Clara Gould Art Fund, Hudson Invitational Exhibit and Talk at Van Brunt....and touching hands.....

Van Brunt Gallery and the Howland Cultural Center are hosting an event to launch the Clara Lou Gould Fund for the Arts. This fund, named for Beacon's previous Mayor of 18 years, Clara Lou Gould, under the auspices of the Community Fund of Dutchess County and BACA, will "fund Beacon projects not generally supported by other area arts organizations, including individual artist’s projects, unique exhibitions, performance or public art projects, arts education programs, and community projects that promote area artists and arts activities and that draw attention to the valuable role of arts and culture in our community." Tickets for Friday's event are $100. For more information, and to order tickets online, click here.


Part of the events for the evening will include a preview of the Hudson Invitational exhibit at Van Brunt. The exhibit, which is being presented by Van Brunt Gallery in association with Curcio Projects, and which is co-curated by Jennifer Mackiewicz, relates to the Sitelines Art Fair program that was scheduled for last May but cancelled shortly before.
The art fair was/is intended to highlight contemporary art venues, both commercial and non profit, active throughout the Hudson Valley.

The panel discussion that is accompanying the Hudson Valley Invitational Exhibit is scheduled for Sept 14 at 3pm - at Van Brunt Gallery - and it will touch upon the topic of the present and future of the arts in the Hudson Valley.

The discussion will be moderated by Almanac Weekly Art Critic Paul Smart. Participating panelists include: Benjamin Krevolin, board president of the Dutchess County Council on the Arts, Norm Magnusson, known for his allegoric paintings, his faux historic roadside signs, and his Funism.com website, Tom Roe, founder of Wave Farm in Greene County and a leading proponent of the new Transmission Arts movement, currently on view at the SUNY Purchase's Neuberger Museum. Also on the panel are Sparrow, author/poet/critic, Robert The, Kingston-based conceptual and book artist with a background in philosophy, Christina Varga, Woodstock gallery owner and Brian Wallace, curator at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY-New Paltz. The panel will be streamed live on free103point9 Transmission Art Radio via a link at www.free103point9.org, or tune in by pasting http://comm.free103point9.org:8000/vanbrunt.mp3.m3u into your media player. to have

I've written a bit in previous posts about how I though the art fair could potentially set certain conditions serve to feed and connect the region's artists and venues in a way that would bridge the distance between the HV art communities. By that I mean that the corollary events and projects that would pop up around a successful fair might create a gravitational force that would draw more people into a collaborative relationship. I'd heard of gripes about why this thing was happening in Beacon. Why not? Of course, there's no reason that it couldn't happen in Peekskill, Hudson or Kingston, it just never has. Of course it hasn't happened in Beacon yet either. A possible remedy to assuage this griping might be to organize the fair as a series of contemporaneous events that would be happening in a number of communities up an down the river. However, I think it would prove to be a poor strategy for it would simply disperse the energy of such an event over such a large footprint as to dilute the potential impact of a shared moment and place and it would reinforce the art community breach as exists now. If maximum impact, participation, and variety desired effects, I think a better solution would be to hold such an event in a different city every year. Logistically, this would be more difficult, but the potential for collaborative creativity, as well as dynamic, evolving presentation could create that cultural gravity and excite and equally dynamic of artists/venues to participate. To some extent, the concept would be that of an annual nomadic convention, or model of the Olympic Games.


In the spirit of cross community interaction, a panel talk was held last Saturday as part of the recently completed 2008 Windows on Main St. project. The talk, which looked at the aspects of artists working in the public sphere, covered WOMS in context with the Peekskill Project, represented by Michael Natiello, and the 10x10x10 project in Ellenville with the creator of that project Judy Sigunick . The talk was scantily attended, and virtually all in attendance were either on the panel, or in some way affiliated with the projects discussed, but what occured, was an excellent discussion about the artists' experiences of working among the public in traditionally non art locations. Basically was a sharing of the obstacles, the rewards and the discoveries common among the projects. It was also enlightening to learn about the artists' activities that so closely parallel one another, demonstrating some wonderful affinities.

The fact that Sunday's talk at Van Brunt will be streamed live on the internet (thanks to Free 103point9)alone is exciting. I'd like to see more talks/art events in the area streamed or otherwise shared more profusely online. It's hard to make it out to too much, and there's not a lot out there that represents the goings on in the various communities. I wish there was more.

Over the wires and through the buds

Passing along a couple of podcast episodes that I found interesting:

A recent LACMA podcast posted in April featured a conversation between Robert Irwin and Michael Govan. There is a video version (the audio version I listened to was in two parts.) A segment of the talk that centered on the relationship Govan and Irwin developed as they worked on projects at Dia, including Irwin's work in creating the master plan for Dia:Beacon. An interesting anecdote relayed here dealt with a late addition to the museum's landscape of a variety of tree the artist found in a nursery in Jersey, which was later revealed to be a variety of hemlock, originally discovered on Mt. Beacon.



Another worthwhile podcast item was a discussion Brian Andrews and Marc LeBlanc had with curator Joseph del Pesco and artist Scott Oliver about the Collective Foundation from the May 13 Bad At Sports podcast. The conversation begins at about the 20 min. mark, after the review of Miranda July's book. The Collective Foundation is a multifaceted endeavor that is currently existing as an exhibition, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Difficult to explain in short form, the CF is amalgamation of efforts on the part of various folks in the San Francisco area to augment the art scene in the area, support artists the efforts of artists, and doing so within an expression of creative practice.

The Yerba Buena Center's description of the CF:

The Collective Foundation (CF) is a temporary organization. The concept of
curator Joseph del Pesco and artist Scott Oliver, CF relies on the contributions
of numerous people who are working to advance art in the Bay Area. During the
organization's launch at YBCA, The Foundation will set up temporary headquarters
in our galleries. They will hold think-tank discussions, how-to sessions for
navigating the CF Web interface, and Shotgun Review Second Saturdays where
participants will review as many Bay Area art shows as possible. The furniture
for the Foundation’s headquarters will be borrowed from local individuals,
modified for the exhibition, and returned at the close of the show—a generous
illustration of the benefits of networking.

I really can't nail down a concise description of the effort, except to say it sounds like a holistic, assertive and innovative pursuit to imbue the mechanics of supporting artistic activity with meaning and a spirit that is almost performative. The CF embodies the type of activity I hoped to establish with the formation of bau, but which turned out not to be possible for a variety of reasons. I think the CF represents a methodology to consider, particularly in the case of Beacon Studios, where artists there are working to strengthen the prospects of the long term viability of staying in the old high school building.

Beacon Art Salon Meeting, May 22 6pm

The Beacon Art Salon will hold its second meeting at Chthonic Clash, 453 Main St. on Tuesday, May 22 from 6-7:30pm.

Organizer Stacey Ward Kelley said that the first meeting attracted about a dozen folks. The city wide open studio event scheduled for June 9 is being organized under the auspices of the Art Salon.

By way of describing the BAS and how it came about, Stacey wrote the following:

A dozen artists and art enthusiasts met at Chthonic Clash
coffeehouse last month for its first meeting. Many of our initial members
have moved to the Beacon area within the last six months and are excited to
become part of a group that promotes art and community. Stacey Ward Kelly,
president and director of the group, explained that her original idea for the
Salon came from a meeting with a friend and fellow artist, Eric Van Bean,
(www.beanworkshops.com) with whom she's shown her work alongside for a number of years. "Eric and I began meeting once a week on Monday mornings to discuss and support one another's art process. A few months later, we had our first show, entitled
"Monday Morning Coffee" and have since produced a number of projects and art
shows in the Boston area. I wanted to bring that same idea here, to my hometown of Beacon, New York. Since I moved back here two years ago, I've noticed a number of small art groups existing side by side but with very few interactions and community-wide projects. Many artists are associated with only the galleries that show their work. I began the Beacon Art Salon to be a place where every artist and art enthusiast
could come together, once a month, to discuss, create, support and connect. Our first meeting was a great success and we had more than enough ideas to get started on. Our first event, will be an open studios, where participating artists will open their studio space and get their contact info on a city-wide map that will be distributed to the public on June 9, 2007 from 1-5pm. We will be doing this event in conjunction with the Beacon Studios open studios held at the old high school building. Other ideas that were mentioned at this first meeting include public art projects, a city-wide art
festival, visual art workshops, and creative writing opportunities."

All artists (visual, literary, musical etc.) and art enthusiasts are encouraged to attend our second meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 22nd from 6-7:30 pm at the Chthonic Clash Coffeehouse located at 453 Main Street in Beacon, NY. Membership to the group is free. Attendees for the next meeting are encouraged to bring a sample of their artwork to share with the group and one question (to ask to the group) or resource (ie: some art related information that might be of interest to others). Also, the registration deadline for the open studios event is May 22nd and registration forms will be available at the meeting.

For more information about the Beacon Art Salon please visit www.giraffeandturtle.com

"For Artists Only" at The Aldrich, April 28

The Aldrich Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT will be hosting its For Artists Only event Saturday April 28 from 6:30 to 8:30. The open house mixer for artists is the kick off for the 10th annual program of Radius: Emerging Artists from Connecticut and Southeastern New York.
Peter Iannarelli, Elia Gurna, Angelika, I and soccer mom Curry Mendes piled into Curry's Mom's minivan and headed over to last year's For Artist's Only event. We had an excellent time - we didn't mix with as many folks as we should have, but it was a chance to get to the museum, which we don't do enough. Last year's event was very well attended, and there is an opportunity to show your portfolio, and see the portfolios of many regional artists.

Beacon Art Salon's first meeting tonight

Chthonic Clash Coffeehouse at 418 Main St. will host the first meeting of the Beacon Artist's Salon tonight from 6-7:30pm. The Salon will be a monthly opportunity for artists to get together, discuss their work and connect with other artists. For more information on the salon, contact Stacey Ward Kelly at 845-401-8798.

I am in the middle of a month long stint out in Denver currently, so if anyone is able to attend the salon tonight and wants to report back on it, I would welcome that very much.

The same holds true for the events of the April Second Saturday. If anyone has images of openings or events, like the Cafe Chronogram held at the Muddy Cup, or Keisendahl and Calhoun's return to Beacon with an exhibit at the Next Level Gallery at Hudson Beach Glass, let me know.