The Power of the Web

John Martin discovers a couple of artists who are following Duane Kaiser's tremendous online success (with his Painting a Day idea) a little too closely.

Read it here.

Medium Format Pinhole Lego Camera

A pinhole camera made from Legos.

Read it here.

Wodzianski, Yellow Arrows and Wodcasting

Four words every artist dreads to hear: "I don’t get it."

Andrew Wodzianski (a DC artist and Assistant Professor at the College of Southern Maryland) hopes that he can eliminate these words with Lucha Libre!, his second solo exhibition at our Georgetown Fraser Gallery.

How?

Throughout the duration of the thirteen painting exhibit (Oct. 21 – Nov. 16, 2005), Wodzianski is implementing new technology that allows his viewers unique opportunities to interact with, and respond to, the artist and his artwork. This new hi-tech approach includes the use of podcasts, cell phones, and other wireless devices for would-be critics to leave their own commentary.

Podcasts and cell phones in an art gallery?

"Art is essentially a form of communication – and at no time in human history has technology allowed for such an immersive and intelligent participation in the communication between art, artist, and audience," says Wodzianski. To underscore that point, he is preparing a podcast – an audio commentary meant to be played on an MP3 player or computer – that will be available for download before the show’s opening reception this coming Friday Oct. 21, 2005 from 6-9PM.

Think of this as an audio tour among the artwork, from the artist himself.

Wodzianski’s podcast (make that - Wodcast!) will help listeners decipher the story behind the largely narrative paintings, explain techniques, and reveal inspirations. MP3 players preloaded with the Wodcast will be available at the reception, and attendees with their own player can download the file onsite during the opening reception.

Furthermore, as part of the exhibition, Wodzianski is inviting gallery attendees to provide their own commentary. Wodzianski and associates have developed a free service for anyone with a cellular phone to call and record their own podcast, describing their thoughts and feelings the work is evoking. These recordings will be published immediately at the Wodcast website (wodcast.blogspot.com), allowing participants to share their critiques with those in attendance or absent.

Visitors to the show who would not be not listening to podcasts can still interact with the artist’s work through Yellow Arrows.

What is/are Yellow Arrows?

Yellow Arrow is a new concept in mobile interactivity. When a Yellow Arrow placard is found pointing to a painting, a cellular phone user can send a text message to a provided number, and discover comments left by previous viewers. Texters can also leave their own message; opinions about the artwork – or maybe the artist himself.

Will this be an exercise in popular culture invading the traditional appreciation of art, or a sign of the natural evolution in the field? The artist, for one, believes it will be the latter.

"With the advent of these new tools, artists can interact with viewers using sound, text and visuals that would otherwise be impossible outside a museum setting," says Wodzianski. "It narrows the gap between the art elite, and the casual gallery visitor. Everyone has an opinion, and throughout this exhibit, each opinion is equally represented. And frankly, it’s a lot of fun."


The show opens this Friday at Fraser Gallery Georgetown with a catered opening reception from 6-9PM. The exhibition and concept will then travel to Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

See ya there!

Silverthorne on Winslow

Alexandra reviews our current John Winslow exhibition at Fraser Bethesda.

Openings this week

Tuesday, at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, located at 1530 P Street NW is the Art for Life Auction to benefit Whitman-Walker Clinic. Details here, and you can preview the artwork here and also additional artwork here. Tickets are $75 each. At 6:00 pm the reception and silent auction begins, and at 7:30 pm, the live auction will begin.

Thursday, of course, is time for the 3rd Thursday Gallery Walk around the 7th Street area. The participating venues are listed here.

Also on Thursday: Our Children, Our World, a photography exhibit featuring the works of children from Accra, Ghana; Pinar del Rio, Cuba; Washington, D.C. and Gary, Indiana using traditional and digital cameras all orchestrated by DC-based Afro-Cuban photographer Nestor Hernandez. Opening Reception, Thursday, October 20, 5:30 - 8:00pm at the Children's National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue, NW.

And also on Thursday, Alexandra Silverthorne and Pat Dunning will be having a reception for their exhibit at Warehouse from 6-8PM. And still on this busy Thursday, Water/Wax: Brian Petro & Sondra N. Arkin open with an Artists’ Reception from 6-9 pm at Coldwell Banker, 1606 17th Street NW in DC.

Since this is the 3rd Friday of the month, the five Canal Square Galleries in Georgetown will be hosting their openings and extended hours. New shows at MOCA, Parish, Alla Rogers, Anne C. Fisher and Fraser. We will be hosting the second solo show of Andrew Wodzianski. The openings are catered by the Sea Catch Restaurant.

Also on Friday, Union Printmakers Atelier is hosting its Fall Studios Open House from 6pm-10.00pm. Prints and drawings by Scip Barnhart, William Christenberry, David Chung, John Driesbach, Jenny Freestone, Fred Folsom, Kerry Mc-Aleer-Keeler, Jody Mussof, Robert Nelson, Judith Nulty, Russell Richards, Thomas Seawell and Claudia Vess, and many others. Also "Powerpoint" a Drypoint Portfolio by 15 Washington area artists. Union Printmakers Atelier is located at 926 N St (rear) NW (1.5 blocks from the new Convention Center). For more information: 202 296 5857 or 202 277 1946, or email SBarnhart@corcoran.org or freeston@erols.com.

On Saturday, October 22, William Adair opens at Matrix with new works from his Cup Series. The opening is from 3-6PM and the exhibit runs through November 19, 2005. Matrix is at 3307 M Street, NW in G'town. For more details call 202/744-8770.

Also on Saturday, Transformer has the opening for Past/Perfect, by Pat Graham & Melanie Standage from 7-9PM. There will also be an artists' talk on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 3 pm.

If I've missed any openings, please email me.

40 paintings in 30 days

Ming is trying to paint 40 paintings in 30 days while keeping a day job.

See them here.

Found Sound

One of the coolest art projects around DC these days is Found Sound, curated by Welmoed Laanstra (just the pronounciation of his name makes a cool sound).

"By placing the sound booths on the sidewalk, the project will make this innovative art accessible to a large number of people," says Welmoed Laanstra, the exhibit's curator. "The aim is to create a public experience focused on the developing field of sound art."

Participating galleries, artists and venues are here.

If you like sounds, and think of it as art, then the amazing FreeSounds Project by Richard Humphries, is a must visit online and you can even contribute a sound.

Humphries, who works as a Sound Designer and Re-Recording Mixer for the Discovery Channel, has been collecting sounds since the early 1990's.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 26, 2005.

International Visions Gallery is hosting a Small Works Competition.

December 8, 2005 through January 4, 2006. The award is a Solo Exhibition. Max size 16 x 20 inches. $25 entry fee for 3 entries. Original works, 2D only in all media will be chosen from 35mm slides or CDs. 40% commission. Insurance. SASE for prospectus to:

International Visions Gallery
2629 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008

Or call 202-234-5112 or www.inter-visions.com

Spectrum seeking new members

Spectrum Gallery, a distinguished co-op gallery located in Georgetown and which has been around for 40 years, is looking for new artists to join the gallery.

I am told that it is an exciting time for the gallery; they are restructuring and looking to bring in a crop of talented emerging artists to become member artists.

Member artists have their work shown every month in their group show and have regular solo shows about every two years.

Artists in all media are welcome to apply. For questions and other information, please call the gallery at 202-333-0954 or visit their website.

Baltimore Open Studios

On the weekend of October 22 & 23 from Noon to 5 p.m., in conjunction with Arts and Humanities month, School 33 Art Center will host the Annual Open Studio Tour, where more than 100 visual artists in and around Baltimore City will open their doors to the public.

Details here.

Scope London

Two area art dealers are participating in scope London: Bethesda art dealer Rody Douzoglou and DC's Conner Contemporary.

Rody Douzoglou will feature artist Pablo López and also works from Amalia Caputo, Magdalena Fernández and Carolina Sardi.

Conner Contemporary will be featuring new work by photographer Julee Holcombe. The gallery will also exhibit photo/conceptualist work by Joe Ovelman, new paintings by Erik Sandberg and photographs by John Kirchner.

Tape Excrement

Mark Jenkins is at it again.

Update: WOW! I didn't know that these Mark Jenkins' sculptures had been placed outside the Found Sound booths. And now Jenkins has been policed!

Update II: Mark Jenkins has now apologized for this.

Bethesda Row

Lack of posts due to my being at the Bethesda Row Arts Festival.

I'll catch up later... have a ton of stuff to post and discuss. Come back!

Friday at the WaPo

Mercy me! Two visual art reviews in the WaPo in one day!

In Style, Gopnik surprises us again by reviewing another "local" (I mean "Washington-based") artist: Sam Gilliam's retrospective at the Corcoran.

And in Weekend, Michael O'Sullivan delivers yet more evidence why he's one of the few area art critics who truly knows "Washington-based" artists in this review of Options 2005.

And Thinking About Art's comments on O'Sullivan's review.

Can't wait to see the show!

Solo3 Opens Tonight

Solo3, a solo show in three parts by artists Alexandra Silverthorne, Joseph Barbaccia, and Pat Dunning opens tonight at Warehouse. The opening reception is from 6-8pm.

Tim Tate's Pad

Tim Tate's DC pad is becoming famous once again, this time appearing in an episode of "Small Spaces, Big Style" on HGTV this Thursday night at 8:00 PM.

Tate's apartment was transformed from a dull gray into a stunning pad by the amazing team of Sean and Rania of Scenic Artists.

Heading South...

I'm heading out to the Carolinas later today, but will be back by Friday, hopefully in time to make the opening for Prof. John Winslow as he opens his second solo show with us.

The opening for Winslow is this coming Friday at Fraser Gallery Bethesda from 6-9PM and it is part of the Bethesda Art Walk.

A free guided tour is also offered. See details of the tour here. Tours will begin at 6:30pm. Attendees can meet their guide at the Bethesda Metro Center, located at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Attendees do not have to participate in tours to visit Art Walk galleries.

Congratulations

To area photographer Tracy Lee, whose erotica has been included in The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotic Women.

Tracy Lee's work was last seen locally in Seven.

Blake again

I had been staying away from reacting to our "local" WaPo Chief Art Critic's musings lest I be recognized as a Blakemonger. But I bit the other day and now I find myself reading one of the oddest, most entertaining, off-kilter, intelligent, unexpected, "will someone please return the real Blake Gopnik" (NOT!) articles by someone claiming to be Blake Gopnik that I have ever read.

Read it here.

And then read Bailey's diss...ertation on the article here, which as usual, raises some good, interesting and valid points.

Atelier Yoyita

As a response to the tragedies of hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Atelier Yoyita in Jackson, Mississippi is creating, hosting and showcasing artists affected by the hurricanes at no cost to the artist, for 6 months to a year.

Interested and eligible artists should contact Dr. Gloria M. Norris through their website or via email at katrina@yoyita.com.