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Protecting Artists When Galleries Go Bankrupt – Rob Bettmann

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Protecting Artists When Galleries Go Bankrupt – Rob Bettmann

Rob Bettmann recently posted on his blog about the need to change the laws in the District to protect artists when a gallery goes bankrupt. An excerpt:

“A few months ago a staff member for DC Councilmember Cheh suggested I contact Janet Fries, a dc-based lawyer. He mentioned that Janet had been reviewing the DC Bar materials relevant to the arts, and had found that there was a hole in the code regarding gallery transactions. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I followed up with Janet and she explained it to me. I brought the issue to the DC Advocates for the Arts board, and with Janet’s help we’ve created a petition asking the council to address our specific concerns.

DC needs to amend the Commercial Code so that artists’ property isn’t taken by creditors if a gallery goes through bankruptcy. When they overhauled the business laws a few years ago they stripped out sections governing consignment transactions — which is what it is when an artist gives their work under contract to a gallery. There is no lose in this for anyone. We know with community support we can get this done. If you haven’t signed the petition yet, please click here and sign now!”

To see the whole post with the live link to the petition, click here.

Why Should the Government Support the Arts?

kboland
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Why Should the Government Support the Arts?

State governments across the country are experiencing growing deficits, and government art programs are threatened. In poor economic climates, the arts are unfortunately often the first aspects of society that lose crucial funding. I wrote to artists and non-artists to ask the question: why should our government support the arts?

My hope in placing these voices side by side is to foster understanding between those directly and those indirectly engaged in the arts. Over the next few weeks I’ll be updating this post with links to additional responses. Please weigh in on the conversation that these contributors have begun. I hope that this dialogue will continue in order to sustain an arts community that both enhances art and strengthens our nation.

– Kathryn Boland, Editorial Intern, Bourgeon

1. Ed Lazere, Policy Director, DC Fiscal Policy Institute
2. Andy Shallal, Visual Artist and Founder, Busboys and Poets
3. Maida Withers, Choreographer and Professor
4. Jon Gann, film-maker, and founder of DC Shorts, and DC Film
5. Clark Ray, candidate for DC City Council

Kathryn Boland is a junior at the George Washington University majoring in Dance. She is also minoring in Art History, Theater, and English. She is originally from Newport, Rhode Island. She is fascinated with anything and everything artistic. She is therefore pleased to contribute to dialogue around the arts through interning with Bourgeon.

Blair Murphy talks with Chajana denHarder about Oneness, Shock and Return

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Blair Murphy talks with Chajana denHarder about Oneness, Shock and Return

Curator (and Bourgeon Associate Editor) Blair Murphy interviewed Chajana denHarder about the artist’s upcoming show at the WPA, Oneness, Shock and Return, on her blog. An excerpt:

“The work itself defies easy categorization, involving performances that occur without an audience, photographs that depict imagined sculptures and finally, the metaphoric consumption of the artist herself. The final images are a documentation of denHarder’s stated desire to merge with her surroundings, just as the ritualistic consumption of the bread invites onlookers to merge with the artist. At the same time, the work ultimately testifies to the stubborn persistence of boundaries, our inability to be at one with either our surroundings or one another in anything but the most fleeting and symbolic of ways.

I spoke with denHarder this week, as she prepared to install the show and put the final touches on her bread alter ego. The show opens this Friday, May 7 from 6-8pm, with an artist’s talk and consumption of the artist/ bread at 7pm. The exhibition will remain on view at WPA headquarters through June 4.

Blair: To start off, can you talk a little bit about the process of creating the work for this particular show? The movement, from performance to digital sculpture to photographs reinstalled in the gallery seems especially important, so I was hoping you could talk a little bit about those processes.

Chajana: It is important. When I perform I’m trying to connect, but I can’t fully realize that connection until I digitally merge the two together. The upcoming WPA show is the first time my work has been reinserted into the setting in which they were created/conceived. In doing this, I feel that it somehow completes the process.

Blair: The notion that the process is completed by the work returning to the site of the performance seems to relate directly back to the importance of the physical environment in your work. What is the role of the physical environment in your work?

Chajana: The physical environment is my studio. For the most part I don’t think about what I’m going to interact with until I meet it. The physical environment is also my subject. The other day I had an idea to have people commission me to make portraits of them. I would follow them around and merge myself and themselves to their environment. Then once the work was merged, they could also hang it in the space where it was taken.”

Read the full interview here. To see more about the upcoming show at the WPA, Oneness, Shock and Return, click here.

 

Clark Ray: Why Should Government Support the Arts?

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Clark Ray: Why Should Government Support the Arts?

There are two major reasons I believe that we need to promote government support for the ARTS.

The first is I believe the greatness of a people is eventually judged by what they contribute to the arts and culture of their times. DC must continue to build on the tremendous programs we now have here and ensure that our children understand the value of the arts in their lives.

The second becomes a more altruistic reason when I take my seat on the City Council and am responsible for passing budgets in these difficult economic times. The ARTS community contributes mightily to the economic health of our City. There is a billion dollar return from the Arts community to the District of Columbia through job creation and taxes. We in the District of Columbia sell more tickets to performances than any other City except New York. We are fortunate to have companies like the Shakespeare Theatre who along with the Verizon Center is given much credit for the revival of our
downtown.

As a Councilmember I will promote the ARTS and support continued public funding for their expansion into every neighborhood of the District. The ARTS are the perfect example of great public/private partnerships that make our City great.

We need to continue to work with our ARTS institutions to bring the ARTS into our schools and to develop business/community/school partnerships that expand our children’s horizons in all the arts. One of the most exciting projects developed in recent years has been THEARC in Anacostia. A success story and a place for the community where our young people can come to be educated, cared for in safety, and find a place for themselves in the ARTS community.

I will continue to press for public support of the ARTS community when I am on the Council in a number of ways including supporting the DC Office of Planning’s work to include Arts and Culture as a separate component of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan and funding of the DC Commission on the ARTS and Humanities. In addition I will work with the DC Public Schools to get them to adopt an ARTS policy that will ensure that all our children have equal access to the ARTS.

Clark Ray is the former Director of Parks and Recreation in the District, and a candidate for DC City Council.

To see the opening post in this series, and additional responses, click here.

This is a Live Feed With Glass Artist Tim Tate

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This is a Live Feed With Glass Artist Tim Tate

[Editor’s Note: On May 3rd around noon I saw that Rosetta DeBerardinis had updated her facebook status with: “This is a live feed with glass artist Tim Tate who is also the founder of the Washington Glass School. Welcome, Tim and thanks for doing this interview.” As the conversation below unfolded, I sent her a note asking if we could publish this on Bourgeon.]

Rosetta DeBerardinis: This is a live feed with glass artist Tim Tate who is also the founder of the Washington Glass School. Welcome, Tim and thanks for doing this interview.

Tim Tate: My pleasure Rosetta!

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Tim, you have work currently in a major museum show along with Damien Hirst, I read the review. What is your impression of the show?

Tim Tate: The show is a very non-Washington show. It tests the limits of media specific work, and allows artist who normally would be outside the museum system to show work. I would say its one of the most exciting shows in NYC right now.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: You mentioned during our last chat that you were discovered by the curator at the Museum of Art and Design on Facebook. What did his initial correspondence say?

Tim Tate: The way I got the show at the Museum Of Arts and Design in NYC is through Facebook. I posted a video of a cat playing the piano, and a person popped up and said, “Hey! That’s really cute…. I should have that at my museum.” I said “museum???? You should have my work….. what museum??” That man was David McFadden, Chief Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design. I pitched a concept and 24 hours later, I was in a show there.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: What was your pitch?

Tim Tate: It was called “The Apothecarium Moderne.” It consists of 9 large apothecary jars, each offering a cure for an ill of modern mankind. I sent him a sketch of the piece.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Was the work site-specific?

Tim Tate: It was….. specifically designed for this show. Fortunately, my work was already similar to this theme. It also gave me a chance to collaborate with one of my favorite artists.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: What makes this the most exciting show in NY right now?

Tim Tate: Its got some incredible artists, including Tom Wilkinson, Sanford Biggers, Xu Bing, Nick Cave, Damien Hirst many others. Plus some very awe inspiring work.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: You usually use reliquaries, what made you decide on apothecary jars?

Tim Tate: An apothecary was just a different shaped vessel. I was already used to the dialogue proposed by inclusion inside a vessel.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Did you have a chance to have exchanges with those artists while working on your pieces?

Tim Tate: I only met a few, as I installed early. But they were all wonderful.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Did you get a sense of how they perceived the Washington art market?

Tim Tate: Well, it appears that DC is very low on the radar. But no one spoke badly of it.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Glad to hear that. Where are most of the artists from?

Tim Tate: In this particular show, most are European. Many had to install late because of the volcano. One missed the opening entirely.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Let’s go back to some of your earlier work. How does your current work transition from your maps of the human heart?

Tim Tate: What were my large hollow hearts but reliquaries? I see them as very similar.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: As I recall, your hearts were related to your mother’s death. If that is true, what event triggered your inspiration?

Tim Tate: Most of my early work dealt with loss and memory. And was extremely self referential. When I added video, memories of early childhood and nostalgia came into my work. My newest videos will be based on turn of the century spirit photographs…

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Glad you mentioned your videos. Do you actually make the video?

Tim Tate: I make 80% of the videos. I also rely upon found videos or public domain.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Did you decide to incorporate video to keep your work contemporary, responding to the new media?

Tim Tate: Nope. Didn’t even think of that till after the fact. It started because my aunt left me a miniature tv from the sixties…. I wanted to use that. I made 2 prototypes. One went straight to Cy Katzen. Plus I sold 4 more…. on the same day. Then I got scared.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Why were you scared?

Tim Tate: I knew my prototypes were way too low tech for museum quality (dvd player under a box). I spent 8 months redesigning the electronics to make them conservation worthy… No moving parts…..all done with micro chips.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: That’s impressive. Now, how does the video play inside?

Tim Tate: Flash drive/ micro chips. But something else also occurred. The intellectual property of the work switched from the glass to the video.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Is the video more valuable to the work than the glass?

Tim Tate: Its not that, its that the focus is now on the video content, rather than on the color, shape, size, and materiality of the glass.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Do you consider abandoning the glass entirely?

Tim Tate: I doubt it, but at Scope in Basel, Switzerland in June they will only be showing the videos….. no containers….. same in San Francisco. The way I use video is starting to become an art form.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Why do you think that is happening?

Tim Tate: I saw a show in South Africa that was 80 videos artist in 80 seconds. It was artists who work in 80 seconds or less. It was the first time I had seen others like me. The availability of editing, youtube, cameras………you will see more and more.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: And….. what about that made you decide to abandon the glass?

Tim Tate: I haven’t abandoned that at all. The venue determines which way I present the work.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: I agree! You mentioned being “scared”. Are you sometimes frightened by your recent success?

Tim Tate: lol….not so’s you’d notice. You always feel like you are not so successful….. no matter how successful you get. It always feels the same…. like you are on the verge…. but not quite over the top. Everything feels the same as for an artist doing Artomatic.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: What do you attribute most to your uprising career?

Tim Tate: Almost entirely the videos. It seems my work is considered “self-contained video installations” in the artworld away from DC. Once you enter the artworld away from DC (the big art fairs), the pace is so much faster, so much bigger.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Will you miss working with glass less often?

Tim Tate: I work with glass constantly…. I will always want to make work with my hands. But now my work represents the entry point to video for many collectors. Plus I can expand what I can say so much more.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Do you have any advice for Washington artists based upon your growth and experience?

Tim Tate: Try to select galleries that show in the major fairs. A huge percentage of artwork sold today is at the fairs.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: How important a role do you think galleries have contributed to your career?

Tim Tate: A huge role. The saddest moment is when an artist outgrows a gallery. It’s a tough time on both of them.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: I am sure that’s true. Would you consider leaving the Washington area?

Tim Tate: Not even remotely. I have deep roots here. I founded the Washington Glass School…. that will end up being my legacy. But these days an artist can live anywhere on earth. You are not limited to your proximity to a gallery any longer. I’ve had galleries in Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, London, Germany, New York…. all over.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Well, you have made us all very proud. Anything you wish to add?

Tim Tate: I would add to each artist…. try to find a group of artists whose work you respect. Form a “covenant” with those other artists. Each will help the other. This has been extremely advantageous. There are so many wonderful artists in DC.

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Good advice. Thank you for your time and wishing you continued success!

Tim Tate: Thanks Rosetta! Hoping to see you soon moving to my neighborhood!

Rosetta DeBerardinis: Very likely!

Rosetta DeBerardinis has exhibited at commercial galleries and art venues throughout the Washington metro area, Richmond, Dallas, New York City, Houston, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan and internationally in Croatia, Madrid, Beijing, India and France. She has shown at the Dallas Women’s Museum, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Woman’s National Democratic Club, The African-American Museum in Dallas, the City Museum of Varazdin in Croatia and the Yaroslavl Art Museum in Russia. Her work and words have been published in Washington Spaces magazine, the Virginia-Pilot Ledger Star, SoBo Voice, Radar Redux magazine and u-tube, Thinking About Art:The One Word Project, the Hill Rag, Voice of the Hill and in catalogues with comments by art officinados like Doreen Bolger, Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art. A recent work is part of the Art on Call public art project in the Trinidad neighborhood in the District of Columbia. To see her website, click here.

Click here to see website of Tim Tate

All images in this post by Tim Tate. Image # 1: ‘Homing Pigeon’; Image # 2: ‘Spring Awakening’; Image #3: ‘Infertility’; Image # 4: ‘Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand’; Image #5: ‘Welcome Home’

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