Some of my favorite scenes from Sex and the City take place in a gallery. Entire exhibits are sold, Charlotte is seduced by a sophisticated older artist, Samantha temporarily becomes a lesbian,and Carrie meets the Russian.

I have high hopes that gallery 1308 will follow suit. My more mature readers can go ahead an note the modern functionality and contemporary design of the space. Meanwhile I will be appreciating how the plush seating nooks, romantic salvaged stone facades, and close proximity to the prairie fire coffee and wine bar make it the perfect setting for tv drama style encounters

What will 1308 mean to you? Find out this friday from 6-8 at the grand opening!

Speaking of art committee, its members have been working feverishly all day to install the premiere exhibit: “Channel TWo”, a video work by Chicago multimedia artists Adam Trowbridge and Jessica Westbrook.

Check back on the blog for more updates and sneak previews!

4 days till showtime.

Painting by Anne Rosenvald

As you all hopefully know by now, tomorrow is the big student art show. There will of course be students, alumni, and professors dressed in there finest, a dramatic presentation of awards, some kind of refreshment, live music (http://corcovadomusic.bandcamp.com/ and http://corcovadomusic.tumblr.com/.), cool art…

Speaking of cool art, I hope some of you look for what is missing as well as what is there. The jurors (Lauren Kroiz and Bruce Crownover) are well respected in their fields and have selected some truly quality works. However, just as many striking and innovative works were overlooked, for the prizes as well as for admission to the actual show.

So enjoy the free snacks and  indie tunes, but take this opportunity to reflect upon what we consider to be “great art”, what defines a quality work for you? Do you see it here?  Should art be judged at all?

Wander around the Memorial Union long enough and you will find works by famous artists such as Diego Rivera, Dale Chihuly, and even Kurt Vonnegut. This in itself isn’t that surprising considering that the Union is part of a world-renowned university.  What is novel about these pieces is that they hang next to works purchased at the Annual Student Art Show, works created by once aspiring artists like you.

The two jurors (prominent members of the Madison art world, to be announced soon) will use the Class of 1930 Trust fund and Porter Butts Art Purchase award to buy winning student art to add to the collection. Long after you leave the university, your art will remain. It is a situation similar to having work in the permanent collection of a museum, with one important exception. EVERYONE, not just the kind of people who visit museums, will view your work. Families, alumni, students, visiting performers and scholars, everyone. Of the hundreds who visit the union on a given week, a few will fall in love with your piece. They will come back with their kids and say, “this was here when I was in school”. Sound sentimental and improbable? I’ve seen it happen. Works in the Union collection become legacies, and all you have to do for a chance at adding to that history is submit your work to the student art show.

If you make any kind of art at all, even if you are not enrolled in art classes, SUBMIT YOUR WORK. If it catches the eye of the judges then at the very least you will be able to see it displayed next to the best art on campus. I will discuss them here too, of course

So over spring break,  prepare your masterpieces for their madison art world debut, and bring  them to the Porter Butts Gallery during the following times:

• Thursday, March 24, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, March 25, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday, March 26, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

http://www.googleartproject.com

In case you haven’t had access to a newspaper or television or computer lately, I have news. If you follow the link posted above, you can wander through The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or Tate Britain, or the National Gallery, without leaving your computer. Once there, feel free to stick your nose practically in the paint. Google Art Project is collaborating with seventeen Museums around the world to offer virtual tours of the spaces and unbelievably intimate photographs of artwork housed in them.

I have spent an embarrassing amount of time on this web site, but I do need to take a step back  and ask a few questions.

Does an innovation like this detract from the real pieces of art hanging in museums? Why is it that even though I can get much closer to famous work digitally than I ever will in real life, I would still jump at the chance to see the real thing? What is it about being physically near a piece of art that feels so special?

I would love to here your thoughts! If you need some quality time with art in order to cook up an answer, I would suggest any of the amazing shows currently up at the union…

Some more insight on the issue:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/arts/design/07google.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=google%20art%20project&st=cse

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/02/04/culture-city-online-what-good-is-a-digital-museum/?KEYWORDS=google+art+project

As you all hopefully know, the memorial union is conducting a huge renovation. What I did not know until the most recent art committee meeting was the proposal to separate the Class of 1925 gallery from Porter Butts and move it to the other side of the second floor, near the Play Circle.

The committee had mixed reactions to the proposal. On one hand, the separation would allow for more flexible scheduling and distinctive shows. Physically separating the galleries would affirm the notion that the art committee managers several galleries. Having such a centralized gallery space can give the impression that the other galleries are afterthoughts. The split would also provide more gallery space and a closet with the capacity to store our pedestals. We usually need to bring them up from art storage, so this would be a huge improvement.

A valid argument against the move is that a the large combined gallery is perfect for big receptions. There is also a  concern that 1925 would be too out of the way and lose traffic it currently gets from Porter Butts.

There is still a lot of planning and redesigning to do, and Art Committee will have a significant voice in the process. As if there weren’t enough great reasons to attend meetings!

Before I attended the opening of Beyond Suface at the overture center last night I looked up some of the work of Julie Insun Youn and Bobbette Rose so that I had a basic idea of what to expect. What I did not anticipate was the way  each artist’s work would enhance the other’s to result in a truly dynamic show. Both utilized innovative materials and elevated everyday objects or ideas to something almost reverent. Their focus on many translucent, delicate layers of medium evoked a sense of layered memories. Like a memory, each intricate coating has such complexity that the simple subjects they depict are imbued with meaning.

Bobbette was happy to explain her technique to me, and asked me questions about my own comparably limited artist experience so she could explain it in a way I would understand.  She works with thin layers of beeswax and resin and captures organic objects such as bark and twigs between them. This distorts the objects and assimilates them into the dreamlike tone of her paintings. She also layers dustings of pure pigment in varying degrees of coarseness.   The resulting radiant pastel colors have an enchanting fairy dust quality.

Julie’s work  is similarly nostalgic, and bittersweet. Each thin coating of oil paint in the wooden panels is placed with painstaking care, encouraging viewers to consider the subjects with fondness and longing. I was thrilled to see more of her work this year, and am even more excited to work with her for her next show at the Union!