A million thanks to ArtsJournal.com for publishing the issue of Sandra Ramos' visa denial.
We are hoping to enlist the help of Senator Barbara Mikulski to see if we can get Sandra Ramos a visa to attend her DC debut. Any help from any of you who'd like to email the Senator, would be appreciated as we take a stand against this puzzling policy of denying visas to Cuban artists - even when their work is not pro-Castro by any stretch of the imagination.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Photographers can link their photography website to About-Arts by filling out this form and adding a reciprocal link. The more links your site has, the higher your Google placement.
Through MAN a link to a very good discussion at Frolic of My Own about Eric Fischl, who recently came to DC and delivered a good lecture at the Hirshhorn.
For the last couple of months I have been curating a show at Alexandria's Target Gallery which honors the remaining artists from the original group of artists who started the Torpedo Factory, one of the great cultural jewels of our area's art scene, 30 years ago.
The show is called "Origins: 30 Years at the Torpedo Factory Arts Center" runs from April 28 through June 6, 2004. It will be hung salon-style, which I've always liked.
Maryland State Arts Council announces Grants
Deadline April 7 – Arts in Communities Grants
Deadline April 1 – Arts & Entertainment District
Deadline May 13, 2004 – For activities that will begin or take place between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. Technical Assistance Program supports organizational development for County Arts Councils in Maryland and Professional Development Program encourages and supports continuing education of County Arts Council staff and board members in subject areas relevant to local Arts Council management.
For information on all grants, go to www.msac.org or call 410-767-6555.
Deadline July 1, 2004
Outdoor Public Art Proposal Sought in Oregon. The Art Committee of the Eugene Japanese American Memorial Project is planning to invite artists to submit proposals for a permanent outdoor public art project to publicly acknowledge and commemorate the Japanese Americans who endured evacuation and internment during World War II. The memorial project will be located outside the Hult Center for Performing Arts (6th and Willamette) in Eugene, Oregon. Please contact: aikensae@comcast.net for more information.
Deadline April 9, 2004
Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition Opportunity in Washington State.
The Bellevue Arts Commission, Bellevue, Washington, announces its 2004 Sculpture Exhibition. Up to 24 sculptures will be selected by the jury for outdoor exhibition in Bellevue's Downtown Park. The exhibition opens 6/26 and closes 10/10. Each accepted artist will receive an honorarium. There is no entry fee. Insurance and installation provided.
For entry information: e-mail bac@ci.bellevue.wa.us or call John Young, Prof. of Sculpture and Public Art, Univ. of Washington (my alma matter) at 206/543.0997.
Deadline May 24, 2004
The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center (DVAEC) in Frederick, Maryland, invites all artists living within a 75-mile radius of Frederick, MD, working in any media, to submit work for their annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition taking place June 5 - July 25.
The juror is Mr. Jay Fisher, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Senior Curator of Drawings, Prints and Photography, Baltimore Museum of Art.
Up to three pieces of work may be submitted to the Center for jurying Sunday, May 23 or Monday, May 24. Entry fee is $10 per piece for nonmembers or $7 per piece for DVAEC members. Awards: 1st Place: $150; 2nd Place: $100; 3rd Place: $75, Honorable Mention: $50. For more information, entry forms and directions send an e-mail to Diane Sibbison at dsibbison@delaplaine.org.
DC area sculptor Sarah Wegner, who made her solo gallery debut a few months ago in Georgetown, currently has a show at the Columbia Association Art Center's main gallery and gets a really good review in The Baltimore Sun.
Monday, March 15, 2004
Transformer has an opening this coming Saturday, March 20, 7-9pm.
The show is called "Daytrippers" and features work by four artists: Ryan Hill (New York, NY), Heide Trepanier (Richmond, VA), Bryan Whitson (Washington, DC), and Kate Woodliff (Richmond,VA).
The exhibition will be from March 20 – April 24, 2004.
MOCA joins the frenzy for Cuban art by staging an exhibition curated by Adolfo V. Nodal titled "Havana Science Fiction."The show opened last week and runs until April 3, 2004.
Adolfo V. Nodal is the former director of the WPA/C a few directors ago. More recently he is one of several editors of the bible of Cuban art, titled Memoria: Cuban Art in the 20th Century.
MOCA's show features work by Los Animistas, Fidel Ernesto, Omar and Oscar Estrada, Jose Emilio Fuentes, Ernesto Pina, Alain Pinot and Harold Vazquez.
I found Vazquez's work to be the most interesting - and surprisingly enough (considering how bland most videos leave me) - it is a video!
His video - like most videos - has as its starting point an interesting idea/concept, which features the filming of a pretty Cuban girl standing in front of the camera, as if it were a still image and “stopping the clock” when her pose is broken. We stand looking at the video trying to see how long can she hold a perfectly still pose - as in a photo - until she blinks or moves, and the clock starts all over again.
Compete for a solo museum show...
Deadline: April 22, 2004.
The Rawls Museum Arts is hosting its 41st Annual Juried show, which will be juried this year by slide review.
This year's Juror is Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' Coordinator of Statewide Exhibitions, Eileen B. Mott.Slide submissions are due April 22, 2004. Please download the application from the museum's homepage. The show runs May 28 until July 15. Cash Prizes and a Solo Show will be awarded.
Sunday, March 14, 2004
The NY Times has an article on Miami art collectors. In my earlier posting I discussed the lack of DC area collectors such as the NYT article discusses. In fact I mentioned these kind of art collectors and the dearth of them in our area - which nonetheless would appear to be a fertile ground (I think) for "growing" these type of art supporters (everywhere else!).
And yet we have more eligible potential collectors than Miami has? WHY don't our "people" buy art?
Cuban Artist Denied Entry Visa to Attend her Washington Debut
Since she has visited the US many times, both for previous shows in other American cities and for museum art conferences (as invited speaker), and since her work is in the permanent collection of many prestigious American museums, such as The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, it came to her as a shock when her visa to attend her Washington, DC opening was denied.
“This is an artist with a worldwide following and reputation,” said Catriona Fraser, Director and co-owner of our two Fraser Galleries in Georgetown and Bethesda. “It came to us as an unexpected shock as well when Sandra told us that she would not be able to travel to Washington for her opening reception.”
“To make it more irritating,” continues Fraser, “this is without a doubt our most important exhibition of the year, and artists of Ramos’ caliber and reputation are not only good for our gallery but for the Washington art scene in general.”
Just last year Ramos attended art conferences hosted by the Lowe Art Museum in Florida as well as visits to New York, Boston and Provincetown in Massachusetts, all related to art exhibitions or conferences.
Her work, which often delivers visceral commentaries dealing with taboo issues in Cuban society such as racism, mass migration, freedoms and liberties and the impact of Communism on the Cuban psyche, has placed Ramos at the very leading edge of a group of young Cuban artists who use their art as a narrative medium to describe, criticize and export the world in which they live and work.
Following nearly twenty highly successful solo exhibitions in Cuba, Japan, Mexico, Germany and Holland, Ramos had her first solo American show in Miami last year to high critical acclaim. The solo at Fraser Gallery will be her second American solo show as well as her Washington, DC debut.
Recent articles discussing her work in the ARTNews Newsletter, Art & Antiques Magazine, Art Business News, The Art Newspaper, as well as reviews in many national and international art magazines all led to a spectacular year for Ramos, who saw all of her entire production of 2003 paintings sell during the last months of the year as American art collectors made their way to Havana before the tightening of US policy on travel to Cuba.
“Sandra has been saving her most recent work for this solo,” says Fraser, “and we expect to have about a dozen new works in this show – all new important works dealing with her recurring issue of Cuba as a prison whose walls are made of water.”
“We will go ahead with the show,” declares Fraser. “And I intend to write to the Department of State to protest this visa denial to an artist with a proven history of not being a flight risk.”
WORLDWIDE PINHOLE DAY on Sunday 25th April, 2004.
Visit www.pinholeday.org. Last year 1082 people from 43 countries submitted entries.
Friday, March 12, 2004
Photographer and DCArtnews reader Joseph Barbaccia points out an interesting article by Roberta Smith in the NY Times on the subject of the popularity of art fairs and how well they do.
Smith mentions Paris, Berlin, Basel, London and, more recently, Miami, where the Art Basel crowd has staged two highly successful fairs.
And Barbaccia reasons that maybe what DC needs to kick start the idea is an art fair of its own.
It's a good idea, and many have tried to kindle that idea, but the obstacles (all circling the subject of money) have been great. A while back all galleries in the area received correspondence from an outfit trying to organize such a fair at the MCI Center or the New Convention Center. But the cost to participate was so prohibitive, that little was gained as far as attention from art dealers.
We've been courted for a couple of years now about Art Basel Miami Beach, but the costs of participating are more designed to attract a gallery that sells work in the hundreds of thousands of dollars rather than single thousands, like most DC area galleries.
Nonetheless, fairs at all levels in the art world food chain appear to be doing well. These include spectacularly huge and successful outdoor art fairs such as the legendary Coconut Grove Arts Festival also in Miami. Now celebrating its 41st anniversary in 2004, the Festival attracts over three-quarters of a million people annually from around the world to view and buy the works of over 330 artists and craftsmen from all over the planet. This is probably - in attendance numbers anyway - the largest art festival in the world.
Locally, a version of this outdoor type of art fair will be staged this coming May in Bethesda via the first ever Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, which will be held Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16, 2004 in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle along Norfolk and Auburn Avenues. The event will feature 150 national artists, live entertainment and food from the many world-class Bethesda restaurants.
But our area lacks the "other" kind of "upper crust" art fair that Roberta Smith discusses - a fair where art galleries and dealers - rather than the artists themselves - gather in one city to bring their art and artists for a few days in one place. The cost of organizing such an event is the major hurdle - but that hurdle would be easily resolved if an organizer (and art dealers) would think that DC art buyers would make their trip and costs justified through art sales.
And my honest opinion is that in the eight years since we opened our first gallery in Georgetown, and over 100 shows later in both Georgetown and Bethesda, and talking regularly to fellow dealers in our area, it is clear that (although the DC area has one of the highest income concentrations in the world), there are precious few "art collectors" or just plain people buying art in our region to attract a major league art fair.
It's a chicken and the egg thing...
High incomes are concentrated here; expensive homes are concentrated here; disposable income is abundant here; large educated masses are concentrated here - and yet we can't get significant numbers of "those" people to buy original art in the same manner and form that people in New York and Miami and Los Angeles apparently do.
I blame the media and their lack of coverage of area arts and artists and the inherent apathy created by "those" people not realizing - or caring - about the acquisition of art -- on the par with Harleys, and SUVs and those bigger-than-SUV things that look like USMC war vehicles.
I am sure that many of our well-known millionaires - such as the guy who owns the Redskins, and the guy who owns the Capitals, and the guy who owns Lockheed Martin, and the guys who own AOL, and the thousands of other guys and gals who own all those great companies in Northern Virginia and the 270 corridor, have art in their homes.
Or do they? And where do they get it? And how come among all the press about them, there's nothing about them being "art collectors"? Read the Miami press, or the NY press, or the LA press and once in a while you'll read a story about influential collectors.
Do we have "those" people around here?
Maybe, but I doubt it. And yet I think that "they" could be cultivated, and perhaps taught that instead of flying to NY or LA or Miami to buy artwork at one of those fairs, they could instead go to an opening once in a while in Georgetown, or 7th Street or Dupont Circle.
But "they" would have to know about our art scene, and for that we'd need the media, and here again we go with the "chicken and the egg" syndrome.
Makes my head hurt.
Anyway, later this year we'll be participating in our first art fair ever in New York. I'll let you know what happened.
Today is the second Friday of the month, which means that it is time for the Bethesda Art Walk. Several Bethesda galleries and art establishments participate, light food and refreshments are provided, as well as a free shuttle bus to take visitors around the galleries.
We will have (as usual) the Washington area's best Sangria, plus a terrific photography show curated by William F. Stapp, who served as the National Portrait Gallery's first curator of photographs (1976-1991) and is now an independent curator and consultant. Most recently he curated the traveling exhibition "Portrait of the Art World: A Century of ARTnews Photographs."
This year he curated the 2004 Bethesda International Photography Exhibition, and selected a couple of dozen photographers from over a thousand entries from all over the world.
The openings are from 6-9 PM and a a free shuttle bus is available to do the gallery hopping.
See ya there!
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Just flew back from San Diego and on the way back I read another great book, which (at least for me) was not only informative, but incredibly educational and eye opening.
It is The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky. It's absolutely a great read, especially if you are a history buff or interested in Europe's oldest people, the world's most unique language and the most stubborn nation without a country on this planet.
I learned that their ancient tongue (Euskera) is not only the oldest European language, but it is not related to any other language on Earth.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Councilmember Harold Brazil, chairperson of the Committee on Economic Development, announces a public hearing on Bill 15-636, “Arts Funding Improvement Task Force Establishment Act of 2003.”The hearing will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 2004, in the Council Chamber of 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (John A. Wilson Building).
Bill 15-636, “Arts Funding Improvement Task Force Establishment Act of 2003," if approved, would establish a taskforce that will focus on increasing funding for the Arts and Humanities. The task force would provide recommendations to the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Council, and the Mayor on ways to increase funding for arts and humanities programming and education in the District.
For more info call the Council of the District of Columbia at 202.724.8050
Opportunity for artists...
Deadline: Thursday, April 01
The Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC) is seeking proposals for The Gallery at Flashpoint.
Flashpoint is DC's first arts space dedicated to nurturing and growing emerging arts organizations and the Gallery at Flashpoint provides artists and arts organizations a place to show innovative, new works. Applications for the 2004-2005 Season are now being accepted from artists, curators and arts organizations. The Request for Proposals is available at their website.
Deadline: All proposals are due to the CuDC offices (916 G Street, Washington, DC 20001) by April 1, 2004 at 5:00pm. For more info call the Gallery at Flashpoint at 202/315-1310.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Hello from San Diego, in the middle of a very warm (almost 80s) winter!
But read this important announcement dealing with events back in DC:
Annual Arts Advocacy Day, Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Hard working art activists are presently organzing visits to all the DC Council Members to discuss the role of the arts in our community. In addition, the Budget Hearing for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities at the Committee on Economic Development (chaired by Council Member Harold Brazil) is scheduled for Thursday, April 1, 2004. You are invited to an organizing meeting for Arts Advocacy Day and the Budget Hearing on Friday, March 19th, Noon-1:30 PM, at Flashpoint. At this meeting, members of the Steering Committee will present briefings on three topics: the arts as an economic generator, the arts and youth, and the arts as an attractor to life in our city.
They'll walk through the process of Arts Advocacy Day and the budget hearing. We strongly encourage you to come to this meeting as your participation will help create a coherent message and force for the advocates for Arts Advocacy Day and for the budget hearing. To summarize: Friday, March 19th, Noon-1:30 PM -- Briefing meeting. Wednesday, March 31st -- Meetings with Council Members (the meetings will go on throughout the day, each lasting about 15-30 minutes.) Thursday, April 1st -- Budget Hearing for DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. If you have any questions, please contact Jill Strachan at jpstrach@aol.com.
Monday, March 08, 2004
Traveling all day - finally in San Diego. Over the last few years I have been here many times (and I've actually lived here in San Diego twice in my life). San Diego has maybe half a dozen decent, reputable art galleries, a decent museum and a terrific photography venue. Yet, in spite of those low numbers, these art venues seem to get more attention in national magazines such as ArtNews and Art in America than our DC area galleries.
I've always wondered why? How come half a dozen San Diego area art venues get more "back of the magazine" mini reviews than 100 good art venues in the DC area?
Part of the answer is that many of the writers who cover the DC area for those national magazines favor reviewing museum shows, at the expense of area galleries. And those same magazines usually give DC one mini-review a month period - so the galleries have little chance competing against our great museums.
But still... how come San Diego gets more numerical reviews in a calendar year than Washington when we have around ten times more art spaces than San Diego does?
P.S. - On the way here I read Waiting for Snow in Havana, by Carlos Eire, which is the National Book Award Winner. What a brilliant book! I highly recommend it.
Sunday, March 07, 2004
NASA on Friday released the first pictures ever taken of an eclipse as seen from the surface of another planet, snapped by the Opportunity rover a day earlier. Art and history married in a photograph.
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