Art vs. Marketing – Making Hazel Dooney Cringe by Barney Davey

Creativity is about expression.

Artists of all sorts whether visual, literary, musical, theatre, film, dance and beyond seek to express themselves through their art. Clearly, art and expression are part and parcel of the same package in which both are inextricably tied.

To effectively express or exhibit creativity, there must be those desirous of being exposed to creativity, to art. In other words, art needs to be shared, to be both lionized and criticized. Art needs to be accepted, or rejected and ultimately recognized by the cognoscenti, if not the public, as worthy.

White on white With monumental art, quite often the expression is bold and radical. Kasmir Malevich’s groundbreaking efforts to establish feelings as supreme over objectivity in art are a case in point. The Russian painter, printmaker, decorative artist and writer’s 1918 piece Suprematist Composition: White on White epitomizes his suprematist concept that helped lay the groundwork for abstract art in the 20th Century.


Barney Davey on 08.28.08 @ 09:15 AM EST [Read more and comment...] [No Comments]

The ABC of the CAPC by Alice Cavender

The CAPC museum of contemporary art is a museum of international reputation, at the heart of the Chartrons district of Bordeaux, in an old colonial warehouse. As it celebrates its 35th birthday, I thought it necessary to give people the rundown of this brilliant and inspirational museum.

All art: the CAPC is intent on showing all different forms of art, whether it be dance, music, visual art or architecture. While concentrating on visual arts, the idea is to present a panorama of all contemporary art to the public.

Building: the warehouse in which the CAPC is housed is as much a part of the history of the museum as the events that bring it to life: for an artist in the 80’s or 90’s, the CAPC was an incontrovertible stage in his career.


Alice Cavender on 08.25.08 @ 09:20 AM EST [Read more and comment...] [2 Comments]

BLAME THE ECONOMY by Michael Corbin

It's almost like slowing down to watch a car wreck ... you MUST see what's happening. This is the only way that I can describe my pseudo-fascination with the art market. Here's how it happens ...

I'm either flipping through the newspaper, watching television or surfing online and I come across something like ... "ARE RECESSION FEARS COOLING THE ART MARKET?" or "THE ECONOMY AND ITS CHILLING EFFECTS ON COLLECTORS." Suddenly, I slow myself down and settle in for closer examination. How can you NOT get caught up in the creative, editorial swirl?

It's funny, because I wanted to try to go to Art DC this year, but then I read that it was cancelled. That's a shame. This would've been only the second year for that fair. Why did organizers cancel it? They blamed the economy, of course.



Michael Corbin on 08.18.08 @ 09:31 AM EST [Read more and comment...] [5 Comments]

INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST SIGAL M. BUSSEL by Laurie Lamson

L.A.-based Sigal Bussel came to her art from a nontraditional background. She earned a BA in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She spent a considerable amount of time volunteering for various public and charitable organizations.

While working on Wall Street, Bussel felt a rising need to make a difference. Art became her way of reaching out to the world. She has exhibited around the U.S, China, Israel and Mexico, and has also been commissioned to work on a number of public art projects. To see more visit www.sigalbussel.com.

Laurie: You just came back from Beijing a couple of months ago?

Sigal: What a remarkable experience. I had a solo exhibition at the Beijing World Art Museum. It was very humbling to be one of the only foreign artists to exhibit during the period leading up to the Olympic games. It made it that much more special.


Laurie Lamson on 08.08.08 @ 09:22 AM EST [Read more and comment...] [14 Comments]

SHAKE DOWN ll by Walter King

I was writing about 3 weeks spent of a friends boat on lake Erie recreating watercolors lost in Argentina. A day or two after we got Alan’s boat in the water I helped Markus get his new/old 40 foot + wooden sailboat over to his slip with no mishaps. A few days later he called me back and said he and a friend were going to take it out for a little shake down cruise. It was a fairly blustery day, sunny with 3 -4 foot swells. I hadn’t actually made any watercolors yet and wanted to get started but decided I wanted to go with Markus on his new boat instead. It’s a beauty for sure. Newly restored after an Ohio winter’s worth of work in the back yard scraping, sanding and painting the hull and redoing much of the interior. I was supposed to help with some of the hand work but could never get free when Markus was able to work. So Markus did it all. I’m always impressed at his industrious nature, his knowledge and creative resolve. He did nearly all the work himself from bending wood to repair the hull breaches, painting and re-stitching sails. He’s an ace at maintaining a motor and has refit his diesel to burn 30 percent bio-fuel. Remarkable! Normally I’d simply call this green thinking but in this market any saving is appreciated with the price of diesel often above $4.50 a gallon.


Walter King on 07.24.08 @ 10:37 AM EST [Read more and comment...] [22 Comments]

Actors as Artists by Michael Corbin

Sometimes summer afternoons aren’t meant for lounging outdoors - they’re occasionally better spent finding artful surprises in bookstores.

Such was the case on this day, an unremarkable one until my wandering eye locked onto something of promising note. A book. By the way, most people would agree that they venture into bookstores seeking books. After my experience today, I must say that I disagree. People shop in bookstores because they crave surprises. Yes, in all likelihood, the thing you’ve been looking for will indeed be a book, but is it the book or the thrill of surprise that has you hooked? Hmm. Mystery and philosophy. Do questions never cease?

Anyway, as my gaze ventured down the frittering possibilities among the art book shelf, suddenly a love connection. I saw the book "Actors As Artists. "Hmm, I thought. "Let’s take a look. What a nice surprise.


Michael Corbin on 07.21.08 @ 10:06 AM EST [Read more and comment...] [8 Comments]

Hotel Tharroe of Mykonos - The Adventure Continues by Andrew Wielawski

When I last left this subject, I had a studio on the property of a luxury hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos. Since then, a lot has changed. I always feel that the interest of someone in what I do is defined clearly in the moment they buy one of my pieces. The depth of that interest is made clear by the amount they are willing to spend, and the effort it will take them to accommodate what I’ve made.
Some have gone to the extent of re-engineering suspended floors to support not only the weight of a statue, but also the transport across open stretches of such a floor, as was the case with the Gewiss Corporation in Bergamo, Italy. Others, like Alabama Power, have constructed pedestals that may have cost more than the statues themselves. In both cases, I was offered a stay in a five star hotel and had only to submit receipts of my expenses in order to be compensated, no questions asked.


Andrew Wielawski on 07.18.08 @ 01:07 PM EST [Read more and comment...] [3 Comments]