Art Space Talk: Brian Hubble

Brian Hubble's paintings, drawings, photographs, video, and interactive experience blurs the line between reality and imagination, with a reminder to be wary of a culture constantly barraged with information.

His work reflects satirical commentary on topics that have become a part of our society's routine digestion. Subjects such as internet consumption, the media, politics, substandard healthcare, and social class prejudices are spared no lenience.

Through allegorical approach, the artist perplexes, amuses, and provokes. The viewer must decide when truth is negotiated, and what underlying message is ultimately voiced.

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Hubble, you are known for being a practitioner of anti-art happenings and your Outsider Art approach to artistic creation. Can you go into further detail about your artistic philosophy?

Brian Hubble: I feel that it's important to usually have something to say with the work. I tend to be more interested in art that deals with an issue and less interested in art that is produced for "art's sake." Still, it is important to be careful in the physical aspect of creating a piece. Personally, I like to create work that challenges people to deal with their own sense of reality.


Brian Sherwin: Your paintings, drawings, photographs, video, and interactive works blur the line between reality and imagination. They are known for serving as a reminder to be wary of a culture constantly barraged with information. These works often reflect satirical commentary on topics that have become a part of our society’s routine digestion. When did you first decide to focus on these issues?

Brian Hubble: I decided to focus on these issues about 2 years ago. The "reminder" aspect is deeply influenced by the acts of Alan Abel. The approach is deeply influenced by the Andy Kaufman school of thought.


Brian Sherwin: Mr. Hubble, many of your photo-collage illustrations deal with social injustice and human psychology. You have been called upon to visually explain topics from why different cultures hate one another (Yale University Alumni Magazine) to everyday life for children in third world countries (Johns Hopkins University). Based on the direction you have taken with your work... is it safe to say that you feel that an artist should tackle issues that are vital to contemporary living? Should artists use their talents and skill to advocate for reform?

Brian Hubble: I think an artist should tackle whatever issues they feel need to be addressed. It doesn't necessarily need to be about contemporary living or social/political reform. For instance, one of my favorite movies of all time is dirty work. It's a simple story with a ridiculous plot that has nothing to do with any of those kinds of issues. It's just a funny, pointless film. Sometimes that is all that is needed. I try to never underestimate the validity of pointlessness.

Brian Sherwin: Speaking of politics, art, and advocacy... can you discuss your work on "My" Bike for President (2007)? Tell our readers about this project and explain why you felt it was important to document it.

Brian Hubble: The works in "My" Bike for President are the remaining documents of a project concocted by a man I discovered named D.B. Wood. In 1988, he decided to run his Zebrakenko 10-speed for president. The attempt was actually well received and the project was going strong for quite some time. Unfortunately, the bike was disqualified for having been born outside the united states. The project and support apparently folded soon after. Since our meeting, D.B. has sent me one banner/painting from his campaign. I hope to received more in the coming months. It really all depends on him. I don't think it is so much interesting to document it than it is to just give this man's unheard passion a more mainstream forum.


Brian Sherwin: What about 'The Second to Last Resort'. Can you discuss this project? What were you motives behind it?

Brian Hubble: 'The Second to Last Resort' is the name of the upcoming exhibit. A few years ago, I created a storyboard for a dark childrens book called one long nite in Switzerland and the second to last resort. In a child's dream, a family of four were brutally murdered and eaten by three monsters while on holiday deep in the Swiss alps. The storyboard was later developed into a few paintings which were the proto-type for a childrens book. I later played two book publishers against one another by drumming up fake interest in the story, which resulted in a confusing bidding war.


Brian Sherwin: Can you explain your artistic process? Do you follow a certain routine when you are in the studio? Do you have any habits or 'rituals', for lack of the better word, that you follow to set a certain mood for working?

Brian Hubble: With my illustration/published collage work, there is certainly no routine. The only thing consistent about that approach is in the beginning, when I conduct a process of elimination with the photographs to be used. From then on, it's whatever works in finding a happy result. In my current body of fine art work, it all depends on the project at hand. Sometimes I'm on the phone with D.B. or his former supporters. Other times, I'm painting traditionally on canvas or drawing on flattened deerskin paper (which I highly recommend!)
Brian Sherwin: I find it interesting that you sometimes use welded glass (samples above and below) as a surface for your work. I assume there are some difficulties with using glass as a surface. Can you explain some of these challenges? For example, how do you transport them safely when exhibited? Economically speaking, is it cheaper than working on traditional surfaces?

Brian Hubble: I mainly painted on glass for the childrens book proto-type works and for a body of paintings I produced about 4 or 5 years ago. The main challenge was to not cut myself (I eventually wised up and sanded down and taped the edges BEFORE starting a piece.) It was also tough not breaking a piece in the process. I would sometimes get excited while flipping and painting on either side, which resulted in a few shattered pieces and more scars. Yes--not the smartest. As far as transportation, I really had to just bubble wrap them like a madman. I also custom made wooden frames and backing, which helped support. Economically, it was great. I had a glass hook-up here in Brooklyn.


Brian Sherwin: Your dark collage illustrations have graced the pages of publications such as the New York Times, Harper's Magazine, M.I.T. Technology Review and Psychology Today. Did you expect your work to take off in this manner?

Brian Hubble: With the illustration, I just hope to work with responsible journalists who had something interesting to say, no matter what the publication. The fact that I've had the opportunity to work with some well-respected magazines makes me all the more thankful.

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Hubble, in 2004 you collaborated with Yoko Ono. Can you tell our readers about this collaboration. What did you two do together? Have you remained in contact with Yoko? Also, what other collaborations have you worked on?

Brian Hubble: In 2004, Yoko Ono was part of a festival in Seattle. She along with the art director of the magazine who was promoting it, chose my illustration. I made a collage that went along with the article about her project. The relationship was short and sweet. I have worked with the art director many times since, but not Ms. Ono. It was one of those one-time shot kind of things. I have also worked in a similar manner with Francis Mayes/Atlanta magazine and rock band guided by voices/ Cincinnati citybeat on their break-up.

Brian Sherwin: In 2005, you were interviewed in Print Magazine for being one of 20 top international artists under 30 years old. How did you feel about making that list? Have you noticed an increase in success since that interview?

Brian Hubble: It was a great honor to be chosen for that. I'm always humbled anytime anyone chooses to recognize my artwork (I'm humbled right now by this interview!). Being interviewed and having my work displayed in print certainly opened up some doors for me. Artwork is one thing, but seeing your picture in a magazine is really weird.

Brian Sherwin: Finally, can you reveal any of your future plans? Are there any projects on the back-burner, so to speak?

Brian Hubble: I have a few multi-pieced projects coming up. I'm definitely staying in contact with D.B. about acquiring more of his and his supporters' work from the '88 campaign. I am also working with another man I met in North Carolina some years ago. He recently applied to take a trip to the solar system through a small governmental agency in Italy. I'm helping him develop a myspace profile to rally support and display artwork he is making based on the opportunity. Myspacers beware! You may soon come to know the story of William Williams!

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Brian Hubble and his art. You can learn more by visiting Brian's website: www.brianhubble.com

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Luv 4 Richard Serra

I think the Richard Serra retrospective at MoMA is a good opportunity to talk about phenomenological art and how it changed our understanding of what art could be. I say it's a good opportunity because Serra is one of the best and because I don’t think people sufficiently appreciate the new aesthetic experiences made available in the late 60’s. People, there is more to the late 60’s than conceptual art!

To recap: as we’ve been told (over and over again), in the 1960’s people asked the big questions and really changed things around socially, culturally, politically, etc. Artistically, the 60’s were no different, with "post-minimal" artists like Bruce Nauman, Eva Hesse and, our hero, Richard Serra questioning and gradually disassembling modernism’s assumptions (using Jasper Johns as a guide). Judging by the sampling of his early work in the MoMA show Serra asked several timely questions, including: "Is it art if I use industrial materials instead of artistic ones? Is it sculpture if it is placed directly on the floor or hung on the wall? Is it sculpture if it shows the process of its making?" Of course, these questions are banal now (today the early work is difficult to understand without knowledge of what sculpture was circa 1965), but trust me: at the time they were significant. And trust me, this questioning lead to something significant, as well.

And this is where I think the misunderstanding happens. Because I know what you’re thinking: “All this questioning lead to conceptual art and the diffusion of the aesthetic experience into theory, language, and context,” you say, “Boring!” And while that is partially true, the late 60’s also introduced something called “phenomenology” (or “theatricality”) as an art experience. Basically, phenomenological art focused on giving the viewer a physical or bodily experience more than an intellectual or visual one. So instead of losing yourself in an image of a landscape or pondering a jargon-filled text, phenomenological art made you feel with your body, and often the experience was immediate, unexpected, and overwhelming. And identifying this latent aspect of art (a painting is an image and, also, a physical object) was more or less innovative! For example, while Anthony Caro’s sculpture might not move you, Serra’s "One Ton Prop (House of Cards)" would definitely move you…the hell out of the gallery before the huge steel slabs fell on your ass!!! And while these “Prop” works may not be as threatening today (behind glass partitions at the MoMA they’re history, not sculpture), back in the late 60’s in some rundown loft they were (reportedly) pretty badass.


At the MoMA retrospective one can discern how, over the course of his career, Serra has continued to develop more physical experiences for the viewer, while also incorporating context and image to greater or lesser degrees. So, not only are these works physically rich, but they are visually and intellectually rich as well. However, the emphasis remains on the viewer’s physical experience of the objects. I mean, just try not to feel while walking through his Torqued Ellipses or the newer work on show in the MoMA’s contemporary galleries on the 2nd floor. I double dog dare you.

Now that you’ve lost that dare, observe all the other visitors experiencing, exploring, and (holy shit) enjoying Serra’s Ellipses. No prior knowledge is needed, no museum copy is required: this is great art. So, I say unto you, contemporary artists, claim the bounty that is yours! Reconsider your understanding of late 60’s art and embrace the phenomenological! And the next time you find yourself in the presence of contemporary art, notice: does it make you feel before you think? For contemporary art is often flooded with words, theories, and strategies but often lacking in feeling.

This blog entry can also be found on my blog, right here.

Art Space Talk: David Hochbaum

David Hochbaum's art: the construction of paintings built on photographs and images that are not only the contemplation of human behavior, but also a reaction to history, astronomy, sex and iconoclastic symbols.

While maintaining dialogue with his own behavior, each picture produces a vision from his private world which is bound to elements and symbols. An exposition of men and women caged in a world constructed by extreme nature and surrounded by his own cuneiform symbolic language.

Artistic craftsmanship of the captured image are married with the depositions of alienation to show the archetypal roles of gender, age and reason. The figures in his work seek a balance between the static and kinetic forces of a very surreal and psychosexual environment in which they dwell.

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Hochbaum, you have been working on "photo constructions" for more than 10 years. Can you give some insight into the process? Why did you decide to focus on this?

David Hochbaum: Well. most of my work is photo-based collage. When I get an idea that I want to translate into photography, I'll sketch it out and then try to find the right model for the job. Depending on the shoot, I'll sometimes build sets, some more elaborate than others...whatever I leave out I can paint in later.

I do all my own printing still, I love working in the darkroom. My printing methods are mixed, I love the fine print as well as sloppy, scratched paper and negatives...experimentation is endless. The prints are mounted on wood and , well I'll paint and collage and screen print ontop of the photos...lots of media.

I am learning a lot with each body of work I do. Photography came sort as an accident for me, I needed to fill a course at community collage so I took basic Blk & white. I loved it and it helped me to decide to go to art school in Boston. I needed a school out of NYC, too distracting.

The anal retentiveness of photo bored me..I was looking at artists like Rouchenberg and the Starn twins and wanted to push photo a bit more. I love the spontaneity of collage and the techniques of painting and hands on building in the wood shop...really I just could not afford to mount and frame all my work so I built my own. Over the years I picked up other techniques to combine...there is a lot to learn.


BS: In your work you've created a world full of strange creatures and surreal landscapes. The images remind me of the troope plays from the 1800s and how they utilized movable sets and outlandish costumes in order to create a living environment within the context of their performance. Are you influenced by the past in this manner?



DH: Oh yes indeed, I love opera and ballet, and limited types of theater..the past has always been a big influence on my work. I've been looking at the shit since I was a child and it has helped make me the kind of artist I am..

BS: David, you have exhibited at the Strychnin Gallery in Berlin and NYC. Can you share some of your experiences exhibiting at those galleries?

DH: Strychnin approached me in Jan 2006 to do a show with them and I was thrilled. I have never been to Berlin and they were excited to work with me. Yasha, the owner of the gallery, has been so good to me. She is very supportive and works her ass off to make me look good. He treats her artists fantastic. I look forward to working with her on many future projects.

BS: Your artist agent is Les Barany. He is also the agent of H.R. Giger, Irina Ionesco, Robin Perine and other established artists. How did you meet Les? Care to share insight into the business side of art?

DH: I work with Les on specific projects. He is not my agent in the traditional sense of the term. If he can pull me into one of his projects, we discuss it and see if it works. I do not work exclusively with an agent..I do have limited contracts with certain gallerys.

I met Les when I was art director for a club in NYC. He was installing an HR Giger room on the top floor and I was to work with him on it and over-see it after it was up. After a few weeks I mentioned that I was an artist, he looked at my work, and thought we should try to work together.

It is on and off with us, he has many other artists he works with and is always busy with something. I have no insight to the business side of art. it makes no sense to me.

BS: When did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life?


DH: I suppose it was when I was at the Museum School in Boston. The people I was surrounded by were as enthusiastic about making art as I was and our lives were absorbed with it. It became a part of life to the point where, like now, I cannot see myself not creating or building these objects which personify ideas.

I remember the day , as well, when I realized that I needed to make a choice about how serious I was, cause its not the easy road to take, that's for sure. I saw no other way to live.

BS: David, how has society influenced your art? What are the social implications in your art?

DH: I live in it so it gets in..all of the pictures I make tell a story, a lot of them are about relationships, one on one rather than statements of the populous..but the emotions I play with in my imagery are universal, so it is not hard to be able to relate the the characters in the portraits...The themes change though, from each body of work.

The most recent body of work is less restricted to myself and people close to me, it is more of a reaction to the state of affairs in my country and the world... it is not very blatant though. Not an obvious political point of view type work... I guess when you are fed up you cannot conceal what you feel and it comes out.

BS: Where can we see more of your art?

DH: Well, my web site for one... Also the Goldmine Shithouse site...That is my collaborative group. The next solo gig I have is at the Corey Helford gallery in LA. THATS in Sept. There are a bunch of group shows and art fairs as well. It is all posted on my site and updated frequently.

BS: Do you see any trends in the 'art world'? What is your opinion on said trends?

DH: I try not to comment on that too much so not to offend anyone, people tend to take me the wrong way when I state my opinion about trends. I am not a fan of trends. But I do see a lot more opportunity for unknowns to get a shot. I like that.

BS: David, what was the toughest point in your career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?

DH: Its like anything else, up and down. Finding the time to work can be tough. Its not easy to maintain in an environment like NYC, unless you come from money, and I don't.. but I love it here.

I've been here most my life. So by now I have a system to survive...an amazing group of supportive friends, I've been tending bar for over 9 years to help pay the bills. I've hit the rocks a few times and I'm sure I will again... its part of the gig.

I have a lot to learn and never want to stop learning and evolving, no matter what the reaction from the critical eye i may get. I don't do it for the praise or money, if I'm broke, I make smaller work or draw.

BS: With that in mine... in one sentence, why do you create art?

DH: It is one addiction of mine. I see no need to stop.

BS: If you could pinpoint the characteristics of people who collect your art, what would they be?

DH: Generous.

BS: David, would you suggest that emerging artists pick up as many skills as they can? As you mentioned, framing can be expensive. What other advice do you have for someone just starting out?

DH: Well yeah, skills help... the tricky thing is that is is also a matter of natural talent and passion. I would say to find what you love and focus on it, don't spread yourself too thin just to make it or whatever.

Well, I started making my own frames cause I can't afford to get it done for me. Over the years I learned more and it has evolved from there. Pick wood outta the trash, get a hammer and screw gun..look at the frames you like and copy them the best you can. I dunno.

BS: David, your work has been in several major art fairs recently. I believe I saw some of your work at either the Bridge Art Fair in Chicago. . What is your opinion of art fairs? Do you enjoy them more than the traditional gallery setting? Some artists are tossed on this issue. They admire the fact that so much work and be shown to so many viewers, but at the same time they think that the amount of work takes something away from each individual. Would you agree? Or do you enjoy the 'visual chaos'?

DH: I am new to them, it has only been 2 years that I've been in any. I like going and seeing the smaller ones, it's a good chance to see what is up with so many artists at once. At the same time I know what it takes to get in, you need a gallery and money so it is a limited arena of art.

My friends and I started up our own called Fountain last year where we set up shop across or nearby the larger festivals. we build up raw spaces, install lighting..and throw a kick ass party. I find it very inspiring and see that it has that effect on a lot of the people who come to see us... I like that.

However, I see these festivals as a tool for scouts and trustees and shit like that in the elitist art world so it is no surprise to me that the individual gets lost in the mix.

BS: Finally, as I know you are busy... what are your goals for 2008?

DH: Survive it... I have dedicated most of my time to Strychnin gallery in Berlin and London. I wanna slow down a bit, only a bit, and focus on all the things that I've been exploring lately..but who knows, things change so fast... I only wanna keep working and traveling.

Feel free to visit the following websites if you are interested in learning more about Mr. Hochbaum: www.davidhochbaum.com, www.goldmineshithouse.com, www.strychnin.com

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Aaron Board

I discovered the art of Aaron Board while observing art on the myartspace.com community. Mr. Board obtained his MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Since that time he has went on to exhibt at several galleries- including Greene Contemporary Art. Aaron is presently an instructor at the Ringling School of Art and Design. He is known for his mastery of traditional painting methods.


Brian Sherwin: Aaron, you obtained an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. What was that department like? Who did you study under?

Aaron Board: I was lucky. Eric Fischl and Steven Assael had just started teaching at the academy when I started. Vincent Desiderio was already there and he was tremendous influence. I also credit Randy Melick and Martha Erlebacher with having a great influence.

The school's building was a rickety-old jalopy at the time, but everyone recognized the value of the institution's mission and made it work. Now, the school gets financial support from rock-stars and princes - literally.


BS: I understand that you are an art instructor yourself. You are presently a member of the art faculty at Ringling School of Art and Design. Can you tell our readers about your teaching philosophy? What do you look for in a student?

AB: My educational philosophy is to just give students the technical tools to realize their vision. I don't meddle much in trying to alter their chosen path unless they're doing things that are terribly trite or cliche and don't realize it. I teach mostly foundations courses, so there isn’t a whole lot of room to meddle anyway.

The only thing that I look for in a student is engagement. I've had student's whose artistic pursuits annoyed me (like Anime, for example), but as long as they’re engaged then we can both learn something and I truly enjoy the exchange and the opportunity to give them whatever insight that I have to offer.

BS: You have been actively exhibiting your work since 1998. According to the documentation before me... your first show was at the Nexus Gallery in New York. You've also been involved with Sotheby's. Which exhibit has stuck out the most in your mind?

AB: Sotheby’s was just the brick and mortar venue for the New York Academy of Art’s annual fund raiser called Take Home a Nude. That looks a lot more impressive on paper than it really is.

The best was probably at Cazenovia College. I got to see all of my large work installed in one large room. I got to finally find out whether I could truly put together a coherent show. A very close second would be at Greene Contemporary in Sarasota, simply because it’s a very dynamic gallery that gave me a lot of free will on what could be hung.

BS: Aaron, I'd like to discuss your older compositions in gold and platinum (sample above). You executed this series of drawings in 24K gold and platinum on black sandpaper. Why did you decide to use gold and platinum as a medium at that time? How did it enhance your future work?

AB: Strictly by accident. I was sharpening a silverpoint for a traditional silverpoint drawing on a piece of dark sandpaper and voila!

I wouldn’t say it enhanced other work, but it really taught me how to work within the limitations of any given media.


BS: Now on to your works on canvas... your compositions often involve a male and female in some form of struggle. The images bring up a lot of thoughts. Many of your paintings of the story of Adam and Eve, due to their nudity and awkward relation to each other. Other images remind me of the 'Rape of the Sabine' theme from past Masters. At the same time, there is an element of bondage within the context of your images- an essence of counter-lifestyles. Direct me on the right path... what do you see in your work? What are you attempting to express?

AB: Hmm, most all of those images are comprised of idiosyncratic symbolism that seeks to express something personal, whether it be a personal struggle or personal joy – believe it or not! Ropes are strictly devices in the allegory – they’re not to be taken literally.


BS: You seem to be influenced by artists of the past in more ways than one. I notice that you create diptych and triptych pieces. Can you go into further detail about which past artists have influenced your work the most? Who are the Masters in your eyes?

AB: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, David, Mengs. Jan van Eyck – is probably the most important for many reasons. I think that is probably the most obvious old-master influence. Light, paint- application, altarpiece construction – it can all pretty much be found in van Eyck first.

BS: Tell us a little about your studio habit, ritual, or whatever you wish to call it. How do you start and finish your day when you are in the studio?

AB: Work whenever I can – that simple.


BS: Let us discuss your painting 'Strife' (image above). This painting is one of your most viewed pieces (as far as your website is concerned). What do you think is the allure of this piece? A viewer can pull several stories from this piece. Is the woman on the bed looking at who she once was before the birth of her child- her old life passing through the door in exchange for the new life before her? Is it a story of a jealous lover who is in the shadow of the wife and child that stands before her and the man that she desires? Perhaps it is a story of a lesbian couple haunted by the child that they may never be able to share? Aaron, you tell me... what is the story behind this painting?


AB: Similar ideas to all of those were going through my noggin when constructing the piece, but the latter is just about spot-on. This is actually one of the few paintings that I have executed that wasn’t diligently planned before paint hit the canvas. The canvas was stretched for another painting concept (that still hasn’t materialized) but had to be put off because the model, that was 8 months pregnant, kept going into false labor every time we were scheduled to worked together and eventually the baby popped out and I never got to use her for the piece. I was itching to do something quickly and "Strife" was the result.


BS: One of your more controversial paintings involves a Christ-like figure armed with an assault rifle. Is this painting a reflection of how you see the clash of politics and religion today?

AB: It’s actually more of a response to the rash of school massacres since Columbine. The broad idea is mocking the pathetic act of using a gun and/or violence to communicate something to somebody instead of using intellectual reasoning. However, your interpretation is welcome and sounds entirely viable!


BS: Recently you have indulged yourself with experimentation. Why have you decided to break away in this manner?

AB: I just want to challenge myself. I can’t stand artists whose work doesn’t show some sort of honest linear growth. Besides, some ideas feel like they’re going to explode in my head if I don’t get them out on canvas! So, I make them even if they’re consistent with most of the other stuff that I may be doing at the time.

BS: Of these works I find 'From SRQ, With Love' (image above) to be one of the most interesting. Can you tell us about this piece and what it represents?

AB: SRQ is code for Sarasota, Florida – a town that’s supposed to be artist-friendly but has gotten drenched with millionaires moving in and driving up the property values. The town’s history is largely shaped by the legacy of John Ringling and the circus.

The design in the background is the former logo for the Ringling College of Art and Design. The brown object is a Judas Cradle (a medieval torture device), which kinda sums up what living in Sarasota has become. It also speaks to the somewhat tenuous relationship that I have as an employee of the college.


BS: I understand that your daughters helped you with 'The III Astrayter'. Care to explain that to our readers?

AB: My girls helped with the faux-Pollack in the background.

My children inspire me to succeed as an artist. I want them to be proud of ol’ Dad.


BS: You were working on a series called 'Art is D.E.A.D' (sample above)in which each piece represented a letter of the word 'dead'. What happened with this project?

AB: It’s just on the backburner for now. The second "D" is actually an unexhibited finished piece that fell prey to a technical failure.

BS: Another interesting aspect of your work is that you also construct the frames for them. Some of the frames I observed are very unique. I understand that you see the frames as a part of the piece... a part of the aesthetic. I know from experience that it can be very difficult to construct a decent frame. Where did you learn this practice?

AB: Totally self-taught. I’ve also built many pieces of original furniture for my home.

BS: Finally, and I know this question might be kind of generic... where do you plan to be in the next 10 years with your work?

AB: Evolved

You can view samples of Aaron's art on myartspace.com. He also has a personal website: www.aaronboard.com

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Steven Zevitas and Andrew Katz (The Open Studios Press)

I recently interviewed Steven Zevitas and Drew Katz of The Open Studios Press. Mr. Zevitas (President & Publisher) and Mr. Katz (Associate Publisher) discussed New American Paintings with me. Also, Mr. Katz gave me insight into a new publication- Studio Visit Magazine. You can learn more about this project by visiting the following site: http://www.studiovisitmagazine.com/.

New American Paintings began in 1993 as an experiment in art publishing. With over five thousand artists reviewed annually, it has become America's largest and most important series of artist competitions. New American Paintings is a juried exhibition-in-print. Each edition results from a regionally focused, juried competition and presents the work of roughly 40 painters.

Thousands of artists enter the competitions every year, but only a limited number make it through the rigorous jurying process. Mr. Zevitas and Mr. Katz work closely with renowned curators, such as Lisa Phillips of the New Museum of Contemporary Art and Charlotta Kotik of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, in order to select those artists whose work deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

From post-modern pastiche to the landscape, from recognized artists to recent M.F.A. graduates, New American Paintings does not discriminate against style or yield to art world trends. You can learn more about The Open Studios Press and their publications by visiting the following sites: http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/, http://www.studiovisitmagazine.com/, http://www.openstudiospress.com/

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Zevitas, you are the President and Publisher of New American Paintings. The publication has featured the work of more than 1,800 emerging and mid-career artists from throughout the United States. Why did you decide to focus on emerging artists? Many art magazines only focus on artist who are established- what makes New American Paintings different?

Steven Zevitas: New American Paintings' focus on emerging (and in some cases mid-career) painters has defined the publication since its inception. Most art publications devote editorial space exclusively to artists who have been sanctioned by curators, critics, and, increasingly and perhaps disturbingly, collectors. Because of the jurying process that we employ, literally ANY painter has a chance to appear in New American Paintings. This would never happen with Art forum.

Our readership tends to be a highly independent group of art aficionados who do not need to be spoon fed a list of "hot artists" and new trends; they are capable of making up their own minds.

New American Paintings presents a wide swath of emerging talent and our readers may choose who is deserving of their attention. Of course, many artists who have appeared in the publication over the years have gone on to receive a lot of editorial coverage in other art publications (Layla Ali, Alexis Rockman, James Siena and Amy Cutler to name several).

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Katz, you are the associate publisher of New American Paintings and you are also involved with Studio Visit Magazine. What is the difference between the two publications?

Andrew Katz: Given the popularity and function of New American Paintings, I am pleased to say that there are more similarities than differences when it comes to it and Studio Visit. For example, the goals of both magazines are essentially the same. For artists, we are helping them get their work published and into the hands of collectors, galleries, and other individuals that might help advance their career or generate sales. And, on the flipside, we want to bring art to artlovers.

New American Paintings and Studio Visit are both juried exhibitions in print, however, New American Paintings only features 40 artists and Studio Visit will likely showcase the work of 150 artists per edition.

Methods of distribution will be the main difference between New American Paintings and Studio Visit. Given its reputation and long history, New American Paintings has a large subscriber base and presence on the newsstand. This means that the reader pays to receive the magazine which allows us to produce the publication free of charge to the artists selected.

Given that Studio Visit is a new magazine, we will be sending the publication to galleries and curators at no charge in the beginning, so in return, artists chosen will be asked to contribute a small fee that will go to its production.

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Zevitas... Mr. Katz... when did you both decide to enter the field of art publication? Are you both artists as well? What are your goals for publications that are released by The Open Studios Press.

Steven Zevitas: I graduated from Boston University in 1991 with a degree in Art History and Business Administration, so I come to the fine arts primarily from the side of art appreciation. My early career was in financial services, but I quickly realized that I had no interest in that career path.

In 1993, I was hired to start New American Paintings under the roof of a larger publishing company. I had no prior publishing experience a the time. In 1999, I has the opportunity to buy the publication, and I have since launched several new projects.

I have never looked at The Open Studios Press as a publishing company per se. I have always viewed the company as a mission driven organization, whose mission is to find new and creative ways of bringing artists and art lovers together.

My hope is that all of our "products" effectively help artists reach the widest possible audience for their work with a minimum of expense. Our latest publication, Studio Visit, is another project driven by this goal.

Andrew Katz: I went to school for Industrial Design at RISD but never really practiced as a designer. Almost right out of college, in 2002, I opened a fine art gallery (Gallery Katz) which had a presence for four years in Boston directly across the hall from Steven and The Open Studios Press.

As I became closer friends with Steven, who by the way taught me a lot about the gallery business, I also learned about New American Paintings and the publishing business. When I made the decision to close Gallery Katz, Steven offered me a position at OSP. Since then, I have been busy helping Steven improve what was already a highly successful business.

Brian Sherwin: Can you tell us more about The Open Studios Press? When was it founded and why?

Steven Zevitas: The Open Studios Press was founded under the roof of a larger publishing company in 1993. The first edition of New American Paintings was released a year later. The company was founded because of the large number of artists who are unable to find meaningful exposure for their work.

From the beginning, we were convinced that their were two groups of individuals whose needs were not being satisfied. For artists, New American Paintings is an exposure vehicle of immense value. For those with an interest in contemporary painting, the publication is an invaluable resource for discovering artistic talent that they might never come across within their local environment.

One of the great challenges facing artists is how to get exposure beyond their immediate geographic area. The internet has done much to alleviate that problem, but with the vast amounts of information available on line it has become increasingly difficult for an artist to get their work noticed.

New American Paintings was connecting the creators and consumers of fine art for at least four years before the first "on-line gallery" emerged. I think that the quality of our jurying process makes exposure in New American Paintings an extraordinarily valuable opportunity.

Brian Sherwin: How can artists get involved with your publications. In others words, do they simply submit images of artwork to you via email? Do they send slides? Also, what are some of the common mistakes artists make when submitting work for review?

Andrew Katz: Each publication has different criteria. Because New American Paintings only features 40 artists per edition, our editor is able to contact each accepted artist to gather necessary materials for printing.

Studio Visit accepts a much larger group of artists, so we ask that all work that is submitted be "press ready," meaning all digital files are high resolution and all slides are good enough quality to be scanned and printed.

In the near future, artists will have an opportunity to submit work online (we will be done with the online option for New American Paintings within the next one to two competitions).

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Katz, I understand that Michael Lash is the juror for the first volume of Studio Visit Magazine. Can you tell us about Mr. Lash. What are his credentials? Also, when is the deadline for submissions?

Andrew Katz: We are fortunate to have Mr. Lash jury the first edition of Studio Visit. Currently, he is the director for the North American operations for the Center of International Cultures in Mexico City. In addition to his busy schedule, he is also the Director of The Freeport Art Museum and Northern Illinois University Art Gallery In Chicago.

In the past, he has served as the former Director of Public Art for the City of Chicago. The deadline for submissions is June 30th, but we will take submissions from any "myartspace" blog readers until July 11th.

Brian Sherwin: The Open Studios Press jurors list is very impressive. Would you say that these juror connections help you to build bridges between emerging artists and high ranking members of the art world? Is that one of the goals of your publications?

Steven Zevitas: I have always worked hard to make sure that we have the best and brightest curatorial minds working on our projects. There is no doubt that the quality and integrity of our jurying process is what sets this project apart from other publications and web based products that try to replicate our model.

Having a respected juror adds an incredible amount of "weight' to the publications. In the early days of the project I was able to convince some extremely respected members of the curatorial community to work with us. As the publication's reputation has grown it has become easier to find jurors. At this point, we are contacted by curators who want to work with us.

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Zevitas, I met you in New York during a meeting for myartspace.com. You are one of the jurors for the New York, New York Competition- along with Mr. Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago) and Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern). How did you get involved with myartspace.com? Are you looking forward to the competition?

Steven Zevitas: I am very excited to work on the upcoming myartspace competition. James has worked on several editions of New American Paintings, so I have known him for years. He is absolutely one of the top talents in the curatorial world.

Jessica is a former curator at the ICA in Boston, so I got to know her during her time here. She has also juried an edition of New American Paintings, and is similarly gifted at her chosen profession.

I was introduced to the founders of myartspace by a mutual friend, Christian Benedetto. The aims of our projects are parallel in many ways, and after sitting down with Brian and Catherine to discuss our mutual businesses it became clear that there might be ways in which we can work together.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the endeavor that they have undertaken. In its fully conceived and deployed from, myartspace can provide an incredible infrastructure for a sharing of images and ideas throughout the world. It is exciting to be a part of this project and to learn from it.

Brian Sherwin: What other projects do you have planned for the future? Can you give us any insight?

Andrew Katz: Well, in addition to these publications, we also run osp catalogs (http://www.ospcatalogs.com/), a project where we design and print Fine Art catalogs for artists, galleries and other institutions.

Recently, we designed and printed catalogs the Zach Feuer Gallery in NYC, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University and we’re presently working on a 328 page book for the International Sculpture Center.

These projects are larger in scale, but we also regularly work with individual artists to produce catalogs for exhibitions or promotional use. For me, In the immediate future, my focus is going to be on improving online features for both artists and subscribers.

Steven Zevitas: We are always working on something new. Right now Studio Visit is a major focus. Our catalog design/production services, osp catalogs, is growing rapidly with new and ever larger clients finding their way to our door. I operate a gallery in Boston

(http://www.ospgallery.com/) in which I work with emerging and mid-career artists from around the country.

Most significantly right now, we are in the process of bringing New American Paintings' jurying process on- line. When complete, this system will allow for a much more efficient process and the possibility of new applications such as multi-juror panels.

Brian Sherwin: Based on the level of controversy and success that has been present in the art world as of late... what do you think are some of the challenges facing younger artists today? Are you wary of some of the directions art has went in recent months? As in, diamond skulls and market booms...

Steven Zevitas: The rise of the internet, the popularity of the MFA degree and the current boom in the art market have done much to define the art world of the past ten years. I think that each of these forces has had both positive and negative implications for emerging artists.

While there may be a lot more opportunities to gain exposure, there is an extraordinary amount of pressure on emerging artists to develop their "style" and to find the "right" gallery - activities that should be secondary to a consistent and considered studio practice.

Seeing newly minted MFAs sell out shows in New York City at $10,000+ per painting is an intoxicating spectacle, but I truly feel that dealers are doing these artists a tremendous disservice. Eventually, the frenetic pace of the art world will slow down and their will be a large number of artists who are kept without a chair.

Andrew Katz: I agree with Steven. It is very tempting for younger artists is feel like the overall art market dictates the price of their work before they have even sold anything.

Young artists need to remember that their work is only worth what someone will pay for it. Start slow and raise your prices as your demand increases. Overall, pricing is a huge challenge for younger artists trying to make it as a professional artist.

Brian Sherwin: Are there any emerging artists that collectors should really be keeping an eye on at this time?

Steven Zevitas: Just about every artist featured in New American Paintings! There are a number of emerging abstractionists that I am interested in right now: Chuck Webster, David X. Levine and Xylor Jane, among others. As a disclaimer, I should state that I have worked with all three of these artists at my gallery (http://www.ospgallery.com/).

Andrew Katz: Seriously, pick up any issue of New American Paintings, we believe in all of them. I am on the opposite side of the fence as Steven in regard to abstraction. Some of my recent favorites to come out of New American Paintings are Amze Emmons, David Linneweh, Donnie Molls, Jassalyn Haggenjos, James Benjamin Franklin, and Chris Ballantyne.

Brian Sherwin. Finally, based on the work that you do in the art world... what is your philosophy about art and the artistic process and how is that philosophy reflected in your publications?

Steven Zevitas: That is a tough question that would require a lot more time to address. I would say that I am most interested in artists who are able to marry their chosen form and subject in such a way that their work's content is an inevitiablity.

I am quite sure that whenever an art object effects me deeply it has a lot to do with an artist's ability to channel their energies into meaningful content. This can happen equally with the brash figuration of an artist such as Dana Schutz, or the reductive and intuitively driven abstraction of Brice Marden.

When it does happen, which I have to say is rare, the effect can be revelatory. As a passionate viewer of art, I live for those moments.

I'd like to personally thank Mr. Zevitas and Mr. Katz for taking the time to discuss their publications with me. A big thanks goes out to Mr. Katz for extending the Studio Visit Magazine submission deadline for readers of this blog. Also, to learn more about the myartspace.com New York, New York Competition visit the following link: www.myartspace.com/contests/

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Basil Alkazzi

I recently interviewed Mr. Basil Alkazzi. Mr. Alkazzi has been an active artist and strong advocate for the arts for several decades. His donations and awards have benefited several artists and institutions. Basil actively supports the Royal College of Art in London, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Marie Walsh Sharpe Arts Foundations that gives some sixty studio spaces to young artists in New York.

Mr. Alkazzi's contributions to the art world have helped many artists, including- Thomas Connolly, Michael Rich, Sandow Birk, Oscar Romp, Nana Shiomi, and John Jacobsmeyer. These artists have went on to have great success with their art.

You can learn more about Mr. Alkazzi by visiting his website: http://www.basilalkazzi.com/

Brian Sherwin: Mr. Alkazzi, it is an honor to interview you. When did you first decide to take up the brush? In other words, how long have you been painting?

Basil Alkazzi: Thank you. You are very gracious and kind.

I clearly remember the black Windsor & Newton water-colour box I had received for my birthday when I was seven or eight. I have always, since the age of fourteen or so, known that that is what I want and I am meant to do- Paint. I suppose I have been painting seriously for some fifty years.

BS: Mr. Alkazzi, you have said the following about your work, "I used to look inward and heavenward, for inspiration and expression, but since moving to the South of France, my whisperers, have altered my creative vision, directing it, to the heaven on earth, as they did when I was a child, to the natural elements of growth, to re-discover their secrets and mysteries and their magical life-force, which radiate serenity and a passion for life, and all that life is.". Would you say that the role of an artist is to give shape... or to capture the heaven that one can find on Earth? Tell us more about your philosophy.

BA: I don't know if an artist has a specific role, each expresses himself or herself in their own way, according to their own unlimited limitations- and we all have limitations. For me, there is a need to create. A compulsion if you like- An expression of the inner self- I am drawn to paintings of other painters that are sublime, that visually express an intangible beauty - where the created image can, and does allow contemplation, and so enriches my soul, abundantly.


BS: Your work is known for having a dream-like quality. They are often calming to the viewer, but at the same time they display a mystery that gives the work a provocative edge. I realize that many people have written about your work- including the art critic Donald Kuspit. However, for our readers, can you go into detail about your work, the themes that you reflect upon and the process in which you create?

BA: I go through long periods of creativity, and then totally drained, this is then followed by a shallow period- At such times, I travel, and I read, and only during these shallow periods will I visit galleries and museums. I love to look at, to gaze at, to contemplate the works of Turner and Constable, and almost all the painters at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

When the time is right, and the need surfaces, I try to create an environment that allows creativity to happen, to flow, where I can become the instrument- I listen to classical music, I go for long walks, I isolate my inner self, the nature of the work being so solitary, and then sometimes I re-look at and contemplate some of my earlier work, feeding off them in a way- and always at nature, and then things start to flow....

I often feel, and I mean this very humbly, that it is not I that is creating the painting- because in the end I have sometimes taken a gasp of wonder at the finished work.


BS: In your own words, what should we see in your work?

BA: You will see in my work, or in any work, whatever you allow yourself to look and to see, and then, to listen to something within you, that then allows you to feel, what ever you are looking at and seeing.

BS: Mr. Alkazzi, you have been noted as being a very strong advocate for young artist. You have reached out to help creative artists throughout the world. Why do you feel so strongly about this?

BA: I come from a privileged background, and I am always very grateful for that great Blessing, and reaching out and helping those less privileged or fortunate, allows me to spread and share in that Blessing.


BS: At one time, you offered an award to help creative artists in the United States. The recipients of that award have went on to do great things. For example, John Jacobsmeyer has been a regular at the Art Chicago and Scope art fairs and has been featured in ARTnews Magazine. Have you kept in contact with the recipients?

BA: Many of the recipients of my awards both in the United States, and at the Royal College of Art in London, have kept in touch with me, and I with them, including John Jacobsmeyer, Sandow Birk, Matthew Burrows, Michael Rich, Josette Urso, Brian Rutenberg, Isabel Young, amongst many others.

BS: In 1986 you established the Basil H. Alkazzi Foundation Awards at the Royal College of Art, London. Can you tell us more about the foundation.

BA: My Foundation at the RCA currently gives a bi-annual two year full Scholarship Study Award in the Department of Painting, and this of course includes maintenance. There is then the Fatima & Faiza H. Alkazzi Award, a monetary award that selects the best painter at the Degree Show, and whose selected painting is then kept at the College, to be sold at a future date, and with the proceeds to create a new award, in the name of the recipient. My other award, now the Sheldon Berg Award, has changed over the years, from a travel award to Greece, and later to New York, and now to a monetary award to be used for the sole use of a studio for a graduating student.

BS: What else have you done to advocate for painting?

BA: I actively support the New York Foundation for the Arts; the Marie Walsh Sharpe Arts Foundations that gives some sixty studio spaces to young artists in New York; to encouraging individual artists, and sometimes sponsoring a catalogue, to make their work better know, as I did for Thomas Connolly, Michael Rich, Sandow Birk, Oscar Romp, and Nana Shiomi.

I am very impressed with many of the painters I saw in China- Zhu Wei, Su Xinping, and especially Chao Ge. I would love to set up an award to help the young painters in that country.


BS: Mr. Alkazzi, your art can be observed in several public art collections- the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Rutgers-Camden Collection of Art, just to name of a few. Reflecting on your accomplishments... what makes you the most proud of the work you have done and the collections you have been involved with?

BA: There are many paintings and periods that I feel I have expressed my creativity best in- Those that have found a home in a public institution? I would have to say the TRANSMUTATION series, two of them at the Metropolitan Museum, along with WHISPERING SILENCE II, also at that home. THE LAST SUPPER, comprising of thirteen paintings, each depicting only the hand with the wine goblet of one of the twelve Apostles, and that of Jesus Christ. There are two versions, one is at the Santa Barbara Museum in California, and the other, I have kept for myself. BLOSSOMING MOON IN SKY-SCAPE II at the Neuberger Museum, the first version I have also kept for myself. I also like the TRANSFIGURATION series, as well as the FRAGRANCE OF DREAMS series, now at the Dayton Art Institute.

I like to keep some of my best work for myself, the series VOYAGE OF DREAMS, the tryptich TRANSFIGURATION OF DREAMS, and others.

I am very happy with my more recent work, starting with the RITES OF SPRING- they are freer, brighter, but just as expressive and contemplative.


BS: Finally, what is next? Can you reveal any of your future plans?

BA: I have a new publication "RESONANT ECHOES" by Dennis Wepman, a K. Izumi Art Publication, to be officially out in July, relating to my more recent work, and I have an exhibition coming up in Tokyo of my small scale paintings.

My plans? I will go on painting, as long as they want me to, or have need for me to, to fulfil that long, long ago given promise.

I'd like to thank Mr. Alkazzi again for answering my questions. Again, you can learn more about Mr. Alkazzi by visiting his website: http://www.basilalkazzi.com/

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Cara Walz

Cara Walz is an American artist proud to be painfully midwestern and nurtured from an early adulthood immersed in punk culture. She studied drawing, painting, sculpture, performance and photography at The University of Kansas, where she received her BFA in 1990.

After a year's tour with the punk outfit, 2 Car Family--where she regularly witnessed all-age shows by then unknowns, Green Day and Neurosis--she moved to Chicago to study time-based media (primarily video and performance) at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago.

On her own time she continued to nurture her first love, drawing, and in 1993 received her MFA in Time Arts from SAIC. Her work has been included in many group and solo exhibits, including The Pennsylvania School of Art and Design, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, MoMO Studio, and The Stray Show. She received a Franklin Furnace Grant for her experiments integrating performance and drawing in 2000.

Cara is associated with the Micromentalist movement, founded by Patrick Welch, a British painter now residing in Chicago. The Micromentalists embrace a D.I.Y. attitude toward the production and dissemination of art, adopting strategies from independent music culture. They believe that art should be accessible, affordable and meaningful beyond the 'art world subculture'.

She is currently represented by Telephonebooth Contemporary Art (http://www.telephoneboothgallery.com/) and resides in Kansas City MO, where she teaches painting and drawing.

Brian Sherwin:Cara, in 1993 you received an MFA in Time Arts from SAIC. Can you tell our readers about Time Art, the department you were a member of and the mentors you had while attending SAIC? How did those experiences influence your future work?

Cara Walz: I have to think way back now... First off, very few schools offer Time Arts, so I get this question a lot. At SAIC at the time, Time Arts consisted of sound, video/film, performance and installation with moving components. Freshmen Foundations students were required to take not just 2D and 3D but 4D as well, and I assisted in teaching them, which was a ton of fun.

I was admitted into the performance department and worked closely with Lin Hixson, director of the performance group Goat Island, and Werner Herterich, whose work dealt with the body and installation. I also worked closely with Leah Gillham in the film/video department as I negotiated my way through video work.

Lin was an amazing person: She could quickly separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, especially in terms of relevant influences, and she helped me focus on things I still look at now, especially how-to imagery.

I remember showing her a picture from a package of processed cheese that showed how one should remove the cheese from the plastic film. That picture is a gem. I still have it.

Werner told me two things I'll never forget: 1) The market requires that artists know exactly what they're doing and who their audience is, but in reality this is rarely the case, and 2) Art is what is left over after an action, trace evidence.

My fondest memory of Leah is when she chewed out a freshman (maybe he was a sophomore) for his video during critique. I know this sounds horrible, but he never attended class and you could tell that he spent a total of maybe 20 minutes to make the video. If you've ever worked in film or video you know how long it takes to get something good. He was wasting our time and she was livid.

Brian Sherwin: You have noted that punk culture has been a major influence your development as a person and artists. Can you reflection how that culture has influenced your work?

Cara Walz: Punk always tries to be direct: emotionally, technically and conceptually. I don't even understand other people generally. If punk culture hasn't influenced a person's life it's like they're from another planet. I try but it's hard because, when I was about 7 or 8 years old I saw Patti Smith on Saturday Night Live. When I was 13 I read Kurt Vonnegut's Welcome to The Monkey House. I was moved to tears by George Romero's Night of the Living Dead.

I saw The Flaming Lips perform from Oh My Gawd at a tiny bar, which was all tremendous feedback and extremely emotional. Wayne spent most of his time on the ground and the music just flowed from one song to the next. I was dumbfounded, completely overwhelmed. You know how you get that tingle? I try to get that when I work. I want people to get that when they look at it, as if a heart is right there in front of them, and it's ok if you stab it or kiss it. It makes no difference.

Brian Sherwin: So is it safe to say that you desire to establish an emotional connection between your work and the viewer... regardless if that connection is healthy or not?

Cara Walz: Yes, I desire an emotional connection and a intellectual one as well, but no, I don't set out to shock or offend anyone. But in any given intimate conversation between two people, there's always the chance that something will be said that the other person doesn't want to hear, even if it isn't intended. This is a risk I don't mind taking. Better that than talking about the weather or exchanging recipes.

Brian Sherwin: Cara, in 2000 you were awarded a Franklin Furnace Grant for your experiments integrating performance and drawing. Can you discuss the work you were doing at that time?

Cara Walz: I was using bodies and objects as elements in a moving drawing on a stage. This work was heavily influenced by Goat Island as I was fresh out of graduate school. The bodies and objects were connected, so that there was no more significance to one or the other.

For me it was about understanding form and movement in a different way, probably because I've always been obsessed with life drawing, especially gesture, and the way the body moves from one pose to the next.

The bodies would clump together in bunches or heaps, then separate and be strung together, especially with rope, and I know that sounds like bondage but it was more like Butoh or acrobatics. Sometimes the bodies would be suspended using pulleys or repelling gear. I liked defying gravity and then giving into it.

In this work I began collaborating with other people, something I still love to do, and narrative began to enter the picture. Sometimes the performers would want to break what they were doing and perform a tiny bit of tango or exchange slaps, for example, and I welcomed that into the structure of the whole.

Brian Sherwin: You are associated with the Micromentalist movement, founded by Patrick Welch. Can you tell our readers more about the movement?

Cara Walz: This is a new association, but it's funny because as soon as I fell into it it fit. I love Patrick. He makes teeny tiny paintings. His most known are his "insult" paintings, but many of his others are quite complex in form and meaning, in a good way, not in an obscure way.

They have written a tongue-in-cheek manifesto (because any manifesto has to be tongue-in-cheek nowadays I suppose), which you can reach from my website, and it says all the things I've been saying for quite awhile now. Like when did art become rarefied? When did one require a degree to understand it? Why does art need to be monumental and expensive?

Some people think "micromental" means "small mind", and that's ok, but Patrick was thinking about the opposite of monumental. Intimate. I have always looked at art as a prehistoric cultural expression. It hasn't changed since we were living in caves, not at its very core. You shouldn't have to be a big time investor in art to be able to enjoy it and own it.

Art is what people who think in pictures do. And artists want to share these pictures with others.

Brian Sherwin: How exactly has music influence your art? Is there a direct link to the sounds you vibe to and the work you create?

Cara Walz: One of the drawings I sent you is of Andrew Bird, an amazing musician. His song, "Heretics", is on my website and you can find more of his stuff if you click on his name. I like an incredible variety of music, but even though I'm a punk, I'm still a woman, so I tend to avoid the extreme aggro stuff. It just doesn't work for me.

I also think that too many people try to define punk as a tight style, and it's not. It's a perspective. Punks are realists and they pull no punches.

Brian Sherwin: It would seem that you allow your medium to surround you... based on the image I seen of you working in your studio space. Describe an average studio session. What do you set out to do and when do you know that you are finished?

Cara Walz: I have two studios at present: One at home and one in a building downtown. In both the process is the same but the size is different, because the downtown space is larger.

At home I make tiny pieces. An average studio session for me cannot go beyond 5 hours. If I go beyond that I tend to mess things up. I make big, bold decisions in the first hour, decisions about the overall composition, shape, color, new elements, etc. Sometimes this takes longer than an hour, because I work on several pieces at a time.

I like elements to accumulate beyond what the work can accommodate in order to get a ton of texture and history (time, if you will) into it. Then I edit, get rid of what doesn't work formally or conceptually. This can take some time or go very quickly, depending on how many early decisions were good ones.

The remaining time is spent doing what I call "piddle-farting", adding tiny elements, little surprises that you only see up close. I love to piddle-fart. I think all artists do, but it's really the last thing you should do because it has nothing to do with the structure of the thing.

A piece is done when it works like a machine upon the eye, and when the elements interrelate to achieve a particular emotional tone not unlike a good piece of music.

Brian Sherwin: So I would take it that artists like Damien Hirst- his diamond skull and expensive prices- goes directly against the ideals of the Micromentalists. So is one the groups goals to keep their work affordable to the public? Is it more about given back to society rather than dropping jaws with price tags and making the big shows?

Cara Walz: I met Damien Hirst when I was in graduate school at SAIC, and he was a nice bloke. He got a ton of breaks early on in his career. I also met Kerry James Marshall, a very good artist who has received a ton of attention as well.

Hirst's work is cynical to say the least; it always has been. Marshall's has always been heartfelt. I pass no judgment because there's room for cynicism, but it's just not for me.

Of course we'd all like to make a ton of money and achieve notoriety making art. Wouldn't it be great if there were more Charles Saatchis in the world to give us all a jump start? But in reality, most artists, many of them very good, don't run into a Saatchi-type while they're still in graduate school. This shouldn't negate their work or exclude them from the market.

Some of the best musicians come from the independent music scene. Shouldn't this be possible in art culture as well? I'm proud to be an independent artist and in control of my own destiny, even if my market has its limits. I don't dismiss collectors because of some Marxist ideal, but I don't think regular people should be excluded from owning and enjoying art too.

Brian Sherwin: Let us return to a question about artistic collaboration.What collaborations have you worked on besides the work you did with Goat Island? Is there a certain co-creator, so to speak, who has stuck out more than others?

Cara Walz: I consider the work I'm doing on MySpace to be a collaboration of sorts, because the particular friend I'm making the drawing for informs the piece, infuses it with its heart.

Sometimes I don't know what to make of people and so those drawings can be a bit strange, but I'm also surprised by how often a connection is made, albeit an electronic one.

Many of my friends are 'actual' ones, and those drawings come pretty easy, but I try to make each work as if an electronic signal is enough to get some sense of a person, because this is how we communicate now.

Even if you talk to someone face to face things get lost in translation or misunderstood. This is what Baudrillard meant when he wrote The Ecstasy of Communication. Maybe we don't communicate to be understood but to be heard, to make a song with no words, to chant in order to express simple loneliness or longing.

To answer your second question, Mirja Koponen, who, last I heard was in the UK, was probably the strongest artist I've worked with, but we've lost touch and I don't know what she's doing now. I suppose I should 'google' her...

I also participated in a group show a couple of years ago, curated by Charles Roderick, who was getting his MFA in sculpture from The University of Illinois at the time. This wasn't quite a collaboration, but the work in the show was sociopolitical, challenging, a great assembly of artists from around the world. It was called "Mind in Matter: Constructions of The Built Environment", and artists were tackling the urban world we construct in a variety of ways.

Anyway, Charles' work struck me immediately. He would gather materials and make sculptures in the urban environment, using the space and context as much as the materials he brought. Then he would take photographs of them. He was literally making his mark in shared, public space, transforming it from something cold and impersonal to specific and intimate.

Brian Sherwin: Finally, what are your plans for the future? Where do you see your work 10 years from now... or is it more about the process of getting there?

Cara Walz: I've never been good at planning for the future, and so yes, it's all about the process. Ten years from now I hope to be happy and healthy and I hope that my friends and family are likewise. On their CD Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips sing, "All we have is now."

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Cara and her art. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Zachary Scholz

I recently discovered the art of Zachary Scholz on myartspace.com. Mr. Scholz creates conceptual art that manipulates contingent objects- shifting their invisible boundaries. His aim is to unsettle the stability of these frameworks without completely destroying them. Zachary attended school at the California College of the Arts. He earned an MFA in 2006.

Brian Sherwin: Zachary, you attended the California College of the Arts where you obtained an MFA. Can you tell us about your old art department? Who were your mentors?

Zachary Scholz: Studying at CCA was a great experience, the program provided a unique flexibility between media that really enabled and fostered the diversity of my practice.

I entered the MFA program in Painting and Drawing with a portfolio focused generally somewhere between drawing and printmaking. By the end of the two years my practice had developed much of the more sculptural direction it has now. It was really great that, despite this shift, there was never a need for me to change departments. I could have, but I didn't need to because the program allowed me to work with such a wonderful diversity of makers and thinkers.

Beyond the broad faculty of the school, the program enabled me to draw on the San Francisco Bay Area's wealth of practicing artists and intellectuals, as well as various visiting lecturers to find the voices that I needed in my studio.

It was great to work with artist whose work shares some commonality with my own such as Anna von Mertens, Liam Gillick, Stepanie Suyjuco, and Maria Porges, but it was equally valuable working with makers whose work, at least physically, is dramatically different from my own, such as Larry Sultan, Lynn Kirby, Shaun O'Dell, and Roy Tomlinson. And it is this latter group which has curiously had the greater and more lasting effect on my practice. Additionally it was great to work with non making art professional such as Stephen Leiber.

BS: You have stated the following, "Asleep, I sometimes effortlessly return to an earlier part of my life, which except for in dream, I have forgotten. I am myself in these moments but never exactly the person I was. I return to these memories as I am now, colored by how I remember being then—the now-me poured into an ill-fitting younger container. Neither and nowhere, I grasp backward and inward in time—wearing my own face as a mask." Can you go into further detail about how your work is influenced by dreams?

ZS: My work is not dream based in any literal sense. I certainly don't make work based on my dreams. But the irrationally rational logic of dreaming is certain appealing to me. Also, the mechanics of dreaming --the recapitulation and recombination of inputs and experience in new, curious, and surprising resonant ways-- is a structural process that echoes in my process of working.

Rather than being influenced by dreams, I would say that my work is sympathetic to the process of dreaming and the instability of meaning, time, and material that it reveals.

BS: So would you say that exploring the subconscious is a major component of your work?

ZS: I wouldn't use the word subconscious which is too limited, and carries all sorts of Jungian and Freudian connotations opaqued by pop culture references. But, there is certainly something "sub" about what I am exploring; sub-present, sub-visible, sub-recognized sub-linguistic sub...

BS: Zachary, you have also stated that you, "digest and manipulate contingent objects shifting their invisible boundaries not to discover what they are, but to uncover that they are simultaneously everything and nothing.". Why did you decide for this to be a part of your artistic process?

ZS: I am drawn to these sorts of objects in part because of the way that their contingent nature overtly reveals a truth of all objects, which is that no object is an autonomous thing.

All objects have been shaped by other objects, formed by external systems, and produced to function in contextual situations. Rather than a static thing, each object is a shifting and negotiated space in perpetually flux.

BS: Can you go into further detail about your artistic philosophy?

ZS: Talking about an artistic philosophy is a tricky thing. If anything I think the most concrete philosophy that I have is a commitment to perpetually figure my philosophy out.

The situation I find my self in is one in which it isn't so much that art can be anything, but that anything can be art. The gap between such statements is as big as big and mapping it takes exactly as much time as it is given. The gap is as insurmountable as the distance between me and you and filling the space, with acts, objects, and images, shifts the boundaries as quickly as it fills it in.

Fundamentally I think art needs to seek the real. Not the known or the believed or the imagined, but the inexplicable realness of present existence. This 'real' is a most mysterious thing, existing in the dark space between what has past, which we can recognize, and what is ahead, which we can anticipate.

I don't want to show you my 'real' but make you find your own. I have little interest in teaching anybody what I know. I want people to discover what they know, and find it lacking.

BS: What about studio habits, ritual, or whatever you wish to call it? How do you start and finish a studio session? What inspires you while you work?

ZS: I find it helpful to treat working in the studio really as the job that it is. Ideally I like to do a 9-5 40h work week. I think showing up is a lot of it; making and making and making and making and somewhere in there art slips in.

At the same time, when I am working in the studio I try to stay fresh and really open and playful. I try to avoid doing things that I know and instead seek acts and actions too simple to have been noticed or named. I find that such unexpectedly obvious tactics tend to evade the traps which seem always to steer toward the same boring, unsatisfying, and stale ends. I believe that it requires being quite silly and humble to say something interesting.

As I am interacting with material I need to stay pretty alert and very present, so I hardly ever listen to music. I mostly let the material and my hands lead and keep my eyes out for interesting turns. This is not to say that I do not plan. It is important to be able to plan something, do it, and have the thing do what you planned it to do, but the discipline of this skill does not in and of itself make good work.

BS: Your conceptual art often deals with objects such as chairs. Do you ever feel limited by the objects you choose to use in your art? Or is your goal to push an object as far as it will go as far as having meaning is concerned? In other words, is your work about the challenge of using these objects that normally would not be consider a medium of choice?

ZS: I don't feel limited by the objects that I work with. My interactions with these objects, are not about investigating them in a rigidly material and analytic way to discover the boundaries and the limits of their meaning. My interventions instead aim to unsettle the stability of these frameworks without completely destroying them.

I am interested in making objects exist as neither what they were, nor entirely as something else, and in this states' inherent duplicity and shifting puniness. The perpetual flux of this state reveals the shifting uncertainty beneath all seemingly static meaning.

It can and has been argued that revealing this instability, this nothingness underlying presence, produces the kind of morbid desperation that fuels nihilism, but I think that there is great potential and agency in this space.

Rather than drowning ourselves in the inevitability that everything is nothing, we can buoy ourselves with the possibility that everything can be anything.

BS: Finally, what is next? What are your plans for the future... are you working on any projects at this time?

ZS: My plan for the future is to continue to work with the different threads of my practice and see where they lead. My work in upholstery foam, and with furniture continues, as does a more drawing and paper based practice.

I also have new projects brewing, some video work, some site specific interactions, some writing projects, and some curatorial activities. In addition, I am pursuing teaching opportunities and looking to more directly contribute to growing my local arts community.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Zachary and his artistic practice. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Leah Pecoraro

I discovered emerging artist Leah Pecoraro on myartspace.com. Leah's work is based on psychology and the millions of thoughts that occur in the human mind on a daily basis. She does this by utilizing a unique juxtaposition of themes that reside between life and death.

Brian Sherwin: Leah, your art has a very rustic... almost decayed quality about it. At the same time it has a shamanistic nature about it.... spiritual... as in the essence of life. Is this juxtaposition of death and life intentional?

Leah Pecoraro: Yes it is intentional… we are decay, we create it, we (physically) start decaying in our twenties, and life is able to continue because of decay. Aesthetically I see decay as being beautiful, it is just as much a part of life as death is, it’s the space in the extended middle, and I think it gets overlooked more than the ‘beginning’ and the ‘end’.

My work is based on psychology; each piece represents one main thought with instinctual sub thoughts stemming from it. There are millions of thoughts that occur daily in the human mind.

It may look as though I concentrate on the juxtaposition of life and death, I use many symbols that could be classified as a representation for death (namely skeletal structures), this is just my language. To me the skeleton symbolizes the core, the mind, it is the basic support for our bodies.

Most people think that when they are looking at my art they are seeing an obsession with death, or a morbid way of thinking, it is quite the contrary, These pieces are celebrating life and examining thought. Once you understand the language you’ll see my creations much more differently.

BS: So your work is more about life than death... is it common for observers of your work to comprehend upon first viewing your work? Or do you think the fact that society has an underlining fascination with death that people are blinded from the message you are trying to convey? In that sense, would you say that your work offers social commentary on this morbid lust, so to speak?

LP: It’s really not intentional if it does. That’s one of those "each person ‘ought’ to be seeing something different when they look at a piece" sort of things. Unfortunately we’re in a culture that is over-saturated with the ideal that dodging death and trying to remain everlasting is an important priority… very vain.

Death’s just as much a part of it all, I don’t claim to know what transpires after one is deceased and I’m not interested in agonizing over it either, I’m too busy living.

People tend to just look at the exterior of everything, it’s safe, it’s easy, and it uses a lot less mental energy/strain then being analytical. Having said that, yes most people look at my work and find it overly dark and threatening. Which I find to be most unfortunate, instead of asking questions they assume they see, experience, and fully understand the work without even trying.

One of my personal objectives as an artist is to try to make people think. Look at the puzzle I’ve created, now try to figure it out in your own way. I’m happy to discuss it, I’d rather try and make some one understand rather than callow assumptions form after viewing it.

BS: Some of your sculptures seem to be a twisted display of childhood toys. For example, 'A Grasping Mind' (image above) appears to be a very unfriendly Jack-in-the-box. Do you strive to do a sort of 'visual play' with childhood fears and anxiety within the context of your work?

LP: ’Visual-play’ yes, although fear and anxiety are not my intention, I could see how this would be implied. The purpose for visual-play is this, it’s relatable. There comes a time in everyone’s life when they analyze their childhood, try to figure out why they are the way they are, objects trigger thoughts/memory.

The structure aside, now lets get to the concepts, all of my sculptures are based on the subconscious. Think in terms of this, if you were to crack my head open and visual images and objects were to come out, this is the sort of thing you may see, Clutter, static, scattered thoughts, they initially stem from something and are leading to something.

The jack in the box piece takes an understandable form of a childlike toy, an element of surprise, and examines deeper passages of thought. The box is covered in quantum physics theories, each side represents an area of the brain (frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal), what this piece communicates is a linkage of humanity in unspeakable terms. It’s a suggestion that humanity is connected on an unseen and often unrecognized level.

BS: So would you say that your work reveals the lack of interpersonal skills that people often have? Does it reflect the inability of people to feel a sense of 'belonging' or a 'connection' with others? It would seem that people could feel this if only they could 'get past their minds', so to speak.

LP: Some pieces do offer that idea, yes. Yes, I do feel that people have lost themselves in that sense, who could blame us for such thinking? There are so many things pushing down on us in all angles, it’s easy to become a tangled mess of worry and stress. I fall into those traps all the time myself. Oddly enough when I’m creating I feel that something larger than myself comes through, I would never claim to know what it is, but I feel much more at ease and much less alone.

Everyone’s involved in his or her own struggle, each one is equally as difficult as the next, even if it doesn’t appear to be.
People put up their own blocks, it seems we try and push away what makes us happy out of obligation or fear of failure. We try to achieve what society tells us is worthwhile instead of achieving what is worthwhile to ourselves, we loose ourselves in this thinking… it’s a very tricky thing to battle with the mind and the heart. Everyone has their own perceptions to conquer.

BS: You are known for your dark humor. I assume that humor is also a major aspect of your creative process. What other influences do you have?

LP: I honestly don’t focus on humor as being a part of it, although I believe it is important, again relatable. I guess if anything I focus more on satire than blatant humor.

My main influence could be as small as a simple thought, the real inspiration comes from deconstructing that simple thought, dissecting it and seeing where it leads me. The mind is amazing, I love human interactions/reactions, it all varies so extensively. I never run out of paradoxes or curiosities, thusly I never run out of influences or inspiration. It’s hard to nail down any one thing as being influential.

BS: So based on your statement you could find a million influences from one person alone, correct? So as long as their are people, events, and so on... you will have constant inspiration. Do some people and events inspire you more than others? For example, which causes your creative juices to flow- the birth of a child or some major world event?

LP: There really isn’t one thing, it could be as small as an insect and as large as a catastrophe. I think human interaction inspires me quite a bit, I like seeing different reactions to situations, I try to put myself inside those perceptions and mentally see how I would react to something.

BS: Finally, what are you working on now? Can you reveal any aspects of your future projects?

LP: I’m working on a variety of different things. I’m always experimenting with new materials I don’t like to limit myself in the least bit. In the future I would like to construct large installations, I’m interested in action/reaction. I want to create kinetic installations that are set off by natural movement (the viewers movement). This requires a lot of space and time. I need more exposure before I can venture into this territory. We’ll see…

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Leah and her art. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Video Art: Problems, Potential, and Future

(Collectors are not buying video art today, but the children of tomorrow will embrace the video art of the not-so-distant past.)

It is no secret that video art is one of the hottest mediums of our times. Perhaps the popularity of video art is due to the fact that it is a reflection of our technology-driven lives or maybe people relate to it because the pieces often demand the viewers attention. However, video art has many problems and a lot of potential regardless of the reasons it is enjoyed.

Attend any major art fair or biennial and you will observe that art involving technology is becoming very popular. However, popularity does not mean that the work is selling. The simple truth is that collectors are reluctant to buy video art. It has yet to earn that form of acceptance. This is the major problem facing video artists today- acceptance.

This Year's Art Basel had a plethora of plasma screens and art utilizing high technology. As always, the video work attracted crowds and was awarded praise by onlookers. However, on the secondary market, video art does not fair (no pun intended) so well- selling for far less than it would elsewhere. In other words, if video art does not sell at a major art fair it may stand little chance of selling at an art auction.

Another problem for video art is the very thing that attracts people to it. Unlike traditional art forms, which are still and silent, video art is often alive with noise and rapid visual movement- moving art that attacks the senses. The average collectors enjoys observing these works, but are not apt to purchase video art due to the fact that the piece will "Invade the environment of the collection", as one anonymous collector put it.

The strongest supporters of video art are primarily museums. This is partly due to the fact that they have more room to exhibit video installations. Another key factor is the fact that museums can purchase video art for their collections at a relatively cheap price compared to other forms of art- including photography, which for the longest time struggled in the art market.

For example, a museum can purchase video art by a famous artist for as much as three times less than what they would pay for a painting by the same artist. How long will those great buys last? Each new generation embraces technology more than the last. Remember, many people thought that television would never 'take off'.

Video art has the potential to 'take off' as well- with each new generation that embraces it. I'm certain that future works of art that involve technology may struggle as video art has in recent years. However, the children of tomorrow will be far more accepting than the adults of today. That is something that the collectors of today must remember!

That is the biggest issue for video art, the fact that it can take decades for people to accept new forms of technology that are used in artistic creation. Take photography for example, people questioned the validity of photography as an art form for the longest time. There are still some people today who do not accept photography as art, but it is far more accepted than it was 50 years ago.

The torch of 'is it art' is now being passed to video artists and will continue to be passed to artists who further utilize technology for their artistic endeavors in the future. However, like photography, video art will be far more accepted by future generations. History tends to repeat... collectors need to acknowledge that now or regret it later.

The strong foundation that video art has today occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. Artists like Nam June Paik, Fred Forest, and Andy Warhol rooted the art form where others had failed. However, video art will continue to have an uphill battle for acceptance no matter what famous names are attached to it. That is a fact that collectors must consider, but I don't think it should hold them back from making a purchase.

Think of it as a 'ladder of acceptance'- one form of art involving technology takes the next step toward acceptance once a new form of art involving technology takes the very first step- that first step can have a very long fall! It may take a decade or two for video art to gain the level of respect that photography has at this time. Collectors will flock to purchase video art once that acceptance is gained.

A savvy collector would be wise to collect video art now while the prices are so cheap. I have a strong feeling that many collectors will have big regrets twenty years down the road for having not bought into that market today. Collectors should consider the purchase of video art as an investment in a form of art that has the potential to become a major influence in the art world in the near future.

Will video art replace the value of traditional art? I doubt it. However, it is obvious that future generations will embrace art that utilizes technology. Think about how photography is accepted today compared to 50 years ago. Think of the number of children today who know more about computers and other forms of technology compared to the knowledge of their parents. Think about how computer media has influenced the youth of our time. It only makes sense that their children will will fully accept high technology as well... even if it is in the form of art.

The children of tomorrow WILL embrace the video art of today.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Fisk University Blocked From Selling O'Keeffe Painting

(1927 painting by Georgia O'Keeffe, 'Radiator Building -- Night, New York.')

A judge judge recently declared that Fisk University cannot sell any of the 101 works of art — some worth millions of dollars — donated by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1949. The university had planned to sell two of the 101 works of art in order to raise money for their financially drained endowment.

The ruling has caused a stir in both the academic community and certain circles of the art world. Is it wrong for schools to sell the donated art? Does this mean that people can't make a profit off of a work of art if it has been donated? What about art that has been donated to an institution by someone other than the artists who created it?

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ordered the Nashville university not to sell any of the works in the Alfred Stieglitz Collection. Chancellor Lyle noted that the works of art were donated to be used for art education.The problem with this is that most artwork is donated for that reason. Thus, schools may now be dead-locked when it comes to selling donated art in order to raise money for their endowments- which has long been a practice in the academic community.

Fisk University has been fighting a legal battle since 2005 over whether it could sell two works from the collection. The collection, which was compiled by O'Keefe's photographer husband, Alfred Stieglitz, includes works by Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as two O'Keeffes. The judge decided that "Dividing the Collection destroys the identity and effect of the charitable purpose since the collection was donated as a gift from O'Keeffe.

The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in New Mexico, which represents the late painter's estate, has filed suit against the university. Museum representatives claim that the university has violated the terms of the late artist's bequest. It is assumed that the museum may try to obtain the collection due to this violation of terms. The case is set to go to trial on July 16.

I'm not suggesting that I agree with the moral decision of Fisk University in their attempt to sell the two paintings. However, morality really has nothing to do with this. Their decision was based on business savvy. Thus, they felt they were doing the right thing for their institution. This form of fund raising has went on for years in the academic community. Why are people upset now when so many other donated works of art have been sold before without question?

What do you think about all of this? Is it legal for a judge to tell someone (or an institution) what they are allowed to do with their donated art collections? Should the request of the artist matter once the art is in the possession of another person? Does this mean that art collectors or dealers who have donated art in their collections- which is common- can no longer make a profit on it?

What if the art is donated by someone other than the artists who created it- does that mean said art is 'dead' on the market even though the artist had nothing to do with it being donated? This issue is now a legal can of worms!

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Catarina Lira Pereira

I recently discovered the art of Catarina Lira Pereira. Catarina was born in Bordeaux, France. In 1989 she moved to Portugal. She lives and works in Alcobaca, Portugal. Catarina's art is based on the generation of the 1980s- a generation raised by television. Her work is focused on remembering the not so distant past. She explores her generation with limited images that bring that peculiar atmosphere of a distant childhood back to her.

Catarina explores the chaotic simplicity of her generation by utilizing a surface of rich colours and details that are subsequently veiled by a monochromatic curtain of strips. In this overlapping- the suffocation and breach between three-dimensionality and two-dimensionality- the two genres melt into a dynamic and apparently chaotic composition. However, the images are supported by a rational disposition.

Catarina is represented by Galeria Alvarez (www.galeria-alvarez.com), Alejandra Von Hartz Gallery (www.alejandravonhartz.net), and White8 Galerie (www.white8.at).

Brian Sherwin: Catarina, you have stated that your art is a "representation of memory" and that your work is a balance between "revelation and concealment". Would you say that hidden messages conveyed to the viewer through your art is the foundation of your work?

Catarina Lira Pereira: For me, the foundation of my work is in the process. The fact that I work on the pictures of the cartoons is a way to re-live them in my life. After that I hide almost all of those pictures, to make a parallel with an attempt of visualization of memories, a game between revelation and concealment. The viewer observes an apparent abstraction, wish is the result of this game between revelation and concealment. The images are hidden for the mind to explore.

BS: So would you say that your work represents your need to find a form of inner peace based on the conflicts and contradictions of the generation you have been born into? A generation predominately raised by technology...

CLP: I concentrate my work in good memories due to my need to find inner peace. My generation was raised with an extensive list of cartoons on the TV, with strong messages of hope and friendship. Those images had remained in our hearts. I believe in some way that they had made of us what we are today.

BS: Your pieces have a very dynamic structure. At first glance they appear to have a rational, solid structure. However, further observation reveals an impression of chaos- like static on a television screen. Is this intentional?

CLP: The chaos/dynamic structure is due to the random lines that reveal some parts of the hidden image. That is what gives you this "impression of chaos - like static on a television screen". Actually, I never thought about it in that way, but it is an interesting observation because it is, visually, the same impression. The rational and solid structure is due to the horizontal/vertical monochromatic strips. Also, in some way by the rational structure of the image behind those strips.

BS: Catarina, you've been involved with several major exhibits of art- Arte Lisboa 2006 (booth Alvarez gallery), Art.fair (booth White8 galerie), and several art Biennials. Which exhibit has stood out for you? Care to share that experience?

CLP: I think the opportunity to exhibit in art fairs is interesting in particular, because with thousands of visitors (collectors, curators, gallerists) many things can happen and the visibility of our work is bigger. There is some exhibitions that had been important, but I am not sure there is one more important than all the others. I am now hopeful on two forthcoming: the next Cornice Art Fair, (with White8 Galerie from Austria), in Venice, which is going to happen at the same time as the Venice Biennial opening, and a group show of large formats at Alejandra Von Hartz Gallery in Miami, from June until August. That will be my first exhibition in the USA.

BS: Your work can be found in several Collections throughout Portugal. You live and work in Alcobaca, Portugal. How has living in Portugal influenced your art? Is there a difference in the art that is being created their compared to your homeland, France?

CLP: I lived in France until I was 12 years old. Beyond the fact that the the time influenced my current statement strongly, I think the technique, composition, my general perception is mainly due to my route in Portugal. I attended the college of Fine Arts at the University of Oporto, a great school, and I met a man there who is now my husband, artist too. In the middle of other facts, being with him influences my career, because we support each other. Compared to France, I am not sure there is differences on the kind of art that is made between the two countries, but there is probably a difference on the opportunities, because Portugal is a smaller country. However, Portugal has less competition, in regards to new graduates, so that probably gives more strength and hope to Portuguese artists to fight.

BS: Can you go into further detail about your artistic philosophy and the psychological aspects behind your work?

CLP: The nostalgia I feel for some of the images of my childhood is released by the opportunity to explore them in my work. Their final perception is due to a process to construct a impression of a frustrated attempt of utilizing visual memory. There is a parallel between three-dimensionality and two-dimensionality, figurative and abstract, the image and the monochromatic curtains which veil them, the past and the present, my perception and the perception of the viewer. My works is always some kind of mystery to the viewer.

BS: Based on what you have said I will assume that you have studied psychology. There seems to be a lot of Jungian thought behind your work. Has the field of psychology influenced these images?

CLP: In some way, yes. A desire to escape into fantasy, looking for hidden positive influences to construct a good harmony between conscientious and the unconscious.

BS: Catarina, what are you working on at this time?

CLP: I am preparing my solo show at Alvarez Galley, in Oporto, in November.

BS: Can you tell us about the art scene in your area?

CLP: It is not easy. The institutions of contemporary art don't support young painters and sculptors as I think they should. And even if we are represented on the internet there is now a lot of competition. There is a lot of great work online. There is also the general economic crisis which doesn't help either.

BS: Finally, in the end... what do you hope to accomplish with your art?

CLP: I want to have an international career, a strong route, working firmly step-by-step, until the end.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Catarina Lira Pereira and her art. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Elise Freda

I was introduced to the art of Elise Freda while attending the Bridge Art Fair preview party in Chicago. Elise Freda’s paintings are seductive, headstrong, and dicey. In recent years she has been known for her using acidic colors. In a sense, Elise walks a fine line between prettiness and vulgarity with her abstractions- a balance between solidity and organic forms- purity and chaos.

Elise is represented by Ch’i Contemporary Fine Art (www.chicontemporaryfineart.com).

Brian Sherwin: Elise, I observed your work at the Bridge Art Fair in Chicago. Your work was represented by Ch'i Contemporary Fine Art (booth 29). How did the exhibit go for you?

Elise Freda: Ch’i Gallery as a whole did very well. For me, the fair was mostly about exposure. Tracy Causey-Jeffery, the director and owner of Ch’i, gave me feedback about the positive response of both collectors and curators to my work. So overall, I would say the Bridge Art Fair also did well by me.

BS: Is this your first time being involved with the Bridge Art Fair?

EF: No, Ch’i presented my work at the Bridge Fair in Miami last year.

BS: Your encaustic paintings are a joy to observe. Can you explain your process... how do you go about creating your paintings? Do they start from sketches? Or do the images come to you as you work?

EF: Thank you! My process is two-fold. The sketching aspect involves lots of thumbnails. This is how I discover what is lurking in my brain. I use cheap paper and just pound out about 15 at a time, working very quickly. I accumulate piles of the thumbnails. Sometimes I refer to them before, or as I paint, but often I think their purpose is exploratory only. Yes, the images come to me as I work; I’m process–oriented, always have been. One time when I was in college I tried to paint with a step-by-step approach, doing a developed drawing where I established composition and color. I found that when I went to put this information in to a painting --I just had to stop. It was over. I had already done it. Ever since then, my painting approach is how I just described it. I need suspense and mystery. I don’t want to just copy something.

BS: Elise, when did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life? Are there any early memories that inspire your work?

EF: My parents are both artists/painters/textile designers so I grew up around art and art making. It was natural to draw; I recall making quite a mess on the floor. My brother and I used to draw together sometimes. From grade school on art was something I did ok with ---as opposed to some other subjects LIKE MATH. But that’s another story. An early visual memory that is still absolutely fresh is a visit to MOMA with my parents. I was standing in front of a Matisse and I thought wow, very cool, so paintings can have drips in them!! I was very impressed by that freedom I think.

BS: Your work often combines a solid form of abstraction with a more expressive/organic form of abstraction. Why do you juxtapose these two styles of abstract forms? I must say that is is rare to find an artist like you who can make it come together.

EF: I really like contrast. This continually sustains my interest. I like to see how I can possibly combine two opposites and make it work. Problem solving I guess. I have painted abstractions since college, and used organic shapes. Later I wanted to add some structure to all the biomorphic shapes. It took a long time before I figured out how I could do it. The absolute geometric shapes, with dense saturated color, are the direct opposite to my translucent organic built up grounds. Somehow this satisfies me.

BS: Elise, how has society influenced your art?

EF: Interesting question. I would go back to my comment about freedom. I have never wanted to feel "stuck", and sometimes I think society can create that kind of situation. Making paintings is my way of staying clear of any traditional paths or expectations that society might try and impose. On the other hand, I have absolutely zero interest in making art that comments on current issues. That is not what I respond to in an image.

BS: Elise, Can you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

EF: For me, art and creation is about tapping in to a place within; I paint intuitively. But I respect art’s formal nature. There are things that make a painting a good painting and of course I’m always shooting for that. And that striving towards the almost unattainable is ok by me. I don’t follow trends or try and figure out what the art market is paying attention to at the moment. I’m old enough to feel that’s a huge waste of my time. Art is a path and journey, a way of finding my way through life. Art is all about passion, awareness and continuity..

BS: Do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music while working? What helps to get you in the mood for working? How do you snap out of 'creators block', so to speak?

EF: I paint in silence. I live in the country so I am attuned to the sounds of trees in the wind, birds, and other wild life. I tried music----way too distracting. A cup of coffee and a jug of water are the only rituals. I’ve been struck with blocks in the past. I think it was when I was making success a goal. I’m much more calm, focused and balanced about art and art making now. Letting go is the technical term for this I think. It works.

BS: Discuss one of your pieces.What were you thinking when you created it?

EF: "Lotus" (image above), is a recent painting and I think Ch’i hung it at the Chicago Bridge Fair. I wanted to make a painting that had lots of glowing color and space, with organic shapes and lines coming and going in the layers. I wanted to end with an orchestration of line and shape on the surface that reminded me of water and plants. When I was a kid we lived in New Jersey, and we had a pond with lots of lotus flowers. Amazing plant!

BS: Elise, where did you study art? How did your mentors point you in the direction you are on now with your art? Were they an influence?

EF: I started my college education at Orange County Community College in Middletown, NY. This was the 1970’s and they had a super art department. This was where and when I started to get serious; I tried to learn everything possible. I spent lots of time in the library poring over art magazines from the 50’s. That was my touchstone. I loved all that expressive emotion and painterly abstraction and used that as a direction for learning to paint. The faculty there celebrated that thankfully. From there I went to the University of New Hampshire; another good art department. But a huge departure in aesthetic; it was all about still life, landscape and the figure. I think it was good training. But as soon as I graduated I went back to my intuitive home, abstraction.

BS: Why did you choose the medium(s) that you use?

EF: I painted in oil for years, layering and layering and waiting forever for each layer to dry. I sort of excavated my images. About 12 years ago I kept seeing wax on the labels of paintings that I was responding to----in galleries in New York City mostly. I decided I had to try it myself. I read as much as possible and then just plunged in. Encaustic opened so many doors for my work. It made it possible to build translucent grounds all in a day!

Fast and spontaneous, perfect for process oriented art making.

BS: Elise, where can we see more of your art?

EF: I’m working with Ch’i Contemporary Fine Art (www.chicontemporaryfineart.com), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and they keep a sizable inventory of my work at the gallery at all times. My website is updated regularly www.elisefreda.com.

BS: What was the toughest point in your development as an artist? Have you ever hit any major snags, so to speak?

EF: Making art is always tough. But it’s a pleasurable kind of tough. It’s not an easy choice of lifestyle, but a meaningful one. There are snags all the time, practically daily in the studio. It’s part of the process. Just keep going.

BS: What are you future plans? Care to share any details about your next stage of work?

EF: I’m starting to explore using acrylic paint in addition to painting in encaustic---I must emphasize----I’m not using them together in a painting---separately. I needed to have a change, add something new to my studio life. It feels right.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the 'art world'?

EF: The art world wouldn’t exist if people didn’t make art. It’s there, and artists are in their studios. One thing I can say, I never think about the art world when I’m making paintings------only when they are done.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Elise Freda and her paintings. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: What is art?

(Is this art?)

What is art? It is obvious that we can't simply run to a dictionary to find the answer. People have already made their minds up as to what art is and what it is not. However, for every person who claims to know what art is there are another 1,000 people who would boldly disagree. In a sense, art can't be defined- yet people continue to try. It is becoming more apparent in the news.

(Is this art?)

Artist Tracey Emin recently said this about her hotel room bed in Venice. "This bed isn't art, it's just a bed and I'm laying in it," declared Tracey. "It's a different bed from the bed I showed at the Tate Gallery." She went on to say, ""The fact that I took it mentally and put it into another space, that's what made it art. Art is up to the artist. If the artist says something's art, then it is.". Is Tracey right? Can each artist define art for him or herself?

(Art?)

(Is this art?)

(Maybe this is art?)

(What about this?)

What about all the people who do not agree with the artist? The people who say, "Your art is not art!"? In this sense, art is a disagreement- a disagreement against the nature of what other people feel art should be. Thus, it is still art because it contradicts the views of those who disagree- art can be a form of manipulation. Confusing, eh?

So what is art? Can you give me your definition? One definition of art goes like this, "Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.". Another, "High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value.". It would seem that we can't come up with a single definition. Each definition of art often contradicts the rest. Thus, I would say that art is meant to break boundaries. It can't be defined.

Some try to answer the question by pointing in an aesthetic direction. However, one persons view of beauty may appear ugly to someone else. Different cultures have different ideas of what is beautiful. Sub-cultures within a culture have their own aesthetic views. Thus, art can't be defined by aesthetic principles alone unless we do it with only one culture in mind- and that is one of the greatest forms of prejudice. Correct?

(Art?)

(Is this art?)

(Maybe this is art?) (What about this?)

Honestly, which cultural view of beauty do we use to define art with if we are to break it down in terms of aesthetic principles. Do we choose western aesthetics? My art is influenced by several cultures. If art is defined by a single cultural view of aesthetics my art would no longer be art. Right? What about your art or the art you admire? Would it still be art if broken down in this manner?

(Art?)

(Is this art?)

(Maybe this is art?)

(What about this?)

Tell me your view of art. What is art in your mind? Should one form of art be considered less based on definitions of what art should be? Should some art not be considered art all? Who should determine these definitions? The artist? People who observe works of art? Or should we see art as something that is defined, but really has no solid definition? The question is timeless and the answer is never set in stone. Tell me what you think.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Blair Depicted Naked Over the Shame of Iraq- Here is the Naked Truth As I See It.

Another example of art mocking political figures and the influence of the cult of celebrity can be observed at the Royal Academy of Art's annual Summer Exhibition in London. Michael Sandle's "Iraq Triptych" was unveiled last Wednesday to the media. The triptych depicts British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, as Adam and Eve.

The figures appear as if they are struggling to cover their nude forms outside their Downing Street home. However, there is a deeper meaning to this piece as it seems that Blair is struggling to 'hide' from the controversy over British involvement in the Iraq conflict.

The two figures stand before their door with a scene from hell surrounding them. A soldier beats a hooded and naked prisoner in one corner while a pile of corpses- one with tape covering its mouth- give a deathly gaze at onlookers. Does this piece suggest that Blair can't escape the horrors of Iraq even in the comforts of his own home? Or does it suggest that the war could very well come 'home'- to the streets of London? Does the image of Blair and his wife as Adam and Eve hint at this conflict being more about religion than oil, safety, or anything else? Are the central figures supposed to reflect a sense of clam from the surrounding storm? I'm not certain- but lately I tend to feel that any piece that involves individuals of 'supposed' status is nothing more than kitsch- a cheap way to strike at the hearts of viewers. I'm sick of it.

While using images of the powerful, wealthy, and popular is nothing new in the art world, I see a trend lately that seems to focus on said use in order to gain media attention for the artists- nothing more. After all, the media was invited to view the piece before anyone else (It will be open to the public on Monday).

This is a common practice, but this piece is supposed to reflect a public view- those who are upset with Blair's policy. I would think it would have been better to allow the public to view it first. In my eyes this piece has lost a great deal of integrity before it has even hit the eye of the public.

True, it might be good business practice for an artists to work in this manner- due to the exposure- but I'm to the point that I can't respect artists who exploit the cult of personality, celebrity, or whatever you wish to call it. Can't the Daniel Edwards and Michael Sandles of the art world think of a better way to express the struggles of our time? Or do they have to rely on such images in order for their art to have an impact with the public?

It seems that the trend of artists using popular images to 'enhance' the meaning behind a work of art is growing. It goes beyond anything Warhol set out to do. This practice is leaking into the academic community as well and it is a practice that I'm starting to loathe. This is the 'naked truth' as I see it.

Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I appreciate viewing art that conveys a strong message without having to resort to such imagery. What do you think? Do I need to open my eyes? Or am I viewing this work for what it really is?

Keep in mind that Sandle's piece is among 1,200 works in the Royal Academy exhibition. Why is it that out of all of that art this piece gains media attention? True, the media loves controversy, but I'm sure there is ample supply of controversial art at the exhibit that does not involve the image of a politician or celebrity.

That is what leads me to think that certain artists are creating work like this in order to gain media exposure- they know it will be covered in the media. I think they are gaining it for themselves rather than for the message they are spinning. Again, that is the 'naked truth' that I've observed as of late. Open my eyes- if you can.

Take care, Stay true

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Carson Collins

I was introduced to Carson Collins over a year ago while observing art online. Mr. Collins is a very devoted painter and he has many interesting stories.

Carson has been working on The Ocean Series for more than a quarter of a century. This body of work reveals the work ethic of Mr. Collins. It is rare to find an artist so devoted to a theme.

You can observe more of his work by going to the following link: www.theoceanseries.com


Brian Sherwin: Carson, the subject of your art is the four elements in their most majestic setting - the shoreline. Your images have captured aspects of earth, air, fire, and water. Why have you had such a strong focus on these themes? Do you feel that painters should share this same focus in their work or is more of an issue of personal choice?

Carson Collins: I guess you could say that this conflation of a traditional marine sunset with a color-field painting, something that originally crossed my mind sometime back in 1977, has turned out to be a fairly fertile idea for me. Call it a Remodernist approach to the color-field tradition if you like, but I'm not trying to deconstruct anything, fit into any category, or prove any theories.

BS: Do you plan to work on the Ocean Series until the day you die?

CC: I don't make any plans to speak of; I kicked the hope habit long ago. There's no tomorrow. So far, the motif continues to fascinate me, as it has for the past thirty years.

BS: I understand that you have traveled the world and that you have lived in many places. How do the customs and experiences you have faced during your travels influenced your painting? Do you consider yourself a vagabond? If so, is that reflected in your work? It seems, based on your work, that you are a man who seeks new horizons- both physically and mentally.

CC: I've lived and worked, for a year or more, in 7 of the USA States and 6 other countries, not to mention the ones I've visited. In my experience, the problems for an artist are the same in any country: poverty, and the fact that very few people are ever going to understand or appreciate what you're doing.

Am I a "vagabond"? I've done a fair amount of traveling without ever having had any capital to speak of, if that's what you mean. But I'm past my prime. That sort of thing was a lot easier for me at 25 than it was at 52. I was born in 1953.

I confess that I am much inclined to travel. "No horizon too far." It’s arguably the best form of education. I intend to go to Tierra del Fuego some day soon. The atmospheric light and the ocean wave forms there must be something truly amazing. There's a legend about an ancient stone ruin down there that glows in the dark, and my friend (physician and poet) Chris Horak and I intend (in the usual way of aging adventurers) to find it.

BS: Carson, one of your major influences has been the art of Claude Monet. What connections to his work have you strived to create within the context of your own work. Do you share some of his philosophy about artistic creation? If so, can you go into further detail about that?

CC: Monet, in my opinion, was the greatest painter that ever walked the earth. He wasn't much of a philosopher. His last series, the water lilies, are transcendent. Visit the Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens in central Paris if you can. Sit down on the little bench and let one of these grand, astonishing works surround and dissolve you.

BS: When I first observed your work- about a year ago- I noted that there seemed to be a trace of Mark Rothko in your paintings. Is Rothko an influence? Have you ever visited the Rothko Chapel?

CC: I walked into the Chapel (on the campus of Rice University in Houston, TX) one day in 1974, expecting to find less than nothing; just another high art hoax. My reaction was both overwhelming and totally unexpected. I literally wept, much as I also did years later when I saw the Van Goghs in Munich. Rothko was a genius and a tragic hero; he sought and achieved theexpression of an authentic personal spirituality within the then- dominant idiom of Ab-Ex. I don't think there's one famous painter living today who's worth the shit on the bottom of Mark Rothko's shoes.

BS: I'm not sure why, but when I view your paintings I think of the Iliad and other classic texts. I'm assuming that you are well-read since your work conveys that... at least to me.

CC: Perhaps the thing that gives you this impression is a quality of timelessness, which is inherent in my subject matter as well as in my rendering of it.

Here's something Robert Wallis said about my painting, Et In Arcadia Ego: "The late afternoons in Arcadia are never ending where time comes to a standstill. The waves move but the pattern has no end, and the mind seizes on nothingness and holds it. The colors evoke a sense of all-enveloping warmth that reinforces the idea of finding the magic moment within. The time will come to step away from the picture, but it becomes embedded in the mind's eye. With a moment of stillness it will return, and the peace will return. The sadness is knowing that Arcadia is a place to visit, and that happiness by it's nature requires a contrast to give it value. That's why we can't stay there."

The ocean is ever-changing. Observe it closely, its forms and colors are in constant flux, it’s never still, you cannot exhaust its infinite variety. And yet, it is always and profoundly the same; the ocean symbolizes the passage of time and the persistence of memory. To say that this image of the far horizon and the dying sunlight has broad metaphoric powers would be to belabor the obvious.

BS: I'd love to hear more of your stories.

CC: Here’s one that might be of some general interest: I knew Joe Glasco from 1973 until 1982. After that I never saw him again; I learned of his death when I saw Julian Schnabel's film, Basquiat, on TV in 1998. (As you may know, the film is dedicated to Joe and he is a player in two of the scenes.) My relationship with Joe was intimate, complex, and problematic, but for purposes of this story let's just say that I was Joe's friend and Julian Schnabel was also Joe's friend.

One evening in 1980 Joe got a 'phone call from Julian, who was distraught because the fashion model he had been dating (I can't remember her name) had dumped him, and he had an opening at Mary Boone's gallery in a couple of days. He didn't have enough work ready for the show and was too upset, he said, to work... Joe and I went over to his place. Julian made us dinner (spaghetti with peanut butter sauce). It was a mess; the man was hysterical.

Anyway there were these four little collage drawings sitting on the mantle and Julian was too upset to finish them. Joe suggested that Julian should let me finish the "drawings"- which had pictures of architectural elements and statuary that had been ripped out of old magazines glued on - because, "he has a good eye", as Joe put it. I applied myself to the task while Joe and Julian sat in the kitchen over wine and reefers (Joe was an alcoholic who never drank but he liked to smoke pot). There was a pile of old magazines, glue, and assorted pencils and paints...

When I had finished the drawings to my satisfaction I went back into the kitchen and said, "they're done." Joe and Julian came out and had a look. "Are they really finished?" asked Julian. Joe thought about it for maybe 5 seconds and said. "Yes." Julian smiled through his tears. "Great", he said "That's twenty thousand dollars." I wasn't offered a percentage... but, I will say this for Julian: He was sincere about being insincere.

I met Basquiat in 1979. I was coming home around dawn and there he was, tagging the building that I lived in at 100 Greene St. He was writing SAMO SAMO SAMO SAMO SAMO SAMO all over the place with a can of white spray paint, as he had been doing to everything within reach, in SoHo, for months. I politely said good morning (because he was blocking my door) and asked if he couldn't do us all a favor and maybe use some different colors once in a while, or at least write something else for a little variety. He replied with a rather common racial epithet that I won't repeat here. I didn't think much of him then, and I don't think much of his paintings today.

I have met Mary Boone and been to events in her gallery. I was 26 years old when I met her and I'm not aware of her opinions having influenced me even then. Let's just say that I was not favorably impressed, to put it mildly.

I don't know how Mary Boone or the late Leo Castelli or any of these art-star makers decided who they were going to push. There are probably any number of personal factors involved in each individual case. It doesn't strike me that the process is particularly organized or guided by any grand principle other than the fact that the public doesn't know anything about art and never will.

There must be a thrill that they get from the knowledge that they have the power to take any junkie off the street and make him an art star, and of course there's money to be made.

What I'm trying to get at is that I was a part of that scene and witnessed the rise of both Basquiat and Schnabel, and I don't really think there was anything much to be learned there, apart from some trivia about the players and a few amusing stories.

I think fame and material success for an artist is almost entirely a matter of luck: being in the right place at the right time, knowing the right people, being capable of sucking up to them in a way that they find gratifying, and having whatever kind of art you are predisposed to make coincide with an existing trend.

On reflection, there's something else that probably should be said here, even though it might appear so obvious as to be not worth mentioning: The reason that Mary Boone helped Julian Schnabel and Jean-Michel Basquiat was because she liked them and liked their work. Further, they were artists who were in step with the fashions of the day, and thus were relatively easy to sell. I really don't think there was anything particularly sinister about it.

BS: What is this conflict you had with David Cohen (art critic for the New York Sun)?

CC: There was never any conflict; quite the opposite. I read his article, "Ambiguity and Intention", published at the Online Symposium on Art and Cognition organized by Noga Arikha and Gloria Origgi in January 2003, and posted at interdisciplines.org Some of the things David said were thought-provoking (in a disturbing sort of way), and I sent him an email expressing some of my contrasting views on the subject. He replied, and we had a dialogue that Mr. Cohen found sufficiently interesting to publish in the September, 2003 issue of his e-zine, "Art Critical."

I confess that logic is a subject that fascinates me almost as much as painting, and I genuinely enjoy discussions involving inference (a.k.a. arguments) about art.

BS: How have things changed since the 70's and 80's as far as the art world is concerned... is it too corporate now? Do you think younger artists are being exploited more than ever?

CC: So far as I have observed in my lifetime, nothing ever really changes in the art world. Themore things change, the more they remain the same.

BS: How did Schnabel and Basquiat act towards others who did not 'make it' once they became huge?

CC: Basquiat and I took an instant dislike to each other. Schnabel was never really a friend of mine, he was Joe Glasco's friend, and whatever connection I had with him ended when Joe and I parted ways; since I was never a friend of either one, I really don't know the answer to your question.

BS: So tell me more about your experiences... who you've met... the countries you've been to. The influences you've had.

CC: I've lived in the Bahamas, St.Barthelemy, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Mauritius. The two most interesting encounters I’ve had with famous people were George Harrison and Timothy Leary.
I did a light show for the immortal musical genius, Jimi Hendrix, at Curtis-Hixon Hall (Tampa,FL) in 1968, but he only said a few words to me. I was all of 15 years old at the time. I remember thinking, "Jesus-take-me-now!" He was my big hero then. Still is, as a matter of fact...

By far the greatest influence on my life has been Vipassana Buddhism, specifically the practice of meditation on the breath, and Metta (Universal Love), as taught to me by a truly extraordinary man, John Travis. John is the real thing; he’s part of a handful of people who brought this spiritual technology to the West. Vipassana wasn’t taught outside of monasteries until the late 1980s. Anyone who’s interested can learn more about John and Vipassana at his web site, www.mtstream.org/teacher.html. By the way, be forewarned; it’s not for the faint-of-heart.

BS: Tell me more about meeting George Harrison and Timothy Leary. Did they have an impact on your art?

CC: Not directly. George Harrison was an enormous influence on me (and a whole lot of other people) because of his role in popularizing Transcendental Meditation. I began the practice of meditation and eventually became a Buddhist largely because of something George Harrison did by promoting the Hindu teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, at the height of the Beatles' fame and fortune.

My meeting with Mr. Harrison was completely accidental; I met him in a French restaurant in a very out-of-the-way place. He was dining alone, and I approached his table to pay my respects to him. He was extremely gracious, invited me to sit down and have a glass of wine. I was a little drunk.

The thing I remember most about him was that he was profoundly sad, and, it seemed to me, lonely. I remember feeling angry at the thought that this man, who was something of a hero in my mind, did not seem to enjoy his advantages as much as I would have wished him to.

I met Dr. Leary in a Japanese restaurant in NYC; came out of the restroom and suddenly there he was, making a telephone call. I normally don't annoy celebrities but for some reason I felt compelled to speak to him. I thought he was an important man who had shown the courage ofhis convictions, a sort of contemporary intellectual martyr.

He was a tenured psychology professor at Harvard who was fired and subsequently put in prison, you know. The discovery of LSD will one day be seen as the important milestone in human evolution that Tim believed it to be.

Anyone who wants to know the real story should read "Storming Heaven; LSD and theAmerican Dream" by Jay Stevens. Anyhow, Tim gave me his telephone number. A few months later he was a guest in my house. He was a wonderfully amusing man; incredibly energetic and young at heart; unpretentious, just a whole lot of fun to be with. He was a sort of Holy Fool. When he smiled, all of the colors got brighter. I consider it a great honor to have known him, however briefly.

BS: So due to your interest in Vipassana, would you say that your work is an expression of your spirituality? Do find some form of redemption or solace in your work?

CC: Yes, absolutely. The central theme in my painting is the search for stillness, the sort of profound and lucid calm that is the result of meditation or contemplation; another main theme is the relationship between humans, the ocean, and the atmosphere. The intent of my work is to create an ambiance where the spiritual dimension of this relationship can be experienced.

BS: Can you discuss your relationship with Joe Glasco? How did he impact your art?

CC: Joe Glasco influenced me more than any other artist. I had been drafted, and was enrolled in medical school at UTMB, Galveston. The year was 1973. It was called a 2-M deferment; I was supposed to go to Viet Nam as an Army Surgical Officer in one of those M.A.S.H. units after I graduated. President Nixon pulled the plug on the war while I was still in school, so I never actually went over there.

Joe Glasco had a studio in Galveston at that time, in an old cotton warehouse on Strand Ave. Anyway, I met Joe when I was a student, 19 or 20 years old, and he was in his early 50s; about the same age as I am now, come to think of it. Joe was quite a colorful character: he had once been the youngest man ever to be shown in the New York MOMA, had been one of Jackson Pollock’s drinking buddies, etc

Joe and I had the sort of relationship that Oscar Wilde famously referred to as "The Love thatDares Not Speak it's Name." It lasted for about 9 years, off and on. It was problematic, because Joe was gay and I wasn't, really. But I was broad minded and narcissistic enough to be capable of that sort of gender-bending (up to a point), and bisexuality was quite fashionable in those days.

Anyway Joe and I fell in love with each other; so much so that, for a while, it didn't seem to matter what kind of plumbing we had. Of course the relationship was doomed from the start.

Joe was the only actual living role-model I ever had for being an artist. He gave me an art education that couldn't have been bought, not for any price. He could have done a lot more. I have one of his paintings hanging in my studio, and I've often raised a glass to it and said,"Here's to Joe Glasco, who could have given me the World, and didn't." But I've no doubt that his intentions were good. He didn't think I was ready, and he was probably right. It's my misfortune that Joe died when he did, but Death is no respecter of our little plans, is he? He comes whenever he wants to.

Joe didn't have much to say about painting, but he taught me just about everything I know about being a painter, which is an entirely disparate skill. I sure do miss that mean old queer. I think about him often.

His work is largely forgotten at this point in time, and undeservedly so; some of his last paintings really are amazingly good. I believe the largest and best collection of his late work is in the Fred Jones Museum at Oklahoma University. (www.ou.edu/fjjma/)

BS: So would you say that your paintings are the place you want to go when you pass? Are they a reflection of the kind of balance you would desire in the hereafter?

CC: I don't believe in any kind of hereafter. Now is all there is.

BS: When did you first decide to pick up the brush?

CC: I had a very severe illness when I was seven years old; was in a coma for a few days, and it was not at all certain that I would survive. There was brain damage; when I recovered I had temporarily lost my hearing. It didn't fully come back for six months.

At that time I suddenly developed the ability to draw and paint with a facility, an accuracy, a compositional sense, and a strange, coherent, plunging perspective; something that was astonishing in a child of that age. I started painting then and I'm still at it.

My mother had an MFA and an M Ed, and she taught me the basics. I also read Irving Stone's biography of Van Gogh around that time, and the Van Gogh myth captured my child’s imagination completely. From that point on, there was no turning back; I was going to be a painter, no matter what. No choice, pal. The die was cast.

BS: We have discussed your art, experiences... even aspects of your youth in regards to your painting. What else would you like to say about your paintings?

CC: It's really very simple: Look at the painting. Notice how you feel. Some viewers have found them evocative. Believe it or not, other viewers have been made extremely uncomfortable by them; they really do tend to throw a certain kind of person back on themselves in a way that can be quite confrontational. Threatening, even. How strange is that?

Other people find them completely worthless. "Wallpaper" is a disparaging word that I hear quite often from trendy artists these days. But, hey, they said that about Jackson Pollock as well, didn’t they? What the hell... You can’t please everyone. Some people like them and some don’t.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say to younger painters?

CC: I'm only 53 years old, for Christ's sake! But, OK, here's some advice, with the caveat that I've never been successful, and my advice is probably worth exactly what the reader is paying for it. Don't ever upset yourself over anyone's negative opinion of your artwork. Really, there are only two possibilities: either they're right, in which case you have the opportunity to learn something, or else they're wrong, in which case, why should you upset yourself over some fool's mistaken opinion? It's all good. In either case, you decide.

Question everything in the privacy of your studio. If you've never experienced a crisis of doubt when you realized that everything you had ever done was shit, there's no hope for you. To the World, on the other hand, be confident. Know what your convictions are, and have the courage of your convictions.

As Goethe said, boldness has genius, power, and magick in it. Finally, I think the most important question that we have to ask ourselves, as artists, is one of intent.

What, exactly, is the artist's intention for this thing that they've created? What effect, exactly, is it supposed by the artist to have on others? It seems to me that this particular aspect of the question of intentionality is strangely absent from most so-called critical thinking about contemporary art.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my interview with Carson Collins. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Public Debate #1

The following writings are the beginnings of a critical debate between two artists and Myartspace members, John Gargano (profile) and Sten Are Sandbeck (profile).

When you've finished reading, leave a comment (or comments) to keep the ball rolling! This debate is open for everyone to flesh out.

Also, if you have an idea for another open debate, or would like to submit a critical writing for posting, please feel free to send an email to luke@catmacart.com

Now here it is, for your consideration:

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John Gargano:

What has become of us and our art?

It has been evident from the time of the cave paintings that humans have been compelled to express themselves by taking that which originates from somewhere deep within their psyche and manifesting it in visual fashion. Visual art has been, but for the last 30 or 40 years, the realm of creative aesthetic expression which, if done with the utmost of concern, has provided viewers with a dimension of experience far above and beyond one’s everyday encounters. Art of merit has been the realm of the soul, which, for purposes of this discussion I will define as the instrument of one’s perception. Clearly, art has evolved from the mimetic illustration and representation of objects and events to the impressionistic rendering of same to the point where artists began to render feelings and other concepts through abstract visual compositions. With the emergence of the avant garde, artistic expression began to encompass not only that which was abstract, but found objects, performance, installation, and many other art forms.

My view is that we artists have made a significant error in logic about the field of visual expression in the last 30 or 40 years. As abstract art began to emerge, the public was clearly at a loss to comprehend what was being created. At this point third party endorsements took on a much greater significance because many in the public, while trusting the earnest intent of artists, simply had no idea what the new abstract art was about and they had no means by which they could evaluate its merits. From this point, the public became vulnerable to the purveyors of all manner of infantile visual expressions made in the name of art. This phenomenon has now expanded beyond the visual arts and has become the very substance of many areas of performing arts and literature. It has infected our entire culture.

As the public began to expand their tolerance for that which they did not understand, artists began to misinterpret their forum for acceptance and it became de rigeur to produce things that defied understanding – for better or worse. At this point many of us lost track of the horizon. It was commendable that people began to understand that something could be of merit even if they didn’t like it or understand it. At this point we could then bestow respect upon that which we thought had merit even if it didn’t meet our own tastes. We called this “appreciation” and it was admirable to have a broad sense of appreciation. Many people looked upon a sense of appreciation as a means to elevate their social class status. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with expanding one’s horizons, we subsequently failed en masse to follow through with critical evaluation and judgment because we continued to grant respect to that which did not deserve it – because we had allowed our tolerance for that which we did not understand to expand beyond reason. And art, not being entirely within the realm of reason or logic, made us vulnerable to committing this unfortunate error.

It was at this point that we began to see the immense proliferation of the banal being placed upon a pedestal, the unsightly elevated to a status it did not deserve and the wholesale absurdity of phenomenology and cognitive expression being raised to the status of “art”. We continued to consider these not-art objects to be within the realm of that which was previously reserved for art. We went so far as to even consider expressions of attitude, including contempt, to be aesthetic artistic compositions. We allowed social and political commentary devoid of any aesthetic merit, if expressed visually, to be called art. We allowed any form of linear scribble, scratching, or smearing of paint or any other substance including fat and feces to be called art. And the time honored cliché began to become a badge of honor – “we were simply trying to find the boundaries.” Problem is, we failed to follow through by asking, “the boundaries of what?” And further, we failed to consider that the merit of expanding the boundaries would cease when we came upon logical limits. Reasonable limits became anathema. They were perceived as inhibiting our creativity.

I submit that the overwhelming majority of us began to willingly share and even glorify our collective denial of the obvious facts, despite the truth that deep within, many of us recognized at some level the absurdity of what was occurring. Of course we had recently learned in the 60’s and 70’s how awful we all were because we had, up until that time, engaged in genocide, racism, violated the civil rights of others, repressed our feelings, harshly disciplined our children, severely suppressed our sexuality and failed to tolerate the differences between many disparate types of people and their practices. What had we become but the scum of civilization? What atrocious deeds were we not capable of? This seems to have precipitated a collective guilt from which we needed relief.

And so we began to purge the daemons and cleanse our moral and intellectual transgressions by elevating nearly everything in sight and nearly every human practice to the level of art. Not just art, but aesthetic art. And wasn’t it just admirable of us to collectively be so open, liberating, tolerant, forgiving, and above all, understanding? No, I must submit, it most certainly was not.

We became so accustomed to being challenged that we even considered that which challenged our sensibilities to be art. What holier grail could there be than to see the works of an artist that challenged us? If we were such despicable cretins, our only route to salvation was to be confronted with our deficiencies to the point of discomfort. Well, believe it or not, there is an even holier grail. It would place many of us in rapture these days to see an artist challenging him or her self to the extent the public has been challenged over the last 30 to 40 years.

This business about redefining aesthetics has become nothing more than pure nonsense. Simply doing something differently, for even a few decades, does not elevate us to the position of lexicographers who can edit the dictionary and change the meaning of words and concepts. The word aesthetic means something. I recently observed some art in MyArtSpace.com by Sten Are Sandbeck that I feel is not art by any means. While I would make the distinction between my criticism of Mr. Sandbeck’s art and his person, I must express my opinion that Mr. Sandbeck’s “compositions” include work that is poorly executed, sophomorically conceived, devoid of aesthetic merit and absent of anything that either inspires or moves me. To Mr. Sandbeck personally I say, you can do better! To all of us who are doing this type of work in hopes of “restructuring of the subject-field of aesthetics”, I say – please, stop this nonsense! If you consider art to be the signature of a society I would grant the last 30 or 40 years of banal expressions to be a valid mirror, however, I must ask - to what extent are we the purveyors of fine art if all we are doing is mirroring a junk culture which poisons our own citizens? Have we nothing better to say or do? Have we not come full circle back to mimetic art when we mimic the putrid substance of our banal culture. Has this not created a vicious cycle? Is this the extent of the contribution we are able to make? To what new lows will we succumb by challenging the public as opposed to challenging ourselves?

The misguided practices of non-artists, making non art, are far from expanding the subject field. Searching for the boundaries of what is acceptable is the work of infants, toddlers and immature adolescents – or heaven forbid – children grown old. I hope the practice of lowering the standards by which aesthetic compositions are evaluated will implode. The sooner the better. This is the manner in which obsolete technologies, out of date products and infantile ideologies die. It is time we draw a line and begin a new era that ends the last 30 years of the dark age in contemporary art. We can do much better!

John Gargano
www.garganoart.com

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Sten Are Sandbeck:

Response to John Garganos letter “What has become of us and our art?”:

I will go straight to what I consider to be a core problematic in Garganos text: what is art and why and how did it get there, do we want it and what’s going on. The idea Gargano puts forward that something has gone really wrong in the arts lately and specifically the claim that “redefining aesthetics has become nothing more than pure nonsense” points to some very important aspects of the processes of art.

Although I am somehow excluded by Gargano from being willing or able to make true art, I find this attempt of exclusion to be an important part of how art comes into being. It is my view that processes of exclusion and acceptance are quite necessary for the dynamics of the art discourse and for arts very existence. I do not think it is possible to agree on what art is and then we can all concentrate on making it.

In my opinion art cannot be a fixed situation of correct communication defining what can be done and what not, and subsequently who is in a position to act. On the contrary I think of art as a constant process of moving the very conditions of thought and visibility. Utterances that do not fit in the already existing idea of art are put into the world and if they are engaged, they will change the given context of visibility, the pattern of communication through which we view ourselves and the world.

All communication is based on an equality principle and the surplus of artistic expression apparent in myartspace is a consequence of the egalitarian nature of art. This equality is made out of structures of knowledge and language that also govern who can say what, what can be said,

what is visible and even what is thinkable. In its very nature, these structures cannot contain all: To make sense out of something means something else will remain or become nonsense, to render something visible means something else will remain invisible, if someone has their say, someone else will not be heard aso. Thus the equality needed to communicate is also that which suppresses what does not resemble, excluding it from having a say, of being visible, of existing.

Hence there is a need for dynamics both in art and democracy: It must not and cannot come to a standstill. It is precisely from within the ongoing processes of changing the structures of though and communication - the speakable, visible and thinkable - that art emerges. Art is therefore exactly the denouncing of a “correct” principle; it is always trying to bring into being the principle that is missing for its own existence, the principle the established does not contain.

The art-scene is where visibility as art is established. It is constantly moved and redefined by alterations and disturbances caused by artists forcing that which was not included into existence as art. This is not automatic: nothing becomes art before it has been accepted onto the scene and not rejected, it must be accepted into the discourse, the substance carrying the idea of art. But an acceptance of what is different changes the

principles of the discourse: it is altered by the new visibility it now embraces. The logic of the art-world, what makes sense and what is visible is therefore ever-changing.

The role of the art-object is to relate two systems: that of the established meaning and order, and that of the senseless and nameless. If such relations connect that is what we call art – we get a glimpse of it whenever that which did not exist suddenly exists. However it is not so much a question of what is being seen but what its visibility means or presupposes of thought.

Thus the artwork includes (among various participators) its onlooker’s thoughts, that is the changes of thought that must be made to really “see” the piece. So art can never establish itself as consensus, nor go back, as every art-incident exists only in the moment it is absorbed into the established and the established is changed (However it might be (re)discovered by anyone at any time). Due to the complexity of the art-world, this slow floating process might take considerable time, so works

of art can stay living for quite a while, being in process of moving from the excluded to the included. (Moreover I think what we normally would consider to affect works of art in this sense goes for series of works or even the whole of the artists production). Art-objects will thereafter remain as remnants of a process passed, turning into objects of history.

This way art is a kind of drama, but with aspirations to the real, a staged conflict of that which already has its place, and that which must build its own space or rather invent its own reason as it does not fit within a system of rules and regulations. From this understanding new work will and must destabilize the existing set of relations to come into visibility. And the established order of identities which is being disturbed must redefine itself to accept the previously undefined. Here the established run the risk: That which is not willing or able to go through the process of redefinition stands a chance to be excluded in the other end.

This is then what we might mean when we talk of aesthetics in art. It is not a question of the shape of the object but rather which forms and principles it takes to accept its very existence, which forms of thought it demands to put it into context. What the piece might point to as theme is then also part of this aesthetics. And this creating of an object from the formless requires a certain amount of fiction.

So existence of art is not a fact: The making of objects as pieces of art is simultaneously a break with the established logic and a reinvention of that logic; it is more making up art than making it. Art is then first and foremost a discussion about if art actually exists.

Sten Are Sandbeck
www.stenaresandbeck.no

Art Space Talk: Bruce Samuelson

Kocot and Hatton introduced me to Bruce Samuelson. Mr. Samuelson's interest with the figure reveals itself more as an interest in, or an accumulation of shifting glimpses. Torsos and appendages turn and twist as a result of Samuelson's search for a formal resolution that seems determined to remain open to the flux of process and discovery. One thing is certain, we end up in the presence of human form and activity.

Bruce Samuelson is a Professor of Painting and Drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. He is represented in numerous public collections which include: the Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University, NY; William Penn Museum, Harrisburg, PA; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Rutgers University, NJ; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.

Mr. Samuelson is represented by J. Cacciola Galleries (www.jcacciolagallery.com), Rosenfeld Gallery (www.therosenfeldgallery.com) and Wendt Gallery (www.wendtgallery.com).

Brian Sherwin: Bruce, Kocot and Hatton introduced me to you. How did you meet them? Have they influenced your art?

Bruce Samuelson: We met in the early 60’s while we were students at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine arts. Yes they have and still do influence me...perhaps inspire is a better word. Kocot and Hatton’s work ethics, fearless experimentation with ideas and mediums and exceptional technical execution is constant in their collaborations.

BS: Have you collaborated with others? Kocot and Hatton make a great team. It is rare for artists to work so well together. Do you agree?

BS: No, I have not collaborated with anyone. The closest I ever came to it was when I was a student at the Academy. The film director David Lynch and I, from what I recall, wanted our paintings to move. We talked about collaborating on a very strange animated film. Unfortunately I chickened out. I agree, Marcia and Tom make a great team. They are very strong individuals that are highly synchronized. Who ever reads this interview might want to read your excellent recent interview with Kocot and Hatton.

BS: I notice that you often work on ragboard. Do you prefer that surface?

BS: My works on paper are on high quality papers, however, ragboard is my preferred support...It can take whatever I can throw at it.

BS: When I view your figures I'm reminded of Egon Schiele's work. Is he an influence?

BS: He is definitely one of my Gods. But I would have to include influences from Michelangelo, Goya, Rembrandt, de Kooning, Le Brun and Bacon.

BS: In regards to your figurative work... I notice that the bodies are often fragmented- limbs are often missing- this conveys a sense of decay. Is that intentional?

BS: I never thought of it as decay. However, my work does involve destruction. My work usually begins in chaos, and develops an organic structure by chance. This structure is often destroyed and rebuilt again and again until there is nothing more that I can do.

BS: I also noticed that the faces of your figures often run off the page, so to speak. Psychologically it conveys a sense of loss... or disconnection. Can you go into further detail about that? Is that your intention?

BS: I would not say that it is a sense of loss, but more of something not yet found. Seeing the completeness in the fragment has been an interest to me since I was a student at the Academy. One of the first and most powerful images that I studied at the Academy was a life size plaster cast of the fragmented Torso Belvedere. Other great works of Art that have inspired me are Michelangelo's late crucifixion drawings and his late pietas, also Rodan’s Walking Man, Cesanne’s Large Bathers and works of Giacometti. These works and many others that have an incompleteness about them are of extreme interest to me. This unfinished quality suggest a continuation...the viewer in essence completes the work.

BS: Do you ever push your figures too far, so to speak? It would seem that you see the creation of them as a gamble... they either work or they don't. Is that so? Would you say that your work controls you as much as you control the tools of its creation?

BS: It is always hard for me to decide when a work has gone too far or not far enough. Every mark is a beginning and every mark is an ending. But if I do sense that a work has gone too far, becomes too explicit and has lost its mystery, then it is dead. I have to destroy part or all of it so that I can rebuild it and hopefully bring it back to life. Yes, it is often a gamble, however, nothing is left by chance but left by judgment. I would not consider working as a form of control but rather a dialogue. I have to allow the work to point the way. And I must respect the intrinsic nature of the material and let it do its own thing. If I don’t do this then the work will be contrived and unsuccessful.

BS: Bruce, I understand that you are an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Can you describe your instructional style?

BS: Addressing the individual is most important. I believe it is critical to identify the student’s strengths, weaknesses and personal interests. I feel technical skills and formal issues are very important and they should be encouraged on all student levels. However, I also feel that personal ways of seeing and expressing personal ideas should also be encouraged. Basically I try to instill in the student the qualities I described as Kocot and Hatton having.

BS: Do your students ever influence your personal work? Is instructing art a 'give and take' of information?

BS: I do not think they influence my work directly. Although their energy often rubs off on me...they also drain me. It takes at least a day to clear my head of two very full days of teaching. Yes it is a ‘give and take’. I think I have learned more from teaching than I have from being taught.

BS: Do you have any suggestions for current art students or anyone who is considering art school?

BS: My usual advice is keep your mind open and work your ass off. This is probably not a sufficient amount of advice. so I would like to include three of my favorite quotes that have greatly inspired me. ‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.’ -Henry David Thoreau ‘We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.’ -T. S. Eliot ‘people who have found true knowledge fall silent. If I were a philosopher I would stop painting; I’d do nothing at all. That would be the silence of Zen. The only thing to do is to carry on searching for the light; I haven’t found it yet, and that’s why I paint.’ - Antoni Tapies

BS: What about self-taught artists... any advice for them?

BS: Same as the above. I would add that your best teachers are nature, history [Libraries, Museums etc.] and experience.

BS: Finally, where can we see more of your work? Do you have any exhibitions planned in the near future?

BS: I recently ended an exhibition at the J. Cacciola Gallery, however, the three galleries that represent me always have examples of my work on hand.

J. Cacciola Galleries, 531 West 25thStreet, New York, NY, 10011, www.jcacciolagallery.com

Rosenfeld Gallery, 113 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, www.therosenfeldgallery.com

Wendt Gallery 1550 South Coast HWY Suite 102 Laguna Beach,CA 92651

www.wendtgallery.com

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Bruce Samuelson and his art. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Paint-A-Thon in Chicago

Olga Stefan- the Executive Director of the Chicago Artists' Coalition (www.caconline.org)- sent me some information about the first Sunday afternoon Paint-A-Thon in Chicago. The Paint-A-Thon offers the public a chance to observe a room full of accomplished Chicago artists as they work. Observers can mingle with the painters and bid on their artwork. It appears to be a unique experience for both the patrons and the artists.

The Paint-A-Thon is styled like a walk-a-thon. Donors sponsor individual artists in painting before the public, while the public has the opportunity to bid on the artwork. The Paint-A-Thon is different than many art auctions where the artists are asked to donate their work entirely. This event allows individual artists to receive 25% of the highest collected bid for their artwork. The remaining 75% goes to support the CAC. Thus, the event supports the painters as well as CAC.

The Chicago Artists' Coalition is a great service organization that supports artists and provides art programming to the public in Chicago. This visual arts organization is one of the most active that I've observed. I met several of their representatives while attending the Artist Project exhibit in Chicago. CAC fulfills a highly-valued and much-needed position in the Chicago art community.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Mark Sheinkman

I observed the art of Mark Sheinkman while attending the preview for Art Chicago. Mr. Sheinkman was born in New York City in 1963 and received his BA from Princeton University. His work is included in many major collections.

Mark uses line to create complex multi-layered images that create a forceful grace and energy. Sheinkman’s images reverberate and create a magical, mysterious space that at the same time retain an intellectual somber quality.

Mark Sheinkman currently lives and works in New York City. His paintings and drawings are represented by Von Lintel Gallery. ( www.vonlintel.com)

Brian Sherwin: Mark, I observed your work at Art Chicago. How did the exhibit go for you?

Mark Sheinkman: It is interesting that you describe an art fair as an exhibit, and that you first saw my work at an art fair.
While poor viewing conditions and the overwhelming quantity of art are some of the obvious problems of fairs, art fairs are an increasingly important type of exhibition and part of the contemporary art scene. Even someone who has all the time and money necessary to fly around the world to look at art may not make the effort to go to Brooklyn, let alone Beijing, to see an unfamiliar artist at an unfamiliar gallery.

According to my criteria for art fairs, it went well. There was exposure, a lot of interest and sales to new collectors.

BS: I understand that you attended Princeton University. Did you study art there? What was the department like?

MS: I studied both Art History and Visual Arts (Studio Art). The Visual Arts Program at Princeton was small. Rosalind Krauss was the first head of the Visual Arts Program, and had instituted a policy that students would be provided with all necessary art supplies. Large studios , abundant art supplies, a few good teachers that usually left me alone, and being located 1 1/2 hour from New York seemed perfect to me.

BS: Mark, you've had solo and group exhibits at several outstanding venues. Based on your experience- which exhibit has made an impact on you?

MS: Seeing my work in a group show at the Metropolitan Museum in New York was pretty cool but I think almost every exhibit has had an impact on me. Seeing my work outside the studio in a new context helps me see the work in a different way and learn from it.

BS: Are you represented by a gallery? Do you have any upcoming exhibits?

MS: I have a solo exhibition opening in October in New York at my primary dealer for my paintings and drawings, Von Lintel Gallery. www.vonlintel.com. I first showed with Von Lintel Gallery when it was located in Munich, Germany. Von Lintel Gallery moved to New York several years ago when my previous New York gallery closed. My prints are represented by Pace Prints in New York. www.paceprints.com

There is also a group exhibition opening August 23 at the University of Richmond Museum in Richmond, Virginia that will travel to other museums.

BS: Mark, do you have any tips for emerging artists?

MS: Focus on making art. When you are really ready to show try to get a recommendation from other artists, critics, and collectors to an appropriate gallery. Galleries are besieged by artists walking in off the street or sending images, and in general do not respond well to "cold calls". I approached the first few galleries I worked with directly, and while I got lucky, I would not recommend that method to anyone.

BS: I understand that you are busy at this time getting ready for a show. Can you tell us more about that exhibit?

MS: I am working in the studio now on a solo show of paintings opening in October in New York at Von Lintel Gallery. All the paintings will be black and white abstract works made with oil, alkyd and graphite on linen. Since a catalog is being published, I am hoping to finish the paintings this summer.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

MS: I prefer not to try to explain my work and let the viewer interpret it for themselves. While the paintings reference the look and space of photographic imagery, my work is not based on any particular photographs. A couple of years ago I finally got around to making a web site where you can see more examples of my work, and get information about upcoming exhibitions. www.marksheinkman.com.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Mark Sheinkman and his art. Feel free to leave a comment.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Brad Konick

Brad Konick is known for his sculpture installations. Mr. Konick is fascinated with the duality of birth and death and how this cycle endlessly reoccurs all around us. Brad view this as a metaphor for the awesome potential within us for internal rebirth and spiritual growth; to evolve from a state of darkness towards light. This is the essence of his work; exploring this quiet and powerful nature of transformation.

Brian Sherwin: Brad, When did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life?

Brad Konick: In my last year of undergraduate college, about 18 years ago, I was going to graduate soon from the College of Architecture and was growing weary of just drawing and visualizing. I wanted to make something just for me, without a program or trying to solve a design problem. This may sound strange, but I use to smell the unique scents from cut wood or casting metal coming from the sculpture area across the courtyard, and it ignited a sensual curiosity for me. So, I enrolled for a beginning sculpture class. I found it very liberating and intimate and so my process of becoming an artist began.

BS: So you view your art as a sensual experience? Do you ever find it hard to put your work up for sale due to this connection you have with it?

BK: Absolutely, making my work is very sensual. This quality is essential to being fully and viscerally engaged with the materials/process and seems to amplify the power to bring a work to it's fullest expression.

I learned years ago to let go of the work. I think at some point, in order to be a functioning artist, it's important to arrive at this understanding. Instead of viewing this as a loss, I see it as the work finding a home with the person(s) who most connect with it for whatever reason that may be. What matters most is the process and completion of actually creating the piece; making the idea visible and giving it life.

BS: How has society influenced your art? Are there any social implications in your art?

BK: Only in a very general and conceptual sense. I’m not interested in expressing specific social issues with my work. But I am interested in the innate quality of creation and evolution as the foundation of being human.

BS: So would you have an almost shamanistic approach to art and artistic creation? Do you view art as the essence of humanity... and thus... the human being as the essence of art? On in the same... in a sense?

BK: I definitely resonate with the notion of the shaman as a sort of 'metaphyscical interpreter'. In no way would I begin to call myself a shaman, but in some indirect way this cultural station clears a path to understanding what it is I am doing and decoding the symbolism within the work.

In a very general sense, when viewing indigenous cultures throughout the world, it's easy to see that 'art' was completely integrated into the social fabric and was collectively expressed in every part of a particular culture; from funtional object-making, to buildings, dance and storytelling, etc.. The common thread being that the focus was usually on some sort of divine power greater than the individual, devoid of ego.

BS: Brad, do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music while working? What helps to get you in the mood for working?

BK: I have two primary types of working processes – making and building. Making is a quiet and more organically-oriented type of work (i.e. clay, plaster, wax, etc), while building is usually ‘louder’ and more industrial in nature (i.e. steel, wood, etc.). It’s the difference between feminine and masculine ‘energies’. It’s very balancing, so I like to work in both modes. The music I listen to reflects these opposites; the quiet requires something ambient like Brian Eno or Michael Brook, while the noisier involves the likes of guitar-driven Secret Machines or the Chameleons UK. The common link in the music, as well as the work, is having both the quality of beauty and tension.

BS: Brad, do you have a degree or do you plan to attend school for art? If so, how did it help you as an artist? What can you tell us about the art department that you attended?

BK: I have a bachelors’ degree in design and went to graduate school for sculpture. I left after one semester having realized that it would actually taint my vision instead of enhancing it.

BS: That is most interesting... so did you feel that attending grad school was draining your creative reserves? What exactly happened?

BK: In some ways it was illuminating to be around other artists and be exposed to their work, processes, etc. But, yes, in a deeper sense it became apparent it was actually damaging to me as an artist. The critiques became indicative of all that is 'wrong' in the art world. The approach was not based on clearly seeing the work as it appeared (and how it could be improved upon from that standpoint), but usually based on current trends and viewed through each persons' particular tastes and social conditioning. In other words, it was seen not for what it was, but for what someone wanted it to be.

I have very strong feelings about this subject. In as much as graduate school can be a great experience for some artists, it can easily becoming a 'training ground ' that merely reinforces cultural and social conventions. Which is why so many artist get caught up in a egoic quest for 'the new''; a lust for cutting edge work which will bring them superficial attention and put their name on the map. I believe the role of the artist is to view reality in new ways and as a result, authentic and unique expressions will follow accordingly.

BS: What trends do you see in the 'art world'?

BK: For me the most disturbing trend is that a lot of contemporary art is an extension of our celebrity ego-based culture. Though there is interesting work being done, a good number of it is overly-calculated, unoriginal and lacks substance. "See, look what I can do!" appears to be the name of the game. In the end it’s pretty empty and boring.

BS: I recently wrote an article about the sculptor Daniel Edwards... is he an example of what your suggesting?

BK: I dont' think it's appropriate or professional for me to use another artist as an example, so I'll decline to comment here.

BS: Understood... will move on to something else. What was your most important exhibition? Care to share that experience?

BK: I’ve done a few installations where the exhibition space was transformed by the careful placement of minimal sculptural elements. I intentionally left a lot of surrounding space so that there was room for interpretation. Based on what I observed in watching the viewers, they were pretty effective in creating an environment for contemplation and reflection.

BS: Brad, on average, how long does it take you to create a piece?

BK: Obviously it depends on the nature of each piece. My work is fairly labor intensive due to the repetition of elements and level of craft. Small pieces can take 30 or 40 hours while larger pieces can take 100 hours or more.

BS: What can you tell our readers about the art scene in your area?

BK: Phoenix Arizona is a unique place. It is an odd balance of somewhat provincial attitudes with a desire to grow and become a real city. For what it lacks in culture it makes up for in opportunity and potential. A monthly Artwalk event called ‘First Fridays’ has really taken off the past five years in downtown Phoenix . It’s very successful in building community and culture, but the long-term question is, where is it going?

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the 'art world'?

BK:

Hear

Earth
Heart
Hearth
Art

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Mr. Konick. Feel free to leave a comment about his work.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: I'd Hate to Burst Your Bubble

Art Basel Director Samuel Keller, who has directed the fair since 2000, will step down this year as head of the world's biggest contemporary fair. Keller has seen the fair through some difficult times and is the mind behind the sister fair- Art Basel Miami Beach (established in 2002). Keller's successor will be named shortly before the Basel fair opens. He is one of several noted art market leaders who have created a protective 'bubble' around current art sales.

For the first time in three years organizers have released a sales estimate. It is expected that over $500 million dollars will be spent this year on works ranging from Pablo Picasso to Damien Hirst.The fair serves as another example of how well the art market is doing. However, what happens if the bubble bursts? Where would it leave younger- less establish artists who are involved with this current market?

Art Basel is scheduled to open on June 13. Over 300 dealers including Doris Ammann and Larry Gagosian will be in attendance- along with an expected 56,000. Hot artists at the show include Cy Twombly, Ed Ruscha, Tom Friedman, George Condo, Jim Lambie, and Elizabeth Peyton. However, there will also be a sale boom in works by younger artists born in the late 1970s and early 80s, artists who have yet to truly establish themselves- that is my concern with the current market.

True, there has been record-breaking sales of art in 2007. It seems that the art market has finally overcome obstacles that had left the market in question for several years. However, I'm nervous as to how much longer this can occur before there is another slump. Slumps in the art market tend to trickle down the chain of art sales. When the market is good it is good for every artist- when it is bad... it is bad. When it is bad... even the most established artist can have a hard time selling his or her work.

Many younger artists, who are not really established yet, are fetching up to $20,000 for their works according to collectors who frequent fairs like Art Basel. This is due to the market at this time. If the art market were to fall it would cause many of these younger artists to get caught in the process- which could lead to young careers being stamped out before they even started. The current market is reminding people of the bubble of the 1980s market and history teaches us that it can burst at any moment.

I'm not suggesting that a young artist should not price his or her work high. However, young artists need to think in the long-term about their careers. Fetching a few high prices now is great, but what if the 'bubble' around the current art market were to pop? Where would that leave them? It is hard to go from fetching $20,000 to just a few thousand per piece. One would do that at the risk of offending collectors who had purchased their work for higher prices. In other words, I'd hate to burst your 'bubble'... just be careful.

The art market looks great at this time. A young artist can throw caution to the wind, right? Just remember that in the wind a bubble can only be carried so far before it finally pops. That is a situation that leaves a young artist who is not established with only one direction to go- Down. Don't get caught in the 'pop'.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Mark McGowan (Second Interview)

This is my second interview with Performance artist Mark McGowan. Mark has eaten a cooked corgi in a protest over the Royal Family's treatment of animals. The dog died at a Corgi breeding farm in Southern England and was prepared and cooked for McGowan's consumption on the Bob and Roberta Smith radio programme on 104.4 Resonance FM.

McGowan says,'I know some people will find this offensive and tasteless but i did this to raise awarness about the RSPCA's inability to prosecute Prince Phillip and his friends shooting a fox earlier this year, letting it struggle for life for 5 minutes and then beating it to death with a stick.'

The performance/protest sent shock waves throughout the press. The performance was titled 'Artist Eats a Corgi- 2007'. Mr. McGowan is known for challenging political figures and institutions with his work.

Brian Sherwin: Mark, you've been busy since last we talked. In your last performance you set up a table on a London street and devoured a corgi. The performance was also broadcasted on a live radio program (Resonance FM).Your goal was to draw attention to media reports that Prince Philip, the queen's husband, had beaten a fox to death during a hunt. Can you go into further detail about the meaning behind the protest?

Mark McGowan: The royals are terrible people they kill animals for sport for fun they shot them just to see them die, they then show them no respect, except that is if they are a corgi... a little brown big eyed cuddle pooch.

BS: I understand that the the radio show's presenter, Bob Smith, was not convinced that the meat came from a dog. I must say from the images I've seen that it did not look like any meat I've seen before. Have others questioned this?

MM: I think bob knows it was corgi now as it has been independently tested by various people.

BS: Were you concerned about public opinion going into this performance? In other words, did you have trouble with animal rights groups over this event or did they understand the protest?

MM: It has been a mixed bag from animal rights if you look on say peta's website you can see some people support it while others condemn it.

BS: I know this is a horrible question, but... how did it taste?

MM: Disgusting white grey meat smelly... it got on my hands and teeth I can still smell it now! I will never forget that smell and that taste.

BS: I understand that Yoko Ono had a bite as well. Was she a guest on the radio program as well or was this a collaboration? Have you collaborated with her before?

MM: Yoko was just a guest on the show. (EDIT: As it turns out... this 'Yoko Ono' was an imposter. The radio station, major news sources, and bloggers like myself were all duped. Thus, it is safe to say that Ono has never taken a bite out of a cooked dog. This is an example of why we should never fully believe what we read or see in the press.)

BS: Mark, you are a vegetarian and I believe Yoko Ono is as well. Did this protest cause conflict in your personal philosophy or do you view it as acceptable given the reason behind it? Do you feel the performance sent a stronger message because you are a vegetarian?

MM: Yes, I think the messages weight was carried by the fact that i was a vegetarian and also that I was prepared to go to any lengths.

BS: The top British animal-protection charity said there was no evidence to support the claim that Prince Philip abused the fox. Do you think there was a cover-up? Do you think that it is another example of political figures being above the law? What is the word from the streets?

MM: Well the pictures in the newspapers at the time of the incident clearly show a man with a big lump of wood hitting the fox so how the rspca can say that there were no signs of trauma other than gunshot in the autopsy is ridiculous. I don't know who did the autopsy but it certainly wasn't that guy from CSI, Grishom.

BS: This is not your first performance protest against the monarchy. Earlier this year you ate a swan in a protest against the monarchy, the rich and the upper classes- it was performed outside the Guy Hilton Gallery in East London. Is the royal family a deserving target? Are others just as fed up with them as you are?

MM: Monarchy in the 21st century, what about Democracy?

BS: Mark, what are you working on at this time? Can you reveal anything?

MM: It is another re-enactment top secret, but trust me Brian you will be among the first to know.

I hope you have enjoyed my second interview with Mark McGowan. Be sure to visit his site: www.markmcgowan.org

Take care, stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Damien Hirst and his Diamond Skull

('For The Love of God' by Damien Hirst is currently on display at the White Cube gallery in East London.)

Controversial artist Damien Hirst is at it again. He has unveiled his latest work - a £50 million diamond skull titled 'For The Love of God'. The skull is the most expensive piece of contemporary art ever created. Hirst has stated that the skull (encrusted with 8,601 diamonds) is a "celebration against death". However, art critics feel that it is more of a celebration of Hirst's hefty bank account. Others have mentioned that it is a 'celebration OF death' due to the history of blood diamonds and the diamond trade in general.

Hirst, 41, is no stranger to creating work that critics observe as being audacious- at best. However, the multi-millionaire artist has captivated several major art collectors and has a huge following of supporters throughout the world.

Strong support for his work has not protected Hirst from people questioning the validity and merit of his new piece. Many have stated that the skull is nothing more than a publicity stunt. Critics have also lashed out at Hirst for being a 'wannabe Warhol' in that he often does not take part in the physical creation of his work.

The skull is a platinum replica of a human skull purchased by Hirst two years ago in a London taxidermy shop. Hirst has stated that he hopes it "makes the people who see it feel good, that it’s uplifting, that it takes your breath away". I think the only breath being taken away is from the gasps of viewers when they discover the cost of the sparkly skull. Hirst went on to say, "I wouldn’t mind if it happened to my skull after my death.".

Regardless of the controversy surrounding it, I will admit that the skull offers a unique vision of life and death. However, I personally do not think this is a piece that will stand the test of time. Some things are better left buried, right?

What do you think about this piece? Is it art? Is it simply an expensive stunt? Does it portray the vision Hirst desired to capture? Does it matter that his work is often created by studio assistants? What do you think about 'For The Love of God'? I look forward to reading your comments!

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin