UH046

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UH046, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Well went to a couple of FotoFest things in the past few days.

The strongest and most intriguing work was Letitia Huckaby at the Project Row Houses. This little place is in the middle of the 3rd Ward in Houston, a poor area with many African American inhabitants.

Ms. Huckaby’s work strong on many levels from innovative presentation, – prints on cotton made into patchwork quilts, hung by old fashioned clothes pins from clothes lines to subject matter, cotton and the historic role of cotton, slavery to the African-American experience. There was little to no hope in these pieces, there was quiet suffering to outrage and at best quiet moments of life. The images were executed mostly in silhouette form, which tended to generalize the statement.

I often make the comment – not for my walls, because I believe that what you live with affects your outlook on life and doesn’t help with healing, getting past the anger, sadness or tragedy. Many of these works I believe belong somewhere – books, the internet etc., because they should be considered and the lessons learned and there is an old saw that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. In many ways, I think this work is not for my walls, not for my bed (they looked too fragile for real use), and I don’t really think they will be nearly as effective in a book or on the internet.

Last week we had a major political speech on race due to Barrack Obama’s long term relationship with a preacher who made very angry statements. More than any of these statements these quiet quilts reminded me that still waters run deep and perhaps the wounds of the past haven’t healed. Made me think we need someone to further the healing process, and perhaps Mr. Obama has a role. As an aside I don’t think he is qualified to be president, and perhaps one of the campaigns will say something like, “A leader on race yes, a president no!”

It’s worth the effort to go see these pieces.

M2 Gallery had some interesting pieces where the curator fused the themes of China and Transformations. He worked hard to make a superb exhibition in a very nice tasteful gallery space in the Heights. If you go, look at the pairings of images. There is an active and creative curatorial mind there. Keep an eye on the gallery, I suspect it will often have interesting things and presentations.

Just a couple of doors down is another gallery. This was the second “opening” during FotoFest and the second disappointment – although there is a nice painting of jazz players in the back that has a Harlem Renaissance feel.

The Art Institute of Houston had student work up. One of the students demonstrated in his description of the work an understanding of the impact of digital. Unfortunately, neither his nor any of the other student work showed progress beyond the innovations expected of students. Still where the head leads the eye and execution may follow.

UH067

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UH067, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Williams Tower 2800 Post Oak opened last night 3/18/08

GO SEE YAO Lu’s work – gorgeous he is using photographic tools to replace the woodcut!

Ok so I think that this is a very important trend in the Art/Photographic world. The digital photographic tools are very flexible and can be taken many directions. YAO Lu has developed them to replace the woodcut and has opened the dialog between the two processes. Fabulous – he has gone back to where the Pictorialists left off (Impressionism +/-) and brought up the dialog between the mediums with traditional Chineese cultural roots the woodcut. He has further updated the scenes with modern concerns. These are fabulous images and NOT TO BE MISSED! Make it a priority stop! (Ok so I’m a little biased – I work in the same pond but with several western painting schools.)

While there, see the rest of the show the composites with little pictures and further overlays were well done. The Franklin bill was intriguing. At Summer Street, and to some extent Cleary we saw the same use of little pictures to make a whole. At Williams center they were well done and worth seeing, but I prefer the images at Cleary the color and the use of the components of the structure, were more intriguing to me than the use of other faces. The images at Summer Street not at all in the same league of execution.

YAO Lu – go see the work!

UH070

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UH070, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Saturday Dan wanted a snapshot of himself with Ronald Reagan’s bust. Really the foundry is amazing and the busts are fabulous over on Summer street.

We did Colquitt, but got there right at closing, since we dallied at Khyber grill over the Indian food. Goldseberry Gallery, especially the jewelry fascinated Nancy so by the time she was done Cleary had closed. Lisa and I did get to see Cleary and the images created from “strips” of 35mm slides were interesting, colorful and ingenious. Maggie Taylor and other Cleary standards were up, so well worth the trip. Cleary Gallery was evolving in the past bit just before his death and was going to the solid cutting artistic edge. I hope this continues. New Gallery was closed and so was Hooks. Watermark, was open and had two sets of work up. Nancy called one Zen black and whites and that’s not a bad description. Lisa and her Mom (who joined us) enjoyed the color still life’s of cut fruit on the back wall. Watermark usually has good things, although always very conservative, and did not disappoint or surprise. Solid well crafted, livable, not breakthrough work that presses the medium or art.

The finds of the meeting place, journeymen work, and quoting a well known collector/photographer from a family of photographers volunteering for FotoFest, not my cup of tea.

In the back were color images of people with farm animals – a la Diane Arbus. I know farm and ranch folk a little, having worked on barns and farms images for years. The series was not really characteristic of the people nor a good documentary of the life and concerns of these people whose job is to produce the food we all eat and a large part of the exports of the United States. They don’t deserve to be mocked like this “artist” did, I found it down right offensive. Self centered, self important better than everyone artistic viewpoints give artists a bad name, it gives reviewers and FotoFest a bad name that this travesty was the “best”. It is always a bad sign when you start thinking, it’s a free country they have a right to say it. Work like this in my opinion is part of the reason so many people want to cut art from schools and the national endowment for the arts. I suppose it is part of the wonder of FotoFest, pointed out by the China theme, that we do have the right to “say” such things, but courtesy, honesty and fairness says sometimes we shouldn’t.

The large black and whites that included pictures of torn panty hose executed well and consistent with their subject matter, just simply boring and overdone. The vertical snapshots of people that needed a description almost as big as the image were poorly composed and if they need that much description…… Posed contrived pictures of young girls at risk, just to me not effective – too pretentious.

It is a little hard to get to and certainly NOT WORTH THE EFFORT – finds of the Meeting Place indeed!

UH069

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UH069, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

My sister and her new husband arrived on Friday for a visit. We stopped by my exhibit on the way home. I’m biased, of course, but I like it. I have noticed though that sometimes I find a piece doesn’t continue to work for me, thankfully, these continue to work for me.

Poissant Gallery had two exhibitions. Walk right past the first room with mediocre pictures of chess boards the best and framed words making those look good. In the back are treasures – prints on clear media fixed to plexi-glass. Nice – light, not preachy wonders of color, tone and light. Focus on simple things – plants and leaves.

I was pleasantly surprised by Johnny Bernhard’s exhibition. There was an image of dancers that was wonderful. Johnny works the commercial side of the street, so it was refreshing to see him do and quite successfully, some experimental work. I find these pieces much more innovative and exciting than say his dyptichs (you can see them in one of his books). Go see the exhibit, its number 75 on the list at 218 Westcott. Yes, it is just up the street from my exhibit at 230 Westcott. The two are an easy walk from each other.

The Summer Street Studios was worth the trip, but if you are physically challenged you’ll have to be content with looking at the large busts of the Presidents. They are wonderful and alone well worth the trip.

There may be elevators that I don’t know of, but we went up an outside stair/fire escape – fairly steep. The building is a working very large scale sculpture foundry/factory with at best incomplete kiss and a prayer renovations for gallery studio space above. Walking and even in the main Deborah Colton gallery I noted that there were several places in the floor that were trip and fall hazards – big dings in the concrete, old pipe holes, plates on top of the concrete with holes in the plates. If you go don’t wear spike heels – tennis shoes would be better.

The environment is supposed to suggest “finding” a brilliant struggling artist. The prices in the main Deborah Colton gallery indicate that these aren’t finds – nothing under 4 figures some at 5. Really inconsistent. Some of the work in both her main gallery and the annex was interesting. All well crafted. Most not for my walls and only some for my bookshelf. Will admit to smiling at the picture of Mao coming down, but I also remember pictures of Lenin and Saddam coming down too. I sat for a long while in the back room trying to decide if the techniques married the images. I finally decided that if I had to think about it that hard, the answer was no. The photo collages in the Colton annex were interesting, sort of. The individual components overlaid were very hard to discern as a meaningful component of message. The overall images distorted by the collage, were rendered less effective by the collage/compositing process.

If you go to the Summer Street studios do see the ASMP exhibit, a nice group show, everyone had a different favorite all worth seeing better than most journeyman work, but I don’t think these images are breakthrough images for the medium or the artist. Nice prints, most livable certainly worth the trip to see – although I will say the ASMP venue last FotoFest was easier to get to and enjoy.

Wandering around Summer Street, there was a painting studio open, and they were nice enough to let us wander through, Very nice abstracts, unfortunately I didn’t catch the name.

UH076

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urbtranmarDSC_0038_46, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

If you like pictures of gas masks intended to shock, go see the exhibit at the Magnolia Building. Nicely crafted, not for my walls, not for my bookshelf and I won’t be stopping by on the web.

At the Gallery of the Houston Arts Alliance was senior student work. That probably describes it well, though there was a light box image of koi that both Lisa and I enjoyed.

We went to the Gremillion & Company water exhibit/event. Would have been perfect for the FotoFest two ago when the theme was Water. Nice well done documentary images for a fundraiser. This was a fundraiser complete with how to donate, what your $20 donation could buy and…. For what it was well done, but don’t go expecting to see gallery museum quality art.

The Menil had some wonderful images and the one of the cemetery statue by Eggleston particularly struck Lisa, – It’s a really good choice. While your there do go through the art of drawing exhibit, it is fabulous, and of course the collection of Surrealism is well known and fabulous – worth seeing frequently. If you have time see the work at TALA, but don’t worry if your pressed, cut it.

UH039

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UH039, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Lisa and I visited Mind Puddles, 2305 Dunlavy (Houston) last night in conjunction with FotoFest.

A collection of artists exhibiting a wide range of things from black and white contrasty pictures of cactus, to color pictures of young girls in china. More journeyman presentations, of these Lisa and I found the fuzzy images by Royce Ann Sline of most interest.

She is marrying her output media to her images in ways that show development of an eye with anticipation of her eventual presentation. Her abstract colors with motion shows a dynamic feel for movement and color. It will be interesting to watch her develop.

UH56

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UH56, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Ran into FotoFest Exhibits Coordinator of FotoFest at the FotoFest exhibit at Rice University. She informs that many of the real prints for the main FotoFest Exhibit were delayed in customs and not at the exhibit. In their place were sometimes photo-copies. Will make a point to go back and see the exhibit to see if the real image effects my perception – I suspect it may, because I had not liked the print quality of many of the images.

By the way the exhibit at Rice University Media Center has some of the best images we’ve seen, go see the exhibit – its in the back and upstairs. There is a well developed “voice” and a consistency of execution and presentation that is pleasing. Tucked away in many of the images are dark symbols, so tough.

Lisa and I stopped by the Urban Eye exhibit at the Alliance de Francaise de Houston at 427 Lovett. This was a good exhibition, well crafted prints nicely executed presentations. There was some experimentation with alternative media, and well done. Compositionally strong the overall effect was a solid journeyman presentation. I had the opportunity to talk with several of the artists, especially about printing on canvas and saw an experimental streak. It will be interesting to see these “voices” develop. The show is well worth seeing.

Our stops last night ended with the O’Connor Studios. We enjoyed the candle lit exhibition and the video which was a little, John Lennon’s Imagine, meet documentary film, meet the Sunday morning infomercials raising money for starving children.

UH53

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UH53, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Went to several FotoFest exhibitions again last night.

Went to 4 general areas last night. West U/Rice, The Heights, deSantos Gallery and HCP.

Picnic, in the West U, had some nice telescopic snapshots of flowers and dragonflies and other insects. There were a couple of scenic pieces printed on canvas. For my $0.02 the photographer has potential but needs to work with the tools and develop a voice. There is potential in the landscapes on canvas. The Raven Grill, well, Lisa and I enjoy the food there and the menu is as always, first rate,

In the Heights the collection of exhibitions in the 200-300 block of west 11th street is worth the trip, TCA, TCA(2), G Gallery, & Redbud Gallery. The Imprint Phenomena exhibition was highly political. The technical execution was well done, the images built with a fine craftsmanship and sensitivity to the human condition. The images aren’t livable, at least for me, but worthy. Other exhibitions focused on the artistic side of things, some more successful than others. Here are developed eyes and voices, with varying degrees of livability. Technical execution and presentations nice, and in some cases somewhat novel or at least out of the mainstream.

We went to several other of the Height’s galleries, the white and black trees at H Gallery were well done, but shrug………. It was less stimulating at the rest of the openings in the area.

deSantos had classic black and white images, compositionally intriguing. They have a uniform murkiness in the prints that neither Lisa or I found helpful to the enjoyment of the images. The gallery as always was in great form and they usually have interesting things.

HCP had undergone a quick change from Thursday’s show, masterfully done to its new premiere show, Habitat 7. Unfortunately, the diversity promised by the write up on the wall both Lisa and I missed in the images. Beautifully done technically and presented nicely, not for my walls and disappointing in their lack of diversity, so not even for my bookshelf. The Mined in China exhibit, yet another effective eco-friendly, dignity of worker presentation. The high quality snapshots from the Houston Chinese Photographic Society were fun to see.

UH051

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urbtranmar1DSC_003546, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Went to FotoFest Grand opening last night. FotoFest should be commended
on the China theme, but I hope they don’t do a Europe, Latin America and
…. Theme.

I hope the documentary photojournalist photographers here from China
got/get to see the Baume Mercier/Magnum photographer exhibit at HCP.
Their approach to printing is markedly different with the Chinese gray
and flat. The Magnum prints have a full spectrum of black to white and a
full range of gray. I didn’t feel that the Chinese prints did the
subject matter the full justice a dynamic black and white print can
deliver. If part of the intent was to say something about the flatness
of life with such lifeless prints, perhaps they successful, but I have
seen such messages communicated with stunningly dynamic prints, and find
the dynamic print more capable of message delivery. These prints left me
flat.

There were a few attempts at color work and “art”. Technically and
tonally, the prints were masterful. One set of prints was staged
theater, with what I in the west think of as traditional costuming and
makeup. The gender bending nudity in these images was simply banal in
the worst connotations of the word. Perverse in their lack of respect
for tradition, humanity and the arts, their only redeeming quality was
technical mastery and perhaps the ability to shock. Please don’t believe
I am anti-nudity in art, I‘m not, my Silhouettes series, and my older
models series (available by request only) has nudity in it, and I would
like to think not perverse.

There were other things, staged or real it didn’t really matter, teen
violence on the second floor, at most something to consider, certainly
not for everyday living on the walls. These images reminded in odd ways
of A Clock Work Orange, with out nearly the sophistication of symbol
manipulation, subtle use of color shift or the layers of intellectual
debate on mind control, free will and government manipulation. True, a
Clock Work Orange is a movie, but its also a book and could be made into
a series of photographs. I got the feeling this “artist” was trying to
“discuss” some of the same issues that Clock Work did, but I didn’t
think he succeeded.

The color work of the dead animals, again technically well done, should
consider the many western still life paintings of food, animals ready
for butchering etc. Compositionally, these photographs didn’t utilize
their space completely. Use of negative space is very important, these
didn’t use negative space well.

I found the show educational and thank FotoFest for having it. I look
forward to seeing more work.

——
Thornwood had an opening of C.A. Smith paintings – very nice livable
impressionistic style paintings. Nothing particularly new innovative or
stunning, but nicely done and livable. You’ll have to decide if the
price is right.

Diverseworks – One Year Later a set of Diptychs of the same young woman
a year later- interesting, might be more interesting to see a very long
study of these women 20yrs or more. Certainly not for my walls, but
maybe on the web or a book. Broken Earth – quite frankly my little
groups consensus was to walk out a little way through it. When we left
we couldn’t figure out why six screens in a circle and the pace.

mArchitects – Branching Out Tree limbs and leaves, nice decorative but
I’m not wanting one for my collection, would have a hard time
recommending it for someone else’s, unless they really loved it – but
then they would need/want my recommendation.

Nance Street Studios: Potential there, but not “fully developed voices”
in my opinion.

UH57

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UH57, originally uploaded by oliverart.com.

Went to Houston Center For Photography last night. The Baume & Mercier / Magnum show – can’t find my announcement. Very slick presentation of mostly documentary photography. The framing finish matched the pedistal displaying the watches. Not sure I understood the connection to photography (other than sponsorship of the exhibition), but the pedestal had some interest, Lisa liked it. Slick unified presentation with nice snacks and drinks. Lots of trendy types and people chatting. A good time.

The image of Barbara Streisand, Very nice in its own right seemed a little out of place – more a celebrity picture than documentary and photojournalism. Still it was an eclectic collection of work and there were many memorable images in the collections, many of which are familiar and have entered the collective memory. I suppose a collection of this sort has to have a picture of 9-11, but for me the big plume over the city was weaker than many of the other 9-11 images I’ve seen and one of the weakest in the show. The picture of the little dog and the feet and big dog’s paws was fabulous. There was a wonderful bar scene behind the bar tender, silhouettes with superb printing, the sign, that should have been a black silhouette too, was legible. The picture of the arm/watch with tanks in the streets in the background, riveting and descriptive … One of the famous pictures of Albert Einstein, wrinkled with the wild hair, is of course a proxy for the mad scientist of the nuclear age. The sadness in his face and eyes seems to me says, what did my pure science in my manic phase of research unleash on man, are we ready, will we survive? To understand the image though, you really need to know whom the picture is of and what he did. It’s a wonderful contrasty print.

The construction worker dancing/painting in the high rise girders transcended the documentary for me, it reminded me of “The Fool” – one of the cards of the major arcana in the Tarot.

On my desk is a stack of three announcements for HCP exhibitions starting March 9, today is the 8th. If you can see this exhibition, do so the print quality is superb. While the prints in the magazines, newspapers, high quality books and even the web are great and they really are just the next best thing to these high quality prints of some extraordinary documentary and photojournalistic photography.