Tag Archives: Philadelphia Art News

Attic Graffix

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Fabian DeJesus, Attic Graffix

Attic Graffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery. Fabian DeJesus

First Friday in Old City is a Philadelphia art tradition that has taken on a life of it’s own, check out the Old City facebook page. The arts district attraction is vibrant and exciting, if a bit exhausting, with street art vendors, musicians, even a magician, mixed with the art openings 2nd Street is like an ersatz art festival. Many of the galleries are having their own artists set up tables on the street to control the activity at their storefront, setting up a feedback loop taking advantage of the street art to draw people into the actual galleries.

Bluestone Fine Art Gallery hosted an exhibit of art created by Attic Graffix, the design arm of The Attic Youth Center, had a table of super-kawaii Tee-shirts, bags and pillows with pop designs out on the street. Inside the gallery, the space is totally activated with vibrant graphics created by the young artists paired with artwork created by established fine artists.

Attic Fraffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

Attic Graffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

DoN met the art director of Attic Graffix, Beth Pulcinella, of The Attic Youth Center.

Beth Pulcinella said, “We’re sort of thinking of it as how to build sustainable youth reach out project that young people can have really regular income. I mean the way with the high school job market is, I mean the job market in general, but high school youth…a lot of the kids at the Attic are helping their families with rent and bills and stuff. So, they’re really having a hard time. I think, a lot of us are like, ‘How can we be creative with whatever funds we can get or our own creativity.”

Fabian DeJesus, Attic Graphix

Fabian DeJesus, Attic Graffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

“How can we create things where young people can have, like, jobs that they enjoy. With dignity, to support their dreams and their future artistic aspirations.

The Attic Youth Center serves folks 14 to 23 but Attic Graffix tends to be a project for older youth. Those who are out of high school. My youngest is 19 and my oldest is 22. And there’s six of us, we’ve been meeting now for over a year, twice a week, it happens more in the afternoon and the evening, because we don’t have the space in the morning. But, we have a print shop we can pull out of closets and last year with all the money they made they got to figure out what new equipment they wanted.

So, we have a really fancy light table, it’s a pretty state-of-the-art silk screen shop. We can do custom orders for your team or organization. Tee-shirts, we can print them for you.”

DoN bought a deep orange skinny T with a Fabian DeJesus design of a tiger head on a kitten’s body with an op art zig zag background. The prolific young designer’s bold, Dadaist designs draw on pop culture and pop art simultaneously and effortlessly. And make the perfect statement to draw attention to the efforts of Attic Graffix.

Attic Graphix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

Attic Graffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

“We’re working on getting a store on-line. We have yet to make that happen, but we’re out at a lot of the art festivals. It’s The Attic Youth Center‘s 20th year. And it’s an amazing place, it provides a ton of programs, there’s counseling, there’s life skills, all sorts of programming from dance to cooking to video. You know, it’s a lot of stuff, in terms of housing support, we don’t have housing but connecting youths. We do testing, we have a peer support prevention project, sex education stuff, there’s a lot of stuff happening there.” said Beth Pulcinella.

DoN wondered how they connected with Bluestone Fine Art Gallery?

“Well, Rex, he’s an interior designer and artist in Philly, wanted to organize a fundraiser and a show. The initial idea was youth would submit an unfinished idea then it would get paired with a local professional artist. But, I was like, we have a lot of other great stuff. Is there a way that some of our other work could be part of the show? There are these triptychs that are collaborations, a youth piece that an artist received and then created a new work. And then the youth can have a piece in the show and the artist can have a piece in the show.”

MASHUP, Jackson & Hipple, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

MASHUP, Jackson & Hipple, 40″ x 32″, $150.00, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

Attic Graffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

Attic Graffix, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

The long-term goal of Attic Graffix is to create a sustainable and profitable business that reflects and supports The Attic Youth Center’s mission of assisting LGBTQ youth in developing valuable workforce development and leadership skills.  Currently, Attic Graffix is using two specific marketing strategies:

  1. Distributing and selling Attic Graffix merchandise at community events such as Pride, Outfest, art fairs, and youth events.
  2. Accepting print orders from nonprofit organizations, schools, community groups, and individuals. Attic Graffix will work with your organization to print silk screen merchandise that meets your specific needs.  Recent customers include Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project and William Way Community Center.

Attic Graffix strongly values sustainable practices and innovative and compassionate business models. For more information, or to place an order, please email graffix@atticyouthcenter.org. – The Attic Youth Center website.

Read more about Bluestone Fine Art Gallery at www.DoNArTNeWs.com

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.

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Library of Life

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Richard Berlingeri, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Richard Berlingeri, Ode to a Dear Old Friend, newspaper and glue, 80″ diameter, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Sean Stoops, one of the jurors for the Library of Life exhibit in the art gallery in Philadelphia City Hall, explained to DoN how he came to be part of this monumental exhibition.

I’m on the Art in City Hall Committee, so when there’s an open call jury, usually one of the jurors is a committee member and then we try to invite an outside person, a guest juror. In this case, Jennifer Santchi of the Academy of Natural Sciences, their exhibits person. So, she come’s at it from a science and art background.

The show looks very impressive and exciting, it’s really a diverse group of artists in terms of the styles of working and approaches to how they portray Nature and Science. I would say it’s more of a Nature show, than Science. There are obviously over-lapping ideas there but I kind of see it how Nature is portrayed by these people. And investigating the relationship with Humans and Nature.- Sean Stoops

Richard Berlingeri, Ode to a Dear Old Friend, is made from the New York Times and glue, using only the green paper. The paper tendrils are actually just the green pages from the newspaper twisted up like a jungle vine, loose tendrils dangle to the floor like roots.

Ted Warchal, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Ted Warchal, The Medusa and the Gastropod, assemblage, paint, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Gary Steuer, the Chief Cultural Officer, greeted the audience gathered in the halls outside of Philadelphia’s unique art gallery located on the ground floor of City Hall.

“I run the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and I want to thank you all for being here with us in this wonderful building, City Hall. I want to thank all the artists, forty artists selected from over two hundred artists. It was really an extraordinary array of art that was submitted and I just think it’s a really, really exciting show, thanks to the work of the many artists. There are too many to name but I want to thank you en masse. I want to thank the jurors, Jennifer Santchi and Sean Stoops, needless to say with all these submissions jurying this show was a lot of work.

Karen Spiro from the Academy, who worked on this project, I want to thank her. And, also, Tu Huynh from my staff, without these shows, these exhibitions in City Hall could not happen. I want to talk a bit about the gallery space and the work we do. We try to make the programming work that we do, rather than having it competing with other organizations around town, it reinforces, it magnifies their work. So, we really try to work through partnerships. The work that we do in the gallery particularly, virtually every exhibition we do in the gallery is a partnership with another organization. It uses the gallery and the visibilty of City Hall to give the opportunity to tell different stories of our wonderful organizations throughout Philadelphia.” – Gary Steuer

Elisabeth Nickles, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Elisabeth Nickles, Creature of Sea Consciousness, steel wire, handmade Abaca paper, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

“We began a conversation between our team and the Academy about a year ago about how we could be a part of the celebration of their 200th Anniversary. And, we’re really, really excited that we were able to partner with them to make this exhibition happen. I think, one of the great things about this exhibit, I was talking to Sean Stoops earlier, is that it really plays on a strength in Philadelphia.

We have an extraordinary arts community but we also have an extraordinary science sector here, as well. We have The Science Center, great teaching and research institutions and as a result of that we have a lot of artist who are really interested in exploring the inter-connection in Art and Nature and Science. I think we’re particularly strong in this aspect and the caliber of the work in the show is a reflection of that particular strength. When I tell folks what defines Philadelphia, we have a lot of artists who are interested in working this way and frankly there’s a lot of science and technology folks who love collaborating with artists.

And, so I don’t think it’s an accident that we have a Science Festival and Arts Festivals and Tech Week and all of these things happening, sometimes simultaneously. Because it is part of the truth that makes up Philadelphia right now. And I think it’s a really exciting time to be here.” – Gary Steuer

Maria Markovich, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Maria Markovich, Doll With Fish, wire mesh, birch bark, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

DoN met the artist Maria Markovich in the gallery and asked about her art making process? Doll With Fish has a found object vibe but it is very much human made.

“I work mostly with birch bark. I build the forms with wire mesh. A lot of the work is about my experience of nature growing up and the interest it’s given me in nature throughout my life. I thought a lot about my early experiences with nature. This particular piece called Doll With Fish and it’s about a fish I caught. It’s about a lot of things, but one of the things it’s about is a fish I caught when I was 18, right before I went away to college. It was the largest fish that anyone in my family had caught and it was a Salmon.

It was quite an experience, i was standing in the stream with waders on, which I’d done many times before because my father took us fishing on the weekends. But, I had never caught a fish by myself, that kind of a fish, by myself. And it was right before I went away to college and it’s always been a memorable experience.” – Maria Markovich

 

Nancy Agati, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Nancy Agati, Trees Are Like Water, digital photo, lightbox, articulated arm, diffusion glass, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Library of Life Juror, Jennifer Santchi of the Academy of Natural Sciences, said to DoN,

“We have an Art of Science gallery at the Academy and we’ve found there’s a lot of inspiration in these topics for people. There’s a lot of artists, especially new artists, who are absolutely inspired by Nature. I think it’s wonderful if you’re coming from a big city. And I saw that here, too. Works that were submitted, over 200 plus submissions, they’re astonsishing. They’re so different. And some of them are so naturalistic. Some of them are so symbolic and decorative, some are much more ethereal. I really enjoy it.

There’s the piece by Elisabeth Nickles that looks so boney, ghostly, a little frightening. It’s called a Sea Creature and it’s just, to come up with that when you’re thinking of Nature is wonderful. Then there’s the piece that looks like bee-hive holes, rolls of paper, it’s amazing.” – Jennifer Santchi of the Academy of Natural Sciences

Ava Blitz, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Ava Blitz, Wings, carved foam, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

DoN has witnessed artist Ava Blitz carve ethereal, sinuous shapes, crisp white, from recycled blocks and chunks of styrofoam. Mountains and piles of the common material surrounded her like chunks on snow. Styrofoam is 98% air yet is transformative and persistent against air, water, dirt and biota. Wings represents Nature’s propensity to flying by using a modern marvel material, developed in 1941when Dow Chemical researchers were able to foam polystyrene, making a buoyant material with insulating properties. But this stuff doesn’t go away when we’re done with it. Ava Blitz makes it into art.

Ava Blitz says in her artist statement,

“Lines tend to blur in my work between fossil and artifact, natural history and cultural history, and the present, past and future.”

Stan Smokler, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Stan Smokler, Polaris, welded steel, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Stan Smokler, Thomas Vance,Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Stan Smokler, Thomas Vance, Perfect Storm, oil, ink on canvas, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Elizabeth Miller McCue, Art in City Hall, Library of Life

Elizabeth Miller McCue, Ball of Leaves, patinated cast bronze. Nami Yamamoto, Radiant Flux, handmade paper: Abaca with phosphorescent powder. Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Florence Moonan, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Florence Moonan, LP1209, acrylic on vintage vinyl, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Florence Moonan, LP1209, is not a cast bronze disc, it’s an up-cycled vinyl long playing record. The piece removes from the custom base.

“The outdated LPs have been prepared, and painted on both sides for viewing front and back. I enjoy recycling this part of my past into an artistic creation that can be appreciated by others, while helping to reduce man’s impact on nature.” – Florence Moonan artist statement.

Dolores Poacelli, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Dolores Poacelli, Acid Rain, sanded aluminum press plates, acrylic paint on pine panels, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Orlando Pelliccia, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

Orlando Pelliccia, cast rubber, Library of Life, Art in City Hall

George Gephart, the President and CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University said,

“This is such a wonderful way for us to punctuate what has been a great year, our Bicentennial year. And I hope many of you have taken advantage of the different activities that we’ve had, but best of all, we have this exhibit. Which really marries our strength and history in science with art right here at City Hall.

Certainly, as I think about the work that has gone into this, and I just got a taste. There are two more floors, I’m excited to see it because just getting this first peek, it says that the Art in City Hall Committee and Tu Huyhn, you did a fabulous job. What’s fun for us from the Academy to see is that many, if not all, of the artists had a chance to come to the Academy, to get behind the scenes, to look at our collections and to be inspired by what we do. And, so looking at my team here, as we look at various pieces we say, ‘Ah! I know where that came from.’And I know what the inspiration was.’ That’s very, very exciting. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t encourage you to come to the Academy, we have a great line-up in the next several months.” – George Gephart

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer

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Robert Bullock Alter/Ego

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Robert Bullock, Alter/Ego, Bookplace

Robert Bullock, Alter/Ego, Bookplace, 2373 Baltimore Pike, Oxford, PA., Artist Reception April 19th 5 -8:00PM.

ARTISTS Against Hunger

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The Food Trust, Artists Against Hunger
(Wynnewood, PA  April 3, 2013) When local artists Linda Dubin Garfield and Susan DiPronio read that in parts of Philadelphia over 50% of the children go to bed hungry, they knew they had to do something. They decided to create change the only way they could – through art. They chose The Food Trust which helps bring nourishment and education to the neighborhoods in question. They created the ARTISTS Against Hunger Project and planned several events such as the Pre- Fringe birthday party for Linda in May, 2012 which raised over $700 in lieu of gifts.
Next, they created a “Yummy Rainbow” mural banner as part of Robert Farid Karimi’s Cooking Show: The Diabetes of Democracy at the Asian Arts Initiative with pre-schoolers from a Head Start class in South Philadelphia also in May, 2012. They participated in the 2012 Fringe Festival doing mixed media memoir workshops focusing on What Nurtures Us and Food Des(s)erts in September, 2012.

Now they are organizing the ARTISTS Against Hunger Exhibition May 2- 5, 2013, at the Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street in South Philadelphia which will feature art from artists from all over the Delaware Valley, juried by Moe Brooker, Artist and Chairman of the Mayor’s Commission of the Arts. Many different styles and media will be represented.

All the work will be fine art and for sale. Checks and cash will be accepted. No credit cards. There will be a Gala Reception open to the public on Thursday, April 2, 6-8 PM, First Friday from 6-8 PM and Gallery hours on Saturday and Sunday, 1-5 PM. Proceeds from art sales benefit The Food Trust. The art show’s motto is Let art nourish your soul to fed our children. The Food Trust works to improve access to healthy, affordable food and to educate children and families about nutrition.This exhibit is organized by smART business consulting which offers business solutions for artists to reach their goals and their audience through individual consulting and coaching, small support groups and seminars as well as providing venues to exhibit art to the public both virtually online (web design and social media) and in reality (exhibitions in galleries and other public venues.)
For more information, visit www.smARTbusinessconsulting.org.

Opportunities for Artists

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Calling All Designers…The Philly Women In Tech Summit is hosting a contest to design a Logo and T-shirt for our upcoming event!

Philly Women in Tech is hosting the Second Annual Philadelphia Women in Tech Summit on April 20th 2013.  The Philly Women In Tech Summit promotes tech opportunities to women of all ages and backgrounds, while bringing them together for learning and networking. All proceeds from the event benefit Techgirlz. The rules are simple. Design a logo,using the guidelines below, that can be used on a website and a t-shirt and that represents the spirit of the Philly Women In Tech Summit and TechGirlz. Entries must be submitted no later than April 1, 2013.   

A winning design or designs will be chosen by the Philly Women In Tech Summit organizing committee. The winning design will then be uploaded to CafePress and will available for purchase printed on a t-shirt or other items. (All proceeds from the sale of CafePress items will benefit TechGirlz)

The winner(s) will also be featured in a write up on our site with an along with your photo and design.

  1. Submit your design: The design area for shirts is 10″ x 10″. Café Press recommended 200DPI, for logo. More information is available at http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/index.aspx?area=help_templates&page=help_templates

  2. The design should include the words “Philly Women in Technology Summit” and can (but is not required to) include http://www.phillywomenintech.com/

  3. Submission Deadline: April 1, 2013  Entries should be submitted to info@phillywomenintech.com with the subject line “Design Entry”

To steal a line from our friends at Girl Develop It:

                                           Don’t Be Shy … Design It!

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Photographic Society of Philadelphia

Dear PSoP Members,
Thursday March 28th at noon we have the opportunity to look at the spaces available for displaying photography.
Let me know you are interested and if this is a convenient time. Meet in the lobby of Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse & the Good Shepard Hospice. Located between Lombard and South, and 18th & 19th Streets. The photography is hung there for the purpose of entertaining visitors, patients and staff. It gives the photographers exposure and publicity.
Warm Regards,
Eileen Eckstein
Photographic Society of Philadelphia

www.phillyphotosociety.com
http://forum.phillyphotosociety.com
http://www.flickr.com/groups/phillyphotosociety
http://www.youtube.com/user/phillyphotosociety
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Photographic-Society-of-Philadelphia/231625893548615

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Artists, Artisans & Crafters are invited to two outdoor art shows in Downtown Millville NJ’s Glasstown Arts District.  Please read or kindly forward this opportunity for artists to exhibit and sell their work in Millville NJ for these upcoming art festivals. Exhibitors Links for PDF Downloads and information are below.  Please respond to this email if you need any further assistance.  Thank you, Ivy
 

Main Site: www.millvillefestivals.com

Spring- May 11th, 2013 Flower Festival-
Fall- Sept 8th, 2013 Arts Music and Antiques Festival-

Application- http://www.millvillefestivals.com/PDF_Files/2013_ama_registration_form.pdf

*Additional information and complete schedule of upcoming events in the Glasstown Arts District can be found at www.glasstownartsdistrict.com
Ivy Chaya Wilson
106 East Pine Street
Millville, NJ 08332
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Opportunities & News for Artists and Members at the MEDFORD ARTS CENTER

WORKS ON PAPER JURIED ART SHOW- CALL FOR ARTISTS! PROSPECTUS ATTACHED.

CASH AWARDS

Receiving of your work On Thursday, March 28 & Monday, April 1, 4-7 (both days)

Exhibition dates April 5- May 5, 2012

Award Reception, Sunday, April 12, 2-5 PM

 THIRD FRIDAY (every month) at the MAC are  “ARTIST OPEN STUDIO” Free for members, $5. Donation for non-members. Bring your supplies and work with other artists.

If you are interested in being featured at the MAC in a small group exhibit? Reply to this email.  NEW opportunity for our MEMBERS ONLY.

If you are interested in setting up a TENT at the Medford Art, Wine and Music Festival? Let me know…  I will connect you with the chair of that event, or look on our website for more info. Sunday, June 2, 2013.

For more information on these events, Contact Tracey Femiano by replying to this email or go to www.MedfordArtsCenter.org

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Art Within Reach

Art Within Reach is putting out the Call For Artists for our Art in the Spring 2013 event happening the first weekend of June. The attached PDF file has all the information for applying. If you have issues with the attachment, the information is also available online at: www.facebook.com/notes/art-within-reach/call-for-artists-art-within-reach-art-in-the-spring-2013/427736027316297

To keep in touch with ongoing updates and artist profiles, see our main facebook page. www.facebook.com/ArtWithinReach

Please pass the word to all your art friends and colleagues.

Thank you and we look forward to your application.

Art Within Reach facebook.com/ArtWithinReach

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Earth Fair 2013

Earth Fair 2013 will return to beautiful Historic Smithville Park on Sunday, June 9, rain or shine.  Sponsored by the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Earth Fair 2013 will be another great day of family fun, including entertainment, environmental displays, demonstrations, workshops and activities for the whole family as we continue to support  “sustainable green living.”

New for Earth Fair 2013 is a juried repurposed art show called Second Time Around.   The show will open in conjunction with Earth Fair on June 9 and run through the month of June in the Smithville Mansion Annex Gallery.  Attached is the prospectus in both word document and pdf.

You may be interested to know that Repurposed/Recycled Art by local students selected from the recent Teen Arts Festival will be exhibited in the Workers’ House and Gallery during the same time.  Both exhibits should complement each other.

Please share this prospectus with others.

Joyce Goldsmith

Burlington County Parks

Earth Fair Coordinator

Earth Fair 2013 will return to beautiful Historic Smithville Park

Earth Fair 2013 will return to beautiful Historic Smithville Park – prospectus

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