The curious case of the media ignoring Rachel Dolezal's art lies

It has been said that the real power of the mainstream media is to "ignore." That is, to pick and choose what "they" want to publish and "make known"; the latter usually something that fits the particular agenda of the individual news organization.

The comments for some of DC Art News' posts on Rachel Dolezal abound with recommendations from DC Art News readers encouraging Dave Castillo and I to go to the mainstream press outlets with the various artistic deceptions and outright lies that Dolezal has purposefully committed throughout her artistic life.

Movie Still from the film Pariah

 "Alike's World" "Painting" from Dolezal's blog

And I have! I have contacted dozens and dozens of editors, writers, newsrooms about the expose that shines a light on her lies and fabrications when it comes to her art life.

So far, the response has been mostly zero.

Why would the media ignore the fact that Rachel Dolezal may have fabricated her art CV? Why would they ignore that she most likely lied (or vastly exaggerated) about her art sales while in the DMV?

While would they ignore the fact that she appears to be selling photo reproductions on canvas as original paintings?

Could it be because these discoveries fall "outside" of her race change storyline and expose the fact that her entire persona, including her production as an artist, is built on lies?

Many good people, who are not aware of Dolezal's artistic deceptions, have been otherwise very accepting of Dolezal's racial lie. After all, she was one with the "cause", blah, blah, blah, goes the "accepting" narrative.

Were they to discover that Dolezal not only created a mountain of lies in order to provide a base for her racial lie, and her life as a victim, etc. but also mimicked that performance for her persona as an artist, then they might repudiate her -- as a person -- rather than accept her, as a "sister."

Dolezal Name Meaning: Czech and Slovak (Doležal): nickname for a lazy man, from the past participle of doležit ‘to lie down.’

George Bernard Shaw schooled

"I am  enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play;  bring a  friend, if you have one."     - George  Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

  "Cannot   possibly attend first night; will  attend second   ... If there  is one."  
  - Winston  Churchill, in response

General Grievous

General Grievous
Graphite and Colored Pencils on Gessoed Masonite
Anderson Campello, c.2015
11x14 inches

Portrait of Lucifer

Satan wears many faces; this is one of them:

Censored painting now hangs in museum

While still in her 20s, Shapiro received a significant artistic nod with a solo show at the Whitney in 1973. It was the nascent days of feminism, and Shapiro’s work explored questions about what it meant to be female or male. But the topic of gender back then belonged in the realm of the avant garde, so much so that the museum censored two paintings out of Shapiro’s exhibit. That stunning experience sent Shapiro traveling an unexpected artistic path, a path that came full circle when SAM acquired her paintings.

Read about the interesting road that artist Ann Leda Shapiro's painting took to get into the permanent collection of the Seattle Art Museum. Details here.

These Mirrors are Not Boxes

Artists as Docents: Sunday, June 28, 2:00 p.m.

Join the artists featured in the VisArts exhibition, These Mirrors are Not Boxes,  for a tour through the gallery and a discussion of their artwork focused on the issue of identity.

Curated by VisArts’ first Emerging Curator, Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, These Mirrors are Not Boxes examines the complexities of contemporary identity through the work of six local female artists: Amy Hughes Braden, Milana Braslavsky, Anna U. Davis, Nora Howell, Annette Isham, and Lisa Noble.

The exhibition explores the surprising, alternative, even subversive means and ways identity is formed, presented, confronted, and challenged when marginalized personas are brought out of the fringes. The VisArts Emerging Curator Program offers a unique opportunity for an emerging curator to work with an experienced mentoring curator to develop and present an exhibition and to assist in the presentation of the mentor’s exhibition in the Kaplan Gallery at VisArts. This is the first year of this outstanding new program.

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Exhibition Events & Programs:

Artists as Docents: Sunday, June 28, 2:00 p.m.

The artists featured in These Mirrors are Not Boxes will discuss their artwork and identity.

Events are free and open to the public.

 

Dolezal drawings hit payday

Two Rachel Dolezal small drawings done while she lived in the DC area just hit pay dirt in EBay.

Check out the selling prices here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_armrs=1&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=rachel%20dolezal&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

(e)merge art fair news

From the (e)merge art fair folks:

The (e)merge art fair plans to expand into a larger venue in Washington, DC. Because we are currently focused on making the transition to a new event location, the next edition of the fair will take place in 2016. We eagerly anticipate announcing our new venue in the coming months.

 

Building on the success of (e)merge to date, we will enlarge our format to include a variety of booth options for gallerists while reinforcing the experimental spirit of the independent artist platform. We believe this is the best trajectory for effective growth as we plan the fifth edition of the fair.

 

DC leadership recognizes (e)merge’s role in the city’s cultural future: “With iconic arts institutions like the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center, and exciting new initiatives like the (e)merge art fair…cultural tourism is one of the city’s growing sectors. As Mayor, Muriel Bowser will work with the arts and business communities to create the synergies needed to grow our creative economy to rival New York and Chicago.” - The Bowser Administration Transition Plan.

  

We would like to thank our gallery and artist exhibitors, host committee, vetting committees, cultural partners, sponsors, media partners, panelists, and attendees for supporting the first four editions of (e)merge. We look forward to keeping you updated as we fulfill our new vision and re(e)merge in our new venue!

 

Sincerely,

 

Jamie Smith + Leigh Conner