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Risky Business

DMV area artist Afrika Midnight Asha Abney posted the bad news in ArtDC.org about one of her works being stolen from a restaurant in Adams Morgan in DC, where they were being exhibited.

I responded to Afrika and passed to her my regrets that her art had been stolen, and also let her know that it has happened also to me in the past.

Let's examine this from both aspects:

First of all: stealing is a crime, so for someone to commit a crime over a work of art speaks something about how much they liked that art. When my work was stolen many years ago from an exhibition in Portsmouth, VA, I took a small breath of pride in knowing that artwork caused a person to risk getting caught and possibly going to jail. I know that it may have been a kleptomaniac, willing to steal anything, but I'd like to think that it was someone who wanted the art so badly, that they were willing to risk becoming a thief over it.

Now for the legal issues: Unless the artist has a signed contract with the exhibition venue (including galleries and museums) where it says that the venue is responsible in the event of damage or loss, then the artist eats the loss.

Warning: this can also happen in a "regular" art gallery - in fact most art galleries do not have insurance (or contracts for that matter), as art insurance is quite pricey.

You can also get (privately) what is called "event insurance" which insures your artwork just for that exhibition or event. There are several companies that advertise for event insurance in Sunshine Artist magazine.

And she was right!

Remember the story I discussed last month of the lady truck driver who has found an alleged Jackson Pollock painting in a thrift shop?

The issue of Horton versus the "art world" has predictably developed into a class war of sorts, but it seems that she may have the last laugh after all.



I'm up in the Poconos for a few days, and yesterday I caught the tail end of a TV show discussing the fact that Horton's alleged Pollock has a fingerprint that apparently has been found to be the fingerprint of Jackson Pollock.

The show also mentioned that forensic experts had also determined that the paint in the alleged Pollock is the same paint used in certified Pollocks.

Read the forensic report here.

Normally that would be enough to certify that this is a Pollock, right?

But that assumes that the art world "experts" that swore up and down that Horton's find was not a real Pollock are willing to admit that they were wrong.

So in spite of a fingerprint and same exact paint... don't hold your breath.

Is this a class issue?

I think so. It has always surprised me the curious reaction that most art world illuminati have towards the general American public when it comes to art.

Not exactly a loving, nurturing relationship, is it?

And on the art world side, we're all supposed to be militant lefties, always on the side of the poor, downtrodden masses, always on the prowl and look-out for the evil Republicans' latest plots and ideas, especially when it comes to art, in any manner or form.

But the art world left makes a curious right turn when it comes to the masses and to the public in general.

If the public likes it, it can't be high art. If a trucker discovers the art find of the century, it can't be true.

So it is easy to see why the Horton affair has been picked up by Hollywood and others as an example of a convenient class battle between art world elitists and people who drive trucks and have no idea who Jackson Pollock was.

And it makes it juicier when the "experts" and elitists are proven wrong (by science), and rather than offering a good ole "aw shucks folks, we wuz wrong," apology, they retreat into their galvanized white cubes and refuse to admit that probably science is right and what Horton found in a California thrift shop is not only going to make this tough lady super rich, but according to the TV show, she now plans to sue the two art world experts for defamation (I think).

And as usual, classy or class-less, money talks, and if I was in those experts' expensive shoes, I'd be worried, because now they may be dealing with a tough, trash-talking, ex-trailer mamma, and soon to be a super rich, pissed off, lady.

Go get them Terry!

"The bottom line for me is that most of the educated world lives by science and technology in the 21st Century. However, a small segment of the art market has chosen to stand apart. This is the only reason why Teri's painting has not yet entered the market. While the museum, academic, and legal world has no problems with forensics, a few in the art market do."
Peter Paul Biro

Pipe Dreams or Just Good Dreams?

Sean over at Paint & Plaster checks in with some interesting ideas for kindling the arts in the Greater DC region.

I particularly like his idea for turning the Martin Luther King,Jr. Library into a public arts center.

Read and discuss his ideas here.

New DC galleries

Honfleur Gallery opens next month in SE Washington, DC. According to the press release:

Based on a long standing vision for one of Washington DC’ most controversial neighborhoods, ARCH Development Corporation is pleased to begin the construction of the gallery, “Honfleur.” Much as Honfleur, a port in Normandy, France, contributed to the appearance of the impressionist movement and inspired painters such as Monet and Courbet, ARCH envisions its gallery as a creativity hub for this historic sector of our Nation’s Capitol.

The Honfleur Gallery plans to house an array of artistic mediums and styles and intends to incorporate exhibitions that reach all ages, genders and economic groups. Diversity is an essential part of the Anacostia neighborhood, where the gallery is housed, and it’s with that very principle in mind that the Honfleur Gallery plans to produce a spectrum of shows from community arts based events to figurative & abstract individual exhibitions.

The gallery will showcase Washington D.C., Metropolitan area artists as well as present new artists from both the United States and Europe. This gallery will be a cooperative art space that includes a 1400 sq. foot exhibition room with another 500 sq. foot space above it, which is adjoined by four affordable artist work spaces equipped with skylights . The exhibition space is available to rent for master classes, private functions or one on one instruction.

The Honfleur Gallery will be located at 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE Washington DC. It is within walking distance of the Anacostia waterfront and the Anacostia metro (green line), just minutes from downtown, Washington DC.

Their grand opening exhibition is titled "No Scratchers," and it is scheduled for Saturday January 20th, 2007 with a reception at 7pm. The show itself is an informal exhibition highlighting works of art created by D.C. Tattoo Artists. The exhibition curated by Imani Brown.

I also hear that a major commercial fine arts gallery which focuses mainly on fine art glass is scouting the Northern Virginia area for a Greater DC location, which I think will be their fourth US location. More on that later...

The end of art fairs is nigh

"In contemporary art, this is the decade of the fair, as the nineties were the decade of the biennial. Collectors, with piles of money, have displaced curators, with institutional clout, as arbiters of how new art becomes known and rated, and therefore of what it can mean: less and less, after qualifying as the platonic consumer good."

The above is from Peter Schjeldahl's excellent piece on Art Basel Miami Beach in the current New Yorker magazine.

Schjeldahl starts by making the above, by now worn-out, point that the legion of art fairs that have popped up in the last few years have become the centralized, easy way to go see and buy art.

But then he begins to go somewhere "new," or perhaps just ahead of everyone else. He sets it up by relating that:

"Mutual intoxications of art and money come and go. I’ve witnessed two previous booms and their respective busts: the Pop nineteen-sixties, which collapsed in the long recession of the seventies, and the neo-expressionist eighties, whose prosperity plummeted, anvil fashion, in 1989."

Once this historical ground has been planted, he then gives us an insight on the financial importance of fairs to art galleries:

Fairism (if you will) is inexorable, given today’s proliferation of galleries (hundreds in New York’s Chelsea alone). No one with anything else to do can more than sample the panoply. “Fairs are important for big galleries,” the gallerist Marian Goodman said to me. “For small galleries, they’re vital.” I asked many dealers how much of their annual income comes through fairs. Answers varied from ten per cent to “well over half,” spiking in the range of a third. Beyond that, nonparticipation may be suicidal, risking losses not only of revenue but of artists whose loyalty depends on how gamely they are promoted. The dealer Brooke Alexander said, “The art world is so event-driven these days that if you don’t take part in the major fairs you almost don’t exist in the public mind.”

And then the disection of fairism truly begins with:

The typical contemporary-art object, judging from Miami Basel, is well crafted, attractive, interesting enough, and portable...These impressions might fade if you focussed on any particular work, but fairs destroy focus. Thousands of works coexisted cozily in Miami, sharing a pluralism of the salable. Talent counts; ideas are immaterial... A decade ago, much new art was eyebrow-deep in critical theory. Now it seems as carefree as a summertime school-boy, while far better dressed. I found relief from the convention center’s crushing elegance at the alternative fairs — with names like NADA, Pulse, and Aqua — where galleries featured the scrappily zestful ingenuity of kids who haven’t had time to forget why they became artists: for joy, revenge, and camaraderie.

And then he begins to introduce the historical bubble:

It seemed that almost everyone was selling out of almost everything. “It’s incredible. No one questions price. They pay whatever is asked,” said a dealer friend who, with a discretion that used to be common in the art dodge, requested anonymity. Who are the collectors? Hedge-fund wizards are routinely mentioned. So are cohorts of Europeans, Russians, Asians, and Latin Americans. The startling costliness of recent art from China, much of it pretty bad, proves that the market is international as never before. People who were eager to deny the obvious — that the runup in art prices is a bubble headed for a spectacular correction — all cited this factor to me.

The fact that the art market is headed for a correction is pretty much a certainty, as it has happened many times before, just like any other "goods" market and anything that fits the Kondratiev wave theory. But the idea that the coming art market correction may deal a harsh and potential death blow to the art fairs extravaganza may be a new one and a fun idea to discuss and speculate.

Schjeldahl finishes with a funny visualization:

One day, perhaps soon, someone in a convivial group of money guys at a bar will say, “I just got back from [name of art fair]. It was fantastic!” Another will drawl, “You still into that?” In the ensuing embarrassed silence, the bubble won’t burst; it will vanish.

Read the New Yorker piece here.

New Arts Blog

Washington City Paper visual arts critic (and also a musician, teacher and painter - and sometimes radio personality and always a good friend) Jeffry Cudlin has started a new blog titled Hatchets and Skewers.

Cudlin writes that he's calling his new blog hatchets and skewers "precisely because I have a reputation for not liking anything -- for being a little mean. For always insisting on writing a mixed review, rather than a simple approving nod."

While Jeffry and I are friends, we often disagree on a wide variety of subjects and issues related to art, and particularly art criticism and what makes good and bad art.

And I think that writing a "good review" is a helluva lot harder than making it a "simple approving nod." And when a writer, much less a critic, approaches a subject with the already cemented idea and intent of finding something wrong, or negative, no matter what, and before actually seeing the works, then the well is poisoned and to a certain extent, so is the pen.

But unlike any other regularly published art critic in the DC area, Cudlin is also an artist (and a very good painter at that) and also teaches at the University of Maryland, so he comes "armed" with a good set of skills that most other art critics lack: hands on experience on both the technical and applied skills needed to be able to distinguish what makes an artist a good professional or a hack, and also the set of intellectual skills to be able to apply the unfortunate test of history and theory and tactics to an exhibition. So often what he finds "wrong" or "negative" in an exhibition, is actually based on some well-cemented facts and a strong reasoning, making the reading of his always mixed reviews a challenging (and award winning) exercise.

And because (in my experience) artists almost always tend to view their own works as failures, they are often the worst ones in recognizing their own successes. And I think that Cudlin brings this generalized sense of disappointment outside of his studio and into his writing, which is sometimes unfortunate, because he is a much better painter and a much better writer, than he allows himself to be.

Make sure that you read his blog every day!

Eakins' Gross Clinic to stay in Philly

Philadelphia's Mayor Street announced a few days ago that Thomas Eakins' The Gross Clinic had been purchased by local institutions and would remain in Philadelphia.

At a packed City Hall news conference, officials said that the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts would share ownership of the 1875 masterpiece.

The two museums, which have led a frantic six-week fund-raising campaign to buy the huge canvas from Thomas Jefferson University, have agreed to take on a still-undetermined amount of debt and pay a record $68 million for what is widely viewed as an embodiment of the city's intellectual and creative life.

Officials highlighted four large contributions to the fund-raising effort: $10 million from the Annenberg Foundation, chaired by Leonore Annenberg; $3 million from H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest; $3 million from Joseph Neubauer; and $3 million from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

In total, over the last several weeks, about $30 million has been raised and more than 2,000 contributions have been received from about 30 states, officials said.

Read the Inquirer story here.

National Museum of the American Indian looking for new director

Sheila Burke, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Smithsonian, has announced the formation of a 10-member committee to lead and help in the search for a new Director of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Once selected, the new Director will succeed W. Richard West Jr. (Southern Cheyenne), who will step down in November 2007.

The members of the search committee are:

- Nina Archabal, Director, Minnesota Historical Society
- Lonnie Bunch, Director, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian
- Sheila Burke, Chair, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Smithsonian
- Virginia Clark, Director, Office of External Affairs, Smithsonian
- Doug Evelyn, former Deputy Director, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian
- Dwight Gourneau, Chairman of the Board, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian
- George Horse Capture, former Senior Counselor to the Director and former Special Assistant for Cultural Resources, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian
- Richard Kurin, Director, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Acting Director, Office of National Programs, Smithsonian
- Henrietta Mann, Member of the Board, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian
- Cristián Samper, Director, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian.

Feliz Navidad

A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone on the planet (except the mufsidoon in their evil hirabah).

Remnants of 7th Street

By Rosetta DeBerardinis

A few years ago, Seventh Street was a hub for the local Washington, DC art scene, that is until David Adamson moved to 14th Street, and eklektikos gallery moved to Delaware, and then Cheryl Numark relocated around the corner; then Apex and Marinart (and Numark) all closed.

Today, this major downtown DC artery, a stone's throw-away from the city's major museums, and an area bristling with commerce and traffic, hosts only two visual art galleries: Zenith and Touchstone.

Zenith, one of the oldest galleries in the city, has had somewhat of a face-lift. The once cluttered walls are much hipper now with lots of white space around the works. The large representational oil on linen paintings called “Altered States” by the young and talented artist, Drew Ernst, fills the space with adventure scenes from in a place like Maine depicting boating and rubber goulashes.

The oversized show announcement reads:

“The world has changed drastically in a very short period or time. These works are a reaction to those changes... The work can be viewed through the eyes of the artist whose personal intent was to make paintings of alternate states of reality or escape.”

I remember the first showing of his massive paintings about two years ago, which only remained on the walls for a few hours before being sold out. So, if you’re pining because you missed a chance to scoop up work by new talent at Art Basel Miami Beach this month, there is still time to make it to downtown DC.

And, while you are there, stop by Touchstone Gallery for its 30th Anniversary Show. In art gallery years, this is quite impressive, even for a gallery whose member fees keep its doors open.

After you’ve recovered from climbing the building’s high mansion-like staircase, you will discover original art work by local artists from $300 upwards. Part of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the charity: So Others Might Eat (SOME).

Through January 14, 2007
Drew Ernst
Altered States: Recent Paintings
Zenith Gallery
413-7th Street, N.W.
www.zenithgallery.com
202-783-2963

Through January 7, 2007
Touchstone Gallery
30th Anniversary Show and Sale
406-7th Street, N.W.
www.TouchstoneGallery.com
202-347-2787

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice's Cash Awards

Deadline: February 15, 2007

The Astraea Visual Arts Fund aims to recognize the work of contemporary U.S. lesbian artists by providing support to those who show artistic merit and whose art and perspective reflect a commitment to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice's mission and efforts to promote lesbian visibility and social justice.

This year, Astraea will give three cash awards of $2,500 each to lesbian visual artists. At least one of the three grants will be awarded to a lesbian artist who is based west of the Mississippi.

Visit the foundation's Web site for complete program information and application procedures.

Job in the Arts in Chicago

The Photography Department at Columbia Collge Chicago has one of the nation's largest photography programs with over 750 undergraduate majors, 25 graduate students, 15 full-time faculty, and approximately 60 part-time faculty and 10 full-time staff. Columbia College Chicago is an urban, open admissions institution of over 11,500 undergraduate and graduate students emphasizing arts and communications in a liberal education setting, and currently they are looking for not one but three tenure-track faculty positions in Photography, beginning August 16, 2007.

Applications should include a letter of application, C.V., 20 slides (or CD) of personal work, slides (or CD) of student work, statement of teaching philosophy, names and contact information of three references, and a SASE. Please send application materials to:

Search Committee
Photography Department
Columbia College Chicago
600 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60605

Job in the Arts

The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is a private, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the United States, and they are located in Silver Spring, MD and are currently looking for a Development Manager.

Compensation is commensurate with experience. Send a cover letter, resume and writing samples to: Search Committee, 1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 200, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Applications may be submitted via email to: info@ncta.net or faxed to: (301) 565-0472.

Creative Capital for Visual Artists

Creative Capital Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization that supports artists pursuing adventurous and imaginative work in the performing and visual arts, film/video, innovative literature, and emerging fields. In 2007, Creative Capital will be considering proposals in the visual arts, as well as film/video.

Far from a traditional funder, Creative Capital is committed to working in long-term partnership with the bold and ground-breaking artists they fund by making a multi-year financial commitment as well as providing advisory services and professional development assistance. Creative Capital has a special interest in projects that transcend discipline boundaries and reveal something new about the moment in which we live.

Artists interested in learning more about funding opportunities through Creative Capital are invited to join Kemi Ilesanmi, Associate Director of Grants & Services, Creative Capital Foundation for a grant information session at 5 pm, Friday, January 12, 2007 at Maryland Art Place: 8 Market Place, Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21202.

This session is made available to the public free of charge. To reserve a space, please email: map@mdartplace.org or call (410) 962-8565. To find out directions to MAP, or to learn more about their programming, please visit their website at www.mdartplace.org.

For more information about Creative Capital, please visit their website at www.creative-capital.org.

Erotica Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: Jan 31, 2007

MOCA DC is currently accepting submissions for Erotica 2007, to be shown from Friday March 2 to 31, 2007.

Erotica 2007 is a national juried show. 1st prize valued at $1,000 ($250 cash plus a show in the Annex that is for the winning artist do with as they like: your own Solo Show, invite a friend to show with you, or curate your own show). $200 cash 2nd prize, and $100 cash 3rd prize.

Erotica 2007 accepts erotic art in any form. Work may be drawings, paintings, sketches, sculpture, mixed media, conté crayon, charcoal, photography, etc. 2-D Entries may be a maximum of 30" x 40."

More details and entry form here.

New co-op in Arlington

Bardia is developing a new artist's co-op in Arlington, Virginia. He has his sights set on taking over the old Wilson School and is looking for several artists and teachers and studio artists to be included in his proposal.

Find more info in this post here, and if you're looking for studio space in Arlington, please reply here with a link to your information on the internet. He's searching for a number of emerging and established artists. If you have teaching experience that's a bonus!

One Day DC Art Event

On Friday January 5th, 2007 Art Outlet, Walnut Street Development, artdc.org and Arlington Independent Media (AIM) will partner together and produce a really cool art event for the Greater DC area.

They will have fire juggling, live bands, aerial dance performance, video projections and improv theatre lined up and yes, visual artists can participate as well.

Starting Jan 5th, they will have a sign-up button on their website www.artoutlet.org. For a very modest fee of $12.99, you can hang and display your art. No sales commission; no jurors.

It will be on the first come first serve basis. They will accept 100 artists. The art will be displayed salon style.

Read more here.

Job in the Arts

Browne Academy on Telegraph Road in Alexandria, Virginia is looking for a "long term" sub for their middle school art program (grades 5 - 8) beginning mid January. There are two classes each of grades 6, 7, and 8 and one of grade 5. The classes for each grade are back to back (8 am-9 am and 9am -10 am) on the same day.

Browne has a six day rotation schedule, with art classes on four of the six mornings. The days are designated on the school calendar. This is an ideal position for a working artist because it leaves most of the day for your own studio practice. If interested, please call Stephanie Kozemchak at 202.431.6447 or e-mail skozemchak@browneacademy.org or Alex Clain, head of the middle school, at AClain@browneacademy.org.

Melissa Ichiuji at Irvine

Opening January 13, 2007 is DC area artist Melissa Ichiuji's first solo at Irvine Contemporary in DC with a show titled "Nasty Nice: New Sculptures" from January 13 - February 18, 2007.

I'm a big fan of her work and thus I am really looking forward to this debut!