Viva Chile in Philly

Later today Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will make a proclamation naming this week in November the “Viva Chile in Philadelphia!” week for Philadelphia.

He will be joined by Chilean Ambassador Mariano Fernandez who will honor Hizzoner with the Orden de Bernardo O’Higgins, Grado Comendador, Chile’s highest commendation for non-Chilean citizens. The award, which is approved by the President of Chile, is the first such commendation from Chile a Philadelphia Mayor has ever received. Bernardo O'Higgins was the son of an Irish-born Spanish colonial administrator in Chile (figure that one out) and he rose from obscurity to become the Hero of the Wars of Independence from Spain. His father, Ambrosio O'Higgins, Marquis of Osorno, was a Spanish officer born in County Sligo in Ireland, who later became governor of Chile and later viceroy of Peru. Because Spanish government officials in the Americas were forbidden to marry locals, and Bernardo's mother was a Chilean creole, Chile's independence hero was born as an illegitimate son, and yet rose to lead the new nation's asskicking of Spanish rulers.

Philadelphia will then open its cultural arms to embrace Chilean culture as the city celebrates the sights, sounds and flavors of Chile in a series of events called Viva Chile in Philadelphia.

This set of events will offer performances of Chilean musicians, an exhibition of Chilean Art from the 1960s, a celebration of Chile’s gastronomy, tastings of Chilean wine, a film festival, seminars, talks and much more.

Events take place November 13-21, 2008 and details are here. Most events are free and open to the public.

Viva Chile everywhere!

New DC gallery

LUMAS has 14 galleries around the world and they represent over 120 contemporary photographers and classic estates. Their Grand Opening reception and "Foto Week DC Blowout" in their brand new 3500 square foot Georgetown space is Thursday, November 20, 2008 from6:00pm - 11:00pm.

Finding Equilibrium tomorrow in Alexandria

I'm hearing all kinds of good things about a really cool sculpture exhibit at Alexandria's Target Gallery by Tennessee artist Travis Graves.

I'm hearing it from people’s reactions when they get a glance from the hallway of the Torpedo Factory and see his work and it draws them right in to see if they can figure out just how he did that. His craftsmanship is impeccable and the unsettling feeling that he is trying to convey is quite successful.


At first glance it appears to be just logs that he has cleverly balanced or suspended in unlikely ways, but further inspection into the artist’s process leads to discovery of exceptional talent and craftsmanship. He is taking real logs and completely deconstructing and putting them back together again, bark and all, and visitors can’t even tell from the naked eye how he did it.

Graves is coming in from Tennessee for the reception and he will be providing a brief gallery talk about his process and message on Thursday, November 13 at 7pm.

Rosetta DeBerardinis Interview

Our own Rosetta DeBerardinis gets interviewed by Radar Magazine... see it below:

Driving criticism

Jay Busbee at Yahoo! Sports has a reoccurring thread about NASCAR fan consumption. Recently he reviewed one of DC area artist Andrew Wodzianski's 'Android' pieces, "Tony, I'll be there soon."

Jay's report, and his readers' comments, may be the funniest criticism that has ever been written. Read it here.

Tony, I'll be there soon, by Andrew Wodzianski

Insane

"A legal battle rages over the rights to works given away by a Mexican artist confined in US asylums...

A row has erupted over the legacy of one of the most celebrated exponents of "outsider art", more than 40 years after his death.

During his deeply troubled lifetime, Martín Ramírez's paintings were ignored by the art establishment. A poor Mexican immigrant to the United States, Ramírez painted in near obscurity for more than 30 years while incarcerated in Californian mental hospitals until his death in 1963.

But Ramírez's artistic reputation has undergone an extraordinary re-evaluation in the last few years, with his paintings now fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. Now a multi-million dollar legal battle has begun over the ownership of his paintings, hundreds of which he simply gave away in the hospital ward. An auction of 17 paintings at Sotheby's was recently halted when lawyers for the Ramírez family claimed them."

Read the story from the Guardian here.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: December 12, 2008.

The Athens Area Arts Council of Athens, Georgia, in partnership with the Athens Transit System and the Unified Government of Athens Clarke County, announces its second Art Bus Shelter Design Competition. This year's theme, Art Rocks! asks designers to pay artistic tribute to the musical talent of Athens. Eight bus shelters will be installed along two major arteries near downtown Athens. Winning designs will receive an award of $5,000 per shelter. Bus shelter fabrication, materials and shipping budget limited to $9,160 per shelter. This is a nationwide competition open to all artists, architects, students and designers. Deadline for submissions is December 12, 2008 (extended from November 30). Details are available on the Arts Council website at www.athensarts.org.