I went and saw David Choe‘s artist talk last night at the Walker. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride…traveling through a sketch book of ideas, art, passions, loves & history. It was the life of an artist with a taste for trouble on display…telling stories of where he’s been and how he got there.

a couple of years ago I heard Ed Templeton speak and the one thing that still sticks that he said was “your ship can’t come in if you don’t send it out”. With David last night…he straight out said “his ship has come in”. and in listening to how he does everything with a devouring hunger, it had to.

!!!,
emma

My Monday blues are gone, however, before I turn to “everything is perfect” & “I love minneapolis” mode, thought I would pass on this article by local arts critic, Michael Fallon. I am sure some have already seen it, as it was published to mnartists.org on the 14th of May.

much love,
emma

i found this article in my read of the arts journal. it felt timely to me.

monday blues,
emma

art-a-whirl often feels like a giant treasure hunt. with so many artists in NE, and that number expanding rapidly, there can be an exhausting amount of work to view in order to find something of your liking.

as you are passing through that 50th artist studio remember that there is often more to be said about the work than “I love it” or “I hate it”. explore the piece, what is the artist trying to say, what compelled them to make it, if the subject is not of your liking, what works in the execution, color scheme or composition…and then if you dare, share.

stop and look,
emma

I received the following from Ms. Monica Sheets…and wanted to pass on. Please do the same:

Call for Artists: Seeking Artists who applied for the 2006 Jerome Emerging Artist
One goal of this project is inclusiveness, and I would love to reach all 260+ applicants.

I am inviting artists who applied for the Fellowship to take part in a show to be presented in the gallery at MCAD during the MCAD/Jerome Emerging Artists show in October. I would like the show to represent the breadth of work being created by the self-identified emerging artists in Minnesota.

Due to the number of artists, it is not practical to hang a physical show, so work would be displayed in digital form. I am currently envisioning a two part system: one part would be a randomized digital slide show projected on the wall; the second part would be a computer station with a digital image archive that can be accessed by visitors. The show would have its own title, brochure, postcard and announcement to local press. It would be open to all artists who applied for the fellowship in fall of 2006.

I have multiple reasons for pursuing this project. As an artist, I generally engage in participatory public art projects. In these projects, I am often dealing with issues about access, examining individuals’ relationships to institutions, and providing a forum for dialogue and expression. After discussions with artists and non-artists about their perceptions of the fellowship, I came to the idea for the parallel show as a way of spreading
the access I have gained as a Jerome fellow to a larger pool of recipients and raising questions about the selection process and how it shapes our interactions as artists and art viewers.

I realize that to some people this may seem like an act of condescension or an attempt to co-opt other artists’ work for my own purposes. All I can do is to assure you that my intent is sincere and that I will do my utmost to keep the focus on the artists and the issues rather than this as “my piece.”

My hope is that you will view it as an opportunity for the exposure of your work and as a move toward defusing the negative competitive aspects of the grants process. If you have questions or would like me to elaborate on any of the ideas, please feel free to contact me without obligation to participate.

If you are interested in participating, please contact me as soon as possible. I’d like to develop a final count of artists by June 15th. Sometime in July, artists will submit a number of images or length of video to be included in the exhibition. If you have input about the final format of the exhibition, I am eager to hear it. I want this to be a showcase for
the artists and know well the limitations of two dimensional images in representing artwork.

I hope to hear from you soon, and wish you the best in your artistic endeavors.

Sincerely,
Monica Sheets
ste_haruka@hotmail.com
www.mnartists.org/Monica_Sheets

I’m not sure if it will turn the tide of danceclubs and stumbling sports fans taking over the warehouse district but there’s an effort underway to bring back a bit of the artistic spirit that defined downtown Minneapolis.

The Warehouse Business District Association and brand agency Wolfmotell have put out a call for artists to design banners that will hang on the light poles along First Avenue from Washington Avenue all the way up to 8th Street. Called Brick By Brick, the event is calling for banners that represent the spirit of the Warehouse District. I’m not sure what that means but let’s rally and flood them with art worth looking at.

Deadline for entries is May 14th. Click here for submission guidelines.

In a related note…it was years ago that I was first dragged to the Deep Ellum district in Dallas, TX on a business trip. It absolutely horrified me. Then, as more and more clubs opened along First Avenue here in Minneapolis, bringing with them the pretentious velvet ropes, the surburbanistas and the horse patrols, I thought for sure we’d lost the warehouse district to a similar ‘vision’ for the city. I’m encouraged, however, by this entry at Metroblogging Dallas. If an art gallery/publisher like Art Prostitute has enough faith in our culture to brave the drunken bachelor parties then perhaps there is hope for us.

Ben and I drove to Art Chicago for the preview party on Thursday…and again wandered the floors in amazement on Friday. I had heard that last year the entire event fell to pieces…however, this year everything was perfect. The work we saw was beautiful! I would recommend the event for anyone.

here is just a sampling of what we saw…

Debra Hampton @ Priska C. Juschka Fine Art

Zhou Chunya @ Gallery Artside

Scott Seidman purchased by Howard Tullman, who has 3 of Ben’s works

Zhang Xiaogang @ Gallery Artside

inspired,
emma