A Day in the Gardens and then a Night at the Museum…

A trip to the Botanical Gardens. Click on picture to enlarge.

So a week or two ago we had the fortunate luck of getting together with our good friends Team Hines (and for those of you keeping score at home that happens to be Tobin, Rebecca, Ben, and Abe) not once but twice. With a momentous event such as a visit from our dear friends of the north, well South Carolina, we embarked on two separate but equally fun adventures, first to the lovely Atlanta Botanical Gardens and second to the High Museum, both of which fortunately enough happen to be within short walking distance from where we live.

Day 1 with Team Hines

The first day of our get together was Sunday. Team Hines made the short trek down I-85 from around the Mall of Georgia area (where they were staying with some family) to join us for a day of nature appreciation at The Botanical Gardens. Upon their arrival we walked from the Mayfair down Piedmont to the gardens where, as like the start of so many great adventures begin, we had lunch. Yes, again I am talking about food. Lunch was simple but tasty. Ham sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, salads both green and fruit, chilli and chips made up the bulk of the meal that filled our bellies and renewed our strength for marveling at the green garden wonders.  With lunch behind us the boys were happy to lead the way and quickly, as sure footed as a pair of blood hounds on a fox trail, they led us to our first garden attraction, a water feature. Now it is my contention that any young boy given the opportunity to choose between wandering around and looking at plants or playing on a small bridge over a shallow body of water and perhaps have the opportunity to fall in, will more often than not be willing to tempt the fates and get soaked, and yet again my intuition rang true. After an half hour or so of marching, staring, reflecting, and various other modes of amusement took place around the small pond, we grew restless and decided to venture on from the Japanese gardens. Oh and in case you are wondering, fortunately no, we escaped with out any dips in the pool. Next up we wandered on to big lawn and gazed at the lily pond, which being early April was more pond than lilies, but regardless we spent a few minutes taking in the scenery as well as pictures of Abe playing on the bench with the giant bronze frog. From there we perhaps moved onto the most exciting part of our garden visit, the greenhouses.

Green green gardens. Click on picture to enlarge.

Now here there was something definitely for everyone. First up were the Orchids, from floor to ceiling (and it is a pretty high ceiling) were rows and rows of giant Orchids. You know the kind, the magnificent two foot tall ones with monsterously large blooms that one (that would be me) might buy at the Grocery store only to have the bloom fall off shortly after it gets home leaving one (again me) to struggle with nurturing a giant pair of green leaves until eventually they (I) finally kill it, yep those kind. Part of me felt as though the whole room was orchestrated to mock my sad attempts at growing this simple flower while quietly judging me for my biggest failure as a plant purchaser, yet again I digress. From there we moved into the frog room where the boys seemed get a kick (sorry about that) out of seeing the various wild colors of rainforest tree frogs. It was pretty amazing. From bright lime green to a neon indigo, the little glistening amphibians definitely captured the attention and imaginations of all the gardens guests. Next up the Amazon, well kind of. The largest part of the greenhouse is dedicated to the steamy inhabitants of the tropical rainforests. Besides the giant ferns and green canopies, the funnest part of the room falls to watching the resident quail run around the ground darting from one food trough to another while being serenaded by the 1000′s of hiding tree frogs. All the while mist machines are doing their thing high above your head to ensure the air remains wet hot and heavy. From there stepping into the desert room feels fresh like the first cool crisp autumn day of football season. Here you will find every succulent imaginable that calls the dessert home. From short plump cacti to giant finger like trees you will see all manner of barb and thistle to get your clothes caught on and finger pricked.

The mist in the tropical room. Click on picture to enlarge.

After the excitement of the greenhouse we took stock of everyone’s energy levels and decided it was time to head back to the house so we could take a load off for a little bit, recharge, regroup, and reassess what we would do next, little did we suspect that we would be headed over shortly to our Swedish friends Ikea for their world famous meatballs, but that I believe is a story for another time. After it was all said and done day 1 of hanging out with Team Hines was a huge success, but as mentioned when I first began this posting, there was not just the 1 day of fun planned but 2, which takes us to the High.

Day 2 with Team Hines

So after we had a few days of work and rest, Team Hines once again made the short trek down I-85 to spend an afternoon with us wandering the white halls of The High Museum. The High, much like the gardens, is located a short hop skip and jump from the Mayfair, so after parking the car, we headed over to see the current series of exhibitions, of special note the Picasso to Warhol, a basic smorgasbord of Modern Masters, and the exhibition of Outsider Great Bill Traylor’s work.

As for this trip, we started out taking a look at the High’s permanent collection of contemporary art. I must take a moment to say that it is always a blast going into the museum and being confronted by a twenty foot painting you might typically be used to seeing only on your 15in laptop. (So… if you haven’t been to your local museum lately, you should wander down because it is definitely a different experience looking at art in person.) Again, as I was saying, we started with the contemporary works, where upon entering the gallery we were treated with 3 sculpture works by Anish Kapoor. Two of the pieces are typical of his color induced void works while the third is a large parabolic mirror that has been faceted in a carefully yet seemingly random way to create a fractured viewing glass on the world, which incidentally also happens to do fun things with sound when you are standing in just the right places. Moving on, there were a number of the usual suspects to be found all glorious in their own right, for example there was an Ed Ruscha, as well as a room full of work by Gerhard Richter. There was also a room full of landscape paintings by Alex Katz, as well as geometric works by Ellsworth Kelly again all paintings which are immense when viewed in person. On a personal note I was pleased to see again the work of one of my favorite artists, and the only permanent photograph on view if my memory serves correct by Hiroshi Sugimoto. The image is about 60in x 40in and it is one of his “electricity” pieces where he charges the photographic paper with an electric field to produce an abstract image. The image on view happens to look a little bit like a leaf from a fern, which dovetailed nicely with our last outing with Team Hines, but again I digress. Before I head on down to the next exhibition though I should mention that there was a non permanent addition to the collection, as there is a show currently exhibiting the work of artist and designer KAWS  on view. The works are vibrant, bold in the color, and meticulous in execution, especially the large paintings, and definitely a must see if you like the fusion of manga and fine art. Additionally, his sculptural version of the Michelin tire man that seemed re-envisioned as a somewhat benign, and perhaps a clownish specter of death was pretty humorous, at least in my book.

Work by Louise Bourgeois on view at the High Museum. Click on picture to enlarge.

After strolling through the contemporary exhibit and paying a brief visit to what I like to think of as the design floor, we decided that we would take a load off and get a snack down in the cafe. We jumped in an elevator that would have made Stanley Kubrick proud and looked to see what refreshments were to be had. As it being a snack I won’t make a big fuss over what we enjoyed, but I will share that the two little ones had what they like to call spicey chips, which is a broad category covering nearly every chip except for plain, and Tobin and I split what I refer to as a fancy grilled cheese, which simply means there is more than one variety of cheese that has gone through the melting process. After we had rested, snacked and recapped the night in the Museum thus far, we decided to head off to children’s imaginarium, or at least that is what I prefer to call the activity room. There we watch the boys build and play for about 30 minutes while we chaperones caught up on the weeks events and chatted about what we thought of the exhibition so far. After a bit, and a pillow fort had been made and a block or two had been tossed, we decided it was time to head back into the adult part of the Museum. Since we were already close to gift shop and we were looking to put off going into the main exhibit for just a few minutes longer, as Christina had not arrived yet, we decided to pop in and see what knick knacks were being offered up for our shopping enjoyment. There of course were the usual suspects of t-shirts, writing journals, art books, and perhaps my favorite tiny furniture, you know the eames chair in 1/30th scale, both ridiculous, immaculate in reproduction,  and expensive. After about 20 minutes most of which spent discussing our fondness for art books and longing recollections of The Whitney’s bookstore, we decided to take a quick stroll through the traveling collection of art based on the sport of golf. Now if you have a golf enthusiast in your house hold this might be just the way to get them out to Museum for an afternoon. The exhibit is a lovely little history lesson about golf’s earlier years and it has a number of paintings and some sculptures celebrating it aesthetic past. Shortly there after Christina arrived and with stickers in place we headed off to the main exhibition.

Click the image above to see Duchamp's film...

Picasso to Warhol is a wonderful show that brings together numerous works by 14 of the most influential modern artists, and basically an art history slide lecture brought to life on a wall near you. The first room of the exhibition, which was curated from the collection of MOMA, is dedicated to the many styles and examples of Picasso’s strength as a painter and his extraordinary drive to experiment. There is early career work representing his Rose period and more “realistic” paintings to his most celebrated masterpieces showcasing his contribution to cubism and beyond. Despite the period though, all of his works share in being vibrant, active, and expressive. From there the show rewards you with a number of paintings by Matisse. Here you can see examples of his bright palette and space warping vision. Among others there is The Dance 1 which stops people in their tracks for it’s combination of forcefulness and simplicity not to mention the sheer size of the canvas, and then located on the opposite wall is one of his construction paper cutout pieces. Out of the entire exhibition, this work really spoke to me. Matisse’s cutout is elegantly simple and beautiful. I admire the courage in the use of material, as well as the purposefulness of his actions. This work expresses the power of possibility found both in the world around you and of a life that is led by creativity. From there the gallery meanders around and there are a number of works to be had, Leger, who I always got a kick out of as an student, with his cylinder fascination had a number of his works represented in the collection and it was nice to see so many in one spot, and there were also some sculptures by Brancusi on view.

Picasso to Warhol closes April 29th at the High, hope you can make it... Click above to enlarge.

Moving the show forward to some more contemporary artists one finds the works of Louise Bourgeois. On exhibit were a number of her drawings as well as a lovely little block sculpture, but surprisingly very little red and even fewer spiders were to be found. The work by Bourgeois situated where it was, and with her passing away just so recently, was an interesting juxtaposition relative to the other artists. I think her work stood out perhaps because it was so close in proximity to Marcel Duchamp’s in the gallery and Andy Warhol’s work was basically where the exhibition came to a bombastic conclusion complete with the Warhol shopping extravaganza, it actually was pretty funny and really brought a smile to my face in a kind of ridiculous way.  Marcel Duchamp, to many a hero for pushing art into a much more cerebral pursuit, had a number of pieces including some ready mades, mustachioed Mona better known as L.H.O.O.Q., and some hypnotizing experimental films. Marcel’s low lit gallery space was a quiet place to reflect on both his importance in shaping art over the last century as well as his place in the tradition of making as represented by the rest of the show. Quickly stepping to the finish line as the docents had signaled “last call” I ran through Warhol’s room housing a vast number of his Soup Cans, Brillo Boxes, and various other paintings. The room was a joy to peruse even if for the briefest of moments and it took me back to my days as an undergrad where I felt such dismay to the fact that he had taken so many good ideas. Through the Warhol gift shop onto the elevator down to the ground floor we were a group on a mission, Bill Traylor and his outsider art or bust!

In thinking of Outsider greats, Darger and Finster quickly come to mind, but in the same breath I hope you would add Bill Traylor. Traylor’s work consists of a singular strength in vision that is both direct and precise. His images are simply stated and purposeful in mark. The use of modest materials and cardboard backing speaks to the function of the images he made, and whether it was the strength of a bull or the bark of a wild dog, Traylor’s work spoke with a voice that was true to the essence of what he was depicting. Admittedly I have had a soft spot for Traylor’s work since the first time I saw it, so it is easy for me to highly recommend dropping by the High to check out this work as well as the other shows before they fold up shop and make way for some new exhibitions, which will be any day now ( April 29th to be exact on the Picasso to Warhol show).

With the lights being dimmed we knew it was time to head back to the condo and figure out some dinner arrangements before Team Hines had to run back up I-85. We decided to keep things easy and fun so with take out from 5 napkin burgers, we sat around the dining room table and chatted into the early evening about our adventures in the museum. The two days of hanging with Team Hines and visiting some of Midtown’s highlights in the Botanical Gardens and the High Museum were an excellent way to kick off the Spring season, hopefully you and yours will have equally fun adventures in the weeks ahead. As always thanks for stopping by and checking out my meanderings…

Time is Running Out….

The exhibition is up for one more week so if you have not yet seen it and would like to, here is your chance. It is a lovely show and I hope you can check it out!

Hey Gang I just wanted to remind everyone that if you have not yet seen Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography you have one more week left to cruise on down to Montgomery College’s King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Maryland to do so. The exhibition brings together six photographers Priscilla Briggs, Victoria Crayhon, Joshua Dudley Greer, Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman, and Jordan Tate who, through various uses of text, further explore, define and contextualize the spaces they image. As I have mentioned in a few posts the show has gotten a good review from the Washington Post and it really is a lovely show to see in person, so if you are planning on checking it out remember that it closes up shop next Wednesday, April the 11th. I hope you can make it!!!

King Street Gallery

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Location: The King Street Gallery is located in the main atrium of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street on the west side of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. parking is available in the West garage, located immediately behind the center.

Artpace, Tony Feher and A Taco Truck…

Tony Feher's exhibition Thomas Hoving currently on view at Artpace in San Antonio

So the other day I decided to jump into the truck and do a bit of cruising around, which ultimately on equal parts good advice and trusty GPS led me to San Antonio’s Artpace. Now this is not the first visit I have paid Artpace, and in fact it has become a beloved destination when the schedule allows on my San Antonio treks, however, it was perhaps the first time I ventured there when armed with an agenda. One, take part in their Taco Truck Friday, and two, see the current exhibition of Tony Feher’s project Thomas Hoving.

Now before I get too involved with rambling on about the tacos and the exhibition, I want to take a moment to chat about Artpace and why it has become a touchstone for me when ever I am visiting the wonderful city of San Antonio. First of all it is one of the finest galleries that can be found especially considering it is not located in NYC, Berlin, LA etc. Secondly to simply call it a gallery is perhaps a disservice as it is so much more than that, and in fact it is probably best described as an arts center with part of it’s mission being to provide community outreach to help educate and inspire the appreciation of art, while also running workshops to offer hands on opportunities in the creative process. However it is the amazing list of exhibitions that keeps me, as a visitor to the city, coming back for more. Two personal highlights for me were first an exhibition of large drawings I saw there by Robin O’Neil, that later were seen again at the Whitney Biennial and second Allison Smith’s Hobby Horse, which was a giant rocking horse she built and rode during her residency stay at Artpace. So with the commitment to it’s residency program, amazing exhibition record and dedication to community outreach, it is easy to see why Artpace is such a gem and draw for art lovers when visiting San Antonio… oh and I did share about Taco Truck Friday right?

Tony Feher's exhibition Thomas Hoving is now on view at Artpace in San Antonio. If you get a chance I would recommend you stopping by, you'll be happy you did...

So as I mentioned previously, I was there at Artpace on a mission, and the first step was to get fed. Currently Arpace has a Taco Truck in Residency that pulls in every Friday save when it rains, that serves lunch from twelve until about two pm. The food is all of the typical flair from tacos to burritos to quesadillas and back again with all manner of soft drinks housed in ice cold glass bottles containing sugary sweetness, and yes it is to die for. I ordered the chicken tacos which were served in soft shell corn tortillas that came out piping hot with the right amount of onion, tomato and green chile cilantro garnish served with rice and huge wedges of fresh cut avocado. Lunch my friends was inexpensive and devastatingly good. Honestly the tacos alone would have made it worth the trip this time, but as I said I had two parts to my mission and with my appetite sated it was time to wander through the galleries to find Mr. Feher’s work.

Now first of all I have to say my expectations for the exhibition were pretty high as I have been a fan of Mr. Feher’s work since the first time I saw his art back in grad-school about 12 years ago (ugh let me pause and gather myself for a moment). I enjoy his use of everyday objects combined with the simplicity of form. I also admire the courage to work so simply and the economical use of the intervention of material which I find as a nice counterpoint to say Tom Friedman’s work which also happily uses everyday objects but separates the final object from it’s initial form often through extreme measures of craft and execution. It was the wit and whimsy of the of the mind that I was hoping to see yet this time the show delved seemingly towards more cerebral depths exploring the form of volume and space. It was this confrontation of the both the familiar but unexpected that left me scratching my head and initially unsatisfied. Now please don’t get me wrong if you are in San Antonio you definitely should go and see Thomas Hoving, which takes it’s title after the recently deceased past director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, because it is truly full of lovely moments. The large string pieces are quite extraordinary with the sailing of the curves reminding me both of precision flying and the horror show that was freshmen calculus. One intriguing part of this looping work was the fact I never really came across an unpleasing intersection of lines in the space. The blue tape stain glass windows and the hanging bottles both were vibrant and fun in the transformation of materials, but taken as a whole I kept coming back to the feeling that something was missing, that I simply couldn’t complete the ethereal nature of the work, and because of that reason what I had hoped would be a triumphant first encounter with Mr. Feher’s work in person left me befuddled and perplexed. Now that being said it was time to make some lemonade.

Tony Feher's exhibition Thomas Hoving is now on view at Artpace in San Antonio.

One thing I that came away with from the exhibition was a slew of questions that has led to some very interesting conversations both specific to Mr. Feher’s work and to art viewing and practicing in general. Why the hesitation in the reception and thorough enjoyment of this project? Mr. Feher’s work changes drastically based on the external factors such as light in the gallery, number of other exhibition visitors etc. so did I perhaps not experience the work in it’s optimal setting, one that truly speaks to the questions of form and volume? Or was it simply that I was truly expecting the joy of big bold color and emotionally I was not prepared for this show that was much more quiet and subtle.  In thinking about the work I have found that despite that initial sense of wanting more, I am truly excited to have had the experience. Since my gallery visit I have spent a number hours working through my reaction to the exhibition and if nothing else my admiration of the risks he takes in dealing with issues of restraint and the conservation of intervention has grown. Mr Feher’s work is the most challenging and successful in it’s use of meager materials and simplicity of execution and I have most assuredly been enriched through my interaction with it, and for that, I am in his debt.

So long story short, if you are in San Antonio and you like to see world class art, drop in on Artpace and check them out and best of all it’s free! Currently you can see exhibitions by Tony Feher, as well as Andy Pendleton, James Sham, Florian Slotawa as well as Judith Cottrell, and if you are hungry consider visiting on Friday so you take advantage of the Taco Truck, but make sure you bring some cash because they don’t accept plastic…

Until next time thanks for dropping by and perusing my ramblings…

Something Old Something New…

Closing soon Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography... check it out before it comes down April 11th!

So I just wanted to remind everyone that if you have not yet seen Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography you have two more weeks to head on down to Montgomery College’s King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Maryland to do so. The exhibition brings together six photographers Priscilla Briggs, Victoria Crayhon, Joshua Dudley Greer, Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman, and Jordan Tate who, through various uses of text, further explore, define and contextualize the spaces they image. As I have mentioned in a few posts the show has gotten a good review from the Washington Post and it really is a lovely show to see in person, so if you are planning on checking it out remember that it closes up shop on April 11th…

Please consider making a contribution to Josh's ongoing photo project Point Pleasant, with your help Josh can finish the important work he is doing. For more info click on the image above...

In addition to the exhibition I wanted to draw your attention to an opportunity to support an ongoing project by one of Terraforming’s exhibiting artists Joshua Dudley Greer. Joshua is currently hard at work on his Point Pleasant project located in West Virginia documenting the effects of a shuttered military ordnance program that led to the contamination of the land and he is looking for donations to help fund this important endeavor. Here is an explanation of the project in his own words…

“In the early 1980′s, EPA and state investigations of this area revealed that the groundwater, soil and surface water were heavily contaminated with explosive nitroaromatic compounds including TNT, trinitrobenzene, and dinitrotoluene, as well as arsenic, lead, beryllium and asbestos. The site was placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List in 1983 and extensive cleanup efforts began in 1991. While a portion of the original facility has been remediated, many of the toxic and explosive contaminants were simply buried on site.

Using an 8×10 view camera, I am photographing the ruins of a once monumental military-industrial complex as it tangles with the surrounding landscape of forest, fields and swamp. While certain structures offer a glimpse of what has transpired on this site, many of my photographs refer to contamination or violence through metaphor. TNT storage igloos are depicted in a serial typology to convey the massive scale of military weapons production, while the emptiness of the landscape, photographed with a muted palette and diffused light, is meant to evoke a kind of post-apocalyptic environment – one that is at times bleak and somber, yet also strangely resilient and beautiful.”

Joshua is looking for contributions at any level to help him reach his goal of 7000 dollars and he is already over half way there. In addition to helping an amazing photographer, the donation is tax deductible and based on how much you pledge you may receive a thank you gift. So if you have a moment please click on the link and consider helping Joshua complete his work at Point Pleasant.

If you are interested in learning more about this project you can check it out on his website or at an article on Joshua’s work at NPR.

In Their Own Words…

So I have been sharing information about the show I curated over the last couple of posts and I wanted to continue the trend. So today I thought it might be nice to hear what the artists have to say about the work in their own words so without further ado…

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Work by Priscilla Briggs on view in "Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography" at The King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Md.

Priscilla Briggs - Fortune- At the heart of my recent work is the questioning of values and identity within the context of economic systems, primarily capitalism. Hoping to create conversation that develops a self-consciousness about how we live and our place within the world, I have approached my subject from both a local and international standpoint to explore the interplay of cultures within the global market.

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Work by Victoria Crayhon on view in "Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography" at The King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Md.

Victoria Crayhon – Thoughts on Romance from the Road – Thoughts on Romance from the Road is an ongoing project that uses photography to document my text interventions on roadside marquee signs. The work addresses the effect of media and technology upon human desire.  It positions the act of driving, as well as exposure to advertising media while doing so, as its own form of entertainment and consumption within contemporary culture.

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Work by Joshua Dudley Greer on view in "Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography" at The King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Md.

Joshua Dudley Greer - American Histories - Our perception of the American landscape is inevitably informed by events that are said to have taken place on a given site, just as our understanding of history is influenced by the landscape that is its necessary backdrop.  Contemporary cinema has come to play an increasingly important role in complicating these associations by shifting the textual representation of history to a Hollywood simulacrum that combines mythology, fiction and entertainment with notions of truth, historical record and the illusion of reality.  American Histories is a series of color photographs that explores this progressively complex relationship between landscape, history and film.

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Work by Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman on view in "Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography" at The King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Md.

Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman - GEOLOCATION: TRIBUTES TO THE DATA STREAM -  Our collaborative work examines virtual communication and its impact on physical encounters. We follow strangers through their Twitter updates, becoming intimately involved in their banal daily errands. Using publicly available embedded geotag information in the updates, we track the locations of the Twitter users through their GPS coordinates and make a photograph to mark the location in the real world. Each of these photographs is taken on the site of the update and paired with the originating text. This work is a means for situating the virtual into the physical realm. We imagine ourselves as virtual flâneurs, ethnographers of the Internet, exploring cities 140 characters at a time through the lives of others.

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Work by Jordan Tate on view in "Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography" at The King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Md.

Jordan Tate - On This Site - Without context, these images constitute a disjointed survey of an unremarkable landscape. On This Site, much like Sternfelds project of the same name, is an examination of the relationship between text and image. A camera has the ability to appraise a place and give validation of its significance. The photograph carries with it the intention of photographing, the weight of purpose, and the knowledge of history. These images are an exploration of the power of text and image to canonize the non-event, the minor occurrence, the history of little import.

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Again the show is now on view through April 11th at Montgomery College’s King Street Gallery in Silver Spring Md. It is a wonderful show so if you happen to be in the area please stop by and take a look.

Terraformed…

Terraforming: Contemporary Discourse in Landscape Photography is now open at The King Street Gallery in Silver Springs Maryland

So I just got back from Baltimore and it was a fantastic trip. First of all the Terraforming Exhibition at Montgomery College looks really great. The show was hung masterfully by Maureen, Megan and the rest of the staff at MC, kudos to you all, and if you have never been to The King Street Gallery, it is a beautiful space with a lot of natural lighting, so this is a great show to visit in order to get introduced to the MC art department. Speaking of galleries at MC there is an adjacent gallery to the King Street called the Open Gallery and they currently have a call to artists for a group show centered around the theme of identity, so if you are interested here is a link.

Gallery visitor selecting postcard work by Priscilla Briggs to take home.

Anyhow back to Terraforming, I headed up last Tuesday in order to be there the night before the Artist Panel/Talk. I have learned from past experiences that catching a red eye before you have a presentation, intervew, etc can be challenging. Anyhow, the flight was good (aisle seat), the house was inviting (power worked so did the water), and I had ample time to relax and get rested (read I only slept 4 hours) before the Artist Panel. On Wednesday I picked Christina up from BWI and then we headed down to MC to check out the show and meet the Artists.

We happened to be the first ones there so we took some time to wander around the exhibition, looking at the prints, reading the text, and getting a feel for how the show had finally come together. While I was meandering through gallery, the thing that struck me the most about the show was the cohesiveness of the exhibition despite the extensive range of concerns being explored by the exhibiting artists. Each of the artists through image and text were able to shape the landscape into a vision that provided a vehicle for their musings. It is quite extraordinary.

My own private pontifications however were short lived as the first of the Artists arrived. All in all we had four of the six participating artists take part in the Artist Talk. There was Priscilla Briggs in from Minnesota, Victoria Crayhon from Rhode Island, Nate Larson was our local representative from Baltimore, and Jordan Tate had traveled in from Ohio. The talk began at 12:30 and it didn’t end until we were literally kicked out, mid-sentence, by an instructor who needed the auditorium for a test review she was to conduct for nursing students at 2pm. (She actually was very nice about it but she really did need the room.) The Artists gave wonderful slide lectures about their work that provided a fantastic foundation for our panel discussion which ranged from topics of humor in art to discussions of the unexpected. At the end we opened the questions up to the audience who were thoroughly engaged and were ultimately disappointed when the plug was finally pulled. From there we adjourned to the gallery where we all mingled with the works and the trailing audience until Jordan had to leave to catch a flight back to Ohio. All in all I think the Artist talk went exceedingly well, and I was very pleased with how the discussion ultimately became driven by the audiences questions. I would at this time like to take a moment and say a special thank you to the Artists for donating their amazing works and time to make this exhibition and panel discussion a great success. I would also say thank you to the audience who shared part of their day with us, and finally I would also like to say thank you to Jill Fannon for bringing her class to the talks despite them having to be ready for their midterm crits by the next time they meet. (Good Luck to you all!)

Hope you can make it, the exhibition will be up until April 11th.

Shortly after all of the Artists had departed Christina, Megan, and I took a quick trip down Georgia Ave to grab a bite to eat at an African-styled restaurant. We had a lovely time getting  caught up on the various excitement in each others lives. It was a marvelous afternoon, but like all good things it had to come to an end, and with Christina’s flight departure quickly approaching we had to say farewell to MC and get her back to BWI.

Thursday was a whirlwind, I had some meetings earlier in the day, and then it was back to MC for the Opening Reception. We had a nice steady turnout for the event and I was able to say hello to a number of the faculty who I used to work with at MC. It was a real treat to see them and get to find out how they were doing this semester. In addition to the opening festivities I had one other mission that had to be accomplished Thursday evening. Load the minivan with the Telepathy Drawing work that had been waiting patiently for my return since last Novembers exhibition. All in all Thursday was a success.

As for the rest of the trip, it consisted of doing a little home straightening…but that my dear friends is for a another post…

I will be back soon to share a little more info about the exhibition, the projects exhibited, curators statement, images etc, but I think this enough for one post. As always thank you for stopping by, and again if you are in the DC area over the next month, please head on down to The King Street Gallery at MC on Georgia Ave, and take a look a look at the exhibition, you’ll be glad you did…

Eastern Promises….

"Robert Smithson" from the Telepathy Drawings

So I mentioned a while back that I had been invited to participate in a show in Japan at the Keisho Art Association. I also mentioned that I was having some difficulty in deciding what it was that I planned on showing. Well after careful deliberation, and time running out, I need to hand the work over next week, I have decided to go with the Telepathy Drawings that I have made with Christina. We are going to send 3 sets, and one of them is a personal favorite, “Robert Smithson”! Anyhow if anyone is going to be in Japan over the next couple of months please feel free to drop by the Center and let me know how all of the work looks.

I have to admit I am fairly excited to be going International, now if I could get over there somehow, it would be perfect!

Machines in the Zine

An image from the Satellite series

So, I spoke with Jordan the other day, my pal in Portland, and he is doing well. He is making a lot of work, books, drawings, posters etc. and while we were chatting, I asked for a little update on how his drawing zine was coming along. He said he was still waiting on a few drawings to be submitted (stragglers) before he really gets it under way. Jordan also decided against the dinosaur drawings that I had initially submitted and opted instead for my satellite drawings. I’m excited to see how the book/zine turns out, he seemed really excited about the project, which means it will probably be awesome. As we were talking we started chatting about Gary K. not sure exactly how he came up, something to do with Artscape I am sure, but anyway I mentioned Gary’s awesome 1:1 drawings, and I think Jordan and he should get together and make some foldout books of the drawings. So if you see Jordan, and you agree with me, let him know.

Well I guess that is about it for now, I am still trying to figure out what I should send to Japan so if anyone has a suggestion please let me know. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Being Green for a Zine…sorta

3 Monkeys with Dinosaur

So my good pal Jordan is putting together a zine/book of drawings through his new press, Kitty Cat Press. It is a zine of drawings printed in black and white, and he asked a number of friends if they had any drawings sitting around that they wanted to contribute. (The more sitting around the better he said) So looking through some work, I found some drawings I thought might fit the criteria. These are some drawings that I made some time ago, they were ink and water color, and were some of my first attempts using watercolor, post middle school that is. Anyhow most of them were drawings depicting dinosaurs, or monkeys, or both. Anyway I can’t wait to see what Jordan comes up with, he always makes great work.

Lost in Translation

Yakatori House from 32380

So I am excited to report that I have been asked to participate in the Wakaime Art Studio art exhibition in Anjo, Aichi Japan. I am not really sure what I am going to send yet, perhaps some telepathy drawings, I also thought it might be interesting to show images of Japan via WDW, decisions, decisions! If anyone has suggestions I would be happy to entertain them. I have considered even sending some Coloring Colonialism Drawings, so please let me know what you think. This will be the first show abroad that I have had so I want it to be just right. It is doubly exciting because Christina was born in Japan, sometimes things just feel like fate…

The Yakitori House in Epcot from the series 32380