Fakes Unlimited

Need more proof that Wifredo Lam is one of the most faked dead artists around? Just click here...

Want proof that people (who generally know it's a fake, but want to have a look-a-like hanging) get them? Click here.

There's also always possibly a Frida Kahlo or two...

Take a chance on Dali?

The curious case of the Hirshhorn Museum and Cuban artists

About a decade ago I co-curated for the Fraser Gallery a giant Cuban art exhibition which brought to DC many Cuban artists for the first time - it was called "De Aqui y de Alla" (From here and from there) --- see it here: http://www.thefrasergallery.com/artwork/Cuban-Show/Contemporary-Cuban-Art.html )" and it included many artists from Cuba as well as the Cuban Diaspora from around the world.

Olga Viso (who is of Cuban ancestry), at the time at the helm at the Hirshhorn came by the gallery to see the show... the head of the Hirshhorn!

Subsequently I curated a touring art exhibition of contemporary Cuban artists that I put together which traveled to DC, Philadelphia, Norfolk and Miami (Titled "Aqui Estamos" or "Here We Are").

In both cases the work avoided any and all contact with "government approved artists" and zero contact with the brutal Cuban dictatorship, and in fact, had somewhat of a dissident focus.

Of related interest to the theme, a local collector here in Chevy Chase owns a significant collection of Korda photographs, including the vintage photo of Che Guevara (Guerrillero Heroico) that Korda kept in his studio as his personal image of Guevara. The owners of the planet's most reproduced image acquired it directly from the Korda family, and I believe there's a video of the event (done as a provenance)... there are 19 photos in the collection - they were recently exhibited at the Museum of Latin American Art in California and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum at the University of Oregon and also at the Museum of Latin American Art in California.

I've heard from major collectors of Cuban art, most of whom I know well, that Stephane Aquin, the new Chief Curator of the Hirshhorn Museum is in the process of curating an exhibition of Cuban art. He brings an excellent pedigree in the subject, as about a decade ago he was one of the curators of “¡Cuba! Art and History from 1868 to Today”, an exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He selected Cuban work post 1959.

Which brings me to an interesting issue.

In the past decade, I have been part of multiple gift offers of work by blue chip Cuban artists to the Hirshhorn. In every single instance that I have been involved in, it has been declined. In every single instance, the declined work ended up in another major museum.

Work by Sandra Ramos (whose iconic work adorns the cover of Holly Block's bible of Cuban art, and that same iconic print is also in the collection of MoMA) has three times been offered as a gift to the Hirshhorn Museum by two separate collectors, and it was thrice declined. 

One Ramos ended up in the collection of the Miami Art Museum, one at the University of Virginia (which under the guidance of former curator Jill Hartz accumulated a superbly impressive collection of Cuban art), and one at Cornell University. 

It was because of that, that I welcomed the Hirshhorn's new library program to acquire supporting material by Latin American artists, and their blog post noted the inclusion of a catalog of Ramos' recent show in NYC.  Of course, her American gallery solo show debut was in the DMV over a decade ago (in 2004 also at the Fraser Gallery - see http://www.thefrasergallery.com/DC2004.html). I'm desperately searching my storage for supporting materials of that exhibition, as that widely reviewed show was her first solo in an American commercial art gallery.

That's a terrific new program that the museum has been funded to do -  according to the Hirshhorn, the funds will be used to catalog Latin American materials that are in their 9,000 volume cataloging backlog. So far, they've identified 500 books and catalogs in the Latin American category, and they have catalogued around 200 of those, and they have one more group of 100 to catalog once the Cataloging Department has found contract staff to implement the last grant. It's a gigantic job, but it seems to be in good hands.

Back to Cubans and the Hirshhorn.

To the Possible Limit, 1996 by Jose Bedia

According to the Hirshhorn's website search, Ana Mendieta, Wifredo Lam, Jose Bedia, Los Carpinteros, Emilio Sanchez, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and J.F. Elso (and the five prints by the "five") are the only Cuban artists in the museum's collection and many of those were part of the original bequest, indicating to me (as far as I can tell from the website) that the museum has not acquired very many Cubans since they opened. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like.

They did acquire this gorgeous Carmen Herrera in 2007. That was at least somewhat of a "discovery" as Herrera was not dubbed the "hot new thing in painting" by the New York Times until 2009.

That NYT piece was done when she was 94.

Herrera sold her very first painting... ever... in 2004, so the Hirshhorn jumped in early (2007), which colors my last paragraph in this post. Five gets you ten that the very gifted Olga Viso had something to do with that.

In addition to the declined Sandra Ramos (three separate gift offers) that I mentioned earlier, the Hirshhorn has in the past (since 1996 to around 2008, which is when I gave up and stopped working as a middle man to offer them gifts from collectors of Cuban art) declined gifts of works by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cirenaica Moreira, Elsa Mora, Belkys Ayon, K'Cho, Aimee Garcia Marrero, Deborah Nofret Marrero, Tania Bruguera, Carlos Alfonso (multiple pieces from his estate), Roberto Wong, Korda, Roberto Fabelo, Marta Maria Perez Bravo, and Carlos Garaicoa... I may be forgetting some.

Most of those ended up as gifts to other museums in the US (one ended up at the Tate in the UK)... it was curious to me the 100% decline rate, especially of some major works... this is the Ramos that ended up in the Miami Art Museum - it's the one titled "Ruinas de Utopia (Ruins of Utopia)" one of her key works dealing with the decline of Cuban life...  Another painting from that page was also offered (the one titled "Rescate" )- that one ended in the collection of Cornell University.

With Aquin at the helm, and his clear background in Cuban art, and with the funded interest in cataloguing peripheral material from Latin American artists, perhaps the Aquin and Hirshhorn will "discover" some other Cuban artists besides the "usual suspects," and perhaps the next time that an important gift by a blue chip Cuban artist is offered to the museum, it may find a home there.

No one has asked me, and I suspect that no one will, but if Aquin reached out to me for some recommendations, and since all the Cuban artists' names mentioned in this blog post so far should be well-known to him, I would recommend a look at DMV Cuban-American artist Ric Garcia.

Wouldn't it be great if the Hirshhorn's Cuban show included a local with a singularly unique set of artwork?

Just sayin'... time to "discover" rather than "re-do."

Bethesda Painting Awards Call for Artists

Competition Honors Local Artists with $14,000 in Prize Monies


The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is currently accepting applications for the twelfth annual Bethesda Painting Awards, a juried competition honoring four selected painters with $14,000 in prize monies. Deadline for slide submission is Friday, February 19, 2016. Up to eight finalists will be invited to display their work in June 2015 at a Gallery B in downtown Bethesda.



The competition will be juried by Dorothy Moss, Associate Curator of painting and sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery and director of the triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition;  Dr. David Park Curry, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts, American Painting & Sculpture at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Megan Marlatt, Professor of Art and at University of Virginia.



The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young” artist whose birth date is after February 20, 1985 may also be awarded $1,000.



Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. All original 2-D painting including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibition. 



Each artist must submit five images, application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25. 
 

For more information, or to apply online, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301/215-6660. You may also send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Painting Awards, c/o Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.



The Bethesda Painting Awards was established by local business owner Carol Trawick in 2005. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the former Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and founder of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. Ms. Trawick is the owner of an information technology company in Bethesda, Trawick & Associates.
 

Catriona Fraser, award-winning photographer, curator and juror is the non-voting Chair of the Bethesda Painting Awards. Ms. Fraser has directed the Fraser Gallery in downtown Bethesda since 2002. Ms. Fraser is also the Chair of The Trawick Prize and Director of the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival.


The eleventh annual Bethesda Painting Awards was held in June 2016. Bill Schmidt of Baltimore, MD was awarded “Best in Show” with $10,000; Thomas Dahlberg of Baltimore, MD was named second place and was given $2,000 and Cavan Fleming of Blacksburg, VA was awarded third place and received $1,000.



From award-winning theatre to independent films, downtown Bethesda’s Arts & Entertainment District is filled with inspiring artists and art venues. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., and is the producer of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, Bethesda Painting Awards, Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards, Gallery B, Studio B, Bethesda Art Walk, Dance Bethesda and Play In A Day. 

UMD Art Honors Exhibition

The 39th Street Gallery, Gateway Arts Center

3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood, MD 20722

(Second floor, 39th street entrance) 

The University of Maryland's Art Honors Exhibition

February 6 - 27, 2016

  

Artist Reception February 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Free and open to the public

Trial Begins in Art Forgery Case Against Knoedler Gallery

Perhaps the most anticipated trial exploring the art market in recent years began Monday in United States District Court in Manhattan with a lawyer for a couple that bought a fake Rothko asserting in her opening argument that Knoedler & Company, a once-celebrated Manhattan gallery that is now defunct, had deceived its customers while selling them dozens of fake works that it said were by master artists.

Read the NYT story here. There were allegedly more than 30 forgeries sold to collectors over the years. There was even a painting with a misspelled Jackson Pollock name!


Here's the dark truth about art forgeries - they've been around since Roman times (if not earlier) - the Roman forgers would copy Greek statues and soak them in urine to age them, and then sell them to wealthy Romans as "ancient" Greek pieces.


And fakes will always be a part of the art world.


And there are some artists (Rothko is one of them) which are magnets for fakers... there are many, many, many fake Rothkos (most of them in museums) in existence, with shaky provenances often ignored by museum curators.


Other magnet artists for fakers: Wifredo Lam, Picasso, Motherwell, Pollock, Stella, Botero (see a trend here?).


A couple of decades ago, I was sitting at Georgetown's iconic Fraser Gallery when a lady comes in, looks at the artwork and asks me: "Where can I buy a Rothko?" She pronounced it Raath-ko.

I noticed that she has a library copy of Jeffrey Weiss' book about Rothko's work tucked under her arm.


"Usually at auction," I answered. "You do know that they start in the millions."


She didn't blink an eye. "I really like his pictures," she noted. I winced at the word "picture."


I looked at her a little more quizzical; it was clear from her "airs" that money was not the issue.


"Are you looking for an original Mark Rothko painting?", I started, "Or a painting that is in the style of Rothko... that looks like his work?" I was thinking that I could point her in the direction of some of the DMV's great contemporary abstract painters, as the gallery focused strictly on contemporary realism.


She opened her book. "I want a painting that looks like this," she pointed to several works in rapid succession.


"Do you care who the artist is?" I asked.


"I don't even know who Rothko is," she noted, and I noted that she had adjusted and corrected the pronunciation of Rothko's name to match mine. "I just want a painting that looks like one of his pictures."


I winced at the word "picture" once again, and then suggested that perhaps she should contact a local art school and see if they could find an art student interested in accepting a commission from her to "create" some Rothko look-alikes for her. I warned her that copying a Rothko might break some copyright laws, but producing a work that looked Rothkolian was perfectly legal, and in the art world simply called "derivative."


Her eyes lit up; she thanked me profusely and left.


Several months later, Madame X (that was my nickname for her, as she was the spitting image of John Singer Sargent's portrait of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau at the Met in NYC), walked back into the gallery.


"I wanted to thank you," she said with a smile, as she put a giftwrapped bottle of champagne on the desk. "I got a student from the Corcoran and one from Catholic University each to do some Rothkos for me."


She then showed me on her digital camera some very Rothkolian images.


"They are great!", she beamed. "I have had six of them done! And they're huge! Just what I wanted!"


I smiled, my brain beginning to imagine where and what questions these paintings may cause 100 years from now... considering the "provenance" from Madame X.


"And my friends are all commissioning more Rothkos from them!" She finished triumphantly as she waved good bye.


I unwrapped the champagne bottle - it was an Armand de Brignac “Ace of Spades” Rose. She may not have known her Rothkos, but the lady knew her champagnes.

At Zenith Gallery

In Celebration of Black History Month

"FROM HISTORY TO THE DREAM"

Show Dates:  February 5- March 5, 2016
    At Zenith Gallery, 1429 Iris St., NW, Washington, DC 20012

Christopher Malone

Featuring Artists: Doba Afolabi, Mason Archie, Francesca Britton, Margaret DeLorme, Richard Fitzhugh, Robert Freeman, Cassandra Gillens, Hubert Jackson, Gloria Kirk, Christopher Malone, Joyce J. Scott, Karen Starika, and Curtis Woody.

 

MEET THE ARTISTS RECEPTIONS:  Friday, February 5, 4-8 pm, & Saturday, February 6, 2-5 pm

Where: Zenith Gallery1429 Iris Street, NW, Washington, DC 20012
Show Dates: February 5 - March 5, 2016 

Information: Margery Goldberg, 202-783-2963, margery@zenithgallery.com

Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 12-6 pm, any other times, please call for appointment

The Daphne Series

While I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art (1977-1981), one of my school projects involved taking a mannequin deep into the woods around the Seattle area, and then fixing the mannequin onto a tree.

Once the figure was attached to a tree, I would either cover it in glue, or spray it with photo fix glue, and then cover it in tree mulch, bark, and dirt. Then I would completely glue pieces of bark to the figure, and thus make it "blend" onto the tree that it was affixed to. Eventually, the figure would be (at least visually) part of the tree, as if the figure was growing from the tree itself.

Most of these projects were done in Mt. St. Helen's as I had a school friend whose family lived at the bottom of the mountain, and it was thus convenient as he was my guide around the mountain's ape caves and trails). I suspect that all of them were destroyed by the volcanic eruption of St. Helen's on my wedding day in 1980.

I took many slides of the finished installations, but (because after art school I moved to Europe, and then returned in 1985 to go to postgraduate school, while I was at postgraduate school in California), I put about 30 boxes of books, and photos, and slides and clothes, etc. in storage with my then sister-in-law in Washington state.

Mujertrees
9x12 inches, 1979 Intaglio Etching
by F. Lennox Campello
Edition of 100 sold out

Then, while she was on vacation, a pipe in her house broke and flooded her basement for several days. Not only did I lose many, many slides of artwork, but also lot of art, all of my disco clothes (probably a good thing), plus a couple hundred books, including my copy of a hardbound first edition, first printing of Tarzan of the Apes (now worth a lot of big ones)... and no, insurance did not pay for it; none of it.

I do, however, still have some of the preparatory sketches that I did over the years, and the memories of my student artwork that has been twice wiped out by the forces of nature, as if upset that I was re-arranging and humanizing nature. The etching above - titled Mujertrees - was the start of the idea... I made 100 etchings at printmaking class at the University of Washington and then sold all of them at the Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Over the years since, I've continued the idea; see below:

Mujertree Roots
12x9 inches
1994 Pen and Ink by F. Lennox Campello
In a private collection in Virginia Beach, VA

Mujertree Couple
8x11 inches
1995 Pen and Ink by F. Lennox Campello
In a private collection in Virginia

Mujertree (Assisted)
12x9 inches
1995 Pen and Ink by F. Lennox Campello
In a private collection in Norfolk, VA

Mujertree Forest
8x11 inches
1994 Pen and Ink by F. Lennox Campello
In a private collection in New York

"Mujertree with Broken Arms" (from Daphne series) circa 1980.
Pen and Ink. 10 x 8 inches.
Collection of the Artist

"Mujertree Forest" circa 1995
Pen and Ink. 8x10 inches.
In a private collection in Virginia

"Mujertree Forest"
Circa 2000 - Unfinished
Pen and Ink. 8x12 inches.
In a private collection in California

"Daphne" circa 1995, Charcoal on Paper, 30 x 20 inches.
Private Collection in Richmond, VA

Those nature installations and the subsequent drawings and etchings were part of what I call the "Daphne Series," and which continues to this day, mostly now in drawings and etchings (above and below).

"Daphne" circa 1994, Charcoal on Paper, 40 x 30 inches.
Private Collection in Charlottesville, VA

"Mujertree Rising" (from Daphne series) circa 1996
Charcoal on Paper. 10 x 8 inches.
In a private collection in Chevy Chase, MD

"Daphne"
circa 2004
Charcoal on Paper. 14x9 inches.
In a private collection in London, UK

"Daphne"
circa 2007
Charcoal on Paper. 7x9 inches.
In a private collection in Washington, DC

"Apollo as Daphne (Gaea Missed) - from Daphne series"
circa 2008
Charcoal on Paper. 11x8  inches.
In a private collection in New York

 "Daphne"
circa 1993
Charcoal on Paper. 20 x 14 inches.
In a private collection in Virginia Beach, VA

"Daphne (version II)"
circa 2004
Charcoal on Paper. 16x11 inches.
In a private collection in New York

 "Daphne"
circa 1997
Charcoal on Paper. 16x11 inches.
In a private collection in Reston, VA

At Waverly Street: 2016 Invitational

Wanted: Associate Curator of Academic Programs and Latin American Art

Position Announcement



Title: Associate Curator of Academic Programs and Latin American Art 


Department: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art


Reports to: Senior Curator of Western Art
Term: 1.0 FTE for 12 months (renewable annually)
Annual salary: $40,000–$50,000, commensurate with experience
Expected starting date: Flexible



The University of Oregon, founded in 1876, is the state’s flagship institution.  With a student body of almost 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 260 academic programs, the university offers an energetic and robust academic environment in the welcoming college town of Eugene, Oregon.  The UO is a world-class teaching and research institution, and a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU).  The AAU is an organization made up of the 61 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada, and the UO is one of only two members in the Pacific Northwest.



The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public.  The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, America and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries.  The JSMA is one of six museums in Oregon and the only academic museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.



General Description Reporting to the Senior Curator of Western Art, the Assistant or Associate Curator of Academic Programs and Latin American Art supports the museum’s mission by 1) strengthening the museum’s teaching role, working with faculty and students across campus; 2) building engagement among Latino constituents on and off campus; and 3) developing the collections and special exhibitions in support of faculty research and teaching, with a focus on modern and contemporary Latin American art. The position manages the JSMA Academic Support budget of $30,000, recommends acquisitions, and organizes special events (including Día de los Muertos) and exhibitions that have budgets ranging from $10,000–$150,000, including international loans.



Description of Duties


JSMA Academic Support (50%)
* Identify faculty and center directors whose work/interests align with JSMA exhibitions, programs, and other goals, and conduct outreach to encourage use of the JSMA’s collections and exhibitions for teaching and research. Outreach can include a quarterly faculty e-newsletter, individual meetings, and departmental presentations.
* Schedule and facilitate class visits and work with faculty to create tour agendas and curricula. 
* Lead tours and class visits in the galleries and study room. 
* Manage Academic Support Grant program, including marketing of program to faculty, intake of applications, oversight of budgets, and evaluation.
* Work with faculty to curate curricular rotations or larger exhibitions that tie in to curricular needs, with a focus on Latin American art.
* Serve with the director of education as JSMA’s point person for the museum’s Latino Engagement Plan. Tasks include building relationships with faculty, students, staff, administrators, and community members, development of seminars and courses, and program management, including the annual Día de los Muertos program.
* Create and implement workshops for faculty and graduate students to strengthen their use of the museum for teaching and research, working with colleges, schools, centers, departments, programs, and teaching-resource areas on campus.  
* Gather statistics on class visits and faculty feedback (via survey or other instruments) at the end of each term.
* Create and schedule academic programs (lectures, symposia, performances, etc.) that support faculty engagement. Includes managing program budget, developing effective outreach to academics, and liaising with artists, lecturers, and other guests to arrange travel, honoraria, and other needs.  
* Manage museum facility and technology use for courses and programs, including scheduling, budgeting, and collections access.
* Write and manage grants that further academic use and innovative practices for academic collaboration. 
* Publish and present at conferences to create greater visibility for the JSMA’s academic and Latino engagement initiatives.
* Occasionally, teach courses for the university.
* Other duties as assigned.
JSMA Collections Support (25%)
* Research and interpret a growing collection of modern and contemporary Latin American art.
* Supervise student interns and faculty members in research and exhibition of Latin American art and Academic Support grants, as appropriate.
* Serve as a curatorial representative on the Collections Committee.
* Refine Latin American collections development plan and identify acquisitions, organize exhibitions, secure loans, and develop collaborative programs with Latin American studies faculty. 
* Develop relationships with collectors, artists, and gallerists who can advance collections goals, with a focus on Latin American art.
* Other duties as assigned.
JSMA Exhibitions Support (25%)
* Develop and present exhibitions of modern and contemporary Latin American art (on loan and from collection), including contemporary artists in the Artist Project Space. 
* Work collaboratively with curatorial team on all aspects of exhibitions organization, as needed, both for collection rotations and special exhibitions, including curation, research, logistical planning, preparation of checklists and interpretative materials, and documentation.
* Serve as in-house curator or manager, as appropriate, for special exhibitions organized by faculty or guest curators focusing on Latin American art and JSMA Academic Support Grants.
* Support education of staff and volunteers regarding curatorial activities and exhibition content.
* Draft exhibition materials for collateral and PR. 
* Write grants and other fundraising proposals in support of exhibitions.
* Other duties as assigned.

Minimum and Preferred Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications
* MA in art history, with a focus on modern or contemporary Latin American art.
* Minimum 2 years’ experience working in an academic museum on curatorial projects.
* 1-2 years’ experience writing grants.
* 1-2 years’ experience supervising student workers and/or volunteers.
* Bilingual (Spanish/English): essential for communicating with artists, galleries, museums, and collectors in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Spain to support collections research development, exhibitions,  programs, and fundraising and to further the JSMA’s Latin American strategic plan.
* Demonstrated ability to work collegially and collaboratively with diverse internal and external constituents.
* Minimum 1 year experience working with faculty and students on curricular projects in the museum.
Professional Competencies
* Experience creating and conducting workshops.
* Experience researching and presenting Latin American art for museum acquisition and exhibition.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
* Excellent computer skills, including MS Office and Outlook Exchange.
Preferred Qualification:
* PhD in art history, with a focus on modern or contemporary Latin American art.
* Experience working with community organizations, especially those serving Latino audiences.



The successful candidate will have the ability to work effectively with faculty, staff and students from a variety of diverse backgrounds. 
 
Position is subject to criminal background check.



Application Procedure
To apply, applicants should submit a cover letter, summarizing your qualifications and interest in the position; current résumé or curriculum vitae that includes dates of employment; and the names, phone numbers, and addresses of three professional references. University Advancement prefers email submissions with all materials packaged as a single PDF attachment and “Search 16007” in the subject line. Please submit applications to: Email:            advancementjobs@uoregon.edu

USPS:  Search Committee, Curator of Academic Programs JSMA                         University Advancement

University of Oregon

1720 E. 13th Avenue, Suite 312

Eugene, OR  97403

The University of Oregon is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the ADA. The University encourages all qualified individuals to apply, and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status, including veteran and disability status.

Uh?

This morning I was in Annapolis and went to the bathroom to pump bilges when two Milennials walked in to do the same.


As they were peeing, the discussion between them came to the Iowa results.


Milennial One: Can you believe that Cruz beat Trump?


Milennial Two: Yep... what if Cruz or Rubio end up being nominated?


Milennial One: They'd lose to Hillary dude; She'd get all the women vote, all the African American vote and all the Hispanic; the Republicans are anti-Hispanic.


Pause


Milennial Two (who may have been Hispanic): How can you say that? They have two Hispanic candidates!


Milennial One: They're not Hispanic! They're Cuban and they're white!


Milennial Two: True.

VFMA Fellowship winners announced

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Fellowship Program continues its 76-year tradition supporting Virginia’s art community by giving grants to students and professional artists. With this year’s awards, fellowship grants will reach nearly $5.5 million with more than 1,275 awards to Virginia artists since the program’s inception in 1940. VMFA awarded 27 fellowships to Virginia art students and professional artists in 2016-17 for a total of $162,000.


“None of this would be possible without the generous endowment established by the late John Lee Pratt and all the supporters of this mission-based objective throughout the past 76 years.” Director Alex Nyerges said. “The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Fellowship Program is committed to about nurturing artists throughout the Commonwealth.”
  
Twelve professional fellowships, each worth $8,000, were awarded. The recipients are (in alphabetical order by hometown): Moaz Elemam, film/video, Alexandria; Tyrone Turner, photography, Arlington; Lee Anne Chambers, painting, Courtland; Kristin Skees, mixed media, Hampton; Matthew Parker, drawing, Portsmouth; Cynthia Henebry, photography, Richmond; Valerie Molnar, mixed media (collab. with Matt Spahr), Richmond; Matt Spahr, mixed media (collab. with Valerie Molnar), Richmond; Stephen Vitiello, new/emerging media, Richmond; Jack Wax, crafts, Richmond; Paul Ryan, painting, Staunton; Martha Jones, painting, Williamsburg; Charlie Brouwer, sculpture, Willis.   


The juror for the professional awards was  Valerie Cassel Oliver, senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston.


Four graduate students won awards worth $6,000 each. They are: Paul Norton, film/video, Arlington; Kathryn Mayes, photography, Mechanicsville; Corey Piper, art history, Richmond; Abbesi Akhamie, film/video, Woodbridge. 


Ten undergraduate students won awards worth $4,000 each. They are: Natalie Abernethy, new/emerging media, Ashburn; Isabel Lee, sculpture, Charlottesville; Donald Boose, new/emerging media, Falls Church; Madeleine Hardy, painting, Falls Church; Emily White, photography, Fork Union; James Heyes, new/emerging media, Newport News; Cassie Williamson, mixed media, Powhatan; John DiJulio, photography, Richmond; Monica Escamilla, photography, Richmond; Kyle Falzone, mixed media, Richmond.
  
In addition, undergraduate student Rachel McGovern, crafts, of McLean was awarded a fellowship worth $2,000 for her final semester.


The juror for the undergraduate and graduate awards was Amy Moorefield, museum deputy director of exhibitions at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Va.


Of this year’s winners, seven artists have received fellowships in the past:
Jack Wax – 2007 Professional fellowship winner
Valerie Molnar – 2007 Graduate fellowship winnerStephen Vitiello – 2010 Professional fellowship winner
Martha Jones – 2011 Professional fellowship winner
Paul Ryan – 2010 Professional fellowship winner
Corey Piper – two-time art history winner
Paul Norton – 2014 Professional fellowship winner


The fellowship funds come from a privately-endowed fund administered by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Fellowship Program was established in 1940 through a generous contribution made by the late John Lee Pratt of Fredericksburg (the husband of Lillian Pratt, donor of the museum’s Fabergé collection). Offered through the VMFA Art and Education Division, fellowships are still largely funded through the Pratt endowment and supplemented by gifts from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation and the J. Warwick McClintic Jr. Scholarship Fund.

Benjamin Abramowitz

Benjamin Abramowitz passed away on November 21, 2011 at age 94 and left a profoundly important legacy of more than 75 years of work.

Lots of information on his life and his more than 7,000 pieces of artwork at www.benjaminabramowitz.com

Trekkies Needed for USS Enterprise Restoration Project

The National Air and Space Museum is looking for Star Trek fans to pass them pre-1976 images or film of the original studio model of USS Enterprise.


Nerds an find more details here, but essentially Trekkies are being encouraged to submit firsthand, original images, or film of the ship under construction, during filming, or on public display at any time before 1976.


For more information about submitting material, contact StarshipEnterprise@si.edu


Live Long and Prosper.

Wanna go draw?

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) hosts a drop-in “Working from the Figure” session on Fridays, February 5, 2016 and February 19, 2016 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at CHAW, 545 7^th Street, SE.

Work on drawings or paintings in front of a live model in a session without formal instruction, facilitated by artist Will Fleishell. Please bring your own drawing materials. Easels are available. The session is $15 for drop-in students. For more information, visit www.chaw.org or call (202) 547-6839.

RIP David Quammen

David Quammen passed away yesterday... Some eloquent words about this fixture of the DMV art scene by DMV art critic and artist Kevin Mellema, and at the bottom a painting of Quammen by DMV uber artist Erik Sandberg.

RIP ... We lost Dave today... Folks outside the DC arts community won't know him, but Dave was... Dave was.... well, Dave was Dave.

To say the least, Dave was a unique character. He didn't leave any gas in the tank when he left. We should all be so inspired. 

He entered our lives when he became a figure model posing around the DC area. Later on, he took over the MOCA gallery in Georgetown. 

After years spent around him, there certainty will be no shortage of Dave stories to tell. His epic battles with the MOCA landlord became city wide PR battles gone wild that spilled over into the City Paper. .... They alone were worth the price of admission. This photo, as an example, was done in the midst of one such skirmish. 

But my favorite Dave tale comes from his modeling days before all that.. He was a tenacious model that simply would not give up on a pose no matter how bad it hurt to go on holding it. ...

One night he was on the model stand with another model who had her back to him. She took a fairly simple standing pose, while Dave took a semi-reclining pose akin to the 'Dying Gaul' from the Parthenon... His entire weight held up by one arm for 20 minutes.

Somewhere towards the middle of that, it started to wear on him. Sometimes you bite off more than you can chew, but Dave wouldn't spit it out no matter what. It was a point of pride with him, and we all respected and appreciated such.

Everybody has their limits, and clearly Dave was in well over his head on this one... .. A few more minutes ticked by, and Dave's arm started to give it up for him... By the end of the twenty minutes the entire modeling stand was shaking rapidly from the considerable muscle spasms in Dave's arm.

The buzzer went off, and his torture ended. He sat up, his torso beet red, flush with blood from the exertion. Wiped out, he sat there trying to regain his breath and composure before the call for a new pose... When the other model turned around and said to him... "That wasn't so bad!"... It was a classic line. Couldn't have been more contrast between the average model, and Dave's efforts. Nobody put it all on the line the way he would.

He went on to run MOCA with the same no holds barred gusto....

Underneath the outrageous antics, and occasional irascible episodes, Dave was a genuinely kind and generous man. He prided himself on making MOCA an equal opportunity place for all comers. The art world hates that sort of thing, but Dave stuck to his guns to the bitter end. In some fundamental way, the people were more important to him than the art. He was a curator of people. Nobody could put together a wild collection of people the way Dave could....

It's common to hear people eulogized as 'unique' and 'irreplaceable'. In Dave's case, it's all true. In fact, it's simply unthinkable that we'll see the likes of him again in our lifetimes...

Dave made the DC art scene more colorful, and less buttoned-down boring. We often take **art** as some deathly serious affair. Dave was having none of that, he was all about having fun with it.

We could all do well to remember such, and carry a bit of that with us going forward.... God speed Dave.

                                                                           - Kevin Mellema

Anger. Oil on Canvas, 2009 by Erik Thor Sandberg

Hirshhorn and Latin American artists

Since 2014, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library (HMSG) has received grants totalling $15,000 to catalog materials of Latin American artists.

Details here:  https://blog.library.si.edu/2016/01/new-to-the-hirshhorn-library-latin-american-artists/

Interesting that one of the things that they have collected is a recent catalog of Cuban artist Sandra Ramos show in New York. At the same time, the Hirshhorn has not once, but twice been offered original paintings by Ramos as gifts from two separate collectors and both times the museum has declined them.