News

The dust and dollars of the election season have finally settled, with victory for President Obama and high hopes for the next four years. If you’re looking to read up on the implications of his win for the art world, take a look at some stats on his positions on the arts, courtesy of Art League.

rotate — Floria Gonzalez, “We’ll be ok/vamos a estar bien.” Digital photography on cotton. Courtesy of Magrorocca, Milan and PINTA.

Relief for Hurricane Sandy’s victims continues, especially in the battered arts community of New York. Among the organizations that have intervened to provide assistance, PINTA, which honors Latin American art with an annual art fair, has converted this year’s Art Fair (November 15 to 18, 2012) into a collaboration with The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC). Offering the services of their Collection Emergency Response Teams (AIC-CERT), FAIC is running workshops all over New York City to help the many artists and galleries whose works were affected by the storm, as well as providing volunteer assistance to institutions throughout the region. PINTA & FAIC have designed an online promotional 2 for 1 admission ticket sale (25$) that can be accessed via Facebook; visit their site to access it, and also visit PINTA & FAIC for Sandy Victims: Box Office Solidarity Offer. All revenue goes toward The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation.

Theodore Harris, Transition 107 contributor, is curating Shut Your Trap! at the Asian Arts Initiative. This look at authority in art, held in conjunction with the Institute for Advanced Study in Black Aesthetics, is bound to be both irreverent and informative. There’s a special artists’ reception on December 14 at 6 PM, with Transition Magazine in attendance.

Opportunities

The Institute of Contemporary Art is looking for volunteers for its Jeremy Deller: Joy in People exhibition! For their mid-career survey of the British artist, they’re animating his pieces Valerie’s Snack Bar and I <3 Melancholy by having volunteers serve tea to visitors and lounge on couches, respectively. Valerie’s Snack Bar is a nearly exact replica of a popular Manchester café, originally created as a parade float by Deller. Now, visitors can hang out there, watch a video of the original parade, and serve hot beverages to passerby. For I ♥ Melancholy, young (15-30 years old) participants are asked to dress in somber clothing and lounge on a black couch in front of a painted mural that reads “I ♥ Melancholy.” Volunteers can read, write, nap, do homework, etc. during shifts, and are simply asked to be present in the installation (and not be on an electronic device). There’s swag involved: volunteers for ten or more shifts get an ICA membership and Deller-related merchandise. The following shifts are open this month: November 21st I ♥ Melancholy 11-4, November 23rd Valerie’s Snack Bar 11-3:30 and 3:30-6, I ♥ Melancholy 11-3:30. November 24th I ♥ Melancholy 2-5, November 25th I ♥ Melancholy 11-2, November 28th I ♥ Melancholy 11-4 and 4-8, Valerie’s 5-8, November 30th I ♥ Melancholy 11-3:30 and 3:30-6. If this sounds like your thing, please contact deller@ica.upenn.edu

The Silver Eye Center for Photography has announced a Call for Entries for Fellowship 13, their international photography competition. In addition to two awards for photographers, there’s a new $500 prize for a short documentary video or internet-based project. This year’s judges are Sam Barzilay, Creative Director, United Photo Industries and Co-Founder, Photoville, Brooklyn, NY; and Ellen Fleurov, Executive Director, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA. The deadline for submissions ( you can submit via http://silvereye.slideroom.com) is Monday, November 26, 2012 at midnight. Awards include a solo exhibition at Silver Eye opening mid-January 2013, $3,000 for exhibition-related expenses, an online gallery on Silver Eye’s website, and media outreach and promotion. The competition is open to all U.S. and international amateur and professional photographers, age 18 and older.

Artist News

link 11 — Paul Swenbeck. Dor and Oranur (installation detail), 2011. Mixed media. Courtesy of the artist and Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Photo: Fabiola Menchelli.

Just a reminder that Paul Swenbeck and Syd Carpenter are two of the panelists on a contemporary ceramics discussion held in conjunction with Earth & Alchemy: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture exhibition. Moderated by MassArt ceramics professor Janna Longacre, the entire event is free and open to the public and is on view September 24–November 24, 2012 in the Stephen D. Paine Gallery at MassArt. The panel discussion is on Wednesday, November 14, 6pm at the Tower Auditorium, Bakalar & Paine Galleries in Boston.

link 2 — Mohammed Kazem, “Directions,” 2005. Video installation, engraved acrylic panels, LED light, leaves, video, variable dimensions. Courtesy of the artist.

Conceptual artist Mohamed Kazam, who showed at University of the Arts in 2010, has been selected by the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates as featured artist for the 55th International Art Exhibition–La Biennale di Venezia. The UAE Pavilion is on display from 1 June–24 November 2013 in Arsenale, Venice.

Patricia Goodrich is anticipating a run of multi-disciplinary works in international exhibitions and symposiums. A series of her paintings, accompanied by ekphrastic poems, is currently on exhibit at Nokia Art House, Tempere, Finland through April, 2013. the Inter-Art International Film and Photography Festival, Aiud, Romania takes place from October-November 2012. From November 20 to December 2, Goodrich joins 30 international artists and 10 Haitian artists in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for an invitational symposium and exhibition to benefit arts in Haiti. Then, in 2013, Goodrich is slated to be featured at the Creative Women Development and Arts Conference, sponsored by the Contemporary Artist Association of Morocco in March. She finishes out the year with the Izmir Biennial in Turkey, from April-May. Congratulations on securing such an enviable itinerary, Patricia!