the tickets and I'm heading back to Miami for the Miami International Art Fair, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach.

I'll be showing (along with DC's own Tim Tate, Michael Janis and others) with Philadelphia's Projects Gallery. We'll be at booth 520 and also at NG-13.

If you are in Miami anytime from 7-10 January, let me know and I'll see if I can get you a couple of free tickets to the fair.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: January 11, 2010.

The Public Trust of Jacksonville, Florida seeks artists. All participants will electronically submit a detailed pencil drawing of one of the three Le Moyne/de Bry original works, together with 4 other examples of your past paintings so the judges can select the ten best artists to be commissioned.

Artists must also submit an entrance form which may be downloaded from their menu under "Art Contest Entrance Form." No entry fee.

If you are selected as one of the ten commissioned artists, you will complete a painting (sized 24" by 30") by June 11, 2010. At that time you will be paid your $2,500 commission and shortly afterward be featured with your fellow top ten artists in showings of all the new art work at two premier art galleries in Jacksonville.

For complete guidelines, please visit this website. Questions? Contact Andrew Miller at adm@publictrustlaw.org or call (904) 247-1972 ext. 418.

Fee free opportunity for artists

Deadline: January 17, 2010

This is the kind of opportunity that I like: absolutely no fees to submit and zero commission on sales: click here for the prospectus.

And, O yea... I'm the juror for the prizes (artists are selected for the show by a separate panel).

Feliz Navidad!

"Family Tree," oil on linen, 24x36 inches by David FeBland

Home cooking

Since tonight is Nochebuena, I've been preparing a classic Nochebuena Cuban feast for the in-laws. One of the key ingredients in the 24 hour marinade for Cuban roast pork is orange juice.

When I was looking for the orange juice (I swear we had some) and couldn't find any, my wife suggested that I substitute it with some diet Pineapple soda that we happened to have in the cupboard.

As I dug out some oranges to get the juice out of them the old-fashioned way, I thought to myself that it is no wonder that one doesn't see too many Swedish restaurants around.

The fare for tonight:

Cuban Roasted Pork
Mariquitas with Mojo Sauce for Dipping
Sweet Corn Tamales
Broiled Yucca with Garlic Mojo
Broiled Ňame with Olive Oil
Moros y Cristianos (Rice and Black Bean Soup)
Cuban Nochebuena Salad

And from our family to all: a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Terrific 2010 to all!

Cudlin on The Year in Museums

The disconnect comes when one considers the exhibitions that D.C. museums actually offered this year. These mostly reflected the artworld’s fascination with cranky homebodies, curious characters, and misunderstood geniuses—no interactive cafes or love-ins by the balloon tent to be found. 2009 was a year full of retrospectives for artists who stayed home, keeping their distance from the larger discussions that were shaping life and culture around them. These are artists who seem to suggest that art is necessarily a private experience, meant for those who are sensitive to an extraordinary degree.

Jeffry Cudlin offers a very interesting article on our area's museums. Read it in the CP here.

On the subject of the City Paper: I have been stunned to see the huge difference in visual arts coverage that happened to the CP in the three years that I was gone from the DC area.

When I left, one could count on the CP to deliver a constant flow of reviews and mini reviews every week; Cudlin and others covered museums and galleries, and Jacobson covered photography shows.

Now Cudlin does 2-3 articles a year on museums, and the rest of the visual arts coverage has been decimated to a trickle. It is sad to see this happen, because the CP once filled the huge void that is the visual arts coverage by the WaPo and the Times.

Maybe I'm being myopic, but I've noticed no less coverage of music, bars, movies and theatre in the CP, so as usual, I wonder why coverage of art galleries and museums has been reduced so much?

Call For Artists

Hamiltonian Artists is now accepting applications for the So-Hamiltonian Fellowship program 2010.

The application Process opened on December 14th, 2009 and closes on February 28th, 2010. For more information on how to apply, please visit this website.

Wanna see Tim Tate's apartment?

From the Washington Post: Click here.

Dialogues on Mexican Photography at the Mexican Cultural Institute

By Bruce McKaig

The title, Dialogues on Mexican Photography applies to both exhibitions currently at the Mexican Cultural Institute. On the ground floor, there is a sampling of earlier and recent historical works from the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City. On the fourth floor, there is a selection of contemporary works by artists represented by the Galeria OMR also in Mexico City.

Considered independently, each show examines photographic explorations of place and identity in Mexico. When considered in tandem, they also set a stage to reexamine identity at a more ambitious level.

The ground floor galleries present an exhibition of 60 works by over thirty artists from the collection of the MOMA in Mexico City. Given the vast and deep photographic explorations in Mexico since the advent of the medium, it is no surprise that Osbaldo Sanchez, Director of the MOMA, and Inaki Herranz, co-curator of this exhibition, had access to ample works from which to chose. Nearly 60 works by five contemporary artists are displayed on the fourth floor, curated by Patricia Ortiz Monasterio, director of the prestigious Galeria OMR.

Graciela Iturbide, Mujer Angel c.1980
These hors d’oeuvre exhibitions, independently curated and structured, do not try to exhaustively cover the topics they introduce. When initially shown in Mexico City, the MOMA exhibit included some works that for various practical considerations did not travel to DC. Monasterio curated the contemporary works not from the at-large art world in Mexico but from the pool of artists that her gallery represents.

Both self-sufficient exhibits pack a substantial amount of visual and intellectual dialogue in to just a few rooms. However, an additional dialogue arises if we take a minute to compare and contrast the two exhibitions. The juxtaposition explores more than how photography or Mexico – or Mexican -- has changed over the past one hundred years. It explores how the very concept of identity has shifted from geographically based to time based, a temporal not spatial sense of self.

The wall text for the MOMA exhibit (there is little to no text in the contemporary show upstairs) enlightens the viewer to thoughts, trends, dynamics over the past century that unite or divide artists as they worked and public as they observed. The MOMA images are organized thematically rather than chronologically or geographically. The Language of Pure Forms mentions how photographers sought innovative ways to explore identity and propose, new ways to represent place. The Portrait as Symbolic Act explains that the basic function of a portrait is to introduce ourselves to the larger world. The Eternal Reinvention of the Landscape groups photographs that use the landscape to reflect the intellectual ferment of the time, the existential and political expressions of the era, to nourish codes of identity or geographic mythology. Other themes point out the use of purity versus propaganda, of the photo-story, of performance.

Carry the structure, images, and texts of the MOMA works upstairs to look at the contemporary works and a dialogue between the two exhibitions, and between the past and current centuries, begins. On one level, the contemporary works display a continued international influence, innovative ways to explore identity and purpose, to nourish codes of identity, to use psychology or performance. On a different level, the contemporary works illustrate an international presence not limited to changing content, technique or aesthetic. They also illustrate how international influence itself has become the contemporary reference material for place and identity, how international connectivity provokes more thought about time than place.


Mauricio Alejo, Pinzas, c.2005
The contemporary artists use photography, but only as one ingredient in a multipart recipe of art, technique and thought. Mauricio Alejo’s staged and ephemeral sculptures demonstrate an individualistic gesture in various quotidian spaces, but the works are apparently made to last just long enough to be photographed. These images are not of monuments that exemplify an era’s achievements or failures. They are moments when an individual manifested, as if such a moment is itself monumental, or good enough, self-sufficient. The assumption that none of those spaces persist in that state provokes thoughts on time and how things – the artist, the place, the viewer – have changed since the manifest moment’s demise. Laureana Toledo’s time-lapse videos of building facades certainly do not emphasize the significance of any individual. The pieces do not explore who people are, they explore moments people live – or, better stated, suggest that people are the moments that they live. Period. Rafael Lozano-Henner’s use of surveillance cameras and anonymous performers, while infused with humor, relegates an individual’s presence to a fleeting effort to be seen -- not heard, not counted, just seen. Briefly. “Portrait” here does not introduce oneself to the larger world, it splices oneself into it. Briefly. If one of the many dialogues in the ground floor MOMA works is over purity versus propaganda, both thoughts have slipped through the cracks by the fourth floor, melting into an amorphous foundation whose principle interest is now explored by how it moves, not what it is.

Dialogues in Mexican Photography, in juxtaposing these two exhibits, becomes a dialogue in historical identity, a dialogue more about time than a dialogue over time. Twentieth century artists in Mexico left a rich visual legacy, sometimes stereotypical, sometimes poetic, sometimes prescriptive as much as descriptive, of what made Mexican not, for instance, Bosnian. The contemporary artists’ works are more an exploration of what it is to be in the here-and-now and not, for instance, lasting.

Where: Mexican Cultural Institute 2829 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009

When: November 13th 2009 – January 30th 2010, M-F 10am – 6pm, Sat 10am

New Richmond, VA art gallery

Former DC gallerina Heather Russell will be opening Russell/Projects in Richmond, VA this coming January with a show titled VANITAS, the gallery’s inaugural exhibition.

This exhibition acts as the first solo exhibition for emerging artist Helena Wurzel. The artist’s oeuvre includes oil paintings on canvas and handcut paper collages. Wurzel explores the physical and emotional demands and influences of popular culture placed on young women to ‘be perfect’ by transforming every-day moments of herself and her friends into both contemplative and celebratory glimpses of private rituals and relationships.

Receptions for the artist will be on Thursday, January 21st & Friday, January 22nd, 2010.


Do I Look Expensive? by Helena Wurzel

What is disability? An International Call for Postcards

The deadline for receipt of postcards is February 5, 2010.

VSA arts invites your participation in a collaborative art project. They’re taking a creative approach to investigate the different ways people interpret the same word: disability.

The call is open to everyone around the world—people of different cultures, ethnicities, geographic locations, and abilities. You do not have to consider yourself an “artist” to participate. VSA arts will curate an exhibition, both online and in Washington, D.C., to represent the submissions as part of the 2010 International VSA arts Festival held June 6-12, 2010.

Please contact Liza Key, Visual Arts Coordinator, at efkey@vsarts.org to receive a shipment of printed calls for the project (available while supplies last).

Additional copies of the postcard and alternative formats are uploaded to the site: www.vsarts.org/postcardproject

The Camargo Foundation Academic and Artistic Fellowships

The application deadline is January 12, 2010. The Camargo Foundation is now accepting applications from composers, writers, and visual artists pursuing specific projects.

The interdisciplinary residency program is intended to give Fellows the time and space they need to realize their projects. The Foundation's hillside campus overlooks the Mediterranean Sea in Cassis, France; it includes fully furnished apartments, a reference library, and art/music studios. Fellows are provided with self catering accommodation on campus. A stipend of $1,500 is also available. Fellowships are from mid-September to mid-December, or mid-January to mid-April. Qualified candidates from all countries and nationalities are encouraged to apply; proficiency in English is a requirement. For more information, please consult their web site here or write to apply@camargofoundation.org.

Do artists feel isolated in DC?

Good discussion going on the above subject here, with loads of good points and ideas.

In one of the posts in the above subject, a bit of news revealed by Kriston when he posts:

"Regarding the Corcoran: Corc curator of contemporary art Sarah Newman says that the Corc's new contemporary gallery, which opens in the fall with a show of work by Spencer Finch, will not feature DC-area artists as a part of its mission."

There you have it.

Snowcalypse


That's the view in our backyard during the snow storm of '09. And darn it, somehow the Soviet Socialist Republic of Montgomery County got a plow through around midnight on Sunday and now the streets are cleared and I have no excuse to hang around the house all day.

Community

One the artists visited by Mera Rubell during her 36 studio visit has stated that "When she went on about how hard it must for me to be working without a community she said 'by community I mean working without several writers writing about your work'"

See what I mean? This woman already knows one of the key ailments of the DC art scene.

The hottest new thing in painting is 94

After six decades of very private painting, Ms. Herrera sold her first artwork five years ago, at 89. Now, at a small ceremony in her honor, she was basking in the realization that her career had finally, undeniably, taken off. As cameras flashed, she extended long, Giacomettiesque fingers to accept an art foundation’s lifetime achievement award from the director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Her good friend, the painter Tony Bechara, raised a glass. “We have a saying in Puerto Rico,” he said. “The bus — la guagua — always comes for those who wait.”

And the Cuban-born Ms. Herrera, laughing gustily, responded, “Well, Tony, I’ve been at the bus stop for 94 years!”

Since that first sale in 2004, collectors have avidly pursued Ms. Herrera, and her radiantly ascetic paintings have entered the permanent collections of institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and the Tate Modern. Last year, MoMA included her in a pantheon of Latin American artists on exhibition. And this summer, during a retrospective show in England, The Observer of London called Ms. Herrera the discovery of the decade, asking, “How can we have missed these beautiful compositions?”

Read the New York Times story about Cuban-born Carmen Herrera, the newly-discovered wunderkind of painting.

Mera Rubell in my Studio (Last Part)

Part I here and Part II here and Part III here.

As I noted yesterday, the studio visit was done, and Mera Rubell and her entourage was about to leave (I think I was the last studio visited), when she turned around just outside the door and asked "So what do you think of the Washington art scene?"

If you are a reader of this blog you already know the answer that that immense question, and I began to answer her. I told her how DC area artists were very lucky in many aspects and that (in the opinion of a world traveler and frequent flyer with an interest in art scenes) this region had one of the most vibrant and best art scenes anywhere in the world. I also told her about how diverse the artwork and artists were, and I told her about Art-o-Matic as a magnet for gathering artistic energy. I told her about the wealth of exhibiting opportunities that abound in our region. I told her about the many artists' groups that deliver support and community and advice to local artists. I told her about the strong sense of artistic energy that soaks into everything around the nation's capital.

She asked me about the local museums and I began to peel the scab from the other side of the coin, the negative side of the DC art scene; the side that outsiders see; the side that many focus on; the side that symbiots feed upon.

I then submitted my opinion, based on my observations and discussions with artists and dealers over the years, about the lack of attention that local museum curators give to our area's artists.

I suggested that it was easier for a local museum curator to take a cab to Dulles to catch a flight to Berlin to go see the work of an emerging artist than to catch a cab to Georgetown to do the same. I offered that this was perhaps because our museums saw themselves as "national" or "international" museums rather than a city museum and thus ignored their own back garden.

I also offered that the new Katzen Arts Center was a refreshing change from that and that it was the only local museum to have a connection to the local art scene. Several entourage voices agreed with me and explained to Mera about Jack Rasmussen's (Katzen Director and Curator) deep DC area roots.

She asked me about the Washington Post and about specific writers there. "This is an informed person beyond one's wildest guess," I thought to myself as I unloaded with all cannons on the local newspaper.

I described for her how the Post has decimated its visual arts coverage in the last few years. She asks me informed questions about specific writers. I realize that this is a woman who already knows more about many of the inside parts of the DC art scene than most of the writers tasked with writing about it.

I give her my opinions and back it with specific events: the critic who once wrote about a print without realizing that it was a copy of a well-known Picasso painting - I give it as an example of that critic's suspicious art history background; or the writer whose snarky writing has improved over the years, but still betrays the writer's scant training in writing about art. I talk about the writer who got caught discussing a show that he'd never been to; I mention the ones that got fired because of ethical issues. I mention the art critic who covers New York galleries but seldom DC galleries.

DC is a small town and everyone knows about all that happens here. And you reap what you sow and right now some pens filled with apathy and ennui and snarkyness are reaping the caustic results of my opinions. I'm back in the groove on a different, if favorite subject of mine, and I've got the ears of one of the world's most influential art persons.

I'm talking too fast, but I know that she's absorbing it all. She asks me about a specific critic and wants to know what I think of the critic's writing. I give her an honest answer, which comes out somewhat more positive than I would have expected.

"Is that writer the best one to write about what goes on in DC and about DC artists?" comes the question, at least I hear it that way.

"No," I answer very quickly.

I predict her next question when she asks, "then who?"

I give her a name, and I am pleased that several voices in her entourage, agree with me immediately.

"Then why isn't that writer covering this event?" she asks of them, not me.

Someone explains about the writer recusing from covering the event because of a relationship with one of the artists. "That's stupid," she opines, "the critic could have just recused from covering that artist." [Update: Since then I have been told that this wasn't the case and that the critic in question didn't recuse himself].

I keep to myself how in DC it is a certain impossibility for writers and critics not to have some sort of relationship with some of the artists they cover.

Someone adds that the writer in question is the only one who really has a finger on the pulse of DC area artists.

She soaks it all in, but I suspect that she may be asking questions to which she already knows the answer.

They leave and I'm on Cloud 9 and I play the Beatles' White Album with a smile on my face.

This electric person is going to do wonders for DC artists and erase decades of neglect from our press and from our museums... Helter Skelter baby!

Mera Rubell in my Studio (Next to the last Part)

Part I here and Part II here.

And so I was in the position where I suspect every artist on this planet would love to be: Ubercollector Mera Rubell and a small entourage were in my studio, waiting for me to show them my art work.

But I am of Cuban ancestry, so rather than showing work right away, I started talking about it.

And because I am of Cuban ancestry, before I started to talk about the artwork, I talked about what led to the artwork.

I told them that when I found out on Thursday that I had been selected to be visited by Rubell, I was ecstatic and glowing with anticipation.

And then I told them that I had immediately realized that I had no current work to show them, because all of my work is in storage in Miami waiting to be shown at the Miami International Art Fair.

"Do you know about that fair?" I asked possibly the world's leading art fair goer. She said yes.

"So I thought that maybe I could ask you to visit me at the fair and see the work." I paused, and everyone looked a little alarmed, mostly me at seeing them a little alarmed.

"You have nothing to show us?" Someone asked.

"Yes, I do." I answered. "Because what I decided to do when I realized that I had no work to show you, was to create as many drawings as I could between then and now. And so between Friday at 3:30 AM and this morning at 9:00 AM I created everything that you will see today."

Rubell looked a little amazed. "You mean that you did all the work in the last 36 hours?" She asked.

I said yes.

"You see," she turned to the entourage, suddenly filled with vigor and energy, "this is the first artist who crated new artwork just for the visit!"

"Ahhh..." I stammered a little embarrassed. "I had to! I had nothing to show you." But I was inwardly feeling that things were going well now.

"What have you got to show me?" She said, the studio suddenly bristling with her energy. "This is a dynamo in human form," I thought to myself.

And yet, I delayed a few precious moments more, and then really started talking about what drives my imagery.

I talked about how I had discovered the Picts in my childhood reading and then re-discovered them in Scotland when I lived in that breathtaking nation from 1989-1992.

I told them about the research that I had done as an amateur historian on them and their tattoos, and I showed them some examples of Pictish artwork that I had pinned to my studio wall.


In this photo by Lisa Gold, Rubell is looking at me describing the tattoo artwork of the ancient Picts, as I weave a artistic genetic line to my current work.

I described how a few years ago I had a show where it was all about Pictish art. And then I led the discussion, minutes gone by, to the trail of that artwork to my current work.

I'm a good talker, and I think that they were all interested in this historic genetic line that I was weaving. No one was yawning, and the room was still charged with electricity.

I explained how the tattoos married with my interest in narrative art, and art that tells a story or makes a point, backs up an agenda or delivers a social commentary.

And then I turned over the gigantic drawing of Che Guevara with the writing on the wall behind the Argentinean icon.

"Asere, Si o No?" 19"x48" Charcoal on Paper
As I've described before, this is a huge charcoal drawing of Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna Lynch. Che is to the left in a very Christ-like pose. behind him, a slogan or graffiti on the wall asks the question in Cuban slang: "Asere, Si o No?" which means "Friend, Yes or No? The capital letters answer the question by spelling out ASESINO or assasin. I explained all these Cuban nuances to the Spanish language and my agenda behind it.

"You did this in the last 36 hours?" Someone asked a little quizzical.

"You see!, You see!" beamed Rubell, this is what I'm all about!" she gestured at the piece as I discussed my historical affinity to Che Guevara, both as a hero to some and as a mass murderer and racist to others. Rubell noted that I had captured a strong sense of the zealous Maoist in his eyes and face.

"What else is there?"

The next few pieces went fast. With each I explained what the drawing was all about. I discussed the intimacy of drawing the viewer close. I discussed humor in art when I showed them the Superman drawing. I discussed being very tired and possibly hallucinating when I did the "Fuck Elections" Obama drawing. I discussed the nuance of words when I showed them the "Age of Obama - Nobel Peace Prize" drawing.

"Is that Catherine Opie?" Asked Rubell when she looked at "True Believer." I told her no (the model is actually a local Sunday School teacher). "She really looks like Catherine Opie!" she commented. Note to self: contact Catherine Opie and see what she thinks of the likeness.

I was in a groove, and I can't remember why, but there was a lot of laughter all the time. I think that I asked them if they were laughing so much because they were delirious from lack of sleep. They exploded in laughter at that. I laughed too, because I was indeed super tired from the last 36 hours, but I was also feeling quite on track.

I could sense that Rubell really liked my drawings, but that she also liked the reason for them, the "why I draw this" idea. Somewhere in there I talked about conceptual art and how often the idea is more interesting than the final product and people agreed with me.

More talking, more good vibes.

"Awright," she says, "can you step out for a minute?"

I leave them and go upstairs. "How's it going?" asks my wife.

"I think it's going great," I answer as a series of raucous laughter blasts emanate from the basement. My wife, Little Junes and I look at each other and wait.

An eternity goes by before I am called down to the basement.

"We were wondering," says Rubell with a devilish look in her eyes - this woman is not tired, at least not now, after a grueling 36 hours marathon of studio visits; that much is clear to the most casual observer.

"We were wondering if..." she pauses, "considering that you were a Naval intelligence officer... if you had done some intelligence preparations ahead of time and had all these drawings in your flat files and just pulled them out just before we came?"

I could see a glint of devilishness in her eyes and I wasn't really worried that they thought that was the case, and so I easily denied the issue. Nothing like having the truth on your side.

"Raise your right hand!" ordered Rubell, her Russian-ness suddenly coming to the front. I did.

Next I was made to swear that all the work had been created in the last 36 hours, while Jennie Yang recorded the event with her camera. For a moment there I flashed back to my days in the Navy, with the myriads of re-enlistments and ceremonies where oaths are taken.

But I was in a good place, and my tired bones and eyes were testament to the truth of my creation of these works in the last 36 hours. The swearing was easy, with the relaxing backing of the truth.

We all filed out of the studio. On the way out she looked at a handmade Valentine Day's card from my wife that I pinned by the door. "This is a love nest," she stated, "another love nest..."

"We'll let you know soon," said the WPA's Lisa Gold, efficient and precise to the last minute, and reading my mind as it wondered "Am I in?"

We got upstairs, and started to say goodbyes... it all felt good. And at this point I was just glad that this electrical woman had decided to work her tuchus off and charge up the artists of the DC area.

"So what do you think of the Washington art scene?" asked Mera as she prepared to leave the house.

She turned and looked at me, and I began to answer her.

More tomorrow...