Businessing Art

To dig each other out of the current economic morass, a fundamental integration of the arts and business worlds is urgently needed. Instead of segregating each into right- and left-brain domains relegated to work versus leisure time, these two equally important elements must finally be united into one forceful whole.

Artists know how to look at the world — and problem solve — with fresh eyes. If businesses regularly invited photographers, crafters and writers to participate in brainstorming sessions and hold employee workshops, some new solutions and strategies might arise.

Read Andrea K. Hammer at the Bulletin here.

Is this awesome or what?

"Seems like Tyler School of Art is looking to stir something up: We got word this morning that, in an attempt to "end the age of silence," whatever that means, Temple kids have craftily constructed four Trojan Horses out of what looks like cardboard on wheels, and strategically placed them in the lobbies of UArts, PAFA, Moore College of Art & Design, and the Art Institute. How they got them in there without getting caught, no one knows."

Check it out here.

Their typewritten manifesto says:

"Within the tides and ideals of their own foundations, four rivers have been flourishing in the city of Philadelphia. The fifth river had existed within close proximity until now. Its channel has been rerouted to flow abreast the others and encroach on their territory. We, the students of Tyler School of Art, have been rerouted and relocated. However, our waters are as steady and strong as they have ever been.

Four gifts have been constructed ending the age of silence. As Apollo lifts the sun on the morning of March 18, 2009, these four gifts will be illuminated. On this morning we … declare war against thee and stand by our gates at full attention waiting for the battle to begin."

I love this!

Tyler recently (today was the first day I think) opened a brand new gallery in their new relocated spaces. More info and details from the Tylerists here.

See how the horses were constructed below:



Moore's response below!!!

De we have an 'arts czar'?

Late last week, the White House seems to have appointed an arts czar -- but no one seems to have noticed. His name is Kareem Dale, according to a short item in Saturday's New York Times. As of 1 p.m. on Monday, there's no press release on WhiteHouse.gov and no reports of the appointment at the Associated Press or Reuters.

Judith H. Dobrzynski reports here and ArtInfo.com reports here.

Bailey on Fake Twitter Gopnik

Only Bailey could somehow make sense out of not apologizing (yet) to Blake Gopnik over his identity theft over at Twitter.

Read it here.

Also Bailey made a really interesting point separately: it would be interesting to see if the Washington Post reports on this whole issue.

After all, this is a rather interesting development, and I am sure that Twitter does not condone identity theft, and I suspect that the WaPo wouldn't be too happy to see their employees' names and reputation taken in vain.

And why is the site still up? Shouldn't Blake complain and have the site removed? From what I can tell, with 175 followers, there could be 175 folks out there who still think that Blake Gopnik has a Twitter voice.

Update: The fake Twitter account has finally been suspended.

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow?



March 20 (Friday), 6-8 p.m. at Capitol Hill Art and Frame, 623 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC.

Campello reviewed

In TMP director/choreographer Jon Douglas Rake’s presentation of “Footloose the Musical,” the dancing and singing are spot-on for all the main actors. Elise Campello is particularly impressive as the sassy yet sometimes sweet Ariel, wooing the boys with her cutoff shorts and sweater dresses when her father is not around.

Details here.

Blake Gopnik on Twitter: Did I call it or what?

Questioningly quasidentified by a less than reputable blog which never errs, art bloggers jumped all over the Twittering "Blake Gopnik" in the last few days.

When I first looked at it, it smelled fishy to me right away; and did I call it or what?

I was right! It wasn't Blake Gopnik!

I know Gopnik, and even though I seldom agree with his art viewpoints, sometimes question his art history training, and often vociferously criticize his apathy towards his own hometown artists and art galleries, I do respect him as a person and recognize his intellect and agenda.

The Twitter "Gopnik" falsehood was clear to the most casual observer, but only if you read Gopnik without a prejudiced eye and only if one takes the time to examine the silly Twitterings attributed to a very serious and composed and erudite person.

The good bloggers have already apologized, while the one who's never wrong, just shrugged it off... never mind past lecturing on "confirm before publishing."

That's the difference between a good journalist and someone who's not. When one fucks up, like we all do and like I have done many times in my life, one apologizes. It took me a long time to learn this. Regina and I have age and experience on our side.

To the fake Twitter Gopnik: what you have done has broken the law, and I'm about to loosen Carnivore on your ass; this should be fun.

Georgetown opening this Friday

The galleries at 1054 32st Street, NW in Georgetown in DC will have their usual third Friday openings this March 20, from 6-8PM.

Over at Cross MacKenzie, "Microworlds" looks really interesting. This is an exhibition of ceramic sculpture by renowned Canadian sculptor Neil Forrest paired with photographs by Johns Hopkins University Scientists, Norman Barker & Giraud Foster.

"These artists explore worlds unseen by the naked eye and through their original techniques create intricate representations of these invisible realms."

In the forward of the accompanying book, "Ancient Microworlds," Francis M. Hueber, Curator of Paleobotany at the Smithsonian says, "On film, they have captured the wondrous images they have encountered, presenting their exquisite photographs as stimulants for our own imaginations."

Wanna go to a Philly opening tomorrow?


Grand Opening of Temple Gallery and reception for their MFA Thesis Exhibitions Series, Thursday, March 19, 2008, 6 - 8 PM.

Temple University's Tyler School of Art will host a series of solo Masters of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions, occurring weekly from March 18 to May 9, 2009. The thesis exhibitions are the culmination of each student's two-year career at Tyler and represent, for many, their first professional one-person exhibition. The series includes students from all Tyler departments and an array of media: painting, sculpture, glass, printmaking, metals, graphic design, fibers, photography, ceramics, and more.

Regina Hackett

When I was at art school in Seattle, we used to call the Seattle Post Intelligencer by another name: The Seattle Past Intelligence. It was the arrogance of children, of course. In fact in 1980 or 1981, a whole bunch of us got together and put together a spoof edition of the paper, which we sold on the streets of Seattle. My contribution was a cartoon take-off on Doonesbury, where one of the characters got a cartoon blow job.

That great Seattle newspaper bit the dust after 146 years and is no longer. The PI's loss releases the terrific Regina Hackett to continue her super blogging activities at Another Bouncing Ball.

Visit her often!

Come Again?

By entering, all entrants accept and agree to abide by and be bound by these official rules and the judge's decisions relating to this contest. Artwork entered must be accompanied by an official entry form, signed and dated by the artist and if under legal age, by the parent/guardian on behalf of, the child, and his/her heirs. By signing, all rights of origin and personal property are released to Enclave Silver Spring, Riverstone Management or Stellar Management (“Sponsor”) and its affiliates. Entries and other written correspondence become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned (my italics).

Discussion on this "become the property..." issue at artdc.org.

Copyright Infringement?

Cthulhu knows that I'm as guilty as any artist of "borrowing" more than my shares of images in the creation of art, or even this blog, in the early lawless days of the Internets.

But Bailey thinks that WaPo's Chief Art Critic Blake Gopnik's Twitter site has a case of the copyright infringement blues... Read Bailey here.

I don't know why, and I haven't asked Blake, but I get a nagging feeling that the Blake Gopnik Twitter site may be a spoof of sorts and not Blake's at all. Maybe I'm all wrong, but something doesn't "feel right" about some of the stuff that "Blake" writes in the site.

Any comments?

Jury Duty

Deadline: March 27, 2009 (postmark).

I'm going to be jurying an art show for The Fine Arts League of Cary in North Carolina, and they are seeking entries for its 15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition to be held from May 8th to June 27th, 2009 in Cary/Raleigh, NC. Show awards and purchase awards will total over $5,000. Entries can only be mailed via CD. The postmark deadline for the mail-in registration is March 27, 2009.

Full details and a printable prospectus are available on the web here or call Kathryn Cook at 919-345-0681.

Two DC galleries to close

In the world of art dealers and art galleries, most of them are run through the skin of one's teeth and are usually a labor of love on the part of the dealer. When a gallery "survives" for a few years and then establishes itself as a permanent fixture on a city's art scene, that cultural tapestry gains another member and we all benefit.

Two important and longstanding members of the Washington, DC area art scene will close their physical spaces in the near future. When we lose important galleries, all galleries and the art scene itself suffers.

Kathleen Ewing, considered by many for many years to be the premier photography gallery in the DC region, and whose owner was once dubbed by a national art magazine as one of the top 100 most influential persons in the international world of fine arts photography announces that:

For over 30 years, it has been my privilege to work with a great group of photographers, especially those in the DC area. It has been a community of mutual support and admiration. The aesthetic rewards have been extraordinary, but it has always been a challenge to meet the financial obligations of a public gallery space. For many years, the gallery was supported in part by my important position as Executive Director of the Association of International Photography Art Dealers [AIPAD]. That position ended in December 2007. Since that time, I’ve made every effort to find a new source of income and increase the sales in the gallery. The timing for these efforts could not have been worse.

Tough times unfortunately provoke tough decisions.

After much soul searching and with a serious reality check, I know the best decision for all of us is that the Kathleen Ewing Gallery will give up its public gallery space on P Street in Dupont Circle and move the operation back to my home in Cleveland Park. The Cleveland Park town house is where the gallery began and it will be a positive move to retrench in this location. Back in the mid 70s, Ben Forgey, writing for the Washington Post, reviewed a Mark Power exhibit on view in my private gallery. People came and enjoyed the show. Perhaps, the salon atmosphere of a private gallery will be once again appealing.

The concept in this new location will be to enhance the gallery’s website, work more directly with specific clients and use CD images for clients’ review. The very nature of operating an art gallery, here and everywhere, has changed dramatically in the past few years. From my point of view and from others in the field, the Internet and the proliferation of international art fairs have created a significant decline in gallery attendance. Additionally, maintaining an art gallery in Washington, DC has always been difficult. This move to becoming a gallery “open by appointment” is a reflection of the realities of the current climate.

I sincerely appreciate the support and camaraderie I have received from my photographers/artists, collectors and clients. The spirit of the gallery will continue into the future. Just in a different venue.

Best wishes to all. Kathleen Ewing

Jane Haslem, who has been running a gallery business for 50 years (Chapel Hill NC - Madison WI, & DC) will soon end her gallery operations and concentrate on www.artline.com which is coming up on 15 years old. Haslem was not only a positive fixture of the DC area art scene, but easily one of the first online explorers for the world of art in the new frontiers (back in the early 90s) of the Internet. It was because of her and artline.com that when I first opened our first gallery in Georgetown in 1996 that one of the first things that we did (even before we opened the physical spaces) was to create an online website for the gallery, which back in 1996 was a rather almost unique thing for a DC art gallery.

Back in 1992, when I first re-moved to the DC area, both these giants of art dealers befriended me as I freelanced my way to every newspaper and magazine which would take my gallery reviews (back then as many as 6-7 outlets a month). When four years later I became the co-owner of a tiny Georgetown gallery which eventually became two galleries over the years, it was often through their insight and advice that a novice gallerist moved forward.

We will all miss their physical spaces in the Dupont Circle area, but know that they will continue to do wonders for the DC area art scene in their own ways; Ewing with her private dealer space out of her home and Haslem with her pioneer online site.

Thank you Jane and Kathleen, for the many great years of art.

Art Fraud Alert

This person is going thru re-title.com and they believe that this person is involved in fraudulent activity such as ID fraud.

First Name: Steve
Last Name: Adams
Email: steveadams7189@yahoo.com

Message:
Hello to you out there. I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am interested in purchasing some creative artworks from you let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to give? I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home in South Africa. As well, I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives, We are travelling from our Dallas home to our new apartment as soon as possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a Bank draft or Cashier check in Euro funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed, Have a wonderful day. Take Care, Mr Steve Adams....

Two DC galleries to close

As we all know, Zenith Gallery recently closed after 30 years on the DC art scene. I've just learned that two more long established DC art galleries will close soon as well.

More later.

Footloose Trooper

That's my baby daughter Elise to the left, and she just had an opening night for Footloose at the Tacoma Musical Playhouse in Tacoma, Washington.

She performed the opening in spite of having brochitis.

A little Campello trooper, no?

And she's also on the traveling "Mercer Girls" show for the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.

Next at Hamiltonian

Congrats!

To Shanye (Ken) Huang, a Chinese-American artist, from Silver Spring, MD. Inspired by his artwork, an interesting music/ballet performance -- the world premier of "Chun Zhi Ge" (Spring Song Festival) will be held at 8pm on March 21 at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in New York, with one of his paintings "Tapestry of Dreams" as backdrop.

Details here.

Wanna go to a Morristown, NJ opening today?

I'm in this exhibition, with two pieces on the subject. The show is at the Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, New Jersey. Click on the image for more details. The opening is Monday, March 16, from 4:30-7:00PM.



See ya there!