DoNArTNeWs

More than 150 small artworks in many different media are arrayed around the historic gallery space of the Philadelphia Sketch Club on the Avenue of the Artists, Camac Street.  Miniatures represents the work of more than 60 area artists from Betsy Alexander of Ravenswing Studio, Dumpster Diver extraordinaire Alden Cole and Da Vinci Art Alliance board member Lilliana Didovic to esteemed club members such as Karen McDonnell & Tony Cortosi, Dr. Doris Peltzman and first prize winner Michael Kuncevich, one of the club’s elders.  Second prize was awarded to Susan J. Donmoyer  for an extraordinary drawing.  Even though DoN was a co-chair of the show, he has to say - the show is extraordinary with really exciting work by great Philly artists.  Thanks to everyone who helped pull it off - if you’ve ever organized a show, you know what a time suck it is.  A special thank you to Laura Guzzo, 3nd prize winner, for acting as docent & sales associate.

Laura Guzzo @ Miniatures in PSC Gallery.

Stephan Iwanczuk, silver print.  Steve is chair of Miniatures.

Clockwise - Lilliana Didovic, Deborah Horsting, Parimalasri Vairapandi & Vincent Docktor.  Vince is part of the the three-person show in the PSC Stewart Room.

Betsy Alexander’s Alaska paintings capture the expansiveness of the great wilderness in tiny squares.  Bold color choice, graphic decisions and simplicity transport the viewer to a foreign landscape at once welcoming and strange.  Betsy is also an original Dumpster Diver and was recently featured on the Today show with her famous piano playing cat, Nora.

Monique Lazard, oil @ PSC Miniatures.

Dr. Doris Peltzman, Giovanni’s Table, oil.  Doris has had several one-person show’s in Wilmington’s prestigious Carspecken Scott Gallery, has sold out shows at Artist House, consistently wins top awards and today is gallery sitting at the club - stop in and visit her and Reta Sweeney.

Alden Cole, Dancing with the Stars, drawing @ PSC Miniatures.

Clockwise - Linda Hibbs, Elizabeth Breakell, Elizabeth MacDonald, Marlene Craig, Dorothy Roschen & Lucy Roehm.

DoN entered a digital picture frame with 20 views of Paris roof tops - the prospectus said any medium!

David Foss, The Grid, acrylic on wood panel, plastic, foam, 2009.

David Foss, Between I and Thou, acrylic on canvas & foam.  Kathryn Pannepacker, Art Trick & I Am A Magnet, embroidery coated with wax.

Kathryn Pannepacker weaves anything within reach, including yarn, rags, thread, rope, book matches, even left over aluminum foil creating other-worldly decor as if for a Star Trek set.  Both Pannepacker and Foss have an aura of tranquility and inner peace causing DoN to wonder if maybe they have been taken up, up, up…each donates much of their time doing outreach in the community.  Foss is Executive Director of Da Vinci Art Alliance mentoring and promoting art carreers and Pannepacker has created several public murals and is currently weaving art with homeless people as part of Activities and Advocacy to End Homelessness every Thursday & Friday @ Arch Street Cafe, 740 Arch Street.

David Foss, Field Shift, acrylic on canvas, plastic & foam, 2009.

Kathryn Pannepacker & David Foss at the opening of Parallel Lines @ Smile Gallery.  Matt Lyons calls the art space “the biggest little gallery in town“; the gallery continually shows modern, edgy, sometimes difficult art by a continuum of Philly’s best artists.

Jessica Hummel, Self Portrait took first prize with her photographic trilogy.

The Plastic Club on Camac Street is hosting an outstanding show of art by artists models; who else but models have insight into the world of artists, absorbing and intuiting the complexities of visual arts.  Many of the plastic club models have been mentored by the fine artists they pose for and artists are grateful for the intricacy and nuance of posing.  Susan Stromquist is included in Off the Wall Gallery’s Summer Show of past award winners - her folded chalk and pastels are Rorschach pop melded with classic atmospheric naturalism.

Karl Richard Olsen, Jeno, POR - looks like a bargain since this appears to be what’s known in the art biz as a masterpiece.  Olsen draws and paints everyday, even while walking, honing his eye and exploring new ways to express his vision.  Karl’s Flickr page is very cool and he’s currently completing one self portrait each day for 30 days.

Rob Willis, Self Portrait - you know, DoN had to double check but he knew this drawing is by Willis, last year’s Model’s Show big winner, since a definite style has emerged over time - he’s really handsome, too.

Jenn Warpole @ The Plastic Club’s Model Artists Exhibit.

Echo Shi @ The Plastic Club

Rob Willis @ The Plastic Club

Rob Willis - the paint job on this chopper is Super Kawai, super flat, super cool - DuChamp for everyday life.

Jym Paris, Shooting for the Moon & The Night Has A Thousand Eyes.  DoN LoVeS Jym’s fearless style, infectious personality and spontaneous gesture.  As Antony & the Johnsons sing, “I’m a little boy now, but when I grow up I’ll be a beautiful woman.”

Deborah Dias, Ratamandala.

Model Artists @ The Plastic Club through 8/22 - the club is holding special event workshops with moving model Stephanie Hyland - imagine long, slow croqui’s with the model slowly , steadily changing.  Contact the club for dates and times.

Da Vinci Art Alliance is sponsoring the fabulous show, “Little Show of Horrors” @ Bartram’s Garden Gallery; alliance members were challenged to create works commemorating Charles Darwin’s 150th anniversary of “The Origin of Species”and carnivorous plants and all the artists went crazy on the theme of the fabled bug eaters.  Above is Ted Warchal’s mixed media dream box and DoN Brewer’s digital photo collage.

Dexiang Qian, Girl with Venus Flytrap, oil on canvas @ Little Show of Horrors @ Bartram’s Garden Gallery.  An honorable mention award winner, the painting explores the mystery and allure of collecting exotic plants.  The display of carniverous plants in Bartram’s Garden is unbelievably fascinating, DoN highly recommends seeking out the display while the Summer is still hot.  Venus Flytraps are indigenous to the Carolina’s and their habitat is being encroached upon, Bartram’s Garden offers a glimpse into a strange & wondrous world of ecology and botany and it’s fragility.

Alden Cole’s Starlings tap into a deep psychological pattern recognition much like ancient man must have reacted to the Venus of Willendorf; the simple play of line and shape is loaded with narrative, a single line of graphite tingling the hive memory deep in our genetic code.

Michael Diprinzio @ Bartram’s Garden Gallery “Little Show of Horrors” featuring Da Vinci Art Alliance members.

Emily Orb with Bartram’s Garden director Louise Turen with “The Garden of Earthly Delights“, silk  painting was honored with Best in Show.  The reinvention of Bosch’s iconic dream scape is rendered with modern characters and technique, filling an entire wall of the historic space.

Dr. Debra Miller presenting awards @ Little Show of Horrors.  The Bartram’s Garden Gallery is in the oldest barn in Philadelphia and a wonderful space for art shows with the rough stone white-washed walls, wide wood plank floors and ancient windows - and air conditioning!

Rachel Citrino, Ted Warchal (Most Creative winner) and the painting duo Karen McDonnell & Tony Cortosi @ Little Show of Horrors.  The show runs though August 22nd and members of the alliance will be gallery sitting, Alden & DoN will be on sight all day Wednesday.

The art party opening for Little Show of Horrors @ Bartram’s Garden Gallery sponsored by the Da Vince Art Alliance.  For a free downloadable version of DoN Brewer’s Honorable Mention winner, “Botanical Print”, click here.

Burnell Yow!, “Dolls of the Apocalypse“, Smile Gallery.

Burnell Yow!, “Mummy Barbie“.

B. Yow!, L. Parkes, D. Walters, “Exquisite Corpse #33“, giclee print, 20″ x 16″

Joroko,”March On“, mixed media.

Joroko, “Subtext“, mixed media.

Bricolage, pronounced /ˌbriːkoʊˈlɑːʒ/, /ˌbrɪkoʊˈlɑːʒ/ is a term used in several disciplines, among them the visual arts and literature, to refer to the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things which happen to be available, or a work created by such a process. The term is borrowed from the French word bricolage, from the verb bricoler – the core meaning in French being, “fiddle, tinker” and, by extension, “make creative and resourceful use of whatever materials are to hand (regardless of their original purpose).”

A person who engages in bricolage is a bricoleur.

Thank you Wikipedia!

Burnell’s dolls are totemic, shamanistic, zen-like, beatific, clever, ironic, dystopian creations repurposing objet trouve and doll parts.  The digital “exquisite corpse” prints are a great stealable idea - so po-mo.

Joroko’s goth skeletons populating bombed out surfaces, dancing and cavorting with stars, stripes, crosses and words perfectly counterpoints the odd dolls - somehow the energy of the room becomes a bad boy’s fantasy world of stealing your sister’s dolls and ripping the heads off and drawing war scenes with explosions, craters and bodies.  Dr. Deb Miller curated the show - deep.

Michael Jackson was the penultimate post-modern artist; the indelible impression of a person being able to transform race, gender, age, and identity with the use of mass media is an artform beyond the realm of acceptance for many.  Like a human collage Michael had a tiny doll nose, pretty pink lips, fawn eyes, opalescent skin, Liz Taylor hair and Kirk Douglas jaw line, his thin frame absolutely perfect in the “You Are Not Alone” video.  Only in our futuristic present are people able to transform their physical being to match their internal identity, anyone can change their look, even in the slums of Brazil breast augmentation is big business.  Michael Jackson was a true visionary who understood the synergy of image, performance and marketing to penetrate the minds of people even to the farthest corners of Earth.

The French artist, Orlan, famously uses plastic surgery to transform her image creating ugly/beautiful, intriguing/repulsive, ancient/futuristic changes to her face.  Cheek and lip implants, bulbous forehead adornments, Cruella DaVille hair all mashed up to create a shocking, memorable experience - a design using human flesh as canvas. Check out Orlan’s website - she is a trip!  On David Bowie’s “1 Outside” album, the CD liner notes tell the tale of a performance artist who cuts off small bits of his body for an audience of connosseurs willing to pay for the privilege of witnessing self-mutilation, the artist cutting off digits and bits of muscle till only one arm remained.  Art is in the eye of the beholder.

Stefan Sagmeister’s famous AIGA poster.

DoN LoVeD Michael, always believing he would never harm a child.  A friend once told DoN he saw Michael Jackson with a wheelchair bound child at a ride in Disney World, the people in line went wild asking for autographs but Michael told the crowd he was there to be with the sick kid and devoted hours to making a child’s dream come true.  We are the world.

In Your Dreams
June 11 - September 11, 2009
50 Philadelphia artists showcase work related to dreams.  Juried by the Art In City Hall Exhibitions Committee. 2nd and 4th floors, NE corner.  Art in City Hall has been offering public art shows for more than 20 years, displaying work in large display cases, the ongoing exhibition is usually theme-based with the current show focused on dream imagery juried by a panel of professional artists.  The exhibition features drawing (Justin Duerr is the bomb), fantastical jewelry by Christine Alaniz, photography by Morris Klein and Julia Blaukopf, paintings by Patricia Burns and Anne Caramanico, sculptures by Brujo De La Mancha, mixed media and books.  The strength of the show is the acceptance of many forms of art to visualize and share such deeply personal experiences.

Display case two clockwise: DoN Brewer, Shell Game, scanner/Photoshop collage, Brujo De La Mancha, mixed media painting and sculptures, Kathryn Johnston, Saturation, mixed media collage.

Alex Cohen.  This painting seems to tell an entire dream story with a beginning, middle and end.

Angela Washko, “Imposter”, oil on canvas - the large painting highlights confusing imagery of bunnies confronting a slipper demonstrating the duality of dreams where friendly subjects take on menacing behaviors.

 Tanya Dodd, The Right Track, photography and mixed media.  Not all dreams are strange, some are dreams of escape and finding the route to happiness, security and freedom.

 Artist Tanya Dodd recently had a solo show at The African American Museum.

DoN Brewer with Morris Klein’s digital photograph “Daydreaming“, DoN Brewer’s digital photo “light being (Edward Hopper)” and DoN Brewer’s digital photo”hole” @ Art in City Hall, Philadelphia.  Photo by Les Howard.

Philadelphia City Hall is a spectacular venue for art with every detail of the building designed to the max - sculpture, painting, wood, marble, gold - it is an honor to have art displayed in such a great historic space; a dream come true.

After Dr. Deb’s lecture about Andy Warhol @ Fleisher, DoN visited the studio of Karen McDonnell & Anthony Cortosi - the art team behind award-winning, evocative stencil, spray paint and mixed media paintings appropriately iconic images of Elvis, Betty Grable, Janet Leigh, and much like Andy Warhol, even Factory Superstars like Joe Dallesandro.  The difference is the McDonnell/Cortosi hive mind extracts the images from media, then cuts the stencils, sprays the paint, makes marks, composes word structures  -  making each piece different even if in series, instead of slavishly copying with silk screen; it’s not so much appropriation as it is appreciation of popular culture, visual iconography, memes, idols, graffiti tagging, sticker art, words, naive primitivism and cave painting.

The team currenty has a show @ Roger Lapelle Galleries in Old City.

 Karen McDonnell & Anthony Cortosi.

Dr. Deb Miller compared Andy Warhol’s Cow wallpaper to Flemish cow paintings; McDonnell/Cortosi continues the theme of farm animals as subject for decorative paintings now created with spray-paint, stencils and markers, once to fill the homes of wealthy landowners, now it’s downtown lofts and street art.

The studio of Karen McDonnell & Anthony Cortosi.

Dr. Debra Miller presented an informative, witty, insider view to Andy Warhol and his critics as compared to past masters like Caravaggio who was also harshly and publicly criticized by his contemporaries.  Dr. Deb writes arts reviews for the Inferno and like DoN prefers not to write bad reviews, but, some reviewers get more exposure for being nasty and saying dismissive statements in the press.  Andy Warhol would have now have been 80 years old, Dr. Deb’s slideshow included lots of clues and tips to the content of his work, it was great seeing the Andy Warhol Superstars being compared to Birth of Venus and Vermeer’s use of the camera obscura compared to Andy’s appropriation of newspaper images for his Death & Disaster series.

The Sunday afternoon lecture was fun and interactive, Dr. Deb Miller’s fact filled, myth busting monolog followed with a great Q&A is a terrific way to pick up quips and quotes:

• image hunger of the masses
• the cheaper more despicable the better - Lucy Lippard
• the reason Andy painted soup is because he ate it everyday

Alden Cole’s “Lucy in the Sky“, marker. DoN sees this drawing as the work of one of Philadelphia’s master artists; the combination of illustration, foreshortening, coloration, line quality, relevance and sensitivity to the subject, immortalizing the model. Then DoN realizes it’s marker pens on paper, the same as used in graffiti, popping energy and vibration, ancient and future knowledge, high and low art all vibrating from a single moment in space and time, into the gallery space. Absorbing the power of the messages being transmitted through Cole’s art is like time-tripping through art history in an instant. When you walk up the steps into the studio gallery, this is where the eye is drawn first.

Lois Schlachter, “Clown Fish“, acrylic. Super flat, futuristic, meticulous trips into the swirly world of Lois’ paintings is like a glimpse into a dream of the best amusement park ride you even went on, the kind that’s so fast and so thrilling that you can’t scream because it’s so much fun.

Marie Davis Samohod, “Ionic Table“, acylic, Naomi Rubin, “The Beauty of the Land”, watercolor.

Alan J. Klawans, Mike Guinn & Bob Jackson @ the Plastic Club’s 97th Annual Members Medal Show. Without people like these men it just doesn’t happen; the exhibition is so strong, the display so expertly installed and the experience design so inclusive, warm and inviting that it feels natural and accessible but tremendous amounts of work go into such a huge installation, these guys deserve credit for bringing out the best and making it happen. The art movement is Philadelphia is strong and determined, DoN LoVes it when people proudly tell which Philadelphia art school they went to and how organizations like the Plastic Club fill the void of the commaraderie of attending a school of art.

DoN Brewer, “Thanksgiving“, digital photo, Jeanne Coryell, “Mandala“, watercolor and Alice Meyer-Wallace, “Vrikis And Glads“, oil.

The Plastic Club’s 97th Annual Members Medal Exhibition award winners: Katherine Stanek, The Plastic Club Gold Medal, Jake Smith, The Plastic Club Silver Medal, John Benigno, The Zeigler Prize, Ben Wilson, The Dorothy Invernizzi Guinn Memorial Prize.