WPA\C Presents: PostSecret

At last!

Washington Project for the Arts\Corcoran Association (WPA\C) is hostng the PostSecret exhibition, a public art project founded and curated by Frank Warren and first debuted in the much maligned (in the DC press that is) Art-O-Matic.

Nothing like spectacular success to make all the AOM critics eat crow, uh?

The opening reception (and fundraiser for Kristin Brooks Hope Center) will be held on Wednesday, December 14, from 6:00-10:00 p.m. ($10.00 suggested donation).

Warren's instructions were simple, and judging from his spectacular achievements, the results have been perhaps one of the most successful public art projects in history!

"You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything --- as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative."

In November of 2004 Frank Warren printed 3000 postcards inviting people to share a secret with him.

He then handed these out at Artomatic, in art galleries, slipped them in pages of library books, then slowly, the secrets began to find their way to his mailbox. The secrets were both provocative and profound, and some of the cards are themselves works of art. As Frank began posting the cards on his website, PostSecret took on a life of its own, becoming much more than a simple art project.

PostSecret has grown into a global phenomenon and (in my opinion) is the most flagrant missing piece of the 2006 Whitney Biennial!

Exhibition Information:
LOCATION: 3307 M St. NW Washington DC (The former Georgetown Staples store)

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, December 15th, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

FUNDRAISER: Wednesday, December 14th, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Exhibition Dates: December 15, 2005 – January 8, 2006
Exhibition Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 6:00 – 10:00 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 2:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. or by appointment through WPA\C.

The book, PostSecret Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives compiled by Frank Warren, with a foreword by Anne C. Fisher, Ph.D. will be available for purchase during the exhibition, along with the Washington Project for the Arts\Corcoran Artist 2006-2007 Artist Directory.




See ya there!

Opportunity for Photographers

Deadline: December 31, 2005

The 2005 National Photo Awards is now accepting entries. Open to all amateur, emerging and professional photographers. A separate monthly print competition is also available. The competition offers cash and prizes for the winners in the various categories. Winners will be selected in several categories. $9.00 for each photo entered into the monthly competition, $14.00 for each single photo or $28.00 for each series entered into the main competition.

To request your 2005 entry forms and view past winners, contact:
2005 National Photo Awards
59456 330th St
Warroad MN 56763 or call 218-386-2100 email awards@mncable.net

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Deadline: January 27, 2006

The 2006 Bethesda International Photography Competition. Open to all photographers 18 years and older. All photography not previously exhibited at the Fraser Gallery. The maximum dimension (including frame) should not exceed 40 inches in any direction. $950 in cash prizes. Details and entry forms here or email the Gallery for an entry form or send a SASE to:
Fraser Gallery
7700 Wisconsin Avenue
Suite E
Bethesda, MD 20814
301/718-9651
info@thefrasergallery.com

Silverthorne on Group Show

Alexandra Silverthorne checks in with a quickie review of our current Winter Group Show in Bethesda.

Read the review here.

The Evolution of a Drawing

Another one of the recurring themes that I continually revisit in my own artwork is the imagery of Saint Sebastian.

A few years ago I did a massive ink wash drawing of St. Sebastian. I was titled "St. Sebastian in a Dissolving Gene Davis Landscape," and I think that it eventually sold through Sothebys.com. It looked like this:



Anyway... that ink drawing was supposed to be the anchor for an oil painting that I never created, but the image of the martyr remained with me, and a couple of days ago I finished the following piece, which is charcoal on 300 weight paper, and about 4.5 inches by 16.5 inches.



This piece will be at my show opening next Friday at Fraser Gallery Georgetown. See more of the work for that exhibition online here.

Washington Glass School Moving Sale

The Washington Glass School is getting kicked out of their spaces due to the eminent domain "rights" of the city and in order to build the Nats' new stadium.

And thus they are hosting a Holiday Sale and Open House at their current spaces on Half St. SE. today.

This will be their final day at the old location before the big move, so they will be selling off every piece of glass and artwork thats in situ rather than move it.

Lots of food, art, glass, and music.

When : Saturday, Dec. 10th from 2 to 6pm - free of charge.
What : Washington Glass School's Holiday Party and Open House
Where : at the Washington Glass School
1338 Half St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-744-8222

Plenty of free parking right outside or they are 1 1/2 blocks from the Navy Yard metro (green line) on Capitol Hill.

ArtHelps Update II

I know that I've already reported on the ArtHelps auction, but I've got some more info and because this is an important auction for a good cause, I wanted to pass on more details.

Assuming everyone who bid and won comes back to claim and pay for their night's claim, they will surpass a total bid amount of $30,000 -- which also includes about $4,000 in bids for travel packages and about $14K coming from the art from the ArtHelps collection that was auctioned and will be divided three ways: to Food & Friends, DCAC and to the event itself.

The remaining $12,000 in bidding was done on donated works from artists and galleries who stepped up to the plate to raise some money and raise some awareness about art life in the DC community.

It's my hope that next year more galleries and more artists and more bidders will make the 2006 ArtHelps even more successful.

Bethesda Art Walk tonight

The snow has been cleared and the galleries will be open!

This is the second Friday of the month and thus it's the Bethesda Art Walk with 13 participating venues and with free guided tours.

And we will have our annual Winter Group Show, featuring an entire gallery full of new work by the artists that we represent as well as invited work by several past competitions prizewinners.

We will also be showing three small miniatures by our latest artist that we're now representing: Marianela de la Hoz.

If you recall, I fell in love with her work when I first saw it at the Mexican Cultural Institute a while back. I then visited her in San Diego, and now she will be part of our represented artists. For this group show she has created three small egg temperas with the usual play on imagery and words that attracted so much attention at the Cultural Institute and more recently at Scope Miami.

In this group show we will have three pieces by Marianela:

1. "Ideas Necias, mi cabeza-pelota bota" ("Stubborn ideas, my ball-head bounces") Egg tempera on board, 5.3 x 2.1 inches.

2. "Camina aparentemente libre" ("She walks pretending to be free") Egg tempera on board, 4.5 x 2.7 inches.

3. "Adiós de Tintorería" ("Farewell drycleaners style") Egg tempera on board, 5.3 x 3.1 inches.

More images of other artists here.

Naked Knitting

Remember the exhibition curated by Binnie Fry that caused all the ruckus because of the nudity in some of the crocheted figures? If not, see the original posting about it here.

Anyway, American Craft Magazine just published a review of that show.

Snowy Inspiration

For some reason snowy days seem to inspire me to get down and draw. And I was up and early this morning and finished the below, somewhat silly drawing.

It is titled "Woman on the Moon About to be Swept Off Her Feet by a Flying Bald Man." It is charcoal on 300 weight paper, and about six by five inches. It will be at my show, which opens next Friday at Fraser Gallery Georgetown.


See some of the other drawings that will be in the exhibition here.

The Police on D. Billy and Nathan Manuel

The world's number-one Google return for "anti Texas Longhorn"... ah... reviews D. Billy and Nathan Manuel at DCAC.

Read it here.

By the way, the artists will be having a talk at DCAC on Sunday December 11 at 5PM.

Over at Anacostia

I am hearing good things about the current exhibition at the Anacostia Museum: "Reclaiming Midwives: Pillars of Community Support"; the main exhibit focuses on the story of African American midwives.

Authentic Art has a great posting about the show; read it here.

Camille Mosley-Pasley, one of DC's best photogs is in the show (disclaimer: Camille is in my own private collection and we have sold her work through Sotheby's).

Studio Space

Deadline to apply: December 16 (must be received)

The City of Greenbelt announces that two studios will soon become available through the City’s Artist in Residence program. This program is open to residents of Maryland working at a professional level in any visual arts or fine crafts medium.

The studios are located at the Greenbelt Community Center – a National Historic Landmark housing a professional art gallery, history museum, digital video and TV production studio, darkroom, fine arts and ceramics studios, and other resources.

Advantages for the artist include: 24-Hour access; Low cost: $142 and $213/month, based on square footage; HEAT and AC included; Ample natural light; Ample free parking; Teaching opportunities; Easy access from I-95, the Washington Beltway, and the Baltimore/Washington Parkway; Supportive environment: 10-12 Artists in Residence participating; Short walk to Café, independent cinema, library, lake trail, gyms and other amenities

Contact Nicole DeWald at 240/542-2057, or ndewald@ci.greenbelt.md.gov if you wish to request an application, tour, or additional information.

Mmmm...

This is unexpected...

According to MyBlog stats, DC Art News actually sent more of our readers to MSNBC through our link, than MSNBC sent here through their mention of DC Art News on their Blog.

ArtHelps Report

The ArtHelps silent auction last night was packed to the rafters with elegantly-dressed people, and there was tons of great food and good wine and beer, and bids were abundant and redundant and all for a good cause (benefiting Food & Friends and DCAC).

I ran into the fair Kathryn Cornelius, and for quite a while I was in a bidding fight for her donated work, until a tiny (and well-known DC area art activist and art organizer and all-around good person) threatened me with bodily harm if I continued to outbid her, so I retreated quietly into the background.

The auctioned artwork is online here by the way.

I also ran into the fair Heather Russell from Irvine Contemporary (their gallery donated quite a few pieces to the auction - well done!) and her cute sister from Richmond. Heather was also bidding madly on a few pieces, including this early Andrew Wodzianski oil (from when he was an MFA candidate at MICA). The painting received at least a dozen bids and went to a very excited couple.

This oil by Sondra Arkin was also attracting a lot of attention, going way over its estimated price.

This signature glass heart by Tim Tate also received fast and furious bids, which extended onto the back of the bidding form, and kept coming even as the deadline approached. It also caused a little controversy, as when the bidding forms were removed from the floor, apparently an extra bid was added on the way down to deliver the bid forms. The loser was heartbroken (pun intended), but it all ended well (I am told) because Tate agreed to donate a second heart and thus everyone is a winner.

The steal of the night?

This amazing sculpture by NYC artist Josh Levine was won by the fair Kristina Bilonick, gallerina for DCAC for let's say... a steal!

Good eye Kristina!

Read Alexandra Silverthorne's report here.

See Anne Marchand's report and many photos here.

Tape Dude in Paris

Mark Jenkins' work has a double page feature in December issue of the Paris-based mag "Etapes."

See it online here.

Art volunteers needed by two projects

There are a couple of art events brewing in our area that are looking for volunteers to assist with the art event itself.

First of all, for the last few months Catriona Fraser has been curating our first exhibition of 2006. That show, titled "Interface" seeks to present an exhibition of what happens when art and technology meet.

Several new works have been commissioned for the show, which includes work by Kathryn Cornelius, Claire Watkins, Scott Hutchison, Thomas Edwards, David Page, Philip Kohn and others.

One of the artists in the show, David Page (who was the 2004 Trawick Prize winner - one of his projects is pictured above) needs two volunteers 5'8" or smaller, weighing 160lbs or less. They should not be claustrophobic, asthmatic and should be in general good health. Contact David at david@davidpageartist.com.

And the Hirshhorn is seeking help with a Directions project that they are hosting at the Hirshhorn on Saturday, April 29, 2006. They are in the process of recruiting 40 to 60 residents of the greater DC area to be part of a performance organized by New York-based artist Oliver Herring (b. Heidelberg, Germany, 1964). The group of volunteers will perform simple, creative tasks on the Hirshhorn plaza over the course of eight hours.

The museum need volunteers who are interested in exchanging ideas and developing a sense of community through the arts. They hope to build a group ranging in age from teenagers to seniors and representing different professions and interests. They are looking for both artists and "non-artists."

To learn more about the project please visit this website. There is also a link to project information on the Hirshhorn home page.

If someone is interested in participating, all they need to do is fill out a short form available at the link above. Please feel free to contact Assistant Curator Kristen Hileman at the museum if you have any questions about the project.

If you would like to learn more about the artist, you might visit Oliver Herring’s page on the Art 21 site.

Power of the Web

The Wednesday snail mail delivered a dedicated copy of the 2006 Whitney Biennial catalog!

I am being asked to give video a chance (probably in response to this).

Gee... thanks!

Unclothed Political Art

Nekkid with a Camera has a great discussion going on about political art...

This is why newspapers' days are numbered: Immediate discussion on an interesting issue.

Join in here.

Go Sam! (oops! I mean Samantha)

Video Feedback

David A. Ross, the President of the Artist Pension Trust reponds to my Video Killed the Radio (and Art?) Star posting with the following:

As a curator working with video since 1971, I have encountered your argument several time before. As you may imagine, since the early days of video, the concern -- voiced in the Wash Po piece and in your response, has been the same: "Why watch video in a gallery when it is best viewed at home?"

On a certain level, that is true, if the work is intended for the social context provided by home viewing (on line or on TV). Or, if the work does not demand the formal support of a sculptural space (i.e. multiple monitors, live video components, projected work with complex sound elements, etc. etc.).

But finally it is also the social context of an environment that is not a theater and not a living room, but some other space generally (or formerly) reserved for the quiet contemplation of art objects that appeals to some artists using video to place information some may deem non-artistic (like documentary footage of everyday life). The friction of this mismatch is often a central element of the work, and not just a curatorial or artistic conceit.

But of course, when an artwork fails then all bets are off, and it can be revealed as lacking in many ways-- including it's use of gallery space.

David A. Ross

MSNBC

DC Art News on MSNBC (scroll down... way down)