Einstein's prediction of the existence of "dark energy" (a force that works against gravity) has been confirmed.

Thus now we know that the Universe, which is about 13.7 billion years old, has about 30 billion years left before it "ends."

That's a long time for visual artists to try to come up with something that's "new" in order for them to be "good" in the eyes of many critics and curators.

I'll stick to drawing.

Health Insurance for Artists...
The Artists' Health Insurance Resource Center database was created in 1998 by The Actors’ Fund of America, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, as a health insurance resource for artists and people in the entertainment industry.

Since then, with support from The Commonwealth Fund, it has expanded to include resources for the self-employed, low-income workers, the under-insured, the uninsured who require medical care and many other groups.

Visit them here.

Earlier I posted about Douglas Gordon at the Hirshhorn...

Well... in a first for the Hirshhorn --- the Museum will open the Douglas Gordon exhibition for twenty-four consecutive hours, 24 Hour Psycho (1993), the artist's famous video installation that stretches the Hitchcock classic into a twenty-four experience, is the inspiration for this all-night happening. This unique museum drop-in event, will also include music, gallery discussions, and a "Meet the Artist" interview with Douglas Gordon conducted by the Hirshhorn Director of Art and Programs and Chief Curator Kerry Brougher on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Ring Auditorium.

24 Hour Access for 24 Hour Psycho starts on Saturday, February 28, 5:30 p.m. through Sunday, February 29, 5:30 p.m.

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The Arlington Arts Center, currently under renovation, is taking applications for its eight individual artist studios. Deadline is March 1, 2004. Call 703-797-4573 or email artscenter@starpower.net for more information. The application can also be downloaded from the center's website at www.arlingtonartscenter.org.

Deadline February 28, 2004
Capitol Arts Network presents a National Figure Show “The Human Figure,” a Juried All-Media Exhibition, sponsored by the Washington Gallery of Photography & Virtual Pose, April 9-May 5, 2004.

All figurative work eligible, including painting, sculpture, photography, fiber art, and others. Cash awards and prizes. Eric Westbrook, juror. Slides or jpegs due Feb. 28. Entry fee: $25/4 entries, $5/each over. Prospectus at their website, or call 301-661-7590 for further info or email them at capitolarts@hotmail.com.

Exhibition held at Washington Gallery of Photography, 4850 Rugby Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814.

The Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District is accepting applications for the 2004 Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, an outdoor Fine Art and Fine Craft festival that will take place in the Woodmont Triangle area of Bethesda, Maryland.

The festival will take place, rain or shine, on Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16, 2004. 150 booth spaces are available, $275 for a 10' x 10' booth, $25 application fee. All original fine art and fine crafts are eligible, no mass produced or commercially manufactured products are allowed. $2,500 in prize money.

Deadline for applications is March 1, 2004. To download an application form, visit www.bethesda.org or send a SASE to:
Bethesda Urban Partnership
Bethesda Fine Arts Festival
7700 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814

For more information contact the Festival Director, Catriona Fraser, at (301) 718-9651.

Terry Parmelee's paintings and prints will be exhibited at Jane Haslem Gallery through mid-April. Opening reception is today, February 21st, noon to five, and by appointment. The show is held in conjunction with the publication of Parmelee's Catalogue Raisonne, "Terry Parmelee Prints, 1966-1999". The gallery is located at 2025 Hillyer Place NW, phone: (202) 232-4644.

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Kelly Towles will be featured in Taking Over the Art Store: A Group Show. Opening reception: tonite February 21 at 10pm. Location: the Art Store in Georgetown. 3019 M St, NW (Between 30th & 31st Street). 202/342-7030.

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"Black: A Celebration of a Culture", presents the vibrant panorama of 20th-century black culture in America and around the world in more than 500 photographs from the turn of the last century to the present day. Each photograph, hand-picked by Deborah Willis, one of America's leading historians of African-American photography, celebrates the world of music, art, fashion, sports, family, worship or play.

Willis is a MacArthur Fellow and author of The Black Female Bodyand Reflections in Black. Her latest book is A Small Nation of People.

At Vertigo Books, 7346 Baltimore Ave. College Park MD 20740 Tel: 301-779-9300

New York Times' art critic Roberta Smith is absolutely giddy about the Douglas Gordon show at the Hirshhorn.

I haven't seen the show yet (but will) and I will be honest enough to admit that I am already predisposed to dislike it, or rather to be bored by it, which is what happens to me with a large percentage of video "art."

The reason (I think) is that often the concept of the video artist's "art" is a lot more interesting than the final product. Add to that that "video art" is more often than not a combination of video and still photography - really a traditional mish mash of genres, and by the second or third video in a row by the same guy, I find myself just reading the wall text and looking at the still photographs and just barely glancing at the actual home movie... oops! I mean "video art."

But not Ms. Smith, who finds that Gordon's work "can trigger an almost giddy optimism about the general state of contemporary art and refresh your confidence in the possibility of artistic progress, even in these postmodern times."

Gordon's most famous and acclaimed work — famous indeed, but I wonder how many people have actually seen it in its entirety — is "24 Hour Psycho," an installation in which Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie thriller is extended to 24 hours, instead of proceeding at the usual speed of 24 frames per second. You can see it at the Hirshhorn - pop corn prohibited.

Progress is progress...