Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Mural Cover-Up Behind Blue Lucy

This is the kind of story that should have had a DNR (do not resuscitate) order on it, but it is being kept alive via artificial means. It has turned out to be the single most corrosive and divisive event in the Saint Petersburg art scene in years. Ten days later, things have quieted on the surface, there are strong emotions, and hard words continue to be hurled on Facebook and in cafes, bars and back alleys, which is why I am writing about it now.



On April 14th, Sebastian Coolidge, renowned Saint Pete muralist, painted a mural on the wall behind Blue Lucy gallery, on the West side. The mural was a similar, supersized but far from identical version of a painting (on left) that had already stirred controversy at the Holocaust Museum, from which it was banned. To the Holocaust Museum's credit, "Depth's Desire" was replaced with another Coolidge painting that featured the silhouette of a breast, but on a female body.

It seems that the offending thing there was the (literal) description of an objectified female torso in the chest of a man.

The figure in the mural was that of an older, heavier-set man, using a nearly identical trope to this one.



 Since bare breasts are apparently forbidden by a city ordinance, the artist narrowly, if at all, skirted the issue by leaving the cut-out in white, and projecting a bare-breasted woman onto it.

On that night, Sebastian Coolidge and Chad Mize of Blue Lucy openly talked about the idea of painting in the breasts, and both commented on how they would be covered up. This is exactly what Sebastian did, and the outcome was just as he and Chad predicted: Gary Burnside, the 600 block property manager painted over the breasts and Sebastian's signature (which, although well within his rights, would later curry much animosity from the arts community).

Many artists expressed well-meaning sympathy in solidarity for Sebastian and displeasure with the cover-up. Some aimed at the City, some at Burnside, and some at people who weren't even there. That morning, Burnside called police about the possibility of a hate crime being committed. The reason for this was that the wall on which Coolidge was granted permission by Burnside to paint was on the exterior of a store owned by a Muslim merchant. The police expressed doubt as to whether there was a hate crime charge in the case. Predictably, this aroused further indignation from the local arts community. There is no denying that Sebastian's popularity played a part in all this.

Sebastian then went back and painted on the figure something to the tune that "Sometimes when you lose, you actually win", claiming the high moral ground. The venom flowed freely from then to this day. Chad told someone (to whom he later apologized) to their face they had been blacklisted from Blue Lucy. Wait...blacklists in the 2013 arts scene in St Pete? Really?

Also on Facebook, Gary Burnside, for granting generous permission to Chad and Sebastian to do the mural, being betrayed with the boobs, and forced to cover it up, was rewarded in Facebook by people other than Sebastian and Chad with physical threats, including lynching and being shot.

In private conversations (which remain private and off the record) animosity flooded the community.

I offered to meet with one of the principals in all this, but so far he has not replied after saying he would. The other told me publicly to "shut up".  This tapped the rock, causing a gush of gossip and zero meaningful dialogue. One wonders how other owners of walls will react the next time they are asked to donate space. A repeat of this debacle remains a very real possibility.

Ironically -- and sadly -- the antics surrounding the mural have totally eclipsed the Blue Lucy show it was meant to highlight, which is unfair to the artists in it.

Then there is the City. Breasts are forbidden to be painted on walls in desolated alleys, yet are perfectly OK in three dimensions on life-sized statues in a park bordering on Beach Drive, where tourists and children, for G-d's sakes, play every day.

How does a community recover from a thing like this? Not by burying it, as many would prefer, having gotten their insults in followed by facile apologies, mistrusting each other, continuing to hurl insults on FB (still going on as this is being written), or letting time turn it into a crusty brown smear, but by remembering who we are, how important every one of us is to the community, and chilling, forgiving, and reaching out to each other. Meaningful dialogue may be too much to hope for...

--- Luis

  B

Friday, April 26, 2013

This Big Wedding Weekend, April 26th-28th.

Things are returning to abnormal after last weekend...


Happy 60th Ribbon Cutting/Birthday @ Nuance Gallery - Join us to help Rob celebrate the BIG 60!!! The St Pete Chamber will be here for a ribbon cutting. Cake by Icing on the Cake, food by CA Cafe, live jazz with Henry Ashwood, art work by 17 Florida artists. All at Nuance St. Pete, 2924 Central Ave., St. Pete. Friday, April 26th, 5:00 PM-8:00 PM.

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Do you like computers and computer related things? So do we! But wait, there's more! As the culmination of our senior semester in the USFSP Graphic Design Program, the class of 2013 is proud to present our tireless hours of thesis work for your eyes to enjoy. And it's not just computers! 
We do other things too! Music, 3D printing, Letterpress, cloning and anything else your bright little mind can imagine.

Connectivity vs. Interactivity is the theme from which we drew our concepts, inspiration and weirdo ideas.

Also, there will be a potluck. Come for the food, and hopefully stay for the design.


Saint Petersburg, Florida
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Hot and Bothered @ Tempus  Projects- Themed around intimacy and everyday life. Adult Material will be shown. One night only. Friday, April 26th, 6-9 PM. Free. 5132 N. Florida Ave.


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At the Venture Compound....

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Compound Eye, the Photo Show @ Venture Compound.

It has been a year since the Venture Compound came into being. During that time it has evolved rapidly through various incarnations, but its commitment to music and art has only grown. Their photo show, Compound Eye, showcased the work of photographers who are friends and habitues of the Venture Compund, like Jonathan Sugarman, Jesse Vance, Jim Ginaker, Ben Barrett, Wayne S. Williams, Savannah Austin, Daniel J. Reyes, and Grethen Goetzman.



 The VC is a challenging location for any photographer, with mixed light sources, wildly varying exposures, etc. On the left, we see photographer Jim Ginaker making the best of it in this close-up of Jesse Thelonious Vance. Note the arc of lights on the left, how they have Jesse's face at their center,, highlighting his intensity.








Wayne S. Williams is a poet of the spoken word -- and the camera. In this picture he used a multiple exposure technique the old-fashioned way: In camera, not through PS. This is pinball-wizardry of the first magnitude, implying movement, with dynamic formal elements as well. The multiple figure and ovoids of the drum heads and cymbals are beautifully done.










Jesse Vance presented this tiled group of 4x6 prints of several concerts. This group has real historical as well as artistic value. I want to see them labeled and tipped into a book.











Jonathan Sugarman, who does VC Photo classes is very passionate about his work. He had several images of towns and cities, mostly in the Western US, mostly long views with subtle colors, planar, layered looks, like this one, and on the graphic side.






Congratulations to all the photographers, Jesse and Brad for a good show.

--- Luis









Creative Pinellas' FEAST @ Safety Harbor.

Join Creative Pinellas at the Safety Harbor Museum and Cultural Center for an interactive microfunding experience

May 9, 2013 // 6:30PM // $20
Safety Harbor Museum and Cultural Center (329 S Bayshore Blvd)

Enjoy a taste of the best restaurants in Safety Harbor while supporting ambitious and exciting arts projects! All FEAST proceeds directly benefit Safety Harbor-based arts projects, and your ticket comes with a ballot allowing you to vote on how we distribute money raised that evening. Listen to pitches from some of the area’s most interesting artists while you dine, and then vote on your favorites. Great food and cash for the arts – FEAST will be a fantastic night!
Cocktails start at 6:30 p.m., artist presentations begin at 7 p.m.


Seen: Coralette Damme @ Empouria

The Studio @ 620 has partnered with the Empouria bar for the Artist Spotlight Series. It is a satellite space concept, turning business wall space into art space. Their first artist in the series is Coralette Damme (aka the Crafty Hag), who has been reviewed here several times. She works as a printmaker, crafter and painter in a recontextualized German Expressionist style. The subjects are totemic animal icons.

Here are a few pictures of the show...








Coralette Damme, "Barn Owl".



Coralette Damme, "Ray Bradbeary"






Coralette Damme, "Gargoyles"


Coralette Damme, "Red-Winged Blackbird"


Coralette Damme in front of her work.




Congratulations to Coralette, Empouria, and 620 for a very good show and a new space.

Empouria is at 29 Third St. North in St. Pete.

Empouria is open Sunday-Friday 4 PM - close, Saturday 12 PM - close. It's an elegant bar space.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Rob's 60th/Fundraiser for the children of Nepal.

Evenings in Wonderland: Long, delightful and strange.

It was a long, delightful and strange weekend in Wonderland...with robotic and real smiles, snatched intimate knowing glances, moments that stretched out insufferably long or ended much too soon, hordes of ninja bushwhackers acid-driping our brains while friends gravitated together undercover and in plain view, hugging for a brief infinity on a street corner, talking through loud music in the hot evening air on a  crowded balcony or by stand-up tables, faces almost touching, cherishing still moments in near-darkness, healing each other and sharing understandings...and hoping you would show up on Boliche Blvd. Wannabees and suck-ups bartering implied flesh and money with toothy, drooling predators in sign language and text, fake smiles, boobs, jewelry, handshakes, entities, identities, awash in the quantum foam of the floating world, interleaving with the authentic like cards blurred between a magician's hands. All at about 24 fps.

--- Luis

Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Pink Show @


Mishou Sanchez is having the Pink Show at her innovative Modern Bohemian galleries. 15 artists, different perspectives, all gorgeous. Free admission. Will post more info as event develops. Please join us :) 
11252 Winthrop Main St, Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida 33578

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

This Place Beyond The Pines Weekend, April 18th-21st.

What is it about this weekend? The number of events competing for an audience is staggering. This has resulted in a volley of ads and Facebook carpet-bombing rarely seen. No shortage of things to do and/or choose from, so pace yourself, have fun, and if you're going to drink, bring a friend who doesn't for the drive home. Start early if you're going to be hopping from place to place, and remember to support those who are part of the community.

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8th Anniversary Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Pete.April 18-21

  • (sunscreen-filmfestival.ticketleap.com)
  • Over 85 films, 10 workshops (acting, producing, screenwriting, how to get your film made, etc.), and 3 huge parties. Great films you can't see anywhere else starring; Micheal Biehn, Seth Green, Cary Elwes, Eva Mendes, Matthew Ziff, Caitlin Keats and more!

    Celebrity guests!
    Awesome Parties!
    Exclusive screenings!
    The best selection of Spanish Language films in Florida (sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the Oscars))
    Great short films!
    And filmmakers from all over the world attending!

    Don't miss out, get your tickets or VIP pass now!

    Festival Venue: Muvico 20 Theaters and IMAX, 151 2nd Ave. North St. Petersburg, FL 33701
    18th Opening Night Party: 9PM NOVA 535, 535 Dr. MLK Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
    19th Friday Night Block Party: 600 Central Ave. 6-9PM, 9PM-1AM Blue Lucy Art gallery, 653 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33701
    20th Saturday Awards Ceremony and Party: 9PM Studio 620, 620 1st Ave. South St. Petersburg, FL 33701

    Guests this year:
    • Caitlin Keats (Kill Bill Volume 2 & The Mentalist)
    • Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (The Victim & Treachery)
    • Travis Romero (co-creator of White Collar and Director of Treachery)
    • Matthew Ziff (Actor, Treachery (also an Olympic Gold Medalist)
    • Alexa Vega (Actress, Spy Kids, Machete 2)
    • Jason Matthew Smith (Actor, Sons of Anarchy, Star Trek,)
    • Veronica Diaz Milagros (Actress, Sabado Gigante)
    • Isa Totah (Actor, Director)
    • Martin Kove (Actor, Karate Kid, Rambo 2)
    • Arleen Lopez (Marketing for Pantelion Films a division of Lionsgate)
    • Rik Swartzwelder (Director, Old Fashioned)
    • Jerry Eetan (writer, Identity Thief, also a local guy)
    • Josh Adler (Literary Mgr. NWE, LA)
    • Ricky Roxburgh (writer, Saving Santa)
    • Mart Poole (CEO Fairway Film Distribution & acquisitions)
     

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600 Block Party On April 19th

Photo: Save the date: Friday, April 19th 6-11PM - 600 Block Buster! on The 600 Block of St. PetersburgJust in case you've been held hostage for the past few weeks, or there's anyone left who hasn't heard about this, signed up to go, on paper and on FB... The 600 block is having a mammoth blow-out party on Friday, April 19th on the 600 block of Central Avenue.From 6-11 PM.

It is kindly sponsored by Chart 411 [Link].

I will be there.

--- Luis





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The http://www.sunscreenfilmfestival.com/ is a worldwide acclaimed film festival for the independent film genre. If you are a new artist and would like to make a name for yourself, or learn from those who have made impressive and spectacular names for themselves in the entertainment industry, join us for our annual OPENING NIGHT PARTY here at NOVA 535. Join Hollywood Stars, dancing, deal making, learning and laughing, all here at the world-class NOVA 535 Event Space.
========================================
$25 includes valet apps entertainment & more! http://goo.gl/IXiij
============ ENTERTAINMENT ================
** DJ SUGAR BEAR
** PHOTOBOOTH by GET THE PICTURE


535 Dr. M. L. King Jr Street North, Saint Petersburg
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 A Creative Loafing 25th Anniversary Event...

As sensual beings, we are impacted by the beauty or mediocrity of our surroundings. Does design matter? Join us at Studio 620 on Friday evening, April 19 at 6-7pm, for a lively roundtable discussion with award-winning architects, Taryn Sabia, Yann Weymouth, Albert Alfonso and James Moore. From the Dali Museum's surreal form to the elegant simplicity of TIA's recent terminals to the innovative community advocacy of the Urban Charrette, these talented folks have created great design in Tampa Bay. Enjoy a provocative exchange moderated by Linda Saul-Sena, CL columnist writing about the urban landscape.

Cost $5/ cash bar to inspire your questions! Megan Voeller, the CL Art Critic, will follow with a tour of the Warehouse District's Galleries, then a Street Party!

For a full schedule of the week's events and to purchase tickets, visit www.cltampa.com/birthday.


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The Venture Compound and Hunter Payne Present:
THE MOST POSITIVE NIGHT IN THE WORLD!!!!!
Friday April 19th, 8pm, The Venture Compound
FREE ADMISSION!
Isn’t the Internet GREAT?!  Yes it is.  And we’re trying to see just how great it’s capable of being.  Gifted local cartoonist and idea man Hunter Payne has marshaled a small army of Tampa Bay Tweens and Millenials to TWEET LIKE MAD at idols of positivity like QUEEN LATIFAH, weirdo rapper Lil’ B, and Comedian/motivator Kyle Cease, to get them to share their stories of internet greatness with us on this NIGHT OF GREATNESS. 
Whether or not we successfully pull these big names, we’re going to spend the evening sharing great stories about what the internet has done for us!  There will also be some great music from locals Young Egypt and SNCKPCK.  We’re not EXACTLY sure what’s going to happen, but we DO know there will be INFINITE POPCORN, and that with Hunter Payne involved, you can expect JOYFUL MADNESS.
Huntermadeit.com, Theventurcompound.com
The Venture Compound, Warehouse Arts District, 2621 Fairfield Avenue South, St. PETE
Media Contact – David Z. Morris, (813) 394-6568
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 Pop-Up Art Show with Jennifer Kosharek and BASK @ the ex-Collective space.

There will be an art show Friday Night, April 19th, at the old Collective space at 601 Central Ave. St. Pete.  Friday, April 19th in conjunction with the block party. Free.
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Shift: USF's BFA Exhibit -

The University of South Florida's CoTA Senior Thesis Exhibition "SHIFT" will be holding its opening reception on Friday, April 19, from 6pm until 9pm. Food and drink is provided and admission is FREE! Come see the fantastic works and meet the finest 23 of Tampa Bay's emerging artists while enjoying a night on the town. Remember: parking is local, so come prepared. Also, be sure to like our page so you can receive updates and further information about works and details.

655 N. Franklin Street, Tampa, Florida 33602
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Clay Center Opening - 
 
The Clay Center of St. Petersburg is opening THIS FRIDAY, 4/19!
The Kimi and Chuck Experience will be there from 8-10pm that evening to play live music for you, and will be there til the night finishes up. Not sure when that'll be, though. Things happen when you cram a bunch of artists under one roof...

Anywho, the Clay Center also offers beginner clay spinning classes at $125 for 6 weeks, along with other clay courses that may tickle your fancy. Check out their website for more information (http://www.claycenterofstpetersburg.org/), and don't forget to stop by and see us this Friday! Thank you for your support as always! We look forward to seeing your guys! Help us keep the local art scene alive!

P.S. Congratulations to Nancy and everyone at the Clay Center of St. Petersburg for your success!
 
 
 400 23rd Street South

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 Creative Loafing WAD Block Party @ U562, Dan's Place & Zen Glass -
 
MUSIC: Warehouse Arts District Block Party
High-quality acts from the Bay area and beyond, kicking off at 8 p.m. at three venues — Zen Glass, Dan’s Place (formerly Inside the Gates) and U562 -- all within walking distance of each other. Hosted by CL Music Editor Leilani Polk & musician Mark Etherington. Performers include: Luxury Mane (the Billy-Summer led band formerly known as The Stone Eagles), RedFeather, Jensen Serf Company, The Mother Machine, Touch the Sky, Auto!Automatic!!, Jun, Hunter: Gatherer, Early Forms, Alexander & the Grapes, The Happiness Machine, Reina Collins and Sean Hartley, The Send Offs, Brazos the Rat, Empire Cinema, The Other Ryan Willis, Serotonic, Bard and Mustache.

MUSIC VENUES:
Zen Glass Studio, U562, Dan's Place

TICKET INFO:
Music Pass: $13.50
All-Night-Long Pass (includes trolley tour, bands and “Straw into Gold” architecture panel): $25 
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Mainsail Art Festival - This huge outdoor show is one of the area's best. Thirty-seven years, this Saint Pete tradition is upon us once again. 250 Artists in a beautiful setting. Vinoy Park, on Bayshore Drive and Seventh Ave NE. Free admission. 9AM - 6 PM Saturday, and 10AM-5PM on Sunday April 19 -- 20th. 
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Mentiri: Prints by Doug McClure @ Bleu Acier -

Steve McClure :  MENTIRI

Recent Work on Paper
 

Vernissage: Friday, April 19, 2013, 5-8 PM

Exhibition: April 20 - May 18, 2013

 
 
I was in Montreal for the first time in 1991, and I discovered a church known as the Sailor's Church: Notre Dame de Bon Secours. I was in front of the subject of Steve McClure's work. I didn't know Steve at this time, but the subject of the work is not the artist; the subject is in front of him, or behind him, or above him; the subject belongs to his memory, it belongs to the collective memory where it can be shared by everyone; the subject is the two apples on a plate in front of Paul Cezanne.

Montreal is a city of fishermen from a time when boats were more useful and more dangerous than carriages. Montreal of the 18th century was a city of fishermen's widows, lost boats, stories of ship wrecks; the culture of disappearance.

That church was the home of all those lost hopes, all those tears, and of all that fear in front of a sea who eats its men and their boats. Hundreds of beautiful small ship models were suspended from the ceiling of this church; like leaves on the branches of a tree, with their names inscribed on the side, like little baby boats in a maternity ward.

I was struck by that vision that reappears now, in front of the work of Steve McClure, exhibited in the space of Bleu Acier in Tampa. MENTIRI, is, as you know, the infinitive of the Latin to lie, and because I am French, I will share with you a phrase of the great French writer, Nicolas Boileau (1636-1711), who said: The art of lying in a loud voice, while telling the truth in a whisper.

With some drops of ink and a glass of water, Ships in a Box of Cardboard are the ultimate vision of our common tragedies. Homes, ghosts, ships, and hopes appear and disappear suddenly under the brush and the talent of Steve McClure. His play within the appearance and disappearance of the form-subject has deep roots in his artistic technique.  The way we transform each aspect of materiality, gives the artist the keys to the sense of his personal language. Nothing is less stable than water and ink together; it is a strange love affair, an event in perpetual progress to which we are invited.

The same with the Stage of the Opera House, an empty stage of course, with empty seats as well; the only reality of that kind of space is in its architecture. The presence of a strong and rich architecture underlines the fragility of the fiction, of the dream, of the hope, and of the belief, just as in a church. Aristotle has taught Steve McClure in a very distant past that nature abhors a vacuum and Steve uses this vacuum as a lie to create because to lie is to imagine.

Apologize, Pull Out Your Eyes, is the title of one of the series of work exhibited at Bleu Acier. I like the work of Steve because he leaves me the place to inscribe my own story, and that is the unique target of an authentic work of art.

Dominique Labauvie
Tampa, April 7 2013



Steve McClure lives and works in Brooklyn NY.  He is a graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Steve received a Visual Arts fellowship from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and an Editions Residency from the Lower East Side Print Shop in NYC. He has exhibited nationally in the U.S. and his work is part of private and public collections, among which are The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and the Weatherspoon Museum of Art, Greensboro, N.C



Bleu Acier is a Fine Art Print Publisher with an atelier that functions as a collaborative and contract studio owned and operated by Erika Greenberg-Schneider, and the show room exhibits works in all disciplines with a concentration in works on paper and prints by mid-career and established artists from the US and Europe, with an emphasis on Contemporary French Artists. Bleu Acier continues its commitment to bring International and National mid career and established artists to Tampa.


Gallery Hours during exhibition:
Saturdays: 11-5 PM
Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays: by appointment.
 
 

MMMM

 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

8th Anniversary Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Pete.April 18-21

  • (sunscreen-filmfestival.ticketleap.com)
  • Over 85 films, 10 workshops (acting, producing, screenwriting, how to get your film made, etc.), and 3 huge parties. Great films you can't see anywhere else starring; Micheal Biehn, Seth Green, Cary Elwes, Eva Mendes, Matthew Ziff, Caitlin Keats and more!

    Celebrity guests!
    Awesome Parties!
    Exclusive screenings!
    The best selection of Spanish Language films in Florida (sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the Oscars))
    Great short films!
    And filmmakers from all over the world attending!

    Don't miss out, get your tickets or VIP pass now!

    Festival Venue: Muvico 20 Theaters and IMAX, 151 2nd Ave. North St. Petersburg, FL 33701
    18th Opening Night Party: 9PM NOVA 535, 535 Dr. MLK Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
    19th Friday Night Block Party: 600 Central Ave. 6-9PM, 9PM-1AM Blue Lucy Art gallery, 653 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33701
    20th Saturday Awards Ceremony and Party: 9PM Studio 620, 620 1st Ave. South St. Petersburg, FL 33701

    Guests this year:
    • Caitlin Keats (Kill Bill Volume 2 & The Mentalist)
    • Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (The Victim & Treachery)
    • Travis Romero (co-creator of White Collar and Director of Treachery)
    • Matthew Ziff (Actor, Treachery (also an Olympic Gold Medalist)
    • Alexa Vega (Actress, Spy Kids, Machete 2)
    • Jason Matthew Smith (Actor, Sons of Anarchy, Star Trek,)
    • Veronica Diaz Milagros (Actress, Sabado Gigante)
    • Isa Totah (Actor, Director)
    • Martin Kove (Actor, Karate Kid, Rambo 2)
    • Arleen Lopez (Marketing for Pantelion Films a division of Lionsgate)
    • Rik Swartzwelder (Director, Old Fashioned)
    • Jerry Eetan (writer, Identity Thief, also a local guy)
    • Josh Adler (Literary Mgr. NWE, LA)
    • Ricky Roxburgh (writer, Saving Santa)
    • Mart Poole (CEO Fairway Film Distribution & acquisitions)
     

Suzanne Figures: Suzanne Camp Crosby @ HCC Dale Mabry Gallery 221.


Gallery 221, located in the 2nd floor of the HCC Dale Mabry Campus is one of those rare spaces that consistently puts on shows all out of proportion to what one might expect from a gallery in a Jr. College Campus. The current show is a one woman photography show by one of Tampa's photographer Laureates, Suzanne Camp Crosby titled "Suzanne Figures". 




Suzanne Camp Crosby is one of our cultural treasures, a photographer with four decades of experience, scores of solo shows, NYC representation, and work in many major museum, corporate and private collections. Although this exhibit has a good sampling from most of those years, she cautioned me that there are some gaps and that this is not a retrospective. 

Books, props in exhibition case.


Props 

Work by Suzanne Camp Crosby
The work goes from the mid-1970's to this day. Looked at, this is more than a one-woman show, or a quasi-retrospective.It is also a segment of the history of directorial photography and how it dealt with issues over time. Suzanne does not walk around with her camera photographing found objects, people or street scenes, is not a portraitist per se, nor a commercial photographer.

She builds tableaus or assemblage, then photographs them. Here is a definition of this type of photography from A.D. Coleman, from the introduction to Arthur Tress's book, Theater of The Mind (1976):

"It is in the directorial mode of photography more than any other that the fictional nature of the photographic image is not only recognized and explored but openly declared as an active premise, a hermeneutical stance. This mode might most simply be defined as the deliberate staging of events for the express purpose of making photographs thereof—as distinguished from addressing oneself through the camera to an ongoing, uncontrolled external "reality."

This kind of photography dates back to the very beginnings of the medium, with the first Daguerreotype and Fox Talbot's Pencil of Nature. In this case there are figures involved, though not necessarily human figures. Cows, for example. Nor are all the figures dolls or there. Sometimes they are conspicuous by their absence.

A few highlights....


Suzanne Camp Crosby, "Self-Portrait With Mirror", 1975



The year is 1975. The artist is in her mid-20's. Gerald Ford is President. The Watergate burglars are sentenced. The Viet Nam War is raging. OPEC raises prices again. Suzanne is doing a self-portrait in front of a mirror wearing a hooded cape, so she is visible from behind and frontally, coming and going. In between, the eternal present, suspended. An arch is visible to the viewer's right of both figures, bringing to mind a scythe. The photographer/subject's face looks worried. Note that all these tableaus have the signifiers of a narrative..
  









Two Cowboy-girl 2D figures in front of a Mustang. We get it, or so we think, but this image goes well beyond that. These idealized figures stand before classic American signifiers --- the car, the house, beautiful people....







 


 In this "Homewrecker", 2010, figures are reduced to black cut-outs. Why the black cut-outs? What is the effect of removing the figures from the scene?  In this case the cut-outs could be of family figures....a couple and the other woman. Following the principle that Nature (and mind) abhors a vacuum, this leaves room for the viewer to project figures from his own memory (or himself) into the voids . 



This is a comprehensive show about one of our best established photographers. It runs through May 2nd.

001 W Tampa Bay Blvd. on the Dale Mabry campus of Hillsborough Community College. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. hccfl.edu/gallery221 or (813) 253-7386.

600 Block Party On April 19th

Photo: Save the date: Friday, April 19th 6-11PM - 600 Block Buster! on The 600 Block of St. PetersburgJust in case you've been held hostage for the past few weeks, or there's anyone left who hasn't heard about this, signed up to go, on paper and on FB... The 600 block is having a mammoth blow-out party on Friday, April 19th on the 600 block of Central Avenue.From 6-11 PM.

It is kindly sponsored by Chart 411 [Link].

I will be there.

--- Luis

Friday, April 12, 2013

Cronyism, a persistent pandemic.

I am keenly aware that on this planet, a lot of getting ahead depends on who you know, or who...you know. In the Bay area, this is blatantly rampant. Gallerists are wooed and befriended constantly, and of course, everyone is either starving or needing more money. Some artists work this like streetwalkers on Florida avenue on payday, others do not and suffer for it. Even at the lower rings of Hades that bloggers inhabit, I get a lot of smoke rings blown my way. Everyone, myself included, falls for this in different degrees at different times, and it is not good. It builds little locked social rings, a clubby/ stale arts scene, meaningless elites, hollow friendships and Artlords, to name a familiar five.

It is particularly rampant in shows that are closed calls. Open calls take more time, reviews, etc., but they also allow new blood to filter in. Yes, our best deserve recognition and ensuing rewards, but some of them have yet to be discovered, as do others who are excellent artists but not socially adept. It is not so much that they deserve a chance, which they do, but that the viewers and the arts scene at large deserve to benefit from new faces, ideas, and hybrid vigor.

--- Luis


Thursday, April 11, 2013

This Trance Weekend, April 12th-14th, 2013


 
An Irishman and an Indian Hit St. Pete - Eoin Breadon and Jason Chakravarty. Opening reception will include a glass-blowing demonstration. Breadon works in the tradition of Irish storytellers (seanchai) but in the glass medium. Chakravarty works with the themes of cummunications, relationships and social networking. At 550 24th st. S. St. Peterburg. Free.

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Spring Fresh Florida Show
Tomorrow, Apr 13, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Nuance Galleries St Pete, 2924 Central Ave, St Petersburg, Florida
 


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Soft Water Studios
From Carrie Jadus and Mark Aeling: Soft Water Studios will be having an open house on Saturday, April 13th, starting at 5:00 PM, and will be one of the stops on the trolley, at 515 22nd St. S. Saint Petersburg. Free admision.





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Spring Up
Exhibition Reception and Meet-the-Artists 
Saturday, April 13, 2013
5-8:30 p.m.
 Join us for an evening of art during the Downtown Art Association's 2nd Saturday Gallery Walk.
Exhibition runs through June 5, 2013. 

The Good Folk Gallery and Artworks,  
Creative Clay's retail shop next door,  
are filled with art and unique gift ideas  
for all occasions, including cards, books,  
wearables and other artist-designed products.     

The Good Folk Gallery, a folk art collector's paradise, is located at Creative Clay    
1124 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33705.  
Gallery hours: M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and every second Saturday evening of the month. 

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As many will have guessed from  the above, yes, it is time for the 2nd Saturday Art Walk for April 2013. Galleries from 3rd St. and Central, the 600 block of Central Avenue, the Warehouse Arts District, and many others will be open. For a map of the trolley stops see here: [Link]


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Out of the Shadows, Vivian Meier @ FMoPA - A woman who spent her time off-work assiduously photographing and not showing her work her whole life is discovered, and her work (finally) comes to the Bay area. She turns out to be a significant street photographer, and one of the best women in that field to date. This is a must-not-miss exhibit.

Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows

Exhibition Dates:  Thursday, April 4, 2013 – Sunday, June 16, 2013




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Moonstorm Gallery Grand Opening - Works by Jay Herres, Bruce Norris and Chris Herres will be shown. In the Crislip Arcade, in the middle of the 600 block of Central Ave. St. Pete. Free admission, Opens @ 6 PM Saturday, April 13th.

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Picture 





Jay Herres @ Articles - The same Jay Herres mentioned above is also being exhibited in Leslie Curran's ARTICLES Gallery. Opens Saturday April 13th, 6-9 PM. 1445 Central Ave. St Pete.












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Grief to gratitude: Sharon Britton @ 620 - A solo show for this emerging artist. Opens 6 PM Saturday, April 13th. At 620 1st Ave. S. St. Petersburg. Free admission.








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Reed Altemus @ eve N odd - eve-N-odd gallery is pleased to showcase the Visual poetry work of Reed Altemus this April.

Vispo by Reed Altemus

April 13, 2013

7-10pm

Fluxus performance by Reed Altemus and Jennifer Kosharek at 8:19 pm

free event

eve-N-odd gallery

645 Central Ave #11

St. Petersburg, FL

show hangs through April 30th. 


 




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