Jessica's Finalist No. 6: Chloe Watson

Great choice! Check it out here.

VARA in action

The news release from artist David Ascalon reads:

"When artist David Ascalon's towering Holocaust memorial, just blocks from the Pennsylvania state capitol, was dedicated in 1994, he could not have imagined that a dozen years later, his name would be stripped away from the sculpture's base. Nor could Ascalon have envisioned that his most cherished creation - one which he designed to honor the millions who perished at the hands of the Nazis - would have been mutilated through drastic modification at the whim of a bunch of Harrisburg bureaucrats. But that is precisely what happened.

Ascalon, however, was unwilling to permit this violation of his moral rights to go unchecked. Through his attorney, Jason B. Schaeffer of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, he has filed suit under Congress' Visual Artists' Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) - a law enacted to protect against such destruction - in Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Through this action, Ascalon seeks to compel restoration of this important public artwork to its original design."

Here are some before and after pictures, including ones that show the artist's signature completely ground away. A copy of the complaint is here.

I don't know who the artist was, or even the name of the piece was, but does anyone remember that huge piece of shiny, fluttery, metal public art that used to be above the Bethesda Metro stop for years? The thing was massive; then, all of a sudden it was gone!

I wonder if that artist, whoever she or he may be, even knows that his work is no longer there.

The perils of public art... I guess.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: September 6, 2010

CoolClimate Art Contest. The purpose of the contest is to engage the creative community on behalf of producing an iconic image that addresses the impact of climate change and spurs participation in the climate change debate. The contest is being judged by notable art experts and celebrities such as Philippe Cousteau, Van Jones, Jackson Browne, Chevy Chase, Agnes Gund, David Ross, and Carrie Mae Weems. Winners will be voted on by the public on Huffington Post. Submissions are due September 6 and can be posted online here.

Hot Foot

I rarely hang my own work in my house, but I have a recent version of Superman Flying Naked temporarily hanging in my house while the art piece that goes there is on loan for an exhibition. The other day I noted that the way the sun was striking the glass made it look as if the Man of Steel had incandescent feet.

Tax Free Bennies

In addition to her $877,000 compensation package, Ellen V. Futter, president of the American Museum of Natural History, lives rent free in a $5 million East Side apartment that the museum bought when she came aboard.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses its director, Thomas P. Campbell, in a $4 million co-op that it owns across Fifth Avenue from the museum.

The director of the Museum of Modern Art, Glenn D. Lowry, may have the best deal of all. In addition to the $2 million in salary and benefits he earned last year, he lives in a $6 million condo in the tower atop the museum.

Read the NYT story here.

Cudlin Goes Yard

Sometimes it seems like the only way for D.C. artists to get a little respect is to leave town. Take Dan Steinhilber, an artist who lives and works in the District, and is represented locally by G Fine Art. In his Style section piece this past Sunday, WaPo chief art critic Blake Gopnik praises Steinhilber, noting that his art has “earned him solos from Baltimore to Houston and group shows from Toronto to Siena. This summer, they’ve also earned him a residency at Socrates Sculpture Park, on the waterfront in Queens.”

Yes, Steinhilber has spent the summer making art in New York. He’s been asking passers-by in Queens to lay down in a large sand box and move their arms and legs back and forth, creating what can only be described as sand angels—which the artist then casts in concrete.

But Gopnik doesn’t mention one important detail: This New York residency is actually a D.C.-funded project.

Read how Jeffry Cudlin tells you what the Washington Post should have told you last week. Read it here.

Congrats


Congrats to our own Rosetta DeBerardinis, whose "Erotic Contemplation" is now part of the permanent collection at PNC Bank's regional headquarters.