From Dailyserving.com: The Light and the End of the Tunnel is an Oncoming Train Ten years ago today, on September 11, 2001, at 5:46 am Pacific Standard Time, I was asleep in the semi-darkness of an Oregon dawn.  I was still asleep at 6:03 am.  By 6:37 am, however, I had been jolted awake by the ringing sound of a telephone in another room of the house, and then by the sound of footsteps coming towards my door, and—eventually—by the information that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.  For better or worse, I missed the initial confusion, the questions about irregular flight patterns and problems with air traffic control.  By the time I got to the television set, Bush had held his moment of silence, there were reports of a fire at the Pentagon, and it was clear that this was a planned attack. I watched as President George W. Bush sent our troops into Afghanistan, eventually dragging the rest of the world—in the form of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force —behind him.  In March of 2003, I finally saw the negative space punched out of the Manhattan skyline with my own eyes.  Coincidentally, it was the same week that Bush dropped thinly veiled threats via his press secretary that if the United Nations did not take action against Iraq, other “international bodies” would.  And we did, despite the fact that the motives given were dubious and lacked hard evidence. I was twenty-five in 2001.  I was not a child, or a teenager whose nightmare became the bogeyman in the form of Osama bin Laden.  My nightmare, post-9/11, has been many the frequent and many betrayals of the citizens of the United States by its government at the levels of accountability and policy.  Watching President Barack Obama announce the death of Osama bin Laden, I felt no relief.  The War in Afghanistan is listed as ongoing (2001-present).  Our engagement with Iraq is ongoing. It has been a decade, long enough to have begun to talk about post-9/11 trends in art and literature, long enough for those artists and writers whose practices weren’t quite set on September 11, 2011, to have grown up and to have incorporated their own personal nightmares into their production.  Earlier this summer, OHWOW Gallery in Los Angeles staged “Post-9/11,”  with work by New-York-based-artists Ryan McGinley and his circle.  The keystone piece, McGinley’s Tom (Golden Tunnel), 2010, features a naked man walking toward a golden light at the end of a stone or concrete tunnel with his hand guarding his eyes.  The light washes everything in the photo. The exhibition title itself was merely meant to be provocative, as well as to encapsulate McGinley and his milieu.  This was not a grand curatorial retrospective of Post-9/11 art.  But I have gone back to McGinley’s photo multiple times, made a little nauseous by the combination of the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel metaphor, McGinley’s capital-R Romanticism, and the double-entendre of the show title.  Are we post-9/11?  Have we survived and come through to the other side?  If we have, we are irrevocably changed.  The light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. http://dailyserving.com/2011/09/the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-is-an-oncoming-train/
Art in Odd Places. Art in Odd Places 2011: RITUAL features a wide variety of actions, participatory performances, theatrical presentations, public installations, and small and large-scale interventions all of which revolve around the concept of ritual. A ritual is generally defined as a series of established actions that are carried out in private or public spaces, by individuals or by groups, for their spiritual, social, or political significance. Tapping into the everyday significance of these habits, the artists in AiOP 2011: RITUAL continuously integrate these practices in their work to explore a broad range of issues in contemporary life such as politics, culture, religious beliefs, notions of individuality and community, the endurance of the body and the fragility of life, the relationship with nature, among many others. The collective character of the public setting offered by one of the busiest New York City arteries as the context for the festival has opened up the possibilities for the ritualistic interactions between artists, objects and people along 14th Street. The street’s daily environment will be transformed by secular and sacred activities and the relationship and reaction of the people attracted by the festival’s ephemeral events. A new sense of place and time, inherent to the concept of ritual, will confront passersby as they flow through the sidewalks, subway stations and storefronts during their everyday commutes or their spontaneous visits to the neighborhood. The work will be performed and made available along the east-west corridor of 14th Street. The projects may be different each time as they are informed by the varying interpretations of the spectators and their nomadic qualities as they travel through the street. Artists creating pilgrimages will bring new importance to particular places, shrines will be created as sites of worship, and the public will witness miracles. Reenactments of past events based on the collections of oral history, the use of symbols, the exploration of traditions and myths, and the use of magic and astrology are key to some of the artists’ work. Another group of artists create impermanent situations that are reminiscent of childhood and familiar events; worldly rituals that refer to identity politics, queer culture, dominance and submission, are experienced as organic and transcendental happenings. The use of the body is central to artists that touch upon life and death, real and spiritual borders, love affairs, human relationships and the connection to nature. Through music and dance, walks, palm reading and the use of masks, wigs, and spraying perfumes and scattering ashes, some artists evoke mundane obsessions, venerate popular icons and reject and criticize certain aspects of today’s social values. From kissing trees to making wishes, from healing souls to dreaming in a park, from washing feet to praying to the sky, the artists transcend the borders of the everyday space. By ritualizing actions and highlighting the different realities that coexist, the projects of AiOP 2011: RITUAL manipulate impressions, satisfy emotions, create effects, and most importantly transform - not only the surroundings in which they position their work, but also the audiences they engage, and who will become fundamental to the ritual itself. - Kalia Brooks & Trinidad Fombella, Guest Curators http://www.artinoddplaces.org/
This month, Art in America’s David Ebony interviewed German artist Katharina Grosse. She currently has a show, “Katharina Grosse: One Floor Up More Highly” at MASS MoCA, up through October 31st. Ebony describes this project in terms of a European perception of American landscapes.  “Many Europeans think of America in terms of vast landscapes and infinite sky, and urban centers packed with towering buildings and teeming masses, all in a rather precarious state of flux.” Grosse’s work “could be seen as an homage to an idealized if not wholly fiction place, such as the American frontier.” “This project, like most of Grosse’s large-scale installations, incorporates massive sculptural features that allude simultaneously to empirical space an an imaginative vista. Yet the artist’s primary means of expression is painting, and the thrust of the work is rigorously abstract. She employs painting’s illusionistic devices of light and shadow, and, with a subtle manipulation of other elements, suggest complex narratives.” Read the entire interview here: http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-opinion/conversations/2011-09-02/katharina-grosse/
Extremely exciting news for art students, especially those studying or living in Georgia-The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) to Open Major Teaching Museum Devoted to Contemporary Art and Design on October 29, 2011! This is described as “a significantly expanded and re-imagined contemporary art and design museum conceived and designed expressly to enrich the educational milieu for SCAD students, professors, and art and design enthusiasts. SCAD Museum of Art re-opens to the public on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. Inaugural exhibitions at the new museum include solo shows by Bill Viola, Liza Lou, Kendall Buster, Kehinde Wiley, and selections from the SCAD Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection, including the Evans Collection of African American Art, presented in the new Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies within the museum.”  From the websites: “SCAD has a tradition of fostering innovative and dynamic art experiences, and the SCAD Museum of Art advances this rich tradition,” says SCAD President Paula Wallace, who initiated and oversaw the development of the expanded museum in Savannah. “Rather than a place to view artworks in isolation, our museum is a kinetic think-tank, a collaborative wellspring of ideas and inspiration for SCAD students and professors.”  In keeping with the university’s mission, a year-round program of exhibitions, installations, performances and museum programs and events will engage with SCAD’s 41 majors and more than 50 minors—from fashion and fibers to painting and sound design. This programming will also provide students and professors across all disciplines a collaborative space to experience celebrated works of art and design, and to interact with the renowned and emerging artists who create them. Check out all of the information here: http://www.scad.edu/museum/
As you begin to dive into your projects for the year, keep in mind the 3rd Annual Juried Exhibition this October! For the past two years, Lamar Dodd School of Art students have been encouraged to submit their own original works to be looked over and possibly selected by a visiting juror. This year, Mark Karelson, director of Mason Murer Fine Arts Gallery in Atlanta, will be selecting work for the November 26th show. A little bit about our juror from the LDSOA website: Mark Mason Karelson is an artist and owner and Director of Mason Murer Fine Art in Atlanta. He also Chairs the Board of VSA arts of Georgia, a thirty year old non-profit organization which provides access to the arts for people with disabilities. Mark also serves on the Advisory Board of The Atlanta Community Food Bank. He is married to artist Kim Karelson, a University of Georgia graduate with a BA in Art. They have a beautiful daughter, Katie. All types of art are accepted. There ARE prizes for the juror’s favorites. If you have any questions or need more information, check out: http://art.uga.edu/index.php?pt=5&id=338 or keep your eyes peeled for the latest LDSOA newsletters. This drawing is from last year’s juried show. To look at more pictures, check out the Lamar Dodd School of Art’s facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150289822110720.558831.131123090719
From the New York Times: When the Camera Takes Over for the Eye The ubiquity of cameras in exhibitions can be dismaying, especially when read as proof that most art has become just another photo op for evidence of Kilroy-was-here passing through. More generously, the camera is a way of connecting, participating and collecting fleeting experiences. For better and for worse, it has become intrinsic to many people’s aesthetic responses. (Judging by the number of pictures Ms. Fremson took of people photographing Urs Fischer’s life-size statue of the artist Rudolf Stingel as a lighted candle, it is one of the more popular pieces at the Biennale, which runs through Nov. 27.) And the camera’s presence in an image can seem part of its strangeness, as with Ms. Fremson’s shot of the gentleman photographing a photo-mural by Cindy Sherman that makes Ms. Sherman, costumed as a circus juggler, appear to be posing just for him. She looks more real than she did in the actual installation. Read the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/arts/design/at-the-venice-biennale-art-is-a-photo-op.html
This Thursday, September 8th at 5pm, Dr. Asen Kirin will be presenting “Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great.” This talk kicks of the VCC Lecture series for the 2011-2012 academic year, so make sure to put this on your schedule! Kirin will be discussing a current exhibition which, according to the Lamar Dodd School of Art website, “intends to make a contribution to the current knowledge of patronage in eighteenth-century Russia and to our understanding of the perception of Byzantine culture in the era of neo-Classicism.” Interestingly, the curator of this exhibit plans to “accomplish this goal with a relatively limited number of objects—loans from a small number of museums in the U.S.A.” “The exhibition will illustrate the complex dynamic between the collection of historical art and the commissioning of new works of art during the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-96). The focus of the exhibition is on the particular manner in which Catherine applied not only her knowledge of ancient and medieval glyptic art but also her collection of carved gems to new works of art that she commissioned. This was a deliberate continuation of the centuries-old tradition of placing pagan, Greek, and Roman carved stones onto sacred Christian liturgical and devotional objects. The empress not only shared the Enlightenment sentiment that carved gems were essential material vestiges from the past, but she was also fully cognizant of the cultural meanings associated with the practice of collecting cameos. Accordingly, she addressed these cultural meanings in her art patronage.” For more information, visit: http://art.uga.edu/index.php?pt=4&id=179#
Up now at the Georgia Museum of Art: American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print From the GMOA website: This exhibition illustrates the fascinating fusion of art with popular culture and music history. Featuring the work of one of the nation’s oldest and continuously printing shops—Nashville, Tennessee’s Hatch Show Print—it highlights the uniquely American posters produced to advertise everything from vaudeville shows, state fairs and stock car races to the Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley and Herbie Hancock.  The exhibition, created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, is supported by America’s Jazz Heritage, A Partnership of the Wallace Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. For more information about this exhibition and others, visit: http://www.georgiamuseum.org/art/exhibitions/on-view/american-letterpress-the-art-of-hatch-show-print
To writers, poets, artists, and anyone else feeling inspired- a new literary zine in Athens is looking for submissions of your original work.  The Stray Dog Almanac, started “one warm July evening, damp with rain, after a tasty dinner of eggplant and a jug of beer,” when some art students recognized the need for a more prominent literary and artistic presence in the form of publications. Their name is derived from and inspired by the Russian Stray Dog Cabaret, part of the Silver Age that boasted the beginnings of many Russian writers, poets, and artists. Now’s your chance to become part of the movement. From the website: Stray Dog will be an almanac, which means we are interested in variety - from different voices as well as different subject matter and genres. Our call is open to all writing styles and writers, so that if you’ve had something for a while and have been waiting for the right opportunity, this is it! No theme, no constraints. Perhaps you’ve been too timid to show people your work or you may have never considered submitting work for publication before. We at the Stray Dog Almanac encourage you to challenge yourself and SUBMIT your work! We accept your poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction or black and white illustrations/comic strips. We have an arbitrary word limit of 5,000 words, but we will consider excerpting longer works. You may submit up to 5 poems and 2 prose pieces. E-mail your submission to straydogalmanac (at) gmail (dot) com with your name, the title(s) of your work(s) and, if you like, your affiliation with our Classic City (i.e. student, recovering student, downtown barkeep, professor, local band guru) by SEPTEMBER 28, 2011 to be considered for our winter 2011 publication! Please include the word “Submission” in the title of your email. All submissions will undergo a fair, blind review. Entrants will be notified of their acceptance by November 1, 2011. If your work is selected you will receive 2 free copies of our hand-bound almanac, not to mention ensuing fame and fortune. Our goal is to include as many different artists and writers as possible, but we must sadly admit that our space is limited. Please keep this in mind when submitting your work.  Visit the Stray Dog Almanac’s website at: http://www.straydogalmanac.com/
From NPR.org: Artist, Social Critic Ai Weiwei Breaks Silence, Attacks Chinese Government The dissident artist Ai Weiwei has struggled with the Chinese government for years. Earlier this year, the conflict came to a head, when Ai was detained by the government for about 80 days. He was let go under the condition that he would not talk to the press. Ai, known for his spectacular conceptual art, including China’s Bird Nest stadium, didn’t stay quiet for long. Last night, Newsweek published a stunning piece from Ai in which he describes Beijing as “a constant nightmare.” It’s a stream-of-counciousness piece, but it’s clear that Ai is unhappy with an oppressive government that he says has sucked the life and joy out of the people of Beijing. Continue reading here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/29/140042430/artist-social-critic-ai-weiwei-breaks-silence-attacks-chinese-government?sc=fb&cc=fp
Tomorrow- Kristen Morgin, the Lamar Dodd School of Art’s 2011-2012 Dodd Chair, is giving a lecture at 5:30 in room S151. Her bio from the LDSOA website reads: Kristen L. Morgin was born in 1968 in Brunswick, GA.  Kristen is the eldest daughter of Lowell and Lucille Morgin.  She has three younger sisters. Kristen earned a BA degree from California State University, Hayward.  Kristen earned a MFA degree with an emphasis in ceramics from Alfred University in 1997.  Kristen currently resides in Gardena, CA. Kristen has held job positions as a gallery docent, a children’s playhouse set painter, a secretary in an auto glass shop, and a professor of art.  She currently earns her living as an artist.Morgin has had solo shows at Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles (2006) and Viento y Agua Gallery, Long Beach (2004). Selected group exhibitions include Trans-Ceramic Art 3rd World Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, Korea, 2005; Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2005); and Because the Earth Is 1/3 Dirt Art Museum of the University of Colorado, Boulder (2004). For more information, visit: http://art.uga.edu/index.php?pt=4&id=173#
An unfortunate consequence of the economic hard times, among other things: New York’s American Folk Art Museum, founded in 1961, is running out of ways and means to stay afloat. After moving its 5,000+ piece permanent collection to a new location in 2001, the museum has had difficulty repaying the construction loans due to a variety of factors. In a New York Times article, some of these reasons are described. From lack of development, fund-raising, public interest in the subject matter, the usefulness of the new space for displaying art, and the legal troubles of the museum’s former chairman, the Folk Art Museum has had a rough few years.  Despite these setbacks, the article ends with a tinge of optimism- [Linda] Dunne [the interim director] is finding solace in small things, like a boom in attendance at the Lincoln Square site since the West 53rd Street building closed. “People are lining up,” she said, “waiting to get in.” Read the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/arts/design/american-folk-art-museum-weighs-survival-strategies.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=design
The pen proves its might yet again. Syrian political cartoonist Ali Farzat was attacked after his cartoon of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fleeing with Moammar Gadhafi began circulating.  From the CNN.com article: A statement describes Farzat as “the most popular political cartoonist in the country,” and reaction in Syria was swift to the attack on a man described on a website featuring his cartoons as having “a pen of Damascus steel.”In a demonstration of solidarity, a number of Syrians on Facebook changed their profile pictures to that of the bruised and bloodied satirist. Farzat is known for his caricatures lampooning figures such as Saddam Hussein, who threatened him with death before banning his work in Iraq, and Gadhafi of Libya, where his work is also banned.” Read the entire article here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/26/syria.cartoonist.beaten/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
UGA 2011 MFA graduate An Pham is featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution! Pham’s work is featured in Spruill Gallery’s “Emerging Artists 2011” show.  From the article: “The artist works with a wide palette of materials, from handmade paper and old books to plastic strips, scotch tape and – most wondrously in this exhibit — rubber bands. Pham crochets, plaits, knots, coils and otherwise manipulates this mundane item into mysterious sculptures, which she presents like the gifts they are in hand-made boxes. It’s a good thing that Pham wants you to touch them because they are irresistibly tactile. They also give off that rubber-band smell and, more profoundly, the feeling of intensity that comes from the hours of repetition and minute manipulations that making these works require. She manipulates books and their pages with similar inventiveness. I’m watching her.” Read the entire article here: http://www.accessatlanta.com/atlanta-events/lucha-rodriguez-at-swan-1143048.html Visit Pham’s website here: http://www.an-pham.com/
Can we talk about this? Bravo’s “next great artist” reality tv show, “Work of Art,” is returning on October 12th. Read all of the gruesome details here: http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38451/bravos-work-of-art-returns-in-october-minus-jeanne-greenberg-rohatyn-but-plus-sucklord-and-parkour/
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