Joyce Owens: Artist On Art

The Artist

Artist Statement

 Thanks, I believe, to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince who began calling himself “The Artist” when he lost the rights to his name in the 1990’s, saying one is an artist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist is not definitive, as it used to be.

image from Wikimedia Commons

So I am compelled to say visual artist statement because you may think I am an actor, who we now call artist. Not saying that actors are NOT artists, but they used to be referred to as actors and actresses, maybe thespians, and easy to differentiate from artists who are painters, printmakers, photographers or sculptors and the like. And of course, I am not talking about musicians, who used to be called musicians, or trombonists or pianists and not artists. But they are artists now, too, so you have to make sure you know when people mean musicians and not actors or actors and not artists, I mean visual artists.

 

How come this feels like stepping backward for visual artists? You can guess that it follows that an article in a newspaper, blog or webzine referring to artists probably does not mean visual artists. Visual artists seem rarer in the press than ever. It reminds me of black people in the 1950’s, today artists are usually found at the back of the book! Don’t believe me; take a look at some of the publications that used to be the go-to read to find out what’s up on the local art scene. You have to page through a lot of artists to get to the visual artists.

 

Why am I feeling that artists, visual artists, have become background noise? I have also noticed that often print publications don’t identify paintings, drawings and sculptures in photos. The art may even get a mention but the artist does not!

“Wonder who the artist is”, I ask myself, and I look for the credit. If the article is about an artist who is a musician or actor who lives in a great house that some musicians and actors seem to find affordable moreso than visual artists who have nice studios, maybe, but rarely make the money an artist who is a musician or actor makes to buy the high end art that will be in the photos that don’t get identified. Can you imagine the reaction editors would get from a musician whose work was used in a clip on the internet and the music was not attributed to the creator or performer? Lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit!

 

Hey, in most magazines the clothes are identified that folks are wearing. The stylist who chose the clothes is named. The model and the agency are named.  So what is the problem with the visual artist getting their props?

 

Don’t really know when the transition took place. It crept into my consciousness as I started to pay attention to all the visual art I saw on TV shows, and in magazines that was not given credit. And one day it also sunk in that “artist” no longer only meant what I do.  We have been ignored, demoted and dismissed.

Dear Pres. Obama...You Forgot Change for Artists!

  It is great to have a verbal, literate, elegant first family in the White House. It is great to have a thinker as president. It is great to have a man who knows how to do the right thing and has his own ideas about how to execute them.

Well, until recently.

Pres. Obama is last season, last year, maybe even last millennium on the "modern art" additions to the White House.

Read the Wall Street Journal piece. Here is an excerpt: The Obamas are sending ripples through the art world as they put the call out to museums, galleries and private collectors that they’d like to borrow modern art by African-American, Asian, Hispanic and female artists for the White House. In a sharp departure from the 19th-century still lifes, pastorals and portraits that dominate the White House’s public rooms, they are choosing bold, abstract art works.

Can an artist get a break! Pres. Obama, you built your entire campaign on the people. You built your campaign chest a dollar at a time because every day people sent you money like clockwork, like paying a monthly bill. Every artist I know celebrated your image. Don't you think that all those images of you also raised the consciousness of voters? Those paintings, drawings, prints, photos, sculptures, and cartoons were produced by LIVING artists!

We are here and would love to donate work for the White House. We are doing contemporary relevant art work every day! We are not drug addicts like Basquiat, whose remaining art works are earning multimillions for his estate. We are not crazy like poor William H. Johnson (I certainly understand how being an artist drives one over the edge). We could benefit from exposure in the NEW White House of CHANGE!

Mainly we are ALIVE!!!!!

How about a national jury allowing artists to submit websites for selections...there are museum directors, gallerists, professors, arts advocates and others  in D.C. who could make the choices, rather than going to the top to reward the ones who supported you from the bottom! You could also ask arts advocates from across the country to look at the submitted websites, make their selections than send a limited choice to the final arbiters. I am sure they will also be happy to set up a rubric for a national juried call for art!

Above portrait is in progress, by Joyce Owens, 2009

Make art, blog, tweet, Facebook, Plaxo, linkedIN, text , email and network...

Write, talk, socialize and have a full time job...and make your art.

Below from left to right:  Marva Jolly, Dr. Margaret Burroughs, me , Felicia Preston. Dr. Burroughs was honored at the opening of the exhibition.

Come on now!

I thought to be an artist I needed to work, hone my skills, work, be productive, work, and wait to be discovered by some art guru or patron or collector or curator. Well, I was wrong, as much as I hate to admit it.

First of all making art is not enough. You should hear me explaining to my students why they have to be able to write a cohesive thought and apply it to a page! What??? "I just thought I had to draw something or paint something" they say year after year. And when they hear there are rules for making art, the infamous principles and elements of art and design, they just FREAK!

THERE ARE RULES!!!

oh my god! Art has no rules! It is a gift. It is God's gift! It is art because I say it is. It is only art if it is "creative" meaning no observational practice is involved!

HUH???

You mean if I study and practice and I learn to capture an object on a 2-D support to represent a 3-D object, that does not take skill AND creativity.

Does mine look like yours, for example?

Does Rembrandt's look like Leonardo's?

Both were observing nature. Would we say neither is creative?

Me, Dawoud, Sabina Ott, Kerry James Marshall

Both Dawoud Bey and Kerry James Marshall are creative; both make a ton of observational works of art . Chicago native Tony Fitzpatrick who does not work from nature, he uses collectible match books and other memorabilia that he configures to express poetic ideas through a visual medium. So is he more creative than artists who work in others ways?

Anyway these, limited ideas about what art is, reflect juvenile, undereducated responses  I have heard over the years. Many times my students eventually get it but some folks never do and I guess never will.

Artists, you have to learn to write, too! If you cannot figure out how to write about your work, you are screwed! (Unless you are an outsider.) The aforementioned artists are some of the best writers I know. Tony has published books, he writes some of the best emails I get. Dawoud writes an exquisite blog. Kerry has published interviews about his work that are amazing to read and hear.

If you are a trained artist, you better be prepared to explain your work...I always thought the work should speak for itself and that the viewer should be allowed to bring their own experiences to the work without the artist spoon feeding how the work should be experienced or understood. I thought art writers, curators, historians and critics would explain the art. But if you are lucky enough to get someone to write about your work it is possibly because you were first able to help people understand your intentions.

And to add things on top of things, and get even more complicated, you had better Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, and all that jazz and not to forget email and text baby, text!  And make a website, darhling. 'though that is so 20th Century, you shoulda done that a LONG time ago!

And next. You gotta go to openings, and lectures and panels and schmooze, and also teach or something to make actual dependable cash and then get your artistic self into that studio and make you some masterpieces!

Can we get a "Oh MY GOD!"

"Always" above by Joyce Owens is spending time in Liberia at the United States Embassy for the moment

Whistler's Mother, Picasso's Mother, and My Mother

Is it really possible to survive and prosper as a visual artist?

This is a question  that keeps raising its head, scratching for an answer.

One thing I have come to believe is it really helps when they love you at home!

Whistler's mom posed (well, she sat after she injured herself), and made him famous. Picasso's mom and the other women in the household spoiled little Pablo Ruiz like crazy. Kara Walker's dad, Larry Walker, is an artist and academician, Picasso's dad was also an artist and teacher.

My mom was always my best cheerleader, and preserver of my work!

At least some of us have that.

I went to an awards event at Columbia College on April 16, The Fischetti Awards, and watched political cartoonists showing and telling about their work. The top winner this night, Lee Judge, had won the first award given 27 years ago. He also recently lost his job for four days, but was re-instated when the readers of his paper complained loudly. He said, in his acceptance speech, that he realized he made enough money to pay his bills with $20.00 left over for the month which meant he had $5.00 a week to spend!

And he's not sure he will have a job next month!

That's the way it is for most artists.

And to make it even worse, a lot of the time family turns on you, too and say things like "get a teaching certificate", "become a cop or a probation officer",  "make art your hobby and earn a living" or more to-the-point, "get a real job"!

For me, having a mother who was an amazing artist herself, singing with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Duke Ellington,  The Playward Bus Company in Philadelphia, and Grand Songbird of the Elks (I.B.P.O.E. of W.) among other gigs, was a perfect (nearly) role model and mentor.

She prepared me for most of what I would later face as an artist. She was limited by her race; she continued a career while raising 3 kids,  and she had the mother telling her that another career might be better for her than singing. My mother sang because she loved to and could not live without singing. She did work for the City of Philadelphia, too,  so we could have health insurance and a home and she could provide for us in all ways.  She simultaneously built her singing career, practiced and continuously took voice lessons and took care of her children, purchased our home, cooked many meals, shopped for our clothes, made sure we got to church, and made sure I went to college.

Her determination to practice her craft, despite obstacles set the bar for me. Her willingness to explain what she experienced to me was my best teacher. I did not translate it to an art career at first, but little by little I have.

I am reminded of when I invited her to lecture my music class at Yale, not thinking anything of it, except I knew she would contribute to the class.  She blew everyone away! My professor, a professional musician, Willie Ruff, and all the students, many of whom were trained musicians, were amazed by her voice and knowledge about the history of American and African American music! She told me later that showing that I believed in  her meant a lot. And although she was very nervous, and couldn't believe she was lecturing at this school, she did it anyway.

So through my mother's example I learned to do what I love and find a way to support myself. But I am still not convinced this is fair to artists. I am still not convinced that there is NO way for talented and committed artists to do their job and earn a living.

I wonder if what we need to do is define the job. What are the actual skills and talents an artist should have and what is each worth in dollars? If the job specifications are articulated will we discover that artists can make a living after all, maybe earning, minimally, a living wage?

 

Survivor Spirit: Marshall is a South Side Community Art auction piece, May 16 at the Parkway Ballroom. The photo is probably by Jack. T. Franklin, my uncle and well-known photographer.

Hunt's Opening at N'Namdi

Richard Hunt has the reputation of being, not only a great artist but a sweet, gentle and generous man.

The swells of people who turned out at N'namdi Gallery to see his work is testimony to that.

 

I was so busy looking and talking to everyone that I forgot to take many photos. I did ask my husband to shoot one of me and Richard (above). I tend to go the events and forget to get a picture.

I shot about two and here they are. James Britt from S.A.I.C. and Ra Joy, the executive director of Arts Alliance Illinois  (Monroe Anderson, center) are in the bottom image and various folks including Talmadge Mason are in one above.

Racism and Segregation Still Hurts Artists

Chicago has had the dubious distinction of being the most racially segregated city in the country. I think it still is according to racial distribution maps I have seen produced by the Census Bureau. The Chicago Tribune even reported on it in 2008!

I live north and I can go for days in my neighborhood without seeing a dark face that doesn't reside with me! And I get questioned about whether I live here on occasion, and often get inquiring looks.

The latest racial snub came from the Chicago Tribune Magazine last week. The Chicago Artists issue  called "Art in Chicago" only seems to mention one African American artist. Richard Hunt's exhibition was named and not the one at the black-owned and renowned N'Namdi Gallery!

G.R. N'Namdi Gallery 110 N Peoria Chicago, IL 60607 Opening Reception Friday, May 1, 2009 6-9pm Artist Lecture Saturday, May 2nd 2pm Born in 1935 in Chicago, IL, Richard Hunt formally studied sculpture at The Art Institute of Chicago, from 1953 to 1957.   Throughout the years, Richard Hunt has received numerous accolades including the Guggenheim, Ford, and Tamarind fellowships, various awards from the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Academy of Design, as well as being the 2009 International Sculpture Center's lifetime achievement honoree.  Hunt holds thirteen honorary degrees, and his work can be found in  museums around the world, including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY;  Whitney Museum of American Art, NY;  The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; The Art Institute of Chicago, IL.  and he was also accorded a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, NY.  Richard Hunt has completed more public sculptures than any other artist in the country.  Notable public-site sculptures include "Flight Forms" at Chicago's Midway Airport, "Candelabra" for St. Matthew's Methodist Church, "Jacob's Ladder" at the Carter G. Woodson Library in Chicago, and "Flintlock Fantasy" in Detroit.  He was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as one of the first artists to serve on the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts and he also served on boards of the Smithsonian Institution. Continuing to experiment throughout his career, hunt employs a wide range of sculptural techniques. Through his work, Hunt often makes comments on contemporary social and political issues.  He is famous for his abstract works, suggesting recognizable human and natural forms. His works will be on exhibit at G.R. N'Namdi Gallery in Chicago until June 30, 2009.  For more information about the artist and exhibition, please visit www.artistrichardhunt.com, email contact.grnnamdi@gmail.com, or call 312-563-9240.

In an article about buying art on line, no Chicago based sources for art were mentioned. The Chicago Artists Coalition was the first to come to my mind, as it showcases artists work and has for years!  The Artslant site (www.artslant.com) has a Chicago section along with other major cities.  Fine Art America presents artists from across the country and the world, allowing you to determine if artists live in Chicago.

The Trib is a national/international presence, but does it have to ignore the city and a large portion of its population? Congrats to Angel Otero for the cover photograph. I am happy that a Latino artist was included, but I personally know a lot of terrific artists who were left out.

How many copies of the paper would have sold if there had been a few local African American artists included? Guess we won't know! Read some of the articles for yourself. Below is a link from my search for the mag. I highlighted the phrase "brings you all things Chicago".

Chicago Tribune Magazine -- chicagotribune.com

Chicago Tribune Magazine brings you all things Chicago, including living, ... Art Institute President James Cuno recommends 5 can't-miss works in the new ...
www.chicagotribune.com/features/magazine/ -

Art education: Dead or Alive, Part II

Are most public school students

lazy, disinterested or stupid?

...I have been teaching art for over 30 years in Chicago and know that most students are "exposed" to the arts in school. They discard it quickly in favor of IPods, drugs, Hip Hop, real estate,  food, and other items sold by way of slick and powerful advertisements. By comparison most art and artists are too boring to hold their attention or fascination.

...

Comment  from Turtel Onli

How did you react to the statement above?

My reaction was strong and immediate. I  teach non-art majors all the time who went through public education systems. I teach majors in Nursing, Criminal Justice, Biology, Chemistry, Sociology, etc., and Art. Most say they had very little or no art in high school. That could support Turtel's argument; do they just forget? Were they so bored they didn't pay attention?

My two children went to public schools. They had better stuff at home, too: TV's, computers, movies, games, etc., but they still learned from art classes in their high schools, special magnet schools that teach materials some other schools don't. They went to Whitney Young and Walter Payton. I saw their artwork hanging up in their classrooms at school when I volunteered and went for open house or report card pick up  They brought their portfolios home. They knew that much was expected of them in all classes.

Drawing by my son, Kyle F. Anderson

I was also a student in public schools in Philadelphia and I know that all teachers are not equally invested in their students or interesting as teachers. I had an art teacher who did not teach me much of anything, but I did not know that until  got to college and realized what I did not know! I do remember the lessons taught by the really good art teachers, sometimes word-for-word.Those were the ones who treated each student as an individual and tried to figure out your individual strengths and weaknesses and worked with you on both.

Here is what I know about my students who are attending a public university in Chicago; most of my students come from Chicago public  schools. Yes, they come with phones, and Ipods. It is my job to engage them, to encourage them and to be an excellent teacher and to demand excellence from them.

Painting-in-progress by my student, Carey McClarin "1st self portrait"

Turtel is right. The competition with personal technology is tough! But we have to compete! The parents and guardians of students have to be invested in the education of their students and understand  that art, music and performance should be included in a well-rounded education.

I  have had too many students who have been told by their families NOT to major in art because "you won't be able to support yourself". I have had far too many students who think making art means an easy "A". I have had far too many students who think making art means you can make anything, without thought, without criticism, without any guidelines for what is "good" or "bad". But then, they come to teachers to be educated and good teachers can change this kind of thinking.

So I still get the impression that many of the students I teach were not taught well, or not taught art and music at all.

We can't blame the students until we make sure teachers are doing our jobs to the best of our ability.And that schools offer curriculum that includes the arts!

If my student's fail, then I have failed.

Artists Want to Make it! In more ways than one.

One thing I know for sure: art is a competition.

Oh, you say, it isn't? Then, what is it?

Don't artists have to do the same things any professional in any field has to do? Make connections? Hope the "right" people know who you are? Getting written or verbal recommendations are the equivalent of good reviews, right?

I think artists hope that having something that is compelling in your work is what propels artists forward to broader audiences and SUCCESS. I am not so sure.

WHAT SCENARIOS = SUCCESS?

If you exhibit at a local co-operative gallery you have made it!

If you get selected for a national juried exhibition curated by the former lead curator at MOMA, you have arrived!

If you are the featured artist for a major, though non-art event, then WOW!

If your work is published in a catalog? YES!

If, if, if....

What is your "if"? What is the thing that lets you know an artist is successful?

If you do __________then you have made it as an artist!

I forgot to mention money...lots of artists expect to sell their work at high prices. That, of course indicates their success, right?

And what about the locale of your exhibitions? "I have a show in New York!", I've been told by artists more than once. I ask, "Where?" If your auntie hangs your work during her garage sale, then so? Or you hang your art in the studio of a friend who lives in Brooklyn. That's nice, but...

I  think most of us have goals.

I was in 3rd grade when I said I would become an artist and  had no idea what that meant.  I have concluded that being an artist means different things for each artist and I know I am still working at it.

When you get the M.F.A. from Yale, as I did, the expectation is that you teach at a university. I finally got around to doing that. And I have always produced art. But I have not always pursued exhibitions. I was an artist whether I had international name recognition or only my mother showed by work in her house. But that's me!

My goals were and are to make good art, and then make more good art and then make better art and show it as much  as I can! Yes, I want the New York show beyond the Black Fine Arts show. Yes, I want international venues. NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium is great, (and the other countries where I have work now) but I would love to be included in international galleries and art expos.

So, the art is political. You have to get out there, and network, work the room, build relationships, contact the "right" people and make the "right" friends to succeed in the art world. We already know about the art "tiers": international artist, national artist, and local artist are a few. It's hard when you don't run in those circles. Like getting into the segregated country club, we can't all infiltrate those closed rooms.

We want reviews in Artnews and the New York Times reviews, but the reality is only a small minority of artists get that.

By the way, the new Venice Biennale artists have been revealed.... 

What does, "I have made it"  mean for you?

The paintings are from the "Out of the Box" series by Joyce Owens.

Art Education: Dead or Alive?

Not only is art education in public schools on a resuscitator that is malfunctioning, but regular education in America is a joke!

Frustrated with the lack of curiosity, commitment to hard work, respect for others, respect for time, inability to follow simple instructions and difficulty completing simple tasks that our students display, I have been trying to figure out what to do! I'm proud to say my hometown, Philadelphia has a plan.

I have been teaching in some capacity for much of my life. And I enjoy it very much,  especially seeing students develop self confidence as they acquire new skills. But I am appalled by the various deficits students arrive with from their high schools, and though I understand it can be embarrassing to be unable to produce  a result that others around you can, I am puzzled about the indifference to learning I perceive from some students.

I have never thought the schools had to teach EVERYTHING! But how to use a ruler! How to follow simple directions! How to construct a grammatically sound simple sentence! These are skills that many students do not have.

I think the problem is that people who want to teach go to public school and are not taught the basics because they have teachers who have not been taught the basics so they can only teach what they know and think is correct methodology. There has been created a perpetual cycle of mis-learning and bad teaching by mis-taught teachers, who don't know any better. The cycle spirals out of hand until the standards are lost into just teaching to the test.

So this is another reason why the arts are essential. In visual art there is always more than one way to achieve the goal. In art there is a possibility for personal expression, so students can purge themselves of every day stress. They develop problem solving skills that can be applied to all areas of their lives. There is also a need to be able to calculate and measure, for example if you work in watercolor and need a border on your paper or you learn to cut a mat for the watercolor when its done, or you draw in linear perspective. Students mix chemicals when they work with clay or paints and printmaking. They write about their work, and critique it verbally so they learn to speak in public. There is an opportunity to develop critical thinking as students learn to choose a way of working and method of evaluating what they have created.

Students can share their concerns, their anger, their confusion, their hopes, dreams and doubts through the arts (visual, music, theater, dance). That ability to release emotions through art might stem the high tide that brought us almost 30 deaths of school age students in the first 3 months of 2009 in Chicago.


So people, lobby for art at all class levels, bringing art teachers in to all schools, not just the rich neighborhoods, and the special schools for the smart kids!

If we want to build a smarter nation, with people who have skill sets that will help us progress as we encounter the various changes the 21st Century is bringing, we have to educate ALL!!!!!!

Top: CSU students learning about art by visiting the President's Gallery during an exhibition honoring Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month in 2008.
Bottom art: Allen Moore, a Chicago State student produced this 16" x 20" acrylic painting for a 2008 student exhibition on campus.

Invisible Artists? Panel, Mar. 26 @ School of the Art Institute Chicago

WHO Can't See Us?

I was told that some students at Chicago's School of the Art Institute believe there is not art on the South Side of Chicago. My immediate response was, "HUH????"

It reminded me of people who say, "He's has NO personality". I wonder if they have looked!

Anyway, this should be an interesting chat. Hope you will come, and if you have advice in advance, please add to comments or come out and voice your thoughts!

6:00 PM-8:00 PM

The School of The Art Institute of Chicago Ballroom

112 S. Michigan

Chicago, IL 60603

312.629.6868

Click For Larger Image

Suffering from a long history of negative stereotypes and the harsh realities of urban living, Chicago’s Southside community & residents have struggled to gain the many benefits afforded to the larger Chicagoland area. This “invisibility”, has also affected the artistic community in such a way, that  internationally recognized artists have struggled to make their mark in their own city.
 
This program will explore the areas social & cultural history, as well as the numerous creators & institutions from within the community that have been active participants in dispelling myths about the Southside of Chicago.
----------------
 
March 26, 2009, 6pm 112 S. Michigan SAIC Ballroom

The Invisible Artist Panel Discussion
Panelists:
Joyce Owens, Artist, Chicago State University faculty & curator
Lowell Thompson, Artist
Natalie Moore, National Public Radio
Andre Guichard, Owner of Gallery Guichard
Patrick Rivers, SAIC faculty, Visual & Critical Studies

Ms. Faith Ringgold Works: Her motto, "Anyone Can Fly"!

Ms. Faith Ringgold, center, continues to work hard at being an artist! She has been awarded 52 commissions (see below for details).

Faith Ringgold was in the forefront, fighting for equity for women artists, in the 1970's. We still have a ways to go, but she and other artists in New York City raised their voices to complain that women were not in exhibitions at the major institutions such as the Whitney Annual.

The Hatch-Billops website presents an amusing clip of Ringgold (preceded by an intro to the collection...it's worth looking at this). In the video done by the archivists, she comments about conditions for women in the 1970's and the satisfaction some women were feeling about their progress. I paraphrase:

"The white women were getting into shows, and showing with the guys and selling their work. But I wasn't!"

But she kept pressing forward. She found a way to make her large scale work portable and mailable at affordable costs, by creating paintings that were decorated using quilting on the edges that did not need framing (her mom, Willi Posey Jones, a clothing designer showed her how). And by the way, through this process of solving a problem, she invented her signature style.

She made soft sculpture, and wrote successful books, another great way to have her art seen by a large part of the population.

My personal connection to Ms. Ringgold is that she juried a show I submitted to in Chicago at Woman Made Gallery in 2005. I won First Prize out of about 1200 pieces submitted by international artists, to the surprise of the gallery folks! I will always be grateful for that stamp of approval!

The gallery may or may not have thought it a fluke that I won until I repeated a win when I was awarded First Prize from ArtNews correspondent Margaret Hawkins a few years later!

I have been following Faith Ringgold for years.

Faith Ringgold in front of her quilt, Tar Beach, 1993.

AP Photo from Encyclopedia Britannica

She is an inspiration. She is an arts advocate, a supporter of women artists and a very generous and nurturing woman who teaches and encourages. And she works harder than many people I know who complain that they are not getting their share! Work like Faith Ringgold and then complain! After you produce a TON of work, write a few books.

About the commissions; here is information sent by Grace Matthews:

Faith Ringgold received a commission to design 52 mosaics for the Civic Center Metro Subway Station in Los Angeles, California. Mosaika, the fabulous company in Montreal is fabricating the designs. Here are photos of Faith's recent visit to check on the progress of the mosaic panels.

Faiths visit to Mosaica.

May 17 - June 26, 2009

A Declaration of Independence: 50 Years of Art by Faith Ringgold

Mason Gross School of the Arts Galleries, Civic Square Building

Sunday, May 17, 2009 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

IWA Gala Celebration honoring Faith Ringgold

Mason Gross School of the Arts Galleries, Civic Square Building

Rutgers Exhibition Information and art sales: ACA Gallery
Dorian Bergen 212 206-8080 529 West 20th street, 5th floor NYC 10011

Literary Agent: Marie Brown & Associates, NYC 212 939-9725

For Copyright permission or to book an appearance contact Faith Ringgold's Artists assistant: Grace Matthews Office hours M-Th 9-4pm Pacific Time

(858) 576-0397 ph/fax San Diego, California

ringgoldfaith@aol.com

Mailing address: Faith Ringgold Inc PO Box 8082 Englewood, NJ 07631
(201) 816-1374

Blog: http://faithringgold.blogspot.com
Web site: www.faithringgold.com


I did a review of Ms Ringgold's autobiography, We Flew Over the Bridge. See an excerpt below
from my down-to-earth review for the Journal of African American History in red...notice the other writers! I first saw this today as I wrote this post!

"Faith Ringgold has already won my heart as an artist, as a woman, as an African American and now with her entry into the world of autobiography (where I dwell), she has taken my heart again. She writes so beautifully."--Maya Angelou "Faith Ringgold has created a rich and highly informative work not only of her own life as an American in general but as an African American in particular. These memoirs are a part of American history--of what it means to be an artist, a writer, and a philosopher in our society."--Jacob Lawrence "In words that are as direct, honest, full of color and life as her paintings, Ringgold gives each reader the greatest gift of all--courage to be one's own unique and universal self."--Gloria Steinem "The story of Ringgold's triumph--achieved through sheer determination, savvy, and self-conviction--is both accessible and inspiring."--Lowery Stokes Sims, Executive Director, The Studio Museum in Harlem "Faith Ringgold's exuberant and original art has made her one of America's more important artists and a feminist heroine. Now her wonderfully honest memoirs will resonate with all political and creative women who are still fighting the battles Ringgold has won."--Lucy Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Essays on Feminist Art "Bridging is the major motif of Ringgold's life ... She is a bridge between the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights era. She is a bridge between her mother's applied art of fashion design and her own fine art of painting and story quilts. She is a bridge between the black power movement and the women's movement. And she is a bridge between the abstract art that dominated the '60s and the issue-oriented art that connected with viewers' hearts--and lives."--Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer "A memoir is revealing on two levels: since it's selective remembering, what the author chooses to tell us about herself ends up telling us something additional. WE FLEW OVER THE BRIDGE is candid, sometimes humorous, sometimes bordering on bitter, and almost quilt-like as she pieces together a wide range of topics, from the intensely personal to political and professional. Harlem at the close of the Renaissance, the art world's resistance to nonwhite artists, Black Power's resistance to feminism, combining marital life and parenthood with a career - all are viewed through her unique lens." --Gerri Gribi, www.AfroAmericanHeritage.com "Part cultural history, part coming-of-age story, part romance and part portrait of perseverance..."--Diane McKinney-Whetstone, Essence "One of the country's most preeminent African-American artists and award-winning children's book authors, shares the fascinating story of her life, complete with family pictures."--Ebony "This story told in numerous engaging family photos, art work reproductions and lore, is now getting a much-deserved, broader distribution. The story artist Faith Ringgold tells is one of warm family relations, sustaining friendships, and the challenge of overcoming prejudices. The book also is a visual chronicle of African American fashion and style."--The International Review of African American Art


"Ringgold provides juicy autobiographical stories, supplemented with personal photographs as well as ample illustrations and descriptions of her work. It is a memoir every artist should read... The book is informative, forthright, and fun, and is a great teaching tool for both emerging and established artists."--Joyce Owens Anderson*, The Journal of African American History


*I am also known  as Joyce Owens Anderson.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Thank goodness it's a new world order since the days Barbie first showed her face (and tiny waist) in 1959.

Or is it?

With all the racist backlash to the Obama administration via cartoons and conservative show hosts, I wonder? What do you think? Are we post-race, yet?

Below are images of the installation from an exhibition at The Koehnline Museum. Patrick Miceli curated the exhibition asking various artists to design their own Barbie or G.I. Joe. Go to the link to read about the other artists!

Mine is "Invisible Barbie", seen below left.

Time to Buy GOOD Art!

Renee Stout, "House Guest from Hell" installation (art)

With the economy tumbling, the bubbles burst, the air of frivolity contaminated, the money to buy the bad art that people have been pretending is good art  is drying up.

The multimillion dollar B.S. art market is falling, falling, falling.

In value. In popularity. For Real!

I'm talking about the kind of modern art, avant garde, ahead-of-its-time art, for-the- elite-only-art, the art-connoisseurs-art, the art-sought-by-some-of-the "well-educated", world-traveled, that-art-the-regular-folks-just-don't-get-and-aren't-capable-of-figuring-out, they're told.)

That tells me that ALL is not lost for most artists during these hard knocks times.

This is the time to cleanse our palettes (perhaps in more ways than one!!

Apparently, economists are calling this looming depression a "reset". That word actually rung right for me! I felt the air of understanding flow over me, and expelled a sigh of  relief when I heard it.  Yes! we are reevaluating, restructuring, reformulating the system.

What do you do when your computer just won't act right? You reset. You close it down and start again. When I discovered turning it off would make it work again I was thrilled! That seems to be what our economy is doing, purging the trouble areas so we will work again.

Many of the businesses that are folding need to go. As you know many seemed (and were) mismanaged.  We're lucky our entire country did not get shut down as a result of the shenanigans Pres. Bush's people engaged in. 

So, now we are in "reset" mode!

The car companies that are avoiding green technology still selling gas guzzlers and road hogs will have to reset! The fashion stores that are selling the same made-in-China items that Kohl's, Target and Walmart sell, at a fraction of the price, need to reset.

And yes!

The art market that went off the chart in the 1980's and 1990's and created the wealthy artists that are name brands, similar to the Hummer, have to reset and rethink the rationale for some of the work they have produced.

Some inane, for the sake of the times, installations are becoming as meaningless as we thought they were.  Move a library reading room to a gallery and KaZAM! IT'S ART!

Stick enough styrofoam cups together and give it a poetic title and KaPOW! IT'S ART!

Renee Stout (below) is an artist who creates meaningful installations.

Renee Stout's, Fatima's Room"  from a Washington Post interview, David Graham photo.

Listen, I love the lyrical non-objective sculpture that Judy Pfaff started producing years ago. Renee Stout is one of my favorite artists. I remember her pre-Katrina installations dealing with Voudou apothecary in New Orleans. She adds amazing touches of trompe l'oeil in her work that kills me because they're so gorgeous! !

Obviously I cannot name the "ugly art is good art" folks. They know who they are.

But, ding-dong! I think we are about  to "reset" the art market and with that, tastes, 'cause the buyers with the big bucks are thinking maybe they should think more about quality than art trends that may evaporate (literally).  Ephemeral art is fine, and has a place, but it may be a metaphor for our economy. It seemed good for the moment, but how much is it worth when it's gone?

Who do you exhibit with, Where and Why?

Artists love to be asked to participate in invitational exhibitions.

"The Medieval In America"

There is no submission of jpegs or slides, no nail biting wait until you hear if you are in or out of a juried show... you just get CHOSEN, and your work already has a stamp of approval by the
curator,  gallery owner or gallery director who feels your work will fit with other artists they have  selected. I entered  Black Creativity at the Museum of Science and Industry again this year.

It is considered a prestigious show by some local artists. Others totally ignore it. The problem is that  it is at a science museum that has no real interest in visual artists, but since the Art Institute and the MCA are not really a choice, either, because one does not appear to court living Chicago artists and one is for cutting edge art, the MSI juried art show still looks good year in and year out.  There is the chance you will win a prize. Last year I won one of 7 prizes out of 600 entries but the Honorable Mention came with no monetary reward. This year the fees for entry went up by $15.00 to $50.00,  but the prize money awarded did not increase.

I have won Best of Show and other monetary prizes in the past.

AND, it's a museum! It's juried! The jurors are knowledgeable and prestigious!

GREAT!!!! right?

Well, maybe...even in a juried show there is no guarantee you are in good company. This one admittedly takes amateur artists and students.Yes, they can be good, too, but it does change the dynamic.

Invitational or juried, do you ALWAYS  ASK who, what, why, where and when?

Do you ask who you will be with?

Why the particular artists have been selected to exhibit together is a question that you can tease out without sounding arrogant. 

Where the work  will be shown should be forthcoming but sometimes people want to first, put a show together and then, find a place to show it. 

You need to be clear about, and understand the purpose of the show. Make sure you ask particulars about the thematic stream attached to the show. Is it something you feel you address through your work? Is it something you really want to be associated with?

Many artists, including me,  are just happy to be in a show.  BUT.

I have found that sometimes it's better to respectfully decline an exhibition offer and wait for the next opportunity.

OK. So say you want to be in the show; please remember to find out the following:

1. Who the other artists are. Are they comparable to your achievement?

If they are emerging, mid-career or beyond is not so important to me; I mean are they "good" in your opinion.  (You may also care if they are new.) You just need to know one way or the other so you can make an informed choice. 

2. Do you like the work the other artist(s) creates. You may decide to show with an artist you don't care for because you know lots of other people do, or because you know your dislike is very personal. Or because the venue is exceptional.

3. Is it an established venue? Is it in someone's studio or home?  Think about the mailing list and who may come to the studio or home before dismissing this outright. This could be a nice intimate chance to bring more support for your work.

4. Is the exhibition raising funds for a project you don't support? Well, I rarely would do that, but you may feel that the company, the crowd and the venue, plus attendant publicity may make the show worth your while. Hey, I might re-think my original choice, but I would not support some issues, no matter what!

My point is to be conscious of choices.  Sometimes I show because I really like the other artists and would show with them anywhere. Sometimes I am thrilled to be with artists I respect, and I am meeting them for the first time in the exhibition.

Reasons you should exhibit are many and varied.

I want artists to also THINK about why they sometimes

should not show.

"The Medieval in America" by Joyce Owens was shown at the DuSable Museum in Chicago. When the curator, Jomo Cheatham,  asked me to create a painting about lynching ( a subject I had never addressed in my work) I jumped at the chance to be in The Citizen's Picnic: Lynching in America from 1865- Present.

Maniacs, monkeys and misfits get more notice

Do artists need to be crazy, homeless, or drug addicted to get a break?

Who have I left out?  The pranksters and exhibitionists, the lewd and lascivious, the braggadocios self promoters, the barely literate, the hustlers and con-artists (no pun intended)?

Freedom of expression is great. Liking what you like is great. I just think there are artists quietly toiling away day by day, hour by hour, in their right minds, paying their dues, who never get the press, popularity, notoriety, and museum and gallery shows that a woman, hanging in the streets, selling her "artwork" if she liked you, and not if she didn't, drawing on the level of a third grader,  gets.

art.newcity.com/.../uploads/2008/09/sweet16.jpg

Better that you can't read and write or capture a minimum wage job, but have turned your angst  into art?

Check out this video!

I was in a conversation the other day with a prominent photographer who told me he was collecting art by UNTRAINED ARTISTS. I have met many people who only want art by illiterate, side-of-the-highway artists.

OKAY. I love some outsider art, too, and of course, to each her own, and of course there is a place for all art (so they say). I like art by some untrained artists and folk art. Most of those practitioners are just like the rest of us who are compelled to make art because we NEED TO PRODUCE visual images.  We enjoy the process of making things!

Outsiders, untrained, self-taught artists don't go to school.  Although I contend they train in other ways. They learn a different way than going to college, is all. Some people who go to college don't learn much, so college is not necessarily a guarantee of one's success as an artist.

Folk artists are another breed; it is a form of art that is passed from one generation to the next and has a tradition that is not different from other artists who learn from the generations of artists preceding them. I love lots of  folk art.

But when I hear about the lunatics who make art because they are just nuts and people tell me they only buy from these folks like Lee Godie, I want to scream!

I don't resent her "success". I just wonder why the story is rarely:

"Artist Makes It Big:

Hard Work and Years of Practice Pays Off"

I am supportive of the arts as an outlet for everyone. Art provides a great opportunity for expressing feelings. Art therapy supports that idea. It is an outlet for me, too. I happened to go the extra step, and studied  and earned degrees.

I do resent that others of us who work hard every day to be artists don't get the same kind of breaks in the press, newspapers, TV, in other publications, in profits from our work! People are enamored with Grandma Moses and I certainly understand that. She was prolific and had a compelling story and was extremely popular. I consider  the obsessive need to make art an attribute when channeled correctly and,  this is certainly an oxymoron, within our control.

But you gotta face the facts; Van Gogh, guys, was a nut job! He saw stuff, alright! He had visions! He cut off his ear, for God's sake! He drove other artists like Gauguin, crazy! He only worked for a good ten years! His letter writing, and a persistent sister-in-law, made his reputation. Building on the crazy aspect about his suicidal self: failed as art dealer, failed as minister and failed as artist during his life time! He failed at everything! But OHHHHHH!!!his art!!! I like it, too, but I resent that you have to be weird and screwed up and quirky, and blind, and half-dead, and a drug addict, and dirt poor to be considered in some cases by some people. Read more about failed artists in America here.

So the question comes up again for me; what is great or even good art? It is art with a great back story? Is it the art that a writer of reputation says is great art? Is it the art that people buy?

Shouldn't it be art that comes from a mind that is lucid? Is it better if it comes from a mind deranged because of heroin addiction? Say no to drugs unless you want to be a famous artist?

I know this is NOT p.c., but when people rush out to buy prison art, handicapped art, blind art, elephant and monkey art, 4-year old art, and on and on...I wonder why the rest of us are doing what we are doing, practicing, struggling, maintaining lives, cooking, cleaning, raising children, going to report card pickup and making art in between all that and a day job, when all we have to be to "make it" in the art world is be crazy! (Not saying animals are crazy;  elephants and monkeys are amazing animals and possess high levels of intelligence but are they really artists?)

Photo below: an example of elephant art work. Their helper or Mahout pops a paintbrush up their nose and the rest is down to the elephant! www.24hourmuseum.org.uk (image below) In the process of writing this blog I heard The Story on American Public Media and a sculptor named Don Henson who is currently showing at the Sculpture Center in Cleveland. Don Henson Don Henson, Untitled #2, 2006, Turned wood, machined aluminum, black rubber, stainless steel, 24" x 5" x 18" © Courtesy of the Artist Don Henson, Seeker, 2006, Turned wood, aluminum, paint © Courtesy of artist Before he became an artist he enjoyed drawing. This guys struggled between being anathlete or an  artist and became an artist when his athletic career didn't pan out. He was an  artist all his life and had to find his way back to school to study art and he is doing the work to be an artist. He is articulate; he is honest and straightforward, he is modest and I like the work I saw on NPR and Artslant where  this image is from.  I'd love to try  to name all the "normal" artists who work hard every day, who pay their taxes, and should have notice because they are great artists. They should not have to be quirky or weird.  They should not have to live in  a garret or be obsessed with dead sisters, heroin or piss. Most artists I know are not asking for fame, just a way to make a living making art. Can't we figure out a way to reward the sane and  stable visual chroniclers of our history?

From President Barack Obama on Black History Month

Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 am

National African American History Month, 2009

 THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
------------------------------------

For Immediate Release                 

February 2, 2009

NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

The history of African Americans is unique and rich, and one that has helped to define what it means to be an American. Arriving on ships on the shores of North America more than 300 years ago, recognized more as possessions than people, African Americans have come to know the freedoms fought for in establishing the United States and gained through the use of our founding principles of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assembly, and due process of law. The ideals of the Founders became more real and more true for every citizen as African Americans pressed us to realize our full potential as a Nation and to uphold those ideals for all who enter into our borders and embrace the notion that we are all endowed with certain unalienable rights.

Since Carter G. Woodson first sought to illuminate the African American experience, each February we pause to reflect on the contributions of this community to our national identity. The history is one of struggle for the recognition of each person's humanity as well as an influence on the broader American culture. African Americans designed our beautiful Capital City, gave us the melodic rhythms of New Orleans Jazz, issued new discoveries in science and medicine, and forced us to examine ourselves in the pages of classic literature. This legacy has only added luster to the brand of the United States, which has drawn immigrants to our shores for centuries.

This year's theme, "The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas," is a chance to examine the evolution of our country and how African Americans helped draw us ever closer to becoming a more perfect union.

The narrative of the African American pursuit of full citizenship with all of the rights and privileges afforded others in this country is also the story of a maturing young Nation. The voices and examples of the African American people worked collectively to remove the boulders of systemic racism and discrimination that pervaded our laws and our public consciousness for decades. Through the work of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King and Thurgood Marshall, the African American community has steadily made progress toward the dreams within its grasp and the promise of our Nation. Meanwhile, the belief that those dreams might one day be realized by all of our citizens gave African American men and women the same sense of duty and love of country that led them to shed blood in every war we have ever fought, to invest hard-earned resources in their communities with the hope of self empowerment, and to pass the ideals of this great land down to their children and grandchildren.

As we mark National African American History Month, we should take note of this special moment in our Nation's history and the actors who worked so diligently to deliver us to this place. One such organization is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -- the NAACP -- which this year will witness 100 years of service to the Nation on February 12. Because of their work, including the contributions of those luminaries on the front lines and great advocates behind the scenes, we as a Nation were able to take the dramatic steps we have in recent history.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2009 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs that raise awareness and appreciation of African American history.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

art by Kyle F. Anderson

From Allan Edmunds: Art Opportunity for historians, Curators, Young artists

Dear Friends and Associates:

I am writing a grant application to convene meetings in Philly and at least two other cities during 2009 to discuss trends in narrative art and the use of new media and multidisciplinary media in the creation of new work by young artists. Please let me know of any historians or curators dedicated to African American contemporary art, you feel should be invited to participate. I am particularly interested in young professionals who are close to young artists. A modest honorarium and travel expenses will be provided. The deadline for confirming interest in the project and submitting resumes is January 30, 2009.
 
I am also, looking to invite dynamic and talented young artists in the  mid-Atlantic region (under 35) to Philly this year for a conference on trends in narrative art.  If you are aware of artists working with historic images, photojournalism, family albums, etc., please ask them to contact me. Feel free to forward this email!

Allan L. Edmunds
President
Brandywine Workshop
730 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA  19146
215.546.3675
aedmunds@brandywineworkshop.com

BEyOnd Race and Gender: You're Invited

YOU ARE INVITED!

 

Nicole Malcolm "Untitled" (left)                             

Juarez Hawkins "Black Like Me" (right)

Sapphire and Crystals:
BEyONd Race and Gender

Noyes Cultural Center

927 Noyes St. Evanston, IL 60201

847.448.8260 Fax: 847.328.1340

Gallery hours: Mon.-Sat. 10am -7pm, Sun 10am-6pm

Reception date: January 25, 2009, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Opening date: January 23, 2009

Show ends: March 12, 2009

 

Rose Blouin: "At Dawn and Dusk the Angels Gather"

The Noyes Cultural Arts Center hosts Sapphire and Crystals: BEyONd Race and Gender, an exhibition featuring twenty three African American professional women artists starting January 23 through March 12, 2009. The theme, BEyONd Race and Gender, addresses these issues that have been especially central in electing America’s new president and vice president. The exhibition features the artists’ exploration of the current state of race and gender, and our expectations and hopes for the future.

The S&C artist’s collective was established during the late 1980’s because of the biases the women faced as artists. Employing the tenets of self-determination we banded together to create exhibition opportunities for ourselves and other professional women artists. Specifically, Felicia Grant-Preston and Marva Pitchford Jolly decided to stop waiting for someone to choose them and decided to choose themselves, and other artists they knew, and in 1986 began preparing for the first Sapphire and Crystals exhibition at Chicago’s historic South Side Community Art Center in Bronzeville. That began a 20-plus year history of showing and mentoring promising and established professional women artists throughout the city and beyond.

A regular component of the exhibition is the “self portrait” silent auction. All bids open at $125.00. Another feature is a collaborative altar/installation produced on site. The Noyes exhibition will fill two floors of the center.

Joyce Owens, "Retro-racing History" series

The curator for the exhibition, artist and Chicago State University art professor, Joyce Owens, has managed a series of successful exhibitions for the group in recent years. At Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, Sapphire and Crystals: Black, White and Blues was selected out of 180 citywide events as one of the twelve featured programs during the 10^th annual Chicago Artists Month that year, 2005. Owens also organized Sapphire and Crystals exhibitions at Concordia University in River Forest, and the Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue.

Participating artists:
Rose Blouin * Dorothy Carter * Arlene Turner Crawford
Makeba Kedem DuBose * Juarez Hawkins
Candace Hunter * Renee Williams Jefferson
Marva Pitchford Jolly * Nicole Malcolm * Joyce Owens
Frances Callaway Parks * Felicia Grant Preston * Joanne Scott
Janet Sheard * Patricia Stewart *
Shirley J.Sullivan * Dorian Sylvain * Pearlie Taylor
Anna M.Tyler * Shahar Caren Weaver
Rhonda Wheatley * Shyvette Williams

 

"A girl Like Me in Gray and Green" by Joyce Owens

Happy New Year's (Resolution): Correcting Another National Deficit

We're not only out of money, some of us are missing out on much of our culture.

This is a major national problem and, I think, a crime against humanity. 

Remember when your parents asked you "How many times do I have to tell you to...". That's the hardest part of parenting and of teaching: repetition. But it has to be done. So here I am again...I know I have touched on this, but when I have conversations with people they still don't seem to get it. Math and Science, YES! But not to the demise of art and culture!

Consider the many young students who are artists in their souls but won't get nurtured because they are not exposed to art.

 

Some won't find their calling until later than necessary. These cultural crimes are devastating for aspiring and established artists but also extend to the people who are not artists.

Many Americans are missing out on a vital experience without an exposure to visual art, performance, music and dance in their lives.  

Yes, we see popular visual images, popular music and movies, but that is a narrow menu, even though we love Will Smith and the other popular celebrities!.

Will Smith (photo from the web)

If you want to understand a culture it is also important to understand the art that is produced. And to develop more artists we need to expose everyone to the arts.

We know about past civilizations because we have examined the art work left behind as tangible evidence of religious, political, and civic practices and rituals including marriage, birth, fertility that are often expressed through a visual form.  Just think of Stonehenge, The Acropolis, The Coliseum, and The Great Pyramids at Giza. Learning about these edifices shed a deeper meaning to the beliefs and practices of the time. Of course the writing left behind is an essential key to history and culture when it available.

Even though there is written material we face illiteracy in the United State of America, so some citizens cannot read it! My sons had a cultural exposure that most kids do not get because of my interests in art and my husband's in writing, theater and music. All children should see plays, go to the museums, hear American classical music such as jazz, blues and gospel, as well as European classical music, and participate by playing instruments or singing in these art forms. 

Ideally schools will teach music, art, writing and theater (performance) survey classes that would be required for every public school student.

Wikipedia gives  a list of areas of American culture as they start their definition of it: — music, cinema, dance, architecture, literature, poetry, cuisine and the visual arts —

Well, visual arts is listed last. No, the list is not alphabetical; it comes after cuisine!

The visual arts often come up even shorter or last (than the other arts) when we talk about contemporary culture.

The most easily accessible connection to current culture is television and computers. Where are the TV shows  about  visual  art; how about an American Idol-type Visual Artist show??  The scouts could find the next art star who is not an elephant, a "savant" or a child.

You know things are bad when we can rarely find shows about art on public TV!  Oh sure you can still find shows with the guy who completes a painting during a one-hour show and a great show called Art21 that features internationally known artists and more than on commercial TV, no doubt. Locally, ArtBeat features the arts in some segments during that daily "Chicago Tonight". There are wonderful travel shows that include the art of the region and do a nice job of explaining ancient treasures.

I have never seen a TV award shows  featuring  visual  artists, have you?  We get the Grammys, and The Country Music Awards. We have been hearing about the The Golden Globes, and the Oscars as the producers gear up the the awards season. The various Emmy awards programs honor day and primetime TV.

What about fine arts? Do we get dissed because we don't have unions?

Art publications, the few we have, are mostly national and only fleetingly acknowledge local artists...thank goodness Olga Stephen and the CAC got "Prompt" published.  Otherwise there is not much. Art critics are a disappearing breed, but sports writers abound!

Even the print version of The Chicago Reader, a free paper that we could count on for art has an "Arts and Entertainment"  section that  excludes visual art.  Those listings are  found in "Galleries and Museums".

Oh, yeah, everybody knows P-Diddy. Everybody knows Paris. And that's great, and a part of our contemporary culture. I am surprised by how many people have NOT heard of Kerry James Marshall, Preston Jackson, Faith Ringgold, and others.

If we want people to develop a need for art, a need to visit art institutions, to care about what artists think, the way folks care about Will Smith, Angelina Joli and Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Oprah (who I wish would switch from promoting only authors to including us righteous artists), we have to find a way for people to know about art and realize we are pretty interesting, too.  Even more than  that, we are reflections of them! They can know themselves better by knowing us!

AND, that's why we need schools to teach art to all students from preschool through 12th grade!  If you talk to President-elect Obama's new education guy, Arnie Duncan, please let him know that we are ready and willing to teach! Let's resolve to honor our culture, better educate our students  and build artists bank accounts.

Money image, above, from here.www.acf-fr.org

Photo: Chicago State University student at work/my painting studio at CSU getting nurtured...

GOOD NEWS from artist Bob Ragland! Artists Don't Have to Starve

It's not written anywhere that an artist should starve.

(Bob Ragland quote)

I heard about this guy, Bob Ragland, on NPR today (click on NPR link to hear the story). He was just mesmerizing to me. When people ask him "what  else he does, besides being an artist, to make a living" he answers he makes his living making art!

He promotes selling work at affordable prices, selling work on the payment plan and most of all, self-promotion.  He eschews galleries and is proud to have several works in a museum. He seems to have a range from portraits to landscapes to sculpture. Check out the links to see this guy. And yes, he teaches art.

He's not much of a blogger with only two entries that I found, but they are useful. I am thinking he found the blog did not help with sales so he is spending his time in other ways... here is his website. You can get to it from his blog. I did more research and found another blog by Bob here.

So I agree with Ragland that artists almost have to be outgoing! That is really hard for many artists. Tooting one's own horn is tough. My mother had to lecture me about both being outgoing and claiming my talent when I was growing up in Philadelphia. I struggled, and practiced, overcoming my shyness. A child of divorce I was confused about a lot. But over time I learned to speak out. 

I agree that artists have to know their market. When other artists gasp that such-and-such priced a work at say, $24,000.00, I usually reply "that's great, but did it sell?".

I have often sold for below what I thought my work is worth. When I look at my contemporaries and other works in the same size range, and other artists on my "level" (that's another blog to try to tease the concept of "artists levels"out!)...many artists, I think, price too high and some too low. I am usually on the lower end. Even collectors who purchase my work have told me that.  There are "newer" artists who have figured out that art is a business and they price pretty high for their experience and the quality of their work. Art has always been my passion that I did not consider my business. But I am learning! One's passion can blind one to one's business...

Paul Klein, a well-known and extremely knowledgeable arts advocate and Chicago-based artist Tony Fitzpatrick discussed pricing during a panel discussion convened by Paul Klein that included artist Juan Angel Chavez, and photographer Dawoud Bey and me.

The consensus about pricing was if you sell out you priced your work too low.

I have sold out only twice. I sold some pieces that I had been selling for around $600.00 to $1200.00 for $2100,00 to $2400.00 at an auction and realized I needed to adjust my pricing.

But the good thing about pricing low is more folks can find art they can afford. The other problem for artists is that some people consider art a luxury for rich  folks. The potential art collectors may come to your exhibition wearing exotic jewels and expensive clothing that they may throw out in 6 months and want you to come down on your $1200.00 painting.

I think it comes back to everyone getting educated about the arts and respecting our contemporary culture.

Mr. Ragland represents one set of thought that you may agree with. For sure he presents ideas around self-determination that are vital for anyone, not just artists!  

"Wonder Woman" mixed media by Joyce Owens, left, sold fast!

Geraldine McCullough, 91 year old American sculptor, has died/UPDATES

Chicago area sculptor, Geraldine McCullough has died on December 15, apparently,  in her sleep .

Born Dec. 1, 1917, she was a sculptor who had steadily worked, living in Oak Park, for decades.  Her sculptures are in the Chicago State University collection and also in my home,  among many other collections including Jonathan Green, The State of Illinois, for which she created a sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr.  and more.  All who have seen her work are impressed by her extensive creativity.  She was  hard working and understated. She was, as are many talented artists, under-valued. 

Click on the link to Woman Made Gallery, a space that felt it is necessary to tell the story of important women artists, to read more about Ms. McCullough as well at this link for the History Makers archive.

We will all miss her.

My husband and I attended her services in Oak Park which were beautiful and dignified. Her only grandson made a colorful and sweet anecdotal tribute to her as well as her priest who had intimate  knowledge  of her generosity  of spirit. 

The services for Geraldine:

Monday 12/22 Visitation & Repas at 9:30 am; service 11:00 am. at Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake St. in Oak Park 60301 (708-386-8036).  

Sun. 12/21  Visitation:  3 - 9 pm  AA Rayner & Sons Funeral Home, 5911 W. Madison St., Chicago, IL 60644 708-626-4222.

This Parish Gallery link has more about Ms. Geraldine McCullough

WHY MAKE ART?

_{^{I DON'T KNOW!}}

It's hard work, it's relentless work, it is financially draining, it robs you of friendships and other relationships, it is psychically wrenching, and often leaves you feeling totally naked and exposed and, it's addictive!

A little black girl growing up in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children, living with a twice-divorced mom and two siblings, 4 and 8 years older than I and the children of the previous marriage, I tried to understand the world around me.  I didn't know what it meant that I made pictures, I just did. Not on nice paper or in sketch books (no one purchased them for me), but in notebooks that were meant for other class work.  As time passed I took myself to the local playground where they offered some art. I even won a blue ribbon. No one in my house cared about this as long as I was not in  trouble. So I rolled along, being a "good  girl" but feeling I was also an  artist.

I am sharing a statement I wrote years ago because it struck me as pertinent, especially in these stressful times, to remember the choice we make in taking the title "artist" and in hopes that you will share your stories as well. 

Of course there are hundreds of books about the urge to be creative, but who can tell those stories best are those who live it. And as we know, there is not ONE WAY to be an  artist; artists are all different!

Think how much it might help a young kid or teenager or even a young adult to know that we all feel uncertain, we struggle everyday about whether what we do is worthwhile to ourselves, let alone anyone else! And that good results often take hard work. But hard work does not guarantee anything.

I would love for you to share your story so I can post it to my blog so please add your story to the comments. If you prefer, you can email me and I can put it on another post.

Here's mine:

As a little girl I just wanted to organize my mother's house. I desired beauty and did what I could to accomplish it. I would go into my mother's room and arrange the perfumes, makeup and jewelry that sat on her dresser. I dusted the perfumes and other items that were, then, set down using good spacing to show off their lovely forms and colors. In our living room, I would diligently fluff and carefully place the contrasting, brilliantly hued pillows that adorned my mother's golden couch - strategically. This couch sat before heavy red drapes and on a mid-value violet carpet. I wanted each of the pillows just so, the red one next to the green one and not the gold one. The ugly ones were hidden in the back. I opened the drapes a certain degree to allow in the right amount of light. My mother received the same scrutiny whenever possible.

I did all this by instinct with no supervision. A divorced parent of three, my mother worked as a city employee and as an opera singer! I am the youngest and was raised by committee. As I did not misbehave much, I was often left to my own devices. I made neat the garden's grass and trimmed the rose bushes. I swept the front steps and polished our silver plate. I moved the furniture (as much as I could) to achieve the balance I knew it needed.

My vow to become an artist was made to Linda Chambers, my best friend at the time, in her bedroom in Philadelphia when I was still in elementary school.

As an artist my quest remains organization and beauty. I think I have always had the need to understand the human soul. For me, a pictorial analysis is natural. The first major painting I made in college was in response to my grandmother's death. The toll taken on my mother and the grief thrust upon us all had to be transformed to a tangible existence. My grandmother's death was the impetus for the painting. I understood..., and I also understood that the work affected other people who had no connection with my grandmother. The loss was a universal experience.

The themes that I continue to investigate include death (loss), love, joy, trust and other human mysteries and relationships, how we work them out with each other and our environment.

I am also quite taken with human protective camouflage. I believe we wear many "faces" to help us cope with our lives. I think about our many masks (disguises) and through my work I am aware that the truth is just beneath the surface. I hope to help people think about that. I hope that visual articulation of these concepts will make a difference. I am compelled to do the work. My hope, aside from making credible, esthetically viable works is to gain insight and truth via the process.

This is a statement I no longer use. It was more for me than anyone else, I think. If you need help writing a statement here are two sources :

link one:  Molly  Gordon

Link two: at CAR, Chicago Artists Resource.

 

Above: "Imagined in Marble: Found Myself"

Top of page: "Imagined in Marble: Figure on Pointe"

 by Joyce Owens

Visual artists stepping out of our comfort level...

WE have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

For artists negotiating the route to international, national, local and even community exposure is all tough and it is not comfortable getting told "no" or "not yet" or "you are not ready".  Ask any artist.

In the new world order ...

 

Should artists expect an easier shake?

Should Chicago artists expect preferential treatment?

Above is photo of Chicago actor Harry Lennix with Pres.-elect Obama and his first lady Michelle at the N'Digo gala a couple of years ago. 

Can we expect a change from our new president who lives in the liberal Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, the same neighborhood where my Hyde Park Art Center talk took place on Nov.3. (I had to circumvent my usual route to the center because at a point, cop cars no longer allowed cars down 51st Street, keeping us away from the Obama home.) 

That was a change I didn't expect. But I turned right and just took another street, still making it to where I needed to go. Maybe we can't be prepared for change that is imposed on us, but we can learn to  ask for the change we want! 

Strategy may seem antithetical to creativity, but of course it is not.  We have to negotiate and maneuver,  struggle and prepare, and then we have to do more in order to make art, don't we? From the  process of producing a work to getting it shown, not to mention getting it into a collection of some sort takes a ton of work.  Most of us don't have assistants, publicists, managers or p.r. agencies, not to mention a dedicated gallery dealer. Most of us lug our work to exhibitions and art fairs.  We prep canvas or watercolor paper, go through all the steps for pulling an etching or linocut  and figure out where we might display the works. We set our price lists and write our bios and artists statements.

I think what sometimes stops me, when it comes to doing new tasks, is that I don't translate one way of working that I already know to the possibility of doing something else. For example, writing. I have always been a writer for my own satisfaction, and I love to read. I love books.

My Philadelphia home where I grew up, and later lived during holidays through my college years, always had books, periodicals and daily papers around. None of my family went to the Broad Street subway or the Chelten Avenue bus to go to school or work without something to read.

I don't know when I fell in love with words. I will read a passage and get stuck on a great sentence...turning it around in my head, savoring it like a rich dessert. I hate for the good books to end. I read through the terrible books to understand what in the world went wrong! For years I stayed away from novels but I am back. Finally read Audrey Niffenegger's "Time Traveler's Wife"  after winning the Ragdale. (She won one, too.)

I assume all my reading led to writing my own thoughts, just for my own consumption,  and as my way to think and figure out what I was doing. My mother told me I inherited my interest in writing from my grandmother, but my mother, Eloise Owens, wrote too, letters to the editors to the Philadelphia newspapers, letters to me when I was in college and probably to her friends and family.

In college I wrote in sketch books stating that I had no idea what I was doing or what an artist did, etc.  I anguished about my life, my relationships and my hopes that I would someday know who I was.

In recent years I  had a piece published about my uncle, Jack T. Franklin, on the Museum of the African Diaspora website because I really wanted his record to be clearer. After hearing his name in reference to a Smithsonian Museum exhibition mentioned on CBS Sunday morning I  Googled him and found misinformation. I wrote the website to try to get it corrected. They thanked me and didn't change anything.  So I took it upon myself to write a piece about him. The Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco came along at the  right time.

I did not stop to think I could not do that. Only when I saw the level of professionalism the other writers had was I humbled that my little narrative had been accepted.

Allan Edmunds brought up a great set up ideas in his comments on a recent post. That artists need to take advantage of international opportunities during the Obama administration.

I can tell you, he's right!  The only way to find out what will happen is to try.  Artists in  the 21st Century have so many advantages. For one, the Internet!

So if  there is something you don't do because it is out of your comfort level, let that  go, and Just Do It!

Barack Obama did!!!!!

The photo above of my mother, Eloise Owens,  is a proof shot by Uncle Jack T. Franklin. The painting is one I felt uncomfortable making, "Imagined in Marble: Figure with Hand", my on-going attempt at abstraction turned into a figure!  Below is a small group of these works. I saw the images in the veins in marble.

A New World Order! but same old same old for artists

Hey, I am ecstatic about the election.

I didn't think I could look at McCain's painful arm gestures for 4 years, not to mention Sarah Palin.  I would be terrified that something would happen to McCain and  we would be stuck with a president who is clearly so inexperienced.

So we dodged that bullet.

I have been wondering about other things...

What can artists expect from the 44th President?

I personally know that most of us are worried about making a living from our art. When spending is curtailed wouldn't it follow that art sales may diminish on the local level? If so, then what? Will the next president's education package include bringing the arts back into every classroom, meaning more steady jobs for artists in teaching? 

Or will  he replicate the programs similar to the Works Progress Administration providing work for artists doing what we have trained for, painting, sculpting, producing plays,  making films,  shooting photos, etc. ?

Will his economic stimulus plan include stimulating programs that promote living fine artists, such as additional funding for the NEA?

I maintain that it is an essential component of the education process that starting when every child is young she or he needs significant exposure to, and participation in, all the arts.  Public school is the perfect place for this exposure to take place.

Artists, we have to decide what our community's needs are, as well as identify our individual  needs, and let them be known. What do you want???? Find your congressperson and contact them with your ideas here.

The sculpture shown above is by Joy Kessler and is called " Inspected, Dissected, Suspected".

Black Artists in new times: Change for us, too?

President-elect Obama is not the only one traveling to D.C. from Chicago. I'm here for a few days, too, on my business, and my husband's. I have a meeting with an important gallery. Had an impromptu opportunity to show work to a board member of a prominent arts organization in Philadelphia, too.

We went to Howard, my alma mater, and met the new president, (of Howard, not the USA) last night, and several Obama operatives spoke about his win. Today, after a day of talks about the economy, etc. with a group of columnists from across the country called the Trotter Group I went to the Howard Art Gallery with a bunch of them. We saw Starmanda Bullock's retrospective. The gracious Tritobia Hayes-Benjamin  allowed us a quick visit. Eileen Johnston, who was my contact for the alumnae exhibition I was thrilled to  be included in back in 2005,  unlocked the already closed gallery staying past the regular hours so we could enjoy the work...and more.  That's another example of why I love Howard.

The city is vibrating with Obama's win. I feel empowered just being here in Obama's new second city. His transition  team is here.  My husband and members of the Trotter Group met with Valerie Jarrett  yesterday.  It's exciting that she may be the next senator from Illinois, according to CNN! All of this is clearly a dream come true for the country, and for people who can trace their lineage to before the Revolutionary war when their ancestors were brought here as slaves!

But these are my questions, and artistic dilemma!!!!

Black art  is a response to our position as underdogs in a racist society, as well as a call to embrace  our history and culture, so I expect the rationale for it will change with the advent of global power in the hands of an African American, or not? If we are now a post-racist nation, will the imperative for  Black art eventually disappear as the playing field seems to be leveling and will the "trickle down effect" manifest in the world of visual art? Or will the desire for all things black, as there seems to be a desire for all things Obama, make it hard for us to keep up with a welcome demand for our work???

My artwork often confronts people with the idea that we are left out, in general, and missing from most museum walls, unless it is a special show of African American art.

Years ago I started painting former slaves ("Survivor Spirits" series) and Middle Class African Americans from 1900 ("Out of the Box" series) and recently I started a series, "Retro-Racing History", inserting our faces and culture into paintings by masters such as Titian and Gainsborough. I show a partially completed one below.

But is this a moot point  now? Since the new leader of the free world is black, does that mean we are finally free, too? Well, I guess I mean, will we finally be equal?

VOTE everybody! No excuses, please....

Come on, my friends...

(okay, that's not original, I stole it from "our friend" John McCain, a decent, hard working man.)

But please just listen. This is historic. This is once-in-a-lifetime. You KNOW that! So no slacking...

Whether you vote right or left. Whether you choose the lesser of two evils (as some people say). Whether you can't bring your racist-ass self to vote for a qualified black man and a seasoned senator (Biden).

Whether you think you'd rather see Sarah Palin as the next co-host on the View, replacing Elizabeth, who, I for one, am ready to see go. Talk about unqualified???? She was a loser of that Survivor show and she gets to voice her opinions globally on a daily basis!!!  At least Sarah Paling (oops, this spelling of Palin is a Freudian slip) went to 5 colleges! And won Miss Congeniality in her beauty pageant days, and she is a governor and must know something! She is very good at losing the baby fat after Trig was born. She could do Jennie Craig ads!

Sorry, I digress.

Please VOTE!!!!!!!

Thanks everyone...I will get back to art after this, OK?

The painting above is "Pillars" by Joyce Owens and is about the people of my grandmother's era and earlier, who could not vote in the south. My grandmother and mother emphasized that we MUST vote and told us all the stories about how folks sacrificed to ensure we had the right.

For Love or Money?

So what would you do for love, and is that different than what you would do for money?

I don't think we should have to make  choice. If you do something you love (like art) you should still get paid for it, as do doctors and lawyers and university presidents, etc. There are many lucrative  professions that are also creative. Forbes just listed their top money-making DEAD people.

The professional artists I know have figured out they want to get paid for their work.

What about students? 

Do you think students should sell their work while they are in the process of learning? I am torn. As a student I was so busy trying to figure things out I had very little, well let's say, no interest in selling my work.  (I sold the drawing at left to a friend only a couple of years ago, and she caught me off-guard!)

I was tapped by a publisher to do some illustrations for a book and got paid. But I worked for my money since I was old enough to babysit.  I had a art supply store job for most of the undergrad years and was a weekly consultant at a school in grad school.

I routinely turned down offers for purchases. One I still feel badly about was a mother and child piece that a woman in New Haven, who was really moved by it, wanted and I said "no".  I felt that I needed to keep my work so I could figure out what I was doing and see a continuum of my process. I was trying to find my voice.

But my reluctance aside, do you think students should or should not sell their work and WHY????

The sketches above are both my student work. I reluctantly sold the portrait sketch a few years ago.

Wait until AFTER the elections

 When  the election is done and we have our new president we will have to hunker down and work our butts off to heal the country.

I think there will always be an "us" and "them" based on weight or height, or neighborhood, or state, alma mater, interests, single versus married, young and old, etc.  I think identifying people by race is OK, too. It's just that we have distorted race to the extreme in America.

I have developed an aversion to people saying "America" instead of The United States of America, but some topics call for it because the same people who prefer to call the United States of America, "America" are the people who luxuriate in racism and call the other party the "Democrat" party (instead of Democratic party).

This racist nonsense just misses the boat and is based on air, based on the need to keep separate poor white people from poor "others", specifically blacks, and make the  former somehow feel better because, at least, they're white!

I know I am not all African. Most African Americans are NOT. 

So who can be sure they are ALL white? Or only English and French, for example? If most black people have white ancestors, wouldn't you think it would work both ways? How many white people have black ancestry? Or Native American? In America we know the races mixed quite a bit. Well, a lot of black female slaves were raped.

And, besides that, man did originate  from Africa (click to read a National Geographic article)!!! Maybe the skinheads (neo-nazis) don't know about that.

Get over it, please.  People are people. Race is like hair or eye color, different is not inherently  good nor is it automatically bad! But it sure looks bad when people behave the way they have during this election.  This melting pot country, composed of people escaping persecution  and religious discrimination in their native European countries have evolved to become the racists of the new world. We may not  export many goods, but we have managed to export racial hatred around the globe.

Now is our chance to redeem our nation's reputation. We can chastise the folks who jumped on board when that silly McCain worker accused a "black man " of carving a mirror-image "B" in her cheek.  What an  idiot; she didn't think to write the "B" (for Barack) forward the way the attacker would have! 

 

Hey, and maybe Barbara Walters will throw that other idiot, Elizabeth, off "The View" bus so she can devote herself full time to the mavericky, rogue-ie-ness of Sarah not-a-diva, liar, absentee mother, hockey-curse Palin.  Palin seems to be losing most of her following so Elizabeth can be her BFF, and maybe godmother to the 17 year old's baby.

Obama will have a very tough job. If we come together as a country and support his programs and give him the opportunity and the time to repair 8 bad years, we have  a chance to not be the fall of the Roman Empire redux!

Obama photo above was taken by my husband, Monroe Anderson, in New Hampshire.

Artists at Work: Think it, Make it, Critique it, Promote it, Show it, Sell it.

As we near the end of this year's annual Chicago Artists Month  I have tried to see as many exhibitions as possible, and there were, and still are some great ones to be seen... The card below is for Chicago State University's Chicago Artists Month program and Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, in the President's Gallery.

I think back to 2001 when I was invited to join the Chicago Artists Month Advisory Committee.
I was gung-ho!
One of the first tasks the committee addressed was coming up with a theme for the month of artists exhibitions, discussions, tours, demonstrations, and more.
I really wanted to promote the idea that artists WORK, just as other professionals do. "Artists at Work" was what I proposed, but I thought it might get flushed out and made fancier.  It didn't. And that title has been used for Artists at Work forums convened by The Department of Cultural Affairs for artists since then.

I had hoped that exploring this theme would help to debunk some of the mysteries around art making, and also challenge artists and others to accept that it takes hard labor, physical and mental, to produce art, and is not an easy path for most of us.

I had hoped, too, the label of "work" would translate into the phrase "work for pay".

Professional artists are often asked to give away art for free, but if making art is work, shouldn't we always get paid?

Those who request the free art should really start to understand that you get better art when the artist shares in the profits, not because we don't want to support the cause but, simply because an artist cannot afford  to give away their income.

So, here I go again, describing what artists do, because I know most people love art and want to know more about  artists.

Artists think art:

It takes thought, introspection, experience  to find ideas and then figure out how to execute them.

I found this great list on Art Junction.  Yeah, we are different. We all knew that from when we were little kids. My grandmother thought I was weird!

Learning to think like an artist means:

• looking at things more closely than most people do.
• finding beauty in everyday things and situations.
• making new connections between different things and ideas.
• going beyond ordinary ways of thinking and doing things.
• looking at things in different ways in order to generate new perspectives.
• taking risks and exposing yourself to possible failure.
• arranging things in new and interesting ways.
• working hard and at the edge of your potential.
• persisting where others may give up.
• concentrating your effort and attention for long periods of time.
• dreaming and fantasizing about things.
• using old ideas to create new ideas and ways of seeing things.
• doing something simply because it's interesting and personally challenging to do.

Above: "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin, 1879-1889, Bronze.

Everyone has not been exposed to artists, and been to an artists home or studio.  My quote lately has been, "My art has eaten my house!". I have my work and other artists work everywhere and then there are books and magazine and more...people who like art love it. People who prefer conventional order are probably aghast!

Artists make art:
It's not only a gift from God, inherited from your uncle or mother; it takes HARD labor, aka practice and consistency, to develop abilities.

I am  really tired of hearing about  artist's "gifts", when it denies the other attributes.

Artists make art:
And artists then have to decide what materials will express their ideas best. 

Image left: from Kyle Anderson's sketch book. My son learned to draw by drawing.

Artists make art:
Well, some don't make it at all. Some conceptualize it through writing or drawing, perhaps photography, a fabricator may make it from a design. So artists have to plan ahead. It's not accidental. But it's still work.

Artists make art:
A separate studio is an ideal place to make art. That costs MONEY! One of the reasons artists need to be paid. (If you like it enough to ask for it for free, you should like it enough to pay for it!)

Artists critique art:
Some artists will say that all their work is good just because they say it is.
OK. Sometimes it is.
Some artists are NEVER self-critical?  Those artists may also believe their gift from God requires no additional work (studying, reading, learning how to use materials, etc.).

 

Collectors are educating themselves.  They can also ask someone else, who knows what they are talking about, who has seen lots of art, to confirm their choices, but make sure the person you ask knows what they  claim to know.

I feel the need to name some qualified folks; there are many in reputable galleries, museums, art centers, and universities; if you want names of art dealers, collectors, curators, and art historians, etc. please comment or email me.

Please comparison shop, just like you would for that designer bag or sports car. If you love it, you love it...I can't deny that feeling. But please don't fall for used car salesman tactics from folks that you would rebuff in any other forum.

Artists promote, exhibit and sell art:
Not only do artists make the art, they often have to promote it, and find a way to show it.  If you are very lucky you may be an artist who has gallery representation. If you are extremely lucky your gallery uses some of the 50% commission they get when they sell your work to help expose your work to new collectors, to important curators, place your work in important art fairs and include your art AND your name in promotional materials the gallery sends out.

Please check the links. Try to get to Chicago Artists Month events next week. It could take you mind off the election for a second!

Survivor Spirits by Joyce Owens, above, are at the Veeck Gallery in the Catholic Theological Union on 5416 S. Cornell opening November 13, 2008.

ARTISTS FOR PRESIDENT!!!!

Actors, athletes, journalists and even former beauty queens are feeling qualified to run for public office.

And have been for years.

They are good speakers. They can remember lines they are fed. They can appear sincere.

We used to expect our political  leaders would have gone to law school, studied political science or languages, maybe history or sociology; geology was Colin Powell's  major. We seem  to have gotten used to the actors, such as Ronald Reagan, Arnold (aka Conan the Barbarian) Schwarzenegger, and Cher's husband,  Sonny Bono in public office.  Clint Eastwood, a brilliant movie director, was also compelled to run for elected office and won.  For a list click here.

(This guy presumes that some of these folks, including artists, are also crazy!)

Crazy never stopped anyone...depends on HOW crazy!

I say: Where are the visual artists-politicians?

The most creative thinkers in the  world  spend their time making visual statements. We all write about our work. We are generally, very passionate about our beliefs!

Many of us have college educations. I went to schools that have produced presidents and  Supreme Court justices!

Artists use the other side of the brain that a lot of non-artists seem to use less. I say artists need to step up and start serving  the country, state, county, city or neighborhood by holding elected office!

We artists have always been the ones to spread political news through our paintings,  murals,  posters and  cartoons.  We protest wars, as you see on left. We recognize and protest the bad behavior of the folks running things in our city halls, governor's mansions and the White House.  We are interested in foreign issues, too!

I think it's time we held political office!

Right?

Artists LOVE Barack Obama!

Have you made Barack Obama art?

Maybe you have done art around George Bush.

I have done both. Around "W" I created a panel for the Peace Tower Project at the Chicago Cultural Center by Mark Di Suvero (Click on "Peace Tower" link above).

I have been making what I call Peace Masks  for a number of years since the Iraqui war began, and I have a couple of  sketches and a painting of Obama that I can't seem to get finished.

My son, Kyle Anderson,  did  a Barack...(left).

Chicagoan Lowell Thompson continues to display his Barack Obama.

Dreams Can Come True

He took it into McCormick Place  for a guerrilla show this summer and has had a show at the South Side Community Art Center along with numerous other artists, and at Neleh Gallery in Chicago.

Dawoud Bey's Obama portrait has also been a fund raising tool.

I think we haven't been inspired to create art around a political figure on this scale and with this amount of reverence, since J.F.K. and Martin  Luther King.

Artist, Patricia Stewart sent this Obama art:

I guess I'd better finish mine.

What do you think of all the Obama art?

Liberal artists and the Mythology of the open mind:

I was surprised, not shocked, while reading a discussion about race on www.FineArtAmerica.com.

Among the 45-plus comments was this one:

I read that 95% of black voters were going to vote for Obama, whereas whites were much more evenly divided between the candidates. All things being equal, it seems to me that black voters would be divided as evenly as whites, unless they were voting for Obama because he is black. If blacks are voting for Obama because he is black, isn't it the case that they are not voting for McCain because he is white? Consequently, if blacks vote for Obama because he is black, why can't whites vote for McCain because he is white? Also, it shows that racism is not confined to whites; it is rampant in both the black and the white communities.

Why was I surprised? Because I, like many other people, maintain delusions about ALL artists. I think artists will be liberal and generous and fair and kind and honest. Most of the comments were liberal and support Barack Obama. But there was an underlying reality in the anecdote that started the conversation and in some of the responses.

Judith Roth, on the other hand (see her work below) a friend, liberal, an arts advocate and all-around classy woman, who is always winning prizes when she shows at the Chicago Cultural Center, among other venues sent me a note responding to the blog post about Berenice Abbott; that got me back on race AGAIN!

My question is WHY does it matter if anyone is black or white? I mean really?? Please stop and think. I would be so curious to read your answer.

Hi Joyce -- I love your
work, your website and your BLOG!!  So full of interest
and enthusiasm for all you are discovering and sharing with everyone!
Thank you for letting me (us) know of Preston Jackson's show and this gallery
he is showing in -- I hadn't heard of it before and it sounds exciting!

Re: Berenice Abbott -- I knew of her pretty much along with Dorothea
Lange and all the others you had mentioned, associating her with Depression Era
photography, however, I did not realize she was Black! I think that
generally not enough is known about most of the great Black artists, of all
media, and of all our earlier art history.  I had to do a lot of personal research
to learn who was who and had to discover it like a secret garden.  More needs
to be done to bring to greater public attention the great body of work of
artists of color, especially of the past century.

Judith, like all of us, is conditioned to react to race.

BUT WHY are we STILL having this knee-jerk reaction when classifying people?

How different do we think we are from each other because of some minor characteristics in our physical appearance?

To paraphrase one of the artists on Fine Art America, we are all from the human race...when asked about race I'll check "yes".

The website is free for artists. Think about uploading your work here.

pilsen open studios

Philippe Gibson is one of the many artists featured in this weekends Pilsen  Open Studios. Check out the website for more information. Philippe  sent this:

The space where I will be featured :

OX ALA Fine Arts

1653 W. 18Th St

312-850-1655

Friday: 5 - 10 pm

Saturday & Sunday: 12 - 8pm

oxala1653@sbcglobal.net

 

 

New York photographer Berenice Abbott is news to me.

Bernice or Berenice Abbott is a photographer Michael Wasniowski commented on last June 17 , 2008  as a favorite of his when I was complaining about the lack  of representation of African American and other artists in museums, books, etc. on an earlier post. I did not know her so I decided to find out about her, (just got around to it), and share some of what I found with you.

She was a lesbian photographer who championed "straight photography" ! That, in itself, is  pretty  interesting.

She was thoughtful and, as a photographer quite good.  Here is a wonderful quote:

February 1940: the magazine Popular Photography asks Berenice Abbott to name her "favorite picture." Her response:      

"Suppose we took a thousand negatives and made a gigantic montage: a   myriad-faceted picture containing the elegances, the squalor, the curiosities,         the monuments, the sad faces, the triumphant faces, the power, the irony, the strength, the decay, the past, the present, the future of a city –  that would be my favorite picture."   

She kinda does that in the photo below...

Click to read more and see more of photos.

The one above and the elegant and amazing photo below are both from the New York  Public Library. This is not Photoshop or In Design. This is the hard work of finding the  subject in tact, and capturing it at the right moment and then developing the film to the satisfaction and imagination of the artist who shot it. 

 Berenice Abbott: CHANGING NEW YORK 1935-1938

 

Once you take a look at the links and learn about her you may wonder why she isn't better known like Alfred Steiglitz, Roy DeCarava, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, James Van der Zee,  and Gordon Parks to name a few well known  photographers. 

Chicago Printmakers Collaborative FREE

Chicago Printmakers Collaborative
Upcoming News & Events
  October 2008

The Art of Democracy

Part of a nation-wide series of printmaking exhibitions
organized by the New York Society of Etchers

continuing through November 1, 2008

The CPC's "The Art of Democracy" is part of a network of
exhibitions and events that are taking place in Chicago,
San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, New York, Atlanta,
and other cities across the U.S. The printmaking medium
has historically proven itself as a prime democratic
broadcaster of artistic and political vision.
Join us as we work to amplify the artistic
voices willing to speak out in these dangerous times.

Gallery hours are Wednesdays and Saturdays,
12-5 and by appointment

Exhibiting artists:                  
Alex Chitty
Misha Goro
Carrie Iverson
Deborah Maris Lader
Artemio Rodriguez                         
Shira Soskel
Megan Sterling
Kyra Termini   
with a special showing of posters made by Misha Goro's
students at the American Academy of Art.
Posters from print artists across the nation will also be on display.

for more info, also see www.artofdemocracy.org

Fall Classes at the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative
Are FULL! stay tuned for upcoming info on winter/spring offerings...

Educating the masses on the fine art of printmaking for over 19 years!

Also Available:
Private and Semi-private classes in
Screenprinting, Lithography, Etching, Relief, Monotype, and more!
Monthly PRESS TIME with key access for experienced, professional printmakers

email us at
info@chicagoprintmakers.com
or call 773-293-2070.

The CPC is located in Lincoln Square,
at 4642 N. Western Avenue., just across the street from
the Brown Line el stop, on the west side of the street,
between Wilson and Leland.

Check us out on the web:
www.chicagoprintmakers.com

"Say Hello to Yourself" (above) oil, drawing, photography on board
24 x 25 cm, by Deborah Maris Lader, Director of the Printmakers Collaborative

  To purchase please call the CPC at 773.293.2070. 

Juarez Hawkins and Dalton Brown at Floyd Atkins

SUMPIN' COOKIN'

An Exhibition of works by Dalton Brown and Juarez Hawkins 

(image left by Juarez Hawkins)

If you missed this exhibition yesterday there are 2 more days to visit; there is parking in this area...you may have to drive around a little, but it's not too bad)

Join Dalton Brown and Juarez Hawkins as they make visual gumbo, throwing their talents and collective experience into the creative pot. Bring your appetites—they’re cooking up food for thought!

Artist’s Reception: October 11, 2008, 6–10 pm

Gallery Talk: October, 17, 2008, 6–10 pm
Closing Reception: November 7, 2008, 6–10 pm

Floyd Atkins’ Underground Studio
2215 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor   
Chicago, IL

For a sneak peek at the work:
www.myspace.com/juareztheartist
www.geocities.com/juarezhawkins

See more of our work online:
www.artbarge.com
www.daltonbrownart.com
www.artmajeur.com/floydatkins

See our work at the Hyde Park Art Center!
Not Just Another Pretty Face Exhibition
Oct 18, 2008 – Jan 11, 2009
www.hydeparkart.org

Sumpin’Cookin’ and Floyd Atkins’ Underground Studio are part of Chicago Artists Month, the thirteenth annual celebration of Chicago’s vibrant visual art communitySara Lee Foundation. For more information, call 312/744-6630 or visit www.chicagoartistsmonth.org.                                                           organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and is made possible through the Presenting Sponsorship of 3Arts and the Lead Sponsorship of the

Preston Jackson, October 11 at Maison Rouge,Chicago

                          

 

Preston Jackson 

                                 Bronze Sculptures from the series

                                                       "Fresh from Julianne's Garden"

                                               Reception

                            Saturday October 11th 5pm - 10pm

 

Maison Rouge gallery - 2828 North Clark Street - Century Shopping Centre - Chicago Illinois 60657

P: 773.472.3421

E:  maisonrouge@sbcglobal.net      
W: www.maisonrouge.net

   
This  man is fabulous! Pleasevisit this exhibition and support this treasure who is a professor, a supporter of other artists and a genius painter and sculptor. He and his wife will be present at the reception.

"I Shall Create" at the Hyde Park Art Center

"I Shall Create"
with Chicago-based artists Toufic El Rassi, Coya Paz, and Dan S. Wang

Tuesday, October 14, 6:00-8:00 pm
Hyde Park Art Center
5020 South Cornell Avenue
Chicago

From the TimeOut Chicago listing:

Description

AREA Chicago editor Daniel Tucker moderates this panel with Toufic El Rassi, an artist and graphic novelist; Teatro Luna cofounder Coya Paz; and Dan S. Wang, cofounder of Mess Hall. The speakers will discuss their work and the role of the arts in social and political change. Reservations are recommended. For more information, call 312-422-5580 or visit prairie.org/publicsquare.

When: Tue 6pm–8pm              .    

This program is free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended
and can be made online, by e-mail at events@prairie.org, or at 312.422.5580.

Join us this evening to explore the intersection of art and struggle with
three amazing Chicago artists: Toufic El Rassi, Coya Paz, and Dan S. Wang.

In a conversation moderated by Daniel Tucker, editor of AREA Chicago, these artists will discuss their creative work and how to use the arts to
create and imagine a more just world.

Using the graphic novel as his medium, Lebanon-born
Toufic El Rassi chronicles his experience growing up Arab in America with his recently released book Arab in America.

Coya Paz 

co-founder of Teatro Luna (Chicago's all-Latina theater company), believes in making performance that makes people laugh, think and cry all in the same show.

Dan S. Wang is an independent artist and writer who co-founded the experimental cultural space Mess Hall, coordinates HPAC's Talking Points series, and designed the Looking for Democracy postcard.

Daniel Tucker, a Chicago organizer who focuses primarily on urban places and space, writes and lectures about the intersections of art, politics and social movements.

They will also celebrate the "Looking for Democracy Postcard Project" on
display at Hyde Park Art Center, featuring burning questions of the day,
submitted by community members.

This program is co-sponsored by The Public Square, Neighborhood Writing
Alliance, dropping knowledge international, Egan Urban Center at DePaul
University and Hyde Park Art Center. Thank you to the Civic Knowledge
Project for their support in making this program possible.

Boy Breaking Glass
by Gwendolyn Brooks

Whose broken window is a cry of art
(success, that winks aware
as elegance, as a treasonable faith)
is raw: is sonic: is old-eyed première.
Our beautiful flaw and terrible ornament.
Our barbarous and metal little man.

"I shall create! If not a note, a hole.
If not an overture, a desecration."

Full of pepper and light
and Salt and night and cargoes.

"Don't go down the plank
if you see there's no extension.
Each to his grief, each to
his loneliness and fidgety revenge.
Nobody knew where I was and now I am no longer there."

The only sanity is a cup of tea.
The music is in minors.

Each one other
is having different weather.

"It was you, it was you who threw away my name!
And this is everything I have for me."

Who has not Congress, lobster, love, luau,
the Regency Room, the Statue of Liberty,
runs. A sloppy amalgamation.
A mistake.
A cliff.
A hymn, a snare, and an exceeding sun.

Chicago Artists Coalition Art Open and Prompt!

Besides the other events during Chicago Artists Month, the CAC has launched a new magazine called Prompt!

Olga Stefan, executive director of the Chicago Artists Coalition, Prompt editor, Jeremy  Biles and the rest of the staff did a great job addressing some issues on the minds of Chicago and other artists. You can get a free copy when you attend the Art Open at the Merchadise Mart until October 19. I am in an article in the Translations section called "Defining the Black Artist Today" by Dawoud Bey and Patric McCoy.

I am in the Art Open, too. My piece represents the South Side Community Art Center and is on this page.

Artists for Barack Obama: Fundraiser and Fun

Obamathon Salon: A Progressive Fundraiser

This event takes place "Baracktober 12!

And looks like fun while  it serves a great purpose. Click on the above to see details...

ALL proceeds will go to the Barack Obama-Joe Biden Democratic bid for the presidency of the USA.

I love that it is a "progressive" event...
we sure need progressive solutions to the quagmire the United States is in!

(forgive me for stating the obvious!)

Please take a look at the events and go if  you can.

Thanks to Dan Wang.

Chicago Artists Month...Juarez, Dalton and Cousandra

Chicago Artists Month is so fabulous. It is amazing the commitment this city has made to art. My  son was a Gallery 37 kid, working with the renown Calvin  Jones to paint a mural! Kyle Anderson's  drawing is seen below (he's my other son, now taking his first college drawing class; the drawing below was produced a couple of years  ago.)

This is a great city for art and artists.
I am really enjoying posting these shows. The Chicago Artists Month website has more listings, so check it out, too. Did I tell you I am on the Advisory Committee?
I am also excited because I have work going to Liberia tomorrow.  So that makes me an  international artist, right? I have prospects for another international exposure.




Will let you know. (the painting below, left, is going along with one other.)



SUMPIN' COOKIN'

An Exhibition of works by Dalton Brown and Juarez Hawkins

Join Dalton Brown and Juarez Hawkins as they make visual gumbo, throwing their talents and collective experience into the creative pot. Bring your appetites—they’re cooking up food for thought!

Artist’s Reception: October 11, 2008, 6–10 pm
Gallery Talk: October, 17, 2008, 6–10 pm
Closing Reception: November 7, 2008, 6–10 pm

Floyd Atkins’ Underground Studio
2215 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor   
Chicago, IL

For a sneak peek at the work:
www.myspace.com/juareztheartist
www.geocities.com/juarezhawkins

See more of our work online:
www.artbarge.com
www.daltonbrownart.com
www.artmajeur.com/floydatkins

See our work at the Hyde Park Art Center!
Not Just Another Pretty Face Exhibition
Oct 18, 2008 – Jan 11, 2009
www.hydeparkart.org

Sumpin’Cookin’ and Floyd Atkins’ Underground Studio are part of Chicago Artists Month, the thirteenth annual celebration of Chicago’s vibrant visual art community organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and is made possible through the Presenting Sponsorship of 3Arts and the Lead Sponsorship of the Sara Lee Foundation. For more information, call 312/744-6630 or visit www.chicagoartistsmonth.org.

                                                       
ReplyReply All

                                                           
Here is an email from  Cousandra Armstrong about her show:
Try to view this special showing of art at  4556 s. Emerald at Emerald House.
The theme is "A CALL FOR EQUITY", an exhibition showing the inequities of People of Color and the abuses, hunger, unemployment, homelessness, lack  of healthcare, violence,  etc.  It is put on by the women out of the group Creative Artists Association.  Open on Saturdays only.  October 4, 11, 18, and the 25th. from 1 until 5.    For more information call 773 924 3505.

There is beauty all around us,

it provides peace and tranquility .

It is on loan and we must take care of it..........

COUSANDRA

Left above image is "Always"  by Joyce Owens (and is on the way to Liberia.)
Right is Juarez Hawkins "Nappy Headed Manifesto"

Chicago Artists Month Collector's Tour

The Diasporal Rhythms Collectors group opens their individual private spaces for a regular tour of their extensive collections. This group of  people, who are educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and extraordinary art lovers are committed to supporting Chicago-based LIVING  artists, especially African American artists, but they don't discriminate against other ethnic groups. They are dedicated to supporting artists and have demonstrated their interest in many ways.  Each year they select 5 artists to honor. (I was honored.)  Below are this year's batch of artists whose art you can see if you take the tour! Click on image to enlarge:

Chicago Artists Month...MORE comics: Black Age of Comics

"The Blacker The Hero"group exhibition and lecture by Turtel Onli will open Oct. 10th at the African American Cultural Center at UIC. 5pm to 8pm. 820 South Halsted, ADDAMS HALL. The show will last the entire month and feature a variety of illustrations from the Black Age of Comics Movement. This is part of this year's annual "BLACK AGE XI" event. www.dablackage.blogspot.com.

The works of Ashley A. Woods, Turtel Onli, and many other Black Age greats is in the "Out Of Sequence" exhibition at the Krannert Museum in Champaign-Urbana opening Oct.24th and running until Jan. 4th. It will show a variety of under represented works in the field of sequential art and illustration. Woods along with a few others will travel to Japan in Novemeber representing the show. The entire show will travel to Denver after its current run.

Other artists in the Krannert exhibition:
Artists: Ben Alcantara, Dawud Anyabwile, Ryan Armand, Gus Arriola, Kyle Baker, Alison Bechdel, Dale Beran and David Hellman, Ray Billingsley, Bentley Boyd, Mark Staff Brandl, Nell Brinkley, Dawn Brown, Marjorie Henderson Buell, Elmer Simms Campbell, Stanford Carpenter, Denys Cowan, Jenny Craft, Phonzie Davis, Christa Donner, Colleen Doran, Grace Drayton, Kris Dresen, Edwina Dumm, Brummett Echohawk, Donovan Foote, Shaenon Garrity, Nicholas Gurewitch, Oliver Harrington, Ethel Hays, Shepherd Hendrix, Leilani Hickerson, C. Hill, Raye Horne, Tom Hunt, Phil Jimenez, Ryan Kelly, Keith Knight, Mshindo Kuumba I, Hope Larson, Jenn Manley Lee, Jim Mahfood, Scott McCloud, Dylan Meconis, Dale Messick, Eric Millikin, Tarpe Mills, Andrei Molotiu, Brian Moore, Danica Novgorodoff, Rose O'Neill, Turtel Onli, Jackie Ormes, Ken Patterson, Mikhaela Reid, Trina Robbins, Stan Sakai, Richard Santiago, Melody Shickley, C. Spike Trotman, Ann Telnaes, Hilda Terry, Dann Tincher, Lance Tooks, Tak Toyoshima, Drew Weing, Brian Wood, Masheka Wood, Ashley Woods, Larry Yang, and Lev Yilmaz. 

Chicago Artists Month ROCKS!!!!!

BLACK AGE FOREVER!!!!

(Thanks, Turtel!)

Chicago Artists Month and BEYOND....postings

Artist Wesley Kimler, aka "The Shark," in conjunction with the other members of the Sharkpack, will begin presenting art exhibitions and events on a semi-regular basis within his vast studio space, which will also soon have a radical expansion. Thus it is now officially designated THE SHARKPIT.The first event is an "apero and Vernissage" (to use European words), that is an opening and display of smaller works by the EuroShark Mark Staff Brandl on THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 from 7:30 pm on (see below or here), presented as an addendum to his Krannert Art Museum installation. A preview of Kimler's huge recent paintings will also be visible. Infollowing months a complete exhibition of these works will occur. Stay tuned!

International artist Mark Staff  Brandl, a Chicago  native now living in Zurich, will be showing in Chicago and, downstate, at the University of Illinois. These are great opportunities to see his work inspired by   many ideas including comic books!

Try to fit one of these shows into your jam-packed month, OK?

From Mark:
An invitation, or two. SHARKPIT and KRANNERT ART MUSEUM.

I will be in the US in October and would love to see you — and show you work.

The dates and contact info: 
I will be in Chicago fromMonday October 13^th through morning of Friday October 17^th. There will be an OPENING (vernissage, apero)

THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 from 7:30 – 11:00 pm (or so)

 and a small SHOW of smaller works at the
SHARKPIT
Wesley Kimler's Studio
2046 W. Carroll
Chicago, IL USA 60612ark phone phone: 312 942-9078 

YOU ARE INVITED!

After that, I will be in Champaign, Illinois from Friday October 17^th through the morning of Saturday October 25^th, that day pm I will fly home to Zurich.
I will be installing a very large painting-installation in

KRANNERT ART MUSEUM
500 E. Peabody Dr.
Champaign, IL  61820

 

The opening for that show ("Out of Sequence") will be:

THURSDAY OCTOBER 23 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
(Wherein I will also give a "gallery conversation")

 

YOU ARE INVITED!

(Please let me know if you want to reach Mark. I have some numbers, etc.)

Check back for more listings... 

(Please  come back for more listings)

 

 

 

Chicago Artists Get Their 15 Minutes! SUBMIT your shows!!!!!

I have been trying to post about Chicago Artists Month since the Sept. 29 kick-off at the Hyde Park Art Center, but the activities have kept me so busy I  have not until now!

I will revert to a real web diary style and post  a few events at a time. Please add yours to the comments! I can  copy your info into new posts. The city has a link that lists all the  activities as well as sponsors WTTW and WFMT.

The opening event was terrific! Dawoud Bey's photography show, that he curated,was still up as well as the Dale Washington show presenting his varied styles of portraiture from line drawing to impressionistic representation through abstract expressionism using every medium you can imagine.

Theastor Gates, ceramic artist and sculptor, performed with a group called the Black Monks of Mississippi. (Click on the link to see the guys...I think one of the monks was passing...) They were phenomenal AND ironic, and could really sing! 

The  food was great,  too! And, of  course, Eva Silverman and Cynthia Quick and the other WONDERFUL and hardworking Department  of Cultural Affairs crew were at their charming best (as always)!

Every October, for the  past  13 years, Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs promotes artists residing in Chicago. This began through the Chicago Artists' Coalition who held, and still do, The CAC Art Open, a first-come, first-served non-juried art exhibition that has evolved over time to  have curator choices, emerging artists sections, students and professional artists showcased. I am in a new category where I was nominated by an organization, The South Side Community Art Center. Diane Dinkins Carr, her fabulous board and Faheem Majeed, the exec. director are really adding to the brand of this WPA art center!

But the CAC is only the beginning.  (Below is "Woman in Tied Blouse" in the Merchandise Mart at the CAC show)

October is now like Black History Month is for African American  artists. The joke is that every black artist can get a show  in February. Well, every artist I know has a show for October and we are all running around trying to figure out how to get to everything.

So here are my first 3:

October 3,  Griffin Gallery, "Legacies"
October 3, Gallery Guichard, group show.
October 3,  Chicago Artists  Coalition's Art Open

The CAC  launched their new art publication called"Prompt".  My work is featured in an  article, "Defining the Black Artist Today" written as a conversation  between  preeminent Chicago-based photographer Dawoud Bey and president of Diasporal Rhythms, prominent art collector and arts advocate, Patric McCoy .

"Survivor Spirits in Black and White" group is featured in the first issue of "Prompt".

The amazing artist, Preston Jackson will be at Maison Rouge
Maison Rouge Gallery

Reception, Saturday October 11th
5pm - 10pm

2828 North Clark Street

Century Shopping Centre - Chicago Illinois, 60657

P: 773.472.3421 E:

maisonrouge@sbcglobal.net W: www.maisonrouge.net

NI'JA Whitson has sent a flier for her exhibition the at  South Side Community Art Center. (please click on either image to enlarge).

 

Collectors, Where oh where are you?

It's just too easy to select famous artists for a collection !

Richard Mayhew, Philip Pearlstein, Jean Michel Basquiat, Lucian Freud, Jeff Koons, Georgia O'Keeffe,  Damien Hirst,  Richard Hunt,   Kara Walker, Judy Pfaff, Gordon Parks, Elizabeth Catlett, Faith Ringgold, Ed Paschke, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Murray,   Kerry James Marshall, Geraldine McCullough, Walker Evans, William H. Johnson, Henry O. Tanner, Joshua Johnston, Mary Cassatt, Glenn Ligon, Martin Puryear, Edmonia Lewis, and many other gold seal artists are easy choices, if you have the money.

I have a few in my collection, but I purchased a student work recently. And have purchased art by emerging artists and artists whose work I like regardless of their exhibition history, degrees, or critical   reviews. Thank goodness the same has been done for me.

Members of the three year old Chicago collectors organization, Diasporal Rhythms, have buoyed many local and national artists under the leadership of Daniel T.  Parker and Patric McCoy.

Here are the really rich collectors. Forbes has a list. Take a look at this mind-boggling read.

What collectors, of any stripe, can artists hope to attract? Remember when Brad Pitt purchased a piece of high school student work from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago? That's lucky! Not that Brad Pitt or any other celebrity should make a difference, but the idea is that they can buy any thing they choose and have traveled and experienced a  lot of work so they may have an experienced eye for art.

I have been added to some very good collections,  too many to enumerate, but I would love to be in more.  I went to a talk by some well-known collectors at a museum on the southside of Chicago. I had seen them on CBS Sunday Morning. I had also heard my uncle's name (Jack T. Franklin) mentioned as a premier photographer on CBS Sunday Morning when he was in an exhibition at  the Smithsonian. So I was not intimidated by these collectors that I went to hear speak when they visited  Chicago.

As I listened to them and saw the representative  works in their collection I became very aware that these were collectors who were following the crowd, purchasing already well-established artists. When I asked them how one got seen by them, you know,   I would really love for you to see my work, kinda thing,  I was told if I had to ask then it wasn't for me.

I took that to mean one of two things:

1. I should just forget about being added to their collection since I am not  Henry O. Tanner,  Joshua Johnston, Elizabeth Catlett or Johnathan Green.

2. They were not  interested in work by anyone not on the usual list.

(The catch-22 operates. )

Should we care what collections we are in?

If we do care, what can we do to raise our visibility?

Besides  exhibiting...

I can see that associations with other artists makes a difference and increases visibility. The Spiral Group, The Hairy Who and Imagists, The Guerrilla Girls ,  even looking back to the Cubist collaboration between Picasso and Braque, the Impressionists who produced separate exhibitions, and in the 1960's the AfriCobra artists.

Should the artists in Chicago create a NEW art style?  Pass-it-on art could be fun. Like that game  where you whisper  down the line and see what you get at the end. One artist could start a piece and send it on from one artist to the next to see what ends up. The last artists signs the piece.  If 20 works start and end up  with one of 20 artists then each artist would complete one piece for a group exhibition.  A new kind of collaboration and a challenge to creativity as well as a statement on  cooperation,  something we are desperate  for locally, nationally and globally. 

What about a top ten list of things artists should do to get their name out there?

Anni Holm, a Chicago-based performance artist literally had people (I was one who volunteered standing in front of Macy's) hold up signs with her name on it to "get her name out there".

I have work to do so I am ending this one, but while I work, can you send out some answers, some anecdotes, some other questions???

The photo above is of artists honored by Diasporal  Rhythms at Gallery Guichard...my painting "Writers on the Roof" in the D.E. Simmons collection, is in  background.  I am 2nd from the right. Left to right, Gallery Guichard owner, Andre Guichard, Malika, Joyce Owens and Faheem Majeed, sculptor, fellow Howardite and executive director  of Chicago's South Side Community Art Center.

Bad Art is winning...this is scarier than politics!

I wrote about the Museum of Bad  Art before. 
Though it seems like a bad joke, the  issue still looms:  "what is bad art"? Or better "What is  GOOD art"?

Is there anyone out there brave enough to tackle this question and name names?

Some of the work in this museum looks like works I have seen  in  galleries and museums  that show "good art".

Here is a recent story that was shown  on NPR's "Weekend America", a fairly new program that airs on Saturdays. I love  NPR  and  have   rushed to my  computer  to  see  photos   of  subjects  they  covered. That's how I found this. I missed the story when it aired, however. Thought maybe you had, too.

Art lovers in the Boston area have a lot of options for their weekend museum browsing. You've got your Museum of Fine Art, your Institute of Contemporary Art, your Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum and scads of little galleries scattered all over town. But what about bad art lovers? Well, they're in luck.

Click here to read more and see some bad art.

Come back to tell us WHAT IS BAD ART for you?????

Some may name Damien Hirst after  his $199 million dollar auction of formaldehyde, spin and dot art. Some are really hating on Jeff Koons, some obviously love him! Your fave  does not have to be rich or famous or even contemporary. Who makes art that should just go in  the trash???? I am very moved by Magdalena Abakanowicz but I have heard people looking at her installation in Grant Park in Chicago in horror (below).

Is there no such thing as bad art; is good art in the eye of the beholder?

Painting above from my "Out of the Box" series. I  hope you don't think it's BAD art.

   

If Not you, then WHO???? Artists & Self Promotion

Well, we could leave our art careers in the hands of a higher power...an art critic, reviewer, curator, juror or collector!

Most of us might have to wait awhile for those people to take notice.

Happened, famously, to Vincent Van Gogh.

Happened to Henry Darger (in his case, it was no biggie!).

Many artists have complained that it happened later than it  should.  Louise Nevelson "...recognition from the artistic community arrived eventually, though not until Nevelson was 60."  read more...) 

and Alice  Neel , born in 1900 seemed to feel she was ready for art notoriety earlier "Neel   painted in virtual obscurity for most of her life. To some extent   she rode the rise of the women's movement to fame in the 1970s   and '80s. She died in 1984." 

Some talented  artists never get noticed.

Maybe we have to learn from the masters: Picasso, Warhol, Koons, Christo, Whistler, Dali, Leroy Neiman, the Impressionists, that it's not just about making the art, but about self promoting the artist.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR TIME DO  YOU SPEND TOOTING YOUR OWN HORN?

Oh that is crass. Oh,  that is rude! Oh, that is self-centered! Oh,  #@!!!!, that is NOT what artists SHOULD do!!!!

OTHERS should shout your acclaim. OTHERS, like the aforementioned  art critics,writers, curators, jurors and collectors  SHOULD tell the world about your work!

Well, I admit to being a bit slow about some things. This is one.  When I was younger people would ask me if I was good (at art) I would just shrug. I knew I was pretty  good, but thought it was bad manners to say so (and I was also insecure). My mother tried to convince me I had to speak up. She said people would think I was stupid if I did not talk about my work.  And that if I did not think it was good, who would?

There is one artist I know and REALLY like a LOT! This person  sends out emails of  new work regularly so the artist is always on the minds of many folks! Presumably the art is worth seeing and aren't we lucky to get a preview.  Well we are and the artist is brilliant!

So think about making your own music about your own  art. If you don't, who will? This artist, Mark Staff Brandl  made a recent comment on this blog stating the  same encouragement.

What tips would you share for getting your work out there?
If you think artists should wait to be discovered, tell us why! We need to hear good reasons on both sides!

An important California collector told me when I asked if he and his wife would look at my website, "if you have to ask, you are not ready!" Never did understand why asking someone to look at a website is such an imposition! Other collectors I know like artists to let them know, first, when they are working on a new body of work.

What to do or not to do about self promotion?  Is it a yes! or a no!

To read newspaper review above please CLICK the article

Fundraiser auctions: promotion for artists?

How many times have you been asked to donate work to a not-for-profit annual gala and auction?

I personally cannot count them.

How many times have you been contacted AFTER  the event  because someone saw your work and wants to add a piece to their art collection?

I'd say  NEVER to that.

I have had people tell me that they really like my work in an auction; the work does sell, usually for my  established price point, but nothing else has ever happened. 

Does fine art  mix with spa and travel?

I am fed up with donating one-of-a-kind art to fund raisers that position the art on a table next to a spa weekend from a hotel or a two round trip tickets to Las Vegas package or a trip to London! (Art needs to be displayed well, also!) The art work may sell into the hundreds but the Vegas trip makes $1,000.00. The London trip goes for $5,000.00 and some other artist's work doesn't make the $50.00 opening bid!

The work is undervalued and  you  don't even get a portion of the sale.

So this is what I decided:

1. I give to charities I would give to anyway.

2. I ask for a portion of the money, if possible, to pay my expenses.

3. If I don't support the charity I won't give unless the representative has  already purchased my work.

4. If I will get a portion  of the sale price I will probably be willing to donate  a larger work that will bring in more money than a small work for the charity and for me.

Most important, I am  starting to ask if it is an art only auction.

If not,  I  regretfully decline the new requests.

If I do not honor my own work, who will?

"Young Lois" (above) a tribute to Lois Mailou Jones, by Joyce Owens was in a gallery auction and sold at 4 times the opening bid.

Maybe Rich is BAD for artists!

Rich artists may lose their creative edge...!

I was looking for some information and came across this intriguing
Jonathan Jones 2006 article about RICH ARTISTS and  how they displayed or concealed their  wealth, and whether their wealth comes through their work, good or bad:

Here's an  excerpt:

Dalí and Warhol both lost the spark of brilliance as money became central to their lives. At least in Warhol's case there was a pertinence, even a kind of martyrdom, to his immersion in the dollar sign, the ultimate Pop icon. When you become as rich as this, being as rich as this becomes your story. If you don't make art about being a multimillionaire, you are being dishonest. If you do, you can hardly claim the universality of great art.

Please click here to read the entire article.

And add your comments about being rich. Or anything else!