Kordas

Here are the vintage Korda photographs which have been sent to the University of Oregon as part of an extended loan.

Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda or simply Korda (September 14, 1928 in Havana, Cuba – May 25, 2001 in Paris, France) was the Cuban photographer who took the most reproduced photograph in history and documented some of the early days of the Cuban Revolution as it quickly evolved into the genocidal, racist, mass-murdering dictatorship that still oppresses the Cuban people and caused the Cuban Diaspora.

All images of the Korda photographs are by Pete Duvall, who is a wizard at photographing artwork.

Fidel y Niño (1960)

Prueba de una Cortadora de Caña (1962)

Ché Encima del Tractor (1962)

Ché con Hombre y Maquinaria (1962)

Miliciana (1962)

Fidel Jugando Golf (1959)

Guerrillero Heroico (1960)

David y Goliath (1959)

Ché y Raul (1961)

Ché Apoyando al Baston de Golf (1959)

Ché Arreglando el Tractor (1962)

Fidel Aprendiendo a Esquiar en Rusia (1962)

Fidel Sobre la Nieve en Rusia (1962)

Juego de Golf con Fidel (1959)

Fidel y Ché Pescando (1959)

Prueba de una Cortadora de Caña 2 (1962)

Ché Mirando con Anteojos (1960)

The two Kordas below remain with the collectors here in the DC area:

Jean Paul Sartre (1960)

Jean Paul Sartre (1960)

Call for Art

Fermentation Festival and Exhibit: Call for Art - The Gallery at Convergence

            Since the beginning of civilization fermentation has mystified humans. Ancient legends say we were taught by sacred beings to make fermented beverages containing a magical substance, a spirit that awakens dormant capacities within us.

            A cursory look at the process of fermentation reveals connections with our personal experiences of transformation. Fermenting implies agitation, excitement or tumult. It is the process by which old ideas, habits and patterns are overturned and new insight is introduced to strengthen us and ensure our flourishing. As artists our creative experience often ferments from initial intent into surprising transformations. It is our growth process.

            Convergence is calling artists to submit works that express, share or observe fermentation in a creative, personal, spiritual or global sense. You are invited to share what is fermenting inside you!

*All media considered including 2D, 3D, multi-media, installations and performance. Open to all artists.

*Entry Deadline: 10 am, August 24, 2013

*Email jpg images of artwork and entry form to office@convergenceccf.net by 10am on August 24, 2013

*Payment should be dropped off/mailed to Convergence Office, ATTN: Christina Perry, 1801 N. Quaker Ln, Alexandria, VA 22302. $15 per entry (up to 4 pieces per entry).

*For multi-media, installations, or performance pieces please write and send in a proposal.

Important Dates:

•   Call for art launches: June 25, 2013

•   Deadline for submissions: 10am, August 24, 2013

•   Artists notification: August 27, 2013

•   Hanging: Tuesday, Wednesday, September 3 and 4th, 2013

•   Exhibition: Thursday, September 5th - Monday, October 28, 2013

•   Opening Reception: Saturday, September 14, 2013, 10am-3pm

•   Closing Party: TBD

•   Deinstall: TBD

Submission Details: Please submit a digital image of your entry. You may submit up to 4 pieces total per entry.

 

    Submission Fees: $15 per entry made payable to Convergence.

•     Artists are invited to submit up to four (4) pieces of original art. All media including painting, photography, mixed media, fiber/textile, sculpture, and other high quality fine art. Convergence encourages submissions of cutting edge, experimental, and high energy styles.
•     Artists will be notified of the curator's selection by August 27, 2013 
•     Shipping costs (including return shipping) are the responsibility of the artists. Detailed shipping instructions will be sent with the curators' notification.
•     Participating artists will be asked to sign an "Artist's Loan Agreement," which includes a liability waiver and permission to use any images for promotional purposes, as well as other terms.

Exhibition:

•     Artwork previously exhibited at Convergence is not eligible.
•     All artwork selected must be ready for exhibition: framed when appropriate, delivered with necessary hardware.
•     Finished and framed art should not exceed 48” in any direction. All art on paper must be framed and under glass or plexiglass. Work on canvas should finished sides or be framed.
•     All artwork must be labeled on the back with the artist name, phone number, title of work, medium, and price
•     Artists are required to provide a current Artist Statement and Bio limited to 1 page to be included in the Gallery Notebook.
•     All artwork must remain on exhibit for the duration of the show and will not be removed prior to Tuesday, October 29, 2013.
•     A donation of 15% of art sales will be made to Convergence by the artist. All sales are handled by the artist.

Accepted Artist Responsibilities:

•    Artists are responsible for drop off/pick up as well as delivery of sold artworks.
•     All taxes are the sole responsibility of the artist.
•     Convergence requests each art publicize the exhibit and opening on their websites, blog, and/or Facebook.
•     All artists MUST volunteer for a show job, see list on Entry Form. Sign up sheet will be available at Artwork Receiving.

Use Rights: by submitting artwork for the exhibition, accepted artists grant Convergence the right to use their images for the purpose of marketing he exhibition, marketing Convergence’s programs and display on the Convergence website. Artists grant the use of their image(s) as stated without further contact or compensation from Convergence. Artist’s credit is provided with any use.

Liability: Artwork and submission materials will be handled with all possible care. Convergence will not be responsible or liable for loss or damage from any cause whatsoever. Entering this exhibition shall constitute understanding and agreement on the part of the artist with the conditions stated. Insurance, if desired, is the sole responsibility of the artist.

If you have any questions please contact the Gallery Coordinator, Christina Perry at 703-998-6260 or email: office@convergenceccf.net

Call for Scary Art

Deadline: August 1, 2013

BFSD (BIG FAT SCARY DEAL) Purdue University Galleries is curating exhibit of contemporary art that is edgy, weird, unsettling and scary. Open to US artists. Oct 21 - Dec 8, 2013. Any media, limit 8 feet tall or 10 feet wide. Selections from jpeg or video files - no PowerPoints. Artists responsible for shipping. No entry fee.

Details: Craig Martin, Director
765-494-3061
 http://cla.purdue.edu/galleries
email: cdmartin@purdue.edu

Vintage Korda on its way to Oregon

See that shrink wrapped photo lying on my kitchen island and awaiting for an art courier to pick it up (which she did yesterday)? - that's the very first, original, vintage Korda photograph of the Argentinean psychopath Ernesto Guevara de La Serna Lynch, known to most of the world as Ché and to many Cubans as El Chacal de La Cabaña.

That photo, together with 16 other vintage Kordas from 1959 - 1960s are heading to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum at The University of Oregon for an extended loan.

Korda's iconic photo of Guevara (titled "Guerrillero Heroico") is the most reproduced photograph in history, thanks to the billions of T-Shirts that it adorns. I am told that recent appraisals put its value at around $4.5 million dollars.

I'm glad that it is out of my house and on its way to the Great Pacific Northwest. It's a good thing that the kid has nerves of steel, as I picked it up from the owners' home in Chevy Chase and transported it to my home so that the courier could pick it up yesterday. She came with a crew that boxed it up in a very cool carrying case.

The world's most reproduced and iconic photograph (and perhaps the most expensive as well) made its way to a collector's home in the Greater DC area thanks to a very interesting series of events after Korda died a few years ago.

The two top most reproduced images in the world are bearded men: The Christ and Ché...  cough, cough...

Now it's on a permanent loan to Oregon, which this Fall begins to teach a new class on Guevara.

Admiral Frank Kelso

Sad to report that Admiral Frank Kelso passed away today after sustaining injuries after a fall.

I never served with him, but under him.

And he probably never even knew that he saved my butt when I was a very junior officer in the Navy and I did something under fire that drew a lot of harsh criticism from senior leadership in the Navy and to which Kelso (then Commander of the Navy's Sixth Fleet) sent an official message using the words "initiative that Commanders can only dream of" that pretty much saved that young officer's (me) Naval career.

Fair winds and following seas Admiral...

And the next Artomatic will be at...

You saw it first here... the next Artomatic will be at the old Hecht's warehouse on New York Avenue - that's a great location for Artomatic!

Frida Kahlo’s Closet is Opened 58 years After Her Death

"If you are a Frida Kahlo fan – and really, who isn’t – check out the new exhibit at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City.  It opened this past weekend and it takes us inside Frida’s long-locked closet."

Read the story by Diana Olivia Cave here.

Reworking Eve

I seldom do this, but after framing "Eve Sees Her Face for the First Time" and looking at it for a few days, I decided to re-work the pond/water area. Here's the final version heading to Glenn Aber Contemporary in New York for the fairs at the Hamptons.

This is an experimental public artwork that uses social media to create this final work of art. The concept is to offer a path to develop a collaborative effort between the artist and other people. 

The video drawing “Eve Sees Her Face for the First Time” showcases the faces of about 75 women from all over the world. When this piece was conceived, I put out a call via Facebook for women of all ages, ethnicities and races to send him an image of their faces for inclusion in the piece. 

The call went viral on Facebook and over 1,000 images of women came from all over the world (and are still coming!). This work contains about 75 rotating images of the first woman. Additionally, the piece can continue to “grow” and the collector of this piece has the option to continue to add more faces to the piece via an included USB connector, if so desired, and thus become a “contributor” to the work.

My next step with this series is to create the next piece with the ability to log onto the Internet and via Facebook (once the owner logs it into his/her Facebook account) to search for the Facebookian women who have given permission and donated their faces to the project.

I am in the process of beginning working with Facebook developers to have them create a "permission" that can be recognized by my work, so that it can "grab" the permitted image and insert it into the artwork.

Eve Sees Her Face for the First Time
Charcoal and Conte with Embedded Electronics
32 x 20 inches and framed to 40.5 x 28.5 inches

Previous version of the piece

USS Enterprise's last voyage

USS Enterprise, easily the most legendary US Navy ship, is about to take its final voyage.

Read it here.

Fair winds and following seas to this amazing lady.

Mexican Emperor bit the dust in 1864

On this day in history, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been made Emperor of Mexico by French Emperor Napoleon III in 1864, was whacked on the orders of Benito Juarez, the President of the Mexican Republic.

I know that all of you knew that, but how many of you know that the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was named after Juárez?

Wanna go to an artist's talk this Saturday?

Come hear local glass artist Erwin Timmers discuss his work.

  

Thoughtful and ingenious, Timmers' sculpture calls attention to contemporary issues through a creative re-engineering of often-overlooked forms and concepts, often focusing on industrial salvage and recycling.

 

In my opinion, he's also one of the "earliest" green artists on the planet.

 

Artist Talk:  Saturday, June 22, 2:00pm

 

Brentwood Arts Exchange - exchanging ideas through art

located in the Gateway Arts Center
3901 Rhode Island Avenue
Brentwood, MD 20722
301-277-2863/ tty. 301-446-6802
email: pgp-brentwood-arts@pgparks.com

Call to Artists - Art HoCo 2013‏

Artists who live, work, or study in Howard County are invited to apply for this biennial, juried exhibit. Guest juror is Fahimeh Vahdat, Chair of Visual Arts at Howard Community College. Deadline for entries is August 30; exhibit runs from November 1–December 13. The prospectus and entry form are available for download at www.hocoarts.org/exhibits.php.

 

Pam Perna
Community and Web Relations Assistant
Howard County Arts Council
8510 High Ridge Road
Ellicott City, MD 21043
p: 410.313.ARTS
f: 410.313.2790

Parish Gallery's Final Exhibit‏

NORMAN PARISH: The Artist

Opening June 21, 2013

Reception 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Parish Gallery - Georgetown

1054 31st Street, NW

Washington, DC 20007

Tel: 202.944.2310  

Email: parishgallery@bigplanet.com

www.parishgallery.com

Boardwalk Art Show

This is about half of the massive 58th Annual Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art Boardwalk Art Show in Virginia Beach... it's late Friday, a few minutes after a massive wind burst destroyed about 33 booths and damaged many others.

The CIA, Jackson Pollock and the abstract boys...

Oh boy...

For decades in art circles it was either a rumour or a joke, but now it is confirmed as a fact. The Central Intelligence Agency used American modern art - including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko - as a weapon in the Cold War. In the manner of a Renaissance prince - except that it acted secretly - the CIA fostered and promoted American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years.

Details here...

Read this!

I started out as a young Turk completely rebellious against skill.  I was conceptual!  I knew what was important!  And it wasn’t some type of mindless devotion to creating perfect solder seams.  I was so bad, and this is true; that on at least one occasion, my work fell apart at the opening.

Read some really good writing by Judith Schaechter at Late Breaking Noose here.

Looking for studio space?

Available July 1, 2013.

Approx. 326 sf for 353.17 per month plus utilities. This store front studio is located in the heart of the Gateway Arts District. One block from The Gateway Arts Center and 1/4 mile form the DC line on Rhode Island Ave. Most mediums allowed.

1 year lease minimum.

For more information, to get an application, or to see the space email John Paradiso at john@gateway-cdc.org

Gallery B call to artists!

  

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and Bethesda Urban Partnership are accepting applications for Gallery B in downtown Bethesda!

This gallery, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E in downtown Bethesda, is available to interested artists and arts organizations for one-month rentals. All media including, but not limited to, painting, photography and sculpture is eligible to use the space. Gallery B does not take a commission on any artwork sold during the exhibition.  

They are seeking applications from local artists and arts organizations for month-long exhibitions in 2014.  There is approximately 1,500 sq. feet of available exhibition space.  The deadline for submission is July 19, 2013.

To be considered for a solo or group exhibition, and to review the gallery requirements, please complete this application.

Questions?  Please send them an email to artist@bethesda.org.

  

 www.bethesda.org

Eve Sees Her Face for the First Time

"Eve Sees Her Face for the First Time"
Charcoal, conte and Embedded Video
2013. Framed to 40x30 inches

The return of the censored artsy underwear

The more things change...

David Woodward, a Queen's University fine arts student, planned to display 10 pairs of underwear at a university donor appreciation event. But when he arrived, the Toronto Star reports school officials quickly told him to get rid of them before the event at the Kingston, Ontario, school began.

This is so old news in some many ways... sometime in the mid 1990s there was a Washington DC area artist, I can't recall her name, whose work consisted of exactly the same thematic idea, but in this case her own underwear (sexy, feminine things...) and of course it was censored. I recall this because I wrote a long article for the historic KOAN Magazine about it.

More than a decade later... the more they stay the same.

New record for rugs... cough, cough

 New record!

"A Persian carpet decorated with swirling vines and vibrant flowers that was stored for decades by the Corcoran Gallery of Art sold Wednesday for more than $30 million. That sum, fetched at a Sotheby’s sale, shattered the previous record for rugs sold at auction. But it won’t help the struggling Washington gallery overcome its financial woes because the money must be used for future acquisitions, not to help the bottom line."

Read the article in the WaPo here. If the Corc needs some ideas as to how to spen the $30M... they know my number...