Mellema on Moser

Kevin Mellema writes an interesting review of the current Lida Moser show at Fraser Gallery.

Moser's work often depicts motion and displays an unusually strong depth of field. Some of her best works include foreground objects that go hopelessly out of focus yet retain all the information we really need. A photo of two Tennessee girls standing beside the road includes the interior car door and window frame. Another shot out the front window of a bus shows a motion blurred man crossing the street before the bus. Both photos would be greatly diminished were they shot in a more typical fashion.

Likely to her detriment, Moser never shot fashion work, but was asked to shoot a fashion portfolio for a young head strong aspiring model named Judy. Moser agreed, as long as she could shoot it on a truck loading dock. During the shoot the two ladies encountered a band of irrepressible, and equally headstrong boys. Not quite being able to shake them off, Moser used them to her advantage and made a wonderful series of shots with Judy posing while the boys mocked her poses. No doubt it wasn't exactly what Judy had in mind, but since Moser was doing the work as a favor she didn't have much choice but to go along with it. Moser recalls that images from the series sold to several magazines, and Judy went on to model ... then setting her sights on marrying a millionaire, did that as well.

Read it here.

Henry Miller

Henry Miller, charcoal on paper. 2 inches by 2 inches. c. 2008
by F. Lennox Campello

Lotta Art

Details here.

MFA Shows at Tyler

Temple University’s Tyler School of Art has a series of solo and two-person Masters of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions, occurring weekly from March 19 to May 24, 2008.

The series includes students from all Tyler departments and an array of media: painting, sculpture, glass, printmaking, metals, graphic design, fibers, photography, ceramics, and more. A listing of exhibitions is located here.

Texas MADE: Spotlight on 10 Texas Based Emerging Artists

ArtWhino, Alexandria's massive art gallery will launch Texas MADE: Spotlight on 10 Texas Based Emerging Artists, on March 21st, 2008 from 6 to 12p.m. The show runs until - April 4th, 2008. Music by DJ SMK.

Texas Made is "a sampling of the prominent, graffiti-based contemporary Texan art culture. For the most part, the artists featured in Texas Made all have graffiti and street art backgrounds and have now broadened their scope to include works on canvas. Keeping in the vein of graffiti, these artists employ much of the same media and techniques one might expect to find outdoors, such as spray paint with stencils."

Found Prints

A while back a good friend of a friend found a portfolio containing eight prints at the Red line Metro in DC. She brought them home instead of taking them to the Metro counter thinking that they were going to be safer in her hands. Below are three of the images from the set. If anyone knows who the artist may be, they can get in touch directly with Paula and her email is paulamjo@hotmail.com.

Meet the Artist - DC

Argentinean artist Felisa Federman will be at Gallery 10 - Dupont Circle‏ in DC this Saturday and Sunday, to discuss her work currently on exhibit there. Call 202/232-3326.

Felisa Federman, "Barcode." Mixed media on canvas. 11" by 14", 2008

Meet the Artists - Philly

Join Sarah Steinwachs and Joshua Marsh at Cerulean Arts to discuss their current exhibition “Drawing Near” featuring work by them and fellow Yale graduates Tamar Miller and Kathranne Knight. For more information about the exhibition, please visit this website or call 267-514-8647.

Sunday, March 16, 1-4pm and Gallery Talk at 2pm.

Five Senses

Yesterday I was down at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria; first I spent about half an hour checking out a couple of very good Art League shows juried by Jack Boul and Sarah Tanguy; review coming later.

Then I went to Target Gallery to see "Five Senses," which I had juried from digital files, and was really pleased with the show; you gotta go see this really cool exhibition - it's not what you'd expect and let me give you a hint: it makes the entire building smell of mouthwash!

I awarded Best in Show to an amazing piece by Illinois artist Pamela Paulsud. Titled "Touchstones," the work is comprised of 50 altered books and some real stones, and it is an imaginative and smart work that fools the visual senses, and then demands tactile interaction.

"Touchstones" by Pamela Paulsud
Those are mostly books, not stones in the above image of the winning piece.

See the short video of the show below and you'll see why I am so excited about this show - I hope that some of the area's art critics and art bloggers get a chance to see it, and I also think that some of my fellow art dealers should pop in - there are a couple of really, really good pieces in this show, and those artists definitely need some further exploration.

Judy and the Boys


The above photograph by Lida Moser is known as "Mimicry" or more commonly "Judy and the Boys." It his perhaps her best-known image, and for a while it was the most popularly requested photograph from the Library of Congress archives.

I've seen this photo described as "dancing in the streets."

Here's the real story.

Circa 1961, the model (named Judy) hired Lida Moser to shoot a publicity portfolio, and Moser convinced Judy that the streets of the Bowery in NYC would be an ideal location.

So they began posing and shooting, and soon a small band of New York City urchins approached them.

"Hey Lady," says Lida the oldest one said to her, "take my pichurr."

"Get lost," answered Moser, "We're working here."

"C'mon lady," the kids now insisted, "take our pichurr."

Soon, to the irritation of Judy, the eldest boy started to mimic her poses. "See lady," he said, "I can pose too."

Moser is not a photographic genius for nuthin' and she recognized the photographic opportunity and started backing up slowly to include the boys in the frame. Judy was now really pissed, and look at her dainty gloved hand, as she gives the street ruffians the finger.

Eventually Moser included the boys in other photographs (all part of a series loosely called "Judy and the Boys") and the images became part of the portfolio. The first photo (imaged above) captures the beginning of a brilliant photo that has little to do with dancing in the streets but loads to do with the eye of a savvy street photographer.

Lida Moser opens tonight at 6PM at Fraser Gallery in Bethesda.

Bethesda Art Walk Tonight

Tonight is the Bethesda Art Walk with openings and late hours and a free walking tour to over a dozen Bethesda art galleries and art venues.

My pick: Lida Moser at Fraser Gallery. Also, I learned from DCist that Moser will discuss her work on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a screening of two documentaries about her work.

"Along a Road in Tennessee," c. 1965 by Lida Moser

Weston and Modotti

Two tiny recent drawings, each about 2.25 square inches representing Edward Weston and Tina Modotti, who for a while were lovers while in Mexico City. Modotti was eventually executed by the Nazis in Germany died in Mexico under suspicious circumstances in 1942.

I like this

WaPo Chief Art Critic Blake Gopnik interviews Charles Cohan, a 47-year-old printmaker and art professor based in Hawaii, and currently exhibiting in DC's micro-gallery with a huge presence, Curator's Office.

Cohan's installation at Curator's Office
Read the interview here. The gallery reception for Cohan is Saturday, March 15 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

Wanna go to a gallery opening tonight?

Come to the opening of "Five Senses," the exhibition that I curated for Alexandria's Target Gallery.

The exhibition is up now and through April 6, 2008, and the opening reception (free and open to the public) is tonight, Thursday, March 13, 6-8pm and I will give a gallery talk tonight at 7PM and present the awards. You can start by attending the reception, having some munchies and wine, and then, after the reception, head out for the nightlife of Old Town Alexandria.

The artists that I selected come from all over the nation; they are: Participating Artists: David Bausman, Adam Bradley, Mirella Monti Belshe, Travis Childers, Julie Hitchcock, Laura Huff, Sun Kyoung Kim, Jenny Mastin, Scott Mickelson, Pamela Paulsrud, Thomas Schlotterback, Gary Schott, Anjali Srinivasan, J. Lewis Takahashi, Jennifer Williams, and Damian Yanessa.

This promises to be a terrific show and I can't wait to see the actual work later today.

See ya there!

Artists' Websites

"Intemperance" by Carrie Ann Baade
The recipient of a recent National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship granted through the Delaware Division of the Arts. Carrie Ann Baade received her B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her Masters in Painting from the University of Delaware. Carrie is currently an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Florida State University.

Visit her website here.

Opportunity for DC, VA and MD artists

Deadline: Friday, April 11, 2008

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is now accepting submissions for The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. The 6th annual juried art competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to four selected artists. Deadline for slide submission is Friday, April 11, 2008 and up to fifteen artists will be invited to display their work from September 3 – September 28, 2008 in downtown Bethesda at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art.

The Trawick Prize is without a doubt, the key fine arts competition available to DC, MD and VA artists and has already produced some spectacular results for its winners.

This year's competition will be juried by Molly Donovan, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Art; Irene Hofmann, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD and Leah Stoddard, Director of Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA.

The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young” artist whose birth date is after April 10, 1978 may also be awarded $1,000.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Original painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video are accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years. Selected artists must deliver artwork to exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards.

The Trawick Prize was established by local Bethesda business owner Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company.

For a complete submission form, please visit www.bethesda.org or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., c/o The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.

Opportunity for Senior Artists

Deadline: Friday, March 20, 2008

Call for senior, non-professional artists to participate in the eleventh annual, non-juried exhibition entitled “A Lifetime of Perspective: Art by Older Adults.” Deadline March 20, 2008. The exhibition will be held at the JCC of Greater Washington’s Goldman Gallery May 18-30, 2008. This show offers Washington area adults 65+ the opportunity to show one piece in an exhibition by 120 artists. It is free to all participants. If an artists wishes to sell his or her work the JCC takes no commission. Come be a part of eleven years of celebrating senior’s creativity and talents. This art exhibit was created by Deena and Jerome Kaplan in memory of parents, Eve and David Berliant and is underwritten by the Kaplan Family, the JCC’s Deena and Jerome Kaplan Fund for Senior Adult Programming. For information or to make an appointment contact: Kandy Hutman 301-348-3864 email: khutman@jccgw.org.

Heartworks

In April 2008, Philadelphia will be the destination for a lot of cool contemporary art when the works of photographer/sculptor Jack Pierson, painter/sculptor Andrea Zittel, photographers Ryan McGinley and Zoe Strauss, mixed-media artist Alex Da Corte, installation design artist Virgil Marti, painter/musician Devendra Banhart, self-contained video artist Tim Tate and loads more other visual and performing artists from the United States and London are featured in “HeartWorks,” a week-long event benefiting the Mazzoni Center, a Philadelphia health agency serving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, specializing in HIV treatment and care.

Curator Christopher Veit (who is from my new hometown of Media, PA) credits the Mazzoni Center with saving his life and is taking the words of his mentor Pierson – “you only get back what you put out in life” – to heart in creating “HeartWorks.” He has decided to give the place and people who helped him get well a benefit of works and performances donated by his friends. All proceeds will support the Center. Lifestyle Magazine is a major sponsor for “HeartWorks.”

“HeartWorks” kicks off on Friday, April 18 with two-evenings of experimental multi-media and music, featuring innovative video art by Alex Bag, photography by Patterson Beckwith in collaboration with filmmaker Joshua Callaghan, musician Douglas Armour and rapper Tara De Long.

Then an exhibition of approximately 100 works of art will be on view beginning Tuesday, April 22, culminating in fundraiser/silent auction, featuring a performance by the saxophone ensemble, PRISM Quartet, on Saturday, April 26. “HeartWorks” will be held at the ICE BOX Project Space, 1400 N. American Street. Tickets for April 18 and 19 are $20; those for the April 26 fundraiser/silent auction range from $35 - $125. Patron packages, including limited prints by either Alex Da Corte or Jack Pierson, tickets to all “HeartWorks” events, and a patron event with the two artists on February 21, are $500 and $1,000. For information, visit www.inliquid.com/heartworks or call 215-563-0663.

Other artists contributing to “HeartWorks” include painters Elyce Abrams, Dave Bond, Anthony Campuzano, Jeff Elrod, Daniel Gonzalez, Robert Gutierrez, Ian Hokin, Pearl C Hsiung, Jackadandy, Michael Lazarus, Isaac Lin, Jay Schuette, Jeni Spota, Thaddeus Strode, Hiroshi Sunairi and Henry Taylor; sculptors Paul LEE and Jason Meadows; photographers Karl Hahn and Mary Pinto; mixed-media artists Shari Elf, Mark X Farina, Adam Helms, Thom Merrick, Sandeep Mukherjee, Michele O' Marah, Randy Polumbo and John Williams; fashion designers Paul Bernstock, Michael Costiff, Bettina Hubby and Thelma Speirs; jewelry designers Annie Costello Brown and Mikal Winn; video artists and filmmakers Zaina Alwan, who also creates murals, Tom Borgese, Paul Slocum, Jack Sloss and Kim Stringfellow; performance artists David M. Jones, Ann Magnuson, Kelly Marie Martin and Khembra Pfhaler; musician Chad Brown; and Ellie Greenwood, Gia Grosso, Tim Jackson, Daniel McDonald, Ji Shin and Lisa Sitko. Artist biographies are available in an accompanying document.

Mazzoni Center focuses on the healthcare needs of Philadelphia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, and specializes in the treatment and care of HIV / AIDS. For more information regarding Mazzoni Center, go to www.mazzonicenter.org.

VSA arts’ Call for Entries

Deadline: March 21, 2008

VSA arts is seeking visual artists with disabilities whose work is inspired by the performing arts for “Derivative Composition,” an international juried art exhibition that will be on display at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., from May 29-July 20, 2008. Two-and three-dimensional art, digital art, installations, video and film, and other media that draw inspiration from music, theater or dance are eligible. Submissions must have been completed in the last five years and after the onset of disability. Applications will be accepted through March 21, 2008. For more information, please visit this website or call (202) 628-2800.

MPA Artfest

Deadline: May 1, 2008

The McLean Project for the Arts in McLean, VA is accepting entries from local and regional artists and fine craftsmen for MPA artfest, a one day juried fine arts and crafts festival. The second annual MPA artfest will be held in McLean Central Park on Sunday, October 5. Last year's one day festival drew 3,500 music and arts lovers.

Entry forms are available at McLean Project for the Arts and online at www.mpaart.org. McLean Project for the Arts is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue in McLean. Hours are Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 4 pm; Saturday 1-5 pm. For more information call 703-790-1953 or email artfest@mpaart.org