Dive into the archives.

  • Studio Notes: On Cleaning and Making Messes

    Further to my goal to better preserve my studio time in 2010 (after the chilling revelations discussed in this post), you may start to notice an increase in studio-related posts on this blog in the interests of self-enforced accountability. This is the first of such entries in what we might call the sobriety-sponsor relationship; however, […]

  • The dubious value of art education

    Now that we’re entering that time of year when various college and university art programs are cranking back into gear alongside their closed-for-August gallery counterparts (and the time of year when I’ll be reassessing my weekly schedule to include drop-ins at McMaster University’s senior-level art critiques on Thursdays), it seems fitting to have a think […]

  • The value of negative criticism

    As far as talking points for a Monday go, one can do a lot worse than Edward Winkleman’s self-professed Quick-Cliche question this morning on the value of negative criticism as opposed to no criticism at all, a notion coincidentally yet sagely examined in Joanne Mattera’s highly useful Marketing Monday post for today. To quote Ed, […]

  • World AIDS Day Tribute Band

    Although I’m following on from Martin’s post a week ago at anaba, this thread has its source in Michael Buitron. To quote him directly:
    “I got an email from the Getty last week listing their activities for December, which included events in conjunction with World AIDS Day, December 1. After checking out some other L.A. museum’s […]

  • Are You With Me? McMaster’s SUMMA Exhibition

    I’m a bit belated on delivering a well-due commentary on McMaster’s SUMMA exhibition at the McMaster Museum of Art, given that I attended the opening reception almost two weeks ago now. As it was, the opening itself was so densely packed that a second viewing seemed very much in order, if only to pay respect […]

  • Locked inside heart-shaped boxes

    Upon eating the last Lindt truffle I received for Valentine’s Day, I found myself left with an empty, heart-shaped box. Red, naturally, with a cellophane window offering a tempting view of an empty gold tray complete with empty, heart-shaped wells where each truffle once sat in symmetry with each other before they fell victim […]

  • Artists, work and the lack thereof

    Edward Winkleman is currently playing host to an impromptu state-of-the-working-artist symposium over at his blog. I’ve already put in my two cents (somewhere around the point where participants are starting to getting delightfully snippy about class issues, bless), but would like to elaborate on the issue at hand: namely, what should artists be getting […]