Missing a super short video clip on Anthony C and Karen M YouTube channel is sublime, a word DoN doesn’t get to use often. Anthony C and Karen M take their work to the street and see beyond the visual chatter interjecting their own thoughtful tags to the narrative of public art in Philadelphia. Read more about the artists at Side Arts Philadelphia art blog.
Video clip and photo courtesy of Anthony C and Karen M
Tecu’Mish Munha’ke, Put on Your Big Girl Panties and Cowgirl Up, three assemblages at The Plastic Club.
Tecu’Mish Munha’ke submitted three assemblages for the New Members 2012 exhibition, Put on Your Big Girl Panties and Cowgirl Up, Out of Order (a large assemblage sculpture that grabs your attention) and Feed Me. Take that all you Untitlers out there!
Cary Galbraith, Frog Hollow, oil, at The Plastic Club New Members 2012
At first glance DoN thought this languid landscape was by Robert Daniel Bohne’ but then DoN overheard someone say that she, Cary Galbraith, painted with Bohne. The cross influences artists have on each other is one of the best parts of being involved in an art group like the Plastic Club and is a hallmark of the Philadelphia art scene.
Leon Graff, Parkside, acrylic, at the Plastic Club New Member 2012
“Leon Graff was born in South Africa and was trained in South Africa and London. He has lived and exhibited in London, Seattle, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia and New York City. His paintings hang in many private collections in New York City, Philadelphia, Canada, Florida and Europe.” - Fine Art Liasons website
Leon Graff’s paintings capture the vibrancy and fun of the thriving Philadelphia art scene. Congratulations to the New Members of The Plastic Club. Learn more about the art club in DoN’s interview with Bob Jackson on the Philly Side Arts blog. Member’s of the Plastic Club looking to expand their web presence and consolidate their social networking links may consider an artist portfolio page on Side Arts.
Photographs by DoN Brewer
Kodak Digital Cameras
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Laurentiu Todie, The One @ Art Ability Bryn Mawr Rehab Center, Malvern, PA.
DoNArTNeWs finally appears on page one in Google for the search term “Philadelphia art blogs“, thank you very much! DoN has written more than four hundred reviews, interviews and promotions about the Philadelphia regional art scene for DoNArTNeWs. The most frequently accessed pages include the term “Philadelphia art” in the web site statistics, “art” is the number one search term. Philadelphia art is a search term that thousands of people are investigating because the Philly art scene is, as Mayor Michael Nutter stated at the West Collects press conference, “Strong!” Great art has become synonymous with Philadelphia because of the high end cultural institutions like PMA and the innovative neighborhood artist enclaves, clubs, alliances and collectives that pervade the city and the region, creating an amorphous idea of what is Philadelphia art? Is it the great art speak that PAFA teaches it’s students? Is it the gritty allure of Fishtown, Northern Liberties or Germantown and the satisfaction of getting in early on something bohemian, eclectic, outrageous or controversial? Is Philadelphia really the sixth borough of NYC?
Art is strong and vibrant in Philadelphia with wonderful resources but DoN has heard institutional leaders say the majority of public dollars get directed to the top tier while smaller groups compete for shrinking grant money and must endure its grueling paperwork. Rachel Zimmerman of InLiquid, one of the oldest artist profile websites of its kind in Philadelphia, told DoN this past Summer that artists have three jobs: making art, selling art and the job to pay for buying art materials. Artist Gregory Prestegord told DoN there are more like seven jobs to get to what he calls “a state of meditation“, the time he actually gets to spend making art, a broad circle of activities, many unrelated to art production, must happen to get to the moment of meditation when art appears out of seemingly nowhere. Art and the creative economy is enormous in Philadelphia, the competition for money is daunting, yet artists keep pushing against the obstacles and work hard to be known as a Philadelphia Artist, the second most popular search term for DoNArTNeWs‘ Philadelphia art blog.
Search Philadelphia art, who knows what you might discover?
Happy New Year!
LoVe
DoN
Read more about Art Ability at Philly.SideArts art blog and DoNArTNeWs art blog.
Jerry Kaba at The Crane Arts Center
DoN had the photos and the interview from a Second Thursday art crawl September 8th, 2011 at the Crane Center for the Arts in Fishtown. But, DoN could not find the artist’s name!?! By chance, Jerry KaBa’s business card surfaced and DoN can now share with you the scariest Halloween costume design - ever!
Video & Photos by DoNBrewerMultimedia
Karen M contacted DoN prior to the start of the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours East weekend to tip him off to drive by the baseball field on Wharton Street near Geno’s and Pat’s Steaks. Karen and DoN talked recently about the economic situation of artists, the unreliability of sales and income to cover the expense of making art. Art costs money, usually. Karen M and Anthony C have been tagging the city, graffiti style, with their own collectible paintings. Using the same technique as their high end paintings on canvas, the pair uses found cardboard and posters to paint their iconic portraits, like Wisdom Kid, with stencils and spray paint, then install them where people can steal the art. During the recent Philadelphia Open Studio Tours West, they stapled a beautiful portrait on glittery paper to the bedraggled knit-bombed telephone pole at the end of DoN’s block. Luckily while walking KaTy the ArT DoG and Lady Doofus, the geriatric St. Bernard / Chihuahua, DoN was able to carefully retrieve the piece, the scars torn into the paper from the staples a secret prize of provenance. Collectors across South Philly follow their messages, like the one DoN was texted, to go to a particular spot for some prime art loot. It’s all the fun of stealing without any of the guilt. Karen M and Anthony C prove that art can be free and fun, provocative and intellectual, thoughtful and carefree in a public arena with no fees, no charges, no costs, no juries, dealers or committees or money. Free Art = Free Money.
Karen M & Anthony C, Street and Free Art.
Read more of DoN’s art adventures at Philly.SideArts.
Photos by DoN.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Every corner of the mammoth Icebox Gallery in the Crane Arts Center is activated with visual signs, symbols and sensory stimuli. Last January curator Amie Potsic sent a call for ideas to the Fellows of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists for the huge art space in Fishtown. Site specific works were encouraged, developed and confirmed by April and last week all the pieces fell into place and Construct, an invigorating, unique, studied look at contemporary art and how assemblage, construction and collage is integral to the new way of seeing. The photo above looks so Rauschenberg but it’s mash-up of two large installations, one a trippy multiple collage by Jennifer Williams applied directly on the walls and a large assemblage by Don Edler that sprawls across the concrete floor like a drift of entrancing debris.
Don Edler @ The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Mami Kato in coming to the end of a long relationship with the special Japanese grass she uses to create the sinuous sculptures which take years to make to a new direction using resin for the bio-morphic sculpture in the foreground. Her work looks so beautiful in the Gray Area, tying up the space in a confounding knot of dense yet floaty tubules.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Laureen Griffin plays with styles, textures, composition and sexual role models - huh? DoN overheard a comment, “What’s that girl doing in the chair?” The girl is dressed quite masculine, like a business woman, reading a paper, a strong contemporary image of a black woman set against the grain of an antebellum manor. Intensely conflicting narratives zipped through DoN’s neural network from stories embedded in the fabric, visual cues in the styling and strangely involving decor. Gorgeous!
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Kimberly Witham was concerned for a moment that the photographs that are so huge in her studio would seem dwarfed by the scale of Icebox, but arrayed salon style, the still life photographs using dead animals, wallpaper and found objects read perfectly well. The beautifully rendered still life photographs are so bitter sweet, we get to look at beautiful creatures living on after death in a work of art, an exquisite corpse of a different kind. Witham’s photographs drew a crowd of people who stood and stared a long time; the mixture of repulsion and fascination, ugly and beautiful, cheery and morbid strums a tender nerve. And the concept that raw steak is not just the color of cabbage roses but can be sexually Dali-nian is genius.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Alison Stigora, Whirlwind, charred wood, site specific installation. Like a charcoal drawing in space, Whirlwind is a feat of imagination swirling up like a tornado; Stigora and a friend hand-charred the wood, pulling logs from the fire and dousing them with water to preserve the scarred luminous iridescence of the wood for the construction. Alison wants all DoNsters to know she is not a pyromaniac, having a healthy fear of fire and does not play with matches. The imposing sculpture continues Stigora’s investigation into the fractal like forms of the natural world, especially trees and all that art owes to them.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Alison Stigora, Whirlwind, detail.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Lewis Colburn was seated atop a 15 foot wooden tower where he typed War and Peace by Tolstoy during a performance at the opening reception; Colburn typed out part of the book relating to a theory about history and calculus, a repetitive process which spilled a long stream of paper into a puddle on the floor. The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Lewis Colburn @ The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Maggie Mills has five paintings included in the exhibit, each artwork representing a bit of the anxiety she feels about the political and ecological environment her young daughter is growing up in. Mills’ paintings incorporate compressed narratives, coupled with coming of age incidents and rituals. In each of the paintings, young people are involved in a manner of play that involves constructions like kites but in a dream state haunted by angst, danger and fear for the future.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Swim Team, oil on panel, Maggie Mills @ The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Panoramic shot of the Icebox Gallery, The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - Construct @ Crane Arts Center.
Artists exhibiting are: Noah Addis, Arden Bendler Browning, Lewis Colburn, Don Edler, Laureen Griffin, Jordan Griska, Ana B. Hernandez, Mami Kato, Allison Kaufman, Daniel Kornrumpf, Maggie Mills, Tim Portlock, Alison Stigora, Jennifer Williams, Kimberly Witham, and Bohyun Yoon.
Construct is on view through June 29th, a short run for such a big show but exhilarating in it’s scope, direction and audacity.
Photos by DoN.
Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art
Mr. Bunny Gets Screwed, graphite on paper, 90 x 60″. Elaine Erne lost her toy bunnies with return instructions throughout Philly and May 12th many people returned what they found to the Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, the Crane Arts Center in Fishtown. If you returned a bunny you could exchange it for a numbered print and the bunny is hung on the wall, if you want to keep the bunny you found it cost you five bucks. Elaine told DoN Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends causes the finder to decide whether to return the lost toy and participate in an interactive experience or just keep it and live with your conscience. Many participants exchanged their finds for a signed, numbered print and took pictures of themselves with the installation and the artist. Erne’s installation is anchored by two of her heroically scaled drawings facing each other across the room allowing the viewer to take in the scope of the drawing then move in close and feel the energy it took to complete the masterful drawings.
Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.
Elaine M. Erne finding one of her numbered prints to match the returned lost bunny at “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art. Erne’s interactive idea showcases her image making skill and innovative public interaction and social networking, adding a layer of sophistication, thoughtfulness, liven-ess and fun to Elaine’s art.
Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” and Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.
The two artists share the space with Leah Reynolds Bee Hive themed installation cross pollinating Elaine Erne’s toys in peril with exquisite corpse-like dynamism. Leah Reynolds told DoN she based her show on the lives of bee’s and the symbolism surrounding them from hives to queens to hair-dos - Super-Kawaii! Reynolds’ photography is off the chain with dynamic hair portraits interspersed with interstitial abstracts, the environment enlivened by the whimsical paper sculptures and swathes of lace like being in a magical dream.
Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art. Queen for A Day, the hanging fabric forms the shape of a cartoon-ish crown, an homage to the creepy early TV show which made home-making the pinnacle of being an American woman.
Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.
Photos by DoN.
Before DoN met Todd Hestand of www.Philly.SideArts.com @ a Corzo Center for the Creative Economy event, he had already been posting blogs on the popular free artist’s website with it’s cool blog, great writing by local artists and educators, bio/portfolio pages for artists and Philly social networking. Linking to the Philly.SideArts.com web site drives web traffic to DoNArTNeWs, posting a blurb on the site stimulates interest in all types of social, art, education, business and opportunities. The catalog of artists who post their bios and art images on Philly.SideArts.com includes great painters like Arthur Ostroff and Karl Olsen, fine art photographers like Angelo Benedetto and digital artists like Lee Muslin, their database is superb.
Philly.SideArts.com has launched a grand new venture offering artists enhanced services such as art opportunities and expanded portfolio space at a really reasonable price, the same free site is still available and they are expanding to other cities with the same business model. The possibilities of connecting artists, galleries, collectors, educators and business people in an easy to use, immersive design experience is really cool. Imagine? The Philly art scene is a model for other cities.
Art-trepreneur, Todd Hestand of Philly.SideArts.com gave away extended free memberships to artists whose business cards were pulled from a bag. Jed, you left too early!
To celebrate the launch of the new site, Todd Hestand hosted a party at the Dark Horse Pub near Head House Square with a silent auction benefiting Philly Aids Thrift, so many artists offered donations that many had to be turned away, yet, there are still several fine art pieces available at the on-line auction including DoN’s “light being (Joey Ramone)“. All the proceeds go to Philly Aids Thrift, please bid, there is some really cool art for a great cause. The party drew a crowd of artists, friends and the art-erati such as Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Lilliana Didovic, artist/entrepreneur Jed Williams, the master Arthur Ostroff and Art in City Hall’s Guru, Tu Huynh - Todd did a terrific job explaining the benefits and services for the new and improved site and really mixed it up with the crowd. Visit the Philly.SideArts site to see how vibrant, inspiring and diverse the Philly art scene really is and follow the progress of a thoughtful, intuitive idea to help artists connect in a meaningful way.
The silent auction sponsored by Philly.SideArts benefiting Philly Aids Thrift.
The Philly.SideArts.com easy to use homepage. Join!
615 Bainbridge Street, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Thursdays & Fridays 5 - 7:00 PM & Sundays 1 - 3:00 PM, also by appointment.
Jed Williams paintings poetically explore the inner world of symbols, memes & icons tapping into ancient mysteries and futuristic fears with Academy trained skill and worldly experience. Located near the hip strip of clubs, galleries and restaurants along the East end of Bainbridge Street, Jed Williams Studio is incorporating marketing into his art business plan with monthly openings, group shows and special offers. Jed is offering fairly priced prints, combo packages and try it, then buy it plans; business is often the Achilles Heel of being an artist, seeing Jed take on the juggling act of creating, marketing and curating his own gallery is a model of determination and confidence.
Drive My Car, oil & acrylic on canvas @ Jed Williams Studio, Philadelphia PA.
The Lock is the Key, acrylic & mixed medium on paper and a new untitled work. Jed Williams is experimenting in 3D with a mash-up of found art and his unique pops of color and shine; Jed often imbues his paintings with glittery plastics, liquidy mylar and shiny mesh enhancing the experience of bold color vibrating the space within the canvas. Transportation images are a recurring theme and the new sculpture/painting has a skate punk vibe. Cars appear often in Williams paintings, the freedom and extension of will a car provides is a theme many can resonate with, to be able to just get away from it all, hit the road with a full tank of gas and a clear windshield is the ultimate luxury.
Jed Williams Studio, Philadelphia PA.
Photos by DoN
Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011.
Paige Ozaroski, Closer Look, photograph, Gaby Heit, Morning, Sugar, watercolor. 246 works are included in the blockbuster event, the Plastic Club continues to draw out the best of artists as they each join the competition for the prestigious awards - imagine what went through the mind of juror Murray Desener when he learned the task ahead of him, he did a fantastic job.
Nick Brown @ Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011. Nick sketches from life on ceramic then scratches out relief for the glaze. Caroline Maw-Dies, Woven Stoneware Basket, woven stoneware.
Mervyn Kline @ The Wanderer, print @ Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011. Mervyn & DoN are included in the show in the Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club; Merv’s stylish renderings are retro futuristic with an ancient lost civilization vibe. DoN will write a separate post about the show including Burton Greenspan, Diane Podolsky & Cara Kendric - DoN feels blessed to be included with such a fabulous group of fine artists, DoN has seven photos on display at the Plastic Club, a true honor.
Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011, 246 artworks are on display at the Plastic Club, each small world unique yet when grouped cohesive in a simplistic, natural way - the above tableau of monochromatic works with touches of color is curatorial excellence considering the blockbuster size of the exhibit.
Sylvia Schreiber @ Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011. The actual drippy painting isn’t much bigger than the image on this page but packs a bold punch of color in person.
Don McPartland, Kicker Conspiracy, mixed media @Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011; Don McPartland made a splash when he became a new member of the Plastic Club this year, 46 new artists, now capturing first prize with his soothingly complex confection, comfortably nestled in a niche in the dining room.
Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011, click the thumbnail.
Sung Ham, Joo Hooy, oil, Mervyn Kline, Picasso Blues, digital print, Jen Tsui, Post Card, mixed media @ small Worlds 2011, The Plastic Club’s annual small art extravaganza.
Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011, each nook and cranny holds a universe of small Worlds - Patricia Wilson-Schmid, Vortex, acrylic, Gail Zelikovsky, Landscape of Mars, silk painting, David DiDonato, Recycled Garden, acrylic, Lois Schlachter, Anxiety Dream, acrylic, Veronica Meekins, Nude Figure, pencil.
Phil Juska, Meatloaf at Gilleys, 2AM, construction @ Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011
Caroline Maw-Deis, Put de Lime in de Coconut, fiber, Dorothy Roschen, Smoke-Made Landscape, smoke fired clay @ Plastic Club’s small Worlds 2011, a huge art show of little works of art.
DoN is sad for Japan. “Smile, even though your heart is breaking.” With new eyes, look at the wonderful culture, community, vibrancy and beauty we are surrounded with every day and cherish each moment as if it could all be swept away in an instant. “Life is still worth while, if you just smile.”
DoNArTNeWs
I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion is for artists of all kinds. Painters, sculptors, ceramist, jewelers, photographers, and others will benefit from the easy-to-follow self-promotion practices in this book.
Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.
The book includes online worksheets and downloads.
