12 x 12: New Works by Nathan Haenlein

studioneight
a f i n e a r t g a l l e r y

12 x 12: New Works by Nathan Haenlein

Opening Reception: 01.14.2006 | 7-10 PM | open to the public
Open by appointment through 02.04.2006
Studio One Eight is pleased to announce the Opening Reception of 12x12; an exhibition featuring new works by Nathan Haenlein.

Haenlein is a conceptual artist currently residing in San Francisco. His work has attracted international attention and Haenlein’s reputation precedes him as we welcome him for his first exhibition in Washington D.C.

In his own words, the artist’s work deals with themes of consumption and “addresses capitalist ideologies and new synergistic cultural trends.” The calculated rhythm of his compositions demonstrate a masterful combination of technical skill and conceptual intent. Haenlein will be present at the opening reception and available to answer questions.

Contact Trey Sutten (Gallery Director | trey@studiooneeight.com)
for more information or to schedule a viewing appointment.
2452 18th Street NW, Washington, D.C. ▪ www.studiooneeight.com ▪ 703.395.1932 ph

Nathan Haenlein’s Artist Statement for 12 X 12

Conceptually my work addresses capitalist ideologies and new synergistic cultural trends. Our current global community is waging a visual campaign to consume. Much like the cathedrals of medieval Europe, global advertising is dependant on image to convey meaning. At every level of consciousness Ad men and designers are hoping to manipulate our decisions and serve us an Eden that is attainable through their product. My work addresses that urge/need to buy our Eden. I lure the viewer in with pristine surfaces, the flash of commercial design, and objects that emit machine made qualities. With further inspection, the work asks the viewer what she/he is consuming, will this object fit with my ipod / Volkswagen / Banana Republic lifestyle, or is this a distortion of capitalism? The reality of the work is consumption; art is a commodity or culture for sale. The objects also teeter between, and question the concepts of, patience, the digital age, repetition, and new ideas about drawing.

My working method is foregrounded by the quotidian habit of drawing. Through this daily program, I formulate ideas, work out previous conceptions, and generally provide for a flexible creative outlet in which to experiment and play. Often these drawings/concepts do not make it into a final image, yet they are essential to my production. The action itself is crucial, allowing me to freely transverse areas of picture making outside of my formalized mode of creation. Once I am satisfied with an idea through drawing, I repeat it and allow it to transcend its initial meaning. The repeated works accumulate, generating a visual journal that lives parallel to the core body of my work.

African Art and Irish Art in Washington, DC Museums

I'm catching up on must see exhibits which will slip thru my fingers if I don't get "out there."
Today, Steve and I and went to the National Museum of African Art to see "African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection." It was an artist inspiration day and the exhibit was fabulous with surprising new color combinations and imaginative themes. It is interesting to note that of the twenty eight artists represented, two are women artists. You can see a few pieces at the website and even listen to "Radio Africa" on your computer! "African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection."
November 16, 2005--February 26, 2006

The collection of Swiss entrepreneur and photographer Jean Pigozzi, now known as the Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC), offers a sweeping survey of the brilliant invention of artists throughout the great expanse of sub-Saharan Africa.
African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection profiles 28 artists from 15 African countries, all of whom came of age in Africa and maintain close ties to their native countries. No single tradition or method unites these artists. Rather, they reflect the complex heritage of Africa today and respond to both the historic traditions of their local cultures and the new era of international globalism.

National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution
950 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20560
202.633.4600
202.357.4879 (fax)

After that gem of an exhibit, I visited the Irish-born American Abstract Painter, Sean Scully's "Wall of Light" painting exhibition on closing day at the Phillips Collection. It was interesting to see a large collection of work based on a consistent theme throughout an artist's career. I wasn't disappointed at Scully's color, brushwork and experiments with surface which were subtle yet visually rewarding. I feel like I ate a fabulous dessert.

www.annemarchand.com

Paris, Artists, Lovers

Eric Maisel, San Francisco based writer and creativity coach, just launched a new blog with a cliffhanger story about artists in relationships, Eric Maisel Creativity Central.

Eric says,
"I am going to tell a great cliffhanger story on it (with photos of Paris) about two artists, David and Genevieve, who come to Paris to paint and who maybe˜we shall see!˜fall in love. I am going to use this story to get at some ideas about artists in relationships, the history of art, what deflects us from our path, and more. So do tune in!" Eric Maisel Creativity Central.


www.annemarchand.com

The History and Current Challenges Facing the National Mall in Washington, DC

The George Washington University Speakers Series &
St. Mary's Court/ IONA Senior Services
Presents
"The History and Current Challenges Facing the National Mall in
The District of Columbia"
with
Dr. Judy Scott Feldman

Please join us when Judy Feldman, Chair of the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, shares with us ideas about the current challenges about the National Mall. Her topic will include issues surrounding building memorials and monuments while also preserving open space.

Wednesday, January 11th
1: 00PM
St. Mary's Court
725 24th St., NW
Washington DC 20037
202-223-5712
This lecture is free and open to the public. Please arrive by 12:50 to sign in at the front desk.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Judy Scott Feldman, Ph.D.
Chairman
National Coalition to Save Our Mall
http://www.savethemall.org
www.savethemall.org
www.themallconservancy.org/
301-340-3938/ 301-340-3947 (fax)
jfeldman@savethemall.org

World Art - The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma -ARS 06

"ARS 06- International Exhibition"
21 January-27 August 2006 Kiasma

Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art
Helsinki, Finland

Art is part of humanity at ARS 06
"Being human is built on the marriage of good and evil, strange and familiar, joy and sorrow, being asleep and being awake – a dialogue of polar opposites. In the dialogue, the latter term denies the former and the former the latter. Things only become real when connected to each other; there is no good without evil, no sorrow without joy."
-Museum Director, Tuula KarjalainenArtists

In 2006, The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma will organise the 7th international ARS exhibition, an important review of contemporary art in the 21st century. The first ARS exhibition was held in 1961.
Art seeks diverse ways of understanding reality. All ARS exhibitions have aroused discussion and many of the works exhibited have continued to live on in the minds of the spectators. Each ARS exhibition has formed a picture of its time and offered unforgettable experiences.

Approximately 40 artists and collectives from almost 20 countries are to participate in the exhibition. In the exhibition, the participating artists will either present several works or one extensive work. The participants will include seven USA artists. The works exhibited offer moving experiences, small miracles.

ARS 06 concentrates on art’s role as a part of the human experience. The works will be accompanied by changing projects. The programme is varied and includes events, seminars, workshops and lectures, as well as a series of performances in the Kiasma Theatre.

The central themes of ARS 06 are the values and ideals of our time, our ability to be good and evil, as well as the capacity of art to offer consolation and touching experiences, a small miracle. Some 40 contemporary artists from all over the world have been invited to join the exhibition. The ARS programme includes seminars, workshops, lectures and a series of performance at Kiasma Theatre. Exhibition team Chair: Tuula Karjalainen, PhD, Director of Kiasma; other members: Kati Kivinen, exhibition coordinator, Patrik Nyberg, curator, Marja Sakari, senior curator, and Jari-Pekka Vanhala, curator.
The ARS programme at Kiasma Theatre is compiled by Virve Sutinen, producer. The exhibition content, artists and art is presented in an exhibition publication, edited by Marja Sakari and Jari-Pekka Vanhala.
The exhibition design, created by Taivas Design, will embellish several products, Kiasma itself and the streetscape.
The first ARS exhibition was organised in Helsinki in 1961, and ARS 06 is the seventh ARS exhibition.
In connection to the exhibition, Kiasma will produce a series of ARS-products called Minor Blessings. The series include e.g. chocolate, candels, soap, notebook and rubbing oil.

Exhbiting Artists:
AES+F group (Russia),
Michaël Borremans (Belgium),
Jota Castro (Peru),
Dinos & Jake Chapman (Great Britain),
Petah Coyne (USA),
Amy Cutler (USA),
Berlinde De Bruyckere (Belgium),
Willie Doherty (North Ireland),
Juan Manuel Echavarria (Columbia),
El Perro group (Spain),
Angelo Filomeno (Italy),
Carl Michael von Hausswolff &
Thomas Nordanstad (Sweden)
Kent Henricksen (USA),
IC-98 (Finland),
Jesper Just (Denmark),
Tellervo Kalleinen &
Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen (Finland/Germany),
Juul Kraijer (Holland),
Edouard Levé (France),
Walter Martin &
Paloma Muñoz (USA/Spain),
Mariele Neudecker (Germany),
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba (Japan/Vietnam),
Lars Nilsson (Sweden),
Motohiko Odani (Japan),
Susan Philipsz (Great Britain),
Chloe Piene (USA),
Alexandr Ponomarev (Russia),
Mark Raidpere (Estonia),
Charles Sandison (Great Britain),
Monika Sosnowska (Poland),
Gerda Steiner &
Jörg Lenzlinger (Swizerland),
Tabaimo (Japan),
Montri Toemsombat (Thailand),
Roi Vaara (Finland),
Shu-Min Lin (Taiwan/USA),
Adriana Varejão (Brazil),
Yuri Vasiliev (Russia),
Sergio Vega (Argentina/USA),
Maaria Wirkkala (Finland),
Mai Yamashita & Naoto Kobayashi (Japan)

ARS 06
ARS artists appeared in Venice

Silver Lining

Today, I am working on my goals for the year. At sunset, mother nature is playing a song of silver and gold linings. Sometimes she can draw a line better than the rest of us and I am glad to see it. Happy linings to you too, now go create something."Silver Lining" photograph by Anne Marchand

"Gold Lining" photograph by Anne Marchand

Mid City Artists Winter Exhibition at Results

January 17- March 12, 2006
Opening Reception: Thursday January 19, 2006 6:30 - 8:30 pm


For more information visit www.midcityartists.com
or contact Gary Fisher at 202-669-4226 /www.fishergallery.com
The Results Gallery
315 G Street SE
Washington, DC USA

Notes From New Orleans: Postcards From The Edge

Here's a slide show of what holidays in New Orleans felt like by Anya Kamenetz in the Village Voice.

Dimensions - Women sculptors of the Washington DC metropolitan area

January 13 – February 28, 2006
Opening Reception: Friday, January 13 6-9pm
Closing Reception: Friday, February 24 6-9pm
Donna M. McCullough - metal sculpture

Zenith Gallery is proud to feature a body of work by nine renowned Washington metropolitan area women sculptors of national acclaim. Each of the artists creates work in very different media and styles. The result is a daring compilation of pieces ranging from intimate porcelain wall pieces and mixed media shadow boxes to a compelling monumental glass and steel installation.

“The sculptors in this exhibition have been selected because they use media in innovative ways both in concept and technique. I wanted to provide a forum for and dialogue between women sculptors in the Washington area. They are an untapped entity and a cohesive group of talent.”
Anne Surak, Curator/Gallery Manager

Artists:
Margaret Boozer – clay
Margery E. Goldberg – exotic woods
Donna M. McCullough – metal, wood, stone
Minna Newman Nathanson – metal, acrylic
Carol Newmyer – cast bronze
Marie Ringwald – found wood, mixed media
Frances Sniffen – cast hydrocal, rubber, bronze
Janet Wheeler – mixed media
Millicent Young – porcelain, metal, mixed media
Joyce Zipperer – stone

Contact: at Jodi Walsh, Director Marketing jodi@zenithgallery.com

413 7th Street NW • Washington DC 20004 • 202-783-2963 • art@zenithgallery.com • www.zenithgallery.com

David E. Richardson, a Major in the United States Marine Corp opens the year at Zenith Gallery

January 7 - February 8
Reception to meet the artist: Saturday, January 7, 5-9pm

Major David Richardson
Trojan War Series
On display in the rear gallery

Zenith Gallery would like to start the New Year with a send off for artist, David E. Richardson, a Major in the United States Marine Corp. He has served our country as a marine for sixteen years and will continue that service with a tour of duty in Iraq this winter. He has been painting since childhood and has studied art for the past twenty years.

Concurrently with painting, Major Richardson developed lesson plans for a class he instructed at The George Washington University on the evolution of Western warfare; the characters from Homer’s Iliad constantly occupied his thoughts, and he drew the title of the series and each painting from that epic legend. In short, each painting is a monument to characters and events chronicled in the Iliad.

The work is a series of large abstract paintings drawing reference to the ubiquitous nature and imagery of stone motifs – Stonehenge, Easter Island carvings, Inuit structures and Mycenaean bull horn carvings to name a few.
Contact: Jodi Walsh, Director Marketing or Anne Surak, Manager
Email

An Abundant New Year To All!

"Light At The End Of The Tunnel" photograph by ©Anne Marchand

I'm wishing for you an abundance of love, peace, joy and all things that stir your soul to be creative, fearless and a positive human being linked with all "others" on our amazing planet. Thank you for being in my world as family, friend, patron, collector, mentor, artist, fellow blogger, community member, organization, vendor, acquaintance and any connection we have made in support of the arts dream.

It's been an amazing year of growth and I'm expecting next year to be as adventurous. Steve and I topped off the afternoon today with laughter at the movie, "The Producers". Dinner and dessert with friends and we're calling it a Happy Ending and a Happy Beginning. Sweet Dreams.

Art and Artists Proliferating in Mid City Washington, DC

Imagine how delighted I was, when I picked up The December issue of THE INTOWNER to catch up on local community news. I took the InTowner on a flight for the holidays and read it front to back. I found the front page lead article Art and Artists Proliferating Throughout the Inner City as Recent Open Studio Events Attest a wonderful complement to the local art scene and a commitment to supporting local artists. Writer, Anthony Harvey wrote an inspired and heartening article about two groups of well attended Artist Open Studios this Fall in Washington, DC. As members of Mid City Artists, my studio colleagues, Angela White, Freya Grand and myself participated in the November Mid City Artists Open Studios. Anthony Harvey likens the burgeoning art scene in DC as "heralding a resurgence of the “Mid-Town” Washington art scene reminiscent of the lively art scene in those areas during the 1970s and 1980s." Harvey's article starts with a review of the October NOMA Artists Open Studios and continues with Mid City Artists Open Studios in November. Read the full InTowner article here .

Thank you Anthony Harvey and Peter Wolff for supporting the local artists and art scene, recognizing the contribution of the arts to the revitalization of our neighborhoods. As I stated in my letter to the editor, your support and recognition helps turn out record attendance to the Open Studios events and contributes to the dynamic partnership of the arts and business communities. The informative nature of the article heightens awareness for community residents of the burgeoning arts scene in their midst. Harvey states, "Coupled with the steadily increasing number of commercial art galleries opening in the 14th Street corridor between Thomas Circle and U Street, residents are finding themselves living within walking distance of a virtual cornucopia of fine and decorative arts -- for both serious art collecting and that of home decoration, or simply for the visual enjoyment of the walker and the "looker."

We have a diverse and talented pool of artists living and working in the Dupont Circle, Logan Circle and Shaw neighborhoods who are committed to showcasing the lively art scene that exists in our Nation's Capital. Put us on your calendars for Spring 2006 Open Studios. Keep up on the news from Mid City Artists by signing up on our website to get our periodic news bulletin.

www.midcityartists.com
www.annemarchand.com

Aeromatic: Artomatic at the Heliport.

LAST CHANCE - Entries due January 2
 
You still have a few days to get your entries in for this Artomatic opportunity for emerging artists. The Heliport Gallery in the vibrant Silver Spring area announces Aeromatic: Artomatic at the Heliport.

Who’s Eligible? Any Artomatic participant who has never shown in a commercial gallery. Jurors: David Fogel, Director of the Silver Spring Gateway Project and manager of the Heliport and Nevin Kelly, owner of the Nevin Kelly Gallery on U Street in DC. When: Entries due January 2, 2006; show will take place in February, 2006. How: Send up to 3 jpeg images to David Fogel. Make sure to note title, size and medium and include your phone number. JPEGS are strongly preferred by the judges but if you absolutely can't manage an electronic entry, you may send up to three slides to David Fogel, Heliport Gallery, 8001 Kennett Street, Suite 3, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Slides must arrive by January 2, 2006.

Garvan Woodland Gardens "Holiday HIGHlights 2005"

Photographs by ©Anne Marchand


Our holiday adventure was filled with views of the Ouachita Mountains near Hot Springs, Arkansas and the sweetness of visiting mom and dad. The night after Christmas, we visited a transformed Garvan Woodland Gardens. The magical light show reminded me of Diwali, the Festival of Lights in India. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs celebrate Diwali and use the occasion to celebrate life and strengthen relationships. Our stroll through the gardens was a similar celebration. I love a good metaphor and this enchanting display capped off a wonderful visit with family.



Over twenty acres of prime Garden real estate is transformed into a holiday wonderland, featuring a million plus lights, animated characters, and hand-made structures. "Holiday HIGHlights 2005". The seven-week festival of lights is enhanced with the addition of musical entertainment including choirs, quartets, vocalists, and instrumentalists.

Garvan Woodland Gardens is a dream of Verna Cook Garvan, described as a brilliant businesswoman by those acquainted with her, who realized she could not solely succeed in preserving her private woodland garden or provide an accessible place of repose for the people of Arkansas without help. In 1985 she donated the land under a trust agreement to the University of Arkansas School of Architecture. The U of A department of landscape architecture, a division of the School of Architecture, began the daunting task of documenting every plant species. Garvan Woodland Gardens is an example of The Natural State at its best: a canopy of pines reaching skyward providing protection for delicate flora and fauna, gentle lapping waves that unfold along the 4 ½ miles of wooded shoreline, and rocky inclines that remind us of the surrounding Ouachita Mountains. The Gardens are a beautifully crafted response to those who may have doubted one determined woman's vision for a world-class botanical garden.

Garvan Woodland Gardens
550 Arkridge Road - P.O. Box 22240
Hot Springs National Park, AR 71913
800-366-4664 • 501-262-9300
info@garvangardens.org
www.garvangardens.org/

Arkansas highlights

Photographs by ©Anne Marchand

We're back in DC for the New Year Celebrations. We got our fill of the rolling Ouachita mountains in Southwest Arkansas, visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock which boasts a Dale Chihuly sculpture and Clinton's memorabilia in the Presidential Library.Little Rock, the geographical center of the state, is the hub of business, arts, government and healthcare in Arkansas.


The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park is the perfect addition to what was already a diverse offering of museums, unique shops, and other neighborhood attractions. Located on the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock’s River Market District, the Clinton Center houses the largest archival collection in American Presidential history. Designed by award-winning architect James Polshek and his firm, Polshek Partnership of New York, the main building takes the form of a glass bridge symbolizing President Clinton’s theme of “Building a Bridge to the 21st Century.”


Exhibits in the 20,000-square-foot museum are designed by Ralph Appelbaum and Associates of New York. Among its numerous notable achievements, Appelbaum and Associates created the powerful exhibits at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Presidential Center

Red Eye to Washington, DC USA

"Streaming" photograph by Anne Marchand

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

"Ornamental" Photograph by ©Anne Marchand

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here were are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, 1943

Christmas Eve and Flying off into the skies

Christmas Eve and we're flying off into the family skies. For a few days, we'll be visiting with family and friends, taking a respite from the usual pace to pay attention to the sweet things of life, the intangible connections that make traversing this planet a real joy.
Enjoy the holidays and I'll catch up with ya before the New Year begins. And Happy Birthday to all you Capricorns out there! Shine baby shine!

"Toward 16th Street NW," 36" x 48", oil on canvas, Copyright © Anne Marchand. All rights reserved. Photo Credit: Greg Staley
www.annemarchand.com

"Call for Nominations: 2006 Coming Up Taller Award"

12-23-2005 until 01-30-2006
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Washington, DC, USA United States of America

The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, invites you to nominate outstanding arts and humanities youth programs in your community for a 2006 Coming Up Taller award. Each year Coming Up Taller awards recognize and reward excellence in after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth. Award recipients receive $10,000 each, an individualized plaque, and an invitation to attend the annual Coming Up Taller Leadership Enhancement Conference.

We encourage programs initiated by libraries, museums, community service organizations, schools, universities, colleges, businesses, arts centers, performing arts organizations, and eligible government entities to participate. If your organization, or a program that your organization manages, meets the criteria for a Coming Up Taller award, we welcome your nomination. If you know of other organizations and programs you believe warrant consideration, we would be grateful if you would share this letter and nomination form with them.

The postmark deadline for nominations is January 30, 2006. For guidelines and nomination application, visit Coming Up Taller. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities at 202-682-5409.

Andrea Way, DC Artist exhibits in San Francisco, CA USA

Andrea Way is represented in Washington, DC by Marsha Mateka Gallery with a solo exhibition this year. She also spends time in San Francisco and is showing work at the Brian Gross Gallery in the Bay Area.
From a 2001 press release at Marsha Mateka.... When asked to discuss her paintings, the artist says "The only way I can talk about any of my work is to tell you how I made it". An avid practitioner of Zen meditation and an equally devoted admirer of the natural sciences, Andrea Way finds meaning through the way in which she works - sometimes visualizing spiritual principles, other times paralleling natural processes... all of the works begin with the action of ink dropped into shaped pools of water or into one large pool covering the entire surface. The artist loves this thin, delicate and unpredictable surface which she can then slowly develop through multiple layering.

"Andrea Way: Drawings"
12-15-2005 until 01-28-2006
Brian Gross Fine Art
San Francisco, CA, USA United States of America

Andrea Way opened her solo exhibition, Drawings, at Brian Gross Fine Art on Thursday, December 15. Way elegantly systematizes naturally occurring patterns in her intricate and lyrical ink drawings. In her second exhibition at Brian Gross Fine Art, Way presents her characteristically abstract drawings that deftly articulate complex organic patterning. Her compositions are comprised of intuitively structured layers, nuanced color, and playful geometries to create richly detailed, textural works on paper. The dynamic combination of linear and non-linear elements activates both foreground and background resulting in a powerful vocabulary constantly in flux. These rhythmic, multifaceted drawings are formally sophisticated and ultimately engaging.

Also featured in the exhibition will be Andrea Way's contribution to Magnolia Editions' 20 Year Drypoint Project. The project consists of a series of mixed media pieces created on drypoints pulled from the cutting board used at Magnolia for the last twenty years. Way's 38 by 84 inch drawing on drypoint is the first of the series to be exhibited and is a compelling graphic work.

Andrea Way was born in San Francisco, CA in 1949 and received her BA from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN in 1971. Her work has been featured in many gallery and museum exhibitions and is included in the public collections of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI; Achenbach Foundation, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, CA; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC; and the National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C., among others. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. The exhibition continues through January 28, 2006.


www.annemarchand.com

Left or Right - no it's not politics, it's art!

Seems like even art is weighted to the left or right. To keep yourself fresh, alert, and creative...mind your compositional habits and don't always weigh in on the same side.

From Canadian Artist, Robert Genn's studio.....
Right and left weighting

"Yesterday Ken Flitton wrote: "It has been pointed out that all
of my paintings have a center of interest on the right-hand
side. Generally there's a dark blob on the right because that
seems to be how I like to compose. Is this something to do with
one side of the brain? Do other people have the same problem?
Is it serious and in need of correction? I'm sure it occurs
entirely unconsciously."

Thanks Ken. This is known as right or left weighting and you're
right, it's unconscious, but it's also a habit due to
handedness. We all favor one side or the other. I don't think
it has anything to do with right- or left-brain dominance.
While there are exceptions, right-handed people tend to start
on the right-hand side of the painting and work toward the
left. The reverse is true for lefties. Particularly for those
who use a mahlstick or other hand-leaning device, the habit can
bring a stultifying regularity to compositions.

Getting control of and understanding right-left weighting is a
valuable compositional ploy. Compositions-in-progress are
puzzles that need to be worked out. To hit the reset button,
you've got to consciously put that "dark blob" in a different
spot. And you've got to do it early on. This sets the old brain
into neural paths that enlighten compositions in a new way. If
you produce a lot of similar works in a series, just
alternating your rights and lefts is valuable. Weightings tend
to run in flocks. Particularly when sending a bundle of recent
paintings to a dealer, it's a good idea to line them all up and
give them the old "boring" test.

A problem that arises with habitual placement is the tendency
toward traditional and tired academic ideas of balance. I call
it "standard plonk" because you plonk down a compositional
element in a habituated way. The antidote is to consciously
think out and invent variations--extreme decentralization,
edgemanship, symmetry, interlock, patterning, action outside
the picture plane, and other devices. While it's okay to just
let it flow and to depend on intuition for your compositions,
it's also worthwhile to know that all of our individual
pictorial pathways are loaded with traps. When I'm on jury
duty, indeed, when I'm looking at my own stuff, I'm constantly
amazed at how we fall into these traps with stunning
regularity."

"A work of art is a collection of signs invented during
execution to suit the needs of their position." (Henri Matisse)

"Composition is the art of controlling the observer." (Robert
Henri)

"A composition is the organized sum of the interior
functions of every part of the work." (Wassily Kandinsky)

Read more at
The Painter's keys

When it Rains it Pours

As I brought soup to my friend on Saturday, I swore I wouldn't end up flat on my back following the doctor's prescribed RICE method - Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate...my ankle. I took a tumble yesterday from a seemingly simple task on a ladder - going over backwards, spraining my ankle and bruising parts of my behind. I mused as I limped home thoughts that I got off easy. Five of my friends are laid up around the metropolitan area with broken ankles and sprains. Mine is a category 1 minor sprain. I have been tending to some of the worst ones over the last few weeks wondering how in the world so many people could be in the same predicament at once! Irony of all ironies...here I lay me down to sleep with ice to keep my sprain at rest.
Taking these REST times to heart....It's a good time to do some goal setting for the New Year. My computer still works and I'll be reading, writing and thinking over the week, no walking to gallery openings or friends exhibitions. My "party" is over for a few days and then maybe I'll see you at the next one. You can't keep an artist down for long especially one with a sense of the humor of it all.

FREE STUDIO SPACES - NEW YORK CITY - MANHATTAN

OFFERED BY

THE MARIE WALSH SHARPE ART FOUNDATION 
Along with a Consortium of funders including: Basil Alkazzi, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Inc., The Richard Florsheim Art Fund, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Robert Gould Foundation, The Greenwich Foundation,  New York, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc., The Judith Rothschild Foundation, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Visual artists 21 and over are invited to submit proposals for FREE Studio Spaces. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. Residents, and not in school at the time of residency. Emerging, mid-career and older artists are encouraged to apply.  The 14 studios are non-living spaces for the making of new works of art. There is no stipend or equipment provided. Juried by a panel of artists. Studios are available beginning Sept. 1, 2006 for periods of up to one year. Artists who presently have a studio larger than 400 sq. ft. in New York City are not eligible.

Proposals should include (there is no application form): 
1.  8 slides (35mm) of recent work (on slides write: slide number, name and show top of work with arrow).  Or CD of 8 images (maximum height or width 1240 pixels, file format must be .jpg or .gif, 300 dpi resolution, file size should be no larger than 1.2 MB).  Or, if needed to portray art work (installations), a video/DVD (3 minutes or less). 
2.    An annotated list: image number, title, size, medium, date of work. Or, for video/DVD, a brief paragraph describing work, include date of work.
3.   A resumé.  Please include a phone number, e-mail address and date of birth.
4.   A concise statement (no more than 1 page) indicating why studio space is needed. 
5.   Specify desired starting date (after Sept. 1, 2006) and length of stay (up to one year). 
6.   A self-addressed, stamped envelope for returning slides, CD, DVD or video.

Postmark Deadline -- January 31, 2006 All applications will be notified by the end of April, 2006. 

Send Proposals to: The Space Program
                                The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation 
                                 830 North Tejon Street, Suite 120
                                 Colorado Springs, CO 80903
                                 (719) 635-3220
                              www.sharpeartfdn.org    

Maryland Art Place call for artists celebrating the diversity of mixed media artworks.

As part of Maryland Art Place’s 25th Anniversary programming scheduled for 2006, MAP announces a call for artists who wish to be considered for an exhibition celebrating the diversity of mixed media artworks. Works will be selected by Sarah Tanguy, currently curator for the ART in Embassies Program as well as an independent curator and critic based in Washington, DC. Tanguy’s current projects include: transrealities, a joint US/Lithuania photography exhibition; and Taken for Looks, an all-photography, food-inspired exhibition; Breaking Bread, a joint Cuba/Russia/US exhibition. In addition, Tanguy has written numerous exhibition-related essays and reviews in The Washington Times, Sculpture, New Art Examiner, Glass, American Craft, Metalsmith, Hand Print Workshop International, Turning Points, Mid-Atlantic Country, Baltimore, and Reader’s Digest.

Application Deadline: January 27, 2006

For application and prospectus, please visit: A CALL FOR ENTRY to ARTISTS


www.annemarchand.com

Mentor and Protégé - a young artist's year with a master painter

Here's an exciting look at a comtemporary mentor and protégé program by Rolex. Rolex has paired British artist, David Hockney and German artist, Matthias Weischer in a full year of mentoring in the Visual Arts. Read here

Holiday Music in Public Places –2005 Washington, DC USA

Holiday music anyone? Here's a taste to enlive your holiday spirit and it's FREE!

The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
announces a performance series of holiday music from December 19-23, 2005. There will be free music all week at different times and locations.
Free Week of Music

Tuesday, December 20: 4:30-6:30pm
Whole Foods Market, 2323 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Visions of Jazz, Latin jazz

Wednesday, December 21st
Noon – 2:00pm
The Pocket Band, reggae ensemble

4:30 – 6:30pm
Passing Notes, a cappella choir
at the Downtown Holiday Market
Old Convention Center Site
Enter at 11th & H streets

Thursday, December 22nd: 5-7pm
Eastern Market Metro Plaza, SE
Visions of Jazz, Latin jazz

and

Friday, December 23rd: 4:00 – 6:00pm
Narek Bell Choir, hand bells
outside
Hecht’s Department Store

DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Fifth Floor
410 Eighth Street, NW
Washington, DC USA
202.724.5613

View the performance schedule Holiday Music in Public Places –2005 for times and locations.


www.annemarchand.com

May your days be Merry and Bright

This the season for joyous song! I went to hear my favorite men's choir at Church of the Epiphany this afternoon, the Washington Men's Camerata.

The choral ensemble includes our very own Chuck Baxter. Chuck sings Second Tenor in the Camerata and is also a Washington, DC visual artist who works with found objects. The performance this afternoon was lovely, graceful and sung with heavenly men's voices!

The program "Christmas with the Camerata" delivered delightful Traditional Carols as well as unusual selections such as a 16th Century Slovenian Carol. Winter Wonderland and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas capped the performance and left me and the full house feeling in the holiday spirit. Frank Albinder, Music Director for the Washingon Men's Camerata has performed in all fifty states and in twenty foreign countries. He is also Music Director of the Woodley Ensemble and Conductor of the Virginia Glee Club, University Of Virginia in Charlottesville.

I am looking forward to their next performance on March 26, 2006.... The Camerata Sings Songs of Love including a beautiful sonnett by Elizabeth Barret Browning.

For info go to Washington Men's Camerata and support the Arts.
202-364-1064

Here's a review of the one of the concert's that came out in the Post today. The reviewer was at the concert Saturday in Bethesda.

Washington Men's Camerata

"The Washington Men's Camerata sang Christmas songs on Saturday night at the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, in a program ranging from a carol in the Huron language to Renaissance chorales to "White Christmas." What unified the diverse program was not only the seasonal theme but also the sound of the camerata under its music director, Frank Albinder: evenly balanced throughout the men's tonal spectrum, luxuriantly blended, gloriously full and rich, yet crisp and nimble when the music demanded it.

It was, in short, a sound sure to put anyone who heard it in a festive mood. For the most part, the program mixed extremely adventurous choices with ear-catching arrangements of familiar tunes. The haunting, contemplative melody of the Huron carol, " 'Twas in the Moon of Winter Time," provided a fine setting for its images of hunters at the manger, and a robust 16th-century Slovenian carol received a jubilant performance. The ambiguous, reflective harmonies of Healy Willan's touching "The Three Kings" were handled with memorable delicacy by the camerata and three fine soloists, Patrick McMahan, Chris Johnson and David Evans. Two of the arrangements came across especially well: Patrick Dupre Quigley's jolly "Wassail" and Mark Riese's take on "Christmas Comes Anew," which pumped up the carol with complex antiphonal effects and extensive demands on the accompanist. Plenty of genial banter from music director Albinder and two unusually sonorous audience singalongs gave this fine holiday concert some extra sparkle."
-- Andrew Lindemann Malone

www.annemarchand.com

MORI - An Internet-based Earthwork at the Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA USA

I stopped by the Arlington Arts Center today.
I still love Arlington even with the disneyesk fabricated Americana retail district that has developed in the heart of the old city. I hope they keep some of their charming small businesses...but that's another story.

Today, I was on a mission to see the exhibition, MORI! I wanted to hear the groan of the Hayward Fault, to hear the earth body moving, heaving and sending out sounds. I wasn't disappointed in sound or imagination. Who knew a slightly lit, subtle theatric web concept could conjure up so much symbolism! I was in the darkness alone - me, the subtle seismic light graph and the earth groaning sounds for a moment in time. Eerie, spacey and connected.

MORI - An Internet-based Earthwork by Ken Goldberg, Randall Packer, Gregory Kuhn and Wojciech Matusik.
NOVEMBER 15- JANUARY 7, 2006

MORI is an internet-based earthwork that engages the earth as a living medium. In this installation, minute movements of the Hayward Fault in California are detected by a seismograph, converted to digital signals, and transmitted continuously via the Internet to the installation.

Visitors follow a fiber-optic cable to the center of the resonating enclosure where a portal through the floor frames the installation's focal point. The live seismic data stream drives an embedded visual display (an "earth drawing"?) and immersive low-frequency sounds, which echo the unpredictable fluctuations of the earth's movement. The title links the Japanese term for "forest-sanctuary" with the Latin "reminder of mortality." In MORI, the immediacy of the telematic embrace between earth and visitor questions the authenticity of mediated experience in the context of chance, human fragility, and geological endurance. For more information go to Zakros or
Berkeley.edu

Also of note exhibited as part of Drawing: Tradition & Innovation
on the Main Floor, Chairman's Gallery
Stephanie Lanes's drawings that look 3 Dimensional
and Richard Dana's "Narrator" charcoal on paper

and on the Lower Level in the Truland Experimental Gallery
two installations;

SOLO EXHIBITION: Brece Honeycutt, Works on Paper and Sculpture
COLLABORATION: Maria Anasazi and Zoe Leoudaki, Tell Me More Stories, an Installation.

Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22201
(703) 248-6800


www.annemarchand.com

Graffiti - Is it art. An alternative to Borf. Washington, DC USA

Graffiti, is it art? I'm not debating that issue.

I do know that it is not a person's right to deface the property of others with paint, markers or any other tools of the trade of professional artists. Would it be right to take any other craftsmans tools and use them to inflict property damage? I don't think so! Our city can develop a program similar to the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia as a model for rehabilitating young teens to rechannel their energy into creative projects that support the community in which they live. The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program(MAP) started in 1984 as a component of the Anti-Graffiti Network (PAGN). PAGN is a city-wide initiative to eradicate destructive graffiti and address neighborhood blight. As part of this effort, PAGN hired mural artist Jane Golden in Philadelphia, to reach out to graffiti writers and redirect their energies to mural-making. Muralists like G. Byron Peck of City Arts in Washington, DC are already working with inner city teens to help create alternatives to destructive behaviour.

I think it is more than fair that Borf learn his craft before carrying around the tools of the trade and while making amends through community clean up service. I also think its fair that our city address a larger community issue. As MAP states "Murals are excellent catalysts for youth development. Murals challenge and affirm on a variety of levels, and provide a unique opportunity for young people to actively participate in a process that enhances their community. In addition, the impact of healthy relationships with adult role models-both in the arts and in the community-gives young people great pride in their own capabilities as artists and activists." Education is a key.

This from a homeowner in the District....

"As a Borf victim myself I agree with many of my other neighbors...
The obnoxious mural he left on the side of my house just says his name in three foot high letters....he tagged the Harrison School building as well, one of the oldest historic sites in our community, built in 1890 ... Power washing and painting are out of the question because of the delicate original unpainted brick.
.... the best suggestion yet, that the vandal should meet his victims and understand the damage he has done. Residents who literally put their life savings into a home, lovingly and painstakingly repair it, and then see it vandalized like this are crushed when they come home and see the damage. For small business owners, it's even worse. When the damage is to our historic treasures, we all suffer."

THE WEEKLY DISH unveiled at VIRIDIAN RESTAURANT, Washington, DC USA

It seems another great vegetarian friendly restaurant has opened it's doors reviving the menu of Ruppert's. What's life without art? or good food.

(Provided By Derrick Bullock)

TOM SIETSEMA DEJA VU ON THE MENU:
Rupperts closed three years ago, but the spirit of the minimalist American restaurant on Seventh Street NW -- revered by its fans for its purity and criticized by others for its preciousness -- resurfaces at the recently unveiled Viridian (1515 14th St. NW;...

To view the entire article, go to WaPO article here

"CHRISTMAS IN DUPONT" Contest. VOTE TODAY!

Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets presents
"Christmas in Dupont"

Come celebrate the holidays in Dupont Circle as merchants decorate their windows and storefronts for the first annual "Christmas in Dupont" Holiday Decoration Contest. Visit our commercial corridors - Connecticut Avenue, P Street, and 17th Street - and see which participant best captures the spirit of our theme "Snow Business."

Use the link on the right to vote by December 16. "Snow Business."The winner will be announced on December 18. The winner can enjoy a one year membership at THE WASHINGTON SPORTS CLUB at 1825 Connecticut Ave NW. New prize added: a two-night complimentary gift certificate from the Hilton Boston Back Bay Hotel.

CRAIG KRAFT- light Sculptor, Washington, DC USA

Craig Kraft, Neon/Light Artist, par excellent, installed 2 temporary neon sculptures in our studios during a December artwalk weekend. I had the honor of witnessing the two hour installation after which our studio glowed with rainbow beams. Craig and his assistant, Scott Gelo are creators of commissioned neon light sculpture.You can see some of Craig Kraft's sculpture around town. The Arlington Art Center has a large commissioned piece commissioned in Rolled Aluminum and Neon.




Craig teaches neon/light workshops. A professional sculptor for 26 years, Craig Kraft has gained international recognition for advancing the techniques he has developed. He is one of only a handful of light artists in the world who bends his own glass. His website features stunning visuals of his abstract and figurative neon light sculptures. Take a look, it's well worth the visit.

www.craigkraftstudio.com/

The Way We Worked

National Archives

The Way We Worked
Photographic history of work in the United States from 1857 to 1987 from the National Archives’ collection. More than 80 photographs are accompanied by videos showing workers on the job and audio segments in which workers describe their experiences

Exhibit Preview and Breakfast
Tuesday, December 13, 9:00 – 10:00am
Brief remarks at 9am. Enter on Pennsylvania Avenue

Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, and Bruce Bustard, exhibit curator
Exhibit photographers will be at the breakfast

On Exhibit in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery
December 16 – May 29
Address: On Constitution Avenue, NW between 7th and 9th streets
Please enter via the Constitution Avenue special events entrance
Admission: Free
Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial (Yellow or Green line)
Phone: 202-501-5000
Email: reservations.nwe@nara.gov

National Archives
Constitution Avenue, between 7th and 9th Streets, NW
202-501-5000


www.annemarchand.com

How you can help rebuild New Orleans

Contact Your Congressman/Congresswoman

Many of you have asked how you can help rebuild New Orleans. Contact Washington. Here’s how.
Click here to see a letter to send to your state’s Senator or Member of Congress. We've got to keep the focus on rebuilding New Orleans!


www.annemarchand.com

Retratos

This is one exhibition that I don't want to miss!

Friday, October 21, 2005
Through January 8, 2006
National Portrait Gallery at the S. Dillon Ripley Center on the National Mall
Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.
INFO (202) 275 1738

Latin America has a long and rich tradition of portraiture. In its countries, as elsewhere, portraits have preserved the likeness of individuals both living and dead, bolstered the social standing of the aristocracy, marked the deeds of the mighty, recorded rites of passage, and established and preserved the historical record. Portraits have also connected the individual to the family and the family to the community, bound together disparate populations, and helped establish national identity. Portraiture provides valuable insights into the lives and minds of the artist and the sitter, as well as their time and place.

Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits is an overview comprising more than 100 portraits from over 15 countries. The exhibition begins in the Precolumbian era, continues through the viceregal and independence periods, and into the modern era. It ends with contemporary portraiture, which demonstrates the sustained vitality of this tradition. As a group, these paintings and sculptures suggest not only common artistic threads but also provide important insights into the social and political history of Latin America.

This exhibition is organized by the San Antonio Museum of Art; the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and El Museo del Barrio, New York.

www.annemarchand.com

NYFA Current - straight from the artists

American Ideology
What's an interesting artist from San Francisco doing....
Marisa Olson

In Marisa’s American Idol Audition Training Blog (a website named this way to garner high search engine rankings), San Francisco-based artist Marisa Olson documented the three months of rigorous training that preceded her audition for the hit TV show “American Idol.” Including interactive polls and detailed descriptions of every step of her training—from practicing “soulful singing” to learning how to walk in stilettos—her website developed a cult following. Olson’s project was recently featured in the New Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition Rhizome Artbase 101 and she was written about in the New York Times. Predictably, most people ask Olson, “Were you for real or was the project tongue in cheek?” Her response: “yes.”

Music, above all other cultural forms, has played the most crucial role in forming my identity and organizing my memories. Growing up an American citizen in Europe, I obsessively followed US Top 40 countdowns. When I later moved to the US, my mother took me to a Baptist church at least three times per week. My membership in the youth choir, my ultimate succession to the teen choir, and my mother’s participation in the church choir had a profound impact on my social skills, my understanding of gendered power relations (my mom was the only female tenor!), my interest in modes of storytelling, and my strange faith in the potential for everyday people to become stars.

Now, whether I’m blogging my efforts to audition for “American Idol,” restaging pivotal scenes in Hollywood musicals, or remaking The Jackson 5 Christmas Album, I want to ask in my work how the systems inherent in the music world (its modes of production, distribution, and reception; the issue of authorship; historiographic notions of appropriation and genre; celebrity) reflect those in the “real world” and in the art world.

Some of the people closest to me really thought I was crazy when they heard I was training to audition for “American Idol” last fall. After reading the “documentation” on my website of my efforts to make myself over in preparation to stand out at local auditions, the administrator of my academic department emailed to say that I had “a lot of PR to do” among the professors. A few months later, my cousin came to an opening of mine and reported, “Grandma’s really worried about you after reading that New York Times article.” In this piece, the reporter recounts my pursuance of a “California Girl look,” which culminated with me emerging from a tanning salon with a full-body rash.

A person such as me would have a difficult time succeeding on the show. I’m overweight, older than most contestants, prefer to sing non-pop music, and don’t neatly fit the gender-normative look for women on TV. These factors sculpted my critique of the show; they also formed the basis for my parodic audition training.

The goals of the project were manifold. I hoped to critique certain elements of ”American Idol,” namely the stereotypes it perpetuates, the concealment of artist’s labor by the producers, and questions about democracy in relation to the show.

It concerned me that the artists who sing on “American Idol” are routinely dismissed by the judges for failing to meet a range of superficial standards. Candidates are often called out as overweight, unattractive, or having unfashionable hairstyles or wardrobes. The judges also frequently make homophobic and gender-normativizing remarks and they tend to pen contestants into racialized musical genres; for instance, encouraging African American contestants to stay within the domain of Motown or “soul,” in their song selections. In Marisa’s American Idol Audition Training Blog I also aimed to unveil the amount of labor engaged in by artists through the blogging of my “training exercises.” The producers of American Idol make all would-be contestants sign contracts that limit their rights, and those who ultimately score recording contracts are given far fewer rights than most artists. They are, in a certain sense, indentured.

I attempted to achieve all of this through an act of parody; yet the concept of parody became problematized in this work because my “training” involved a commitment to participate in the process I sought to critique. In the end, I enjoyed and even cultivated this blurriness, as it made for a more self-reflexive comment on the surrealism inherent in the art and entertainment spheres, with which the “blogosphere” was beginning to intersect.

I also hoped to get my readers thinking about their own voices, in a political sense. The 2004 presidential elections were looming as I prepared for my audition, and I couldn’t help but think about how the key demographic of “American Idol” is the same one that traditionally ignores the polls during political elections. American youths vote to elect the show’s winners, but not the leader of their country. As my training progressed, I began to receive thousands of website hits and hundreds of emails from teenagers and young adults who had no interest in my postmodern paradox of simultaneous parody and participation. They simply wanted to discuss our mutual dreams of stardom. It was exciting to me that I could have such a large audience outside the art world and I began addressing them directly. To get them in a voting mood, I had them vote on what I should sing at the auditions and on every item of clothing I should wear. In the end, I received over 20,000 votes and I still receive several dozen emails per month about the project, a year later.

This, to me, has been the most rewarding aspect of the project—the opportunity to say and do something that resonated with people: art world people, next-door neighbors, even young girls who wrote to ask whether I thought they were too fat to audition or if their parents would pay more attention to them if they got on the show. These unexpected pleasures softened the blow of my ultimate rejection from the show, wherein Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe (a.k.a. “Nasty Nigel”) told me that I had “as much chance of becoming the next American Idol as [he did] of becoming the next Picasso.”

It’s always hard to know what to say when someone asks me “what kind” of artist I am. It’s tempting to say, “I do crazy stuff involving pop music.” How would you categorize someone who makes operettas out of Simon & Garfunkel songs or remakes The Jackson 5 Christmas Album because it was their first beloved cassette? In truth, I mostly consider myself an autobiographer. Most of the work I’m creating is about me. It may not be my life story, but it still belies my insecurities, my talents or lack thereof, and the influence that music and technologies have had upon my life. My materials, and the way in which I use them, are as imperfect as I am, and I work this way not to be cute or hip in a self-effacing way, but because it’s honestly the only way I have to express myself.

Marisa Olson's work has been commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art and she has recently performed or exhibited at the New Museum for Contemporary Art, the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, Side Cinema-Newcastle, New Langton Arts, Southern Exposure, Debs & Co., Galapagos, 667 Shotwell, Pond Gallery, the international Futuresonic festival of electronic music and media arts, Electrofringe, Cinemascope-London, Machinista, Scope, VIPER Festivals, and elsewhere. She has held residencies and fellowships at Goldsmiths, Northwestern University, the Technical University-Dresden, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She participated in an exhibition that Artforum highlighted in their “Best of 2004” issue, and while Wired has called her both funny and humorous, the New York Times has called her work "anything but stupid."

For more information on Marisa Olson, visit:
Marisa Olson's Blog
American Idol
Audition Training
Projects

Points of Departure closes Sunday at District of Columbia Arts Center

Points of Departure closes this Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005 with an Artists' talk inside the gallery of DCAC at 5:00pm.

Points of Departure: works by Nathan Manual and D. Billy, curated by Trish Tillman
November 11, - December 11, 2005
District of Columbia Arts Center
2438 18th Street NW, Washington D.C. 20009
202/462-7833
info@dcartscenter.org

Some reviews on the Show:
Rachel Beckman wrote a lovely blurb about the show. City Paper - Gallery Pick

James Huckenpahler, Artist/Blogger Covert City says - Thinking About Art has been the home of an ongoing project, Artists Interview Artists. Today's installment featuring Nathan Manuel and D. Billy, is by far the smartest and funniest of the series.

Kriston Capps (Writer/Blogger Grammar Police also has some great things to say about the show.

Enter into a conversation between the two newly acquainted DC area artists Nathan Manuel and D. Billy, and you might think you are entering a choreographed sitcom. Mix the silly nature of throwing around language and shapes paired with a whimsical yet careful attitude towards the outcome of their collaborative artworks, and you'll find that it's not only about the art, but that it's also a game. In fact, the more the two artists learn each other's artmaking aesthetics, the more strategic the game gets. The resulting gems of painted and collaged panels speak miles with an array of caricatures cut out from books, scraps of food packaging, cardboard boxes and discarded educational materials. Lines section off compartments to define thoughts and put stereotypical lifestyles on a pedestal. Circular clouds waft ideas across the composition, projecting questions into the garish jabber jaw of fleeting discussion. In the end, the games Manuel and Billy present extend through to how life's idioms can be taken out of context and put into someone else's set of rules. One large-scale drawing in the exhibition will be made using 'viewer input' from ballots (available at DCAC) that are submitted in the month leading up to the show.

District of Columbia Arts Center | 2438 18th Street NW, Washington D.C. 20009 | 202/462-7833 | info@dcartscenter.org

www.annemarchand.com

James Hampton's 'Throne' Returns in All Its Heavenly Glory - Washington, DC USA

In WaPo today.....

Our wondrous throne is back at the Smithsonian American Art Museum which reopens July 1 2006!

The Revelation of the Folk Artist
James Hampton's 'Throne' Returns in All Its Heavenly Glory
By Linton Weeks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 10, 2005; Page C01

Sisters and brothers! We are gathered here today to sing of "The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly"! And when you refer to it, praise be, speak with the awe and with the reverence it deserves.

For this, my friends, is truly a most inspired and wondrous work of folk art -- pulpits and altar and oddly shaped stands fashioned from pieces of furniture and cardboard and light bulbs and tin cans and meticulously -- most ingeniously -- wrapped in silver and gold foil.

Wayne Boone packs up after helping reinstall the foil-covered work at the American Art Museum, which reopens next year. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
Seriously. So majestic, so mighty and bright is this vast, multi-element vision by the late James Hampton that the Smithsonian American Art Museum has carved out a special, eggplant-colored niche in its renovated space to showcase the whole display -- well, most of it. Following a 6 1/2 -year renovation of the museum at Eighth and F streets NW -- with a planned re-opening on July 1, 2006 -- Hampton's "Throne" was chosen as the first work to be reinstalled. Read the article here

Curiosity killed the cat and what else does it do

From Robert Genn
Curious morning syndrome

At the risk of once more dividing the world into two main kinds
of people, there are two main kinds of people: There are those
who amuse themselves, and those who require others to amuse
them. It's been my experience that artists are pretty much of
the former kind. In their self-amusement, they're apt to be
creative.

Mornings can have special significance for these folks. They
don't need to stay in bed awaiting the amusements to
arrive--they're already there. They simply need to step into
the amusement area. For many artists, "Curious Morning
Syndrome," or CMS, primes the pump for productivity and
success. The blessing, of course, is not always evident to the
young. Sleeping-in has ruined many an early career. And some
folks must wait until middle or old age for CMS to kick in.
Some think it's a gene. I think it's a habit. I had to learn
it.

It's a matter of setting yourself up to be curious about the
outcome and potential of yesterday's efforts. Always leave
something unfinished when you shut down the studio at night.
Better still, leave several things unfinished. The easier, the
more enjoyable the task, the more the likelihood of an early
morning kick-off. At the same time, difficult challenges and
problematic passages are often best attacked when you are well
rested and fresh. While many work well late into the night, the
cold grey light of dawn presents opportunities to the prepared
worker. Surprises are uncommonly common to the curious at all
times. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it has been
responsible for birthing a lot of art. "How is this going to
turn out?" is an essential question that an artist must ask.
Curiosity tramples drudgery and fires up improvisation.
Curiosity sets the hands and mind in motion. Self-amusement
becomes the "muse."

Every day is a new birth and a metaphor for life--a relentless
carousel with a joyous song and a view for every rotation. CMS
is not just a matter of getting into the work area before the
telephones of normal business hours begin to jingle. CMS means
allowing your own unique "owned processes" to draw you there.
Thus the miracle of creativity is regularly reborn. To see your
world, your studio and the things of your hands within it,
first thing, like a child, with baby eyes.

Best regards,
Robert

PS: "The child is curious. He wants to make sense out of
things, find out how things work, gain competence and control
over himself and his environment, and do what he can see other
people doing. He is open, perceptive, and experimental." (John
Holt)

Esoterica: It's also been my observation that artists who allow
themselves to be dependent on others don't thrive in the same
way that the independent ones do. Part of the reason is that
dependent people often don't seem to have enough time for an
inner life and private curiosity. Furthermore, it looks to me
like the independents are the most alive, the most
experimental, and often the most productive. Some of them are
quiet, but they are not bored, nor are they boring. In the
words of journalist Ellen Parr: "The cure for boredom is
curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

Art Zone for the kid in all of us

So you want to make art and you love technology...well try your hand at this and have some kid fun. NGA Kids, Adventures in Art


www.annemarchand.com

The Business of Art: Evidence From the Art Market - J. Paul Getty Museum 2004 exhibit

The business of art is conducted much like any other commercial venture in which something is bought, sold, or traded, and yet a work of art is not a commodity in the ordinary sense. Its value can fluctuate radically in an instant, depending on the influence of collectors, dealers, curators, critics, or connoisseurs. Their assessments of historic, intellectual, and aesthetic values affect a work's monetary value in the marketplace.

The materials in this exhibition document past business activity in the art market. Recognizing their tremendous potential as research tools for the study of provenance (a work of art's history of ownership), and the history of aesthetics, taste, patronage, and collecting, the Getty Research Institute acquires the records of various players in the art market.
Art Matters! Nov. Issue Scroll to #5 Internet Resource for article link.


www.annemarchand.com

Art Helps - Jam Communications - An evening fundraiser in pictures

Artist Tanjo Bos with her painting.

A great turnout for the Jam Communications, Arthelps fundraiser. Artists and patrons flocked to bid on art at the auction to benefit District of Columbia Arts Center and Food for Friends. Do you recognize any artists, patrons or art? Yourself perhaps.







My donation, "the Return Journey"

Artists and Fraser Gallery owner, Lenny Campello.

www.annemarchand.com

Auction Houses Raking in the Dough

"There are many reasons for the predicted revenue increase at all of the major international auction houses. Buyers of art in the emerging art markets of Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates are purchasing works in many of the various collecting sites. There are also many new contemporary art buyers who are making major purchases." Read NY Arts here

www.annemarchand.com

Cluster@#%K! Aesthetics

A manic-depressive panic attack in the face of profound information overload.
by Jerry Saltz
.....the practice of mounting sprawling, often infinitely organized, jam-packed carnivalesque installations is making more and more galleries and museums feel like department stores, junkyards, and disaster films...terms that describe this sculptural strategy include grandiose and testosterone-driven.

The Village Voice has an interesting article about "all at once" installations.
Read it Here

www.annemarchand.com

Mississippi Images – Recent works by Michael Lang

Touchstone Gallery
Mississippi Images – Recent works by Michael Lang
An Exhibit for Katrina Hurricane Relief

December 7 – January 8

Opening Reception
Friday, December 9, 6:00 – 8:30pm

The Annex
Mississippi Images – Recent works by Michael Lang
An Exhibit for Katrina Hurricane Relief
Proceeds benefit The Mississippi Center for Justice and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Art Enables’ The Winter Solstice
Art Enables is an metropolitan-wide arts and enterprise program for adults with developmental and/or mental disabilities

Main Gallery
Touchstone’s 29TH Anniversary Holiday Show
All works are $250
10% of the proceeds will be donated to Food and Friends

Touchstone Gallery
406 7th Street, NW, 2nd floor
202.347.2787
Metro: Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter


www.annemarchand.com

New Orleans: The revival ??

An update on New Orleans

Three months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, the city's rich gumbo of culture deserves preservation..."Three months after Katrina crashed through the levees, America's attention has moved on. But New Orleans still faces piles of moldering detritus, more than 100,000 houses that are mud-soaked shells, 200,000 abandoned cars, occupied neighborhoods with no electricity and a social fabric frayed by forced flight."

Read the story here Linda Mack: New Orleans: The revival

www.annemarchand.com

"Peace on Earth" at District Fine Arts Gallery

Please join us for a holiday group show with various artist's interpretations of
"Peace on Earth"
December 10th, 2005 - January 15, 2006

Reception
December 10, 2005 6-9pm

District Fine Arts Gallery
1726 Wisconsin Avenue NW
202.328.9100
Visit District Fine Art Gallery for more info.

"Peace had never come from dropping bombs. Real peace comes from enlightenment and educating people to behave in a divine manner"
Carlos Santana

www.annemarchand.com

The 18th ANNUAL WASHINGTON CRAFT SHOW!!!

Among the nation's leading shows of fine contemporary American craft, the Washington Craft Show will take place on December 9-11, 2005, perfectly timed for the holidays. Approximately 180 outstanding contemporary craft artists from 35 states and D.C. will exhibit and sell their one-of-a-kind and limited-edition work in glass, ceramics, basketry, furniture, fiber, jewelry, metal, wood, wearable art, paper and mixed media for the home/office and to wear.

Special Exhibition:
A new central pavilion will demonstrate inspired ideas for displaying fine craft based on the show’s holiday theme, “High Style Living and Giving." Washington-area interior designer Gloria Capron, ASID, and architect Peter Grina, AIA, will create this dramatic and festive showcase.

When:
December 9, Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
December 10, Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
December 11, Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where:
Washington Convention Center
801 Mt. Vernon Place NW
Washington, D.C.
Metro: Mt. Vernon Square

Join Bob Wiener of
DC Art Glass and a
Mid City Artists Member.

www.annemarchand.com

Artomatic opportunity for emerging artists

Call For Entries: Artomatic at Heliport
The Heliport Gallery in the vibrant Silver Spring area announces Airomatic: Artomatic at the Heliport.

Who’s Eligible? Any Artomatic participant who has never shown in a commercial gallery. Jurors: David Fogel, Director of the Silver Spring Gateway Project and manager of the Heliport and Nevin Kelly, owner of the Nevin Kelly Gallery on U Street in DC. When: Entries due January 2, 2006; show will take place in February, 2006.

How: Send up to 3 jpeg images to David Fogel. Make sure to note title, size and medium and include your phone number. JPEGS are strongly preferred by the judges but if you absolutely can't manage an electronic entry, you may send up to three slides to David Fogel, Heliport Gallery, 8001 Kennett Street, Suite 3, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Slides must arrive by January 2, 2006.


www.annemarchand.com

Young Master Painter Makes Debut in Washington, DC USA - Drew Ernst at the Zenith Gallery

I went to the Zenith Gallery to see 26 yr.old Drew Ernst make his painting debut in Washington, DC. I was impressed with the quality and commitment of this young artist. Ernst paints in a realist style. As I stood with the excited mix of collectors and visitors, his paintings sold like hotcakes. There was a tangible buzz in the air over the freshly painted oil canvases and watercolors on display. I spoke a little with Drew during the opening of "Connected". From the ripe age of 13. Drew's father has played a significant part in furthering his son's creative passion including driving him miles in search of excellent art materials and modeling for larger than life canvases. Ernst studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, a bastion of American realism painting. He drew from cadavers at the Hanaman Medical School in Philadelphia to learn the intricacies of the human form. Ernst's watercolor technique rivals that of Andrew Wyeth and several of his oils contain a structured composition recalling the Neoclassicism of Jacques-Louis David.

Ernst's themes are contemporary, rural, patriotic and rich with a passion for life and connections. His figures echo a strong connection to the earth and to each other. Drew is not adverse to hard work as witnessed by his monumental canvases and he seems wise beyond his years. He lives in Ohio and will be showing his work at the Zenith Gallery through January 8. This is an exhibition not to be missed!

"Every emotion goes into my paintings - love, hate, joy, sadness - it's all in there. An amazing thing happens when you love hard and paint hard. You become one with the work. The mind can make paint do things, anything - make it behave in ways it shouldn't. The act of painting becomes spiritual. Once this happens, anything is possible." Drew Ernst (b. 1979, Mt. Vernon OH)

"Art is not a conceptual exercise. It is not a form of therapy or entertainment. Art is a personal practice, like meditation. Art allows the artist the opportunity to awaken into deeper levels of reality. In the best cases, it also allows the artist the opportunity to assist the viewer in the process of "waking up." There are many ways to awaken the viewer, gently nudging them or walloping them over the head. A great artist assists us in seeing the world differently. No style is necessarily superior to another, all forms are valid, what matters is whether or not the artist is being true to their temperament and experience. I feel that Drew Ernst is solidly himself. He is gifted and devoted to his art. He is smart and curious. He is a serious student of life.
-Bo Bartlett, artist


Opening night visitors at "Drew Ernst's "Connected" Solo Exhibiton at the Zenith Gallery, 413 7th Street NW, Washington, DC



For infromation call 202.783.2963
email; art@zenithgallery.com
Zenith Gallery

Spraining to do it.

This is not a cuss word!!!! Three friends sprained and broke ankles over the last few weeks, all women. I'm keeping my eyes open for Potholes! in downtown DC.....Yep, I've had that experience too. Several years ago, I didn't notice a pothole near 20th and M Sts. NW and in went my foot and I sprained my ankle. YEE-OUCH! It's no fun to lay up in bed or try to move around on crutches. Can't DC keep its streets nice and tidy like a good Capital City? Come on! We're supposed to be floating in money, what happened to street repair? Doesn't DC government know that there's an endangered species of artists who live with their heads in the creative spheres. How are we supposed to keep from falling in holes?
My day was spent serving up Enchiladas and good cheer to the invalids. Everyone else... eyes down and watch where yer walking.

Happy Holiday Seasons

I'd like to pretend this is my Christmas tree but it isn't. I wanted to share it with you because I have to confess, I love a good looking Christmas tree. This one was a visual bonus on my outing last night.

www.annemarchand.com

In search of the muse

There's so much going on this season. My head is spinning! It seems like things have doubly ramped up. Parties, parties, parties, openings, fundraisers, birthdays and I'm not even a party girl.....well sometimes. If you want to go see some good art, Lenny has posted a list of tonight's 1st Friday's gallery openings at DC Art News. I'm heading down to Zenith Gallery in Penn Quarter to see Drew Ernst's work tonight about 7pm after I take care of the rest of my life. I hope to spend some time in the studio today painting on two new canvases. It's been a very busy week of managing the business side of art; letters, emails, phone calls, contracts, research, teleclass, creativity check in's, not to mention the daily chores of life and maintanence. How do we do this gracefully and effortlessly and still create with passion? The artist's life is like a band with one member playing all the instuments. Somehow it still sounds sweet. Well, I can't discount all the support from family, friends, galleries, collectors, colleagues, community, and vendors. I need all the love and professional support I can get, thank you. Now.... I'm off in search of my muse... I think she may still be somewhere in my studio.


www.annemarchand.com

Artistically Speaking with Marilou Donahue

One of my favorite bloggers before blogging was ever in, is interviewer Marilou Donahue. Marilou hosts a television arts program, Artistically Speaking with Marilou Donahue and now provides a website highlighting the arts in the Washington, D. C. area. Her informative and lively website, www.ArtisticallySpeaking.TV features Artist, Sam Gilliam and Playwright, Ken Ludwig in the December Issue. Check it out...Artistically Speaking with Marilou Donahue

Sean Scully: Wall of Light at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC USA

I have been hearing great things about this exhibit which I plan to see before year's end!

Color, texture, emotion, abstraction. 
Don't miss the Phillips' sensational new exhibition!

More than any other artist of his generation, Sean Scully (born 1945) combines the formal traditions of European painting with the distinctly American abstract tradition of Rothko and Pollock. Inspired by a trip to Mexico more than 20 years ago, Scully's Wall of Light series builds from a memory of light and shadow playing on ancient Mayan ruins. Using only two formal elements - the vertical and horizontal - the paintings evoke physical and emotional landscapes, imbued with the importance of people, place, and the passage of time. The artist's hand is constantly present in the exploration of surface texture, abstract form, and richly layered color.

The Phillips Collection, with its history of engagement with contemporary artists, presents the first U.S. museum exhibition of Wall of Light, Scully's most important series to date. Featuring more than 40 works, including some 20 large-scale oil paintings, the exhibition showcases Scully's mastery of the abstract style, its emotional power, storytelling potential, and capacity to convey light.

Organized by The Phillips Collection, the exhibition will travel to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Cincinnati Art Museum before closing in New York at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sean Scully: Wall of Light is made possible by the global financial services firm UBS.

Check out Artful Evenings, the museum's Thursday extended-hours program from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-387-2151


www.annemarchand.com

New Corcoran Gallery Director, Washington, DC USA

British Scholar Paul Greenhalgh, (pronounced GREENhalsh) who organized the Art Nouveau Exhibition which showed at the National Gallery of Art in 2000, is named the new Corcoran Gallery Director for 2006. "Jeanne Ruesch, chairman of the Corcoran Board says Greenbalgh's appointment was a signal that the Corcoran is turning around after a rocky stretch." At 50, a young Greenbaugh has an impressive vitae as president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and previous head of research at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Greenhalgh is a historian with a background in painting and design and ceramics collecting. We wish him success in directing our city's 136 year oldest art museum. Read WaPO's interesting and informative article by Jacqueline Trescott British Art Scholar Named Director Of Corcoran Gallery


www.annemarchand.com