Friday, November 29, 2013

SAY NO TO FREE ART - and related stories

Several years ago on  
a post appeared that garnered quite some attention. It is titled

Every day, there are more and more posts on here seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?
These are just the first few lines - there is more, and there are hundreds of comments on it. READ MORE HERE

But as I had some good comments to add to it, I am afraid they might get lost in the crowd, so let me add them here on my blog as well, because one most recent incident  needs to be put out front and center, the story of Designer Juan Luis Garcia

UPDATE Dec. 5th 2013: well, the response below is still on twitter, but the letter posted on line, (with images , now gone) does not exist anymore. Is there a story? Perhaps. If the tweets exists, the story certainly had been there ..... bought out? chickened out? Settled? Who knows. There is still a post on Yahoo with some info about it. More about it also on The Daily Dot. And of course Spike Lee's twitter:


- this story is the perfect illustration for point 6 in the above article on deviantART, which reads:

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to "submit work for consideration". They may even be posing as some sort of "contest". These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the "contest", or be "chosen" for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or "spec", work. It's risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely.
So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are "spec" gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them. Say NO to free art.

Some time earlier, October 2013,  in the New York Times Sunday Review a article appeared:


- a short excerpt from the second page:
".....I know there’s no point in demanding that businesspeople pay artists for their work, any more than there is in politely asking stink bugs or rhinoviruses to quit it already. It’s their job to be rapacious and shameless. But they can get away with paying nothing only for the same reason so many sleazy guys keep trying to pick up women by insulting them: because it keeps working on someone. There is a bottomless supply of ambitious young artists in all media who believe the line about exposure, or who are simply so thrilled at the prospect of publication that they’re happy to do it free of charge......" 



It is recommended to read the whole article by Tim Kreider, Published: October 26, 2013 HERE
and also check the Comments

Another good example (published 11.06.13 on 'Dangerous Minds'):


 Amidst the ongoing discussions about the value of music, British alt/rock/tronica artist Whitey has had enough of being asked to donate his music for free to large companies who, by rights, can and should be paying him. After receiving one such email from a company called Betty TV, Whitey, aka NJ White, wrote this caustic response and posted a screenshot on his facebook page:


I am sick to death of your hollow shtick, of the inevitable line “unfortunately there’s no budget for music”, as if some fixed Law Of The Universe handed you down a sad but immutable financial verdict preventing you from budgeting to pay for music. Your company set out the budget. so you have chosen to allocate no money for music. I get begging letters like this every week – from a booming, affluent global media industry.

Read more HERE

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Thursday, November 28, 2013

A Millions Poodle - ostentatious display of enormous wealth


Jeff Koons sculpture "Balloon Dog" was sold at auction in November at Christie's in New York for 43 million. | © Christie's Images / dpa

from the article in "Zeit Online" - http://www.zeit.de/2013/47/jeff-koons-kunstwerke

JEFF KOONS
Ein Millionenpudel
Jeff Koons’ Werke brechen alle Rekorde. Sein "Balloon Dog" brachte bei Christie's mehr als 43 Millionen Euro. Er steht für eine Kunst, die nichts mehr ist – außer teuer. 
A Millions Poodle
Jeff Koons' works are breaking all records. His "Balloon Dog" brought in more than 43 million euros at Christie's. It is an art which is nothing more - but expensive.

it is in german, so you would need to have a translator installed.






Here is my own comment regarding this:

 It is not about "Art" or the value of it, but about ostentatious display of enormous wealth. Once upon a time the oligarchs would light their cigars with hundred dollar bills and have food-fights with beluga caviar. They would buy designer shirts where one button would cost as much as another man's entire wardrobe. It is a display of wealth to the point where they are demonstrating they can and will do anything with their money. Times have changed - this isn't good enough anymore. Even Damien Hirst's diamond studded scull is passe by now, because it has material value. No, now they demonstrate their superior wealth by throwing millions at something totally banal and worthless. Something that says and means absolutely nothing other than "I paid 43 million dollars for it". A few of these purchases, if invested in Greece, could probably take the country out of junk-bond rating. Or it could bring lasting prosperity to a township in a developing nation if for example invested in a irrigation system or something similar.
Museums can no longer afford to acquire these modern 'masterpieces' - they tried in the past by deaccession some of their holdings to raise the money, but one would have to sell an awful lot of Rembrandt's and Rubens to pay for one Koons. Perhaps the ultimate thrill for one of these oligarchs would be if the Louvre put the Mona Lisa up for auction. Then they could buy it and roll it up into a fireplace log....... Koons himself is now enormously wealthy. If he would use his wealth to do some good, the crowd of the super-rich would instantly turn on him, because money made on the backs and sweat of the peons has to be wasted and thrown out the window. Or 'invested' into something that is as utterly stupid as a balloon dog.

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Friday, November 22, 2013

Save 30% on Blurb print books until November 30th!

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Eternal Nature 
The Art of Kuba Ambrose

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Presque  vu 
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Picture

The artwork of
Alessandro Fantini 
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for the regular edition,
click HERE

Linea Gustav

Picture



a comic book (in italian)
by Alessandro Fantini
published at blurb

Ettore Aldo Del Vigo

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Catalog of works by
Ettore Aldo Del Vigo
published at blurb

Sacrae Particulae Ex Nihilo

Picture



The Art of Gromyko Padilla Semper

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Saturday, November 9, 2013

Luminarte Represented Artists - New Works

REPRESENTED ARTISTS - NEW WORKS
NOVEMBER 9 - DECEMBER 7 2013
LUMINARTE GALLERY



Opening Reception Saturday November 9th, from 7 – 10pm 


mouse over for controls - may be viewed full screen
Photos courtesy Breck Outland


1727 E. Levee St.
Dallas, Texas 75207
Phone +1 214-914-4503

More info with embedded documentation here: Luminarte Represented Artists - New Works


this blog is sponsored by
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International Surrealism Now Exhibition in Lisbon


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Exhibition International Surrealism Now
Roque Gameiro House - Amadora - Lisbon

November 30th 2013 to January 4th 2014
Opening times: Tuesdays to Saturdays - 10 am - 12:00 noon and 2 pm - 5:30 pm

Picture




Roque Gameiro House
Praçeta 1º de Dezembro 54
2700-668 AMADORA
Lisbon
Tel:214929230
Fax:214929239

About the exhibition site Roque Gameiro House

Built from 1898 to 1901 as the house of watercolour painter Alfredo Roque Gameiro and his family, this house has an architectural style influenced by Nationalist ideals shared by both intellectuals and politicians of the 90’s generation of the 19th century. The initial project was conceived by Roque Gameiro himself, but architect Raul Lino changed it later. The inside of the main floor is covered by pattern tiles and decorated with small ornaments of colourful tiles at the end of doors and windows. In the dinig room, you will see tiles painted by Bordalo Pinheiro depicting bunches of grapes and ear corns. You can visit the living rooms of Roque Gameiro family, profusely decorated with tiles, as well as temporary exhibits in the two interior floors of the building.


Update from

Lisbon “International Surrealism Now” – The Roque Gameiro House, Amadora

 Lisbon, Portugal, 14-11-2013 — From November 30 to January 4, 2014, The Roque Gameiro House, in Amadora , Lisbon, hosts the exhibition “International Surrealism Now”, conceptualized by Santiago Ribeiro . The event features artworks from 29 countries. The opening is scheduled for 4pm, 30th of November. 

“International Surrealism Now” began in Coimbra, in 2010, when Santiago Ribeiro conceived a major exhibition which was organized by the Bissaya Barreto Foundation. The event was presented in Conímbriga, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Conimbriga Monographic Museum (second most visited museum in Portugal) and, subsequently, went to Paris, with the support of the GAPP – Portugal Presente Art Gallery and Liba WS, and once again organized by the Bissaya Barreto Foundation and Santiago Ribeiro , and was later presented in Madrid, with the support of Yamal Din. 

Santiago Ribeiro requested the partnership of artist Victor Lages (who developed the project ” Utopia of Fantastic Art “), for the purpose of organizing exhibitions in the Lisbon Region, which has already happened at the House of Culture in Setúbal , in Lisbon’s city center , at the Gallery of Caixa de Crédito Agrícola, at the House of Culture Jaime Lobo e Silva, in Ericeira, more recently at Fellini Gallery, in Berlin, with the exhibition entitled “21st Century Portuguese Surrealism” and will soon occur at the Roque Gameiro House , in Amadora . 

At present, the “International Surrealism Now” exhibition includes artists from 29 countries: Germany, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Spain, USA, Philippines, France, Netherlands, Indonesia, England, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and Vietnam. 

The exhibition consists of a variety of artworks, created through different techniques and media, such as drawings, paintings, photography, digital art and sculpture. 

Participating Artists 

Acácio Cainete / Portugal, Ana Neamu / Romania, Anna Plavinskaya / Russia, Andrew Baines / Australia, Brigid Marlin / England, Daila Lupo / Italy, Dan Neamu / Romania, Daniel Hanequand / Canada, Daniele Gori / Italy, Edgar Invoker / Russia, Egill Eibsen / Iceland, Erik Heyninck / Belgium, Farhad Jafari / Iran, Firmo Silva / Portugal, Flavio Caporali / Brazil, France Garrido / USA, Francisco Urbano / Portugal, Gromyko Semper / Philippines, Héctor Pineda / Mexico, Hélio Cunha / Portugal, Hugues Gillet / France, Isabel Meyrelles / Portugal, Joana Completo / Portugal, João Carvalho / Portugal, Jorge Moreira / Portugal, Keith Wigdor / USA, Konstantin Shahanov / Russia, Leo Plaw / Germany, Liba WS / France, Ludgero Rolo / Portugal, Luís Athouguia / Portugal, Luís Fernandes / Portugal, Lv Shang / China, Maciej Hoffman / Poland, Magi Calhoun / USA, Maria Aristova / Russia, Martina Hoffman / Germany, Mehriban Efendi / Azerbaijan, Naiker Roman / Spain, Nazareno Stanislau / Brazil, Octavian Florescu / Romania, Oleg korolev / Russia, Olga Spiegel / USA, Otto Rapp / Austria, Paula Rosa / Portugal, Pedro Diaz Cartes / Chile, Rudolf Boelee / New Zealand, Rui Silvares / Portugal, Santiago Ribeiro / Portugal, Sergey Tyukanov / Russia, Shahla Rosa / USA, Shoji Tanaka / Japan, Shan Zhulan / China, Sio Shisio / Indonesia, Slavko Krunic / Serbia, Sônia Mena Barreto / Brazil, Steve Smith / USA, Svetlana Kislyachenko / Ukraine, Ton Haring / Netherlands, Victor Lages / Portugal, Vu Huyen Thuong / Vietnam, Yamal Din / Spain, Yuri Tsvetaev / Russia, Zoran Velimanovic / Serbia. 

Among the participating artists, Isabel Meyrelles stands out for her relevancy in the world history of surrealism. She was born in Matosinhos in 1929, studied sculpture with Masters Américo Gomes and António Duarte. Settled in Paris in 1950, where she continued her studies at the Université René Descartes – Paris V-Sorbonne and l’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. In 1952 she studied sculpture with Master Zadkine at the “Grande-Chaumière”. She Integrates the surrealist movement, which she considers immortal and closely follows the French surrealism (whose founder was André Breton, with whom she coexisted) and also the work done by her friends, such as Triston Tzara. She also gives special attention to the Portuguese surrealist movement, being friends with António Pedro, O’Neill, Cesariny, Cruzeiro Seixas, among others, and also with Eugénio de Andrade and Natália Correia. Poetry is also an integral part of her life. Isabel Meyrelles was awarded Commander of the Order of Saint James of the Sword, by the President of the Portuguese Republic. Daniel Hanequand, French surrealist recently deceased, is another important name in the field of international surrealism, whose unique artworks are a great contribution for the exhibition’s singular importance. Russian world-renowned artists such as Yuri Tsevtaev, Sergey Tyukanov and Oleg Korolev constitute a link with events in the Russian Federation. Should also be noted the participation of the North American artist Shahla Rosa, of a great name of the 21st century surrealism, as well as the participation of Austrian artist Otto Rapp, who has been carrying out the “Visionary Art” project with exceptional commitment . 

Roque Gameiro House 

Built in Amadora, from 1898 to 1901, as the house of watercolour painter Alfredo Roque Gameiro and his family. It is now opened to the public and some of its living rooms, profusely decorated with tiles by Bordalo Pinheiro, can be visited and admired. The Roque Gameiro House is one of the most notable historical and cultural heritage references in the municipality of Amadora. 

Information: 

The exhibition can be visited from from November 30, 2013, to January 4, 2014 

Tuesdays to Saturdays – 10am-12:00 and 2pm-5:30pm 

Roque Gameiro House 
Praçeta 1.º de Dezembro, 54 – Venteira 
2700-668 Amadora 

Telephone number: (+351) 214 928 054/ 5 

Santiago Ribeiro 


Telephone number: (+351) 964485027 



"INTERNATIONAL SURREALISM NOW"
CASA ROQUE GAMEIRO na Amadora
De 30 de Novembro a 25 de Janeiro de 2014.

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Friday, November 8, 2013

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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

I'M SICK OF PRETENDING: I DON'T "GET" ART

Update 13. September 2016:
Referring back to this blog, I discovered a bunch of broken links and missing images. I will try to fix as much as I can - just wishing that when I link to something, "THEY" don't change the url.

Feast your eyes on this masterpiece!
artwork by Tracey Emin




According to the exhibition guide, this piece is one of a number of small pieces that "can easily be missed or walked past – but you have to read them, give them time." I think perhaps I need a little more time to read this one.
words by Glen Coco in Vice Magazine
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some time ago I had passed on this excellent article from Times Higher Education by Tom Ellard called

Successor states to an empire in free fall

I posted this as a discussion item in our private network for Visionary Art (the public showcase from this network is the VISIONARY ART GALLERY).
I now think that perhaps this proclamation was somewhat premature:

Postmodernism is dead. Wail and rend your clothes. Postmodernism is dead.
The tyrant is vanquished!

One discussion item added was this blog:

Five reasons why I’m not an ‘artist’

After finding this article that is the subject of my blog now, I added the link to the discussion item, but feel it needs wider distribution - this is what I wrote:
"I am digging this one up once again because in spite of all the hopes and prayers that things would get better, the insanity is hitting EPIC proportions."

I found this via a link on facebook, and every word of it at one time or another I had thought as well as spoken out loud:

I'M SICK OF PRETENDING: I DON'T "GET" ART

These are the first few lines of the article by  Glen Coco on the Vice website :
You know what? I'm sick of pretending. I went to art school, wrote a dissertation called "The Elevation of Art Through Commerce: An Analysis of Charles Saatchi's Approach to the Machinery of Art Production Using Pierre Bourdieu's Theories of Distinction", have attended art openings at least once a month for the last five years, even fucking purchased pieces of it, but the other night, after attending the opening of the new Tracey Emin retrospective at the Hayward Gallery, I'm finally ready to come out and say it: I just don't think I "get" art. [Although, after this article was written, I did try to get an art student to explain it to me.]
read more HERE
Are you fucking kidding me? Just in case you can't tell from the picture, this is a photo of Tracey rubbing money against her vagina.

my favorite line is:
"Sometimes I wish I possessed the requisite attention span to absorb endless amounts of totally pointless bullshit."
 Do read the whole article by Glen Coco - highly recommended!

Last month I blogged about a related issue, check it out:
About "Modern Art" and its excesses - a discussion on my facebook page

So yeah, here is me again with my own two cents worth: WHEN WILL THIS INSANITY END?

UPDATE 11/7/2013 
A facebook friend and artist posted this as his status: 
If I rammed a screwdriver into someone's skull, and called it "brain surgery", does that make it so? If, because I SAY something is "art", does that make it so?
One of the comments:
Art becomes art when it reaches its goal, being the object of debate. If it arouses feelings and thoughts, even negative ones....you don't have to like it, but you transformed it (the turd) into art by not being indifferent to it. If there were no debate, there would be no art...

My comment to this:
"Art becomes art when it reaches its goal .......". OK, so basically a screwdriver jammed into the scull becomes brain surgery BECAUSE IT REACHED ITS GOAL - mind you, the patient died..... - "you don't have to like it" - ROLFL - I love it when people repeat those tired old "artspeak" phrases to justify the garbage delivery truck at the gallery receiving dock!

This entire discussion would have been worth following - unfortunately the link to the facebook tread by Steven DaLuz that I originally had in this space here (post 11/7/2013) does no longer work - he must have deleted it.

*

" Art made its final flight, climbed higher and higher in an ever-decreasing tighter-turning spiral until… it disappeared up its own fundamental aperture… and came out the other side as Art Theory!… Art Theory pure and simple, words on a page, literature undefiled by vision… late twentieth-century Modern Art was about to fulfill its destiny, which was: to become nothing less than Literature pure and simple"

*
Visit us at the Visionary Art Gallery
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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Space Painting with Michael Fuchs

Weltall Malen - Space Painting with Michael Fuchs



In this workshop I will be demonstrating the use of egg-tempera white on a black background, using strong and brilliant under-painting heightening in white and translucent glazing in oils.

Nov. 18th to Nov. 20th 2013 - daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
and
Nov. 27th to Nov. 30th 2013 - daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM


Michael Fuchs Atelier
Hermannstrasse 12
3400 Klosterneuburg, NÖ
tel. +43 (0) 676 544 3686
e-mail miguelzorro53@yahoo.com 

Friday, November 1, 2013

Visionary Artist of the Month November 2013 is RICHARD A. KIRK


ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Our Artist for the month of November 2013 is

RICHARD A. KIRK

RICHARD A. KIRK
THE CUCKOO'S PROMISE by RICHARD A. KIRK
THE CUCKOO'S PROMISE
Please click the image above to visit his gallery page.
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