"The New World", Exhibition at Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, Chaffey College,CA

Artists:Cathy Breslaw(installation/floor pce),
Joe Suzuki(painting,rt wall),Chris Barnard(painting,lt wall)

Last night I attended the opening for the "New World" group exhibition at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art. Other than my own installation "Above, Below and Beyond" are the works of: Isabel Avila, Chris Barnard, Hugo Crosthwaite, Asad Faulwell, Chuck Feesago, Galleria Perdida, Kaguya, Bianca Kolonusz-Partee, Elleni Sclaventitis, and Joe Susuzi. The exhibition considers the changing social,political, and economic relations in the world as observed from the perspective of southern California trained artists. There is a wide range of conversations and art practices reflecting this concept within the work of the artists included - however, all the artists are touched in some profound way by the global issues facing our world. Chris Barnard creates landscape paintings that reflect upon imperial expansion, Elleni Sclavenitis's film "Phoenix" addresses the complexity of colonialism and its impact on society's views of themselves, Joe Suzuki's practice explores his "Japanamerican" culture, and Asad Faulwell's paintings reflects a painterly style as it relates to his Iranian heritage using traditional Islamic painting to create his works. Hugo Crosthwaite's huge wall mural depicts unsettling large figures inhabited by phantoms and threatening forms, which confront misconceptions Americans have of Tijuana and Mexico. Kaguya is an artist collaborative practicing a critical approach to design, fabrication, distribution, and theorization of functional objects. Through their work included, they bring an awareness of the museum as an institution, not a neutral space and reminds us that this exhibition is a constant negotiation between designer, artist, curator, director, audience and institution. Gallery Perdida is a mutidisciplinary practice that uses a variety of media but for this exhibition they selected all the typefaces for any information affiliated with the exhibition, and their piece is best viewed through the framework of a scaffold supporting a refurbishment and its laborers. Isabel Avila is photographer and videographer who documents indigenous people and their stories and her work for the exhibition discusses the relationships between Native American and Mexican American cultures. Bianca Kolonsz- Partee's work explores global commerce presenting viewers with the massive shipping ports created to facilitate international trade. Her materials are a delicate mix of recycled product packaging, colored pencils, adhesives and map tacks carefully installed as a temporary construction within the gallery space. Chuck Feesago's work contemplates contemporary western culture and low brow consumer goods as an abundance of waste - however, he uses materials such as art magazines, acrylic, plastics and cotton to create a somewhat formal composition using the grid as a structure to form his art piece, dangling at points from the ceiling yet having a floor piece below also constructed from the form of a grid. Lastly, my work, "Above, Below and Beyond" is an installation constructed primarily from industrial mesh materials from China, paint, and mixed media. The floor piece is made of reflective materials that mirror the suspended piece above. This exhibition explores many different art practices all having given careful consideration to bringing to our awareness, how global commerce and its trappings inform our world. The show continues through March 16th.

Behind the Scenes Conversations: Interview with Katharine T. Carter, Consultant to Artists and author of Accelerating on the Curves: The Artist's Roadmap to Success

I have known Katharine Carter for over ten years. She was recommended to me as someone who assisted artists in developing their careers. Having used Katharine’s advice successfully, I learned first hand how artists might benefit from working with her. My interview with her revealed an intriguing story about her path to becoming a consultant to artists.

Katharine was born and raised in Tampa, Florida in a family whose Florida history goes back five generations. Though there was no one person in her family who guided her path in the arts, she described her father as influential in that he was an“eccentric creative  person, -  a poet, and political activist who was a rebel by nature”. Katharine recalls that as a teenager, she had a natural interest in art, and created the artwork for her high school Pasco Pirates football team.  She would also copy paintings by famous artists like Georgia O’Keefe and others she admired, as a way of teaching herself about drawing and painting.  In college she went on to receive her BA in Painting and Photography at the University of Florida in Gainesville and then an MFA in Photography and Painting at the University of Florida in Tampa. While still an undergraduate, Katharine earned the distinction of being included in a group exhibition at the New Museum in New York City. During her training, two professors who were primarily painters, Nate Shiner and John O’Connor stand out as mentors who influenced her work.  Carter described her work as abstract surrealism that eventually became more minimal over the years. During graduate school her work was exhibited at the Institute for Art and Urban Resources(PSI) in NYC, which was an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art. After a one semester stint teaching at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, Katharine moved to New York where she found adjunct teaching positions at Rutgers, Drew University and Middlesex Community College. She decided not to teach full time so that she could develop her studio practice.

Between her teaching positions, studio practice, and networking in NYC, Katharine was well on her way to cultivating a successful art career until one event changed everything.  She was involved in a bad car wreck which left her with a serious neck injury and an inability to use her arms. The rehab for her injuries continued for three years. Friends and family tried to create ways of strapping brushes to her arms and other things that might aid in getting her painting again, but to no avail.  The career she had been working to establish was at a standstill and Katharine who was sad and depressed needed to create a way forward. It was at that point that she came up with the idea of doing a lecture series for colleges and universities to connect art students and faculty with what was going on in NYC and in the art world which was difficult to navigate. Katharine used the cash settlement from her car accident to fund this project which became so successful it lasted for ten years.  During the time she was doing the national lecture series, Katharine began receiving questions and requests for advice for artists as to how to get their work into galleries and be seen by the art community. Seeing the important need for helping artists, she left the lecture series behind and began doing one on one consultations.

Her lecture series helped Katharine develop a database of non profit exhibition opportunities and other

research information she accumulated. Her business, Katharine T. Carter and Associates, got off the ground in NYC but in the early 1990’s, she decided to move back to Florida to be near family and there her business tripled in size.  From that point on, Katharine’s business developed organically. Years of working with artists directly, led to three day seminars in NYC where she began recruiting other experts including art critics and writers, curators, gallery directors, web designers, other successful artists, public relations and marketing professionals to educate artists at her seminars.

Katharine has been helping artists grow their careers for over 30 years, and in the process has booked a total of over 900 solo exhibitions for them. Though her art consulting services offer web design and other social media possibilities, the backbone of her approach is strictly old school – She recommends picking up the phone to follow up on mailed proposals, and insists on including a high quality color brochure in any marketing package, believing it necessary to place beautiful materials in the hands of decision-makers.

In 2010, Katharine Carter published her first book, Accelerating the Curves: The Artist’s Roadmap to Success. This book project was a labor of love that was ten years in the making – the goal of which was to be a comprehensive, complete artists’ bible for developing their art careers. The first edition is almost sold out and Katharine is currently working on new material for the second edition. Since I have read the book and used several of the suggestions, I believe it is a worthwhile publication for artists and a wonderful legacy for Katharine Carter.

**Katharine Carter will be on the west coast in the Claremont/Ontario California area for one on one consultations with artists on February 11, 12, 13, and then on February 25, 26, 27, and 28. She can be reached at: ktc@ktcassoc.com or 518-758-8130 or  www.ktcassoc.com

Behind the Scenes Conversations: Interview with Constance White, Public Art Manager, San Diego International Airport

I was fortunate to meet Constance White a few years ago when my work was selected for a solo exhibition, ‘Floating in Space’ at Terminal 2.  White is the Art Program Manager for the San Diego International Airport. On the morning of our interview, she rushed in a few minutes late, understandably because of the many commitments she has to her work as well as to her family in Texas who she visits regularly.

White grew up in Avinger, Texas, a town of a few hundred people in the eastern part of the state. She talked about walking to elementary school down a dirt road, and spending her free time playing with the ten children she shared a home with as she was raised by her grandparents. It was there she began drawing with crayons and making things out of whatever objects or things were lying around, never really thinking about them as “art” per se. Many of the children in her home were boys so she played a lot of sports and this influence saw her through fourteen years of playing softball. When she graduated high school, White moved to Dallas.

White attended Dallas County Community College where she earned an Associates Degree in Arts and Sciences.  While at college, she took art history classes with Gordon Young, an instructor who became her mentor and friend. There, she was also introduced to arts and culture as a whole, as well as taking drawing, design and other studio art classes. After completing her Associates Degree, Constance went on to Southern Methodist University where she first majored in Journalism but felt a stronger pull to art.  She studied Art History and that became her major, and English her minor. Together with school and working to pay for all her expenses, Constance was a single mom of a daughter, Asia. Still, in spite of  these challenges, she successfully completed her BFA in Art History.

 

White describes herself as a very spiritual person and talked about a woman who she met in a statistics class who became her close friend as well as a pivotal person in setting the course of her career. Matilda Robinson was an older affluent woman who was involved in the arts and culture of Dallas who took Constance under her wing, thinking of her as her daughter. Robinson knew the Director of Cultural Affairs in Dallas and introduced White to her. She interviewed with Margie Johnson Reese, and was hired as Public Art Assistant where she remained for a year. She was then promoted to Public Art Coordinator, a job she worked in for eight years. There, Constance managed projects with a budget ranging from $3,000 - over $1 million, many of which were design team collaborations resulting in integration of public art into the city's infrastructure. Arts-based community development and community partnerships were important to the success of the many projects she managed.

When talking about her career goals, White stated “I wanted to do something to impact the place I live.” And that, she definitely has accomplished. Since obtaining her position as Art Program Manager in July 2006, she has successfully completed the Airport Art Master Plan which included formalizing the framework and guidelines for the three components of the Airport Art Program: Temporary and Rotating Exhibits, Performing Arts and Public Art.  In addition to overseeing renovations on existing faciilites, Constance manages public art projects for the “Green Build”, the airport master plan for adding ten additional gates, and other improvements. When working with the many artists, engineers, committees, etc., White asks folks to not bring any preconceived notions to the table, but asks them to “imagine the possibilities”.

 

Managing multi-million dollar public art projects simultaneously, White says that her biggest challenge is in navigating the many committees, public relations, marketing, engineering, maintenance and other departments involved in the highly complex universe of the San Diego International Airport. We look forward to seeing the fully realized installations coming in the years ahead.

Cathy Breslaw, Grant Received for Solo Exhibition',Luminosity' opening February 8th

CCAI receives grant for Breslaw exhibit

Nevada Appeal Staff Report

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The Capital City Arts Ini tiative in Carson City is among more than 150 organizations nationwide to receive grants announced Saturday by the National Endowment for the Arts.

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said CCAI is one of 153 not-for-profit organizations to receive an NEA Challenge America Fast-Track grant, with the CCAI amount $10,000.

The Carson City arts group was recommended for the grant to support the up coming exhibit called “Luminosity,” which features the work of artist Cathy Breslaw.

In the Fiscal Year 2013 funding round, the NEA received 393 applications for such grants, with more than $3.9 million sought. Track grants totaling $1.53 million were awarded.

“CCAI is thrilled to receive the endowment's support,” said Glenn Clemmer, president of the Carson City arts group. “This grant reinforces our work to enhance arts and culture in Carson City.”

The exhibit “Luminosity” will open at the CCAI Court house Gallery, 885 E. Musser St., in the capital city's courthouse on Friday, Feb. 8, next year. A reception for Breslaw is set for 5-7 p.m. that afternoon and evening.

CCAI is funded in part by NEA, John Ben Snow Mem orial Trust, Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Humanities and the National Endow ment for the Humanities, Carson City government, and the John and Grace Nau mann Foundation. 

Behind the Scenes Conversations: Interview with Vivienne Esrig, Deputy Director, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego

Vivienne Esrig joined the staff of the Museum of Photographic Arts in July, 2012.  In our interview I learned about what has driven her career and what eventually brought her to relocate from Boston to San Diego.

Vivienne Esrig

Esrig was born and raised in the Boston area but she has spent considerable amounts of time in Calfornia. In the 1980’s, she moved with her parents to the Bay Area where she received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and a minor, in Arts Management from San Jose State University.  Esrig explained that she originally wanted to become an artist but because of the practicalities of earning a living, her parents urged her to focus on business.  While in college, Esrig interned at the San Jose Museum of Art where she was able to observe how museums operate. After working in the administrative offices of the museum and being mentored by the Executive Director at the time, she was hired part time as Assistant Director to run the capital campaign to raise money. Simultaneously,  Esrig attended Golden Gate University where she received an MBA in Arts Managment, - her masters thesis centered around evaluating the museum and developing a structured plan for operations.  After  completing her MBA, and missing the east coast where she was raised, Esrig decided to move back to Boston where she was hired as the Arts Administrator at the Harvard Art Museums. 

Mopa Current Exhibition:Strange Beauty,
Ruud van Empel

After a few years employed by the museum, Esrig moved over to work at Harvard Medical School,’s Department of Psychiatry where she felt there were more opportunities.  She ran the department of Psychiatry for several years and was subsequently hired to be the Director of Administration and Operations at Harvard Medical School’s New England Primate Research Center. She also served as the Director of Finance and worked in the same capacity for the Massachusetts Mental Health Center of Boston.

During her years in Boston, Esrig developed a strong passion for political activism. She was Treasurer for 20 years for the National Organization for Women and was involved in many womens rights issues, among them, the struggles at the time to keep womens’ clinics open. She commented on her sadness that there are no longer any womens clinics in Boston.  On the personal side, Esrig is the primary caregiver to an unwell spouse and her parents are Holocaust survivors.  Perhaps these factors fueled her commitment to pursuing a job with a social justice component. After 20 years as an administrator in the medical field, Esrig wanted a change. Eager to work for a mission driven organization that would need a strong business person, Esrig set out to find a position where her strong finance background would help provide services to those in need and one where her museum management skills would come into play. Through a colleague at Harvard, Esrig found the opening at the Museum of Photographic Arts.

Mopa Summer Photography Camps for Children

Esrig explained that when she was interviewed at MOPA, she was “blown away” because the job offered a synergy she felt between her business skills, museum background and the fact that the museum itself offers several programs that serve the community. The Museum of Photographic Arts offers a program called “Exposure”that goes into Title 1 schools where they teach photography,  and another program called “Sepia” provides staff that visit senior centers, serving especially those with severe Dementia and Alzheimers and teaches them photography as well. Other programs include childrens' summer photography camps.

Esrig commented that MOPA, as many museums today, are struggling with financial issues and it is her primary job to run the fiscal aspects of the museum.  She is currently working with the San Diego County Fair, the Photo Video Expo West and other events in the San Diego area to build more exposure and outreach for the museum.  Despite all the challenges, it is clear that Vivienne Esrig’s passion for the museum and its community programs, together with her business acumen, will result in success for the San Diego community and the Museum of Photographic Arts.

Fascinating Ted Talk on "Creativity"

The subject of "creativity" has seemingly been beaten to death by a multitude of people in a ton of books, etc... However this link to a recent Ted Talk is really interesting!
Here is the link:


Julie Burstein: 4 lessons in creativity

http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_burstein_4_lessons_in_creativity.html?source=email#.UKPbKMaSacJ.email

Behind the Scenes Conversations: Ed Fosmire, Deputy Director, Laguna Museum of Art, Laguna Beach,CA

Ed Fosmire is Deputy Director of Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, California. I first met Ed while he was Executive Director at the Oceanside Museum of Art and I was installing my exhibition there in the fall of 2011. My impression was that he had his hand in all aspects of the life of the museum, and I wanted to learn more about what led him to this point in his career.

Fosmire was born and raised in southern California. His parents owned and operated a restaurant where they spent long hours, often leaving Ed and his twin brother home with what he described as lots of time to create and make things out of art materials. They painted, and drew comic strips, created characters and re-created scenes from movies. Fosmire describes his aunt who collected Native American art, as having been a huge influence on his interest in the arts. Over the years, she often took he and his brother to museums. He reported that his big moment of “falling in love with museums” came in 1977, when his aunt took them to see the King Tut exhibition at LACMA.  Only 10 yrs. old at the time, he saw the long lines around the block and wondered why everyone was standing and waiting to see a museum but once inside he was completely mesmerized by the objects in the exhibition. Though he enjoyed making art as a kid, he knew this wasn’t the path he wanted to take. Fosmire attended Cal State, Long Beach where he studied art history and while he didn’t know which direction he wanted to take, he met Professor Ingrid Aall from Norway, who taught his classes in Asian Art History. He became fascinated with Asian art.  He eventually took an interest in Indian art and after he received his BA in Art History, he travelled to India to study further. Fosmire then decided to study for his MA in Art History and Professor Aall continued on as his graduate school advisor.

Low Rider exhibition, Oceanside Museum of Art

 After receiving his masters degree, Fosmire was offered a teaching position at Santa Ana College as an

Asian Art History instructor. He then went on to head up educational programming, hiring and administration at the Irvine Fine Art Center. Simultaneously, he worked at Orange County Museum of Art handling educational projects including the training and supervising of docents, as well as fundraising and writing grants. Following this experience, Fosmire worked for the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and headed up their educational programming.  He was later asked to head up the Arts Council in Long Beach, which gave grants to organizations and artists and subsequently was hired to work at the Long Beach Museum of Art, where he was primarily involved in marketing, development and fundraising. 

Having received training and experience in marketing, administration, fundraising, grant writing and educational programming, together with his experience as a college instructor in Art History, Fosmire became the top choice for Executive Director at the Oceanside Museum of Art. During his two year stint at OMA, Fosmire is most proud of an educational program called “Art Quest” which he pioneered there.  This program, which is part of a four year grant, brings all fifth grade Oceanside students to the museum for a tour, a pre and post visit and hands on activity, all of which meets the guidelines of the state’s curriculum. Fosmire was also heavily involved in bringing both the “Low Rider” and “Facing West/Looking East” exhibitions to the museum. He collaborated with curator Richard Turner, a colleague at Chapman University, in reviewing and selecting artists for Facing West/Looking East.

Facing West/Looking East, Oceanside Museum of Art

Due to family considerations, Fosmire reluctantly decided not to renew his contract at OMA and took a position as Deputy Director of Laguna Beach Art Museum. In his short time at this museum, Fosmire says his focus is on fundraising, building memberships, educational programming and reaching out to the community.  He also informed me about the Edward H. and Evan J. Boseker Fund, which are funds recently received by the museum for framing and conservation efforts for the permanent collection which houses a great deal of early California art. In addition to Deputy Director, Fosmire continues teaching Asian Art Studies at Chapman University.