ArtShowCentral.com

Stephanie Cash

“Imagining America: Icons of 20th-Century American Art,” an upcoming two-hour program on PBS, presents a concise introduction to a number of important artists, along with an overview of some of the major movements and ideas in art of the last century. Co-created by art historian and University of Illinois professor Jonathan Fineberg, who also makes onscreen appearances, and John Carlin, CEO of Funny Garbage, a New York City-based media production company, the show is divided into chapters addressing such topics as nature, society, identity, mass media, “spiritual wilderness” and “the space between art and life.”

Narrated by actor Peter Coyote, the show is enlivened by engaging archival film footage of its subjects. Marcel Duchamp is seen in front of his Large Glass explaining how it became cracked; Georgia O’Keeffe discusses her love of the desert and her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz; Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg are seen working in their studios. Vast differences in style and intent are apparent in scenes showing Andy Warhol in nonsensical interviews and a comical Braniff Airlines advertisement, while others artists such as Stuart Davis and Jacob Lawrence discuss their work and its social implications. Interviews with curators, critics and artists such as Lowery Stokes Sims, Carlo McCormick, Elizabeth Murray, Mike Kelley, Fred Tomaselli, Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari provide insight into the impact of these figures and others, including Thomas Cole, Edward Hopper, Dorothea Lange, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Robert Smithson, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kerry James Marshall, Cindy Sherman and David Wojnarowicz.

Perhaps given its titular focus, the undeniable influence of European art on the U.S. scene in the early 20th century is conspicuously missing, despite the fact that a number of important artists immigrated from overseas. The show would almost seem to imply that all great modern art originated in America, in a historical vacuum. Minor flaws aside, it is an engrossing and accessible overview of American art since the late 19th century. Production was funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Henry Luce Foundation, with additional support from the University of Illinois, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Endowment for the Arts. The show is accompanied by a 208-page book by Fineberg and Carlin, published by Yale University Press. “Imagining America” is set to air on Dec. 28 at 9:00 P.M. (EST).

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group

ARTISTS HELPING CHILDREN FOUNDATION JUST LAUNCHED
By Rachel Goldstein

Remember when you were a kid and you had to go to the hospital? Remember the strange sights, the sounds, unpleasant smells, and strangers entering your hospital room? You had no idea what was happening to you and no one could explain in a way you understood. You waited a lot with nothing to do except worry about what was going to happen next.

Artists Helping Children Foundation (http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and shelters by brightening their environment with murals and other art. By painting murals and creating other art for and with the children, we create enriching and happy places to ease the children’s fear and pain, to take their minds and their hearts out of the cold and into warm and wonderful places. It is amazing how a piece of paper and crayons can divert his attention away from pain. This is because children respond to and use artwork as tools for coping.

The people who work with Artists Helping Children provide art that brings joy and happiness to the lives of ill, mistreated, and needy children in communities everywhere. Through the generosity of artists, patients and community members, Artists Helping Children helps create murals, pieces of art, and provides arts and crafts supplies for the kids we serve.

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS WE BRING JOY TO ILL AND NEEDY CHILDREN

(1) Professional Muralists - Our muralists change the look of hospitals for the better. A team will visit a site to meet with the facilities’ staff. With their help, we plan out a theme, the colors, and images that we will use within the mural. Then, we present sketches of designs appropriate to the space. Once the designs are approved, we begin recruiting volunteers and budgeting for the project.

(2) Paint-A-Mural Community Events - Community organizations are instrumental in helping us bring beautiful murals in to as many institutions as we can. Paint-a-Mural events are entertaining, stress-relieving, and a great way to bond with your community members. We provide a color-coded canvas with the mural drawn in, almost like a big coloring book. The volunteer’s job is to paint, paint, and paint.

(3) Local Stores are Getting Involved - Stores are even getting involved. Some stores have decided to
Display our pre-drawn canvas murals, cut in to smaller pieces for easier handling. These stores are able to show the local community that their store is a charitable organization and at the same time get eager children into their store to help paint the murals. After completion, we clean up the mural and donate it to an organization of their choice.

(4) Patients Can Join In - Patients enjoy the chance to get out of their rooms and do something uplifting and entertaining. Their minds are focused on happiness and they forget about their pain, if only for a short while. And even when they can’t participate first hand, we try to get them involved in the experience by providing outlets such as coloring and watercolor paint-by-number books that they can enjoy in their beds.

Please visit ArtistsHelpingChildren.org to see more about what we are doing, and how you can help our cause.

About the Author

Rachel Goldstein is Founder of Artists Helping Children Foundation - ArtistsHelpingChildren.org - A non-profit charity dedicated to bringing comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and shelters by brightening their environment with murals, artwork, toys, and art supplies.

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I’ve cautioned about donating art to charities in previous Art Marketing Action newsletters (and here). Today’s New York Times lays it all out in “Donating Work for Charity Has a Downside for Artists.”

Among the highlights:

- Artists who create special editions and/or a series of work just for donating.
- Artists and dealers who are attaching “resale riders” to donated…

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Local student artists exhibit works during gallery opening - Arts & Entertainment

This kind of events are so great to get involved in. I am always looking for these types of events to help encourage my students. Normally I try hanging work in local businesses for my students. This seems to help get the community more involved and drive traffic back to the studio. If you look around in your local community you can usually find 5-10 places that will hang your work free of charge and will never ask for any commissions on sold work. Here is a list of places to check out.

1. Local diners
2. Starbucks
3. Borders book store
4. Barns and Noble book store
5. Any local coffee shops.

Discounts for Art Dealers?

Lynnda Tenpenny wrote with this question about relationships with gallery dealers and when to offer them discounts:

When you have a relationship with a gallery and the gallery owner keeps saying that he/she is really interested in one of your art pieces, what’s the protocol here?

I have this happening at two galleries. One is a frame gallery and if I were to give her the art piece (it…

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Author: Richard Romando

Art galleries are institutions or forums to promote art
appreciation in art buyers and a platform for artists to display
their work. The term art gallery initially denoted a particular
area or gallery in a museum to display paintings, sculptures,
and illustrations. The popularity and success of this concept
encouraged reserving rooms and later, private and public
independent buildings exclusively for exhibitions, seminars, art
teaching, and research programs.

Fame or notoriety of a gallery is dependent upon the artists
showcased and, to a large extent, the connection with an art
dealer. The partnership encourages benchmarks of excellence, as
sincere dealers ensure maximum exposure for the gallery and
artist.

It was in 1793, after the French Revolution, that the first
gallery or museum to display royal treasures was established at
Louvre in Paris. It set a precedent for showcasing art
collections for general viewing. With the increasing popularity
of fine arts and artists, galleries catering to different tastes
and denominations sprouted up in most major cities of the world.
The U.S. has its share of both national and private galleries in
towns and cities, holiday resorts, or artist’s camps. Majority
galleries have favorite artists on their roster, while some
purchase and promote works of unknown and new artists or host
artistic activities such as musical soirees, book launches, or
photo exhibitions to coincide with the subject or theme of
particular artwork.

A wider demand for art and artists encouraged the establishment
of online galleries to help source and purchase paintings or
sculptures from galleries and art dealers in different cities or
countries. Art collectors or novices find this a convenient way
to browse through paintings of different artists, depending on
taste and setting. But there is nothing to compete with the
artistic ambience of an uptown gallery showcasing traditional
and exclusive artists or a downtown one selling contemporary or
kitschy works of new and emerging artists.

About the author:
Art Galleries
provides detailed information on Art Galleries, Art Gallery
Dealers, Fine Art Galleries, Online Art Galleries and more. Art
Galleries is affliated with Framed Art Prints.

Received this last week from Noell Hammer, founder of Art Without Boundaries:

The Art Without Boundaries Foundation awards matching grants to deserving visual artists wishing to train to become Certified Mnemetecnic Therapists. MT is a new, multidiscipline therapy for Alzheimer’s patients. As a CMT, artists can earn $100 an hour, own their own business and enjoy a rewarding career that…

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