For TBT: One of my 1997 reviews on digital photography

The Digital Atelier: The Computer as Fine Art
by
F. Lennox Campello

Originally published in Dimensions magazine - 1997.

When photography first attempted to enter the world of fine art, the museums and arts intelligentsia alike rudely rejected it, but it was accepted by the public.

Today, the computer is attempting to enter the sterile white walls of the Washington power galleries and museums, but unlike photography, it seems to be allied with the insiders in the world of art, who seem enamoured with the digital world of art.

 "Exhibiting the Digital Atelier: Prints by Unique Editions and Participating Artists," is a powerful groundbreaking exhibition at George Washington University Dimock Gallery, curated by Mary Ann Kearns.

So far, digital (in Washington circles) usually means Iris prints, and owners of these pricey printers, such as Chris Foley and David Adamson, have made quite an impact upon the local art scene by the creation of huge, beautiful Iris prints from standard photographic images. Controversy, caused by lack of data on conservation standards and misinformation, heavily cloud the image (pun intended) of Iris prints, yet photographers like Amy Lamb and Susan Rubin have delivered, huge beautiful works which make us gasp at the beautiful, ethereal, marriage of photography and technology.

This exhibition attempts to push the digital envelope. It focuses on the marriage of software, hardware and creativity: the pencil neck geek meets the angst-ridden, socially conscious artist! 

The show's primary focus is a collaboration of five artists: Helen Golden, Bonny Lhotka, Judith Moncrieff, Dorothy Simpson Krause and Karin Schminke. They translate their printmaking, photographic and painting skills to the digital world to deliver "fine art in limited editions." In addition to these five artists, several other local artists were chosen from a digital workshop held during the summer at the National Museum of American Art. These artists are Cynthia Alderdice, Danny Conant, Andras Nagy, Linda Mott-Smith, Howard Bagley, Grace Taylor, Patrick Lichty and Lynn Putney.

And it is two photographers among this last group, Danny Conant and Grace Taylor, who steal the show! Conant's mastery of photography is as well known as are her beautiful infrared nudes or fragile Polaroid transfers - she is able to transfer her immense photographic abilities, as does Taylor, to this new media in an effective, creative way. This, unfortunately, makes many of the other images in the exhibition look like fancy web pages.

I must be honest, I had mixed feelings about the exhibition, and perhaps my opinion is clouded by my own background (I have degrees in Fine Art and also in Computer Science).  Another perhaps is that I am essentially prejudiced in attempting to see creative beauty in the color of a pixel as painted by a bubble jet printer or a laser printer or an Iris printer, as compared to the beauty of a Van Gogh brushstroke, or an Escher etching or the crisp white of a cloud in an Ansel Adams print.

It is nonetheless a seminal exhibition in its field, and I recommend it! The show hangs December 11, 1997- January 30, 1998 at the Dimock Gallery of GWU, 21st and H Streets, NW in Washington (202) 994-1525.

Come to this on Friday

Thank You Artist Friends on Facebook

by Akemi Maegawa

March 13 - June 21

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ARTS CENTER

2438 EIGHTEENTH STREET NW WASHINGTON, DC 20009 • 202.462.7833 EMAIL: INFO@DCARTSCENTER.ORG
Opening Reception: Friday, March 13, 7-9 pm
Gallery Talk: Sunday, June 21, 5 pm 

"Majority of my Facebook friends are artists and art related people whom I have met before or artists whom I would love to meet in person one day. Facebook has become a virtual art salon to me. Of course I would prefer to meet friends and discuss things face to face but everyone's busy schedule and different location (many of them are international friends) won't allow us to meet face to face easily.

Because of the Facebook I feel so close to far away friends and family as getting everyday information is so easy. We can discuss our concerns or social issues anytime and pass around important news instantaneously. It is the biggest power of social media and I think artists are playing an important part in supporting our freedom of speech and expression through social media like Facebook.  

My “Thank You Artist Friends on Facebook Project” allowed me to look closer at each of my artist friends. This project made me think about our crazy everyday life and let me take a longer time to reflect and question how we process any single image from the Internet.

I decided to reproduce a small profile picture of each of my artist friends on a small ceramic tile to be able to feel his or her presence real and make the moment permanently frozen in time. I was hoping that those portraits, being the physical images on tiles, would remain to be “real” despite being shared only virtually with friends. I had looked thoroughly at each of my artist friend profile picture on my cell phone and when I finished making a tile portrait I got a feeling that each time I learned something new about this person.  

I had made porcelain tiles and sketched/etched each artist profile picture directly on them. There was no eraser or pre-sketch practice tiles. I prepared only one tile for each friend and used only a needle tool to make each sketch. I had really stayed focus and be careful not to damage their "face" which they chose to share with public on Facebook. As an artist and an art supporter, I tried my best to focus- during etching of each artist portrait- on our time together and concentrating my thoughts on the person and how to show my appreciation and respect for each of them. I am very happy to have a chance to show those portraits at the exhibition and share my admiration to their persistence and achievements. I plan to keep adding the tiles as I make new artist friends on Facebook."

                      - Akemi Maegawa, February 4th, 2015

Maximizing Your Success As An Artist

Tonight, myself, Michael Janis and Tim Tate will lead a discussion at the Washington Glass School entitled "Maximizing Your Success As An Artist."  

There is no magic formula for artistic success, but in this interactive night of discussion, come pick the brains of three very successful artists for tips and hints on how to move your art forward. How to find galleries, manage social media, choose art fairs, etc. We will try to help all who show up. Free to all.

Time:         7pm to 9pm
Tuition:      Free (RSVP to erwin@washglass.com)
 

3700 Otis Street
Mt. Rainier, MD 20712
202-744-8222 erwin@washglass.com

Alchemical Vessels 2015

Alchemical Vessels 2015

March 27 - May 22, 2015

Opening Reception: Friday, March 27 | 7-9pm

Benefit: Friday, May 1 (By Contribution Only)

 

Make your contribution starting on Tuesday, March 10th at 10am!

 

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is happy to announce the return of the Alchemical Vessels Exhibition and Benefit in 2015! This year's exhibition will run from March 27 - May 22, 2015, with the special by-contribution-only Benefit on Friday, May 1st, where everyone who makes a $150 Benefit-Vessel contribution (beginning Tuesday, March 10th at 10am) can select one of the works in the exhibition to add to their collection! The vessels are selected in the order contributions were made, so the earlier you make a contribution, the earlier you can select your work of art!

 

This year's exhibition and benefit features works from over 100 new artists hand-selected by 20 prominent curators. See below for a list of this year's incredible line-up of artists & our invited curators, and visit www.smithcenter.org/benefit to learn more and make your contribution beginning 10am on Tuesday, March 10th!

Artists:
David Alfuth, Beth Baldwin, Rhoda Baer, Emily Biondo, Ed Bisese, Julia Bloom, Raya Bodnarchuk, Joseph Bradley, Judy Byron, Lenny Campello, Jessica Cebra, Mei Mei Chang, Hsin-Hsi Chen, Patterson Clark, Billy Colbert, Susan Cole, Paula Crawford, Michael Crossett, Sarah Dale, Catherine Day, JD Deardourff, Jennifer DePalma, Robert Devers, Jessica Drenk, Patricia Dubroof, Pam Eichner, Dana Ellyn, Margo Elsayd, Susan Finsen & Michael Holt, Sharon Fishel, Kathryn Freeman, Marcia Fry, Adrienne Gaither, Michael Gessner, Carol Brown Goldberg, Pat Goslee, Matthew Grimes, Andrea Haffner, Courtney Hengerer, Jeff Herrity, Maurice "Mo" Higgs, Ryan Hill, Joseph Hoffman, Jeff Huntington, David Ibata, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Njena Surae Jarvis, Rose Jaffe, Mike Johnson, Mariah Anne Johnson, Wayson Jones, Maria Karametou, Sally Kauffman, Elizabeth Kendall, Joanne Kent, Hana Kim, Micheline Klagsbrun , Kitty Klaidman, PD Klein, George Koch, Yar Koporulin, Peter Krsko, Bridget Sue Lambert, Maria Lanas, Toni Lane, Khanh Le, Jun Lee, Kyujin Lee, Nate Lewis, Mimi Logothetis, Steve Loya, Akemi Maegawa, Alex Mayer, Donna M. McCullough, Kathryn McDonnell, Maggie Michael, Vanessa Monroe, E.J. Montgomery, Lucinda Murphy, Ziad Nagy, Leslie Nolan, Frederick Nunley, Cory Oberndorfer, John Paradiso, Elena Patiño, Miguel Perez Lem, Brian Petro, Thomas Petzwinkler, Jeneen Piccuirro, Michael B. Platt & Carol A. Beane, Pattie Porter Firestone, Tom Raneses, Red Dirt Studios, Ellington Robinson, Carolyn Roth, Bonner Sale, Jean Sausele Knodt, Matt Sesow, Foon Sham, Janathel Shaw, Lillian Shaw, Bernardo Siles, Steve Skowron, Jeffrey Smith, Anna Soevik, Langley Spurlock, Stan Squirewell, Rebecca Stone Gordon, Lynn Sures, Tang, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Valerie Theberge, Michael Torra, Kelly Towles, Dan Treado, Ruth Trevarrow, Tariq Tucker, Pamela Viola, Ellyn Weiss, Lee Wheeler, Catherine White, Sharon Wolpoff, Sue Wrbican, and Jenny Wu

 

Curators:
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist & Independent Curator | Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking; Board Member, District of Columbia Arts Center & Millenium Arts Salon | Chuck Baxter, Artist | Robert Devers, Professor of Fine Arts and Ceramics, Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, George Washington University | Thomas Drymon, Curator, doris-mae | Charlie Gaynor, Realtor and Photographer, member of the Mid City Artists | Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Lecturer in Art History, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution | George Hemphill, Gallery Director, Hemphill | Francie Hester, Visual Artist | Don Kimes, Professor, Director Studio Art Program, American University Department of Art; Artistic Director, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution | Zofie Lang, Artist | Mary Liniger, Executive Director, Art Enables | Akemi Maegawa, Artist | Jayme McLellan, Director & Founder, Civilian Art Projects | Twig Murray, Gallery Director, Athenaeum Gallery | Victoria Reis, Co-Founder, Executive & Artistic Director, Transformer | Nancy Sausser, Curator and Exhibitions Director, McLean Project for the Arts | Andy Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets | Stan Squirewell, Artist

More on visiting Cuba

... But most people, I gather, think that O’Brien’s trip to Cuba was really cool.

These visitors are like Sergeant Schultz from Hogan’s Heroes: “I see nothing” — beyond the pretty girls, the classic old cars, the swaying palm trees, etc.

Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, was just in Cuba. She met with no dissidents, of course. While she was there, more than 100 were arrested, for such crimes as trying to attend church. The American said nothing.

She did, however, post pictures of old cars to the Internet. Isn’t that cute? There have long been political pilgrims to totalitarian countries. Paul Hollander has devoted a good part of his career to chronicling them.

There have been plain old ignoramuses, too.

As he crossed from Poland into the Soviet Union, George Bernard Shaw threw his food tins out the train window, because there would be no need of them in the land of milk and honey.

He denied that there was famine in the Soviet Union, because there was plenty of food in his hotel — the Moscow Metropol, which was for foreigners only. They have that kind of hotel in Cuba, too.

John Kenneth Galbraith went to Communist China during the Cultural Revolution, when millions were being starved, tortured, humiliated, and killed. He came back with a criticism: The Chinese smoked too many cigarettes.

In my observation, most Cubans and Cuban Americans bear no great grudge against visitors — as long as they show some moral awareness. As long as they have a smidgeon of conscience.

Conan O’Brien was able to flit down there and then flit back home. Does he realize what happens to ordinary Cubans if they try to leave the island? Does he realize that they have been shot and killed in the water, as they desperately try to escape?

I sometimes wish that people in free countries could be sentenced to live in unfree ones — just for a while — in order to appreciate what other people have to endure, and what they themselves have to be grateful for.

 Read the whole article  by Jay Nordlinger here.

Conan, traveling to Cuba and being apolitical

"You can’t go to Cuba and be apolitical. Traveling there is a political act alone. The brands [Conan O'Brien] joked about at the grocery store were all companies that were appropriated by the Cuban government. That cigar factory he visited was taken from a Cuban family of cigar makers. Cubans cannot afford to eat at paladares because the average Cuban only makes $20 a month, creating an unofficial tourist apartheid where foreigners enjoy Cuba while Cubans endure the regime. The “ruins” that took Conan’s breath away are dilapidated buildings that thousands of people have to live in because they are not free to move out of them without government permission."

-- Carmen Pelaez, Cuban-American filmmaker, "Conan’s TV Show Avoided Politics, But For Cubans It’s Not That Easy," Remezcla, 3/6/14

Beirut 1983

The more things change the more they stay the same... Check out this cartoon about Lebanon that I did for the Stars and Stripes back in 1983 when our Marines were in Beirut as part of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force...