Get ready for RSVP...

Bustin' Loose

D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' Executive Director, Lionell Thomas released the following statement on the passing of Go-Go music legend, Chuck Brown.

"The DC arts community mourns the passing of music icon, Chuck Brown. Chuck was a musical legend that helped shape the musical identity of this city. His music touched the lives of generations of Washingtonians, and he will forever be known as the Godfather of Go-Go. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace."

Europe's oldest rock art depicts a...

The oldest rock art ever found in Europe reveals an interest in the female form — and the type of décor that the first Europeans preferred for their living spaces.

The new discovery, uncovered at a site called Abri Castanet in France, consists mainly of circular carvings most likely meant to represent the vulva.

Read more: here.

Peter Plagens on Art and Age

As you get older, in the art world as elsewhere, you"re confronted with some choices about how to conduct yourself. You can, for instance, stay locked in the style you strutted when you were younger and hipperthat is, continuing to wear a ponytail and tight cowboy shirts with mother-of-pearl buttons long after you"ve gone bald on top and acquired a gut. Or you can try to keep up with today"s younger people by copying their fashions: Shave your head, wear small, expensive blue Italian sunglasses and a shiny suit over a black T-shirt and try to blend in with the 30something critics and curators. Or you can just give up altogether on trying to wax contemporaryand wear bow ties, tweed jackets with elbow patches, and take your proud place as a naysayer who thinks that this time the art world really has gone to hell in a hand basket.

I find myself thinking about this stuff lately because I"m now almost 70 an age I seem to have reached suddenly, and quite unjustly, overnight.

Read the whole thing here.

Are you from PG County and in Artomatic this year?

Let M-NCPPC's Department of Parks and Recreation know. They might buy your art.

M-NCPPC's Department of Parks and Recreation in Prince George's County continues to support the arts in their County - Read on: 

We are annoucing our intention to make significant purchases of artwork by Prince George's County artists at this year's Artomatic. Our County artists have long played an active, vital role in the regional art community, and have traditionally had a strong presence in Artomatic- the region's largest art festival. Through this art purchase program, it is our intention to highlight, showcase, and promote Prince George's artists, so that attention to their work is equal to their talent and impact on enriching the lives of our communities. It is also our intention to demonstrate the long-term benefit of supporting and showcasing Prince George's artists by using these purchases to build our collection of County artists' work and to display their artworks in our public facilities.  

What can you do to have your artwork considered?  

First, you must be 18 years of age or older and live, work, study, or maintain your art studio in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Second, you have to let us know who you are and where your space is within Artomatic. Call the Brentwood Arts Exchange, at (301) 277-2863 or email Phil Davis, Acting Director of the Brentwood Arts Exchange, at phil.davis@pgparks.com. Make sure you let us know why you qualify as a Prince George's artist (live here, work here, etc.). Make sure you give is your contact info so we can get in touch if your artwork is selected.

Third, we will provide you with a small, yet easily visible, label that declares you a "Prince George's Artist." Put the label up in your space so it's easy for us to see throughout the duration of Artomatic as we make purchases. Identifying yourself as Prince George's artist during Artomatic will not only help us find your artwork, but also builds solidarity among County artists and reaffirms the County's reputation as a creative community and source of exceptional artistic talent.

Glass Doors

The Washington Glass Studio (WGS) has started the creation of the new cast sculptural glass doors for the Library of Congress (LOC) in Washington, DC. The design of the project started in 2004, when the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) first asked WGS about advise on their initial proposal to replace the original historic bronze door.

Details here.

New Art Scammer: Rip Off Alert!

 If you are in the WPA Artfile, expect to hear from this scam artist...

From: michealjohn218@yahoo.com

Date: May 14, 2012 7:07:57 AM EDT

Subject: ArtFile Online: enquiry to buy

**This following message was sent to you by a person who found your artwork on Washington Project for the Arts's  ArtFile Online website. artfile.wpadc.org Please report any problems or concerns regarding this email to
artfile@wpadc.org

Hello am micheal and am interested in one of your paintings, i just want to buy it for one of my daughter because she loves art paintings a lot, and i will like to pay you through cheque and i hope you dont mind beacause that,s the most preferable method for me and i hope you will be able to bear with me. Thanks