Keeping Up with the Jones.0

Of what use are museums when technology takes over completely? Will we bulldoze the art museums when the Internet age matures? Perhaps we will use the ghostly halls of washed-up museums to hold massive servers and supercomputers where digital memories of once-great pieces of art will be entombed forever.

Thankfully, we’re not there yet. But skeptics and hopefuls alike know the embittered war between the horny, slavering monster known as the Internet and those that prefer to stay in the “technological dark age” is already over. Yankees or Red Sox. East coast or west coast. Blondes or brunettes. We could have never imagined that the debate as to whether or not technology is good for us would join the list of great debates of modernity.

There is salvation at last though. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum are spearheading a peace operation between the two. Attempting to reach some sort of harmony, both the Met and the Brooklyn Museum are looking for ways to implement technology into the museum experience to attract patrons otherwise uninterested.

According to an article on the New York Times website, the Met has already created its first app to accompany one if its exhibits, which itself is a reflection of the times—collection of cool guitars, no biggie, even the Director of the Met called it a “teenager’s wet dream.” Times sure are changing. The Met is also looking to hook the entire 21-building compound up to Wi-Fi, allowing patrons to enjoy customized tours on personal electronic devices, depending on “levels of sophistication.” Please don’t rate my sophistication, Met.

The Brooklyn Museum is experimenting with the way viewers make snap distinctions of paintings with their new exhibit titled, “Split Second: Indian Paintings.” The premise would make Bill Gates warm inside and no, I’m not referring to the microchips that power him. Participants who signed up viewed a collection of paintings for seconds at a time and were asked to make a judgment about the quality of the painting based on what they noticed in that short span of time. The result: a final ten pieces were chosen based on the people’s choice. Ah, there is room for Internet critics after all.

At least some out there are making the effort to meet the demands set forth by a rampant technological age but who really knows what the future holds. For now, you can still enjoy a trip to the museum the way we have for decades. Take your time with it; walk aimlessly, allow yourself to get lost and feel awed, even stupid in the presence of genius. You know, unplug from it all.

And if you have to, go ahead, use technology to supplement your journey. At least you’re not sitting at your desk, looking at paintings on Google.

-Alex Clark

A Thousand Word Commentary in a Composed Image

Wandering through the art exhibit (Dream Team | Works from 1995 to 2011) featuring the work of the photographer, Fatimah Tuggar, utilizing photo collages to juxtapose Western and West African cultures can impress upon one the stark contrast of perceived beauty and wealth, and how both are associated with power.  Seeing a rail thin model in a gorgeous dress next to a bone thin starving child is a harsh dose of reality: one working so hard to achieve an idealized state of beauty while the other works diligently to earn enough sustenance to survive.  What power does the wealth of jewels and gold hold when placed next to smiling family and friends?
 
These images are meant to make one think, but how do they make one feel?

Perspective of the viewer is just as much at play as the perspective of the artist, and even the perspective of the subject.  The pictures featuring predominant images from one culture and only a few images from the other provide a heightened contrast of disparity.  However, the images that seemed to balance the two showed similarities that one might not otherwise consider.  For instance, just as some Western children see sports as their way to a better life, so do some West African children. While there seemed to be some elements of the ridiculous to the combinations, that only served to emphasize the influence of technology on life, as the artist intended.  Every image with its placement in space has meaning.  

In art, there are no accidents.

-Veronica Ibarra

http://www.greenhillcenter.org/

Introspection at the Mint

I go to the Mint Museum on a rainy day in February. The museum is empty without the occasional security staff floating through and on the second floor, there is an exhibit titled, “The Shape of Life: Contemporary Native American Ceramics.” The room is rectangular and white and aseptic and somewhere near the room, maybe in the walls, something mechanical drones as ambience. Encased in glass around the room, an assortment of ceramics sits barely perceptible. That is, until you stop and notice them.

The ceramics are of various shapes and sizes and each jar, bowl or vase is painted with deep browns and earthy reds, sharply contrasting blacks and whites. They are aptly referred to as vessels as they truly are vessels through which something deeper is transported to the third-dimension. It’s difficult for me to imagine that these impossibly intricate vessels aren’t formed in some machine and mass-produced miles away from trees and dirt and rivers. I’m humbled to learn—as noted in the plaque on the wall—they are all handmade without the aid of a potter’s wheel.

In the center of the room between two doors that don’t open, lead to nowhere, a vase the size of a large beach ball sits on a platform. As I move closer, the rest of the room fades away, leaving only the vase and the droning sound as the center of my focus. The vase slightly resembles a headless white swan and although I can’t touch it, I want nothing more than to feel its pearly surface. I circle it slowly and read the description: “Asymmetrical Jar” by Jacquie Stevens. 

First, the artist dreamed of this vase and tried many times to re-create it but her efforts were unsuccessful. She alleged that the vase was a divine gift bestowed only once. The longer you stand there, the more you begin to know it as a gift. It makes you want to break the glass and run your hands over the smooth surface. I read somewhere that introspection is the ultimate goal of all noble works of art and I leave the room.

The rest of the museum is muted after the vase. Walking to the car, introspection creeps up. It’s colder now and rainwater has massed into puddles in the parking lot. I notice the manufactured lines and curves and the advanced paint jobs on the twenty or thirty cars that have now filled the lot. In our world of cookie-cutter models and identical lines and angles, you may seek perfection but flawlessness comes at a price. The vase is a reminder that there is still imperfection in the world and not nearly enough of it.

-Alex Clark

Taking the Next Step

If you can't beat 'em, have 'em join you.

Due to my less-than-stellar performance at maintaining a modest blog and losing traffic to good writers, I decided to hire one of them.  That decision quickly turned into a plan to hire three writers instead of one.  That's because, in the tradition of Ferdowsi, good writers are worth their weight in gold.  It's a good thing they're not union.

So, I'm pleased to announce that today marks a new beginning for The Artist's Champion blog.  Three new contributing writers will kick start this blog to life starting this week.  The new writers are Alessandra Macaluso, Alex Clark, and Veronica Ibarra.

Here's a few words from each one.  First, Alessandra:  

“Art.” It’s amazing that a three letter word could hold so much meaning. Art listens, interprets, expresses; it makes us feel, connect, grow, and change. And the beauty of it all is that this applies for both artist and admirer. It is no wonder it is referred to as “the universal language.”

I am a freelance writer originally from New York, currently living in Charlotte, NC. I’m excited to have this opportunity with Persepolis. I hope with this blog to discover art, connect art, to be a part of your community, and to build bridges within the art world with words.

Then we have Veronica:  

I am a writer who believes in the power that words have to influence and express, much like art.  My goal as a writer is to convey meaning to engage the reader, as well as to inform.  I am a freelance SEO Writer by trade, but a Word Warrior in my heart.  Writing is my love, my art, my discipline.

And finally, Alex:

Dim the lights, cue the music, and uncork a vintage bottle of whatever you fancy because I for one am excited to be here. I am told we’re here to write about art. The premise seems innocuous enough but it is much deeper than that. We are here to do the near-impossible. We are here to act as liaison between the reader and the art, to charm you with our own “art” to remind you that life is meant to be deeper than six hundred television channels and an endless Internet romp, to show you there is still art in this world and it’s more accessible than you think. Is it near impossible? Probably not, I have faith in you. I just hope you are as thrilled as we are.

As you can see, each one brings a distinct voice, but the goal of their collective effort will remain the same as before - to create a resource for artists at this blog.  Each post will be powerful and short - we're not trying to waste an artist's time here.  The content will be artist-centric and timely.  We invite you to give us feedback on what you'd like to see more and what should be cut out.  After all, this blog is here to serve you, the artists.

Upcoming posts:

A review of a special collection by each contributing writer.

Unveiling by Persepolis Arts Agency of a new platform for featuring artists.

Announcing a new match-making service by Persepolis Arts Agency, connecting artists with figurative models.

Getting to Know the Customer . . .

In sales, you do nothing if you don't get to know your customer. My business is to sell art and creativity. That is why Mike Collins' interview of Lawrence Toppman was intriguing to me.

Toppman - the long-time film critic for the Charlotte Observer - gave a critique of the audience, so to speak. His message was that the average patron of the arts in Charlotte was risk-averse and complacent. His evidence was that the performing arts venues had to stick to the tried and true, "the hits," as Collins called them, to make any money. Toppman could not recall any performance programs where all the music pieces were unknown. He cited anecdotal evidence that Charlotteans were happy "listening to the same 20 symphonies" their whole lives.

On the other hand, the supply side of the arts market in the Queen City seemed to be in Toppman's good graces. Toppman justified the arts venues' choices for cycling through "the familiar" year after year and gave praise for the diversity that Charlotte has in its creative side. My own personal experience tells me there is an entire continent of undiscovered art to many eyes and ears in Ballantyne, Myers Park, Dilworth - whose residents may "slum it" by driving through NoDa without daring to even get out of their cars.

What is the solution here for artists in Charlotte? It depends on what kind of artists we're talking about. On the one hand, you have institutional artists - for example, the Charlotte Symphony. On the other hand, there's the individual artists - the painter, the photographer, the jewelry artist. The two have different advantages and disadvantages. In the following entries, I will write about each group in turn, addressing the question: In a town that's raised on steak and potatoes, how do you sell dolma?

I welcome your comments. Has your experience been different from Toppman's account of the Charlotte crowd?


Charlotte Talks

dolma

Tour of Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

I just completed a tour of Charlotte's new Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.  

Thank you to the Arts and Science Council for this treat!  And as an arts agent, I also have to give recognition to the Bechtler family for their enthusiastic patronage of artists.

The collection, which includes about 1,400 pieces, includes many of the big names in Modern Art.  Only a small part of that large collection is on display at any given time on a 9-month rotation basis.  An intimate detail about each piece of art that draws you in even closer and helps to dissipate a foreboding sense formality about the art is where in their living room the Bechtlers displayed the artwork for their own enjoyment.  In fact, the set of furniture that the Bechtlers actually owned and used in their home is also on display.  It's very easy to imagine the family eating dinner in a pseudo-museum that was their home and the Bechtler Cherubs climbing on top of a large statue of one kind or another.

To see the care an attention that this collection of art receives should be comforting and reassuring to any artist who is in a quagmire of self-doubt.  Go to the Bechtler Museum and be inspired.  Go to the Bechtler Museum and be energized.  Go to the Bechtler Museum and be motivated.  Then go straight to your studio and paint your heart out, sculpt your heart out, mold/print/photograph/design/CREATE your heart out.

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art 
Arts and Science Council

New Year's Resolution: Make It Happen!

Whether you need to create more art, to sell more art, to find studio space, to save for art supplies, to improve your technique, the best New Year's Resolution is - to Make It Happen!

Lose your remote control and find time in your schedule. Forget about the new season of ____, and start thinking about your new line artwork. Never mind fantasy football; plan your sales strategy. Disregard the vortex of distractions around you. Focus on the artist that you are and the needs you have for succeeding as an artist. Cross those needs off your (mental) list. Give yourself everything you need to be successful. And don't wait - make it happen.

Happy New Year, and I hope 2010 is a fruitful year for you!