The Sculpture Center is pleased to announce the six Ohio sculptors and installation artists selected to present one-person exhibitions in the 2011 W2S Series - Jenniffer Omaitz, Qian Li, Daniel McDonald, Elaine Hullihen, Joshua Parker, and Annie Strader.
The Window to Sculpture Emerging Artist Series (W2S) was established by founder David E. Davis to provide critical promotion and support to early career Ohio sculptors and installation artists.
For more information of the artists see the Sculpture Center website.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
MOCA Awards Jenny Holzer with Distinguished Women in the Arts Honor
The Museum of Contemporary Art , Los Angeles (MOCA), is pleased to announce artist Jenny Holzer as the recipient of the 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts. Holzer will be honored for her extraordinary talent and contributions to the arts during an exclusive award luncheon on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Hosted by one of the museum’s major support organizations, The MOCA Projects Council, this fundraiser benefits MOCA’s award-winning educational programming. Edythe Broad will present the award to Holzer and remarks will be made by MOCA Projects Council President Pamela J. Smith. The 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts Luncheon is presented by BVLGARI.
“MOCA is thrilled to honor Jenny Holzer with the 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts,” said MOCA Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Young. “This unique fundraising opportunity celebrates the work of a brilliant artist, who has created powerful statements of conviction and social commentary for more than three decades.”
“We hope that the community will join us in recognizing and celebrating the achievements of this accomplished and exceptional artist, and in supporting one of the leading contemporary art education programs in the United States,” said The MOCA Projects Council President Pamela J. Smith. “The focus of the Projects Council support group is MOCA Education, which has a long history of collaborating with artists and community organizations to bring the rewards and challenges of contemporary art to a broad audience. Its programs serve 30,000 students and community members each year.”
The MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts was established by The MOCA Projects Council in 1994 to recognize the many gifted women providing leadership and innovation in the visual arts, dance, music, and literature. Jenny Holzer designed the bronze plaque, which features one of the artist’s truisms: “It is in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender.” Past recipients include noted collector and patron Beatrice Gersh (1994), editor Tina Brown (1997), choreographer Twyla Tharp (1999), actress and director Anjelica Huston (2001), and artists Barbara Kruger (2001) and Yoko Ono (2003).
Holzer was born in Gallipolis, Ohio in 1950. She received a BA from Ohio University in Athens (1972); an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (1977); and honorary doctorates from the University of Ohio (1993), the Rhode Island School of Design (2003), and New School University, New York (2005). Whether questioning consumerist impulses, describing torture, or lamenting death and disease, Jenny Holzer’s use of language provokes a response in the viewer. While her subversive work often blends in among advertisements in public space, its arresting content violates expectations. Holzer’s texts—such as the aphorisms “abuse of power comes as no surprise” and “protect me from what I want”—have appeared on posters and condoms, and as electronic LED signs and projections of xenon light. Holzer’s recent use of text ranges from silk-screened paintings of declassified government memoranda detailing prisoner abuse, to poetry and prose in a 65-foot wide wall of light in the lobby of 7 World Trade Center, New York.
“MOCA is thrilled to honor Jenny Holzer with the 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts,” said MOCA Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Young. “This unique fundraising opportunity celebrates the work of a brilliant artist, who has created powerful statements of conviction and social commentary for more than three decades.”
“We hope that the community will join us in recognizing and celebrating the achievements of this accomplished and exceptional artist, and in supporting one of the leading contemporary art education programs in the United States,” said The MOCA Projects Council President Pamela J. Smith. “The focus of the Projects Council support group is MOCA Education, which has a long history of collaborating with artists and community organizations to bring the rewards and challenges of contemporary art to a broad audience. Its programs serve 30,000 students and community members each year.”
The MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts was established by The MOCA Projects Council in 1994 to recognize the many gifted women providing leadership and innovation in the visual arts, dance, music, and literature. Jenny Holzer designed the bronze plaque, which features one of the artist’s truisms: “It is in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender.” Past recipients include noted collector and patron Beatrice Gersh (1994), editor Tina Brown (1997), choreographer Twyla Tharp (1999), actress and director Anjelica Huston (2001), and artists Barbara Kruger (2001) and Yoko Ono (2003).
Holzer was born in Gallipolis, Ohio in 1950. She received a BA from Ohio University in Athens (1972); an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (1977); and honorary doctorates from the University of Ohio (1993), the Rhode Island School of Design (2003), and New School University, New York (2005). Whether questioning consumerist impulses, describing torture, or lamenting death and disease, Jenny Holzer’s use of language provokes a response in the viewer. While her subversive work often blends in among advertisements in public space, its arresting content violates expectations. Holzer’s texts—such as the aphorisms “abuse of power comes as no surprise” and “protect me from what I want”—have appeared on posters and condoms, and as electronic LED signs and projections of xenon light. Holzer’s recent use of text ranges from silk-screened paintings of declassified government memoranda detailing prisoner abuse, to poetry and prose in a 65-foot wide wall of light in the lobby of 7 World Trade Center, New York.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Summerfair Awards Recognize Small and Mid-Sized Local Arts Organizations
Summerfair Cincinnati, a non-profit arts organization located in Anderson Township, has awarded grants to six greater Cincinnati performing and visual arts organizations through its Special Grants program.
Summerfair Cincinnati’s Special Grants program was established in 1976, and its initial recipients included the Cincinnati Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
Today the program focuses its support on small and mid-sized arts organizations providing grants to assist organizations with the creation of new programs, expansion of current programs, or assistance with production or presentation expenses. “There are so many wonderful small arts organizations in our area and we are happy to help support their initiatives,” said Krista Paas, Summerfair Cincinnati’s Board Trustee of Grants. “It’s important that we provide creative outlets and experiences for everyone and the grants help do just that.”
Criteria for receiving one of the grants included quality of the art performed/produced, diversity and number of people benefiting, innovative qualities, and potential for attracting a new audience for the arts.
The 2010 Summerfair Cincinnati Special Grant recipients are:
The Betts House
The grant will be used to fund art supplies for the
Family Fun Saturday program.
Cincinnati Sound Chorus of Sweet Adelines
International
The grant will be used to assist with fixed
operating expenses.
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
The grant will be used to fund three educational
outreach initiatives: the Prelude Program, Fairy
Godmother Program, and Community Performances.
Hamilton Fairfield Symphony Orchestra
The grant will be used to fund the new “Community
Outreach Initiative” to make live, professional music
more assessable to the entire community.
Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University
The grant will be used to assist with programming
promoting the creative expression capacities of people
with dementia.
Young Voices
The grant will be used for the summer educational
programming for both youth and adults.
Summerfair Cincinnati’s Special Grants program was established in 1976, and its initial recipients included the Cincinnati Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
Today the program focuses its support on small and mid-sized arts organizations providing grants to assist organizations with the creation of new programs, expansion of current programs, or assistance with production or presentation expenses. “There are so many wonderful small arts organizations in our area and we are happy to help support their initiatives,” said Krista Paas, Summerfair Cincinnati’s Board Trustee of Grants. “It’s important that we provide creative outlets and experiences for everyone and the grants help do just that.”
Criteria for receiving one of the grants included quality of the art performed/produced, diversity and number of people benefiting, innovative qualities, and potential for attracting a new audience for the arts.
The 2010 Summerfair Cincinnati Special Grant recipients are:
The Betts House
The grant will be used to fund art supplies for the
Family Fun Saturday program.
Cincinnati Sound Chorus of Sweet Adelines
International
The grant will be used to assist with fixed
operating expenses.
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
The grant will be used to fund three educational
outreach initiatives: the Prelude Program, Fairy
Godmother Program, and Community Performances.
Hamilton Fairfield Symphony Orchestra
The grant will be used to fund the new “Community
Outreach Initiative” to make live, professional music
more assessable to the entire community.
Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University
The grant will be used to assist with programming
promoting the creative expression capacities of people
with dementia.
Young Voices
The grant will be used for the summer educational
programming for both youth and adults.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Side by Side: Oberlin’s Masterworks at the Met
Twenty European and American masterworks from the 16th-20th centuries in the collection of the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College are on display in the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York during spring and summer 2010. The works are integrated into the Met’s galleries, giving visitors the rare opportunity to see them with those by the same artists or from similar contexts from the Met’s world-renowned collections.
The AMAM’s Ter Brugghen painting St. Sebastian Tended by Irene, one of the most important Northern Baroque paintings in the United States, is displayed with the Met’s The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John by the same artist. These two works appear in Only in America: 100 European Masterpieces in American Museums Unmatched in European Collections (2006); there Pierre Rosenberg, former director of the Louvre, singled out the AMAM painting as the one painting in an American museum named most often by art historians and curators worldwide as unparalleled in Europe.
AMAM paintings by Domenichino, Sweerts, Turner, Monet, and Cézanne are also seen alongside important works by those artists in the Met’s collection. Despite its much smaller size, the AMAM has also loaned works by artists not found in the Met’s permanent collection of paintings and sculpture: paintings by Erhard Altdorfer, the Cavaliere d’Arpino, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner—along with the AMAM’s wooden sculpture by Kirchner—add new voices to the Met’s extensive holdings. The AMAM’s Rothko, Gottlieb, and Newman paintings are displayed in the Met’s Modern galleries; the first two were instrumental in the early definitions of the importance of abstract art in the United States in the early 1940s.
The AMAM is similarly loaning 20 17th-19th century works to the Cleveland Museum of Art this year.
The AMAM’s current building renovation project has provided the opportunity for works from the collection to travel widely. The project includes a comprehensive renovation of the museum’s electrical, mechanical, plumbing and other systems and an expansion of art storage. Many sustainable components are incorporated, including 18 geothermal wells. The renovation seeks to achieve a Gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
In conjunction with the exhibition Side by Side: Oberlin’s Masterworks at the Met, the AMAM and The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Education department have teamed up to organize a series of gallery talks about the Oberlin works in the Met’s galleries.
Program Schedule
The exhibition will travel to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., where it will be on view from September 11, 2010—January 16, 2011. It was organized by Andria Derstine, AMAM Curator of Collections and Curator of European & American Art, and Stephanie Wiles, AMAM Director, and is being overseen at the Met by Maryan Ainsworth, Curator in the Department of European Paintings and an Oberlin College alumna (1971).
The AMAM’s Ter Brugghen painting St. Sebastian Tended by Irene, one of the most important Northern Baroque paintings in the United States, is displayed with the Met’s The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John by the same artist. These two works appear in Only in America: 100 European Masterpieces in American Museums Unmatched in European Collections (2006); there Pierre Rosenberg, former director of the Louvre, singled out the AMAM painting as the one painting in an American museum named most often by art historians and curators worldwide as unparalleled in Europe.
AMAM paintings by Domenichino, Sweerts, Turner, Monet, and Cézanne are also seen alongside important works by those artists in the Met’s collection. Despite its much smaller size, the AMAM has also loaned works by artists not found in the Met’s permanent collection of paintings and sculpture: paintings by Erhard Altdorfer, the Cavaliere d’Arpino, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner—along with the AMAM’s wooden sculpture by Kirchner—add new voices to the Met’s extensive holdings. The AMAM’s Rothko, Gottlieb, and Newman paintings are displayed in the Met’s Modern galleries; the first two were instrumental in the early definitions of the importance of abstract art in the United States in the early 1940s.
The AMAM is similarly loaning 20 17th-19th century works to the Cleveland Museum of Art this year.
The AMAM’s current building renovation project has provided the opportunity for works from the collection to travel widely. The project includes a comprehensive renovation of the museum’s electrical, mechanical, plumbing and other systems and an expansion of art storage. Many sustainable components are incorporated, including 18 geothermal wells. The renovation seeks to achieve a Gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
In conjunction with the exhibition Side by Side: Oberlin’s Masterworks at the Met, the AMAM and The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Education department have teamed up to organize a series of gallery talks about the Oberlin works in the Met’s galleries.
Program Schedule
The exhibition will travel to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., where it will be on view from September 11, 2010—January 16, 2011. It was organized by Andria Derstine, AMAM Curator of Collections and Curator of European & American Art, and Stephanie Wiles, AMAM Director, and is being overseen at the Met by Maryan Ainsworth, Curator in the Department of European Paintings and an Oberlin College alumna (1971).
Monday, March 15, 2010
Fashion Designer John Bartlett at the CAC
Internationally renowned fashion designer and native Cincinnatian, John Bartlett, takes a break from his busy schedule to speak at the Contemporary Arts Center during the last week of Marilyn Minter: Chewing Color. Bartlett, who hails from Anderson Township, runs his own eponymous menswear label and is Creative Director at Liz Claiborne overseeing the collection Claiborne by John Bartlett.
On Monday, April 26th at the CAC John Bartlett will talk about the relationship between fashion and art and his experience using creativity as a tool in his life. He will discuss his roots and inspiration in Cincinnati, and the vision he is pursuing with his flagship store in Manhattan's West Village as a "breeding ground of creativity and a collaboration of diverse local artisans."
On Monday, April 26th at the CAC John Bartlett will talk about the relationship between fashion and art and his experience using creativity as a tool in his life. He will discuss his roots and inspiration in Cincinnati, and the vision he is pursuing with his flagship store in Manhattan's West Village as a "breeding ground of creativity and a collaboration of diverse local artisans."
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Cincinnati Art Snob on WMKV
Cincinnati Art Snob will be featured on Around the Town with Mort Zemski. The 30-minute interview will air twice on WMKV: March 20th at 10:30am and March 24th at 2pm.
Be sure to tune in to WMKV 89.3.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Fine Art Fund Inclusion - By Invitation Only
Americans for the Arts has invited Margy Waller of the Fine Arts Fund to blog about their report on communicating for the arts.
Ms. Waller's initial blog post (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) is titled "Making the Case: Effective Messaging for the Arts." According to Ms. Waller, the FAF began in 2008 "to develop an inclusive community dialogue leading to broadly shared public responsibility for arts and culture." (emphasis is mine).
The Fine Arts Fund may have developed a research-based answer with catchy phrases like "ripple effects," but the conversation the FAF dictates remains exclusive, private, and by invitation only.
Consider yourself invited.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Art of the American Indians in Cleveland
Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection, a major traveling exhibition, developed by the Fenimore Art Museum, making its debut at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) this month, explores Native North American art from the Eastern Woodlands to the Northwest through more than 140 masterpieces spanning 2,000 years. The exhibition provides visitors with a broad understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic accomplishments and cultural heritage of this country’s first peoples. Art of the American Indians is currently on view, and runs through May 30 before traveling to Minneapolis and Indianapolis.
The objects in the exhibition are drawn from the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of Native North American Art, which was carefully assembled over the past two decades by Eugene V. Thaw, one of the art world’s most distinguished connoisseurs and collectors of art. This is the first time this collection is being treated as an exhibition and several key objects will only be seen at the Cleveland venue.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see an extraordinary range of Native North American works of the highest quality, each piece a paragon of creativity and artistic excellence,” said Sue Bergh, associate curator of Pre-Columbian and Native North American art, CMA. “In Eugene Thaw’s own words, ‘Indian material culture stands rightfully with ancient art masterpieces of Asia and Europe as their equivalent.’ We are delighted to offer visitors this opportunity to more deeply examine this fascinating dimension of the American experience and history.”
The works in Art of the American Indians are organized by geographic regions, moving from the ancient ivories and ingenious modern masks of the Arctic to the astonishingly beautiful and dramatic arts of the Pacific Northwest, which form one of the pillars of the Thaw Collection. The basketry of Native weavers appears in a section devoted to California and the adjacent Great Basin, home of Louisa Keyser (also known as Dat So La Lee), a renowned Washoe basket weaver and one of the most celebrated Native artists. Beacon Lights, Keyser’s most famous creation, will be a centerpiece of the exhibition.
The abstract art of the culturally complex Southwest will be shown in both its ancient and modern manifestations. From the Plains come outstanding examples of the colorful beaded, feathered, and painted works for which the region is most famous. Finally are the Eastern Woodlands, including the Great Lakes, and their visually quieter and more contemplative arts, which are another of the collection’s great strengths.
The objects in the exhibition are drawn from the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of Native North American Art, which was carefully assembled over the past two decades by Eugene V. Thaw, one of the art world’s most distinguished connoisseurs and collectors of art. This is the first time this collection is being treated as an exhibition and several key objects will only be seen at the Cleveland venue.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see an extraordinary range of Native North American works of the highest quality, each piece a paragon of creativity and artistic excellence,” said Sue Bergh, associate curator of Pre-Columbian and Native North American art, CMA. “In Eugene Thaw’s own words, ‘Indian material culture stands rightfully with ancient art masterpieces of Asia and Europe as their equivalent.’ We are delighted to offer visitors this opportunity to more deeply examine this fascinating dimension of the American experience and history.”
The works in Art of the American Indians are organized by geographic regions, moving from the ancient ivories and ingenious modern masks of the Arctic to the astonishingly beautiful and dramatic arts of the Pacific Northwest, which form one of the pillars of the Thaw Collection. The basketry of Native weavers appears in a section devoted to California and the adjacent Great Basin, home of Louisa Keyser (also known as Dat So La Lee), a renowned Washoe basket weaver and one of the most celebrated Native artists. Beacon Lights, Keyser’s most famous creation, will be a centerpiece of the exhibition.
The abstract art of the culturally complex Southwest will be shown in both its ancient and modern manifestations. From the Plains come outstanding examples of the colorful beaded, feathered, and painted works for which the region is most famous. Finally are the Eastern Woodlands, including the Great Lakes, and their visually quieter and more contemplative arts, which are another of the collection’s great strengths.
Please see the museum website for additional information and programing.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Shepard Fairey: Greater Cincinnati Artists Engage the Debate.
With a couple of local reviews of the Shepard Fairey show, Greater Cincinnati artists are having the discussion the CAC has so far tactfully avoided.
Artist and Miami University adjunct, Alan Pocaro recently wrote this review of Fairey's work. And now artist and Aeqai founder, A.C Frabetti brings the debate surrounding Fairey's legal case to the surface of our local discourse. Further, Frabetti uncovers the moral (rather than legal) implications of Fairey's imagery. Dealing with art's moral role that should always be at the heart of discussion. The CAC's work to capitalize on Supply and Demand has so far rejected hosting this important conversation.
Back in April I asked if the CAC was on the wrong side of art. The promotion of Supply and Demand with no acknowledgement of its problems (failure to display or mention Manny Garcia's photo!), is shameful. Until they engage in an honest discussion about contemporary art, the CAC will be viewed as a mere venue for art parties. Fortunately, Greater Cincinnati artists are engaging the important debates the CAC ignores.
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Fine Arts Fund Refuses To Have a Public Dialogue
After trying to engage in a discussion about supporting the arts throughout Greater Cincinnati, the Fine Arts Fund has told me personally they have no intentions of having a public discussion with me.
I've been informed, by phone, the Fine Arts Fund is not interested in participating in any of my blog discussions and refuses to respond to any Twitter queries in public.
Being an advocate for the arts is about inviting more people to the table...to a public table.
NEA National Medal of Arts Comes to Ohio
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a recipient of the 2009 National Medal of Arts, the highest award given by the United States government to artists and arts patrons in recognition of the wealth and depth of their creative expressions.
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the only professional music school to be so honored by President Obama.
The other honorees for 2009 are: singer and songwriter Bob Dylan; director and actor Clint Eastwood; graphic designer Milton Glaser; architect and sculptor Maya Lin; singer, dancer, and actress Rita Moreno; soprano Jessye Norman; arts patron and design advocate Joseph P. Riley Jr.; painter and sculptor Frank Stella; conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; composer and conductor John Williams; and the School of American Ballet.
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the only professional music school to be so honored by President Obama.
The other honorees for 2009 are: singer and songwriter Bob Dylan; director and actor Clint Eastwood; graphic designer Milton Glaser; architect and sculptor Maya Lin; singer, dancer, and actress Rita Moreno; soprano Jessye Norman; arts patron and design advocate Joseph P. Riley Jr.; painter and sculptor Frank Stella; conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; composer and conductor John Williams; and the School of American Ballet.
Confession
I'm not sure if this is a Lenten penance, but I was recently invited to offer my confession on Hyperallergic regarding my dislike of Impressionism.
Thank you Hrag. I do feel better now.
Thank you Hrag. I do feel better now.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
New OAC Project Support Program
The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) has created a Project Support program to provide a funding category to a broad range of organizations that present arts programming. Arts, cultural, community-based and social service organizations that have received FY2010/20011 OAC Sustainability funding with budgets under $1.5 million may apply to this program. The deadline to apply to this program is April 1, 2010.
“One way we felt the OAC could respond to the changing economic conditions was with a more flexible funding category,” said Julie Henahan, OAC executive director. “This Project Support funding will be useful for organizations wanting to respond to unforeseen opportunities, one-time special events or initiatives, or changing community conditions.”
In FY2011 (July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011), the Project Support program will serve as a transition program to a more broadly defined project category that will be in place for FY2012 (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012) and beyond.
Proposed projects can address a variety of artistic and civic aims that may include: the production of new or innovative works of art; use of cultural assets as an economic development tool; cultivation of new audiences for the arts; forming strategic partnerships that further artistic and community priorities; or increasing cultural tourism.
Organizations must demonstrate excellent artistic, educational and cultural value, responsiveness to their community, credible planning and evaluation strategies, and rigorous financial and management accountability. Attention to these qualities ensures that funded organizations are prepared to advance their artistic missions and make significant contributions to their community’s health and vitality.
For more information on how to apply, visit the OAC Guidelines at www.oac.state.oh.us/grantsprogs/guidelines/guide_intro.asp
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
“One way we felt the OAC could respond to the changing economic conditions was with a more flexible funding category,” said Julie Henahan, OAC executive director. “This Project Support funding will be useful for organizations wanting to respond to unforeseen opportunities, one-time special events or initiatives, or changing community conditions.”
In FY2011 (July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011), the Project Support program will serve as a transition program to a more broadly defined project category that will be in place for FY2012 (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012) and beyond.
Proposed projects can address a variety of artistic and civic aims that may include: the production of new or innovative works of art; use of cultural assets as an economic development tool; cultivation of new audiences for the arts; forming strategic partnerships that further artistic and community priorities; or increasing cultural tourism.
Organizations must demonstrate excellent artistic, educational and cultural value, responsiveness to their community, credible planning and evaluation strategies, and rigorous financial and management accountability. Attention to these qualities ensures that funded organizations are prepared to advance their artistic missions and make significant contributions to their community’s health and vitality.
For more information on how to apply, visit the OAC Guidelines at www.oac.state.oh.us/grantsprogs/guidelines/guide_intro.asp
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Why do I Keep Missing The Fairey Murals?
With the snow melting now, the Shepard Fairey murals are reportedly going up. I know this because I follow the CAC on Facebook and Twitter. For the past few days a number of slide shows have developed showcasing the work around town. The slide show is a great marketing tool for the museum and the show. It is a good way to let me know where this "street artist" is at the moment and where I can see the murals....er...without having to go to the museum. (hmm...)
However, while keeping an eye on the slide show reporting, I realized I've walked or driven past at least 2 or 3 of these murals in the past week, but never noticed them. I think perhaps this is because I've seen so many pictures of these murals in other cities so don't notice these as anything new in my personal visual landscape.
As copies of other murals in other cities, the Fairey murals here in Cincinnati seem to be more like the old Mail Pouch Tobacco ads, only without the nostalgia.
Perhaps that's the point....to copy the commercial.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Fine Arts Sampler Challenge
It's that time of year again when the city of Cincinnati stops supporting the arts to support the Fine Arts Fund.
Today, the Fine Arts Fund kicks off it's 10-week capital campaign with a goal of $11 million. There will be many events throughout the Greater Cincinnati region, particularly this weekend with the Fine Arts Sampler Weekend. This is certainly one of the most exciting arts weekend in the city. A time when art is almost unavoidable to see and experience (my kind of weekend). Art venues from both sides of the river as well as in many of our northern suburbs open their spaces in the hopes for bigger audiences to participate in classes, see and hear performances, and meet artists. With such a grand showcase, the Fine Arts Fund hopes even in this economy to encourage people to see the importance of the arts and support them....them, being the Fine Arts Fund.
You see, during the FAF 10-week capital campaign the "big eight" agrees to suspend all fundraising efforts. Of course this is to insure FAF campaign success. But this also supports the old trickle down theory of arts support the FAF pushes. According to their notion, if you support the FAF and the big institutions, our smaller arts organizations will survive. As I've maintained from the beginning of this blog, trickle down doesn't work in economics and it certainly doesn't work in the arts.
Enjoy the Fine Arts Sampler this weekend. There really is so much happening in the arts here in Greater Cincinnati. And as you recognize this wealth of art again this year, I challenge you to truly support the arts. You can do this by personally becoming a member of any of our arts organizations. There are many art organizations that have wonderful membership packages filled with events and activities in which you will want to participate throughout the year. Your access to the arts is more direct if you are member of an arts organization.
Challenge: For any event, art class, and venue you visit this weekend, consider giving directly to that arts organization. Or even better, become a member of an organization you have visited this weekend.
Your access to the arts is more direct if you support the art organizations than if you support the Fine Arts Fund. So don't stop supporting the arts these next few weeks.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Cincinnati's New Art Dialogue is Playing an Old Tune
A couple of weeks ago I, with a number of others in the city, was invited by The Enquirer to participate in a new local arts dialogue. After a series of budget cuts in the past couple of years that effectively closed the curtain on media coverage of the visual arts here in Greater Cincinnati, Tom Callinan sees this re-engagement of the arts as a civic duty and responsibility to the city. I don't disagree. In fact, I'd go as far as calling it a moral responsibility. As an arts writer and local blogger, I welcome being part of this discussion.
A few of us met this past week for our first conversation. After introductions we voiced some concerns and some ideas. A general consensus though seemed to be that the Enquirer must work towards including more voices into the discussion. Some of us suggested this can be achieved by presenting new stories or profiling different local arts organizations, or simply by providing a comprehensive listing of the various art events and educational activities happening all over Greater Cincinnati throughout the year. Of course, our meetings can also be seen as an effort to achieve a more comprehensive and honest discussion about the arts.
However, less than 24 hours after Tom Callinan met with us. the Enquirer published a series of stories on "The State of the Arts" presented by the same old voices, pushing the same old language. One opinion piece by Ray Cooklis claims, "And when those major institutions struggle, problems can be magnified for the smaller, less established arts groups on which so much of the future depends." The major institutions to which Cooklis referred are "The Big Eight. The Enquirer included a slide show beautifully parading these local institutions.
This top down approach to funding (resulting in rejecting an honest engagement of) the arts is exactly the problem many of our local arts organization struggle against. This dialogue is not new, it's wrong. People in the arts (especially those in our major institutions) and those who do honest and real foundation work like The Cleveland Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation know their success results in the opposite approach. They know that the strength of our museums and galleries rests squarely on the strength of our smaller arts organizations. Organizations like the Clifton Cultural Arts Center and Funke Fired Arts that actively reach out to the community providing educational programs that enhance those offered by out museums instill the love of art. They are the recruiters of future patrons of the arts.
Until claims like this one and phrases like "the big eight" are eliminated from the conversation, there will be no new dialogue, just the old song and dance.
However, less than 24 hours after Tom Callinan met with us. the Enquirer published a series of stories on "The State of the Arts" presented by the same old voices, pushing the same old language. One opinion piece by Ray Cooklis claims, "And when those major institutions struggle, problems can be magnified for the smaller, less established arts groups on which so much of the future depends." The major institutions to which Cooklis referred are "The Big Eight. The Enquirer included a slide show beautifully parading these local institutions.
This top down approach to funding (resulting in rejecting an honest engagement of) the arts is exactly the problem many of our local arts organization struggle against. This dialogue is not new, it's wrong. People in the arts (especially those in our major institutions) and those who do honest and real foundation work like The Cleveland Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation know their success results in the opposite approach. They know that the strength of our museums and galleries rests squarely on the strength of our smaller arts organizations. Organizations like the Clifton Cultural Arts Center and Funke Fired Arts that actively reach out to the community providing educational programs that enhance those offered by out museums instill the love of art. They are the recruiters of future patrons of the arts.
Until claims like this one and phrases like "the big eight" are eliminated from the conversation, there will be no new dialogue, just the old song and dance.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Where is ArtWorks?
With so much talk about the upcoming Shepard Fairey Supply and Demand at the CAC, there seems to be a growing recognition of street art or at least the commercialization of it. With the soon to be unveiled area murals painted by Fairey, local businesses (not yet revealed) are in the ready to be celebrated as partners in art.
Where are our local artists? In all of the local promotion of this exhibition, I have seen little recognition of our own street artists, specifically our MuralWorks artists.
CAC Director Raphaela Platow suggests, "the boundary between commercial art and contemporary art is artificial," and as we unveil the commercial murals, a perceived wall blocking recognition of Cincinnati's contemporary street artists seems to be erecting around town.
I don't necessarily blame this on the CAC. The UnMuseum on the 6th floor plans to include works by ArtWorks and Able Projects in conjunction with Supply and Demand. The weakness in promotion of our local artists seems to rest with ArtWorks. I've criticized Artworks in the past for their inability to represent and promote the local arts in any respectable way. The response was mixed, but mostly called on me to recognize this 8 year old non-profit organization as strapped for help and perhaps money. I don't buy it.
ArtWorks has a strong p.r. and development arm flexing itself during the spring and summer months. During these months we see a continuous call for artists to teach and work through the summer on projects that include many of our city's murals. And the Secret ArtWorks fundraiser is arguably one of the most successful annual art mixers as the place to be. Like the ease of properly labeling works, offering props to our local artists is nearly effortless with social networking. And now with Supply and Demand ready to open and ArtWorks working on collaborative programing with the CAC, permitting our local artists to be virtually invisible is inexcusable. Such failure to promote our artists results in merely commercializing or commodifying the local arts.
So perhaps Platow is correct: "the boundary between commercial art and contemporary art is artificial." Is this the goal?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Experience the Alternative
The galleries in Brighton (just inside the west end of Cincinnati) are some of the most exciting in the city. As most are alternative galleries, they are wonderfully difficult to pin down. Local artist and writer, Matt Morris, is actively involved in the Brighton art district. Recently, Matt sat down with Jane Durrell of WVXU to talk about the Brighton galleries.
Brighton is a new must-experience Cincinnati space.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Cincinnati Art Snob Opens Door to More Community Engagement as well as National Presence
With my launch party days away I'm seeing a long sought after evolution of the Cincinnati Art Snob. While the discussions on the blog have changed from almost exclusively exhibition reviews, to artist interviews (which I plan to continue) to reactions to current news in the arts, my interest in maintaining an intellectual discussion in the arts locally and nationally is beginning to blossom.
The basic mission of the custom art tours I provide is to invite more people into our art discussion here in Cincinnati by offering a more comprehensive presentation of the arts throughout Greater Cincinnati. Of course, my mission is not completely selfless. Designing and offering these tours allows me to to become more engaged in my city's people, history, and culture. Just as art is not created in a vacuum, this discussion about the arts must extend to various members of the community as well those in other cities and states. Social media like this blog, Facebook, Linked-in, and especially Twitter has permitted me to be part of this larger discussion in the arts. This interaction has resulted in a few concrete projects that I hope will further enrich the art discussion we can have locally.
I have recently been invited to participate in a local arts dialogue with a number of leaders in the Greater Cincinnati arts community. The group is still forming, but I look forward to learning more from those who have likely advocated in the local arts community much longer than my 5 years.
Another upcoming project I am very excited about is with the quarterly magazine, Visual Overture. Visual Overture is much like an art exhibition in print. With a juried quarterly competition that invites artists from all over the world, the magazine showcases seven emerging artists. Visual Overture has asked me to be their single juror for their Spring issue. By the way, the deadline for submission is April 1st.
And just last week, I was invited to write an essay for well-known New York art writer, Hrag Vartanian. This invitation came as I confessed my dislike for Impressionism. He responded by allowing me to rant on his blog, but of course I realize this means I must step up and defend my stand against this rather popular style. I always tell my students they don't have to like everything I show them in our art history class, but they do have to be able to explain why they don't. Hrag is providing me a chance to do the same.
So as the Cincinnati Art Snob evolves, the blog will do the same. Though any change will not be at the cost of an intellectually honest discussion. With my refocus in the local arts as well as maintaining a presence outside of the city, I hope my contribution to the conversation will be much more valuable to the arts.
The basic mission of the custom art tours I provide is to invite more people into our art discussion here in Cincinnati by offering a more comprehensive presentation of the arts throughout Greater Cincinnati. Of course, my mission is not completely selfless. Designing and offering these tours allows me to to become more engaged in my city's people, history, and culture. Just as art is not created in a vacuum, this discussion about the arts must extend to various members of the community as well those in other cities and states. Social media like this blog, Facebook, Linked-in, and especially Twitter has permitted me to be part of this larger discussion in the arts. This interaction has resulted in a few concrete projects that I hope will further enrich the art discussion we can have locally.
I have recently been invited to participate in a local arts dialogue with a number of leaders in the Greater Cincinnati arts community. The group is still forming, but I look forward to learning more from those who have likely advocated in the local arts community much longer than my 5 years.
Another upcoming project I am very excited about is with the quarterly magazine, Visual Overture. Visual Overture is much like an art exhibition in print. With a juried quarterly competition that invites artists from all over the world, the magazine showcases seven emerging artists. Visual Overture has asked me to be their single juror for their Spring issue. By the way, the deadline for submission is April 1st.
And just last week, I was invited to write an essay for well-known New York art writer, Hrag Vartanian. This invitation came as I confessed my dislike for Impressionism. He responded by allowing me to rant on his blog, but of course I realize this means I must step up and defend my stand against this rather popular style. I always tell my students they don't have to like everything I show them in our art history class, but they do have to be able to explain why they don't. Hrag is providing me a chance to do the same.
So as the Cincinnati Art Snob evolves, the blog will do the same. Though any change will not be at the cost of an intellectually honest discussion. With my refocus in the local arts as well as maintaining a presence outside of the city, I hope my contribution to the conversation will be much more valuable to the arts.
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