Remembering Audrey Chibbaro

Audrey Chibbaro discussing her installation during
the Windows on Main St. walking tour in 2007.

Sadly, news arrived today of the death of Audrey Chibbaro from bone cancer. Audrey was very involved in the activities in the Beacon Arts Salon, taking an active role in realizing the groups events.
My interactions with Audrey focused around our work. I didn't know much about her personal life. To me, she was an ever positive, compassionate and nurturing individual and one who was deeply interested in engaging creatively with all kinds of folk. She participated in a handful of our group critiques that floated between studios.
In 2007, Audrey participated in WOMS, taking over one of the large windows at the Beacon Natural Market, turning it a Potato Eaters carnival complete with her ceramic puppet figurines and many pounds of potatoes which she donated to a food bank after the exhibit.

Aug-Sept. 2007 The Potato Eaters installed at the Beacon Natural Market.

Stacey Ward Kelley of the Beacon Art Salon forwarded this short bio and statement of Audrey that was included in the group's book Beacon Soul.

Audrey Chibbaro studied art in Florence Italy and received an associate’s degree
from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She received her BFA in
studio art from Brooklyn College and has taught art in NYC public schools.
Chibbaro’s media includes porcelain, stoneware, beeswax, antique linen, fur and
wire. Currently Chibbaro has simplified her work to highlight the form, texture,
color and material without the distraction of the figurative element. This new
work is abstract-biomorphic and conjures memories through the texture of the
materials. Chibbaro has shown her work at The Shore Institute of Contemporary
Art, The Boylan Gallery, The Manhattan Graphics Center and is looking forward to
her upcoming solo show at The Garrison Art Center.

The Garrison Art Center exhibit mentioned took place in October and November, and featured Audrey's ceramic works.

Memtex. courtesy garrisonartcenter.org
Audrey's Artist's Statement:

Beacon invites me to look the ground in the eye. The fascination is with the matter that grows from the earth and has fallen from the trees. When it rains and snows the colors change and add a new depth. The Hudson Valley Mountains give texture from a distance and when among them we breathe the scent of everything regenerated.

Two of Audrey's prints are included in Open Space's Limited Run 2 print and zine exhibit that will be opening tomorrow night. Below are images of the prints which will be available for purchase. Thanks to Dan and Kalene for forwarding these images.

I'll be sure to post any information that arises regarding services or memorials. For those of you who knew Audrey and would like to share your thoughts, feel free to add your comments.

Head and shoulders: Participants sought for photo shoot

Angelika Rinnhofer will be photographing at the Howland Cultural Center on Sunday, December 21, and she is looking for models.
As part of a project in development, Angelika will be on the balcony photographing groups of people from above.
Participants are asked to be at the Howland Center at 2:00 on Sunday Dec. 21, and wear dark colored clothes.

If you're interested in milling about for short time, brandishing your cowlick, shoot her an email at angelika[dot]rinnhofer[at]gmail[dot]com, and let her know.

Your participation in this project will help keep a photographer busy photographing, and not doing something crazy, like trying to drive a school bus.

Call for submissions: Pelham Art Center, Pelham NY

The Pelham Art Center in Pelham is accepting submissions for the bi-annual painting competition, the Alexander Rutsch Award and Solo Exhibition. It is a juried award and the winner receives $5,000 and a solo show at the Art Center.
Deadline for entries is Feb. 6 2009. Submission guidelines are here.

Fovea Exhibitions benefit auction December 12, 7pm

A benefit party and auction for Fovea Exhibitions will be held on Friday, Dec 12 at the Howland Cultural Center beginning at 7pm. The evening's events will include an indoor projection, party featuring the musical stylings of Hank and the Skinny 3, and an art auction. The items up for auction are listed here. There's a $10 cover at the door.
You can now follow the very latest about Fovea Exhibitions on Twitter.

map of NY state correctional facilities

Fovea's current exhibit, Behind Bars by Andrew Lichtenstein, is on exhibit through early January 2009. With its distinctly local relevance, this exhibit clearly demonstrates the greatest strength of the gallery which is framing essential aspects of the human condition as evidenced in real, and often crucial life events in a manner that is direct and personally affecting. Graphics posted in the gallery announce the facts that within 50 miles of Beacon there are 11 correctional facilities employing over 6,000 people (if I'm correctly recalling the facts - I can't remember the number of inmates).

This is the first exhibit where I felt the size of the gallery limited to the ultimate effectiveness of the presentation. The compelling narratives of prison life - both inside and outside of the facilities -conveyed in Lichtenstein's work are each worthy of extended exposure. Unfortunately, having these separate strains represented by just a few images each gives the effect of a series of teasers when a more homogenized selection, though undoubtedly incomplete given the depth and complexity of this very real and very locally pertinent topic, might offer a more succinct body of evidence.

Second Saturday, Dec 13 2008; what's on tap

Here it is. What you've all been waiting for; something to look at and do next weekend here in our humble berg.
Open Space is hosting its second Limited Run Print and Zine exhibit.
Go North is opening an exhibit of mixed medai paintings by Anne Beck. The opening marks he release of the artist's monograph, State, published by Brooklyn Art Press. Copies of the book will be on hand for purchase.








Anne Beck's City Addax (2008, acrylic, casein, gouache, clay, pigment print, & collaged solvent print on cut paper, 16.5 x 21.5").




bau will be opening a group show of gallery members' work interpreting light. Reception from 6-9pm.




















pearldaddy is presenting Marlene Parillo: Storypots and TapestriesVessel Sculptures and Mixed Media Quilts December 13, 2008 thru March 8, 2009. The opening reception will be happening from 6-9pm.











Marlene Parillo







The Gallery at Zahra's Studio is hosting a reception from 6-10pm an exhibit of photographs by Charise Isis. American Stripper opened on November 17 and will remain on view through the end of 2008.












Charise Isis




A new venue and a diferent vibe will lend an altered reality to the Second Saturday After Party, Next Step. The "all lounge session" will be held at Iron Fish Trading Co. Shawn Trail and John Cason have joined up with the Open Space team to present this alternate Next Step.



















Here are the details:

An Evening of Quadraphonic Sound and Immersive Videoproducers Shawn Trail
and John Cason offer up an alternative to Beacon's Second Saturday art-hop
afterparty- LIVE MUSIC and a downtempo, lounge oriented vibe .
Featuring Ben Neil and Bill Jones http://www.benneill.com/ Ben Neill and Bill Jones will present a new set of music and interactive video for Neill's newly created mutantrumpet.. Dubbed
"the mad scientist of dancefloor jazz" by CMJ Magazine, Neill's music
"masterfully blurs the lines between electronic dance music and jazz sounds"
(Billboard). This new set of future dub jazz is the most recent chapter in
Neill's musical evolution which has included the CDs Green Machine
(Astralwerks), Triptycal and Goldbug (Verve) and Automotive (Six Degrees). Neill
has recently created a new version of his unique electro-acoustic instrument,
the mutantrumpet, thanks to a residency at the STEIM studios in Amsterdam.
+ development- led by http://www.shawntrail.com/ on drums, brothers- tom cason on bass and john cason on guitar/video www.myspace.com/8sound, and http://www.anthonybarba.com/ on tenor sax and electronics and
LIVE
QUADRAPHONIC SOUND mixed by Tyler Trotter (Tony Levin, Will Oldham)and DJ chris rivers between setsSecond Saturday Dec. 13, 20089pm@ Iron Fish 167 Main Street,
Beacon NYhttp://ironfishtrading.com/about/$7- entrance
Keegan Ale will be
served in co-operation with http://www.openspacebeacon.com/

If you recall, Shawn and John put together an informal video and sound installation called Special Treatment in the Chthonic Clash space back in March in the interim between the Clash closing down and ZuZu's opening up. I really dug what they did then. I'm interested to see what they do at the 'Fish.

NY Times review of recent installment of Merce Cunningham Dance Company residency at Dia:Beacon

Tuesday's NYTimes includes a detailed play by play by Alistair Macauley of this weekend's Merce Cunningham performances at Dia:Beacon. To my count, this weekends events which were presented before Sol LeWitt's work "123 All Three Part Variations on Three Different Kinds of Cubes 1967/2003" are the fourth in the series to be produced in the two year Hudson Valley Project residency that the MCDC will be serving out at the museum through September 2009. A press release from 2007 states that a total of 8 events will take place in the museum.

Headline Envy & Alison Moritsugu in the press

Today in his Weekend Round up of links, Tyler Green at MAN included a piece from San Diego Union-Tribune art critic Robert Pincus, eye-rollingly titled "Painter's Log" which traces the development Alison Moritsugu's work.
I'm just embarrassed that a headline that cheesy never occurred to me. That's why I don't get paid for this stuff.
Alison's residency at Lux Art in San Diego came to a close this weekend.

On for the weekend

A new exhibit opens today at the Howland Cultural Center. “Changing Expressions” - a celebration of Latino-American Artists is a group show featuring many local artists. The opening is happening today from 3-5pm.

Tonight at 7pm, Open Space will host a reading and book signing by left-wing political cartoonist and Beacon local David Rees. Note that this event is not suitable for children.

Tomorrow in Peekskill: HVCCA is hosting a free arts day. Admission to the museum is free all day from 12-6pm. Here's what's planned for the day:
2:00pm: Docent Tour of ORIGINS exhibition led by HVCCA President / Co-Founder Dr. Livia Straus.
3:00pm: Special music performance by the Westchester Symphonic Winds clarinet and saxophone quartets.
4:00pm: Gallery talk with HVCCA’S 2008 Artist-in-Residence Karen Sargsyan.
Also at 4pm, a ceremony will be held at which the museum will receive at $20,000 grant from Consulate General of the Netherlands New York (CGNY) for the Public Tile Program.
About the program:

The Public Tile Project is an arts and education initiative that unites the
students of the Hudson Valley with their Dutch heritage. The project
incorporates over 1500 individual tiles/artwork created by students from over 30
schools etc commemorating historic events, persons, geographical history, flora
and fauna of the region in the style of Dutch Delft tile painting. When fully
installed throughout Peekskill, the tiles will become a permanent marker along a
1 1/2 mile historic trail beginning at the Museum and ending at the river. The
final installment of the tiles will culminate with a ceremony during the Dutch
Quadricentennial Saturday, September 12th, 2009.

Eye Candy Friday: Bifurcated for your pleasure.

This week's ECF is divided into to two separate treats, one for the eye and one for the mind's eye. The latter exists simply for the reason that I had no camera to capture the full wonder of the vision (if I had one, I'd have to capture it surreptitiously). I'm speaking of Kenneth Goldsmith's lecture last Saturday on Andy Warhol at Dia:Beacon. More specifically, I'm speaking of Goldsmith's attire, which you'll have to use that mind's eye of yours to muster some semblance of its glory through my inadequate description. Goldsmith was dressed in a what I'd call a "still life" two piece suit with a classical (floral/fruit?) motif that floated somewhere between wallpaper and tapestry in violet and olive tones over a dark, almost black field. An intense solid purple sweater with matching tie, under which the collar of a dress shirt of striped violets nested, sneakers in the elusive grey color I've only seen on the Audi TT Roadster - with maroon laces, and a metallic silver tote bag finished of the ensemble.
Please note my improvised sample board to aid you in an approximate visualization of the ensemble.
Goldsmith read from a prepared lecture in a natural way and gave a remarkable talk. He spoke of Warhol and his work in a broad, holistic manner, drawing relationships to the zen qualities of nothingness and the absence of the author in the work of Cage and Ginsberg. He invoked Obama's comments on the Jeremiah Wright controversy which didn't shrink from the inherent complexities of the world and relationships (an approach unusual for a politician) to illustrate the intensely complex implications of Warhol's work existence.

His description of Warhol as a 360 degree man - one complete with nuanced and contradicting complexities - one lacking a flattened side on which he can be easily rested for convenient storage rhymed with Dia's room-ringing installation of the Shadow paintings. The gallery took on more significance as a meme for the man whose blending effect (on life and work, high and low culture, etc.) leaves little opportunity for discernable beginning and ending points.
Goldsmith's talk was excellent and several companions felt this to be the best of the museum's talks thus far....Unfortunately, this talk seemed to not be recorded as the others have.

So the second portion of candy referred to at the beginning of this post also relates to Kenneth Goldsmith as he is a Founding Editor and Publisher of UbuWeb (www.ubu.com); I've referred to the site previously. UbuWeb a dizzying archive of artist videos, images, and words that is ever-growing as a form of networked culture hive.

UbuWeb is a completely independent resource dedicated to all strains of the
avant-garde, ethnopoetics, and outsider arts. All materials on UbuWeb are being
made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights belong to
the author(s). UbuWeb is completely free.

Indeed it is candy for the eye and the eye's mind. Go there and root around; new items are being added all the time. There's so much diversion and distraction online that eats up one's time. This site too can easily devour your time, but in contrast to so much else, what it excretes is the sweetest of honey.

Out in the world

A couple local folks are in exhibits in the wider world coming to an end this weekend.
In Boston, at Lanoue Fine Art, Emil Alzamora's exhibit called Superluminous is coming to a close on December 7. You can check out a video interview with Emil at Globatron.org
Globatron also recently posted an interview with Dan Weise of Open Space.
One half of the creative team Kahn and Selesnick, Nicholas Kahn lives in Cold Spring. The duo's exhibit Eisbergfreistadt is on view at the Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago through Saturday, December 6.

Jaanika Peerna Open Studio and Sale, Dec 7 & 13 noon - 5pm.

For the next two Sundays, Jaanika Peerna is hosting an open studio from noon to 5pm. Jaanika's studio is located at 6 Fiskill Ave in Cold Spring, NY.

Peerna makes drawings and video art. Her “powerfully delicate” abstractions are
born on a sheet of paper placed on a floor. She moves around the paper and then
marks down lines and dots capturing the very moment at hand. No pre-made plans
are in her head, just the immediate markings of the instant. One line tells what
the next should do. In her video work she captures ordinary moments and makes
them magical with simple editing. Come see her work in her studio. Ask questions, start a
conversation and use this opportunity to take home a drawing or two as treats to
yourself or as locally-made holiday presents.
OPEN STUDIO AND HOLIDAY SALE:
December 7th and 13th noon–5pm at 6 Fishkill Avenue, Cold Spring, for more info:
Jaanika[at]highland[dot]com

Van Brunt Gallery opens in new location, Dec 6, 2008

Van Brunt Gallery makes its Main St slide this week, opening the new space at 137 Main St. on Saturday, Dec 6 with a group show filled with a host of familiar gallery names: Colin Barclay, Gabe Brown, Richard Butler, Melanie Einzig, Lori Field, Barbara Friedman, Kate Hagerman, Matt Harle, Peter Iannarelli, Stevan Jennis, Stanford Kay, Norm Magnusson, Molly Rausch, Stephen Spaccarelli, Karl Saliter, Christie Scheele, George Sewell and Carl Van Brunt. The exhibit will run through Jan 5, and the opening is happening from 6-9pm on Saturday.
Another change for the gallery is that all exhibition announcements will be sent out via email only- no more stamplicking.

Flying Swine performance of Savage in Limbo at Chill Wine Bar, Beacon NY, 12/12-12/21

Of all those who awaited the long delayed opening of the wine bar Chill, I'm sure few breathed the sigh of relief Donald Kimmel of Flying Swine was allowed to let loose once the joint finally opened its doors. Flying Swine had received a NYSCA grant, distributed by the Duthcess Arts Council, last year for a production of Savage in Limbo by Shanley in 2008. The play is set in a bar, and in a vision of seamless, site specific verisimilitude, Kimmel envisioned producing it in the wine bar - once it opened. Fortunately, Chill opened for business just a couple of months back and Savage in Limbo will have its run this month.
Below are all the details you should need:

FLYING SWINE presents the first show produced on an Actors Equity contract in
the city of Beacon in over 25 years!SAVAGE IN LIMBO, by John Patrick Shanley
Featuring Estelle Bajou, Michael Benjamin*, Phil Gardiner, Heidi James*
& Mary Sheridan*.
Directed by Donald Kimmel - Set Design by Dana Kenn - Costume Design by Erika Furey
Stage Managed by Polly Solomon*
*Member, Actors Equity Association
Site specific, fully realized professional theatre in a non-traditional setting, CHILL Wine Bar, 173 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508.
Performances Fridays @ 7pm, Saturdays @ 4pm & 7pm, Sundays @7pm, December
12-December 21.For reservations, call the SWINELINE, or purchase advance tickets @ ARTISAN WINE SHOP, 180 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508.Advance tickets $20. Day of show tickets $25 at the door Groups of 10 or more $17Students & Seniors $17

PS. Flying Swine is looking for a few fine folks willing to open their homes and host a few of the actors during the run of the rehearsal and performance schedule. If you're interested, more details are posted over at the Beacon Citizen Network.

Last weekend in photos

Here are some images from two openings last weekend. On Friday, Hudson Beach Glass opened an invitational box themed exhibit called Outside the Box Inside:

Catherine Welshman's work.

Kazumi Tanaka's back adorned by some awesome stripe and purple crochet action.

James Westwater's Homeless Chateau above, and models below.

Saturday saw the inaugural exhibit at High Street Gallery located in the home of Robert Brush. The first show, up through January is an exhibit of Greg Slick's Bedscape photographs.

The artist kickin it in High Street's VIP lounge.
Consider yourselves forewarned. Kandid Carcamera is armed with a flip digi cam, and he's makin movies. He posted a short video of Greg's exhibit on youtube.

Cast thine eyes Mt. Beacon-ward on the morrow

Tomorrow evening (Tues, Nov 25) from 5-9pm a series of light Beacons will be be ignited to commemorate the evacuation of British Troops from America way back when. The light project will be sited in 11 locations in NY and NJ.
The NY locations include:
Bear Mountain State Park, Bear Mountain, NYStorm King Mountain State Park, Cornwall, NYWashington's Headquarters State Historic Site, Newburgh, NYScenic Hudson's Mount Beacon, Beacon, NYScenic Hudson's Spy Rock (Snake Hill), New Windsor, NY.

Scenic Hudson, the Palisades Parks Conservancy, the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission have partnered together to produce this project.

Further information on the lighting project can be found at: HVPress.net, DailyRecord.com,

Eye Candy Friday: Yea! Friday! Edition.

Discussion around the break room at work this morning rotated around the topic odd tv programs starting with broadcast industrial trade films and ending up at public access programs. Concrete Tv is a program on public access down in manhattan that mixes footage from films, commercial, vintage porn and workout videos into dense bricks of imagery and sound and it seemed like a good place to settle for a hard earned Friday evening.

Spire Studios presents "Snapper" by Christopher Laro, Nov 22 @ 7pm

On Saturday, Nov. 22, Spire Studios will be presenting a special performance. Here's the rundown from the Spire website:

SnapperBy Christopher Laro
SNAPPER is a cutting-edge drama which aims to bring attention to the atrocities of pedophilia. Featuring Todd Spire on guitar as the play's underscore and Christopher Laro's intense portrayal as a suspect being interrogated by two detectives, this two-man show with live music is the most 'controversial fiction on the issue of pedophilia ever done in theater, film or TV!' More than a One Act play about child abuse, Laro's writing is also a tribute to victims who fall into the hands of these monsters who prey on our children. And with the acoustic guitar playing of Spire and his anthem 'Alma's
Song,' 'SNAPPER' will make you get involved during the Q&A discussion following the piece.
A controversial drama stemming from our outrage at the lack of diligent public concern for the safety of children in order to encourage social discourse on the issue of child predators.
With: Christopher Laro
& musical accompaniment by Todd Spire
* * * NOTE: ADULT CONTENT * * *
Admission: $5 - Seating is limited. Come early.
25% of proceeds to
benefit Warriors for Innocencewww.warriorsforinnocence.org

High Street Gallery's inaugural exhibit opens Nov 22.

Art arrives in uptown Beacon. Robert Brush has announced the opening of his High Street Gallery.

High Street Gallery is a new art space conceived by artist Robert Brush. Located
in an elegant Queen Anne Victorian on historic High Street in Beacon, NY, the
gallery will endeavor to present an eclectic program of conceptually-based work
by emerging and established artists.

An exhibit of photographs by Greg Slick will christen the gallery's program. A split opening reception will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 1-3pm and again from 6-8pm. The gallery is located at 22 High St., and will be open by appointment only.

Outside the Box Inside opening at Hudson Beach Glass, Friday, Nov 21.

Hudson Beach Glass will be hosting an reception on Friday, Nov 21 from 6-8pm for a new group exhibit opening in the 2nd floor gallery. Outside the Box Inside is a themed exhibit that will run through January 15, 2009. Participating artists include: Emil Alzamora, Nan & Bill Bolstad, Jen Bradford, Joy Brown, Grace Gunning & Paul Butler, Rieko Fujinami, Steven B Levine, Susan Magnus, Margaret McDuffie, Kathy Moss, Alison Palmer, Elisa Pritzker, Kazumi Tanaka, Ted Timmer, Connie Verrusio, Catherine Welshman, James Westwater, and me.

Habitat for Artists: the next generation

Bookending the Summer, going up and coming down.

Dismantling of the Habitat for Artists enclave at Spire Studios commenced at the end of October. With this first phase of HFA now over, the real fun can begin. One of the habs will stay on location as a sort of homebase while other structures are located elsewhere, bringing more artists into the project.
A reconstituted version of the hab used by Sharon L. Butler this Summer is currently sitting up in the Fields Sculpture Park at Art Omi. Come next Spring and proceeding for the next two years, the habitat will give shelter to artists working in and on the space.

As she ended her time working in her habitat, Sharon added additional layers of wallpaper over top of the existing photos and text. The structure took on the look of an interior architectural excavation in reverse - on the exterior. Those yellow and white elements still stand, augmented with new accents.

Panels by Grey Zeien, Matt Sargood, and Marnie Hillsley adorn one side of the Habitat. Another structure has a home at Poets' Walk, a Scenic Hudson park, and will also be available as a truly mini retreat for artists.
On a related, ecologically artful mindedness note, Tricia Watts and Amy Lipton of Eco Artspace, a sponsor of the HFA project, recently started an ecoartspaceblog.
Finally, the Habitat project will be the subject of an exhibit at Van Brunt Gallery's Project Space in January.

Thomas Huber artist talk in Poughkeepsie, Nov 20, 8pm

Thomas Huber will be giving a talk about his work on Thursday, Nov. 20 at the Muddy Cup in Poughkeepsie as part of the Barrett Art Center's Artist's Salon series held on the last thursday of every month at the Muddy Cup in POK.
The talk takes place at 8pm. The Poughkeepsie Muddy Cup is located at 305 Main St.

Beacon's new official website needs your photos

A revamped version of the city of Beacon's official website is currently being developed. Randall Martin is acting in the role of volunteer "photo editor" for the site's photographic content, and he's looking for content from the public. Here are a few details the project and what kind of material is being sought:

I'm volunteering with a team of people to revamp the official City of Beacon
website. This is another no-budget project. I have been dubbed "photo editor"
and have been charged with the responsibility of finding local photographers who
may want to donate interesting iconic images of Beacon to be included on a slide
show on the home page.
There will also be themed galleries, ongoing changing
feature stories that will need to be illustrated and events calendars.
There will
also be links to contributor' s websites and/or contact info. Let me know if you'd
be interested either now or in the future. "Now" means before Thanksgiving. If you
know someone else who might be helpful you could let me know.
Examples of images we are looking for:

Firstly: While beautifully decaying buildings make nice subjects for photography, we have determined that decay is inappropriate for this municipal website.

Looking for Non-Snapshot / Heightened / Artsy versions of:
Beacon Historic heritage,
Beacon's diversity,Seniors, Youth, children (especially in beacon places)happy people in the park, on the street,
Beacon parades and events, Beacon's farmer's market, Small town atmosphere, Businesses, especially with people in the photo,
Beacon's
waterfront,
Beacon sports activities (football, baseball, soccer, basketball),

Mt. Beacon,
Beacon through the seasons,
Beacon's scenic splendor (waterfalls, Fishkill Creek, the estuary path, etc.).
Beacon Holiday Decorating Contests for businesses and residents.
It would be particularly valuable (because no one is interested in doing it) to take interesting pictures of mundane themes, like
City Hall, the DMV, community centers, parks, etc. also businesses, especially
with people in the picture.

Thanks

Randall
randallmartindesign .com

River Beacons mural viewing at Beacon Studios, Nov 15, 4-5:30pm

Rick Price at work on the "River Beacons" mural.

A pre-viewing of Rick Price's latest mural will be held on Saturday, Nov 15 from 4-5:30 at Beacon Studios. The yet to be completed mural is sponsored by the Beacon Sloop Club and is destined to be installed on the exterior wall of the building that houses RiverWinds Gallery as one of Beacon's official 2009 Quadricentennial projects. From the press release:

The River Beacons mural celebrates Beacon’s river town heritage and lifestyle, the Beacon Sloop Club’s replica sloop Woody Guthrie’s 30th anniversary, and the statewide Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial.
The painting, 15 feet high and 10 feet wide, will hang on the copious brick western wall of Riverwinds Gallery; on the corner of Cross Street and Main Street, facing Hudson Beach Glass. The location will make this mural highly visible to Beaconites and visitors, inviting both to enjoy, preserve and celebrate the Hudson River and Beacon’s river town heritage.
Support for the mural has been received from the Dutchess County Arts Council (DCAC), The Puffin Foundation, The Woody Guthrie Foundation, Michael Benzer - Hudson Beach Glass, and private supporters. Rick Price received the DCAC’s 2007 County Executive Award for Art in Public Places for his mural for Beacon’s Howland Memorial Library. The new mural is an official project of the Greater Beacon 2009 Quadricentenial Committee.
The mural is epic and colorful. Rick has chosen to frame this painting with the body of a female Esopus Indian figure, representing the bounteous energy that flows through the river community. The scenes and activities depicted on the Hudson’s waters and surrounding land record the river’s history – native American habitation, the passage of the Half Moon, the steamboat era – and reflect the diverse peoples, traditions, recreation and education that take place on our river front.
Recognizable elements in the mural of everyday river-related activity include the waterfront farmers’ market, environmental education at Beacon Sloop Club festivals, alternative energy use at DIA, kayaking, folk singing, the kids from the Beacon Community Center painting river life, theWoody Guthrie and theClearwater coasting along, the rainbow hued River Pool.

Second Saturday, Nov 8, 2008

400 Square: outside and inside. The opening reception and book signing for
Ronnie Farley's exhibit Diary of a Pedestrian.
An abnormally warm November evening drew a sizeable crowd Saturday night. The west end of Main St was particularly active. Coming upon the scene gave the impression of real density of activity. That perception will be enhanced next month when Van Brunt Gallery gets lean mean and green, with a new location and a new program, relocating to a smaller spot, I believe, next to Main St's permanent installation project, Kringle's.
Like untethered barrels of rum in the hull of a listing ship, the migration of storefronts to the west end continues. Given the inherent challenges facing the east end in terms of foot traffic coming from the river (as illustrated by the recent travel item in the NY Times), that side of town might want to define itself as the out of the way, decadent, bohemian, quarter of town - make visitors hungry to traverse that middle section of Main St. Perhaps businesses east of the diner could go topless, give it a little Moulin Rouge mytique.

Lind Richichi at bau.

Van Brunt's future location

Andy Rementer at Open Space.

Jill Reynolds at Go North.

Gettin' the Le(a)d out

On Oct 25, we went to Dia to hear Steven Evans' densely attended gallery talk on Sol LeWitt. I moved through the LeWitt galleries in a mindset infused with a talk I attended the night before at the Garrison Institute given by Father Thomas Keating. Keating spoke on the oneness of solitude and the power of centering prayer. For me, this viewing of LeWitt's wall drawings were informed by the tenets of Keating's talk that related to the discipline of silence, solitude and the power of centering prayer. Of course, Lewitt's process in creating these works is anything but silent, and solitary. His process is all about interaction, communication and collaboration; it relies on the swarm for its realization. But the effort of all of this activity is funnelled through the silent and fine point of a pencil grazing the wall. It's the disciplined focus of the pencil's point that sets condition for viewing the work which is quite different from its execution. Drawing is the visual analog of prayer. Solitary. Meditative. Looking at marks scaled up to equate room sized scrolls emphasizes the commonality of the two disciplines. The marks evident on the wall, however, represent but one component of the whole as Lewitt intended it to be considered. LeWitt offers the final drawing as a signifier to understand the system, which is the crux of his biscuit.

The system is the work of art; the visual work of art is the proof of the
System. The visual aspect can't be understood without understanding the system.
It isn't what it looks like but what it is that is of basic importance.

At the end of his talk, Steven quoted a talk given by LeWitt at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in the late 60's. The passage related LeWitt's view that the performance of a music composer's work should be accompanied by copies of the score for the benefit of the audience, since many of the nuances with which the composer is engaged while crafting the system at the heart of the work is visible in the notations, but become indistinguishable in the aural mix. Such a graphic accompaniement, LeWitt believed, would allow the audience to know better the mind of the composer. Such a desire for that type of understanding relates back to Keating invoking silence as a mechanism to know better the system of the soul.

One year after his death, LeWitt is very much in the air.

Storm King's exhibit this year featured a selection of LeWitt's sculptures, and an informative documentary on the artist. You have through Saturday, Nov 15 to catch this show before the joint closes down for the winter. (A storm King tangent: The NYTimes website has a story and video on Maya Lin's Wave Field work that will open to the public in the Spring.)

On Sunday Nov 16, MASS MoCA will be opening a Heeeuge retrospective of one hundred wall drawings. Check out their website for all sorts of goodies relating to the exhibit.

Oddly enough, later in the evening, after Steven's gallery talk, as I was listening to the most recent podcast from the Hirschorn Museum, I caught an interview featuring Lacey Fekishazy who was recently in DC on the crew executing some wall drawings at the museum. Questions asked of Lacey and fellow artist/crew member Roland Lusk on the logistics of executing the work echoed those poised to Steven, and their answers offered a fine accompaniment to the earlier gallery talk. Lacey worked on the original LeWitt Galleries when Dia:Beacon opened, she came in 2006 to work on the Drawing Series..., and she partook in preparations for the MASS MoCA show. For giggles, and because I happened to come across it the other day, below is a photo of Lacey's studio from 2003 or 04 when she occupied a space at Spire Studios.

And the budget cut goes to.....

Belated congratulations go to the recipients of the 2008 Dutchess County Executive Art Awards. The awards were presented at the end of October. The recipients are: Wilfredo Morel, Individual Artist Children's Media Project, Arts Organization Electric Windows, Art in Public Places Alice Wong, Individual Patron Bailey Browne CPA & Associates, Business/Corporation Jeff Haynes, Arts in Education Jo Ann Feigenheimer, Special Citation Jonah Acosta, Youth with Exceptional Promise in the Arts.
Right on the heels of this recognition comes news that the budget submitted by the County Executive proposes cutting the Arts Council's budget of the previous year by 68%. Below, I've attached part of a message from Benjamin Krevolin on how interested folks can reach out to the county government to voice their opinions.

The current county budget submitted by the County Executive last week cuts
$200,000 from the Arts Council's allocation. This is a 68% cut from previous
year! This cut threatens funding for artist fellowships, arts in education grants, technical assistance services, promotion, advocacy and a slew of other programs. It could also drastically cut our ability to provide support for programs like Art Along the Hudson or to administer grants which would endanger our ability to bring in programs like the JP Morgan Chase Cultural Regrants. On top of all that these cuts send a terrible message to the public and to our elected officials that the arts are an expendable extra as opposed to the essential human activity and economic driver that it is.
This cut in arts & cultural funding seems capricious (surprise) and is way out of
proportion with other agencies that received cuts. Most of the other agencies are larger organizations and received a smaller cut.
Right now the budget is in the hands of the Legislature. I had a positive meeting
with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee. The meeting was positive and I think we have an opportunity to reduce the size of the cut. I will also be attending various budget hearings and I may need you all to attend a big public hearing on December 4.
In the meantime, we need you to contact the legislature and inform them how important the arts are to your lives. If the arts are as meaningful as we know them to be, now is the time to let our leaders know.
(Please keep comments positive and non confrontational.) You should send comments to your district legislator (John Foreman covers most of Beacon, but you should confirm that you are in his district.). CC County Executive Steinhaus and the Legislature' s leadership on your comments. Contact information for all those folks is below.
Our petitions will not be the only ones received as there are a number of other organizations who will be asking the legislature to restore funding. We need to show a broad base of passionate support. Please send an email/ fax/ letter to the
legislature as soon as possible.
Please forward this information on to other artists, arts orgs, schools, Art Moms etc.
Your voice will be critical this year.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I will keep you posted about the progress of the budget and other issues. We should all remain optimistic until
we can’t be.
Onward!
Benjamin
CONTACT INFO FOR COUNTY EXEC AND LEGISLATURE:
Dutchess County
Legislature Contact info and District maps at: http://www.co. dutchess. ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/ Legislature/ CLlegislators. htm
County Executive
William R. Steinhaus 22 Market. St.,Poughkeepsie, NY 12601Voice (845)
486-2000 Fax (845) 486-2021e-Mail countyexec@co. dutchess. ny.us
Dutchess County Legislature Chairman Roger Higgins
rogerhig@optonline. net
Dutchess County Legislature Minority Leader Gary Cooper
garycooper@fairpoin t.net
Dutchess County Legislature Clerk Barbara Hugo
22 Market.
St.,Poughkeepsie, NY 12601Voice (845) 486-2000 Fax (845) 486-2021
e-Mail countylegislature@
co.dutchess. ny.us

Bo Gehring sculpture at the Katonah Art Museum.

image from katonahmuseum.org

Bo Gehring's 160 long styrofoam sculpture will be on view on the grounds of the Katonah Art Museum as the Monk Wall. Gehring's piece was installed on site on October 19th and it will remain on view through April 12, 2009.

Monk, as it was installed in the gym of Beacon Studios
for the opens studios held on June 10, 2007.

Monk Wall with a Philip Grausman sculpture in the foreground.
photo by Angelika Rinnhofer.

Alison Moritsugu in residency at Lux Art in San Diego, CA, for the month of Novmber

Alison Moritsugu kicks off an exhibit of her work and a month-long residency today at the Lux Art Institute in San Diego, CA.

Ideas about ecology, history, and commerce come to life in the work of New
York painter Alison Moritsugu as she examines our relationship with the
environment and explores the meaning of “paradise." During her residency, Moritsugu will research regional, native, and invasive plants whose forms will become design motifs for the wallpaper she creates in the Lux studio.

Alison will be in residence at Lux through December 6. The exhibit of her work will remain on view through January 3, 2009.

Eye Candy Friday: Baltimore, baby. Baltimore.

via coolhunting. I find this amusing. I dig the participation aspect of the event.

Drawing Revealed screening and discussion in Brewster, NY.

Drawing Revealed, the video documentary that accompanied an exhibit of the same name at the Garrison Art Center in January will be screened on Nov 8, 2008 as part of the Putnam Arts Council's Independent Film Series.
The Screening will be taking place tomorrow at 5pm at The Lodge at Tilly Foster Farm, located at 100 Rte 312 in Brewster.
After the screening, there will be a panel discussion featuring Jaanika Peerna who shot and directed the film with Susan English, and Michael Enright who edited the film.
Admission is free, but reservations are strongly recommended. Call (845) 278-0230 to reserve.
This film is part of an independent film series presented by the Putnam Arts Council and sponsored by SLS Health of Brewster, NY.

notice of this event came by way of the folks at Collaborative Concepts.....thanks.

Meet yer Maykr: Elia Gurna

Early in October, I paid a visit to Elia Gurna's studio in the Beacon Studios building. Of course, I snapped some images.

The work in her studio was predominated by her lushly hued paintings and blanched sculptures of silk flowers and plastic tchotchkies. The objects collaged together create hieratic verticals and are unified under layers of white enamel. I was pleased to learn that the constituent material is resurrected from a previous life and generally it is sourced from within her own home. This knowledge pleases me for two reasons. First, one who hordes likes to know he's not alone and secondly, because the forms of the sculpture take their cues from Elia's intuitive play with what's available. They grow out of what is - responding to that condition, not negating it as does a fully premeditated work. The little item in the foreground in the above image is sitting on a plinth of stacked Pakistani (I believe) chewing gum, which I believe Elia said is at least a decade old.

Though all of this work has been greatly influenced by her becoming a mother last year, the tiny pieces lining the windowsill (above) are the most directly affected by this change in her life. What she calls her 'Sculptures for Mice' are works of opportunity made during the sporadic and fleeting moments of art making that present themselves to the mother of a one year old.

There's such a stark chromatic difference between Elia's paintings and sculptures. In surface and form they but two sides of the same coin - oozy, glossy, dimensional. But where the paintings are blindingly vivid, the sculptures are subdued, with hints of the underlying objects' inherent, often garish, color barely bleeding through.

Elia is the second artist to go on the board of kork - the newest and most exciting project space for contemporary art in Poughkeepsie, NY. kork is located on the wall above the photocopier in the office of Bailey Browne CPA and Associates. The work Elia created for kork will be installed this week and remain through December.

Current Affairs

I gotta tell you all, I've been feeling blogkt. I've got several posts that seemed of a timely nature that I've wanted to get up over the past couple of weeks, but it's just not happening. Maybe now that I've given words to this difficulty, the logjam will release and things can roll. If not, I may just step back a bit.

But in light of the fact that the interminable circus has packed up and left town for a couple of years, here are a few links vis a vis the constituency of art.
Andrew Taylor, the artful manager, has posted the text of the Obama/Biden campaign's policy relating to arts. Something to look forward to if he can get to it.

Prior to this week's election, Dutchess County Arts Council, Benjamin Krevolin, in his weekly Taconic Weekend column, made the case for a heretofore unheralded segment of motherhood - the Arts Mom. Benjamin's column made its way onto the Huffington Post.

Color Me Blind

I found a link to this Color IQ test on Jen Bradford's blog. The better you perform, the lower your score (0 is the best score). My eyes are glazed over. I scored a 26, then a 15. I can't do it no more. Jen scored an 8 on her second try.