New Republic Review of Frank Lloyd Wright at MoMA - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Plans for St. Marks-in-the-Bouwerie Towers, New York, 1927-1931

Frank Lloyd Wright Was a Genius at Building Houses, But His Ideas for Cities Were Terrible
BY SARAH WILLIAMS GOLDHAGEN
The New Republic

Most educated Americans can recite the names of at least a few of the principal figures of twentieth-century art—Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Jackson Pollock, maybe Jasper Johns—but ask about the architects of the same era and the only name you are almost guaranteed to hear is Frank Lloyd Wright. He may be the only architect (besides Thomas Jefferson, celebrated for different reasons) whose visage and buildings the U. S. Postal Service repeatedly commemorates. It is as if Wright were the architect who best represents the United States in the eyes of itself.
...
Now, with the mounting of yet another exhibition of Wright’s work at MoMA, it is fair to ask: again? Is there something in Wright that we have not seen before? This time the occasion is MoMA’s felicitous acquisition, jointly with Columbia University, of the entire Wright archive, which had been languishing in suboptimal conditions at the underfunded Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in two of Wright’s former homes—Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and Taliesin West, in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is a coup for both MoMA and New York City to obtain Wright’s extensive archives, and reasonable to expect some kind of public feting of the acquisition. But behind the walls of “Frank Lloyd Wright and the City: Density vs. Dispersal,” a small show of spectacular drawings of his designs for various skyscrapers and the model for his imaginary Broadacre City, one can practically hear the curators at MoMA and Columbia flogging themselves, trying to come up with something new to say.

They fail, but that doesn’t mean that the show should be missed. That Wright designed skyscrapers throughout his long career is not generally known, and the exhibition contains several superb hand drawings, better than any drawing by Ellsworth Kelly or Robert Ryman or many other works on paper that MoMA exhibits as art. Wright’s skyscraper designs beautifully illustrate his lifelong project of integrating structure, form, and ornament to create what he called an organic architecture, drawn from and integrated into the natural world.

Please find the whole thought provoking article here 

I have had the fortune of visiting many of Wrights most famous projects.  I've been to Falling Water many times.  My wife Christine toured the United States visiting almost all of Wrights projects while she was in school for architecture.  Maybe the fact the you have to search out Wright's projects is part of the allure that the article above refers to. Falling Water would be worth the trip regardless of where it's located.  The house, now museum, is a perfect piece of art.    

There are other important architects of Wrights time.  Many were more modern  but Wright understood what the Modernists never could. American's likes kitsch, we like chotchkies.  Function leads all design but as American's we still need the ornament.  Wright gave us both, organic design while delivering the show off beauty American's need.  GL

Start-Up City: Miami - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

http://bcove.me/twec09ug

Join Y Combinator President, Google Earth Co-Founder, 500 StartUps Co-Founder, and 8tracks Founder as they light up the stage with their disruptive ideas at this year’s Start-Up City: Miami. We want YOU to join the urban tech dream team changing the face of Miami on March 31st! 

Start-Up City: Miami will explore the key components of a successful urban tech hub, with a particular focus on the vibrant entrepreneurial activity underway in Miami and the South Florida region. A full day of panel discussions, headline interviews, and keynote case studies will discuss how to harness the economic potential of Miami and delve into the fundamental questions underlying the next stage of startup success.

FOR A LIST OF EVENT SPEAKERS AND TO READ MORE, VISIT EVENTS.THEATLANTIC.COM.

When
Monday, March 31, 2014
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM


Where
New World Center
500 17th Street
Miami Beach, Florida 33139

 

'Villa Mizner' | New Addison Mizner Book - posted by FFAB

 

At home with society architect Addison Mizner 

A new book explores society architect Addison Mizner’s 1924 residence on Worth Avenue and its impact on Palm Beach. 

At home with society architect Addison Mizner

A new book explores society architect Addison Mizner’s 1924 residence on Worth Avenue and its impact on Palm Beach.

- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/at-home-with-mizner/nfL29/#sthash.c27aFn13.dpuf

At home with society architect Addison Mizner

A new book explores society architect Addison Mizner’s 1924 residence on Worth Avenue and its impact on Palm Beach.

- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/at-home-with-mizner/nfL29/#sthash.c27aFn13.dpuf

By Darrell Hofheinz

By Darrell Hofheinz

With 184-pages, Villa Mizner is filled with historic photos of Palm Beach, Mizner-designed homes and the apartment itself, complemented by more-recent pictures. Included are two nearly identical photos of the dining room — one dating from 1924 and the other taken in late 2012. The room’s heavily carved paneling is said to have belonged to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain as part of the royal castle in Salamanca.

Silvin’s breezy text presents history lessons in imaginative ways. He has written one chapter, for instance, in the first person but from the apartment’s point of view — “Mizner lived for his work and I was the perfect backdrop for impressing clients,” he wrote. The same chapter mentions Mizner’s most famous pet, the monkey Johnnie Brown, who is buried in Via Mizner.

Elsewhere in the book, Silvin has imagined conversations between Mizner and his guests at the 1924 housewarming party he gave at the residence. Other passages are more straightforward.

Read more Here

WHERE TO BUY IT
‘Villa Mizner: The House That Changed Palm Beach’ (Star Group Books, $75) by Richard René Silvin is available at Classic Bookshop, 310 S. County Road; The Palm Beach Book Store, 215 Royal Poinciana Way; Island Home, 224 Worth Ave.; and Barzina, 66 Via Mizner. For more information, call 779-8032 or visit rrsilvin.com.

With 184-pages, Villa Mizner is filled with historic photos of Palm Beach, Mizner-designed homes and the apartment itself, complemented by more-recent pictures. Included are two nearly identical photos of the dining room — one dating from 1924 and the other taken in late 2012. The room’s heavily carved paneling is said to have belonged to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain as part of the royal castle in Salamanca.
Silvin’s breezy text presents history lessons in imaginative ways. He has written one chapter, for instance, in the first person but from the apartment’s point of view — “Mizner lived for his work and I was the perfect backdrop for impressing clients,” he wrote. The same chapter mentions Mizner’s most famous pet, the monkey Johnnie Brown, who is buried in Via Mizner.
Elsewhere in the book, Silvin has imagined conversations between Mizner and his guests at the 1924 housewarming party he gave at the residence. Other passages are more straightforward.
- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/at-home-with-mizner/nfL29/#sthash.c27aFn13.dpuf

At home with society architect Addison Mizner

A new book explores society architect Addison Mizner’s 1924 residence on Worth Avenue and its impact on Palm Beach.

- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/at-home-with-mizner/nfL29/#sthash.c27aFn13.dpuf

'Video of the Week" GLAZING Oil Painting techniques - posted by FFAB

GLAZING Oil Painting techniques 
WebArtAcademy.com

I was reading somewhere this week that President Obama's favorite painting by Vermeer is The Kichen Maid (pictured below).  This embedded video by the good folks at the Web Art Academy shows a excellent overview of the glazing technique Vermeer used so well.  The article also stated Obama's favorite painter is Rembrandt, another master of glazing.  GL

Gravity and Grace | Monumental Works by El Anatsui - Bass Museum of Art - posted by FFAB

Bass Museum of Art

Miami approves plan to save archeological find on high-rise site - posted by FFAB

An archaeologist looks for ancient artifacts at a construction site 

in downtown Miami February 4, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Zachary Fagenson

Miami approves plan to save archeological find on high-rise site

By Zachary Fagenson 

(Reuters) - Miami city commissioners approved a plan on Thursday to preserve the remains of a 2,000-year-old Native American village found on the site of a planned multibillion-dollar high-rise development.
Archaeologists have described the Tequesta Indian site as one of the most significant Native American finds in Florida.
It was discovered in 2005 when developers began excavating what had long been a parking lot. Since then, archaeologists have discovered eight circles of holes in the limestone bedrock where they say supports for Tequesta huts may have stood.
After weeks of negotiations, preservationists and the Miami-based MDM Development Group agreed on a plan that would build two-story glass enclosures above and around two of the circles.
A third circle will be encased alongside the remains of the foundation of the Royal Palm Hotel, built in 1897 by industrialist Henry Flagler, widely credited with establishing Miami. The hotel's remnants were also discovered on the site.
The plan, however, still garnered criticism from some Miami residents that it did not go far enough to protect the site and its history.
"There were negotiations in which there was not one Native American," said John DeLeon, an attorney.
MDM's construction plans include a movie theater, restaurants and a 34-story hotel covering an entire city block, including the archaeological site.
The tower is part of the four-phase Met Miami project, which includes an already completed JW Marriott Marquis hotel, an office building and a 447-unit condo tower overlooking Biscayne Bay.
The developer also agreed to partner with a local history museum to develop an exhibit explaining the site's past.
"We think this will be an asset, that people will come to the shopping area just to see the unique archaeology and if someone eats there all the better," said historian Arva Moore Parks, who sat in on two tense, 12-hour negotiating sessions to hash out the deal.
MDM initially offered to cut out at least one circle and display it in a public plaza once the building was completed. But Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board rejected that plan last month and designated the site historic.
The decision forced MDM, whose attorneys at one point called preservation "impossible," to rework its plan.
A similar circle of holes drilled into the rock, called the Miami Circle, was uncovered nearby in 1998 and is thought to have once been a ceremonial Tequesta meeting place.
That discovery led to a developer being forced to sell the land back to the city.
The site is now a city park, though the circle was covered under a layer of concrete.

Reuters Article found here

Artist Talk and Workshop - Zachary Fabri and Adler Guerrier - MOA | FL - posted by FFAB

 

April Museum Calender of Events

Wall Street International Magazine | Interview with Ray Caesar - posted by FFAB

 

Wall Street International Magazine Interview with Ray Caesar

The interview was press for the artists latest show in Rome.  The precisely bizarre questions are matched by Ray Caesars candor and thoughtfulness. 

Here are just a few of the many interesting questions; 

Your illustrative attention is often focused on hair or feet: are you more connected with the earth or the sky?

Your works of art are pervaded by dualism: Eros and Thanatos, masculine and feminine, peace and storm. Such an alternation is a sort of balance between opposite elements, or rather a bursting fire involved in an apparent calm?

Everybody’s life is a puzzle of nods: how do you release the snares that keep you in a prison?

Have you ever illustrated an olfactory sensation? If yes, how has it stimulated your creativity?

Sometimes in your paintings – may I take the liberty to call them in this way? – appear some trees or a flower, some delicious small animals. Why don't you invest part of your energies to personify plants and animals? For instance, how do a flower, or a tree or a butterfly suffer or rejoice? What do you think they could tell you?    

You can find the whole interview with all of Ray's answers here; 
Interview with Ray Caeser 

Translation by Franco Romanò
Courtesy: Dorothy Circus Gallery - Ray Caesar/Gallery House www.dorothycircusgallery.com  www.raycaesar.com  www.palazzosaluzzopaesana.it 

Published: Monday, 10 February 2014

Article by:  Patrizia Boi

After reading this interview I think my questions to artists will always feel inadequate. 

Please visit all the links especially Ray Caesar's personal page.  He has one of the best artists pages I've ever visited. I love this man's work!  GL 

Terms of Art: Looking at the American South, the Studio Museum Considers the Insider-Outsider Divide - posted by FFAB

‘Untitled’ (c. 1965–69) by Frank Albert Jones. (Photo by Marc Bernier, courtesy the Blanchard-Hill Collection)

Terms of Art: Looking at the American South, the Studio Museum Considers the Insider-Outsider Divide
Gallerist
By Andrew Russeth 3/26 10:00am

The 28-year-old artist Jacolby Satterwhite has reached a milestone in his career, with his work included in the current Whitney Biennial. For his mother, it has been a different story. “She has over 10,000 drawings; they’re stacked up to the ceiling,” Mr. Satterwhite said in a phone interview last week. Patricia Satterwhite, who is 63 and lives in Columbia, S.C., has for years been making sketches of products, often fanciful and slightly frightening, that she proposes selling on cable shopping channels. Diagnosed with a mental illness, she has not left her home in years, and her work has never been shown.

The mainstream art world has never known quite what to make of (or even what to call) art created by nontraditional artists—people who are self-taught, mentally ill, disabled or incarcerated. There are museums and fairs dedicated to outsider art, art brut, visionary art, folk art and more, and interest in those overlapping, ill-defined fields has ebbed and flowed over the years. But now, it is reaching new heights. Recent editions of the prestigious Venice Biennale and Documenta included the work of so-called outsiders, and curators, museums and galleries are devoting space to it. This Thursday, Ms. Satterwhite will finally have her debut, at the Studio Museum in Harlem, showing alongside her son in a show called “When the Stars Begin to Fall: Imagination and the American South.”

‘Untitled’ (c. 1978–88) by Murray. (Courtesy Cavin-Morris Gallery and family of J.B. Murray)

Organized by the museum’s assistant curator, Thomas J. Lax, the show has work by 35 artists, with well-known contemporary figures like Kara Walker and David Hammons appearing alongside far less familiar names. There’s Frank Albert Jones (1900–69), who made intricate architectural drawings, filled with mischievous ghosts, while in a Texas prison. And there’s J.B. Murray (1908–88), who at 70 began making expressive abstract works that he said channeled the word of God, inspired by visions prompted by an eagle flying over his Georgia home.

“With many exhibitions that look at the relationship between self-taught and trained artists it’s this kind of ground-figure thing,” Mr. Lax said in the Studio Museum’s lobby. “The ground from which the academically trained artist can emerge is the self-taught artist.” That, he said, is a false premise. “I was really trying to challenge myself to think … What are a shared set of conceits?” His conceits include how artists have approached the historical, fantastical and religious legacies of the American South, and the idea of the self-taught artist within it.
...

“A lot of these artists are known, but it’s only now that there is more in-depth stuff being done on them,” said Randall Morris, of the Cavin-Morris gallery, which specializes in such work. Why has it taken so long for them to be fully embraced by the art world? “African-American art has always come last,” he said. Work by self-taught African-American artists doubly so. “The work got dispersed out and collected a lot, but the research didn’t catch up with it. … People are finally doing the research that should have been done in the first place.” But Mr. Morris is also skeptical about the new interest. “I think it’s silly,” he said. “First of all, we don’t use the word ‘outsider.’ We think it’s a racist—it’s the wrong word to use for disenfranchised people. It’s not a movement. It’s been here for hundreds of years. Whatever the art world does with it isn’t going to change it.” Cavin-Morris uses the terms “mainstream” and “nonmainstream” for the work they show. “To me, that’s as least insulting and as simple as you can get it,” he said.

Much of the art in “When the Stars Begin to Fall” embodies the tensions between inside and outside, trained and untrained. The choreographer, theater director and artist Ralph Lemon is showing new photographs from a long-running project with residents of rural Little Yazoo, Miss.—“a kind of both allegorical and aleatoric play with the South” is how he describes it. His subjects sit in their homes, wearing animal masks or costumes, responding to his directions. He doesn’t think of it as art or performance, and he thinks they don’t either. He pays them for a day of work, terming it “a kind of playful labor.”

‘Untitled’ (2013–14) by Lemon. (Courtesy the artist)

“I think it’s a conversation about who they are and where they’re from and who they think I am and where I’m from,” he said. He sees the whole project as “problematic, maybe a little exploitive,” but notes that he’s “very, very mindful in how I talk about this work.”

Read the whole article here
Calvin Morris Gallery

I'm a big proponent of self-taught southern artists and feel this conversation needs to be further explored.  Southern artists in general are traditionally underestimated and self-taught artists doubly so.  There are regional art movements across America that are not fully recognized for many reasons by the New York high art world. It's certainly not the quality of work that disqualifies these self-taught artists.   Maybe when art is quantified only as a commodity the artist that has an uncontrollable output is easier to avoid.  Bravo to Cavin-Morris Gallery located the heart of the New York art scene, trying to swim upstream!  GL

NBC - Museums Urged to Think More Like Ben & Jerry's - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Benoit Pailley / Courtesy New Museum

Museums Urged to Think More Like Ben & Jerry's

NBC By Harriet Baskas

 
Not traditionally known for nimbleness, museums are experimenting with big data, business incubators and some helpful but potentially creepy surveillance strategies to get visitors in the door.

"Museums have a long view in their DNA," said Ford Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), but faced with limited funding and staffing "it is possible to get bogged down in the day-to-day."

Ideas for getting out of the bog are outlined in a new report from the AAM's Center for the Future of Museums, which encourages museums to learn tricks for increasing foot traffic from the likes of Toms Shoes, Ben & Jerry's and websites that offer free access in exchange for personal data.

"The pace of change is increasing rapidly," said Elizabeth Merritt, CFM director and the author of the report. "So we're trying to increase the speed at which museums adopt some of the latest trends."

The Dallas Museum of Art, for example, has significantly increased memberships — and funding — by making admission free.

In January 2013, the museum scrapped its $10 general admission fee and began offering free entry and memberships in exchange for personal information shared by visitors. Participants can also earn points, badges, credits and discounts by participating in certain activities.

In the first year, 48,000 people enrolled in the program."By increasing access and emphasizing participation, we are enhancing the DMA's role as a cultural convener in our city," said museum director Maxwell L. Anderson. The museum has also seen an increase in donations and is building a database that can be mined for valuable information about its audience.

Taking a cue from mission-driven, for-profit companies such as Toms Shoes and Ben & Jerry's, some museums are getting entrepreneurial about delivering services.

"The pace of change is increasing rapidly, so we're trying to increase the speed at which museums adopt some of the latest trends."

Find the full article here

Museum's need to innovate to attract the new younger patrons that will sustain them in the years to come.  Provide services that the community needs, fill the gap created from school art budgets being slashed. It's not enough to be an exhibition hall that brings in a yearly traveling show.  Most young collectors and art aficionado's know artists themselves and already follow trends.  Museum's must reflect the regional taste, know the local scene and become a gathering place.  Showing and promoting local artists would be a great start.  Engage the community and be a reflection of it, helping to grow a unique esthetic.  GL  

NYT - Auction Houses Taking No Chances on American Royalties Too Act - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Sotheby’s has hired the Podesta Group, run by the Democratic super-lobbyist Tony Podesta, 

to help defeat a bill. Credit Luke Sharrett/The New York Times 

Lobbyists Set to Fight Royalty Bill for Artists
Auction Houses Taking No Chances on American Royalties Too Act
New York Times

Lawyers for Sotheby’s auction house paid an unusual visit to a few lawmakers on Capitol Hill this month and brought along some high-powered lobbying muscle. They had come to complain about a new bill that even some supporters acknowledge faces a difficult road in this divided Congress: a proposal to give visual artists — or their estates — a cut of the profits when their work is resold at public auction.

Despite the long odds, Sotheby’s and Christie’s have spent about $1 million in the last couple of years to hire well-known legal and lobbying talent in Washington such as Paul D. Clement, a solicitor general under President George W. Bush, and the Podesta Group, run by the Democratic super-lobbyist Tony Podesta, whose brother, John D. Podesta, recently joined the Obama administration as a top aide.

“We’re taking it seriously, even though we don’t think it’s going to pass,” said Jane A. Levine, Sotheby’s director of worldwide compliance.

...

Lobbying for resale royalties by organizations that license and monitor artist copyrights is what helped resuscitate the long-dormant issue a few years ago. Federal lobbying reports show that in the two years leading up to the introduction of the 2011 bill, the Visual Artists Rights Coalition and the Artists Rights Society spent $280,000 on lobbyists like Bruce Lehman, former commissioner of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and John Weinfurter, a former congressional staff member.

“In the past, visual artists have not been able to get their nose under the tent,” Mr. Lehman said of the political process. The two lobbyists are continuing to push for the latest version of the bill, introduced last month in the House by Mr. Nadler and in the Senate by two Democrats, Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who took over Mr. Kohl’s seat. (The coalition spent $176,000 on lobbyists in 2012 and 2013.)

Mr. Weinfurter said he is optimistic about the bill. Representative Louise M. Slaughter, a New York Democrat and a chairwoman of the Congressional Arts Caucus, has signed on as a sponsor and he is meeting Monday, Mr. Weinfurter said, with a Senate Republican who he hopes will join her. “We intend to do a full-court press,” he said.

As the art market has become a high-priced playground for billionaires and hedge-fund moguls, interest in resale royalties has grown. A few celebrity artists have shared in the tremendous growth in wealth, but most — even those whose work may now command millions of dollars — don’t benefit if prices increase after the initial sale.

To alter that, Mr. Nadler introduced what he has called the American Royalties Too Act. “To me, the bill is a question of fundamental fairness,” Mr. Nadler said.

Sellers, museums and auction houses have generally opposed resale royalties, which they view as an added tax that raises the cost of doing business and, in the long run, would dampen prices. California was the only state that had a resale royalty law, but a state court struck it down as unconstitutional in 2012, ruling that the statute was interfering in an issue under federal jurisdiction. The case is now being reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Despite the jaw-dropping prices for some works of art, Christie’s and Sotheby’s have had trouble widening their profit margins in recent years, partly because of incentives they’ve given to big-ticket sellers to win their business. The auction houses worry that the proposed royalty bill would encourage more sellers to abandon public auctions for private deals.

Please read the whole New York Times Article here

In my opinion this is a bad bill.  Even if the intentions were good, the way the bill is written, the resale market of art will just shift to the private dealer away from the large auction houses.  If intellectual property rights is really at issue, opening this can of worms may do more harm than good.  An artist is paid when they sell an artwork. Any royalties should come from the future publishing rights since the artist retains the image rights even long after the artwork is sold.  To require a royalty payment to the artist each time an artwork is sold in the future would almost completely put an end to the secondary market of lesser known or unknown artwork if the law was applied equally.  To not apply the law equally and single out auction houses and high end blue chip artwork would be unjust and certainly unconstitutional.  Here's to hoping the bill goes nowhere.  GL

 

Make Your Web Marketing Accessible | Webinar March 26 - from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs

SUCCESSFULLY ACCESSIBLE A Lunch Hour Webinar Series

The Division of Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce the upcoming webinar in partnership with VSA Florida Making Your Online Marketing Materials Accessible 12:00 p.m., ESTWednesday, March 26th Register Online Here!

THIS WEBINAR IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Speakers: Marian Winters, Executive Director, VSA Florida Maureen Murphy, Accessibility Coordinator, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Please email any questions or accessibility needs to the Division’s Accessibility Coordinator, Maureen Murphy at Maureen.Murphy@dos.myflorida.com prior to the session.

Open Captioning will be provided by Realtime Communication Services, Inc.

Join us the fourth Wednesday of every month through June: January 22nd, 12:00 p.m. – Access Symbols: The Key to Engage Audiences and Patrons February 26th, 12:00 p.m. – Making Your Marketing Materials Accessible March 26th, 12:00 p.m. – Making Your Online Marketing Accessible April 23rd, 12:00 p.m. – Thinking Outside the Box: Partnering & Funding for Accessibility Efforts May 27th, 12:00 p.m. – Inclusive Tourism and Tourism Marketing of Accessibility June 25th, 12:00 p.m. – Accessibility and New Audiences: Marketing Locally Click here for all registration links.

Each session’s resources and transcripts will be made available online after each webinar at florida-arts.org/resources/accessibility. This information was shared by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

How to Look at Baroque Art - Cornell Fine Arts Museum - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Cornell Fine Art Museum | Rollins College website

National Arts Advocacy Day - Americans for the Arts - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Dear Arts Advocate: Today and tomorrow, hundreds of dedicated arts supporters- from 45 states- will come together in Washington, DC for the 27th annual National Arts Advocacy Day, the only national event that brings together a broad cross section of America's cultural and civic organizations. These arts advocates represent a united effort to tell Capitol Hill how important the arts are to our communities, how much arts education means to our children, and how the arts improve our daily lives. Over 85 national cosponsoring organizations have helped us shape this united arts message to Congress. We wanted to let you know about a number of ways you can participate even if you aren't able to attend the Hill Day in person. First, tonight, starting a 6:30pm (EDT), Americans for the Arts, with support from Google, will be live streaming the 27th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy via our YouTube channel. The lecture features acclaimed New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd with an introduction by Emmy Award®-winning actor Alec Baldwin. Tomorrow, March 25, Arts Advocacy Day begins with a Kickoff event at the U.S. House of Representatives. We are very pleased that Americans for the Arts President & CEO Robert Lynch will be joined by national leaders in the arts, including Alec Baldwin and singer-songwriter and pianist Blessing Offor. You can live tweet using #AAD14 or join in the discussion on the Arts Advocacy Day Facebook page. You can also still participate in Arts Advocacy Day by asking your members of Congress to support the arts. Visit our E-Advocacy Center, and you'll be able to send a message in less than two minutes directly to your Representative and Senators telling them why the arts are important to you and your community. Take two minutes and send your message to Congress today! Need more information? Browse the 2014 Congressional Arts Handbook for issue briefs, voting records, latest arts research and trends, relevant congressional committees, and contact lists. Take a look at the brand new Creative Industry reports, a statistical and mapping study of arts businesses (both nonprofit & for-profit) that help us understand the scope and importance of the arts. Creative Industry reports are available for all 50 states, 3,144 counties, and 7,400 state legislative districts. 11,000 reports in all! Each report includes a color map and statistical report, and is current as of January 2014.    OnTwitter? Follow @Americans4Arts and track all the action in Washington, DC at #AAD14 and #ArtsVote! Help us continue this important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. If you are not already a member, play your part by joining the Arts Action Fund today-it's free and easy to join.

Marine artist Guy Harvey seeks partnership as another way to spread ocean conservation message - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Guy Harvey will design the signature hull artwork for the 4,200-passenger Norwegian Escape which will launch in October 2015. (Norwegian Cruise Line, Courtesy / March 12, 2014)

Marine artist Guy Harvey seeks partnership as another way to spread ocean conservation message

By Arlene Satchell, Sun Sentinel

March 13, 2014

  
Guy Harvey is perhaps best known for his gamefish T-shirt designs, but the marine artist and conservationist's artwork is about to make waves on a whole new level.
Norwegian Cruise Line has tapped Harvey to design the signature hull artwork for its largest ship, launching in October 2015, the Miami-based cruise operator announced Wednesday.

...

The cruise ship hull project, which spans 1,065 feet in length, will be Harvey's biggest canvass yet.

"Guy Harvey is the perfect artist to design Norwegian Escape's hull artwork because he is so passionate about the sea and his marine artwork is so life-like and well-recognized," Norwegian CEO Kevin Sheehan said. "We also appreciate how [he] is focused on ocean conservation and keeping the marine environment pristine."

As a marine artist, Harvey got his first big exposure in America at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show some 28 years ago when he was invited to display his art at the boating event, while living in Jamaica.
Today his reputation as a leading marine artist and ocean conservation champion is widely recognized.
Norwegian also plans to help support the work of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation as it ties in with the company's "strong commitment to the environment," Sheehan said.

Read the whole article here

Every fisherman in South Florida is familiar with Guy Harvey T-shirts. Guy Harvey T's have been the unofficial uniform for the South Florida boating crowd for the past 30 years.  His artwork has been the entryway for many into fine art collecting.  More than a few times I have seen the progression; first the T-shirts then framed prints to finally interest in not just original work from Guy but other fine artists as well.  Like fishing itself, it takes that first bite of something small and attractive to get them hooked!  GL

Check out the T-shirts for yourself at http://www.guyharveyshirts.com/

"Video of the Week" Michael Palin in Wyeth's World, BBC documentary - by Florida Fine Art Blog

"Video of the Week" Michael Palin in Wyeth's World

Are you kidding me?  Michael Palin and Andrew Wyeth, two of my favorite things!  This is an hour long documentary first shown on BBC.  Palin has done several documentary's for the BBC and his enthusiasm for travel and art make the shows worth watching. Happy Friday!  GL

 Andrew Wyeth – Wind from the Sea, 1947

Florida Contemporary Exhibition at The Baker Museum - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Janet Onofrey. Ditto. 2010. Oil on birch. 18 x 36 inches. 

The Baker Museum

Florida Contemporary Exhibition

February 22, 2014 — April 27, 2014

Bryce Hammond
John Long
Marcus Jansen
Hollis Jeffcoat
Mira Lehr
Eugenia Malioykova
Anja Marais

and more...

Florida Contemporary is a multimedia art exhibition showcasing artists currently practicing in Florida whose work addresses a vast range of thematic perspectives. From realism to abstraction and everything in between, Florida Contemporary features local photographers, painters, sculptors and graphic artists alongside an exciting array of new artists that visitors can discover for themselves. This exhibition provides an intriguing look at the innovative images, subject matter, techniques and mediums that exemplify art being created throughout Florida today.

In its fourth installment, Florida Contemporary establishes an open space that experiments, identifies and critically examines the latest trends in the visual arts scene. The exhibition is particularly concerned with giving emerging artists the opportunity to introduce themselves to a broad sector of the public and exhibit alongside established figures in Florida’s contemporary art scene.

Visit:

http://artisnaples.org/museum/florida-contemporary

BAKER MUSEUM

5833 Pelican Bay Blvd.

Naples, Florida 34108

T:(239) 597-1111

 Bryce Hammond. Golf Widow (detail). 2011. Mixed media. 24 x 24 inches. 

 Marcus Jansen. Orwellian Infiltration. 2013. Oil enamel and mixed media on canvas. 70 x 142 inches.

 

Arts & Culture Day in Tallahassee - March 18th - by Florida Fine Art Blog

Arts & Culture Day in Tallahassee - March 18th 2014

March 18^th is the day that art organizations and advocates meet to walk the halls of the capital and talk with legislators to discuss public funding of the arts in Florida.  Public Funding in Florida has been cut by more than 70% since 2009.  Although we have seen increases in the past few years the State has a long way to go to bring the funding back up to the level that matchs our State Arts Organization’s needs.  The message we are delivering is simple; The Arts mean Jobs.  GL

Substantial Returns to Government Treasuries — $5 Returned For Each State $1 Invested

Florida's not-for-profit arts and culture industry "delivers more than $446.5 million in local and state government revenue.” In 2008, $250 million was returned to Florida’s state treasury and $200 million to local governments.*

 

Supports Over 88,326 Full-Time JOBS Throughout Florida

According to Dun & Bradstreet as of January 2012, Florida is home to 67,487 arts-related businesses that employ 217,406 people. These arts-centric businesses are vital to help build and sustain economic diversity and vibrancy.  In 2008, Florida's not-for-profit arts and culture organizations supported over 88,326 full-time equivalent jobs that generated $2.1 billion in household income to local residents.*

 

Builds A Diverse and Innovative State Economy

Florida's arts and culture not-for-profit industry generates over $3.1 billion in local economic activity: last reported amounts are $1.4 billion spent by the not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations and $1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences. According to such non-arts organizations such as the Florida Chamber and Associated Industries of Florida, our arts and culture resources are vital to build a strong, diverse, and innovative economy.*

Expands Tourism Throughout Florida

According to Florida Tax Watch Tourism Research Report, 74.9% of visitors to Florida participate in cultural activities. The report goes on to say we need to understand the factors that make Florida an attractive destination and retain and enhance those factors. Research demonstrates that of the 58-million attendees (84% residents) and visitors (16%) at Florida arts and culture events, the non-local attendees spend an average of 137 percent more (lodging, meals, transportation, souvenirs, etc.) than resident attendees per person: $57.49 vs. $24.25.*

 

Gives Florida the Competitive Edge to Attract and Retain Key Businesses

Part of the criteria used by both Scripps Research and Burnham Institute for Medical Research on where to locate in Florida was how healthy the arts and culture resources were in the areas they considered. They decided upon Palm Beach and Orange counties, both replete with quality and diverse arts and culture resources. Cities are competing to attract new, promising businesses; and “international studies show that the winners will be communities that offer an abundance of arts and culture opportunities."

 

Develops Strong and Effective Private-Public Partnerships

Over 50% of Florida’s arts and culture not-for-profit organizations’ annual operating budgets must be raised through individual contributions; fund-raising events; corporate and foundation support; and local, state, and federal governmental grants. State support is critical to help leverage other revenue sources critical to sustain this creative industry — jobs, programming, arts education, and greater access for more residents and tourists.

 

Request Restoration of State Investment for Greater Impact

Florida's investment in its arts and culture resources is now 73% less than it was seven years ago. In FY 2007, Florida invested $34.4 million or $1.86 per capita in statewide arts, arts education, and culture grants. It now invests $9.3 million or 48¢ per capita. Working together through public and private partnerships, let’s rebuild and restore Florida's investment in this critically important creative industry. It’s an industry vital to the state’s economy, education success, tourism, community development, and quality of life for residents of and visitors to Florida.

 

For additional information,

please contact Sherron Long, president, Florida Cultural Alliance:

E-mail: info@flca.net Telephone: 561-848-6231 www.FLCA.net

* The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences in the State of Florida, Americans for the Arts' Ars & Economic Prosperity III Study and Americans for the Arts' The Creative Industries in Florida, 2012

Here are two outstanding Art Advocacy Groups and links to information they have complied about the importance of Public Arts Funding;  

Florida Cultural Alliance

http://www.flca.net/justthefacts.html

National Assembly of State Art Agencies

http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Advocacy/Advocacy-Tools/Why-Government-Support/index.php