If you haven't seen the new Olympic mascots for the Athens Games, be ready for two of the dumbest mascot designs in the already stupifying world history of mascot imagery.

Nearly 200 design entries were submitted when Athens Olympic Games' organizers put out the artists' call for prospective mascots. The winning creatures were created by a team of six. And this is what happens when you design by committee.

See them here.

Those crazy Brits...

This "guerrilla artist" covertly cemented a 20 foot-tall statute into a London square. The monument, called "Trust No-one", was said to have cost £22,000 to construct, was made of solid bronze and weighed three-and-a-half tons! The local city council wasn't too amused and had it removed a couple of days later.

Read the story here.

Thinking About Art has a really good posting about DCAC's Wall Mountables Show, which is on exhibit until August 22. I'm going to be reviewing this show as well (hopefully soon).

J.T. also has a very well-written review of Canadian artist Allyson Clay at Numark Gallery.

No matter what you hear and read elsewhere, August is not a dead month for all area galleries. This week is the second week of the month, and thus on Thursday you can do Art Night in Alexandria, with eight participating galleries and on Friday you can do the Bethesda Art Walk (which has a free mini bus to take "walkers" around) and about 15 participating galleries and art venues.

Call for Printmakers

Deadline: March 31, 2005.

Lessedra World Art Print Annual. An international print annual with the premise that no art form has broader implications in contemporary society than that of the print. The aim is to gather and exhibit contemporary art print works from all over the world and to contribute to the contacts and the exchange between artists, art lovers and collectors and to stimulate the research into paper, inks, and other materials used in printmaking. Exhibition with all the works will be organized in The National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria in June 2005. Details and entry forms here.

Sometime today DCARTNEWS will pass 25,000 page views. Thank you to all of you who visit... it reflects the interest in what's going on the visual arts in our region.

Opportunities for artists

Deadline: September 1, 2004

The 30th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition - formerly the Bradley National will be excepting applications until September 1, 2004. Exhibition dates will be March 8 - April 7, 2005. There is a catalog published of the exhibition. The juror, Judy Collischan, Ph.D, is currently an independent art consultant, was the Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY-Purchase; Director of the Hillwood Art Museum and Public Art Program at Long Island University, C.W. Post campus and Administrative Director for The Printmaking Workshop, NY, NY. The entry fee is $25.00 for three entries and $5.00 for each additional entry. Please send a self addressed stamped envelope to:
Bradley International
Bradley University Department of Art
1501 West Bradley Av
Peoria IL 61625

Or to print the prospectus go: here.

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Deadline: September 1, 2004

Call for Public Art. Seeking professional artists to construct public art for up to 18 sites. Traditional sculptures preferred. Submit 6+ images of proposed work, 10 slides or prints of outdoor sculpture work, description, statement, materials list, resume, letter/interest, budget, references and timeline to:
Karen Hokansson
Newport News Public Art Foundation
Box 120648
Newport News VA 23612

Email: nnpaf@cox.net

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Deadline: September 3, 2004

The Barrett Art Center's 20th Annual National Contemporary Art Competition. Juror: Tina Kukielski, Contemporary Art Curatorial Dept, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Cash awards/exhibition opportunities. Painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography and mixed media. Send SASE for prospectus to:
The Barrett Art Center
55 Noxon St
Poughkeepsie NY 12601 or call 845-471-2550

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Deadline: October 29, 2004

Digital Concentrate Art and Technology Exhibition. Deadline for entries is Friday, October 29, 2004. Dates of exhibition are March 7 through April 24, 2005. Open to artists over the age of 18. The exhibition conceives of a broad intersection of art and technology. Entries may include but are not limited to: web-based art, works for monitor display, digital video, digital prints, sensor-based and/or interactive work, and robotics. Work will be selected by a curatorial team comprised of a contemporary art historian and a digital artist from the Division of Art & Design at Purdue University, and the director of Galleries. Selections will be made from review of 35 mm slides, jpeg files, CD-ROM/DVD, VHS format video and URLs. Please observe resolution restrictions for jpeg images sent via e-mail (maximum dimension of eight inches in image size-maximum resolution of 300 dpi). Include an artist statement and description of necessary hardware and software for display. Submissions will be accepted by ground mail or e-mail. A non-refundable entry fee of $20 will entitle the artist to submit up to three (3) original works for consideration. Entries must be made on the official entry form or PDF file from the Purdue Galleries website: here.

For more information, contact:
Craig Martin-Director
Purdue University Galleries
Physics Building Room 205
525 Northwestern Av
West Lafayette IN 47907-2036

Or call 765-494-3061 OR email cdmartin@sla.purdue.edu.