5 posts tagged “arts”
I guess I'm on the right track, according to the New York Times at least. Truthfully I think the painting of Selma is awful, and really, before you a get portrait done, you need to realize it won't be like a photo.
I've seen photos from both the "Yum Yum" show and "Forgotten Saints", amazing stuff. If you missed the black carpet opening for the "Forgetting Saints" show you can view it here in the pics section.
Next California exhibit is in April @ The Alternative Cafe & Gallery who have been doing some fab shows as of late (Bansky, Shawn Barber, Chet Zar to name a few). In fact, you should check out the "This Is The End" exhibit my friend Josh is curating on March 6th if you can.
Also in April as you know is my dual solo show w/ Andrea Heimer here in Cleveland. I've leaked 4 or 5 new baby paintings I've been doing, but that's all you are getting. I gotta be good and keep a lid on the rest. You can view some of what to expect here.
Shit I'm reading instead of doing work...
http://chicinparis.wordpress.com/
http://www.thepeakofchic.blogspot.com
http://www.allthebestblog.com/
http://tireshop.blogspot.com/
http://edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/
http://howsmydealing.blogspot.com/
although I manage to complete paintings somehow:
Two newbies here...
Svetlana, 10x8" oil on board
Vivienne, 5x7" oil on panel. I'm doing several tiny paintings lately.
Out of morbid curiosity I may be attending a free seminar at Cleveland Public Library this part of the The Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute series they normally charge for -- just to lay into them with questions. Because hell, what artist do you know has as spare $150 laying around to be told how to make more money off art? I mean really, these are two non-profits orgs that are charging artists in a economically challenged city for info they can get at the library for free. If you are going to operate as a capitalist enterprise, just do that and say so. The fact that websites that sell advertising can gets grants is beyond me! But oh wait, being a 501c safe guards you against failure in case your lack of business savvy screws you in the end.
I like how all these organizations always have seminars and info meetings on weekdays during business hours too; like no one has to work between 9am-5pm? A friend pointed out to me that this is done on purpose so only certain people who are able to show up get the info and the grants. But hey, because they are "helping artists and contributing to culture" the Ohio Arts Council will bank roll them for another year to stay in business. As you can tell, I'm really wary of non-profit organizations that focus on the arts unless a solid education program is put in place. I have been part of three in the last 4 years, and I bowed out of them, mostly because they didn't do anything and they only seemed to hold meetings -- again weekdays before 5pm -- when I had to be at my JOB. Overall they were just very inconsistent. Sometimes I think I should start one because that's how people seem to pocket the most money! We should have just made the record label a non-profit, you know, contributing to culture and all.
Which leads me up to saying, guess what: I was offered a little job! I can't say yet as it is being put into place, but the timing was just right, and they were simply appalled I didn't get the summer teaching job. Besides the administrative work I get to hang out with a bunch of girls, design products and illustrate stuff, and sell cool things too. They give classes and contribute to culture as well; thankfully they are a real for-profit business who knows what they're doing!
Someone told me Cleveland was a good place for an artist to hide. Well, must be true because only recently have I discovered many that were being hermits, or just showing in galleries outside of Cleveland. I should have figured there were more than I thought initially; Cleveland is where American Greetings is based, many illustrators and painters work there getting their soul destroyed before heading home to work on their "real" projects. And we do have the Cleveland Institute of Art -- Dana Schutz did her undergrad work there, a fact they like to pimp.
Sure I have my issues with this city, but honestly, no more than I did with Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Boston or Ann Arbor. The difference is that in Cleveland my wallet isn't being raped and my credit cards aren't racking up debt just trying to pay for car insurance. I also don't have to deal with people who are on a mission to be a "star" constantly or out to see how I might be useful to them. As I wrote before, Cleveland is trying more to cater to the young and creative class, so you can get a sweet loft or just a cheap apartment for little money. And if you want to step it up a bit, you can get a luxury condo for less than the price of a shack in the Bay Area. See, it isn't all American Splendor here, although that side of Cleveland is well and alive.
And yes, Cleveland does have galleries and a small art scene. I think the problem of why more hasn't been written about it is just the fact the galleries don't try hard enough to be known on a national level. Heck, some don't even have websites, or if they do, they are not updated or functional with proper meta tags etc. This can be said for many artists too. Here's a great read on that subject alone.
Where to start? The area of Tremont you'll find everything from underground contemporary stuff to the "does this match my couch?" and Thomas Kinkade-esque fare. It's also where many bars and restaurants are located. This is the "hip" area I guess, as I'd compare it a bit to the Silverlake neighborhood of L.A. except with nicer restaurants. But don't worry, you're just as likely to get your car stolen and torched here as you are in Echo Park if you are one of those people who like to "keep it real" in your urban experiences. I think my two favorite galleries in Tremont are Brandt Gallery and Asterisk Gallery. But there are many I haven't been to yet like Raw & Co.
There's also a new space that just opened in the Tower Press Building called the Wooltex Gallery. I don't have a shot of the inside, but it is really nice believe me. Another newer one in downtown that the space is really nice is William Busta's Gallery. He has no website it seems though, so I can't show it to you. The work of Timothy Callaghan was the opening show in the new space.
I like his stuff.Front Room Gallery is another that is doing some interesting things in both 2D and installation shows; the space is on the 3rd floor of a warehouse, but once inside it is quite nice with great lighting. Level Three is another new gallery that features painting as well as ceramics; another very cool space with fun parties. Zygote Press is where you wanna get you print fix on and has a loyal following it seems. Shaheen Fine Art has been a mainstay, they feature contemporary works as well as a few blue chip artists in their inventory. A newer gallery that just opened with a focus on Street Art, it is called Artchitecture Gallery
On to the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, a neighborhood in "transition" so I'd avoid going there late at night. My husband refuses outright to set foot there, but I try to make the best of it as there are some nice shops and things sprouting up. The Cleveland Public Theater is the anchor of the area, and very fun theater and pretty too. There is the Parish Hall right next door, they have an art gallery as well as a tiny chapel where bands play. The inside is pretty sweet with chandeliers and icons everywhere. Though I'm now told it will cease having bands in October, I'm hoping whoever takes it over ( I think it might be Cleveland Public Theater) will do something fun with the two buildings.
M% Gallery just moved to this area too. I still mourn the closing of 1300 Gallery, but I know a new gallery has taken over in its place, Tregoning and Co. , it shows blue chip established artists and has a frame shop too.
And if crafts and DIY is your thing, there's plenty of that here too; we have a wonderful chapter of Stitch N Bitch, and in fact check out the newly opened www.StitchCleveland.com
Of course we have a Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, various non-profit spaces and the like. There's just too many for me to list and frankly some of them I'm not too crazy about anyways. So, I thought I'd leave you with a list of some Cleveland based artists to sift through:
www.timothycallaghan.com
www.amycaseypainting.com
Chris Ryniak
Melissa Forman
www.thomasfrontini.com
Bridget Ginley
Scott Radke
Jorge Lacera
Julie Langsam
Thu Tran
Joe Ayala
Susan Danko
Derek Hess
Boy you wouldn't believe how many others I wanted to list that don't have a website or even have a web presence at all. Eh, oh well. And, if you want to learn more about the food and drink aspects of my adopted city, check out this coming season of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel. Look, here Anthony meets Harvey Pekar!
