Blake Gopnik on Twitter: Did I call it or what?

Questioningly quasidentified by a less than reputable blog which never errs, art bloggers jumped all over the Twittering "Blake Gopnik" in the last few days.

When I first looked at it, it smelled fishy to me right away; and did I call it or what?

I was right! It wasn't Blake Gopnik!

I know Gopnik, and even though I seldom agree with his art viewpoints, sometimes question his art history training, and often vociferously criticize his apathy towards his own hometown artists and art galleries, I do respect him as a person and recognize his intellect and agenda.

The Twitter "Gopnik" falsehood was clear to the most casual observer, but only if you read Gopnik without a prejudiced eye and only if one takes the time to examine the silly Twitterings attributed to a very serious and composed and erudite person.

The good bloggers have already apologized, while the one who's never wrong, just shrugged it off... never mind past lecturing on "confirm before publishing."

That's the difference between a good journalist and someone who's not. When one fucks up, like we all do and like I have done many times in my life, one apologizes. It took me a long time to learn this. Regina and I have age and experience on our side.

To the fake Twitter Gopnik: what you have done has broken the law, and I'm about to loosen Carnivore on your ass; this should be fun.

Georgetown opening this Friday

The galleries at 1054 32st Street, NW in Georgetown in DC will have their usual third Friday openings this March 20, from 6-8PM.

Over at Cross MacKenzie, "Microworlds" looks really interesting. This is an exhibition of ceramic sculpture by renowned Canadian sculptor Neil Forrest paired with photographs by Johns Hopkins University Scientists, Norman Barker & Giraud Foster.

"These artists explore worlds unseen by the naked eye and through their original techniques create intricate representations of these invisible realms."

In the forward of the accompanying book, "Ancient Microworlds," Francis M. Hueber, Curator of Paleobotany at the Smithsonian says, "On film, they have captured the wondrous images they have encountered, presenting their exquisite photographs as stimulants for our own imaginations."

Wanna go to a Philly opening tomorrow?


Grand Opening of Temple Gallery and reception for their MFA Thesis Exhibitions Series, Thursday, March 19, 2008, 6 - 8 PM.

Temple University's Tyler School of Art will host a series of solo Masters of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions, occurring weekly from March 18 to May 9, 2009. The thesis exhibitions are the culmination of each student's two-year career at Tyler and represent, for many, their first professional one-person exhibition. The series includes students from all Tyler departments and an array of media: painting, sculpture, glass, printmaking, metals, graphic design, fibers, photography, ceramics, and more.

Regina Hackett

When I was at art school in Seattle, we used to call the Seattle Post Intelligencer by another name: The Seattle Past Intelligence. It was the arrogance of children, of course. In fact in 1980 or 1981, a whole bunch of us got together and put together a spoof edition of the paper, which we sold on the streets of Seattle. My contribution was a cartoon take-off on Doonesbury, where one of the characters got a cartoon blow job.

That great Seattle newspaper bit the dust after 146 years and is no longer. The PI's loss releases the terrific Regina Hackett to continue her super blogging activities at Another Bouncing Ball.

Visit her often!

Come Again?

By entering, all entrants accept and agree to abide by and be bound by these official rules and the judge's decisions relating to this contest. Artwork entered must be accompanied by an official entry form, signed and dated by the artist and if under legal age, by the parent/guardian on behalf of, the child, and his/her heirs. By signing, all rights of origin and personal property are released to Enclave Silver Spring, Riverstone Management or Stellar Management (“Sponsor”) and its affiliates. Entries and other written correspondence become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned (my italics).

Discussion on this "become the property..." issue at artdc.org.

Copyright Infringement?

Cthulhu knows that I'm as guilty as any artist of "borrowing" more than my shares of images in the creation of art, or even this blog, in the early lawless days of the Internets.

But Bailey thinks that WaPo's Chief Art Critic Blake Gopnik's Twitter site has a case of the copyright infringement blues... Read Bailey here.

I don't know why, and I haven't asked Blake, but I get a nagging feeling that the Blake Gopnik Twitter site may be a spoof of sorts and not Blake's at all. Maybe I'm all wrong, but something doesn't "feel right" about some of the stuff that "Blake" writes in the site.

Any comments?

Jury Duty

Deadline: March 27, 2009 (postmark).

I'm going to be jurying an art show for The Fine Arts League of Cary in North Carolina, and they are seeking entries for its 15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition to be held from May 8th to June 27th, 2009 in Cary/Raleigh, NC. Show awards and purchase awards will total over $5,000. Entries can only be mailed via CD. The postmark deadline for the mail-in registration is March 27, 2009.

Full details and a printable prospectus are available on the web here or call Kathryn Cook at 919-345-0681.