Cloaca Poop

When a DC Art News reader sent me a link that then led to this site, at first I though that it was a joke.

It isn't.

Belgian artist Wim Delvoye has created a machine that reproduces the series of organic events that takes place in the human digestive system when a person eats, starting from swallowing the food via the mouth to discarding the fecal matter through your rear orifice.

Delvoye calls his machine the Cloaca.

He feeds the Cloaca ordinary food and eventually shit comes out from the other end. This Cloaca shit is then wrapped in plastic and sold to "art collectors."

And according to the Cloaca website, the shit is sold out! And the "remaining 100 feces have been held back for future capitalisation [sic]."

See the machine(s) here. Note that a couple of the shitmakingmachine logos are certainly within striking range of a lawsuit from Coke or Mr. Clean.

Update: Last year Charles Downey in Ionarts had this terrific piece on Delvoye and the machine and other projects, including the translation of an informative interview with the artist.

Mural Artist Wanted

The DC Primary Care Association is looking for a mural artist to fill large wall space in their office. They are looking for an artist that has a real feel for the overall energy of DC.

They are imagining a cityscape mural at a bird’s eye view that would highlight the health centers in DC. Please e-mail Lauren at Lmardirosian@dcpca.org if you are interested. Commission fee is negotiable.

Call for Artists

Deadline: October 15, 2006

The Howard County Arts Council has an open call for artists for proposals for their 2008-2009 gallery season at the Howard County Arts Council gallery.

You can download the prospectus here or call them at 410-313-ARTS.

Best Bets

The Washington Post has announced the winners of their 2006 "Best Bets" and they can be seen online here.

As it has been the case for the past four years, there was not a gallery category to vote for, although some of the other categories were quite diverse, shall we say.

If you don't get it, you don't get it.

Cleaning House

Or I should really say: "Cleaning the studio," as DC area artist Chris Goodwin has decided to start from scratch and is offering on Ebay "a buttload of paintings" for one price in order to clear his studio of work and previous influences.

See then here.

Tube Link

While I was gone in Norfolk, the NBC4 story on DC Art News and me was shown on Channel 4 News.

You can see the video online here. Welcome to all the new visitors!

Opportunity for Photographers

Deadline: September 30, 2006

Richmond's Gallery of Art & Design has a call for photographers for Colors of Life, a photography competition open to national and international photographers.

Prospectus and details here or call the gallery at 804/355-0102.