Art’s Insidious New Cliché: Neo-Mannerism

Scads of artists are trying to be junior postmodernists. A phalanx of work has appeared that might be called "Modest Abstraction" or "MFA See, MFA Do." It's everywhere, and it all looks the same. In sculpture there's Anarchy Lite. Those post-minimalist formal arrangements of clunky stuff, sticks, planks, bent metal, wood boxes, fabric, old furniture, concrete things, and whatnot leaned, stacked, stuck, piled, or dispersed around a clean white gallery. There's usually a subtext about wastefulness, sustainability, politics, urbanism, or art history. That history is almost always straight out of sixties and seventies Artforum magazines or the syllabi of academic teachers who've scared their students into being pleasingly meek, imitative, and ordinary.

 Read excellent piece by Jerry Saltz here.

Congrats to Hemphill!

Congratulations to Hemphill, who this year celebrates its 20th anniversary - in gallery years this is like being 100!

You can't even imagine the hard work involved in achieving and surviving as a respected art gallery in this town for 20 years.

20 more!

Games goverments play...

I went to the DO NOT CALL registry website today to renew my home number, and got this message:

Due to the Government shutdown, we are unable to offer this website service at this time. We will resume normal operations when the government is funded.

Debido al cierre del gobierno no podemos ofrecer este servicio telefónico en este momento. Nosotros reanudaremos el funcionamiento normal cuando el gobierno este fianciado.

To start with, this is quite an interesting Spanish translation of the English language statement. It appears to discuss some sort of telephone service... but I have no idea what the last word means... clearly someone typing the statement juxtuposed two letters and came up with a new word... cough, cough...

From the Google uses, I think "fianciado" is a Portuguese word, although most Google references are now just simply people referencing the DO NOT CALL registry and making fun of a vindictive government that shuts down websites that run (or at least should run) on automatic.

This is what the Spanish statement actually says:

Due to the closing of the government [missing comma] we can't offer this telephonic service at this moment. We will renew normal functioning when the government is "fianciado"

Cough, cough...

Less than a month left!

There’s less than a month left to apply for a VMFA Visual Arts Fellowship!

VMFA is offering awards to:

• Professional artists: $8,000
• Graduate students in the visual arts or art history: $6,000
• Undergraduate students in the visual arts (including college-bound high school seniors): $4,000

No application fee!  Applications due Friday, November 8, 2013.

For a PDF flyer, the application form, and all instructions on how to apply, visit this website: www.VMFA.museum/Fellowships.

Why can't WMATA put original regional art on SmartTrip Cards?

Was the question that NotionsCapital.com's Mike Licht asked me...

Read all about it here... Cough, cough...

Washington Redskin Potatoes

My wife Alida Anderson has a great solution to the Washington Redskins name controversy: Just change the mascot to a red potato and then call them the Washington Redskin Potatoes... Cough, cough... New helmet designs coming!...

Update: Upgrade number one to the brilliant idea above: What she actually said last night was to continue to call them the Washington Redskins, but to change the helmet design so that instead of the current one, it is now a ferocious-looking red skin potato!

Update 2: She also thought of another great name option: The Washington Federals! 

Sold at (e)merge... sold at AAFNYC... Miami next

The (e)merge art fair was a resounding success last week... we sold multiple works by Elissa Farrow-Savos, multiple works by Judith Peck, a work by Ric Garcia and multiple works by yours truly; see this nice review.

In NYC, the Affordable Art Fair was just as good, and all three artists (Anne Marchand, Jodi Waslh and Tim Vermeulen) had multiple sales each.

In addition to about 20 of my drawings, I sold two major video pieces, including the below work:

Young Photographer Worshiping at the Altar of Contemporary Photography
Watercolor, charcoal and gesso with embedded electronics
8x20 inches, matted and framed to 20x28 inches
In a Private Collection in Potomac, MD

What's next for us? CONTEXT Art Fair in Miami! 

When agenda takes over...

He said Bradbury once walked out of a class at the University of California at Los Angeles when students insisted the work was about censorship.

Read more about Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and what it wasn't about here...

Wanna get some art grants?

Generating income from art in the form of either cash or cash equivalents is always challenging, especially for artists with unconventional ideas or for those who create art that may not be commercially viable. The good news is that the art world is one place where anyone who shows talent and promise, marketable or otherwise, can get help in a variety of ways including cash grants, residencies, employment or internships, allowances, free or low-cost studio space, art supplies, exhibition space, and so on. Receiving these types of assistance is not easy; application processes can be rigorous and competition is often intense. So in the interest of giving you a bit of an edge in situations where you're contending for a bequest, here's a brief tutorial on procedural matters.

Read more here...

Next Week: MCA Open Studios

On the afternoons of October 19th and 20th tour 20+ working art studios, in and around the Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, U Street and Shaw neighborhoods, better known as Mid City.  Visitors can enjoy DC’s glorious fall weather by hopping from one studio to another within vibrant Mid City and witness an expansive offering of art and culture by some of the city’s most talented and creative artists.  This bi-annual event, now in its 10th year, offers visitors a rare portal into the artists’ creative habitat and an opportunity for the public to participate in the District’s dynamic and diverse arts community.  The participating artists represent a great diversity of work, including drawings, sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs and mixed media.

Where we shop, where we eat and have fun -- all of it makes our community home.  Mid City Artists (MCA) Open Studios are an integral part of the distinctive character of the District and Mid City.  MCA offers studio visitors the exclusive opportunity to buy contemporary art direct from the artist studio.  While visiting the studios each artist offers refreshments as well as a good conversation about his or her art work.  Each studio is unique and locations range from retail spaces, old carriage houses, spare bedrooms, apartments to basements.  We hope you choose to spend your fall weekend with Mid City Artists.  We encourage you to make a day of it, stop by a several studios before and after brunch, and then hit a few more before grabbing an early evening cocktail on 14th Street.

MCA is a distinct and talented group of more than 35 professional artists who have come together to promote their work and to create an artists’ community in the central part of the nation’s capital.  Mid City is a hub of real estate development with soaring property values, new condos, trendy shops and restaurants.  There are more than 1,200 condos and apartments and 100,000 square feet of retail currently being built or recently completed.  Concurrently, at least 25 bars and restaurants have opened along 14th Street, adding more than 2,000 seats to the city’s dining scene.  MCA continues to contribute to this growth by infusing the neighborhood with authenticity, creativity and economic activity.

Numerous business sponsors support MCA by exhibiting member works throughout the year and during the Open Studios weekend. For example, Axis Salon will be exhibiting member artist Colin Winterbottom this fall and Doris-Mae, a curatorial project of Thomas Drymon, has a painting and installation up through October 20th. MCA is a driving force in keeping art and creative expression alive within Mid City.

Open Studios Participating Artists:  Sondra Arkin, Scott G. Brooks, Jane Cave, Michael Crossett, Gary Fisher, Charlie Gaynor, Charlie Jones, Sally Kauffman, Miguel Perez Lem, Lucinda Friendly Murphy, Betto Ortiz, Mark Parascandola, Dave Peterson, Brian Petro, George H. Smith-Shomari, John Talkington, Michael Torra, Robert Wiener, Colin Winterbottom. Others by appointment.

Almost final report...

Exhausted and home from the (e)merge art fair in DC, where today we sold several more Elissa Farrow Savos sculptures as well as several more of my drawings and also work by Ric Garcia... And in NYC the Affordable Art Fair crew is heading home, also exhausted but happy after a good fair in NY.

More later...

Art fair(s) report...

The NYC crew at the Affordable Art Fair continues to report good sales... Multiple sales for Anne Marchand, multiple sales for Jodi Walsh and multiple sales for Tim Vermeulen... That is great news!

The DC crew at (e)merge is also kicking it... Today we sold four sculptures by Elissa Farrow-Savos (including sales to a very well-known collector) and six of my pieces, including two major and very large embedded video pieces.

Five weird and wonderful works at the (e)merge art fair

Check Maura Judkis' take in the WaPo here.

Day One at the Fairs...

Last night was the opening nights for both the Affordable Art Fair in New York and the (e)merge art fair here in DC.

The NYC crew reported several sales - yay! And the DC crew saw sales of two Elissa Farrow-Savos sculptures and two Judith Peck paintings.

Come see us - in NYC at booth A-14 and here in DC in rooms 215-216.

Judith Peck, Lenny Campello and Mera Rubell at (e)merge 2013

(e)merge opens tomorrow

(e)merge art fair opens tomorrow!

Opening Preview
Thursday, October 3:
7pm - 9pm: Preview Party
9pm - 11pm: Concert by the Pool with MAIMOUNA YOUSSEF (live set) and John Thornley of U.S. Royalty (DJ set)

Details here.

Come see us in Rooms 215-216.

Opportunity for Public Artists

The Ballston Business Improvement District (Ballston BID), in Arlington, Virginia, seeks to commission multiple temporary public art installations that explore the interaction of art, science and technology in public space. The projects would be presented as an ongoing series in Spring 2014. We are primarily seeking responses from artists and innovators living or working in the Mid-Atlantic area.

The Ballston BID seeks to commission up to nine projects, for which it would provide stipends ranging from $2,000 to $12,000. The Ballston BID is seeking a mix of projects, in regard to their duration, media, location and budget; however, all projects must be located in or viewable from key streets and public spaces in the Ballston core. Questions will be accepted through September 30, and responses are due on October 7, 2013, 4 p.m. EDT. Responses will be evaluated by a committee of curators, arts administrators and artists familiar with this field.

For more information, contact their project coordinator Todd Bressi at art@ballstonbid.com or view their  Frequently Asked Questions.

Two fairs at once

We've never done two art fairs at once... but New York's Affordable Art Fair and DC's (e)merge art fair happen to happen at the same time and so for the first time ever, a DC area art dealer is punching the ticket for two art fairs at once in two different cities (gulp!).

It's all about the Benjamins... we've been doing exceptionally well with our art fair program at the art fairs over the last few years... even in this stinking economy... so why not?

And thus, you can see us this week at both of these:

Booth A-14

Rooms 215-216

Fall for the Arts at the Katzen

American University's Fall for the Arts will bring neighbors, students, faculty, and friends together through art. It's on exhibition now through Oct. 5th at the Katzen.

The day will feature an afternoon of dynamic Courses and Workshops including orchestral conducting, the history of audio recording, a playwriting class, and a discussion of the role of interruption as a catalyst for art, to name just a few. Classes suitable for children are so noted in the descriptions. 

Surprise performances will pop up when you least expect them. The day will conclude with an early evening cocktail reception in the Katzen Arts Center and a Live Art Auction featuring local artists. 

The event is open to the public and an invitation is extended to local residents, patrons of the arts, parents of AU students, and the entire AU community.

Check out the details, the artists, and the terrific artwork here. There's an amazing Alan Feltus that someone will get for a steal! Also check out this gorgeous Tim Tate!

You can register here.

Today at 2PM

Later today, Sunday, September 29, at 2PM I will delivering a lecture titled "On Identity in the Arts: What Does It Mean to be Latino?" at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.

The lecture is free and open to the general public, and from past deliveries of this lecture, I expect that it will continue to be informative, irreverent and eye-opening.

Directions to the gallery here.

Turn Art Lookers into Art Buyers

I go to a lot of art openings and typically don't hang around all that long at any one place. I look at the art and, when possible, have a few words with the artist, after which it's on to the next show. I recently had a chance encounter with an artist whose opening I had been to several nights before. We exchanged pleasantries, and I mentioned how much I enjoyed the show. The artist thanked me and, as we were about to part, asked somewhat cryptically, "Did you look at the art?" with emphasis on the word "look." Without thinking, I answered, "Of course," but then felt a curious twinge of guilt as I walked off wondering, well... did I really look at it? Yes I did, but the artist's implication seemed to be that perhaps I didn't look at it long enough. Hmmm. 

So I got to thinking-- what does it mean to "look at the art," and even more to the point, what does it mean to look at it enough? And even more importantly, what does it mean to look at art enough to become so excited about it that you decide to buy it? Enough according to whom? Who decides when enough is enough? And how does looking at art progress to buying that art? In particular, what does this "act of looking" mean from the artist's perspective as distinguished from that of the viewer (potential buyer)?

Read the entire fascinating piece here.