Thinking About Art

Color or B/W?

This tree sits up the hill from Old Stone House, a part of the Manassas National Battlefield Park. Which do you prefer, color or b/w?

Note that "neither" is not an option!

Play Time!

Five kids under the age of five. Two hours. Exhaustion.

So true!

Lenny pulls out a great quote from the New York Magazine article about Larry Salander.  However, I think this quote by dealer Richard Feigen hits the nail on the head:

“To attract the hedge-fund buyers is very speculative. They hear about Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons since they use their ears and not their eyes."

Ears... not the eyes.  I wonder sometimes if being blindfolded would make any difference.

Fun times!

Stupid artists and the galleries that support them.

$90?

If memory serves, the last Art-o-Matic required 15 hours of volunteer time and a $60 registration fee. Apparently this year it's up to $90 in addition to the 15 hours of volunteering.

Am I the only one who is a little put off that it costs almost a hundred bucks to participate in AOM? I think it's a great opportunity for tons of local artists, but it would feel better if it were free to participate (plus the volunteer time). Duh.

Great opportunities arise from AOM (look at the shows recent AOM participants have gotten), but how long until this is just a vanity gallery situation? Well, I guess it already is that, but I wonder if the goodwill brought about from AOM will give way if more 50% price hikes come each year.

I'm kind of surprised no corporation has stepped up to cover the $72,000 in registration fees ($90 x 800 artists). I'm sure the organizers have tried everything conceivable so I don't fault them at all.

Good luck to the AOM participants... I look forward to seeing what you create this year. I've already heard that some artists are really pushing their installations this year... investing additional money so that their areas really stand out. Bravo to that! If you're going to do it, you might as well do it the best you can.

Phrase of the Day

I don't have much to write about right now but I wanted to share this short phrase I saw this morning. I love it!

...to evoke meditations on...

I'll buy whatever this is selling!

Easter

Still Photography, but Different

I wanted to let you in on something new I'm experimenting with. Those of you who know my work with wood, ink on paper and painting will immediately recognize where this is coming from.

Be sure to click for a larger view.

New Film Captures

I've uploaded some of the more interesting captures I got from my last trip to Great Falls. There are 13 images here.

Kehinde Wiley @ SAAM/Portrait Gallery

On a recent museum hop, Stacey and I visited the SAAM/Portrait Gallery. While there, we saw the Hip Hop show. Well, some graffiti in the hallway, photos of rappers performing, a mish-mash of stuff in the corner and some Kehinde Wiley paintings... maybe poetry too. Ah, so this is hip hop?! Got it! Thanks! That was easy.

Anyway, brief thought/question of the day: Does Wiley (or his assistants) even try any more? I mean for the love... homey (a hip hop term for those unaware) can't paint worth a shizzle (another, more recent, hip hop term).

The title of the show is: "RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture" Well, if they wanted me to recognize that Wiley is a hack who has magnificently capitalized on his 15 minutes, well, job well done. Word.