Secondsight is an organization dedicated to the advancement of women photographers through support, communication and sharing of ideas and opportunities. Secondsight is committed to supporting photographers at every stage of their careers, from students to professionals.
Their next meeting is July 30. Their guest speaker is Bernis von zur Muehlen.
Bernis is a widely respected pioneer of male nude photography and her work has been exhibited in numerous museum exhibitions throughout the United States, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Delaware Art Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Additionally, her work has been published in many anthologies of male nude photography including Women Photograph Men, Women See Men, The Male Nude in Photography and Male Bodies: A Photographic History of the Nude.
Contact Secondsight here.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Read this artist's experience in copyright image fraud.
Anna L. Conti is a Bay Area artist who discovered that her artwork was being downloaded from her site, copied and being then sold on Ebay.
Last Friday, Kristen Hileman, Assistant Curator for Contemporary Art at the Hirshhorn Museum, awarded the Best in Show for the VIII Georgetown International Juried Art Competition to area artist Andrew Devlin. Quite an accomplishment, as Hileman reviewed nearly 1,000 submissions from all over the world, and then selected around 20 for the exhibition.
Devlin will have a solo show in our Georgetown gallery next year as part of the award package.
The Georgetown 3rd Friday openings at Canal Square were packed last Friday - one of the better opening nights in years. There was even quite a bit of media present, including (incredibly enough) some New York City press, I guess out for a visit to the galleries in the provinces.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
One of the great joys of writing about art in the Greater Washington area is the discovery once in a while of an exhibition that, unexpectedly in most cases, just takes your breath away with its impact, presence and lingering ability to elicit thoughts and responses long after you’ve left the gallery.
In this case, the gallery is Target Gallery, inside the Torpedo Factory, and the exhibition is “In 2Words: Numbers,” a national exhibition juried by Washington firebrand curator Sarah Tanguy.
Let me show my cards early: This is the best Target Gallery, show that I’ve ever seen in the twelve years that I have been regularly covering the Greater Washington visual art scene for newspapers and magazines.
A bit about the premise for the show: “In 2Words: Numbers” is the first of a pair of national exhibitions that focus on the use of digits, mathematics and formulas in contemporary art. The second exhibition (titled “In2Words: Words”), juried by Krystyna Wasserman, Curator of Book Arts at the National Museum of Women in the Arts opens July 24, 2004.
The employment of digits, mathematics and formulas as the driving and unifying theme in the show appealed to me through a couple of sensory inputs – the first as an artist, and the second as a Mathematician. As an undergraduate student at the University of Washington in beautiful Seattle I managed to graduate with a double degree: one in Art and one in Mathematics - odd uh?
Anyway, the sixteen artists selected by Tanguy all managed to create artwork that cleverly manage to revolve about this rather unusual theme. In a group show, any group show, there are usually standouts, weak entries and a majority of forgettable artwork in the majority. In mathematical terms, the first two would be the out layers and the rest the median.
In this case, I can honest find few out layers – simply because the quality and cleverness and creative thought employed in nearly every entry surpasses most expectations. But let’s discuss some of them.
Judith Larsen, a photographer from Cambridge, Massachusetts has three digital photographs on exhibit. In all three instances, Larsen has a female figure that has been decorated with numbers and formulas, like a modern digital Pictish princess. At first one would think that this may be a heavy handed way to crack open the door to “fit” the competition’s theme. And yet, Larsen disarms that negative pre-impression by the marriage of the mathematical tattoos with interesting poses by the model coupled with an unusual digital color palette. The combination of numbers, formulas, poses and colors all add up unexpectedly to deliver quite interesting photographs.
Still in the realm of photography, but pushing the envelope a bit more, at least as far as the receiving medium, is Jayson Taylor from Hays, Kansas. Taylor’s “Running Thoughts” combines silk, muslin, and etched aluminum – all coupled with a photo transfer process – to produce a visually interesting work that requires the manual lifting of the silk or muslin to get to the various stages of the actual photograph. Combining a series of numerical finite layers with interaction from the viewer has given Taylor a huge advantage in probably being the most creative of all the interpreters of the theme selected by Tanguy.
On the floor of the gallery, there’s an unusual and visually entertaining piece by New Yorker Frank Raczkowski (with a sign letting you know that it is OK to step on it – carefully). Titled “Point Five,” it is made of rubber, steel and level vials all aligned to look like one of those floor mats made up of old tires. He is what art BLOGger Tyler Green would dub a "Wal-Martist." I like this piece partially because of the inner tension that it creates in inviting me to step on it.
Step on artwork?
Geez… we’re not even supposed to touch it, right? But Raczkowski must be pretty sure of his construction to ask us to step on it (carefully). But Frank, what about all those little level vials, filled with that strange yellowish fluid with the bubble in the middle (what is that stuff?). No thanks – but it works wonderfully in making me look at the work, study it, praise it and avoid stepping on it. Congratulations, you pass.
At the risk of being verbose about Mr. Raczkowski, his second entry on display is made up of 148 digital prints of someone’s skin, prickling with short stubble hair. We’re told in the catalog that there are 75,080 counted hairs.
OK, now I am interested. First of all, what part of the anatomy has Raczkowski photographed, sometimes it looks strangely sexual, other times it looks like maybe a shaved animal skin (a pig?), and others a made up alien landscape. Eventually the dutiful gallery assistant or gallery director Claire Huschle will tell you that they are photos of Raczkowski’s shaved head.
Even after this information is disclosed I am having trouble pinpointing any of the 148 prints, arranged salon style in a corner of the gallery space, to anything resembling a human landscape on anyone’s head. I am even having more trouble comprehending why anyone would want to count all the hairs – but someone did (or is telling us they did) and I sort of like that in a mathematical way.
As Tanguy eloquently describes in her juror’s statement, “[in this show] process is paramount… As intimations become revelations, the works transform us from passive recipients to active explorers.”
I believe Raczkowski and I ain't even beginning to think to count the hairs - but I was tempted!
The show is on display until July 18, 2004. Target Gallery is the national exhibition space of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, displaying artwork in all media from artists across the United States and abroad. Located on the ground floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Target is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm and other times by appointment. Contact the gallery at (703) 838-4565, ext. 4.
Call for Artists...
The League of Reston Artists (LRA) has a Call for Artists for the upcoming Annual Judged Fine Arts Exhibition at the National Center Gallery of the U. S. Geological Survey.
$300 in award monies will be presented at the opening reception by this year’s judge, Libby Stevens. This call for entry is limited to a maximum of two framed works of fine art from each artist. The entry fee is $15 for LRA members and $20 for non-members. The call for entry form can be downloaded from the LRA’s web site at this website. Send completed entry form to the LRA, POB 2513, Reston, VA 20195, or present the completed form at the door during drop-off of the works of art.
Artists who are interested in submitting work for this exhibition are advised that they must deliver or have their work delivered in person to the National Center Gallery of the U. S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia, on Friday, July 30, from 10:00 - 11:00 am. Works must be appropriately framed for hanging per the printed framing standards on the call for entry form and suitable for display in a public building.
Friday, July 16, 2004
Tyler Green's interesting online discussion with Village Voice art critic Jerry Saltz, plus Saltz's article in Artnet.com plus Nate Lippet's article in Seattle's The Stanger magazine (thanks AJ) have made me think about our local art critics, local media and the effect of art criticism on our galleries, artists, etc.
I am not sure about NYC or LA or Chicago, or even wonderful and beautiful Seattle, but after putting up well over 100 shows between the two galleries since 1996, plus reviewing another couple of hundred or so for magazines and newspapers and radio, and having been at the receiving end of many, many reviews, I have the following observations, purely from the perspective of an independent commercial fine arts gallery.
(i) A Washington, DC review has practically zero effect on gallery sales. In almost ten years of selling artwrok in the DC area, I cannot recall a single sale that took place solely because of a review in any of our local media. I can and do recall several major sales that took place because of a review of David FeBland in Art in America magazine, but even that collector (from Princeton, NJ) was attracted to the image in the review and became interested in the artist as a result of it - not the review itself.
(ii) A Washington, DC review has very small effect on increasing traffic to the gallery. This is still surprising to me. In fact, I would place the following types of mentions in our local press in order of increasing foot traffic to come and see the show. Most surprising of all is the fact that I have noticed, that a mention on the Post's Weekend section in the first page "Our Picks" column drives more traffic (in fact exponentially higher) than any other media mention anywhere. Also of interest, a little mini-review or mention in the Post's freebie newspaper (the Express) will also bring in more people to the gallery than a proper review in the Post! Anyway here's my listing of possible local media mentions in order of traffic augmentation:
1. Washington Post Weekend Section "Our Picks"
2. Washington Post Express mention
3. Washington City Paper Major Review
4. Washington City Paper City Lights Small Review
5. Washington Post Sunday Source mention
6. Washington Post Style "Galleries" review
7. Washington Times review
8. WETA Around Town "Best Bet"
9. Georgetowner review
10. Gazette review
I've left out radio and TV because they are so rare to obtain. In the few rare times that we've received either radio or TV coverage, it has created huge interest in the exhibitions. Too bad it happens so seldom.
(iii) From a purely professional and artistic perspective, a review in the local press can have a huge impact on an artist's development and career. In fact, a review in the Washington Post or the Washington Times - simply because of the fact that they are (in a provincial sense) "national newspapers" can and does deliver a very significant punch to an artist's career and resume. In that sense, a major review in the Post or Times, and to a lesser extent the WCP, can and does become an important marker in an artist's career.
I've seen this time and time again. It may take months or years to "see" the effect - but it is there and it is a profound footprint in any artist's (or gallery) ability to establish a presence.
Changing the subject a bit...
I believe that art criticism should have teeth - why not! In fact, the sharper the better!
What I cannot stand is lukewarm criticism: If you like a show, then be passionate about it! If you dislike it, then destroy it! Like this totally brutalizing review of these two artists a while back, or like Blake Gopnik's total destruction of J. Seward Johnson.
That's the way to write about something that you don't like! Not a half-assed, lukewarm criticism where three quarters of the piece is a bio of the artist, and the other quarter describes the art.
But if art criticism should have teeth; it should also have passion to jump in and really, really like something and tell us why.
I cannot recall the last time that I read a local art critic write something along the lines of "this is a spectacular show" or "this is one of the best fill-in-the-blank that I've ever seen" - you get my point?
It does take cojones to write a negative review of a local artist, someone that you may run into later. And it is true that often the victim takes it personally. Or the host...
A few years ago I wrote this small piece for some local papers (it was also eventually picked up by the Washington Post). Soon afterwards I was getting hate phone calls and emails from Twombly fans and even from the NGA. In fact, after that piece, I have never been invited to another NGA opening since!
More later... super busy with the Georgetown gallery opening tonite - we have a really good show juried by Kristen Hileman, Asst. Curator for Contemporary Art at the Hirshhorn. She selected about 20 artists from over 1,000 entries received from all over the world.
Opening is from 6-9 PM and catered by the Sea Catch. The three other Canal Square galleries will also have new shows and will be open from 6-9 PM.
See ya there!
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Jeffry Cudlin has a really eloquent and intelligent review of the Jim Dine show at the NGA in the current edition of the Washington City Paper. Go get a copy of the WCP and read it or read it online here.
Here is a really intelligent and elegantly written observation (in my opinion):
"But one begins to sense a failure of nerve, a need to apologize for indulgences. In Owl, Rome (1997), swirls and puddles of shellac mixed with sand saturate the paper and stain it a range of dull ochres. A crumpled rag of the same color is glued to the upper third of the longish sheet of paper. Both this brazen non sequitur and the chaotic vigorousness of Dine’s treatment of the owl’s body feel like a guilty justification for the comparatively precious head sitting predictably atop it."
I dropped by the Torpedo Factory today to see the show at Target Gallery curated by Sarah Tanguy. More on that later, but for now let me tell you that this is the best show that I've seen at Target in the last ten years. It is quite extraordinary the number of really unique works that Tanguy managed to assemble from a juried show perspective.
More on that later, as I will review it for OTC.
Also while at the Factory, I saw some artwork (shown to me by her proud mom) by a 15-year-old girl, completely self-taught, and whose work left me absolutely stunned.
Her name is Jenny Davis, and like I said, she is 15, and she decided to start trying watercolors, and has produced a handful of watercolors (which as any artist knows, is the most technically demanding of any of the painting arts) that simply take your breath away with their technical eloquence for such a young, untrained child. Add to that an immediate sense of composition, and a built in ability to "see" and we have a budding star in the making.
I immediately invited her mom to have Jenny participate in our coming Summer Group Show in Bethesda!
That's how impressed I was by this prowess.
On the way out, I ran into artist Susan Makara and asked her if she's seen Tanya Davis daughter's work. Susan just whistled in admiration and said a wise "I know!"
Jerry Saltz has a must read piece about art critics, dealers and artists at Artnet.com. And thanks to Arts Journal - Here's another great piece about and by art critics: Assume The Position by Nate Lippens.
Art Jobs...
Job offers at CUDC
The Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a non-profit dedicated to engaging artists and cultural organizations in community development and revitalization efforts.
The following jobs are available: Program Manager, Gallery Associate Gallery Associate: This hourly, entry-level position will coordinate the Gallery at Flashpoint. The ideal candidate will also coordinate the 7th Street Arts District's 3rd Thursday event. 3rd Thursday offers an extended evening of contemporary art exhibitions an artist-guided gallery crawl.
Program Manager: This full-time, management position will have primary responsibility for coordinating services to artists and arts organizations including the incubator program at Flashpoint.
How to apply: To apply, submit a resume with cover letter to:
Cultural Development Corporation Program Manager Search
or
Gallery Associate Search
916 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Email: culturaldevcorp@culturaldc.org
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Jeff Blum has a few interesting and enlightening comments about our current photograhy show in Bethesda and discusses James W. Bailey's destruction of his negatives to create the finished photo.
Jesse Cohen has a new DC-centric arts BLOG at Art DC. Welcome to the BLOGsphere! The more we chat, discuss, agree, fight over DC area art issues, the better!
Welcome Jesse!
Just in!
The DC council has approved $40 million for the Gehry addition to the Corcoran.
According to the info, the Council of the District of Columbia voted yesterday to authorize $40 million in tax increment financing (TIF) in the form of a Note to support the additions and renovations the Corcoran.
So Washington's first Origami building will soon be a reality. Now let's begin to hear the complaining and bitching begin.
We have announced the next date for our highly successful "Success as an Artist" Seminar." The next seminar will be hosted at Fraser Gallery Bethesda on Sunday, August 8, 2004 from 12-7 PM.
The seven hour seminar, which has been taken by nearly 2,000 artists and arts professionals from all over the Mid Atlantic is designed to deliver information, data and proven tactics to allow artists to develop and sustain a career in the fine arts. The seminar costs $80 and is limited to around 50 people. For more details please visit this website.
Fraser Gallery Bethesda is located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814, one block north of the Bethesda Metro Stop. You can contact the gallery at 301/718-9651 or via email at info@thefrasergallery.com.
Tomorrow is the 3rd Thursday of the month, so the 7th Street area galleries have their extended hours. Click here for details.
And Friday is the 3rd Friday, so the four Canal Square Galleries in Georgetown will have their new show openings. MOCA, Fraser, Alla Rogers and Parish. Catered by the Sea Catch Restaurant. From 6-9 PM. The Canal Square is at 31st Street NW and M Street in Georgetown.
Last night I took legendary photographer Lida Moser to a concert hosted by the The Folklore Society of Greater Washington.
It featured Bara Grimsdottir and Chris Foster. Foster is a singer of English traditional pub ballads while Grimsdottir is perhaps the world's best known singer of Icelandic saga and folk songs.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Public Art Call for Artists...
Deadline August 6, 2004
The City of San Jose, California has a call for artists for work on several capital improvement projects. They include a new police and fire facilities which include a public art component.
The anticipated public art budgets for two of the training facilities is $200,000 each for two training facilities and $1 million for a police substation. These budgets include design, fabrication, installation, and all costs associated with the public art.
Criteria: Aesthetic merit of past projects; appropriateness of artwork medium and artistic concepts as they relate to the project’s goals and setting; experience, success and interest in creating public artworks in collaboration with architects, design teams, and community members.
Contact: Brooke Jones, Office of Cultural Affairs - Public Art Program, 365 S. Market St., San José, CA 95113.
Grants for DC Area artists...
Deadline September 15, 2004.
The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund Grant invites visual artists (excluding filmmakers, video artists, and performance artists) to apply for grants to enable recipients to develop their talent and concentrate on their art. Artists must be 40 years or older, and must live within 150 miles of Washington, D.C.
Two grants will be awarded in 2004. Grants awarded in 2003 were for $25,000 and $20,000. Applications must be postmarked no later than September 15, 2004. To obtain a current application form, please visit the Fund's website or write to the Fund at 5505 Connecticut Avenue, NW #268, Washington, D.C. 20015. Send email inquiries to grants@baderfund.org
Grants and Awards for Maryland artists...
Deadline July 29, 2004.
Individual Artist Awards: Choreography, Music Composition, Playwriting, Poetry, Visual Arts: Crafts, Photography, Installation, Sculpture.
The Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards are grants awarded to Maryland artists through an anonymous, competitive process to encourage and sustain their pursuit of artistic excellence. A limited number of awards of $1,000, $3,000, and $6,000 are offered each year.
All work will be judged anonymously by out-of-state jurors whose decisions are based solely on artistic merit, as demonstrated in work completed after July 29, 2001.
Individuals who are Maryland residents, 18 years of age or older, may apply. Students currently enrolled in a degree program, and collaborating artists are not eligible to apply.
Application guidelines and forms are online here or call 410-767-6555 for more information.
(Next year’s categories: Fiction, Media, Solo Dance Performance, Solo Instrumental Performance, Solo Vocal Performance, Visual Arts: Painting, Works on Paper, New and Emerging Genre).
Opportunity for Artists...
Kensington Park Senior Living, is looking for artists to exhibit their artwork for a month. The artist will have a social hour to talk and demonstrate their art/talent and an article about the artist will be published in their monthly newsletter. If you are interested, please contact Kathy Ward, Therapeutic Recreation Director at 301-946-7700 or by e-mail at kward@Kensingtonretirement.com.
Kensington Park Senior Living
3620 Littledale Rd.
Kensington, MD 20895
Monday, July 12, 2004
In case you missed it, last Thursday Leslie Walker had an article in the Washington Post discussing Art.com.
It is worth reading.
Founded a decade ago by two college students, art.com now employs 200 people working in a warehouse in Raleigh, NC, and its owners have apparently decided to branch into the original art, as so far art.com had concentrated on posters and reproductions.
Artists can display 16 original works on Art.com for free. People who want to buy the artwork then must negotiate directly with the artist through an e-mail link that Art.com provides.
Artists can also choose to pay $50 a year to display up to 96 images.
With five million visitors a month, and such low cost or free options, and with zero commission, I think that it is certainly worth a try!
Congratulations to Terry Teachout, who has been nominated to serve on the National Council on the Arts, the civilian panel that advises the NEA and its chairman, Dana Gioia.
Opportunities for artists...
Deadline: October 25, 2004.
Coker College's Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is reviewing slides (all media) for solo shows 2005/06 season.
Ten slides, resume, and SASE by 10/25/04 to:
Larry Merriman
Coker College
300 East College Ave
Hartsville SC 29550
Slides returned late December. For a prospectus send SASE, or request it from lmerriman@coker.edu
Deadline: August 3, 2004.
Texas Artists Museum - Art Competition 10th Annual Gulf Coast National Juried Art Competition.
Open to anyone 18+ living in the USA. 2-D artwork only, no photography. Slides due August 3, 2004. Has an entry fee.
For prospectus send SASE to:
Texas Artists Museum
3501 Cultural Center Drive
Port Arthur TX 77642
Deadline: August 2, 2004
2004 Hoyt Art Center's Mid Atlantic Juried Art Show. Juror is Peter Plagens, Art Critic, Newsweek Magazine.
Entries are restricted to artists 21+ and living in the Mid Atlantic region of the United State (PA, OH, NY, NJ, MD, DE, VA, W. VA, and Washington DC).
All media will be considered with the following exceptions: No video or installations. There is a non refundable $25.00 entry fee for up to two works (3 works for Hoyt members) and an additional $5.00 fee for each additional work.
Exhibition Dates: Oct 5 - Nov 15, 2004. For a Prospectus send a
SASE to:
Bob Karstadt
Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts
124 E Leasure Ave
New Castle PA 16101
or call 724-652-2882 or email hoytprograms@hoytartcenter.org
Deadline: September 3, 2004
The 20th Annual National Juried Contemporary Art Exhibition.
Juror: Tina Kukielski, Contemporary Art Curatorial Dept, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Cash awards/exhibition opportunities. Painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography and mixed media. Send SASE for
prospectus to:
The Barrett Art Center
55 Noxon St
Poughkeepsie NY 12601
Or call 845-471-2550
There are a couple of new art galleries in the area. In Baltimore (thanks J.T) Billy Coulbert is in the process of opening Cubicle 10, and in Bethesda, the Ozmosis Gallery just opened last month.
Ozmosis Gallery focuses on abstract and non-objective works. Each month the gallery presents a new exhibition with an opening reception on the second Friday of the month. The opening receptions are from 6-9pm and are free and open to the public as well as being a stop on Bethesda’s Art Walk trolley route.
Currently on exhibition are paintings by Michaele Harrington to be followed in August by Elizabeth Terra.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Sunday is the Bethesda Artist's Market. The market runs from 10am-5:30pm in the Bethesda Place Plaza located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue. Nearly 30 local and regional artists will display and sell their original fine art and fine craft.
See ya there!
A well dressed man approaches a woman, and after chatting her up a bit, asks her: "Will you have sex with me for one million dollars?"
"Yeah!" responds the woman.
"How about five bucks?" then asks the guy.
"Five bucks!," says the woman full of indignation, "What do you think I am?"
"We both know what you are," says the man, "We're just trying to arrive at a price."
In New York artist Andrea Fraser's case, it was $20,000.
Brilliant!
Prediction: Live sex as high art will be next.
Friday, July 09, 2004
Today's New York Times also has a review of the show by Holland Cotter. This second review, in my opinion, misses the point a bit, as it relies on the old art critic's crutch of writing mostly a biography about the artist to fluff up the review and add words.
An earlier New York Times review by Lesli Cahmi can be read here.
The show comes to Washington later this year at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Tonite is the Bethesda Art Walk, with around fifteen art venues and galleries participating. The shuttle bus route is available online here.
And this coming Sunday is the Bethesda Artist Market. The market runs from 10am-5:30pm in the Bethesda Place Plaza located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue. Nearly 30 local and regional artists will display and sell their original fine art and fine craft.
Free parking is available in the Wisconsin/Cheltenham garage. The event is also accessible by the Bethesda Metro station. Artists interested in participating in future events should download the entry form which is due July 23.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, located just south of Eastern Market at 545 7th Street, is a thirty-two year old organization building community through the arts with year-round classes, exhibits, and programs.
They are currently working with thirteen Capitol Hill restaurants on an upcoming benefit event, The Flavor of Capitol Hill: A Dining Event for the Arts. The event is planned for Thursday, July 15th with two restaurants participating on Saturday, July 17th.
To learn more about this event call Jen Carr at (202) 547-6839 or visit The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop's website.
Jessica Dawson has a really excellent review of Nikki S. Lee's show of photographs of herself at Numark Gallery.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
DC is humming with a lot of new gallery shows opening soon... this is certainly not a sleepy summer in the art gallery scene, and any writer/critic/BLOGger that claims that is just lazy.
Ready.......
Fusebox is without a doubt one of the best galleries in our area, and no one around here works harder than their two owners, Finlay and Murcia. Fusebox will next host Charles Juhász-Alvarado's Fuse Muse, curated by Laura Roulet, in their main exhibition space, and a Summer Group Exhibition in their project space. Both exhibitions open July 10 and run through August 7, 2004. A reception for the artists will be held Saturday, July 10, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Charles Juhász-Alvarado is one of Puerto Rico’s most exceptional and talented young artists. While included in numerous solo and group exhibitions on the island and abroad, this exhibit will be his debut in Washington DC.
Not too far from Fusebox, the Gallery at Flashpoint has "Ami Martin Wilber: contained existence" opening on Thursday, July 15. The site-specific installation will include one hundred of her sculptures composed of steel, rubber, Pyrex beakers, and human hair. Through August 14.
At Spectrum Gallery in Georgetown, Elsie Hull, Karen Keating, Grace Taylor, and Judith Walser will have an exhibition called "Prisma at Spectrum Gallery, Four Photographers - Four Visions."
By the way, both Karen Keating and Grace Taylor, are but a handful of DC area photographers that I know of with a Sotheby's secondary market record.
The opening reception is on July 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Spectrum Gallery has been in Georgetown since 1966! Considering that most galleries shut down in six months or less, this is quite an accomplishment!
At Touchstone Gallery, "Take 10: Works by Ten Washington Photographers" - Diana Adams, Kay Chernush, Patrice Gilbert, Ruth Schilling Harwood, Lisa Masson, Irene Owsley, Margaret Paris, Barbara Tyroler, Harriet Wise, and Pamela Zilly with an opening reception on July 9, 6 - 8:30 PM.
Touchstone has been around since 1976!
One of DC's art firebrands, curator Andrea Pollan has organized "Plastic Tactics" - Outdoor Sculpture on Mt. Royal Avenue between Cathedral & Lanvale Streets. The Artists are Kathryn Cornelius, Decatur Blue, Jill Greenberg, T. Charnan Lewis, Gabriel Martinez, Renée Rendine, Jeff Spaulding, Dan Steinhilber, Daniel Sullivan and Team Response.
Opening Reception: Friday, July 9, 6-9pm
Los Angeles Center For Digital Art Call for Artists...
Deadline for entries: September 5, 2004
LACDA announces an open call for their un-juried show featuring digital art and photography: "Snap to Grid."
All entries will be printed (8.5"x11" on Epson heavyweight matte paper) and shown in their gallery arranged in a grid. Note to artists: This is an open competition, which means exactly that: ALL entries will be accepted and shown.
Entrants submit one JPEG file of original work. All styles of 2D artwork and photography where digital processes of any kind were integral to the creation of the images are acceptable. Digital video stills and screen shots of web/new media are acceptable.
Prior to and after the exhibition the images and artist information will be available to gallery visitors to view in their artist portfolios. Prints can be made available to buyers on an as needed basis. Artwork for future exhibits will be selected from the portfolios, and will also be available for review by area gallerists, curators and arts journalists.
Show Dates: September 9-October 1, 2004 and the registration fee is $30. Submission Rules: Registration and submission are done through their web site only. File uploads are the only accepted submissions and are maximum of 2MB each and not exceed 1024x768 pixels in dimensions.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund Grant
Deadline: September 15, 2004.
The Franz and Virginia Bader Fund invites visual artists (excluding filmmakers, video artists, and performance artists) to apply for grants to enable recipients to develop their talent and concentrate on their art.
Artists must be 40 years or older, and must live within 150 miles of Washington, D.C. Two grants will be awarded in 2004. Grants awarded in 2003 were for $25,000 and $20,000.
Applications must be postmarked no later than September 15, 2004.
To obtain a current application form, please visit the Fund's website, or write to the Fund at 5505 Connecticut Avenue, NW #268, Washington, D.C. 20015. Send email inquiries to this email address.
The Ruth Chenven Foundation
Deadline: July 31, 2004.
Awards up to $1,500 to U.S. crafts artists engaged in or planning a project. For more information, send a SASE to: Ruth Chenven Foundation, 7505 Jackson Ave., Tacoma Park, MD 20912.
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Emergency Grants
Emergency grants are offered to artists who find themselves in need of financial assistance for unforeseen catastrophic events, including fire, flood, or emergency medical needs.
Open to artists working in painting, sculpture, or printmaking. Must be able to demonstrate at least 10 years in a mature phase of their work. Funding is not available for chronic situations, capital improvements, or projects.
To request an application form, contact:
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation
380 W. Broadway
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 226-0581
Fax: (212) 226-0584.
For more information, check their website here.
The Artists Fellowship provides funding to professional fine artists and their families during times of emergency, disability, or bereavement. The Fellowship does not accept requests from performance artists, filmmakers, craft artists, hobbyists, commercial artists, or commercial photographers.
For more information, contact:
Artists' Fellowship, Inc.
47 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (646) 230-9833 or check website.
Monday, July 05, 2004
The Post's Sunday Arts had this wonderful article By Peter Marks profiling ten young, emerging DC actors.
Why not have one of the Post's visual art critics write the same kind of article about ten young, emerging DC visual artists? Either O'Sullivan or Dawson could probably very easily write a piece highlighting ten young (say under 40) area artists. It would be great food for discussion, disagreement and fun. And it would help propel some of those artist's careers.
Instead we get this.
Sunday, July 04, 2004
I tried not to mention this, since I am so glad the WCP did such a good job in their article about Manon Cleary, but in the same issue of the WCP there's a review (by another writer) that begins like this...
"The most striking thing about the photographs of Frida Kahlo and her muralist husband, Diego Rivera, currently on display at the Mexican Cultural Institute is how much Kahlo looks like her self-portraits."I'm I the only one going...
Duh!
Saturday, July 03, 2004
The article is by John Metcalfe and it is about Manon Cleary, in my opinion, not only the best artist in the Washington area, but perhaps the most powerful realist brush in the nation.
Manon is represented locally by Addison/Ripley Fine Art and in Baltimore by Light Street Gallery and her life and work read like an artist's life should read - including all the suffering and destruction that goes along with being a creative genius.
John Metcalfe has done a terrific job in re-creating the lifestyle and the life led by Cleary, although I wish the article had included some images of Cleary's artwork.
Let this be the first call for a Manon Cleary retrospective at either the Hirshhorn Museum or the Corcoran.
It is long overdue for one of those two Washington museums to give a well-deserved show to Washington's best-known and most talented artist.
Jeff Bloom has a great new online resource for Greater Washington area photographers. It is DC Photo Scene and it is a really great resource for what's going on our area about or for photography.
I've just been told some great news. There is a committee which is planning an Art-O-Matic for 2004! The official Art-O-Matic website has some info about it.
The Art-O-Matic 2004 Steering Committee has a BLOG here.
Art-O-Matic is without a doubt the single greatest art event that happens in Washington, DC. Nothing comes close to it in visual power and impact.
For information about future Art-O-Matic events, artists should sign up here.
The 2004 Steering Committe has some very talented and well-versed-in-the-DC art scene names.
People such as artists Richard Dana, Judy Jashinsky, Rima Schulkind, Andres Tremols and others as well as collector Philip Barlow and art activist George Koch.
I cannot say enough good things about Art-O-Matic. My review of Art-O-Matic 2002 can be read online here and a second review of that same show can be read here.
If you'd like to be a part of Art-O-Matic 2004, as an artist, performer, or volunteer, check out the information on the Art-O-Matic 2004 Get Involved page.
Initially intended to teach people about the human skeletal, cardiovascular and other systems, the exhibit includes 25 bodies that have undergone a process called “plastination” in which body fluids are replaced with clear, pliable plastic. It has become an art show, rather than just a science show and somehow pushed aside the YBAs less horrific attempts to do the same with animals.
According to the article, during exhibit stops in Asia and Europe, about 6,000 people have signed papers donating their bodies to von Hagens' institute for possible plastination.
Pushing figurative art even further. Just when one thinks that representational art cannot be coaxed into producing anything "new." And as we all know, "new" is what seduces art critics into auto-thinking "good."
Friday, July 02, 2004
When does a Biennale become a scam?
Read this.
Thanks to Arts Scuttlebutt, without a doubt one of the best online resources in the world for artists, where you can post questions about just about anything dealing with the visual arts and you'll get experienced responses.
Today is the first Friday of the month and thus the Dupont Circle Galleries will be having their monthly extended hours from 6-8 PM.
See ya there!
Congratulations to (formerly from Miss.) Reston, Virginia photographer James W. Bailey, who just won the Albert J. Turbessi Award this past Sunday for his photograph, “Woman at the Tomb,” at the 47th Chautauqua Exhibition of American Art, which was juried by Donald Kuspit.
Congratulations to Gaithersburg, Maryland artist Chum Ngek, who is one of 12 artists to receive the 2004 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the country's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.
On five consecutive Thursday evenings this summer, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and its Museum Store are hosting extended hours until 8 pm.
Free programs include something for everyone -- artist talks, "Hot Nights Jazz," lectures, tours, family activities and after-hours films. For Hirshhorn Hot Nights updates, visit the Museum's website.
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Success as an Artist Seminar offered on August 8, 2004.
Almost as soon as we opened our first gallery in Georgetown in 1996, artists began pouring in seeking representation. This continues to this day, and between visits, emails, packages in the mail, etc. we generally receive around 600-800 inquiries a year.
Because we obviously cannot represent or sell the work of such a huge number of artists, a lot of good, talented artists are turned away, after we have recommended follow on steps on what to do. However, in our first few months, Catriona soon discovered that she was spending most of her of time with emerging artists discussing many of the same things over and over, which generally consisted of giving out career advice about such things as gallery representation, contracts, grants, competitions, resumes, etc.
This was not only time consuming with scheduled appointments, but many unscheduled visits caused her to spend several hours a day just meeting with artists and essentially passing out the same information, over and over.
Then her mother came out with a brilliant idea: Why not come up with a structured, formal seminar for emerging artists to pass out this information as well as other important information. Not theory, not review of artwork, but practical advice, usable handouts and a forum to answer questions all at once.
We held our first seminar in 1999 – it was supposed to run for four hours but it ran for seven. So eventually we changed it to a full day, seven hour seminar, and have now presented it to over 1,000 artists and art administrators from nearly every Mid Atlantic state – with attendees coming from as far north as New York and as far south as South Carolina.
It has been spectacularly successful in offering practical business advice to the emerging artist on many areas not covered by any art school curriculum that we know of. The information, advice and details taught at the seminar are not based on theory, but on actual practical experience and hands-on effects. That’s why it has been so successful!
In its seven hour format, the seminar covers a wide range of structured issues including:
1. Materials
Buying materials – strategies for lowering your costs, where and how to get it, etc.
2. Presentation – How to properly present your artwork including Conservation issues, Archival Matting and Framing, Longevity of materials, a discussion on Limited editions, signing and numbering, Prints vs. Reproduction, discussion on Iris Prints (Pros and Cons).
3. Creating a resume - Strategy for building your art resume, including how to write one, what should be in it, presentation, etc.
4. Juried Shows – An Insider's view and strategy to get in the competitions.
5. How to take slides and photographs of your artwork
6. Selling your art – A variety of avenues to actually selling your artwork, including fine arts festivals, corporate acquisitions, galleries, public arts, etc.
7. Creating a Body of Works
8. How to write a news release
9. Publicity – How to get in newspapers, magazines, etc. Plus handouts on email and addresses of newspaper critics, writers, etc.
10. Galleries – Discussion on area galleries including Vanity Galleries, Co-Operatives, Commercial Galleries, Non-profit Art spaces, etc.
11. How to approach a gallery – Realities of the business, Contracts, Gallery/Artist Relationship, Agents.
12. Outdoor Art Festivals – Discussion and advice on how to sell outwork at fine arts festivals, which to do, which to avoid, etc.
13. Resources - Display systems and tents, best juried shows and ones to avoid.
14. Accepting Credit cards – How to set up your art business.
15. Grants – Discussion on how to get grants in DC, Regional and National, including handouts on who and where and when.
16. Alternative Marketing - Cable TV, Local media
17. Internet – How to build your website at no cost, how to establish a wide and diverse Internet presence.
The seminar has been a spectacular success, and the feedback from artists can be read online at here and we continue to receive tremendous positive feedback on the practical success that this seminar has meant for those who have taken it.
The seminar lasts for seven hours and is now offered twice a year. It costs $80 and the next one is scheduled for August 8, from noon to 7 PM at our Bethesda gallery. Interested artists can read more details or print a registration form online at www.thefrasergallery.com/seminars.html or just call Catriona at 301/718-9651.
The seminar is held at the Fraser Gallery of Bethesda, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, in Bethesda. The gallery is one block from the Bethesda Metro stop on the Red Line. Ample free parking is also available.
Job Opportunity for Photographer...
The Associated Press seeks a Photo Editor responsible for working with photographers, photo editors,news editors to improve and guide the Washington, DC., photo report. This position will be responsible for planning, organizing and executing coverage of major news and sporting events. Photoshop and computer skills necessary.
Contact:
John E. Hall/ Assistant Bureau Chief/Photo
2021 K st. NW
Washington, DC. 20006
202-776-9511
jhall@ap.org
Call for Artists...
Deadline: Friday, July 30, 2004
Alexandria Festival For the Arts: Regional Artist Juried Exhibition. Open to all artists living or working in Northern Virginia working in all media. Exhibition Dates: September 11 and September 12, 2004, as part of the national Alexandria Festival for the Arts. Juror: Peter Dubeau, Associate Dean, Division of Continuing Studies, Maryland Institute College of Art, former Director of School 33, Baltimore, MD.
Cash awards available. Postmark Deadline for Submissions: Friday, July 30. Entry fee: $15 for slides or JPEG digital images of up to three (3) works. For prospectus, please e-mail: regionalartist@hotmail.com or call 703-838-4565 x 6.
