Baltimore art scene is cool

A few weeks ago, I spent an arty day in Baltimore and absolutely loved it and look forward to learning more about Charm City's charms. Bmoreart and There Were Ten Tigers sum up nicely why Baltimore is a great city for art.

Designer bikeracks in DC

What a great idea for utilitarian public art! Bike racks designed by artists. Read more about how this project was implemented in NYC here.

The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District is commissioning designs for bicycle racks that can double as public art throughout the 42 blocks of the area.

The designs are supposed to be both functional and artistically compelling, according to the BID. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 9.

Selected designers will receive $1,500 and a Saturday night stay for two at the Mayflower Hotel.

The BID has made a number of recent efforts to improve the area’s streetscape, such as commissioning public art for the Farragut North Metro Station and a tree-lined median for Connecticut Avenue now in development.

From the Washington Business Journal.

Surfin' pooch

Arty stuff this week . . .

Politics by Design

Friday, January 2
7 - 10 pm
@ Dissident Display
416 H Street, NE



Indefinite States of Emergency / Prints
by Guest Artist Helen Frederick
December 30 2008 - January 25 2009

OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, January 2
5 to 8 pm

ARTIST TALK:
Saturday, January 10 2009
2 pm

@ Washington Printmakers Gallery
1732 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Another edition of "Anything Pink Rocks"

Hoogrrl fans know that "Anything Pink Rocks!" Thanks for sending these awesome images!

Manifest Hope

A super cool opportunity for artists to be part of history:

Art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum. The MANIFEST HOPE: DC Gallery celebrates that role and shines a spotlight on artists who use their voices to amplify and motivate the grassroots movement that carried President-Elect Barack Obama to victory.

MANIFEST HOPE: DC gathers together a diverse array of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to mark this monumental achievement in our nation’s history and encourages artists and activists to maintain the momentum to bring about true change in the United States.

Along with its partners, MoveOn.org Political Action, the Service Employees International Union and Obey Giant, MANIFEST HOPE: DC, will issue an inspiring visual call-to-action, encouraging a redirection of public energy toward true reform in three key areas:

Health Care
ReformWorkers’ Rights
The Green Economy

The MANIFEST HOPE: DC Gallery will be open to the public in Washington, DC for the days preceding the Presidential Inauguration, Saturday, January 17th, 2009 through Monday, January 19th, 2009 between the hours of 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.

Go here for more info.

"Rubell! Shmubells!"

Glenn Ligon, Untitled, (I Sell Shadow to Sustain the Substance) 2005, Neon sign and paint, Ed. 3/3, 7 1/2 x 192 1/2 Photo: AFC, Courtesy of the Rubell Collection

An interesting piece about the Rubell Collection by Jonathan T.D. Neil for Art Review. He notes a unique problem when private collections earn an "institutional identity" but are still closely aligned with the collectors themselves. Neil wonders if we criticize the exhibition, which consists entirely of works owned by the Rubells, then are we also criticizing the Rubells in the same way that we might criticize someone's home decor.

Thanks Art Fag for highlighting this article.

Museum skateboarding

Marc Gonzales skateboarding in a museum in Germany. Museums aren't boring!

Happy Pink Christmas!

Lucy Van Pelt: "Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown. Maybe paint it pink."

Year-end reviews

Jeffry Cudlin wrote a very nice year-end review of museum shows for this week's Washington City Paper. Maura Judkis writes the year-end review of art galleries.

Pink roller skates

I want these pink roller skates for Christmas!

Festivus in Adams Morgan

Photo By Sarah L. Voisin -- The Washington Post

This kiosk at the corner of 18th and Columbia has become sort of an interactive public art installation. You can write whatever you like (confessions, observations, complaints, compliments) and post them here for all to read. I like the idea of not being forced to be cheery for Christmas.

More here.

Mr. Wiggles comments on performance art

(Thanks Hrag Vartanian!)

Cool public art in New Delhi

Rama Lakshmi - The Washington Post

Very large public art objects have been appearing around New Delhi and challenging the way people look at and consider art, and raising social issues too. Now that's good public art!

Singh was one of the countless New Delhi residents who experienced contemporary public art for the first time, thanks to a festival that has not only raised questions about accepted definitions of art, but also highlighted the challenges in preserving India's ecological heritage amid rapid urban development.

. . .

"Public space is shrinking in this city, and we are trying to reclaim and reengage with it through art," said Pooja Sood, curator of the public art extravaganza, which ends Sunday. "We broke through prevailing social, cultural and political barriers to bring contemporary art out of the elitist, white-cube galleries."

More on this project here.

Art in subways

Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times

The Starn brothers have created a site-specific art installation for a major new subway stop in lower Manhattan. Wouldn't it be cool if we had permanent public art installations like this in DC? More about the work here.

Dawoud Bey

DAWOUD BEY: CLASS PICTURES
December 13, 2008 - February 21, 2009
@ Contemporary Museum
Baltimore

Perkins on Basel

Lucian Perkins made this nifty multimedia video piece about Art Basel Miami Beach 09 featuring one of my fave art collectors Dr. Fred.

Devil Dan

James Gibbard/The New York Times

According to the New York Times, a forgotten character called Devil Dan planted the seeds for modern roller derby.

To be sure, the sport has remained in many ways about women’s empowerment. The women who built the first modern league on their own hard labor called their company Bad Girl Good Woman Productions. Their brand of roller derby found its audience by trading the unintentional kitsch of earlier incarnations for an appeal to the do-it-yourself generation. Modern skaters dress in costume, adopt stripper-type stage names and endure sexually suggestive penalties, but they also deliver real hits, mind the business end of their leagues and disassemble their skate tracks by hand at the end of each competition.

. . .

“There’s no other sport out there that’s specifically for women, that allows them to be sexy and aggressive at the same time,” said Audrey Butera, 36, who skates under the name Ali Mony for the Rhinestone Cowgirls in Austin.

DC51 Jump-Off Party

DC51 Artist Collective
Jump-Off Party
9pm
Friday, December 19
@ The Rock and Roll Hotel
1353 H Street, NE

DC51 Performing Artists:

Drop Electric (Instrumental Set)
Christlez Bacon
Godisheus (feat. Head-Roc)
Cornel West Theory

Ten best art shows in 2008

“Diamond Gym,” inside the church, an installation by the New York artist Nari Ward.

The New Yorker's Peter Schjeldahl picks ten best art shows in 2008. I don't know if they were the best, but I like his choices.

Millennium Art Salon offering

The Millennium Art Salon is offering limited edition prints by awesome Washington artists Rachelle Puryear and Billy Colbert. Go here for more info.

Hello Kitten!

This sorta scares me.

A Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital has opened its doors in Taiwan, aimed at easing the stress of childbirth with images of the popular cartoon character.

Good find, Decoy!

girls hit hard

A nifty roller derby t-shirt designed by rising art superstar Cory Oberndorfer would make an excellent and unique gift for someone special this holiday. And such a great deal at only $25 each!

The olive ones are mens cut: SOLD OUT
Pink ones are ladies cut: 1 medium.
American Apparel brand shirts.
$25 each plus shipping cost.

Both emblazoned with original artwork and the words "girls hit hard." (Because they do.)

Note that these lovely roller derby models have modified the shirts to suit their stylish and singular aesthetic. The shirts are actually regular ole crewnecks.

Call or email me if you want one: info@thepinklineproject.com.

Tee-rific!

The Tee Party @ Tiffany's was so much fun last night! See here for great pictures!

Tonight! Tee Party!

Tee Party @ Tiffany's:
Revolution Begins With Tea

Friday, December 12
6 - 11 pm
@ Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Boulevard
(Metro: Virginia Square)

Music: DJ Anish

Buy all your holiday presents!

6 - 10 pm
Live t-shirt stenciling by DC51

6:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Tea Party Fashion Show
Featuring designs by:
Kristina Bilonick
Billy Colbert
DC51
DECOY
Cory Oberndorfer
Lisa Marie Thalhammer

7:00 pm
Panel Discussion: The intersection between art and fashion
Moderator: Kristina Bilonick
Billy Colbert - Artist
Rachel Cothran - Project Beltway
Tom Pipkin - DC Source
Josh Tiktin - Dekka

With support from:
Scion
Arlington Arts Center
Broadway Gallery

Surfer girls

Great article in the New York Times about the latest crop of surfer girls who are ripping it up!

Those two teenagers belong to a new generation of women who are shaking up the professional surfing establishment. Most are still in high school and remain a few years from competing full-time for prize money. But with a combination of powerful moves and progressive aerials, they have signaled a new era of performance in the sport.

(re)do it

As if you need another reason to come to the Arlington Arts Center tomorrow night, Kathryn Cornelius will be doing a very cool live performance via webcam, based on instructions submitted via email (before the opening) or Twitter during this Friday's exhibition opening. Anyone can participate, regardless of whether or not they can make the opening night. Learn how to send instructions here.

What is this project about?

1 - To upend the relationship between public and artist set forth in Hans Urlich Obrist's Do It project, while...

2 - ...Inverting the dynamic between performer and audience, literally performing on audience command, thereby...

3 - ...Changing the role of the audience as art consumers to participatory producers of the artwork, and...

4 - ...Closing the gap between the artist's studio as a site of labor and the gallery space as a site of viewership, through...

5 - ...Engaging Web 2.0 technologies (blogsites, Twitter, webcams) as mediums for collaborative expression, deflating the notion of the individual as Author, while...

6 - ...Exposing the influence that the demands and desires of the art market has on the artwork produced by artists today

And if there is any doubt that Kathryn Cornelius is awesome, check her out in DC Mag this month:

Marc Jacobs on fashion and art

An interview with Marc Jacobs on how he came to collaborate with Takashi Murakami. Learn more about how fashion design and art intersect this Friday at Tee Party @ Tiffany's when some of DC's snazziest come together to discuss how fashion and art intersect.

Friday, December 12
7:00 pm
Panel Discussion: The intersection between art and fashion

Moderator: Kristina Bilonick
Billy Colbert - Artist
Rachel Cothran - Project Beltway
Tom Pipkin - DC Source
Josh Tiktin - Dekka

Tee Party @ Tiffany's
@ Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Boulevard

Guest rooms

Image: Len Spoden for The Washington Post

An article about guest rooms in The Washington Post Home section this morning. Ralphie is not happy about this picture. Witness the claw marks on my leg.

In Washington's urban lofts and condos, it's often impossible to have a dedicated room for sleepovers. Art promoter and blogger Philippa Hughes turned her two-bedroom condo near the U Street NW corridor into a one-bedroom to create a more spacious living room. She still has two full bathrooms, but the guest tub has become a storage area. "My guests get to sleep on a fancy Ligne Roset couch, which is very cool," Hughes says. "But they have to use my shower. Over Thanksgiving I had two guests: One slept on the sofa, and one slept on a blowup mattress on the floor that she brought herself." Hughes hasn't committed her sofa to anyone for the inauguration yet; she's still debating whether to rent out her condo.

Only two more days until tee time

Tee Party @ Tiffany's:
Revolution Begins With Tea

Friday, December 12
6 - 11 pm
@ Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Boulevard
(Metro: Virginia Square)

Music: DJ Anish

Buy all your holiday presents!

6 - 10 pm
Live t-shirt stenciling by DC51

6:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Tea Party Fashion Show
Featuring designs by:
Kristina Bilonick
Billy Colbert
DC51
DECOY
Cory Oberndorfer
Lisa Marie Thalhammer

7:00 pm
Panel Discussion: The intersection between art and fashion
Moderator: Kristina Bilonick
Billy Colbert - Artist
Rachel Cothran - Project Beltway
Tom Pipkin - DC Source
Josh Tiktin - Dekka

With support from:
Scion
Arlington Arts Center
Broadway Gallery

My kind of bathroom

Arty stuff this week...

Craig Cahoon

Craig Cahoon Art & Living
Opening reception:
Wednesday, December 10
6 - 8pm
@ Chase Point
4301 Military Rd NW

Ellyn Weiss, Nerve Cells I, encaustic and oil

Sondra N. Arkin, Joan Belmar, Scott G. Brooks, Anna U. Davis, Tom Drymon, Mary Beth Ramsey, Kelly Towles, Ellyn Weiss
Rapture, Ecstasy and Bliss
December 5 - January 4

Chocolate tasting and reception:
Wednesday, December 10
6:30 - 8:30

@ Biagio Fine Chocolate
1904 18th Street

Meet the Artist: Lawrence Weiner
Thursday, December 11
7 - 8pm
@ Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Independence Avenue at Seventh Street SW

Washington Project for the Arts and The Phillips Collection Present:
Experimental Media Series
When Absence Becomes Presence
Curated by Sonja Simonyi + Niels Van Tomme

Screening and Curator's Talk:
Thursday, December 11
6-8pm
@The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street NW

Virtue, Sin and the Balance Within
December 4 - January 5
Opening reception:
Thursday, December 11
6:30 - 8pm
@ The Art League Gallery
105 North Union Street, Alexandria

Margaret Bozer, detail from Night Landscape is Often Obscured by Other Things

Margaret Bozer
Accumulation
December 11 - January 17
Opening reception:
Thursday, December 11
6 - 8:30pm
@ Project 4
1353 U Street NW

Tee Party @ Tiffany's

Friday, December 12
6 - 11pm

@ Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Blvd

Small Works: Small Prices
Opening reception:
Friday, December 12
6 - 8:30pm
@ Touchstone Gallery
406 7th Street NW

Lauren Rice

Emily Andrews, Victor Aguilar, April Behnke, Alan Brown, Jessica Cebra, Natalie Cheung, Melissa Dickenson, Paul Jeffreys, John Lancaster, Katherine Mann, Nikki Painter, Bondé Prang, Lauren Rice, and Bonaia Rosado

Paper Trail, Selections from Transformer's Flat File Collection
December 12 - January 24

Opening reception:
Friday, December 12
6 - 9pm

@ Heineman Myers
4728 Hampden Lane, Bethesda

The Nightmare Before Christmas Holiday Party
Friday, December 12
7:30 - 2am
@ Dissident Display Gallery
416 H Street

Jason Snyder
Skin Deep
Opening reception:
Saturday, December 13
6 - midnight
@ Art Whino
173 Waterfront Street, Oxon Hill

Nikki Painter

Sarah Gamble, Isabel Manalo, Patrick McDonough, Nikki Painter, Alex Roulette, Amy Sherald, Julie Simon, Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, Sarah Wilmer
Quasi -Painting
December 13 - January 10

Opening reception:
Saturday, December 13
7 - 9pm

@ Randall Scott Gallery
1326 14th Street

Linda Hesh

Linda Hesh, Youngmi Organ, James Reich
Opening reception:
Saturday, December 13
7 - 10pm
@ Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street

Jack Boul, Flamenco Dancer, oil on canvas

Gallery talk with Jae Ko:
Saturday, December 13
4–5 pm

Gallery Talk:
Belgians on Holiday
Saturday, December 20
4–5 pm

@ American University Museum
4400 Massachusetts Ave NW

A r t i s t K a t h r y n C o r n e l i u s
O u t d o o r V i d e o P r o j e c t i o n

H o w W e L e a r n T o L o v e

Saturday, December 13, 2008

against the wall of the 1515 Arts Building
1515 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

8 - 9 pm

Portrait photography

Went to a nice reception last night for the National Portrait Gallery's recently opened photography exhibit that includes Katy Grannan, Jocelyn Lee, Ryan McGinley (!), Steve Pyke, Martin Schoeller, and Alec Soth.

Of course, I particularly like the little quotation that accompanies Jack Nicholson's picture above taken by Schoeller:

“I’ve always sort of liked that there were two of me—the person people think I am and the person I actually am.”

Jumping for great art at MoMa

If you live in NYC, you should go to MoMa tonight and jump for art! If you get lucky, maybe your picture will appear on one of the funnest blogs around, Jumping in Art Museums.

Art museum rules:

No running.

No smoking.

No eating.

No drinking.

No cell phones.

Please note that jumping is not prohibited--a bureaucratic oversight that 26-year-old Allison Reimus takes full advantage of.

See more about it in the New York Post.

DC Magazine art issue

A big spread in the December 2008 issue of DC Magazine called Arts & Power 2008 includes me and some really great arty friends around the city like Henry Thaggert, Steve Frost, Kathryn Cornelius, Andrea Pollan, Mark Jenkins, and the guys at Dissident Display. Here's what they had to say about me:

The Party Girl
Art guru Philippa Hughes had the chance to be an arm's-length philanthropist, but chose to get down and dirty with the scene instead. Now, the patron saint of local artists is hailed as DC's go-to gal for making things happen and pulling off the boldest expos in the city. Whether she's showcasing graffiti art in Arlington, invading the Lee Jensen Brake Shop in DC, rolling with Roller Derby girls at an art opening or manning standing-room-only panels at Artomatic, Hughes will do just about anything for the area's bubbling art set. "About a year ago, I realized there was a real hunger in DC for somebody to put everything together," she says, happy to have stepped up to the plate. Up next, she's gearing for the March show of her latest faves, Ann Tarantino and Kate McGraw at Flashpoint, and the revamp of her own nonprofit The Pink Line Project, with a website that will soon feature a calendar of DC's latest and greatest in the Beltway.

In Miami last week, I received the weirdest catcall ever: I was walking down the main drag Collins Avenue wearing a green sun dress when I passed a construction site. One of the construction workers got my attention and declared, "You should wear yellow or orange. Not green." I must have looked aghast because he followed that up with, "You look ok in green. But it's not your color!" Guess he was right. :)