El Tobo the Terrible

Photo taken today of my neighborhood cat friend, lodger. Mister Toby.

Luis Camnitzer

When looking up Luis Camnitzer a while back, on the internet I came across this image by him , which I just love.


Luis, born in Uruguay and resident in USA,  is an artist of note having made many conceptual works, often with personal and political resonance.


He has published many essays, books and participated in lots of important exhibitions.
He has work in a large number of collections including MOMA New York.

This second piece was last shown in 2005, in an exhibit by Tate Liverpool (UK) , that focussed on Latin American artists,  within their own collection.


This  piece (left) is  titled "Leftovers".  It  refers to the continuously popular  theme of state repression and the ever inventive yet gross and inhumane treatment of the  "desaparecidos".  These being the thousands of mainly everyday ordinary South American citizens who disappeared and still go unaccounted for.


I participated a few years ago in an international  project that Luis Camnitzer,  initiated and curated.  It was called The Last Book. Click HERE to read the original notice .


There were plans and agreements,  regarding its showing at the national Art Library in Madrid but that fell through.  It was however,  eventually exhibited at The National Library of Argentina in Buenos Aires, in  February 2009.


It' s interesting to note that The Daros Museum in Zurich, held a major exhibition of Luis Camnitzers work in July of this year and "the Last Book" piece was shown,  as part of that. 
It had contributions from 680 artists worldwide. 


There was no information as to who the other contributors were to this project, so if you were one of the artists please leave a message.
I have to admit though that I am disappointed that the contributions were not documented i.e., not viewable online.   
I believe this is so important - I mean if other artists contribute towards a project that one wants to create then that's the least one should do.  Thereby acknowledging their effort , their creativity their ideas...........this makes the project have a life - people get to see the work.
Thats what its all about .....other wise what's it all about.

Some images from Printmaking this Summer

Book Art by Rolando Estevez Jordan

I came across this artist on a post on Bibliodyssey and was very taken with this particular work by Rolando Estevez Jordan, from Cuba.

I liked how the string went round the bound feet and the top of the post to the bound hands as well as the general aesthetic of the artwork. 

I was unable to find any further links to Rolando's work or anything much enlightening other than the Cuban Art Space in USA which promotes the arts of Cuba. 

Locations and Associations

Firstly Christiane Werner from Leipzig Germany.   Two things connect me to that place.   
I have had work exhibited there 2 or 3 years ago in something called  “Ereignis  Druckgraphik” which was coordinated by an organization called  Bund Bildener Kunstler
If you manage to find the event “Ereignis  Druckgraphik” on the website well done - but then the images of about half of the artists who participated,  in the exhibition along with myself, have the jpegs next to their textual info.  missing and no link to their website ??.  
Well what can I say..I have contacted them three times BUT...........
The other way in which I feel somewhat connected to Leipzig is through my association with an artist called Ute Haring, who I met while I was studying for my M.A. printmaking at what was then called Wimbledon School of Art in London.  We exhibited together at the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork, Ireland.   Another printmaker on the course - Angelo Evelyn made up our trio. 
I put forward the proposal to T.A.C., and they accepted it.  We had to put in an enormous amount of work to make it all happen.  Angelo flew over from Holland, where he lives, with his works rolled up in a tube.  I seem to remember he had had them specially laminated for the purpose of the exhibition.  Ute took her artworks over on the ferry and she must have taken my pieces too, I was very grateful for this.   I had three installation pieces one of which was quite large and had to be cut up into sections and then reassembled.
I certainly would'nt make  work of that nature now - I mean one has to consider its construction deconstruction and its transportation right from its inception.  Besides which I like using a method,  whereby one builds up to the completed installation from many smaller units.  
My more recent piece "Aran" was an example of this.  I have posted it over to Sweden, with detailed installation instructions,  and it was safely returned at the end of the show.  
OK it was a bit costly to post BUT it was a lot easier that taking it over there or having to have a special crate made, and pay specialist art carriers.    I mean one has to consider costs as these are usually borne by the artist and although there are bodies like the British Council who promote the idea that they support artists exhibiting overseas by providing grants to help with such things - they do'nt !!
Well they probably do - but there must be some 'unknown criteria' which qualifies who gets the funding and who does'nt. 
i mean .....what do you say when you get a phone call from the British Council, several weeks subsequent to making such an application and they say "What will you do if you don't get this grant"? .....
"WHAT!!!!"-----I thought to myself ...   -    I was completely caught off guard.............I had to be quick thinking -  were they trying to find out if I was thoroughly professional and e.g.,  if I did'nt get the grant would I just drop it......it was an awful thing to do .  I am thinking now I should have made a formal complaint about the matter.


Anyway I said I would try to somehow manage to still keep to my commitment to the gallery - maybe that was my downfall as we didnt get a grant from them.
I would be interested in people thoughts on this ??


I actually wish I had dropped it because the Triskell gallery let us down big time in the sense that they did no promotion of the exhibition and given that we were "out of towners" we certainly needed that.       By the time I became aware of it - it was too late.

They did print invitations and organize an artists talk which I gave which had people in attendance, but that was it..
I found out later that there had been some major internal politics going on there and a new curator/team had been instated and that this had  UNFORTUNATELY coincided with our exhibition.
I think the whole experience put Angelo and Ute off me , but it hadn't really been my fault although when you are deeply involved in generating the creative work and trying to keep up to date with fellow exhibitors as to whats what - its all a bit much, to contend with.  I have'nt organized anything similar since.  
If I did I would be going through expectations on the side of the exhibitors and the gallery with a fine tooth comb.
I had taken it as a  'given' that they were a professional fine art gallery and that they would do the right thing by us.
Never mind you live and you learn no matter how old you are there always seems to be issues that arise.
I am afraid my posting to my blog has really fallen down lately and I had thought to make at least a wee post about a couple of artists I had come across of late that I had admired - I mean that's one of the joys of the internet. 
And then I end up relating previous experiences of an unpleasant nature BUT these things do happen!!.  And Yes -  I have in the past  been treated badly by galleries -  I have had my artwork stolen and have also not been paid fully for sold artworks.  I am afraid that there are as many blagards in the fine art field as there are in any walk of life.

OK
lets end with something uplifting........I particularly liked this piece by Ludmila Armata, who was born in Poland but now lives in Canada.  I like the energy and the nature of the marks.
No individual website but you can see some further works by her HERE