Green Art

There's a new movement emerging around the nation that recycles art into new art (and it has also apparently absorbed artists who recycle materials into art) and it's been dubbed "green art." They are sartist concerned with environmental and social issues in their themes or in the techniques that they use. It's not just the finished product, but also the process to create the art.

Erwin Timmers, is one of the DC area's leading 'green' artists (His work in sustainable design are seen in some of the large public art projects he has just completed, including this project for the EPA.

Many EPA Potomac Yards staff will be joining the tour that Erwin has organized of other artists at Artomatic that also use recycled materials and are part of the region's growing number of "green" artists.

Date/Time: Wednesday April 17 at 2.30pm
Location: Starts on Level 6 of Artomatic
2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA
Metro stop: Crystal City
Free admission

Also, Erwin has a solo show at Studio Gallery in DC opening May 23rd, where his works on Environmental concerns are the central focus. Put that on your calendar!

Tim Tate's AOM Top 10

DC uberartist Tim Tate with his Top 10nish AOM List:

1). Laurel Lukaszewski - beautiful Japanese inspired ceramic installation pieces

2). Katie McKelvie - how can you not love art made from Tic-Tacs?

3). Alison Sigethy - her recycled glass bowls and great new direction for her.

4). Allegra Marquart and Cheryl Derricotte - Both artists have stretched their limits and produced their best work ever.

5). Alison Duval - I love the photo emulsion tranfer collages.

6). Novie Trump - I actually want to own one of her incredible ceramic sculptures... trade?

7). Pat Goslee and Lynn Putney - Not only is the work great in this room, but its been sparingly hung, which makes it one of my favorite room for actually being able to see art.

8). Ruth Trevarrow - Her "Chicks Dig Me" road sign made me smile all day. I dig her too!

9). Sean Hennessey, Rania Hassan and Kirk Waldroff - This is my favorite group room... they have truly pulled together a great gallery effect... plus I love the work.

10). Sondra Arkin and Ellyn Weiss - Please visit the "Weiss/Arkin" Gallery as they call their room. Its a great start to the Washington Color School Remix tour!

Artists at War: Pro & Con

MOCA DC has a superinteresting call for artists to put their creativity to work into delivering artwork both pro and con the Iraq War.

It's interesting to me, because as far as I know this is the first ever artists' call and exhibition where we may actually see pro war artwork, rather than immediately know ahead of time that all political artwork is against the liberation or invasion (depending on your point of view) of Iraq.

Will anyone have the cojones to enter, and then for MOCA to exhibit, pro war artwork? The left has little patience for things that it doesn't like, and this may put it to a test, while the right often tends to paint (no pun intended) any dissident view as anti-American.

Details here.

Collecting the Work of Emerging Artists

On Wednesday, April 18, 2007 from 6:30 – 8pm, DC's Transformer, in partnership with Civilian Art Projects, will present FRAMEWORK Panel #6 – Collecting the Work of Emerging Artists. This event will take place at Civilian Art Projects, 406 7th Street, NW, 3rd Floor (7th & D Streets).

Collecting the Work of Emerging Artists will be moderated by DC area ubercollector and arts enthusiast Philip Barlow, and will feature several area art collectors including James Alefantis, Monica Bussolati, Allison Cohen, Melvin L. Hardy, and Dr. Michael Pollack. The panel will focus on how each participating panelist "developed his or her current art collection, the importance of collecting the work of emerging artists, as well as where the panelists look to purchase work."

Attendance for this event is free, but seating will be limited. Rsvp your attendance to info@transformergallery.org or call 202-483-1102.

A Secret History of the Washington Body School

Save this date: Friday May 11, 2007 from 7-9pm. That's when Ian and Jan: The Undiscovered Duo, A Secret History of the Washington Body School, featuring Jeffry Cudlin and Meg Mitchell opens at DCA in the District.

Cudlin and Mitchell will stage an art historical intervention, weaving an alternative history for Washington art.

While Washington celebrates the Washington Color School through the multi-gallery Colorfield.remix project, Cudlin and Mitchell will mount a retrospective for their alter egos, Ian and Jan — a fictitious husband-and-wife performance art duo.

According to the exhibition’s premise, "Ian and Jan led the Washington Body School , a group that, in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, exhibited their body art alongside the work of prominent Washington abstract painters.

Ian and Jan: The Washington Body School will provide humorous commentary on Washington ’s cultural legacy, on revisionist art historical agendas, and on gender bias and power politics in the arts. The show will include photographs, drawings, props, and videos of the couple in action."

Does that sound cool or what?

PS - Oh yeah... the previously mentioned Cudlin skinny buttocks is viewable below! :-)

Art-O-Matic Saturday Sked

AOM is in full swing and in addition to the great and the not-so-great artwork, there are loads of free music events and dancing scheduled for Saturday.

Today's schedule is here and it includes live music by Circus of Saints, Mary Shapiro, Opposite Sex, Layne Garrett, The Mesmers, Hailcon, Alona, Medium Underground, and Jeremy Parker.

Free and open to the public.

The model as the star

My recent readings of various Georgia O'Keefe biographies bring to mind that the young O'Keefe career received an interesting boost through the lenses of Alfred Steiglitz, whose series of nude photographs with O'Keefe as the subject caused quite a sensation during the first decades of the 20th century and made the young painter a household name amongst American art aficionados duirng those halcyon years for American art.

Fierce Sonia is a young Greater DC area model and photographer, whose work I included in "Seven" (and it sold well) when I curated that mammoth project for the WPA/C.

And now Fierce Sonia is making waves of her own on the web as a model working with professional photographer David Allio.

The second new art exhibition of 2007 by David Allio brought nearly 10,000 viewers to the online gallery on opening day. The ten-image exhibition entitled "A Day with Sonia" is an artistic twist on a more-traditional photojournalistic look at one day with a professional figure model.

"The concept of following a single subject for one day is nothing new to a photojournalist. But, a few of the rules of traditional photojournalism were bent slightly for artistic effect," Allio admitted.

"My primary challenge for this exhibition was to find the right model to be featured in this creative collaboration. The project was discussed with several potential feature models. But, Sonia was the first person to bring to me both the fierce desire and commitment to balance her creative insight, strength, charisma, and confidence with a trust of my skills and vision in this artistic collaboration."

This was Sonia's fourth artistic collaboration with David Allio. Artworks from previous projects have earned the duo an OMP Fine Art Showcase Award and Best Picture Award from Japan's Photo Unlimited.

Exhibition is online here.