Portraits of the Fallen

An artist named Kaziah Hancock paints portraits of fallen soldiers free of charge for their families as part of Project Compassion. Video by KARE 11/ Minneapolis/ St. Paul.

Thor Halvorssen on Cuba's Ladies in White

Thor Halvorssen is President of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum. He has a terrific article in the Huffington Post about Cuba's courageous Las Damas de Blanco and the repressive machinations of the Castro brothers.

"The freedom granted to those who should have never had it robbed from them is a welcome step. But the heart of the problem remains: the Castro brothers' tyranny is no different and international actors mustn't be fooled into believing that Raúl is any less of a despot than Fidel. He has inherited his brother's house of tyranny, and has changed nothing but the window dressing. And the curtains aren't white. They're red."

Read it here.

Some good shows at the Katzen

I'm going to be visiting the Katzen later today to see RE-VISION: American University Alumni, which was one of the exhibitions opening the 2010-2011 fall season of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center last Tuesday, August 31.

The exhibition, which closes with the end of AU’s family and alumni weekend on Sunday, October 24, showcases alumni across several generations—from those who graduated this year to those who studied under Luciano Penay (also opening an exhibition at the museum), Robert Gates, Helene Herzbrun, Ben L. Summerford, Robert D’Arista, and others in the AU Art Department’s first wave of faculty.

The exhibition includes more than 97 works of by 60 artists, each of whom is an AU alum. Jack Rasmussen, curator and director of the Museum, was one of the individuals tasked with jurying the show. To be considered, the work had to have been created no earlier than the year 2000.

"We were impressed by the 120 alums who submitted work," said Rasmussen, himself an AU alumnus. "Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough space to include them all, but the enthusiastic response by our alumni tells me this is a project to be revisited in the not-too-distant future."

In addition to RE-VISION: American University Alumni, three other exhibitions opened at the American University Museum on August 31: Luciano Penay: Time, News, Paintings, and Natural Forms, BG Muhn: Love Affair of the Empress and Alan Binstock: Way-Stations. Binstock is a former NASA architect who has been showing around the East Coast for the last two decades.

Norse Soul: the legacy of Edvard Munch, social democracy, old myths, anarchy, and death longings, which opened earlier this summer, is also be on display.

New drawing

Eve Running Away from Eden. 10 x 25 inches. Charcoal on paper, c. 2010 by F. Lennox Campello
This is "Eve Running Away from Eden." This is a new piece just finished, which will either be exhibited at the "Myth & Transformations" show at the School of Art & Design at Montgomery College's King Street Gallery, located in the beautiful Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street in the Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus (Opening on Thu., Sept. 23, 2010) or at the McLean Project for the Arts Aartfest, which is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of 40 local and regional visual artists. McLean Central Park will reverberate with the sights and sounds of art and music on Sunday, October 3rd at the 4th annual MPAartfest. Last year’s event drew 6,000 art and music devotees. Details here.

Eve Running Away from Eden (Detail). 10 x 25 inches. Charcoal on paper, c. 2010 by F. Lennox Campello

Gopnik on the Trawick Prize

The Washington Post's chief art critic reviews the Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, a.k.a. the Trawick Prize.

Sara Pomerance of Washington won the $10,000 "Best in Show" award. Read Gopnik's excellent take on the prizewinners here.

FYI to Blake: "Best in Show" is the usual award given in most of these type of competitions where the actual winner is selected from a "showing" of their actual work.

The show is at the former Heineman Myers Gallery space at 4728 Hampden Lane in Bethesda. A public reception will be held on Friday, September 10, 2010 from 6-9pm in conjunction with the Bethesda Art Walk. The Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday from 12-6pm.

No Artist Left Behind

The WPA's No Artist Left Behind (NALB) Workshop Series (in partnership with New York Foundation for the Arts), presents: Independent Artist.

This is a one-day professional development workshop with Rory Golden, Program Officer, New York Foundation for the Arts on September 25, 10am-5pm.

Hosted by Cultural Development Corporation at the Source Theater (1835 14th St., NW Washington, DC). Register here.

Camilo Sanin at Orchard Gallery

Camilo Sanin, who is currently a graduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and also the winner of prestigious 2009 Bethesda Painting Award, is currently showing in an exhibition titled Underlying Structures at Bethesda's Orchard Gallery.

The opening reception, part of the Bethesda Art Walk, is tomorrow, September 3rd from 7-9pm.

Dupont Gallery walk tomorrow


Lori Anne Boocks and Jan Willem van der Vossen open at Studio Gallery with receptions on Friday 9/3 from 6-8pm (for the Dupont Circle galleries First Friday openings) and again on Saturday 9/11 from 4-6pm.

Wanna go to an opening this Friday?

The Gallery at AYN Studio in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, will present an exhibition of collage and assemblage creations by artists Jamea Richmond-Edwards and Amber Robles-Gordon entitled, “Pretty Things, Little Treasures and Hidden Meanings”. The exhibition will open on Friday September 3, 2010 with a public reception from 6:30-8:30 pm. The exhibition will remain on view by appointment until Friday September 17, 2010.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 12, 2010

Gallery West in Old Town Alexandria has a call for artists for their 14th Annual National Juried Show (Exhibit Dates: February 9–March 6, 2011).

The all media show will be juried by yours truly and awards to total $1,000. Click here to download the prospectus.

Maxwell MacKenzie at Fraser

Scary Spider


I've got a black spider in my back yard which has the scariest looking spikes on it body and a mean looking stinger underneath... I've been staying away from this beautiful, mean looking machine.

I've never seen a spider which also has spikes on its body. My poor attempt at macro photography without getting too close to this dude is above. A better image of what it looks like is here.

20 Works of Art Missing or Destroyed

There’s a sad truth to art museums that’s not often talked about: sometimes, things just disappear. Over time, countless works of art have gone missing for one reason or another, whether it’s damage, theft, poor stewardship, natural disaster, or the tragic effects of war. For every hundred or thousand paintings or sculptures, there’s one that’s been lost to the ages. Some exist in reproductions or sketches, but some are gone for good. This list is just a small sample of those works of art that can be seen only in photos of what used to be.

Read it and weep here.

Life After Art School

Carrie M. Becker just received an MFA in sculpture and she's trying to figure out where to go from there:

Transition is a terrible thing. The transition from life in art school to life in the Great Big Out There. How can it work? As I try to write this, “failure” is the only word to come to mind. Failure. But where to go from there?

Failure perfectly describes my state of mind right now. Three years after art school, three states, four jobs, and thousands of dollars of debt later, I’m still nowhere. I once sauntered through the hallways of my alma mater as a god (in my mind at least), and have now been forced, years later, to crawl like a begging dog to interview after interview with no success and no foreseeable future. I wince every time I open my email – surely another rejection is sitting there, mocking me.

Read the entire series here.

Top 20 Movies for Art Buffs

Capturing the creative process on film is almost impossible. Artists work inside their own heads as much as with physical materials, which is why a number of films about artists fall short of the mark. But sometimes, filmmakers get it right, creating rounded portraits of fascinating men and women driven by their passions to create something amazing. Some of the films on this list will be familiar to readers, especially those who've studied fine art at the college or master's degree level, but they're all worth watching no matter your profession. These are the movies that come closer than any others to re-creating the moment of inspiration in an artist's life.

Check out the 20 choices here.

One year old today!


Anderson Lennox Franklin Lars Timothy Angus Pict Eric Florencio Brude James Tiberius Campello Anderson Cruzata Jaspersen Alonso Zaar Marrero Karling Comba Noren Dalke Hartsell y Lennox is one year old today!

That's a lot of names, and thus why sometimes I call him Anderdingus!

Wanna do something fun tomorrow?

Tastings: Sample a variety of organic wines and samples of locally grown snacks

Topic: Getting Your Hands Dirty: Food Acitvism in Metro DC, a discussion with the Neighborhood Farm Initiative (NFI)

Date/Time: Sunday, August 29th from 2:30-5:00 PM

Place: Fountain Framing, 3311 Rhode Island Avenue, Mount Rainier, MD 20712

Cost: No charge

What is the alternative food movement and what are people in our area doing to support food activism? Maureen Moodie and Bea Trickett of the Neighborhood Farm Initiative will discuss food access and food security in the metro DC area. NFI recognizes our concern for food security, food access and healthy living and will also discuss ways to successfully grow organic gardens at home. They will bring in produce grown from farms at Fort Totten and Fort Dupont for your sampling. Tax-deductible donations to the organization are greatly appreciated. For more information about NFI, please see their website at www.neighborhoodfarminitiative.org or contact neighborhoodfarm@gmail.com

Opportunity for Artists

Applications are now being accepted from artists interested in participating in the Dupont Circle Fine Arts Show taking place on Sat, Sept 25, 2010, from 2 to 6pm on 17 St., NW.

This event is being sponsored by the Dupont Circle Citizens Association (DCCA) in conjunction with the Area Neighborhood Commission2B (ANC2B). Interested artists should go to this website and download an application form and informational sheet.

Opportunity for DMV Artists

Deadline: October 30, 2010

The BlackRock Center for the Arts has a huge gorgeous gallery space and their call for artists for the 2011 art season is now up.

The 2011 Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for original artwork only. This call will cover exhibits in the gallery from October 2011 through August 2012. An exhibit may include on applicant or a combination of applicants, based on the judgement of jurors. The jury panel is comprised of Kathleen Moran, Jack Rasmussen and yours truly.

Details here.

The Curious Case of Todd Crespi

Last week the New York Times had this article about the artwork of DC area artist Todd Crespi.

The article, by Adam Liptak, presents points of view on Crespi's art (he specializes in courtroom artwork), trying to figure out if Crespi crossed ethical lines in the way that he represented his artwork to his clients.

Essentially: did he create the artwork live and in the courtroom, or did he create later in his studio? The discussion extremes in the article range from:

Mr. Crespi has no Supreme Court press credentials, and artists who work at the court regularly say they never see him. It has been years, they say, since he sat in the alcove reserved for artists near the justices and advocates, the only place in the courtroom where art materials are allowed.

“Todd does not come to the court,” said William J. Hennessy Jr., a freelance artist whose work appears on several television networks. “I have not seen him at the court for at least five years.”

Another artist, Dana Verkouteren, agreed. “He’s never in the courtroom,” she said. Instead, she said, Mr. Crespi works from a standard background, adding images of the advocates based on photographs.

To quotes like:

But Art Lien, an artist who works for NBC, said he was “not very critical of Todd.”

“If they know what they’re getting,” he said of Mr. Crespi’s clients, “why not? Artists have been doing that forever.”

Ms. Verkouteren, another colleague, said of Mr. Crespi: “He might be a genius. He might be a wacky genius.”

Crespi responded yesterday with a Letter to the Editor clarifying that

In the absence of a specific media assignment, I attend the session (like any citizen willing to queue at 6 a.m.), then produce meticulously rendered paintings based on many years of experience as a court artist and portrait specialist.

So according to Crespi, he does attend the court cases; just not as a media assignment (and thus why he's not seated with his colleages). But in any event, is there a valid issue in Liptak's original argument? For the final product: does it make any difference if he produces the artwork right there in the courtroom or later in his studio?

Plein air artists have a valid distinction between a landscape painted on the spot and one painted later in the studio from photographs or sketches. But does this logic apply to courtroom artwork?.

I realize that the main issue with the Liptak article centers around what Crespi tells his clients - not necessarily the final product. But my question deals more with the process itself. I am also clear that creating and marketing the artwork under the impression that it was created on the spot inside the courtroom (as Liptak says Crespi is doing), when it's apparently created from a combination of both courtroom and studio work, does have ethical issues associated how the artwork is "marketed" to potential clients. No one will argue with that. My question is about the process itself, and only about the process.

By the way, Crespi is also an accomplished filmmaker and

Crespi’s film work in FUGAZI’S INSTRUMENT has been seen around the world at such venues as The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Kennedy Center, and the Whitney.

Todd Crespi currently has an exhibition of "New Beach Paintings" at Dupont Circle's Studio Gallery, although curiously there's nothing about the exhibition in the gallery's website.

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