January 2008 Archive

More kisses for Mayor Nutter

Join the Kiss for Mayor Nutter campaign! Send in your 281(h) x 375(w) jpeg photo of yourself to libbyandroberta@gmail.com and help us demonstrate how many people care about the mayor’s campaign promise to create an Office of Arts and Culture. Email this project info around to every Philadelphia artist and art lover you know. Let’s show Mayor Nutter the face of Philadelphia’s amazing arts community. No broken promises, Mayor Nutter, please!! University of the ArtsMFA Ceramics, Painting and SculptureStudents and Faculty2007Annual Summer Softball Game (l-r) Laura Graham, Darla Jackson, Aubrie Costello and Laura McKinley standing in front of Laura Graham’s ... More » »

Everyone’s a critic

City Hall in shadow. Ritz Carlton and PNB in lovely late afternoon sun yesterday around 5 pm. Note the banner on the side of the Ritz: “America’s Next Great City, Philadelphia’s Next Great Address.” I was crossing the plaza-like space between 16th and 15, JFK Blvd and Market St. (does that plaza have a name?) when I heard loud rock music coming from somewhere. It was cold. The temperature was 20-something and there was a bad wind. Who was playing outside in this weather? Combo playing rock music yesterday at 15th and Market, 5 pm. I looked around and found ... More » »

Lookee here: PMA Curators work with Bruce Nauman in Venice!

Bruce Nauman will be the featured artist in the American Pavilion, 2009 Venice Biennale. From the PMA’s press release: U.S. Department of State Names Bruce Nauman to Represent the United States in the 2009 Venice Biennale Philadhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifelphia, PA (January 25, 2008) -The Philadelphia Museum of Art is pleased to announce the selection of Bruce Nauman (b. 1941) as the artist to represent the United States at the 2009 Venice Biennale. The State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs selected Nauman following the unanimous recommendation of the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions (FACIE) that reviewed proposals received through an ... More » »

Nothing Succeeds Like Excess: Rummage by Susie Brandt at the Design Center

Deborah Warner of Moore College of Art and Suzie Brandt share a funny remark in front of Pad (1998-99), Brandt’s version of a traditional patchwork quilt, but made from shoulder-pads, and below the mantlepiece, Knees, Brandts’ variation on a stone wall created from stockings stuffed with batting Suzie Brandt is not one of those artists who dresses in what my husband terms programmatic black; nor does she tend towards understatement. Brandt, who teaches at Maryland Institute College of Art, revels in color and pattern and for her, more is definitely more. It was an inspired idea to invite her to ... More » »

A Kiss for Mayor Nutter–from Aryon Hoselton, artist #6

Aryon Hoselton at the epic Photo Process in North Philly Another artist–Space 1026-er Aryon Hoselton–joins the Kiss for Mayor Nutter campaign, a picture protest by artists wondering what happened to the campaign promise to create an Office of Art and Culture. Send in your 375 x 281 pixel photo to libbyandroberta@gmail.com and join us in showing how many of us care. Please email project info around to every Philadelphia artist you know.

War Bond economics

One of James Leonard’s war bonds With the Iraq war expected to cost in the trillions of dollars, this email (excerpted) from artist James Leonard tickled me with its subversive black humor: My effort to raise an army of plastic men via The Warbonds Project has caught the eye of curator Ethan Crenson. He has included the Warbond certificate as part of this year’s Multiple and Editions exhibition at Front Room Gallery, in Brooklyn. …My warbonds come from an edition of 2500 offset prints with multiple high tech security features. Each uniquely numbered certificate will be signed by myself, the ... More » »

A Kiss for Mayor Nutter–from Doug Witmer, artist

Here’s Douglas Witmer and two of his kids. He’s a Philadelphia artist and co-owner of the Green Line Cafe. He’s joining our citizen artists in asking for an Office of Arts and Culture with a budget and the power to implement big ideas. Here’s info on how you too can join the Kiss for Mayor Nutter campaign.

A Kiss for Mayor Nutter

Here are five artists at the late lamented Siano Gallery, left to right Chris Ashley (visiting for Cali.), Roberta Fallon, Tim McFarlane, Vince Romaniello and Libby Rosof.Hello artists and art lovers! Here’s a great opportunity to get on artblog and be part of the stream of love going out to our new Mayor Michael Nutter as he gets ready to appoint an art czar and create an Office of Arts and Culture (we hope). Here’s the deal. We will create a series of photo posts on the blog called A Kiss for Mayor Nutter that will include images of artists ... More » »

Kiki Smith rescheduled

Kiki Smith’s talk at Penn on An Artist’s Sources, which was postponed because of illness, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 6th (5:00, Harrison Auditorium, 3260 South Street, entrance on 34th). The talk is part of this year’s Penn Humanities Forum on Origins. To attend, once again register online , or email conwayj@sas.upenn.edu, providing your name and number of people attending.

From Taboo to Icon–to one global art world

Pepon Osorio, Mangual, 2007, video a short video loop of a dark-skinned man vigorously, but unsuccessfully rubbing off white-face makeup–referencing identity and culture and art history all at once. There’s some terrific work included in the exhibit From Taboo to Icon: Africanist Turnabout, an exhibit currently at the Ice Box, a group show of about 70 works that grew out of a series of symposia at Temple University last year. The symposia, African Impressions/Contemporary Art, explored African influences in modern and contemporary art. They pondered the meanings behind the experiences of artists of color, especially when they used Africanist imagery. ... More » »