Baren Digest               Sunday, 6 October 2002       Volume 21 : Number 1985


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From: "Bea Gold" <bnj50#earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 08:11:58 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19450] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1983 

You love driving Maria, so whenever December, Jan, Feb or March - LACMA is
the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and it is Midtown.  Love a viewing
party.  Bea




>Hi Bea, for non Californians, what and where is LACMA?
>Hey, the Brand 32 Works on Paper opening is Sunday, December 15; I have a
>print there. Could we do it around then? Too close to holidays? Wahoooo,
>another L.A. BASH!?
>
>Maria


> Hi Patti and all,  This from the LACMA description: "Munakata Shiko
> (1903-1975): Modern Master of the Japanese Print*
> December 5, 2002-March 2, 2003  Considered one of the greatest Japanese
> artists of the twentieth century, this will be the first comprehensive
> retrospective work to be held in an American museum. 128 prints,
> calligraphies, paintings, and ceramics in the exhibition are borrowed from
> the Munakata Museum in Kamakuran."
>  Baren people in this part of the world are Ruth Leaf, Bobbie
> Mandel georga
> garside, Pete White, Gilda Zimmerling and myself - who did I forget?  Come
> on down, all you Northern CA folk, Nevada, Oregon, Washington........?
> Let's find a date and do a Baren get-to-gether.  Patti your Sacramento
> exhibit looks great.  Bea Gold





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From: "Jean Womack" <jeaneger#jeaneger.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 09:09:33 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19451] Re:   Baren Digest V21 #1984 

Patti,

I, too, would like to see the Munakata exhibition.  Unfortunately, I am not
a jet-setter.  They plan those official exhibtions at least two or three
years in advance, if not longer.  Maybe our Philadelphia representative can
tell us what the lead time is for a major exhibition.  The Baren exhibitions
are remarkable because they are done so quickly.  Not instantly, but using
the resources of the people in the area.  I guess one could draw upon one's
resources once in awhile, but usually spaces like a junior college gallery
also have exhibition planning by the people who work there. I try not to ask
for favors if I don't have to, and be reasonable in my requests, because I
don't want to become persona non grata.   Once in awhile a space is
available.  I studied at the local junior college for 30 years, so I know
people there and I was able to go over there and ask for space for a show
for the California Society of Printmakers. They brought in two classes of
students during their ten minute break in the middle of a three hour class,
and it was also on the web site and stayed up there for for a long time.

I have not asked for space for a baren show yet because I know how much work
it is--how time consuming it is.  I need to find a job pretty soon, in case
I am not reinstated in San Francisco, so most of my resources are devoted to
that right now.  I could try giving a Baren portfolio to the Officers Club
in at the San Francisco Presidio, in hopes that they would display it.
There's not much point in having those prints sitting around the house not
getting seen.  Marco gave a very good printmaking demonstration at the
officers club there, and it took more resources than I have to give, but he
is determined  to have a place in the art world.

The prints are more valuable if they have been displayed and documented in
the press with a newspaper story, if their monetary value is what people are
concerned with, or if the artists are college instructors who are expected
to continue exhibiting their recent work.  The Oakland Museum has a history
museum.  They were willing to accept a donation of a hand-made book in which
many of the CSP artists drew impromptu sketches, as part of California
history.  I haven't given it to them yet, I guess because I want too many
garantees and when I am willing to let go of my insecurities I will take it
over to them.  I asked people to draw in the book as a fun-raising idea, at
the opening reception of a CSP annual show, with the idea of auctioning the
book off, but then no one bid on it.  I love drawings.  They are beautiful
drawings.

The Whitney Museum published a book of American drawings.  I don't know how
they chose those particular drawings to put in the book that marks a place
in time of American art history, but the drawings are all different--have a
different style.  They are evidence of the artist's hand--the kind of
drawings that he or she draws over and over--and that does not mean they are
techically great drawings, like photorealism.  If you study art, you will
see someone like Picasso had periods he went through, like the blue period,
the rose period, the Saltimbanqes and so on.  You can see his style.  He
found a style that the public wanted so he did it over and over.  One should
be reminded of Georges Braques, a contemporary of Picasso, who had a similar
style and  is often credited with being the inventor of cubism, along with
Picasso.  Also, Picasso was a great salesman.  He needed to make a living
with his art to support all his wives and girlfriends and children, so he
worked at it full time, painting the same kinds of paintings over and over,
because  it was a style the public liked and wanted to buy.  They weren't
exactly the same, but pretty close.   He was also willing to live in the
public eye and have his whole life exposed to public scrutiny.  Most people
are not willing to do that.

Most people care about privacy, so they are satisfied with something else,
second-best, if you will. Hopefully we will be able to avoid the kind of
notoriety that Andy Warhol received, along with  his unfortunate cadre of
superstars who were shot and maimed and had many terrible things happen to
them, because people didn't understand what he was doing and he was doing
things in public that most people only did in private.  He had a lot of
enemies. It was hard to break through the domination of abstract
expressionism that was an imperative in those days.

At the San Francisco Art Institute in the 60's, I was encouraged to paint
abstract, when I wanted to paint realism.  I wanted so much to learn how to
draw.  There are ways of teaching drawing that are more effective than
others. You learn that stuff in public school, if you are lucky.  I guess
the press and public just got tired of all those abstract paintings and
began to rebel a little bit too.  The intricacy of a formal analysis of an
abstract painting was something I learned to do, but it's much more
interesting to talk about a painting that has some subject matter.

One of my favorite books is TWENTIETH CENTURY POSTERS, by Fernand Mourlot,
Wellfleet Press, 1989, Seacaucus, New Jersey.  It's a book of exhibition
posters by Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Dufy, Matisse, Miro and Leger, which
shows the possibilities for great art on exhibition posters.

American poster art has a wonderful history.  It's not all "Uncle Sam Wants
You," either.  When I was growing up, all school children had to make
posters.  I think the one I made was a poster for tooth brushing.  It's part
of education for democracy.  I have learned that the masters of poster art
are people from communist countries, but we don't need to take second place
in the world for our posters, here in the US.  We don't need to apologize
for our posters or our credentials, either.  We can express in art what we
cannot say in words, if for some reason we are unable to speak.  For
example, my father read me the story of Black Beauty, who was bought and
sold by a series of masters until she died in the traces.  I will never
forget poor black beauty, because I probably cared more about horses than I
did about people at that time.  They were the warmest thing around. I didn't
realize that horses cared about me too, if I was nice to them.  I guess that
doesn't make any sense, does it?

Jean Eger Womack
San Francisco


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From: Wanda <robertson#canby.com>
Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 09:36:19 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19452] About the Baren Summit... 

Julio, I have to give you credit for trying! For some reason, that post just
wouldn't go through the server. You can read the original post in the archives
for 9/19/02. Just go to http://www.barenforum.org/ then go to the archives. Also,
if there is any other research you would like to undertake, there is now a search
engine installed in the baren site. 

Enjoy!

Wanda

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From: Wanda <robertson#canby.com>
Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 09:48:47 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19453] Baren Summit...... 

Volume 20: Number 1964 is the exact place in the archives to find this
information. Thanks to Gayle Wohlken, everything important is there for posterity
(and our use at any time) Thanks, Gayle!

Wanda

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From: ArtfulCarol#aol.com
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 20:30:10 EDT
Subject: [Baren 19454] Resumes NYC Library 

Hi,
I am waiting for the resumes of the following for the NYC Library Catalogue.

I havent been able to reach  all of you  individually.

Dan Dew
Sharen Linder
Bobbie Mandel
Julio Rodriguez
Frank Trueba
Lezle Williams
Cyndy Wilson

Please let me hear from you.   The catalogue will be incomplete without your 
resume.

Carol Lyons



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From: Sharri LaPierre <Barebonesart#attbi.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 17:59:48 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19455] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1984 

RE/ the Munikata exhibition is will be at LA County Museum of Art from 
Dec. 2 - March 5.  Or was that Dec. 5 - March 2? Check it out on their 
website http://www.LACMA.com

After reading the entire digest, I see that someone else already 
answered this - I plan go down, (couldn't pass up the opportunity to see 
a great show and get together with some old desert friends), but don't 
know the dates, yet. If you're having a bash, I would be interested in 
joining, so if someone comes up with a date let me know.

Julio,  I was asking if a date had been set for the Kansas City 
Escapade, yet, for ticket ordering. The earlier the better seat, so they 
tell me.  Maybe that's why I always end up in the back.

Wanda, some horses trotted in here a few minutes ago and they are 
wonderful. Thank you! They are a welcome addition to my coffee table 
book (which everyone looks through every time they come, even if they've 
seen it all before!)
Sharri


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From: Charles Morgan <cmorgan#uvic.ca>
Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 20:00:01 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19456] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1980 

Marilynn,

Glad to know the stuff arrived. And thanks for the kind, encouraging words. 
We beginners are very tender and need all the encouragement we can get!!!!

Cheers ...... Charles

At 09:23 AM 10/4/02 -0700, you wrote:

>Brenda welcome to Baren.  As the group will learn from her work Brenda is 
>quite a talented artist.  Charles you are not so artistically challenged, 
>your work is excellent.  Creativity is not about a fancy degree.
>I received 2 more packets for 14a yesterday:
>Charles Morgan
>Linda Hornberger ( hope I spelled it right as I did not check)
>Both were lovely, unique sets of prints and Charles yours got this comment 

>from my postal lady.  She said it was one of those pieces that if you saw 

>it in a gallery you would stop and look and wonder how it was done.  Linda 
>she loved yours and said she wished she had it hanging in her kitchen.
>Marilynn Smith
>Nahcotta, Wa.
>


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End of Baren Digest V21 #1985
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