VOL 07 ISSUE 1  January 15, 2008  

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Ricker's Latte is non-objective and frenetic, shredded, jaggedy, primary and leaves first time viewers almost as jittery as its namesake might. Part of a series of similar pieces including $10 PIZZA  in this show, Double Latte incorporates some intriquing puzzles that deliver on what the $1800 price tag promises.

A husband may be inspired to speak well of his wife, and justly so.  Kim's Memories (maybe 20"x12") are fairly mystifying, using a quasi-scientific drawing and hard edged, exuberantly touched color figures on a texturally mottled plain white background.  Metallic glints in areas like the end of the vertical cone give an indication of luxury, and the outwardly inscrutable graphics offer future hours of detached free association to collectors intrigued by Kim's vision.  "People in Alaska want pictures," Mr Kim proposed. "They don't know about Art."

Remember when that was the case?  Ask gallerist  Charley McAlpine what rich collectors will buy and he says 'Pictures --- with good light in them'. He could judge a picture's appeal by the skill displayed by the artist in portraying sunsets, campfires, candlelight, and he displayed each picture with a hot spot to enhance the effect.  McAlpines' Far North Gallery is holding its final inventory reduction prior to ceasing business this winter.

BIOTA b4 SWIRL: HEIMEL, ECKLAND Denise Heimel brought Evolution of Biota, seen in the foreground of the photo at left, as an example of her series of ceramic quoits. this example has what appears to be porcupine quills .  The earth tones and primal appeal are well matched with Swirl, by Leslie Eckland, which hangs in the background.  Another similar effort called Twist (not shown) also features the built up surface and faux finish flat areas.  Others who tortured the canvas by building up the surface included Yuliya Helgeson-Thompson, whose Cumulous Lookout (not shown) was hung too low to appreciate properly.   Salon style hangings expand the eligible area to hang works, and the space above the average eye-height is preferable to the nether zones.   Patrons shouldn't have to squat down on their haunches to view artwork.

This annual show is a natural for a November or December slot on the Gallery's schedule, while buyers are eager, looking for unique gifts for themselves and others.   Instead it is held annually in January, when buyers are feeling remorse about the scorch marks their credit cards left everywhere. This confirms the mythical paradigm that the IGCA artists do what they do without regard for money.  Of course this is true, and after they do what they do, they then need money, so that they can live to work without regard for money once again!  The vantage of wanting to expedite the collector's experience doesn't preclude edginess and experimentation, nor does acknowledging their buying cycles.

Later, when the contradictions are finally faced, the committees abuse the artist's independence even more until a homogenized, uninspired and increasingly irrelevant, non-didactic project is completed.   Committees are hostages to fear; they worry about safety sensibly and public sensibilities irrationally.   

Yawit and Daoust have also recently completed commissions including the $24,000 Flame of Life at the Southport Fire Station #15 and another at the DEC Seafoods facility, to add to their previous ones including the twisted ladder at the Downtown Fire Station. The Wendler commission was accquisitiioned by the Municipality for  $150,000. 

The two story open hallway is a common feature of modern public school design and it can be seen that the architects intend to grant the space some visual interest through clerestory windows, exposed structural elements, or lighting arrangements already in place.  According to Wendler's Principal Joel Roylance, who also served on the commissioning panel,  Yawit and Daoust's concept as originally approved suspended the lanterns in the space between the horizontal light bars.  Engineers insisted that they be more firmly attached, regimenting the geometry and changing the Energy from kinetic to potential.  The LED lumens barely compete visually with the much brighter flourescent fixtures, although the photo does show faint glowing effects.

In the entryway, the notion of suspending shards of colored acrylic like broken pottery above the lobby offended no safety concerns and the results can be seen reflecting various interior features surrounded by daylighting and flourescent. In the photo at left   Here again the artwork seems to be occupying space already meant to have been made interesting by the architecture.  These uneasy fits and unseemly compromises are the result of not including artists in the design stages which are properly part of any construction budget and which are the most fruitful times for felicitous commissions.   This is something in the Statute that should be amended, and architects should support this change.  A revealing quip from the latest prospective claims that "The 1% for Art Program and the project architects ... are working together to plan and implement integrated artwork.". The bureaucrats and the technocrats seem to see the artists as ancillary.

- ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES- 

1/23/08 deadline NOME YOUTH FACILITY requests concept proposals for jail interior. Budget $75,000. RFP online . Contact Andrea Noble 907-269-6605 andrea_nobleATalaska.gov

1/25/08 deadline MTS GALLERY seeks curatorial proposals for visual and performing arts shows. Details online . Contact Hal Gage mtsgalleryAThalgage.com

1/27/08 deadline UAA CAMERA CLUB, AK CENTER FOR DERMATOLOGY seeking photographs about Skin, Nails, and Hair for February show at MTS gallery. Prizes total $1000, Fee $10. Entry forms online .

1/29/08 deadline MOA CLARK MIDDLE SCHOOL % FOR ART panel seeks concept proposals for interior artwork and qualifications for exterior plaza. Budget $400,000. Details online in 3.6 megabyte file. Contact Jocelyn Young (907) 343-6473 youngjhATmuni.org

2/11/08 deadline MTS New Love invitational

2/12/08 deadline MATSU BOROUGH SU VALLEY HIGH requests concept proposals and has identified over a dozen target locations. Budget $150,000  Project architects McCool/Carlson.   AK Residents only. Contact Jocelyn Young (907) 343-6473 youngjhATmuni.org

open deadline MOA % FOR ART and MAT-SU BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT invite artists to register with a new public art registry.  Application and details online .

2/27/08 deadline EASTERN NEBRASKA VETERAN'S HOME request both proposals and direct purchase offers.  Budget $50,000 RFP online. Contact JD Hutton 402-595-1242 jhuttonATnebraskaartscouncil.org

3/1/08 deadline RASMUSON FOUNDATION GRANT PROGRAM $12,000 Fellowships Media, multidiscipline/new genre, music composition and visual artists may apply. $25,000 Distinguished artist and $5000 artist project grant applications also due. Alaska residents only. Information online .

3/3/08 deadline WILD SALMON ON PARADE seeks proposals for 50 year statehood theme interpreted on salmon molds. Small stipend. Details online. Contact MTaylorATibew1547.org.

3/28/08 deadline KVCC ALASKAN LIGHT invitational

4/18/08 deadline ALASKA BOTANICAL GARDEN seeks consignments for garden art sshow in mid-June. Details online. Contact GregLyallATgci.net

ASCA Art In Public Places with over $19 million dollars in commissions required by AK Statute 35.27 from the last three years' capital projects budgets alone. Print out ArtSceneAK's select list from this link.

THE BEAUTIFUL BOY by Germaine Greer  The bra-burning rabble-rouser has grayed over the years, and she still feels the heat in this semi-unapologetic look at art history's long list of Nude Excuses for portraying the youthful male body.  ArtSceneAK recommends taking a long view of civilization to enjoy this book properly.

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cf also ART IN ALASKA , a partial listing of links to Museums, Galleries, and individual Artists around the state. Note to same: If you find your site listed, please consider adding a link to ArtSceneAK.net to help both of our search engine ratings. If you do not find your site listed, please let us know!

A year ago, ArtSceneAK took a hit when .com went to .net, giving up a 3/10 PageRank and associated links to corporate namesquatter enom. Today it has built back up to an average 200 unique visitors a month, although very few have established reciprocal links so the PageRank only recently even reached 1/10. The number of visits exceeding 760 in the month of October, for example means subscribers understand and take advantage of the fact that the Artist Opportunities are updated as they are announced by checking back occasionally.   Disturbingly, some RFP's and RFQ's especially have only three weeks between when they are announced and the artist deadline, so they are open and closed in between issues. This was the case with the call for the Fairbanks Virology Lab just this month.

ArtSceneAK announces new CURRENT Issues to paid subscribers and those who have Opted In to the mailing list (~150 people) and fresh BACK ISSUES to 1100 others, including art enthusiasts, native artists, resident artists, Alaskan art administrators, nationwide arts agencies, art consultants nationwide, and art critics around the world.  Random traffic from the internet search engines is pretty sparse, as is the number of times anyone world-wide inquires about art in Alaska.

I emptied the PayPal account to hire the server for another year, and I look forward to reviewing the booming art scene in Alaska for that time.  After that, ¿quién sabé?   Even God didn't hit the Pharoah with more than seven years of plague at a time ...

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