She had a great talent for jumping through hoops

"she had a great talent for jumping through hoops"

2014. Polymer clay, oil paint, found objects

27 x 6.5 x 22 inches by Elissa Farrow-Savos will be at (e)merge art fair this coming October.

Come early... Elissa sold 14 sculptures last year at (e)merge.

More on Jayme McLellan and the Corcoran

The whole issue of DMV area gallerist, former Corcoran instructor and arts activist Jayme McLellan and her dismissal from the Corcoran discussed here has become rather confusing and muddied by the Corcoran's response to my post; see that here.

Ms. Loar from the Corcoran has responded to my request for a comment on McLellan's dismissal/firing from the Corcoran in spite of Jayme's assigned class for the next semester being full. I am waiting for her permission to publish her email in DC Art News.

However, someone allegedly from the Corcoran has commented (twice with same comment) in the comments section of the initial post and those comments essentially replicate the same response that Ms. Loar has passed to me, and since they both include an email from McLellan to a Corcoran person, it is safe to follow logic and deduce that all three communications (the two duplicate comments and the email from Ms. Loar) come from Corcoran sources, since they all transmit the same information.

And the comments say:

Jayne McLellan has not been fired by the Corcoran.  She resigned from the faculty in 2012 and has not taught here since. (resignation below).  She was never offered a contract for 2014. 

From:civilianartprojects@gmail.com[mailto:civilianartprojects@gmail.com] 

On Behalf Of Jayme McLellan 

Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:16 PM 

To: Clare BrownSubject: resigning
Hi Clare, 

I'm going to resign from my adjunct spot at the Corcoran. I have simply lost faith in the leadership and cannot in good conscience continue teaching there.  

I can try to help you find a replacement. 

Best, Jayme 

Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this situation. - The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Corcoran College of Art + Design

 As I noted in my own comment in response to this information, and what makes this all very confusing, then why is McLellan listed as instructor for a Corcoran class - a full class - that is scheduled to begin in two weeks?

I asked Jayme, and she acknowledged that she had indeed resigned from the Corcoran in 2012, but then she also showed me multiple emails from the Corcoran offering her an opportunity to teach the class in 2014, including multiple emails that went not just to Jayme, but also to the entire Corcoran set of instructors... so there are multiple witness to the veracity of the offer.

Jayme writes:

While it is true that I gave up my classes in 2012, reluctantly, because leadership were trying to sell the building and ruin the institution, it is not true that I wasn't slated to teach starting in just a few weeks. I agreed in April to come back to teach one class and because I left two years ago to try to save the Corcoran, and have worked every day of that two years to try to change leadership, I had the hope that leadership would indeed be changing. I still have that hope.

I have asked Ms. Loar to clarify this evolving confusion, but there appear to be these facts:

1.  McLellan resigned in 2012
2. Corcoran offered McLellan the job to teach a class in 2014 - There is a multiple email trail of this fact.
3. Corcoran website listed the class and listed McLellan as the instructor
4. Corcoran claims in emails and comments that McLellan was never offered a contract for 2014
5. I am very confused by the Corcoran's claims and have asked them to clarify

'Elevator Chat' with MSAC Chair, Carol Trawick

An active leader in the Montgomery County arts and business communities for more than 30 years, Carole Trawick joined the Maryland State Arts Council in 2011. After serving as vice chair, Trawick became chair of the Council in July. We caught up with Carole and learned about her work with arts organizations through the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation, her early efforts to bring Arts & Entertainment (A&E) Districts to Maryland, and more.

Details here.

A brooding man

"A Brooding Man" is an original watercolor on 300 weight, Ph-balanced, acid free, white paper. It is signed and dated on the lower front margin and on verso. Circa 2014. The painting measures approx. 13 x 13 inches. The watercolor has been professionally float framed in a minimalist black wood frame. Come see it at the (e)merge art fair this coming October.

Corcoran fires Jayme McLellan

When Save the Corcoran formed in 2012, its aim was to keep the museum from selling its historic building. That ship has sailed, though, as the institution prepares to enter a partnership with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. The group, led by co-founder Jayme McLellan of Civilian Art Projects, has shifted its focus to what will come next for the Corcoran’s collection — and how they can preserve this piece of Washington history.

- Maura Judkis, April 19, 2014, Washington Post

In every facet of life or work, or in this case the visual arts, there are yappers, symbiots, hangers-on, grubs, and a tiny, tiny, microscopic number of doers.

Jayme McLellan of Civilian Art Projects, and an instructor at the Corcoran, is a doer. Not only has Jayme made Civilian one of the leading galleries in the DMV's cultural tapestry - all of that as a result of hard work, which is the only way that an independently owned, commercial fine arts gallery can survive in the DMV - but McLellan has been a leading voice and doer in the effort to find an alternative way to save the Corcoran, and also an instructor at the Corcoran, hired by the Chair of the Corc's Department of Fine Arts. Classes start in two weeks and she's listed as the instructor for the class, which by the way, is full.

Below is the class from the Corc's website:

2014 Fall FA01
FA4170/Lecture/A - Professional Practices for Fine Artists | Credits 3.00
No artist, however famous or successful, had a clear path to succeed from the beginning. Successful artists learn to maximize opportunities and resources available to them, navigating his or her way at every turn. There is not one single approach; a strategy with lots of planning and variables must be created and examined. Artists will develop a resume and artist statement, research and write grants, practice applying for residencies, and participate in information gathering sessions with art spaces. Led by the founder of two arts organizations, the instructor will create opportunities for students to meet gallery directors, curators and professional artists in DC, Baltimore, and New York. These meetings will provide substantive time to discuss practical issues and concerns that will add to a post-school plan. Writing and reading assignments will be two papers including writing a grant application and creating a personal post-college plan plus one exam. Completion of this course will result in a deeper understanding of the specific tools available to emerging artists and the nature of the art world in general. For BFA Fine Art majors only. Prerequisite: FA3091 Fine Art Studio IV.

Registration Type	Traditional
Fees	N/A
Instructors	Ms. Jayme McLellan
Duration	9/8/2014 - 12/15/2014
Schedule	Mon  3:15 PM - 6:00 PM;  Corcoran College, Downtown, Room 9-2
Prerequisites	FA3091 / Studio
Corequisites	N/A
Credit Types	Audit Credit
Class	12 Seats | 1 Remaining
	Open (Target Met)

Yesterday, Peggy Loar, Interim Director at the Corcoran fired McLellan from a full class that starts in two weeks.

I have sent Ms. Loar a note asking for the reason that McLellan was fired, and if she responds, I will publish it here. In the interim, the "appearance" of this firing, at least to me, smells and tastes like a retaliatory firing of an employee who dared to take a stance opposing the Corc's planned disintegration.

Here's what Ms. Loar wrote to the Corcoran community when she took over as Consulting/Interim Director:

 April 8, 2013

Dear Corcoran Community,

•     As I begin my tenure as consulting director, my goals are clear, ambitious, and achievable:
•     To begin immediately collaborating with the Corcoran team on the strategy and design of a strong programmatic partnership with the University of Maryland
•     To work closely with the Board and the broader Corcoran community on ideas for the creation of a hybrid and exciting new direction for the Corcoran
•     To step up our financial planning and fundraising—discussion and coordination with the Board of Trustees and the University of Maryland
•     To move expeditiously in our partnership with the National Gallery, particularly in regard to the first exhibition to be held at the Corcoran

While the Corcoran has had considerable experience in cross-pollinating the programs and talents within the College and the Gallery, we now have a whole new roster of colleagues to engage with us on structuring our creative agenda. We will inspire each other. I believe that the University of Maryland and the National Gallery of Art will be catalysts toward an inventive tripartite collaboration.

The Corcoran Board’s success in identifying and securing the University of Maryland as a partner—in accordance with the criteria the Board set—was in large part due to the confidentiality of the discussions. It’s a new time now, and transparency and dialogue will bring us all success.

I look forward to those conversations and to working collaboratively with the staff, faculty, and students of this vital and storied institution. Additionally, I hope that members, alumni, and the public will continue to take full advantage of our exhibitions and educational opportunities during this exciting time.

Sincerely,

Peggy

WaPo gets two new art reporters

Announcement from Liz Seymour, Washington Post's executive features editor, David Malitz and Mitch Rubin, deputy features editors, and Christine Ledbetter, arts editor:

We are thrilled to announce two terrific arts reporters are joining Features. Peggy McGlone of the Star-Ledger will cover the local arts beat and Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe will be our national arts reporter.

Peggy has covered a variety of news and features beats during her 27 years at the Star-Ledger. She created the arts beat, covering and (and uncovering) public art controversies, concert industry secrets and ethical lapses at the state arts council. Former Star-Ledger Editor Jim Willse described her as “one of my favorite people in any newsroom.” At the Post, she will be our point person on the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center and other cultural institutions. A lifelong Jersey girl and a Mets fan, Peggy graduated from Seton Hall University and has a PhD from the City University of New York. She is the mother of three and two of them are students at Loyola University in Baltimore. We don’t know if they are as happy as Peggy is to be moving closer to campus.

Geoff, a 12-year veteran of the Globe, has written about pop music, classical music, museums and just about every big cultural story to hit Boston. The Globe announced his departure by writing: “Smart, enterprising, energetic and resourceful, Geoff has simply excelled.” Prior to the Globe, he was a reporter at the Boston Phoenix and the Raleigh News and Observer, and freelanced for a variety of magazines including GQ, Details and Wired. He produced a full-length documentary about his personal mission to reunite the Kinks and was the host/writer on the Travel Channel series “Edge of America.” Geoff will have a broad reach to write about arts, entertainment and cultural issues across the nation. A Brookline, Mass. native, he graduated from Tufts University and lives in Concord, Mass. with his wife Carlene Hempel, a writer and full-time journalism teacher at Northeastern University, and their two children. Geoff will be based in Boston but will be appearing in the newsroom frequently.

I will ask Ms. Ledbetter if these two new writers will also cover the DMV's visual art galleries, augmenting Mark Jenkins' most excellent and refreshing coverage.

Georgetown's revival as a gallery hot spot

Mark Jenkins Friday article will cover a most excellent look at the revival of the Georgetown art scene... Read it here.

The number of Washington art galleries is decreasing both in longtime habitats — Dupont Circle, downtown — and such newer locales as Logan Circle and the Atlas District. While some seek and a few have found fresh locations in gentrifying districts, the area that’s experienced a significant growth spurt is one that was far artier a generation ago: Georgetown. ¶ There are currently eight galleries in the area known as Book Hill, just south of the neighborhood’s library, including three that arrived this summer: Cross MacKenzie Gallery, All We Art and Washington Printmakers Gallery. Next month, Artist’s Proof is scheduled to make it nine when it moves from Cady’s Alley, south of M Street, to Wisconsin & Q.