Stay Tuned for My Coverage of 2013 Affordable Art Fair NYC

You know how much I love affordable art.  That's why I'm hanging out at the 2013 Affordable Art Fair NYC at Chelsea's The Tunnel.  I'll have my coverage right here next week!

 

 

Etling and Kolitsopoulos Headline Infrared Photography, Lithograph and Drawing Show in NYC's Chelsea District

"When I was a child, I was fascinated by the old family photos

at my grandmothers house...the magical quality of photography, its ability to freeze time and preserve the past." --Photographer Jackie Etling

 

 



"Versailles Forest" by Jackie Etling



When I experience fine art, I like to do it in places filled with as little pretense as possible.  I also love to meet sincere people who are so filled up full with a true awareness of who they are that it comes across in their work and when they interact with others.  Smoke and mirrors in some instances is very entertaining, especially if nice wine flows freely and there's a decent food spread, but I'll leave that for those who are more interested in the party than looking at great art. 

In 2008, I started blogging about art.  One of the first New York City venues I was introduced to was the Pleiades Gallery in Chelsea.  The space is simple, but there is always a wonderful variety of work to be seen there. Most importantly, you always meet "fully present" people there.  According to the gallery web site, Pleiades was founded in 1974 and is "one of the oldest and most successful artist run galleries in the country."   Its membership, which is comprised completely of established, well-known, as well as emerging artists whose work has earned the respect of their peers, upholds a rigorous jurying process to welcome new artists into the fold.

I am excited to head back to Chelsea this coming Saturday evening, October 5  for the opening reception for "Works on Paper, Lithographs, Drawings and Watercolors by Sheryl Ruth Kolitsopoulos" as well as "The Language of Trees," photographs by Jackie Etling.   Both share billing for the member show that opened on October 1 and runs through October 26.  

I love a good drawing, and those who have mastered them captivate me.  Kolitsopoulos's work is based on the simple moments in life.  Her pieces capture people mid-action, and she shares the very personal world she has created in her mind with the spectator on paper.  Undoubtedly, collectors will find something very special to purchase from her body of work.  You can learn more about the artist at www.sherylruthkolitsopoulos.com.

Since I have spent considerable time in New Mexico, I am particularly excited about getting to know the work of East Coast and Santa Fe, New Mexico favorite Jackie Etling up close.  This time around, the Pleiades Gallery Vice President will feature works that explore and capture the "transcendent essence" of one of nature's most mystical living things--the tree. While Etling is lauded for her work in both black and white and color, her latest body of work utilizes infrared photography that picks up the infrared end of  the light spectrum.  When outdoor images are shot, the camera detects the infrared light given off by plant life.  The end result is a subject that appears "ethereal and other worldly," according to the artist.  Her work for this show is derived from photos taken during visits to Europe, the American Southwest, as well as New England.  For more information about Etling, visit www.etlingphoto.com.
 

The Pleiades Gallery is located at 530 W. 25th Street, 4th floor, New York City. Visit www.pleiadesgallery.com.

"Collecting Memories...Not Just Art" Recap of 2013 SWAIA Indian Market

Well, 2013 SWAIA Indian Market Week is over.  It's easy for me to get sad and go into withdrawal because I miss my artist friends already.  That's okay because I know I will see them all soon enough and have the opportunity to attend parties with them, give and receive hugs,and see some of the best fine art around. I'm also looking forward to getting to know all the new friends just a little bit better the next time around.

 

Painting by Jodi Webster
Photo: The Artist


















Bronze sculpture by Holly Wilson
Photo: Paul Niemi

For me, one of the standout artists this year was Jodi Webster, a master self-taught Ho-Chunk/Potawatomi artist working mostly in graphite.  It was her first Santa Fe Indian Market.  She's easy-going, down-to-earth and bursting with talent that isn't limited by one style.  In addition to my ongoing love affair with the brilliant and thoughtfully commentative basketry of contemporary Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn, I am adding the bronze sculpture and mixed media work of Delaware/Cherokee Holly Wilson to my all-time fave list.  Mixing traditional Native lore with children, masks and the slightly odd, her work is exciting, out of the ordinary, and seems to be setting the Native art world on fire. This, too,  was her first SWAIA Indian Market.  She also had an additional opening at Blue Rain Gallery near the Santa Fe Plaza, so I have no doubt the New Mexico skies will see her star rise very soon.  I also enjoyed seeing the colorful and abstract paintings by Patrick Dean Hubbell of the Diné Nation (Navajo).

Shan Goshorn and her award-winning
Cherokee basketry woven from paper splints with
archival quality printed images

 

One of the beautiful art-filled
rooms at
Lone Dog Noisecat

If you have the opportunity, be sure to stop by Ed Archie Noisecat's new gallery Lone Dog Noisecat just off Canyon Road.  He offers work by Northwest Coast artist, Inuit sculptures, paintings by some of Santa Fe's "cool" royalty, in addition to his own pieces. There's lots to see, and I think it is one of the best contemporary Native galleries in the City Different.

 

From tunes by Shelley Morningsong and dancing by Fabian Fontenelle to poetry readings by Laguna Pueblo potter and poet Max Early, to fashions by Orlando Dugi, Dorothy Grant, and Penny Singer , there were so many special things to see, hear and experience this year at Santa Fe Indian Market.

Stormtrooper hand-beaded cuff by Diné artist Craig Kelly

 

 

Here is my compilation video of moving and still images from the 2013 SWAIA Indian Market.  It was truly an amazing time.  While I collected some art, I collected even more friendships. I look forward to watching them grow!

SWAIA Indian Market: Adding to Your Collection...One Friend at a Time

Hoop Dancer Tony Duncan at SWAIA Indian Market
Photo: Paul Niemi (2011)

When some of us were kids (long before Facebook), our best friends or classmates would move away to new cities.  It was always a sad event.  While they left behind their phone numbers so you could call on a birthday to "catch up," you knew that once a few months had passed, you would make new friends and move on. Besides, those long-distance calls weren't really in the family budget! It was always a possibility that you would never see your friends again, and that was a reality we all accepted.  High school and college beckoned us, and people came in and out of our lives.  Then, all of a sudden, we were in the adult world. People became busier, and it seemed harder to make those amazing close relationships you used to have.  Social media has now revolutionized how we stay in touch, how we communicate and how we connect, but it's not the same as real face-to-face communication with open-hearted people who treat you with the respect of a bygone era. 

Speaking of social media, SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market has done a tremendous job at connecting the world with Native American art, film, music, fashion and culture through social media.  While I love to stay connected via the Internet with many people, for me, one of the best things about Market is so basic, so natural, and so wonderful--The friendships that are made and endure year after year at Indian Market.  Unlike the days when childhood classmates once moved away never to be heard from again, Santa Fe Indian Market Week is always the time when people come "home."  You always know they'll be there each August. It's a crossroads of sorts on Santa Fe's Historic Plaza, where hospitality reigns, inevitable hugs happen, old friendships grow stronger and new ones are kindled.

That's why SWAIA Indian Market is a unique family. The art has changed, some faces have come, gone and been replaced by eager new ones, but old fashioned values still play out amongst the white booths dotting Santa Fe's downtown corridor.  And for the spectator, when you're there, you're treated like part of the family. You're welcomed with the intent that you will look,  really see and learn about Native culture (There's so much to learn!). Who knows?  You may want to buy! That  purchase of an artist's work might just lead to more purchases, year after year, and result in lifelong friendships.

Sgraffito and Stone-polished Handcoiled
Jemez Pueblo Pot by Alfreda Fragua
Photo: Alfreda Fragua

Being an advocate for Native American art is my passion, and I LOVE introducing contemporary Native American art to those who may know nothing about it. It's even better when I can change someone's perception of what Native American art is.  The landscape (pardon the pun!) is vast when it comes to the kinds of pieces you'll see at Santa Fe Indian Market.  The truth is, just like Native arts and crafts have changed over history due to contact with new peoples and new materials, so is contemporary Native American art evolving all the time. Formal art education inspires some artists to take Native art where it's never gone before.  Artists also experiment with forms and mediums each year to test their artistic mettle.  Submissions for Indian Market award judging get bigger and bolder every year, and it's exciting to see.

So if you're attending SWAIA Indian Market Week for the first time, what do you need to know?

1)  Always feel free to ask questions.  While many collectors typically "want a piece" of an artist at his or her booth, they are there to talk about their work, their culture and, most importantly, to sell.

2) Most artists understand that touching and feeling impacts someone's intent to buy.  Most will let you handle smaller items, but be sure to ask permission first.  Many people will invite you to do so from the get-go, but awaiting or asking permission shows respect.  The same is true if you want to snap a photograph.

3) Buy what you like!  You have to live with it, so make sure you love it.  There are original works of art by more than 1,100 top Native American artists from the United States and Canada available for purchase. Prices range from about $10 on up.

4) If something is out of your budget, don't worry.  Many artists are generational, so you'll likely be able to find pieces by other "lesser-known" artists for a fraction of the price of works by more famous artists.  Buying pieces by young children is a great way to start a collection and become familiar with work by all family members.

5) Come to SWAIA Indian Market Week with an open mind and open heart.  Indian Market is a great learning opportunity for both children and adults.  These artists live all around us in a contemporary world, and Market is a wonderful place to discover our commonalities.  Of course, come hungry because you're also going to want to eat Indian tacos and fry bread that vendors will be selling on the Plaza!

This Friday, August 16, I'll be on KASA Fox 2's "New Mexico Style" talking about collecting memories at Indian Market.   Check out my last year's appearance on buying affordable art at Indian Market HERE:

http://www.kasa.com/dpp/nm_style/features/affordable-original-art-at-indian-market

Happy Indian Market Week!

Leary Firefighter Foundation Hosts "Burn" Documentary Benefit Screenings in Tacoma

In 2003, I nearly died in a house fire in Queens, New York.   I lived in New York City during September 11, 2001 and was amazed at the courage of members of the FDNY, but my personal experience with the department gave me a true appreciation for the work firefighters do.  After all, what would we do if they weren't around to save lives? Thanks to their swiftness, I got out of the house and didn't choke to death. Watching a finely oiled machine in action is the best PR for a fire department.  Watch them work, and their dedication is clear.  Talk to them, and you realize they have hearts equaling the size of  the passion they have for the job they do.

 

It was, of course, an honor when the producers of the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award-winning Burn contacted me to get the word out on Uncle Paulie's World about a screening of the film in Washington State. Executive producer Denis Leary had been doing the late night talk show circuit to promote the film a while back, and it was definitely something I wanted to see and write about.  I don't want to lessen the impact of the film by giving too many details away.  What I will say is that whoever watches it will be changed for life.  You will reexamine your priorities and want to remind yourself every day to say "thank you" to those around us who give of themselves for the greater good.

 

Burn is a documentary that follows the lives of members of the Detroit Fire Department throughout an entire year. Their experiences aren't easy, and their department isn't a normal one. Racial tensions and a lack of jobs changed the face of the city, lowering the city's population from 1.8 million people to around half.  That exodus has left behind 80,000 abandoned structures that are essentially fire traps, though the majority of the 30 daily structure fires are caused by arson. That's nearly triple the number of structure fires in Los Angeles--a city of 4 million people.  The fires are indicative of a larger social problem. The majority of  departmental funds are spent to pay the firefighters their modest salaries. Repairs and the purchase of reliable equipment goes to the wayside.

 

Throughout it all, the firefighters love what they do and enjoy coming to work each day.  For a firefighter, there is nothing like the adrenaline of entering a burning building, taking care of business, and saving lives.   They put themselves in dangerous situations every day, selflessly, but still manage to maintain a sense of humor about it all.

 

 

 

It was no joke to many of them when a new executive fire commissioner came to Detroit  and suggested that firefighters ignore the flames and let some of the structures completely burn to the ground. This seemed like the only way to level the battleground and clean up the city.  Since many unknown transients lived in the structures, the idea seemed absurd, especially to firefighters who are in the business of saving lives.

 

Burn is an eye-opening film about real people--real lives--and they graciously let filmmakers Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez into their community to give an in-depth glimpse into the triumphs and tragedies that take place in inner city Detroit. Putnam and Sanchez shot nearly 1,000 hours of footage and interviews to tell a shockingly true, and in its own way, beautiful, well-rounded story.

 

The film is full of selfless guys whose stories are compelling and varied. Many grew up in the communities where they live and work.  And one thing connects them all--a love for the job and the city they see dwindling away, one fire at a time.

 

Tacoma, Washington is a town riddled with its own social and economic problems.  It, too, has a brave fire fighting community. The Leary Firefighters Foundation will be hosting special May benefit screenings of Burn in Tacoma.  The showings will take place at the Grand Cinema  at 2 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on May 21, as well as at 6:45 p.m. on May 22.  Tickets are $15, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Leary Firefighters Foundation to purchase new equipment for firefighters.   The Grand Cinema is located at 606 S. Fawcett Avenue in Tacoma. For more information and to watch a trailer of Burn visit  http://detroitfirefilm.org.

Wright's Indian Art Celebrates 106 Years with New Location and Mother's Day Grand Opening Celebration

 

 

There are some places that give you fond memories, and you carry them with you no matter where you go. Wright's Indian Art in Albuquerque, New Mexico is one of those places.  When I first moved to New Mexico, I popped in to have a look at all the gorgeous Native American jewelry by Steve LaRance, Marian Denipah, Roland Brady, Dylan Poblano, Steve Yellowhorse,  Lyndon Tsosie, Althea Cajero and many more.  I was immediately charmed by salespeople Elizabeth and Joan, who warmly greeted me, made me feel welcome and suggested incredible things for me to try on.  I was also wonderully overwhelmed by the number of larger pieces by Jemez artists Kathleen Wall, Joe Cajero, and Swirl Pots by Dominique Toya.   Wright's is also a place to meet artists and develop a rapport with them. Some of my most treasured and lasting friendships with artists started at Wright's!

 

 

Tufa cast and turquoise corn and spider web
cuff by Dino Garcia (Kewa Pueblo)

 

Everything in shop is high-quality, and there is a variety that fits every budget--from fetishes to pots, to paintings and everything in between.  Wright's makes collecting Native art fun and affordable, and they stay on the cutting edge of what's happening in the Native art world.  After all, they has always offered the best in Native American art since it began as a trading post on the Navajo reservation over one-hundred years ago.  Wright's Indian Art is an institution in the Southwest and has celebrated many milestones.   

 

 

Swirl pots by Dominique Toya of Jemez Pueblo

 

Now, Mr. B and the gang--the people who love to sit down with you and talk art, life and jewelry--are marking a new milestone. Wright's Indian Art is celebrating its 106th Anniversary with a BIG move to a new location in Albuquerque at 2677 Louisiana Blvd N.E.  (View Map) as well as a BIG PARTY!

Stop by the new gallery for a  Grand Opening Celebration on May 11 and 12 (Mother's Day Weekend...did someone say "I want jewelry?!) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  It will be a who's who of Native artists coming out to show their dedication to and support of the gallery.  

 

Wright's Indian Art, which is the oldest continuously operating Indian art gallery in Albuquerque, will carry the same art, represent the same artists and offer the same warm, wonderful customer service, but now in a more streamlined gallery with an even better online presence.  It's reassuring to know I can still have that traditional Wright's Indian Art experience in-person and get my fix online when I'm not in town. Here's to another 100 years, Mr. B!!!

A "Here's What's Happening" for the Grand Opening Celebration:

INDIAN ARTIST MARKET
Meet and deal directly with a variety of award-winning Native artists. The event will be held outdoors all weekend long.

CEREMONIAL BLESSING
by a Native medicine man

SILENT AUCTION
Handmade pieces by award-winning artists, local products, gift cards, and more. All proceeds to benefit First Nations Community Healthsource, providing crucial health and social services to the urban Native community.

RAFFLE DRAWINGS
Everyone who makes a purchase will eligible to win valuable prizes.

SPECIAL SHOWS
Southwest Zuni Connection
Carl and Irene Clark will personally exhibit and discuss their world-renowned micro-mosaic jewelry

ARTIST DEMONSTRATIONS
Maxine & Dominque Toya (Pottery)
Alice Yazzie (Pastel art)

NATIVE MUSIC
Double Flute performed by Adrian Wall, and more.

DANCERS
Nakota LaRance, prize-winning hoop dancer and former Cirque du Soleil performer will dazzle us on Sunday.

FASHION SHOW
Featuring designer Penny Singer and surprise guests.

 

For more information about the gallery or the Grand Opening call 505-266-0120 or visit Wright's Indian Art of Facebook or at www.wrightsgallery.com.

 

'War Baby/Love Child' Exploring the Mixed-Race Asian American Experience Opens at DePaul University Art Museum

 

Art is "messy and complicated, just like life and issues of race," says visual artist and art professor Laura Kina.  Kina has teamed up with San Francisco State Asian American Studies professor Wei Ming Dariotis for the literary/art combo War Baby/ Love Child: Mixed Race Asian American Art.  While the book, published by the University of Washington, came out back in December, an exciting new exhibit opens today at Chicago's DePaul University that extends the publication's discourse into something tangible, yet not a total mirrored image of its literary counterpart.

 

War Baby/Love Child can be a difficult book to fully understand since cultural dynamics and history are very complex, especially if you know nothing about the mixed-heritage Asian experience in the United States.  Nonetheless, it is an opportunity to open your eyes to a whole new world. My multiculturalism lexicon includes Latinos and Native Americans.  I willingly admit I knew very little about the subject until I made contact with artist and activist Louie Gong, who is of Native American (Nooksack), Chinese, and Anglo descent.  Both he and Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez and Korean), an artist who's part of my New Mexico circle of friends, piqued my interest in the subject of mixed race by their involvement in the project.

 

Live Long and Prosper (Spock was a Half-Breed)
by Debra Yepa-Pappan (Korean/Jemez Pueblo)

The book is a perfect example of the chicken coming before the egg.  In 2008, its two editors met at a multiracial movement retreat in San Francisco.  The timing was perfect.  President Obama had been elected and the "post-racial rhetoric was also at a peek," as Laura Kina says.

 

"The mainstream media and even many voices within academia were saying we were supposed to be beyond race but of course that didn’t match up with many of our lived realities. We knew race still mattered."

 

What resulted from the meeting was a collaboration that yielded a proposal for an art exhibition broaching the subject of the mixed-race Asian American experience from the perspective of  the artist.  Kina is of  Okinawan (Hawaii) and Spanish-Basque/French, English, Scotch-Irish, and Dutch, while Dariotis' family is from the south, Tennessee and Texas, and California.

 

Some of the book was inspired by Kina's curiosity about how other mixed race Asians Americans across the U.S. were navigating issues of identity in a contemporary art world that had been dominated by a post-racial discourse.  She knew what was happening in her studio, but was interested to know what others' work looked like.   It was meant as a vehicle to become knowledgeable about the "mixed experience and history beyond the Asian/white discourse and beyond an 'exceptional' identity politics. What is our history?"

 

What makes the book engaging is the fact that it is split up into a series of Q & A's with 19 emerging, mid-career, and established mixed race/mixed heritage Asian American artists.  Kina and Dariotis intersperse artwork that supports the narrative.  In addition to the interviews, the editors have included wonderful scholarly essays exploring such topics as Vietnamese Amerasians, Korean transracial adoptions, and multiethnic Hawai‘i. As an increasingly ethnically ambiguous Asian American generation is coming of age in an era of “optional identity,” this collection brings together first-person perspectives and a wider scholarly context to shed light on changing Asian American cultures. Ultimately, the goal of the project was to map and contextualize the artists' individual narratives against larger transnational histories. After all, "it’s not just some accident that all of our parents happened to meet," says Kina.

 

"WarBaby/Love Child" the art exhibition opens tonight at the DePaul University Art Museum.  Why an art exhibit?  "Art is a great tool for telling stories," Kina says. 
 

"Sometimes we just see a fractured scene or glimpse into a larger world or we might see multiple times and spaces collapsed into a single image. Art can transcend language, speak to the spirit, the soul, affect…the possibilities are really endless."

 

Kina hopes that all people leave the exhibition understanding that they own this history as well.    
 

"I think too often we want to put histories in neat boxes… maybe we are lazy or just not so interested in things that we think don’t pertain to ourselves. So, if there is one take-away, I hope the 'average person' can walk away with a more complicated understanding that all this border crossing and mixing it up we are talking about is not a peripheral history, but rather an important lens through which to view U.S. history, contemporary art...,"  Kina notes.  She is hopeful it lends itself to expanding what is "Asian-American history."

 

"War Baby/Love Child" the art exhibition opens tonight at the DePaul University Art Museum with a reception and members preview from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a public opening from 6 p.m. to  8 p.m.  The show will be on exhibition through June 30, 2013 before traveling to Seattle's Wing Luke Museum of the Asian PacificAmerican Experience from August 9th through January 19, 2014.

In Bellingham, Washington, the book is available at Village Books in Fairhaven.

You can also get it on Amazon.com.