Jerry Saltz on Bravo's Work of Art

But Work of Art reminded me that there are many ways to become an artist and many communities to be an artist in. The show also changed the way I think about my job. Over the ten weeks it aired, hundreds of strangers stopped me on the street to talk about it. In the middle of nowhere, I’d be having passionate discussions about art with laypeople. It happened in the hundreds, then thousands of comments that appeared below the recaps I wrote for nymag.com. Many of these came from people who said they’d never written about art before. Most were as articulate as any critic.

Read Saltz's thoughts on the show here.

MPAartfest Artists announced

MPAartfest juror, Trudi Van Dyke, has selected forty-four artists to participate in the fourth annual MPAartfest on Sunday, October 3, 10:30 am - 4:30 pm in McLean Central Park.

Ms. Van Dyke, an independent curator and fine arts consultant said "As always, the MPA is a magnet for all good things art and the applications submitted to MPArtfest were no exception. It was both an outstanding opportunity and awesome responsibility to select from a broad pool of artists. I am looking forward to joining the community in attending this great festival." Of the selected artists, twelve are from the McLean/Great Falls area and sixteen are new to MPAartfest.

MPAartfest transforms McLean Central Park into a lively art gallery featuring the sale of the fine arts and crafts of 44 artists. MPAartfest includes fun activities for both children and adults, as well as live music and refreshments. There is no charge to attend MPAartfest, although a donation of $5 is greatly appreciated which helps support McLean Project for the Arts and this special community event.

MPAartfest artists for 2010:

Banks, Jill -- oil painting
Barbieri, Ann -- abstract painting and drawing
Brown, Tavia -- jewelry
Bucci, Thomas -- printmaking monoprints
Burke, Cynthia --painting
Burris, Eric -- mokume gane jewelry
Campello, F. Lennox -- drawing
Cassidy, Katie --oil and acrylic painting
Ciminio, Lisa --jewelry
Deans, Karen -- oil on panel
Emrich, Hanna -- mixed media and collage
Farrow-Savos, Elissa -- sculpture
Fields, Laurie -- mixed media paintings
Ganley, Betty -- traditional watercolor
Green, Michele -- landscape painting
Grisdela, Cindy -- quilting
Hachey, Hilary -- jewelry
Hatfield, Jennifer Bernhard -- whimsical ceramics
Hubacher, Karen -- mixed media paintings and collographs
Jensen, Jill -- handpainted and handprinted wallhangings, scarves, journals
Jolles, Ronni -- layered paper and pastel
Katz, Lori -- clay
Knott, Greg -- photography
Lansaw, Julie Lea -- landscape paintings
Lester, Cherie -- painting/collage
Mahan, Val -- nature photography
McGihon, Marty -- mixed media
Michelle, Jenae -- fiber -- one of a kind handbags
Nimic, Gisele -- ceramics/collage
Paredes, AnaMarie -- metal sculpture
Peery, Laura -- ceramics
Reiber Harris, Kristin -- drawings/monoprints
Rosenstein, Lisa -- mixed media paintings -- white on white
Rosenstein, Loren -- silk scarves
Rubel, Erika -- mixed media
Saenger, Peter -- ceramic
Singh, J.J. -- jewelry
Slack, Connie -- abstract paintings
Staiger, Marsha -- abstract collage
Trump, Novie -- sculpture
Tsai, Irene -- chinese watercolors on rice paper
Vardell, Mollie -- oil paintings
Williams, Ann Marie -- abstract paintings
Woody, Curtis -- mixed media paintings

For more information about McLean Project for the Arts and MPAartfest, please visit www.mpaart.org or call 703-790-1953.

Airborne


Heading back home today... busy week next week with an opening and then an arts panel... more later.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 12, 2010

Gallery West in Old Town Alexandria has a call for artists for their 14th Annual National Juried Show (Exhibit Dates: February 9–March 6, 2011).

The all media show will be juried by yours truly and awards to total $1,000. Click here to download the prospectus.

E. Carmen Ramos is new SAAM Curator for Latino Art

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has appointed E. Carmen Ramos as its curator for Latino art. Ramos will be responsible for acquiring artworks for the museum’s permanent collection and producing a major exhibition and catalog based on the museum’s Latino holdings for fall 2013. She begins work on Oct. 12.

“I am thrilled that E. Carmen Ramos is bringing her expertise and insights here to help us feature Latino artists who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into vivid artworks,” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “These stories are culturally specific, but also American and universal.”

I'm a little confused by Ms. Broun's comment. It seems to set a niche for what Latino artwork will be collected, specifically those "who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into vivid artworks."

As I've discussed many times in this blog and many other places before, I am not a big fan of segregating artists by race, or as in this case, by ethnicity.

And if I understand the current meaning of "Latino" these days, it attempts to define people of ancestry links to one of the Latin American nations south of the border and in the Caribbean, while excluding all the nations of British, Dutch or French colonial ancestry (even though the French are technically "Latins"). I'm still a little confused if a "Latino" is an American with Latin American ancestry, or if it also includes people from those Latin American nations. In other words, are Uruguayans "Latinos" or Uruguayans, or both? Certainly Spaniards, Portuguese and Italians (who make up most of Argentina) are not Latinos, since they're Europeans, right?

This is a silly label which falls apart very quickly when truly examined, and actually reveals the huge cultural ignorance that we have about what constitutes and makes up ethnicity and race as opposed to nationality. So if you're born in a Latin American nation, then you're a Latino under this uniquely American ethnic label.

Never mind if your parents were born in Japan and immigrated to some South American nation (there are more Japanese immigrants in South America than in the US), or born in Wales and immigrated to Argentina (there are more people of Welsh ancestry in Argentina than in Wales). Or my personal favorite, the millions of Native American tribes, who find themselves labeled as "Latinos" in the US instead of Maya, or Inca, or whatever Native American nation they belong to.

But that's another issue.

Back to collecting "Latino artists who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into vivid artworks."

I'm pretty sure that Ms. Broun didn't really mean it the way that this came out, but to me it shows an immensely limited view or expectation of the artwork produced by we have labeled in this nation as "Latino" artists. As a stroll through any major Latin American museum reveals to the most casual observer (just like any museum in Europe or the US) Latin American artists explore all sorts of things for the inspiration for their work, and not all deliver "vivid artworks" and not all use their "personal experiences and cultural heritage" as a driver for their artwork, at least all the time.

Not all Latino artists are Frida Kahloesque in their artwork, and certainly not all Latino artwork is "culturally specific." I'm having a hard time finding a personal experience, or cultural heritage, or even any vividity in the work of (for example) Guillermo Kuitca (soon coming to the Hirshhorn - October 21, 2010 to January 16, 2011).

I know I am being pedantic, but statements like this do reach a niche in my consciousness that tend to bug me more than they should. It is driven by a firm belief that museums should collect artwork based on the merit of the artist and the art, and not on the artist's ethnic, sex or racial background. And I really think that the statement from Ms. Broun have the unintended consequence of revealing a rather galvanized and incorrect view of what drives artists.

I'm not sure if I have made my point clear, as it is a confusing issue. Perhaps the best way to showcase this issue is to pretend that SAAM was hiring a new curator for Nordic art. This would immediately cause some confusion in defining Nordic (as there is confusion in defining Latino). Are Germans Nordic or Teutons? How about Finns? certainly not Laplanders, but they are also Finnish. And Ms. Broun's statement would read:

“I am thrilled that E. Karmen Ramosdottir is bringing her expertise and insights here to help us feature Nordic artists who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into brooding artworks,” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “These stories are culturally specific, but also American and universal.”

In any event, F. Lennox Campello welcomes E. Carmen Ramos to the DMV.

Set aside September 23rd!

First Campello gallery exhibition in DC area in 4 years!

Opening on Sept 20 and through Oct. 15 I will be having my first substantial exhibition in the DC area in four years. The show will be at the School of Art & Design at Montgomery College's King Street Gallery, located in the beautiful Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street in the Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus.

There will be all new drawings in my constant exploration of using the human figure to deliver social, historical, satirical, mythological and political messages. The show also includes work by the immensely talented Johanna Mueller, who was one of my top picks from the last Artomatic and whom I predict will steal the show, as well as Leah Frankel and Leslie Shellow, both of whom are new artists to me.

The show is curated by Dr. Claudia Rousseau and is:

An exhibit of works on paper depicting mythical themes, or themes connoting transformations—mythical, magical or organic.

The exhibit will include prints, drawings and installation works employing paper with wax and other media.

The opening is Thursday, September 23, 5:00 – 7:30 pm. I expect to see all of you there to make me look good...

Happy Independence Day to El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala

These nations and others in the new world declared independence from the mighty and most ancient Kingdom of Spain on this day in 1821.

Opportunity for DMV Artists

Deadline: October 30, 2010

The BlackRock Center for the Arts has a huge gorgeous gallery space and their call for artists for the 2011 art season is now up.

The 2011 Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for original artwork only. This call will cover exhibits in the gallery from October 2011 through August 2012. An exhibit may include on applicant or a combination of applicants, based on the judgement of jurors. The jury panel is comprised of Kathleen Moran, Jack Rasmussen and yours truly.

Details here.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Counterpoint, an exhibition of 35 paintings by Lynn Rybicki and 15 paintings by Matthew Langley, is currently on display at the U.S. District Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, from August 6 through October 29.

A reception to meet the artists will take place on September 16, from 5-6:30 p.m., at the courthouse, 6500 Cherrywood Lane, Greenbelt, MD.

Rybicki, a Baltimore artist, paints lyrical abstractions based on the landscape, while Langley, now based in New York, and formerly in Washington, DC, organizes shapes and colors around the structure of the grid.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: October 17, 2010

The Greater Reston Arts Center is requesting proposals for solo and/or group exhibitions for periods of approximately 4-6 weeks during the 2012 season.

GRACE's gallery is one of the most beautiful and flexible contemporary art spaces in the metropolitan area. With moveable walls and an open, hexagonal floor plan, the space is reconfigured for each show.

New this year - proposals will be accepted from artists living or working in a wider geographic area: Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia.

Deadline October 17, 2010

All proposals for exhibitions at the Greater Reston Arts Center must be submitted online through this this website.

What's up with Scope?

The artsphere seems to be ripe with all kinds of issues dealing what has been described as a "free fall" by the once mighty Scope Art Fair.

Art Fag City earlier reported on the complains (and astounding responses to them) by exhibitors at Scope Basel, and Scope also canceled its recent Scope Hamptons fair.

Last year I also heard a lot of grumbling from some of the exhibitors at Scope Miami, and at least one gallery told me that they wouldn't come back as they've found that some of the "lesser known" satellite fairs were doing equally well (or bad) for them for less money and hassle.

Clearly the economy, plus the end of the good times when all you had to do was show up at an art fair and watch the art fly off the walls, perhaps coupled with Scope still obsessed in showing some of the truly infantile work that was cool a few years ago but these days doesn't cut the mustard for sales, may all add up to why this once mighty fair may be suffering.

It takes a lot to build a good reputation for an art fair, but only a couple of reports like this one or this one, for blood to hit the water and the sharks begin to circle.

Paradoxically, there will still be more than 20 art fairs in Miami this coming December, and some fairs (such as Art Miami, the dean of all Miami fairs) seem to be doing well and have become increasingly difficult (for galleries) to get in.

This year four Miami art fairs will share the same block area in Wynwood: Scope, Art Miami, Red Dot and Art Asia. Their huge tents will be side by side, and if their directors truly wanted to make sure that visitors to the fair get their bang for the buck, they'd honor an entry pass to any fair at all fairs. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and until the economy bounces back and people start buying art again, the huge fees and costs associated with doing an art fair justify trying everything and anything to increase foot traffic in the hope that sales will accompany some of the feet.

Airborne


Heading to the Left Coast... more later.

Cover

Just received the draft cover for my 100 Washington Artists book. The publisher declined my suggestion of one art image on the cover and instead is opting for a collage of thumbnails of artists' portraits of their choosing.

Just to save me some headaches in future policing of the book, I asked them to replace two portraits that they had chosen with portraits of other artists, also of their choosing. Every cause has an effect.

Wanna go to a Chevy Chase opening this week?

Celebrating the coming of fall, Zenith Gallery will present "Autumn Equinox" at Chevy Chase Pavilion, featuring artists that are both new to Zenith, and those popular among the gallery’s clients and patrons. The show of sculpture, painting and three-dimensional media works will open with a Meet the Artists Reception on Wednesday, September 15, 6 – 8 PM, and remain on display through November 28.

The show includes work by Rosetta DeBerardinis, Joan Konkel, Barbara Liotta, Carol Newmyer, Anita Philyaw, Ellen Sinel, Paula Stern, Joyce Wellman and Paul Martin Wolff.

Wanna go to an opening this week?

At Gateway this week

The Gateway Gallery and Gift Shop, is hosting its first event, the Fruit of the Vine exhibit from September 8 through October 3. The exhibit features work inspired by wine, grapes and vineyards, in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, wood turning, pewter, fiberarts and jewelry.

The public is invited to a “Meet the Artists” reception at the gallery Friday September 17 from 6 pm to 9 pm, to chat with the artists about their work and enjoy refreshments. The Gateway Gallery is a new artists’ cooperative showcasing the work of thirty local artists. The gallery is located in Round Hill, Virginia in a bright and inviting space in the renovated Hill High Orchard Building, just west of Round Hill on Route 7 and next door to the Round Hill Arts Center, the Bogati Bodega Winery and the Hill High Country Store and Pie Shop. The Gateway Gallery is open Wednesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays from 11am to 6 pm. More information is available at www.thegatewaygallery.com.

Wanna go to an opening this week?

The Brentwood Arts Exchange at the Gateway Arts Center has Intersecciones Culturales: Voces de America Latina y el Caribe / Cultural Crossroads: Voices from Latin America and the Caribbean, an exhibition featuring artwork by Felix Angel, Joan Belmar, Amber Robles-Gordon, and Rafael Corzo. Curated by Carmen Toruella-Quander, and assisted by Ricardo Penuela-Pava.

Dates: September 15 - October 15, 2010.
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 18. 5:00 - 8:00pm

Shame on TSU

Two murals painted by a Texas Southern University student 40 years ago were ordered destroyed by school President John Rudley, who disagreed with the university museum director's opinion that the artworks' historical significance made them worth saving.

Workers used white paint last week to cover the murals painted by Harvey Johnson, who retired from TSU in 2007 after 34 years as a professor.

Read the story from the Chron.com here. "... the school had lost two significant pieces of artwork, said Alvia J. Wardlaw, art history professor and university museum director."

Lest We Forget

"Studio View, 9/11"
Oil on Canvas c. 9/11/2001 by David FeBland

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Conner Contemporary Art has three concurrent solo exhibitions featuring a sculptural installation and opening night performance by John Kirchner, a new cycle of oil paintings by John Stark and recent video by Susan MacWilliam. The opening reception + performance is Saturday, September 11th from 6-8pm.

Tomorrow: Do The Art Bus

In celebration of the opening of the 2010 fall art season, three of the DMV's gallery art destinations will be connected by the ART BUS for a ton of gallery openings on Saturday, September 11, 2010.

Free Shuttle service will be provided between Logan Circle, U Street, & the H Street/Atlas District, sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

• 1515 14th Street NW bus stop servicing:
Adamson Gallery, 6:30 - 8:30, 1515 14th Street NW
Curators Office, 6 - 8, 1515 14th Street NW
HEMPHILL, 6:30 – 8:30, 1515 14th Street NW
Gallery Plan b, 6 - 8, 1530 14th Street, NW
Irvine Contemporary 6 - 8, 1412 14th Street NW

• 1353 U Street NW bus stop servicing:
Morton Fine Arts, 6:30 – 8:30, 1781 Florida Ave, NW (between 18th and U St.)
Project 4 Gallery, 6:30 – 8:30, 1353 U Street NW

• 1358 Florida Avenue NE, bus stop servicing:
City Gallery, 6-9, 804 H St NE, 2nd Fl
Conner Contemporary, 6-8, 1358 Florida Avenue NE
Industry Gallery, 6-8, 1358 Florida Avenue NE, 2nd Fl
G Fine Art, 6:30-8:30, 1350 Florida Avenue NE

Jobs in the Arts

Associate Producer—Literary Management

Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a non-profit organization dedicated to making space for art, is accepting applications for the position of Source Festival Associate Producer—Literary Management. This part-time contract position collaborates with the Source Festival team to present a three- week Festival of new work. This position reports to the Director of Performing Arts.

Responsibilities

* Recruit and coordinate readers for Source Festival 10-Minute Plays & Full-Length Plays;
* Coordinate 10-minute play selection process including responding to all inquiries, collecting & tracking submissions;
* Manage relationships with playwrights, facilitate communication between playwrights & directors;
* Manage playwright hospitality for Full-Length Play Workshop Weekend and visiting playwrights during the Festival;

· Collaborate with Festival Producer & Production Manager to produce10-Minute Plays

* Support Creative Communities Fund selection committee by reading applications and weighing in prior to committee meeting;

* Recruit Front of House staff;
* Coordinate Front of House during Source Festival (June 11-July 3, 2011);
* Assist in execution of major Pre-Festival Events, Full-Length Play workshop weekend, First-Reads, Artistic Blind Date Check-ins, 10-Min Play Designer Runs, etc.; and
* Support general festival administration as needed.

Requirements

* Bachelor’s degree;
* Minimum of one year producing experience in commercial or non-profit performing arts organizations;
* Experience with contracts, casting, dramaturgy & working with artists;
* Superb writing, customer service and organizational skills, plus excellent computer skills;
* Flexible work schedule including some weekday, evenings and weekends; and
* Comfort in a cooperative environment that supports a broad range of artistic, cultural and social points of view.

Compensation: Fixed Fee Contract

Closing Date: September 28, 2010

How to apply:

To apply, submit a resume with cover letter to:

Cultural Development Corporation
Attn: Associate Producer Search
916 G Street NW | Washington, DC 20001
hr@culturaldc.org
F 202.315.1303


Associate Producer—Casting

Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a non-profit organization dedicated to making space for art, is accepting applications for the position of Source Festival Associate Producer—Casting. This part-time contract position collaborates with the Source Festival production team to present a three-week Festival of new work. This position reports to the Director of Performing Arts.

Responsibilities

* Manage casting for 18 10-Minute plays & three full-length plays including Full-Length Play Workshop Weekend;

· Attend LOWT Auditions & Non-Equity Auditions;

· Support Creative Communities Fund selection committee by reading applications and weighing in prior to committee meeting;

· Collaborate with Festival Producer & Production Manager to produce Artistic Blind Dates

* Assist in execution of Major Pre-Festival Events, Full-Length Play Workshop Weekend, First-Reads, ABD Check-ins, 10-Min Play Designer Runs, etc;

* Assist with recruiting Front of House staff; and

· Support general festival administration as needed.

Requirements

* Bachelor’s degree;
* Minimum of one year producing experience in commercial or non-profit performing arts organizations;
* Experience with contracts, casting, dramaturgy & working with artists;
* Superb writing, customer service and organizational skills, plus excellent computer skills;
* Flexible work schedule, including some weekdays, evening and weekend hours; and
* Comfort in a cooperative environment that supports a broad range of artistic, cultural and social points of view.

Compensation: Fixed Fee Contract

Closing Date: September 28, 2010

How to apply:

To apply, submit a resume with cover letter to:

Cultural Development Corporation
Attn: Associate Producer Search
916 G Street NW | Washington, DC 20001
hr@culturaldc.org
F 202.315.1303

Jury Duty

Yesterday I had the privilege and honor to jury the monthly show at the Art League in Alexandria. There were more than 700 entries!

This is always a tough job, as the Art League has so many talented members. It is always also a discovery for me, and what I did discover in this task was the amazing work of the Best of Show winner, Wendy Donahoe.

To say that the work is breath-taking in not only its technical facility, but also its ability to grasp a psychological moment from the subject, would be an understatement. More on all of this later when I have images and websites from the award winners.

The opening is tonight from 6:30 to 8:30pm with awards around 7:30pm. You can see the award winners and others here.

Wanna go to another Bethesda opening tomorrow?

One of the DMV's best-known photographers, Max MacKenzie, opens tomorrow in Bethesda's Fraser Gallery. The opening is from 6-9PM.

Wanna go to a Bethesda opening tomorrow?

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 12, 2010

Gallery West in Old Town Alexandria has a call for artists for their 14th Annual National Juried Show (Exhibit Dates: February 9–March 6, 2011).

The all media show will be juried by yours truly and awards to total $1,000. Click here to download the prospectus.

Star Wars Remix

Check more of them out here

Happy Independence Day to Brazil

The giant South American nation declared independence from the Kingdom of Portugal on this date in 1822.

The 2010 Trawick Prize Exhibition

I dropped by this weekend to see the current Trawick Prize show, now on exhibition at the former Heineman Myers gallery space in Bethesda. Since I was familiar with the artwork of several of the finalists, I was particularly interested in seeing the work of the new names in the finalists' list (new to me anyway).

Russian-born artist Milana Braslavsky won the "Young Artists Award" and her very interesting photographs follow Sigmund Freud's notion of the uncanny (unheimlich), or "the feeling one suffers when the familiar suddenly becomes foreign or the attractive becomes repulsive." Freud further adds by discussing "the idea of being robbed of one's eyes." This is a concept that repeats itself obsessively through Braslavsky's strangely elegant photos, specifically in the images where the subject covers her eyes with her own hair and other materials almost as if binding her face. This is a young artist to keep an eye on, and for beginner collectors, her work is a great starting place, and at $400 - $450 for a large framed photograph, are also quite a steal.

But perhaps the most interesting new discovery for me was Anne Chan's work which explores the slick metallic world that seems to surround us everywhere in this ever growing age of technology.

They are almost the photographic equivalent of David Smith's shiny metal sculptures from the 60's, but translated into a contemporary dialogue where technology manages to make its presence known in her almost abstract works.

Magnolia Laurie's four small oils on panel reminded me a little of Jessica Van Brakle's paintings, or perhaps what would happen if some of Brandon Morse's videos were collapsed into two-D paintings.

The $10,000 prizewinner was Sara Pomerance, whose Seinfeldian videos become the first of its genre to win the DMV's most prestigious art prize. It is a well-deserved award. I first saw Pomerance's video work when I was a juror for the Art DC fair (remember that?) a few years ago. Back then they stuck in my head, especially "Too Close."

Dan Steinhilber has now won the second prize at the Trawick's twice, and so I've got my money on Dan for next year. The minimalist beauty of his untitled piece of two plastic sheeting sheets stuck to the wall being held by static electricity is a prize to the eyes of followers of what a talented mind can do with nearly anything and everything.

The show is at the former Heineman Myers Gallery space at 4728 Hampden Lane in Bethesda. A public reception will be held on Friday, September 10, 2010 from 6-9pm in conjunction with the Bethesda Art Walk. The Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday from 12-6pm.

The Trawick Prize was established by local Bethesda business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company. The prize was awarded well over $200,000 to DMV artists since it was established at the beginning of the decade.

Happy camper

It's my birthday today and I must admit that I think that this is the happiest that I've ever been in all my of life.

Good thoughts and wishes for all. I wish you all a happy day.

Machete

The movie Machete, currently playing all over the place and directed by Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez is by far one of the most awful films that I have seen in years. Its only redeeming quality is that it allows the use of the word "Mexploitation," which is a very cool new word which showcases the ever amazing muscularity of the Englisg language.

Even though it is full of very talented and/or big name actors (De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Segal, Lindsay Lohan, etc.), it is not much more than a Mexicanized storyline (written by the director's cousin) along the lines of the gory, pre-Machete films (Planet Terror and Death Proof) by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

No vale la pena. Please don't make a hit out of this movie or we will be seeing an unending series of sequels.

Read Tricia Olszewski's review in the CP here and Michael O'Sullivan's review in the WaPo here.

Portraits of the Fallen

An artist named Kaziah Hancock paints portraits of fallen soldiers free of charge for their families as part of Project Compassion. Video by KARE 11/ Minneapolis/ St. Paul.

Thor Halvorssen on Cuba's Ladies in White

Thor Halvorssen is President of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum. He has a terrific article in the Huffington Post about Cuba's courageous Las Damas de Blanco and the repressive machinations of the Castro brothers.

"The freedom granted to those who should have never had it robbed from them is a welcome step. But the heart of the problem remains: the Castro brothers' tyranny is no different and international actors mustn't be fooled into believing that Raúl is any less of a despot than Fidel. He has inherited his brother's house of tyranny, and has changed nothing but the window dressing. And the curtains aren't white. They're red."

Read it here.

Some good shows at the Katzen

I'm going to be visiting the Katzen later today to see RE-VISION: American University Alumni, which was one of the exhibitions opening the 2010-2011 fall season of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center last Tuesday, August 31.

The exhibition, which closes with the end of AU’s family and alumni weekend on Sunday, October 24, showcases alumni across several generations—from those who graduated this year to those who studied under Luciano Penay (also opening an exhibition at the museum), Robert Gates, Helene Herzbrun, Ben L. Summerford, Robert D’Arista, and others in the AU Art Department’s first wave of faculty.

The exhibition includes more than 97 works of by 60 artists, each of whom is an AU alum. Jack Rasmussen, curator and director of the Museum, was one of the individuals tasked with jurying the show. To be considered, the work had to have been created no earlier than the year 2000.

"We were impressed by the 120 alums who submitted work," said Rasmussen, himself an AU alumnus. "Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough space to include them all, but the enthusiastic response by our alumni tells me this is a project to be revisited in the not-too-distant future."

In addition to RE-VISION: American University Alumni, three other exhibitions opened at the American University Museum on August 31: Luciano Penay: Time, News, Paintings, and Natural Forms, BG Muhn: Love Affair of the Empress and Alan Binstock: Way-Stations. Binstock is a former NASA architect who has been showing around the East Coast for the last two decades.

Norse Soul: the legacy of Edvard Munch, social democracy, old myths, anarchy, and death longings, which opened earlier this summer, is also be on display.

New drawing

Eve Running Away from Eden. 10 x 25 inches. Charcoal on paper, c. 2010 by F. Lennox Campello
This is "Eve Running Away from Eden." This is a new piece just finished, which will either be exhibited at the "Myth & Transformations" show at the School of Art & Design at Montgomery College's King Street Gallery, located in the beautiful Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street in the Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus (Opening on Thu., Sept. 23, 2010) or at the McLean Project for the Arts Aartfest, which is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of 40 local and regional visual artists. McLean Central Park will reverberate with the sights and sounds of art and music on Sunday, October 3rd at the 4th annual MPAartfest. Last year’s event drew 6,000 art and music devotees. Details here.

Eve Running Away from Eden (Detail). 10 x 25 inches. Charcoal on paper, c. 2010 by F. Lennox Campello

Gopnik on the Trawick Prize

The Washington Post's chief art critic reviews the Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, a.k.a. the Trawick Prize.

Sara Pomerance of Washington won the $10,000 "Best in Show" award. Read Gopnik's excellent take on the prizewinners here.

FYI to Blake: "Best in Show" is the usual award given in most of these type of competitions where the actual winner is selected from a "showing" of their actual work.

The show is at the former Heineman Myers Gallery space at 4728 Hampden Lane in Bethesda. A public reception will be held on Friday, September 10, 2010 from 6-9pm in conjunction with the Bethesda Art Walk. The Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday from 12-6pm.

No Artist Left Behind

The WPA's No Artist Left Behind (NALB) Workshop Series (in partnership with New York Foundation for the Arts), presents: Independent Artist.

This is a one-day professional development workshop with Rory Golden, Program Officer, New York Foundation for the Arts on September 25, 10am-5pm.

Hosted by Cultural Development Corporation at the Source Theater (1835 14th St., NW Washington, DC). Register here.

Camilo Sanin at Orchard Gallery

Camilo Sanin, who is currently a graduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and also the winner of prestigious 2009 Bethesda Painting Award, is currently showing in an exhibition titled Underlying Structures at Bethesda's Orchard Gallery.

The opening reception, part of the Bethesda Art Walk, is tomorrow, September 3rd from 7-9pm.

Dupont Gallery walk tomorrow


Lori Anne Boocks and Jan Willem van der Vossen open at Studio Gallery with receptions on Friday 9/3 from 6-8pm (for the Dupont Circle galleries First Friday openings) and again on Saturday 9/11 from 4-6pm.

Wanna go to an opening this Friday?

The Gallery at AYN Studio in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, will present an exhibition of collage and assemblage creations by artists Jamea Richmond-Edwards and Amber Robles-Gordon entitled, “Pretty Things, Little Treasures and Hidden Meanings”. The exhibition will open on Friday September 3, 2010 with a public reception from 6:30-8:30 pm. The exhibition will remain on view by appointment until Friday September 17, 2010.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 12, 2010

Gallery West in Old Town Alexandria has a call for artists for their 14th Annual National Juried Show (Exhibit Dates: February 9–March 6, 2011).

The all media show will be juried by yours truly and awards to total $1,000. Click here to download the prospectus.

Maxwell MacKenzie at Fraser

Scary Spider


I've got a black spider in my back yard which has the scariest looking spikes on it body and a mean looking stinger underneath... I've been staying away from this beautiful, mean looking machine.

I've never seen a spider which also has spikes on its body. My poor attempt at macro photography without getting too close to this dude is above. A better image of what it looks like is here.

20 Works of Art Missing or Destroyed

There’s a sad truth to art museums that’s not often talked about: sometimes, things just disappear. Over time, countless works of art have gone missing for one reason or another, whether it’s damage, theft, poor stewardship, natural disaster, or the tragic effects of war. For every hundred or thousand paintings or sculptures, there’s one that’s been lost to the ages. Some exist in reproductions or sketches, but some are gone for good. This list is just a small sample of those works of art that can be seen only in photos of what used to be.

Read it and weep here.

Life After Art School

Carrie M. Becker just received an MFA in sculpture and she's trying to figure out where to go from there:

Transition is a terrible thing. The transition from life in art school to life in the Great Big Out There. How can it work? As I try to write this, “failure” is the only word to come to mind. Failure. But where to go from there?

Failure perfectly describes my state of mind right now. Three years after art school, three states, four jobs, and thousands of dollars of debt later, I’m still nowhere. I once sauntered through the hallways of my alma mater as a god (in my mind at least), and have now been forced, years later, to crawl like a begging dog to interview after interview with no success and no foreseeable future. I wince every time I open my email – surely another rejection is sitting there, mocking me.

Read the entire series here.

Top 20 Movies for Art Buffs

Capturing the creative process on film is almost impossible. Artists work inside their own heads as much as with physical materials, which is why a number of films about artists fall short of the mark. But sometimes, filmmakers get it right, creating rounded portraits of fascinating men and women driven by their passions to create something amazing. Some of the films on this list will be familiar to readers, especially those who've studied fine art at the college or master's degree level, but they're all worth watching no matter your profession. These are the movies that come closer than any others to re-creating the moment of inspiration in an artist's life.

Check out the 20 choices here.

One year old today!


Anderson Lennox Franklin Lars Timothy Angus Pict Eric Florencio Brude James Tiberius Campello Anderson Cruzata Jaspersen Alonso Zaar Marrero Karling Comba Noren Dalke Hartsell y Lennox is one year old today!

That's a lot of names, and thus why sometimes I call him Anderdingus!

Wanna do something fun tomorrow?

Tastings: Sample a variety of organic wines and samples of locally grown snacks

Topic: Getting Your Hands Dirty: Food Acitvism in Metro DC, a discussion with the Neighborhood Farm Initiative (NFI)

Date/Time: Sunday, August 29th from 2:30-5:00 PM

Place: Fountain Framing, 3311 Rhode Island Avenue, Mount Rainier, MD 20712

Cost: No charge

What is the alternative food movement and what are people in our area doing to support food activism? Maureen Moodie and Bea Trickett of the Neighborhood Farm Initiative will discuss food access and food security in the metro DC area. NFI recognizes our concern for food security, food access and healthy living and will also discuss ways to successfully grow organic gardens at home. They will bring in produce grown from farms at Fort Totten and Fort Dupont for your sampling. Tax-deductible donations to the organization are greatly appreciated. For more information about NFI, please see their website at www.neighborhoodfarminitiative.org or contact neighborhoodfarm@gmail.com

Opportunity for Artists

Applications are now being accepted from artists interested in participating in the Dupont Circle Fine Arts Show taking place on Sat, Sept 25, 2010, from 2 to 6pm on 17 St., NW.

This event is being sponsored by the Dupont Circle Citizens Association (DCCA) in conjunction with the Area Neighborhood Commission2B (ANC2B). Interested artists should go to this website and download an application form and informational sheet.

Opportunity for DMV Artists

Deadline: October 30, 2010

The BlackRock Center for the Arts has a huge gorgeous gallery space and their call for artists for the 2011 art season is now up.

The 2011 Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for original artwork only. This call will cover exhibits in the gallery from October 2011 through August 2012. An exhibit may include on applicant or a combination of applicants, based on the judgement of jurors. The jury panel is comprised of Kathleen Moran, Jack Rasmussen and yours truly.

Details here.

The Curious Case of Todd Crespi

Last week the New York Times had this article about the artwork of DC area artist Todd Crespi.

The article, by Adam Liptak, presents points of view on Crespi's art (he specializes in courtroom artwork), trying to figure out if Crespi crossed ethical lines in the way that he represented his artwork to his clients.

Essentially: did he create the artwork live and in the courtroom, or did he create later in his studio? The discussion extremes in the article range from:

Mr. Crespi has no Supreme Court press credentials, and artists who work at the court regularly say they never see him. It has been years, they say, since he sat in the alcove reserved for artists near the justices and advocates, the only place in the courtroom where art materials are allowed.

“Todd does not come to the court,” said William J. Hennessy Jr., a freelance artist whose work appears on several television networks. “I have not seen him at the court for at least five years.”

Another artist, Dana Verkouteren, agreed. “He’s never in the courtroom,” she said. Instead, she said, Mr. Crespi works from a standard background, adding images of the advocates based on photographs.

To quotes like:

But Art Lien, an artist who works for NBC, said he was “not very critical of Todd.”

“If they know what they’re getting,” he said of Mr. Crespi’s clients, “why not? Artists have been doing that forever.”

Ms. Verkouteren, another colleague, said of Mr. Crespi: “He might be a genius. He might be a wacky genius.”

Crespi responded yesterday with a Letter to the Editor clarifying that

In the absence of a specific media assignment, I attend the session (like any citizen willing to queue at 6 a.m.), then produce meticulously rendered paintings based on many years of experience as a court artist and portrait specialist.

So according to Crespi, he does attend the court cases; just not as a media assignment (and thus why he's not seated with his colleages). But in any event, is there a valid issue in Liptak's original argument? For the final product: does it make any difference if he produces the artwork right there in the courtroom or later in his studio?

Plein air artists have a valid distinction between a landscape painted on the spot and one painted later in the studio from photographs or sketches. But does this logic apply to courtroom artwork?.

I realize that the main issue with the Liptak article centers around what Crespi tells his clients - not necessarily the final product. But my question deals more with the process itself. I am also clear that creating and marketing the artwork under the impression that it was created on the spot inside the courtroom (as Liptak says Crespi is doing), when it's apparently created from a combination of both courtroom and studio work, does have ethical issues associated how the artwork is "marketed" to potential clients. No one will argue with that. My question is about the process itself, and only about the process.

By the way, Crespi is also an accomplished filmmaker and

Crespi’s film work in FUGAZI’S INSTRUMENT has been seen around the world at such venues as The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Kennedy Center, and the Whitney.

Todd Crespi currently has an exhibition of "New Beach Paintings" at Dupont Circle's Studio Gallery, although curiously there's nothing about the exhibition in the gallery's website.

Comments?

John Gossage: The Pond

John Gossage's remarkable photographic series will be at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from Aug. 27 – Jan. 17, 2011.

“John Gossage: The Pond” celebrates the recent gift to the museum of this remarkable photographic series and the re-issue of one of the most influential photography books of the past three decades. John Gossage (b. 1946) photographed a small, unnamed pond between Washington, D.C., and Queenstown, Md., from 1981 to 1985. The title recalls Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, but Gossage advocated a more allembracing view of the landscape, exploring the less idealized spaces that border America’s cities and suburbs. Although many of the images in “The Pond” appear unruly or uncared for, Gossage found moments of grace and elegance in even the most mundane of places.

The complete portfolio of “The Pond” was acquired by the museum in 2007. This exhibition marks the first time the complete series of 52 gelatin silver prints has been on public display. Gossage lives and works in the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Toby Jurovics, curator of photography, is the curator of the installation.

A conversation between Gossage and Jurovics is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium.

When bad dealers bite

Yet another lawsuit, this one filed in New York State Supreme Court in 2008 by the Daughters of Mary Mother of Our Savior, an order of nuns in Round Top, N.Y., alleges collusion between a local art appraiser and a Santa Fe, N.M., dealer in the sale of an 1889 painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau titled "Notre Dame D'Anges" for $450,000.

The painting, a gift from a parishioner, had hung in a chapel, and the buyer promptly resold it to another dealer for $2 million, splitting the profit with the appraiser, the suit alleges.

Read the WSJ piece (for some lamentable horror stories of the art world) here.

Lori Anne Boocks at Studio


Lori Anne Boocks and Jan Willem van der Vossen open at Studio Gallery with receptions on Friday 9/3 from 6-8pm (for the Dupont Circle galleries First Friday openings) and again on Saturday 9/11 from 4-6pm.

Peck & Elsner at BlackRock

Two immensely talented artists, Judith Peck and Rita Elsner, share the beautiful gallery space at the BlackRock Center with an exhibition that opens Friday, Sept. 3 from 6-8PM.

Opportunity for DMV Artists

Deadline: October 30, 2010

The BlackRock Center for the Arts has a huge gorgeous gallery space and their call for artists for the 2011 art season is now up.

The 2011 Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for original artwork only. This call will cover exhibits in the gallery from October 2011 through August 2012. An exhibit may include on applicant or a combination of applicants, based on the judgement of jurors. The jury panel is comprised of Kathleen Moran, Jack Rasmussen and yours truly.

Details here.

Museum futures

There's no shining line separating the generations, of course. Some directors have been preaching the "populist" gospel for years, often translating that into exhibitions about guitars, hip-hop or "Star Wars" paraphernalia and live music nights with cocktails, DJs and dancing.

Current thinking goes much deeper. Many young directors see museums as modern-day "town squares," social places where members of the community may gather, drawn by art, perhaps, for conversation or music or whatever. They believe that future museum-goers won't be satisfied by simply looking at art, but rather prefer to participate in it or interact with it.

Read the WSJ article by Judy Dobrzynski here.

Ansel Adams Lawsuit

A group representing Ansel Adams sued a California man for selling prints and posters under the name of the famed nature photographer, the latest salvo in a dispute over glass negatives bought at a garage sale and purported to be Adams' lost work.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal district court in San Francisco by The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, seeks to stop Rick Norsigian and consulting firm PRS Media Partners from using Adams' name, likeness and trademark in their efforts to sell prints and posters not authorized or endorsed by the trust.

Read the article here.

Taubman Museum of Art in trouble

The new Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, VA is already in financial straits. Read Judith H. Dobrzynski's excellent take on the subject here and the Roanoke Times article on the subject here.

Is There an Age Limit for 'Emerging Artists'?

I'm not sure if I agree with all the points in this excellent article by Daniel Grant in the HuffPost, but there are some very good points and opinions being made and delivered:

Age, education and exhibition history are not the only areas in which artists may get into trouble. Listing published reviews of group shows they were in but which did not mention their names or artwork looks deceitful, and banking on the possibility that the dealer doesn't actually read the review adds insult to injury. On the other hand, an online review has no less significance than one seen in a hardcopy publication (there is no need to include a link; just put the article title, author, date and main URL of the site and let the reader find it). Listing the names of more prominent artists in a group in which one participated seems "lame," Winkleman said.

Read it here.

National Cell Phone Photography Exhibition

Deadline: August 30, 2010.

The Southeastern Louisiana University Contemporary Art Gallery (Hammond, LA) seeks entries for an exhibition to be held September 9 - 25. The exhibition is open to amateurs and professional artists nationally. All artwork submitted for the exhibition must have been taken with the camera within a cell phone with no Photoshop or any other manipulation or effects. Images are to be full frame, not cropped in any way. $10 entry fee if images are sent by email, due to print cost. For prospectus, please email Dale Newkirk at dnewkirk@selu.edu or call 985-549-5080.

Opportunity for video artists

Deadline: September 30, 2010.

Visual Overture Magazine is accepting submissions for a special section of the magazine called “Spotlight on Video Art,” to be included in the Winter 2010 issue, which will feature the work of one serious emerging videographer whose work is fine art. Materials to Submit: 2-3 videos, 500 word essay describing why your video work can be classified as fine art. Online Application: www.visualoverture.com/artists.htm

Benny Moré

Today is the birthday of Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (d. 1963 at age 43), known to Cubans as Benny Moré, and considered the best Cuban popular singer and Cuban orchestra leader of all time. Without any formal musical training, witness how he directs his huge band in the rare footage below, and then check him out in a scandalous zoot suit outfit singing number in a Cuban movie of the 1950s:

Go get some Benny CDs...

Pencil this opening for September 23

First Campello gallery exhibition in DC area in 4 years!

Next Sept 20 - Oct. 15 I will be having my first substantial exhibition in the DC area in four years. The show will be at the School of Art & Design at Montgomery College's King Street Gallery, located in the beautiful Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street in the Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus.

There will be all new drawings in my constant exploration of using the human figure to deliver social, historical, satirical, mythological and political messages. The show also includes work by the immensely talented Johanna Mueller, who was one of my top picks from the last Artomatic and whom I predict will steal the show, as well as Leah Frankel and Leslie Shellow, both of whom are new artists to me.

The show is curated by Dr. Claudia Rousseau and is:

An exhibit of works on paper depicting mythical themes, or themes connoting transformations—mythical, magical or organic.

The exhibit will include prints, drawings and installation works employing paper with wax and other media.

The opening is Thursday, September 23, 5:00 – 7:30 pm. I expect to see all of you there to make me look good...

Small scale clay sculptor needed

Are you really good at sculpting realistic objects out of clay? Do you need some extra money? The Washington Glass School has a project that requires small clay realistic objects in the two to four inch range. This would be ongoing throughout the year. Contact washglassschool@aol.com for further info.

Lenny the Insufferable

Some good Q & A's going on in the comments section here with the usual name calling making its expected appearance.

Rita La Caimana

For your listening (and viewing pleasure) two music videos singing Rita La Caimana, one of the most famous Cuban songs of the son genre. It's about a famous woman from Bayamo, in Oriente province named Rita La Caimana (Rita The Cayman - a Cayman being a Cuban crocodile).

Apparently everyone in Bayamo knew this lady, and all her life she'd go from door to door asking for alms, and whenever she heard music playing she'd break out into a dancing fever that made her famous throughout Cuba. Check out how the two versions are so different from each other and how the singer in the first version looks like American actor Michael Clarke Duncan.

Looking for new members

The Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, Maryland is currently reviewing applicants for membership.

The Artists’ Gallery has been representing emerging and established local artists for twenty years. As a cooperative gallery, the establishment affords artists both the opportunity to show and to participate in the running of the gallery. Each month, two members are featured in solo exhibitions in separate rooms, and a changing monthly show of other members work is displayed in a third space.

Sculpture, installation, photography, ceramics, printmaking and painting are among the media represented. The gallery artists hold opening receptions on Frederick’s popular “First Saturday,” which consistently draws a strong turn-out.

Members are accepted based on a portfolio review, which may then be followed by a jurying of current work and personal interview by current members.

Information and downloadable application can be found on the website
www.the-artists-gallery.org.

To speak to a gallery representative about membership and the application process, please call Johan Lowie at 571-276-6876, or by email 5thstreetstudio@gmail.com or Linda Agar-Hendrix at 301-865-5047, email: hendrix2723@gmail.com

The new Touchstone Gallery to re-open

Grand Opening: Friday, September 10, 6 - 8:30 pm

Touchstone Gallery, which is owned and operated by an association of Washington DC area artists since 1976, is re-opening in a new space on New York Avenue September 10, with a "champagne celebration." Touchstone, which has been without a home since leaving its former Penn Quarter location nearly a year ago, begins its latest incarnation with fifty members in a custom-designed, ground-floor site at 901 New York Avenue, next to Acadiana restaurant and a block from the Convention Center.

New Gallery

Art Reactor, a new artist-run gallery/workshop/studio space at 5614 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, Maryland, 20781, is currently hosting its first curated exhibit. The show, entitled The Whole Plate Project, is an exhibit of photographs made in the whole plate format, using a variety of historic and contemporary materials. Whole plate as a size is defined as 6.5 by 8.5 inches - it is the original format as used by Louis Daguerre for his polished silver plates in the first photographs of 1839.

Whole plate as a format has had a long and varied history, coming in and out of fashion with each major wave of photographic innovation. The work in this show relates historic process and practice to modern issues, anxieties and imagery. Work featured includes wet-plate collodion, hand-crafted silver gelatin prints, platinum/palladium, cyanotype and silver-gelatin prints on contemporary commercial papers.

The exhibit features work by eight artists from across the US, Canada, and Germany - Scott Davis, Quinn Jacobson, Diane Maher, Chris Rini, Denise Ross, Barry Schmetter, Heather Wetzel and David William White. including two artists from the Washington DC metro area, Scott Davis and Barry Schmetter.

The exhibit runs from August 9 to September 10. Art Reactor will be open August 27th from 7-9 PM for a reception with light refreshments. Regular open hours will be held Saturday the 28th from 10am to 4pm and September 4 and 5 from 10-4. The space will also be open by appointment weekdays after 7pm or any other unscheduled time on weekends.

Martell on Gossage

Nevin Martell has a terrific piece in the WCP about DC area super photographer John Gossage.

He wasn’t yet 18 when he had his first show in New York. Since then, he’s exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, D.C.’s Corcoran Gallery of Art, and Hannover, Germany’s Sprengel Museum, and shared wall space with Jasper Johns and others. In September, his well-known series The Pond, which documents an unidentified, Walden-esque body of water somewhere near Baltimore, will be displayed in its entirety for the first time at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It was published as a book in 1985.

“John Gossage is the most talented and most significant photographer of his generation—a generation rich in excellence,” says Lewis Baltz, a celebrated photographer himself. “Alongside Ed Ruscha and Richard Prince, Gossage’s achievements in the book format have been an invaluable contribution to the field and an inspiration to the rest of us.”

Read Martell's really excellent article here.

Battle of Covadonga

Today (we think) marks the 1288th anniversary of the Battle of Covadonga, the historic event that stopped the tide of the Islamic invasion of Spain and turned back the Arabic armies in what became the Reconquista of Spain.

It is said by Arab historians that with Pelayo (Pelagius, 681-737) as their leader, the combined Gothic, Celtic and Asturian Christian armies under Pelayo, a son of Favila, who had been a noble at the court of the Visigoth King Egica, (687-700), and had established his headquarters at Cangas de Onís, in Asturias, united the various northern peoples of Iberia (the Celts in Galicia and Asturias and the former ruler Visigoths) and began an uprising against the advancing Umayyad Muslims, who had defeated and killed Rodrigo (Roderick) the last Gothic King of Spain.

On this day, in either 722 or 721, the ten-year-old Islamic invasion of western Europe was turned around as Pelayo defeated the Islamic armies and the battle assured the independence of the most ancient Kingdom of Asturias, and it is that kingdom's survival which eventually became the kernel of new thrust that reconquered the westernmost European peninsula and became the modern nation of Spain.

Freedom does not come easy.

Kuitca coming to the Hirshhorn

"Guillermo Kuitca: Everything, Paintings and Works on Paper, 1980-2008," on view Oct. 21-Jan. 16, 2011, at the Hirshhorn will present over 45 canvases and 25 works on paper, spanning the Argentinean artist's career.

"Part of the Hirshhorn's commitment to international contemporary art has always been a focus on the artists of Latin America," said Kerry Brougher, the museum's deputy director and chief curator. "The Hirshhorn acquired its first work by Kuitca back in 1995, when he was still an emerging figure, and we have watched his reputation continue to grow ever since. We are pleased to have co-organized this retrospective and to be able to present the full spectrum of this insightful artist's work in Washington, and we look forward to the upcoming year featuring exhibitions with some of the most influential Latin American artists of our time."

The exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of the artist's work in the United States in more than 10 years and is co-organized by the Hirshhorn, Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y., and Miami Art Museum in Miami, Fla.

Here's the odd thing to me. For at least five or six years I've had not one, but two art collectors who are retiring and in the process of donating most of their collection. I've tried every angle that I know to donate some of their Latin American artists, specifically Sandra Ramos, to the Hirshhorn. They continue to decline to accept the gift, and that is their right, but what puzzles me is that other museums (MoMA, Dallas, MFA Boston, Miami) have all recognized the inherent value of accepting a Ramos donation now -- before the Castro brothers finally died and Cuba returns to the list of free nations -- rather than later.

And now Kerry Brougher highlights a "focus on the artists of Latin America" (news to me), which makes their declining of a gift by one of Latin America's most celebrated Cuban artists a puzzle. Especially when other museums all over the US are jumping on the offers.

I realize that I am far from objective on this issue, but it is still a puzzle to me. By the way, the last Sandra Ramos work that I offered the Hirshhorn as a gift has now been gifted to the permanent collection of the Miami Art Museum.

If you feel like fish

It has nothing to do with art, but I've been meaning to mention this for a while. I love fresh fish and the key fish place around here is Atlantic Supermarket (7901 New Hampshire Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20783-4609, (301) 439-7005). Loads of fresh fish in their fish department, including many species not generally available in your regular supermarket. Today I bought Mahi Mahi for $2.99 a pound and it's not frozen, but on ice and the guy cleans it right in front of you.

I also bought a fish that I'd never heard of called Basa. I got it just to try it (and because it was very cheap).

Having just come back from Miami, I was hoping to find Mamey ice cream, which (in my opinion) is the best tropical fruit ice cream on the planet. They didn't have it (in fact they don't have much ice creams).

I'll keep looking for Mamey (called Zapote in the Oriente province of Cuba) ice cream. They even sell it at Safeway in Miami, so maybe my local Safeway can order it for me.

Jessica Picks Steven Silberg as the 7th one

Jessica Dawson's Real D.C. series may completely (OK, OK, partially restore) my faith in the WaPo and the local area's visual art scene. Her 7th pick is Steven Silberg and so far she's seven for seven with me in her picks.

Whodda thunk it?

Check out all seven picks so far here. All picks will be invited by me for the next volume of 100 More Washington Artists.

This is funny

Erik Wemple, the editor of TBD.com has some really funny editorial comments for a variety of DC area publications. He also raises a really good question: Why does Washington Hispanic, a Spanish language newspaper, have an English title? This is not only a good question, but also a funny one!

By the way Erik, Fuego means "fire" and Frio means "cold" - it sorta works with what you're doing with the publications, but a better set of words would have been Caliente which means "hot" instead of Fuego. But I am very pedantic about that, and I do like the shortness of the Fuego word and how it aligns with the "F" in Frio. Super funny anyway.

Why does Washington Hispanic have an English name anyway? It doesn't even translate well. The translation would have been (in proper Spanish) El Hispano de Washington. That almost sounds like a person instead of a newspaper.

Come to think of it, in Miami, the New Herald has a Spanish language version. It is called El Nuevo Herald. That even weirder to me. The right name would have been El Nuevo Pregonero.

At the end of the day

Just when you thought the Campello-Capps feud was over and it was safe to go back to the pages of this blog and the City Paper's...

Awright... I'm being melodramatic; the battle of words between Capps and I is almost over, but not before you read this in the WCP. You see, the City Paper has done something unprecedented: they have allowed me to re-write Capps' story so that it is a bit more fair without eliminating Capps' fears about anonymous contributors to the book and other neurotic issues.

So go on and read the piece and if you want to leave a comment there, then try your best to keep them civil and constructive. I know that both Kriston and I do not bruise easily and we can both take constructive criticism and disagreement and hopefully we will all come out of this having learned something positive.

Putting together this first volume was an immense amount of work, and yet I am looking forward to the next couple of volumes and will apply the “lessons learned” from this first volume to all the others.

Shame on Springfield, MA

Art censorship covers all sides of the social spectrum in this great nation. Throw in a nude (or in this case, not even a nude) in most public settings around the US and something is bound to go wrong. Even in the Soviet Socialist State of Massachusetts. From the Legal Satyricon:

Censorship — its not just for rednecks

I often rant about the censorship minded former confederacy — but I must admit that my home state of Massachusetts has its share of censorship monkeys. The censorship monkey of the day — the city of Springfield, MA and Gina E. Beavers, director of the Springfield Arts Initiative for the Springfield Business Improvement District (SBID).

Read the entire post with all the details here.