Joyce Owens: Artist On Art

Does "Bad" Behavior Help Artists Have Good Careers??

From the very beginning, as an art student, I had been told about the obstacles artists had to overcome to make their art. My mother insisted that I study art education if I wanted to major in art in college...I changed later when it became a choice between me completing my degree and dropping out. I found out that I could major in Painting!!!  I quizzed my professor asking what I could do to make a living with a degree in Painting!  I was sane and focused and from my experience there would be more than one obstacle to me making a living as an artist.  The art history books explained the physical and mental issues artists had to manage. The poverty they faced without outside support meant a lack of materials, space and maybe even food and housing. The artists I read about, or my professors told me about, had difficult relationships, were reclusive, were surrounded by death, had tragic accidents leaving them impaired, and they probably  did not earn much, if any, money. They were drunk, high or crazy! and relied on the whims of patrons, gallery owners, curators and collectors who could make or break their art careers! (They still can.)

"United" detail 55"h x 10.5"w, Joyce Owens

Picasso was doing pretty well until he showed people his  African art influenced Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the painting considered a seminal moment, ushering in modern art. One of his contemporaries declared he should commit suicide! Luckily collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein saw Les Demoiselles as revolutionary, if others in the contemporary art community at the time did not. But see????At the time, what he did was nuts!

"Retro-racing Picasso" series

 

"Retro-racing History: After Gainsborough" Joyce Owens

Neither this event, Picasso's infamous womanizing, etc. seemed to harm his career. As he and Georges Braque collaborated on Cubism the same gallery paid Picasso more for his work than Braque earned. 

If you can't do something crazy, being born with an affliction helps, too! I already wrote about the miniature artist who has microscopes to view his VERY pricey art. Can artists achieve monetary and critical sucess without being a carnival act like the bearded lady or the dwarf boy or the "Siamese" twins? I recently read about a young boy with autism, a serious issue, who was obsessed with making art! Well, I am, too, (obsessed with making art) as were both my sons who filled up sketchbooks and paper from the time they could hold a pencil and scribble! Kyle Anderson drawing.

They were "normal" kids, so no press for their art work. I am not saying these special people should not be noticed; I am saying other artists should be, too.

There are stories about so-called idiot savants who can't tie their shoes, but make art, or legends such as Lee Godie who hung out in front of Chicago's Art Institute selling work to those she liked for $25 or $30 dollars. I recently spoke to someone who had made one of those purchases, spending $25.00. After Godie died her works sell into the thousands at galleries such as Intuit and Carl Hammer in Chicago. 

Lee Godie left, her art, right on Art.net

So I still want to know why the "normal" artists don't get news stories and attention when they do good work, but don't act out! I make art because I love to. People say they purchase it because they feel what I put into it. According to Art Business we should all be able to make a living doing it - here's hoping you will be fine even if you don't feel like being crazy for your art!

Call for Artists: Mixed Mediums

I look for calls for artists on a regular basis. Many times it is so I can share with my students on our Facebook wall, and with artists who may be interested. Most calls require some kind of payment for entry regardless of whether you make the show. Yes, that fee is not usually returned if you are not accepted.

Every year nationwide artists apply to the annual Black Creativity juried exhibition at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. It is a show that artists across the country of African descent look forward to each year. The top prize is currently $3,000.00.

Paul Benjamin, prize winner left-Yashua Klos, right 1st Prize

In the late 90's when I won First Prize it was half that, $1500.00. No, the museum has not increased the prizes across the board, they created a larger cash prize by cutting back on the number of cash awards, now giving three and a small $250.00 award for a youth artist. For as long as I can remember the total cash awards have been $6,000.00 although the fees have increased from about $15.00 in the 1980's to, currently, $50.00.

Invitationals sometimes ask for a fee as well.  In this case, it's never quite clear what you are paying for. It's often described as a "hanging fee", but usually each artist submits one or two average to small works that could hang on a nail or rest on a pedestal. I think I would rather pay a  "curator fee " for the person putting the exhibition together. I often produce exhibitions that I don't get paid for, and think I may start charging that fee.

These open calls for art allow artists opportunities to build their resume, offer a chance to win some cash, and get a critique from a particular judge who indicates that they respond to what you submitted when they select your work. Of course there are many reasons for not getting into a show. That could include the judges preferential tastes in art (she likes abstracts) or sometimes, unfortunately, their limited knowledge...of course sometimes the work an artist submits is just bad, or the digital images submitted are bad.

OK, here's my pet peeve, and I implore everyone who posts a Call-For Art to pay attention to this. I have to search too long and arduously to find requirements and restrictions for these exhibtions.

I would like to request that all "calls-for-art" show requirements AND restrictions in the first lines of the call so we artists don't spend so much time uncovering this vital information, only to eventually find out that we don't qualify for some reason. Arts organizations, museums, galleries, art centers and artists/curators, please show the same information all good journalists include in a report:

WHO: Age, gender and race limitations, if any, whether students can submit, etc.

WHAT: include eligible media, scale, date completed limitations, fees and prizes

WHERE: include the city, state and country as well as the name of the venue. I don't know where some of these towns are.

WHEN: deadline for submissions, notification of inclusion dates, date artists should deliver or mail by, the duration of the exhibition

WHY: to showcase certain media, to honor a month such as Black History or Women's Month, etc.

Thanks!

Every minute counts!

 

 "American Landscape" 30" x 40", acrylic and paper and fabric collage on canvas is at Koehnline Museum until March 23, 2012.

"Postcards" to "Friendships" at SSCAC

I like to think about what I am doing for a while.

I am not prone to spontaneity.

I like to revise and edit.

 

This piece below is one of 4 that I created for the "Friendships" exhibition... in a very short period of time. I desperately searched for materials in my stash as I wondered how I would come up  with my own interpretation of the theme. I had done art about relationships between women friends. My work mostly centers on race and gender, not who my friends are.

"My Friend Gets Me" is part of the series I call "Friends I know and Friends I Dream Of".

 

So having two back-to-back exhibitions at the historic South Side Community Art Center between Sept. 8 and October 24, 2010 was too much, or so I thought!

The "More than Skin Deep" series (below) was produced for the Sept. exhibition called "Postcard show".

The "Postcard" exhibition stayed up for about 3 weeks, the "Friendships" show closes Oct. 24 after 2 weeks and 2 days!

 

"More Than Skin Deep" series

 Not only was new work required, I also had to submit a self portrait for the traditional opening reception auction that we skipped for the "Postcards" (5" x 7" dimensions, not actual postcards, were required).

 I heard there was to be an October show in May, at a meeting as the advisory committee worked on Chicago Artists Month. A three-month window was tight by my  standards to make new work addressing a new theme. The rules and regs, and that there were TWO shows (not one) was somewhat clarified in July, or so...In the meanwhile I had two shows to organize for my university that I had been working on for over a year and several other invitationals to produce work for, including Not Just Another Pretty Face, a commission-based exhibition going up at the Hyde Park Art Center in November. To shoot the catalog the work was due early.

This is a portrait of the collector Lisa Gaines McDonald's grandfather.

 

I am also in several other exhibitions that I had to complete new work for or submit existing work. I did new work for La Loteria at Columbia Colleges Center for Book and Paper, another new piece for Tool Box Flower Box at Jackson Junge and some existing work for Salvage One through Woman Made Gallery and a show at Connie Gillock's Vinic Wine exhibition. I showed two new works at Gallery Guichard in a competition I had not entered!

"Start Here" is canvas, Arches paper, linen fabric, acrylic paint, copper wire and coconut shell for Tool Box Flower Box at Jackson Junge Gallery curated by Kim Laurel and Fletcher Hayes.

I discovered that the pressure pushed to me think faster!

Another work in the "Friendships" show is "My Friend Has Soul" and is Billie Holiday, a singer whose singing I have always loved.  She is a friend of dream of and would not have wanted a friend who was a drug addict. If I had had more time I could have thought of a better title for the piece, but, despite strict time limits I think I managed to make an art work I am proud to have pushed myself to create!

Juried exhibitions: Pay to Play

So, you find out about a great juried exhibition. Your work is clearly meant for it.

I won Best of Show at this Chicago gallery and a solo exhibition.

My work is on the back wall. I entered because of the juror.

The juror (who will judge YOUR art) is a nationally recognized curator at a major museum. You can just see this accomplishment on your resume/bio/cv!

So you enter work that was produced within the timeframe designated, only work produced during the last 2 years or maybe 3 years is eligible. You are the age required and NOT currently enrolled in a college or university as a student and you reside whereever the exhibition requires. Could be local, regional, national or international...could be women only, could be victims of something or people with certain ideas that they are examining through their work, could be photography only or sculpture...

"My Own Eve" by Joyce Owens won a First Prize from Faith Ringgold

You learn to read the small print.

Your work can be rejected if you do not follow the guidelines. Now jpeg size is also an issue, 72 dpi, 300 dpi, size in inches and pixels needs to be adhered to and labelling is a big deal. Last name with initial, title of art, numbered, thumbnail list and on and on...I don't think there are consistent guidelines and requirements. Each time you have to resize, reformat and retitle your images for internet submission or by mail on a CD. 

If you are not technologically contemporary you may not even be abe to apply without some help.

One more thing:

After all the work and prep and following of guidelines you have to cough up some cash!

You might pay one fee for several submissions. You might pay one fee for the first entry and another fee for each additional entry.

Should you enter juried shows, and if you do, what is the money used for? These are tricky questions with a range of answers.  Especially when the galleries also take a commission on sold works. Some answers: Jurors usually get honoraria. That may come out of the fees. Cash prizes may. Not always. Receptions, print material and maybe a gift to the institution that holds the event may come out of the fees...The staff preparators and those processing paperwork and moving the art work gets paid.

But artists often ask for money when they curate exhibitions, galleries sometimes ask for hanging fees...There are all kinds of ways that monies are accrued by galleries and artists. How much do people now pay to be in the Chicago Artists Coaltion's Art Open? I know they have made it more desirable, but it is a sizable fee for a large group show (yes there are other useful benefits through membership). Co-op and artist run galleries charge fees for exhibitiors. I once won a first prize at a gallery that insisted I pay a fee to insure I would prepare the walls after the exhibition. The walls were not prepared BEFORE my show! I did them!

Recently I was included in a competition that I had not entered. The "rules" were vague and not applied to all the artists. The judges were not curators or art historians or art critics or artists.

"Life Support" by Joyce Owens, 2010 did not win at Gallery Guichard last week

Most of us will take a chance on our art and sometimes the outcome is worth the risk! I think that is what drove artists to compete on the BravoTV art show.  Just in case!

But remember, artists, you always have the option of saying 'No thanks'.

 

An Artist's Pain: Being Judged and Juried

"Survivor Spirits" (Joyce Owens) sold out (except for one) at Concordia University...

Of course selling out is no guarantee that your work is good. It means that you touched a tender spot in people's hearts, and you, perhaps, should have asked for more money for the work!

"Familiarity breeds contempt", and other dilemmas artists wrestle with are many...submitting to exhibitions may be at the top of any top 10 list of things we hate to do, but know we must! I will tell you what I know that could save you from too much pain.

Here are a few of the dilemmas:

If your work is too familiar, it is not challenging.

If your work is too unfamiliar, then it does not fit the current discourse.

If there is no continuum, a dialogue with previous artists, then your work doesn't address art history. 

If your work is non-traditional then you may be  unskilled.

If your work is highly skilled then you may be too traditional.

If you work with new media, you may have no art skills.

If you avoid technology in your work may not be contemporary.

If your work fits too well, it is trendy.

If critiqued by a person who just doesn't like your style, then your work will not interest them.

Is your head spinning?

  "Retro-racing History" series (Joyce Owens)   AFROcentric feel to portraits, after Titian, Gainsborough...

How do you know your work is good? Each person who sees it will have a different opinion colored by the viewer's personal experience and knowledge. Should you be discouraged when you:

1.never get into juried shows

2. only sometimes get into juried shows

3. when you always get into juried shows (probably not!)

Many artists produce work that gets routinely rejected by the mainstream. It has famously happened, repeatedly, to artists who are now considered world class. Van Gogh is an easy example. And then there are the artists who are here today and gone tomorrow...those artists like Georges Roualt, who is still known, but not as well as he used to be, relegated frequently to the study of Biblical art...not a bad thing. Jacques Louis David was the cat's meow and got down-sized. Here are underrated artists in an Artnews article.

With art it is a damned if you do, and damned if you don't proposition, with the possibility that if you "do" today, in 20 years, you might be a "don't", and there are multiple variations on this theme.

Possible solutions to rejection, and bad, or no reviews:

1. develop a hard shell

2. take what you can from the comments

3. believe in yourself

4. believe in your work!

5. ask somebody else

6. keep working to improve

7. find like-minded artists and see what they do

8. look at good art! (tricky, but you can trust some galleries and museums...)

Google the juror before you submit to a show

If you are submitting to juried shows there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Jurors have preferences. If you know they make abstract work or are the curator of contemporary art at a museum and you're a realist portrait painter, you may not get chosen (not a rule, but a possibility).

2. So if you research the juror, you could be prepared if you are not accepted, and happily surprised if you are.

3. Jurors don't know everything. I have been on juries where I discovered one or more of the others were not familiar with some fairly common  techniques. 

4. Take chances! You never know when you might be chosen!

5. Make sure you submit good images of your work

6. Follow entry rules and deadlines

Good luck!

American artists still face segregation...

I recently read about a gallery in Delaware that has a wonderful show up of American art.  I would love to see it, but being in Chicago I looked at the images on line. There's a lovely Mary Cassatt drawing of a mother and baby, a couple of Milton Avery's, reminding me why he had to grow on people, but when you get him, he sticks! and a variety of paintings by a variety of the Wyeth family, and much more, including Thomas Hart Benton and Georgia O'Keeffe. Many of these are my favorite artists. And I was certainly grateful that it wasn't another list of all male artists!

Georgia O'Keeffe

My issue: I keep finding books, articles and galleries that promote American art  produced by only one group of Americans. I know there are galleries that show specialized artists, African American, Haitian, Cuban, Latino, many of which also show artists of European descent. I understand a niche gallery. I don't understand saying a gallery is showing American art and then only shows a segment of American artists that seem to exclude artists on racial terms, probably without a second or even first thought about it.

Please go to the gallery website to see the work, but remember there were/are other American masters, such as Joshua Johnston, Henry O. Tanner, Edmonia Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Geraldine McCullough, Margaret Burroughs, Charles White, Faith Ringgold...not to mention all the current living artists like Kerry James Marshall, Dawoud Bey, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, and others too numerous to list! Why are these artists often excluded when mounting exhibitions featuring  American artists?

I don't see any evidence that this gallery thinks there were/are artists of color who are masters, or maybe they can't get their hands on the work. Not sure, but since this is no isolated incident, I wanted to just point it out. Wikipedia only lists Sam Gilliam and Martin Puryear, no Kerry James Marshall (MacArthur genius), Kara Walker,  Fred Wilson (Venice Bienale), Robert Colescott, Richard Hunt and on and on...Most of the time you probably don't think about who is left out, or do you?

Catlett's "Two Generations" is in my art collection.

Yale University teaches a course on American masters.

http://www.somervillemanning.com/exhibits/AmericanMasters.asp

 

ArtNet Online Inventory

101 Stone Block Row | Greenville, DE 19807 | 302.652.0271 | [email protected]
Copyright ©2009 Somerville Manning Gallery

Visiting the masterful Matisse at the Art Institute, Chicago

Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917

You are going to want to see this exhibition!

I previewed the new Art Institute of Chicago exhibition,
Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917

The exhibition is on view March 20 – Jun 20, 2010 at the museum.

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954). Bathers by a River, 1909–10, 1913, 1916–17. Oil on canvas, 260 x 392 cm (102 1/2 x 154 3/16 in.) The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1953.158. © 2010 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Matisse: Radical Invention is a go-see, must-see, bring-your-entire-family, and see it twice exhibition, in my opinion.The painting above represents one  extreme in the exhibition; the little works on paper are the other (Standing Nude , is a Matisse monotype from the MoMA collection.)

Standing Nude, Arms Folded

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954) (1915). Monotype, plate: 6 15/16 x 5 1/16" (17.6 x 12.8 cm); sheet: 14 3/4 x 11" (37.5 x 27.9 cm). Frank Crowninshield Fund. © 2010 Succession H. Matisse, Paris / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 5.1945

The Institute’s top-notch staff joined with New York’s Museum of Modern Art and other institutions to gather about120 images, including monumental and small paintings, portrait and figure sculptures, tiny monotypes, etchings, intimate drawings in ink and graphite, some on scraps of paper that Matisse (1869-1954) possibly never expected to be featured in a major show, and they are right here!

The time period, 1913-1917, coincides with war in Europe, chaotic and challenging years that must be taken into consideration in terms of world history and how the destruction in Europe coincides with the art Matisse produced in Paris during this brief period, after a trip to Morocco and before going to Nice.

The two museums, MoMA and the Art Institute were separately engaged in scientific research on Matisse’s works, notably Bathers by a River  (above) and his Back bas-reliefs, gaining additional knowledge about his practice.

MoMA Back series, bas reliefs Matisse

As a visitor to the exhibition I especially enjoyed the access to the work allowing close study of the displays. Possibly because many are under glass, there are fewer of the familiar barriers keeping viewers at arms length. I expected to trigger an alarm, or alert a guard when I peered, respectfully close, to appreciate Matisse's processes. This is an important education that only seeing, in plain view, the ghosts and shadows where he erased, changing his mind, can give us. Matisse doesn't always eliminate his reworking, perhaps they were mistakes at first, remaining as lyrical and lovely permanent passages in his work.

The museum provides an electronic presentation about Matisse’s radical innovations during this period.

Let me go back to the preview and some of the important details and credits. The museum’s director, James Cuno, invited the media to a press luncheon to launch the show. In the galleries we intermingled with museum members, possibly because the media has shrunk so much that it would neither fill the place, nor interfere much with the paying guests.

Cuno introduced the curators Stephanie D’Allessandro (Art Institute) and John Elderfield (emeritus, MoMA), named lenders and funders to the exhibition, explaining how a painting already in the Art Institute collection inspired the show. Cuno introduced other significant contributors, even the legal staff! This endeavor must have been tricky in more ways than one. Cuno remarked, "things were ferociously acquired through an intense process”.

The fight was well worth its results! If you like art, this exhibition may push you into the love art column as you bathe in the color palette of the master artist and then witness his decision to remove color, neutralizing canvasses with grays, nodding to the contemporary art thing, Cubism. Inspired by Paul Cezanne, who by the way, is represented in this major endeavor, Matisse painted Cezanne’s work.

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954). Apples, 1916. Oil on canvas, 116.9 x 88.9 cm (46 x 35 in.) The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Florene May Schoenborn and Samuel A. Marx, 1948.563. © 2010 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

You will also notice the facile line of Matisse's graphite drawings, remnants of pencil in his painting and use of sgrafitto in his large paintings. Opposite to the vigorous scraping out in the large works are the dainty monotypes, also made by scratching delicate lines on a prepared plate, then printing on paper.

Not an “accurate” drawer, clearly that was not the point,  the series of nude drawings in the show demonstrate that a confident line can take an artist a long way.

The catalog* (below) is $45.00, soft cover or $55.00 hardcover. 

The gift shop offers DVD’s for $20.00 a Matisse bag-in-a-bag in two colors for $12.50, framed and unframed reproductions, mugs and small prints.. 

For regular gallery hours, special member's hours, tickets prices, free hours, location and more, please click here: Art Institute of Chicago .

*Catalog photo credit: Alvin Langdon Coburn (British, 1882-1966). Henri Matisse painting Bathers by a River, May 13, 1913. Photograph. Courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, 1979:3924:0012.

Mickalene Thomas @ Columbia College

I met the artist, and fellow Yale graduate, Mickalene Thomas  at Columbia College Chicago.

Joyce Owens stealth photos, not wanting my flash to distract.

Dawoud Bey (above right), the photographer, has brought amazing, informative programs to the college for years, now. I was able to attend a Bearden Symposium a few years back and recently meet Deborah Willis, a MacArthur Fellow (who included my uncle Jack T. Franklin in her book on African American photographers),  and heard her and her son Hank.

I have been aware of Mickalene's work, of course. I saw examples of it at Art Chicago and was aware that Rhona Hoffman is her Chicago Gallery. And I had all kinds of ideas about Mickalene's work. It looked trashy, photography-based in a way I would tell my students is a no-no, and all that glitter and mix-mashed array of materials just freaked me out, to use a 70's term that fits her 1970' sensibility!!

Meet Qusuquzah (above). Mickalene Thomas accented this 2008 portrait of her with hundreds of rhinestones. "I'm always looking for strong, beautiful, and complex women to model for me," says Thomas. "Qusuquzah embodies the allure of glamour." Image from Unbeige Magazine.

She blew all my misgivings and criticisms out the window during her lecture. My friend Derrick Blakley called in the middle of writing this post. He and I talked a while and I eventually mentioned the lecture, and how my response to her work had changed! A veteran Chicago reporter, currently at CBS2 Chicago, he asked the reporter's question:

"Does it make the work better ?"

"Well yes", I answered, thinking "great question"!

He continued by asking how the back-story makes a difference. I have added my quick response here. Examples of how the passage of time plus changing points-of-view about art revised how the Impressionists, the Fauvists, Picasso's Les Demoiselles D'AVignon (below right) and other artists and art works were thought of by the majority at first, including critics and art collectors, and over time how the same works became iconic, making for blockbuster exhibitions, and winning top auction prices.

Well, I still think the hairy mass of glitter under the legs and arms of some of her images is off-putting, but that may be the point!

The woman is very successful. That alone is enough to admire her for, 'cause we all know that only a few rise to the top. It's not "talent".  Plenty of folks have that. It is based on trends, proximity to people who can help you, luck and clearly, hard work.  Mickalene discussed some of the surprising coincidences that occurred during her life relating to her going to Yale at the time she went, meeting master curator and fashion icon Thelma Golden and becoming a resident at the Studio Museum in Harlem after graduation from Yale.

Thomas has a compelling story. She is a lesbian who was estranged from her mother. 

Her mother has become her model and muse, the only person, according to Mickalene, who will pose fully nude for her. Thomas has the courage to work her stuff out in public through these canvases that include painting, photography and collage as her primary means of image-making. She has done installation and video.

Mickalene is a dark-skinned, nappy-haired, big thighed girl from New Jersey! 

Mickalene Thomas is a pretty woman

I wanted to cry when I heard her. I am tall, light skinned and kinky-haired, and always wanted the skinny-from-the-knees-to-the-crotch-no-touching-thighs the white girls had, I thought those thin thighs were a signifier of beauty, like straight hair and blue eyes.  Light, dark or medium most of us black women have felt inferior in America. Neither Ms. Thomas nor I saw ourselves as beautiful, and no one else said we were either, not that I knew of.

My mom and I were never estranged; she saved that for her three husbands. The other stuff is enough stuff. The other insecurities, many brought on simply because we are black is enough.  The pain felt by the sensitive girls like me and Mickalene is enough.

Thomas makes glaring, in your face pictures, co-opting and transforming historically famous images that artists such as Manet (a long line of other well-known artists produced similar images of white models), and Modigliani first made. It's a perfect choice. I hate that she had to react to racism and sexism at all! But I think Mickalene is making the perfect art in response to her life, and making a life that was not perfect, perfect. Hers is a body of work I respect.  I meant it when I told her I am proud of her!

Haiti fundraiser @ Nicole Gallery Chicago benefits Haitian artists

"In Haiti, Art Feeds Millions ” - Tiga (Jean Claude Garoute-Haitian Painter, Saint-Soleil School)

"Mirielle" by Arthur Wright expressly for this benefit; acrylic on canvas: 16" x 20"

Candace Hunter (Chlee) sent this information as she and others organize a fundraiser at Nicole Gallery in Chicago for the benefit of Haitian artists...

Dear Friend,

The Nicole Gallery, the oldest self-sustaining Black-owned gallery in Chicago, is coordinating a weekend-long benefit for the Centre d'Art Port au Prince, January 29 - 31, 2010.

Nicole Smith, the proprietor of Nicole Gallery, Chicago gained her knowledge and thirst for art from Le Centre when she was a young woman in Haiti.

Friday, January 29 - 4 until 8 pm

LIVE AUCTION/Entertainment/SALE...Nicole will be auction, "The Wash" by Haitian born and celebrated artist, Fritz Millevoix and "Two Kids and a Dog" by Chicago collage artist, Allen Stringfellow (died, 2005) and other art.

LIVE auction at 6:30!

Art for sale by some of Chicago's most loved artists, including: Joyce Owens, Shyvette Williams, Dayo, Candace Hunter (with Kendall Glover), Arthur Wright, Juarez Hawkins, Melvin King, Felicia Grant Preston, Marva Jolly, Sonja Henderson, Jesus Macarena-Avila, Gamiel Ramirez, Shahar Caren Weaver, Laurend Doumba, Nicole Malcolm, Efram Beltran, Greg Bray, Rose Blouin, Fabio Rodriguez and more!!!    Most of the art for the benefit is priced at or under $1,000.00 - savings of up to 50% off gallery prices.

SATURDAY, January 30     Viewing and Sale    11 - 5pm

SUNDAY,  January 31    Viewing and Sale    2 - 6 pm    Special Guest Artist

Make a party of it and bring your friends!!!!!

 

Nicole Gallery

230 W. Huron

Chicago, IL 60654

www.nicolegallery.com

312-787-7716

[email protected]
 

********************************************************************************************** 

more info on Le Centre...

The pressures that threaten survival also produce extraordinary creative talents, evidence of the determination that is in the human spirit. Haiti exemplifies this truth. Her tremendous creativity is evident in many ways - music, performance, crafts and writing - but above all painting and the visual arts. Haitian art first began to influence world culture in the 1940’s when exhibitions of Haitian “naïf” school painters were unveiled in the US and France. Today, Haitian art is found in the world’s great collections and is the subject of scholarly study. But its greatest meaning is the economic miracle art performs for the Haitian people. The Creole proverb “In Haiti art feeds millions” points to the parable of humanity’s need for beauty and ideas to triumph over misery.

The modern movement in Haitian art, often referred to as the Haitian Renaissance, arose in the 1940’s. More precisely it can be dated to May 14th, 1944, when DeWitt Peters, an American painter then teaching in Haiti opened an art center, Le Centre d’Art, in an old house in the center of Port-au-Prince. The Centre provided exhibition space and art instruction for the full range of Haitian artists - from completely untrained peasant artists to educated artists of the Haitian elite. The first exhibition was of twenty-five trained artists, but increasingly the center drew artists who were completely self-taught and worked in the 'naive' style for which Haitian art was to become known. The first of the ‘naive’ Haitian artists to bring his work to the Centre was Philomé Obin, who had actually been painting images of Haitian history and life in his home town of Cap Haitien since 1908! Certainly the most celebrated of Haitian artists was the hougan, Hector Hyppolite. He attracted Peters' notice in 1943 for the intriguing paintings on the doors of a roadside bar prophetically named "Ici la Renaissance" in the seaside village of Montrouis. Other notable early members were Rigaud Benoit, Wilson Bigaud, Prefete Duffaut, Micius Stephane, Montas Antoine and Castera Bazile. The Centre d’Art was an immediate critical, if not financial, success. It has weathered the many storms of Haiti’s politics and history.
Without pretending to a comprehensive synopsis of modern Haitian art history, some other landmark events in modern Haitian art history are as follows: 1945 - The visits to Haiti by French surrealist Andre Breton with Cuban painter Wilfredo Lam, each of whom bought several paintings by Hector Hyppolite. While somewhat self-servingly claiming the Haitian artists as fellow surrealists, Breton did a geat deal to legitimize and promote Haitian art in Europe and Latin America. That same year the Pan American Union hosted the first museum show of Haitian art in the United States. 1947 - The first purchase of a work by a Haitian naive' painter by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Museum president René d'Harnoncourt had first taken notice of the Haitian work in 1944. 1948-1949 - The painting of the magnificent murals at Port-au-Prince’s Episcopal cathedral of Sainte Trinité by Wilson Bigaud, Philome Obin, Gabriel Leveque, Castera Bazile and others, directed by Peters and the late American artist/poet/critic Selden Rodman.
The early 1950's saw the emergence of the uniquely Haitian art form of steel drum sculpture. A blacksmith named George Liautaud hammered out wrought-iron grave crosses for a living until Peters and others encouraged him to try his hand at figurative sculpture. His students and followers, including today's masters, Serge Jolimeau and Gabriel Bien-Aimé, further refined the art of hammering sculpture out of recycled oil drums. 1957 - The accession to power of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. For the next decade he and his tonton macoutes terrorized Haiti. Most tourists and buyers of Haitian art stayed away. In spite of this several fresh artists emerged, including André Pierre, Gerard Valcin and Salnave Philippe-Auguste. 1972 - The opening of the Musée d’Art Haitien in Port-au-Prince, the first museum devoted to Haitian Art. It was dedicated tthe memory of Dewitt Peters, who had died in 1966. The death of Papa Doc Duvalier and the succession of his marginally less repressive son "Baby Doc" encouraged a new era of tourism to Haiti and greater exposure for Haitian artists. 1975 - The visit of French writer, critic and Minister of Culture, André Malraux, to the mystical artists’ community of Saint-Soleil. He became a champion of this group which included Prosper Pierre-Louis, Dieuseul Paul and Louisiane St. Fleurant. Another artist who began to work in this period was the ever-playful pastry chef turned painter, Gerard Fortuné. The 1980's brought the wider recognition of the art of the sequinned "voodoo flag" or vodou banner (dwapo in Kreyol). Previously regarded as a relatively obscure liturgical art it came into its own with such innovative artists as the late Antoine Oleyant and Josef Oldof Pierre. These and more traditional artists such as Clotaire Bazile, Sylva Joseph, and Yves Telemac were celebrated in the seminal 1995 touring exhibition The Sacred Arts of Haitan Vodou organized by UCLA's Fowler Museum of Cultural History. In the last decade the innovation has been led by woman sequin artists as Myrlande Constant and the late Amina Simeon. 1986 - The departure from Haiti of the dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc" Duvalier which unleashed forces in Haitian art as well as society which have yet to settle down. The 1990's brought the inspiring rise of slum priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency in Haiti's first free election in 1991, followed by his overthrow by a military junta. His reinstallation by the US and the UN in 1994, and his recent ignominious fall are the latest chapters in this period of turmoil. ...and then came 2010 and the earthquake...the Centre is now broken bits of brick...and yet the story of Haiti will continue victoriously through Her artists and those who love Her...

21st Century: New Rules for Artists

Tom Lucas, Preston Jackson, collector Robert Derden, Joyce Owens, Barlow at our 2007opening, Nicole Gallery

No artists = No galleries!

Can you imagine? NO art on the walls. No sculptures on pedestals. No installation work or videos on display in an art gallery?

As a conceptual idea, OK. It could signify the death of art. Again! On various levels...suggesting various ideas...but that's not where I'm going with this. And even with much art being virtual, another possible implication that art (as we know it) is dead, I'm not going there, either.

ARC Gallery, my work on back wall.

Taking this out of the conceptual realm, I have noticed a dynamic between some artists and galleries that suggests there is a deep pathology that needs surgery, or at least, "meds" in order to stave off some sort of art gallery tragedy! As they close one after the other, now may be the time to think about what we can do to improve conditions and make them artist-friendly.

Artists have other choices, so I hope the galleries will listen up! Most artists I know do prefer to show in galleries, at least, sometimes!

I just don't get why some galleries persist in treating artists as if they are secondary and not the reason for a gallery's existence! Here is my partial list of the "how comes"  that artists (and galleries) can consider:

1. Why are artists made to quake in their boots when they approach some galleries?

2. Why don't all gallerists divulge the names of buyers to the artists?

3. Why don't all galleries consult with and/or respect the wishes of artists on how their work is displayed?

4. Why do some galleries discount from the artist's portion of the sale, too and not from the gallery commission?

5. Why do some galleries not publicize the exhibitions and promote artists they show?

6. Why do some galleries ask artists to pay for photography and publicity on top of the commissions?

7. Why are some galleries not run as other businesses are, keeping regular hours, etc.?

8. Why do some galleries delay paying their artists when work is sold? 

9. Why don't artists get paid interest on monies galleries have held back over 30 days?

We have established that anyone can open a gallery with no training in art or even business, so maybe we can address a couple of other questions:

1. Should galleries be rated on the care and handling of the art and artists they show ?

2. Should there be a system to rate galleries such as the Better Business Bureau or something like Angie's List or the equivalent of Rate Your Professor/teacher sites for college professors? Artists could then anonymously give galleries a thumbs up or down.  Services such as these would forewarn other artists if their brethren didn't get paid for sold work, were not treated well in general, had work damaged or stolen and other atrocities that have been reported in the press and shared word-of-mouth.

One game some galleries play is the same one that some mothers tell their children. If you miss one train (boyfriend/girlfriend) another one always comes along. Just wait. Galleries know that there will always be artists willing to put up with, and be grateful for, gallery exposure, so if one artist stomps out in anger and feeling mistreated, another artist is waiting to be next!

OH NO! Bad behaving artists?

This had to come up next! Difficult artists give gallerists and curators the blues. They should also be outed, although as we all know, difficult artists often get rewarded, not restrained. The "talent" is enough to make excuses for bad behavior and the audiences are mesmerized by behavior outside the so-called norm. That's why we fixate on these reality show folks and other train wrecks (don't want to get sued so I won't name names...) that we can't keep our eyes off...actors, politicians, golfers and others who misbehave mesmerize us!

Professionally run, artist-friendly galleries should be rewarded! And there are a lot of those; Parish Gallery in D.C. is one. Nicole Gallery in Chicago is one. Homewood Studios in Minneapolis is one, Woman Made Gallery in Chicago is one, and there are many others! I hear Packer Schopf is one and Ann Nathan, too. I know Robert Henry Adams, now closed, was one. June Kelly is one.

Collectors, you have the power to change this bad behavior as well. I know the artists tell people about the bad behavior. So supporting the "good" galleries to buy could help; artists look for representation at the good galleries and respectfully speak out when a gallery treats you or your work badly! Sometimes the ONLY education people running these places get is from their artists! 

So many guests at Richard Hunt's N'Namdi Gallery opening it was hard to see the art...

I wish I had a top ten artist-friendly galleries in every US city, if not globally. I found this post on Art business.com that explains the ideal gallery and artist/gallery relationship. If you're not getting this you may be getting the short end of the stick!

A Creative Space: Richard Hunt’s Studio

I, for a long time, have envied sculptors...they change space by shoving their stuff into it, affecting everything around it, sometimes for miles around!

Recently, I spent a morning with Richard Hunt, the internationally recognized sculptor with more public works than any other living artist. It’s a given that he just blows me away. His charming and unassuming personality and his handsome good looks are enough, but add to that his enormous creative abilities and long-tested productivity and you have a contemporary artist who is pretty much unmatched!

If envy, like Dante’s Inferno, has circles, visiting Hunt’s studio takes me deep into a covetous crater. His studio is jammed with tiny maquettes, informally arranged like a collection of rare crystal, intermixed with huge electric tools and small gadgets used to form and transform the metals, Hunt’s preferred medium. Some items I see are old hand tools that chew into and cut metal, and lots of cords attached to the tools trail the floor. There are modern laser cutters and various metal fasteners and clamps that I don’t have names for, plus curly metal shavings (that I wanted so badly to graph onto some of my own art!) left behind when the huge sheets of steel and aluminum are cut. The hunks of scrap metal and new metal create piles of inventory taller than my 5’10” frame and probably taller than my 3-story house. Various wires and wood pieces, books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs and clothes flow like a river and its tributaries throughout this space.

 

 

Hunt seems attracted to simple artifacts, the opposite of his own more texturally complex and curvy works, by American and African artists and spotted here and there in the studio and in his adjacent office. I see bolts to screw on the bases he is fabricating to stand his work on and metal rods, nails and whatnot.
The cornucopia of sculpture-making delights extends from the floor to the ceiling with tiny aisles for walking and niches for working. I don't know how many works-in-progress are in this colossal former Chicago Transit Authority terminal. Many larger scale works shine beautifully in the muted light. They look complete and ready to go to a gallery, home, museum or corporation. I’d certainly welcome them into my home. Walking through Richard Hunt’s studio is like walking through a diamond shop with all the jewels out for anyone to touch!

I arrived at his Lill Street studio (above from his website) at 7:15 am this day to chat and have breakfast with Richard at his neighborhood hangout the Salt and Pepper Diner. It’s within eyesight of his studio, a place where he doesn’t really need a menu and where he doesn’t really need to state his order. The waitress already knows, but checks to make sure he hasn’t changed his mind. When we returned to the studio, passing by his sculpture in Jonquil Park that was being retrofitted for wheelchair accessibility, I realized that Richard’s space exemplifies the aspirations of many artists: We really want to get every idea we think we have into a concrete, ready-to-be-shown, form. Many of us have terrific ideas all the time, but many of those gems remain in our heads only. Some of us grasp our creative concepts and run with them to produce something, but maybe not scores of somethings. Has Hunt been able to actually remember the idea he had in the shower, or on a walk in the park or at dinner in a fancy restaurant, long enough to turn it into art?

It seems to me he must. When I argued for the theme Artists at Work for Chicago Artists Month 2002 it was because I believe in what Richard Hunt lives, and I believe many other artists do, too: work. You work to make as much art as you can, for as many days as you can, for as many years as you can. Your natural creativity and the creativity you inevitably develop when you practice will show. Right now, I think the hardest job is mine, attempting to write about Richard Hunt’s glittering, magical space, holding treasures that easily compete with a gold mine, so that you can envision it.

Beauty aside, this is one studio that screams prolific. Richard Hunt states plainly, for anyone who looks, that he is the artist at work.

I first published this post here...where you will find interesting comments you might like to read and other blogs on artists' studios.

Artists Make New Rules in the 21st Century

Once upon a time the main goal for any artist who went to art school was to find gallery representation.

"Joy" series by Joyce Owens series were acquired by a Sinai Hospital clinic.

Many artists are by-passing galleries these days.

The artists who skipped art school seem to have a natural entrepreneurial gift that some of the art school artists don't. My friend Marva Jolly has had sales in her Mudpeoples studio for years, some people leaving with 4 or 5 ceramic art works every time she has one of her open studios. She shows in galleries, too!

More and more these days ALL artists are trying new ways to sell their art. Some prefer studio sales where they can control everything and keep all their profits. Of course they must pay for the studio space. Artists are showing in boutiques and restaurants, not new, but some artists who now do so are new to this trend. I recently exhibited  two sculptures at Eye Emporium, an eye wear store on North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago that has a very cool exhibition space. Tony Fitzpatrick, a noted Chicago artist followed my 3-person exhibition titled "The Dolls of J" and artist Wesley Kimler's art works graced the walls of the gallery even while the other exhibition I was a part of was up!  Wesley's largescale drawings and paintings are magnificent. He and Tony can, and have shown in very important art venues and they also exhibited at Eye Emporium, a place that features artists as a secondary purpose for their space. You get it? This is a significant change!

Artists have shown their work in art fairs for a long time; the profits are better if they sell, although it is hard work to sit and wait for customers, gather all the equipment such as tents and tables, and transport and set up for a weekend that could be unpredictable. They  pay the sometimes hefty entry fees and oh, hope no one gives them a bad check!

So times (and methods) of displaying and selling art are changing.

I think it is time for the gallery system to change, too, rearranging the balance of power so the artists get more say (input), and in some cases, more respect, and perhaps a bigger cut of the sales. . .The galleries hold the power, if you are an artist who craves the gallery system. The gallery is the "decider" and gets to choose their artists and not vice versa. Even in those "pay to play" galleries, aka cooperative galleries, where monthly fees ensure your spot to exhibit, artists may not fare too well monetarily.  I know artists who put up with worse treatment than they ever would, in any other situation, to be represented by a gallery, almost any gallery! And don't I understand that!

What is the alternative? If artists simply promote and sell their own work it becomes hard to establish pedigree. Somehow, no matter how wonderful the work is we still require "stamps of approval" from art critics, feature writers, collectors and yes, gallerists!

Here I am (2nd from right) with some of my friends at Eye Emporium, who are also beautiful dolls. (l to r, close up of "A Girl Like Me" doll, Lilian, Madeline, me and Carolyn. Wesley Kimler's work is behind us on the wall.

Let me stop here to ask some questions:

Is there a vetting system for gallery owners? I know there are local and national organizations of art dealers. If a gallery is not a member, who oversees commercial galleries to ensure they run fair establishments, requires them to pay artists on time and establishes general protocol and responsibilities for the gallery owners?And if they are a member, do these organizations check for problems?

Do gallery owners need the equivalent to the M.F.A., or any proof of professional training that is often a requirement for "serious" visual artists? I found this when I searched "gallery owners + training".

Can anybody open a gallery?

Does anybody open a gallery?

Will artists flock to anybody's gallery?

uh huh!

Artists' Stories Contribute to Bottom Lines

I have to Google "mall art" when I try to remember his name because I have a mental block about Thomas Kincaid and can only remember that he has galleries in malls and he had made so much money he was listed on the stock exchange, creating bucolic images of light houses and country cottages! I visited one of these mall galleries and I felt I had walked in on a cult of true believers. You may have seen stories about the people who buy tens and more of his works, even though they are not even all originals. Some only contain a few brush strokes of paint.

Nicole Smith, left, owner of Nicole Gallery with Wigan, center, and guests.

The latest guy who is attracting international attention makes microscopic art that fits on the head of a needle and must be seen through microscopes.

Fascinating and novel, Willard Wigan has a compelling back story about why he makes these tiny sculptures of the "The Incredible Hulk", "Wizard of Oz", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", Rodin's "The Thinker", a golfer, a line of camels heading toward the pyramids, "Peter Pan", and "Elvis"!

I thought about artist-as-carnival-performer after seeing a bit of the movie Pollack recently.  See Jackson Pollack abusing his wife, who has devoted herself to promoting his genius. See him sleeping with Peggy Guggenheim because he was falling down drunk. See him being late for his own career and being generally disorderly except when it came to his craft. Then when  his genius emerges he dies prematurely in a drunken crash. But he, like Basquiat and Warhol, is as much performer and (literal and figurative) car wreck as master artist.

Nicole Gallery features Willard Wigan, Art in the Eye of a Needle, in Chicago at 230 West Huron until October 1. This guy makes microscopic sculptures. I think that is an original idea.

 

The other original part of this event is the $3.00 admission fee the gallery is charging to see the exhibition after the opening night, which was free. At first I thought, "this is crazy", but only for a second. Then I thought, it's about time people pay to see us visual artists. The galleries don't pay us, except if we sell something and they get 50% of that. If they do pay, you probably are such a a big name, your income is fairly secure anyway. I have been asked, so many times I can't count, to display art for free to gain exposure, or opportunities, that rarely come to fruition. Getting some bucks up front is a new idea, and I think it's not so bad. Wigan also gives a portion of the sales of work during the reception to charity, according to my invitation. 

What else can you buy for $3.00? You certainly can't buy a ticket to the circus!

If you missed the exhibition you can catch the free closing reception:

Wednesday, September 30th, 5pm - 8pm

Nicole Gallery, 230 W. Huron Chicago, IL 60654

Please rsvp by Sept. 29 to [email protected] with your full name and number of guests.

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 [email protected], 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/ -

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.

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.

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

BEYOND the BLUES: Taking art to the street

WHERE can artists present their work besides a gallery?

We have Lowell showing up  after the Barack Obama interview with CNN at the tail end of the recent Unity Convention in Chicago's McCormick Place to exhibit his work and make contacts with the working press. I trust we will get updates on this from L.T.

Turtel, you have created your own way for years, doing the comic book convention and more.

ARC,  an alternative space in Chicago that has been around for about 34 years, established for and operated collectively by women to exhibit, educate and promote mainly  women artists. Nancy Charak (a regular commenter)  is a member.

I am a member of  Sapphire and Crystals, a collective that has been nomadic for the past 20 years and put on our own exhibitions in spaces where we are invited. Our goal is to promote professional African American women artists. Twice we were featured during Chicago Artists Month.

Traditionally artist salons were hosted in the homes of collectors.  We know about Gertrude and Leo Stein, for  example.

Open studios are routine for many artists. Artists have been rejected from major venues and made their own way for at least 150 years, sometimes coming out on  top!

Do we really need the cachet some high end galleries afford us?

STUDIO SHOW: If I show my work in my studio it might sell at one price point to a friend or acquaintance. If I show  it in a reputable, established gallery, it might sell at a different price point to someone I don't know, and get a review. 

GALLERY SHOW: Same work, why not the same authority? Because of human nature.  Some people want to be assured that they have good taste.  Not quite mob action, but similar. EVERYBODY loves ...fill in the blank. Could be the thing everybody loves is actually the BEST thing.  Could be everybody was kinda brainwashed.  Could be many people don't trust their own taste. That's one reason Martha Stewart, Oprah and  others  have become rich, telling people what they should like.  People  need someone to tell  them what is GOOD. HOW about an art guru TV program?  Art offers all the  stuff Oprah offers and lasts  a lot longer, I bet!

TRUST: Collectors trust June Kelly, George and Jumaane N'Namdi, Norman Parrish,  Mary Boone, Susan Woodson, Isobel Neal, Ann Nathan and other gallerists in Chicago and around  the  country. Collectors believe these folks assure the work has guaranteed value. Critics believe these galleries have the education and experience to select the best artists for their reviews. I insist my student study artists on line by seeking out websites that are not the artists'.

ART DEALERS: Paul Klein, who no longer operates a standing gallery, has more clout than just about anybody else in Chicago through his Artletter, preceded by his extensive experience with art and artists. (click on Paul's name to hear a recent "Hello Beautiful" interview.) So, if Klein or Madeline Rabb like your work, neither of whom run a traditional gallery space, but both of whom are often asked to place art in major collections, you could have it made in  the shade. Well, sort of. You may have to do abstract art to get into most collections or be such a big name that they are buying your signature as much as your art.   

painting above by Joyce Owens