Archives for August 2008

New Links

As Amy Sample Ward points out on Netsquared , the number of people and organizations starting blogs keeps growing. I’ve added two new visual arts sites to my blogroll (scroll down, on the left):

  • Art21 – founded in 1997, the mission of Art21 is “to increase knowledge of contemporary art, ignite discussion, and inspire creative thinking by using diverse media to present contemporary artists at work and in their own words.”
  • DailyServing – founded in 2006 by Seth Curcio, DailyServing is a “site for art lovers to visit daily to find resources and updates on happenings within the Contemporary Arts.”

Speaking of blogs … how do you readers keep track of websites and blogs? I use Netvibes (for blogs and podcasts) and recently shifted from bookmark folders to tags. But I can’t fight the feeling that there might be a better, long-term solution out there. If you have it, please share.

Making Lemonade in the Berkshire Hills

In three speedy, busy days, Dan and I will move to North Adams, the littlest city in Massachusetts and home to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. One of the things I will NOT miss is the commute—but listening to podcasts is a commuter habit I have developed and hope to keep.

There are so many good podcasts out there: Selected Shorts, TEDTalks, StoryCorps, The Moth, Harvard Business IdeaCast, Slate’s Political Gabfest, Writer’s Block, and many others. Although I don’t listen to all of them every week, they have saved my life.

Selected Shorts is a podcast I started listening to early on. A few weeks ago, host Isaiah Sheffer introduced Edith Wharton’s story “The Eyes,” which they recorded in the Berkshires. In the introduction, Sheffer romanticizes the Berkshire experience—lemonade out under the tall trees in back of Wharton’s carriage house—saying “it’s all very different” from Symphony Space in Manhattan.

His comments reminded me of the shock and delight New York theatermakers had every summer I was at the O’Neill Theater Center. Some, like Adam Rapp, returned almost every year and made the O’Neill experience an essential part of their creative process. Others didn’t write much at all, but used their time “under the trees” to think and talk about big ideas.

I am looking forward to the thinking, the talking and the writing. But I will miss my podcasts.

Top 25 Most Powerful People in the Nonprofit Arts ]

John Arroyo tipped me off to this poll on Barry’s Blog . If anyone needed motivation to join Americans for the Arts, it is worth noting that I live in a small town in a small state, and my affiliation with AftA has introduced me to 13 people on this list.

Space is the Place

New York Magazine recently wrote about Jason Goodman and and Jeremy Lovitt’s growing empire of space-related arts businesses. Impressive! But what really struck me was the smartness of the web design. It is surprisingly rare that you can visit the homepage of an arts organization and really “get” what they do in 60 seconds. More often, you “get” way too much info, and the organization hasn’t figured out exactly what they want from a web presence. These guys gave it some thought, and it works.

A Midwesterner Returns to Her (Disappearing) Roots

Due to a link on the UnConvention homepage, this blog had a 300% increase in visitors yesterday. Thanks, UnConvention! While I have your attention, let me ask for your help:

From September 24 through October 8, I will be visiting cities in the Midwest (Wichita, Kansas City, Des Moines, Rochester, Twin Cities, St. Croix Falls, Sioux Falls, Omaha) in search of visual artists and writers who live and work there. I’ll be bringing my podcast gear and scouting for interviews to post on this blog.

The goal is to highlight the work of some talented artists, and to collect stories about the opportunities and challenges of working artists in “little cities” (outside the top 20 metropolitan areas). Yes, I realize the Twin Cities are #16. I am also traveling to places I lived and reconnecting with my artistic roots—the Pillsbury House, Masque Youth Theatre, the …

…well. As I am writing this, I thought I would link to the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse, but I see it closed in 2002. And the Jeune Lune, where I had my first professional audition, closed this summer.

Philanthropy is changing, demographics are changing, economics are changing. What does this mean for artists in little cities? If you know a working artist who lives in one of these cities, send me their name, contact info, a link to their website or images of their work … or have them contact me directly at lex@lexleifheit.com.

And please, pass this on!

Art Agenda: Gary Panter

Interview with musician and visual artist Gary Panter about “Gary Panter: Daydream Trap,” his solo museum exhibition at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

In this interview, Panter talks a little about a lot of things: drawing, painting, working with curators, creating a monograph, making music, making light shows, the meditative feel of drawing, making noises while drawing, drawing inspiration from a particular place, how to jump-start a small town art space, and more.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on August 15, 2008.

Art Agenda: Design for Democracy

Interview with Jane Rainwater of Andover, CT about her winning designs in “My Yard Our Message.” Check out the top 50 (according to a general election) and choose one for your own yard.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on August 7, 2008.

Faith, Doubt, and Art

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a sucker for a good anecdote about transforming lives through the arts. The New Yorker ran an essay by Tobias Wolff in June, which neatly cites the transformative power of film, painting, and poetry in fewer than 1,000 words.

I am not sure of the expiration date on New Yorker links, so please leave a comment if this doesn’t work for you:

Faith and Doubt: Winter Light by Tobias Wolff