Artwork by Anthony Haden-Guest “Visual things stay put, whereas sounds fade.”
-Steven Pinker
We live in a visual age. The time of words and poetry has faded and given way to imagery, bright colors, a constant and at times overwhelming feast for our visual cortex. In a visual, digital age, art and artists have the opportunity to seize the moment, to use their innate talent for the creation of visual offerings
in a way that can contribute to the oeuvre of the 21st century and beyond. These are days of constant creation. A time when one can be lost and found at the very same time. The world is wide and thirsty for input.
Anthony Haden-Guest is currently curating an upcoming exhibition due to open in September. He also continues to write and draw, often melding the two media. Haden-Guest self identifies as a cartoonist rather than an artist. Of cartooning he says, “the moment a cartoon starts looking too mcuh like art it stops
being funny. There’s no reason why a cartoon shouldn’t look good on a wall…but it’s got to make its point…it’s about delivering the content.” Haden-Guest’s work sometimes strikes back at what he sees as an art world turned corporation. Despite this, Haden-Guest does believe that this is a very good time for art. “Art is one of the rare activities…that will survive,” he says. Haden-Guest firmly believes that those who can work with images are well-equipped to survive in our modern times. Of his
writing, Haden-Guest says he feels a kinship with the likes of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and other rhyming poets. Haden-Guest says that visual literacy has increased on the whole over the last several generations while poetic literacy has been on a slow and steady decline. Poetry, once the language of writing, is now often lost on the average reader. On the back of one of Haden-Guest’s many books is a quote from his brother that reads, “Boring, pompous, and a complete and utter
waste of time, I don’t know what my brother was thinking.” This tongue in cheek “review” is an apt crystallization of Haden-Guest’s intelligent humor. To hear more about Anthony Haden-Guest and to hear live readings of some of his poetry, listen to the complete interview. Sharon
Arnold is a Seattle based writer, curator, and artist. In 2011 she founded Bridge Productions, an online gallery of curated boxed sets. Each handmade boxed set contained two works by different artists paired with a literary offering. This was done at a time when galleries were closing across Seattle in an attempt to build patronage and excitement among those who are new to the world of art collecting. Arnold took some of her inspiration from the music industry which packages bands in
such a way as to promote an intimate experience for the purchaser. Bridge Productions evolved into a brick and mortar space. This is the first year that the boxes are not on offer but the space itself is still up and running. An artist herself, Arnold strives to work with a broad range of artists and host guest curators to ensure that as many voices and communities are represented as possible. Bringing in other curators also helps expand the gallery’s reach. Arnold is careful to allow each
curator in residence a chance to become intimately acquainted with the space in which they will be working. For the upcoming show, the artwork will not be for sale. In
this way there is an opportunity to connect with the work outside of the realm of commodities. “My philosophy is really to motivate art and artists’ careers and curators through collaborations and my job is to find a way to sustain it and support it.” Arnold does not consider herself an art dealer, rather she is a collaborator and promoter of art and artists. Most of the funding comes from gallery sales though Arnold does also receive some patron support. But for the most part Bridge Productions
is a self-sustaining business. That said, Arnold does admit that her way of life is a constant hustle. She supports herself through freelance writing and recently began teaching at Cornish College of the Arts. Arnold embraces the freedom available to her to run many kinds of art programs in order to reach the broadest audience possible. Finding ways to get people excited about art as well as comfortable and safe is her constant mission. To hear more from Sharon Arnold, listen to the complete interview. |
Weekly Grants &
Resources for Artists Every week you will find updated resources here to apply for grants, find
residencies and more.
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Let’s talk about opportunities. As you may or may not know, Praxis Center maintains a curated page of artist opportunities. While we try to highlight those that are free of charge, sometimes small fees may apply.You can use this resources page to locate grants.... | I have a friend who needs to know what’s going to happen. She spends hours making plans, every detail is accounted for, her mother says that when she was small she spent all her time setting up for play and no time actually playing.... |
Life doesn’t always go the way we want it to. Sometimes when we plan for one outcome, we encounter another entirely. Often, it takes an open mind and a dose of courage to roll with the many possible outcomes of even.... | Are there moments when a career in art feels like an insurmountable achievement? Do you find yourself reeling from the sheer process of putting all the pieces in place, as though you have been asked to spin a dozen plates at one time?.... |
These are positive and / or negative reviews of galleries, art fairs, consultants, writers, online pay to play offers, residencies and more – all written by artists so that other artists can beware of situations where institutions treat artists badly, or that end up
costing the artist money or are outright scams.
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