Delivering a Coffin to a Gallery in 20 Photos

You gotta see this!

The Contemporary Art Purchasing Program at UMD

In the spring of 2008, five gifted students from the University of Maryland were selected to be part of a committee that was taught the "intricacies of contemporary art and sent on trips to New York City and Washington D.C, where they visited multiple galleries and artists’ studios. The program concluded with the committee of students purchasing a number of pieces of contemporary art to be added to the collection of The Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Center for Campus Life."

The committee’s selections were then on exhibition at the University's Stamp Gallery. I was very interested in seeing the results of what sounds like a very cool program and visited the exhibition a while back. This is the second iteration of this program, and a new one will soon be underway.

The journey included a fall semester art theory course, countless hours in meetings to discuss independent research, leading up to exhilarating and exhausting trips to visit New York City and Washington D.C galleries. The committee worked directly with the galleries to both plan and schedule the trips and to acquire valuable information about the artists that piqued their interests. Final decisions were made after a formal presentation to an advisory board consisting of University community members and art professionals. It is safe to say that each artwork that the committee purchased was thoroughly researched and discussed.

The student committee members were Sana Javed ’09, Ophra Paul ’08, Alison Reilly ’09, Alisyn Stuebner MA ’09, and Megan Wickless ’10. And I will report immediately that each one performed superbly and acquired work that definitely fits what the program aimed for. It is the program itself that needs both to be lauded (and I really, really like this program) and also fine tuned a little to make it more realistic and tuned to the University's own backyard's art community.

I am told that the ultimate goal of the program is to "educate and inspire by exposing the campus community to challenging art created by noted contemporary artists. At the same time, committee members are given the opportunity to develop leadership skills as well as a deeper appreciation for art and the art world." More on the program itself here.

The selected artists for the last iteration of the program and 2009 additions to the University's permanent collection are Barbara Probst, Dulce Pinzon, Jefferson Pinder, Edward Burtynsky, Annu Palakunnathu Mathew and Linn Meyers. All but Meyers and Pinder are photographs; Meyers and Pinder are also local artists to the DC regional scene.

My own favorite works in the new collection are the two pieces by Mexican photographer Dulce Pinzón. I am not sure which of the students proposed her work, but the proposal was:

Mexican-born artist Dulce Pinzón challenges the stereotypes held against Mexican and Latino immigrants in the United States with her Superheroes project. In the wake of September 11, Pinzón found herself intrigued by the use and meaning of the word hero.

Bernabe Mendez from the State of Guerrero works as a professional window cleaner in New York. He sends 500 dollars a month.
20x24 inches, C-print mounted. c. 2004-2005 by Dulce Pinzón
The artist set out to capture images of those whom she considered the unsung heroes of her community—those immigrants who not only keep U.S. cities like New York running by working long hours for little pay, but who also support their families in Mexico by sending home substantial portions of their paychecks each week. Pinzón captured immigrant workers performing their jobs in their work environments, dressed as popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photograph is accompanied by a short paragraph providing the subject’s name, his or her hometown, and the amount of money he or she sends to family members in Mexico each week.

Maria Luisa Romero from the State of Puebla works in a Laundromat in Brooklyn, New York. She sends 150 dollars a week by Dulce Pinzón.
20x24 inches, C-print mounted. c. 2004-2005 by Dulce Pinzón
The subject matter and aim of Pinzón’s project is both politically and socially engaging and would resonate with the University of Maryland community. The school sits on the border of the nation’s capital, a place where immigration is frequently the topic of debate. As in New York City, immigrants converge in Washington, D.C., to find work and to support their families, yet they are hardly given the respect and credit they deserve for the work they do.

Adding works from Superheroes to the Stamp collection would provide members of this university’s diverse community an opportunity to challenge preconceived ideas of what it means to be American or a hero, as well as to question the role that perspective plays in defining identity. The visual juxtaposition of the costumed subject in his or her work environment will draw the viewer in, while the text will enlighten the viewer and present new ways of thinking about immigrant workers.

Adding works from Superheroes to the Stamp collection would provide members of this university’s diverse community an opportunity to challenge preconceived ideas of what it means to be American or a hero, as well as to question the role that perspective plays in defining identity. The visual juxtaposition of the costumed subject in his or her work environment will draw the viewer in, while the text will enlighten the viewer and present new ways of thinking about immigrant workers

Dulce Pinzón was born in Mexico City in 1974. She studied Mass Media Communications at the Universidad de Las Americas in Puebla, Mexico and photography at Indiana University in Pennsylvania. In 1995 she moved to New York where she studied at The International Center of Photography.

As a young Mexican artist living in the US, Dulce soon found new inspiration for her photography in feelings of nostalgia, questions of identity, and political and cultural frustrations. In her black and white series “Viviendo en el Gabacho” (a Mexican colloquialism for living in the US) she illustrates the dualistic phenomenon of the integration of the Mexican immigrant into the New York landscape.

She is currently a Ford Foundation fellow and lives in Brooklyn, New York Mexico City. I find it interesting that Pinzón's best work was triggered by the viewing of her Mexican kinfolk from an American perspective. It delivers powerful images with a resonant social message. I wonder if when Pinzón returns to her native Mexico she now "sees" her working class compatriots in a different light. I say this because Mexican society is very harsh on its own lower working class people, and the heroes of Pinzón's American photographs are often the same heroes in her own native land, as a visit to most any house or flat in Mexico City's Zona Rosa will reveal.

The interesting fact that the Mexican government has one of the harshest and most oppressing immigration policies (Mexico has its own "illegal alien" problem in its southern borders) should yield some really interesting images if Pinzón were ever to do a new set of photographs depicting the painful issues faced by Salvadorean, Honduran and Nicaraguan illegal immigrants to her nation. Or the immense brutality of the Mexican government towards its own native indigenous population.

It is an interesting political paradox for a government that pretends, Presidente after Presidente, to be progressive and liberal, while its own policies are short of fascist in some cases.

A friend of mine, who is very high in the current Mexican administration recently told me a joke when we were discussing this political phenomenon. It seems that Mexican President Felipe De Jesus Calderon Hinojosa was driving former US President George W. Bush and current US President Barack Obama around Mexico City to show them some sights. They came to a T in the intersection and President Calderon asked, "Which way should we turn, left or right?"

"To the right, of couse, heh, heh," snickered Bush in heavily accented Spanish.

"To the left, my good friend," added Obama immediately.

Calderon thought about it for a second, and began to move. "I will signal left and turn right," he said as he began to turn.

This theme of ethnic and racial identification is one that runs through most of the pieces not only in the 2009 collection, but also in the earlier 2007 collection. Of the nine pieces acquired in 2009, six have some heavy handed form of ethnic or racial message. Some, like Pinzón, deliver right on target, while others miss a little or are somewhat dated.

I was intrigued also by the overwhelming number of photographs acquired both in 2007 and 2009, and asked both the students and the course's mentors (Megan Rook-Koepsel, Stamp Gallery Graduate Assistant Coordinator and Jackie Milad, the program coordinator for the Stamp Gallery) if the photography-heavy acquisition result was due to (a) price and/or (b) the fact that photography is usually an "easier" starting point for beginning collectors. The budget for this program, made possible through a generous gift from Dr. and Mrs. Erik Young (UMD class of 1974), was $50,000 and I was told that "by the time the pieces are framed and transported the budget was spent."


Quanah Parker, Washington D.C. 1880s/Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Providence R.I., 2000s. Original photo courtesy: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
By Annu Palakunnathu Matthew
My questions to all those involved in the program was: "Seven of the 9 works picked are photographs. In 2007, all but one of the pieces were also photographs. Is photography easier to pick for beginner collectors? If so, why?"


Traditional American Indian Mother and Child/Contemporary Indian American Mother and Stepchild. Original photo courtesy: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
By Annu Palakunnathu Matthew
One answer to the above question stated: "No. This was something we discussed on many occasions. We wanted to broaden the variety of media in the collection but we found it very, very difficult to find non-photographic contemporary works which were within our budget, which were of a certain high quality and significance, and which also fit the themes of our collection. I felt like most of what we found in the galleries was photography."

Another answer stated

"We talked extensively about our tendency toward photographs. We often tried to limit ourselves in photography just for the sake of variety in the collection. But denying a work simply because of an established quota seemed too materialistic and unfairly nullified any argument of its worth. Also, many times we felt that the photographs we valued would have a greater impact on the university community than works of other media."

As any art dealer will tell you, photographs are usually the entry point for many beginning collectors, as they are visually the easiest form of art to accept and recognize without too much "wall text" to explain their meaning. Furthermore, given this program's direction to steer the acquisition towards (as one student put it) "Our task wasn't simply to present to the university community a group of aesthetically pleasing works; it was to present to the community a collection of works which would make them think, which would challenge their own beliefs, and which would hopefully allow them to see (in a positive way) that they are attending one of the most diverse public universities in the country."

It also seems from comments that some students interpreted the focus of the acquisition as a suggested task, but from the faculty perspective I was told: "The students really wanted to represent issues that are important to the University of Maryland community in their collection. Identity formation and cultural and social differences were some of the issues that they thought would be particularly salient. It was also important to them that they represent different kinds of artists, both women and men, and people of many different cultural and ethnic heritages."

I was also assured that "we made it very clear to them that the final decisions were all theirs, so if they wanted to override our suggestions and encouragements they could."

It is a photographic ethnic/racial representational thread that runs through both 2007 and 2009. In fact 12 of 15 works acquired so far have been photographs, nearly all dealing with ethnic and/or racial issues - in fact one can make the case that only two pieces (both abstract works) do not. I have some ideas on how to steer this overwhelming number to a more "diverse" set of art genres in the future. After all, diversity includes art forms, right? More on that later.

Because the course says that the students are "sent on trips to New York City and Washington D.C, where they visited multiple galleries and artists’ studios," I was curious which Washington, DC galleries and studios they had visited. To say that I was disappointed on the answers is the understatement of the year. In fact, I will reveal my hand now and affirm that the one huge flaw in this otherwise terrific course is the astounding lack of local connectivity in this program.

One student told me that they had only visited one DC gallery and that she was personally disappointed that they hadn't been to more. I asked her why not and was told that it was "too hard to get everyone together to see more DC galleries."

A faculty member, responding to the same issue stated that "The galleries were visited based on the students' interests. I drew their attention to many different DC galleries throughout the year and ultimately they decided on a few to visit. (I might mention here also, that the students planned to visit the DC galleries after they had already been to NYC so their interests and goals were naturally narrowed based on their NYC experiences). Also, the students planned to visit a few other DC galleries but there were scheduling conflicts that ultimately led them to cancel their visit."

So eventually, only one DC gallery was visited.

But then I noticed that all of the works from "local" DC area artists both in 2007 and 2009 come from the same gallery. And thus I asked if there was a reason why only G Fine Art artists have been acquired so far in this program?

Was this something that was "directed" by the way the fund for the program by Dr. & Mrs. Young was established?

Or something that the advisory board directed?

I was curious why for two versions of this great program only one local gallery has supplied the local talent?

The answers from the faculty stated that it was "mostly about relationships, ease of working with the gallery and the art in which the students were interested." Another faculty member stated that "Like I said before, the galleries that the students visit have most to do with the artists and works they have interest in--they do a lot of research before they ever visit the galleries so that they can make appointments to see specific artists' works. Throughout the program I pointed to several DC galleries and made the students aware of a lot of openings, but ultimately they narrowed their interest to only a few DC galleries for visits. BUT there is definitely something to be said for a gallery's relationship to our students in the past. G Fine Art was extremely welcoming and excited to work with our students and spend time with them looking at works by the artists that interested them in 2007 & 2009; and because the 2007 program participants so enjoyed working with Annie Gawlak and G Fine Art, the 2009 students were definitely excited to go back again. The choice to go buy again from G Fine Art had nothing to do with Dr. & Mrs. Young's gift or with the advisory board's advice."

I sense a bit of tap-dancing when it comes to these answers and the fact that 100% of all local area acquisitions are from one place is a major flaw in my opinion in an otherwise terrific program. The claim that students couldn't be organized to visit other galleries is spectacularly impossible to believe. Pleeeease! There are several other terrific galleries in the same building as to where G Fine Art was located! And no one could arrange to visit Curator's Office or Hemphill Fine Arts on that same visit to Annie's gallery? Since G Fine Art is closed/relocating, this program better get on the ball and discover more DC galleries to do business with and to expose students to. Here's how you fix it:

(a) Invite gallerists to come and do presentations to the next class. Let them know ahead of time of the sort of diversity focus that the program is aiming for. If 20 DC area galleries are contacted, I guarantee that at least half a dozen will respond with quality presentations to the students. This will also improve the program by adding a diverse set of local gallerists to the mix, including African-American owned galleries such as Parish Gallery, etc.

(b) As far as I can tell, not a single DC artist studio was visited. The DC area has clusters of artists studios all in one area, where it would be very easy to schedule a visit to half a dozen studios next to each other, such as a visit to Red Dirt Studios would yield. There are about half a dozen artist studios withing a few steps of each other in that area alone!

(c) Since it appears that it is next to impossible to schedule visits to DC area galleries, how about visiting one or two of the area's top art prize shows? Here the homework has been done by local area museum curators in selecting the best of what the greater capital region area has to offer. This is an easy and brilliant way to expose the students (and the faculty it seems) to the best local artists according to blue chip jurors. So visit the Sondheim Prize exhibition in Baltimore, or the Trawick Prize exhibition in Bethesda, or the Bethesda Painting Awards.

(d) Make it part of the course syllabus (all UMD courses are required to have one) for all students to have to attend at least six gallery openings of their choice and report back to the class. Put this in the course and the rubric used will be based on the report itself. I asked the students how many area gallery openings they had been to in the past year and the answers ranged from zero ("lack of time, cumbersome transportation, and higher priorities usually prevent me from attending" was given as an excuse) to "lots!". Attending gallery openings is by far the best way to immerse a new collector into a city's art scene; not all can be learned in a classroom. An art collector, any collector, needs to be able to soak in the art scene of the city that he or she is part of.

The bottom line is that it is unfair and a bit lazy on the part of all concerned to just visit one gallery, the same gallery, for two years in a row. This underexposes the students to a significant number of DC area artists who are working on important work that fits the directed focus of this program. For Christsakes! In the same building where the students visited they could have arranged to see the work of William Christenberry and Nicholas and Sheila Pye!

Regardless, G Fine Art is closed/relocating (we're still not sure), and so the current iteration of the program will have to discover some new DC galleries and/or artists studios one way or another. My suggestions, given the directed focus that the advisory committee directs the students towards, is:

- Curator's Office: Nicholas and Sheila Pye or Jiha Moon.
- Hemphill - William Christenberry
- Conner - Mary Coble
- Irvine - Susan Jamison or Akemi Maegawa
- Fraser - Trawick Prize or Bethesda Painting Awards
- Civilian - Cara Ober
- Parish - E. J. Montgomery and Herbert Gentry
- Red Dirt Studios - Margaret Boozer
- Washington Glass School - Tim Tate and Michael Janis

And the surprise will be that for the New York price of a photograph, the UMD collection will be able to acquire another genre of art. Notice that all non-photograph acquisitions so far have been (a) by DC area artists and (b) purchased from a DC gallery. That is not a coincidence.


Linn Meyers. Untitled. 59x75 inches. Ink on Mylar. 2009.
The above beautiful piece by Linn Meyers also stands out in the exhibition. Not only because of Meyers' enviable technical and artistic presence, but also because as the only abstract piece in the exhibition (in 2007 the only abstract was a gorgeous piece by Maggie Michael) it clearly stands out by its genre and non representational nature, as well as art for art's sake rather than trying to make a political or social statement. The acquisition proposal makes this the focus:

Linn Meyers is an artist of process—her works stand as evidence of her careful persistence. The difference between an artist’s intention and the realization of a work, and admitting that they can never be the same has long been a great concern for artists. Instead of accepting this human nature as a fault, Meyers has celebrated it. “Where else in life can one actually take pleasure in the fact that we are powerless?” she says. In order to emphasize the wonders of the realization, Meyers lets her intentions last only within each present moment, allowing the uncontrollable to flow into the work. Her earlier works experimented with a variety of forms—such as dots, lines, strokes, and tinted backgrounds—and explored the sublimity in the interaction of these planes. Many of her current pieces have lines drawn to initially follow around forms and then expand out to an edge of the surface. Subsequent lines are drawn beside the line before, imitating the same curves, even along areas of “slippage” where the pens may show signs of human error. As the surface is filled in, these features of error take the form of an elegant ripple. While geometry is utilized, Meyers admits that she cannot have equal control over forms. The simplicity of her process and the combination of basic artistic elements create works of wonder and beauty.

Meyers’ piece is a large drawing of black lines on Mylar, which takes particular care in severely reducing elements in order to focus on the phenomenon of the process and the interaction of human performance with geometric shapes. She began a pattern, initially unknown, by following the curves of several tangential circles around the center of the sheet and then taking a natural curve out to an edge of the work. Areas of “slippage,” most evident in areas where the artist’s reach were naturally most strained and stretched, are echoed out to the furthest edges with each line added, creating a resonant beauty from the evidence of imperfection. While playing with the exactness of geometrically aligned circles, the piece becomes focused on the humanization of these forms, which contributes to the intangible life and ambiance observed. The size of the work allows the viewer to be more greatly emerged in the aesthetics while simultaneously welcoming careful scrutiny of each mark.

Meyers’ work would contribute a number of outstanding qualities to the Stamp Student Union collection at the University of Maryland. Looking at its basic medium and style, the work would stand as the collection’s first drawing, expanding the collection’s breadth of media and artistic techniques. The work’s size invites views from up close and afar, which may especially benefit such a large public space. Additionally, as a more conceptual piece, it could reach a wider audience, spreading interest in the collection as a whole. And while it could be a “break” from the more highly postmodern works, it may also trigger interest in the messages of the other pieces. The universality of the drawing could even spark interest for students of a variety of academic disciplines, pulling interesting perspectives from mathematicians, physicists, cartographers, etc. Also, as a Washington D.C. artist with high involvement in the University of Maryland, Meyers’ inclusion in the collection would formally recognize her involvement in the community while at the same time honoring her rising success across the country. The untitled work is a meditation on the experience of human nature, and would provide a refreshing bit of confidence, especially in an environment filled with high academic expectations.

The very talented Linn Meyers has been an Artist In Residence at the University of Maryland since 2008 and a past Trawick Award (3rd place in 2003) winner.

Jefferson Pinder contributes the other non-photograph to the collection and its first video.


Jefferson Pinder. Still from Juke. Digital video. Edition of 10. 2006
Pinder's acquisition proposal reads:

Jefferson Pinder is an artist who believes that "few things are more persuasive than the moving image." The video series Juke has a unique feel and message to offer to the Stamp Student Union and the University of Maryland community. Pinder is interested in the meaningful interaction that can happen between an artwork and the viewer. As he says, "In an age where activism happens less on the street and more in the mind, I seek to create work that converses with the public." Juke is an engaging piece that questions the perceived racial categories in music and asks the audience to evaluate questions such as "Is there black music?" or "Is there white music?"

In each of the 10 videos that comprise the work Juke, the camera is focused on the face of an African American person against a bright white background. Each video features the subject lip-syncing and trying to relate to songs not typically associated with African American culture. By appropriating the songs through his lip-synching subjects, Pinder asks the viewer to re-interpret the music and to consider the stereotyping involved in categorizing music as belonging to one race or another.

As Pinder explains in his personal statement, “I explore interests that not only relate to identity but also tie into a larger fiber of the human condition. My music videos exalt the soundtracks of life, as all of my work is a metaphor for my cultural journey. These thinly layered video pieces speak less of technology and more of the dynamic representation of a human experience. Inspired by past generations of artists, my work seeks to bridge a connection between what has come before and what lies ahead. I offer little direction. (That is in keeping with my generation.) Rather, I find interest in creating work that documents dynamic details of this ever-changing cultural landscape."

We propose to acquire five of the videos that comprise the series Juke. These videos will add untold value to the collection as they challenge ideas and ask questions that are extremely relevant to the diverse University community. Adding these works will provide students with an opportunity to discuss and think about race, diversity, and identity. Additionally, having received his MFA from the University of Maryland in 2003, and now as a faculty member of the University of Maryland art department, Pinder is a valued member of our community and we think this connection would add great value to this acquisition.

As a testament to the relevance and importance of his artwork, Jefferson Pinder has also been featured in museums and shows in the past all across the nation from the Oculus Gallery to The Three Rivers Arts Festival. Jefferson Pinder will soon be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, The High Museum, and the Neuberger Museum of Art.

I really liked this video the first time I saw it a couple of years ago, and it is still a very refreshing and somewhat liberating work. Pinder's elegant way to approach the subject of stereotyping, in this case music, is right up my alley in my pedantic fight against labels and artistic segregation by race or ethnicity. This is a simple and yet powerful idea which Pinder delivers superbly. This work alone can satisfy the University's overwhelming need to select artwork that delivers a strong message on diversity.

But I am back stuck on neutral when I realize that both Pinder and Meyers, both terrific artists on their own and easily terrific picks for the collection, are both associated with the University of Maryland (he is part of the school's faculty).

Because both Meyers and Pinder are artists who were easily available to the students, it suddenly gives the appearance of taking the easy way out in the selection of work and reinforces my belief that this program is in dire need to expand the way it presents "Washington DC galleries and studios" to the course's students.

The weak pick in the exhibition (every group show has a weak link right?) is Edward Burtynsky's Silver Lake Operations #1, Lake Lefroy, Western Australia. Maybe I've seen one too many quarry, refinery, recycling yard and abandoned mine. They all are beginning to look the same to me by now. I'm hoping that the Oil exhibition at the Corcoran will re-kindle my interest in these Teutonic sized photos of samo, samo.

In summary, this is one very special UMD program, which like all new courses somewhat needs fine tuning here and there, but overall needs to be applauded for its two iterations and observed closely in the current one to see what new gems the new set of student eyes will select. I'm looking forward to the next set of acquisitions!

My final question to all involved was: if you had one more artist to pick, who would it be?

Dean Goelz, Kumi Yamashita, Georgia O'Keefe, Lee Pratt, Julee Holcombe, Avish Khebrezahdeh, Jon Pylypchuk were mentioned.

St. Julia

The Killing of St. Julia
Charcoal and Conte on Crayon. 2009.
4.5 feet by 1 foot. By F. Lennox Campello

Bilateral Engagement

An artwork inspired by the 2008 Presidential Election will be on display at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC as part of the Bilateral Engagement exhibition curated by my good friend Laura Roulet.

Last fall, local DC area artist Linda Hesh created an interactive temporary public art project to ask Americans what they wanted for our future as they awaited the upcoming election. She made two six foot benches, one in vibrant turquoise that had “FOR” cut out of the back and another in bright red that stated “AGAINST.”

Hesh thenset the benches in a dozen prominent local locations and asked people passing by what they were for or against. The results were over 1000 written opinions and 306 photographic portraits of everyday people captioned with what they are for or against. Whether they voiced a personal issue, or one on the world stage, people seemed eager to have this forum for expression.

The complete “FOR and AGAINST Bench Project” including benches, written opinions, and 306 portraits as a video will be on display as part of the “Bilateral Engagement” exhibition at the Art Museum of the Americas from October 16, 2009 until January 15, 2010. The exhibition consists of artists selected by curator Laura Roulet from the Washington Sculptors Group paired with the concurrent Latin American artists.

"Bilateral Engagement"
Oct 16 - Jan 15, 2010
Art Museum of the Americas
201 18th St. NW
Washington DC 20006
open tues-sat 10-5 pm

Special events:
Friday, October 16 at 12 noon: preview gallery talk with exhibit curator Laura Roulet
Friday, October 16 at 6pm: opening reception
Saturday, November 7 from 10 am to 12 noon: exhibit-themed family workshop
Saturday, November 14 from 12 pm to 2 pm: Linda Hesh continues her photographic portraits on her FOR and AGAINST benches (all welcome to participate)
Saturday, November 14 from 2 pm to 4 pm: artist-led panel discussion

Funding for those serving seniors

Deadline: Thursday, October 15, 2009

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities has a special grant that funds artists and arts organizations serving seniors, 60 and older in arts programs.

Grant Amount: Up to $5,000
Deadline: Thursday, October 15, 2009
Time: 7:00pm
For more information contact victoria.murray@dc.gov

Multiverse acquired by the NGA

The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC has acquired for its permanent collection Leo Villareal's installation Multiverse.

Multiverse is Villareal's most complex project to date. Measuring 200 feet long, the installation has 41,000 light emitting diodes individually sequenced by through his custom computer programs.

Villareal is represented locally by Conner Contemporary, which helped to facilitate the acquisition.

Who's that on the cover?

Port of Harlem magazine's issue on photography features New York-based Mireille Liong-A-Kong, and my good friends and Washington-based photogs Bruce McNeil and Camille Mosley-Pasley as well as Jason Miccolo Johnson. That's Camille, Bruce and Jason on the cover.

Mosely-Pasley has also shot images that have graced the magazine's covers in the past.

Resources for Artists

John Grazier has brought to my attention this resource which allows artists like Grazier to publish it himself. He writes:

This is a magazine I have published, with quotes by notable individuals and curators, and filled with double page spreads of images of my work, -- it's very impressive, beautifully printed on 80 lb. glossy paper. Forty-four pages, it may be previewed online (and ordered). It is, for me, a valuable sales tool. I make no profit on it; I have sold about 25 copies, a small number, but which I view as a success. This means that collectors are in possession of it, and thinking about my paintings.

Other artists might consider doing something similar to promote their work. Publishing it is free! I think the concept is great, and if someone wants a profit, they just take that option, pricing the publication above print on demand cost-- they will receive payment via paypal.

Details here. Comments welcomed.

Wodzianski extravaganza continues

Andrew Wodzianski art month continues in DC with the opening of Wodzianski's Abra Cadaver in Bethesda's Fraser Gallery tonight, with an opening reception from 6-8PM. I am told that there may be a surprise in store for one of the District's better known art critics and that the surprise was almost revealed in the back pages of yesterday's Express newspaper. From what I can see of the exhibition here, it has some new clever pieces from Andrew's android series.

Last night's opening at Flashpoint was packed, and although the artist was there all night, no one saw him, as he spent the entire opening inside a white casket being guarded by two very efficient, very pretty nurses.


I noticed quite a few red dots, and people were also buzzing about the scavenger hunt associated with the opening, with several of the paintings in the show as the free prize for the hunt winners. Throughout the month, the artist will release a series of five clues via Twitter (twitter.com/househuntdc). Five people will ultimately have the chance to win a painting from the exhibition.

Crowd at opening listening to the announcement about the scavenger hunt for free Wodzianski paintings
There was also a good assortment of the usual suspects at the opening, and I had a chance to shake hands and kiss cheeks of people that I had not seen in a long time since I had moved away to Philly.


Kristina Bilonick and Philippa P.B. Hughes


Steve Krensky with one of the nurses
Wodzianski will actually be present and meeting people in tonight's opening at the Fraser Gallery. The gallery is at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, just a couple of blocks from the Metro.

CRIT '09

International Arts & Artists' Crit '09 has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 from 6:30 - 8:30pm at Hillyer Art Space, located at 9 Hillyer Ct. NW, Washington, DC, 20008. This event is a scheduled open critique for all artists. Each critique will be open to 8-12 artists on a first come, first serve basis (but don't worry, this will be a monthly event).

They are still accepting artists for this first opportunity until October 14, so don't miss out!

Here are the guidelines (quoted):

Theses critiques are to provide helpful feedback to artists' works that are in progress or completed, by telling the artist NOT WHAT YOU LIKE OR DON'T LIKE, but by:

- simply telling the artist what you SEE...

- by perhaps describing and analyzing HOW you perceive the overall structure/composition of the work; what part of the piece 'works', what part might not be 'working', i.e. strengths and weaknesses...

- by interpreting the meaning, content, expression, artist's intention, etc.for the work as conveyed through its formal visual language...

- by offering feedback on quality of craftsmanship

If you are interested in participating, please contact Lachelle Slade at membership@artsandartists.org or 202-338-0680.

Red Bull Art of the Can

Fundraiser

The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center has been serving their Maryland area community since 1986. It has grown from an idea to a vibrantly active nonprofit organization, housed in the 100-year-old Mountain City Mill on the banks of Carroll Creek in historic downtown Frederick. Classes are offered in an ever-growing list of media and subjects for all ages and levels of experience. The small class sizes are led by experienced instructors, who are also working artists. Their award-winning facility features classroom/studio spaces for drawing, painting, crafts, photography, printmaking, wood, and ceramics as well as a reference library.

Over 50 exhibits are offered each year, in eight galleries of various sizes. A variety of lectures, art trips, films and more round out the educational experience.

They are having a fund raising auction and some of the items up for the silent auction can be seen here.

The silent auction is going on now and ends the night of the gala on October 24th. Tickets for the gala are $85/person.

For more information, contact:

Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center
40 S. Carroll St.
Frederick, MD
301-698-0656
info@delaplaine.org
www.delaplaine.org

The place to be tonight is...

I know that I've been nagging you to death over this, but if you miss it, you'll hear about it and wish that you'd gone.

It's not just me... so far the Daily Candy, Penn Quarter Living, The Washington Post, The Gazette, The Express, The Hill Rag, and a few others I had not even heard of until recently all say that the place to be tonight is at Flashpoint in DC, for the opening reception from 6-8pm of Andrew Wodzianski's House.

Let me re-start with a warning: this exhibit is not for the faint of heart, or the weak of constitution.

If you choose to attend, then you take your chances, there will be food and drink and ghosts... and an opening like no art gallery or artsy folks have ever seen before.

See ya there!

Winston-Salem, you've been Jenkins-ed

DC's own Tape Dude does it again... check out the Winston Salem Journal report here.

"That's Jenkins as in Mark Jenkins, a famous artist who has stopped pedestrians around the world midstep with his life-size, life-like packing-tape casts of bodies positioned in sometimes strange, sometimes normal, always weird ways.

The commotion in Winston-Salem started about 1:15 p.m. yesterday, when police and medics rushed to the corner of Eighth and Trade streets downtown. They'd gotten a report that a woman's body was draped on top of a billboard. They got there, looked up, saw the body and started to climb.

When they got to the top, they found not a person needing rescuing, but a plastic "mannequin," put there as part of one of Jenkins' public art exhibits."

Mark has gone around the world and certainly has become one of the planet's premier street artists while virtually ignored by museum curators in his own city.

Remember the life-sized car that he made for his Fraser Gallery Georgetown solo show in 2005? Or these below that he installed outside the Warehouse Gallery for "Seven" also in 2005?

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: Saturday, October 10, 2009

Hurry! the deadline is this Saturday, October 10, for IMAGE/PROJECT, the Arlington Art Center's juried show for photography and video. Juror: Taryn Simon, a photographer who's shown at the Pompidou, the Whitney, the Met, and many other places.

The entry can be found here.

Congrats!

To my good friends Susan Jamison and Akemi Maegawa.

Susan Jamison will have a solo exhibition at the Taubman Museum, Roanoke, VA, in March, 2010.

Akemi Maegawa's work will be featured in a special installation at the NADA art fair in Miami Beach, "Hello Daruma, Hello Modern," sponsored by the Corcoran College of Art + Design.

They are both represented by Irvine Contemporary in Washington, DC.

First anti Rockwell salvo

The first shot at the guaranteed to be a very popular mega museum exhibition of Norman Rockwell's artwork in the collection of two very successful, and very progressive major contributors to the Democratic party have been fired.

When I announced the coming Rockwell exhibition opening at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on July 2, 2010 I wrote:

Now for some easy predictions: the high brow elitist critics will all unite in one front and all hate this show. The public, being far more progressive and democratic in their acceptance of what is art (without silly obsolete notions of "high" art and all other art, and without ingrained notions of "illustration" versus "high art") will line out to see the exhibition and continue to love Rockwell as they have for decades.

Boom! the first shot came across the bow of the exhibition a few days ago.

Boom! In an otherwise quite good and interesting article on the future of photography, the Washington Post's Oxford-educated (yields an Anglo-centric perspective on the world) Chief Art Critic writes that "It's not that art museums never show "low" painting. The Corcoran has shown Norman Rockwell..." It is the classic and antiquated (and uniquely American traditional view) critical perspective of high art and low art.

Separate everything; label everything, put everything and everyone in a box with a label: high art, low art, fine art, illustration, Hispanics, Latinos, Scots-Irish, Jewish-American, Cuban-American...

And don't let Rockwell get away with it; it's not high art, it's not high art, it's not high art.

The Obama Art List

Here's the Obama art list. After reviewing this list a little more carefully, and realizing that no politician ever does anything without some political reason, I now think that the Gopnikmeister may have been more on the ball on some of his thinking here than I gave him credit for.

Awright... he was right mostly and I was wrong... mostly. And I didn't know that Morandi was a fascist, but I bet that by now the Obamas do! Good job Blake.

One last thought: For a real political coup, what the President should have done, in a truly populist move, should have been to mix into the selections about a dozen works by emerging/mid level artists (rather than all museum level artists) and pick a dozen works from the vast holdings of the Arts in Embassies inventory. This is a missed PR opportunity for a PR-hungry White House. Imagine the impact on those artists' local media markets if a local artist would have been picked to adorn the walls of the White House? Whoever advised the Obamas on this caper missed a truly great chance to add votes to the move. By the way, my earlier advice was published here.

These will be in the President's residence:

· Josef Albers -- "Homage to the Square: Elected II" (1961) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Josef Albers -- "Homage to the Square: Midday" (1954-57) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Josef Albers -- "Study for Homage to the Square: Nacre" (1965) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· George Catlin -- "A Crow Chief at His Toilette" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Camanchees Lancing a Buffalo Bull" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Mired Buffalo and Wolves" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Cheyenne Village" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Grizzly Bears Attacking Buffalo" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Grassy Bluffs" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Game of the Arrow-Mandan" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "A Foot War Party in Council-Mandan" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Ball-Play Dance-Choctaw" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Buffalo Chase, With Accidents" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "Catlin and Indian Attacking Buffalo" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· George Catlin -- "K'nisteneux Indians Attacking Two Grizzly Bears" (1861-69) -- National Gallery of Art

· Edward Corbett -- "Washington, D.C. November 1963 III" (1963) -- National Gallery of Art

· Edgar Degas -- "Dancer Putting On Stocking" (c. 1896-1911) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Edgar Degas -- "The Bow" (c. 1896-1911) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Richard Diebenkorn -- "Berkeley, No. 52" (1955) -- National Gallery of Art

· Nicolas De Stael -- "Nice" (1954) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Sam Francis -- "White Line" (1958-59) -- National Gallery of Art

· Winslow Homer -- "Sunset" (c. 1875) -- National Gallery of Art

· Jasper Johns -- "Numerals, 0 through 9" (1970) -- National Gallery of Art

· William H. Johnson -- "Booker T. Washington Legend" (c. 1944-45) -- Smithsonian American Art Museum

· William H. Johnson -- "Children Dance" (c. 1944) -- Smithsonian American Art Museum

· William H. Johnson -- "Flower to Teacher" (c. 1944) -- Smithsonian American Art Museum

· William H. Johnson -- "Folk Family" (c. 1944) -- Smithsonian American Art Museum

· Glenn Ligon -- "Black Like Me #2" (1992) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Giorgio Morandi -- "Still Life" (c. 1955) -- National Gallery of Art

· Giorgio Morandi -- "Still Life" (c. 1955) -- National Gallery of Art

· Louise Nevelson -- "Model for 'Sky Covenant' " (1974) -- National Gallery of Art

· Susan Rothenberg -- "Butterfly" (1976) -- National Gallery of Art

· Mark Rothko -- "Red Band" (1955) -- National Gallery of Art

· Edward Ruscha -- "I think I'll . . ." (1983) -- National Gallery of Art

· Alma Thomas -- "Sky Light" (1973) -- Hirshhorn Museum

· Leon Polk Smith -- "Stretch of Black III" (1961) -- National Gallery of Art

· Unknown Artist -- "Chief Jumper of the Seminoles" (possibly 1837-1838) -- National Gallery of Art

Loaned art that will be in the West Wing

· Frank O. Salisbury -- "President Harry S. Truman" -- Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Mo. (in the Cabinet Room)

· Lucy M. Lewis -- Vase (1962) -- National Museum of the American Indian (in the Oval Office)

· Jeri Redcorn -- Bottle, "Intertwining Scrolls" (2005) -- National Museum of the American Indian (in the Oval Office)

· Steve Smith -- Jar (c. 1980) -- National Museum of the American Indian (in the Oval Office)

· Maria Poveka Martinez -- Jar (1959) -- National Museum of the American Indian -- (in the Oval Office)

· Samuel F. B. Morse -- Telegraph Register patent model (1849)-- National Museum of American History (in the Oval Office)

· John A. Peer -- Gear Cutter patent model (1874) -- National Museum of American History (in the Oval Office)

· Henry William -- 1877 steamboat feathering paddlewheel patent model (1877) -- National Museum of American History (in the Oval Office)

Loaned art that will be hung in the East Wing

· Alma Thomas -- "Watusi (Hard Edge)" (1963) -- Hirshhorn Museum

Acquired, location yet to be determined

· Mark Rothko -- "No. 17" or "No. 15" (1949) -- National Gallery of Art

Spanish chocolates and Spanish photographs

Spanish Ghosts: Spain's Abandoned Architecture - Photographs by Mark Parascandola

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 8, 6:00-8:30. Free Spanish chocolate and wine tasting!

Studio B at Biagio Fine Chocolate
1904 18th Street NW (between T Street and Florida Avenue)
Washington DC

The landscape of Spain is dotted with abandoned structures, ghosts of a multi-layered history. Preserved in the arid climate, these architectural remains reveal the impact of time, weather, and transient visitors who have left their own mark. The subjects in this series of photographs include the Carabanchel prison in Madrid, a salt-eroded church on the coast of Almeria, leftover "spaghetti western" film sets, and the Cortijo del Fraile, the site of events that inspired Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding. The exhibit will be on display in Studio B at Biagio Fine Chocolate at 1904 18th Street NW throughout the month of October.

The exhibit and reception are part of a month-long series of activities planned by SpainDC to highlight Spanish culture in the Washington DC area.

Join them on Thursday, October 8, from 6:00 – 8:30 pm, to view the photographs, sample chocolates from Spain, and enjoy a tasting of three award-winning Spanish wines!

Spain has more vineyard acreage than any other country in the world. Tradewinds (Tradewinds Specialty Imports is Spanish wine import company based in Washington DC) will be sharing "three top-rated boutique wines they have hand-selected from family-run, estate-vineyards, across Spain. The wines being tasted, ranging from the more well known, to more secret, regions of Spain, are all available in Washington DC and are exclusively distributed by Tradewinds." Mark Parascandola is a photographer based in Washington DC with family roots in Almeria in the south of Spain.

Gopnik on the Obama's art taste

This is perhaps the most elitist art opinion article that I have ever read, and the reason why populists distrust and dislike the arts intelligentsia's brutally off putting look at everything from a left side of the brain perspective.

Gopnik is way off base on some of his perspectives on the artwork the Obamas have been choosing. Or is he?

I still think that he is a decent art critic, but he would make one shitty collector, if he really wastes brain cells like he does in this piece

Working with curators at the White House and at the local museums that made loans, the First Couple selected some works whose politics are explicit, and mild. They seem to redress past imbalances in the nation's sense of its own art. There are works by African Americans (seven paintings from three artists, out of a total of 47) and by Native Americans (four artists contributed three modern ceramics and one abstract painting). There are also 12 paintings depicting Native Americans, by the 19th-century ethnographic artist George Catlin.

But there are still only six works by women, vs. 41 by men. And there are no works at all by Latinos. (A work by the deceased Cuban American artist Félix González-Torres would have filled the gap perfectly, and added a nod to the country's gay culture. The Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum has one that could have been borrowed.)

Unless the brilliant Gopnikmeister is fucking with us and he's really writing this piece to get picked up by the AP and UPI and distributed all over the world.

Even the most positive of gestures made by the new White House loans can have complications wrapped around them. One of the African Americans with pictures in the Obamas' residence is William H. Johnson, a sophisticated artist who trained in Scandinavia in the 1930s. After returning to the United States to bide out World War II, however, he made pictures of Harlem that can seem falsely naive, as though buying into then-standard notions that "genuine" black culture was "simpler" than the culture of white Europeans. Why did one of the new White House Johnsons, showing impoverished parents and children in a modest room, get titled "Folk Family"? Did being poor and black make you more "folky" than other Americans?

As for the Catlin Indians, should we think of them as a positive nod to the original peoples of this continent, or are they all about a white colonialist gawking at exotic conquered peoples? Paul Chaat Smith, who curates contemporary art at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, says that even he and other native peoples aren't sure of the answer. "They're not us, they're not for us," he says, but they're also "part of how we think about ourselves."

In today's art world, these kinds of debates and complexities are where you want to sink your teeth. In those terms, the Obamas could hardly have done a better job of choosing their loans.

Mmmm... maybe Gopnik is shooting for a MSNBC or Fox or some other divisionist network guest appearance.

Smart guy.

PS - On the Félix González-Torres idea... thank you but no thank you. We'd rather get picked on merit rather than by a need to fill ethnic niches. We Latinos don't like to be segregated or boxed in or labeled. We'd rather be chosen by an art collector or a President trying to get free loaners for the White House for our artistic merit rather than by our ethnicity. How many Italian-American artists are in the Obama collection? How many German-Americans? How many Arab-American? Stop putting labels on Americans. Stop trying to check all the boxes and choose artwork for art's sake.

Silly rabbit.