Art League Announces New Executive Director

Congrats to the Art League's new Executive Director Suzanne Bethel:

The Art League Board of Directors is delighted to announce that Suzanne Bethel has been appointed to the position of Executive Director commencing on October 1, 2012. She will succeed current and long time Executive Director, Linda Hafer.

Currently the Executive Director for Operations, Suzanne’s multi-faceted experience and career at The Art League will bring a unique wealth of knowledge to her future role as the chief executive officer. From her days as School Registrar, Curriculum Director, School Director, and Deputy Director of Operations, to her present position as the Executive Director for Operations, Suzanne has excelled in every project she has undertaken. She will continue to direct the day-to-day management of The Art League, which includes all operations and programming, and will oversee all Development and community programs. The Art League’s School, and Gallery, with their celebrated and renowned educational, membership and exhibition programming will continue to be under her very experienced hand.

Suzanne will continue to lead The Art League staff in serving the long time mission and constituencies of The League, and will be fostering new creative partnerships within Alexandria and beyond. Focusing on sustainability, Suzanne is leading the way with the establishment of a newly consolidated school facility at the Madison Annex. This complex will house 3-D and 2-D art programs in a synergistic environment that will be ready for launch by the beginning of the Fall 2012 term.

We have enormous pride in her many accomplishments and respect for Suzanne and her extraordinary capabilities and vision for The Art League’s future. Current Executive Director, Linda Hafer, has offered a ringing endorsement of Suzanne’s succession to this new position:

“Suzanne is the perfect choice to lead The Art League ‘onward and upward!’ She has a deep understanding of the culture of The Art League, and the experience, vision, and passion to recognize the strengths and the wonderful potential of our organization. She has earned the respect of all who have worked with her. I have complete confidence in Suzanne's ability to continue building on the successes of the generations of artists who have created this living community, and enthusiastically congratulate her on this well deserved recognition!”

 Want some ideas on how to kick-start some new initiatives for the Art League? Call me!

The Incantation of Frida K

Here is "The Incantation of Frida K", which is both an homage in my obsessive interest in Kahlo as well as an homage to the wonderful American writer and poet Kate Braverman. This piece is now in the private collection of a well-known DMV area art collector in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Here's the drawing - almost finished except for the text which will be added to the halo

Here is the cut-out from Kahlo's chest - it is in the shape of a heart with fangs - this is the window from which the video will play. The text around her halo is a passage from Braverman's book of the same title as this piece.

The Incantation of Frida K. The necklace around Kahlo's neck is a cluster of clues and images of bombs, skeletons, hidden images, penises, babies and even mathematical conjectures.

Another video shot of The Incantation of Frida K

Detail of the appropriated video, which comes from a home movie by an unknown person and shows Kahlo, almost as a black widow, about to ensnare a very young and frightened young girl. See the full video here.

My neighborhood

A few days ago we received a glossy postcard announcing an estate sale this weekend in one of those gigantic Potomac mansions on Stapleford Hall Drive. It announced that everything must go and talked about artwork, and seeing that this joint is only about a 90 second drive from my much smaller house, I decided to drop in and see what sort of artwork dwells in one of these gigantic homes.

The place was indeed gargantuan and by the time we got there around 10AM, which is when the sale was scheduled to begin, it was already crawling with dozens of curious potential buyers.

The home, which belongs to a retired NBA basketball star, was palatial indeed - although the "antique reproduction" style of expensive (but still a reproduction) glossy, vulgar furniture was certainly not my style - although (second "although in this sentence) there were some very nice Middle Eastern and Persian rugs all over the mansion.

But I concentrated on the "artwork", and as I had come well prepared to be disappointed, I found exactly what I expected in this multimillion dollar mansion: dreck.

On the walls hung what appeared to be the "Chinese painting villages" made oils on canvas of the usual themes: hyper-realistic fruits bowls brimming with grapes and fruits, wine bottles with cigars by the side, basic palette landscapes, brushy flowers, etc. As expected, they were all framed in what was clearly very expensive mouldings - the three to five thousand dollar range custom framework that these peddlers of visual wall dreck seduce the buyers into acquiring for their wall decor.

"Everything is 50% off the price tags," announced the floor boss of a small army of name-tagged floor assistants. Right off the bat that was a clue about the real reality of "everything must go..." and the inherent sadness of the event.

As I walked around the house, in one large window alcove facing the swimming pool, from far away I saw what looked like a large Tamara de Lempicka hanging on the alcove wall. I held my breath as I approached it, fully expecting to discover some ersatz bad copy job.

And that's exactly what it was: a bad Chinese/Ebay copy of a Lempicka on a $2,000 frame going for a few hundred bucks. Someone had copied de Lempicka's Adam and Eve using a lot of white to stretch out the colors and then signed it with a name close but not exactly the same as the original artist's name.

Back on the main floor, as I walked by, the large oil of shiny grapes and fruits was being examined by a Saturday-morning whiskered man and a woman, and a bored teen. "What do you think?" he asks of her.

The price tag on the Chinese oil was $2,000+, which means that this piece of kitsch wall decor was being given away for around a $1,000 samolians; five gets you ten that the original price from the "gallery" that sold it to the former NBA star was around $5,000.

As with the other crap hanging on the walls, that poor (not in dollars, but in visual arts knowledge) former NBA star had been conned not only into buying mass produced (one at a time) wall decor offered as fine art, but also then some gifted gabber of a salesman had added a $2-$3,000 frame to augment the monstrous act of conning someone into acquiring what they think of as "art" and presenting it as "art" (read elaborate, roccoco, expensive and disturbingly kitschy frame mouldings).

"I like it," says she back to the perspective buyer.

"It would really snap that room for me," he adds, "That's the only thing missing."

"I think I'm going to buy it," he says. She turns to to the 15 year teen.

"What do you think?", she asks of the bored teen.

She shrugs her shoulders, "Itsawright...", she mumbles.

Even in this scenario, I've seen this scene play a thousand times. Even though in their eyes the huge hand-painted riot of fruit oil hanging on a massive frame on the wall seems to be too good of a deal to pass, since it is "art", they are looking for an excuse to walk on.

But that room really needs something to snap it together. "I think I'm going to buy it," says he again, brow furrowed and arms crossed. He turns around, looking to find one of the floor assistants, finds one and beckons her over with one of those forefinger wiggles that cartoon characters use to tell someone to come over.

I walk on by, saddened a little.

HeART of the Community Live Auction

Sunday, June 3, 5-8 p.m.
Clear Space Theatre,
20 Baltimore Avenue
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
Phone: 302-227-5620

Small Plates and Open Bar - Featuring the 2012 HeART of the Community Live Auction with art by 25 invited artists selected by four curators. Auctioneer: Lorne Crawford.

Dress: Black and White Casual
Tickets: $75. Tickets are limited. Advance Ticket Price $65, available through April 30 only on the CAMP Rehoboth website. After April 30 all tickets will be $75 and may be purchased online or by calling 302-227-5620.
Purchase Tickets

HeART of the Community Art Auction

Curators and Artists:

Murray Archibald
Rodney Cook
Ward Ellinger
Gary Fisher
Laura Hickman
Victor Letonoff
Andres Tremols   

Sondra N. Arkin
Joan Belmar
Scott G. Brooks
Anna U. Davis
Pat Goslee
Barbara Gruber
Renee Stout
Novie Trump

Jay Pastore
Rick Bach
Susan Finsen
Lee Wayne Mills
Brian Petro
Duane Rieder
Ellen Sinel

Andres Tremols
Lenny Campello
Max Hirshfeld
Laurel Lukaszewski
Christopher Speron
Betsy Stewart
Ellyn Weiss

Sneak Peek Art Preview
Wine and Cheese Reception
CAMP Rehoboth Community Center
Sunday, May 27, 4-7 p.m. (free)

Thanks to the efforts of our curators and their invited artists, CAMP Rehoboth is pleased to present an exceptional collection of art selected especially for the 2012 Black and White Beach Ball. All art will be previewed at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on Memorial Day weekend. Proxy bidding will be available for buyers who are interested in purchasing but unable to attend the June 3 event.

Supermoon tomorrow!

Get your cameras and peepers ready: the full Moon will be up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than others during the year. The reason for this phenomenon is that the Moon becomes full on its closest approach to Earth on May 5, 2012, also known as the perigee full Moon, and Cinco de Mayo Luna in Mexico (I made that up).


Geek details here.

Thumbs down!

Subject: The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 09:21:49 -0400

Dear Artist,

On behalf of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and the 2012 Trawick Prize Jury, I would like to thank you for entering The Trawick Prize:  Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards.  Our panel of jurors was honored to have the opportunity to review the creative and exciting work from a vast selection of area artists.

We received entries from more than 350 artists and the jury spent numerous hours reviewing images before making some very complicated decisions. We truly appreciate your time and talent; however, your work was not selected.

As a reminder, the jury consisted of Dawn Gavin, artist and Associate Professor in Drawing and Foundations at the University of Maryland, College Park; B. Kelly Gordon, Associate Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; and N. Elizabeth Schlatter, Deputy Director and Curator of Exhibitions at the university of Richmond Museums.

We thank you for your interest and hope you will consider applying to next year’s competition when a different panel of judges will select the finalists and winners of The Trawick Prize.  Additionally, if you are a painter, we encourage you to apply to the Bethesda Painting Awards next year, where a distinguished panel of judges will also award $14,000 to select regional painters.

We wish you the best of luck in your future artistic endeavors.

Sincerely,

Catriona Fraser

Chair

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards

 And I will apply again next year... because they are right: new panel equals new set of eyes,

Open Studios Next Saturday

On May 12th, over 120 Gateway Arts District Artists will open their studios to the public. Visitors are invited to interact one-on-one with local artists, see their work, and explore their studios, during this annual event. To learn more, visit www.gatewayopenstudios.org.

Produced by the Gateway Community Development Corporation, Open Studio Tour is the premier arts event of the Gateway Arts District. This year's tour features:

• A guided tour of select studios 
• Live performances at Joe's Movement Emporium and the Mount Rainier Artists' Lofts
• A trunk show featuring artists from the Hyattsville Community Arts Alliance at ArtDC 
• Artists Reception/Opening and Studio Tour After Party at the 39th Street Gallery 

   LOVE, LOSS & LIPSTICK:  Caryl Burtner & Taliaferro Logan

• ArtWorks: Local Art Matters Show and Reception

 Saturday, May 12, 2012, 12 Noon - 5 pm - Opening Reception & Tour After Party, 5:30 - 8 pm

Taking a chance

 Los Angeles conceptual artist John Baldessari discusses how he brought slides of his early text paintings from gallery to gallery all over Manhattan and faced rejection at each one, until Michael Findlay offered him a place in a group show - which was the artist’s first ever New York showing and his second gallery show ever!

“The problem for any dealer is to be the first person to take a chance on an artist,” Mr. Baldessari said. “Most dealers wait for someone else to take a chance and then they poach from the other gallery. It’s very difficult to go out on a limb for an untested artist..."
 -  John Baldessari

Details here.

Prizewinners!

I recently had the honor and pleasure of reviewing a lot of gorgeous artwork for the Capitol Hill Art League's May juried competition. As usual, this is hard but rewarding work.

 The opening reception for this exhibition and my juror's talk is on Saturday May 12 with an opening party 5-7pm and the juror's talk at 5:30pm.

The award winners are:

First Place:  Sonia Robed, Jacqueline Saunders,   Watercolor 

Second Place: Candice No. 100, John Reef, Pigment PrintThird Place: Slumber Party, Fierce Sonia, Photo on Acrylic
Fourth Place: Koan Run, Latex on Wood, Patricia Goslee

Honorable Mention Awards:
Galadi, Russ McIntosh, Digital Photo Illustration
Birth of an Island, Tati Valle-Riestra, Watercolor
 

Sonia Robed, Watercolor by Jacqueline Saunders

Candice No. 100, Pigment Print by John Reef

Slumber Party, Photo on Acrylic by Fierce Sonia

Juror's Comments

The Business of Art Workshop

The Business of Art Workshop –  A Professional Development Series for Visual Artists

Panel Presentation: The Inside and Out of Creating a Great Art Portfolio

Saturday, May 5, 2012; 3-5pm

Free. 

Join Tosha Grantham, Philippa Hughes, Christina Marsh and John Yeh as they discuss what makes a portfolio great and not-so-great. Hear what makes them look twice or not at all, what they've seen that works, and where trends are going. Discussion to be moderated by Alonzo Davis.

Advance Registration Required

http://smartlink.pgparks.com/smartlink

SMARTlink #883815

Brentwood Arts Exchange - exchanging ideas through art.

A Facility of the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission

@ Gateway Arts Center

3901 Rhode Island Avenue

Brentwood, MD 20722

301-277-2863/ tty. 301-446-6802

arts.pgparks.com

Supermoon next Saturday

Get your cameras and peepers ready: the full Moon will be up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than others during the year. The reason for this phenomenon is that the Moon becomes full on its closest approach to Earth on May 5, 2012, also known as the perigee full Moon, and Cinco de Mayo Luna in Mexico (I just made that up).

Geek details here.

Tonight at Morrison House

WHAT:  “The story behind the 100 Artists of Washington, DC book” - Morrison House Presents: F. Lennox Campello, Author

DESCRIPTION:  Author F. Lennox Campello discusses his controversial book, 100 Artists of Washington, DC, and provides insights into the selection process, the publication of the book and the subsequent eruption of controversy in the Greater DC area art scene.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 1, 6 to 8pm

WHERE: Morrison House, 116 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

INFO: Morrison House: www.morrisonhouse.com / Phone: 703-838-8000

ADMISSION: Free admission (Food and drink available for purchase)

Scrapping the artists

Here's the story: There's a 1.6-acre property adjacent to the National Institutes of Health Open Space in Bethesda. The initial proposal by developer Patrinely Group of Houston, Texas included 25 percent "moderately priced dwelling units and about 2,000 square feet within the main building for an arts incubator, which would have offered studio and exhibit space for emerging artists." That all went away when the condo market collapsed in Bethesda and now StonebridgeCarras, which purchased the site about a year ago, has a new proposal:

The vacant Trillium lot could be home to 360 luxury appartments and a grocery, if plans are approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday.

And first thing to go in the StonebridgeCarras proposal: The arts incubator.

How does the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce feel about that?

 “We really support that,” said Ginanne Italiano, executive director of the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce. “It’s not the whole concept that the other organization had, but I think this is going to be an even better concept.”

Yeah Ginanne, another grocery store is an even better concept than an arts incubator. After all, there are only about a dozen or more grocery stores in Bethesda and ahhh... zero affordable space for artists and nothing even remotely close to an arts incubator, and most Bethesda area art galleries have closed in the last couple of years; thank you for your moral support.

Good move StonebridgeCarras (nice artsy name!) and let DC Art News be the first to welcome to Bethesda, yet another Safeway, or yet another Giant, or considering the artsy name of the developer, perhaps another Whole Foods.

Makes my head hurt.

Read the Gazette story by Jessica Ablamsky here and read the developer's news release here.

Around Town

That busload of San Francisco art collectors visiting the DMV is out and about town today. They started with a pep talk this morning (at the home of a most gracious Chevy Chase art collector) and then headed out to the District to visit art studios, artists' homes and galleries.

They were last seen visiting Flux, Red Dirt and the WGS and all of those artists' studios in that area.

Collatz Conjecture and Art

I'm probably only one of a handful of people on the planet who has an Undergraduate degree in Art as well as a degree in Mathematics and a Master's in Artificial Intelligence.

As such, I'm always thinking about ways to explore Math in Art... Hidden in the shadows of most of my drawings (shadows cast by bodies as well as shadows in the bodies themselves) are often to be found other figures and clues, and just as often mathematical equations, progressions, theorems, conjectures, etc.

One recurring and fascinating issue to me, buried in the shadows of a drawing that I sold last week in New York is the Collatz Conjecture:

Take any natural number and let's call it n.

If n is even, then we divide it by 2 to get n / 2.

If n is odd, then we multiply it by 3 and add 1 to obtain 3n + 1.

Repeat this division/multiplication indefinitely (and this is where "indefinitely" becomes an issue, as the British say).

The Collatz Conjecture is that no matter what number you start with, you will always and no matter what the starting number is, eventually reach 1.

This conjecture property has also been called "oneness."

Can art help represent this? I don't know - that's why I bury them in the shadows of the drawings and not try to solve them per say; but often it is the drawings themselves that trigger the specific mathematical clue/issue being associated with the piece.

At Morrison House on Tuesday

WHAT:  “The story behind the 100 Artists of Washington, DC book” - Morrison House Presents: F. Lennox Campello, Author

DESCRIPTION:  Author F. Lennox Campello discusses his controversial book, 100 Artists of Washington, DC, and provides insights into the selection process, the publication of the book and the subsequent eruption of controversy in the Greater DC area art scene.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 1, 6 to 8pm

WHERE: Morrison House, 116 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

INFO: Morrison House: www.morrisonhouse.com / Phone: 703-838-8000

ADMISSION: Free admission (Food and drink available for purchase)

Roberto Rodriguez and the Cuban Jewish All Stars

The Jewish Music Festival is featuring a very special act this year:  

Roberto Rodriguez is a true innovator whose artistic vision synthesizes Cuban and Jewish music into an entirely new creation that breathes joy and melancholy. Born in Havana and raised in Miami, the percussionist and composer’s groundbreaking music explores his cross-cultural roots and influences, melding his native Cuban music with contemporary genres of world, Sephardic, pop, jazz, electronic and classical music.

 Details here.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: July 8, 2012

A national juried exhibition of emerging artists, ages 16-25, with disabilities. Sustaining / Creating asks emerging artists to showcase work that illuminates innovative viewpoints on sustainability and contemporary creativity. Beyond its scientific definition, sustainability references notions of responsibility and stewardship of our natural world in all facets of human interaction–from the environmental to the cultural. Sustainability indicates the capacity to endure.

Submitted artwork should illustrate these thematic ideas, which may be achieved through broad, abstracted references or detailed personal creations. Your submission might also reflect your experience of living with a disability and its role in shaping or transforming your art.

This exhibition is presented by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ VSA & Accessibility Office and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Details here

The Scream

The frenzy around the imminent auction on May 2 of Edvard Munch’s The Scream at Sotheby’s in New York is reaching a peak here in Europe, where predictions abound that it will break the record price paid for a work of art at auction: $106.5 millions two years ago for Pablo Picasso’s “Nude green leaves and bust.”

Read the story here.

You knew this was coming...

 Minnesotan Dan Lacey is most famous for his paintings of celebrities and politicians with pancakes on their heads (or with pancake breasts, or pancake eyeglasses, or pancake anything else). But a wad of money, not a stack of pancakes, is the centerpiece of his latest work: A portrait of Mitt Romney, mostly naked and in the process of getting nakeder. The 8-by-10-inch acrylic painting, which Lacey recently completed over the course of four hours in the passenger seat of a PT Cruiser while he and his wife ran errands, is currently up for auction on eBay

Read the whole story here.

Not the first time that taking the clothes off a politician is a fun thing for an artist to do... eight years ago Kayti Didricksen's nude portrait of President Bush became the most downloaded image in the internets and my own Obama Agonistes now sits in a private collection in Miami Beach.

About to hit the DMV

A couple of busloads of art collectors from all over the US is about to fly to DC (next week) and do some guided (not by me) studio and gallery visits.

One thing in common? A copy of "100 Artists of Washington, DC."

More later...

Celebrity Sighting

Actress Lucy Liu came by my booth at the Affordable Art Fair earlier today. She was with an assistant and they asked for a card.

Later the assistant returned (a really nice lady) and bought one of my drawings.

Saturday at AAFNYC

The constant crowds continue as the good weather stays in NYC and based on what I saw today, it looked like many galleries were moving artwork.

Jeannette Herrera continues to have a brilliant NYC debut as today she sold another four paintings! Also closed the deal and sold Judith Peck's largest piece in the show... and also sold two of my pieces, including the very cool second version of "Eve Sees Her Face for the First Time" - a digital-embedded piece.

Friday Report

Today the Affordable Art Fair was once again well-attended. I sold six of my drawings, including the first sale of the "new" series of digital-embedded components (I sold "A Woman Refusing to See Men").

After the show closed at 9PM, I walked to the parking garage on 32nd Street, drove back to 35th and started trolling for a parking spot near the loading dock. This is so that on Sunday I could have an easier time taking all the artwork down from the 11th floor to the street without having to compete for the two loading dock spots with a hundred vans and trucks. After a while I got a Doris Day parking spot right next to the dock and headed back to the hotel, exhausted but mission accomplished!

Thursday at the AAFNYC

Noon started with some sort of HGTV function, which was catered by Monterone and thus we all got to eat some pretty good food to start the day.

Excellent crowds again and by the end of the night we sold four more Jeannette Herrera's paintings and three more of my drawings.

AAFNYC Preview Night

Let's just say that I thought all the bad juju had gone...

I finished hanging, labeling and prepping the booth today, then wandered around 7th Avenue until I ended up with a very cool Ermenegildo Zegna (cough, cough) blazer.

Back to the booth at 5PM and the fair opened at 6PM and was packed right away, and I was told there were huge lines for the free booze. Meanwhile back at the farm, a few seconds after the show opened I sold one of Jeannette L. Herrera's paintings (by the time the night was over the buyers had returned and bought a couple more paintings).

Then someone puts their glass of champagne on my desk... seconds later a person bumps it with their purse and sends bubbly flying all over my computer, paperwork and two copies of my 100 Artists of Washington, DC book.

Later on I got an offer on Judith Peck's largest piece in the show ("this offer is good until Friday," said gravely the gent making the offer) .... let's see.

Suddenly a feeding frenzy starts and six of my drawings sell within five minutes; that's what I'm talking about!

The show opens to the public tomorrow.

Ready for Stacy

As you know from yesterday's post, I left all my dress clothes back home, and thus today - after finishing setting up the booth - I walked down Seventh Ave and got a heck of a good deal on an Zegna summer blazer.

Let's see if Stacy London notices...

This is how I roll

Heck of a day: Drove to NYC for the Affordable Art Fair, then I was issued my usual $115 ticket while unloading for the art fair; then realized that somehow I left three major new video drawing pieces back at home (more on that later); and then sliced my finger open while opening a box, dripping torrents of blood onto the artwork in the process (try cleaning that up while bleeding profusely at the same time).

Later on, when I got to the hotel, I also realized that I had left all my dress clothes in the living room back at home.

Did that I mention that at about the same time that I was realizing this, my wife called and my poor Alida had earlier tripped on a tree stump while running and fractured her knee cap.

Tonight I decided that I better stay all night in my hotel room, lest some poor New Yorker gets his ass kicked. It was while pondering this avoided trouble, that I discovered (well Russ McIntosh did) that two of the "missing pieces" are still hanging on the wall at Montgomery College.

Here's the odd part: in my brain, I can picture driving to MCC and picking up those pieces at the end of the show a few days ago; wrapping them up, and boxing them for the fair. Helluva brain fart, ain't it?

Is there anyone reading this blog who is driving or coming to NYC in the next day or two and can pick up those pieces and bring them over? There's a free Campello original in the deal for you.

The AAFNYC opens tomorrow night with a VIP and press preview; more later.

Kennicott nominated as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in criticism

Internal WaPo email:

To the Staff:

Please join us in congratulating Philip Kennicott for being a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

As our culture critic, Phil ranges widely in his subject matter but never strays from the lucid, cerebral approach he brings to every piece. Last year, he found ways to illuminate and explain nearly every major news event, from the revolutions on the Arab Street and in American city parks, to the nuclear disaster in Japan, and the death of Osama bin Laden. In a highly semiotic world, he described the meaning of those events, just as he did, week in and week out, in more traditional cultural realms. His ease in writing about architecture and arts is matched by a clarity of reasoning that makes his work compelling. Phil’s work is extraordinary, and we’re pleased the Pulitzer jury recognized it in making him a finalist.

Congrats to the Kennicottmeister...

E. Brady Robinson

Wanna see a really cool art project? Check it out here.

Campello original

Anderson Campello painting "Ship Wakes as Seen from Space", shaving cream on plastic tablecloth. 30 x 72 inches. Circa 2012.

Bettie Page

C'mon... I know that all of youse knew that sooner or later someone like me, who addresses the theme of icons in his artwork, would get to the first true supermodel in planetary history. Below is a trial drawing for a much larger (eventually) video drawing of the breathtaking Bettie Page.

"Notorium Bettie Paginas Ex", charcoal and conte on paper, 6x5 inches, 2012.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: July 1, 2012

Canvas - The Artist Showcase states that

The essence behind CANVAS is to promote the work of rising artists, and have it seen by a large number of galleries, curators, publishers, ad agencies, art directors, and artist representatives.

CANVAS is conducted in a non-profit co-operative way. This showcase is designed to promote artist's, not make money off of them.

The book itself will be a large format perfect bound paperback in full color. The page count will be dependant on how many entries we recieve and how many are accepted for inclusion by our judges. The grand prize winner of the entries will be featured on the cover.

A Call for Entries is sent out quarterly to various art communities. We encourage everyone who wants to be seen, and have their work noticed, to submit.

Details here.

Opportunity for DC area artists

Deadline: April 19, 2012

The Capitol Hill ART League presents its Third Annual Metro DC open juried exhibition: It’s a Wonderful World?

All artists, 18 years of age or older residing in the Washington, DC metropolitan area are eligible to enter.

Deadline for submissions is Thursday April 19, 2012.

The Capitol Hill ART League (CHAL) is a program of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Located in the historic Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, DC, CHAL is composed of approximately 100 artists. Each season CHAL mounts a series of seven juried exhibitions and conducts gallery talks at the openings; CHAL hosts lectures on a variety of art related topics, offers workshops, and strives to develop a supportive artistic community. The greater Washington community is encouraged to participate in all of these events.

JUROR: I am honored to return as this year's juror.

ENTRY: Selections for the show will be made by the judge from JPEG images submitted by the artists. All work must be original and signed by the artist. Any work previously shown at a Capitol Hill ART League juried show is ineligible. All work must have been created within the last three years.

ENTRY FEES: Up to 3 entries may be submitted for a non-refundable fee of $15 for current Capitol Hill Art League members or $30 for the community at large (non members). Up to two additional entries may be submitted at $5 each. Artists submitting 3-dimensional work may provide two images of each piece.

AWARDS: Awards will be decided by the judge and will include cash awards for ‘Best in Show’, and ‘Merit’ awards. Two Honorable mentions will be awarded. All awards will be presented at the opening reception with the judge’s talk on Saturday, May 12, 2011 from 5:00-7:00 PM.

SALES: A 30% commission will be deducted from CHAL members’ exhibition sales and 35% commission on all non-member exhibition sales. All work must be for sale and the price submitted on the registration form will be the price presented at the time of the show for accepted work.

Exhibition Calendar:
April 19, 2012 - deadline for entries
April 30, 2012 - Notification sent to accepted Artists
May 4-9, 2012 - Art delivery dates
May 12, 2012 - Artists’ Reception and Awards, Presentation (5:00 - 7:00 pm)
June 1, 2012 - Exhibition closes
June 2-6, 2012 - Pick up artwork

Contact info: caphillartleague@yahoo.com Prospectus at: www.caphillartleague.org

Artomatic Artist Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for artists and performers to display work at Artomatic 2012, the DC area's biggest free arts event, being held from May 18 to June 23 in Crystal City at Vornado/Charles E. Smith's1851 South Bell Street. Artists, performers, filmmakers, and creatives of all types may now register to participate in Artomatic at www.artomatic.org.

Anyone can participate in Artomatic - there are no criteria to register, and space is allocated on a first-come, first serve basis. At its last event in 2009, Artomatic attracted more than 76,000 visitors to see work by more than 1,200 artists, and more than 600 performances. This year, Artomatic expects to attract even more artists, performers, and visitors than ever before.

Bethesda Row Arts Festival

The 15th annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival will take place Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, 2012. The 2012 application is now available, and artists are invited to apply online at ZAPPLICATION. The deadline to apply is May 20, 2012.

Questions? Call 301.637.5715.

Woman Refusing to See Men

Below are three images of my latest marriage of embedded electronics with drawing. It is titled "Woman Refusing to See Men" and the embedded digital player rotates about 50 portraits of me from age 4 to present. It's about 14 x 23 inches once matted and framed.

Tate on TV

Last Sunday, DC public television WETA TV (channel 26) broadcasted Vincent Gaines' documentary on the work and motivations of my good bud Tim Tate - who just returned from his successful Fulbright assignment in the UK.

The film is "Hearts of Glass" and it is scheduled to re-air again on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 5:30 pm. Get those TiVos set!

Open Studios this weekend

Allen Quotes

If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.
--- Woody Allen

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: April 17, 2012

You've got nine days to make it! The Contemporary Arts Center of Las Vegas is accepting submissions for solo shows or group installations from artists and curators for consideration for their 2012-2013 exhibition season. All mediums and disciplines will be considered. Any work presented at the Contemporary Arts Center must be a body of new or recent work executed within the past 2 years. Emerging or mid-career artists, members or non-members, may submit proposals.

All the details are here.

Questions? Contact Exhibition Committee at the Contemporary Arts Center, Las Vegas, info@lasvegascac.org or 702-382-3886.

A new idea

Today being Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) as well as the first day of Passover, an idea for a new video drawing piece popped into my head (no pun intended as you will see soon)...

The idea is to create a large drawing of Judith with the head of Holophernes. His head would have an embedded digital component which would rotate images of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and all of the real rulers of Iran, the "I wanna end the world" scary Ayatollahs.

Clearly the idea is driven by the state of the world today, where Israel appears to be in the same precarious situation as when faced with Nebuchadnezzar's general.

Bethulia was saved by Judith; let's hope 21st century reasoning saves us from 5th century mindsets.

Thomas Kinkade

American artist Thomas Kinkaid, known to his ten million collectors as the "painter of light," has bitten the dust:

The death of popular artist Thomas Kinkade is certain to ignite controversy regarding the painter’s legacy. Known for his renderings of luminous landscapes and street scenes, often captured at twilight, the so-called painter of light, a Christian who said that God guided his brush, died Friday at 54 of natural causes.

Regarded as both a master of kitsch and a genius of commercial marketing, Kinkade, a graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, discovered a lucrative formula for his art at an early age. He and his wife, Nanette, initially sold his painting for $35 apiece. Saturday morning on EBay, a 30-by-48-inch canvas of a stormy mountain range by Kinkade was listed at $95,000.

Read more about it here.

Hot Water

My wife has an incredible resistance to hot water, if you open a faucet in this house and stick your hands in the water before checking the temperature, you will most likely get a 4th degree burn.

Opportunity for Artists

When: Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Out of Order is the Maryland Art Place's Annual free-hung Benefit Exhibition, Silent Auction and Party!

This is a great opportunity for artists to (a) help a great art venue and (b) sell work and get 50% of the Samolians.

For more details, access their website: www.mdartplace.org or call 410-962-8565.

Start preparing now...

Hispanic or Latino? Neither!

Nearly four decades after the United States government mandated the use of the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries, a new nationwide survey of Hispanic adults finds that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics themselves.

Very interesting new report on one of my pet peeves from The Pew Research Center... read it here.

Opportunity for Artists

There has been a Deadline Extension for Call for Entries for MPA's summer juried exhibition "Something and Nothing: Activating the Void"

This exhibition will bring together artists whose work deals with space, inclusion or absence. Many artists pay close attention to the “negative space” in their work, and often what is not included or that which is in-between is just as important as what is. For this exhibition, they are looking for works that explore this territory, either in a conceptual or formal way.

The juror will be J.W. Mahoney who is an artist, critic, and independent curator who serves as Washington’s Corresponding Editor for Art in America. He is an Affiliate Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and his latest exhibition “Canceral” will open at Curator’s Office in Washington in May of this year.

Important dates:

April 11 Deadline for submissions

June 14 - July 28 Exhibition

For more information and the entry form, visit www.mpaart.org

Things that make me go Uh?

As a former rock-throwing liberal who's evolved into a social progressive and a fiscal conservative, and thus feels more relaxed now as a registered independent voter who's seldom seduced by the dogma of both nutty ends of our major parties, I went to vote today knowing that as a registered independent I would not be able to cast my vote in Maryland for either the Democrats or Republican candidates for anything.

"What party sir?", asked the nice lady at the voting station. I told her that I was an independent.

"Then you are aware that you'll only be voting for the Board of Education candidates?" she added.

"I know," I responded.

"Some people have been surprised and upset by that," she expanded as she handed me the plastic card with an embedded chip in it.

"Why?" I asked. "It was clear to me that as a registered independent, Maryland is one of those states that doesn't allow us to vote for Democrats or Republicans during the primaries."

She looked at me, almost expecting me to figure out the great illogical consequence of what I would figure out next.

And I did.

"But wait!" I almost shouted, and the nice old lady behind me in line jumped back a little. "Why can't I vote for independent candidates?" I looked at her, already knowing that she had heard this song before.

"Doesn't make sense does it?" she sighed. "People have been complaining all day."

What's up with that Maryland?

And yet another art scammer!

I've started a conversation with this rip-off master:

To: lennycampello@hotmail.com
Subject: ArtFile Online: Asere Si o No? 2009 Charcoal on Paper 19 x 48 inches
From: dr.jamesgreene@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:55:28 -0400

Morning,I would love to purchase Asere Si o No? 2009, Charcoal on Paper 19 x 48 inches ,please get back to me with details..I appreciate your prompt response
james

dr.jamesgreene@yahoo.com

And my response

From: Lenny Campello
Subject: RE: ArtFile Online: Asere Si o No? 2009 Charcoal on Paper 19 x 48 inches
To: dr.jamesgreene@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, March 30, 2012, 12:52 AM

Dr. Greene,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I was about to be evicted from my home due to lack of money to pay my rent... this will allow my six daughters and I to stay here 2-3 more months.... I have shown your email to my landlord and he's allowing me to complete this sale and then pay him for the overdue rent.

What details do you need?

Blessings to you and your family.

Me

And he responds in turn

Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:34:34 -0700
From: dr.jamesgreene@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: ArtFile Online: Asere Si o No? 2009 Charcoal on Paper 19 x 48 inches
To: lennycampello@hotmail.com

you havent even told me the price and how you want payment made..kindly get back to me with those,thanks

So, I then lead him on more:

From: lennycampello@hotmail.com
To: dr.jamesgreene@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: ArtFile Online: Asere Si o No? 2009 Charcoal on Paper 19 x 48 inches
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2012 20:21:29 +0000

Dr. Greene,

How I hate to sully the transaction of art with talk of money... but I must pay my rent... I hope you understand.

Will you be paying for shipping fees? Where will I be shipping this wondrous creation of mine?

My six daughters, my landlord and I send you blessings.

Lenny

Art Scam Alert

Here's the text and email address of the would be scammer:

Morning,I am interested in buying your True Believer 2009 Charcoal and Colored Pencils on Paper 24 x 14 inches ,i would like to know how payment would be made,and the price you listed for it.have a nice day..I appreciate your prompt response
Scott

scottwood889@yahoo.co.uk

You know I'm gonna go see this show...

Dmitry Volkov

I know that this blog is all about the visual arts, but recently I had the pleasure to be invited to and then astounded by, a private cello performance by a very young and immensely talented cellist that had a profound impact upon me.

Winner of the 2009 Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, cellist Dmitry Volkov performs solo concerts across the Globe. Mr. Volkov won First Prize in the Midland-Odessa Symphony National Young Artist Competition (2011), the Heifetz Institute of Music Concerto Competition (2009), and the Togliatti International Competition for Strings, (2002), as well as Second Prize in the Teacher and Student International Competition (2003). Having graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the studio of Natalia Shakhovskaya in 2011, he is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Peabody Institute in the studio of Amit Peled.

Volkov's talent is undeniable, but I think that it is his passion for the music that he makes that will set him apart and make him an important star in the vastly gifted firmament of contemporary classical music.

As I sat there watching his impossibly long fingers dance all over the cello, I was thinking to myself how mankind continuously replenishes itself with ever more advanced talent, always pushing the line a little further along the unquantifiable "it" that makes us open out mouths and minds in wonder.

Volkov is about to embark on a tour of Mexico; check out his website here.

O'Steen on Caldwell

Danielle O'Steen reviews Colby Caldwell's two concurrent exhibitions in DC - read that review here.

This dual-solo show event(s) has got to be a first for me and for the DMV in general: one artist having two individual shows at the same time in two separate individually owned, independent commercial fine arts galleries.

Caldwell is one of the artists in my 100 Artists of Washington, DC book.

Way to go Colby!

WaPo announces the new guy in charge of Arts coverage

John Temple, former editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, has been hired by the WaPo as a managing editor.

Temple will oversee the areas that focus on the WaPo's local DMV audience, including its Metro section, sports and arts coverage.

DC Art News welcomes Temple to the area, and if he ever wants to listen to the DMV's number one expert on how the WaPo can improve its local arts coverage, the beer is on me.

Opportunity for DC area artists

Deadline: April 19, 2012

The Capitol Hill ART League presents its Third Annual Metro DC open juried exhibition: It’s a Wonderful World?

All artists, 18 years of age or older residing in the Washington, DC metropolitan area are eligible to enter.

Deadline for submissions is Thursday April 19, 2012.

The Capitol Hill ART League (CHAL) is a program of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Located in the historic Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, DC, CHAL is composed of approximately 100 artists. Each season CHAL mounts a series of seven juried exhibitions and conducts gallery talks at the openings; CHAL hosts lectures on a variety of art related topics, offers workshops, and strives to develop a supportive artistic community. The greater Washington community is encouraged to participate in all of these events.

JUROR: I am honored to return as this year's juror.

ENTRY: Selections for the show will be made by the judge from JPEG images submitted by the artists. All work must be original and signed by the artist. Any work previously shown at a Capitol Hill ART League juried show is ineligible. All work must have been created within the last three years.

ENTRY FEES: Up to 3 entries may be submitted for a non-refundable fee of $15 for current Capitol Hill Art League members or $30 for the community at large (non members). Up to two additional entries may be submitted at $5 each. Artists submitting 3-dimensional work may provide two images of each piece.

AWARDS: Awards will be decided by the judge and will include cash awards for ‘Best in Show’, and ‘Merit’ awards. Two Honorable mentions will be awarded. All awards will be presented at the opening reception with the judge’s talk on Saturday, May 12, 2011 from 5:00-7:00 PM.

SALES: A 30% commission will be deducted from CHAL members’ exhibition sales and 35% commission on all non-member exhibition sales. All work must be for sale and the price submitted on the registration form will be the price presented at the time of the show for accepted work.

Exhibition Calendar:
April 19, 2012 - deadline for entries
April 30, 2012 - Notification sent to accepted Artists
May 4-9, 2012 - Art delivery dates
May 12, 2012 - Artists’ Reception and Awards, Presentation (5:00 - 7:00 pm)
June 1, 2012 - Exhibition closes
June 2-6, 2012 - Pick up artwork

Contact info: caphillartleague@yahoo.com Prospectus at: www.caphillartleague.org

Opportunity for artists

Deadline: May 1, 2012

Rochester Contemporary Art Center's (RoCo) international small art phenomenon returns with thousands of original artworks, made and donated by celebrities, international & local artists, designers, college students, youths, and YOU. Each artwork must be 6x6 square inches (15cm) or mounted to a 6x6 board, and signed only on the back, to be exhibited anonymously. All entries will be accepted, exhibited and will be for sale to the public for $20 each (in the gallery and online for global purchasing) to benefit RoCo. Artist names will be revealed to the buyer upon purchase and all artworks remain on display through July 15, 2012. Sold Out artists' names will be revealed next to their work online on July 6. Anyone may enter up to 10 artworks of any medium (2D or 3D) and there is no fee to enter.

Mail Artworks to:
Rochester Contemporary Art Center
137 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14604

Details: here.

Judge sides with Maine governor on removing mural

Maine Gov. Paul LePage was within his rights when he ordered the removal of a mural depicting the history of the labor movement from a state office building, a federal judge ruled Friday, a year after the mural was put into storage at an undisclosed location.

Judge John Woodcock dismissed a lawsuit aimed at restoring the labor mural to its original location in on the ground floor of the Department of Labor building.

The governor's decision created a national uproar that proved to be a major distraction, but LePage felt vindicated by the judge's ruling.

“We've always believed this was a frivolous, politically motivated lawsuit,” said Adrienne Bennett, the governor's spokeswoman. “It would be stunning if government officials were to be barred from making different artistic choices than their predecessors.”

Read the whole story here.

"Lost" Cezanne Found

Auction house Christie's said today that a "lost" watercolor by French master Paul Cezanne has been found and is expected to fetch between $15 - $20 million Samolians at auction in New York.

The watercolor study for the painting "Joueur des cartes" ("Card Players") was last seen in public in 1953 and was recently "found in a private collection in Texas."

Five gets you ten that someone will pop out from somewhere claiming that this watercolor is theirs.

Brown Bares It

It has been called a microcosm of Brunonian culture, a "Craigslist for Brown" and an inspiration for students and alums to pose nude on the roof of the GeoChem Building, in Faunce House, in Sayles Hall, in Steinert Practice Center and in Salomon Center. While much of the hype of BrownBares.com on campus has died down, the site remains active months after its creation in mid-November.

BrownBares is a "subreddit" of reddit.com, a site that allows users to submit photos and comment on others' submissions under self-created usernames. While certainly not the only site of its kind, BrownBares is one of the only "not suitable for work" subreddits exclusive to a university.

With approximately 1,000 to 2,000 unique hits every day, dozens of users and nearly 300 subscribers, "the place in which Brown bares all" has occupied a unique niche in Brown's culture of sexual positivity.

Read the story in the Brown Daily Herald here.

What's good for the goose...

"A recently released painting of President Barack Obama holding a burning copy of the U.S. Constitution has seemingly set the political world on fire as well.

Jon McNaughton’s picture, titled "One Nation Under Socialism" shows the president with a furrowed brow and hardened face and appearing decidedly unfazed by the flames licking closely to him as the Constitution is torched."

Read the Salt Lake Trib report here.

The LAT's Christopher Knight, who one can safely assume (from reading his extensive and eloquent criticism - often touching on political art) is left of the political centerline, calls it junk, and that is certainly his opinion as a respected critic to deliver (although Knight accidentally reveals a little of his personal critical agenda when he feels obligated to expand that "the painting is junk (yes, junk) not because its style is realist or anti-Modern or the image is pandering or inflammatory."

Knight just sort of showed his cards here a little. Would he have ever written "the painting is junk (yes, junk) not because its style is abstract or Post Modern or the image is pandering or inflammatory."

Naw... This inner look at Knight's personal art agenda is also nothing that is not easy to learn from this giant of the art world once you read a few dozen of his reviews. Also note how he cleverly diminishes the artwork itself by calling it an "illustration."

But where Knight steps over the line, again revealing his personal contribution to the ugly side of American political discourse, is when -- in the context of doing an art review (I think) -- he then gets a little too personal (in my opinion) and somewhat goes after the artist himself, rather than after the art.

Replace Obama with Bush and the Constitution with ... ahhh... the Constitution, and a whole different discourse about the artsyness of the painting would be happening right now.

I get a little bit of chills when we start going after people rather than critically going after their artwork. Regardless of where you stand on the political minefield of contemporary American politics, the one thing that we as Americans should agree on is the freedom for all artists to use their talents to depict whatever drives their inner fires, and if it's OK for countless artists to use their talents to vilify the previous President, so it is OK for them to demonize (or praise) the current one and whoever comes after President Obama.

The artist's website is here. This is clearly an artist with a political agenda wedded to a religious one. The fact that his artwork is caustically anti-Obama does what any political agenda in art does: offend a lot of people and also align you with a lot of people who already felt like you do when it comes to politics.

Doesn't justify going after the artist, be him or her a right wing artist or a left wing artist.

And we all then breathe a sigh of relief thanks to people like artist Dan Lacey, who can use the power of art to make fun of anything!.

National Medal of Honor Day


The United States Congress has designated March 25th of each year as National Mdeal of Honor Day, a day dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients.

A salute and thank you to all recipients.

Ave Jacquelinas er

Below is Ave Jacquelinas er, charcoal and conte on watercolor paper with embedded digital player.

Over at Strathmore

You Are What You Eat, the exhibition at Strathmore that just closed was one of the most interesting shows that I have seen in a long time. The show featured nine artists whose work “comments on perception of body image and the cultural significance of food, with a bent toward American idolization of consumption.”

I wish that I had visited the exhibition earlier on so that I could have encouraged all of you to go see this show; my failure at proper time management.

The exhibition included painting, sculpture, photography and multi-media works by Danny Rozin, Peter Anton, Matthew Lawrence, Pamela Michelle Johnson, Davette Leonard, Rhonda Harris Banes, Matt Freedman, Joey Manlapaz and Donna McCullough.

Area artists McCullough and Manlapaz were well-known to me; both are gifted not only as technical masters of their genre (McCullough as a sculptor and Manlapaz as a painter), but also as conceptual and intelligent artists who wield their respective skills like visual art weapons to drive home their ideas and vision.

New to me was the work of sculptor Danny Rozin, whose large scale picture plane Trash Mirror #3 was one of the most innovative, fun and impressive interactive works of art that I have seen since DC artist Tim Tate started incorporating motion detectors, mini speakers, miniature cameras and video into his sculptural work a decade ago.

But whereas Tate’s work is self-contained, beautiful and intimate and often presents a technical surprise to the viewer, Rozin’s spectacular massive offering is composed of 500 pieces of discarded refuse collected from the streets of New York— this guy has employed wrappers, cans, cigarettes packs, coffee cups, coupons, tickets, hotel room keys and other ephemera to create a rare successful marriage of found, discarded objects and technology. In this work, each piece of found NYC garbage is attached to an individual motor that moves in response to any motion in front of the piece, reflecting the motion in a Seattle stadium wave-like effect that is both surprising and elegant.


And the accomplishment in taking garbage to the heights of elegance is not a trivial task. In one single piece of jaw-dropping artwork, Mr. Rozin has wiped out 30 years of personal dislike for what passes for most found object art.

I send my thanks to him for opening my mind and senses; Rozin and Tate should get together and plan big things.

New Commissioners

The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities is pleased to welcome five new and six reappointed commissioners, appointed by Mayor Vincent C. Gray, to the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

The commissioners of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities are volunteers who are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. They represent all eight wards of the District. The commissioners are key stakeholders who oversee commission activities, policy recommendations, the grant adjudication process as well as representing the commission with local executive and legislative branch relations. The commissioners also play a key role in public art project decisions.

The new commissioners are Carl C. Cole (Ward 8), Edmund C. Fleet (Ward 7), Alma H. Gates (Ward 3), Danielle M. St. Germain-Gordon (Ward 7) and MaryAnn Miller (Ward 3). The reappointed commissioners are Marvin Bowser (Ward 7), Christopher Cowan (Ward 5), Rhona W. Friedman (Ward 2), Philippa Hughes (Ward 1), Rogelio Maxwell (Ward 3) and Lavinia Wohlfarth (Ward 5).

"As Chair of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, I am delighted to welcome our new and returning commissioners," said Judith Terra. "I am confident that with the leadership of this Commission we will help steer the arts in this city so that D.C. continues to grow as the culture capital of the United States."

"The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities continues to grow in its reach and scope. As an arts agency, we look forward to continuous growth as our commissioners are deeply involved in their communities and have a strong interest in the arts," said Lionell Thomas, Executive Director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.