The curious case of Gov. LePage and the labor mural
For the most part I try really hard to keep politics out of this blog, and being a very proud independent able to discern the usual double standards of both the vast left wing nuttery and the even vaster right wing conspiracy, I think that I do a pretty good job of that task.
Except when politics cross over into art.
The above image is a 36-foot-long mural depicting Maine's labor history. The mural used to hang in the lobby of that state's Department of Labor.
Last weekend, Maine Governor Paul LePage ordered the mural removed from the Labor building. According to LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt, the administration felt that the mural depicted "one-sided decor" not in keeping with the department's pro-business goals.
"The message from state agencies needs to be balanced," said Demeritt, adding that the mural had sparked complaints from "some business owners" who complained that it was hostile to business.
The mural (which apparently will be relocated to the Portland City Hall) was created in 2008 by Maine artist Judy Taylor via a $60,000 Maine Arts Commission grant. There are excellent details of the mural in the artists' website here.
Politicians (and locally some museum executives) just don't seem to learn the lesson that every time they try to mix politics with art censorship, they lose.
And this ability to make these boneheaded decisions is not just restricted to local government, as both the Clinton and Bush administration found out when they both covered up the 1934 WPA murals on the 5th floor of the Ariel Rios building here in Washington, DC.
The Taliban tears down and destroys art; the brutal Castro dictatorship censors art and punishes artists; the ChiCom government censors art; the nut with the Elvis hairdo in North Korea decides what art is and artists there better toe his Soviet-realism line... What do all of these regimes have in common? They are all dictators.
But in our society, anytime that a politician enters into this arena, he or she is bound to lose. We don't suffer dictator-like behavior around here.
And hopefully Maine's governor and self appointed chief interior decorator now realizes that not only did he make a stupid (and needless) decision here, but also managed to paint himself (pun intended) in a really negative light to all of us, who will never accept art censorship, no matter from which nutty wing of the right or left it comes.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Saturday, April 02, 2011
TV Drawings
Being one of those persons who can often do two things at once, I used to always have a pad of paper and drawing instruments around me whenever I used to watch TV.
That sort of went away a few years ago, and then just as sudden, this process began a come back a few days ago. The below drawings are ink pen and then smeared on the paper with wet fingertips.
Woman Dancing with Pig
(Inspired by one of those commercials that no one has any idea what's being adverstised)
Homage to Goya (Los Caprichos)
(Done while watching a film on Goya)
Homage to Goya (Los Caprichos)
(Done while watching a film on Goya)
Leda and the Swan
(Inspired by an Aflack commercial)
The Policeman's Wife
(Inspired by watching a documentary on Paula Rego)
Woman with Hooves
(Inspired by a shoe commercial)
Woman Dancing with the Devil
(Inspired by a cheap Science Fiction movie on SyFy channel)
Dwarf Painting
(Inspired by the Paula Rego documentary)
Friday, April 01, 2011
Opportunity for Artists
Deadline: June 9, 2011
s.h.e. gallery in New Jersey is now accepting submissions for future shows. All media is being considered. Please submit jpegs of your work along with artists resume to tracy@shegallery.com. Accepting submissions by emerging and established artists. Send jpegs to tracy@shegallery.com.
Looking for studio space
Flux Studios is now accepting applications for two studio spaces:
Available May 1, 2011- 10 x 16 ft- $400 a month
Available June 1, 2011- 14 x 17 ft- $595 a month
Flux Studios is a 3000 square foot arts space in the Gateway Arts District that houses the studios of six professional artists. Each individual studio has ten-foot ceilings, concrete floors and walls of finished drywall over plywood.
They offer a friendly and collaborative atmosphere, 24 hour access, free on-site parking, a large flexible common area available to all members for projects, installations or teaching, an exhibition area with gallery lighting, a computer controlled studio kiln available for rent and a loading dock with garage doors.
If interested in applying, please contact Novie Trump at novie@novietrump.com
Tomorrow: Gilliam at the Katzen
On Saturday, April 2, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, is the opening reception for "Close to Trees", a site specific installation by Sam Gilliam on the entire third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Center.
"Sam Gilliam first took his paintings off their stretchers in 1965, using the liberated canvases to transform gallery walls into three-dimensional abstractions. He has continued to experiment with the practice of painting and the line between painting and sculpture. For this exhibition, Gilliam will transform the 8,000 square foot space of the third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center into an exciting and colorful work of art."April 2 to August 14, 2011.
Gilliam also broke my heart when he declined to be included in my 100 Washington, DC Artists book (in spite of a joint press front that included several artists who tried to convince Sam to join in the project). Anyway, do not miss this opening and exhibition of work by the DMV's leading artist and a true innovator.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Opening this Friday in DC
International Art & Artists, Washington Project for the Arts, and Black Artists of DC have all gotten together to put together a show titled Process: Reaffirmation (at Hillyer Art Space, 9 Hillyer Ct. NW), curated by Gina Marie Lewis, Assistant Professor of Art, Bowie State Univ.
Opening Reception: Friday, April 1, 6-9pm
Artists Talk: Saturday, April 23 at 3pm
Featuring work by Anne Bouie, Daniel Brooking, Joel D'Orazio, Victor Ekpuk, Corwin Levi, Barbara Liotta, Adrienne Mills, and Cleve Overton.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Aperture magazine
"Judy and The Boys," currently in the collection of the Library of Congress, is perhaps Lida Moser's most iconic image and a gorgeous example of her work around the streets of New York City in the 1960s.
Aperture Magazine will feature this image in their April issue as part of a piece on the Photo League.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
New Latin Music Legends Stamps: A Lesson in Labeling
A new set of five forever American stamps going on sale Wednesday honors Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Carmen Miranda, Selena and Carlos Gardel. They represent a range of "Latin musical styles, including Tejano, tango, samba, Latin jazz and salsa."
Postal Service vice president Marie Therese Dominguez said the stamps are "a lasting tribute to five extraordinary performers."
I think that they may also be a lasting tribute to America's love to put labels on people.
You see, a couple of these "Latin" stars were actually born in Europe, albeit in "Latin" countries, if we accept that Portugal and France are still OK with that label.
So if the stamps are there to honor "Latin music", then I suppose it's OK to include Carmen Miranda (born in Portugal) and Carlos Gardel (born in France).
Gardel was without a doubt the king of tango, and although born in Tolouse, France of French parents, was raised in Argentina. Miranda, born in Portugal of Portuguese parents, was easily a star samba singer, a decent Broadway actress and a mega Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s, when she was according to some sources, the highest-earning woman in the United States.
Tito Puente was a NewYorkRican, Celia Cruz was born in Cuba and Selena was an American-born singer of Mexican ancestry and called the "Queen of Tejano Music."
I wonder if Celia Cruz, "the Queen of Salsa", is the first Cuban-born person on a US stamp?
I'll have to research that...
Azucar!
Update: Man! The power of the web!
Less than a few minutes into this posting, someone already emailed me to tell me that Father Felix Varela Morales was the first Cuban on a US stamp back in 1997.
Update 2: And below is the photo from which the artist who designed these stamps clearly copied for the Miranda stamp:
Update 3: Also, Desi Arnaz in 1999.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Congrats!
To the very young DMV area artist Teresa Oaxaca, who is one of the top 15 finalists in the International Portrait Competition (Portrait Society of America, 2011)!
"Father Time", 64 x 62 in. Oil on Canvas, 2011 by Teresa Oaxaca
Her portrait of "Father Time" was selected among 15 out of over 1,800 entries in the Portrait Society of America's most prestigious competition.
Galleys
A while back I received the galleys for my 100 Washington, DC Artists book. I read them several times, trying really hard to find errors, knowing that no matter how hard I try, there will be some errors and wherever that error lands, some artist will be eternally pissed off at me.
I did find one error, and I corrected it. But I know that there are more out there, waiting to bite me in the ass after the book is published.
The book goes to print next week.
Order your copy here.
PS - By the way, over at Amazon, the book had been steadily holding a position at the 600-700,000 ranking, but there was one interesting day when it cracked the top 1,000 ranking.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Body art
F. Lennox Campello's right ankle tattoo.
Tattoo on skin, c. 1992. Designed by Lenny Campello.
Tattooe'd by unknown punk-looking British tattoo guest artist working out of the tattoo shop on the street below the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington.
For the record, it hurt like hell, and yes, I was very sober.
Saturday: Gilliam at the Katzen
On Saturday, April 2, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, is the opening reception for "Close to Trees", a site specific installation by Sam Gilliam on the entire third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Center.
"Sam Gilliam first took his paintings off their stretchers in 1965, using the liberated canvases to transform gallery walls into three-dimensional abstractions. He has continued to experiment with the practice of painting and the line between painting and sculpture. For this exhibition, Gilliam will transform the 8,000 square foot space of the third floor of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center into an exciting and colorful work of art."April 2 to August 14, 2011.
Gilliam also broke my heart when he declined to be included in my 100 Washington, DC Artists book (in spite of a joint press front that included several artists who tried to convince Sam to join in the project). Anyway, do not miss this opening and exhibition of work by the DMV's leading artist and a true innovator.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
French at Mateyka
Christopher French, who used to be a DMV artist and a former Executive Director of the Washington Project for the Arts, currently has "Inventions and Recollections", an exhibition of recent paintings on Braille paper at the Marsha Mateyka Gallery in DC.
Join them for the artist's reception on Saturday, April 2, 3:00 - 5:00 pm.
Madness Selection
Last night I dropped by March Madness at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, where I had been asked to come by and select my favorite piece from the 200 entries submitted by artists for this fundraiser.
These pieces were all done on a 10 square inch panel, and once again the DMV artists rose to the challenge with an unexpected and diverse set of work. Each piece is then sold for $100.
I really liked Novie Trump's entry (which sold immediately - someone got a hell of a good deal), as well as Danny Conant's mixed media titled "Letter from Paris."
Other favorites were Alicia Roman's mixed media titled "Confess," Randolph Santa Ana's photoshop transfer "Death & Taxes I" and Christi Andrews' most excellent acrylic painting titled "Lo! Pressure."
More favorites: Allison Nance's cyanotype titled "Its all that I'm made of...", Kathleen Kendall's "Long Ago", Berrie Ripin's gorgeous terracota titled "Becoming", Lana Stephens' brilliant graphite and conte drawing "Teapot" (which also sold right away), Roy Utley's smart and minimalist "Airport Erotica", Christine Cardellino's acrylic titled "Princess", and Kevin Mellema's three umbrella studies, each one more minimalist that the previous ones.
My selection as "my favorite in the show"?
Mike Rayburn's highly accomplished, laborious and vastly ultra modern "Health Club", which is described as mixed media, but certainly fits that category of Walmartism. It is made of small tiles, curved needle nose plies (8-9 of them) and ball bearings.
Hard to describe... I wish I had an image, but quite an interesting and nearly machine-perfect piece; a perfect wedding between imagery and technology.
