Tomorrow: Book Signing at BlackRock

There will be a book signing for my 100 Artists of Washington, DC book on February 16 from 6:30 - 8:30PM at the gorgeous BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland.

Bring your own book (buy it at Amazon here) or get a copy from me at the Center (it will be cheaper at Amazon).

Many of the artists in the book will be there, so this is also a good opportunity to get your copy signed by them as well.

I will also be giving a talk about how this book came to be, and the selection process (an update) for the next two volumes.

BlackRock Center for the Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD 20874

301.528.2260 (administrative offices)
301.528.2266 (fax)
info@blackrockcenter.org (e-mail)

See ya there!

February 14

OK, so it may be Valentine's Day today, but for us history buffs, in real history, in 1778 the United States flag is formally recognized for the very first time, in this case at sea by a foreign naval vessel, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by the legendary John Paul Jones.

That's the spectacular painting by Edward Moran depicting the moment.

Ichiuji on Tom Green


Details here.

Artists' Websites: Russ McIntosh

There are hardworking artists and then there's Russ McIntosh. If I told you that in the last year alone this talented digital artist has been included in over 20 exhibitions around the nation, you'd be as awed as I was when I discovered this fact.

Galadali by Russ McIntosh
Check out his amazing work here.

Fridaphiles of the DMV: Artisphere

Artisphere is the first and only venue in the United States of America to present Frida Kahlo: Her Photos - an exhibition of photographs about one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century.

Free public opening reception: Thu Feb 23 / 7-10pm.

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)’s extraordinary life and iconic biographical paintings have earned her international renown in the world of modern art. Upon Kahlo’s death in 1954, more than 6,500 personal photographs and items belonging to her and husband/artist Diego Rivera were sealed and put in storage. For more than half a century this great collection of personal memorabilia remained hidden from the public. In 2007 this collection was opened and Mexican photographer and curator Pablo Ortiz Monasterio inventoried and catalogued 259 images to create the Frida Kahlo: Her Photos exhibition.

These images reveal a little-known side of the artist and lifelong resident of Coyoacán, a Mexico City suburb and Arlington, Virginia's sister city. The collection of photographs in this exhibition reflect Kahlo’s tastes and interests, the experiences she shared with those close to her, and her complicated, but also thrilling, personal life. Viewers get an insider’s look, not only through who was behind the camera, in front of the lens or the anonymous nature of some of the work but also through the annotated writing found on the back of many of the photographs.

From family pictures and snapshots taken with lovers to images that reveal relationships with Russian Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky and American photographers Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, artist Georgia O’Keefe and actress Dolores del Rio, this exhibition provides a glimpse into Kahlo as never seen before.

Many of you know that I've done around 1,000 works of art (drawings, paintings, statues, videos, etc.) about Kahlo since I was hypnotized by her work almost 40 years ago, so... See ya there!

The ultimate toilet paper?

At least for Cubans!

Finally you can now make your Cuban or Cuban-American's dreams come true! Cuba's brutal dictator and for over 50 years the suffocater [[Verb] To stifle; to destroy; to extinguish; as, to suffocate] of the Cuban people, deserves to be in the mierda tanks of history.

Full roll of toilet paper with Fidel Castro's face on every sheet. Ideal for parties, reunions or for plain personal pleasure. Order more than one. The ideal gift for your Cuban friend.

Send me some... por favor!

Ave Frida Es Regina

So here is the next iteration of my marriage of drawing with embedded electronics. In this case my ubiquitous Frida with an embedded video player which gives the owner of this piece to choose between a Power Point presentation or a video of Kahlo.

Above is the drawing with the heart cut out of her bosom - note that Kahlo's heart is fanged - this was a woman who took a bite out of life.


And here is the electronic component which will be installed behind the drawing. In this frame it shows one of the multiple images which play by default when the machine is turned on.


Here's the drawing with the electronics playing the slide show through the heart window.


Here's a close up.


And in this close-up, the video of Kahlo is playing.

And below is the video: