#iPhone snaps of #GRmi artists frm #CrestonGR's ArtBattle for Community. Thnks to MLive, GRSD, WZZM13 & @RapidGrowth

See the full gallery on Posterous

I love the artists of our city. Please support all of these wonderful and generous artists.

2Nite @whatsyourart, #ArtPeers, #Ave4theArts @KevinBuist & others take on GR Art Criticism, R U Ready?

from RapidGrowthMedia.com's G-Sync by Tommy Allen

 

 

 

Critical Reality – Is Arts Criticism Important In Grand Rapids?

 

THURSDAY, MAR 31, 5:30 - 7 PM

WEALTHY THEATRE, 1130 WEALTHY STREET SE

Last year, Rapid Growth hosted a panel discussion about the practices of the creative in our "big small town" community and for the most part, the conversation centered on the topic of creative best practices. And while all agreed we have it good here in many ways, one area that is lacking is in the arena of arts criticism.

Caroline Older of the Arts Councils of Greater Grand Rapids remembers well the discussion thread that followed at the bottom of an article by Kevin Buist of ArtPrize in The Rapidian.

So earlier this year, she and her staff set about creating a panel that would address this much discussed question both online and over table tops around the city: "Are Grand Rapids' artists, performances and arts institutions ready for a serious critique of the art created here?"

This question will be at the center of the discussion at Wealthy Theatre where artists, patrons and arts lovers are encouraged to attend this panel event.

"I would argue it is important that we have a serious critique of our arts community," says Older, "but where will this criticism come from in is still unsure since we in a time of flux from ever-changing media sources."

The panel was assembled by the Arts Council along with Erin Wilson of ArtPeers and Jenn Schaub of the Avenue for the Arts and will include GVSU's Paul Wittenbraker, Grand Rapids Press' Jeff Kaczmarczyk, UICA's Elizabeth Goddard, ArtPrize's Kevin Buist and Musician Ritsu Katsumata. Schaub will be moderating the panel.

So if you have ever poised these questions or would simply love to hear a fresh perspective on this topic, please stop by on Thursday.

Bar privileges at Wealthy Theater are available for CMC members ($12/yr).

Admission: $10; Free for Arts Council members, ArtPeers artists, Avenue for the Arts members, and college students with valid ID.

 

Does this color of yellow make my hips look big? #GRmi #FineArt #Photo and a Leap http://t.co/31OOarf Pls RT #Arts Lovers

Breaking #GRMI ArtNews: Dwntwn 4-15-11 @SiTE_LAB debuts at JA Bldg 2 E. Fulton St. @ryanpphoto PEAK HERE

Pictured is the team behind this art event: Grant Carmichael, Terry Frixen, Eric Kuhn, Tom Clinton and Paul Amenta (Photo by Ryan P Photo LINK: http://t.co/Tvq2hxd 

#GrandRapids Art News: Michigan Artist included in national painting exhibition - Chicago FineArt

Michigan-based artist Michael Pfleghaar will be included in Chicago Fresh Paint Exhibition.

If you have not seen Pfleghaar's most recent work, then you are missing some of the most exciting works of his painting career.

The National Wet Paint Exhibition consists of 45 paintings by artists selected from a national call which resulted in 280 submissions.

The exhibition takes place in the main gallery of the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.

Pfleghaar will be attending the Chicago 1/21 opening reception, but if you miss this night, I do recommend stopping by the gallery and see first-hand his and all the exciting works on display.

Zhou B Art Center, 1029 W. 35th St, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL 60609
Opening Date/Reception: Friday, January 21, 2011
Time: 7 pm to 10 pm

Exhibitions Dates: January 21 to March 12, 2011

Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday noon to 5 pm.

For info on the artist,please visit http://www.pfleghaar.com

How cold is it at #TanglefootStudio today? This Cold!

The winds were really kicking up so much that even the elevator was not immune.

How cold is it at #TanglefootStudio today? This Cold!

The winds were really kicking up so much that even the elevator was not immune.

Thkx @NYTimes' #FrankRich for once again outlining where '80s style gay bashing has returned.

Having survived the awful '80s culture wars and the incredibly stupid silence on AIDS by Washington, Frank Rich has crafted an editorial in the New York Times that unfortunately reports that for all of our perceived progress,  those battles that I thought were in the past are not.

This piece is essential reading if you are concerned over the mess at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.  It is very informative and explains a lot of the players as it outlines the mess created around this important exhibition.

@Pfleghaar posts his 1st Kickstarter project on line. A new chapter begins and you can be a part of it. http://kck.st/eKydx9

When Michael finishes his graduate work at Boston's AIB a whole new chapter begins and you have a chance to not only write a page of this history, but you can decide what level you want to author it.

Collectors of Pfleghaar's art may recall that about 20 years ago he did a small series of paintings created from his time spent in France.

These few but now classic pieces produced on that last trip have become some of his most sought after works by collectors and galleries.

Now we enter a new time period with new tools at our disposal as artists and the results truly do benefit the artist and the collector.

Please consider this exciting Austrian project and the opportunities that await him.

Cheers!

Tommy