Star Wars Remix

Check more of them out here

Happy Independence Day to Brazil

The giant South American nation declared independence from the Kingdom of Portugal on this date in 1822.

The 2010 Trawick Prize Exhibition

I dropped by this weekend to see the current Trawick Prize show, now on exhibition at the former Heineman Myers gallery space in Bethesda. Since I was familiar with the artwork of several of the finalists, I was particularly interested in seeing the work of the new names in the finalists' list (new to me anyway).

Russian-born artist Milana Braslavsky won the "Young Artists Award" and her very interesting photographs follow Sigmund Freud's notion of the uncanny (unheimlich), or "the feeling one suffers when the familiar suddenly becomes foreign or the attractive becomes repulsive." Freud further adds by discussing "the idea of being robbed of one's eyes." This is a concept that repeats itself obsessively through Braslavsky's strangely elegant photos, specifically in the images where the subject covers her eyes with her own hair and other materials almost as if binding her face. This is a young artist to keep an eye on, and for beginner collectors, her work is a great starting place, and at $400 - $450 for a large framed photograph, are also quite a steal.

But perhaps the most interesting new discovery for me was Anne Chan's work which explores the slick metallic world that seems to surround us everywhere in this ever growing age of technology.

They are almost the photographic equivalent of David Smith's shiny metal sculptures from the 60's, but translated into a contemporary dialogue where technology manages to make its presence known in her almost abstract works.

Magnolia Laurie's four small oils on panel reminded me a little of Jessica Van Brakle's paintings, or perhaps what would happen if some of Brandon Morse's videos were collapsed into two-D paintings.

The $10,000 prizewinner was Sara Pomerance, whose Seinfeldian videos become the first of its genre to win the DMV's most prestigious art prize. It is a well-deserved award. I first saw Pomerance's video work when I was a juror for the Art DC fair (remember that?) a few years ago. Back then they stuck in my head, especially "Too Close."

Dan Steinhilber has now won the second prize at the Trawick's twice, and so I've got my money on Dan for next year. The minimalist beauty of his untitled piece of two plastic sheeting sheets stuck to the wall being held by static electricity is a prize to the eyes of followers of what a talented mind can do with nearly anything and everything.

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.

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. The prize was awarded well over $200,000 to DMV artists since it was established at the beginning of the decade.

Happy camper

It's my birthday today and I must admit that I think that this is the happiest that I've ever been in all my of life.

Good thoughts and wishes for all. I wish you all a happy day.

Machete

The movie Machete, currently playing all over the place and directed by Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez is by far one of the most awful films that I have seen in years. Its only redeeming quality is that it allows the use of the word "Mexploitation," which is a very cool new word which showcases the ever amazing muscularity of the Englisg language.

Even though it is full of very talented and/or big name actors (De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Segal, Lindsay Lohan, etc.), it is not much more than a Mexicanized storyline (written by the director's cousin) along the lines of the gory, pre-Machete films (Planet Terror and Death Proof) by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

No vale la pena. Please don't make a hit out of this movie or we will be seeing an unending series of sequels.

Read Tricia Olszewski's review in the CP here and Michael O'Sullivan's review in the WaPo here.

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.