Art Space Talk: Svetlana Rabey

Myartspace.com is pleased to announce that Svetlana Rabey is one of the four winners of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. She and the three other artists were chosen from a group of 50 finalists. The Myartspace.com team would like to thank the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago), and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings). We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the competition.


Svetlana Rabey creates variably scaled fabric installations in response to the shape and feeling of an architectural environment. The pieces function as architectural shadows, reacting to the shape and dimensions, color, texture and scale of the architecture. Volumes are flattened, multiplied and expanded within the structure. She follows a systematic process based on impulses, in which the geometry unfolds according to a rhythm that she discovers in the architecture, and ends when all possibilities are exhausted. Each piece is a variation on a theme.

Untitled, Detail of felt wall installation, felt, thread, pins

Brian Sherwin: Svetlana, you are one of the Finalists of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. How does it feel to know that the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago, and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings) selected you as a winner? Also, why did you decide to enter the NY, NY, Competition in the first place?

Svetlana Rabey: I feel very honored and excited to be part of this opportunity and look forward to meeting the jurors. Since part of my work is installation based, an exhibition offers me the opportunity to interact with a new space and create a new work. A group show in NY under the umbrella of such a great jury was very appealing and challenging to me.

Untitled, Felt wall installation, 15' x 20', felt, thread, pins

BS: Svetlana, tell us about the work you submitted. Why did you decided on those five images?

SR: I chose these five images because they best represent the scope and range of my work in the past year. I create installations from fabric, mostly felt, drawings, and paintings. The installations are inspired by architectural elements in the space I am working in. They can be wall pieces or floor pieces. I also wanted to include a drawing to show the repeated themes in different materials and approach, my attention to detail, the importance of repetition and rhythm.

BS: Svetlana, can you recall when you first decided that you wanted to be an artist? Feel free to share any early memories that have directed you on the path you are on today.

SR: As a child I studied classical piano and then trained professionally as a dancer in NY before going to college. Dancing left me with a sensitivity to the physicality of space. I understand movement and am able to choreograph shapes in space very instinctively. i am also inspired by the structures of music. This informs the sense of rhythm and repetition my drawing.

Untitled, Cut and hand sewn felt installed to wall, 10' x 8', felt, thread, pins

BS: Svetlana, tell us about your educational background. Where did you study art? Who were you mentors?

SR: I studied Art History at American University in Paris and graduated from Parsons school of Design on 1996. Since I started art school in Paris, my education was very academic. Lots of painting and drawing from the model and still lives. I painted in oil from life religiously. It took me many years and a return to dancing to come into my own language.

BS: Svetlana, what artists-- or art movements-- have influenced your work?

SR: The Support Surface Movement in France. Minimalism, including Fred Sandback, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre, and Sol LeWitt. Also Gordon Matta-Clark, Barry Le Va, Diana Cooper, Jessica Stockholder. i appreciate the rigor with which these artists deal with their form and content whether it is conceptual, formal, or intuitive.

Untitled, Detail of thread drawing, 10' x 8', felt, thread, pins

BS: Svetlana, what else has influenced your art?

SR: Looking at and experiencing the architecture n NY from Art Deco to present day. Also Soviet and eastern Block era architecture and Gothic architecture.

BS: Svetlana, can you tell us about your artistic philosophy? What are the motives... the thoughts... behind your work?

SR: When I start a piece, I want to satisfy my impulses. I want to capture a moment or feeling in a piece but also something that feels as if it always existed in the space. Walking the line between fiction and honesty.

BS: Svetlana, tell us about your studio space? Do you work in silence or do you listen to music? Do you follow a routine when you are working on your art? What is it like to be in the studio of Svetlana Rabey?

SR: I have recently moved into a studio space in L.I.C and am still setting up. I like to keep my space empty. I have almost no furniture. I work on the floor.

Untitled, Two 32 inch mirrors- one covered in felt, felt and mirrors

BS: Svetlana, can you tell us more about your artistic process? How do you start a piece?

SR: I spend time in a space, looking for clues and impulses. Then I lay out fabric and think abut the structure of how a piece will unfold. Then I decide where the piece will be installed.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

SR: I can't wait to see the space for the show.

Thank you reading my interview with Svetlana Rabey. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Elana Gutmann

Elana Gutmann was recently listed in ARTnews as an artist to watch. Reviewer Kevin Nance captures a sense of her Tales of Enchantment works as follows: "Elana Gutmann’s beguiling suite of abstract paintings brought to mind the weirdly vivid but imperfect reconstructions of dreams one recalls in the morning." The commentaries are consistent – evocative, dynamic, synaesthetic.

Of the series "La Passagiata" it is written: "Elana Gutmann's paintings are sensory landscapes whose climate and topography are mapped via color and gesture - her interest lies, as she says, in "infinite arrangement, pairing, sequence. Does orange lie lightly on cream, infringe on blue, incite red and if so, what happens?" One might think of these images as flowcharts from a dream-state, or choreographic notes for the imagination-- their imagery is full, tangible, yet fugitive, buzzing with synaesthetic scent and tone.

In addition to numerous exhibitions in the United States, Elana's work has been exhibited in Berlin, Paris, Düsseldorf, Valencia (Spain), Stockholm, Saigon, and Pescara (Italy). Her work can be found in the collections of the , Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, Wingspread Foundation and the University of Chicago, as well as in corporate and private collections worldwide.

Feathers, Oil on Panel, 7 x 9.2", 2004

Brian Sherwin: Could you tell us a little bit about your background and how it is reflected in the work you do today?

Elana Gutmann: I’m a first-generation American, my parents from Eastern and Western Europe, my mother born to parents from Ukraine and Bella Russe, my father’s family from Latvia and Germany. They both spoke several languages but my mother was still learning English when I was young so English was rarely spoken in my early years.

Our home life was lively -- filled and informed by the multiple languages and perspectives of an extended "family" of émigrés – friends from a broad variety of countries and cultures. The line between conversation and debate was often blurred and it was always an adventure for me as a child-- trying to make sense of what they were saying -- to figure out, intuit -- the content and intent expressed. I grew up interpreting, sorting and synthesizing life and information counting on my sense of things.

The fluid, fluctuating nature of what I came to experience as history has also informed my curiosity and appetites. Since there were little or no written documents surviving the war, and few members of the prior generation to contest "the truth", everything I learned of our history -- my roots -- was subject to change and interpretation, relying heavily on who was telling the tale and circumstance for its content and message.

Pond, Watercolour, 9.2 x 13.5", 2004

My current body of work, the Contes et Merveilles and One Thousand and One, works with these areas…colour and form as evocative language and content. The new work has as much to do with oral tradition, the telling and tellers of tales, with multiple perspectives, one’s sense of things and the transmission of culture through the individual’s experience. In it, I am the primary source, the interpreting, originating lens and hand that invites the "other".

The Contes et Merveilles will be presented in June of 2008 in France. I’ll be presenting a series of works -- paintings and works on paper -- with Tales of Enchantment: The Seeker and the Search, a limited edition print folio that focuses on the nature of the individual and imagination, and on the universal – the heroine/ hero and the quest for the sublime. The exhibition will include readings from various texts that have been authored in response to my images and within the frame of this inquiry. Each of the authors viewed the same seven images; each of their texts – in poetry and prose – is unique.

I am hoping to find the support to travel the exhibit in Europe, Asia and the Americas and to work collaboratively on an installation that engages the works and this process in other media.

Stroll, Oil on Panel, 25 x 15", 2003

BS: Can you tell us a bit about – about your working ritual -- how you work? What goes in to the making of a painting…

EG: How the work is made is a matter informed by my dailiness just as much as it is by the time in the studio mixing color and making marks on the surface. What I see, listen to, experience, what happens --by choice and by accident – what I recall and what I leave out or "forget" are all a part of the work.

As for ritual in the studio -- the first part is to become truly quiet, to come to the place where I am receptive and can attend to the work. I walk, I pace, I meditate…from there on it is the conversation between me and the piece that’s developing. Sometimes I lead, sometimes it does.

Bridge, Monotype, 13.5 x 25", 2004

BS: Speaking of listening, do you ever listen to music while you work?

EG: Yes, -- all kinds of music, recorded texts, chants, lectures, public radio from around the world. They become a kind of subtext to the work.

BS: Your work spans from paintings to works on paper and prints. Can you talk about the relationship between these bodies of work?

EG: My paintings are on wood panel, often they take a diptych or triptych format. With the exception of my print editions, the works on paper are primarily on rice paper or on printed matter – often on the pages of books. Many of my works take a diptych or triptych format or semblance of it.

They are two quite different extremes – the solid, substantial nature of the wood and the ephemeral, floating nature of the rice papers, yet they share an important quality. Each surface is prepared, designed, to have a high fidelity in terms of accepting my mark, each having the ability to be "truthful" to the intention and to the moment when those marks are made. My print work – stone lithography and montype -- has that rigor and an exquisite quality: your mark as you make it, your intention in that moment recorded. From there on each medium has it’s own affordances – it’s challenges and delights.

The paintings on wood panel allow me to use my whole body. I like to work with my hands, to press -- to rub --as much as I do enjoy working with the brushes and pigment. The substantive nature of the wood panels allows me to use the full force and range of my body – to use as light or as extreme a touch as I wish.

Las Ventas — La Bella Fortuna, Pigment on Rice Paper, 19.5 x 15.7", 2003

The works on rice paper have been made almost exclusively outside of an urban setting where I can work for long stretches of time undisturbed. They are original pigment on paper works, whose fundamental layers must be produced in a single session. Here, uninterrupted time is essential. One layer floated upon the next, they are a kind of meditation for me, borrowing from my work in lithography and often informing my paintings. The process holds both rigor and magic – far from the dailiness of my life – working toward a moment – transferring portions of imagery, teasing the imagery through as the layers of sight in the sea – building it, peeling it, moving back into it. While this process takes me out of the studio in New York, it later comes back to inform the painting.

A part of the current body of works are the paintings on book pages. These works on printed matter began with a series -- my visual "text"-- layered upon the pages of an antique volume of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. I am a bibliophile – a lover of reading and books. They accumulate around me wherever I go. Printed on a substantial and fine book stock, it was both the Vanity Fair text and the sensual nature of the paper that compelled me. In a political climate wherein the voice of the people seemed no longer to be heard, I was spurred by the need to take some personal action. It seemed just right to me to put my intimate hand – watercolor, pencil and brush, close–up as one holds a book – on to this treatise (or satire?) of absolute right and wrong. That instinct initiated a series of works on printed pages that ultimately took me to the Thousand and One and the realms of creation, cultural congress, storytelling, transformation and quest.

I pursued the notion of text both written and visual – of the retelling of story – the invention and alteration of narrative by virtue of memory, emotion, the physical, personal, cultural, imaginative. These works informed the paintings that followed and they in turn provoked the next series of original works and limited editions on paper. A whole new body of work has evolved -- a kind of abstract visual narrative that confounds the lines between text and subtext, of inspiration, origin and response. It responds to the formats of the thousand-and-one nights – the never-ending tales. Within it my paintings and works on paper "converse" – image sparking image, color instigating form, one "story" informing the next.

Metamorphosis, Monotype, 13.5 x 25", 2004

BS: Where do you work outside of your studio in Manhattan?

EG: My work in residence began in France and continues there till today. I have a second "family" there, a community of support, of critical thought and inspiration. Over the years I had the privilege to edition my work there with master printer Yann Samson in Paris, and soon will begin a new series of prints with one of the oldest and finest ateliers in Paris: Clot, Bramsen & Georges.

I work in the studio in residence in the south, in the Drome, in the Cevennes, and more recently in Umbria in Italy, in Delhi in India and near Morelia in Mexico. While I’m in the States I most often go to the studio in Connecticut where I can work undisturbed, "off-the-grid", where the quiet and light are exquisite and time seems to stop to accommodate my rhythms.

It’s through my travels, the experience of different light, sounds, scents, the varying skies and seasons and the individuals I have had the pleasure to share my time with, that a whole new body of work has evolved. At first it was my travels that created the necessity for a way of working that would be portable – that could voyage along with me. Overtime, I’ve adapted my work so that I can carry it with me – continue my train of thought. I’ve come to the point where I can work almost anywhere, if the conditions are right. I need quiet, light and beauty – which comes in many forms.

I have the good fortune to work in a marvelous studio in Connecticut, near to the border of Massachusetts. I travel primarily between Europe and America, but I’ve also worked in residence in Mexico and more recently in India and Italy. I think it’s in my blood, the traveling and appetite for other cultures, languages, sounds, and sights. Each place evokes a different palette and resonance – uncovering, exploring, awakening, experience layering upon and informing experience. I continue to enjoy working in this way and hope to also have the opportunity to return again and again to those places and also to work in Japan, in Africa, and near to the sea.

Proximity, Monotype, 16.6 x 12", 2004

BS: Can you talk to us a bit more about your traveling and how it relates to your work?

EG: One of the treasures of travel is the refreshment of "the other" – language, sound, the taste, light and rhythm of life. To read, speak and live in the language where I am. It was in preparation for a residency in France, that I first searched for a volume that I could read and then work on. I found a wonderful old volume of Les Milles et Une Nuit (A Thousand and One Nights). The engravings and typography were compelling and the paper itself had a generosity – a great density to it. Some of the pages were tattered but many of the quartets were in perfect condition. They provided the foundation and inspiration for a whole new body of work which I continue on today.

They brought me from the initial engagement with painting on the texts of books (Vanity Fair" to an intimate and practical, corporal relationship to the whole. My love for travel and my need to keep working, to continue my train of thought, created the necessity for a kind of portability. Initially, I carried the "stories" with me, working with them and painting -- retelling –my stories upon their pages as I traveled from the cities to the countryside outside the cities and beyond. Later, I brought them back to the studio to continue the tales… The resulting works are inspired by the framing story of A Thousand and One and the character Scheherazade. They are informed by the notion of initiation, metamorphosis, transformation. They are abstract yet evocative, my own "telling"of the tales…

Plein Lune, Pigment on Rice Paper, 15.7 x 19.5", 2003

BS: Who are the collectors of your work -- what do you think engages them in your work?

EG: The collectors of my work are diverse – they’re scholars, doctors, anthropologists, conservationists, designers, teachers, architects, heads of industry, inventors, other artists…What they have in common is their own curiosity, an openness—an appetite for new experience, knowledge, ways of seeing – of knowing life. I would like to believe that it is this appetite and capacity that resonates and engages them with the work.

Ufizzi, Monotype, 13.5 x 25", 2004

BS: Can you tell me if you’re represented by a gallery and about your next upcoming exhibit?

EG: I’ve been working with Perimeter Gallery, a wonderful gallery with wonderful people since 1989. I show with them in Chicago and I’ve also shown with them in New York. In our last show there we received a very positive review in the New Yorker but they have since closed in Manhattan. So, while I continue going strong with them in Chicago, I will be looking for representation in New York, the city where I live.

In Europe I also have the good fortune to have long-term relationships. I work with Cilla Lowenhaupt in Paris, Margrit Gass in Basel and Boris Brockstedt in Berlin. It is through their efforts that I have had the opportunity to present my work in exhibitions in Asia, Scandinavia and Europe.

The next exhibition coming up will be in France in June of 2008 at the Chateau de Brantes in conjunction with the Festival at Avignon. It is a wonderful venue, where I will be presenting my Tales of Enchantment folio along with new works. The show will travel in France and Switzerland and at the end of 2008, beginning 2009 I will be presenting in a new solo exhibition in Chicago with Perimeter.

Saetia, Monotype, 6 x 10", 2004

BS: Thank you, and finally, where can we see more of your art?

EG: You can see my art at Perimeter Gallery’s website (www.perimetergallery.com) at my own site (www.elanagutmann.com) and at upcoming exhibitions (see my site for dates and exhibition sites as well as additional venues).

BS: Thank you so much.

EG: Thank you, it is my pleasure.

You can learn more about Elana Gutmann by visiting her website-- www.elanagutmann.com. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Ruth Pastine

Born and educated in New York City, Ruth is a classically trained artist who believes that art is life changing and that life changes can dramatically influence her art. Ruth considers herself an "essentialist"; her focus is light and color. Her desire is to confront the viewer viscerally and optically-- to confound the viewer with light and color. It is her hope that we start to re-think the way that we see upon viewing her paintings-- that we re-train our eyes in order to absorb her work in the moment.

Equivalence Blue Orange #3, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in., 2005

Brian Sherwin: Ruth, you earned an MFA from Hunter College of the City University of New York. Who were your mentors at that time?

Ruth Pastine: My painting process and the principles that structure my painting methodology have always been the greatest teacher. I was fortunate to work with Sandford Wurmfeld, Robert Swain, and Vincent Longo at Hunter, as they were all invested in perceptual painting. Sandy Wurmfeld introduced me to color and perceptual theory, which fueled a deeper insight into my painting process, and a greater understanding of my work, which continues to inform my studio practice.

Blue Orange Series- Lady Lake, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 x 1 in., 2006

BS: Ruth, Can you recall any early experiences from your childhood that impacted the work you create today? Did your family support your artistic growth?

RP: Having been born and raised in New York City, the major art institutions such as MOMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim, and the Met were essentially my back yard. My mother was educated in art and art history, and we went to museums and galleries as a part of our daily life. My H.S. of Music & Art painting teacher, Yvette Berlowe, was very influential in inspiring me to be a painter. She taught me how to see, and challenge preconceived notions about what we think we see, because of what we think we know. This was the onramp to investigating essential content, which I realized years later.

Tribute (SW) Saturated Warm, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in., 2004

BS: Ruth, you have been reviewed in the New York Times, Art in America, New American Paintings, Artforum, and several other publications. Did you expect your work to be so successful?

RP: I’m always pleased to have the work reviewed and acknowledged in the press, and participate in the discourse. As a painter, one spends an inordinate amount of time alone in the studio, and it is always rewarding to hear an echo in response to the work. I always expected success from the work, as I am diligent and true to my vision. I expect the work to receive more recognition as it’s acknowledged as a significant participant of the greater dialog of experiential painting.

BS: Ruth, your Black Light Paintings investigate the presence of light and color through exploring the darkest values of the color system. How did your work evolve to this point? When were you first interested in this study? Can you discuss how it has advanced from the early stages- to where you are today?

RP: The work is rooted in the perceptual experience of color, light, and temperature. Working serially has been instrumental in evolving the work. I began working serially my last two years at Cooper Union, and this has structured and evolved the work since. The Black Light Paintings evolved as a direct response and juxtaposition to my prior series of White Paintings, which diffuse the materiality of the painted surface into immaterial perceptual experiences. In contrast to the White Paintings, I was interested in the Black Light Paintings investigating the spatial tension between the solidity of the iconic structure and the density of an experiential space. The ‘black’ is a perceptual field fueled with color, light, and temperature, that resonates from a ‘nameless’ place, yet to be defined.

Paradise Eyes, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches, 2000

BS: Ruth, you seem to work in series-- White Paintings, Black Light Paintings-- where will your work take you next? Can you give our readers some insight into your next body of work? Also, is there a ladder of sorts in regards from working from one series to the next? Are your series always connected in some manner?

RP: I never know from one series to the next what will evolve as the successive series, until I’m in the thick of it. As I work toward completing a group of paintings, there is always some recognition of a point of departure, which defines the next series of paintings. This is discovered, I never know in advance. One series always influences and informs the next series of paintings. Usually a pivotal painting is the threshold and door to a new group of paintings. This painting is key and mercurial in that sense, as it’s able to define the closure of one body of work, and offer a potential gateway to a future series.

Every painting is connected in the series, and there is a greater continuum that links series to series, and the work as a whole. Working serially advances the work within such close parameters, and offers me great insight into that which is unknown.

As I’m nearing completion of the Black Light Series, I can share that my next body of work is in between black and white, and might be perceived as Gray.

Yellow Magenta #8- Triangle Skies, oil on canvas, 28 x 28 in., 2000

BS: Ruth, tell us about your painting process. How do you start a piece and when do you feel that it is finished?

RP: Although the paintings appear as a smooth seamless skin, and the hand is virtually undetected, the paintings are rigorously painted with a brush, composed of numerous layers and hundreds of daubs of paint. I approach each painting with a sense of direction, but with no end in mind. They are somewhat brazen and scrawl like, the first few layers, but gradually I work towards a certain perceptual resolve, that each painting reconciles on its own terms.

I love what Andy Warhol said when he appeared as a special guest on the TV Series "The Love Boat," and was asked by the crew director how he knew when a painting was finished, his reply being "When the check clears in the bank!"

Equivalence Blue Orange #2 (Yellow-Orange), oil on canvas, 30 x 30 in., 2005

BS: Ruth, can you tell us about your studio practice? What is it like to be in the studio of Ruth Pastine? Do you follow a routine? Do you prefer to work alone or with company? I find that the studio practice of an artist is often just as interesting as the work that is created since the two are connected in so many ways.

RP: They are inextricably connected. I need to paint everyday. I get anxious and agitated when I’m not painting. Painting connects me to what I am. You’ve heard of the fish out of water. I approach working in the studio and paint everyday like it’s my job, but it is so much more. It’s my greatest challenge and pleasure. My studio practice is methodical. I’m systematic and focused, and have to be alone. My process is very demanding and I have to work uninterrupted for 5-7 hours a day. There is always something to learn from the actual process of painting, which is what advances the work. On the one hand my practice is like a laboratory, on the other hand, it’s very active as I’m working on up to ten paintings at a time. I start working each day by blasting the music to bust the clutter of any thoughts racing through my mind, that distract me from my focus on painting.

BS: Ruth, can you discuss some of your influences? Have any artists from the past inspired you?

RP: Heroes are very personal, and although there are several artists, thinkers, and musicians that have been a beacon in my life, I don’t look at art for inspiration. I look at art because it connects me to greater humanity and to the greater humanity within myself. Painting and working in the studio has been the greatest source of inspiration.

Equivalence Blue Orange #3 (Red-Orange), oil on canvas, 30 x 30in, 2005

BS: Ruth, where can our viewers observe your work at this time? Are you in any public collections?

RP: I have a few solo shows coming up at Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna, CA: and at Gallery Sonja Roesch in Houston, TX, in May 2008; and at Brian Gross Fine Art in San Francisco, CA, in June 2008. Unfortunately my work is not in more public collections, which I hope to have rectified. It’s an on going challenge to have the work endorsed and installed in the public psyche.
BS: Do you have any advice for artists who are just starting out?

RP: Be honest with yourself in the studio and stay true to your vision, and keep a private studio.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

RP: Painting is my life, and the art world is the world I live in. I grew up and lived in New York City until just prior to September 11th, when I moved to Southern California. I got to the point where I wanted to work from a much more private place outside of the hum of the market place, and enter the art world when I wanted, not because I was living in the midst of it. This has been important to the work, as the paintings are hard won, and my process is rigorous. I don’t like being sidetracked from my focus.

You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page, www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Eric Blum

Eric Blum has been mastering the difficult medium of encaustic since its re-emergence in the 1980s. Currently living and working in New York City, Blum has exhibited widely nationally and was featured in the seminal publication on encaustic painting, "The Art of Encaustic Painting" (Joanne Mattera, 2001). He was educated at UCLA and St. Martin’s in London.

Encaustic is a difficult medium to work with. However, Eric reveals a strong sense of control with his abstractions. By repeatedly alternating many layers of pigmented wax and watercolor, Eric creates a sense of luminosity and infinity in his work. The surfaces of the paintings are smooth and the edges are deeply rounded enhancing the implied third dimension of the painting/wax sculpture.

No. 519, watercolor and resin on wood panel, 20 x 20 in., 2006

Brian Sherwin: Eric, your work was represented by Julie Baker Fine Art (www.juliebakerfineart.com) at Art Chicago this year. Many critics stated that the validity of Chicago as an 'art world power', so to speak, would be decided by the success of Art Chicago. In your opinion, has Chicago shown that it is still a force in the world of art? Would you say that it should have never been questioned?

Eric Blum: I've never attended Art Chicago while my work was exhibited, but from what I've heard, it has lost some luster. When it was on top, there were fewer domestic art fairs... there wasn't much of one in NY and not yet a Miami/Basil.

BS: What about the art market as a whole- are you wary of the current boom in the market?

EB: It hasn't personally affected me one way or the other. My guess is that it has peaked and will sober up, but regardless of the climate, and these are catastrophic times, there will still be someone willing to pay for the extra zeros at the end.

No. 472, watercolor and beeswax on wood panel, 27 x 19 in., 2006

BS: At LittleJohn Contemporary (www.littlejohncontemporary.com) you have two series of work on display, the abstract paintings and the portraits. Can you tell us about these two bodies of work. How do you switch from one mode of creation to the next without loosing direction in between. Do you every have problems staying equally focused on your work when you are creating in two different modes, so to speak?

EB: These two bodies of work may be perceived as quite different from each other, but from my point of view, they both have something to do with the same urges. With the semi-abstractions, I am confronted with multiple choices at every turn, whereas the portraits are a more direct route from A to B. I'm a multi-tasker, so I do both. Actually, I only make the portraits once every year or two, but shifting one's focal plane occasionally is good for the vision.

BS: Eric, you have been the recipient of Pollack-Krasner Foundation (www.pkf.org) grants. Can you recall how you felt when you were chosen?

EB: It put me in a really good mood.

No. 484, watercolor and beeswax on panel, 13 x 16 inches, 2004

BS: Eric, your work often deals with themes that focus on the desire to possess that which cannot be possessed- and the conflict that stems from it. Why did you decide to convey this with your art? Can you go into further detail about your artistic philosophy?

EB: My early first impressions from infancy have played an important part in my approach and I have spent my adult life interpreting the images stamped from this period ...not the literal images, but their blurred and implosive nature. I'm interested to portray forms as they appear before closer inspection. The irretrievable glimpse as seen from the corner of the eye can lead to some odd and poetic interpretations. It stimulates my desire. One way for me to deal with this desire is to make something that may resemble it.

No. 456, watercolor- oil/alkyd & beeswax on wood panel, 23 x 23 in., 2003

BS: Eric, can you tell us more about your artistic process. How do you begin a piece? When do you know that a piece is done?

EB: I begin a painting with a specific direction but I don't over-think or sketch. I jump right in a little recklessly with the first semi-transparent layer, splash around, seal it up, then do another the following day. I work in a way that doesn't allow me to see the results of my actions until the end of a session, so there's a bit of suspense. The layers are loosely linked to each other but typically wander far from the original intent. I will always start new paintings before the previous ones are complete. If I am able to live with it for a period of time, view it through a variety of moods and times of day, without the compulsion to add or subtract ... I can let it go. There are times when I think I've completed it, only to unravel it later. Fortunately, I have the luxury to be able to strip back layers to return it to a more innocent state.

No. 535, watercolor and resin on wood panel, 9 x 9 in., 2007

BS: Eric, tell us about your studio practice. What is your studio like? What are the conditions you need in order to create? For example, do you work in silence... or do you prefer music playing in the background?

EB: My studio in Manhattan is rather small. I look out the window a lot. Solitude would certainly be one of the essential working conditions. I rarely use an assistant. Music always, usually in the form of a shuffling iTunes playlist. Sometimes I work to my own recorded compositions, or I'll play the drums. Working to a self-made soundtrack crystallizes the inclinations.

No. 527, watercolor and beeswax on wood panel, 27 x 19 in., 2006

BS: Eric, do you ever collaborate with other artists? If not, can you see yourself doing that in the future?

EB: I haven't collaborated before. Making this kind of work is a private pursuit.

BS: What are you working on at this time? Care to give our readers insight into your current work?

EB: It's pretty much a seamless continuation... one painting follows the other. I don't mean to sound like I live in the clouds, but much like the blindness that prevails while making the daily layers, the same holds true for the body of work as a whole. I would not be able to really see it clearly until there is some distance. Even then, descriptions may elude me.

BS: Eric, do you have any upcoming exhibitions? Where can our readers observe your art in person?

EB: Nov. 29, 2007 to Feb. 14, 2008 at Lemmons Contemporary (www.lemmonscontemporary.com) in NYC.

No. 511, watercolor and beeswax on panel, 50 x 50 in., 2005

BS: Eric, do you have any advice for artists who are just starting out? What should they look out for when seeking gallery representation? Are their any pitfalls you would like to warn about?

EB: I'm not very good at offering general advice. Everyone's situation is unique.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

EB: The "artword," if it exists, is more than an industry... to call it that would be frowned upon and spoil the effect. It's a kind of seductively-presented alternate society with rules and codes of behavior, where everyone seems to know each other...its perhaps a first cousin to the fashion world. When its engine roars, rich people spend. Regarding my own work within this context; I make a painting and toss it out there. Who knows how it will land.

You can view more of Eric's art by visiting his website- www.ericblum.net. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: David Stoupakis

David Stoupakis is a dedicated painter who has quickly earned international recognition for his art. David has stated that his paintings are about the strength of imagination, innocence, and the truth that children are are far more intelligent than most adults give them credit for. In a sense, David explores his own world through his imagery-- a world that often conveys a fairytale-like quality... yet it contains the essence of reality.

David's paintings, like fairytales, are open to interpretation. Viewers have had mixed reactions about his work. Some observe a sense of purity within David's imagery-- while others see only brutality. The reality of David's imagery is that what you see is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, his paintings have an aspect of psychology about them-- it reminds me of Carl Jung's theory about the 'shadow self'.

The Tea Party, oil on board, 24" x 24", 2006

Brian Sherwin: David, can you tell our readers about your youth? Do you recall any key events that helped guide you toward the direction your are going today?

David Stoupakis: When I was a young kid I found an old wooden chest while looking through the window of my neighbors ran down barn. While I was peering in I got startled by a noise and ran. That night I couldn’t stop wondering what could be in that chest. The mystery of not knowing was running all kinds of stories through my head. It was the first time I recall really feeling the power of what imagination and story telling can do for you. I feel it's moments in my life like that one that play a large part on the direction I take my art in today. The idea from a vision and the curiosity of the unknown.

Balance, oil on board, 16" x 19", 2005

BS: Do you have formal training in art? If so, where did you study? Who were your mentors?

DS: I did one year of art school at the Art Institute of Boston before making the choice to study on my own. I think art school can be amazing and be really beneficial. However, at that time I just wasn't ready to go through with another 2 to 4 years of schooling.

BS: David, what about early influences? Were you inspired by certain artists or musicians?

DS: My early influences came from fairy tales, horror movies, and most of all comic books. Almost all my early work was heavily influenced by comics. I also studied some of my favorite artists like Sargent, Vermeer, Bosch, and Goya. Music has always played a roll overall. After all, we all need soundtracks to are life.

Frozen, oil on board, 16" x 28", 2004

BS: I've read that you started out as a mural painter... do any of these murals still exist? Can you tell us where some of these can be found... or would you rather forget your early commercial work?

DS: I started out doing murals, signs, and video games. I'm not sure if any of the murals are still around because I haven't been back to visit any of them but in no way would I want to forget any of the early commercial work I did. I feel like everything I have done has helped me grow into how I am today.

Mary And Her Lambs, oil on board, 16" x 28", 2004

BS: What made you decide to make the jump from doing commercial art to personal art? Do you still do any commercial art on the side?

DS: I just had my own stories to tell. It wasn't really ever a jump over from commercial to personal. I've always done my own thing outside of the commercial art gigs. I think I was just still trying to find myself as a painter when I was taking on those jobs. Then when Aprella and I moved to NYC that’s when I made the decision to step way from the commercial art thing and really try to put myself out there with my own work. Now I only get involved in select projects outside my personal work that I believe in and truly want to do. That's not to say the commercial art world is bad. It can be a really amazing money making job. But, the long hours needed give no time for personal work and being my own artist was what I wanted most.

BS: David, in recent years your career has really had a boom- you've had interviews in Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, and have been very involved in the scene... does this form of success ever make you wary? Does it put pressure on you? Or do you just let the chips fall, so to speak?

DS: It's been a great year and I just take it as it comes and roll with it. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunities that I've been given. Sure, it's high stress at times, but it's not worth complaining about. Life can be truly amazing when you work hard at it and anything is possible if we just set are hearts to it.

The Day The Frogs Rain Down, oil on board, 18" x 24", 2005

BS: David, some people view your work and only see disturbing images of children... they miss the point of what you are trying to do. Based on what I know of your work- I'd say that you are trying to give voice to children who have never been heard- voice to the abused and broken. That is what I see in your work. Would you like to clear the air and say, in your own words, what your imagery is about and the motives you have behind it?

DS: I feel that most of the time people see negativity in things because of the conflicts they are working out in their own life. So they seek and dig for something disturbing or some sort of negativity in something. I have never seen what I do as disturbing. My works are about imagination, innocence and the truth that children are far more intelligent than most adults give them credit for. I work with antique photos of children that I find and purchase quite a lot. For me it's sad to think of these abandoned or sold off images of children just sitting in a box in a dusty store. So, I bring them home and paint a world for them to live and tell their story in.

BS: Can you go into detail about your process? How do you start a painting?

DS: Mostly I paint on board. I start out with a lot of gesso and sanding. Most of the time I do an under drawing then I just get into the oil paint. I always try to experiment with different ways to do the process. So I can try to keep it new and growing.

Red Ribbon, oil on board, 24" x 26", 2006

BS: David, tell us about your studio... do you work in a small space? Large space? What is it like to be in the studio of David Stoupakis?

DS: It’s a good size space. There's quite a good deal of antique photos, fairy tale books, misspelled writings and an overall trash pit of paper, empty coffee cups and supplies. The most important thing about my studio is that I share it with Aprella. We both work everyday-- as much as 12 hours or more a day sometimes. So if we didn't share the space we might never find the time to see each other.

BS: In many ways you remind me of Chet Zar in that you have created a unique world with your paintings. Like Chet, you don't really seem to care about what is popular at the moment... you continue to dig into the world you have created without looking back. I assume that you will continue to dig deeper into 'your world' no matter what fate brings you as far as success is concerned. Would you say that I'm correct in feeling this way about you and your art?

DS: It's just all about me trying to understand more about what I am doing. So, yep-- you got it. For me it’s never been about what’s popular. It’s always more about me working out whatever I am going through at the time-- as I am sure it is for many other artists as well. I'm on a quest to understand this world I have been creating and if it happens to put me on a path of being unsuccessful that will suck, but I'll still be me doing what I do. I am not selling paintings to match your couch.

The Messenger, oil on board, 36" x 36", 2006

BS: Do you have an suggestions or advice for artists who are just starting out?

DS: Make art all the time-- and really all the time. You won’t grow unless you do, and the art won’t make itself. If you have a TV-- get rid of it. When you feel you are ready figure out whatever field it is you would like be involved in and approach them. They don’t know about you so you need to let them know who you are. If you are trying to get involved in the galleries pick up this book "Taking the Leap" it's an insider's guide to exhibiting and selling your art by Cay Lang. Don’t let criticism get you down. The art world can be really overwhelming at times. You definitely need to work really hard at it. If one place turns you down keep moving on to the next place and just keep on hitting it and don’t ever lose site on why you make art. Your art is who you are. The most important thing is to just believe in yourself.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

DS: I am so very grateful to be where I am today. It is a dream come true to be living from my artwork and I am so looking forward to the road ahead for Aprella and me. I'm an extremely fortunate person.

You can learn more about David Stoupakis by visiting his website, www.davidstoupakis.com. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page, www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Surreal Visionary Fantastic Art & Metamorphosis Art Book

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Censorship? Pornography?... You Make the Call

A photograph from a controversial art collection owned by Sir Elton John has been seized by police in a child porn inquiry. Sir Elton's website declared that he owned the controversial piece and that it was on loan to a gallery. The photograph was seized by detectives the day before an exhibition of the musician's private collection was due to go on public display at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, Northern England. The rest of his collection was displayed as planned. Ironically, the photograph was reported to police by the management of the Baltic.

The Baltic management has declined to comment since reporting the photograph-- aside from a spokeswoman who stated, "We are working alongside the police and are not in a position to comment further". A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "We attended the Baltic last Thursday at the invitation of management who were seeking advice about an item from an exhibition prior to it going on public display. This item is being assessed and Northumbria Police in consultation with the CPS are investigating the circumstances surrounding it".

The photograph, entitled Klara And Edda Belly-Dancing, depicts an image of two naked young girls and was taken by controversial American photographer Nan Goldin. The girls in the photo are laughing and playing-- one is on her back with her knees bent under her and the other is wrapped in fabric. Police and Crown Prosecution Service lawyers must decide whether the image owned by Sir Elton is pornography or art. It is now being examined by Northumbria Police to see if it breaches UK pornography legislation.

Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing, which was purchased by Sir Elton from the White Cube gallery in London in 1999, is one of 149 images that comprise Goldin's Thanksgiving Installation. The collection is said to document Goldin's life between 1973 and 1999. It has been widely published and has been exhibited throughout the world. In the past the photograph has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York. Based on what I've read there have never been any objections to the photograph in the past-- even when it was exhibited in London.

Insiders have stated that the Northumbria Police are focusing on who may have been involved in the production of the image-- which would include Nan Goldin and anyone involved in the images development-- and anyone who has previously owned or displayed the photograph as a part of their investigation. Others have stated that the police are focusing on Goldin's past heroin addiction and the fact that her work has been involved in past child-porn inquiries.

What do you think about this case? Should all artists feel threatened by this censorship? Is this just a sign of our times? Is it justice? Should Sir Elton John, Nan Goldin, White Cube gallery, Sotheby's and any other individual or organization that has possessed Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing-- either the photograph itself or a reproduction-- be held responsible if it is deemed to be child pornography? Will this charge hold up if it is brought to court? Is Nan Goldin an artist or a criminal? Is Elton a collector or a criminal? Did the management of the Baltic stab the artworld in the back? Do fine art photographs like this one give pedophiles an excuse for having child pornography? Could this be a form of publicity stunt? Discuss.

Art Space Talk: Carol K. Brown

Carol K. Brown began as a traditional sculptor working in metal. Her work evolved into installations that involved multiples of what appears to be an imaginary species. These creatures seemed to re-create or replicate within a given space-- a theme that has been dominate in Carol's work. Her current work consists of specific studies of common people caught in motion. These figures are combined in infinite arrangements-- they multiply. Carol's work reveals an interesting aspect of life... that things are not always what they seem. Carol has exhibited at some of the most prestigious galleries in the world, including the Nohra Haime Gallery and Ambrosino Gallery. She has exhibited at several major art fairs-- Art Basel, Art Chicago, Scope- just to name a few.

Pedestrian (63015), acrylic on paper, 17” x 24”, 2006

Brian Sherwin: Carol, where did you study art? Who were your mentors? What were your early influences?

Carol Brown: Because I already had young children when I started school, I didn’t have the luxury of choosing where to study. I always went to school wherever we happened to live at the time, and only could attend courses based on babysitters’ schedules. I got degrees from University of Miami and University of Colorado, Boulder. I learned a lot from watching one particular teacher who was in Miami while I was there, Dick Gillespie.

BS: Can you recall any events from your youth that directed you on the path you are on today?

CB: Nothing specific. I had no idea what an artist actually was, except that growing up in New Orleans; I assumed it generally had something to do with those people in the French Quarter who made likenesses of tourists around Jackson Square.

Details- an installation consisting of several hundred small unique bronze castings--various sizes up to 14” h.This project was completed in 2000

BS: Carol, from 1999 to 2000 you created several hundred bronze objects. These objects, which took on organic forms, were scattered upon the floor when displayed. The space between each piece revealed a sense of isolation, a theme you have continued to use with your more recent work. Why do you utilize a sense of isolation with your art? Is it something many viewers relate to?

CB: I have no way of knowing what viewers relate to, but it’s certainly something I relate to…

BS: Of these sculptures you have stated the following, "I've made an installation of many hundreds of them. This is a detail, a component of a monument that has now shrunken to the status of clutter, literally, an object in our path... a thing we might trip over.". I must ask, with this work are you also stating the fact that many people do not appreciate larger public sculptures? Would you say that people living today do not respect sculptures as they would have in the past?

CB: Certainly the roll of public sculpture in most people’s lives, or any visual art for that matter has decreased. Few people today consider it important. Unless there’s controversy, few people care-- hard to compete with all those ipods and video games and American Idol.… And without wanting to be a Philistine, I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing since there’s some pretty awful public sculpture out there… Maybe I was thinking that by leaving it where one might trip over, it had to be confronted…

Edgewater Ballroom (#12), photographic print combining digital manipulation and paint, mounted with acrylic on sintra, 26” x 38“, 2003

BS: Carol, I've read that you are ambivalent about the use of new technologies to create art. In your opinion, technology reduces the physical labor required to produce objects, thereby eradicating the hand of the artist and leading to images short on humanity. However, at the same time you have used a computer to manipulate your hand-painted images. At what point do you think the use of technology in art gets out of hand? Or have you changed your position about the use of new technologies to create art?

CB: I was referring to an ambivalence I felt towards the seductive quality of new media, but that was written a number of years ago--I’m constantly changing my mind about most things, and that idea seems off to me today. I was also bemoaning the fact that technology should reduce labor, but in my case, I always manage (accidentally) to find ways to use any processes in rather convoluted ways that invariably manage to increase the labor involved. I.e., rather than making videos by using a video camera, I drew many hundreds of stills in Photoshop and imported them into a movie making program to imply movement. Computer people tell me that’s a really dumb waste of time and you get a choppy effect, but that’s the effect I want.

Doing it the "right" way invariably looks slick, more like an ad, which is not what I’m after. Having spent so many years working in more traditional media, I did have an initial reluctance to give up the tactile quality of a physical object, but now I’m just as happy working at a computer as in a foundry. But I always seem to keep returning to painting or sculpture, as if I still need to get my hands dirty.

Edgewater Ballroom (#14), photographic print combining digital manipulation and paint, mounted with acrylic on sintra, 26” x 38“, 2003

BS: You are well-known for you abstract sculpture... so why did you decide to use a computer to manipulate your hand-painted images. Did you feel it was time to find a new direction? Or would you say that it is important for artists to explore other mediums from time to time? Were you able to take anything that you had learned back into your other forms of creation?

CB: I don’t think of my work as being medium-based, meaning, I don’t wake up and say, what should I blow in glass this morning. I tend to shift my interests periodically, and I have to then look for the best materials to use to pursue that interest, rather than the other way around. I do tend to shift often because there are many things that interest me. I also find it interesting that you say I am known for abstract sculpture—in my mind, my work is not so abstract, but always related in some way to living form, imaginary or otherwise.

Pedestrian (63011), acrylic on paper, 17” x 24”, 2006

BS: Carol, your series, PEDESTRIAN, consists of acrylic paintings on canvas and paper and a video animation that capture the lives of anonymous individuals who find themselves, unknowingly, under your scrutinizing eye. Can you go into further detail about why you decided to do this series? What was your motive behind the work?

CB: It’s hard to walk around and not notice people. The term pedestrian means both one who walks, but also ordinary or commonplace….I think these people I’ve painted are anything but….. While painting these, I realized that while I was interested in people on the street, or the public facade of private people, I was also interested in how we react to each other.

I’ve been working hard on a new body of work I’m tentatively calling "Passersby". They are paintings of homeless people or those people most of us would rather pretend not to see as we walk by. I also love the irony of the fact that someone will probably pay a lot of money in a pristine white walled rarefied space of a gallery or artfair for an image of a person who’s hungry….and that same purchaser will try hard to avoid that same subject on the street.

I’ve also had a completely different project I’ve been working on for a long time. It has to do with my completely overwhelming sense (fear) of what it means to be a parent. My working title for the project is "Offspring" but it probably won’t be completed for ages, I often work on several things at once.

Pedestrian (63018), acrylic on paper, 17” x 24”, 2006

BS: Carol, can you give our readers a brief outline of how these images came into being? What were the steps you followed toward their creation?

CB: I’ve used a variety of different painting techniques but everything begins with stalking someone and taking as many photographs as possible with the tiny camera I always have with me, preferably without their knowledge. I’d be lost without the source photos. I’ve experimented with many different techniques but all of them seem to involve a very small brush and a very large magnifying glass, attached to my worktable….I always seem to get lost in the details.

BS: There is a voyeuristic nature about the PEDESTRIAN series. Would you say that the fact that the images you captured were not staged helped the success of the series? Are these 'stolen moments' part of what makes this series so unique?

CB: While I certainly hope my work is unique, I have no idea if others out there may be working in a similar vein, so I can’t be concerned with that… I just try to make work that seems relevant to me, and I hope that it might seem relevant to anyone else.

Pedestrian (63018), acrylic on paper, 17” x 24”, 2006

BS: Carol, I find it interesting that your recent paintings share some of the same structure as your earlier sculpture. They share a sense of isolation... and are spaced out in a similar manner. Would you say that your early work has served as a reference for the work you are creating today? Also, do you plan to sculpt again?

CB: While I don’t have any specific plans to go back to metal working any time soon, I won’t rule anything out until I’m dead.

BS: Carol, you have been involved in several major exhibitions of art- Art Basel/Miami, Scope New York, Scope London... the list goes on. What do you like about the huge art fairs? What do you dislike? Do you feel that large exhibitions of art are important... or do you prefer to have your art exhibited in a smaller space?

CB: For me the beauty of the fairs is that the work is seen by a much larger audience than ever comes to a single art show. Of course the downside is that everyone’s brain has become toast because of vast visual over-stimulation. I sometimes feel like you need to train for the Miami/Basel artfairs like a marathon runner who stokes on carbs before a big race. I’ve long associated the concept of pain with seeing great art…there’s foot pain of standing long hours in museums….but what happens during the fairs is seriously taxing on the body if you try to see everything, and I’m an image junky so I can’t imagine not trying to see everything.

Pedestrian (61023) acrylic on paper, 17” x 24”, 2006

BS: Carol, your work has been featured in Art in America, New York Times, and several other publications. Has your work ever been published in a book? Do you plan to release a collection of your work in the near future?

CB: It has not, but I certainly would be amenable to the idea.

BS: Carol, tell us about your studio space. What conditions must you have? Do you work in silence? Do you follow a certain routine?

CB: The routine… absolutely. I get up--I work. That’s about it. But I don’t really think of it as work…it’s like just what I do, what’s normal, kind of like breathing. If there’s something else that comes up, like lunch or a dentist appointment I go do it, then I go back to work. I love that I now work in the same place where I live, because time doesn’t have to be a factor in my schedule.

I used to work in a warehouse that I had set up as a metal shop, and I would draw in a cleaner area, at a drawing table. Now I paint at a drawing table on paper or unstretched canvas, so I can look through a large magnifying glass attached to the table to see detail. I keep the canvas unstretched so I can roll the painting onto my lap to get to larger sections…I tape it to the wall to stand back to see what I’m doing, then stretch the canvas when I’m finished.

I always like noise—loud music in the shop and music or TV when I’m at my drawing board, which I hear but never see since my head is in the work. I also now have the freedom to travel between New York and Miami, which I do a lot, because I only need a drawing board to keep me happy….I can have a drawing board in both places. The only thing that I "must have" is the supply of Diet Cokes.

Edgewater Ballroom (#3), photographic print combining digital manipulation and paint, mounted with acrylic on sintra, 26” x 38“, 2003

BS: Carol, do you have any suggestions or advice for artists who are just starting out?

CB: I wouldn’t presume to give advice to anyone-- that implies I know more than they do and I’m pretty sure I don’t.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

CB: Naah!

You can learn more about Carol K. Brown by visiting her website: www.carolkbrown.com. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page: www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Will Mass MoCA Display Installation Without Consent?

A part of an installation is hoisted into a warehouse for a Christoph Büchel exhibit-- but is it really a show of his work?

A Federal Court judge has ruled that the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art can display materials assembled for Christoph Büchel's unfinished 'Training Ground for Democracy' installation. U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor issued his ruling following a hearing on motions filed by both Christoph Büchel and Mass MoCA. In granting Mass MoCA's motion to allow the museum to display the installation, Ponsor also denied Büchel's motion to prevent the piece from being displayed in the museum's football-field size Gallery 5 (one of the largest gallery spaces in the United States). Ponsor's decision was due to the amount of space needed for 'Training Ground for Democracy' to be adequately displayed.

Büchel's design for 'Training Ground for Democracy' was indeed large-- both in size and cost. The installation, which cost the museum over $160,000 to assemble, is based on a mock village used for U.S. military training. Staff members were to obtain the items Büchel needed for his design. His list of required items included a leaflet-bomb carousel, a two-story Cape Cod cottage, an old bar from a tavern, a vintage movie theater and various "banged-up" vehicles. The artist had requested nine full-size shipping containers and had planned to design a re-creation of Saddam Hussein's hiding place-- commonly referred to as the 'spider hole'. However, Büchel's plans were scrapped due to disputes with the museum in January.

By the end of January, well past the scheduled Dec. 16 opening of the exhibit, Büchel departed from the project-- which resulted in several negative exchanges between the artist and museum officials. Büchel claimed that the incident has damaged his reputation and refused to have his name associated with the unfinished project because museum workers had continued to work on the installation without him -- the museum argued that it has a responsibility to deliver a show to the public and that its reputation is on the line as well. Both parties ended up in court over the issue and critics have stated that the ruling, which favored the museum, is a blow to artists’ rights in general.

During the case Büchel accused the museum of un-professionalism and went on to state that the museum had interfered with his work and had wasted his time. The museum claims that Büchel agreed to a $160,000 budget and that the project had cost more than twice that by the time Büchel had left the project. However, Büchel claims that an amount was never agreed upon and that the installation should not carry his name or be displayed in public since he did not oversee its completion. The court ruled that Büchel's work was not protected under the (VARA) law and that the museum can display the installation as long as they mention that it is not complete.

Many artists, art critics, and art advocates have proclaimed that the museums actions are not in the best interest for art as a whole (which conflicts with the museums mission statement). The debate has opened the door for discussions on ethics in the art-world since Büchel is being forced to exhibit work that he does not consider finished or acceptable for public viewing. There is strong concern that this case will allow future works to be shown without consent and that the ruling has created a loop-hole in laws that have been created to protect artists and their work.

In my opinion the financial loss the museum endured was a poor business expense on their part. I don't feel that Christoph Büchel should be punished since there obviously was not a clear contract involved with the work situation. This case has made a villain out of the artist, but I would think that the museum is in the wrong as well since they should have made things more clear. It is crazy to throw that kind of money around without a contract. It appears that the project was flawed from the start.

Büchel conceived 'Training Ground for Democracy' and oversaw the installations construction until his departure in January. The key word is 'departure'-- Büchel left the project! So how can this piece be considered his work? Especially if he does not want his name associated with it? Is it his fault that the museum threw money at him left and right and that they tried to force him into deadlines? The fact that the museum lost thousands over this project does not matter to me... the fact that an artist has been forced to put his name on something that he does not see as finished does! Both sides should have cut their losses and moved on.

I'm not the only one annoyed by this ruling. Many people feel that the museum has broken trust with the artist, the viewing public, and art in general. There are real fears that this case could lead to more troubles for artists and exhibit spaces in the future. What do you think? Was the ruling fair? Should Büchel accept it and move on? Would you be OK with your art being exhibited unfinished? Is this a blow to artists’ rights in general? Do you think Mass MoCA should go on with the show? Discuss.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Naomi Kasumi's MEM: Memory Memorial

Photo by Punchlist Design

Two parts of Naomi Kasumi's MEM: memory memorial installation series are on display at the Simmons Visual Arts Center at Brenau University. The exhibit deals with the artist's experience with having an abortion. "I know I am not alone in dealing with this experience", proclaimed the Seattle based Kasumi-- recalling the procedure and psychological aftermath.

Kasumi has stated that the creation of art is like a cathartic ritual experience. The Japanese-born installation artist stated that her process of grieving and healing began nine years ago after she, as a young college student, chose to abort a pregnancy-- "Coming from Japan, I have a different cultural background and perspective. Abortions are considered taboo and such events must be kept secret. Through my art, I found that I could share my concealed emotions and personal experiences in public. Sharing the truth of my experience with others..." Kasumi explained.

One part of the exhibit features 108 slip casts of Kasumi's hands, open and extended. Another part features 5,000 egg shells from which Kasumi removed the white and yolk-- a process that spanned the course of 18 months. The artist stated that visitors sometimes place a gift or message in the hands. In a sense, the audience builds upon the space that Kasumi has provided-- making the installation a very interactive experience that enforces positive dialogue.

Controversial themes, like abortion, are often viewed in a negative manner by onlookers and the media when it comes to artistic expression. However, Kasumi has had positive reactions in regards to her work. One would think that an installation like this would stir political debate, but the MEM: memory memorial installation has yet to polarize anyone. Viewers have focused on Kasumi's experience rather than politics when viewing the installation.

In my opinion, works like this are important because they allow people to see a different side of issues that are often the source of political bickering. MEM: memory memorial provides viewers-- no matter what their political agenda --with an experience that allows them to discuss a tough issue on common-ground. In a sense, Kasumi has made an aspect of her private life public in order to help others who might be dealing with the same struggle and to foster peaceful conversations about the issue of abortion.

What do you think about this exhibit and the intentions of the artist?

(The exhibit runs through October 7th at Brenau University's Simmons Visual Arts Center in Gainesville, Georgia. www.brenau.edu)

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin