DC Roundup Coming...

On Saturday John M. Adams and I made the rounds and saw many gallery shows. This is a fantastic month for art viewing in DC and I have a lot to write about. I'll be writing about (in no particular order):

1) Numark Gallery
2) G Fine Art
3) Curator's Office
4) Adamson Gallery
5) Hemphill Gallery
6) Fusebox
7) Transformer
8) Conner Contemporary
9) Irvine Contemporary
10) Marsha Mateyka Gallery
11) JET Artworks
12) Boundless Yoga

The thing I liked was that the shows (or particular works) either knocked my socks off or made me really dislike them. There was no middle ground and there shouldn't be. Art should provoke some sort of reaction and this weekend there was no shortage of that.

It'll take me a while to churn out a Roundup of all these shows so please be patient!

But, because I don't want to delay you, go see the current show at Curator's Office (be sure to browse the show online)... Jiha Moon's work is astounding. She's a friend of mine and I'm familiar with her work, but even I was surprised by how good it was.

Comments

[Rrose Sélavy]

This posting is about the Trawick prize that resulted in the Creative Partners show this month. For those of you that don’t know- the Trawick prize is an annual art contest the winner getting $10,000.00. This year the winner was Jiha Moon- pretty shocking considering she didn't even make it past the initial rounds in the painting section of the contest. With a little research I found out that one of the 3 jurors for the contest was Andrea Pollan- who apparently represents Moon and has her work in a show as I write this. If this is true it is extremely alarming. I have never heard a clearer example of conflict of interest. I would have hoped that the nepotism that the Bush administration commits with it's no bid contracts and other marks of the 'good ol boys network.' In my eyes the Trawick prize is tainted and I would hope that the other artists would ask for their $25 dollars back as the contest could not have been completely fair. I heard that Ms. Pollan so ethically removed herself from the final round. THE FINAL ROUND- yeah- after she had already pretty much won the thing. Does Ms. Trawick know about any of this? I am not a sour grapes artist- I didn't even submit to the contest this year. I thought this crap only went one in NY and other big art markets. In fact- this is much of the reason I am in this area- I thought the art world here to be free of the political B.S. and lack of morality that the larger art centers seem to attract. This is a sad day in the Washington DC area art scene.

[christine]

As a fellow finalist, I don't think it's a conflict of interest at all. I don't know the exact specifics of how Jiha and Andrea's project at the Curator's office played out, but from my point of view the Trawick does things right (although I think we all could do without carpeted walls). A panel of jurors came to their concusions about whom to award things too. How is it a conflict of interest to be more familiar with someone's work?

[J.T. Kirkland]

All -

I wanted to leave some thoughts on this subject...

One thing to note is that Jiha did not apply for the Trawick Painting Prize, so please be careful what sort of assumptions you make. Also, I think it's important to separate the artist from the so-called scandal. Knowing Jiha personally, I can tell you that all she is concerned about is making her art. Any negative comments about this should be directed to Pollan or the Trawick Prize itself, if you feel it's warranted.

I think the original comment brings up a valid concern. The Trawick Prize is a prestigious award that does generate hype in the region and hopefully beyond. By winning the award, Jiha's stock, if you will, definitely rose. Andrea Pollan was one of the three panelists who picked the finalists. From what I understand, all three panelists agreed on making Jiha a finalist. Back to Pollan. We don't know what role Pollan had, if any, in naming Jiha the winner [UPDATE: Andrea had no role in naming Jiha the winner of the award. She recused herself from the final rounds of the competition.]. But, as the winner, there is a strong likelihood that this could, or did, result in more sales of Jiha's work. Jiha is currently showing at Pollan's gallery and she is the first artist to be represented by Pollan. So, there is a real possibility that by winning the Trawick Prize, Pollan has made money from the many sales at Jiha's current show. This answers your question, Christine [UPDATE: In terms of where the impropriety could be found, but clearly is not valid with the new information provided by Stephanie below.].

My personal opinion is that this is all an unfortunate set of circumstances. I definitely don't place any blame on Jiha and I'm giving Pollan the benefit of the doubt.

To the original commenter, if you thought you could come to DC and escape politics in art, well, that's pretty ridiculous. Politics play a role in everything involving money, prestige, success, etc. It might not be perfect, but it's the way things are. If you feel strongly about this particular issue, I encourage you to voice your opinion. Perhaps a letter to the Post, to Pollan, to Carol Trawick. But please, do not implicate Jiha Moon. She's just an artist...

[Rrose]

Hi Christine,
I don't think you fully understand what happened. Hanging in Andrea Pollan's office on 14th st. is Jiha Moon's work- and it is for sale. It's not a matter of 'being familiar' with an artist's work- it is that the judge represents the artist: A.K.A.- Andrea Pollan DIRECTLY makes money from Jiha Moon sales: A.K.A.- the more money that Jiha makes-the more money that Pollan makes. I don't understand how someone doesn't think this is a conflict of interest. And by the way- there were only 3 jurors on the panel-
I don't blame Jiha Moon- but I do think the Trawick prize has been tainted and her winning $10,000.00 is a load of selfish, political, greedy crap. Total opposite of what art should create.

[AAS]

The thought of moving to DC to escape politics seems pretty funny to me.

[Rrose Selavy]

JT- I don't blame Jiha- I have never met her- and I can't say that I would not take the money given the same situation. I do- as you have said- feel that if anyone is to blame- it is the key players in the Trawick prize-
on a side note- just because there is corruption and politics in everything doesn't justify this incident...

[J.T. Kirkland]

Rrose -

I agree. I think this does warrant further examination but unlike you, I am willing to believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

And you're right, just because it happens all the time doesn't mean it's justified. But it also doesn't mean we should react as if it is the first time it has happened.

Like I said, you ask the questions and I'll publish what you find.

[Stephanie]

My name is Stephanie and I am with the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District. We are the organization that produces the annual Trawick Prize honoring regional artists. I am writing to let everyone know that Andrea Pollan recused herself from jurying Jiha Moon's work at all three jury sessions including the final round of jurying when she was selected for Best in Show. The Trawick Prize annually invites three new jurors to select each year's honorees. Each juror is informed at the beginning of each session that they are to recuse themselves from jurying an artist that they represent or with whom they have a personal relationship. Andrea Pollan did not have a vote in the selection of Jiha Moon as a semi-finalist, finalist or winner of The Trawick Prize.

[J.T. Kirkland]

Stephanie,

Thanks for chiming in with the facts of the matter. Knowing that Andrea recused herself from all phases of the selection process definitely clears matters up.

See... innocent until proven guilty...

Congrats Jiha on a great show and congrats to Andrea for signing Jiha. Now Rrose... go see the show for yourself!

[Kriston]

I'll take the credit for alerting Stephanie to this post—I called to ask about the facts of the matter. Mr. "Sélavy" owes Pollan an apology.