One of my favorite critics in the area wrote last Sunday about the term "Modernism" being "...the most problematic for me, and I generally avoid using it since I have never been completely sure I know what it means."
That was surprising. Modernism is an often-used (and abused) term in the art world. If one is looking for a monolithic, clear style or philosophy there, it will lead to disappointment. Anything encompassing from the around 1860 to the 1970's is going to cover a lot of ground, styles and movements. In this case, one of the most prolific periods in Art History. Modernism emerged as a reaction to the obsession in painting with Realism, with the Enlightenment, and Religion.
It was a hopeful time that turned to despair and disassociation after WWs I and II. At times humanistic, peaceful, and with the Futurists (Marinettti), poetic, Fascist, Corporatist and Pro-War. It's complicated, but well-worth learning because it's an historically significant concept, and once understood, quite useful.
For a great first read on Modernism, I recommend "The Shock of the New", by Robert Hughes (it was also a TV series, btw). Click here.
--- Luis
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
This (Pirated) Weekend: Jan 28th - 30th.
It's that time of year again...I wonder what the Kumquat Festival is like...
Glorious Days and Nights, A Jazz Memoir. Herb Snitzer @ Tampa Museum of Art - One of St. Petersburg's living treasures, photographer Herb Snitzer, is showing work from his series on famous Jazz musicians, and new book, "A Jazz Memoir", at TMA. Reception on Sunday, 1/30, he will be on hand to sign copies of his book, 1:00 PM. Runs through May 15th. TMA, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, 813.274.8130. Museum hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Friday from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and Sat and Sun from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $10 admission.
___________________________________
Sweet 16 Art Show @ The Bricks - An "Alice in Wonderland" themed art party and show with 16 artists' works on display. The works are said to be on the large side. The Bricks, 1327 E. Seventh Ave, Ybor City. 813.247.1785. Starts @ 9:00 PM Friday, January 28th.
__________________________________
Meet The Artist: Ken Roberts @ Craftsman House - Roberts, who is from Kentucky, brings his sculptures to Craftsman House. Appetizers will be served, and he will talk and field questions. Free. 2-5PM Saturday, 1/29. 2955 Central Avenue. St Petersburg.
_________________________________
British Romantics to Moderns @ Museum of Fine Arts - Romantics to Moderns, British Watercolors and Drawings from the collection of BNY Mellon. Monday-Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM. Sunday, Noon to 5 PM.255 Beach Drive, St Petersburg. Admission $17 for adults. $15 Seniors, $10 Students (bring student ID).
________________________________
Floridiana Festival & Highwaymen Art Show @ Garden Club of St Petersburg - Kitsch, souvenirs, memorabilia, and yes, I wouldn't be listing this here if it wasn't for the fact that they're showing paintings by the Highwaymen, and some will be on hand, exhibiting and selling their works. They'll have Weeki Wachee Mermaids, too (!). Garden Club of St Petersburg, 500 Sunset Drive. 727.421.0441 10 AM - 5 PM Saturday, January 29th. Admission: $6. This caught my eye: $3 for kids under age three.
Ahem.
_______________________________
Corey Area Art & Craft Festival - The 17th Show in a very attractive area of St. Petersburg Beach, with enough beachy restaurants and bars on the periphery for recovery. Free. Corey Avenue in downtown St Pete Beach.
_______________________________
Beth-El Art Festival - This is their 38th year, and it has stood the test of time by showing above-average art and being well-organized. I've been to this one several times and can assure you it is worth your time. It is set up inside the Beth-El Temple, so weather is never an issue (though parking can be).
Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave, St Petersburg. Sunday, 1/30th, 11AM - 5 PM, Monday, 1/31st, 10 AM - 5 PM. Free.
There's a preview cocktail party on Saturday, 1/29th, 7 - 10 PM. Admission for that is $20 at the door.
_______________________________
FREE Day @ Children's Museum - Target foots the ticket bill for free entry to the museum on Tuesday, Feb 1st, from 4PM - 8PM. 110 W. Gasparilla Plaza. Your children, including your inner ones, will thank you.
_______________________________
FREE Day @ Tampa Museum of Art - Hill Ward Henderson Law Firm makes this possible from 4-8 PM Fridays (including tomorrow, 1/29). Another free opportunity to see some of the best art exhibits in the area. 120 Gasparilla Plaza. Talk about a cheap date. Go!
______________________________
Theo Wujcik Transformations @ State College of Florida - Basically the Transformations show previously shown in St. Pete at the Morean and Mindy Solomon Gallery, but if you missed it or want to see it again, it's there. SCF Gallery Jan 28th to Feb 24th. Opening reception on Friday, 1/28 6- 8 PM. Hours Mon-Fri 10 AM - 3 PM. Gallery is in Building 11, next to the Neel Performing Arts Center at SCF Bradenton. 5840 26th Street West, Bradenton. 941.752.5225.
www.scf.edu
--- Luis
_
Glorious Days and Nights, A Jazz Memoir. Herb Snitzer @ Tampa Museum of Art - One of St. Petersburg's living treasures, photographer Herb Snitzer, is showing work from his series on famous Jazz musicians, and new book, "A Jazz Memoir", at TMA. Reception on Sunday, 1/30, he will be on hand to sign copies of his book, 1:00 PM. Runs through May 15th. TMA, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, 813.274.8130. Museum hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Friday from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and Sat and Sun from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $10 admission.
___________________________________
Sweet 16 Art Show @ The Bricks - An "Alice in Wonderland" themed art party and show with 16 artists' works on display. The works are said to be on the large side. The Bricks, 1327 E. Seventh Ave, Ybor City. 813.247.1785. Starts @ 9:00 PM Friday, January 28th.
__________________________________
Meet The Artist: Ken Roberts @ Craftsman House - Roberts, who is from Kentucky, brings his sculptures to Craftsman House. Appetizers will be served, and he will talk and field questions. Free. 2-5PM Saturday, 1/29. 2955 Central Avenue. St Petersburg.
_________________________________
British Romantics to Moderns @ Museum of Fine Arts - Romantics to Moderns, British Watercolors and Drawings from the collection of BNY Mellon. Monday-Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM. Sunday, Noon to 5 PM.255 Beach Drive, St Petersburg. Admission $17 for adults. $15 Seniors, $10 Students (bring student ID).
________________________________
Floridiana Festival & Highwaymen Art Show @ Garden Club of St Petersburg - Kitsch, souvenirs, memorabilia, and yes, I wouldn't be listing this here if it wasn't for the fact that they're showing paintings by the Highwaymen, and some will be on hand, exhibiting and selling their works. They'll have Weeki Wachee Mermaids, too (!). Garden Club of St Petersburg, 500 Sunset Drive. 727.421.0441 10 AM - 5 PM Saturday, January 29th. Admission: $6. This caught my eye: $3 for kids under age three.
Ahem.
_______________________________
Corey Area Art & Craft Festival - The 17th Show in a very attractive area of St. Petersburg Beach, with enough beachy restaurants and bars on the periphery for recovery. Free. Corey Avenue in downtown St Pete Beach.
_______________________________
Beth-El Art Festival - This is their 38th year, and it has stood the test of time by showing above-average art and being well-organized. I've been to this one several times and can assure you it is worth your time. It is set up inside the Beth-El Temple, so weather is never an issue (though parking can be).
Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave, St Petersburg. Sunday, 1/30th, 11AM - 5 PM, Monday, 1/31st, 10 AM - 5 PM. Free.
There's a preview cocktail party on Saturday, 1/29th, 7 - 10 PM. Admission for that is $20 at the door.
_______________________________
FREE Day @ Children's Museum - Target foots the ticket bill for free entry to the museum on Tuesday, Feb 1st, from 4PM - 8PM. 110 W. Gasparilla Plaza. Your children, including your inner ones, will thank you.
_______________________________
FREE Day @ Tampa Museum of Art - Hill Ward Henderson Law Firm makes this possible from 4-8 PM Fridays (including tomorrow, 1/29). Another free opportunity to see some of the best art exhibits in the area. 120 Gasparilla Plaza. Talk about a cheap date. Go!
______________________________
Theo Wujcik Transformations @ State College of Florida - Basically the Transformations show previously shown in St. Pete at the Morean and Mindy Solomon Gallery, but if you missed it or want to see it again, it's there. SCF Gallery Jan 28th to Feb 24th. Opening reception on Friday, 1/28 6- 8 PM. Hours Mon-Fri 10 AM - 3 PM. Gallery is in Building 11, next to the Neel Performing Arts Center at SCF Bradenton. 5840 26th Street West, Bradenton. 941.752.5225.
www.scf.edu
--- Luis
_
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Observations on The Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime @ C. Emerson Fine Arts
[On January 13th, I posted here on Kant's (and others') ideas on the Beautiful and the Sublime to help prepare gallery goers -- and myself -- for the current show at C. Emerson Fine Arts. ]
"The sublime moves, the beautiful charms."
Lori Johns chose this minimal and concise Kant quote for her introduction to the show.
There are thirteen artists shown, their works in a wide variety of media.Normally I would focus on the work of three or four, but this time will touch briefly on half the artists.
[In reverse alphabetical order...]
Joe Walles' personal work is focused on what he calls "the unadulterated moment", photographing in a classic spontaneous manner, using black-and-white film, Leicas, making his own chemical prints. In this show there's a print titled (if memory serves) Saint Augustine Gate, showing an old, weathered gate to a garden or backyard, surrounded by impenetrable shadows with a sliver of a house on the left side of the print. The feel is that approach-avoidance thing we encounter when nearing a rite of passage.
__________________________
It was a dictionary definition of "sublime" that led Doug Sutherland to his interpretation of the theme. He has been working with a figure he calls Robo-Christ, a Deus-Machina figure with a kind of postmodern cargo-cult attendant myth. The artist chose to use the definition of water going from a solid (ice) to gas (vapor) without undergoing the transitional state of water. AT has seen his work before at CEFA and the Scarfone/Hartley gallery at UT.
See his work here.
__________________________
Rebecca Skelton sculpts, paints and draws. She has drawings in this show, moving, expertly rendered drawings of truncated, mostly feminine figures. They are like incomplete grotesques. Click here to see a slide show.
_________________________
Daniel Mrgan is a Croatian-born illustrator, well-known for his wood-burning art, particularly his """Sick Days" series, shown last year at CEFA. In this exhibit, he has a wood-burning of an elderly couple sitting on a bench, grown into each other, the woman's arm wrapped around the man's. Mrgan has an ability to simultaneously focus on the body while transcending it.
_________________________
Patrick Maxcy is a Floridian working out of a Ft. Lauderdale studio. He has five small, direct and engaging paintings in this show, each of a woman friend, depicted with an animal. I got the feeling that the animals could be a nagual.
________________________
Human exploitation gone viral is a central theme of Michael Massaro's work. His mixed media piece in this show is a fixture-like vertical round ceramic base with a rubber hose attached to it, and from the open lower end of that hose, dry, dead grass flows. See here.
________________________
Patrick Lindhardt is an instructor at Ringling and printer, who at one time printed projects for Dine and Rosenquist. His panoramic-format prints in this show are of the American prairie. There are haystacks in black and white before a gathering storm in the background. Two tornadoes in different images, one black and ominous, the other almost spiritual, beautiful -- and in its own way, ominous. Another is of a storm and on the right, a bit of a water tank. The sfumato feeling in the one with the dark tornado is exquisite. See here.
_______________________
Dan Lassata, who besides being a painter is a skateboarder and golf pro, began drawing and painting at an early age in his native new Hampshire, sometimes using skateboards as his canvas. AT saw his first local show back in 11/10 at the Kahwah cafe. He cites as influences Kandinsky, Shel Silverstein, M.C. Escher and Thomas Campbell. His work in this show has to do with the energies that surrounds us.
_______________________
Kyle (that's it for his name) has works from a series titled "Pretty Catastrophes", exploring how relatively small incidents can have significant, large-scale consequences (see Chaos Theory). He has a piece along the wall of the CEFA gallery facing the front window that has multiple points of view, ergo perspectives of different scenes. This is very much like religious medieval paintings that told Bible stories in a near-comic-book fashion, minus the frames. Kyle's, unlike medievals', is commutative, and visually reads like hypertext. You can start anywhere and make your own path, thread, and/or story through it.
________________________
Mia Kaplan's paper sculptures are unusual and captivating. It took me a little contemplation to grasp their unbridled passions, and it was well worth it. They are simultaneously delicate-looking, yet strong. Evolving, unfolding, and expanding -- like life. See here.
________________________
Relief prints of tree rings as metaphors for life make for moving prints in the work of Wendy Dickinson, PhD. She teaches Visual Mathematics at Ringling. She co-curated a show with Patrick Lindhardt at the Centre Gallery in 2010. These prints are a wonderful mix of the graphic and the organic.
________________________
UT professor Gil de Meza's sculpture in this show is a gold-ish ceramic rectangle with a cream circle in it with a bit of blue. At the bottom of which is what looks like s broken off spigot (?) Atop the rectangle is a blue form wrapped in gauze and twine.
________________________
Neverne Covington showed a pair of small, beautifully lyrical paintings about a symbiosis between reality and the imagination. The two works come across like a dyptich. I hope they get to stay together.
________________________
Raina Benoit has been working on a new American Gothic. In her own words, "a grotesque that grows from complexity, how well everything has worked so far". Two Ravens, a manatee floating with multiple levels of water below, and a human heart with clogged pipes around it. As Ms. Benoit has on her website
_________________________________
David Audet is a seminal figure in the Tampa arts scene who works at HCC/Ybor. He and his crew(s) put together a series of remarkable arts events on a yearly basis. In this show he has a work composed of vertically movie film strips, one minute from "The Lady and the Tramp", at an angle (think of a pointy-side-down triangle). In the space defined by its edges, hang medium-format negatives from portraits shoots of women in their sleeved pages. A commentary on the mathematical and the dynamic sublime.
___________________________________
--- Luis
"The sublime moves, the beautiful charms."
Lori Johns chose this minimal and concise Kant quote for her introduction to the show.
There are thirteen artists shown, their works in a wide variety of media.Normally I would focus on the work of three or four, but this time will touch briefly on half the artists.
[In reverse alphabetical order...]
Joe Walles' personal work is focused on what he calls "the unadulterated moment", photographing in a classic spontaneous manner, using black-and-white film, Leicas, making his own chemical prints. In this show there's a print titled (if memory serves) Saint Augustine Gate, showing an old, weathered gate to a garden or backyard, surrounded by impenetrable shadows with a sliver of a house on the left side of the print. The feel is that approach-avoidance thing we encounter when nearing a rite of passage.
__________________________
It was a dictionary definition of "sublime" that led Doug Sutherland to his interpretation of the theme. He has been working with a figure he calls Robo-Christ, a Deus-Machina figure with a kind of postmodern cargo-cult attendant myth. The artist chose to use the definition of water going from a solid (ice) to gas (vapor) without undergoing the transitional state of water. AT has seen his work before at CEFA and the Scarfone/Hartley gallery at UT.
See his work here.
__________________________
Rebecca Skelton sculpts, paints and draws. She has drawings in this show, moving, expertly rendered drawings of truncated, mostly feminine figures. They are like incomplete grotesques. Click here to see a slide show.
_________________________
Daniel Mrgan is a Croatian-born illustrator, well-known for his wood-burning art, particularly his """Sick Days" series, shown last year at CEFA. In this exhibit, he has a wood-burning of an elderly couple sitting on a bench, grown into each other, the woman's arm wrapped around the man's. Mrgan has an ability to simultaneously focus on the body while transcending it.
_________________________
Patrick Maxcy is a Floridian working out of a Ft. Lauderdale studio. He has five small, direct and engaging paintings in this show, each of a woman friend, depicted with an animal. I got the feeling that the animals could be a nagual.
________________________
Human exploitation gone viral is a central theme of Michael Massaro's work. His mixed media piece in this show is a fixture-like vertical round ceramic base with a rubber hose attached to it, and from the open lower end of that hose, dry, dead grass flows. See here.
________________________
Patrick Lindhardt is an instructor at Ringling and printer, who at one time printed projects for Dine and Rosenquist. His panoramic-format prints in this show are of the American prairie. There are haystacks in black and white before a gathering storm in the background. Two tornadoes in different images, one black and ominous, the other almost spiritual, beautiful -- and in its own way, ominous. Another is of a storm and on the right, a bit of a water tank. The sfumato feeling in the one with the dark tornado is exquisite. See here.
_______________________
Dan Lassata, who besides being a painter is a skateboarder and golf pro, began drawing and painting at an early age in his native new Hampshire, sometimes using skateboards as his canvas. AT saw his first local show back in 11/10 at the Kahwah cafe. He cites as influences Kandinsky, Shel Silverstein, M.C. Escher and Thomas Campbell. His work in this show has to do with the energies that surrounds us.
_______________________
Kyle (that's it for his name) has works from a series titled "Pretty Catastrophes", exploring how relatively small incidents can have significant, large-scale consequences (see Chaos Theory). He has a piece along the wall of the CEFA gallery facing the front window that has multiple points of view, ergo perspectives of different scenes. This is very much like religious medieval paintings that told Bible stories in a near-comic-book fashion, minus the frames. Kyle's, unlike medievals', is commutative, and visually reads like hypertext. You can start anywhere and make your own path, thread, and/or story through it.
________________________
Mia Kaplan's paper sculptures are unusual and captivating. It took me a little contemplation to grasp their unbridled passions, and it was well worth it. They are simultaneously delicate-looking, yet strong. Evolving, unfolding, and expanding -- like life. See here.
________________________
Relief prints of tree rings as metaphors for life make for moving prints in the work of Wendy Dickinson, PhD. She teaches Visual Mathematics at Ringling. She co-curated a show with Patrick Lindhardt at the Centre Gallery in 2010. These prints are a wonderful mix of the graphic and the organic.
________________________
UT professor Gil de Meza's sculpture in this show is a gold-ish ceramic rectangle with a cream circle in it with a bit of blue. At the bottom of which is what looks like s broken off spigot (?) Atop the rectangle is a blue form wrapped in gauze and twine.
________________________
Neverne Covington showed a pair of small, beautifully lyrical paintings about a symbiosis between reality and the imagination. The two works come across like a dyptich. I hope they get to stay together.
________________________
Raina Benoit has been working on a new American Gothic. In her own words, "a grotesque that grows from complexity, how well everything has worked so far". Two Ravens, a manatee floating with multiple levels of water below, and a human heart with clogged pipes around it. As Ms. Benoit has on her website
“In a sense everything is realistic. I see no line between the imaginary and the real.
I see much reality in the imagination.” -- Federico Fellini
David Audet is a seminal figure in the Tampa arts scene who works at HCC/Ybor. He and his crew(s) put together a series of remarkable arts events on a yearly basis. In this show he has a work composed of vertically movie film strips, one minute from "The Lady and the Tramp", at an angle (think of a pointy-side-down triangle). In the space defined by its edges, hang medium-format negatives from portraits shoots of women in their sleeved pages. A commentary on the mathematical and the dynamic sublime.
___________________________________
--- Luis
CEFA's "Observations" is an engaging, multifaceted show wrapped around a complex theme, with many variations. Observations on The Feeling of The Beautiful and The Sublime - Thematically based on the famous book by Emmanuel Kant. A multimedia group show. C.Emerson Fine Arts Gallery, 909 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. January 14 - March 25, 2011. For hours, call 727-898-6068 or check:
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Heaven and Earth: Personal Icons @ Mindy Solomon Gallery
The word "icon" comes from the Greek word for "image", "persona", "portrait".
The religious icon, as we know it in Western Art, formally congealed in the Byzantine Empire (through connections to Greek icons) around the 5th century. The conflict between the Judaic anaiconism, as in the second Commandment, regarding graven images, and the religious icon was a serious problem. It led to the iconoclasms of the 8th & 9th centuries in the Byzantine Empire. The Second Council of Nicea resolved the problem with technical lingo worthy of a contract lawyer.
"Icons are reminders of the spiritual world. They are windows into eternity, a holy space depicting sacred reality in the course of humanity" -- Tom Tsagalakis
Icons weren't always housed in churches. As Christianity spread, there would be outlying areas where no churches existed, and traveling priests would make their routes around these territories, arriving in one spot, marry people, baptize new arrivals, say Mass, consecrate the dead and more, all in one stop. Since there often wasn't a sacred space in these places (and no manpower/money, and sometimes no inclination to build a church), these priests traveled with small, folding icons that served to signify a temporary sacred space.
They also played the role of mass media, projecting a story/doctrine that everyone was familiar with in the established Christian territories, and as a teaching/colonizing tool in the outlying territories -- all in a human context, often one that had contemporary elements.
Patrick McGrath Muniz [Link] has looked at these icons and recontextualized them into the present, incorporating consumer culture into the iconic style and expressing his concerns about the myths surrounding colonial aspects of globalization, imigration, breast enlargement surgery/identity and many other issues.
"Today there are many myths about beauty, culture, art, justice, war, sex, food, energy and many other issues that consciously aware artists should address in their work. ... I find the world of myth infinite in sources for inspiration." -- Patrick McGrath Muniz
See his work here.
Gabriel Parque is a 3-D Technical Assistant at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and a sculptor. In the Icons show @ MSG, his sculptures are from the "Blessing" series. Here is one. They consist of coil-built, stone-ware, white-painted figures of what appears to be a fetal or newborn Jesus figure, identifiable via either the blessing mudra (hand-gesture) or the small icon they hold in the other hand of the world with a large golden cross on it. The fetal ones have prominent umbilical cords literally grounding and connecting them to Mother Earth [Link], the world the Father made.
The Einar and Jamex de la Torre work showing currently at MSG is in the form of fused glass and mixed media. This a very, very different kind of sculpture from the usual swirling, amorphous and occassionally pointy glass. This is narrative glass, rich in cultural iconography, telling intensely personal stories from the area around the border, and not just the border between the US and Mexico, but that between this Life and the Next, with the yonic gateway at the center of many; Green Earth Mother with ear of yellow corn vaginal lips. Yellow guns with toys floating in them, around another vaginal opening with blue lips, a background rich with more details, and festooned with large marble-sized clear glass. Others look like Mayan calendars, invoke totems, naguals, lucha libre figures, and more. Besides being extraordinary, emotion-provoking personal icons, these pieces are superb contemplative objects of beauty that can stand scrutiny at any viewing distance.
I met Jordon Meinster at an MSG opening and liked him immediately. We talked about the art. His fluency in art history and passion for art are breathtaking. But until this exhibit, I had no idea he is a painter. Quite a painter. "The Resurrection" , which curiously depicts the crucifixion, is an emotional torrent of line and color in acrylics and oil pastels on paper. There is a female figure on the lower left, hand raised in the "He is risen" gesture of pointing at the sky, and she is a wide-hipped, large-breasted Earth Mother like a prehistoric stone Venus. Another one, with hair the same color as the cross -- gold -- ministers to the crucified figure, one hand by the wound caused by Longinus' spear, the other by his genitals.
The man/God on the Golden Cross is frozen in an esctatic moment of revelatory pain, his face looking like some in the paintings of Francis Bacon. Around the top of the cross is a familiar green figure from the story. We know him in a different guise from His first appearance in the story, in Paradise, where he tested and bested the Ancestors. We see him when we visit the Doctor, wrapped entwined with his Other around the staff of Hermes that forms the caduceus, which goes back to Egypt and before that to India where it is associated with the Kundalini rising. In Western mythology, we know him as Ouroboros, the snake eating His own tail. He is the sundial, the face of the clock, and more, and in this painting, he is behind the crucified picture, around the golden cross, reaching for his own tail, circling the square (ok, rectangle) of the cross. We are at the imminent passing of an age, a personal and universal one. Like many cave paintings, the coiling, pungent-green figure is rendered in X-ray fashion. Looking inside his body, we can see prior ages in the process of digestion in his gut. He, and we, have been here before.
This isn't just the story of a Man-God from two Millenia ago. This a personal resurrection, of the artist and the viewer (this means you) through the crucible of the body, its pain and passions, the meeting of earth and heaven.
--- Luis
Mindy Solomon Gallery, 124 2nd Ave NE. St. Petersburg. Wed-Sat 11 AM-5PM.
Ps. If you go, there are two "hidden" must-not-miss things at the Mindy Solomon Gallery. There is a work that is invisible no matter how hard you peep through the windows. Go inside, when you get to the desk, turn to look back through the windows. Slightly to the left is a column. Hanging from it is a vertical video installation by Becky Flanders that is not to be missed. Second, ask Mindy or Sharon if you can see the two other works by Jordon Meinster hanging in the back room.
______________________________
"Icons are reminders of the spiritual world. They are windows into eternity, a holy space depicting sacred reality in the course of humanity" -- Tom Tsagalakis
Icons weren't always housed in churches. As Christianity spread, there would be outlying areas where no churches existed, and traveling priests would make their routes around these territories, arriving in one spot, marry people, baptize new arrivals, say Mass, consecrate the dead and more, all in one stop. Since there often wasn't a sacred space in these places (and no manpower/money, and sometimes no inclination to build a church), these priests traveled with small, folding icons that served to signify a temporary sacred space.
They also played the role of mass media, projecting a story/doctrine that everyone was familiar with in the established Christian territories, and as a teaching/colonizing tool in the outlying territories -- all in a human context, often one that had contemporary elements.
Patrick McGrath Muniz [Link] has looked at these icons and recontextualized them into the present, incorporating consumer culture into the iconic style and expressing his concerns about the myths surrounding colonial aspects of globalization, imigration, breast enlargement surgery/identity and many other issues.
"Today there are many myths about beauty, culture, art, justice, war, sex, food, energy and many other issues that consciously aware artists should address in their work. ... I find the world of myth infinite in sources for inspiration." -- Patrick McGrath Muniz
See his work here.
Gabriel Parque is a 3-D Technical Assistant at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and a sculptor. In the Icons show @ MSG, his sculptures are from the "Blessing" series. Here is one. They consist of coil-built, stone-ware, white-painted figures of what appears to be a fetal or newborn Jesus figure, identifiable via either the blessing mudra (hand-gesture) or the small icon they hold in the other hand of the world with a large golden cross on it. The fetal ones have prominent umbilical cords literally grounding and connecting them to Mother Earth [Link], the world the Father made.
The Einar and Jamex de la Torre work showing currently at MSG is in the form of fused glass and mixed media. This a very, very different kind of sculpture from the usual swirling, amorphous and occassionally pointy glass. This is narrative glass, rich in cultural iconography, telling intensely personal stories from the area around the border, and not just the border between the US and Mexico, but that between this Life and the Next, with the yonic gateway at the center of many; Green Earth Mother with ear of yellow corn vaginal lips. Yellow guns with toys floating in them, around another vaginal opening with blue lips, a background rich with more details, and festooned with large marble-sized clear glass. Others look like Mayan calendars, invoke totems, naguals, lucha libre figures, and more. Besides being extraordinary, emotion-provoking personal icons, these pieces are superb contemplative objects of beauty that can stand scrutiny at any viewing distance.
I met Jordon Meinster at an MSG opening and liked him immediately. We talked about the art. His fluency in art history and passion for art are breathtaking. But until this exhibit, I had no idea he is a painter. Quite a painter. "The Resurrection" , which curiously depicts the crucifixion, is an emotional torrent of line and color in acrylics and oil pastels on paper. There is a female figure on the lower left, hand raised in the "He is risen" gesture of pointing at the sky, and she is a wide-hipped, large-breasted Earth Mother like a prehistoric stone Venus. Another one, with hair the same color as the cross -- gold -- ministers to the crucified figure, one hand by the wound caused by Longinus' spear, the other by his genitals.
The man/God on the Golden Cross is frozen in an esctatic moment of revelatory pain, his face looking like some in the paintings of Francis Bacon. Around the top of the cross is a familiar green figure from the story. We know him in a different guise from His first appearance in the story, in Paradise, where he tested and bested the Ancestors. We see him when we visit the Doctor, wrapped entwined with his Other around the staff of Hermes that forms the caduceus, which goes back to Egypt and before that to India where it is associated with the Kundalini rising. In Western mythology, we know him as Ouroboros, the snake eating His own tail. He is the sundial, the face of the clock, and more, and in this painting, he is behind the crucified picture, around the golden cross, reaching for his own tail, circling the square (ok, rectangle) of the cross. We are at the imminent passing of an age, a personal and universal one. Like many cave paintings, the coiling, pungent-green figure is rendered in X-ray fashion. Looking inside his body, we can see prior ages in the process of digestion in his gut. He, and we, have been here before.
This isn't just the story of a Man-God from two Millenia ago. This a personal resurrection, of the artist and the viewer (this means you) through the crucible of the body, its pain and passions, the meeting of earth and heaven.
--- Luis
Mindy Solomon Gallery, 124 2nd Ave NE. St. Petersburg. Wed-Sat 11 AM-5PM.
Ps. If you go, there are two "hidden" must-not-miss things at the Mindy Solomon Gallery. There is a work that is invisible no matter how hard you peep through the windows. Go inside, when you get to the desk, turn to look back through the windows. Slightly to the left is a column. Hanging from it is a vertical video installation by Becky Flanders that is not to be missed. Second, ask Mindy or Sharon if you can see the two other works by Jordon Meinster hanging in the back room.
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
This Weekend: Jan 21st-23rd
Artists Choose Artists @ Artful Living/Rob Davidson Fine Art - Interesting concept: Choose artists, and each gets to choose one more. Guest curator: Paula Allen. Saturday, January 22nd, 1100 First Ave N. @ 7:00 PM. Free.
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I love St. Pete @ Artpool - The Annual art, music and fashion event at Marina Williams' Artpool multitasking space. The Irressistible Force that is Ms. Williams is one of the best city boosters any city could have. The fashion show by Pink Cricket's Sarah Turner promises to be Green (ecologically!). Saturday, January 22, 7PM - 12 AM. Artpool Gallery & Vintage Boutique. 919 1st ave. North. Tickets $10 before date, $15 @ the door.
artpoolgallery.com
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The Isolation of Intimacy. Ben Hamburger @The Studio 620 - Painting installation at Studio 620, 620 1st Ave. South. Opens Thursday, January 20th, @ 6 - 9 PM. Free. Runs through February 8th. There will be a closing reception on Feb 4th from 6-8 PM.
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Electronics Alive VI @ University of Tampa's Scarfone/Hartley Gallery - Opening Reception Friday, January 21st, 7 - 9 PM. Closes Feb 24th. 310 N. Boulevard. Free.
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Sacrosanct @ West Tampa Center for The Arts Gallery - Theme is works that are above change, criticism or interference (what a dare!). Multimedia. Resdient artists' studios will be open to visitors. 1906 N. Armenia Ave. Music by DJ Fuego, appetizers and a cash bar. $3. 7PM Friday, January 21st
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Cirque Du Surreal and Peep Show @ Salt Creek
The Gulf Coast Artist's Alliance (GCAA) is a non-profit organization based in the Tampa Bay area whose emphasis is in linking artists, arts organizations and art lovers. They staged the combined Cirque du Surreal and the "naughty" Peep Show (nudes).
The show was at one of St. Peterburg's greatest spaces for art, Salt Creek Artworks (SCA), a canal-front large building with a huge gallery space in the front of the ground floor, and a warren of artists' studios, many bigger than some local galleries behind that, and on the 2nd floor.
One of the things that makes the GCAA great is that they recognize that many of their members are multi-talented, as a result, there were poets, musicians, story tellers, dancers, etc. performing in the back half of the SCA gallery. There was no shortage of enthusiasm from the participants at this show.
Buying a GCAA membership as a "Visual Artist" entitles you to get into at least four shows yearly, including the Cirque du Surreal show. While this is very democratic & great for members, it also guarantees that the overall quality and thematic coherence of the show will be inconsistent. This is one of those shows where a viewer has to do a lot of sifting, because the quality can -- and does -- dip significantly.
A few standouts in the show: "Bird and Skull", by Eric Beckur, a very realistic and moving acrylic painting, a glowing nude seen through windowed doors, "Nu Dans l'Aterlier", by William Wegmuller, a wire Mermaid sculpture titled "Modern Mermaid", by Brandy Star, and too many others to mention here.
It was a lively show, what with belly dancers, a tuba player, poets, character actors, artists that dressed up, some in the spirit of the Peep Show. I thoroughly dislike the whole Jurassic idea of segregating the nude and erotic art into a curtained corner, and the name the GCAA has given it. Maybe they should have walled it off and provided peep holes to view it through. As it was, there was no one watching the entrance, and a minor could have easily strolled in -- as they always have into peep shows.
The security guard at the event allowed the entry-exit lanes in the parking lot to be blocked by a few thoughless ****s, and several people were stuck in the parking lot, unable to leave until one kind soul moved his car.
AT 's best part of the evening was spent in the studios behind the scenes with three artists well worth visiting: Girard Louis Drouillard, Mike Conway, and Paula Allen, aka "Polly Zoom". Drouillard creates exquisite abstract works on stressed metals that have other materials glued onto the surface, which he also paints. He is a multi-talented artist, too, and has work in several galleries. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Conway, a multimedia artist working with large, B&W, hand-colored prints. Mike, who's a very sociable fellow, set up some chairs and hosted an impromptu conversation of people getting to know each other and talking about art. "Polly Zoom" is the nom d' pinceau of Paula Allen, a charming, affable painter who, btw, will be showing at the upcoming "Artists Choose Artists" show at the venue formerly known as Artful Living, now upscaled to Davidson Fine Arts this coming weekend.
It was a wonderful evening.
--- Luis
The show was at one of St. Peterburg's greatest spaces for art, Salt Creek Artworks (SCA), a canal-front large building with a huge gallery space in the front of the ground floor, and a warren of artists' studios, many bigger than some local galleries behind that, and on the 2nd floor.
One of the things that makes the GCAA great is that they recognize that many of their members are multi-talented, as a result, there were poets, musicians, story tellers, dancers, etc. performing in the back half of the SCA gallery. There was no shortage of enthusiasm from the participants at this show.
Buying a GCAA membership as a "Visual Artist" entitles you to get into at least four shows yearly, including the Cirque du Surreal show. While this is very democratic & great for members, it also guarantees that the overall quality and thematic coherence of the show will be inconsistent. This is one of those shows where a viewer has to do a lot of sifting, because the quality can -- and does -- dip significantly.
A few standouts in the show: "Bird and Skull", by Eric Beckur, a very realistic and moving acrylic painting, a glowing nude seen through windowed doors, "Nu Dans l'Aterlier", by William Wegmuller, a wire Mermaid sculpture titled "Modern Mermaid", by Brandy Star, and too many others to mention here.
It was a lively show, what with belly dancers, a tuba player, poets, character actors, artists that dressed up, some in the spirit of the Peep Show. I thoroughly dislike the whole Jurassic idea of segregating the nude and erotic art into a curtained corner, and the name the GCAA has given it. Maybe they should have walled it off and provided peep holes to view it through. As it was, there was no one watching the entrance, and a minor could have easily strolled in -- as they always have into peep shows.
The security guard at the event allowed the entry-exit lanes in the parking lot to be blocked by a few thoughless ****s, and several people were stuck in the parking lot, unable to leave until one kind soul moved his car.
AT 's best part of the evening was spent in the studios behind the scenes with three artists well worth visiting: Girard Louis Drouillard, Mike Conway, and Paula Allen, aka "Polly Zoom". Drouillard creates exquisite abstract works on stressed metals that have other materials glued onto the surface, which he also paints. He is a multi-talented artist, too, and has work in several galleries. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Conway, a multimedia artist working with large, B&W, hand-colored prints. Mike, who's a very sociable fellow, set up some chairs and hosted an impromptu conversation of people getting to know each other and talking about art. "Polly Zoom" is the nom d' pinceau of Paula Allen, a charming, affable painter who, btw, will be showing at the upcoming "Artists Choose Artists" show at the venue formerly known as Artful Living, now upscaled to Davidson Fine Arts this coming weekend.
It was a wonderful evening.
--- Luis
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Wearable Art @ Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St. Pete.
Confession time: I'm not fashion-conscious (or subconscious!). Last night, AT attended the opening for the fourth Wearable Art show at Florida Craftsmen. The place was packed with well-dressed local fashionistas, and for good reason. The custom-made dresses, hats, jewelry, shoes, purses, etc. shown are first-rate. The space they are shown in is well-designed, too.
The show is going to be up for weeks, so if you're interested in fashion, here's a chance to see some of the best in this area.
--- Luis
The show is going to be up for weeks, so if you're interested in fashion, here's a chance to see some of the best in this area.
--- Luis
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime by Emmanuel Kant
In 1764, when Emmanuel Kant was 40 years old, he wrote a little,124 page book by this title that would become famous. It is the theme of the show opening at C.Emerson Fine Art Gallery. this Friday, Jan 15th 2011. In no way is this meant to be a synopsis, only a helpful guide for the gallery-goer who may not be familiar with this book. Kant divided the book into four sections.
He specifies his approach, which is through the "finer feelings". There are two kinds: The Beautiful and the Sublime. Both pleasant, but different. He defines the Beautiful as feelings that "occasion a pleasant sensation but one that is joyous and smiling." The Sublime as a feelings that "arouse enjoyment but with horror."
The Sublime feeling is sub-divided into three kinds: The terrifying sublime, often involving dread or melancholy. The noble sublime as quiet wonder, and the splendid sublime which is rife with beauty. These two feelings can and often do overlap. In the theater, Tragedy is on the Sublime side, and Comedy on the side of Beauty. Human nature shows many aspects pertaining to either. For example, the Beautiful has its degenerate facet, which in us produces triflers, fops, dandies, chatterers, silliness, bores, and fools.
"A profound feeling for the beauty and dignity of human nature and a firmness and determination of the mind to refer all one's actions to this as to a universal ground is earnest, and does not at all join with a changeable gaiety nor with the inconstancy of a frivolous person."
Kant saw human temperament as fixed and separate character. In gender terms, women are with the Beautiful, men with the Sublime. Together, they form one "moral person". He also thought that different nationalities weighed in at varying points on this continuum. He applied this to space, in that positive space, like mountains, were Sublime, valleys, Beautiful. And Time, too. Long durations are Sublime. Short, Beautiful.
The Past is the Noble Sublime, but the Future Terrifying. The Beautiful is identified with the senses. The Sublime is more concerned with nature and art.
Seven years before Kant, Edmund Burke, another philosopher, wrote an essay on the Beautiful and the Sublime. For him there was little or no overlap between the two. In a latter essay, Kant described the Sublime as: "Purposiveness without Purpose"
In Art, the Picturesque served as a middle ground between the Beautiful and the Sublime, particularly in the context of 18th century British Landscape Painting. This also found its way into Literature, as in Milton's Paradise Lost, and in poetry, in Wordsworth. It also influenced many other things and people, including Frederick Law Olmstead's parks landscaping
Artist, writer and critic Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe wrote a book titled: "Beauty and the Contemporary Sublime" in 1999. He posits the notion that the Sublime can only be expressed by technology nowadays, and Beauty is relegated to glam and frivolity, not the virtues expressed by Kant and Burke. Gilbert-Rolfe analyzes the role of these two principles in media by relating the Sublime, Beautiful and Picturesque to the different ways media covered 9/11.
Writer Alexander Ross further breaks this down into the Sublime as the Real, the Beautiful as the Ideal, and the Picturesque as reconciling the two.
The Sublime and the Beautiful have been the source of endless philosophical discourses (and arguments) and Art essays and analyses. Largely out of that tradition emerged our current aesthetics. It is the way we use language about our feelings and experience of a thing(s). Since most media are at some level about communicating or shaping experience, this is of pivotal importance in the arts.
--- Luis
[Again, this does not begin to do justice to Kant, Burke, et al, or the great number of philosophers, artists critics and writers that have addressed this issue for over a century. I encourage anyone who is interested in this to read Kant's book.
He specifies his approach, which is through the "finer feelings". There are two kinds: The Beautiful and the Sublime. Both pleasant, but different. He defines the Beautiful as feelings that "occasion a pleasant sensation but one that is joyous and smiling." The Sublime as a feelings that "arouse enjoyment but with horror."
The Sublime feeling is sub-divided into three kinds: The terrifying sublime, often involving dread or melancholy. The noble sublime as quiet wonder, and the splendid sublime which is rife with beauty. These two feelings can and often do overlap. In the theater, Tragedy is on the Sublime side, and Comedy on the side of Beauty. Human nature shows many aspects pertaining to either. For example, the Beautiful has its degenerate facet, which in us produces triflers, fops, dandies, chatterers, silliness, bores, and fools.
"A profound feeling for the beauty and dignity of human nature and a firmness and determination of the mind to refer all one's actions to this as to a universal ground is earnest, and does not at all join with a changeable gaiety nor with the inconstancy of a frivolous person."
Kant saw human temperament as fixed and separate character. In gender terms, women are with the Beautiful, men with the Sublime. Together, they form one "moral person". He also thought that different nationalities weighed in at varying points on this continuum. He applied this to space, in that positive space, like mountains, were Sublime, valleys, Beautiful. And Time, too. Long durations are Sublime. Short, Beautiful.
The Past is the Noble Sublime, but the Future Terrifying. The Beautiful is identified with the senses. The Sublime is more concerned with nature and art.
Seven years before Kant, Edmund Burke, another philosopher, wrote an essay on the Beautiful and the Sublime. For him there was little or no overlap between the two. In a latter essay, Kant described the Sublime as: "Purposiveness without Purpose"
In Art, the Picturesque served as a middle ground between the Beautiful and the Sublime, particularly in the context of 18th century British Landscape Painting. This also found its way into Literature, as in Milton's Paradise Lost, and in poetry, in Wordsworth. It also influenced many other things and people, including Frederick Law Olmstead's parks landscaping
Artist, writer and critic Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe wrote a book titled: "Beauty and the Contemporary Sublime" in 1999. He posits the notion that the Sublime can only be expressed by technology nowadays, and Beauty is relegated to glam and frivolity, not the virtues expressed by Kant and Burke. Gilbert-Rolfe analyzes the role of these two principles in media by relating the Sublime, Beautiful and Picturesque to the different ways media covered 9/11.
Writer Alexander Ross further breaks this down into the Sublime as the Real, the Beautiful as the Ideal, and the Picturesque as reconciling the two.
The Sublime and the Beautiful have been the source of endless philosophical discourses (and arguments) and Art essays and analyses. Largely out of that tradition emerged our current aesthetics. It is the way we use language about our feelings and experience of a thing(s). Since most media are at some level about communicating or shaping experience, this is of pivotal importance in the arts.
--- Luis
[Again, this does not begin to do justice to Kant, Burke, et al, or the great number of philosophers, artists critics and writers that have addressed this issue for over a century. I encourage anyone who is interested in this to read Kant's book.
This Weekend: Jan 14th-16th
Observations on The Feeling of The Beautiful and The Sublime - Thematically based on the famous essay by Emmanuel Kant. A multimedia group show that holds great promise. C.Emerson Fine Arts Gallery, 909 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. Opening reception is Friday, Jan 14th, 6-9 PM.
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Cirque Du Surreal @ Salt Creek - Nude and erotic art. Belly Dancers, Solo Tuba player (?). What? No body painting? Seriously, 20 artists, 100 works, Surrealism a la Dali, music, and erotic poetry. The Peep Show will be in a curtained corner of the space. Saturday, 15th of January, 5-11 PM Saturday, at Salt Creek Artworks, 1600 Fourth St. South, St. Petersburg. $5 in advance, $8 at the door.
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(Two Shows) 1) Paradise Lost/Paradise Found 2) Disappearing Florida @ Morean Arts Center - The state of the State according to a wide variety of artists. The former is multi-media, the latter are landscape photographs. Saturday, Jan 15th through March 13th. $5.
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Art to Wear @ Florida Craftsmen Gallery - Fashions improvised from unusual materials. Vintage wear, some recontextualized. The students and faculty of International Academy of Design & Technology, Bayshoire High School and Arts Academy and Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild bring their talent to the Craftsmen Gallery for this show. Opening reception Friday, Jan 14th @ 5:30 PM. Florida Craftsmen Gallery, 501 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. Through February 26th.
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The Arguillet Dali Collection - Dalimania spreads through the area, in this case in the form of Pierre Arguillet, Dali's Publisher's collection in two shows one on each side of the Bay at Michael Murphy Galleries. Pierre's daughter, Christine, will be at the St Pete gallery at Baywalk on Jan 21-22, and at the Tampa one Jan 22-23. Free, but RSVP required. Call 1.888.513.8385. Michael Murphy Gallery, 2701 S. Mc Dill Ave. Tampa.
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Cirque Du Surreal @ Salt Creek - Nude and erotic art. Belly Dancers, Solo Tuba player (?). What? No body painting? Seriously, 20 artists, 100 works, Surrealism a la Dali, music, and erotic poetry. The Peep Show will be in a curtained corner of the space. Saturday, 15th of January, 5-11 PM Saturday, at Salt Creek Artworks, 1600 Fourth St. South, St. Petersburg. $5 in advance, $8 at the door.
__________________________________________
(Two Shows) 1) Paradise Lost/Paradise Found 2) Disappearing Florida @ Morean Arts Center - The state of the State according to a wide variety of artists. The former is multi-media, the latter are landscape photographs. Saturday, Jan 15th through March 13th. $5.
___________________________________________
Art to Wear @ Florida Craftsmen Gallery - Fashions improvised from unusual materials. Vintage wear, some recontextualized. The students and faculty of International Academy of Design & Technology, Bayshoire High School and Arts Academy and Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild bring their talent to the Craftsmen Gallery for this show. Opening reception Friday, Jan 14th @ 5:30 PM. Florida Craftsmen Gallery, 501 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. Through February 26th.
__________________________________________
The Arguillet Dali Collection - Dalimania spreads through the area, in this case in the form of Pierre Arguillet, Dali's Publisher's collection in two shows one on each side of the Bay at Michael Murphy Galleries. Pierre's daughter, Christine, will be at the St Pete gallery at Baywalk on Jan 21-22, and at the Tampa one Jan 22-23. Free, but RSVP required. Call 1.888.513.8385. Michael Murphy Gallery, 2701 S. Mc Dill Ave. Tampa.
____________________________________________
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Central Avenue Project @ 620 Annex
Central Avenue is the backbone of St Petersburg, leading from the waterfront glitz across the city west, through many divergent areas, some thriving, others barely hanging on, nine miles in all ending at Boca Ciega Bay. The Florida Photographic Collective, a comunity-minded group founded in 2009 by ten photographers, James Anderson, Tim Fritz, Terri Gross, Heather Hickman, Marion Krauthammer, John Mazzello, Eric Seibert, Anne Rogers, Marshall Seiden & Cindy Vicker. Some familiar names are cited as having influenced many of the members of the Collective, names from the Morean/Arts Center staff. The members have completed a project documenting Central avenue and its people. The results are being shown at the 620 Annex gallery.
You can see them here.
AT was at the opening reception on Friday, which was well-attended, and most or all (?) of the photographers were there. The photography is in the documentary style, personal and intensely exploratory.
Through January 29 2011. Crislip Arcade, 645 Central Avenue St. Petersburg. Open Weds-Sat Noon-6 PM.
--- Luis
You can see them here.
AT was at the opening reception on Friday, which was well-attended, and most or all (?) of the photographers were there. The photography is in the documentary style, personal and intensely exploratory.
Through January 29 2011. Crislip Arcade, 645 Central Avenue St. Petersburg. Open Weds-Sat Noon-6 PM.
--- Luis
Friday, January 7, 2011
Call for Artists @ ARTPOOL
Artpool has an open call for artists until January 15th to be a part of the I Love St. Pete Show. It's the 5th celebration of the city's art culture. The call is extended to all fashion designers and DJs as well. If interested, call Marina Williams @ 727.324.3878. Fine artists get 1-3 works in the show for $30. Each additional work is $5. No commissions, all sales go to artist. Tickets to the opening for visitors are $10 in advance until 1/21, the show is on 1/22/11.
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Thursday, January 6, 2011
This Weekend: Jan, 7th -9th
Personal Icons @ Mindy Solomon Gallery - Like religious icons, only individuated. Seven Artists will be shown. I have it on good insider authority this is a hot show. Opening Saturday, Jan 8th, at 6 PM at Mindy Solomon Gallery, 124 2nd Ave. NE, St Petersburg. Free
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Central Avenue Project @ 620 Annex - Ten Florida Collaborative photographers show work focusing on the living tapestry that is Central Avenue. Opens Saturday, Jan 8, at 6-9 PM, 620 Annex, 645 Central Ave St Peterburg. Ends 1/31. Free.
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Ybor Art Colony Open House - Twelve Studios open their doors for this monthly event. Live music, beer and wine available. Free, but donations are welcome. AT likes the ambiance, people and art at the Colony.
_____________________
Members Only Dali Opening - New Dali Museum opens its doors to members only. Sunday, January 9th, 11AM - 5PM. At One Dali Blvd. St. Petersburg. Yearly memberships are $40 for students & teachers, $60 for individuals, and for famlies, $90.
Public Grand Opening of the New Dali Museum - Tuesday, 1//11/11, 9:30AM-4PM. At 9:30, there will be a procession starting at the old museum, and ending at the new one. If you like to watch royalty, between 11AM & 3PM, Infanta Cristina, and other royals will be there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Admission $21 for adults, for opening day, timed tickets must be pre-purchased.
AT want to take this opportunity to welcome the new Dali to the community and wish it continued success. The building looks great.
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Gulfport Art Walk - 40 artists and craftsmen in this pleasant sidewalk art show. Lots of good eats and bars along the route. On Beach Blvd., Jan. 7th, 6-10 PM
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Downtown Dunedin Art Festival - I its 14th year, this juried show is in a beautiful setting. 10 AM- 5PM, Main Street, Dunedin. Free.
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St. Petersburg Art Walk - go to: stpetearts.org and get a list of participating galleries. 5-8:30 PM
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Central Avenue Project @ 620 Annex - Ten Florida Collaborative photographers show work focusing on the living tapestry that is Central Avenue. Opens Saturday, Jan 8, at 6-9 PM, 620 Annex, 645 Central Ave St Peterburg. Ends 1/31. Free.
_____________________
Ybor Art Colony Open House - Twelve Studios open their doors for this monthly event. Live music, beer and wine available. Free, but donations are welcome. AT likes the ambiance, people and art at the Colony.
_____________________
Members Only Dali Opening - New Dali Museum opens its doors to members only. Sunday, January 9th, 11AM - 5PM. At One Dali Blvd. St. Petersburg. Yearly memberships are $40 for students & teachers, $60 for individuals, and for famlies, $90.
Public Grand Opening of the New Dali Museum - Tuesday, 1//11/11, 9:30AM-4PM. At 9:30, there will be a procession starting at the old museum, and ending at the new one. If you like to watch royalty, between 11AM & 3PM, Infanta Cristina, and other royals will be there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Admission $21 for adults, for opening day, timed tickets must be pre-purchased.
AT want to take this opportunity to welcome the new Dali to the community and wish it continued success. The building looks great.
____________________
Gulfport Art Walk - 40 artists and craftsmen in this pleasant sidewalk art show. Lots of good eats and bars along the route. On Beach Blvd., Jan. 7th, 6-10 PM
____________________
Downtown Dunedin Art Festival - I its 14th year, this juried show is in a beautiful setting. 10 AM- 5PM, Main Street, Dunedin. Free.
____________________
St. Petersburg Art Walk - go to: stpetearts.org and get a list of participating galleries. 5-8:30 PM
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Monday, January 3, 2011
Resources: Calls for Artists - Events and venues to exhibit your work.
Looking for contests & places to exhibit your work? Calls for artists are going on every day. Here's a few places to look for those who are looking for venues:
The Hillsborough County Arts Council Site has this.
For more nationwide juried shows, check artshow.com.
Also nationwide, scroll down a bit for some central Florida events here
More Floridian Calls for Artists from the Cultural Council [Link]
The Hillsborough County Arts Council Site has this.
For more nationwide juried shows, check artshow.com.
Also nationwide, scroll down a bit for some central Florida events here
More Floridian Calls for Artists from the Cultural Council [Link]
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010, In Memoriam: Bill Binzen and Corinne Day
Two photographers passed away this year. I never met either of them, but loved their work.
Bill Binzen wasn't one of those people who know what they want to be when they grow up since childhood. He and photography did not find each other until he was in his forties, but by then he was ready for it. He became a prominent figure in advertising during the sixties, and enjoyed a long and successful career. He published a few small paperback photo books of his personal work back in the day, one of which I own.
Here's some of Bill's work:
http://www.intuart.com/billbinzen/gallery.html
________________________________________
Her Mother ran a brothel. She was raised by her grandmother, "Nan". A failure at school, she took a job as a courier, flying around the world routinely. On a flight, a photographer suggested she become a model, and she did, appearing in ads and magazine covers in places as far as Japan and Australia, where she met her lifetime SO, Mark Szaszy, who would expose and train her in one of his prime interests, photography. Corinne Day thus made the switch from one side of the camera to the other. She began by photographing the models off the runway, in their tattoos, old personal clothes, and cheap, tiny apartments. Phil Bicker, editor of The Face, saw something in her portfolio and hired her.
At a time when fashion photography was surreally perfect (Think Family of Man), Ms. Day took her insider knowledge of the model trade and dared to show its Shadow side. She discovered Kate Moss, who reminded her of her subjects in Milan and got her a cover in 1990. Moss was 16, and she appeared topless and in other pictures the implication was that she was naked. The fashion world had been using younger models and Moss was unlike the others. Corinne Day got her work, used her native attitude, and refused to have her pictures retouched, something unheard of at the time. She and a stylist named Melanie Ward created the waif look, brought grunge into fashion, and later the controversial "heroin chic", which for her was quasi-documentary reality, acknowledging the stressed, drug-laced reality of modeling and her life at the time.
In 1996, when she went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with the brain tumor that would take her life fourteen years later, she asked Szaszy to bring a camera and directed him in taking pictures of her.
She kept working as long as she could, doing fashion and commissions for the National Portrait gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science and Design, Tate Modern, Saatchi and others. The medical costs of treating her disease in the US were staggering. Her friends and Kate Moss raised more than 100,000 pounds by selling prints on her behalf, but the tumor finally killed what could die of Corinne Day on August of this year.
Vogue's editor, Alexandra Shulman, described Corinne Day as "one of the most influential photographers of her generation".
[Link]
[Link]
--- Luis
Bill Binzen wasn't one of those people who know what they want to be when they grow up since childhood. He and photography did not find each other until he was in his forties, but by then he was ready for it. He became a prominent figure in advertising during the sixties, and enjoyed a long and successful career. He published a few small paperback photo books of his personal work back in the day, one of which I own.
Here's some of Bill's work:
http://www.intuart.com/billbinzen/gallery.html
________________________________________
Her Mother ran a brothel. She was raised by her grandmother, "Nan". A failure at school, she took a job as a courier, flying around the world routinely. On a flight, a photographer suggested she become a model, and she did, appearing in ads and magazine covers in places as far as Japan and Australia, where she met her lifetime SO, Mark Szaszy, who would expose and train her in one of his prime interests, photography. Corinne Day thus made the switch from one side of the camera to the other. She began by photographing the models off the runway, in their tattoos, old personal clothes, and cheap, tiny apartments. Phil Bicker, editor of The Face, saw something in her portfolio and hired her.
At a time when fashion photography was surreally perfect (Think Family of Man), Ms. Day took her insider knowledge of the model trade and dared to show its Shadow side. She discovered Kate Moss, who reminded her of her subjects in Milan and got her a cover in 1990. Moss was 16, and she appeared topless and in other pictures the implication was that she was naked. The fashion world had been using younger models and Moss was unlike the others. Corinne Day got her work, used her native attitude, and refused to have her pictures retouched, something unheard of at the time. She and a stylist named Melanie Ward created the waif look, brought grunge into fashion, and later the controversial "heroin chic", which for her was quasi-documentary reality, acknowledging the stressed, drug-laced reality of modeling and her life at the time.
In 1996, when she went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with the brain tumor that would take her life fourteen years later, she asked Szaszy to bring a camera and directed him in taking pictures of her.
She kept working as long as she could, doing fashion and commissions for the National Portrait gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science and Design, Tate Modern, Saatchi and others. The medical costs of treating her disease in the US were staggering. Her friends and Kate Moss raised more than 100,000 pounds by selling prints on her behalf, but the tumor finally killed what could die of Corinne Day on August of this year.
Vogue's editor, Alexandra Shulman, described Corinne Day as "one of the most influential photographers of her generation".
[Link]
[Link]
--- Luis
Thursday, December 30, 2010
This New Year's Weekend: Dec. 31st, 2010 - Jan 2, 2011
Art Taco would like to wish everyone a Happy (and safe) New Year's.
The Last Hurrah @ The Old Dali Museum - As the year ends, say goodbye to the Dali by visiting one last time this weekend. It will be open Friday Dec 31st, 10 AM - 4 PM, Saturday Jan 1, Noon - 6 PM, Sunday Jan 2, Noon to unspecified closing time. That's it until the new one opens. $17 admission for adults, $10 for children 10+ yrs old $4 for kids 5-9. 1000 Third Street South St. Petersburg, FL. The new museum opens on January 11th.
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Free Day @ Glazer Children's Museum - Tuesday, Jan 4th, is the 2nd tuesday, free day at the Glazer Children's Museum. Take advantage of this Target sponsored opportunity to take your kids and inner child to the Museum. 110 W. Gasparilla Plaza Tampa
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The Last Hurrah @ The Old Dali Museum - As the year ends, say goodbye to the Dali by visiting one last time this weekend. It will be open Friday Dec 31st, 10 AM - 4 PM, Saturday Jan 1, Noon - 6 PM, Sunday Jan 2, Noon to unspecified closing time. That's it until the new one opens. $17 admission for adults, $10 for children 10+ yrs old $4 for kids 5-9. 1000 Third Street South St. Petersburg, FL. The new museum opens on January 11th.
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Free Day @ Glazer Children's Museum - Tuesday, Jan 4th, is the 2nd tuesday, free day at the Glazer Children's Museum. Take advantage of this Target sponsored opportunity to take your kids and inner child to the Museum. 110 W. Gasparilla Plaza Tampa
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Adios, Kodachrome.
Today was the last day that rolls of Kodachrome were accepted for processing at Dwayne's lab, in Parsons, Kansas. After the last batch is processed, the K-14 machines will be sold for scrap, and an era in Photography comes to an end. Kodachrome, specially the K64, in my opinion, (and I shot thousands of rolls of it) was not truthful, simple, honest nor sentimental. It was the first film for photographing in a hyperreal color mode.
It blew the doors of perception off the hinges. It didn't even attempt forensically faithful reproduction. Anyone who owned a Macbeth chart can tell you this. What was unique about it, and set it apart from every other photon-embracing medium (except for the Lumiere dyed potato starch grain process) was that it was designed by artists, the Leopolds Mannes & Godowsky, not just scientists or technicians. Kodachrome, dripping with character, poetic in nature and almost able to sense the invisible was an extraordinary palette, a work of art in itself. Literally, an art film, not in the sense that it conferred "instant art" status (what does?), but if you allowed the right light and vision to rain down on it , Kodachrome would sing in your hands as nothing else does.
So long, Kodachrome. Rest in peace.
--- Luis
Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away
It blew the doors of perception off the hinges. It didn't even attempt forensically faithful reproduction. Anyone who owned a Macbeth chart can tell you this. What was unique about it, and set it apart from every other photon-embracing medium (except for the Lumiere dyed potato starch grain process) was that it was designed by artists, the Leopolds Mannes & Godowsky, not just scientists or technicians. Kodachrome, dripping with character, poetic in nature and almost able to sense the invisible was an extraordinary palette, a work of art in itself. Literally, an art film, not in the sense that it conferred "instant art" status (what does?), but if you allowed the right light and vision to rain down on it , Kodachrome would sing in your hands as nothing else does.
So long, Kodachrome. Rest in peace.
--- Luis
Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The Pure Truth: Photorealism at Tampa Museum of Art.
Realism has taken many forms in Art. In the modern context, it is philosophically derived from Locke and Des Cartes & originated by Thomas Reid, a Scottish "Common Sense" philosopher who replaced no less than Adam Smith at Glasgow. Artistically, Realism arises in 1850's France as a reaction to Romanticism. Championed by Courbet, as a way to get closer to the Truth (and further away from Romanticism), with such works as "Bon Jour Monsieur Courbet" . Photography had already been invented and announced to the world by Daguerre in 1839.
Photorealism began around 1969, derived from Pop Art and partly in reaction to the spontaneous, unplanned brush strokes Abstract Expressionism, the term coined by NYC art dealer Louis K. Meisel, who defined it thusly:
1. The Photo-Realist uses the camera and photograph to gather information.
2. The Photo-Realist uses a mechanical or semimechanical means to transfer the information to the canvas.
[This was usually done by projecting slides]
3. The Photo-Realist must have the technical ability to make the finished work appear photographic.
4. The artist must have exhibited work as a Photo-Realist by 1972 to be considered one of the central Photo-Realists.
5. The artist must have devoted at least five years to the development and exhibition of Photo-Realist work.
It was first used institutionally the next year in a show at the Whitney called "Twenty-Two Realists". It was also called Super-Realism, New Realism, Sharp Focus Realism, or Hyper Realism at the beginning. The first Photorealists were Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, Audrey Flack, Don Eddy, Robert Bechtle and Tom Blackwell.
At this site, you can see the work of ten photo-realist painters.Here's the results for a Google search for Photorealist images.
There were also Photorealist sculptors ("Verists"), the most famous of which is Duane Hanson.
Photorealism continues to this day, but has shifted from a mainly American movement, to a European one.
The pay-off for this rigid way of working was a kind of objectivity, a Pure Truth expressed in paint, not the photographic print. Estes and others took this in different directions. One thing Estes did was to explore the origins of Impressionism via light, space and subjects. Like much Pop Art, Photorealism is concerned with banal, consumerist subjects and everyday scenes.
There is much, much more to Photorealism than this little article, which is meant as a primer for Museum goers to the TMA show to experience the fullness of the work.
Realism: Selections from the Martin Z. Margulies Collection. November 20, 2010 - July 17, 2011 @ Tampa Museum of Art, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza. Admission $10.00. Museum hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, and Fri from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Thurs from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; and Sat and Sun from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
--- Luis
Photorealism began around 1969, derived from Pop Art and partly in reaction to the spontaneous, unplanned brush strokes Abstract Expressionism, the term coined by NYC art dealer Louis K. Meisel, who defined it thusly:
1. The Photo-Realist uses the camera and photograph to gather information.
2. The Photo-Realist uses a mechanical or semimechanical means to transfer the information to the canvas.
[This was usually done by projecting slides]
3. The Photo-Realist must have the technical ability to make the finished work appear photographic.
4. The artist must have exhibited work as a Photo-Realist by 1972 to be considered one of the central Photo-Realists.
5. The artist must have devoted at least five years to the development and exhibition of Photo-Realist work.
It was first used institutionally the next year in a show at the Whitney called "Twenty-Two Realists". It was also called Super-Realism, New Realism, Sharp Focus Realism, or Hyper Realism at the beginning. The first Photorealists were Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, Audrey Flack, Don Eddy, Robert Bechtle and Tom Blackwell.
At this site, you can see the work of ten photo-realist painters.Here's the results for a Google search for Photorealist images.
There were also Photorealist sculptors ("Verists"), the most famous of which is Duane Hanson.
Photorealism continues to this day, but has shifted from a mainly American movement, to a European one.
The pay-off for this rigid way of working was a kind of objectivity, a Pure Truth expressed in paint, not the photographic print. Estes and others took this in different directions. One thing Estes did was to explore the origins of Impressionism via light, space and subjects. Like much Pop Art, Photorealism is concerned with banal, consumerist subjects and everyday scenes.
There is much, much more to Photorealism than this little article, which is meant as a primer for Museum goers to the TMA show to experience the fullness of the work.
Realism: Selections from the Martin Z. Margulies Collection. November 20, 2010 - July 17, 2011 @ Tampa Museum of Art, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza. Admission $10.00. Museum hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, and Fri from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Thurs from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; and Sat and Sun from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
--- Luis
Friday, December 24, 2010
This Weekend: Dec. 24th - 26th
Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas from Art Taco.
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Boxing Day Incident @ Cafe Hey - A WMNF event featuring live music and visual arts at this jewel of an intimate venue.
5-9 PM Sunday, Dec. 26th, 1540 N. Franklin Ave., Tampa. 813.221.5150.
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Realism: Selections from the Martin Z. Margulies Collection @ Tampa Museum of Art (TMA) - This is an exhibit resulting from the partnership between the Margulies Collection in Miami and TMA. Fidelity to a real or conceptual referent and its apparent veracity is one of the core issues in the Visual Arts.
Tampa Museum of Art, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza Tampa. Through July 17th.
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Boxing Day Incident @ Cafe Hey - A WMNF event featuring live music and visual arts at this jewel of an intimate venue.
5-9 PM Sunday, Dec. 26th, 1540 N. Franklin Ave., Tampa. 813.221.5150.
___________________________________
Realism: Selections from the Martin Z. Margulies Collection @ Tampa Museum of Art (TMA) - This is an exhibit resulting from the partnership between the Margulies Collection in Miami and TMA. Fidelity to a real or conceptual referent and its apparent veracity is one of the core issues in the Visual Arts.
Tampa Museum of Art, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza Tampa. Through July 17th.
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Dear Santa...
So you're shopping locally this year. I know I haven't been er...maximally good, perhaps edging into the gray teflon slope of naughty at times. You were probably watching that night at the Refractory show at the Armature Works, weren't you? Remember, I believed in you long after my friends stopped. Maybe too long. Anyway, deserving or not, here's my list for 2010, in no particular order.
1) It's way too big for my house -- or the chimney --, and one can only imagine how much money it would cost to get (or have made) a plexiglass box to fit over it to keep the dust out, but Kim Radatz' "Wishful Thinking" has been on my mind for some time since I first saw it at C. Emerson's Sapience show.
2) Diane Ding had a suite of four paintings at Mindy Solomon's Tranformative Influences show, and I simply can't bear the cruel thought of separating them, Santa, so all four should stay together -- and on my walls. Here's one.
3) One of Carolina Cleere's paintings of crows, any of them, though the one with the birthday candles below it may be my favorite.
4) A signed book of Orlando poetess Rachel Leona Kapitan's poetry, with the extraordinary poem "Gardener" in it, along with a DVD of her performing it. Or getting to see her "reading" it again.
5) Santa, can you er..."liberate" paintings from private collections? Collections that were here at the St Pete Fine Arts Museum in 2010? You see, there's this painting by Botero, that he kept for himself, and I'm normally not a Botero fan, but there's one in which he depicted himself dressed in drag, which at first appears to be self-mocking... and it took me several visits before realizing one small but significant thing that shifted the entire meaning of the painting: The watch he is wearing in drag looked familiar. Eventually I realized it was exactly the same watch his mother was wearing in another painting. His mother's watch. Maybe it's because my own mother died earlier this year. Or maybe I would have reacted just the same. I don't know, but the title "Melancholy" became scintillatingly clear, and I would love to have it.
6) Nancy Cervenka makes sculptures out of film, yes, film. See here and here . Santa, I could live with any of them.
7) Donna Gordon, the owner of the gallery of the same name creates beautiful, provocative small sculptures. I want one, preferably one where one can see inside the figure.
8) I went to the Car Show this year, and this came across as a work of art, so if there's room in the bag, Santa...in a light silver....one of these. Just leave it in the driveway and the keys in my mailbox, thank you.
9) Theo Wujcik's Imperial Jade Quarter Pounder With Cheese [Link] is my kind of take-out, Santa.
10) "Flat Tire" by Mernet Larsen, from the Morean Show, is one of those artworks that has lingered on my mind for months. You know what to do, Santa...
Ok, I'll stop for now...thanks, Santa!
--- Luis
1) It's way too big for my house -- or the chimney --, and one can only imagine how much money it would cost to get (or have made) a plexiglass box to fit over it to keep the dust out, but Kim Radatz' "Wishful Thinking" has been on my mind for some time since I first saw it at C. Emerson's Sapience show.
2) Diane Ding had a suite of four paintings at Mindy Solomon's Tranformative Influences show, and I simply can't bear the cruel thought of separating them, Santa, so all four should stay together -- and on my walls. Here's one.
3) One of Carolina Cleere's paintings of crows, any of them, though the one with the birthday candles below it may be my favorite.
4) A signed book of Orlando poetess Rachel Leona Kapitan's poetry, with the extraordinary poem "Gardener" in it, along with a DVD of her performing it. Or getting to see her "reading" it again.
5) Santa, can you er..."liberate" paintings from private collections? Collections that were here at the St Pete Fine Arts Museum in 2010? You see, there's this painting by Botero, that he kept for himself, and I'm normally not a Botero fan, but there's one in which he depicted himself dressed in drag, which at first appears to be self-mocking... and it took me several visits before realizing one small but significant thing that shifted the entire meaning of the painting: The watch he is wearing in drag looked familiar. Eventually I realized it was exactly the same watch his mother was wearing in another painting. His mother's watch. Maybe it's because my own mother died earlier this year. Or maybe I would have reacted just the same. I don't know, but the title "Melancholy" became scintillatingly clear, and I would love to have it.
6) Nancy Cervenka makes sculptures out of film, yes, film. See here and here . Santa, I could live with any of them.
7) Donna Gordon, the owner of the gallery of the same name creates beautiful, provocative small sculptures. I want one, preferably one where one can see inside the figure.
8) I went to the Car Show this year, and this came across as a work of art, so if there's room in the bag, Santa...in a light silver....one of these. Just leave it in the driveway and the keys in my mailbox, thank you.
9) Theo Wujcik's Imperial Jade Quarter Pounder With Cheese [Link] is my kind of take-out, Santa.
10) "Flat Tire" by Mernet Larsen, from the Morean Show, is one of those artworks that has lingered on my mind for months. You know what to do, Santa...
Ok, I'll stop for now...thanks, Santa!
--- Luis
Monday, December 20, 2010
Mernet Larsen: Utility and Beauty @ Mindy Solomon Gallery
I could begin by telling you about Mernet Larsen's distinguished 35-year career at USF until retiring. In between, lecturing at places like Yale and RISD. Or that some of her students went on to become prominent artists in the area and elsewhere, the distinguished panels in first-rate schools, 25 solo and over 70 group exhibits, or the NEA grant, international stints, but none of it would prepare you for the Larsen paintings being currently shown at Mindy Solomon Gallery.
Take "Ballerina", painted in 2006. The perspective that defines your viewpoint isn't there. Instead, regarding the ballerina and the stage, you're above and to the left. The expressionless couple, who are in an unsustainable pose before the stage, are also to your right, and in front of you, but their seats are almost below you. Notice the receding front of the stage is getting bigger, not smaller, as it gets further away from the viewer. The light is surreal: There are no shadows, but there is slight modeling. We can see no other audience members. Everyone is in their own perspective and space.
In "Walk on a Windy Day", There's two people walking along the window of an eatery. Each seems encapsulated in their own world, and the eatery is empty. It's a little like "nighthawks", except during daytime The lighting is mildly directional from the restaurant window. Notice the light shadowing around the man's and woman's jawline and arms, yet they cast no shadows. The sidewalk, the figures and the seats of the restaurant booths have a somewhat coherent perspective (about 45-degrees from the viewer), but the floor is at 90 deg or seen from overhead. The "shadows" cast by the booth benches have little to do with the rest of the light direction, and extend the vertical perspective.
Two dour, if not grim-faced young men enter a space carrying large packages in "Shoppers". In a post-9/11 world this is worrisome, or cause for concern. What is concealed in those wrapped packages? Are we right to worry, or are we being paranoid? They are stepping out of a textured, very dark triangle/floor. Note that the man closer to the viewer is seen from above, and the second man who is further away is larger, when he should be smaller, visually, and he is being seen from a low point of view. We can see below the chin of the latter, and not so the former, though we can see the top of his head. On the closer man, the light is coming from his left. On the other one, from the front, and slightly to his right. Again, there are no shadows cast by the figures. Each of the two men are in their own world.
In her artist's statement, Ms. Larsen speaks of her art as "...essences of ordinary events made tangible". Also as "filtered through wry detachment", memory "turned into an object, monumentalized." Unlike many artists who strive to conceal the traces of process in their work, she is at ease with artificiality. The geometry, perspective and the other qualities of the figures and space are deftly used to create tensions and alignments with the events depicted, and in every image, there is a systemic unity between all these aspects in the work.
In spite of the artificiality, the visible components, like tracing paper painted over with acrylics and pasted on to the canvas, these paintings ultimately have a strong gestalt. The effect of the multiple perspectives, at first jarring because the viewer's perception and artistic consciousness are tuned to that we've had since the Renaissance, dislocates one of the viewer's dearest "givens". These paintings change our inner visual language. After you've spent some time with them, they make sense, and their unusual logic becomes clearer.
One of the things that makes a Mindy Solomon Gallery opening is the contact and accessibility of the artists after they talk. At this opening, thanks to the proximity with Thanksgiving, the usual standing-room-only arts crowd was sparse. This gave me a golden opportunity to converse with Ms. Larsen. The amount and depth of research, study, passion and preparation that goes into these paintings is vast, yet only a springboard to her transformative creativity. She is very cognizant of issues in Art History and explores some very esoteric things with which she is fluent: A parody and critique of Renaissance narrative painting. Chinese landscape. El Lissiztky (hints of Suprematism and Proun). Temporary overnight cloth forts used in Uidapur, India transformed into what looks like a coffin in "Icon". During our talk I mention that the isolation of the figures brings to mind Hopper. She smiles, and says that Hopper was on her mind during some of the paintings, pointing to "Walk on a Windy Day". We talk about the perspective, the vertiginous spaces, and I say something about how these tensions create a higher-order tuning-fork resonance(s), something akin to music. All the time, Mernet is transparent, friendly, openly sharing her love of art, interfacing, finding common ground, while gently leading and educating as well.
A special note of thanks to Mernet Larsen for kindly taking time to talk and to Mindy Solomon for making all this possible.
I'll end by telling you this: Make time to see this one. I'll be going back to see it again.
--- Luis
At Mindy Solomon Gallery. Runs through Dec. 31st. 124 2nd Ave NE, St Petersburg. 727.502.0852
Take "Ballerina", painted in 2006. The perspective that defines your viewpoint isn't there. Instead, regarding the ballerina and the stage, you're above and to the left. The expressionless couple, who are in an unsustainable pose before the stage, are also to your right, and in front of you, but their seats are almost below you. Notice the receding front of the stage is getting bigger, not smaller, as it gets further away from the viewer. The light is surreal: There are no shadows, but there is slight modeling. We can see no other audience members. Everyone is in their own perspective and space.
In "Walk on a Windy Day", There's two people walking along the window of an eatery. Each seems encapsulated in their own world, and the eatery is empty. It's a little like "nighthawks", except during daytime The lighting is mildly directional from the restaurant window. Notice the light shadowing around the man's and woman's jawline and arms, yet they cast no shadows. The sidewalk, the figures and the seats of the restaurant booths have a somewhat coherent perspective (about 45-degrees from the viewer), but the floor is at 90 deg or seen from overhead. The "shadows" cast by the booth benches have little to do with the rest of the light direction, and extend the vertical perspective.
Two dour, if not grim-faced young men enter a space carrying large packages in "Shoppers". In a post-9/11 world this is worrisome, or cause for concern. What is concealed in those wrapped packages? Are we right to worry, or are we being paranoid? They are stepping out of a textured, very dark triangle/floor. Note that the man closer to the viewer is seen from above, and the second man who is further away is larger, when he should be smaller, visually, and he is being seen from a low point of view. We can see below the chin of the latter, and not so the former, though we can see the top of his head. On the closer man, the light is coming from his left. On the other one, from the front, and slightly to his right. Again, there are no shadows cast by the figures. Each of the two men are in their own world.
In her artist's statement, Ms. Larsen speaks of her art as "...essences of ordinary events made tangible". Also as "filtered through wry detachment", memory "turned into an object, monumentalized." Unlike many artists who strive to conceal the traces of process in their work, she is at ease with artificiality. The geometry, perspective and the other qualities of the figures and space are deftly used to create tensions and alignments with the events depicted, and in every image, there is a systemic unity between all these aspects in the work.
In spite of the artificiality, the visible components, like tracing paper painted over with acrylics and pasted on to the canvas, these paintings ultimately have a strong gestalt. The effect of the multiple perspectives, at first jarring because the viewer's perception and artistic consciousness are tuned to that we've had since the Renaissance, dislocates one of the viewer's dearest "givens". These paintings change our inner visual language. After you've spent some time with them, they make sense, and their unusual logic becomes clearer.
One of the things that makes a Mindy Solomon Gallery opening is the contact and accessibility of the artists after they talk. At this opening, thanks to the proximity with Thanksgiving, the usual standing-room-only arts crowd was sparse. This gave me a golden opportunity to converse with Ms. Larsen. The amount and depth of research, study, passion and preparation that goes into these paintings is vast, yet only a springboard to her transformative creativity. She is very cognizant of issues in Art History and explores some very esoteric things with which she is fluent: A parody and critique of Renaissance narrative painting. Chinese landscape. El Lissiztky (hints of Suprematism and Proun). Temporary overnight cloth forts used in Uidapur, India transformed into what looks like a coffin in "Icon". During our talk I mention that the isolation of the figures brings to mind Hopper. She smiles, and says that Hopper was on her mind during some of the paintings, pointing to "Walk on a Windy Day". We talk about the perspective, the vertiginous spaces, and I say something about how these tensions create a higher-order tuning-fork resonance(s), something akin to music. All the time, Mernet is transparent, friendly, openly sharing her love of art, interfacing, finding common ground, while gently leading and educating as well.
A special note of thanks to Mernet Larsen for kindly taking time to talk and to Mindy Solomon for making all this possible.
I'll end by telling you this: Make time to see this one. I'll be going back to see it again.
--- Luis
At Mindy Solomon Gallery. Runs through Dec. 31st. 124 2nd Ave NE, St Petersburg. 727.502.0852
Understanding Conceptual Art: Sol Le Witt
This is a good primer on understanding Conceptual Art:
by Sol Lewitt
First published in 0-9 (New York), 1969, and Art-Language (England), May 1969
Sentences on Conceptual Art
by Sol Lewitt
- Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.
- Rational judgements repeat rational judgements.
- Irrational judgements lead to new experience.
- Formal art is essentially rational.
- Irrational thoughts should be followed absolutely and logically.
- If the artist changes his mind midway through the execution of the piece he compromises the result and repeats past results.
- The artist's will is secondary to the process he initiates from idea to completion. His wilfulness may only be ego.
- When words such as painting and sculpture are used, they connote a whole tradition and imply a consequent acceptance of this tradition, thus placing limitations on the artist who would be reluctant to make art that goes beyond the limitations.
- The concept and idea are different. The former implies a general direction while the latter is the component. Ideas implement the concept.
- Ideas can be works of art; they are in a chain of development that may eventually find some form. All ideas need not be made physical.
- Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected directions, but an idea must necessarily be completed in the mind before the next one is formed.
- For each work of art that becomes physical there are many variations that do not.
- A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artist's mind.
- The words of one artist to another may induce an idea chain, if they share the same concept.
- Since no form is intrinsically superior to another, the artist may use any form, from an expression of words (written or spoken) to physical reality, equally.
- If words are used, and they proceed from ideas about art, then they are art and not literature; numbers are not mathematics.
- All ideas are art if they are concerned with art and fall within the conventions of art.
- One usually understands the art of the past by applying the convention of the present, thus misunderstanding the art of the past.
- The conventions of art are altered by works of art.
- Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.
- Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.
- The artist cannot imagine his art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete.
- The artist may misperceive (understand it differently from the artist) a work of art but still be set off in his own chain of thought by that misconstrual.
- Perception is subjective.
- The artist may not necessarily understand his own art. His perception is neither better nor worse than that of others.
- An artist may perceive the art of others better than his own.
- The concept of a work of art may involve the matter of the piece or the process in which it is made.
- Once the idea of the piece is established in the artist's mind and the final form is decided, the process is carried out blindly. There are many side effects that the artist cannot imagine. These may be used as ideas for new works.
- The process is mechanical and should not be tampered with. It should run its course.
- There are many elements involved in a work of art. The most important are the most obvious.
- If an artist uses the same form in a group of works, and changes the material, one would assume the artist's concept involved the material.
- Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution.
- It is difficult to bungle a good idea.
- When an artist learns his craft too well he makes slick art.
- These sentences comment on art, but are not art.
First published in 0-9 (New York), 1969, and Art-Language (England), May 1969
Friday, December 17, 2010
This Weekend: Dec. 17th - 19th
Christmas seems to have blitzed in this year. I hear people saying they're done with their shopping, and each time it sends a flurry of little panics through me. Eight shopping days left (ack!).
Closing for "Fused" @ Silver Meteor Gallery - This is a great exhibit based on a simple idea of artists making work on a musical theme from one piece of music. AT was there at opening night. Each artist created their work within the confines of a box of the same size, which goes to show that inside the box is not all bad. Next to the work is a headset so you can hear the music the work is based on. Great show, beautifully curated, and The Silver Meteor is a great venue.
Silver Meteor Gallery. 6-9 PM Sunday, 2213 E. Sixth Ave. Ybor City Tampa. Free.
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Small Works @ Clayton Gallery - 27 artists offering works that measure 24 inches or less in several kinds of media. Clayton Galleries, 4105 S. MacDill Ave. Tampa. Free admission. 10 AM - 5PM Tue. through Friday. Closes January 22.
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Craft Fest @ Artpool - An outdoor arts & crafts sale that is a great last chance to buy an unusual, hand-made gift for someone on your list as the Big Day approaches. AT will be there doing last-minute shopping. Be sure to go inside Art Pool and check out the art & clothes there, too.
Art Pool, 919 1st Ave N., St Petersburg. 10 AM - 4PM.
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Gulfport Art Walk - Arts, Crafts, Antiques, Glass and more at the Gulfport Art Walk. Sidewalk exhibitors line the downtown street. Beach Blvd, Gulfport, Saturday 6-8 PM.
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Closing for "Fused" @ Silver Meteor Gallery - This is a great exhibit based on a simple idea of artists making work on a musical theme from one piece of music. AT was there at opening night. Each artist created their work within the confines of a box of the same size, which goes to show that inside the box is not all bad. Next to the work is a headset so you can hear the music the work is based on. Great show, beautifully curated, and The Silver Meteor is a great venue.
Silver Meteor Gallery. 6-9 PM Sunday, 2213 E. Sixth Ave. Ybor City Tampa. Free.
____________________________________
Small Works @ Clayton Gallery - 27 artists offering works that measure 24 inches or less in several kinds of media. Clayton Galleries, 4105 S. MacDill Ave. Tampa. Free admission. 10 AM - 5PM Tue. through Friday. Closes January 22.
____________________________________
Craft Fest @ Artpool - An outdoor arts & crafts sale that is a great last chance to buy an unusual, hand-made gift for someone on your list as the Big Day approaches. AT will be there doing last-minute shopping. Be sure to go inside Art Pool and check out the art & clothes there, too.
Art Pool, 919 1st Ave N., St Petersburg. 10 AM - 4PM.
___________________________________
Gulfport Art Walk - Arts, Crafts, Antiques, Glass and more at the Gulfport Art Walk. Sidewalk exhibitors line the downtown street. Beach Blvd, Gulfport, Saturday 6-8 PM.
___________________________________
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Eyes Have It: The Mona Lisa Code
A book printed fifty years ago mentioned that in The Mona Lisa painting, there are symbols and characters painted inside the figure's eyes. The book was recently rediscoevered and the existence of the characters confirmed by Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage.
"In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name Leonardo Da Vinci while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined.
He said: "It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE or it could be the letter B - you have to remember the picture is almost 500 years old so it is not as sharp and clear as when first painted.
"While in the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen, or it could be an L and the number 2."
See here: [Link]
--- Luis
"In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name Leonardo Da Vinci while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined.
He said: "It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE or it could be the letter B - you have to remember the picture is almost 500 years old so it is not as sharp and clear as when first painted.
"While in the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen, or it could be an L and the number 2."
See here: [Link]
--- Luis
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Midtown Through Our Eyes @ Cafe Kahwah
[Normally, Journalism is not the province of Art Taco, but in this case, I'm making an exception. The Journeys in Journalism Program summer camp in Midtown is doing something extraordinary.]
Midtown is a 5 and-a-half square-mile area. Forgotten by the city for years, it languished with minimal services of the kind that other St. Petersburg neighborhoods fully enjoyed. Mayor Baker decided to bring change and there has been some and development in the area in the last five years. There were many snags, such as when the USPS refused to locate a Post Office in MidTown. They relented a year and a half later. New businesses and developments are now part of the scene in Midtown.
The Journeys in Journalism Program summer camp in Midtown brought together 44 students from three schools, Melrose Elementary, John Hopkins Middle School, and Lakewood High Schools. The camp runs for about three weeks at each school. The students learn photography, writing, and basic journalistic skills, and it's not just theory, but hands-on practice, and lots of it. The result is the professional-caliber Midtown Magazine, a traveling exhibit of over 100 photographs, and poetry the Journalists have written.
Journalism does much more than that which it does best: report life. It is also current local history, being laid down, a record of a time, place, and people. In this case, by those living it, telling their story as no one else can. Congratulations to Journeys in Journalism, for the excellent training, alighting on imaginations and hearts, with positive consequences reaching far into the future.
At the first Kahwah Cafe, 204 2nd Ave. South. St Petersburg from the 2nd week of December. No one at the cafe seems to know the closing date (!) .
Holiday Schedule and Fine Art Sale @ C. Emerson Fine Arts
C. Emerson Fine Arts is welcome back from a successful week at Aqua in Miami (Congratulations!) and is wrapping up 2010 with a Holiday Fine Art Sale. I see lots of great buys here...
Special Holiday Hours:
Saturday December 11th 11AM to 8 PM
Tuesday December 14 - Friday December 17 11AM-4PM
Saturday December 18th 11AM-8PM
Monday December 20 - Thursday December 23 11AM- 4PM
Closed for Holiday vacation December 24 - January 14th
or shop online....[Link]
--- Luis
Special Holiday Hours:
Saturday December 11th 11AM to 8 PM
Tuesday December 14 - Friday December 17 11AM-4PM
Saturday December 18th 11AM-8PM
Monday December 20 - Thursday December 23 11AM- 4PM
Closed for Holiday vacation December 24 - January 14th
or shop online....[Link]
--- Luis
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Ybor Art Colony Open House
Ybor Art Colony [Link] is a group of artist's studios located on Seventh Avenue, on the 1500 block on the 2nd floor. Art Taco used to go there during the Ybor Art Walks to see work and the artists in their open studios. A month ago, the Colony had its first Open House in a long time. The Colony hallways are now clear, the floors sparkling, sparkling and the walls newly painted. It has a new director, Hance Clay [Link].
Hance's roomy studio [Link] has surfboards leaning against the wall, along with this work, paintings in the form of a wide variety of portraits, figures, landscapes [Link], florals [Link] and abstracts. The work has a distinctive color palette, spirituality, intensity and at times, it reflects Hance's sense of humor.
______________________
At the top of the stairs that connect the Ybor Art Colony to Seventh Avenue in Ybor is Jason Shiver's studio. Jason works in different media including paint, pencil, pastels, charcoal and a welding torch. His talents became apparent early, as in this painting, "Mother and Child", he made when he was eleven years old [Link].
There are portraits [Link], commissioned and uncommissioned, of people -- and pets. There are several ecologically-themed paintings and sculptures in his body of work [Link]. There are the representational works, in which Jason departs from realism and his imagination takes flight [Link]. From the way Jason paints and sculpts fish, he must have spent lots of time on or in the water. AT had the pleasure of speaking with Moira Shiver, Jason's charming wife and most enthusiastic supporter.
Some of Jason's latest paintings are still works in progress in his studio, and concern current economic and political conditions. They're in the same passionate vein as his ecologically themed works.
______________________
At the very back of that hallway is the Fashion Design Studio of Elizabeth Carson Racker, who is a native of Tampa. At age twelve she attended an Ebony Fashion Fair show. Years later, after lots of work and a bachelor's degree at Savannah College of Art and Design, she began working with the Ebony Fashion Fair and her senior collection was purchased and featured in the Ebony Fashion Fair's 2006-2007 Stylishly Hot Fashion Show. Her designs were also featured in the 2007-2008 Glam Odyssey Fashion Show and other shows from Tampa to NYC since. At the opening a month ago, the hallways were lined with people and photographers eager to see Ms. Racker's elegant formal evening wear designs, which you can see here [Link]
______________________
Adjacent to Hance Clay's studio is a smaller one practically wallpapered with multi-hued figures and spaces occupying every square inch of the canvases. In medieval paintings this kind of density is known as horrovacuity. Greg Latch's prolific output covers the walls of his studio. Greg is one of those people that one feels a kind of instant intimacy with. He's very friendly, funny, smiles beautifully, and, like his paintings, is full of life. [Link]
From his biography on his site:
"I drew all the time, no video games back then and no art in the schools. The only art classes I had was at bible school. After I got older I drew for the church, I think mainly because no one else wanted to."
His art is varied, eclectic and intensely human. [Link], [Link], [Link].
________________________________
Treat yourself to the Ybor Arts Colony Open House this Saturday, Dec 11th at 1521 1/2 Seventh Avenue, from 5-9 PM. The quality and variety of the work, the reasonable prices, delightful, talented, creative and skilled people make for an enchanted evening.
--- Luis
Hance's roomy studio [Link] has surfboards leaning against the wall, along with this work, paintings in the form of a wide variety of portraits, figures, landscapes [Link], florals [Link] and abstracts. The work has a distinctive color palette, spirituality, intensity and at times, it reflects Hance's sense of humor.
______________________
At the top of the stairs that connect the Ybor Art Colony to Seventh Avenue in Ybor is Jason Shiver's studio. Jason works in different media including paint, pencil, pastels, charcoal and a welding torch. His talents became apparent early, as in this painting, "Mother and Child", he made when he was eleven years old [Link].
![[Link]](http://jasonshiverarts.com/motherandchildwebfinal.jpg){kind=link}
There are portraits [Link], commissioned and uncommissioned, of people -- and pets. There are several ecologically-themed paintings and sculptures in his body of work [Link]. There are the representational works, in which Jason departs from realism and his imagination takes flight [Link]. From the way Jason paints and sculpts fish, he must have spent lots of time on or in the water. AT had the pleasure of speaking with Moira Shiver, Jason's charming wife and most enthusiastic supporter.
![[Link]](http://jasonshiverarts.com/Jpegimages/TennantsOfAnotherWorld.jpg){kind=link}
Some of Jason's latest paintings are still works in progress in his studio, and concern current economic and political conditions. They're in the same passionate vein as his ecologically themed works.
______________________
At the very back of that hallway is the Fashion Design Studio of Elizabeth Carson Racker, who is a native of Tampa. At age twelve she attended an Ebony Fashion Fair show. Years later, after lots of work and a bachelor's degree at Savannah College of Art and Design, she began working with the Ebony Fashion Fair and her senior collection was purchased and featured in the Ebony Fashion Fair's 2006-2007 Stylishly Hot Fashion Show. Her designs were also featured in the 2007-2008 Glam Odyssey Fashion Show and other shows from Tampa to NYC since. At the opening a month ago, the hallways were lined with people and photographers eager to see Ms. Racker's elegant formal evening wear designs, which you can see here [Link]
______________________
Adjacent to Hance Clay's studio is a smaller one practically wallpapered with multi-hued figures and spaces occupying every square inch of the canvases. In medieval paintings this kind of density is known as horrovacuity. Greg Latch's prolific output covers the walls of his studio. Greg is one of those people that one feels a kind of instant intimacy with. He's very friendly, funny, smiles beautifully, and, like his paintings, is full of life. [Link]
![[Link]](http://www.latchart.com/images/pix/greg-2000.jpg){kind=link}
From his biography on his site:
"I drew all the time, no video games back then and no art in the schools. The only art classes I had was at bible school. After I got older I drew for the church, I think mainly because no one else wanted to."
His art is varied, eclectic and intensely human. [Link], [Link], [Link].
________________________________
Treat yourself to the Ybor Arts Colony Open House this Saturday, Dec 11th at 1521 1/2 Seventh Avenue, from 5-9 PM. The quality and variety of the work, the reasonable prices, delightful, talented, creative and skilled people make for an enchanted evening.
--- Luis
This Weekend, Dec 10th - 12th.
Ybor Art Colony Open House - This gem of a cluster of artists' studios holds an open house Saturday @ 5 PM Free. Ybor Art Association, 1521 1/2 E. Seventh Ave. Tampa. 813.495.4649. (see associated article above)
__________________________________________
Art T-Shirts @ Tempus - Fourteen artists. including Suzanne Camp Crosby, exhibit their t-shirts at the Tempus Garage Gallery. All for $15 dollars or less. You select your choice, and they print it there while you wait. There will be a video by Rob Fladry and Aaron Hutchinson showing in the courtyard. Friday, Dec 10th @ 5132 N. Florida Avenue. AT recommended food segue: The Taco Bus.
___________________________________________
Work @ West Tampa Center for The Arts - 75 new works from 30 emerging USF artists. This is their first one. Get there early for a crack at the hors d'oeuvres and prizes. 7-11PM, Friday Dec 10th, at West Tampa Center for The Arts, 1906 N. Armenia Ave Tampa FL. $3 suggested donation. 813.453.4381
_________________________________________
Roser Park Arts & Crafts Show - The show is good, but the location is extraordinary. One of the most beautiful areas in St. Pete hosts a sidewalk art show. AT finds this a great way to spend a golden afternoon with a friend. Tours of Homes offered this year, too. Historic Roser Park, 500 Roser Park Drive, St. Petersburg. Saturday and Sunday Dec 11th & 12th. Parking available free at the Bayfront Medical Center. 727.772.3860
___________________________________________
Invisible in The City @ 620 - Human Rights Day @ Studio 620. Stories, Music, and more. Friday and Saturday Dec. 10-11th. Free. Studio @ 620, 620 1st Ave S. St Petersburg. 813.558.5841 Call for hours.
thestudio@620.org
______________________________
St Pete Downtown Artwalk - Galleries and studios open up to the public at night. Get a list of locations and map by going to: [Link]. Starts Saturday, Dec 11th, @ 5:30 PM.
_______________________________
The Jemseks @ Craftsman House - Enjoy S'mores at the fire with the artists and demonstrations of working methods as they celebrate their 5 yr anniversary. Saturday, Dec 11th, @ Craftsman House, 2955 Central Ave, St Petersburg. Free. Starts @ 5 PM.
______________________________________________
Tour De Clay - The third annual Tour de Clay opens six pottery artists' studios to the general public, offering freshly-made clay goods straight out of the kiln for purchase.
Pottery Boys Clay Studios, 30 Bogie Lane, Palm Harbor. Kiln @ 9:00 AM
Clay and Paper Studio, 110 Peterson Lane, Palm Harbor. Kiln @ 10:00 AM
Rising Sun Pottery, 1112 W Carmen St, Tampa. Kiln @ noon.
Wellman and Welsh Pottery 17202 Whirley Road, Lutz. Kiln @ 2 PM
Hidden Lake Pottery, 16705 Hutchinson Road, Odessa. Kiln @ 3 PM
San Antonio Pottery, 11903 Curley Road, San Antonio. Kiln @ 5 PM
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM. Saturday Dec 11th, and 11 AM to 4 PM Sunday, Dec 12th. A party will be held at the last opening on Saturday.
___________________________________
__________________________________________
Art T-Shirts @ Tempus - Fourteen artists. including Suzanne Camp Crosby, exhibit their t-shirts at the Tempus Garage Gallery. All for $15 dollars or less. You select your choice, and they print it there while you wait. There will be a video by Rob Fladry and Aaron Hutchinson showing in the courtyard. Friday, Dec 10th @ 5132 N. Florida Avenue. AT recommended food segue: The Taco Bus.
___________________________________________
Work @ West Tampa Center for The Arts - 75 new works from 30 emerging USF artists. This is their first one. Get there early for a crack at the hors d'oeuvres and prizes. 7-11PM, Friday Dec 10th, at West Tampa Center for The Arts, 1906 N. Armenia Ave Tampa FL. $3 suggested donation. 813.453.4381
_________________________________________
Roser Park Arts & Crafts Show - The show is good, but the location is extraordinary. One of the most beautiful areas in St. Pete hosts a sidewalk art show. AT finds this a great way to spend a golden afternoon with a friend. Tours of Homes offered this year, too. Historic Roser Park, 500 Roser Park Drive, St. Petersburg. Saturday and Sunday Dec 11th & 12th. Parking available free at the Bayfront Medical Center. 727.772.3860
___________________________________________
Invisible in The City @ 620 - Human Rights Day @ Studio 620. Stories, Music, and more. Friday and Saturday Dec. 10-11th. Free. Studio @ 620, 620 1st Ave S. St Petersburg. 813.558.5841 Call for hours.
thestudio@620.org
______________________________
St Pete Downtown Artwalk - Galleries and studios open up to the public at night. Get a list of locations and map by going to: [Link]. Starts Saturday, Dec 11th, @ 5:30 PM.
_______________________________
The Jemseks @ Craftsman House - Enjoy S'mores at the fire with the artists and demonstrations of working methods as they celebrate their 5 yr anniversary. Saturday, Dec 11th, @ Craftsman House, 2955 Central Ave, St Petersburg. Free. Starts @ 5 PM.
______________________________________________
Tour De Clay - The third annual Tour de Clay opens six pottery artists' studios to the general public, offering freshly-made clay goods straight out of the kiln for purchase.
Pottery Boys Clay Studios, 30 Bogie Lane, Palm Harbor. Kiln @ 9:00 AM
Clay and Paper Studio, 110 Peterson Lane, Palm Harbor. Kiln @ 10:00 AM
Rising Sun Pottery, 1112 W Carmen St, Tampa. Kiln @ noon.
Wellman and Welsh Pottery 17202 Whirley Road, Lutz. Kiln @ 2 PM
Hidden Lake Pottery, 16705 Hutchinson Road, Odessa. Kiln @ 3 PM
San Antonio Pottery, 11903 Curley Road, San Antonio. Kiln @ 5 PM
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM. Saturday Dec 11th, and 11 AM to 4 PM Sunday, Dec 12th. A party will be held at the last opening on Saturday.
___________________________________
Friday, December 3, 2010
"REGENERATION", Cassia Kite @ Cafe Bohemia
Sometimes you run into art by accident. Wednesday evening Art Taco went to Cafe Bohemia, one of our favorite hangouts, to see Alex, grab a sandwich and watch Oliver Stone's South America movie and friends at Electric Voodoo Tattoos just a few doors down.
Hanging on the Cafe Bohemia walls was new work by Cassia Kite, from her series "REGENERATION". Cassia's artists' statement says about this work: "...Constructs can be based on observations or experiences and can be used to organize, interpret, and approach their existing presence and their nostalgia of the past."
Several of them were pallid mid-western landscapes reduced to basic, still-recognizable lines with organic splashes of paint, some looking amorphous, others stormy or like portents. There were many variations on the theme. Without any accessible links to connect the AT reader to the work, I'll stop here and say that this is an exhibit well worth seeing.
Cafe Bohemia's Wednesday Movie Nights are delightful, intimate, extraordinary events. The movies tend to be of a political nature, but all are first-rate. Wear something warm, bring a blanket and a folding chair (there's often more people than chairs) indulge yourself with a hot chocolate, a sandwich and/or the falafels and cozy up.
Cafe Bohemia, 937 Central Avenue St. Petersburg, FL 33705-1646 (727) 895-4495 has Movie Nights every Wednesday. Admission is free, and the experience is like what movies used to be a long time ago, not the distanced multiplex isolation. Very refreshing. Next week is Michael Moore's take on Capitalism. Cafe Bohemia is closed Monday nights and does open mike on Thursday evenings, also free admission.
Cassia Kite's work will be on exhibit until Dec. 19th when a closing reception will be held.
--- Luis
Cafe Bohemia's Wednesday Movie Nights are delightful, intimate, extraordinary events. The movies tend to be of a political nature, but all are first-rate. Wear something warm, bring a blanket and a folding chair (there's often more people than chairs) indulge yourself with a hot chocolate, a sandwich and/or the falafels and cozy up.
Cafe Bohemia, 937 Central Avenue St. Petersburg, FL 33705-1646 (727) 895-4495 has Movie Nights every Wednesday. Admission is free, and the experience is like what movies used to be a long time ago, not the distanced multiplex isolation. Very refreshing. Next week is Michael Moore's take on Capitalism. Cafe Bohemia is closed Monday nights and does open mike on Thursday evenings, also free admission.
Cassia Kite's work will be on exhibit until Dec. 19th when a closing reception will be held.
--- Luis
Thursday, December 2, 2010
This Weekend: Dec 3rd - 5th
[Next Tuesday] Free Day @ Glazer Museum - The first Tuesday of every month, 4-8 PM. 110 W. Gasparilla Place, Tampa. 813.443.3861
______________________
Sight & Sound: Fused @ Silver Meteor Gallery - An art exhibit at this extraordinarily cool multi-use space in Ybor, combined with live music. The artists will visually interpret the music being played (!). Saturday, Dec 4th, 8-11 PM, 2213 E. Sixth Ave, Ybor City. $2 Admission. Runs through Dec 19th, when a closing party will be held. After the opening, gallery open by appointment only. 813.300.3585
_______________________
15th Annual Holiday Show & Sale @ Clay Company - Big sale of clay items. Saturday, Dec. 4th., 10AM - 5 PM, Sunday, Dec. 6th Noon - 5 PM. Free admission. Demonstrations. St. Petersburg Clay Company, 420 22nd St. S., St Petersburg. 727.896.2529
_______________________
Palm Harbor Fine Arts and Crafts Festival - Saturday Dec. 4th, 10AM - 5 PM, Sunday, Dec 5th 10AM to 4 PM. Free.
________________________
Visual Unity II @ Polk Museum of Art - Eight sets of pairs of collaborating artists and one threesome constitute this interesting exhibit. Polk Museum of Art, 800 E. Palmetto St, Lakeland.
polkmuseumofart.org
______________________
______________________
Sight & Sound: Fused @ Silver Meteor Gallery - An art exhibit at this extraordinarily cool multi-use space in Ybor, combined with live music. The artists will visually interpret the music being played (!). Saturday, Dec 4th, 8-11 PM, 2213 E. Sixth Ave, Ybor City. $2 Admission. Runs through Dec 19th, when a closing party will be held. After the opening, gallery open by appointment only. 813.300.3585
_______________________
15th Annual Holiday Show & Sale @ Clay Company - Big sale of clay items. Saturday, Dec. 4th., 10AM - 5 PM, Sunday, Dec. 6th Noon - 5 PM. Free admission. Demonstrations. St. Petersburg Clay Company, 420 22nd St. S., St Petersburg. 727.896.2529
_______________________
Palm Harbor Fine Arts and Crafts Festival - Saturday Dec. 4th, 10AM - 5 PM, Sunday, Dec 5th 10AM to 4 PM. Free.
________________________
Visual Unity II @ Polk Museum of Art - Eight sets of pairs of collaborating artists and one threesome constitute this interesting exhibit. Polk Museum of Art, 800 E. Palmetto St, Lakeland.
polkmuseumofart.org
______________________
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Mindy Solomon @ SCOPE Miami
If you're going to Miami for the Art Basel Show, do stop by at SCOPE and see St. Petersburg gallerina and Art Taco friend Mindy Solomon's exhibit, which, among 75 others, is housed in an 80,000 square foot pavilion across the street from Art Miami, in the heart of the Wynwood Gallery Arts District.
“This season we want to highlight SCOPE’s lead role as creative R+D for a wider audience of taste makers who make art their business,” says their President & Founder Alexis Hubshman. “Introducing artists, curators, and cutting-edge galleries to new international audiences has made SCOPE the most comprehensive destination for the emerging art world.”
It is financially a very successful venue, claiming sales of over $100 million and attendance of over 30,000 visitors from their shows in Miami, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons.
Mindy Solomon is taking work from Jeremy Chandler, Muir Vidler & SunKwan Kwon.
Location: Wynwood Gallery Arts District | 3055 North Miami Avenue | Miami, Florida 33127
--- Luis
“This season we want to highlight SCOPE’s lead role as creative R+D for a wider audience of taste makers who make art their business,” says their President & Founder Alexis Hubshman. “Introducing artists, curators, and cutting-edge galleries to new international audiences has made SCOPE the most comprehensive destination for the emerging art world.”
It is financially a very successful venue, claiming sales of over $100 million and attendance of over 30,000 visitors from their shows in Miami, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons.
Mindy Solomon is taking work from Jeremy Chandler, Muir Vidler & SunKwan Kwon.
Location: Wynwood Gallery Arts District | 3055 North Miami Avenue | Miami, Florida 33127
--- Luis
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