Blake again

I had been staying away from reacting to our "local" WaPo Chief Art Critic's musings lest I be recognized as a Blakemonger. But I bit the other day and now I find myself reading one of the oddest, most entertaining, off-kilter, intelligent, unexpected, "will someone please return the real Blake Gopnik" (NOT!) articles by someone claiming to be Blake Gopnik that I have ever read.

Read it here.

And then read Bailey's diss...ertation on the article here, which as usual, raises some good, interesting and valid points.

Atelier Yoyita

As a response to the tragedies of hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Atelier Yoyita in Jackson, Mississippi is creating, hosting and showcasing artists affected by the hurricanes at no cost to the artist, for 6 months to a year.

Interested and eligible artists should contact Dr. Gloria M. Norris through their website or via email at katrina@yoyita.com.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: December 1, 2005

The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, invites proposals for exhibitions in the Margaret W. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery.

Exhibition Dates: 8-10 exhibitions, beginning February 2006.

Proposal Deadline: Proposals must be received by 5:00pm on Thursday, December 1, 2005.

Eligibility: Open to artists and organizations throughout the northern Virginia area. Works can be in both two and three-dimensional formats. Exhibitions may be group or solo.

Entry Procedure: Please submit the following:
* A completed application form with each entry.
* A maximum of 12 slides that represent your work. Slides should be numbered and each should include your name and the title of the piece. Slides should be submitted in a clear plastic slide sleeve.
* A resume.
* A brief description of work to be considered for exhibition attached to application form.
* If you would like your slides returned to you, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope large enough and with enough postage to return them.

Notification: Initial selection will be based on proposals submitted. Final selection may require studio visits. Finalists will be notified by January 6, 2006.

Terms: Artists/organizations are responsible for shipping/delivery/pick-up and preparation of works, as well as any unusual installation requirements. Northern Virginia Community College will insure works while on the premises. Artists must indicate insurance values for all works exhibited.

Information: For further information, contact Leslie White, Managing Director (703-845-6229) or Andrew McPherson, Gallery Coordinator (anmcpherson@netscape.net).

Submission: Send applications to:
Schlesinger Center/NVCC
Att: Exhibitions
3001 N. Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA, 22311

Applications received "Postage Due" will not be accepted.

OPTIONS 2005 Pics



Some early pics from the OPTIONS 2005 show and the Curator's Talk. I missed both, and will try to see the show soon. Comments and photos invited; please email them to me.

Dr. Libby Lumpkin discussing the work

And Dr. Lumpkin again

More photos here.

Artists' Market

Today is the Bethesda Artist's Market. The market runs from 10am-5:30pm inside the Bethesda Place Plaza located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue. Nearly 30 local and regional artists will display and sell their original fine art and fine craft in the plaza outside our gallery.

See ya there!

Artists: Tell Jen How You Live!

(Thanks Alexandra)...

Jennifer Dalton has an interesting survey going on. How Do Artists Live?

It takes only a couple of minutes to complete; visit How Do Artists Live? here.

Gopnik on Buster

Blake Gopnik checks in with one of his once a year area gallery reviews and has a rare review of Kendall Buster at Fusebox. It's a good review of a superb show.

Fusebox, easily one of the best galleries in our area, sort of gets "screwed" by the WaPo on a general basis, as the regular "Galleries" column has never covered them, as Jessica Dawson has recused herself from covering Fusebox shows due to private reasons.

The only one time that "Galleries" covered Fusebox was when Glenn Dixon shared the column with Jessica for a little while, before he had a dispute with the WaPo and quit.

This could easily be solved if the WaPo just honored their earlier promises to hire another freelancer and return "Galleries" to a weekly column on Thursdays.

Meanwhile Fusebox gets screwed because they're never covered in "Galleries," and Blake gets screwed because he's forced to make up for that by actually having to write about a "local artist" (his words), and the rest of the galleries get screwed because the Chief Art Critic of the world's second most influential newspaper rarely writes about them/us.

This could all easily be solved by having the WaPo simply hire another independent freelancer to cover the two weeks of the month currently without gallery reviews.