More unsubstantiated accusations

More local art luminaries are now being accused in a McCarthy-style witch hunt of being "The Collector," the person who ransomed Tim Tate's glass rocket sculpture for monopoly money and resurfaced at this year's Artomatic with additional weird escapades. I refuse to sit back and allow my good friend Kristina Bilonick to be publicly charged with this malfeasance. She is much too subtle and cool for this sort of thing. Plus I seriously doubt she has had time for these shenanigans considering she has been preparing for her show at Transformer, which opened last weekend and which is awesome. See above for picture of me and Claire Huschle enjoying Kristina's show immensely!

From Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts in the Washington Post's Reliable Source:

Our quest to unmask "The Collector" -- the manifesto-writing, D.C.-artist-promoting, wild-goose-chase-leading prankster of the Artomatic show-- seems to have sent the local arts world into a tizzy, with artists eagerly dropping a dime on one another (perhaps to steer scrutiny away from themselves?). The latest suspects:

Kristina Bilonick

Glass and multimedia artist, Washington Project for the Arts staffer

Why her? A former Washington Glass School associate of Tim Tate, whose sculpture The Collector kidnapped (and returned) last year; like the author of The Collector's manifesto, an activist championing the local arts scene.

She says:"I emphatically deny it."

Alibi: The masked man who met us on the midnight ransom drop was clearly a dude.

Andrew Wodzianski

Oil painter, mixed-media artist

Why him? A fan of Tate, and a serious prankster who once dressed as a masked ninja at a gallery opening.

He says:"I'm flattered. [But] I am not The Collector. Most of my pranks are for self-promotion. What makes The Collector unique is that he's completely selfless. It's an altruism that's missing from any arts scene.

Alibi: Much taller, much skinnier than The Collector.