General Grievous

At the risk of being sued by the Mouse...

General Grievous
Graphite on Gessoed Masonite
Anderson Campello
10x10 inches, circa 2015

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this art scammer!

From: Sonia Justice <sonniajustice@gmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Subject: Order Inquiry

Hi there,

Placing an order from your online gallery shouldn't be a problem, but
I still need to confirm if International order is accepted from your
gallery?
Kindly get back to me with your available piece of work or website
that displays your current work only if my request is accepted.

All the best.

Sonnia

The curious case of Tania Bruguera, the UN and the Cuban dictatorship

As you know, DC Art News has been following the saga of well-known artist Tania Bruguera and the bloody Cuban dictatorship.

Bruguera, a New York-based Cuban artist, and easily one of the best-known artists on the planet, was temporarily arrested on December 30, 2014 for organizing a free speech performance entitled #YoTambienExijo -- pursuant to the Obama-Castro deal. She had her passport confiscated and has not been allowed to leave the island.

The Washington Post wrote about this in an editorial:

...Tania Bruguera planned a simple event for Tuesday: She would set up a microphone in Havana’s Revolution Square and invite anyone who wished to step up and talk about the country’s future. Dozens of dissidents planned to participate under the slogan “I also demand” — which might be taken as an allusion to their exclusion from the secret normalization negotiations conducted by the Obama administration and the regime of Fidel and Raúl Castro. 

That the deal announced Dec. 17 by President Obama did not include any protections for Cuba’s pro-democracy activists quickly became obvious. Security forces detained Ms. Bruguera as well as several dozen other activists. The free-speech performance never took place. “I spoke to Tania Bruguera and let her know part of her performance was done,” tweeted Yoani Sánchez, an independent journalist whose husband, Reinaldo Escobar, was one of those detained. “Censorship was revealed.” 

The incident should have been an embarrassment to Mr. Obama, who said that he decided to restore normal relations with Cuba in order to “do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values.” But the administration shrugged off the crackdown. On Wednesday, the State Department issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned,” the same words it uses to describe human rights violations in China, Vietnam and other countries where the United States has no leverage and plans no action. Talks on the opening of embassies will go forward.

Tania Bruguera, photo by Yali Romagonza.
Courtesy of Studio Bruguera

As most of you know, the Havana Biennial is currently underway, and collectors, arts aficionados, curators, many DC-area artists, and the art cabal has descended en masse upon The Castro Brothers' Workers Paradise.

Tania Bruguera was arrested again a couple of days ago as she approached the Museum of Fine Arts to attend an exhibit for the Havana Art Biennial. No one seems to know what the charges (if any) are... but then again, this is Cuba.

Via Facebook, her sister (who lives in Spain I believe), reported that Bruguera began reading 100-hours of Hannah Arendt’s seminal book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, on May 22 - apparently that's part of her "crime."

But there's more.

In Havana, four dozen members of The Ladies in White were arrested as they attended Sunday Mass. Also arrested were many of their male supporters, including democracy leaders Antonio Rodiles, Angel Moya and independent journalist Juan Gonzalez Febles. The Cuban dictators are particularly terrified of this group of women, whose "protests" generally consist of: (dress in a white dress on Sundays, (b) attend Sunday Mass, (c) march in unison while holding flowers to the cemetery and (d) get abused, beaten and arrested on the way there; repeat next Sunday.

Band leader Gorki Aguila was grabbed by undercover police outside the museum for the simple reason that he was displaying a photo of graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado and the word “freedom.” That's a no, no in the Workers' Paradise.

Graffitist Danilo Maldonado was arrested in December for "tagging" several pigs with the names "Castro" and "Raul." The names refer to the Castro brothers(Raul and Fidel Castro), suffocaters of the poor island prison. Where Maldonado was able to find pigs in food-poor Cuba will always be a mystery. I suspected the pigs were also snatched and ended up being served later that night in the homes of the undercover police bosses.

In Santiago de Cuba, capital of the Oriente province (the original province), over 80 activists of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU) were beaten and arrested, including some who had been released under the Obama-Castro December 17th deal, namely Diango and Bianko Vargas Martin, and Ernesto Tamayo Guerra.

Dozens of others were arrested in the interior provinces, including Raul Borges, father of political prisoner Ernesto Borges, and youth activists from the Cuban Reflection Movement.

Meanwhile, the US State Department and the Obama administration march forward...

“I don’t want to sound too Pollyannaish . . . but I do think we’re closer than we have been,” the official said. “I think my [Cuban] counterparts are coming up here with a desire to get this done.” The negotiating session will be held at the State Department. 

“I wouldn’t be even remotely optimistic if I did not feel that we were making progress,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules imposed by the State Department.

Unfortunately I am resigned to see our administration march forward, no matter what the Cuban dictatorship does to its abused citizens - after all the bottom line here is business.

But where is the United Nations on these issues? Where are the Cuban people's Latin American brothers and sisters? Where is Cuba's madre patria, Spain? Where's is the European Union?

Makes my head hurt.

Stay strong Tania; stay strong Ladies in White... each little "crack" in the dictators' bloody boots helps. 

Campello reviewed

"Elise Campello is Sally Bowles, the free-spirited, devil-may-care character who demands herself to be oblivious to all things negative surrounding her lest she must be taken seriously.  Campello is glibly charming in the role and shows sequestered understanding of the underlying meaning to the part.  Campello sings the title song, “Cabaret,” acting the words instead of just setting them to music – giving them true meaning."

Review here: http://thesubtimes.com/2015/05/24/cabaret-at-tlt-reveals-decadence-and-danger-of-the-era/

Campello Sangria for 100

Box of cheap white or red wine
2 liter bottle of cherry 7 up
1/4 to 1/2 bottle of cheap vodka
1 can of Goya mango juice
1/2 carton orange juice (pulp free)
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice

• Cut one red and one green apple in cubes
• Wash, then slice one orange and one lemon and one lime... Leave rind
• Mix all liquids and add cut fruit
• Taste and adjust "sweetness" to taste by adding lime juice if more tartness is desired... You can also add Triple Sec if more orangeness is desired.

Serves over 100; It tastes better if you prepare it a few hours ahead of time and let fruit sit in it.

Call for Artists: Shinola

Deadline for Submissions is June 7, 2015

WPA is pleased to partner with Shinola to provide a new opportunity for Washington DC Metro area artists. Headquartered in Detroit, MI, Shinola prides itself on enhancing the local economy and helping to rebuild American jobs. Given Shinola's company practices of sourcing local talent they have partnered with WPA to bring a rotating series of 4 exhibitions of local artists' work to their new store gallery at 14th and R Streets NW in Logan Circle.
 
Artists with pre-existing work that has a minimalist approach that shares Shinola's aesthetic and vision for a community that thrives though excellence of craft and pride of work are invited to apply. 
 
Submissions may be for existing work or proposals for new projects to take place before the exhibition. Details here.
 
Selected artists will have their work on display for approximately 3 months on a gallery wall within the store and will receive a $1,000 stipend and $100 Shinola gift card. 

 

Submissions will only be accepted online via their online submission form. Deadline for submissions is June 7, 2015.

 

Questions can be directed to Samantha May, Program Director at smay@wpadc.org.

Exhibition Opportunity

Mattawoman Creek Art Center  - 21st Annual All-Media Juried Exhibition

June 5 – July 5, 2015

Smallwood State Park – Marbury, MD.  $1,000 in prize money.  Open to all artists 18 years or older.  Artwork may not exceed 6’x6’ or weigh more than 100 lbs. 

All entries must be hand delivered May 22 – 24. 

Juror:  Dr. Margaret Dowell, award winning artist/educator – currently adjunct professor of Art at the College of Southern Maryland.  

For more information visit: http://www.mattawomanart.org/documents/2015JFcfe.pdf

Call for Artists: Other Worlds, Other Stories

Deadline for Submissions is June 21, 2015
 

WPA is seeking submissions for its upcoming exhibition Other Worlds, Other Stories. Curated by my good bud Jeffry Cudlin,  Other Worlds, Other Stories is a group exhibition exploring notions of outer space. The exhibition will take place from January 6 - February 20, 2016 at the WPA's new home at 2112 8th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 in The JBG Companies new Atlantic Plumbing Building.

Considering that I've always thought that JC is from another world (note his alien-like height and long extremities), I think that he's the perfect juror for this show!

WPA is seeking seeking work by contemporary artists who are thinking deeply about outer space-either what it will look like when we get there, or how it might allow us to change as a society.

The call is open to all artists regardless of media used or geographic location.

 

Artists do not need to be WPA members and there is no submission fee.

 

Submissions may be for existing work or proposals for new projects to take place before or during the exhibition.

 

Selected artists will receive a $250 honorarium.

 

Submissions will only be accepted online via their online submission form. Deadline for submissions is June 21, 2015.

 

Questions can be directed to Samantha May, Program Director at smay@wpadc.org.

I love the meal... but where's the fagioli?