It took 32 years to sell this painting...

When I was an art student at the University of Washington School of Art in the world's greenest city, the beautiful Seattle in the other Washington, one of the classes that we had was to create works in the style of "masters."

Back then I was in the ecstasy of having just discovered the works of Frida Kahlo, and being the talented antagonist that I am, I delighted in working the now iconic visage into as many art school assignments as I could.

This drove a lot of my art school professors batty, as control is always part of being a professor of anything, even though in art (at least back then) it was all about about freedom of doing whatever you wanted.

One week, the assignment was to paint a canvas in the style of Jackson Pollock, which as most art hacks now, can essentially be done with you eyes closed in zip time.

I delivered a four foot by four foot square canvas which delighted the Prof. -- him and I having had a few discussions about "following directions..." -- There was no Kahlo visage in sight! No eyebrows anywhere in the dripping of colors.

I got an A for the class.

Here's the painting below... it's actually a mediocre Pollock, but a brilliant drip painting in the style of the guy who was teaching the class and who was a drip painter... cough, cough; but there's more to the story.

Frida Kahlo in a Jackson Pollock Universe
F. Lennox Campello, oil on canvas, 4 ft x 4 ft, circa 1981

Dude should have been suspicious of the title... heh, heh... but usually people want to see what they want to see...

And below is an image of the painting once the hidden flap in the center is removed...

And here's what's in the middle, under a most clever flap...

When I (of course) showed the hack (after grades had been recorded) the "real" work... he was furious at first... and then he laughed and congratulated me on my assholishness...

That painting has had a long and very cool provenance... it was exhibited back then at the University of Washington, and decades later at the Fraser Gallery show Passion for Frida: 27 Years of Frida Kahlo exhibition that got loads of coverage (for the DMV anyway), with a nice review in the Washington Times and a profile on the Washington City Paper.

After that it was everywhere! Santa Fe, New York, Miami...

And then, out of the blue (well... not really) ... it's now heading to a major art collector in Bryn Mawr, PA.

It took Frida and Jackson's marriage 32 years to find a home... but a home they have found!

Saltz on the Death of the Gallery Show

"Art doesn’t have to be shown in New York to be validated. That requirement is long gone..."

 Read the whole article here.

Jobs in the Arts

Various job opportunities at the Guggenheim Museum: NYC, USA.Deadline: asap.
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/about/jobs/full-time
Current available positions at The Museum of Modern Art, MOMA NYC: NYC, USA.Deadline: asap.
http://www.moma.org/about/jobs

Current available positions at The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC. USA.Deadline: asap.
http://whitney.org/About/JobPostings

Civilian Art Projects' director Jayme McLellan has been working with the Embassy of The Kingdom of Spain to help promote the LATINO/US Cotidiano exhibition. They've worked hard to produce the show, and props to Bridget Sue Lambert who printed all of the photographs. Opening details at the bottom.

'LATINO/US Cotidiano'

A national traveling exhibition and photobook visualizing the U.S. Latino experience today through 12 of the most talented photographic voices working internationally.

SPAIN arts & culture is pleased to present a national traveling exhibition and book, LATINO/US Cotidiano. Literally meaning "everyday life," Cotidiano is a dynamic look at the rapidly changing nature of the Latino experience in America.

The Hispanic population in the U.S. has reached the 50 million mark, making the Latino community the largest minority in the country for the first time. One out of every six Americans is now of Hispanic origin, an impressive social transformation with enormous political, economic, and cultural consequences. Outdated stereotypes, racial profiles, and past cultural archetypes no longer accurately reflect a nation enriched by a growing and diverse population. But what does it look like today?

To better understand this culturally shifting phenomenon, SPAIN arts & culture commissioned Claudi Carreras, one of the foremost experts on IberoAmerican Latino photography, to research and gather the strongest photographic voices working today on issues of Latino identity. For LATINO/US Cotidiano, Carreras selected established and emerging photographers of Latino descent who embrace the theme and also excel at their craft: Carlos Alvárez Montero, Sol Aramendi, Katrina Marcelle d'Autremont, Calé, Ricardo Cases, Livia Corona, Héctor Mata, Karen Miranda, Dulce Pinzón, Susana Raab, Stefan Ruiz, and Gihan Tubbeh.

Join us also for a book presentation, Q&A and signing on April 3, 2013 at 6 pm at the National Portrait Gallery with Associate Curator of Photographs Frank Goodyear, LATINO/US Cotidiano curator Claudi Carreras, and photographers Ricardo Cases and Susana Raab, moderated by Carlos Tapia, Professor at American University. 

WHEN

Opening Preview April 4, 2013 @ 6:30-8:30 pm  Exhibition on view April 4-May 12, 2013 Wed-Fri: 5-8 pm Sat: 11 am - 8 pm Sun: 11 am - 6 pm

WHERE

Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain

2801 16th St NW

Washington, D.C. 20009

Map it

+ INFO

This event on spainculture.us

RSVP

RSVP required for the Opening Preview:contact@spainculture.us Free and open to the public.

More bucks for DC public art

The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) has just announced a proposed $2.3 million increase to the city's public art budget in the most recent Capital Improvements Plan by Mayor Vincent C. Gray. The proposed budget increase, which will take effect in FY 2014, will allot a $5 million annual capital allocation for public art over the next six years.

The DCCAH administers public art in the District through its DC Creates! Public Art program. This program, which is funded by the city's Capital Budget purchases, commissions, and installs artworks for public sites throughout the District of Columbia, including parks, libraries, community centers, government offices, bridges and other public venues. The collection includes more than 100 permanently sited and integrated works and over 2,600 portable works in District Government offices.

"The mayor's $2.3 budget increase is a significant investment in making the District of Columbia a world-class arts and culture destination," said Lionell Thomas, Executive Director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. "Investing in the aesthetic qualities of this city provides for a improved quality of life, creates cultural attractions as well as develops a sense of place in our neighborhoods."

Sleepout at the Capitol Skyline Hotel

Pencil it in: April 20

DC's own WPA is hosting an art-filled, art-music-and-film-fueled sleep-out at the Morris Lapidus-designed Capitol Skyline Hotel!  

There will be installation art by Megan Blafas, embarrassing opportunities in karaoke with Jeremy Flick, and performances by the very cool Calder Brannock, Maida Withers' Dance Construction Company, chukwuma agubokwu, and the very fair and talented Kathryn Cornelius!

Get your tickets here !

When sailors drink...

Here's a puzzle that has confounded Sailors for decades... even the brightest among us.

You are on a Horse, galloping at a constant speed.

On your starboard side is a sharp drop off.

And on your port side is an Elephant traveling at the same speed as you.

Directly in front of you is a galloping Kangaroo and your horse is unable
to overtake it.

Behind you is a Lion running at the same speed as you and the Kangaroo.

What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

After years of research, the DoD has come up with the answer to this rather odd, but unusually common situation... been there and done that.... scroll down for the answer...






























Hey Squid!!! Get your drunk ass off the merry-go-round!