Wanna go to an art fair?

 Here's my March article in the Old Town Crier...

Wanna stay outside no matter what? Our area has some of the best outdoor art shows in the nation, and while nearly all of them were cancelled in 2020, they are all planning a comeback in 2021 – it is probably the best response to a Covidian model that demands being outside to see and buy art and for those who may still be afraid to step foot inside a space.

Our City, Ourselves: Women Photograph Washington

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities now has an exhibition on view in their virtual gallery space, Our City, Ourselves: Women Photograph Washington. 

I highly encourage you to spend some time in the exhibition; it celebrates not only the talented and perceptive women photographers working in the District over the past 40 years, but also the history and evolution of the city itself. 

You can see the exhibition webpage here: http://bit.ly/CAHOurCityOurselves  or you can go directly to the virtual gallery here: http://bit.ly/OurCityOurselves.

Advice for the Covidian Age

 If you're going through hell, keep going.

  -- Winston Churchill

My gift to the "woke" crowd: the racist Che Guevara

Dear members of the "woke" police...

If you wear, or have ever worn a Che Guevara T-Shirt (unless it is like the one on the left) then you are wearing or have worn the image of a man whose racist writing and actions and beliefs are full of negative, racist remarks about Mexicans and Blacks, and Native Americans. 

This man was a killing psychopath whose image has been re-invented over the decades so that in the past he's been viewed by a large, ignorant segment of the planet's population as some sort of positive icon - he was not.

By the way, "Comemierda" is an almost unique Cuban insult...

Wanna read some of the things this comemierda has written or said?

"The black is indolent and lazy, and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward-looking, organized, and intelligent."

                        -- Che Guevara 

"The black is indolent and a dreamer; spending his meager wage on frivolity or drink; the European has a tradition of work and saving, which has pursued him as far as this corner of America and drives him to advance himself, even independently of his own individual aspirations."  -- Che Guevara

"Mexicans are a band of illiterate Indians" -- Che Guevara

In an interview given to the London Daily Worker in 1962, Che Guevara said that "if the nuclear missiles had remained we would have used them against the very heart of America, including New York City... we will march the path of victory, even if it costs millions of atomic victims... we keep our hatred alive and fan it to paroxysm."

And this line after the Cuban Revolution in 1959: "We're going to do for blacks exactly what blacks did for the revolution. By which I mean: nothing."

“I don’t need proof to execute a man,” said Che during an interview published in a Cuban newspaper in 1959, “I only need proof that it is necessary to execute him.”

Che Guevara (like Fidel Castro) was sadistically anti-gay. He referred to gay people as "sexual perverts" and also helped to establish the first Cuban concentration camp in Guanahacabibes in 1960 - a camp for gay men. This brutal camp was the first of many that the Communists established in Cuba - with forced hard labor, and the first which focused on gay men. From the Nazis, Guevara also adapted the motto from Auschwitz, “Work sets you free,” changing it in Guanahacabibes to “Work will make you men.” 

Inform yourself - then hunt anyone and everyone who has ever worn a Che Guevara T-shirt or had a Che Guevara poster in their college room and out them and cancel them! 

You want the image of a real Cuban hero for your T-Shirt? How about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet?

Anderson's top 6 - OK six and a half - picks for the upcoming NFL draft

 Anderson's top 6 - OK six and a half - picks for the upcoming NFL draft:

1. Trevor Lawrence 

2. Zach Wilson 

3. Mac Jones (possible Trey Lance)

4. Kyle Pitts

5. Penei Sewell

6. Ja'Marr Chase

Things that are not OK - and I'm going to start calling them out

One of the most common ingredients of the artworld, and sometimes a formidable tool for emerging artists to build a resume (if you want to know what it is sooooooo important that you develop a valid and sustainable artistical resume, then you need to take my next "Bootcamp for Artists" seminar) is to respond to call for artists, art competitions, etc.

There's always a set of deadlines.

A deadline for entries to be in - the most important deadline for the artist.

A deadline for the hosting entity to respond with notifications of acceptance or rejection.

A deadline for delivery of accepted artworks

A deadline for pick up of exhibited/unsold artwork at the end of competition (if local delivered)

Three of the four key deadlines fall on the artists - and generally speaking, if you miss any of the first two (entry deadline and delivery deadline), then you are OUT!

If you miss the last deadline, there's often a daily "storage charge" until the artwork is picked-up.

One thing that I have been noticing more and more lately, is that hosting venues are often - anecdotal data seems to indicate most of the time - Missing THEIR deadline to notify artists and respond with notifications of acceptance or rejection.

This is not only unprofessional, but puts an extra burden on the shoulders of the artists, who may only have a tight window for decision-making related to the submitted artwork.

What is up with that? Why are we allowing the hosting venues to simply (often without a reason) go silent as deadlines pass and then ad hoc notify artists?

I have been on the jurying end of this process dozens if not hundreds of times, and thus as the poet Marti wrote: "I know the monster well, for I have lived in its entrails."

Sarah's Handmade Ice Cream

 Look what our local ice cream joint has...

At Sarah's Hand Made Icre Cream!