I may be attending this opening on Sustainability in a World of Consumption but in any case want to highlight the event.  I often get contacted by groups and artists telling me of their openings and I have been remiss in posting them often enough.  I had an excuse lately – traveling and being extremely busy with Social Media Analytics.  In fact, I was in Exeter, UK just last weekend, the very place this blog is hosted from – but missed connecting with the publisher of ArtNewYorkCity.com while I was there.

Sustainability in a World of Consumptionis  first exhibit claiming to explore the presence of excess exists in our day-to-day lives, but often hides behind masks of disposal systems, social acceptance, and misinformation.

You can also help  raise money for this organization by buying it’s art.

Art for Global Justice group seeks to use the power of art to create social change both locally and globally. Youth workshops, art exhibits, and an art exchange program will facilitate this movement towards seeing other perspectives and creating a more just world.

Information about  Excess and Environment: Sustainability in a World of Consumption

The presence of excess exists in our day-to-day lives, but often hides behind masks of disposal systems, social acceptance, and misinformation. This exhibit explores the idea of the impact of excess on our natural environment both visually and theoretically.

The art involved will relate to the effect of mass consumption and waste on the environment. All sales of art will benefit the non-profit organization, Art for Global Justice.

Opening:

Friday, April 16th 2010  7:00 pm to 11:00 pm  AE Studios LIC, 39-06 Crescent Street (off the corner of 39th Ave.) Long Island City, Queens, NY 11101 7, E, V, N, R, or W trains to Queensboro Plaza

Exhibit will be open by appointment from April 16th – April 23rd Free admission

Contact 212-537-5869 artforglobaljustice@gmail.com artforglobaljustice.org for more information

Artists showing work include Chris Jordan, Eve Mosher, Walter “Tinho” Nomura, Justin Gignac, Akirash, Mikal Hameed, Erwin Timmers, Paul Villinski, Joseph Heidecker, Tyrome Tripoli, Michael Yinger, Austin Shull, Olek, Chanika Svetvilas, Chris Sollars, Miles Wickham, Beau Stanton, Destroy and Rebuild, Christina Chobot, Laura Larocca, Trash Track, and more.

I’m at an opening at Clic Gallery of Jody Morlock tonight. As I write this, Jon Stewart, of the Daily Show walks in, I guess that tells me a little about the company I’m in.

In fact, that’s me with Jon Stewart, in the photo, below! What’s weird is the how Jon looks like he’s photo shopped behind me, but I’m actually holding his sholder. However, I suspect the reason why I appear distinct from Jon Stewart is that he projects a wall, due to his celebrity – I’m sure that’s it, and the camera picks it up.

I talked with the artist for a few minutes about her obession with numbers and writings on her photos.

Talking to Jody, it turns out her day job as a makeup artist for John Stewart, and he also collects her work.

Jody Morlock says her imagery comes lately from the photoshoots she does, the makeup work, and life in New York.

When I think of my life, now writing for VentureBeat.com, and for Entrepreneur.com, along with my industry blog, WebMetricsGuru, I feel blessed that I don’t have to find out where the party is, my life is the party, and it comes to me, especially when I just “be” and don’t try to make life be anything more than it is.

Getting back to Jody, I go back to her picture of “Lucky” and the other, “Naughty”, prints with writing all over them, but not the face. I asked her why she puts phone numbers and personal info in her photo paintings, and she mentioned there’s no bank accounts on her works, but there is interesting information in Jody Worlock’s work if you take the time to look … I did.

And you know what, she doesn’t usually paint the faces in her photo art, because that’s what she does for a living; however, there are works where she did …. Paint the face.

Jody Worlock … Glad I stumbled into your show.. And Jon Stewart, too.

I saw Julie and Julia tonight in midtown and met several other film and food blog enthusiasts to see a movie that partly, takes place in New York City right after 9/11, and also 40 or 50 years earlier, in Paris, France.

I liked the movie a lot and met before and after it with a group of food enthusiasts, including some bloggers (and then there was me, a blogger, as well) at  Luce Restaurant & Wine Bar – 2014 Broadway- see the two short movies, below.

A piece of interesting news from Crain New York – Deutsche Bank throws lifeline to the arts – it’s a good thing someone is giving to the Arts, as financial cutbacks have affected almost everything.

Deutsche Bank is doling out $1.4 million worth of emergency grants to 14 arts organizations in New York City to help them continue their programming during the recession.

The funds are going to groups that have established strong roots within their communities, but lack access to deep-pocketed donors. They include the Bronx Museum of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, the Queens Museum of Art and the Staten Island Museum.

I painted this afternoon (more of that in my next post) and then went over to The Brooklyn Museum for Target First Saturdays, a program where the Brooklyn Museum and everything in it, is free all evening, there’s food, drink, dancing, movies and lectures.

I saw the Gilbert and George show, which is just about to come down.

There was a lot more to say, but I’m on my IPhone, so less is “more”, and here’s the photos I took, tonight, at The Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Sometimes people contact me with worthy causes – worthy sites – sites about Art in New York – and what could be more abotu Art in New York City than ….. www.NYC-ARTS.org and www.NYCkidsARTS.org ?

I took a look at NYC-Arts.org and it looks good!  Now, I do think they need to add a Social Networking aspect to the site, and I will speak to Joe Harrell, the Director of Marketing for the Alliance of the Arts, here in New York, about that.

But the sites, as they look now, are first class – they look good.  In fact, what I’d do, if I ran those sites, is add the content from Artcards.cc and also have artists, like me, go out and cover shows and post them to an accompying blog – that feeds into the NYC-Arts.org site – that would generate a lot more content.

Not sure what to say about the kids site – I have a son, but he’s almost 16 years old – and I think a kids site has a different demographic than me – (unless I’m trying to reach out to kids and their parents – in which case, maybe it’s relevent).  At any rate – these are Art Sites about our community – here in New York City – and they ougth to be supported.

Here’s the information about NYC-ARTS.org and NYCkidsARTS.org from recent press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alliance for the Arts Launches NYC-ARTS.org and NYCkidsARTS.org in Beta Testing

NEW YORK – November 25, 2008 – The Alliance for the Arts has launched the beta versions of its new NYC-ARTS.org and NYCkidsARTS.org, the most complete, customizable and dynamic source of information on New York’s cultural institutions. Curated by people who know the scene, NYC ARTS provides an inside view of New York’s cultural life.

The NYC ARTS Web sites have launched during beta testing. The public is invited to participate in testing by submitting feedback through the “Send your feedback” button at the bottom of every page.

NYC-ARTS.org

Locals and tourists will find in-depth information on cultural organizations and their events, programs and activities.

NYCkidsARTS.org

Educators and parents will find the most comprehensive information on cultural activities for children, including arts education programs that support teaching in many subject areas.

Alliance for the Arts Research Center

The research tools in the Alliance for the Arts Research Center will provide easy access to accurate quantitative data on the nonprofit cultural sector in New York City.

In the increasingly competitive entertainment environment, NYC ARTS and NYCkidsARTS ensure that New York City’s arts organizations stand out in the clutter of choices. The NYC ARTS brand is a powerful promotional identity both for large cultural institutions that command high visibility and smaller groups with less promotional muscle. Unlike commercial cultural listings that have a narrow focus, these sites give all arts groups equal opportunity to promote their programs and attract visitors. The power of the NYC ARTS sites extends beyond the walls of the Web sites with weekly e-mail updates, interest-specific RSS feeds and connections to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Cultural consumers need a strong brand to help them navigate the rich and diverse resources of New York City’s five boroughs. Through recommendations, curated collections and other features such as “Events ending soon,” the sites will be proactive in directing individuals to cultural opportunities they might otherwise overlook.

The City of New York is the major underwriter of NYC ARTS. Because the system supports hundreds of cultural organizations and their events in all five of the city’s boroughs-in effect shoring up the cultural infrastructure-the City of New York has invested $1.5 million in capital dollars for the first release of the system. It has also pledged additional enhancement funds for future releases of NYC ARTS.

New York’s philanthropic community has joined the City as investors in this project. Local foundations and corporations supported the research and development of NYC ARTS.

About the Alliance for the Arts

The Alliance for the Arts serves the entire cultural community through research and advocacy and serves the public through cultural guides and calendars. Through its NYC ARTS guides and calendars, the Alliance promotes New York cultural institutions. Through its research studies highlighting the importance of the arts to the economy and to education, the Alliance helps government and civic leaders understand the importance of cultural organizations to New York City. More information on the Alliance’s work can be found at the new www.AllianceforArts.org.

Contact:

Joe Harrell, Director of Marketing & Product Management

Alliance for the Arts

jharrell@allianceforarts.org

(212) 947-6340

Again, what I think is needed is Social Networking that supports and encourages community – and I’ll help where I can, being of this community – we want to not just have engagement – but encourage it with Social Media for Engagement.

One of my friends and I talked about Art this afternoon, and the issues surrounding being an artist and she encouraged me to write the gist of our conversation down, because it reminded her of exactly the issues she’s going though being an artist but not making a living at it.

It reminds me that quite often lately, friends have responded to my thoughts about Social Media and Art, as well, and it seems to me when people, independent of one another are saying similar things there is probably some truth in it.

For example, my friend Valeria mentioned this post from my Webmetricsguru.com blog that was republished in Social Media Today – Social Media Measurement of Attention / Engagement – some more thoughts about it as a post that she wish she had written herself.   Others responded to a slightly earlier post on Making a Case for Social Media – are we doing a poor job of Marketing Social Media? and my friend Jared Freedman thought my Formula for Virtual Friending – what’s a virtual connection worth? Some ideas – a start, at least had some inspiring information – even if the formulae, he thought, was too complicated.

So, with those examples in mind, when my friend Janice, asked me to write down this information, which I normally would not – I figured….. why not?

Recently I’ve been in a dilemma about painting and my own work – I started painting again, after stopping for a long time, a few years ago after going though a difficult time (I won’t go into what spurred my decision); I felt I had to paint just to keep myself from exploding.

After a while, though, I noticed I was stuck again, that I was unwilling to really experiment that much with new materials and techniques, that I often went to paint being unprepared, having no real problem or show, or anything to work on – just a feeling that I’m paying for a studio space, I ought to go.   When I got to the studio space, I often struggled to get anything going and often enjoyed talking to artists as much, and sometimes, more than actually painting.

Painting itself, was an uneven affair, inspiration is often hit or miss – and I noticed that I got bored quickly.  When I began painting again, I worked much quicker, but I still felt stuck with my concept and often had a hard time with creating work that might be inconvenient for me (setting up oil paints and cleaning them up, buying, stretching and storing canvas, was just the beginning.

Also, while at an opening tonight at Brooklyn Artists Gym, the show was not well hung and lacked any real curator, and hardly anything really attracted me that I wanted to look at it – I chalked that up to my belief that work needs to speak to you first – just because an artist puts something out on a wall in fount of us does not oblige me to have to look at it.  There’s so much competing for our attention now, especially now (in fact, I deal with that in the post on Social Media Measurement of Attention / Engagement – some more thoughts about it – we have only 100%, not more than that, and with everything hitting at us, competition for our attention -we need to hold back and just engage with what draws us to it – and there wasn’t anything on the walls that spoke to me – so I made no real attempt to look at it closely.

Look, as an artist – I don’t think the world owes us anything – just because you do work does not mean anyone has to look at it – if anyone does look at work, likes, it loves it, its because it speaks to them, means something – otherwise, why bother?

I also saw that when I had my work in shows as recent as this spring (Art Opening in Williamsburg at Heart and Soul Pilates)

- I had no control over how my paintings were displayed, the lady put my Rejection painting, the landscape one, above, in a dark corner of her gallery, even as I was assured by her this would not happen – in the two shows I was part of this year, my work looked invisible with the dozens of other paintings they were displayed with.

Object placement and lighting, so important for physical objects, which is what paintings are, was not my friend, nor were curators – and I got discouraged, as I did, many years back when I also tried to paint – but lost my way.

And I found it again, a few years back, only to find that, having realized my own strength as an artist – that it was not the primary thing that marked my life – that I wasn’t really going to make my living as an artist, nor did I want to, and my work really was not meant for any kind of wide distribution – and, in fact, I had more control over how many people saw my paintings, as a blogger with a few blogs in subjects where I’ve been seen as an influential, that if I wanted to get my work out and seen – I had the means and knowledge to do it myself.

And then when I showed my works this spring, I had to frame them (which cost several hundred dollars) and drag them over to gallery spaces to they’d be shown, just to go back in a few weeks/months and pick them up again.   I had no hope they’d sell, I had no real desire to sell them either – and yet I didn’t have a place to hang them, and they sit in my studio bin, at Brooklyn Artists Gym, where I briefly looked at them, again, today.

So, I was telling Janice that it’s a lot of work to be an artist and at the end of the day, no one really wants the stuff – on one really cares – and that an artist needs a following – people who love the work – people who want to collect it – and people who paint and really succeed at it, like my friend Amy Crehore, feel they have to do it – there is no other way for them.

But I don’t feel that way about my work,  I don’t “have” to do it, and Janice said she felt the same way about her work  – she’s a vision therapist and paints on weekends – but realizes she doesn’t have the time to really do that much.     But in my case, I could have done more than I did – except I’d rather go to Art Openings, meet people, over actually locking my self up in a corner and painting.

And I came to terms with that – being a painter, and to some extent, a writer, is usually a solitary persuit – you need to do it, more often than not – with your self – away from others – even while in a crowd- a certain solitude is needed – it’s almost a requirement that you must, as an artist, be alone with yourself, and like it.

But I don’t like it – I don’t like being alone with myself – and yet, there are times I did enjoy it – but it was often only after I worked though my resistances.

When the spring began, and I took the steps to invest in my own work by framing some pieces, I felt the burden of not knowing where I would I would store them, and often, I’d go to the studio and feel no enthusiasm – and yet, I still did some good work I’m proud of.   But when the summer came, I just took time out and decided I’d sketch, but not paint.   I work full time as a Web Analyst, do a lot of freelance web analytics and SEO work when it’s available, , blog, go to openings, tweetups, several events in NYC and travel to conferences, and now, started a blog network, blogspeedway.com, but going to the studio felt like just “one more job” and I had enough.

And then, I tried to answer a bunch of questions … why?  Why am I in this?  Why am I painting?  Who is this really for?  Does anyone really want it.

I doubted myself and my own commitment to Art.

But, as I told this to Janice, she said that she has a lot of the same thoughts as I do, and that many artists aren’t really talking about it and there is no real place to go, no support really, for artists.

Nor did I really want to talk about it – either – but it seems like it’s something that does need to be talked about.

It’s really hard to be an artist – no one really wants your work, 99% of the time, you have to finance the activity yourself, and art, unlike a trade or profession, is not really considered integral to anything.  Sure, we have artists, museums, foundations, but art, particularly painting (which has lost it’s relevance over cinema and music, which are much easier for people to consume, is more of an appendage of society – something we feel guilty about – like we should have it – but hardly anyone really needs it and it’s hard to evaluate – the quality issue is entirely subjective.

So, in going for Art, as a career, or a calling, it seems those who do and succeed are those who failed, over and over, but never gave up – and cultivated the right friends, eventually forming a following.

I believe in order to succeed, you need a following – collectors (that’s an art dealers job, and often a thankless task – but till you get to the point where you can hire someone to promote your work for you, you have to finance and do it yourself, along with housing it and paying taxes on it – often a thankless task.

And if you just do it because it gives you pleasure, your dismissed as a “dabbler” or weekend artist.

I wish there was  place where artists could talk about all of this stuff – but there doesn’t seem to be – we’re all orphaned – and that let me to ask myself what role Art had in my life.

What I came up with was that I had nothing really to prove to anyone but myself, and Art, for me, was a package that framed my other activities (web analytics, search, blogging and writing art critic, socializing, etc) and it didn’t need to do anything else but that – how successful I was as an artist really didn’t matter – all that mattered was I had a gift and I was sharing it the best way I knew how, and my passionate feelings, when channelled into Art managed to balance me out somewhat, making me a better web analyst, blogger, writer, critic, whatever….. you fill the rest in – that’s what Art’s role was for me, in this life.

And I accepted it.

There, as my friend suggested, I wrote it all down, as best as I could remember it – I think I got most of what I wanted to say down here, on this blog.

Only now, I don’t know what the next step is for me …. what do I do now?

I usually try to take notes on my SideKick 3, then mail those notes to myself and edit them, clean them up, and post on Webmetricsguru.com (when it’s a Web Analytics or Search Conference – activities that I’m actively engaged in and make my living at) and ArtNewYorkCity.com – here – when it’s an Art Event.

TMobile SideKick 3 – how I take notes and photographed this Artist panel Discussion

My view at the Panel Discussion at Pratt Institute last night – March 9th, 2007.  Without further ado … here’s my notes:
Op art notes

“When painting and fashion get together, art never wins.”

Staying inside the frame…the frame is essential in relation to the use of the tactical.

Optical painting is not in the past, it’s also now.

Each artist has 7 minutes to present. Soonja Han lives in Paris since 1983 and has been traveling a lot since the 1990′s.  Since 2000 she did her planning on computers..

Another of the artists, Jon Groom, I think said this: First and second generation op art – I find it exciting to do painting and I would not do it if I did not feel about it.  Painting is about faith and trust and not about knowledge.  Art relies not in knowledge but in trust and faith (also that people believe in what they’re looking at).

Sanford Wurmfeld… ideas are expressed in the language of the art form   and we have many languages to express ideas.  The subject is inherent in the language…”you can only ask certain questions in certain languages”.

What we’re doing is the symbolic form of our time, our constructs. Wurmfeld said he grew up a little before the television age and his children are into computers and all this new media does stuff for us and to us.

Wurmfeld said that he believes paining is the most passive of all the media ..most media talks to us but with paint you need to extract the meaning out of the painting. You have to stay with it. Wurmfeld also goes into the eloquent speech he did 30 years ago when I was in his classes. 

The idea the we construct meaning…that the eye takes in light with rod and  cones and the brain of the viewer constructs the meaning of everything we experience.  In that light – Wurmfled’s statement that the language of brushstrokes (IE: Van Gogh’s “hatched like” strokes, vs. Seurat’s “pointillist” vs. Wurmfeld’s hard edged slider bars – define and constrain the questions, meaning and message of the Art).

Also, a theme of last night was that Artworks need to adhere to the edges of the painting – a familiar teaching precept of the 1970′s – I know it well since many of my instructors at the time kept muttering it as they gave me critiques of my own work.  Bear in mind that precept is no longer as  important to the artists emerging now – who are in an entirely different place, many with choices that were almost unimaginable to the artists in the 1960′s and 1970′s - the art world and  art media being so much more diverse today.   The artists in this panel emerged onto the Art Scene during the 1970′s so their belief that Op Art needs the Edges of the painting – is expected, and works with the overall paradigm of the show ….. and while I believe this too… I still see it as a belief that can and often is challenged.

Also, what Wurmfeld said reminded me of the conversation I had with a coworker about my running for a board seat on the WAA…

As I talked about it..how much it cost to join….in order to vote to me.  she asked me how much it costs to join the WAA and vote: I said, 130 bucks…and then she replied… Sorry – I can’t help you. 

That hurt me…because I never asked her to join..but once she asked the question..the answer was automatically determined. 

So I can totally relate to what Wurmfeld said.  I’ve experienced in many ways over the last year – depending on the context – the question you pose presupposes the answer you’ll get in many cases – I can say this with perfect knowledge of all the places were I have experienced this “truth”. 

I think, what’s needed is asking different Questions – if you want different answers – ask a question that has, as a possibility, the answer you want to hear.
The next guys, Jon Groom or Ryszard Wasko,  I had a hard time following with their accents but it sounded both do interesting work.

One said: “Make paint do stuff that you haven’t seen before“. 

Painting makes you more and more aware.  It is impossible to separate the spiritual feeling I have and my feeling about color, about light.

If one is attracted to light, light leads to light.

Jon Groom said he moved to Munich for the support system, of being still.  In New York he felt to much pressure to Advance with his career that got in the way of his Art.

Sanford Wurmfeld chimed in – the Panel Moderator, Robert C. Morgan, noted that wen he visits Wurmfeld’s studio he’s got painting all over the place – in his hair, in his food, in contrast to Wurmfeld’s painting  which is very ordered.

Wurmfeld: My process, messier than De Kooning? For me, the completion on everything is in the viewer…so if there is spirituality seen in my canvas it’s in the viewer.

Master Eckhart…considered a Buddhist in Medieval Europe.  Ryszard Wasko talked a lot about his earlier life in Poland.  In Poland there a few good gallery and you have to talk to people and bring them together.

My wife, Ilona, was born and Poland and says that Polish see Art Galleries – particularly the ancient stuff – as boring …. growing up in Poland in the 60′s and 70′s many just avoided official “Art”. 

Perhaps that’s the perception that Wasko was fighting against – along with the Communists that had no use for Artists that did their own thing.

Groom mentioned about mixing paint and putting it in plastic bags which kept the acrylics wet for over 3 years!

When you start any painting it takes a real commitment to make art and if you think it is going to take a certain time..you need to have commitment.

Jon Groom said that Painting is about slowing down so you can see the painting. 

( I wonder how that figures with going to Cezanne’s studio and painting in Aix in a couple of months).

When someone asked Wurmfeld if he’d enjoy looking at a Monet….he said he would… And that’s it – my notes of the panel discussion last night.  I spoke to Sanford Wurmfeld for 2 minutes in the Pratt Gallery, near his work, and while he did not remember me (he’s had several students) he remembered the course he was teaching at the time on Optical Theory.

I also want to add, that yesterday was an important day for me – I sent my application in for the Paris trip to Marsha Wooley and took care of a couple of other related matters.  Maybe that’s why, when I tried to write this all up last night – I was just too exhausted – could not do it.

 A lot of food for thought here – especially the idea that “meaning” is created in the viewer – it does not exist in the Artwork itself (I’m not sure if I agree with that or not – I need to think that over …. and yet I’ve said much the same thing in this blog and Webmetricsguru.    In fact, I’ve said and believe that….

“… a mountain  is just a mountain, but it took Paul Cezanne to make it into Mont St. Victoire”.  It’s the mind of an Artist that makes sense of mountains Web Analytics data”

How different is that from what Wurmfeld believes – that Spirituality is in the viewer – not his work.    But…..in my mind – I still see Spirit in the work – it’s nature itself that’s neutral – Cezanne’s paintings are imbued with Spirituality to me…. but Wurmfeld would probably tell me the Spirituality is in me…. that Cezanne’s paintings of the mountain are just paint on canvas arranged to create meaning in me.

And truth is …he’d be right – but still, I’m not sure if it’s really true that there is no meaning in the work of art itself – the meaning is in the viewer.  Look at the spiritual artifacts that come down to us from history (Jesus splinters of the Cross he was crucified on – or the Dali Lama’s objects – imbued with Spiritual Energy …. Suppose we said that a sliver of wood off the Cross of Jesus was just a sliver of wood – and it’s only our giving it meaning that makes it meaningful…..somehow that statement, belief, does not feel right.

So as far as I’m concerned …. I think much of what the Panel Discussion focused on last night was the beliefs to these set of Artists – valid and true in Their Frame of Reference …and maybe in mine too…but not universally true.  

In closing this long post…I disagree with Sanford Wurmfeld.  I think there is some meaning in his work outside of the colors and form on the the canvas and the edges of it …. not all of it is what happens inside of the viewer …. The Artist is  more than an arranger of color and form – but if it makes you feel better – this is the belief of your time, and it’s relatively true -but it’s not an absolute.