AOM Visit Three

And on my last visit I actually discovered a whole bunch of spaces on the first floor that I had missed during my previous two visits.

AOM is quite a different place at night by the way... tonite there should be all kinds of good fun, as there are all kinds of stuff going on; check out the calendar here.

And a teaser: My Artomatic review and my top 10 AOM artists will be announced later today - sort of like what politicians do when they have something controversial to announce: do it on a late Friday afternoon!

Not only my top 10 will be announced, but also a whole variety of DC Art News special awards; stay tuned!

Opportunity for Baseball Artists

Deadline: July 27,  2012. 

The Cleveland County Arts Council is accepting two and three dimensional art for an upcoming competitive exhibition based on the theme of baseball. The exhibit coincides with the 2012 American Legion World Series in Shelby, August 17 – 21, 2012. Artwork must pertain to or depict baseball. 

The American Legion Baseball Commission will sponsor a $500 Purchase Award. The winning piece of artwork will be placed in the Keeter Stadium. The Cleveland County Arts Council invites artists 18 and older to submit work to the “Baseball as Art” Exhibit & Competition. Work must be original, created by the artist within the last two years and not previously entered in a competition at the Arts Center. 

All two dimensional entries must be ready to hang with picture wire on the back. No saw tooth hangers. The Arts Council reserves the right to reject any entry that requires special installation. Entries may be two and three dimensional but limited to paintings, drawings, sculpture, print-making, photography, and fine craft. There is a $25.00 non-refundable entry fee for up to three (3) entries. Additional entries $5 each (max. 5 entries). Make checks payable to the Cleveland County Arts Council. Shipping to and from the Arts Council is the responsibility of the artist. Deadline to receive accepted work at the Arts Center is July 27th, 2012 and must include a prepaid shipping label or a call tag, check or postage for return shipping. Please include any special packing and/or installation instructions. Any work arriving in packaging not sturdy enough to return/reuse will be returned COD. Cleveland County Arts Council, 111 S. Washington St., Shelby, NC 28150. For more information, visit: http://www.ccartscouncil.org

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: July 8, 2012

Sustaining / Creating: A national juried exhibition of emerging artists, ages 16-25, with disabilities.

Sustaining / Creating asks emerging artists to showcase work that illuminates innovative viewpoints on sustainability and contemporary creativity. Beyond its scientific definition, sustainability references notions of responsibility and stewardship of our natural world in all facets of human interaction–from the environmental to the cultural. Sustainability indicates the capacity to endure.

All media accepted. 15 artists will be selected and their artwork featured in a Smithsonian exhibition this fall. $60,000 in cash awards.

To apply and more info: http://tinyurl.com/2012-Sustaining-Creating

This exhibition is presented by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ VSA / Accessibility Office and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Dubya's Portrait

Dubya's portrait was unveiled today at the White House.

The portrait was painted by John Howard Sanden (born 1935 in Austin, Texas), who is a well-know is an American portrait artist.

Sanden had previously painted the portrait of Mrs. Bush.

He is the founder of the Portrait Institute and was an instructor at The Art Students League of New York.

Wanna go to an opening tonight?

Elizabeth Parkman's Artomatic Top 10

Elizabeth Parkman is the Associate Director of Heiner Contemporary and she just recently visited Artomatic and files her Top 10 Artists:

Rachel Farbiarz, The Genizah Project

1.     Rachael Farbiarz, The Genizah Project.  My favorite piece at Artomatic!

Steve Wanna

2.     Steve Wanna

3.     Jeff Skeer

4.     Larissa Raddell

Christian Tribastone

5.     Christian Tribastone

6.     Paul Sharratt

7.     Jenny Walton

8.     Michelle Chin

9.     Melissa Badenhop

10. Veronica Szalus

Free Art!

They're celebrating the anniversary of the Bethesda location of L'Eclat de Verre which is managed by artdc.org founder Jesse Cohen. They will be giving away 25 small framed works completed in the French style. 

Find the event details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/114565732015599/

Average Female Artist

Interesting email from artist Linda Stein: 

Do you know that the average female artist earns 10%-30% of what a male artist of comparable standing earns for selling comparable art? The Economist Magazine says it all in its recent article The price of being female. In an artnet list of the top ten most expensive post-war artists at auction we find the sculpture Spider by Louise Bourgeois selling for over $10 million. Sounds great, right? Sure, until we compare it to the Orange, Red, Yellow painting by Mark Rothko which sells for over $86 million! And so it goes.

And get this: it's widely known that when artists submit work for jurying in a "blind entry" without revealing their identity, the results are usually 50% or more female. But just add a name or sex to that entry and then we are back down to below 30%. See Eleanor Bader's recent article in Truth-Out Magazine.

Need more convincing? Take a look at the web site listing artists currently being shown at Gagosian Gallery. You'll find 25 artists, 22 male, 3 female. How about sister gallery owners like Mary Boone Gallery? Out of Boone's stable of 30 artists, 25 are male, 5 female.

Any comments?

Heard on Univision

Behold the first Hispanic to be a Republican candidate for President!

Here's what the "official" designation of a "Hispanic/Latino is... I think... (my bold/font size increase):

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race".^[35]

"The terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" refer to persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spanish speaking Central and South America countries, and other Spanish cultures. Origin can be considered as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race." 

The Constant Artist at AU

Paul Feinberg’s photographs and interviews, or “word portraits,” have enlivened magazine articles, books, and exhibitions both locally and nationally for decades. He has been particularly obsessed with interviewing and photographing artists in our own community. This AU Katzen Arts Center exhibition features early and late works of art by nine Washington artists, together with Feinberg's photographs of the artists early and late in their careers.

Artists in the exhibition include Lisa Montag Brotman, Manon Cleary, Rebecca Davenport, Clark V. Fox, Sam Gilliam, Tom Green, Fred Folsom, Margarida Kendall, and Joe White. Five of those artists are in the 100 Artists of Washington, DC book.

Opening reception:  6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Saturday, June 9 - Show is June 9–August 12, 2012.

Gallery talk:  4:00 PM– 5:00 PM, Saturday, July 7

Artomatic: Visit Two

On my return visit I did notice that many artists took my advise and did put signs with their prices up, and/or added easy to find contact information.

I have never been a fan of anything that is for sale and which yet makes you ask what the price is. In this context, just like in a commercial gallery context, art is a commodity and if you want to sell your artwork, you better make it very clear how much the artwork is.

Still working on my review... 

Per the comments here, seems like some asshole has an issue with artist Gloria Chapa's installation and vandalized it on the 23rd. Chapa repaired the vandalism, only to have the installation vandalized again (apparently according to her, by the same asshole) on Friday evening.

Chapa fixed it again, and when I saw it on Saturday it looked terrific, but one has to wonder what's going on through the head of the mutant doing this.

When ripoffs get caught...

Below is Dulce Pinzon's photo and below that a rip off... steps are being taken to correct the wrong and lawyers are about to get involved...

"NOE REYES from the State of Puebla works as a delivery boy in Brooklyn, New York. He sends 500 dollars a week." By Dulce Pinzon

Some show in some French gallery by someone named Thibault Franc

Happy Memorial Day

American Flag by Jonathan S. Woods, located on the 2nd floor of Artomatic 2012

Alexa Meade at the NPG

Alexa Meade at the National Portrait Gallery Museum

Portraits After 5: Camera-Ready Color
National Portrait Gallery
Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 5:00 - 7:00 PM

Alexa Meade creates her portraits in three-dimensional space by painting directly on top of live models, which appear to be two-dimensional paintings when photographed. For “Portraits After 5: Camera-Ready Color”, Meade will create an interactive installation in the Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery that will allow viewers of the art to become participants by entering into the space, experiencing it in depth, and reinterpreting the work through their own photography. The installation will reference the innovation in Harry Warnecke's photographic portraits seen in the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition “In Vibrant Color".

Alexa Meade and National Portrait Gallery Curator Of Photographs Ann M. Shumard will be available to discuss boundary-breaking work in portraiture.

For more information about Alexa Meade and her art, visit alexameade.com.

First Artomatic Impressions

I spent about six hours at Artomatic yesterday. I started on the 11th floor, which means that the top 3-4 floors got good attention, but the other floors were rushed. Therefore, as usual, I will return a couple of times more for more extended visits before I write my final impressions and recommendations for this year's version of the planet's greatest all-open arts extravaganza.

Yesterday the huge building was packed with families and kids and peoples of all sorts. When I left around 6PM, large crowds of people were filing out of the nearby Metro stop less than a block away and heading to AOM. The Metro is by far the best way to get to AOM.

 The real reason that most art critics hate Artomatic is that they get visual overload very quickly. After all, how does a writer cover a visual art show of the size of Artomatic once the eyes and mind become numb after the 200th artist, or the 400th or the 600th? Or in this year, the 1300th?

I have visited and written about every single AOM since the original one, including the recent one in Frederick, MD, and thus I feel that I am uniquely qualified to make some judgemental calls on this year's version as an evolving comparison to past years' AOMs, and after my first six hours there I can pass some hi level impressions:

• Every year the overall "quality" of AOM improves and this year is noticeably better looking and more professional-looking than any other year.
• There's a lot less porn in AOM this year. In fact, there's a lot less nudes of all kinds.
• The range of the quality of the work, even in a postmodern world where everything is art, still ranges from the mind-boggling bad to the artistically sublime.
• There are several brand new (at least to me) artists in AOM who can show anywhere right now.
• There is a lot of art about The Beatles and blues musicians.
• There's more video art than I expected.
• There are a lot more well-known DMV area "gallery" artists in this AOM than any previous one (except the first one in 1999).
• There's a lot of artists working with discarded computer boards and parts.
• There are a lot of glass artists and every single one of them is really good.
• There are a lot of dark room style galleries and a lot of "blue light" art.
• There is a lot of artwork about Obama.
• There is a lot of left-wing nuttery artwork.
• There are a lot of really good sculptures.
• There are a lot of artists who make it really hard for someone interested in buying their work to get the basic details (how much is it and how do I buy it?)

I will be returning soon, and hopefully by next week I will have my review in as well as my recommendations for my choices for the best of AOM this year, as well as the Campello awards in the various categories that I invent as I go along. Meanwhile below are links to the last three AOM reviews:

Here's my 2009 review of AOM.

Here's my 2008 review of AOM.

Here's my 2007 review of AOM

HeART of the Community Live Auction

Sunday, June 3, 5-8 p.m.
Clear Space Theatre,
20 Baltimore Avenue
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
Phone: 302-227-5620

Small Plates and Open Bar - Featuring the 2012 HeART of the Community Live Auction with art by 25 invited artists selected by four curators. Auctioneer: Lorne Crawford.

Dress: Black and White Casual
Tickets: $75. Tickets are limited. Advance Ticket Price $65, available through April 30 only on the CAMP Rehoboth website. After April 30 all tickets will be $75 and may be purchased online or by calling 302-227-5620.
Purchase Tickets

HeART of the Community Art Auction

Curators and Artists:

Murray Archibald
Rodney Cook
Ward Ellinger
Gary Fisher
Laura Hickman
Victor Letonoff
Andres Tremols  

Sondra N. Arkin
Joan Belmar
Scott G. Brooks
Anna U. Davis
Pat Goslee
Barbara Gruber
Renee Stout
Novie Trump

Jay Pastore
Rick Bach
Susan Finsen
Lee Wayne Mills
Brian Petro
Duane Rieder
Ellen Sinel

Andres Tremols
Lenny Campello
Max Hirshfeld
Laurel Lukaszewski
Christopher Speron
Betsy Stewart
Ellyn Weiss

Sneak Peek Art Preview
Wine and Cheese Reception
CAMP Rehoboth Community Center
Sunday, May 27, 4-7 p.m. (free)

Thanks to the efforts of our curators and their invited artists, CAMP Rehoboth is pleased to present an exceptional collection of art selected especially for the 2012 Black and White Beach Ball. All art will be previewed at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on Memorial Day weekend. Proxy bidding will be available for buyers who are interested in purchasing but unable to attend the June 3 event.

Cuba de Ayer Restaurant

Last week I took three friends with me to Cuba de Ayer Restaurant in Burtonsville, MD. One of them is addicted to Cuban food, but the other two - one a Canadian and the other a Brit - had never had Cuban food in their entire life.

This was my also first visit to Cuba de Ayer, although (since as some of you know, I'm of Cuban ancestry) every time someone who knows me goes there, they tell me what a great place it is, so I was overdue for a visit.

The restaurant is very cozy and when we came in at lunch time it was packed, which is always a good sign.

The pretty waitress took our orders and my alarm bells went up a little when she asked if we wanted our black beans and rice "together" or "separate." I say that my alarm bells went off because "Moros y Cristianos" -- the Cuban name for black beans and rice -- is NEVER served together; never, ever, ever! It is a cultural error and a true and easy test of the Cubanosity of any restaurant.

I ordered my favorite Cuban dish in the world... OK, OK, one of my favorites, "lechon asado", which came with black beans, white rice and tostones (actually a choice of tostones or sweet fried plantains).

I breathed a sigh of relief when my friends' dishes came... what the waitress meant as "together" was actually "congri" which is a separate dish where the black beans (or red) are indeed cooked together... a Cuban version of dirty rice, but much tastier.

Both the Brit and the Canadian ordered "ropa vieja" with "congri" and they both loved it... my English friend actually said: "I can't believe that a simple rice dish can taste so good!"

So Cuba de Ayer gets my highest endorsement!

One last thing: When the food came, I was explaining some of the cultural references that I mentioned above. I must have been loud enough to be heard by other people, because as we filed out of the restaurant, the very attractive daughter of the owners came out, introduced herself and asked me if I was Cuban, as she had overheard me describe the cultural aspects of the food.

So we met, chatted a little, and we all passed to her our enthusiastic thumbs up of the food... I will be back

Cuba de Ayer is located at 15446 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD 20866, (301) 476-9622.

Heading to Artomatic tomorrow...

Just returned to the DMV from a week in Bethany Beach... and Jonesying for AOM, so I will make my first visit to the 10 floors of artists tomorrow...

I plan to return a second time with a couple of gallerists looking for new talent... more on that later.

Art Scam Alert

A DMV area painter recently received the below art scam email - this is a new twist:

From: Murphy Lawrence <murphylawrence77@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, May 25, 2012 at 5:31 AM
Subject: PERSONAL ASSISTANCE NEEDED

Dear Sir/Ma,

I got your email through the Monster.com employment database. In the past,
 you either posted your resume online or applied for a job that was
similar to the one that I am hiring for.

I am looking for someone who can handle my personal and business
errands during his or her spare time.
I need your service because I am constantly traveling abroad  on
business. I own an Art Gallery that specializes in international art.

Your Responsibilities are below.

1.   Receive my mail and correspondences. Drop them off at the post
office or shipping center.

2.   Pay my bills on my behalf and sit for delivery at home.

4.  When you get my mail or package, you would mail all items  to
where I want them shipped. .All expenses and shipping charges will be
covered by me.

The contents of the packages are mostly art materials and paintings.
In addition, there will be clothing I need for business and personal
letters. No heavy packages are ever delivered!

I would love to meet  with you to discuss this job in more detail,
but I am currently away on business to Taiwan.  If you decide to
accept the position, please read the employment requirements listed
below.

EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:

A. You Must be a honest human.

B.  Your Work hour ls only for 15 and 20hrs a month

C  You must be able to check your email 3 to 4 times daily

WEEKLY PAY IS $705 GOOD ENOUGH FOR A START?

In closing, I have a couple of questions for you.
First, If I were to mail you money to do my shopping plus an upfront
payment for your service, where would you want it mailed to?
Second, how would  you like for your  name appear on the money or check?
Maybe you can provide me with the following details below

NAME:

 STREET:

 CITY:

 STATE:

 ZIP:

 CELL:

 EMAIL:

 OCCUPATION:

 AGE:

 Bank Name(for direct deposit of some payments):

Mark Jenkins on Artomatic

The WaPo's Galleries art critic, Mark Jenkins (I wonder how many times people confuse the two DC-based Mark Jenkinses in the DMV art world?) has a really good piece on Artomatic - read it here