How Collectors Use Instagram to Buy Art

According to a recent survey of collectors on Instagram, an incredible 51.5% have purchased works from artists they originally discovered through Instagram. More importantly, this discovery led to an average of 5 purchased works by artists originally found on the app! Although respondents are all active on Instagram, and nearly half have collections of 100+ works, these are significant findings. Collector and social media expert Karen Robinovitz (@karenrobinovitz) commented, “Collecting art is an addiction and Instagram is the dealer and pusher that enables it.” 

Is Facebook’s image sharing platform (valued at $35 billion) the next big sales channel for fine art?

Read the fascinating article by Elena Soboleva here.

He bet his fiddle of gold...

"The Devil... after he came back from Georgia"
Charcoal, conte on unfired Bisque
5x6x3 inches, c. 2017

This piece will be at my forthcoming show "The Obsessions of F. Lennox Campello" which opens June 2nd at Artists and Makers Studios in Rockville and located at 12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville - reception is from 6-9PM.


It is inspired by Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

The Devil went down to Georgia,
He was looking for a soul to steal
He was in a bind, 'cause he was way behind,
He was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man
Sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot
And the Devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said,
"Boy let me tell you what:
I guess you didn´t know it, but I'm a fiddle player too,
And if you'd care to take a dare,
I'll make a bet with you
Now you play a pretty good fiddle,
Boy, but give the Devil his due
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
'Cause I think I'm better than you"
The boy said, "My name's Johnny and it might be a sin,
But I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret,
'Cause I'm the best there's ever been"
Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard,
'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards
And if you win you'll get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you lose, the Devil gets your soul!
The Devil opened up his case and he said, "I'll start this show"
And fire blew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow
And he pulled the bow across the strings and it made an evil hiss
Then a band of demons joined in,
And it sounded something like this
When the Devil finished, Johnny said,
"Well you're pretty good old son
But sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it's done!"
Fire on the Mountain, run, boys, run
The Devil´s in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the bread pan a picking out dough,
Granny does your dog bite, "No, child, no"
The Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny´s feet
Johnny said, "Devil, just come on back
If you ever want to try again,
I done told you once, you son of a bitch,
I'm the best there´s ever been"
He played,
Fire on the Mountain, run, boys, run
The Devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the breadpan a picking out dough,
Granny will your dog bite, "No, child, no"

Gallery B call for applications

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and Bethesda Urban Partnership are accepting applications for a Gallery B November 2017 exhibition! The exhibition will run from November 8 - December 2.

Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda, is a non-profit art space managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership and the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District.

We heavily market Gallery B through press releases to local media, weekly emails to our listserv of 10,000 contacts, listings in our bi-monthly Events Calendar to 30,000 households, numerous social media posts, advertisements, postcards, and more. Although we ask for a rental fee ($300-$400 per person, depending on how many artists are in the group), the gallery does not take a commission on any work that is sold. 

To be considered for the group exhibition, please email five images of work to artist@bethesda.org by June 1.

 

Questions?  Please send an email to artist@bethesda.org.

Apply Now - 2018 Maryland Individual Artist Award

Each year, the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) recognizes outstanding artistic achievement through the Individual Artist Awards (IAA) program. Grants of $1,000-$6,000 honor the unique contributions of Maryland artists to the state's creative economy and help support artists to advance their craft. 

The 2018 IAA application is now open to Maryland artists in the following categories: 

• Non-Classical Music: Composition
• Non-Classical Music: Solo Performance
• Playwriting
• Visual Arts: Crafts
• Visual Arts: Photography

MSAC partners with Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) to administer the IAA program.

Applicants can access IAA guidelines, application, and application assistance resources by scrolling down to the "Maryland" section here on MAAF's website. 

The deadline for 2018 applications is

Friday, July 21, 2017 at 4:30 pm EST

 

All applications must be submitted online.

MSAC and MAAF will offer two webinars to guide IAA applicants through the application process. Advance registration is required. 

Monday, May 22, 2017, 1:00-2:30 PM - Register here

Saturday, July 8, 2017, 10:00-11:30 AM - Register here

Good luck! (I've applied like a million times and never been a winner - but will continue to try!)

Eric Hope on Paula Ballo Dailey

Confronting our own mortality is an emotionally fraught process few among us would willingly embrace. It demands honesty in the face of fear and acceptance at our loss of control. Artists in particular, if they so choose, face the added complexity of summarizing this tidal wave of emotions into visual form.  If you knew your next gallery show was your last, what would you display? For Paula Ballo Dailey, the answer was simple—turn your pains, hopes and daydreams into intricate visual narratives that give voice to your core values and personal aspirations.

Read this excellent review by Eric Hope here.

JFK at the NPG

Today the National Portrait Gallery will install a pastel portrait of President John F. Kennedy by Shirley Seltzer Cooper in honor of the centennial celebration of his birth.

 

The Portrait Gallery joins the nationwide celebration of the life and legacy of President Kennedy on the centennial of his birth, illuminating his contributions, policies and challenges he feared in the wake of the civil rights era and present. Kennedy’s portrait will be on view from May 19 through July 9 in the museum’s “Celebrate” space in the first-floor north gallery.

Lida Moser photos acquired by the NPG

The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC just acquired four more photos by the amazing Lida Moser (may she rest in peace). Lida's work is already in the collection of the NPG as well as the National Portrait Galleries of Britain, Canada and Scotland! We miss her and love her and are honored to run her estate.

They've acquired these photos:

• Judy Collins, gelatin silver print, 1961
• Charles Mingus, gelatin silver print, 1965
• Nell Blaine, gelatin silver print, 1968
• Aaron Siskind, gelatin silver print, 1949

 Lida once told me the story of how she photographed Siskind... apparently they were all in Central Park in New York to photograph a zoo or carousel that was being built, and Lida got more interested in Siskind's gestures as he prepared to frame his photographs, and started shooting him, instead of the assignment!

Look at the photo and see the clear and empty surroundings around Siskind, the mud, the water, the stream??? Does anyone know where in Central Park that would have been in 1949?

By the way, that photo is in the permanent collection of many museums, including 3-4 "local" museums here in the DMV. 

One day I will tell the story of the Judy Collins shoot... or even better, the Charlie Mingus shoot.

Aaron Siskind by Lida Moser, circa 1949