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While a couple of us on the DCist staff are still trying to wipe our minds of the image of the live circumcision performance art that happened last night at the Warehouse gallery (seriously, can you use soap on your eyeballs?), we will nevertheless try to explain that across the street at artDC ... wait, what was happening over there?
Oh right, that international art show. When we told you about it last year, some of you were skeptical the concept could ever come to fruition in D.C., but there it is, in Hall E of the Washington Convention Center, and it's a little hard to shake the feeling you're walking into a conference on the latest issues in [that boring part of your job]. And a lot of the art isn't helping. The wide red carpet and high-ceiling booths covered in art (and finding the bars hidden in the corners) makes the place a bit warmer -- especially with the entrance flanked by three D.C. galleries -- but in the end, our big fancy art fair is closer to this: an Artomatic with suits and stilettos. A maze of high art that made one wonder what the qualifications for getting in were.
Which is to say, some of this shit is bad, friends. While people probably shouldn't be mutilating themselves for the sake of art (and by 'probably' we mean 'absolutely'), we'd also like to know why the four by five foot, gold framed, lemon-in-a-bowl still life continues to qualify as unique high art. New York City brought us a lot of yawn-inducing images of Marilyn Monroe, JFK, many of The Beatles, and even Einstein. Or the cringe-worthy abstract glitter paintings brought by a D.C. area gallery this writer had never heard of, and has not been convinced to visit any time soon. Bad but creative art is one thing, but the sheer lack of vision with some of these showings gave the entire exhibit the taste of a mass produced, office art, living room furniture showroom.
But just like Artomatic, there are brilliant gems hiding in the folds. Fantastically, we don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the D.C. galleries brought it. Conner Contemporary had, hands down, the best showing in the hall, including two mind-blowing videos from Brandon Morse and the darkly funny comics of Zach Storms, both of which should keep you staring at the walls for quite some time. When it comes to contemporary art with a unique vision, Morse's technical skill and conceptual grasp of human psychology/cosmology and Storms' ability to keep his art humble while packing a satirical punch in content, these are the bar-makers.
Photo by Sommer Mathis
The large hall filled with over 80 galleries gives you a lot worth seeing, even in sheer quantity. Be sure to say hello to our local folks, which should warm your heart a little just to see so much familiar work in the midst of this international production -- make it all the way to the back corner for a gorgeous glass sculpture by Graham Caldwell (who also has a piece across the street at Warehouse right now) from G Fine Art. Then, if you're short for time, you might want to grab a map (though, if I read the sign right, the little pieces of paper are an outrageous $15), and check out a few of our out-of-town picks.
We found that it was often the three-dimensional art that shined in the hall. The Rebecca Hossack Gallery from London had some of the best of the bunch, with map-lined shadowboxes filled with pinned paper "specimens" of birds and other animals as they traveled over the globe, made by John Dilnot, amusing "overstuffed" animals made with concrete by Ross Bonfanti, and a number of other artists in their large booth worth seeing. Adamar Fine Arts from Miami brought some interesting and slightly amusing big head sculptures (and a couple of boring elephant sculptures).
You'll also want to make your way to NYC's Sundaram Tagore Gallery -- ignore the incessant name-dropping and "DC has no art scene" vibe -- and pay attention to the trio-fecta of paintings in the corner. Hiroshi Senju's volcano bursts, Anil Revri's mesmerizing, large-scale repeated patterns, and Natvar Bhavsar's abstract painting, which would tower over a lot of the Color Field stuff hanging in town right now, are a powerhouse to put together and fascinating on their own. MOdernArte from Italy has a series of artworks by Alfredo Rapett that capture beautiful cursive text in Molly Springfield-wannabe xeroxed paintings that are worth checking out.
Of course, this is only a small taste of artDC, and it will take you awhile to cover all of the ground (we only got to about three-fourths of the exhibition in a couple hours last night). Overall, we were somewhat disappointed that there weren't a lot of showstoppers. Quite a bit of the art is forgettable, and we wonder what went into the selection of galleries -- if they're really a good cross section of the international art scene today. (It almost seems like they were chosen to make the hometown boys and girls shine.) Nevertheless, the fair continues all weekend and lucky for you, today its free all day, so swing by after work and give us your thoughts in the comments.
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While I love to criticize me some DC. I'm going to have to say -- unless you're Miami (and you've branded the show as cool and contemporary) -- all of these huge city art markets sorta suck ass. You can have the hippest coolest art scene -- and it just doesn't translate to these markets. It's more like art for people with more money than taste. The SF and Chicago ones were just has horrifying for the vast majority of the booths. But finding the latest stuff is not really what these kind of events are about. Excellent right up though.
Wait...more about this live circumcision. WHAT?
When will DC galleries have the confidence to organize a collective exhibition of their own?
If the event aims to showcase DC as a "cultural destination," this is not the way to do it.
Bleach works better than soap.
I agree , but there's also the ability to "change the world and not just describe it." The artist and artscene here have their work cut out for them to GENERATE something. Decatur Blue and Signal 66 tried, but it aint easy.
DC is trying to have a collective exhibit of its own by vomiting the color school back at us. Aside from a few interesting works, the rest could have been done by one artist or IKEA--see color striped shower curtains for reference. If it's a collection of crap and good, then it is a broad sense of the current art world. Open an Art in America and discover for yourself the anything goes contemporary philosophy. Art in America is more about it's writers. These folks can see volumes in a septic tank.
this really needs to be answered:
adult circumcision?
OK, here's the deal: Artist (and former DCist contributor) Adrian Parsons circumcised himself as part of a performance piece last night at the opening for Supple at Warehouse gallery. A few of us were there. It was as disgusting as you might imagine. I actually have photos, but I'm still debating whether or not we really want to post about this.
For those curious about the live circumcision last night, make your way down to the Warehouse (1021 7th St NW) and see the resulting installation called "Shrapnel." The piece was done for the show "Supple" which I curated. The artist is Adrian Parsons.
All I can picture is a bunch of little 12 year olds giggling because someone said 'penis'. Perhaps the moronic twittering and the attempt of a review should have been separated into two entries?
Isn't that a complete grounds for having this place's operating license revoked for eternity?
How does a bloody foreskin actually equate to "art" using any serious definition of the word?
Fuck - let the Warehouse turn into the Courts of Starbucks luxury condominiums. So this is what everyone's so worried about losing? I'd rather sit through a high-school production of "Noises Off" for the fifth time.
Jason- Typical. Do you think that's ALL they do there? And even so, the idea that people are given some much lattitude to experiment is the guiding principle. You can only take so many Tom Cruise movies.
It's called Shrapnel? Like the debris from his self-circumcision is now an installation piece? I'm guessing lots of blood and one disgarded foreskin makes for one biohazardous exhibit. AWESOME!
"I actually have photos, but I'm still debating whether or not we really want to post about this."
The answer you are looking for is, "Fuck yes!" :-D
Anil Revri, not Pevri.
Photos from last night's circumcision!
letsnottalkaboutart.blogspot.com
There you have it. A bloody penis is more important than artDC. 'Nuff said.
While this was an unsual event, I think Jason has a point in that based on the previous post about tax rates and DCist's collective need to "Save the Warehouse", this seems like an odd choice of performance art to drum up support. But maybe they have no interest in such things and it was just the commenters here who are concerned about their appealing to the local community.
And who says DC art isn't cutting edge. :)
Wow. We were having drinks at the Warehouse last night when someone announced that a once-in-a-lifetime performance piece was imminent. We thought, "Eh. What could it really be?" sat tight, and continued to sip our Hoeaardens. How wrong it appears we were . . . .
Here are more pictures. NSFW graphic.
forartandajob.blogpot.com
Adrian
self mutilation is something that is generally not as a part of a show that includes the work of Kevin Kepple, Laurel Lukaszewski, Robin Rose- but hey, whatever makes the audience applaud.
Can someone give us some background on when ripping your self apart became a part of art? Was it when that guy shot him self in art class as a performance piece?
Don't believe the UN-hype. This show is good. The major DC galleries hold it down well. The New Media section is good. There is unfortunately only a token inclusion of serious sculpture but it's ok. There is a Parisian gallery showing a painter "Bard" that I loved. BTW I think when you go to look at painting you check your head. Novelty isn't everything. Anyone who ACTUALLY paints can groove on this or that artist's approach to technique. The Spanish and Chinese galleries are very interesting. The letdown to me were the more provincial galleries (Philadelphia, Richmond etc) but overall I think it was a good fair. Coulda used some more libations.
Don't believe the UN-hype. This show is good. The major DC galleries hold it down well. The New Media section is good. There is unfortunately only a token inclusion of serious sculpture but it's ok. There is a Parisian gallery showing a painter "Bard" that I loved. BTW I think when you go to look at painting you check your head. Novelty isn't everything. Anyone who ACTUALLY paints can groove on this or that artist's approach to technique. The Spanish and Chinese galleries are very interesting. The letdown to me were the more provincial galleries (Philadelphia, Richmond etc) but overall I think it was a good fair. Coulda used some more libations.
Comparing artDC to major artfairs like MiamiBasel or the Armory is like comparing the proverbial apple to the proverbial orange. This is not a major art fair so criticizing it like one doesn't make sense. It's more like one of the satellite fairs, like Scope, Aqua (one of my favorites), or even Bridge (even a little farther downscale). At those fairs, you see a lot of crap and a few gems. That's just how it goes when you're picking your way through what can seem like the tag sale of contemporary art. But that's also the beauty of contemporary art and what appeals to me as a collector! That ecstatic feeling of finding the gem hidden in the mud and dirt. More importantly, if DC is to become any kind of an art center, we need MORE artistic experimentation and we need more art. I am squeamish about adult circumcision as art, but I'm glad someone did it. There were few things beyond my usual DC gallery haunts that I liked at artDC, but I am glad it's here. Although I wholeheartedly believe that we need to take charge and create a DC art scene ourselves.
Those Monroes,JFKs, etc. were original Warhols... where else in DC are such "masters" offered? Any fair of this quality will have a share of dead artists such as Warhols and Picassos, as well as modern dudes like Botero - but I disagree with your generally snarky assessment and instead I ended with an impression --- from some of the Spanish galleries for example -- of some terrific painters from Catalonia, as well as some excellent Cuban artists -- also discovered some new locals that I ended up taking home with me. As a serious collector, I dropped over $20,000 on Thursday and returned on Friday and picked up a $12,000 piece. This is the best thing that has happened to DC arts in a long time and essentially has saved me a trip to Chicago or NY. And another point --- I discovered some local galleries that I didn't know had the quality of work that they do - such as a gallery in Charlottesville (Migrations???) with some really cool large Polaroids - coming back for one of those later tonite.
ArtDC is good for DC
I think that this was a rushed review, and shows a little naive view from a writer who appears to have never been to an art fair before.
This is by far the best thing that I have seen happen to DC in the 20 years that I have lived here.
The fair was well-balanced with galleries and genres of art (a little short on 3d), and like ANY art fair, there was excellent work, bad work and middling work - and then ask the next eprson over and they think something different.
And yet I managed to find a piece that came home with me (from a Baltimore gallery of all places) and I am considering a major chunk of change for another piece from a Chinese gallery.
I also liked the roominess of the space - as opposed to the tight aisles of Art Basel and its satellite fairs.
I also witness a major Botero sale, and heard from a friend about another huge sale of a Cuban painter whose name escapes me.
This is good for DC artists too, and thus odd for DCist to slam it with such a semi poisonous and bad-languaged review.
ditto Vicky..but what's an "eprson":). p.s. I already criticised dcist for that extremely boring photo.
Reviewer needs to check her facts. The floorplans are free, it's the catalogs that are $15. Charging that much for art fair catalogs is pretty common.
There was a good amount of crap, but also some strong works. As other posters have stated, exploring the offerings is the whole point of going to these events.
OK, look, DC needs to stop whipping it's self! There is lots of talent here, and lots of money here.... a great combination that many places in the country would die for. As I see it, we just need to open this place up and spread the opportunities around. For instance, what would happen if while art DC were happening each of the embassies would bring in their major artists and mount exhibitions??? What if there were exhibiting booths available to artist’s organizations (underwritten by DC Commission on the Arts) so the talent here could shine. If the big guys are uptight about the money "thang ", make it so the exhibits are just that and the work is NFS while the exhibition is up. Let the world “discover” some of the talent here while in DC! We have the Corcoran here and Howard University, Georgetown and American U….what if they had activities to intertwine with those at the convention center??? The Porter Colloquium at Howard University is OUSTANDING. Each year scholars and Artists of African descent come from around the country to discuss art history and at made by Black people.
What if this was tied in to art DC…Hell, these people make the
Trip to DC…give them an eyeful and an earful!!!! I went to Art Basel Miami, the place was going all night, and encompassed programming for the WHOLE city. What at was with the closing at 7:00 pm? Where was the music? Hey the art DC Folk need to talk to me, and learn how to throw an art party/sale in DC! DC can do this, and do it like no other city can, maybe we need do have a BELIEVE IN YOURSELF campaign in DC, the lack of self confidence of those in power (not the native folk) is a drag on the whole place.
Did anyone see the amazing Cliff Evans three-channel video piece there? It was fuckin' amazing. A ground-breaking piece in digital media but apparently overlooked by DCist and other blogs and press. DC loves its objects I have heard. Full disclosure. I am a collector who is interested in video and new media.
Anyhow, I talked to the artist, who was there most of the time. Several museum curators came by and were very impressed with the piece. This piece is going to MOMA, guys! It's also going to be presented at Location One in NY and the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum's contemporary program in Boston. The artist was approached for inclusion in several international biennialsand art fairs. It was the best piece of the art fair. Curator's Office was the presenter here. Andrea takes a lot of risks. You rock, girl!
I haven't seen DCist address any of the new media works. Another cool one was at the Swiss gallery, Puerchredon...the video of the summer ski run? It was crazy and a new commentary on "landscape" and speed.
Yes there was a lot of crap, but Project 4 was showing the brilliant Andrea Cohen, Goya Contemporary showed great Joyce Scott, Curator's Office had a kick-ass group photo-based show, Conner rocked, Mateyka looked elegant, Meat Market was a bit cluttered but had some interesting things. Let's hear it for the home team.
You can either be part of the problem or part of the solution.
To Heather...... post #27 above: I own Migration, the Charlottesville gallery you mentioned. Thanks for the kind words. The large scale polaroids are by Joachim Knill. He is a true master and one of Lenny Campello's favorites. If you are still interested in his photos let me know. We were only showing 4 at a time in the booth, but have others too.
As an exhibitor, I would say ArtDC was a success. Far more positive words were shared than critical ones throughout the weekend. We are looking forward to returning next year.
and what about mauro ceolin 's large scale work?
i'm italian and i love his work...