Sell a Public Sculpture on CraigsList?

I had a post for this week already in the queue, so to speak, but this controversy is too hot to let slip by! Apparently New York Congressman Wiener and Councilwoman Ferreras think it's okay to sell works of public art, owned by public entities, on CraigsList. Consider this: Frederick MacMonnies's Civic Virtue. Read one of the many reports online here and the actual CraigsList posting here: For Sale: 22-ton (sexist) marble “Triumph of Civic Virtue” statue by renowned sculptor Frederick MacMonnies. Own a (tasteless) piece of New York City history! Triumph of Civic Virtue created by sculptor Frederick MacMonnies – the artist behind iconic figures such as the Quadriga in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza – is now up for sale for a limited time. This controversial and offensive statue crudely depicts a young man with a sword triumphantly standing over the defeated bodies of two women. In 1941, then-Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia had the good sense to banish the figure from its initial location in City Hall Park. Unfortunately, it ended up in Kew Gardens, where it remains to this day. Now, community leaders want to see it go. All proceeds from the sale of this sexist eyesore will benefit the city of New York. Shipping is not included. -Posted By Rep. Anthony Weiner

Times have changed...or, have they? Read an interesting letter to the Editor, that appeared in the New York Times 24 years ago, about this sculpture and its history. MacMonnies' sculpture is considered a landmark work because of its place in public history, social history, and art history. As someone who researches and promotes public art -- its past, present, and future -- I see this sculpture's relevance today wrapped into a tight matrix with its past. Someone's desire to move the work, or, in this case --the sale of that work to anyone -- does not necessitate action. The current debate focuses not on moving the sculpture to another location nor on its condition but on its sexist portrayal of women.

As we enter Women's History Month, I ask readers to consider what this proposed action really invites. Does it sanction taste? Does it censor? Does it foreground feminism as the concern in an effort to raise funds for a budget that has been depleted for months? Could the primary concern in this CraigsList Conundrum be activism? Consider the source...A quick wiki search reveals that Weiner was Jon Stewart's roommate in college, represents a multi-ethnic and diverse district in Brooklyn and Queens, and places his focus on concerns such as quality of life issues for his constituents. Read through the wiki info on him and you'll notice a dearth of activity related to public art and arts funding. And, yet, his CraigsList posting discloses his authority to judge an historic work of art by calling it "tasteless", "controversial", and "offensive." This action and the use of language, to me, at least, suggests that the posting serves as a knee-jerk reaction and activist motion with another agenda and, yet, I am not sure what the agenda is. The base thought of selling a work of public art on CraigsList brims with complication, confusion, and impropriety -- at least in my opinion. Or, should I use Weiner's own words about the sculpture against him? Was his act tasteless, controversial, and offensive? I'd be interested to read what you think.

BTW, photo credit: http://kewgardenshistory.com/ss-queensblvd/qb-0500-NL.html

Gabriel Dawe thread installation

Holly shared this with me yesterday and thought I would pass along Gabriel Dawe's site.

Boris's tidbits Friday 2/25/2011

9 a.m. Instead of your morning read, consider the quote in the current issue of frieze. Peter Schjeldahl cites an example of writing in Wallace Stevens and makes a case for the professional critic. Enjoy a chuckle.

"Attention Artists! Perhaps you employ language in your work. You may be highly literate. But you don't have to say what your art means or even is about. Furthermore, don't do that. It's my job. You make the stuff. Let critics talk about it. Making is superior to talking, so you have the better end of the deal."

11 a.m. I will be visiting Art History (Ratliff) course today. My contribution will be on the topic of "sources" in studio work, and time permitting, in teaching painting, too. Please join me for discussion.

12 noon. My AWW exhibition is to be deinstalled today (stop by for a one more glimpse if you can) I plan to oversee the process throughout the day.

1 p.m. In ART455, Senior Project will meet to discuss their latest work, writings and overall progress. If possible some work may be on display over the weekend. Look for it around the building.

6 p.m. The Lexington Art League hosts the Fifth Third Bank 4th Friday reception. Fifth Third Bank 4th Friday is on February 25, 2011 from 6p - 9p at LAL @ Loudoun House. Admission is free for members and $7 for potential members. LAL Project Space Fountain: A Place for Tears run now thru March 13, 2011. Gallery Hours are Tuesday thru Friday 10a - 4p and Saturday thru Sunday 1p - 4p, during which time admission is free.

Ai Weiwei redux: selling art

Readers of this blog will recall recent posts about the work of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. There's a few links to review our discussions here: a) and b) He's back in the news for the sale of a limited edition of his sunflowers. What value does this inscribe to the work when it is reproduced or, even, disambiguated and then sold? I am reminded of the writings of Walter Benjamin, his "Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" particularly, where he comments on the social and political implications of seeing a work of art repeatedly, because it is made available. I realize that Weiwei's work --all 100,000 of these sunflowers--are made by skilled artisans. Is each an original? Or, rather, where is this singular, original sunflower? In the context of Weiwei's work, what is an original? Where does authenticity lie? I'm interested in hearing thoughts on this, particular from students whose work employs multiples.

Side note: AHRG (also known as AHRECO) meets today at noon. We'll discuss Degas with readings selected and led by Elizabeth. Please join us!

Now Showing in the LRC

We have three new movies available for check-out at the LRC that may be of interest.

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye—This may be of great interest to those in the Portrait and Lighting class, especially for the upcoming portrait report and homage project.

"Heinz Bütler interviews Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) late in life. Cartier-Bresson pulls out photographs, comments briefly, and holds them up to Bütler's camera. A few others share observations, including Isabelle Huppert, Arthur Miller, and Josef Koudelka. Cartier-Bresson talks about his travels, including Mexico in the 1930s, imprisonment during World War II, being with Gandhi moments before his assassination, and returning to sketching late in life. He shows us examples. He talks about becoming and being a photographer, about composition, and about some of his secrets to capture the moment. Written by jhailey@hotmail.com" IMDb

Herb & Dorothy—Perhaps of note for lovers of contemporary art, and art historians in particular.

"He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian. With their modest means, the couple managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history. Meet Herb and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and disciplines and defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector. Written by Anonymous" IMDb

Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman—This movie may be interesting to a number of folks, from photographers, lovers of architecture, graphic designers (for the motion graphics utilized in the film), to those who just enjoy the modernist aesthetic.

"Visual Acoustics celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world's greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away this year, captured the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry. His images epitomized the singular beauty of Southern California's modernist movement and brought its iconic structures to the attention of the general public. This unique film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic, whip-smart gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images. Written by Owens/Rothschild" IMDb

Name that work

Have you ever wondered what this work that is hanging in front of the Wilson is?
 

Check out my internship blog that is linked to the right.  Also be sure to check up on the other internship blogs of this semester to see what some of your classmates are up to.

Empty Bowls TODAY and Thursday 1-3:30

Come make a bowl in the art building. Georgetown College is partnering with Ashland Community Kitchen to provide bowls for their Empty Bowls outreach. Empty Bowls is a movement that aims to end hunger through the sale of handmade bowls. GC's goal is to make 50 bowls and we need your help! Come to the art building today or Thurs. Feb. 24 from 1-3:30 to make a bowl. Clay will be provided. Note: we have only one wheel, so pinch, coil, or slab are entirely acceptable as well!

continuing computer concerns

I know, I know, but I can't let it go, at least not just yet.  Another New York Times article has captured my attention because it addresses my fears about the loss of humanity at the hands (make that chips) of the computer.  In "The Computer Made Me Do It" by William Saletan,  the author's opening statement reads, "Humanity is migrating to cyberspace."  He goes on to provide this sobering statistic:  "By age 21, the average young American has spent at least three times as many hours playing virtual games as reading."  

IBM's Watson & recent "Jeopardy!" contestant. Photo credit: HO/AFP/Getty Images

Like me, a Silicon Valley psychiatrist, Elias Aboujaoude, believes this trend does not bode well for us.  He argues that the Internet enables us to be at our worst, and he backs up his arguments with first-hand knowledge.  Aboujaoude treats patients with online compulsions.  He has written a book, Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality.  I'm going to check it out.

Meanwhile, for all of you cyber-junkies out there, there is a counter argument.  Jane McGonigal's book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, suggests that because games are more motivating than real life (?) games made to be "good/moral" allow players to transfer those attributes into the physical world.  Frankly, I think this idea is rather far fetched, and hints at commercialism perhaps expounded by the computer gaming industry.

Is the Internet just another world, like the one you create in your mind when you read a good science fiction novel?  Both have the power to engage and interact with humanity, but I still feel threatened by the former, as opposed to enlightened by the latter.

Opportunity: T-Shirt Design

deadline for the designs would be March 2 and submissions can be turned in
to the GAC office (top floor of the Student Center) or to Box #1191.

Contact skamara0@tiger.georgetowncollege.edu for details.

aspirations

(language not suitable for all)

Scott Campbell addresses the growth and path of an artist, as well as the use of narrative in his work.  Although known for his money cut pieces and holograms Scott started out in tattoo and still works under the name Saved tattoo out of New York.  I laugh at the beginning of the video when he describes how he got to where he his by going all the wrong ways.  It got me thinking (and in relation to an up coming art for lunch Unforeseen Visions) about what I wanted to be and how I got to where I am now.
It is funny because my parents didn't think I was even going to go to college let alone become a professor. I originally wanted to be in snow mountain recuse, then massage therapy, then graphic design, then ceramics and then printmaking, then woodworking and then kinda of all of it.
Scott Campbell also made mention of his history being in everything he makes.  That is so true for better or worse.

So what was everybody "supposed to be" or how you got to where you are?

ART455, a brief follow up

for ART455--

Will skip over a number of topics for a more timely continuation of the "Crit" discussion today, including formats, posings, posturings, and reflections. Especially the "privileging of the unfinished works," suggested as a problem with group formats. But for starters, can anyone help me with this one (see below). Does the paragraph (altered, translated, fractioned or whatever) hold an answer to cataloguing? Or simply asking what's "paint posed" to be preserved? Actually, does it do either at all?

Reminder for next week: Discuss new work, reproductions, title image, etc. Will postpone The Studio Visit chapter until next week.

AHRG: Art History Reading Group TODAY at noon!

Topic: "Leonardo" or Leonardo or Leonardo. Find out today at noon. Article is brief. Pick up a copy outside my office and plan on joining us.

University Open, 2011

All majors should consider submitting work to this year's University Open, held by LexArts. It is a student show exhibiting work from college students across Kentucky. Application deadline in March 25.

Georgetown has had great success in the past at the Open with our students placing high in the rankings. There are NO ENTRY FEES, so there's also no reason not to apply.

The application form can be found HERE.

Good luck!

next best thing now better?

"From where I sit Google's Art Project looks like a bandwagon everyone should jump on," states art critic Roberta Smith in her New York Times article, "The Work of Art in the Age of Google." 

Is Google's latest info-venture a good thing?  Smith believes so because it makes visual knowledge more accessible.  She admits that cruising through one of the 17 participating museums' online offerings can't compare to experiencing the real, "breathing" things, but says that the next best thing to works of art--the simulation of them--has become better.  

van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam courtesy Google Art Project

Maybe virtual visual encounters are not really about being better or worse than real, live ones.  Instead, it seems to me to have more to do with the two experiences being inherently different.  A work of art is usually a physical thing, seen or experienced in a physical space, where senses beyond sight mitigated by a screen (and touch by a mouse/pad) are employed.  A reproduction of an artwork, such as a photograph, might also be a physical thing, but once digitized and viewed through a computer interface, it becomes a cyber-thing, which is not the same as being part of the physical, or "real" world.  

Apparently, Google's project offers super-high, mega-pixel resolution of certain "star" works as well as provides an adaptation of its Street View program, which Google uses for the museums' interiors.  It's definitely worth checking out; as Smith points out, Art Project offers "time, quiet and stasis" because one can look at her leisure when and wherever she wants.  Yet, this quiet encounter remains a LONELY one. Sure, one could then blog about it, or create and share one's own collection of masterpieces as the site invites, but where's the real, human interaction that is part and parcel to the experience of a great work of human creativity?  Where are the fellow art lovers from other cultures, all jostling and positioning to get a closer look; where is the opportunity to engage with museum staff or to gauge the reaction of a small child to van Gogh's Starry Night?  What concerns me about Art Project is the creeping disintegration of our shared connection to the humanities with this type of "connectedness." 

Hot or not?

This is an exhibition of tattooed arms in cases.  They are a series of works on prosthetic limbs by Guy le Tatooer. For more images of the exhibition and some behind the scenes shots go HERE.  I though these were quite interesting.  It reminded me of what Scott Cambell said about tattoo, "it is the only art process where your medium has an opinion".  So what do you think, fantastic or not so much? 

Who can be called an Artist?

Recently I watched a documentary called "Lives of the Artists". It was a beautiful film well worth the watch. But it brings up a common question of who can be called an Artist? The film tracks a snowboarder, a band, and 3 surfers.  Would you consider any of these positions to be one held by an Artist? I personally get defensive over the term and title.  Often times people say "oh my (so and so, brother/sister/friend etc) is an artist." Most times it is them trying to relate but upon further questioning I usually find that their so and so is expressing themselves artistically and not really an artist.  I remember the big push years ago for Subway restaurants to call their sandwich makers "Sandwich artists", I could never take it seriously and if I was not supposed to I didn't like them using the term as a joke.

But this documentary actually opened me up a bit, I would never have called a snowboarder an artist but Xavier De Le Rue really had some of the most profound things to say about vision, line, and experience. The band Gallows, although not my personal taste in music had some great things to say about the position of the artist and their relationship with emotion. They see their band not as a permanent thing but as a body of work that has to end or else it becomes a mockery of itself. 

So often the term Artist is thrown around when it should not be. I know there are many camps on this issue some seeing it as superfluous while some see it as a person issue of identity.  I think back to a talk I heard as a student where the artist was definitely in the camp of personal identity and pointed out that we do not throw around other professions in the same way maybe since a large amount of the population do not value the position of the artist nor fully understand it. This speaker went on to say "If I made model bridges in my basement out of toothpicks would I call myself an engineer or architect? Then why does the person who paints out of hobby on the weekend get the title Artist?"(loose quote, it was a talk in 1999)

So what do you think? Do you think it is a matter at all?

NYC cont'd (Boris's 3rd)

Just a quick add-on-to the previous (Earl Grey's) post.
To ART455: I have attended an excellent discussion this morning, entitled "Prophet/Profit: Hirst." I would like to highly recommend thoughts by Thomas Crow, Sarah Thornton (our text), Capri Rosenberg, Debora Silverman and others, for anyone interested in the art market and looking pass "art personalities." Crow, for instance, suggested strong ties to Richter and dot paintings. I am stating this in light of Kelsey's recent works and posts. Kelsey, by the way, very glad you dropped a note about your latest images. See painters Thomas Downing (60s, 70s), John Armleder (60s), along the way, too. But all of you, please take interest in the above mentioned writers and the related scholarship. I will make it a point to pass the abstracts onto you as soon as they become available. Also, I hope you had a good session with photographing and lighting your works (thanks Darrell). We'll discuss them first thing. Best wishes from the CAA's Centennial kickoff.

Opportunity: Show Art and Sell it FASHION

EMAIL FROM: Jennifer Wesley and the Lexington Fashion Collaborative sent an email to me about a project that they do every summer: an annual fashion show called the Future of Fashion and this year we are reaching out to find designers who would be interested in joining us. We are accepting applications for women’s wear, men’s wear, children’s wear, and accessories designers on our website at www.lexingtonfashion.org.

College Art Association conference

This week I am in New York for the annual conference of College Art Association, a 99-year old organization that puts visual art at the forefront of its mission. Also known as CAA, the organization publishes two journals, Art Journal and The Art Bulletin, online publications, offers professional standards for resumes and cvs for artists and art historians, and offers myriad services to artists and art historians at every stage of their professional career. Of particular interest for students, CAA publishes two guides to art history and art studio programs (seniors, if you are interested in grad school and not borrowed these books from me, please come by and see me. They're great starting points for researching art programs!). Membership includes visual artists and art historians -- academics and independents -- as well as curators and other museum staff.

I attend the conference every year and participate in events of two organizations: Historians of British Art and Public Art Dialogue. Today, I visited the Bard Graduate Center for a discussion with curator and founding director Susan Weber about her research on the English architect and designer William Kent. Earlier, I attended a session on college and university museums and pedagogy. So far, the conference has been superb. I look forward to tomorrow's activities, especially the session on public art and community that I am co-chairing with Greg Mueller from Gustavus Adolphus College.

More to report soon! In case you're interested in reading reports from other conference attendees, read the CAA blogs here.

Chicago Trip Update

Plans are still underway to take a department trip to Chicago the weekend of April 8. We intend to take a total of 25-26 people. Two slots are reserved for Daniel and myself and seven slots are reserved for art major seniors. That leaves 16-17 available seats. Make plans now to join us.

The itinerary is to leave on Friday and head to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in the afternoon and later that day travel to northern Indiana to stay overnight.

The next morning (Saturday) we will take the train into downtown Chicago and visit a few museums, eat some fantastic food, and perhaps do a little shopping. That evening we'll take the train back to the hotel for another night's rest.

Then on Sunday we'll pack up and head back to GC, but this time we'll cut through Dayton and stop at the Dayton Art Institute before finally arriving home.

Priority registration will open soon for Kappa Pi members, then for art majors/minors, then for anyone taking an art course, and then any GC student.

Cost of the trip is being calculated and will most likely be prorated along the lines of Kappa Pi members all the way down to GC students. Once we settle on specific lodging (which is in the works) I'll have details on final cost.

Looking forward to a great trip!

Thanks, DK

Lost! Please Find :)

If anyone has seen a medium sized blue camera bag containing a Nikon dSLR please turn it over to one of the faculty or Abby Watkins. 


Thanks!! 

museum labels - how much is tmi?

For the past twenty years or so, museology scholars have discussed the notion of the museum as a temple or a forum, or even a hybrid of the two as, in my opinion, seems to be the case at most U.S. encyclopedic art museums one encounters in the twenty-first century.  With the increase in interactivity in the gallery space, especially with the advent of new digital technologies, what then do most people want from old-fashioned labels?

Recently, The Guardian's Charlotte Higgins had an interesting counter-commentary to a BBC Radio broadcast by Alain de Botton.  de Botton argued that while some might applaud museums that are fulfilling church-like functions in the modern world, these same institutions do not do an adequate job of directing folks to interpret uplifting spiritual messages from the art on display--they "don't speak to our souls".  Higgins, however, believes "...museums are first and foremost places of scholarship and ...learning the way the world fits together and the place of objects within the world", not sites for lessons on morality.

While Higgins agrees with de Botton that some museum labels are "bland," they typically provide the display object's provenance and purpose, while curators give contextual information through the object's placement in relation to others in the gallery.  Furthermore, this much information IS enough--no touch screens, recorded voices, or projected digital renderings necessary.  Higgins believes labels that force visitors to experience objects by "bringing on" emotional, spiritual or moral reflections are neither needed nor wanted.  I tend to agree as do many who posted comments to the article, all of which are well worth a look. 

Skill

     The video link below is a well worth 3 minutes and 53 seconds of your life.  (A beautiful video for House Industries.)  The design work, fonts and all are hand done including this amazing segment of a pinstriper showing off his amazing skill. This got me to thinking about skill.

     When I was in my first printmaking class I heard one of my mentors say to the class "whatever you see me do allow for  4 times the amount of time for you to do it".  This has been illustrated in the furniture class I am teaching this semester.  Right now they are making basic joinery which will soon lead into making final objects but right now they are making and re making dovetails and finger joints.  I often find it funny when so many people expect it to come out right the first time since they saw it done and it looked easy, or they think it comes natural.  I always see the black board in the drawing room when Boris teaches drawing and I see the letter forms and the straight lines he can draw with what appears to be ease.  I am a super competative person and used to have a real problem with seeing artwork like Willy Verginer seen here

and I think man I wish I could carve wood like that and I used to try and pick up everything instead of having a path of confidence in my work and trying to master one area.  I don't know if anyone else loves to many things like I get sucked into, but man I always admire those who master their craft regardless of what area.  I wonder if the eye of the master gets more and more critical the further they get along? I wonder if they ever feel good enough?

VIDEO HERE

A preview for my next internship post...

Hello everyone,

I'm currently working on a new research post on my internship blog.  It involves the work of this well known artist.  Here is a hint:

Le chapeau épinglé (The Hat Secured with a Pin), c. 1898

It will be uploaded soon, so be sure to check it out and comment if you like.  Be sure to also check out the other two internship blogs for this semester.  It's a great way to learn about what some of your classmates are up to.

Random Song of the Day: Lenka, Trouble Is a Friend

Boris's 2nd Spring Post

From left: Kincer, Zakic, Graham (photo by Emeran Irby)

A brief recap of the last night’s panel discussion of The Invisibility of Pictures at Hanover College. We were finally exposed to the “mystery” of Graham’s “mystery transfers” and to an answer to pop-question of Kincer’s necessity for outlines, although you had to listen closely. What an experience! I have only the highest praises for the Hanover College’s faculty, students and overall organization. I hope also that Gtwn students had a chance to visit and talk to their Hanover counterparts. (Thank you Deb for allowing the sit-ins in Life Drawing, much appreciated).

Opportunity: Show Art and Sell it DEADLINE 2/4/11:

Opportunity: Show Art and Sell it DEADLINE 2/4/11: I just received a call from the Kentucky Arts Council, who is looking for student artists to sell quality work at their Art at the Market in Louisville. We have participated in this event previously, doing activities and crafts for children. This year, because the event is held during spring break, we're not able to participate as classes (such as Leah's art ed). However, Charla Reed from the KAC has asked us if we would like to have artists from our art majors sell their work at the event. Interested? Please contact Charla by tomorrow at noon (Friday). She needs to have commitment asap. Her number is: 502 564 3757 X 485

Hanover Show, Tonight

The Invisibility of Pictures, curated by Boris and featuring work by Daniel and Darrell, has its closing reception tonight at Hanover College from 6-8 PM with a gallery talk at 6 PM.

We'll be carpooling and heading out from the Wilson Art Building around 3:30 and coming home around 10:00 PM. If you're interested in going, meet us around 3:20 at the WAB and we'll see where we stand with transportation.

To read and see more related to the show by way of Hanover's website, click HERE. To read Boris's essay on The Invisibility of Pictures, click HERE. And to see a short video interview about the show, take a look at the following...

Art For Lunch: Thursday 2/3/11 @ noon

Join us for a presentation by Prof. Daniel Graham on tattoos. I've picked one video that I like about Japanese Tattoo from the Asian Art Museum to pique your interest. See below (not for the squeamish).

The Art Department will provide lunch, you provide the discussion! See you then.

Opportunity: Teacher position at KHS DEADLINE 3/4/11

KHS is seeking Instructors to teach arts classes on its campus, including the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History and the Old State Capitol.

Robert C. May Photo Lecture at UK, Friday

The fist installment of the Robert C. Photography Lecture at UK begins this week with Abelardo Morell. The lecture is at 4 PM in the Worsham Theater of the UK Student Center, located at Euclid Blvd. and Martin Luther King Blvd. The lecture is free. Abelardo's work will also be on display in the UK Art Museum from now until February 13.

"Morell is a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and is a recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship and an Alturas Foundation Grant, among other awards. His work has been published in seven monographs and is featured in many other books. His work is included in the permanent collections of many museums, among them the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He exhibits widely; last year alone he had solo exhibitions in Pingyao, China; Madrid, Spain; Wilshire, England; and San Antonio, Texas." UK Art Museum Website

To see more of Abe's work, you can find his website HERE. To find out more about the May Lectures, lick HERE.

Image above—Camera Obscura: View of the Brooklyn Bridge in Bedroom, 2009

bad art news I hope you will use

Despite the fact that it's February and we are now a little bit closer to spring, I learned of two art events in the past week that have me feeling rather blue.  First, a leading figure in the conceptual art world that not so many may know but whom I was fortunate enough to meet and spend some time with passed away.  Dennis Oppenheim was a pioneer in the land and body art movements of the 1960s as well as a key figure in the realm of public art, both commissions and controversies.  I encourage you to read more about him and his art world contributions here.     

Above the Wall of Electrocution, 1989,

courtesy the artist's website

Then, more bad news, as picked up by the Louisville Courier-Journal, although not wholly unexpected given today's economic woes: members of Congress have proposed to cut federal funding for the arts and culture.  

In addition to "thinking spring," I would like to remind art lovers about the importance of staying informed concerning developments that could potentially have a profound effect on you and our collective arts futures.  The good news:  you can get more information about arts advocacy by visiting the Americans for the Arts website.