The collector's mind

Edward Sozanski, the Philly Inky's art critic has an interesting article titled Art: What motivates big collectors to do what they do?

The Cone sisters of Baltimore, Claribel and Etta, might have seemed eccentric to some of their contemporaries, not only because they continued to dress like staid and proper Victorians well into the 20th century but also because they collected avant-garde art.
Anyone who has seen the Matisse-rich Cone collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art will realize that the sisters - who otherwise lived the most conventional of spinster lives - were more aesthetically adventurous than 99 percent of Americans who witnessed the birth of the modern world.

Like Albert C. Barnes, a contemporary of younger sister Etta, they enthusiastically patronized the two most prominent European modernists, Picasso and Matisse, along with other progressive artists such as Cezanne and Gauguin.

Mainly, though, they concentrated on Matisse. Of the approximately 3,000 objects in the Cone collection in Baltimore, about 500 are by him, the largest group of Matisse works anywhere.

Even since I first visited the collection years ago, I've wondered how and why two Victorian spinsters from a wealthy but nonartistic mercantile family made such an astonishing conceptual leap. The question of what ignites such a passion for collecting art never fails to fascinate.

Read the article here.

China detains American artist

An American artist who planned to use laser beams to flash "free Tibet" on buildings in downtown Beijing was detained Tuesday, according to a colleague and a pro-Tibet group.

James Powderly, co-founder of Graffiti Research Lab in New York, was detained before dawn as he prepared to use a handheld green laser to project messages on prominent structures in Beijing, according to Students for a Free Tibet.

Powderly's colleague, Nathan Dorjee, said in New York that he received a text message from the artist which said he had been detained around 3 a.m. by police.

Officials at Beijing's Municipal Publicity Security Bureau did not answer phone calls Tuesday night. His whereabouts remained unknown, the group said.

Read the AP story here.

New Drawing

"World History." Charcoal on paper, c. 2008. 20 x 16 inches
By F. Lennox Campello

Has been decided already

Didn't we already have this "controversy" a few decades ago with Sally Mann's photos of her children? And didn't we all decide back then that it was art and not pornography?

So why is it an issue with photographer Betsy Schneider?

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: September 1, 2008

1708 Gallery is seeking exhibition proposals from artists and curators for its 2010 exhibition season. 1708 Gallery is a non-profit space for new art committed to expanding the understanding, development and appreciation of contemporary art. The Gallery provides public exposure and opportunity to emerging and established artists internationally. By showing art that questions, challenges, and redefines the social and aesthetic boundaries of the visual arts, 1708 Gallery offers an opportunity for the public to investigate, discover and be inspired by the most recent developments of contemporary art. Artists and curators may submit proposals for single or group shows of all media. For an exhibition proposal form, please visit their website at www.1708gallery.org (under exhibitions and proposals).

Next deadline is September 1, 2008. For more information, please contact: Tatjana Beylotte at tbeylotte@1708gallery.org or 804/643-1708.

Two ops for photographers

Deadline: postmarked by August 29.

Washington School of Photography is seeking submissions for a juried show in their gallery to take place October 10, 2008. This is a national photography exhibit, which will coincide with their annual silent auction and is a venue on the Bethesda, MD ArtWalk. Fee to enter: $25/4, $5/addtl, slides or CD. More information and forms at www.wsp-photo.com or SASE to: WSP, 4850 Rugby Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 20814.

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Deadline: postmarked by September 29.

Washington School of Photography is seeking submissions for a juried show in their gallery to take place November 14, 2008. This is a regional photography exhibit open to camera club members residing in Maryland, DC, and Virginia, which will coincide with FotoWeek DC and is a venue on the Bethesda, MD ArtWalk. Fee to enter: $25/4, $5/addtl, slides or CD. More information and forms at www.wsp-photo.com or SASE to: WSP, 4850 Rugby Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 20814.

The Marlboro Gallery National Juried Sculpture Exhibition at Prince George's Community College features 21 artists from around the country (including one of DC's top creative sculptors: Adam Bradley).

My good friend Kristen Hileman, Associate Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden juried the show and will present awards during the reception on my birthday, September 6th, 4 – 7pm. The exhibition and cash prizes totaling $3500, including the $2000 Kari Beims Sculpture Award for Best in Show, was made possible through a generous donation from an anonymous patron of the arts.

I hear that Kristen put together a really interesting show and sounds like a really exciting even because the venue has been able to give sculptors place where they can show some substantially large work, and give away some significant monetary prizes.