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ARTICLES FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2010
Contributing Bloggers: John Harbinger Jr.and David Harbrenig
Gagosian: From L.A. to Paris
Art dealer Larry Gagosian whose Beverly Hills Gallery is probably Los Angeles’ most successful, is set to open his ninth gallery worldwide in the heart of the celebrated golden triangle just off the Champs Elysees in Paris. While renovations are still underway, the opening for the 3500 square feet exhibition space is scheduled for October 20, 2010 on the eve of the FIAC modern and contemporary art fair. The new branch puts Gagosian at the center of the French capital's high-end gallery district, a short step away from Sotheby’s Paris. We wish him well!!!!
Your best piece to date?
Artists are a fickle lot. Often when an artist creates a new piece, it momentarily becomes “the best piece to date” – then, the more the creator looks at it, the enthusiasm wanes and fades to be replaced, first by doubt, then by dissatisfaction. So when each new completed piece is deemed “the best ever,” it is simply because dissatisfaction with the previous work has already turned the artist’s mind.
Perhaps it is the mark of a true artist – never to be satisfied; always striving to do better and always believing (even fleetingly) that succeeding works will produce the unsurpassable ‘masterpiece.’ Who knows? Maybe the essence of creative process does depend on the need to improve whatever was last created, for if an artist were to feel he/she has truly created an ultimate, un-improvable masterpiece what would be the motivation to begin the next project?
The desire to do better with each subsequent artwork is an essential driving force, pushing the artist to achieve more. It infuses him/her with positive energy but it can have negative consequences. Persistently setting our own bar higher and never being truly self-satisfied disqualifies any real appreciation of what has been hitherto accomplished.
I am reminded of the story of the artist who on his deathbed was asked which of his paintings he loved the most. He replied “I haven’t done that one yet.”
Artists need not be so overly self critical. There is more than enough outside criticism waiting for you. The irony is that in the real world, outside the studio, it is not the creator who decides which work is “the best.” In the real world the market place decides which ones are “the best.” Your best works are the ones which sell –and the best of your best are those which sell for the most money.
Lighten up Vincent
Everyone is entitled to 15 minutes of fame
Smithfield the porker was dubbed Pigcasso when he made headlines 3 years ago demonstrating his artistic talents on Oprah’s TV show. As he hammed it up before the cameras he endeared himself to the viewers and to some art collectors.
Although pigs are thought to be color blind, Pigcasso, like the great Pablo, was in his Blue period at the time, preferring to paint in that color above all others.
He was a prolific creator –his snout to the grindstone producing a porkfolio of abstract expressionism paintings including many works done in a unique sty.
A gifted painter, he was able to bring home the bacon for himself and his owner. Pigcasso’s paintings were at one time being snapped up at $15 a pop on the internet. Sufficient income for his trough to be filled with swill. Some of the money was used to care for his medical problems (cancer of the snout no less) and, of course, some was put into a piggy bank to ensure the artist’s later years are spent in a luxury sty -le
Which brings me to the oink of this article…. What happened to Smithfield after his “15 minutes of fame” – as Andy Warthog would have said.
Is he still in this world or has he passed on to greener pigstures? His dedicated website has no information about him or his latest work beyond 2008. So assuming pigs can fly I assume Pigcasso has moved on….. I wonder if I should invest in one of his works?
The Artist in his stydio
Not just any dung will do!!!
Conservators at the Tate in London have their work cut out trying to find ways to protect and preserve works by artist Chris Ofili (born 1968). The British artist rose to fame in the 1990’s as part of the Young Brits Group with his painting/collages which incorporate among a dizzying array of materials – elephant dung. Tate conservators have prepared replicas of Ofili’s works to study the long term effects of light, age and wear. The replicas are made to the same size, using the same brands of paint, beads, glitter and other materials that are as close to the originals as possible.
The conservators have even used for the replicas elephant dung from the same elephant who provided ‘inspiration’ for the originals.
In conservation experiments, the dried dung is attached to the canvas with a hot glue gun and then a protective resin is poured over it. The Tate is running tests with the replicas to see how durable the protective resin will be so that eventually the original works can be treated to preserve them for future generations.
How lucky we are that elephants lead long lives. Imagine how the tests might have been falsified had they used dung from another less artistically inclined beast.
Elephant as Artist
The Competition for the 4th Plinth in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square, located in front of the entrance to the National Gallery, is one of London’s most famous landmarks. In its center rises a huge column on which stands a statue of Admiral Lord Nelson who won the Battle of Trafalgar against the French in 1805. Nelson’s column, the huge statues of Lions standing guard at the foot of the plinth, the fountains and the four smaller plinths for statutes of lesser known military heroes in the corners of the square, attract millions of visitors each year.
For some years the fourth plinth in the northwest corner remained empty. From Sept 2005 to October 2007 it was occupied by a statue created by artist Marc Quinn celebrating the extraordinary life of Alison Lapper who was born with no arms and severe functionally-limited legs. Since the “Alison Lapper Pregnant” statue was taken down in 2007, the northwest plinth has been used for many other temporary installations by contemporary artists. The activities on the fourth plinth have become the main attraction.
Some time ago the overseeing board for Trafalgar Square decided to organize a competition to commission the next work to stand on the fourth plinth. A few days ago the public was invited to view and comment on the proposals of the six finalists. Though people will be able to voice their opinions the ultimate decision will be left in the hands of eight appointed judges, who will announce the winner early in 2011. The whole project sounds like a more dignified British “stiff-upper-lip” version of Bravo TV’s Work of Art.
General Sir Charles James Napier, Major General Sir Henry Havelock and King George IV whose bronze statues fill the other 3 plinths will soon be joined by one of the following:
- A 4 meter high blue cockerel symbolizing the strutting nature of military men.
- A golden boy on a golden rocking horse. A contrast to the other three serious looking guys cast in dark bronze.
- A reworked statue of a 19th century Field Marshal on his horse. They are both festooned with costumes, chains, brasses, jewels, masks and other bizarre ornaments.
- A pipe organ that will emit sounds when it is activated by a replica of an ATM to be installed in the wall of the plinth
- A Battenburg cake made out of glazed and unglazed bricks
- A landscape of mountains in the shape of Britain when viewed from above (or below.)
The Brits, I am sure, will choose the weirdest one of all –and I’m not sure which one that is. Which do you think will be standing up there on the 4th plinth next time you are in Trafalgar Square?
Be careful, they are watching you in the art museums
Museums all over the country are investigating ways to bring in more dollars at the door. In a change of approach, some directors have decided to “listen to, observe and learn from what the public has to say instead of expecting people to acknowledge and accept unchallenged, the scholarly “we know what’s best for you” attitude. As one museum director has noted “the mission of the museum can no longer be to hang artfully curated works; exhibits must be interactive and engaging.”
At the Detroit Institute of Arts, trained personnel are spending their time inside the exhibition halls covertly “observing” the behavior of visitors in a study to understand how to improve the museum experience for the public. Nearer to home, researchers at San Francisco's Exploratorium are using high-tech surveillance equipment and other methods to figure out how to make exhibits more fun, intuitive and educational and consequently increase visitor numbers. In New York the Metropolitan Museum of Art is studying whether its maps and signs could be used in a more effective way to facilitate visitors’ experience, while at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington D.C. data collectors are stealthily observing how visitors engage with exhibits.
Observers remain as inconspicuous as possible while they record information about how much time visitors spend looking at different works, what their visible or verbal reactions are, and of course, they make notes about which pieces are passed by totally ignored. Based on what they see, museums directors may make decisions about rearranging art and rewriting exhibition notes etc.
At the Detroit Institute of Arts, one recent morning’s observation work led to the discovery that the average time visitors spent in a gallery was 2 minutes and 56 seconds. Georges Seurat's pointillist seascape, "View of Le Crotoy from Upstream," was the most looked at art work. The info gathered shows that less than 30% of visitors bother to read labels which accompany paintings or sculptures.
2 mins 56 secs!!! I remember reading some time ago that an earlier study at the Metropolitan in New York had shown the average time spent looking at an art work was 5 seconds. Other past studies about behavioral patterns in museums have shown such gems of information such as, people favor turning to the right on entering a gallery and that their attention to the art lessens as the time of their visit progresses.
I’m sure that, by now, your attention to this article has waned so I’ll finish by saying:
Judging from my own experience of visiting art museums I would say that visitors spend more time observing other visitors than actually looking at the art. Or is it just me that does that?
Have eyes in the back of your head…..
The worst artist ever?
In the Jan 31, 1964 edition Life Magazine published an article about an American artist who was enjoying huge commercial success and is still considered one of the greats of the pop art movement. The article was titled “Is he the worst artist in the U.S.A? I certainly would not rate him thus as I quite like his stuff - but there are some very successful artists from today and the past whom I would gladly classify as “worst” or “no artist at all.”
The man, named by Life Magazine was Roy Lichtenstein whose work, as you know, was heavily influenced by comics. There is a story which tells he was provoked by his children into doing this type of work because they laughed at the art he was doing at the beginning of his career saying that “the images in their comic books were much better.”
The 8 year art genius
That’s it – I’m 23 and already past it. I know the world belongs to the young, but nowadays it is seems that once you hit puberty you’re already too old. The world my friends belongs to the younger than young. In a week when we had news of the latest 10 year old opera singing sensation now comes the story about the latest emerging artist rocketing his way to the top.
Kieron Williamson of Holt, England, aged 8 years old is Britain's most talked-about young artist. The British tabloids, who have a way of coming up with quirky monikers have dubbed him the “mini Monet.” He has been featured recently in UK newspapers and television shows and is the talk of the British art world. The mini Monet is definitely raking in the Monet. His latest exhibition of 33 works was completely sold within 30 minutes for a total of $235,000. His paintings not only fetch hefty sums, the interest in this young boy’s work is so strong that there is a waiting list of eager buyers who snap up every piece he produces.
Kieron’s Impressionistic landscapes of snowy fields and marshland skies often include cows and horses since (and I quote the little genius) “Cows are the easiest to paint –you don’t have to worry about detail while horses are lot harder because you have to make their back legs much bigger than their front.”
I wish the young prodigy great success and I will keep in mind his point about cows and horses. The little guy also has some excellent advice for us struggling, older-than-old artists: “Never give up. Try to keep your buildings straight. And don’t do a plain blue sky.”
Before you go saying ‘yea, well, those Brits are all a bit strange -that will never happen here’ you should know that most of the people clamoring for his work are from the USA. Perhaps next season’s (g-d forbid) “Work of Art–The Next Great Artist’ should invite a much younger group of artists.
The Artist at Work
A follow up on the article about “work speaking for itself.”
In connection to an article I wrote a few days back asking whether a work of art should speak for itself without explanatory text or verbal discourse I bring to your notice a website I stumbled across called physicalism.org (I think it originates in Germany)that has published an artists’ manifesto addressing the issues I wrote about.
The authors of the Physicalism state that "meaning" and "ideas" in art should be manifest in the physical piece of art itself - not in the circumstantial text or verbiage. They call for artists to fight back against the assumption that art must communicate a deep emotion or an important message. This assumption, they say, has led to a dearth of overly intellectualized and visually un-interesting art in contemporary galleries.
So, if you feel you’re a “Physicalist” you can join this happy band of brothers & sisters and make a stand!!!
The Physicalism manifesto calls for artists to do 5 things:
- Refuse to Bullshit: - artists should refuse to make declarations to galleries about their work in order to satisfy the commercial demand for psychological or philosophical meanings. (“Visually compelling art should not require an esoteric philosophical explanation to justify its existence. We beseech the artist – stand up to the art establishment.”)
- Artists should question art dogma: They encourage artists to break through constraints such as the notion that only tortured, angst-filled artists can be great artists and that art which doesn’t have meaning beyond the visual is soul-less.
- Artists must delight in their own creations by rejecting the notion that great art can only come from misery. (“Artists must reclaim the right to pursue happiness.”)
- Emphasize beauty: (“Ugliness does not make art important.”) Artists must decide for themselves what is important and celebrate it in their art. They must fight against the monopoly of ugliness and anxiety which has monopolized the contemporary art world.
- Artist must look for new ideas in which the visual aspect of art is primary not the cerebral. (“Do something new! Be inventive!”)
**** Note from me: when I read this last quotation –“Do something new….” I hear the voice of Simon de Pury from “Work of Art.”
Angst–filled Artist
If you buy a painting –do you have the right to destroy it?
If a person buys a work of art does he/she have the right to destroy it once it’s in their possession? Luckily, this hypothesis is rarely tested since almost everyone who is prepared to pay hard-earned cash for art, acts to preserve and protect the monetary value of the work even if they do not necessarily appreciate the artistic value.
While some countries have statutes governing “moral rights to art” designed to protect the rights of artists to their work beyond copyrights and to protect the public’s interests to cultural works of importance, American law favors the rights of private owners. The law favors individual ownership rights over the public interest to “cultural property.”
In countries, where ‘moral rights’ legislation exists the owner cannot dispose of an artwork as he pleases without the artist’s consent. American law however grants ownership of physical things, such as paintings and sculptures with unqualified rights. This concept, which is in contrast to “intellectual property rights,” enables owners to exercise unbridled power over owned objects, whatever the loss to art, science or scholarship." Once bought and paid for, the owner of an artwork work can do with it as he/she pleases even though many believe that, somehow, we all have a stake in the fate of significant artworks, artifacts and documents. We somehow believe that Rembrandts, Van Goghs, Picassos & Pollocks really belong to us all. They are part of our cultural heritages and must remain so to the benefit of future generations.
Luckily for us, most serious art collectors view themselves as custodians of important works. They understand that art has social as well as market value. This attitude is reflected in the vast number of collectors who end up donating artworks to institutions or making them available to scholars. But not all collectors have been so altruistic.
One example that comes to mind was the Japanese businessman who bought a Van Gogh about 20 years ago, hid it away in a vault and threatened at a certain moment to have it buried with him when he died.
Another is Dr. Albert Barnes of Philadelphia, who assembled America's greatest private collection of early French modernist painting and then denied everyone access to it because museum professionals had ridiculed his personal theories of art and education. His collection remained hidden until 40 years after his death.
Another example of total ownership rights was the destruction of the Diego Rivera mural in Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. In 1933 the Rockefeller family commissioned Rivera, who was already a world renowned figure in art by then, to make a mural for the new RCA Building. Its theme was to be hope (remember this was at a time when the great depression was still effecting life in America.) Much to the chagrin of the super rich Rockefellers, Rivera painted a portrait of communist comrade Lenin into his complex composition. The Rockefellers were outraged and demanded that the artist efface Lenin from the wall of hope. When Diego Rivera refused the family paid him his full fee and had the mural obliterated, literally overnight.
After his death Winston Churchill’s wife had a portrait of her husband, painted by renowned British artist Graham Sutherland, “torn to shreds & disposed of.” She defiantly told the world that both she and her husband literally hated the painting even though it had been commissioned from one of the greatest 20th English portraitists. She felt it was her right to do with it as she pleased.
Are the above examples acts of 'cultural vandalism' or acceptable expressions of the power of ownership? If the owners of these paintings had literally burned the money they had paid for them, nobody would have spoken out, so why is the destruction of art different? Should the individual’s right of ownership of art outweigh the community's interest in preserving the achievements of artistic genius, or does the money spent let the owner do what he/she wants?
What would Sir Winston have said?
A chance to get in your 10 cents worth about art
Art critic Jerry Saltz who writes for New York Magazine and is also one of the judges in Bravo TV”s “Work of Art” has announced an open call for “guest artists” to send in their own opinions about art works. He is asking for submissions of 100-words to be included in a book he and his wife Roberta Smith (art critic for the New York Times) are preparing about their favorite 100 paintings in New York’s museums. They will be limiting their own “critique” to 100 words also.
The book idea evolved from a short article recently published in the magazine titled “A Grand Tour –my favorite paintings in New York, in no particular order” where Saltz made a much more limited selection of his preferred works. Those of you hoping for a few dollars in exchange for your words of wisdom will be disappointed. The only reward, if your submission is accepted, will be a byline with your name –somewhere in the book.
Saltz will also be seeking for the book submissions from a number of guest professional critics, curators, and dealers. Apparently the open call was announced in a post on his Facebook page a few days ago with Saltz saying that the project might take until 2012 to complete.
If you believe you have something to write, grab your pen and let your criticism flow. The man has set up a few guidelines to help you: Here are a selected few:
Avoid using the word "I." This entry is not about you; it is about the work.
Don't write about how "beautiful" or "scary" the painting is. Adjectives like those mean very different things to different people. All entries are subject to editing.
Uncle Jerry Wants You
Should a great art work speak for itself?
Should a work of art be able to stand alone - to speak for itself and be appreciated without any additional input such as statements about the artistic process and context? To put it another way, if an artist needs to explain why & what he/she does what he/she does, doesn’t the artwork itself lack something? If art is supposed to communicate something; if it is supposed to represent something, express an emotion or an idea, if the artist needs to ‘explain’ the work verbally or in writing – doesn’t that indicate that the art has failed its purpose?
“I know what I like and what I don’t like.” It sums up the way most of us react to art. We make rapid decisions based on gut sentiments. But it is also often true that our judgments change as we spend more time experiencing a certain work. The question is: Should the viewer let only the work speak to him/her through direct sensory absorption or should the artist be allowed to influence spectator judgment by adding verbal or written explanations? Shouldn’t great visual art speak a universal language that we all instinctively understand without the aid of an interpreter? If, in the finished product, the artist has expressed him/herself in a language which is entirely his/her own, can the work ever be ‘great’ no matter how much ‘explanation’ is added?
The “like it or don’t like” reaction is visceral, intuitive and instantaneous. We ‘get it’ first in the gut. The mind kicks in later if it reacts at all. However, if the art work fails to engage the mind on its own–if contextual, conceptual & confabulating info are necessary to extract a cerebral response - then has the art failed as art?
You might say that intuition and gut reaction to any environment or situation can be modified with learning and information. Whether it is depends greatly upon the quality of information that is received and what is then learned from it. Some artistic statements are very insightful and may help trigger better cerebral responses to work. I suppose it must largely depend on how well the artists, themselves, understand what they are doing and can articulate their thoughts about it. Some can do this with great skill and other can't. But ultimately I think a great work of art has to stand on its own. If it is truly exceptional it will speak to other generations and cultures going beyond context and the artist’s individual experience.
Take away the Face and the Apple
How much crazier will art become?
I’ve commented in several blogs about the lengths to which some artists are prepared to go to shock us, bewilder us, amuse us and basically mystify us with their work. Contemporary artists must keep pushing the boundaries as rivalry for exhibition space becomes ever more intense. It seems that we the spectators are blasé about all but the most outrageous and gallery owners must entice us with the super weird.
So artists, if you’re having trouble coming up with an idea for your next installation piece or your next work, know that there is some really crazy competition going on out there. Take for example the work of Danish artist Marco Evaristti who in 2008 made an agreement with a convict on death row in Texas to take his body after execution and turn it into a work of art. The artist intends to first deep-freeze the executed man’s body, and then make fish food out of it. He hopes that when visitors come to see the art exhibit they will feed the ground-up body to goldfish in an aquarium. The prisoner has been on death row since 1985 and has some appeals pending so it might be some time before he ends up as fish food.
Artist Evaristti has had previous shows highlighting fish. In 2000, he came to international attention when he had a show where goldfish were put into electric blenders filled with water. Visitors to the exhibition at Denmark’s Trapholt Art Museum could choose to press a button, turn on the blenders and kill the fish.
In January 2007 he staged a dinner party where the main course consisted of meatballs partly made with fat removed by liposuction from his own body. I’m glad I wasn’t invited!!! In June 2007 he was arrested while attempting to paint the peak of Mont Blanc in the French Alps – red - as a protest against “environmental degradation”.
I have no idea what he has been up to since 2008 and I really don’t wish to know. What about throwing some of the visitors to his next show into tank full of piranhas? That should bring in the people.
One step closer to closing the deal for the Broad Collection
Just before the weekend the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the proposal to build a downtown museum to house the Eli & Edythe Broad Art Collection on a site on Grand Avenue. The latest vote brings the $80 to $100 million project one step closer to realization as L.A. and Santa Monica spar and hustle for the 2000 plus contemporary artworks in the family’s collection.
The council’s 14-0 vote ratified a vote by commissioners of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency taken last month to add the museum to the original 2007 development plans for the site on Grand Avenue. The changes eliminate from the plans construction of condominium towers and, if all proceeds from here as hoped, the museum will be built instead.
The next step, if the Broad Collection is to be finally housed downtown, is approval from the county Board of Supervisors and the Joint Powers Authority, a panel of local and state officials that oversees the Grand Avenue Project.
In the meantime Santa Monica Councilors are continuing along a similar path towards approval for the collection to find a home in a city-owned site next to the Civic Auditorium.
Both options call for a $200-million endowment Broad will provide to cover the eventual museum’s operating expenses. In downtown Los Angeles he would need to provide an additional $22 million to build a 284-space parking garage beneath the museum. The museum would receive a 99-year lease for the Grand Avenue site at $1 a year and pay a lease market value of $7.7 million. Santa Monica is offering a rent free deal.
While Los Angeles and Santa Monica go through the various stages of preparation to receive this vast collection of contemporary artworks, Eli Broad is waiting until all the details of each proposal have been approved and finalized, before making his decision.
Good times are on the way
Trickle-down economics tell us when the rich get richer, they’ll spend their money and the benefits will filter down to all. Changes in business sectors start first at the top and then gradually work their way down through the lower levels. Given the latest financial sales data from Sotheby’s & Christies and other top dogs in the art world, and if the trickle-down models are true, then artists everywhere are in for some better times. Yahoo!
The top auction houses, art galleries and high end dealers have posted good financial results for the first 6 months of the year and are predicting rising sales for the 3rd and 4th quarter. 2010 is turning into a good year for art – at least for the high flyers.
Let’s hope that the not-so-well-off people, who love collecting more modestly priced art, will be encouraged by what the rich are doing, get out their pocket books, and rev up the whole sector. Picassos, Giacometti’s and Turners have been recently sold at record prices while most sale prices at these prestigious establishments have exceeded estimates by 10-20%. Let us hope these positive numbers ‘trickle’ down to the lower end art market which has remained in total limbo for the past couple years
Here are some of the recently published results for Sotheby’s June 2010.
Auction and related revenues improved 86%, when compared to the same 6-month period in the prior year stemming from strong sales around the world during the period. Total aggregate auction sales were $2.2 billion in the first half of this year -an increase of 110%.
First half net income is the second highest in Company history. The President and Chief Executive of Sotheby’s said “these excellent results are indicative of the improving art market we have been experiencing since last autumn. They reflect strong revenues coupled with discipline on the expense side and we will continue to focus on both going forward.”
Here’s an excerpt from Christie’s report: “Christie's expects global confidence in the art market to continue. We have increased our sales in the first half of 2010 by 56%” compared to last year. All the signs show that buyers have regained confidence.”
The physical effects of great art
If any of you have been following my blogs, you’ll know that I’m a far from likely to succumb to Stendhal’s syndrome while visiting the local contemporary galleries in Los Angeles. Stendhal’s syndrome, for those who don’t know (and don’t feel bad if you don’t; I had no idea what it is until now) is a psychosomatic illness causing your heart to flutter, your head to spin and your knees to go weak –all to the point of hallucinating when you are looking at some particularly beautiful art.
Stendhal’s syndrome is named after the 19th century French novelist and art critic Stendhal (real name Henri-Marie Beyle 1783-1842). It is also known as Florence syndrome since it is in the city of Florence, Italy where so many of the greatest renaissance artworks are on display, that he first witnessed the “sickness.” that befalls visitors overwhelmed by the sheer beauty surrounding them.
In all fairness to L.A. contemporary galleries, I admit that during the two occasions I’ve visited Florence I’ve never experienced Stendhal’s either, but I’ve certainly found myself more enthralled by what I have seen.
Recently a team of scientists working in Florence has set out to monitor the vital signs of tourists to understand if the syndrome actually exists. They have set up shop at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, a 15th century palace built for the Medici family who were the ruling grand Dukes of Florence at the time. While it is true that during the 15th to 17th centuries some of the most famous renaissance works were housed here, the choice of location to test for the Stendhal syndrome hardly seems appropriate now, since the palace has few outstanding works remaining inside. The building is mostly occupied by government offices and most of the paintings and sculptures by the great masters have long since been scattered around the world. The experiment would have been much easier to conduct had the scientists monitored visitors to the Duomo, the Uffizi, the Baptistery or to the Academia Gallery where Michelangelo’s David stands. At these locations I can quite imagine how the view could go from “breathtaking” to making you actually “swoon.”
I wonder how the scientists are conducting their tests. Are they standing in the background hoping that somebody is going to faint before their very eyes and then rush in to interrogate him/her? Can great art have the physical effect that Stendhal’s syndrome suggests?
In a way, I wish I knew myself without having a scientist confirm or disprove it for me. I wish at some time I had succumbed to Stendhal’s syndrome; that somewhere I had been so overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of a piece of art that my head had begun to swim and my legs had given way beneath me. It must be a fantastic experience!!!
Check the pulse and MRI this crowd!
Weirdo Art News
I just love it when I accidently come across some weird stuff about the art world when I’m researching on the internet. Here is a resume of an article published in The Independent UK (on Sunday) - a British newspaper - on Saturday, 12 October 2002.
“A dead tramp, who was embalmed and turned into a work of art to highlight the plight of an underclass 18 years ago, may soon be buried.”
The homeless guy was living in a concrete barrel on a rubbish dump in Plymouth on the South coast of England when he was discovered by the radical artist Robert Lenkiewicz. The men became friends and the homeless man was among several vagrants featured in works of art designed to provoke the middle classes into acts of charity. When the vagrant died of natural causes in 1984, the artist fulfilled his promise to preserve him in chemicals with the intention to exhibit him as a work. He took and hid his body in a set of drawers in his studio while the local authority insisted the tramp be buried. Eventually authorities raided the artist’s studio to reclaim the body but it could not be found and the artist refused to acknowledge he had it.
But when the artist himself died in August 2002 executors from the Lenkiewicz Foundation discovered the well-preserved corpse hidden in a secret drawer in the studio.
A death certificate has been issued stating the homeless man’s occupation as "Artist's Assistant (retired)".
Art Web Sites. Do they work?
What can social networking online bring to an artist, apart from casual chit chat, polite exchanges of opinion and a chance to ‘preach to the choir’? Can online networking open gallery doors and get shows arranged? Can recognition, respect and success follow on from online exposure? Does an artist really need to maintain an online presence in order to progress?
Truth be told, social networking online is not the only key toward success but it is part of a set of keys –and working online is certainly easier than trudging around from door to door with a heavy portfolio. Valuable opportunities can be gleaned from networking online if artists learn to co-operate and share information. To put it bluntly keeping in contact with fellow artists requires an effort but it can be worth the effort to do so. Any artist, who desires to exhibit and sell, must exploit every avenue possible, just as a business entrepreneur would do to promote his business.
Many changes have happened to art web sites over the past decade and the quality will continue to improve as time passes. Certain art sites are just as valid for displaying art as a traditional brick & mortar gallery. Yes, there are differences… but it does show how the internet is changing the way we should think about the art world as a whole. If some of the top business minds and collectors in the art world can find value in specific art sites perhaps the rest of us should at least consider that value, correct?
You will be surprised in what you can accomplish just by spending a few minutes online each day in order to promote yourself on art sites that have social networking capabilities. You can technically reach thousands of people each day with just a few clicks of the mouse. It is far cheaper than sending out hundreds of business cards that will most likely end up gathering dust in a drawer or simply tossed aside. It is also far cheaper than paying at the pump or handing over money to a taxi in order to hit streets. The simple fact is that social networking online is an economically sound choice for an artist who wants to stay connected to the art world and opportunities while using his or her time wisely. Less time on the streets means more time in the studio.
Communities like ww.artlanow.com and artlanow facebook attract more traffic than individual websites. Involvement on an art site will normally bring an artist more traffic than his or her personal website would by itself. There’s a reason why galleries open up in the same neighborhoods- side by side. They draw art appreciators into the area of critical mass. The same is true for online sites. Many online sites are being hit thousands of times a day. How many people visit your personal website?
Consider the way search engines operate. The more cross-links that exist to a site get it a higher rank in the search engines. So if your presence on a community site includes a link back to your personal site, the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is improved. It’s another plus that’s worth taking advantage of.
Art appreciators, buyers and collectors review collective art web sites more frequently since they have a greater, yet manageable selection of works to peruse.
Artists appreciate peer review and can participate in commentary, critique and dialog with other community members on art sites. This ranges from opinions on newly submitted work to opinions on art trends, politics and the price of oil.
So next time you’re online with other artists remember that perhaps the day will come when from a bit of idle chit chat, you’ll get the opportunity of your lifetime to become the next great artist of our times!!!!
Juried Art Competitions –Deadlines August 2010
The Santa Cruz Art League announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibit, titled “Go Figure” –A National Figurative Exhibition for Oct. 23 - Nov. 21 in Santa Cruz, California. $1,000 in awards. Let's take a fresh look at Figurative Art and explore the diversity of outlook and vision throughout the country. Open to United States residents. Drawing, Oil, Watercolor, Acrylic, Pastel, Photography, Mixed Media and Sculpture will be accepted. $40 for up to 3 entries/jpegs. Juror: George Rivera, Executive Director of the Triton Museum. Visit website and go to "Exhibition Entry Info" for prospectus, or send a SASE to: "Figurative", SCAL, 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.Questions? Contact Cindy Liebenthal at cindy@scal.org or call 831-426-5787 DEADLINE: August 13, 2010
The Texas Photographic Society is inviting amateur and professional photographers to submit digital files of their color and black and white works for a national exhibit “Captivar La Luz”: A Latino Experience, October 7 - November 31, 2010 at Blue Star LAB Gallery in San Antonio, Texas. Open to all backgrounds, as long as the subject of the work is related to Latin American life, culture, conflict and/or any social or economic issues. Kathy Vargas, TPS Advisory Council Member and juror, is particularly interested in Photographic Projects on this theme. Artists may submit images for either the Individual Image Category ($30 plus $5 for each image over 5) or the Project Category ($55 for 10 images). Entries must not have been exhibited previously in a TPS show and must have been taken within the last 5 years. No three-dimensional work. $2000 in awards. Visit website, or send a SASE to: 6338 N. New Braunfels #174, San Antonio, TX 78209. Questions? Contact Amber Gibson at shows@texasphoto.org or Tel: 210-824-4123 DEADLINE: August 14, 2010.
Only Originals Gallery of Fine Art announces a call to artists for an national online exhibition, Nov 30, 2010 - May 30, 2011. Representation on web site; Cash award. Open to emerging U.S. artists over 18 years of age. Two-dimensional artwork up to 30" W x 30" H, excluding photography and digital imagery. Work should be completed with archival materials. Entry Fee: $15.00. Visit website for prospectus. Questions? Email to onlyoriginals@sbcglobal.net DEADLINE: August 15, 2010.
Water Street Studios in Batavia, Illinois is currently soliciting artwork for an open juried show for the gallery (artists in all media). Exhibit dates will be from September 17, 2010 through December 31, 2010 with an opening reception on September 17, 2010 from 6-10 pm. Visit website for specific artwork requirements. The jury panel will select Honorable Mention artists and one Best of Show artist. The Best of Show artist will be awarded a free two-week solo show in the Water Street Studios 2nd floor gallery, valued at $200. Guest Juror is H. Reynders, a professor in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Designed Objects at the Art Institute of Chicago. $20 entry fee. Questions? Please contact Steven Lockwood at waterstreetstudios@gmail.com or phone 630-761-9977 DEADLINE: August 15, 2010.
Erotic Signature seeks talented artists and photographers in our search for the World's Greatest Erotic Art of Today (sexy and most creative artworks). A distinguished panel of judges consisting of museum curators, academics, collectors, editors and established masters in the field of erotic art will choose 200 winning art pieces. This international online art competition is open to all erotic artists and photographers from every country - whether you are already established as an artist, on the way up or a complete unknown. Over $10,000 in Cash Prizes; Plus 200 Winning Artworks to be published in a prestigious coffee table book. $20/image - up to 5 images maximum. A panel of 12 jurors. Check the website for details. Questions? info@eroticsignature.com DEADLINE: August 15, 2010.
Women In Photography International seeks photographs for an online exhibit –“Faces.”. Awards: 1st/iPad WIFI-3G, (32 GB) 2nd/iPad-WIFI (16GB) or cash + WIPI 1st & 2nd Pl/10 image gallery - plus 104 Honorable Mentions. Jurors: Sarah Hughes, Editorial Photo Agent/Getty Images / NY, Keith Milton, Owner/Director Photographers' Gallery / Los Angeles, CA, Sophie Mörner, Photographer/Founder/Publisher, Capricious Publishing & Magazine, Brooklyn, NY, Jean Ferro, Photo Artist/President Women In Photography International. Send images from birth through centenarian years -taken with any type of camera, from classic portraits to snapshots of faces from beauty to grotesque, puzzled, animated, upside right...upside down. In hats, veils, glasses, famous to not so famous. 72dpi JPG submission only. Savings thru July 31 - Members 2/$25, non-Member 2/$35. Online submission only. Questions? Send email to WIPI-Curator@womeninphotography.org DEADLINE: August 15, 2010.
Soho Photo seeks entries for the 6th Annual Alternative Processes Photography Competition in New York, NY, November 2-27, 2010. Awards: $200, $100, $50 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. Jurors: France Scully Osterman and Mark Osterman. Open to U.S. based photographers, 18 or older. Photography using Alternative Processes, including but not limited to cyanotype, platinum, tintype, Download prospectus (PDF format). Questions? Contact Joan Lemler at jlemler@nyc.rr.com or 212 210-7261 DEADLINE: August 16, 2010.
The L.A. Center for Digital Art (Los Angeles, CA) announces an international call to artists. All styles of artwork and photography where digital processes of any kind were integral to their creation are acceptable: including digital art stills of any kind, digital photography, short experimental time based video, video loops, mobile media, interactive media, and internet art. Selected winners will be exhibited as the central focus of the 'DigitalArt.LA' expo in a large group exhibit at the LACDA gallery, September 9-October 2, 2010. Video winners will also be screened at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles. The show will be widely promoted and will include a reception for the artists. Juror: Peter Frank, Curator for Contemporary Art, Riverside Art Museum. Online registration only. $30 entry fee. Contact: Rex Bruce at rexbruce@lacda.com DEADLINE: August 16, 2010.
The Irving Art Association announces a call to artists for the 9th Annual National Juried Wildlife Exhibition, September 27 - October 28, 2010 at the Jaycee Park Center for the Arts Gallery in Irving, Texas. $3000+ Cash/Merchandise. Open to artists 18 years and older living in US. Digital entry online or send non-returnable CD. $40-Non-Mbrs/ $35.00-IAA Mbrs. Download prospectus (PDF format), send a SASE to: IAA-Wildlife, PO Box 153581, Irving, Texas 75015-3581, Email wildlife@irvingart.org or call 972-254-5049 DEADLINE: August 17, 2010.
Vermont Photo Space Gallery in Essex Jct., Vermont seeks entries for a juried photography exhibition, “Managed Landscapes” September 5 - October 1, 2010. Awards: Free framing/matting, Juror's Choice, Peoples Choice. Juror: Thomas Bachand. Entrants must be 18 years old. If you are younger, you must have a parent or legal guardian make the submission for you. All submitted photos must have been taken by the photographer making the entry. All submissions must be made by digital files. $20 entry fee. Visit website for more information. Questions? Contact K. Signorello at submissions@vermontphotospace.com or call 802-777-FOTO. DEADLINE: August 18, 2010.
MyArtContest.com announces a call to artists for an online exhibition on the theme of Fantasy Art. Full page publication in Artist Portfolio Magazine, plus cash prizes. Juror: Katy Betz. The term fantasy is open to the artist's interpretation and the contest is open to all visual artists around the world. All art work must have been completed by the artist within the last 3 years. No video entries allowed. Portion of the proceeds goes to the charity of the Juror's choice. $25 for 2 entries. Visit website to enter. DEADLINE: August 22, 2010.
The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the US to enter a premier exhibit of contemporary textiles and fiber art. For “Fiber Options: Material Explorations” any two or three dimensional work will be considered. Selected artwork will be on exhibit from Oct. 28 until Nov. 28, 2010 at the MFA Circle Gallery, 18 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401. $1000 in awards. Juror: Susie Brandt of the Maryland Institute College of Art. Digital (jpg) images on CD only. Download prospectus from our website, or send a SASE to: MFA Circle Gallery Attn: Fiber Options-AL 18 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401. $30 for one or two entries, ($20 for MFA members) $5 for each additional up to six. Questions? Email Tiffany Jordan at info@mdfeart.org or call 410-268-4566 DEADLINE: August 23, 2010.
"Black & White Art." K.A.S. Gallery (Kentucky Art Speaks) announces a national call to artists for an exhibit October 29 to December 10, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. All styles of Black & White Art. This includes, but not limited to charcoal drawing, lithograph, photography and other mediums of black & white art. 1 entry $15; each additional entry is $5. No more than 5 entries may be submitted per artist. Visit website for prospectus, or send a SASE to: K.A.S. Gallery, 1806 Mellwood Ave., Bldg B, Louisville, KY 40206. Questions? Email K.A.S. Gallery at info@k-a-s-gallery.com DEADLINE: August 28, 2010.
RhinoBook announces the 1st "123WOW!!! Illustration Contest". Open to all artists! Cash prize for all winners. Submit a 3-page story illustration that makes us scream "WOW!!!" We are looking for your creative talent with your story illustration that is totally unpredictable. All artworks will be posted online. Visit our website for details. $25 entry fee. Questions? Contact RhinoBook at 123wow@rhinobook.org DEADLINE: August 31, 2010.
SlowArt Productions announces a call to artists for an exhibition “A Show of Hands” to be held November 4 - 27, 2010 at the Limner Gallery in Hudson, New York. $2600 in publication awards. Juror: Limner Gallery Director. Open to all artists 18 years of age and older. $35 entry fee. Visit website for prospectus, or send a SASE to: Limner Gallery, 123 Warren St., Hudson, NY 12534. ??? Email Tim Slowinski at slowart@aol.com Tel: 518-828-2343 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting DEADLINE: August 31, 2010.
The Hound Hut in Gahanna, Ohio announces a call to artists for a juried art show, “The 1st Annual- Hound Hut Art Show” from September 28 - October 8, 2010. Ohio artist and teacher, Michael McEwan, will serve as the juror. Accepting 2 dimensional work - Paintings, works on paper, realism, abstract, photography. Under 40", artists 18 and over, all original work. 3 pieces for $25.00 (additional pieces $5.00 each). Visit website for prospectus, or send a SASE to: The Hound Hut, 142 N. Hamilton Rd, Gahanna, OH 43230. Questions? Email: Martin Timko at mart@columbus.rr.com DEADLINE: August 31, 2010
Art Fair San Francisco, November 19-21, 2010 at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco, California is accepting galleries and artists displaying 2D and 3D paintings, sculptures, photography, digital art, fountains, landscape sculptures and artistic erotica. Check website for submission form. Questions? Email: Peter Keresztury info@artfairsanfrancisco.com or call 415.884.2579 DEADLINE: September 1, 2010
Infinity Art Gallery seeks entries for an online exhibit “Figurative Expo.”. Awards: $2200. Accepting all forms of figurative artwork; artwork that is traditional as well as work that is representational or pushes the boundaries of what is figurative. No quota on the number of specific media such as oil, watercolor, pastel, photography, sculpture or any other discipline of art. $25 for two pieces of artwork. Visit website for prospectus. Questions? Contact Julie Weismann at Julie@infinityartgallery.com DEADLINE: September 1, 2010