New website look

ArtDC has a new website and a new look!

Check it out here.

Ohmygawd

When Michelle sent me this link, all her email said was Ohmygawd... I concur.

What is it?

Dedication Honors Nude Britney Spears Giving Birth

A nude Britney Spears on a bearskin rug while giving birth to her firstborn marks a 'first' for Pro-Life. Pop-star Britney Spears is the "ideal" model for Pro-Life and the subject of a dedication at Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn's Williamsburg gallery district, in what is proclaimed the first Pro-Life monument to birth

Read the rest here.

Cudlin on Dada

If there was ever a perfect alignment of critic and show to review, I think that it is my good friend's Jeffry Cudlin's interest in theory and his superb CP review of Dada at the NGA.

The key to his review and to the show itself:

"More important, the number of seemingly Duchampian objects produced by the artist’s contemporaries begins to dull any sense of Duchamp as a solitary genius who single-handedly changed the course of modern art."

Nail has been hit dead-on the head, sir...

Parsons on Bollocks

God knows what sort of Google traffic that headline will get me, but DCist's Adrian Parsons has a really cool look at itsy bitsy bollocks at Transformer.

Read it here.

Goss and Capps on Morse

Kriston reviews Brandon Morse at Conner Contemporary for the CP here while Heather also reviews Morse for DCist here.

Job in the Arts

The Arlington Arts Center is looking for a part time administrative coordinator. Candidate must pay attention to detail, have a good phone demeanor, and experience dealing with the public (and sometimes, with kids!).

He/she should be able to work on multiple tasks simultaneously, and be able to manage a very quick-paced work environment. Some light physical labor is occasionally involved, and nights and weekends are sometimes required. Along with knowledge of all Microsoft Office applications (especially Excel and Access), flexibility, enthusiasm, and a sense of humor are essential. Experience with Photoshop and knowledge of Spanish would be an added plus. (Perfect for an artist who wants to work in the studio and have a job in the arts at the same time.) 20 hours a week, $10/hour.

Please send resume and cover letter via email to info@arlingtonartscenter.org, or via fax at 703.248.6849. No phone calls, please.

The Power of the Web

We're about to close a major acquisition by a major New York City museum (I just used "major" twice in one sentence) and it has all (well 98%) happened through the Internets.

Other that a phone call or two, most of the questions, answers, images, etc. and transactions have been accomplished through the power of the web.

And a second (fingers crossed) possible major (and multiple) acquisition by a major (geez... "major" again!) Brooklyn museum (did I just give it up?) has so far been coordinated, crafted and negotiated 98% through the Internets and 2% through snail mail.

More on that later.

Bailey

Those of you who read the Artblogsphere regularly, know that we all read Bailey, because Bailey is simply Bailey, and one of the rules of blogging is that you never piss off Bailey.

Witness Bailey and the art of coercion here, as Mrs. Clinton gets Bailey's attention.

Bailey, Bailey, Bailey...

Goss Goes Gallery Hopping

Try to say that fast three times in a row. In any event, the fair Heather Goss goes gallery hopping (sort of) here.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

"Strong Work Hot Topics" is a show now on exhibit through April 5, 2006 at the Marlboro Gallery of Prince George's Community College.

The exhibition features the work of Marilyn Banner (Bethesda, MD), Tom Block (Silver Spring, MD), Donte’ Hayes (Atlanta, GA), Dylan Scholinski (Wash. DC), and Clarissa Sligh (NYC).

According to the news release, "this exhibit brings together five artists whose work addresses, in powerful and direct ways, peoples’ struggles for survival in the face of violations of human rights and dignity. Evoking issues of anti-Semitism, racism, political imprisonment, and gender identity intolerance, the work asks us to re-consider our own beliefs and assumptions about 'those others,' and to take responsibility for ending scapegoating of all kinds."

The opening is Friday, March 24 from 6-8 pm, with music by Washington Musica Viva.

Another March 30th art event...

Looks like the DC Art Gods have aligned to focus a ton of good stuff to happen on March 30, 2006. In addition to all the great stuff happening on that day that I've already discussed here previously (I'll re-cap later), there's also a good opening at the University of Maryland for those of you who are on the Maryland side and don't feel like trekking to the District.

The University of Maryland's Union Gallery presents "Midpoint: 2nd Year MFA Candidates at the University of Maryland" on display March 30 - April 20, 2006.

The exhibition displays the work of four artists: Peter Gordon, Ben Lock, Brian Sykes, and Adam White. They are all halfway through the University's three-year Masters of Fine Arts program. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held Thursday, March 30th, 6-8 PM.

Also on that day:

Details here for a tour of the new Grant Wood show given by Jane Milosch, the new curator-in-charge.

Details here for After Effects of the Experimental Media Series - Curated by Kathryn Cornelius at the Corcoran.

Details here for Hirshhorn After Hours.

Tapedude on TV

I am told that this morning Channel 7 News had a clip on Mark Jenkins and his outdoor tape sculptures. See them here.

The gallerist as juror

One curious (and welcomed) fact that I've noted about our current exhibition is the relationship to the overall success of a juried exhibition to the background of the juror.

Let me explain.

Since we opened the Fraser Gallery in 1996, as part of our gallery's program, we've had dozens of invited guest curators and jurors over the years tasked with curating and jurying one or two shows a year for us. The idea was and is, to bring some fresh eyes, thoughts and ideas, besides that of the gallery-owners.

These jurors have included multiple curators from the Hirshhorn, from the Corcoran, and other museums, as well as established artists and photographers, and art critics.

They have without a doubt delivered strong, sometimes surprising, shows, and nearly always accomplished the task of offering our public something new and different from what the focus of our gallery has been.

And yet, when one brings the seasoned eye of an experienced gallerist to the juror's task, as it was the case in this exhibition and the many others that my partner has curated for other organizations and art venues, something slightly different happens.

The exhibition has all the strong, aesthetic points that most well-curated shows exhibit in general, but in addition to that, it also sells well!

Fact: the current show has been well received by the critics, but it has also already sold more photographs than all of the previous three photography competitions combined!

This, of course, is a gallerist's dream: to have a show that is well received by the critics and the public, and that also actually sells some work.

Silverthorne on Photography

Alexandra Silverthorne visits our current exhibition.

Read her review here.

Hsu on Springfield

The CP's Huan Hsu has a really good profile of DC area artist Molly Springfield. Read that here.

You can also see some of Springfield's works as part of the "Text" exhibition opening at the Greater Reston Arts Center on April 1, 2006.

Another thing to do on the 30th

This day is really getting packed for art lovers!

On Thursday, March 30th at 3pm, join the Washington Glass School staff at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery for a personal tour of the new Grant Wood show given by Jane Milosch, the new curator-in-charge.

This tour is sponsored by the Renwick Alliance and is a good chance for some of you emerging glass artists out there to meet the new curator and find out more about the Renwick Alliance at the same time. This is totally free of cost and is open to the public.

Meet them inside the main doors at 2:45PM.

Water everywhere... NOT!

Kirkland has a spirited discussion going over British artist Mark McGowan's plans to leave six water faucets running for a year at secret London locations as a protest against the private control of water in the UK.

Bailey corresponded with McGowan and has an interesting viewpoint on the subject.

Kirkland here.
Bailey here.

Edwards on Boing Boing

Thomas Edwards's accusing sculpture "Blame," last exhibited at our Interface: Art & Technology exhibition (and now part of the Krensky Collection) was featured in Boing Boing.

Kinkaid's Performance Piece

The Painter of Light has apparently decided to branch out to performance art, and according to ArtNet Magazine recently took a leak on a statue of Winnie the Pooh outside of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, saying "This one’s for you, Walt."

By the way, there's apparently more and more evidence piling up (ranging from urban legend to books on the subject) to support the decades-long rumor that both Walt and his brother Roy were born in Spain and were adopted as babies by their American dad.

Soldier’s imagery

A while back I was honored to be asked to jury the All-Army Photography Contest, and with two other jurors we looked at over 1,000 photos sent in from all over the world.

This article discusses the winners from the competition.