Missing a super short video clip on Anthony C and Karen M YouTube channel is sublime, a word DoN doesn’t get to use often. Anthony C and Karen M take their work to the street and see beyond the visual chatter interjecting their own thoughtful tags to the narrative of public art in Philadelphia. Read more about the artists at Side Arts Philadelphia art blog.
Video clip and photo courtesy of Anthony C and Karen M
DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog
Urban Jungle, DoN Brewer at The Plastic Club, Urban Observations, February 2012.
DoN shoots all his photographs for DoNArTNeWs art blog and Side Arts art blog with a Kodak Easyshare Z981 14 MP Digital Camera with Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 26xWide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens and 3.0-Inch LCD Sreen
The reason DoN is promoting Kodak is because they are an American manufacturing company in Rochester, NY, USA, Planet Earth, Milky Way, they invented digital photography and they recently declared bankruptcy. Kodak has a long history, “Kodak has made it easy to enjoy your pictures. The expression ‘You Press the Button, We do the rest’ was a common advertising slogan in the 1890s. This familiar expression was also set to music. Visit our interactive history of Kodak products to listen and see some of today’s latest digital products and our early film and cameras from the 1880s.” Kodak website. DoN used a Kodak Brownie camera growing up and still relies on the reliable quality and customer support of Kodak for his Kodak Easyshare Z981 14 MP Digital Camera with Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 26xWide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens and 3.0-Inch LCD Sreen
DoNArTNeWs is using affiliate marketing, peppering the text with hyperlinks and ads, to generate revenue to move to an improved WordPress platform; clicking links and ads may take you to website for companies like Kodak which DoN personally uses in his art or blogging or to related resources like artist’s websites. If you buy a product as a result of clicking a link in the art blog or the DoNArTNeWs sidebar a commission is generated for DoNArTNeWs.
Help DoNArTNeWs grow and support Kodak.
DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog
Update 2/9/2012 Kodak will discontinue manufacturing digital cameras.
Yas Reven, collage giclee, Dan Eells, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Untitled, Zach Whitehurst, ink on paper, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Cube, Max Lefko-Everett, cast glass and found object, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Lilliana Didovic, Something Red 1, Something Red 2, acrylic on canvas paintings, Sarah House, Mimic, porcelain, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Wes Valdez, Blur, blown and mirrored glass, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Raphael Fenton-Spaid, Ode to Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina #1, acrylic on mylar adhered to masonite, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Raphael Fenton-Spaid, Ode to Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina, detail, acrylic on mylar adhered to masonite, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Third Friday in Millville NJ is ten years old, the art crawl has become a nexus of art and culture in South Jersey. A model for other towns using art to revitalize the downtown, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts is a multi-use art space with galleries, gift shop and artist studios creating a hub of artistic activity. Liz Nicklus, the interim Director of RRCA, and a founding board member said to DoN, “I was very honord when the board asked me to come back and be the interim director here and it’s working out to be wonderful so far.” Emergence is the first show at RRCA since Nicklus has assumed leadership, she says, “I have a wonderful Assistant Director who curated most of the show in the main gallery, Brandon Smith, a glass artist from Wheaton Arts so he has assembled a lot of artists that he knows. Of course, we have Lilliana Didovic from Philadelphia, as well. On the other side we have the center’s member artists and I think it’s a very successful show. The artists in the main gallery are from all over from as far as New York and Philadelphia, in the other gallery are artists from all over South Jersey, they’re our Center artists, some are from Millville, some are from farther away. This gives them an opportunity to show what they’ve been working on.”
“Benefits to joining include, besides getting to show, you have opportunities to take classes, reduced rates on entries to other shows, a reduced commission, there are a lot of benefits to being a Center member. It’s a good place for people to get their feet wet if they’re just starting out in the art world. Folks say ‘How do I get a chance to show my stuff?’ Well, here’s a place to start, and Center membership is not as expensive as being an associate member and also you don’t have to be juried in.”
Liz says, “I’m a big fan of mixed media and I love to see what people do with found objects. That’s my first love anyway. Every piece in Emergence you can walk up to and become absorbed in whether it’s because of the process, or just the reflections, or the detail, it’s a very captivating show.”
DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog
Hayley Tomlinson, One Accolade I Must Achieve To Become A Successfully Working Artist, digital print featuring a hand made ribbon at Prelude Gallery, January 13th, 2nd Friday in Center City.
DoN asked Hayley Tomlinson about the eclectic collection of art objects she’s showing at Prelude Gallery including photography, prints, fiber and needle-work. “I‘m interested in everything. I do some blogging on Tumblr and what I really like is looking at the images on Tumblr and seeing what is trending? What are people interested in?” Giggles. “What I think about is, how can I capitalize on that and how can I gain popularity and become more well known. But, also I kind of just think when I make things wouldn’t it be funny if I just made this. Like I made a drawing of a toilet in a forest of birch trees.” Giggles. “I thought it was funny because I hate the thought of having to go to the bathroom in the woods but I guess if there are toilets in there but then I guess I‘d be OK.”
“I think about things I desire and things I fear like how can I be a better artist? And how can I be a more successful well known artist which is what the photographs are about.” DoN noted the portraiture with ribbons and how they stand out. “There are four ribbons First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention. These two are Third Place and Honorable Mention, I think they’re the two photographs that have been most successful and most successfully represented my Adobe Photoshop skills. I was thinking, I‘m in Philadelphia and what do I need to do in Philadelphia to be more well known. And one is being featured on the art blog. And that ended up happening. I had an article on the art blog and they showed that photograph. The other photograph is about the blog Tumblr which I think is very important for contemporary art, especially young people in art. People see my work on Tumblr and really respond to it, then that will really help me get my name out.”
Hayley Tomlinson, 627 Reblogs on Tumblr, handmade ribbon with photograph at Prelude Gallery.
Read more about Hayley Tomlinson and Prelude Gallery at Side Arts.
DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art Blog
Photographs by DoN
Kodak Easyshare Z981
DoN Brewer
Red, 48″ x 60″. mixed media on canvas, page 17 of Her Philadelphia Tales, The Art of Lilliana S. Didovic (Volume 1)
Philadelphia Loves Lilliana!
Cover of Her Philadelphia Tales, The Art of Lilliana S. Didovic (Volume 1)
Blogging for DoNArTNeWs and Side Arts is one of those opportunities people talk about when they say, “Do what you love,” DoN loves writing about Philadelphia art, artists, photographers, designers, sculptors and cultural leaders of all stripes. Helping the creative community get publicity is self serving and generative simultaneously resulting in the opportunity to publish this book. Thank you to the Philadelphia art community for accepting DoNArTNeWs and DoN Brewer on Side Arts as a reliable art review resource . Thank you to Philly Side Arts for helping DoN think bigger. Thank you to Lilliana S. Didovic for trusting me with Her Philadelphia Tales, The Art of Lilliana S. Didovic (Volume 1)
Read more about Her Philadelphia Tales at Side Arts Philadelphia art blog.
LoVe
DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog
Sibylle-Maria Pfaffenbichler, Yes Indeed, acrylic & pastel, “The Annual Domenic DiStefano Memorial 2012 Juried Works on Paper Exhibition”, at The Philadelphia Sketch Club through 1/21/2012.
Richard Harrington, 1956 T-bird , gouache on paper at The Philadelphia Sketch Club “The Annual Domenic DiStefano Memorial 2012 Juried Works on Paper Exhibition”.
Lisa Lawinski Buchler, Acacia Tress and Bleeding Hearts, mixed media, The Philadelphia Sketch Club Works on Paper 2012
Lisa Lawinski Buchler, Acacia Tress and Bleeding Hearts, The Philadelphia Sketch Club “The Annual Domenic DiStefano Memorial 2012 Juried Works on Paper Exhibition”
Judy Engle, Loft Life with Ginger Cat, mixed media collage with tape at Philadelphia Sketch Club “The Annual Domenic DiStefano Memorial 2012 Juried Works on Paper Exhibition”.
Judy Engle’s tape collage, Loft Life with Ginger Cat, has a depth and density that is confusingly 3D. Judy told DoN that friend’s told her that tape would deteriorate but the artist has found just the opposite. Ignoring the negative feedback, Judy Engle had both of her entries accepted into the exclusive exhibition and took home an Honarable Mention award.
Judy Engle, Philadelphia Sketch Club Works on Paper 2012. The reflected light is from the large window over the Winner’s Wall, you may even notice the model ship on the sill and the skylight which makes the gallery/studio so appealing for making art.
Harry S. Camarda, In Thought, charcoal, The Philadelphia Sketch Club Works on Paper 2012
Harry S. Camarda, In Thought, charcoal, The Philadelphia Sketch Club Works on Paper 2012
The Philadelphia Sketch Club “The Annual Domenic DiStefano Memorial 2012 Juried Works on Paper Exhibition”, through January 21st, 2012, is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the variety of media, ideas and combinations of materials that constitutes art made on and with paper. Excluding photography, the show displays exquisite works by many of Philadelphia finest artists; the first place winner Harry S. Camarda’s In Thought, a magnificent charcoal drawing that recalls the era of Thomas Eakins, a PSC founder, and reaffirms the mission of the Philadelphia Sketch Club - where artists grow.
Read about New Wave Art Fine Art Products on Side Arts blog.
DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog
Photographs by DoN
Kodak Digital Cameras
Tecu’Mish Munha’ke, Put on Your Big Girl Panties and Cowgirl Up, three assemblages at The Plastic Club.
Tecu’Mish Munha’ke submitted three assemblages for the New Members 2012 exhibition, Put on Your Big Girl Panties and Cowgirl Up, Out of Order (a large assemblage sculpture that grabs your attention) and Feed Me. Take that all you Untitlers out there!
Cary Galbraith, Frog Hollow, oil, at The Plastic Club New Members 2012
At first glance DoN thought this languid landscape was by Robert Daniel Bohne’ but then DoN overheard someone say that she, Cary Galbraith, painted with Bohne. The cross influences artists have on each other is one of the best parts of being involved in an art group like the Plastic Club and is a hallmark of the Philadelphia art scene.
Leon Graff, Parkside, acrylic, at the Plastic Club New Member 2012
“Leon Graff was born in South Africa and was trained in South Africa and London. He has lived and exhibited in London, Seattle, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia and New York City. His paintings hang in many private collections in New York City, Philadelphia, Canada, Florida and Europe.” - Fine Art Liasons website
Leon Graff’s paintings capture the vibrancy and fun of the thriving Philadelphia art scene. Congratulations to the New Members of The Plastic Club. Learn more about the art club in DoN’s interview with Bob Jackson on the Philly Side Arts blog. Member’s of the Plastic Club looking to expand their web presence and consolidate their social networking links may consider an artist portfolio page on Side Arts.
Photographs by DoN Brewer
Kodak Digital Cameras
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Kevin Lehman, The Need for Fundamental Change @ University of the Arts, Hamilton Hall Public Arts Initiative, Broad and Pine Streets, Philadelphia.
DoN walked past the sculpture vitrines in front of the University of the Arts and it appeared one of the sculptures had been pulled loose. It was January 3rd and the Mummers Parade crowd can get pretty rowdy, generally Philadelphians are art friendly but you never know. DoN felt anger and disgust that someone had damaged a public art piece, especially since some very beautiful and ephemeral pieces have graced the vitrines over the years with no vandalism.
But, this piece looks like it was moved across the plaza. In the light of day the reality of the installation came together - the sculpture had actually pulled itself loose from it’s mooring near the grand stairs to the Temple and crawled to the garden wall leaving a trail of wire and debris behind. In the garden, pod-like ceramic pots are birthing televisions and computer monitors, while the master motherboard hovers nearby protecting the brood. Smaller pots have already invaded the farther reaches of the Japanese-ish stone garden connected by umbilical cords of red wire to the mother pods. Kevin Lehman’s studio is in Lancaster PA.
Kevin Lehman, The Need for Fundamental Change @ University of the Arts Hamilton Hall Public Arts Initiative.
Kevin Lehman, The Need for Fundamental Change is the artist’s MFA Thesis Exhibition through January 15th, 2012. For more information on the Hamilton Hall Public Arts Initiative contact jgirandola@uarts.edu
Kevin Lehman, The Need for Fundamental Change @ University of the Arts Hamilton Hall Public Arts Initiative
Kevin Lehman, The Need for Fundamental Change @ University of the Arts Hamilton Hall Public Arts Initiative
Photos by DoN Brewer
Sanding Ovations, Treasure Island, Florida
DoN was reading the art blog on the Huffington Post and came across a story about a sand castle artist. DoN attended the Sanding Ovations Sand Castle competition on Treasure Island, Florida in November 2011 and was impressed by the high content level of the sand castles created with such lowly materials. Sand castles is a misnomer because the artist’s create sculpture out of a difficult and ephemeral material. DoNArTNeWs abandoned the story as vacation pics and not Philadelphia Art related, but it was a really good show, very competitive and extraordinarily creative. And if Huff Post can cover sand sculpture art, so can DoN.
The metaphors and memes are just all over this category of sculpture from fading beauty to art as play to time conquers all. The term sand castle just blows up with memories of childhood beach days. Sanding Ovations exposes art to the community in a fun, understandable if confounding way and creates an experience design that’s inspiring to kids and adults.
First Place Prize and Sculptors Award Winner at Sanding Ovations.
The sand castle metaphor is apropos for artists who have to pull together disparate elements creating an object like a painting to be accepted by the community as a work of art. Like herding cats, DoN chases after elusive grants, competes for wall space in art shows, makes new art, visits art shows, writes and promotes daily, constantly developing the DoN brand. The sand castle DoN is working on now includes this blog, Contributing Writer to Side Arts, a tech start up, Philly based company, offering an excellent web presence for artists and DoN is near completion of a new book about Lilliana Didovic based on her art and the reviews DoN has published on DoNArTNeWs and Side Arts.
Karen M commented she hadn’t seen DoN around much lately, he’s been building sand castles and the wind and the waves slow his progress. But, today The Philadelphia Sketch Club and The Plastic Club have openings with an abundancce of art and artists, last night DoN experienced Kile Smith’s, Vespers with Piffaro the Renaissance Music Band and The Crossing at Old Saint Joe’s Church in Old City - there’s another show today, if you can get tickets, the music, singing and orchestration is transcendental. Talk about castles made of sand, about forty singers and musicians come together and produce an hour of spectacular beauty that wafts away on the breeze like a sand castle erodes from the weather.
View a clip from the Vespers premier in 2008, DoNBrewerMultimedia on YouTube.
DoN
Photographs by DoN Brewer shot with
Laurentiu Todie, The One @ Art Ability Bryn Mawr Rehab Center, Malvern, PA.
DoNArTNeWs finally appears on page one in Google for the search term “Philadelphia art blogs“, thank you very much! DoN has written more than four hundred reviews, interviews and promotions about the Philadelphia regional art scene for DoNArTNeWs. The most frequently accessed pages include the term “Philadelphia art” in the web site statistics, “art” is the number one search term. Philadelphia art is a search term that thousands of people are investigating because the Philly art scene is, as Mayor Michael Nutter stated at the West Collects press conference, “Strong!” Great art has become synonymous with Philadelphia because of the high end cultural institutions like PMA and the innovative neighborhood artist enclaves, clubs, alliances and collectives that pervade the city and the region, creating an amorphous idea of what is Philadelphia art? Is it the great art speak that PAFA teaches it’s students? Is it the gritty allure of Fishtown, Northern Liberties or Germantown and the satisfaction of getting in early on something bohemian, eclectic, outrageous or controversial? Is Philadelphia really the sixth borough of NYC?
Art is strong and vibrant in Philadelphia with wonderful resources but DoN has heard institutional leaders say the majority of public dollars get directed to the top tier while smaller groups compete for shrinking grant money and must endure its grueling paperwork. Rachel Zimmerman of InLiquid, one of the oldest artist profile websites of its kind in Philadelphia, told DoN this past Summer that artists have three jobs: making art, selling art and the job to pay for buying art materials. Artist Gregory Prestegord told DoN there are more like seven jobs to get to what he calls “a state of meditation“, the time he actually gets to spend making art, a broad circle of activities, many unrelated to art production, must happen to get to the moment of meditation when art appears out of seemingly nowhere. Art and the creative economy is enormous in Philadelphia, the competition for money is daunting, yet artists keep pushing against the obstacles and work hard to be known as a Philadelphia Artist, the second most popular search term for DoNArTNeWs‘ Philadelphia art blog.
Search Philadelphia art, who knows what you might discover?
Happy New Year!
LoVe
DoN
Read more about Art Ability at Philly.SideArts art blog and DoNArTNeWs art blog.
DoNArTNeWs
I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion is for artists of all kinds. Painters, sculptors, ceramist, jewelers, photographers, and others will benefit from the easy-to-follow self-promotion practices in this book.
Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.
The book includes online worksheets and downloads.
