(e)merge art fair announces exhibition roster

The (e)merge art fair returns for a fourth year with the 2014 edition featuring an international roster of 85 exhibitors presenting works by 150 artists from 30 countries. Exhibitors will show new works in painting, sculpture, video, performance, installation, and other media. For four days, the public is welcome to view a carefully curated selection of emerging art at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, exhibited on three levels inside the hotel and throughout the hotel's grounds and public spaces.

GALLERY PLATFORM > galleries and art spaces:

ARGENTINA: Acuarell Contemporary Art, Buenos Aires / C-Arte, Buenos Aires / Centro de Edición, Buenos Aires / Deseado Arroyo, Buenos Aires | BELGIUM: NOMAD, Brussels / GKV/Magenta Projects, Ostend | BOLIVIA: Salar Galería de Arte, La Paz | FRANCE: galerie bruno massa, Paris | GERMANY: polarraum, Hamburg | JAMAICA: ARC & NLS, Kingston | THE NETHERLANDS: Amstel Gallery, Amsterdam | SAUDI ARABIA: Naila Art Gallery, Riyadh | U.S.A.: Adamson Gallery, Washington, DC / Alida Anderson Art Projects, Potomac, MD / All We Art, Washington, DC / Atanda Gallery, Washington, DC / Aureus Contemporary, Providence, RI / Blind Whino, Washington, DC / Bodega de la Haba Presents, New York, NY / Causey Contemporary, New York, NY / CONNERSMITH., Washington, DC / DCCAH, Washington, DC / Flashpoint Gallery, Washington, DC / Hamiltonian, Washington, DC / I.B.Clark Gallery, New Hope, PA / KiloWatt Gallery, Newark, NJ / Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL / Pleasant Plains Workshop, Washington, DC / Present Company, Brooklyn, NY / Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia, PA / Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC / Transformer, Washington, DC / Victori Contemporary, New York, NY / Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC

ARTIST PLATFORM > independent artists:

Adam Hager, Washington, DC | Amy Finkelstein, Takoma Park, MD | Ana Schmidt, Getxo, Spain | Andrey Ustinov, Cologne, Germany | Anne Bouie, Washington, DC | Annie Albagli, Richmond, VA | Apollonia Vanova, Toronto, Canada | Becky Borlan, Takoma Park, MD | Ben Schonberger, Alexandria, VA | Ben Tolman, Washington, DC | Christopher Capriotti, Philadelphia, PA | Cici Wu, Beijing, China / Baltimore, MD | Dan Hildt, Alexandria, VA | Edel Gregan, Waterford, Ireland / McLean, VA | Eduardo Terranova, Cali, Colombia / New York, NY | Elizabeth Brown, Manassas, VA | Evan Hume, Washington, DC | Fawna Xiao, Washington, DC | Fiorella Gonzales Vigil, Lima, Peru / New York, NY | Galen Odell-Smedley, Mt. Rainier, MD | Heloisa Escudero, São Paulo, Brazil / Arlington, VA | Holly Bass, Washington, DC | Jake Singer, Johannesburg, South Africa | James Bernard Cole, Washington, DC | Jarri Hasnain, Leesburg, VA | Jeffrey Hensley, Ellicott City, MD | Joana Fischer, Ahlen, Germany / Miami, FL | John Franzen, Aachen, Germany / Maastricht, Netherlands | Joshua Bennett, Richmond, VA | Justin Wood, Miami, FL | Karine Falleni, Tucson, AZ | Madeleine Cutrona, Baltimore, MD | Magali Hébert-Huot, Jim Leach + Zack Ingram, Quebec City, Canada / Baltimore, MD | Mercedes Teixido, Claremont, CA | Nara Park, Seoul, South Korea / Washington, DC | Nicole Salimbene, Takoma Park, MD | Rachel Schmidt + André Singleton, Arlington, VA / Brooklyn, NY | Rebecca Ruige Xu, Beijing, China / Syracuse, NY | Sebastian Martorana, Baltimore, MD | Sha Sha Feng + Tami Gold, Brooklyn, NY | Sheldon Scott, Washington, DC | Stephen Hendee, Baltimore, MD | Sui Park, Seoul, South Korea / Brooklyn, NY | Tatiana Gulenkina, Washington, DC | Terence Hannum, Parkville, MD | Travis Beauchene, Fargo, ND | Trisha Kanellopoulos, Munich, Germany

FAIR HOURS + ADMISSION:

> Thursday, October 2
5pm – 7pm / (e)merge VIP & Press Preview. By invitation only.
7pm – 9pm / OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW
9pm - 11pm / Concert by the Pool with Furniteur, Pleasure Curses, and Chris Burns (dj set)
> Friday, October 3: 12pm – 7pm
Students with valid ID free: 12pm – 3pm
> Saturday, October 4: 12pm – 7pm
> Sunday, October 5: 12pm – 5pm

Trawick Prize

A friendly reminder that the annual Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards exhibit opens in two weeks on Wednesday, September 3 at Gallery B in Bethesda. The exhibit will showcase the work of this year’s nine finalists who were selected from more than 400 applicants. The award winners will be announced on September 4.

The public opening reception will be held Friday, September 12 from 6-9pm in conjunction with the Bethesda Art Walk. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

Larry Cook, Landover Hills, MD

Lisa Dillin, Baltimore, MD

Neil Feather, Baltimore, MD

Zoe Friedman, Baltimore, MD

Nicole Lenzi, Baltimore, MD

Kim Llerena, Washington, D.C.

Jonathan Monaghan, Washington, D.C.

Martine Workman, Washington, D.C.

Naoko Wowsugi, Washington, D.C.

Here come the Pandas!

CALL TO ARTISTS: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS THE PANDA PROJECT

Deadline for Submission EXTENDED: September 2, 2014

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) is pleased to join with the DC Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA) to invite local artists or artistic teams to provide two- dimensional design proposals for a pre-fabricated panda sculpture.

Individual Artists and Artistic Teams are requested to respond to this Call to Artists with professional and emerging qualifications. Artists or teams are asked to submit up to three (3) designs in the form of two-dimensional drawings, renderings or paintings. Digital media designs illustrating the design on the panda and mixed media proposals will also be accepted.

Artists must be able to replicate the design in a three-dimensional format -hence the panda sculpture as pictured (below).

Background:

The Panda Project is part of a special artistic exchange for the District of Columbia's Sister Cities Program within the DC Office of the Secretary. In late September 2014, a Chinese Delegation from Beijing will visit the District for a series of events and programs. The panda statue will be used to highlight the city as a symbol of cultural and economic exchange between the District of Columbia and the Chinese Embassy.

Eligibility:

This opportunity is open to artists based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (including surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia) with special preference given to artists living in Washington, DC.

Budget:

The selected artist will receive a $4,000.00 honorarium, which will include design fee and all costs associated with design execution, materials and travel. The applicant should also have an appropriate studio space that can accommodate the sculpture during the painting process. Transportation of the panda sculpture to and from the studio space and associated costs will be covered by DCCAH.

Timeline:

July 11, 2014	Release of Invitational Request for Proposals
September 2, 2014, 5:00 PM EST	EXTENDED Deadline for receipt of application materials
Week of September 2, 2014	Review proposals and select finalist
September 2014	Project execution and completion
TBD September/October	Sculpture dedication

Selection Criteria: DCCAH will convene a Selection Committee representing diverse interests and expertise to review proposals and qualifications of the applicants that respond to this call. The committee will use the following criteria in selecting a finalist for the project, which candidates should address in their letter of interest:

• Artistic excellence and innovation as evidenced by past work.
• Creativity in enriching the public realm, streetscape or other public environments and the ability to animate public space.
• Manner in which the artist interprets cultural, social and aesthetic intersections between the District of Columbia and the Republic of China.
• Ability to connect with and engage the local community as well as the visiting public.
• Ability to work within a condensed and aggressive timeline (2-3 weeks for project completion).

About the Panda Statue:The pre-fabricated panda sculpture is fabricated from polyurethane and foam insulation with a steel armature inside the body of the statue for stability.

The statue is primed with stratum white powder and weighs 150 lbs. It will be mounted on a 500 lb. cement base. Specific recommendations for painting and/or adhering materials on the panda will be provided in detail to the selected artist or artist team.

Dimensions:

Statue - 54" (H) x 42" (W) Base - 46" (W)

Figure Now

"Figure Now"

An Exhibition of Contemporary Figurative Sculpture, Paintings and Drawings

Marlboro Gallery

Prince George's Community College

www.pgcc.edu

301 Largo Road, Largo Maryland 20774

301-322-6000

August 25 - October 2

Reception: September 18, 6 pm - 8pm

At some point, the serious study of the human figure becomes an important part of every art student's college studio art experience. How do contemporary professional visual artists interpret the figure?

"Figure Now" features a diverse range of sculptures, paintings, and drawings by figurative artists at different career points. The exhibition seeks to provide the visitor with opportunities to consider contrasting and common threads among their artwork. Some of the artists featured are Genna Watson, Adam Bradley, Jody Mussoff, Susan Yanero, and Erik Thor Sandberg.

“Figure Now” opens to the public at the Marlboro Gallery on the campus of Prince George's Community College August 25^th and runs through October 2^nd.  A reception for the artists will be held on Thursday, September 18^th, 6pm - 8pm.

A Field Guide to the Psychology and Practicalities of Becoming a Successful Artist

“Art is a form of consciousness,” Susan Sontag wrote in her diary. But for many working artists, who straddle the balance between creativity and commerce, art swells into a form of uncomfortable self-consciousness — something compounded by a culture that continually pits the two as a tradeoff. Cartoonist Hugh MacLeod captured this perfectly in proclaiming that “art suffers the moment other people start paying for it.” Such sentiments, argues artist Lisa Congdon in Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist (public library), are among the most toxic myths we subscribe to as a culture and reflect a mentality immeasurably limiting for creative people.

 Details here.

The Montreal Gazette on Lida Moser

Read an excellent piece in the Montreal Gazette on Lida Moser's passing here.

Photographer Lida Moser with ethnographer Luc Lacourcière and Quebec politician Paul Gouin, in front of Hotel Le Pic de l’ Aurore, Percé.

Photograph by: Lida Moser, 1950

The WCP on Lida Moser

Christina Cauterucci has authored a very cool article in the WCP about Lida Moser.

Perhaps her most famous photograph, "Judy and the Boys," a fashion shoot that took a turn for the hilarious when the model flipped a bunch of rowdy interlopers the bird, is one of the Library of Congress' most-requested photos for reproduction. Campello says Moser had a razor-sharp memory when it came to her past work. "You could point to one of her old photographs and she’d know the name of every one of the kids," he tells Arts Desk.

 Read the article here.

Artists' Opportunities

Maryland Art Place (MAP) is happy to announce three separate opportunities for artists working in the DC, Maryland and Virginia region. Each project presents an opportunity to receive either a cash reward or stipend. MAP is excited to make these opportunities available through valued partnerships with CyberPoint International, Harbor East Management Group, Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) and Art Lives Here.

In partnership with CyberPoint International, MAP is releasing an opportunity specifically geared towards female artists of the greater Baltimore metropolitan area.  Collectively, MAP and CyberPoint wish to commission a new work of art, as well as license the image of that new work of art, offering $750 in compensation for the original work and license. The image of that artwork will be reproduced in a limited edition and presented to the guests of CyberPoint’s Women in Cyber Security reception on October 29th, 2014.  The reception is meant to facilitate connections between women working in cyber security with the work embodying the theme of “creating connections” (social networks, computer networks, support networks.)  

Window Wonderland, a Holiday Arts Exhibit at Harbor East, is in its third year and is seeking unique, holiday presentations/installations for the participating retail locations within the Harbor East corridor.  Selected artists will receive a $500 honorarium from Harbor East.  During the unveiling, a jury consisting of Cara Ober, artist and Founder/Owner of BMoreArt, Priya Bhayana, Director Bromo Arts District, and Jessica Bizik, Editor in Chief of Baltimore Style Magazine will announce the “Best in Show” window installation, and this artist or artist collective will receive a $1,000 cash prize from Harbor East!

MAP, in partnership with Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) and Art Lives Here, are seeking proposals for a fall, 2014 IMPACT project at the former Northeastern Supply building lot in Brentwood, Maryland.  Proposed projects should engage community participation either before or during the life-span of the work.  Artists should seek to create a re-envisioned public space incorporating the use of contemporary fine art and design practices. The selected artist/artist team will receive a stipend up to $6,000 for the completion of this work.

For details, deadlines and applications artists should visit MAP’s website at www.mdartplace.org.

Mail Art Show

Deadline: August 15, 2014 

INTERNATIONAL MAIL ART POSTCARD SHOW

Enter up to three postcards. Send to:

Art by the Sea Gallery

175 2nd St

Bandon OR 97411

Open theme. No online entries, mail only. 

Cards become property of the gallery. Online documentation provided during show,

September and October 2014 on website. No entry fee. 

Details here or artbytheseagalleryandstudio@gmail.com

Photographer at the Altar of Contemporary Photography

Below you will find a sampling of images from the new work "Photographer at the Altar of Contemporary Photography." The work randomly samples the internet for well-known photographers as well as lesser known, but interesting photographic images (interesting to me anyway) and culls them into the piece for 5-10 seconds.

"Photographer at the Altar of Contemporary Photography"
Charcoal, conte and embedded video player. 37 x 25 inches.
2014 by F. Lennox Campello

Lida Moser passing noted in foreign press

Montreal's Le Devoir has a huge article on the passing of Lida Moser. Read it here.

Le Journal de Quebec also has an extensive tribute to Moser's photo legacy. Read that here.

And Radio Canada has a nice report on her life at http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/arts_et_spectacles/2014/08/13/009-deces-de-la-photographe-lida-moser.shtml

Locally, we're still waiting for the local media to write something... cough, cough...

News flash: The National Fine Arts Museum of Quebec (Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec) is preparing a retrospective of Lida's Quebec photography for next February.

MPA Looking for new Executive Director

McLean Project for the Arts 
Executive Director

Position Description:

McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) has an immediate need for an innovative, strategic leader with a demonstrated record of success in the not-for-profit world to serve as its Executive Director.  The Executive Director will lead and grow the organization at a time of tremendous excitement and momentum in the DC metropolitan area’s burgeoning art scene.

MPA is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) visual arts center founded in 1962 with a mission to exhibit the work of emerging and established artists from the mid-Atlantic region; to promote public awareness and understanding of the concepts of contemporary art; and to offer instruction and education in the visual arts. MPA enriches a community hungry for high quality visual arts by providing museum quality exhibitions and creating a cultural destination. MPA’s beautiful 2,000 square foot Emerson Gallery provides one of the few spaces available in the DC metropolitan region for large sculpture and installations.  MPA offers a wide variety of professionally taught art classes for adults, teens and children including Family Art Workshops, artist talks and workshops, and tours to area museums and galleries. MPA’s award winning ArtReach program takes art instruction into Fairfax County Public Schools and senior centers, and brings students, seniors, and those with special needs into our galleries for exhibition tours and hands-on art activities.  MPA currently has a staff of 10 full and part-time professionals, hundreds of volunteers, an annual operating budget of approximately $800,000.  MPA also benefits from an actively engaged Board of Directors comprised of community members, business leaders and arts professionals.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will be responsible for the organization's achievement of its mission through innovative strategies in fundraising and programming. The Executive Director will ensure that the financial, administrative, and operational activities of MPA, including its galleries and studio, function at the highest levels and in accordance with the organization’s mission and values.

The Executive Director of MPA will be expected to maintain a strong, visible presence in the community, strengthen current funding relationships and develop new, diverse sources of funds that ensure the organization will achieve sustainable growth and financial stability. This position offers the opportunity for an entrepreneurial leader to have a true impact on the DC area’s cultural landscape while ensuring that MPA will be a national leader in its field.

Requirements:

• A minimum of five years experience as a non-profit executive with fundraising and management responsibility.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising with foundations, corporations, government entities and individuals.
• Knowledge of, or keen interest in, the visual arts.

• Familiarity with the Washington D.C. metropolitan area including potential funding sources in the market.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to leverage limited resources through effective delegation in order to manage multiple, competing priorities.
• A creative, innovative, and strategic thinker with extraordinary interpersonal skills who enjoys building relationships across stakeholder groups.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Able to create and lead a vibrant team environment with staff, Board and other stakeholders to achieve organizational objectives. 
• Desire to participate actively in MPA’s lively schedule of activities and events weekdays, evenings and weekends.
• Bachelor’s Degree

Compensation:

This is a full time, on-site position.  Compensation in the range of $55,000 – 70,000, depending on the qualifications and experience of the candidate.

Applications:

Please send letter, resume and references to:
jobs@mpaart.org

McLean Project for the Arts is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values workplace diversity.

Website: www.mpaart.org

Where is Sprouse now? On TV that's where!

We opened the Fraser Gallery in Georgetown's Canal Square complex in 1996. At the time, there were several galleries in that square: Parrish, MOCA, Alla Rogers, Veerhoff and eklektikos... at one point more galleries came in and once upon a time there were seven in total.

eklektikos (with a small "e") was the hard working gallery run by George Thomasson and his partner Michael Sprouse.

Sprouse was and remains a brilliant artist, and while he lived in the DMV, he was often considered amongst the top young contemporary painters in the area.

eklektikos moved to the 7th Street corridor sometime in the mid 2000s - to the building there that used to house multiple galleries and art dealers, across the street from Zenith, and next to the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. They were kind enough to offer me a solo show, which I accepted and which sold really well... In fact, one of my drawings from that show, which at the time probably sold for around $200, showed a while back at a Sotheby's auction and went at auction for $1,100!

Cool, uh?

Anyway, a few years later, Sprouse and Thomasson relocated to Delaware, and now live by the ocean... must be nice!

In addition to continuing to create art, Sprouse is breaking new ground...

Tomorrow on WRDE TV, the Delmarva's NBC affiliate, Sprouse makes his debut with the WRDE NBC Coast TV Arts & Entertainment Report - the initial debut takes place tomorrow evening during the 6:00 and 11:00 PM news. 

For Delmarva area residents, WRDE broadcasts in HD on channels 209 and 809 on Comcast (also in Standard Definition on Channel 9 on Comcast). For viewers with Direct TV and Dish Network, use channel 31. For over the air non-cable or dish viewing, use channel 31.1.

Go Michael! We wish you the best!

Dead tree media on McLellan firing

LAT art critic Christopher Knight weighs in the Jayme McLellan and Corcoran mess.  Read the LAT piece here.

The WCP's Christina Cauterucci also has a really good read here.

Lida Moser 1920-2014

I am sad to report that legendary American photographer Lida Moser, who for years lived in retirement in nearby Rockville, Maryland, passed away today around 2:30PM.

This grand photographer was not only one of the most respected American photographers of the 20th century - respected by fellow photographers, curators and all human beings -- but also a pioneer in the field of photojournalism. Her photography has been in the middle of a revival and rediscovery of vintage photojournalism, and has sold in the five figures at Christie's auctions and continues to be collected by both museums and private collectors worldwide. In a career spanning over 60 years, Moser has produced a body of works consisting of thousands of photographs and photographic assemblages that defy categorization and genre or label assignment.

Additionally, Canadian television a few years ago finished filming a documentary about her life; the second in the last few years, and Moser’s work has been for years in the collection of many museums worldwide. A couple of the years ago, the Smithsonian Institution purchased over 200 photos by Moser of her beloved New York.

She was once called the "grandmother of American street photography" by an art critic, which prompted a quick rebuttal by Moser, who called the writer's editor and told him that she wasn't the "fucking grandmother of anything or anyone, and would he [the writer] ever describe Ansel Adams or any other male photographer as the 'grandfather' of any style."

Tough New Yorker.

I once sold one of her rare figure studies to a big famous photography collector from the West Coast (who collects mostly nude photography). There were four or five prints of the image, taken and printed around 1961, but one had all the markings and touch-up evidence of the actual photo that had been used by the magazine, and thus I sent him that one.

He called me to complain that although he loved Moser's work, that he wasn't too happy with the retouching, and could I ask Lida for one of the untouched photos.

Now, you gotta understand that these images were taken and touched-up by hand for publication in a newspaper or magazine (since they were nudies, the latter probably). They were not touched up for a gallery or an art show - they were "battlefield" prints of a working photographer.

I called Lida and explained the situation over the phone. "Sweetie," she said to me in her strong New York accent, "you call that guy right back and tell him that you talked to Lida Moser and that Lida Moser told you to tell him: Fuck You!"

I didn't do that, but just sent him an untouched vintage print.

Tough New Yorker.

Lida was a well-known figure in the New York art scene of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and a portrait of Lida Moser by American painter Alice Neel hangs in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Neel painted a total of four Moser portraits over her lifetime, and one of them was included in the National Museum of Women in the Arts' "Alice Neel's Women" exhibition.


"Charles Mingus in his Apartment in New York City", c. 1965.
Among her body of works there are also loads of photographs of well-known artists and musicians that either hung around Lida's apartment in NYC or who were part of her circle of friends.


Lida Moser's photographic career started as a student and studio assistant in 1947 in Berenice Abbott's studio in New York City, where she became an active member of the New York Photo League. She then worked for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Look and many other magazines throughout the next few decades, and traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

In 1950 Vogue, and (and subsequently Look magazine) assigned Lida Moser to carry out an illustrated report on Canada, from one ocean to another. When she arrived at the Windsor station in Montreal, in June of that same year, she met by chance, Paul Gouin, then a Cultural Advisor to Duplessis government. This chance meeting led Moser to change her all-Canada assignment for one centered around Quebec.

Armed with her camera and guided by the research done by the Abbot Felix-Antoine Savard, the folklorist Luc Lacourcière and accompanied by Paul Gouin, Lida Moser then discovers and photographs a traditional Quebec, which was still little touched by modern civilization and the coming urbanization of the region.

Decades later, a major exhibition of those photographs at the McCord Museum of Canadian History became the museum’s most popular exhibit ever.

She also authored and has been part of many books and publications on and about photography. She also wrote a series of "Camera View" articles on photography for The New York Times between 1974-81.

Her work has been exhibited in many museums worldwide and is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, the National Archives, Ottawa, the National Galleries of Scotland, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, the Library of Congress, Les Archives Nationales du Quebec, Corcoran Gallery, Phillips Collection and many others. And that iconic photo of the window washers cleaning windows at the Exxon Building in NYC was actually made into a 3D sculpture at Leggoland (without Moser's permission) in Florida.

Moser was an active member of the Photo League and the New York School.

The Photo League was the seminal birth of American documentary photography. It was a group that was at times at school, an association and even a social club. Disbanded in 1951, the League promoted photojournalism with an aesthetic consciousness that reaches street photography to this day.


"New York City, Office Building Lobby" c. 1965

If you are a female photographer, I hope that you didn't miss the opportunity to visit the Arts Club a couple of years ago when they hosted a wonderful show of her works... and hopefully met one of the women who set the path for all of you.

The Arts Club show was curated by my good friend Erik Denker, the Senior Lecturer, Education Division at the National Gallery of Art, who is also an authority on all things Moser. The show was titled "The World of John Koch" and depicted Moser's portraits of the renowed New York portrait artist John Koch taken over a 20 year span from 1954-1974. These photographs were exhibited in Washington for the first time and are only one of two portfolios of the portraits ever printed by Moser (the other was given to the Koch widow once the painter died in 1974).



John Koch, Silver Gelatin print by Lida Moser, c.1970
The Fraser Gallery represented Lida's works for many years, and also gave her several solo shows. Read the WaPo review of one of her DC solo exhibitions at Fraser here also also the CP's review of another one of her shows here and lastly the CP's profile of Moser from a decade ago.

Lida Moser signing a copy of 100 Artists of Washington, DC in 2011

This hurricane of a woman lived a fruitful life and has left a magnificent artistic footprint on the history of American photography. She will be missed, and we are saddened by her departure, but happy to know that Moser's enormous legacy will live forever.

She had a great talent for jumping through hoops

"she had a great talent for jumping through hoops"

2014. Polymer clay, oil paint, found objects

27 x 6.5 x 22 inches by Elissa Farrow-Savos will be at (e)merge art fair this coming October.

Come early... Elissa sold 14 sculptures last year at (e)merge.

More on Jayme McLellan and the Corcoran

The whole issue of DMV area gallerist, former Corcoran instructor and arts activist Jayme McLellan and her dismissal from the Corcoran discussed here has become rather confusing and muddied by the Corcoran's response to my post; see that here.

Ms. Loar from the Corcoran has responded to my request for a comment on McLellan's dismissal/firing from the Corcoran in spite of Jayme's assigned class for the next semester being full. I am waiting for her permission to publish her email in DC Art News.

However, someone allegedly from the Corcoran has commented (twice with same comment) in the comments section of the initial post and those comments essentially replicate the same response that Ms. Loar has passed to me, and since they both include an email from McLellan to a Corcoran person, it is safe to follow logic and deduce that all three communications (the two duplicate comments and the email from Ms. Loar) come from Corcoran sources, since they all transmit the same information.

And the comments say:

Jayne McLellan has not been fired by the Corcoran.  She resigned from the faculty in 2012 and has not taught here since. (resignation below).  She was never offered a contract for 2014. 

From:civilianartprojects@gmail.com[mailto:civilianartprojects@gmail.com] 

On Behalf Of Jayme McLellan 

Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:16 PM 

To: Clare BrownSubject: resigning
Hi Clare, 

I'm going to resign from my adjunct spot at the Corcoran. I have simply lost faith in the leadership and cannot in good conscience continue teaching there.  

I can try to help you find a replacement. 

Best, Jayme 

Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this situation. - The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Corcoran College of Art + Design

 As I noted in my own comment in response to this information, and what makes this all very confusing, then why is McLellan listed as instructor for a Corcoran class - a full class - that is scheduled to begin in two weeks?

I asked Jayme, and she acknowledged that she had indeed resigned from the Corcoran in 2012, but then she also showed me multiple emails from the Corcoran offering her an opportunity to teach the class in 2014, including multiple emails that went not just to Jayme, but also to the entire Corcoran set of instructors... so there are multiple witness to the veracity of the offer.

Jayme writes:

While it is true that I gave up my classes in 2012, reluctantly, because leadership were trying to sell the building and ruin the institution, it is not true that I wasn't slated to teach starting in just a few weeks. I agreed in April to come back to teach one class and because I left two years ago to try to save the Corcoran, and have worked every day of that two years to try to change leadership, I had the hope that leadership would indeed be changing. I still have that hope.

I have asked Ms. Loar to clarify this evolving confusion, but there appear to be these facts:

1.  McLellan resigned in 2012
2. Corcoran offered McLellan the job to teach a class in 2014 - There is a multiple email trail of this fact.
3. Corcoran website listed the class and listed McLellan as the instructor
4. Corcoran claims in emails and comments that McLellan was never offered a contract for 2014
5. I am very confused by the Corcoran's claims and have asked them to clarify

'Elevator Chat' with MSAC Chair, Carol Trawick

An active leader in the Montgomery County arts and business communities for more than 30 years, Carole Trawick joined the Maryland State Arts Council in 2011. After serving as vice chair, Trawick became chair of the Council in July. We caught up with Carole and learned about her work with arts organizations through the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation, her early efforts to bring Arts & Entertainment (A&E) Districts to Maryland, and more.

Details here.

A brooding man

"A Brooding Man" is an original watercolor on 300 weight, Ph-balanced, acid free, white paper. It is signed and dated on the lower front margin and on verso. Circa 2014. The painting measures approx. 13 x 13 inches. The watercolor has been professionally float framed in a minimalist black wood frame. Come see it at the (e)merge art fair this coming October.

Corcoran fires Jayme McLellan

When Save the Corcoran formed in 2012, its aim was to keep the museum from selling its historic building. That ship has sailed, though, as the institution prepares to enter a partnership with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. The group, led by co-founder Jayme McLellan of Civilian Art Projects, has shifted its focus to what will come next for the Corcoran’s collection — and how they can preserve this piece of Washington history.

- Maura Judkis, April 19, 2014, Washington Post

In every facet of life or work, or in this case the visual arts, there are yappers, symbiots, hangers-on, grubs, and a tiny, tiny, microscopic number of doers.

Jayme McLellan of Civilian Art Projects, and an instructor at the Corcoran, is a doer. Not only has Jayme made Civilian one of the leading galleries in the DMV's cultural tapestry - all of that as a result of hard work, which is the only way that an independently owned, commercial fine arts gallery can survive in the DMV - but McLellan has been a leading voice and doer in the effort to find an alternative way to save the Corcoran, and also an instructor at the Corcoran, hired by the Chair of the Corc's Department of Fine Arts. Classes start in two weeks and she's listed as the instructor for the class, which by the way, is full.

Below is the class from the Corc's website:

2014 Fall FA01
FA4170/Lecture/A - Professional Practices for Fine Artists | Credits 3.00
No artist, however famous or successful, had a clear path to succeed from the beginning. Successful artists learn to maximize opportunities and resources available to them, navigating his or her way at every turn. There is not one single approach; a strategy with lots of planning and variables must be created and examined. Artists will develop a resume and artist statement, research and write grants, practice applying for residencies, and participate in information gathering sessions with art spaces. Led by the founder of two arts organizations, the instructor will create opportunities for students to meet gallery directors, curators and professional artists in DC, Baltimore, and New York. These meetings will provide substantive time to discuss practical issues and concerns that will add to a post-school plan. Writing and reading assignments will be two papers including writing a grant application and creating a personal post-college plan plus one exam. Completion of this course will result in a deeper understanding of the specific tools available to emerging artists and the nature of the art world in general. For BFA Fine Art majors only. Prerequisite: FA3091 Fine Art Studio IV.

Registration Type	Traditional
Fees	N/A
Instructors	Ms. Jayme McLellan
Duration	9/8/2014 - 12/15/2014
Schedule	Mon  3:15 PM - 6:00 PM;  Corcoran College, Downtown, Room 9-2
Prerequisites	FA3091 / Studio
Corequisites	N/A
Credit Types	Audit Credit
Class	12 Seats | 1 Remaining
	Open (Target Met)

Yesterday, Peggy Loar, Interim Director at the Corcoran fired McLellan from a full class that starts in two weeks.

I have sent Ms. Loar a note asking for the reason that McLellan was fired, and if she responds, I will publish it here. In the interim, the "appearance" of this firing, at least to me, smells and tastes like a retaliatory firing of an employee who dared to take a stance opposing the Corc's planned disintegration.

Here's what Ms. Loar wrote to the Corcoran community when she took over as Consulting/Interim Director:

 April 8, 2013

Dear Corcoran Community,

•     As I begin my tenure as consulting director, my goals are clear, ambitious, and achievable:
•     To begin immediately collaborating with the Corcoran team on the strategy and design of a strong programmatic partnership with the University of Maryland
•     To work closely with the Board and the broader Corcoran community on ideas for the creation of a hybrid and exciting new direction for the Corcoran
•     To step up our financial planning and fundraising—discussion and coordination with the Board of Trustees and the University of Maryland
•     To move expeditiously in our partnership with the National Gallery, particularly in regard to the first exhibition to be held at the Corcoran

While the Corcoran has had considerable experience in cross-pollinating the programs and talents within the College and the Gallery, we now have a whole new roster of colleagues to engage with us on structuring our creative agenda. We will inspire each other. I believe that the University of Maryland and the National Gallery of Art will be catalysts toward an inventive tripartite collaboration.

The Corcoran Board’s success in identifying and securing the University of Maryland as a partner—in accordance with the criteria the Board set—was in large part due to the confidentiality of the discussions. It’s a new time now, and transparency and dialogue will bring us all success.

I look forward to those conversations and to working collaboratively with the staff, faculty, and students of this vital and storied institution. Additionally, I hope that members, alumni, and the public will continue to take full advantage of our exhibitions and educational opportunities during this exciting time.

Sincerely,

Peggy

WaPo gets two new art reporters

Announcement from Liz Seymour, Washington Post's executive features editor, David Malitz and Mitch Rubin, deputy features editors, and Christine Ledbetter, arts editor:

We are thrilled to announce two terrific arts reporters are joining Features. Peggy McGlone of the Star-Ledger will cover the local arts beat and Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe will be our national arts reporter.

Peggy has covered a variety of news and features beats during her 27 years at the Star-Ledger. She created the arts beat, covering and (and uncovering) public art controversies, concert industry secrets and ethical lapses at the state arts council. Former Star-Ledger Editor Jim Willse described her as “one of my favorite people in any newsroom.” At the Post, she will be our point person on the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center and other cultural institutions. A lifelong Jersey girl and a Mets fan, Peggy graduated from Seton Hall University and has a PhD from the City University of New York. She is the mother of three and two of them are students at Loyola University in Baltimore. We don’t know if they are as happy as Peggy is to be moving closer to campus.

Geoff, a 12-year veteran of the Globe, has written about pop music, classical music, museums and just about every big cultural story to hit Boston. The Globe announced his departure by writing: “Smart, enterprising, energetic and resourceful, Geoff has simply excelled.” Prior to the Globe, he was a reporter at the Boston Phoenix and the Raleigh News and Observer, and freelanced for a variety of magazines including GQ, Details and Wired. He produced a full-length documentary about his personal mission to reunite the Kinks and was the host/writer on the Travel Channel series “Edge of America.” Geoff will have a broad reach to write about arts, entertainment and cultural issues across the nation. A Brookline, Mass. native, he graduated from Tufts University and lives in Concord, Mass. with his wife Carlene Hempel, a writer and full-time journalism teacher at Northeastern University, and their two children. Geoff will be based in Boston but will be appearing in the newsroom frequently.

I will ask Ms. Ledbetter if these two new writers will also cover the DMV's visual art galleries, augmenting Mark Jenkins' most excellent and refreshing coverage.

Georgetown's revival as a gallery hot spot

Mark Jenkins Friday article will cover a most excellent look at the revival of the Georgetown art scene... Read it here.

The number of Washington art galleries is decreasing both in longtime habitats — Dupont Circle, downtown — and such newer locales as Logan Circle and the Atlas District. While some seek and a few have found fresh locations in gentrifying districts, the area that’s experienced a significant growth spurt is one that was far artier a generation ago: Georgetown. ¶ There are currently eight galleries in the area known as Book Hill, just south of the neighborhood’s library, including three that arrived this summer: Cross MacKenzie Gallery, All We Art and Washington Printmakers Gallery. Next month, Artist’s Proof is scheduled to make it nine when it moves from Cady’s Alley, south of M Street, to Wisconsin & Q.

Art world stunned: Second ‘Mona Lisa’ appears to be authentic

Last year, art experts claimed that Leonardo da Vinci completed a version of the Mona Lisa some ten years prior to that of the famous Mona Lisa painting which hangs in the Louvre in Paris.

The original Mona Lisa was thought to be the only portrait of Lisa Gherardini (aka Lisa del Giocondo) ever created by the artist,

The painting in question, dubbed the Isleworth Mona Lisa, is slightly larger than the famous portrait and has been the subject of debate as to its authenticity, but new revelations may finally end the debate that has continued since the painting's discovery a century ago.

 Details here.