October 2010 Archive

Weekly Update – Four decades of thinking outside the box at Fleisher-Ollman

“Four Decades” celebrates John Ollman’s captaincy of the blue chip gallery, Fleisher-Ollman.  With some 90 works of drawing, painting and sculpture by acclaimed self-taught artists (and contemporary artists influenced by them) as well as antique craft works by native Americans and Pre-Columbians on display, the show is museum quality.

artblog radio gets a grant from J-Lab!

Hello artblog campers!  We are thrilled to announce we just received a grant from J-Lab for our podcast series, artblog radio!  We will be partnering with WHYY NewsWorks — the soon-to-launch community website of WHYY — to continue our series of talks with artists, curators, administrators and others in the art world.  Here’s the link to information on all 14 Philadelphia projects that were funded through the Philadelphia Enterprises Reporting Awards competition.

‘Fiona Tan; Rise and Fall’ at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, D.C.

Fiona Tan explores storytelling, memory, and the part they play in the formation of identity throughout this exhibition of five video installations, various associated sketches and one single-channel video. Rise and Fall (2009),  elongated projections onto two large, side-by-side screens, is a wordless meditation, set to music, of a woman no longer young but still conscious of her looks; she was clearly a beauty in her youth.

Leslie Rogers on performance art – now on artblog radio

This episode sponsored by Fleisher Art Memorial Leslie Rogers sews like a dream and makes costumes she wears in performances that are about gender roles and sometimes are gender bending.  She talks about her role in PuppeTyranny, doing puppet shows in her mouth, in which a male collaborator inserts a variety of tiny objects into her mouth and she interacts with them (chewing, spitting out, etc).  Exhibitionism, voyeurism and creepy are all on the table for Leslie, who, by the way,  has a great laugh and wonderful sense of humor. Below is the 25-second sample clip. Click “read more” for ... More » »

First Friday at Space 1026

I had the opportunity to stop into some gallery openings in Chinatown this past First Friday, one of which was Space 1026, a nice open space that was displaying photographs by Sandy Kim and Logan White. Both artists use 35 millimeter film to capture images that are reminiscent of documentary style photography, attempting to capture subjects that are often inaccessible or private, photographs that are meant to be objective and honest. While their styles differ, both Kim and Logan show photos with a bit of grit and grunge. Their use of 35 millimeter film gives each of their photos a ... More » »

Sophie’s Choice–Dubin vs. Kentridge

OK, maybe you won’t see that this as a win-win or lose-lose choice. It all depends on your outlook. But you can watch William Kentridge on WHYY (12) at 5 p.m. (i.e. in 40 mins.) Or you can listen to Murray Dubin and Dan Biddle interviewed by Guy Raz on NPR’s All Things Considered at 5:40 p.m. They will talk about their book about Octavius Catto and the battle for equality in Civil War America. However, here’s some good news if you’re sitting on the fence. Rob Matthews has cut the Gordion Knot! Vis a vis Kentridge, Rob writes: You ... More » »

‘Americanana’ at the Hunter College Art Galleries, N.Y.C.

In the midst of election season, an exhibition exploring the use of American vernacular imagery and style is particularly apt. The interest in folk art, as with folk tales, is historically associated with nationalism and the search for originary stories that always involve a lot of white-washing, if not outright fictions. In the U.S. the far right is always ready to raise the flag and other symbols associated with 19th century, white, agrarian society – the real America.  Americanana, organized by Katy Siegel for the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter college (through Dec. 4, 2010) includes thirteen artists ... More » »

Part 2, Annette Monnier’s No Soul For Sale article, online at Machete

Many of you appreciated Annette’s article on artblog about the financial relationship (or lack thereof) between non-profit collective spaces and large institutions involved in No Soul for Sale.  Read Part 2 of this two-part article at Machete, available  online here or as a free tabloid handout at the Marginal Utility project space at 319 N. 11th St. and elsewhere.

Revolutions in the art of three women – at Vox

Just when you thought you had artists boxed up neatly and tied in a little bow, they force you to rethink them and their oeuvre. So it is this month at Vox Populi, with big shifts in the work on exhibit by three of the member artists–Leah Bailis, Kate Stewart and Kara Crombie.   Experimenting and changing course is not for everyone.  We are wowed at these risky shifts and wonder what comes next.

Wall Street Journal visits the new Barnes

I don’t know how long this link is up for, but here’s Julia Klein’s report, in the Wall St. Journal, on the new Barnes building.