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Seen/Scene: Sarah Thee Campagna's Robots @ Crafstmen House Doll Show.

Sarah Thee Campagna sent two emmisaries from her Cybercraft Robots Orbiting Space Lab, that weightless future factory, to the Craftmen House Doll Show back on June 25th.

Sarah's Robotopiary is strangely human....

Posted by Luis at 9:09 PM No comments: Links to this post 

Two from the Florida Craftsmen Doll Show...

[More from the Lost Files fro the Summer of 2013...]

I found these two standouts from that show in this lost memory card. With apologies to the artists and the gallery....

From Eleanor Pigman, this Queen of Hearts done with beads. A bit on the crafty side, but a beautiful object.

Fro Brenda Gregory, a relative rarity these days, a complex political work, with depth of feeling and intelligence, all modulated to great effect. Made from upcycled materials. It reminded me of Mexican Retablos...

Posted by Luis at 9:27 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 
Seen/Scene: Art Deals on Beach Drive with Allen Abrams.

[From the Lost Files of the Summer of 2013...]

Sometime in June, right on Beach Drive, at around 9:00 PM, a white van pulls up, two men get out, and put up a display of "genuine African art" for Allan Abrams of Trinity gallery. While he muses and talks prices, I take a few pictures of this improbable scene. Here is the best one from an enchanting evening with a friend... Posted by Luis at 9:10 AM No comments: Links to this post 
Gulfport Geckofest 2013

Ok, this is faintly tangential to what this blog is about, but.... it is such a good time that I can't resist.

The 13th Annual Geckofest is being held in beautiful downtown Gulfport on Saturday, August 30th and goes on all day, with the walking parade at 6:00 PM (get there much earlier if you hope to find a parking place) and the costume contest. No Pirates, no elitist BS. There is a street dance. This still has a non-corporate small town aura about it. The town is simply beautiful. And, it is free.

[Their press release...]

Gulfport’s 13th Annual Geckofest will bring entertainment to the streets during a daylong spectacle
on Saturday, August 31st.

Amid the thousands of festival-goers, hundreds of vendors and dozens of live musicians on two stages, expect to come face to face with live mermaids, magicians, jugglers, acrobats, fire dancers and more, creating an “up close and personal” circus atmosphere throughout the village.
All festivities take place on Beach Boulevard in Gulfport from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Each year, Gulfport celebrates the end of summer with its largest festival of the year, dedicated to the town’s unofficial mascot and favorite reptile.

The festival has grown to become one of Tampa Bay’s most anticipated events of the year.
Entertainment in the streets is one of the hallmarks of Geckofest, with many both strolling and stationary performers interacting with visitors.
This year’s festival brings more action, fun and thrills to the streets than ever before.

Live mermaids will be visiting in a rare display.

The curator of the exhibit will give details on the history of mermaids, their habits and habitats, before drawing the curtain to reveal one of the visiting mermaids.  These “sea women” of lore can be viewed up close behind the glass of a giant water tank.  Naturally curious, a mermaid may surface from the water to interact with onlookers.  Getting close to her may mean getting splashed!  Watch for the mermaid exhibit in the heart of the festival.

The Mcandless Aerial Troupe will be on hand to perform acts of anti-gravity grace, including aerial acrobatics, long distance drops, hanging “Spanish web” rope maneuvers and more.

The Acromaniacs will show off an array of thrilling acrobatics including “extreme flipping” and body balancing stunts combined with comedy.  Also watch for Dallas, a well-known Bay Area performer combining comedy and juggling, as well as amazing feats of strength and balance.

Donning his trademark color orange, Stunt comedian Wacky Chad combines clowning with such stunts as carrying passengers on a miniature bicycle to balancing shopping carts on his face!

His extreme pogo stick stunts will amaze festival-goers and his comedy antics will keep visitors in stitches.  Seasoned magician, mentalist and entertainer Anton James will display a variety of illusions, including assorted magic tricks large and small, mind reading and “mind games,” and other entertainment in a high energy style.

Capping off the festivities, the Fireshow by Mayhem will showcase a troupe of performers who will dance with, play with, manipulate, swallow and have full body contact with fire.

The finale includes a “rocket staff” spun by a performer like a baton with live fireworks attached to each end.  Audience members gather in a circle surrounding the performance area and are able to view the pyrotechnics from close up.
The fire show returns to Geckofest by popular demand and has thrilled audiences on every occasion.

Also watch for face painters, balloon artists, stilt walkers, drummers, a “living statue” and more street entertainers throughout the day.

Other costumed performers, including pirates, gypsies, faeries, and of course geckos will be strolling through the village during Geckofest, creating a quirky, vibrant and colorful scene enjoyable for visitors of all ages.
Geckofest visitors are encouraged to come in costume.
Many of the Geckofest performers will also march alongside costumed visitors in the annual Walking Parade, which will be led by Gulfport’s Mayor Emeritus, and include the “o-FISH-al” Gecko Goddess, as well as the new Gecko Queen and her Court.
A costume contest with prizes will be held following the parade for children and adults.
Geckofest is sponsored by the Gulfport Merchants Association, and produced by SIK Promotions.

For more information, please visit www.Gulfportma.com, www.geckofest.com or call 727-322-5217.
 

Seen/Scene: Mishou Sanchez Solo Show @ Rhino Studios

Mishou Sanchez is a Renaissance Woman: Multiple degrees, Architect, Artist, Interior Designer, Multimedia, and more, she is also brimming with ideas about culture and art, some of which she has put into practice. She turned cargo containers into gallery spaces on a greens outside of Tampa, and did so without government money. Mishou's vision is a benign, unpretentious, irresistible force oriented toward community and a better future. I recently met with her, and after three hours of energized brainstorming, I left with a renewed sense of hope for the near future of the arts in the Bay Area -- and the world. For more, see here: [Link].

This solo show took place on June 15th, 2013 at Rhino Studios on the 600 Block. It was a mix from her female Geisha/Ninja and the famous persons series. Here are a few pictures from that evening.

In this series, the artist has painted representations of herself, Sophia Renee, a renowned photographer of men and Mitzi Gordon, who runs Articulate, is on important boards, and owns the Book Bus, and more. Three women in the arts, in kimonos, depicted as Geishas. The two symbols, or kanji for the word mean "art" "doer". They are entertainers and hostesses who perform traditional art forms in Japan. In these paintings they wield swords and are also Ninjas. From Wikipedia: "A ninja (忍者?) or shinobi (忍び?) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan who specialized in unorthodox warfare. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, and open combat in certain situations.[1] Their covert methods of waging war contrasted the ninja with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat."
This series redefines the woman artist into a multidimensional role with a martial aspect.

Congratulations to Mishou Sanchez for a good show.


Posted by Luis at 8:24 PM No comments: Links to this post 
From FMoPA: Opportunities for artists...

[As received...]

Florida Museum of Photograph​ic Arts (email@example.com)
Schedule cleanup Posted by Luis at 5:51 AM No comments: Links to this post 

Seen: Mitzi Gordon's Art Car

(Going through my Summer photo files...found these of Mitzi Gordon's art car...the car was painted by Hunter Payne.) Congratulations to Mitzi and Hunter...
 
Seen/Scene: Saint Pete Clay

Photographs from August 2013's 2nd Saturday taken at Saint Pete Clay.... I need to spend more time over there and do a more in-depth blog.
 
Dominique Laubavie @ Gallery 221 @ HCC 
Florida Craftsmen Theater Art and Vision August 29-31

Posted by Luis at 9:36 AM No comments: Links to this post 
FMoPA Photography Classes Schedule for Fall and WInter 2013

Posted by Luis at 9:31 AM No comments: Links to this post 
Upcoming...Looking Back Looking Forward: Picasso Gaglione @ eve N Odd


Picasso Gaglione: Looking Back Looking Forward

September 7th at the eve-N-odd, 7-10pm A New look for Old Photos
A show of works by Picasso Gaglione
Text: Darlene Domel
Eve N Odd Gallery 645 Central Ave St Petersburg Fl
Opening 7 Sept 2013
Picasso Gaglione created many incarnations and identifications during his long career as a conceptual artist.
He was one of the very early correspondents in the mail art network started by Ray Johnson and his work under the post name “dadaland” is present in catalogs and the documentation of mail art shows beginning in the late 60’s and continuing to the present day. A large body of his mail art work is part of the permanent collections of the archive of the Library of San Francisco, the Center for the Book Arts in Minnesota, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the special collections section of the Art Institute of Chicago.
A fascination with all things Italian led him to the discovery of the Futurist Sintesi theater pieces in the late 50’s and ultimately to the performance of these pieces all through the mid 70’s and into the twenty first century.  His involvement with the Fluxus art movement in performance art is well documented from the mid 60’s to the present day.  He currently performs at art events in museums, galleries and art centers under the title “DADA machine FLUXUS”.
He began to use rubber stamps in his artwork in the early stages of his career and finally, in the late 70’s, taught himself how to make rubber stamps for his own use. In the early 80’s he and his wife, Darlene Domel, founded the fine art rubber stamp company, “Stamp Francisco” and became an inadvertent influence in the foundation of the rubber stamp industry.  For more than thirty years they have worked to encourage, teach and inspire others to produce and use rubber stamps creatively.
Gaglione offers a video tour of his very first “Rubber Stamp Museum, dating from the early 80’s, on “you tube” under the title “Abracadada Rubber Stamp Museum. They opened their first rubber stamp store in the early 80s in San Francisco. During this period Picasso also began the series of accumulation publications entitled “STAMPZINE” in which contributors were asked to contribute 75 hand stamped pages. He then compiled the pages and designed the covers.  All contributors received an issue containing these original art pieces and museums and art libraries regularly collected editions.
Picasso took this craft into fine art world in the 90’s with the creation of his “ StampArt Gallery”.  He decided that the gallery would exclusively exhibit the use of rubber stamps in fine art by notable international artists. He personally selected each subject and researched information for every monthly show. He designed a unique poster and catalog for each event. The gallery poster collection was recently featured in a one-man show in New York City and the catalogs are now part of the permanent collection of the library of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
He is recognized as one of the earliest creators of art “zines’ and other limited edition art magazines beginning in the early 70’s.  He coined the word “Dadazine” to describe these works. He was an active participant in the development of the  “artistamp” concept and still uses his own antique perforating machine to create limited editions of his “Stamp Art” zines, the conceptual combination of both art forms.
One of Picasso’s most innovative creations is the limited edition box set. Each of these handmade box sets usually, but not always, contains a combination of his favorite art forms: a rubber stamp, a zine - often entirely hand stamped, and an artistamp sheet focused on a subject of some particular fascination to him. They are produced in very limited editions and succinctly reflect his rather whimsical perspective on some provocative and often obscure fragment of art history.
The works in this show contain a capricious collection of altered antique photographs bearing the unique “Gaglione” signature. With pen and ink Picasso carefully creates another layer of complex designs over the old images in a kind of dada art graffiti that transforms the antique into a modern, witty dynamic. He draws history into fantasy.
Picasso Gaglione never stops making art or discovering new ways to make art. Examples of his works can be found in private collections and major art museums worldwide
Picasso Gaglione and his wife currently reside in Lake Villa Illinois, outside Chicago.  He still produces a line of rubber stamps in addition to his other artworks.  He can be found actively corresponding with other artists all over the world via his  “facebook” page.
Ó Darlene Domel 2013
Posted by Luis at 8:27 AM No comments: Links to this post 
Seen Scene: Hugo Porcaro's Flora and Fauna @ eve N odd

Here are a few photographs from opening night at eve N odd of Hugo Porcaro's Flora and Fauna show. Hugo is a widely beloved artist who works in the Folk style. This has been a very successful show both in terms of attendance and sales.

Congratulations to Hugo Porcaro and eve N odd for a good show.


Posted by Luis at 8:17 AM No comments: Links to this post 

Body Politics: Three 600 Block Shows and one at the Venture Compound.

Real controversies in art are rare. Earlier this year in Saint Petersburg, a contrived teapot tempest arose involving Mssrs Coolidge, Mize, the 600 block property mgr and the City. It was a divisive and extremely corrosive issue involving painting a pair of breasts on the wall behind BL. The City's position on bare breasts is inconsistent and selectively enforced. Last Sunday I was on Beach Drive and there was a life-size duratrans image of a naked woman behind Ceviche, and just a few feet down the block, bare-breasted mannequins clearly visible in storefront windows. I watched as families with wee children walked by both without blinking an eye. The bare breasted image behind Blue Lucy (BL) was at least otherwise clothed, and faced an alley with next to no pedestrian traffic. Frankly, what's at Ceviche "pushes the boundaries" of public nudity in public art much further than the SC boob job.

Coolidge continued his crusade and made signed stickers, which are plastered all over the City, apparently of the same boobs as a form of ersatz protest -- and getting attention.

Only a month or so ago, Coolidge painted yet another pair of breasts on the James Oleson Horse sculpture out in front of The Dazzio Experience. The property mgr, tired of these antics, threatened Derek Donnelly, in whose studio SC hung out, with not having his lease renewed. Derek decided he wanted to remain and painted over the breasts himself. The Oleson Gallery held a show, Blackout in solidarity or sympathy with BL. That is the political background to these three shows.

In a culture where The Spectacle has dominated, like an ever-spiraling, never-ending performance of Bolero, shock value becomes... valueless. Last year this was made painfully evident at the local level with the Abnormality  show at Fire Station Number Three, which was frightfully normal and managed to unwittingly subvert itself and its theme. Read my review of that show here: [Link]. If you missed it, it's being repeated again this Halloween. We can see anything on the web, from the most salacious porn to people degraded and injured in every way. The only things we don't see very often are innovation, individuation, non-sentimental feeling and that rarest quality of all, unusual intelligence. The BL show, according to Megan Voeller, was about "pushing boundaries". In the entire evening, there were only a very few pieces that came close to doing that. Most of the pieces were monosemic, lacking in dimension(s) and depth. This is not to say that these three shows weren't good, thoroughly enjoyable shows that should be seen.

[This is where the Deal With It review would have appeared, but no pictures were allowed. Just read an FB post from SC saying "next week" for pictures and showing the topless model, the very reason given for the ban on pictures. This game playing with the few reviewers in the city is a shame, because the artists in the show deserved far better than this. One artist has suggested I "paint with words", but at a thousand words per image, I apologize, but I do not have that kind of time. If the issue was the modesty/privacy of the topless model, BL should have allowed for a preview for media to take pictures of the work before she arrived/disrobed. I guess BL couldn't deal with it themselves.]

At Deal With It, there was an outstanding piece by "Monty Cantsin", a pseudonym for one of the best artists in the area, that cannot go unmentioned. Two baby jumpers, one reading "Good enough to Fuck but Not To Marry" and the other said something about "Grandma Wanted me Dead" (this is from memory, I could be off.). Blunt, poignantly powerful, somewhat monosemic, but universally relevant and brilliantly recontextualized stuff about one of the oldest stories in the world. The clothing hung from a board and agonizingly twisted barbed wire, all immaculately composed and crafted.

The James Oleson Gallery itself was one of the biggest boundary-pushes of the evening on the 600 Block. John Taormina along with his crew, James, Jaycee and Justin transformed the space into a renovated, refreshing and professional look that would not be out of place in a small gallery anywhere. Congratulations! Here are some highlights from their Blackout show. Justin Wagher's drawing "I Said No Pictures", a conceptual self-referential drawing of a female nude. Of course, it proved ironically synchronous to the censorship at another show. The breasts seem to be an hommage a' Coolidge.

One of the standout works of the evening, was Saori's "She's". A figure of a woman on a gridded background, a segmented something in her mouth and a door-like frame around her heart. The look on her face seems to me one of disappointment, dysfunction, and shock. Interesting bulge out of her left cheek. A friend of mine bought this an instant before I would have...and tried to borrow money from me to pay for it!

Humor was part of a few of the works in these two shows. Cassandra Wahuhi's "So you Want to Fuck Me Now?"  On a drawing of a female nude lying like a Maja are representations of a penis and a vagina. Both have repulsive cheesy secretions coming out around them, not to mention what appear to be cicada bugs coming out of them. There's wry humor in this. Not all of the works were dramatically in your face. J. Christopher had several color photographs of nudes taken inside the old YMCA building that transcended the visual eye-shock meme well. The quality of light, classic poses and design elements served to distance these prints from "ruin porn".

The show at Saint Paint was entirely different, much more in line with the gallery's usual vision. Moy Loera's "Please", a tryptich comprised of an anxious face, an abstract panel composed of blue and white hexagons, and a third with the title. It may sound incongrous, but look at it for a while and the three panels congeal. Moy will be having a one-man show soon at Rhino Gallery. Chainsaw Chuck Majewski had "Bucket Lisp", an original, in the show. It is a beautifully crafted S&M image depicting a variation on water torture.

Laura Spencer had a painting in the show titled "Corvadacea" of three crows on branches that was beautiful.

When Mindy Solomon left, one of the biggest voids created was in provocateurship. The heirs to this crown appear to dwell at the other end of town, in a small industrial building on Fairfield, close to 28th street at The Venture Compound. They are fearless, not even slightly afraid to do face plants on a regular basis, and they do so in an almost Dada-esque manner.

They take big risks, fail a majority of the time, but when they connect, it is that rare art experience that sucks the breath out of you and you willingly yield every gasp. Jesse Vance, Brad Kokay and Sarah Beth Newmark are the Hearts of Darkness of this City. One of their biggest secrets is out in the open: They gleefully mock themselves. Like comedians, this self-effacing humor enables them to deal with taboos and touchy subjects beautifully. The tribal, primal, ecstatic experience is to be found there, and that ceaseless questioning and conceptual churning of the basic questions about what art is, how it is shown, lines between artists/viewers, elitism, Nature and Grace. They infuse everything they do with an intensely human and refreshingly egalitarian quality. It is that quality that makes their space unlike any other in this city. For them, the present is wide open.

I arrived late at the Free Film Festival. There were no limos, red carpet, hollywood types, hype and pretentious wanna-be's, velvet ropes or hordes of papparazi. Only several short movies, most made with near-zero budgets. The place was packed, and unlike the big Festival in this city, a beautiful and primal saturday matinee aura prevailed.  The following review is by Art Taco Correspondent Malcom Johnson.

"Variety was the word at the Florida Free Film Fest hald at the Venture Compound in St. Petersburg on Saturday, August 24, 2013 at 9 pm.

Beginning 15 days earlier, an individual or team started creating an original 10-minute film from scratch.There were six films presented at the Premiere.
'Dump Odyssey' was a stop-motion film made using toy figures. 'Inside' was actually outside in a backyard, but through electronics created by hacking on a digital camera, there were 'false colors' and other manipulations that made it 'other worldly'.  The original electronic music also helped greatly.  'The Tale of Walt Millen' was a medical mystery with a surprise ending.  'Witchcraft Today' recieved the designation of 'worst film' (in a 'good way'). 'The Haunted Stroller' had a 'Skunk Ape baby' and Spanish speaking paranormal investigators. 'Found In The Basement' was really shot in a basement. You could'nt find a living dead thing in a basement could you?
Besides the Audience Choice Award voted by paper ballot, internationally known film festival director and judge Margaret Murray discussed her take on the films.
Thanks to the sponsor, Mr. Orsini, it was free to submit films and free to attend the Premiere. For some people, this was the first time that they had tried making a film and it looks like there will be even more filmakers submitting films for next year.".  --- Malcom Johnson

Ongoing was the Venture Compound's Ultraviolence show, which is very different from what the usual sensationalist title would lead one to expect. The human body politic here is a world apart from that of the two aforementioned shows.. Yes, over the top, sanguine, visceral, passionate and... human. Not like specimens on a slide under a microscope. Here are a few samples from the show...Kudos go to Britney Smith Bradley Kokay Jesse Vance Jim Grinaker and Sara Beth Newmark.

It was a great evening for the arts in Saint Petersburg. The variety of work, themes, presentation and gallery experiences speak well to the state of the arts in this city.


Posted by Luis at 11:04 AM 1 comment: Links to this post