New Drawing

"Woman who Finally Figured Out a Way to be Outside the Influence of Men"
Charcoal and conte on paper, c.2008
40 x 30 inches by F. Lennox Campello
Click on it for a larger image.

End of the art dealer? Naaah!

What does it mean for the art market that a living artist bypasses dealers altogether and sells his wares directly at auction? There is some speculation that this might be a pivotal moment, like the end of the studio system in movies or the continuing decline of the record labels in the music business. Could the gallerist's traditional role as mediator between the contemporary artist and his market be passé?

Most insiders say that only at the topmost end of the market, where sales at auction are guaranteed by the artist's fame, could the middleman become an anachronism -- and that just a handful of artists, such as Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, have the kind of fame it takes. Dealers still have a crucial role to play, the argument goes, in building the reputation of artists; in finding the right -- influential -- homes for artists' works; in persuading museums of artists' worth; in taking reviewers out to lunch. Furthermore, it is noted, the art biz differs from show biz in a fundamental way: Movies and music sell to a mass audience, while art sells singly to individuals.

That is where, for now, the debate seems to have stalled, at the consensus that nothing much will change. A comforting thought, perhaps, but one that falls apart at the slightest prodding. It's certainly comforting that the most imperiled are the top-end headhunters, like Mr. Gagosian, who encouraged the cult of celebrity to supplant content and aesthetics as the foremost value in art. But beyond that, one wonders how it will affect the role of galleries when ultimate success automatically carries a built-in penalty: If they create a big enough star, the star will have no need of them. At the very least, dealers and gallerists in contemporary art will face a solid ceiling beyond which they cannot maximize profit on the investment they made nurturing artists. They simply cannot compete with the global footprint of international auction houses, which offer artists instant access to world-wide markets.

In reality, the art biz is more like the movie or music biz than one might think. Mass markets, like mass media, affect the thinking of visual artists all too palpably these days, however uniquely each of their pieces may be made and sold.

Read this excellent article by Melik Kaylan in the WSJ here.

Congratulations

To Ledelle Moe, who is the recipient of the Kreeger Museum Artist Award $20,000 prize, underwritten by Chevy Chase Bank.

This biennial, juried award recognizes a mid-career artist whose life and work have significantly influenced the Greater DC area arts community. A selection of Ledelle’s work will be on view at the Kreeger from October 3 – November 29, 2008.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: October 1, 2008 at 4:00pm.

The City of Philadelphia's Department of Public Property, Public Art Division, and the Department of Human Services announce a competition for the commissioning of site specific interior artwork for the new Philadelphia Youth Center.

A total budget of up to $225,000 has been allocated for this Percent for Art project. The competition is open to artists or collaborative teams who reside in the following states: PA, DE, NJ, and MD. For a prospectus visit this website.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: October 24, 2008

Coker College's Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is reviewing entries (all media) for solo shows in the 2009-2010 exhibition season. Send ten 35mm slides or jpeg files (they prefer 1024 x 768 pixels) on CD/DVD, list for images, statement, resume, and SASE to:

Larry Merriman
Coker College Art Dept
300 East College Av
Hartsville SC 29550.

Full prospectus here

Olympian ending

We learned loads about the beautiful, talented people of China during these Olympics, and perhaps even more about its cheating, lying, oppressive government. The more the Chicoms tried to appear as another ordinary government, the more their decaying Communist yoke showed.

So to close out the Olympics:

"Birds Nest, in the Style of Cubism," a painting by Zhang Hongtu, is now at the Lin & Keng Gallery in Taipei, awaiting shipment back to New York.

The ashen-brown picture shows the gleaming new Olympic stadium, designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, as Piranesi might have imagined it and Picasso painted it -- as a decaying ruin rendered in fragmented angled forms. On the canvas, cubist-style, are inscriptions in English letters and Chinese characters: "Tibet," "human right" and the Olympic motto, "one world, one dream."

The painting was supposed to be in Beijing during the Olympic Games, in the exhibition "Go Game, Beijing!" organized by a Berlin marketing firm and displayed at the German Embassy. But it was seized by Customs on arrival and denied entry as "unacceptable" for its color, its depiction of the stadium, and its inscriptions.

Read the WSJ story here.

NIH Darwin Day call for art entries

Deadline: September 19, 2008

February 12, 2009, marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th year since his seminal work, “On the Origin of Species,” was published. To recognize Darwin’s scientific accomplishments, including his observations on plant and animal life, NIH is planning a variety of activities, such as a lecture series, film screenings, and theater performances.

From November 2008 through February 2009, the Clinical Center’s artistic gallery spaces will display photographs of the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin visited. NIH employees and patients, as well as photographers from the community, may submit their photos for consideration by September 19, 2008. Artists will be notified within two weeks if their work is selected. Contact Crystal Parmele or Lillian Fitzgerald at 301-402-0115 with questions or submissions.