Photographer and video artist Darin Boville checks in with some ideas in response to my post commenting about how do we make the Protzman ARTnews "buzz" about DC artists into a roar:

Darin writes:

Here are a few of my thoughts on the DC scene:

1) I think there are a lot of people out there--artists, potential collectors, writers, etc.--who have long ago decided that the emperor has no clothes, as far as contemporary art goes.

2) I also believe that there is something hardwired through evolution within humans that creates a desire and a need for both seeing art and creating it.

Tell those two facts to any first year MBA student and their eyes would light up and their lips would silently mouth the words "market opportunity."

--We need to create an atmosphere in DC where it is seen as a place to buy art. Think of New York as Microsoft. Think of the DC scene as a start-up firm. We can't challenge them. They may have weaknesses, they may not put out a good product, but we are deluding ourselves if we think we can offer a broad alternative.

--Thus, we need to specialize. Fill a niche that is not fully served by the big gorilla.

--Think about the market for art. Right away we think of the big news auctions with those Van Goghs, those Warhols. Forget about it. Focus on contemporary art by living artists. Think about New York and the fact that it has become less of producer of art than as a marketplace for art--could you really have guessed a few years ago that many of todays hottest photographers would hail from...Dusseldorf? Dusseldorf, for Christ-sakes. Think London. Who knew?

--Bill the DC scene as a hotbed of artistic activity, a new Athens (don't laugh, please, I'm just getting rolling), a center for an American Renaissance. Lord knows we need one. Pick four areas of contemporary art. Start pointing out that we are great in areas w, x, and y and--don't you see--world-class in ____ (fill in the blanks). Identify artists that are hot now on the world scene who have some sort of DC connection. Start a whispering campaign--let others say it for us!--that the DC area is not only hot in its own right but a stepping stone to the international, top-tier art world. Those in the know get it here early and, wink, they get a deal.

--Take a breath. Then pick a dozen or so area artists. Pick ones whose work can be connected to DC in some way, however tenuous. Exciting stuff. These will be our YBA's. Our Spice Girls. Piss a lot of local people off who want to be Spice Girls. The art world is tough that way.

--Once we see what we have, invent a "new direction in art." People do this twice a week in the art world so it can't be too difficult. Something that will serve as an alternative to New York Art (you see, our plan is to attack Microsoft and become the new Dark Lord, after all). So we have our Spice Girls and our New Direction.

--We're generating excitement. We're getting the Washington Post and the follower-types in all the local art institutions (which are filled with follower-types) interested. We have journalistic "hooks" upon which to hang stories--not just dead-boring, preaching to the converted "reviews" of shows. Who gives a shit about those. (Name the last time a "review" had any effect in the non-art world).

--Stop. Think of all that money out there. Think of all that money out there controlled by lawyers. Think of all that money out there controlled by electrical engineers turned software programmers. Think of all the art classes they never had. Think Star Trek. Think of the environmental-lite lifestyle. Our engine needs fuel. We need money. We need to get that money, expand our market. Stop competing on Microsoft's turf. We need to go where no man has gone before.

to be continued...

--Darin

For women photographers of our area: there's a new BLOG in town just for you!

It's maintained by Secondsight. Secondsight is an organization dedicated to the advancement of women photographers through support, communication and sharing of ideas and opportunities. Secondsight is committed to supporting photographers at every stage of their careers, from students to professionals. Each bi-monthly meeting includes an introductory session, a guest speaker, portfolio sharing and discussion groups.

The new BLOG is full of great info, such as opportunities, meetings, discussions and info on their guest speakers.

This coming Friday is the first Friday of the month, which means that the galleries around the Dupont Circle area galleries will have their First Friday openings and extended hours. Most of them have extended hours from 6-8 PM. Special congratulations to Conner Contemporary which will be celebrating its five year anniversary with a special group show retrospective.

Also 43 artists in the NoMA neighborhood will be having open studios this weekeind, noon to 5 PM. A good starting point would be in M. Jordan Tierney's studio, located at 57 N Street, NW. Tierney is a superb artist, who I thought had one of the best installations at last year's Art-O-Matic.

The article that Protzman wrote for this month's ARTnews has me thinking a bit. I agree with Ferd that there's a buzz beginning to happen around DC art galleries and artists.

But how do we kindle this "buzz" so that it grows to a national roar? How do we, as an arts community, grab this opportunity and make it grow into something important?

I will give it some thought and for the next few days I will be posting my ten step program to making the buzz into a roar. Ten steps that can help nurture and grow our visual arts scene. Your thoughts and ideas are welcome.

In case you missed it on Sunday, Philip Kennicott, who is one of the music critics at the Post, has a very interesting essay on gay art and censorship.

Blake Gopnik also has a brilliant piece on Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg at the National Gallery of Art. In the article, Gopnik discusses Eckersberg's works and relative importance in the world of art from the perspective of two Gopniks: The Gopnik that we all know (who thinks painting is dead, that in order for contemporary art to be any good it has to add something "new", why be a realist when you can take a photo, etc.) - and the "other" Gopnik; that is the opposite of the published Gopnik. This "other" Gopnik is less apt to generalize and more open-minded when it comes to art.

This is novel and interesting art writing and it is almost as good as my idea of having Blake Gopnik and Paul Richard review the same show at the same time so that we can read two critics' perspectives on one artist.

Or you can read the Chief Art Critic of the Washington Times' view of this same show.

For Frida Kahlo fans:

Linda Pelati in Italy has a mail art call on the subject of Frida Kahlo. No restriction on size or technique. Deadline is January 31, 2004. All works will be exhibited, none will be returned. Documentation to all.

Send works to:

Frida Kahlo
Comune di Trezzano Rosa
Piazza XXV Aprile, 1
20060 Trezzano Rosa - MI
Italy

Just read the ARTnews "City Focus" article in the December issue of ARTnews. It's a very good piece by Ferdinand Protzman, who used to write the "Galleries" column for the Washington Post, and is now a cultural writer and a contributing editor of ARTnews. He also recently published Landscape : Photographs of Time and Place.

Protzman's talks about the buzz growing around Washington area artists, first making the case that area artists and galleries have long been overshadowed by the local museum's "blockbuster exhibitions of famous dead artists."

Ferd also reveals that three prominent galleries (Hemphill, G Fine Art and Conner Contemporary) will be moving soon to 1515 14th Street, NW - to a building renovated specifically for galleries by well-known local art developer and artist Giorgio Furioso.