Ooohgle or Eewwgle

I guess it depends on how you look at it, and who your'e looking at. Google is now offering artist and designer themed header skins for your iGoogle homepage. Currently, you can choose various options including Jeff Koons, Dale Chihuly, Dolce & Gabbana, and Anee Geddes. I started trying to think cheekily of some artist I'd like to see as an option, then decided that none of them look very good, so I just quit.
PS. Thanks to my buddy Chad Smith for passing that along.

Collaborative Concepts at the Hat Factory, Peekskill May 3-June 22

Collaborative Concepts is holding an invitational group exhibit opening this Saturday, May 3 at the Hat Factory in Peekskill NY.

Another Cavalcade of local artists are paticipating, including me. The other equally fine artists showing are:
A. Eric Arctander, Nancy Bauch, Charles Boyd, Jo-Ann Brody, Robert Brush, Karlos Carcamo, Margaret Carr, Ursula Clark, Laurel Garcia Colvin, Ada Pilar Cruz, Dana DeVito, Faith Evans-Sills, Thomas Faulkner, Sara Haviland, Moses Hoskins, Carla Rea Johnson, Barbara Koffsky, Kirsten Kucer, William C. Maxwell, John Moody, Sara Mussen, Sharon Nakazato, Michael Anthony Natiello, Stephanie Natiello Liel Ira Needleman, Lori Nozick, Jaanika Peerna, Micheal Poast, Sheilah Rechtschaffer, Herman Roggeman, Caroline Ruttle, Krystyna Sanderson, Francis Sills, Christopher Staples, Jean Tock, Preston Tromby, Greg Slick, Susan Zoon.
There's a reception on May 3 from 4-7pm. The exhibit will run through June 22. Gallery hours are Sat/Sun 11-5pm.
The Hat Factory is located at 1000 North Division St. in Peekskill. Now, if you know Peekskill just a little, and you think, "oh, Division St., that must be downtown," that thinking would be incorrect. The Hat Factory is north of Peekskill located just north of the Bear Mountain Parkway on your left (as you head north.)
For more information, call 845-528-1797

Public Service Announcement: Vigilance ensures nothing will come between you and your Calvins

Kathy Feighery urges all of us to not leave our laundry unattended.
Our eye on the Beacon laundry scene reports that she is privy to at least two recent incidents, of laundry pilfering at one of our Beacon Main St. laundromats.

You've got eight minutes left in your dry cycle, do you know where your britches are?

The irony of Kathy's laundry lament only struck me later, when I linked it with her participation in the dress themed exhibit opening on Sat, May 10 (reception from 6-8pm) at the Hudson Opera House in Hudson, NY. Dress will be on exhibit through June 7.

I've got two tickets to paradise Beacon, NY

Andrea from Pearl Daddy just sent me a link to May's issue of Conde Nast's Quick Tips which highlights art sites in Beacon.

Additionally, Todd Spire and I were among those interviewed recently for a forthcoming story on Beacon as a destination to be featured in GO - Air Tran Airways in flight Magazine. I imagine that story will run in the sometime this Summer.

On tap for this weekend - here and there

Open Space is hosting a book release party for "Beacon Soul" a hardcover book celebrating the first anniversary of the Beacon Art Salon. The party will be held tomorrow, Sunday April 27 from 4-6pm

For your today's activity calendar, Mr. Matthew Kinney sent me this information on Art Throughout the Orchard Apple Blossom Festival. The event is a fundraising event for a 12 year old boy in Clintondale named Adam who is dealing with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer.
There are various activities for the whole family and I understand sculpture sited around the orchard - some of which is Matt's. Here are the details:

Saturday April 26, 2008
(rain date April 27)

Liberty View Farm
340 Crescent Ave, Highland NY 12528

12:00-5:00 PM Family FUNdraising Festivities
Featuring:
Live Music ~ Silent Art Auction ~ Children's Art Gallery ~ Hands-On Children's Art Activities
Bake Sale ~ Yard Sale ~ Cookie Decorating ~ Penny Social ~ Raffle
Frolic with the goats and chickens at the Certified Naturally Grown Apple Orchard!

6:00 PM "Going out on a Limb" Awards Presentation
honoring community members and organizations who make Ulster County a better place
Sponsored by The Social Awareness Committee of the New Paltz Social Society

Suggested Donation:
$5 per person/$20 per family

For more information, contact:
Billiam Van Roestenberg (845) 883-7004 http://libertyviewfarm.biz
or Loretta J. Lynn (917) 607-6262

Fair and relevant

Apropos of my previous post on the cancellation of the Sitelines Art Fair, this week's Bad at Sports podcast (Episode 138) features an interview with Kavi Gupta and Christian Viveros-Faune from the Next Art Fair which is happening in Chicago this week.
In the discussion, Gupta and Viveros-Faune discuss their vision of Next as an event that transcends the trade show paradigm and which has specific relevance to a place and a moment.

Sitelines Art Fair: The Extended Horizon

Today I received word that the Sitelines Art Fair will not be taking place as scheduled for the weekend of May 16-18.
As I understand it, potential issues with the selected venue, a low number of confirmed participating institutions and the sands of time have all conspired against the fair being held right now, although perhaps something can be rescheduled for later in the year.

I was skeptical when I first heard about the plans to organize an art fair here. The viability of plopping an art fair in the area didn't make sense to me, but I began to see the potential a couple of months back I heard Carl briefly discuss some of his ideas about the concept of this fair that, in my interpretation would seek to frame a context for art activity endemic to this region. When I talk about activity endemic to this region, I'm not talking about a cultural isolationist, root for the hometown "Aw man, our artists are just as good as those bigshot snots and if they won't let us join their party, we'll throw one of our own" kind of backyard boosterism. I just think there's a case for place which can hold water in this current state of affairs. Given the seemingly ever more homogenized traveling art circus that is wearing grooves into the global art circuit, a Hudson Valley-centric gathering that includes galleries and institutions from around the area can have import. It's ironic that so much contemporary art deals with the importance of place, and experiencing the specificity of a site while a major driving force of the marketplace has such an opposite relationship to engaging with space. Hello Cleveland! er, Detroit? you rock.
I'm envisioning Dr. Who travelling around in art fair booth.


I can see where an event such as Sitelines could serve as a gravitational point for the artistic activity in the region; a chance for the semi isolated cultural outposts dotting the valley to convene and connect - And do so without necessarily reverting to an orgy. (I lived in South Beach for 3 years. I've seen parent-teacher conferences revert to orgies down there.)
Imagine, part art fair, part comic con, part plushie parade all right here. That'd be so hot. (Indeed, if such a wonderous convergence were to happen, I hope we'd be ready. Just in case, Art Fag City has a test to sharpen your senses.)

What adds vibration to many of these convergences are the activities that orbit the fairs. Ultimately, I think the success of Sitelines, when it does happen, will depend on the multitude of energies of many independent efforts that speak to the level of esprit d'art in the surrounding environment.
In any case, there's still certain to be loads of that esprit d'art being spread thick that mid-May weekend, as Habitats for Artists will have some doings going on over at Spire Studios. I imagine that the Electric Windows will still be on tap, and who knows what else.
Hell, we're even planning a Maykr potluck Brunch, and yer'all invited.

Update: here's the latest on events in Beacon for the weekend of May 17 &18.

Second Saturday, April 12 2008 - a few pics

Expect slower than usual posting in the coming weeks. I's just so busy.

I got off to a very late start for my Second Saturday jaunt on April 12. Several places, including Hermitage and Van Brunt had already closed by the time I made it past.
The highlight of the evening for me was getting hit up for money three separate times along my walk on Main St. That's a record. Folks must be really feeling the pinch if they have to be asking an artist for loose change. Of course, it may simply be that these needy folks recognize me for the snappy dresser I am.

Here are a few photos.

Hedina Christener's work at Mount Beacon Fine Art.

Tom Holmes turned bau into an aviary for the evening.

Chris Bors @ Go North

Tote Bags! Lots of them from all over@ Open Space. They're all $1o0, proceeds benefit Clearwater.

The crowd @ Zahra's opening for Nicole Monforti & Keila Sone

A little window dressing on my walk back home.

What's it all about

Please to enjoy for your weekend viewing and cultural pondering pleasure:

Second Saturday, April 2008

Oh but for a wee bit more time. I always feel like I'm trying to catch up with time, and the emails I receive. Here I am squoozing out a post before I rush off to work.
Alas, it's again time for Second Saturday and more goings on in town. Here's a cursory preview:

bau is opening it's 40th exhibit on Saturday, with another take on the group show which has become de riguer for the space. Birds + Bees is the name of the exhibit work by Jane Blake Gary Jacketti, Tom Holmes, Grey Zeien and Lisa Zukowski.

RiverWinds will be exhibiting nature photography by Robert Rodriguez Jr.

Go North is showing i against i : an exhibition of paintings by Chris Bors. This weekend's Poughkeepsie Journal Enjoy section has a question and answer with Chris Bors about his work. Here's a link to the write up at the POJO new disorienting blog-like website .

Open Space is hosting a benefit exhibit of a multitude of examples of the hot new fetish item: Tote Bags. Canvas tote bags modified, manipulated, poked, prodded, pricked and painted by a multitude of artists will be on exhibit and available for purchase. Open Space has asked 125 artists from hither and yon submit a bag. All proceeds will benefit Clearwater. Here is a list of participating artists, images of the bags will be posted on the Open Space website when the exhibit opens, and they will be available to purchase through the website.
Hermitage will be opening an exhibition of selected books, broadsides and printed ephemera from the Auerhahn Press 1958-1965. Reception from 6-10.
Zahra's Studio is opening an exhibit called ShadowLands featuring work by Nicole Monforti & Keila Sone.
Hedina Christener is exhibiting a selection of paintings and drawings at Mt Beacon Fine Art.
Most of these exhibits will run through May 4.

Aaron Johnson, John Newsom to speak at HVCCA, April 13.

Painting by Aaron Johnson, courtesy of HVCCA.

John Newsom and Aaron Johnson will be discussing their work which is included in the museum's Size Matters: XXL exhibit. The talks will be held on Sunday, April 13 from 4-6. For more information, visit HVCCA's website.

On view tonight

There's an opening reception tonight at VanBrunt Gallery from 6-9pm. New work by Gabe Brown, Juan Garcia Nunez and Peter Gergely will be on view through April 28.

Also, Jeff Caramegna's exhibit at Go North has been extended through this weekend. I dropped into Jeff's studio at Spire last week where he's got several more wildlife paintings in progress including another multi panel shark piece that's is larger, and I feel more striking than the piece in the gallery. Many of the works I saw in the studio are pieces that Jeff has been working on for years and they're definitely coming into their own. As I posted earlier, I really like the work that's up at Go North, but I was tripping even more on the stuff he's working on now, like the giant pixel disco snake and a nearly day-glo gorilla. If I get a chance to sneak back in, I'll try to catch some snapshots.

Aldrich Museum's Radius 2008 program

The Aldrich Art Museum's professional develpment program for artists known as Radius includes three separate workshop programs, the first of which will be held at the Garrison Arts Center on April 12 from 2-5pm, and it will focus on Artist websites and other promotional aspects of the internet. Two other workshops on the ins and outs of studio visits and strategic planning for artists will also be held in the coming weeks.

The Aldrich's annual "For Artists Only" event will be held on May 31, 6:30-8:30 pm.
Visit aldrichart.org for more details on dates, fees, registration deadlines and such.

Call for Entries: Samual Dorsky Museum

The annual regional juried exhibit at the Samuel Dorsky Museum is coming around again. The Museum is accepting artist submissions for the Hudson Valley Artists Series 2008: The Medium is the Message. Deadline is April 9. Mass MoCA curator Denise Markonish is the exhibit's juror. Details and submission guidelines can be found at the Dorsky's website.

Let's Get together now

The Beacon Art Salon is meeting tonight at 7pm at Muddy Cup.

To observe the changing of the season, Hermitage is hosting an evening of folk Music on Saturday, April 5 beginning at 7:30pm. The line up includes This Frontier Needs Heroes, Zachary Cale , Andre Karpov, and apparantly more, all for just $5.

Words word, and the face to face

For some time now, I've forsaken much of my print media reading habits for the environs of art blogs. I guess reading is a bit of an overstatement. I peruse. The downside of the sheer volume of all of the insights, critiques and commentaries online is that my attention level is fairly shallow.

Last week I attended Art Bloggers panel discussion that was organized by Joanne Mattera and Sharon L. Butler and hosted at the Red Dot Art Fair.

The panel discussion was moderated by Joanne and included Sharon, Carol Diehl of ArtVent, Carolina Miranda of C-Monster (yeah poop jokes!), Paddy Johnson of Art Fag City and Edward Winkleman of Edward Winkleman was preceeded by an informal gathering and discussion in the hotel's lobby and then shuffled down to a small conference room.

I really enjoyed meeting the folks behind my favorite blogs and meeting folks whose I hadn't yet discovered.

Franklin Einspruch of Artblog.net was the first to post a list of people who gathered for the informal discussion prior to the panel. Here's his list:
Hrag Vartanian
Chris Albert
Steven Alexander
Olympia Lambert
James Kalm
Chris Jagers
Megan and Murray
Andrew Robinson
Pretty Lady

If you're not familiar with the blogs of these folks, check them out. Of course, each blog varies in its voice whether that be straight critique, expostulation on one's own studio process or reflections on the machinations of the world at large. Each provides an view into a particular personal interaction with the world of art, casting that world in a multitued of tints. When there's an overlap of subject matter covered by many blogs, one can get an interesting triangulation on the topic at hand. It can certainly be of value. Already, I've learned the definition of flaneur after Hrag's blog post on the panel sent me to the dictionary.

Megan and Murray MacMillan are a collaborative team hailing from Providence area. They spoke to me about way they've been able to frame their blogging activities as an extension of their studio practice, which can be a supreme benefit of blogging, both for enriching one's blog content, and providing another avenue to digest the ins and outs of one's process.

I was excited to see what James Kalm looks like. Ok, excited is too strong a word, but I've wondered about it, and I've wondered how he goes about getting his footage, sometimes covert, of the very many exhibits he covers in his video reports braving the harangues of a select few uncooperative galleries and getting bounced from the Whitney Biennial.

If you're interested, Joanne Mattera gives a quick rundown for the panel discussion at the Artbloggers@ blog. James Kalm also captured much of it on video.

Three of the assembled bloggers, Butler, Vartanian and Kalm, are also contributors to The Brooklyn Rail. If your're not familiar with it, the Rail is a wonderful publication- sort of like the Voice, but worthwhile. It's also chock full of art content with many reviews and great interviews with artists. I got into the habit of heading down to Utrecht on 12th St. to pick up a copy whenever I was in the city (I'm not sure where else it's distributed), but I've been stymied for the past several months. I really ought to subscribe, because number one, it's a non profit, number two, with all the other reading I do online, I'm already suffering from content retention, and I'd like be able to peruse through it away from the computer. (I could use a good incontinents treatment to clear myself out.)

I had the brilliant idea last Summer to begin making runs down to Brooklyn, picking up bundles of the Rail, and distributing them up here in Beacon. Unfortunately, the one day I was able to arrange to stop in, no one was in the office. Stymied again. But I'll try again. If anyone would be interested in participating a monthly rotation of delivering a couple of bundles of the Rail up here, I'd be willing to get the ball rolling as I think it would be appreciated here in Beacon.