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Richard Hamilton had it pegged back in 1956!

Design Fair 2013 at Houston’s Lawndale Art Center juxtaposes vintage modern objects of the 20th century and “cutting-edge” contemporary design for a weekend high-end shopping benefiting the art space’s free public programs.  On Wednesday, Michael Bruni founder of pricey antiques site 1stdibs couldn’t make it to his speaking engagement at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but sent Eric Cohler, of Eric Cohler Design, NYC in his place. For first dibs on the best of the fair itself, the $75 preview party is tonight, from 6-9. If second dibs are OK, a mere $5 will get you in the door as the fair continues Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28 from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

This one is still in dispute.

Appropriation artist Richard Prince and Gagosian Gallery have largely won their lawsuit versus photographer Patrick Cariou on appeal. A lower court ruled that Prince’s use of Cariou’s photographs in his “Canal Zone” series of works violated Caroiu’s copyrights, but the United States Court of Appeals thought differently in 25 of thirty cases. The decision concerning the remaining five works still in dispute was returned to the lower court for re-ruling. The back-and-forth story of the case is, suprisingly, told with great clarity in the court’s judgment, available online!

This evening at CentralTrak, The Green Bandana Group is presenting a panel discussion on “Not Waiting for Permission: 2nd Annual State of the Emerging Arts”. According to the organizers, “the panel is meant to inspire: artists should leave feeling that they don’t have to wait for permission, funding, or anything to pursue their dreams, and to improve our city.”

Panelists include Brandy Michele Adams, director of W.A.A.S Gallery; Sally Glass, artist and Editor-in-chief of Semigloss magazine; Lucy Kirkman is an artist and co-owner of Studio Don’t Fuck This Up, and a member of S.C.A.B; and artist Francisco Moreno director of The Fort Worth Drawing Center, and gallery teacher at The Warehouse; and Michael A. Morris, an artist, educator, practitioner, and advocate of cinematic forms. The discussion will be moderated by Darryl Ratcliff is the founder of Green Bandana Group.

The fun begins at 8 p.m.!

Here’s some video of the thoroughly documented Green Bandana-sposored panel last year, titled “1.2 Million Stories: State of the Emerging Arts”. It’s an hour and a half long, so get some popcorn:

YouTube commenter hej214 said of the video: “Amazing that the panelists talked about wanting more criticism, yet were egg-shell nice to each other throughout most of the panel. Guess we are a product of our environment.”

Dont worry, Glasstire can fix that!

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Culturemap Dallas interviewed new Dallas Arts District Executive Director Catherine Cuellar yesterday.  She’s perfect: her favorite acitivites are “enjoying concerts and exhibits,” she eats tex-mex three times a week, cares for the poor and victims of domestic violence, and likes original Dublin, TX Dr. Pepper, Stevie Wonder, and walking. Also, she’s got no shortage of hyperbole on tap, saying “I think Dallas deservedly has a reputation as the working artist capital of the United States.”

People began lining up at 5:35 outside the MFAH’s Brown auditorium theater last night to see the inaugural “Conversations with the Director” featuring art star Jeff Koons, in town for one day, just for this event.

No photography was allowed, but there wasn’t much to see- two men in dark suits at a little table, like the set of any of the higher-brow talk shows. Tinterow piloted the slides on a laptop, occasionally loaning his laser pointer to Koons when he needed to draw attention to details of the Picasso works he owns. Two pieces from Koons’ personal collection were loaned to the exhibition Picasso: Black and White, which the men were there to discuss.

There are a lot of things I’d like to hear Jeff Koons say about Picasso. Was he a role model? Picasso (when  say Picasso, I mean Greater Picasso, the nexus of societal trends that made him a cultural phenomenon, not just another painter) re-invented what it meant to be an artist in his generation, just as Koons did in the 1980′s. How did Picasso the businessman influence Koon’s methods?

Tinterow and Koons never got close. Civility is good, but it’s not discourse. Tinterow respects Koons and Picasso, Koons respects Picasso and Tinterow, and they both have the highest respect for the standing-room-only audience of of patrons and collectors. At one point Koons, referring to his own purchase of several Picasso pieces, actually said that “collecting is a generous act”, because it helps preserve culture. There were no hard questions.

A few interesting comments slipped in. Speaking about the Italian artisans who carved some of his wooden pieces, Koons said “I used the woodworkers as found objects.” A fascinating insight into a fundamental Koons-Picasso connection that went no further.

Twice, Tinterow tried to pry some comment from Koons on the shocking crassness of his imagery, but Koons continued talking, in a smooth, animated patter about “going inside himself”, about how “I let Picasso come into my life and what came in was freedom- absolute freedom.” Koons talked about Picasso as an intuitive artist, whose example encouraged him to put more trust in his instincts, but Koons needs no help- his instincts about what to say, and what to leave unsaid, to best woo the artworld remain razor sharp.

Houston Arts Foundation’s Adopt-a-Monument program, a scheme in which area schools partner with corporate sponsors to “adopt” pieces of public art and raise money for their maintenance, has been recognized by the National Recreation and Parks Association, which is including a presentation on the penny-saving program for their upcoming Congress and Exposition, set to be held in Houston this fall.

“We’ve met with visiting municipal officials to discuss the Adopt-A-Monument Program a number of times,” said HAF immediate past chair Sally Reynolds, “most recently with the Lord Mayor of Perth, Australia. It seems almost every large city is seeking additional ways to fund the conservation of public art. Making a presentation at the NRPA meeting here will bring this program to the attention of parks officials from all over the country. Parks, after all, are where most municipal art is located.”

Spring Branch ISD’s Bunker Hill Elementary, which partnered with Simmons & Co. International to adopt the Sam Houston Equestrian Statue in Hermann Park, and HISD’s Mark Twain Elementary, which partnered with Amegy Bank and TyArt to adopt Henry Moore’s Large Spindle Piece in Eleanor Tinsley Park, are currently participating in the program. They’ll be joined by Berry Elementary and other schools this fall.

Forus Gallery, an apartment exhibition space run by artists Donnie Carver and Jade Abner opened in December 2011 on 51st St. in Austin. Their inaugural show, The Prettiest and the Pinkest featured “Lady Art” by Lucy Parker, Allie Underwood, and Chantal Wnuk and was followed by Nick Griffin’s Falling Apart and Into Place, Territory by artist Sarah Milbrath, and Endless Bummer featuring prints from artist Brooke Bamford. After the opening of White, Blue featuring Pam Jarvis in November 2012, the gallerists moved.

After a short hiatus, they’re at it again: their current place at 1502 W 34th St. Apartment #A, Austin, has been built out and they plan to restart their exhibition program with Tanned Guy Takes Blood Shot, opening April 26 (the weekend of the West Austin Studio Tour) with a reception from 7-10 p.m. The show features the work of Christopher Culver, Nate Ellefson, and Taylor Swan, who have painted the formerly white space black and installed an ecletic mix of towel sculptures and collaborative investigations into language. See you there!

The UTSA Satellite Space is currently accepting proposals for two-person and group exhibitions happening between September 2013-February 2014. Applications are due to the UTSA Department of Art and Art History by Saturday, May 4, 2013. Proposals will be reviewed by faculty and graduate students in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The 1860 sq. ft. gallery is located in the much-renovated Blue Star Arts Complex. Download the application here.

When the US Copyright Office asked for comments on proposed  rules to grant visual artists a resale royalty right in their works, The American Association of Museum Directors surprisingly came down against it. In a letter to the office, one of a slew of comments from different interested parties, the AAMD maintains that granting resale royalties actually hurts living artists, and a distribution of resale royalties to museums (one proposed way to  allocate royalty money) might hurt other forms of federal funding. Read all about it on Lee Rosenbaum’s CultureGrrl blog.

The Houston Arts Alliance has posted the names of the 24 recipients of it’s 2013 individual artist grants on its website. Chosen from among a field of just 79, the 24 winners come in two sizes: winners of $5000 in the emerging artist category are, Caroline “Cary” Reeder, Danielle Fanfair, Jyoti Gupta, Lance Flowers, and Stacey Summers. Winners of $10,000 grants for established artists are Alexander Parsons, Bradford Thomason, Christa M. Forster, Francesca Fuchs, Francine Di, H.J. Bott, Hillerbrand+Magsamen, Jason Woods, Joan Son, Lacy M. Johnson, Mark Nelson, Michael Crowder, Michael Taylor, Richard Carey Ford, Robert Hodge, Robert Pruitt, Sherese Campbell, Tish Stringer, and Zubair Al Awady.

The grant money comes from hotel occupancy tax funds, and is aimed at making Houston a more desirable place to visit by sponsoring public projects by local artists. Just by coincidence, this tends to support a community of working artists, something every city needs.

Longtime DiverseWorks Performance and Artistic director Sixto Wagan has been appointed the inaugural Director of the Center for Arts Leadership at the University of Houston. Wagan, Artistic Director since 2011, leaves DiverseWorks following 11 years with the organization, having served as a center of stability and continuity for the  ever- changing org in a number staff roles since 1998. He leaves DiverseWorks on May 3rd.

Wagan began his relationship with Diverseworks in 1996 as a member of the org’s artist board, and joined the staff in 1998 as part of the National Arts Administration Mentorship Program. He returned to DiverseWorks in 2002 as Performing Arts Curator, later becoming Co-Executive Director, and finally Artistic Director in 2011. A dynamic and nationally respected performing arts curator and arts administrator, Wagan served on the boards of The MacDowell Colony, the National Performance Network, and QFest, and served as an advisor to the National Dance Project, Performing Arts Japan, and Creative Capital. He has organized more than one hundred projects during his tenure at DiverseWorks and is especially well known for collaborating with performers whose works tackle prescient cultural,social, and political issues. Some of his significant recent projects include Stephan Koplowitz’s Natural Acts in Artificial Water, a site-specific dance performance at the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park; Aaron Landsman’s City Council Meeting, a participatory theater event about empathy, democracy, and power; and Zoe|Juniper’s immersive multi-media performance installation A Crack in Everything: Installed. Wagan also presented the US premieres of Jean-Baptiste Andre’s Interior Nuit, André Gingras’ The Sweet Flesh Room, and Company Clare Dyson’s The Voyeur.

Executive Director Elizabeth Dunbar states:  “Sixto has been instrumental in shaping DiverseWorks’ image and positioning the organization on the national and international stage. He has been a steadfast advocate for commissioning andpresenting work that would not otherwise be seen in Houston, and he has left an indelible mark on Houston’s arts community. We wish him all the best on his exciting new endeavor in which he will undoubtedly inspire new generations of arts professionals to contribute to the field in which he has made such a difference himself.”  Wagan begins his new position on May 20, 2013.

DiverseWorks will celebrate Wagan and his many years of service at DiverseWorks at a party in June.

Houston artist Cody Ledvina has just finished painting a long, long dog on the side of a EJ’s, prominent LGBT bar in Montrose. He’s proud as punch, and sent this picture:

The dog is part of an informal, one-man public art project that’s creeping across vacant walls near Ledvina’s home in Montrose. “They’re walls I pass every day,” says the respected contemporary artist and co-founder of The Joanna Gallery, “I’d like to see something on them.” Building owners who have accepted Ledvina’s proposals pay only for paint to have a semi-permanent piece of contemporary art include Griff’s E.J.’s, Mary’s, and a realty office at Dunlavy and Vermont Streets.

Mayan rulers commemorated in flint

This Saturday, UT’s Blanton Museum in Austin is hosting a panel discussion among three major collectors (and potential donors . . .) who have loaned works the Blanton’s Through the Eyes of Texas: Masterpieces from Alumni Collections show. The panel, moderated by Blanton curator Annette Carlozzi, features Bill Wheless of Houston, Suzanne Deal Booth (Austin) and Jason Schoen (Princeton, NJ) in a discussion of their most exciting acquisitions, the criteria they use to make art purchases, and how they live with the treasures in their collections. The talk begins at 2pm on April 20 in the museum’s Rapaport Atrium, with a Q&A session to follow.

Houston real estate developer Bill Wheless collects  ancient, tribal, and modern art. He loaned  an ancient Mayan Eccentric Flint, a Calder gouache of a Tribal Man, and an African Bird Hat/Helmet to the Blanton’s show.

Arts patron Suzanne Deal Booth sits on the boards of MOMA, the Pompidou Center, LACMA, and many other  cultural organizations, collects contemporary art, and commissioned James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” at Rice. She also collects Old Master works on paper.  Works loaned to the exhibition include Doug Aitken’s  STAR, and Jacques Bellange’s Three Marys at the Tomb print.

Art dealer Jason Schoen has a degree in art history from UT, and collects of American regional art between the world wars and work by contemporary African American artists and is involved with the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art.  Works loaned to the exhibition include a Kerry James Marshall painting and a Charles White drawing of a mother and child.

The Dallas Museum of Art has announced the acquisition of Erminia and the Shepherds, an early work by the French painter Guillaume Guillon Lethière (1760–1832). The neoclassically-minded painting was shown at the Salon of 1795 in Paris. Lethière, son of a French diplomat and an African woman, was a prominent figure in French art, achieving the highest academic rank by the end of his career.

Twenty-five year old literary journal Gulf Coast has always had a soft spot for the visual arts, and now it’s official: the magazine will merge with the recently defunct visual arts journal ArtLies. The merger will be officially announced and celebrated on April 26 at 6pm at the Glassell School of Art, with a reception and reading by author Emma Straub.

In addition to the lobster salad, Cartier watches and who’s-who guest list, last Saturday’s Untitled Art Ball benefiting the Dallas Museum of Art featured a video parody of the popular TV series Downton Abbey, titled “Downtown Artsy,” re-cast with DMA staff and supporters and bristling with product placements and hilarious British accents.  Culturemap Dallas put it  on YouTube:

Blouin Artinfo has a report on the Dallas Art Fair’s social side, grudgingly admitting that the fair, and the city “maybe — just maybe” has a shot at becoming an international art center. They report a few important sales at the preview on Thursday, both of pieces by artists currently showing at other venues in Dallas: Blouin says that David Lewis Gallery sold a $12,000 painting by Charles Mayton (whose work was recently on view at Alden Pinnell’s Power Station), and Jonathan Viner Gallery of London sold a $30,000 painting by Dan Rees, who currently has a show of gloppy, gravel-encrusted paintings at the Goss-Michael Foundation. Although it’s generally agreed that the fair looks better than ever, attendance and sales on Saturday, traditionally the fair’s biggest day, were spotty– one theory is that potential patrons were busy preparing themselves for Saturday night’s enormously swank Untitled: Art Ball fundraiser at the DMA next door, others blamed gorgeous spring weather.

North Texas Sky by Dixie Friend Gay photo: Amanda Potter of El Creative

The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs unveiled 7 new public art commissions this week at Dallas Love Field Airport. The Love Field Art Collection is part of the modernization project at the airport.  The newly art-ified terminal opens to the public on April 16.

1). Sky by Brower Hatcher

2). North Texas Sky by Dixie Friend Gay (Houston)

3). Dallas History Medallion by David Hatcher (Dallas) Note: Three more medallions will be installed.

4). Untitled by Lane Banks (Dallas)

5). InFlight by Paul Marioni

6). Blueprint of Flight by Martin Donlin

7). Back in a Moment – Sherry Owens (Dallas)

Lacking a convenient building to demolish, the Art League Houston is sending out a call for scrap lumber for Funnel Tunnel, Patrick Renner’s 185-foot public artwork now beginning construction along the Montrose Boulevard median.  They’re looking for the good, the bad and the ugly- 2×4′s 2×6′s , even 2×10′s- along with painted and unpainted lengths of board of all types, but NO PLYWOOD! They ask that all donation be free of nails, and fasteners, too. Call (713) 523-9530 to schedule a drop off!

It’s the inaugural effort of the Art League’s new Esplanade Project, which aims at placing more pieces on more Montrose medians in the future.

Houston artist David McGee recalls an encounter with a Picasso impersonator on TV for videographer John Carrithers.