PROFESSOR ELLEN G. LANDAU
Department of Art History & Art

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Case History Associates presents Professor Henry Adams, Professor of American Art "Viktor Schreckengost New Discoveries"
Come for refreshments and to hear Professor Adams present his new discoveries and to discuss his new book -- Viktor Schreckengost: American da Vinci.  Read the review and order a copy of the book at the  Schreckengost Foundation website: http://www.viktorschreckengost.org/Archives/viktor-schreckengost-america...

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In 2020 - the year, and with such vision - what postcard do you want to send from your hometown of Cleveland... the "Cleveland of my Dreams" vision above, or the the toxic "Nightmare in Cleveland" reality planned for us by ODOT, below, which is planned to be worse than anyone ever imagined. By 2020, ODOT plans to blight the entire dream zone of the Cleveland Flats and the East and West banks of the Cuyahoga River Valley shown in these renderings, and surrounding neighborhoods, even worse than they and the port have blighted there today. By 2020, ODOT will have finished their slash of concrete and steel rendered in the nightmare reality below, destroying these opportunity zones as freeways have destroyed so much else in NEO. Read on to see how we may be able to make these mightmare visions dreamy, instead.

Two major art exhibits opened Friday night, September 29, showcasing the importance of glocalization of NEO art at its best. Barbara Stanczak is showing a large body of recent sculptures, photo manipulations and constructions at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens Gallery, and Painter Dana Schutz and photographer Catherine Opie are exhibiting large bodies of work at Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Each artist has strong ties to NEO, yet are globally successful and influential in their own unique ways - rooting their accomplishments back to NEO is how glocalization of arts propels our economy to a higher level, as NEO leverages the  global significance of our arts industry.

I attended the artists talk with Catherine Opie at CIA Wednesday night and I can't wait to see her show. A serious photographer since the age of 9, Opie works in the traditional (non-digital) format. Her approach to subject matter is very architectural and indeed she said if she had not become a photographer she would have become an architect. Some of her best known and most challenging work are portraits of members of the gay and lesbian community. Community is a recurring theme in Opie's work -- its what drew her to photograph surfers (as in this portrait), ice houses, and certain cultural/ethnic groups.

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I went to the pre -pre-gallery talk at CIA yesterday (actually it was called a "brown bag lunch") so I know a little about what this painting is about. Let me preface, only Dana Schutz can really explain her work, live in-person is best I'm sure, maybe video would work, but the printed word  in the form of gallery labels or anything else would never do Dana or her paintings justice. So I encourage you to go to her pre-gallery talk at 6 pm at MOCA.

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In a unique and powerful arts development in town, the Cleveland Foundation has started an initiative to showcase artists studying at the Cleveland Insitute of Art in a series of exhibitions at the Foundation offices, at 1422 Euclid Ave., Suite 1300, starting with "Heterotopia", now showing - the public is welcome to view the exhibition at The Cleveland Foundation offices Monday through Friday during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Connect with CIA alumnus ('00) and critically acclaimed painter Dana Schutz as she presents insights on her work Thursday, Sept. 28th at 12:00 noon in Aitken Auditorium. The first comprehensive solo museum show of her work, "Dana Schutz: Paintings 2002-2006," will open Friday at MOCA Cleveland. The exhibit will be on view until December 20. Her work has been shown at the Venice Biennial and MOMA and she has earned extensive coverage in/Art Forum, The New York Times and Vogue.

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The North East Ohio Medieval & Renaissance Studies Group and

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Hypnotica, paintings by Jen Omaitz at e.gordon gallery.

I could not find out enough about Jen Omaitz online, I found some images of her work but I did'nt think that they represented what you will see in this exhibition. So I did'nt post them. The works on the postcard I received from e.gordon gallery appear to be abstract landscapes or urbans scenes, the colors are dark and rich with streaks of bright color that look like neon or blurry colored lights photographed with time lapse photography. The card says they are oil on canvas. Go to the opening and see for yourself.

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Hear artist Catherine Opie talk about her work before the opening of her show at MOCA this Friday: Catherine Opie: 1999 & In and Around the Home

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Photo of Peter B. Lewis Building, by Frank Gehry, accented by Athena Tacha's Merging, 1986, of the Putnam Sculpture Collection. Photo by Evelyn Kiefer

Catch this award winning documentary on WVIZ about world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, dessigner of the exceptional Peter B. Lewis Building of the Weatherhead School of Business at Case University... Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 9pm. About the documentary...

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Opening Reception at The Cleveland Foundation

heterotopia
sites of culture represented, contested and inverted

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Salvador Dali (Soft Construction with Boiled Beans   Premonition of Civil War), 1936, oil on canvas 100 x 99 cm

Artists, intellectuals and anarchy – sounds like just what Cleveland needs? It worked for Barcelona!

The Cleveland Museum of Art reopens October 15th with an absolutely incredible exhibition that is not to be missed: “Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali.” Any one of these artists would be a huge draw for a museum exhibition -- Cleveland is lucky enough to get an exhibition with all four. This exhibition, for the first time, puts these four great artists and their contemporaries into the context of the unique city of Barcelona and the region of Catalonia. The show includes hundreds of works (painting, sculpture, prints, textiles, decorative arts; furniture, ceramics, jewelry) never before seen together by masters you should be familiar with and their contemporaries -- they will amaze you as well.

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On October 20th, artists Grant Smrekar, Paul Sydorenko and Bill Rupnik will be the first to Leave ‘Em Wanting More when they initiate the final one-night only shows at the 1300 Gallery.   “We’re excited to have Grant, Paul and Bill as our first three artists for the last shows at 1300,” Martin Geramita, owner of 1300, said. “A strong opening show will be great momentum for the final series.”   With three known, Cleveland-based artists, drawing a crowd shouldn’t be an issue. Smrekar, a mixed-media artist known for his political street art, graffiti images and most recently landscape imagery and collage compositions, will join Paul Sydorenko, a multi-media artist currently showcasing work from his upcoming children’s book titled, Grounded.  Rounding out the first of the final shows at 1300 is Bill Rupnik, a self-described “visual terrorist”, whose combination of stencil art, photography and mixed media is inspired by “grime and sleaze”.

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While hard to compare to shootings and murder, I can't think of a worse development for NEO, local arts and culture and my neighborhood than the news I recieved just now - Gallery 1300 is closing. I don't know enough details to know if it is "our" fault - not enough money flowing from the community to the gallery and artists - or just that the smart, great people who have made 1300 a core part of the NEO scene have other opportunities to pursue, but I know we all owe it to their team to really put out for them in their closing months. More to come on this as I learn details... for now: the Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Title of the Exhibit: Leave ‘Em Wanting More – The last shows of 1300

Opening Reception: 

5 - October 20, 7-10 – Grant Smrekar, Paul Sydorenko, Bill Rupnik

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This weekend the Toronto arts and culture scene was world-class beyond belief, featuring the final weekend of the Toronto Film Festival, the opening of the new Four Seasons Opera House (premiering Wagner's Ring Cycle), many smaller community arts festivals, and two major arts festivals – the Queen West Arts Crawl, featuring over 500 artists and galleries along mind-blowing Queen Street) and the august 11th Annual Canadian Art Gallery Hop. The Queen West Arts Crawl was way cool, but I stayed in Toronto an extra day for Software Freedom Day and the Canadian Art Gallery Hop, as that featured a free “Glocal Live Roundtable” of many of Canada's arts leaders. “The term GLOCAL fuses global with local and points to the meshing of macro and micro realms of experience in the contemporary world of Internet technologies and instant information. The speed and collapsing distances of this new reality hold challenging implications for traditional identities and communities, along with promising opportunities.” The roundtable was astounding... see below for detailed notes of interest to all concerned about arts, culture and the economy, local to anywhere in the world and global.

And I would know, I grew up there. Only the developers of Crocker Park and such -- and their supporters -- would pretend this sculpture represents real art and culture in Westlake. Promoting it as such is part of an insidious plot I see developing. See the PD article Monday September 11th. The abstract stainless steel sculpture by Balazs is definitely an anomaly in Westlake. Westlake should be very proud to have had some hand in producing a nationally acclaimed sculptor, and at $30,000, I think they got a good deal, too. See the article on the dedication in the Westlife newspaper.

In the Guren Gallery of the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, an exhibition of sculpture by Barbara Stanczak... "I take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth," says Cleveland-based sculptor and CIA professor Barbara Stanczak, "and my sculptures are an expression of gratitude, a search for parallel, tangible, formal experiences that can be shared with others."

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The 17th annual chalk festival at the Cleveland Museum of Art -- its the best reason to hope for good weather this weekend. Stroll around Wade oval anytime Saturday or Sunday from 11-4 and see hundreds of artists, young and old, at work on their sandstone canvases. It is always exciting to see how much artistic talent we have here in Cleveland. If you are inspired, for $15 you can buy a large space and box of chalks or a small space for $7.50. See the CMA website for more details.

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Tremont Arts Festival -- always a lot of fun! Great art by local artists (one of my favorite local ceramists, Gina DeSantis will have her work there) live entertainment, activities for children provided by local non-profits, the APL moble adoption van filled with cats and dogs and delicious food from local churches and restaurants.

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If its at Asterisk it must be cool! Doors open at 8 pm, show begins at 9. Meet the designers immediately following the show.
Works by gallery owner Dana L. Depew will also be on view.
Admission is free

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At the Meet the Bloggers benefit last week, at Tower Press, I hoped I would see NEO's top filmmaker Bobert Banks, who has his studio in the Tower Press. Robert showed up, as is his style. Not only did I learn it was his 40th birthday (happy b-day... shush) but that he was having a filmfest birthday party today, 09/10/06... not to be missed, to celebrate a great man and artist's b-day and enjoy some retro film of Robert's choice. As Robert was born in 1966, and Star Trek was apparently invented then, the evening started out with some crazy Star Trek film that I suppose was the pilot of the series, and was totally freaky... rampant green dancing aliens, booze and sex.