John Anderson's AOM Top 10 (sort of...)

The WCP's John Anderson pops in with his top 10 Artomatic picks - read it here.

One always wonders...

Just noticed that one of my drawings from about a decade ago just showed up on Ebay being sold by a British dealer. 

The piece, titled Daphne (see it here), represents the nymph Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus. 

Through the malice of Eros, Apollo the god was seized with love for the maiden. But she abhorred the thought of loving men. Her delight was in woodland sports and the spoils of the chase. Many lovers sought her, but she spurned them all. Apollo chased her into a ravine and was about to ravish her. She called for help and a great Earth magic reached from under and turned her into a laurel tree, which subsequently became the tree of lovers and of victory. 

The drawing was done in 2000, and if my memory serves me right, it was sold to a lawyer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thus I find it curious that it is now somewhere in Britain being offered on Ebay at a great price.

Mussels, Russians, Pigs and a Blue Crab

The story: We're at the Blue Crab Restaurant in Bethany Beach, waiting for two big plates of mussels to be delivered and a crab cake for Little Junes, when the Russian waitress brings over a box of crayons for the little guy.

Two things flash through my mind: We're told that jobs are very difficult to find, especially for young people, so how come it seems that throughout the Mid Atlantic, all beach season jobs are filled by hard working, good looking young Russian girls and boys?

They travel a million miles from their frozen tundras to bust their buts in the Eastern seaboard's beach shops, restaurants and pools; where are our local good looking boys and girls? Not that I blame the Russians, I mean, would you rather be freezing your tuchis in Siberia or dishing out mussels in Bethany Beach?

But you get my point...

But let's get back on track with this post... ahem... so the other thing that crossed my mind was to kidnap some of Little Junes' crayons and start my own art project while we wait for our food.

At some point the pretty Russian waitress noticed and she brought over a second box of crayons and then I really went to town.

 Below is "Two Pigs Looking at a Red Crab", crayons on tablecloth kraft paper, circa 2012.

Food stains were accidentally added while the delicious mussels were being eaten...

CBS on Artomatic

Check out their photo gallery here.

WTOP on Artomatic

WTOP has a photo spread on AOM; check it out here.

James Renwick Alliance 

Recognition of Excellence 

ARTOMATIC 2012 

Artist	Work	Type	Floor	Location
Brad Taylor	Chaise	Wood and Metal Furniture	8	305
David D’Orio	Installation	Mixed Media (Glass)	8	147
Donna McCullough	Body of Work	Metal Sculpture	1	152
Helen Baribeau	Body of Work	Fiber Sculpture	4	121
Julia Bloom	Installation	Wood Sculpture	7	208
Matt MacIntire	Body of Work	Mixed Media	9	160
Michael Janis	Body of Work	Glass	2	173
Pierre Davis	Body of Work	Wood Sculpture	10	152
Sean Hennessey	Body of Work	Glass	9	141
Zofie Lang	Installation	Mixed Media	9	112

Tim Tate: Artomatic Top 10 List

Uberartist Tim Tate, in my biased opinion the DMV's best-known artist, sends in his top 10 choices in this year's Artomatic, which opened last night with a monster of a party in Crystal City. Here are his choices:

1) helen baribeau

2) nils henrik sundquist

3) dave d'orio 

4) drew storm graham

5) kelly guerrero

6) zofie lang

7) justin cameron

8) matt macintire

9) sean hennessey

10) melissa burley

Tim Tate

Co-Director

Washington Glass School

3700 Otis St.

Mt. Rainier, Md. 20712

202-744-8222

WashGlass.com

Today --- In the Mix: DC Area Abstract Artists

In the Mix: DC Area Abstract Artists

  A special gallery opening

Saturday, May 19, 2012
3:00 – 5:00 pm  

The Gallery @ Children’s National Medical Center
111 Michigan Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20010

Exhibition on View
May 7 - July 6, 2012
a group exhibition featuring the works of internationally & nationally known artists:
Joan Belmar, Anne Bouie, Elsa Gebreyesus, Wayson Jones
Anne Marchand, Tariq Tucker, Ann Marie Williams and J. Bertram White

Curator: Jarvis DuBois

"Not too unlike a DJ's “digging in the crates” to pull together seemingly disparate musical styles and sound effects, many contemporary artists mine various mediums for their individual art production. This exhibition explores the creative drives and experimentation of mixed media abstract artists from DC, Maryland and Virginia who have often chosen to combine untraditional painting and assemblage materials (acetate, plant pods, metal components, pumice) with more straightforward acrylics, pastels, and oils to create their both energetic and powerful visual "mashups". As curator one of my goals is to expand the understanding of what abstraction is and can be as expressed by these eight artists."   

 – Jarvis DuBois

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
For more information, call 202.476.3225
PHOTO ID REQUIRED

Visit the web site for more information and directions: www.childrensnational.org

The WaPo on Artomatic

The WaPo has a gorgeous photo essay on Artomatic... check it out online here.

Brandon Wetherbee on Artomatic

"The 2012 iteration of Artomatic is the largest to date, with more than 1,100 artists participating. That number will increase with each day of the monthly installation. The sixth floor of the building will be an "Art Reactor," a space where visitors will be able to create their own art with supplies provided by the space."

Read the whole piece on the HuffPost here.

John Anderson on Artomatic

"Walk through Artomatic for two hours and the effect is what you might expect: It's dizzying. Draining. Eleven floors, 10 of them busting with artworks from 1,300 contributors. Some floors are labyrinthine; others are wide-open displays of sculpture and installation, interrupted by a stage and bank of chairs. Like the last time Artomatic was in Crystal City, this year's show is housed in an old office building. The carpet looks cheap; the drop ceiling feels cheaper. The lighting is mostly fluorescent. It is everything a museum or a gallery shouldn't be. And that's the point, because it is neither.

Consider what it is: a six-week event by local artists for local artists, run almost entirely by volunteers in a vacant building. There are the stages: poetry on the 11th floor; Heineken (one of the sponsors) has stages on the 10th and eighth floors; the ninth floor has a dance stage. If it isn't the largest volunteer-run arts organization in the country, it's probably near the top"

Read the whole article in the WCP here.

AOM: The biggest art party of the year is tonight!

The show that both right-wing neocon and left-wing nuts art critics love to hate and that all other art lovers embrace and love opens tonight! Do not miss the art opening party of the year, and in the DC Art News AOM tradition, I will be publishing anyone and everyone's Top 10 List!

Send me your list of your top ten AOM artists and I will publish all of them throughout the duration of this art-battery charging event.

1851 S. Bell Street, Crystal City, Virginia

Doors open 6 p.m. on Friday, May 18!

1,300 artists and performers take over an 11-story building and turn it into
DC's biggest creative event.

Plan your visit -- directions, hours and more.

Artomatic opens tomorrow

1851 S. Bell Street, Crystal City, Virginia

Doors open 6 p.m. on Friday, May 18!

1,300 artists and performers take over an 11-story building and turn it into
DC's biggest creative event.

Plan your visit -- directions, hours and more.

If or If

Get ready for RSVP...

Bustin' Loose

D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' Executive Director, Lionell Thomas released the following statement on the passing of Go-Go music legend, Chuck Brown.

"The DC arts community mourns the passing of music icon, Chuck Brown. Chuck was a musical legend that helped shape the musical identity of this city. His music touched the lives of generations of Washingtonians, and he will forever be known as the Godfather of Go-Go. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace."

Europe's oldest rock art depicts a...

The oldest rock art ever found in Europe reveals an interest in the female form — and the type of décor that the first Europeans preferred for their living spaces.

The new discovery, uncovered at a site called Abri Castanet in France, consists mainly of circular carvings most likely meant to represent the vulva.

Read more: here.

Peter Plagens on Art and Age

As you get older, in the art world as elsewhere, you"re confronted with some choices about how to conduct yourself. You can, for instance, stay locked in the style you strutted when you were younger and hipperthat is, continuing to wear a ponytail and tight cowboy shirts with mother-of-pearl buttons long after you"ve gone bald on top and acquired a gut. Or you can try to keep up with today"s younger people by copying their fashions: Shave your head, wear small, expensive blue Italian sunglasses and a shiny suit over a black T-shirt and try to blend in with the 30something critics and curators. Or you can just give up altogether on trying to wax contemporaryand wear bow ties, tweed jackets with elbow patches, and take your proud place as a naysayer who thinks that this time the art world really has gone to hell in a hand basket.

I find myself thinking about this stuff lately because I"m now almost 70 an age I seem to have reached suddenly, and quite unjustly, overnight.

Read the whole thing here.

Are you from PG County and in Artomatic this year?

Let M-NCPPC's Department of Parks and Recreation know. They might buy your art.

M-NCPPC's Department of Parks and Recreation in Prince George's County continues to support the arts in their County - Read on: 

We are annoucing our intention to make significant purchases of artwork by Prince George's County artists at this year's Artomatic. Our County artists have long played an active, vital role in the regional art community, and have traditionally had a strong presence in Artomatic- the region's largest art festival. Through this art purchase program, it is our intention to highlight, showcase, and promote Prince George's artists, so that attention to their work is equal to their talent and impact on enriching the lives of our communities. It is also our intention to demonstrate the long-term benefit of supporting and showcasing Prince George's artists by using these purchases to build our collection of County artists' work and to display their artworks in our public facilities.  

What can you do to have your artwork considered?  

First, you must be 18 years of age or older and live, work, study, or maintain your art studio in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Second, you have to let us know who you are and where your space is within Artomatic. Call the Brentwood Arts Exchange, at (301) 277-2863 or email Phil Davis, Acting Director of the Brentwood Arts Exchange, at phil.davis@pgparks.com. Make sure you let us know why you qualify as a Prince George's artist (live here, work here, etc.). Make sure you give is your contact info so we can get in touch if your artwork is selected.

Third, we will provide you with a small, yet easily visible, label that declares you a "Prince George's Artist." Put the label up in your space so it's easy for us to see throughout the duration of Artomatic as we make purchases. Identifying yourself as Prince George's artist during Artomatic will not only help us find your artwork, but also builds solidarity among County artists and reaffirms the County's reputation as a creative community and source of exceptional artistic talent.

Glass Doors

The Washington Glass Studio (WGS) has started the creation of the new cast sculptural glass doors for the Library of Congress (LOC) in Washington, DC. The design of the project started in 2004, when the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) first asked WGS about advise on their initial proposal to replace the original historic bronze door.

Details here.