National Women’s History Museum

Is the American history we know “correct”?  Does it include the viewpoints from the experiences of women and minorities?   I question the “facts” contained within my childhood education books.  The Texas State Board of Education is currently rewriting textbook standards to include viewpoints of anti-global-warming in science class and minimizing the contributions of the civil rights movement.

So what is the National Women’s History Museum?

“The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), founded in 1996, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women, and integrating this rich heritage fully into our nation’s history.”

http://www.nwhm.org/about/about.htm

The NWHM is currently working on a permanent museum site that would be an invaluable resource for future generations…

Fund for Artist Donor Motivation Study: Preliminary Research Highlights

Continued from the Dynamic Adaptability: New Thinking and New Strategies for the Arts conference, a psychographic research study conducted by WolfBrown and Helicon Collaboration studied the motivations and values of Bay Area arts donors.

Rebecca Ratzkin (WolfBrown consultant) and Marcy Cady (Consultant and co-founder of Helicon Collaborative) presented the findings.   Here’s a sample of what they discovered:

Five primary values motivates arts donors:

1. Localism
2. Humanism
3. Distinction
4. Bonding
5. Progressivism

Here’s the links:

http://www.wolfbrown.com/

http://heliconcollab.net/

Overall, donors relate to subject matter or style.  Also a shared vocabulary about our values can engage an audience longer.  Does art donor motivation coincide with the fluctuations in the economy?

Points to ponder…

Artists and the Economic Recession Survey

More to share from the Dynamic Adaptability: New Thinking and New Strategies for the Arts conference.

Judilee Reed presented findings from an unreleased study on experiences of artists in 2009.  Ms. Reed is the Executive Director of Leveraging Investments in Creativity which builds and strengthens the infrastructure around American artists.

The Artists and the Economic Recession Survey, reviewed selected findings of the Bay area.  For example:

1. Artists are more likely to have second jobs in the arts (commercial and non-profit).
2. Are more affected financially by the recession -more declines in grant amounts, fewer sales of work, and greater declines in non-arts income.
3. 6 in 10 artists made less than $40,000 in 2008, though most are college graduates.  (Of the $40,000, only $8000 is income directly from art)
4. 51% decline in art sales in only 1 year.
5. Artists have had to drop their prices.
6. 4 in 10 artists do not have adequate health insurance and over half of those that do are worried about losing it.
7. However artists are optimistic,  89% think artists have a special role in strengthening communities, 75% believe it is an inspiring time to be an artist.

There is more data and info at:

www.lincnet.net

A few questions:

1. Where do artists go from here?
2. How do artists perceive value? Does value=sales?
3. What keeps pushing artists forward?
4. Are artists constantly in a state of recession anyways?

More highlights to follow…

Dynamic Adaptability: New Thinking and New Strategies for the Arts

Yesterday I attended  Dynamic Adaptability: New Thinking and New Strategies for the Arts at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre.  The conference was designed to explore topics resulting from the economic recession and the future of the arts.

Speakers included Jonah Lehrer (neuroscientist), Holly Sidford (Helicon Collaborative),  Marcy Hinand Cady (arts and culture consultant), Rebecca Ratzkin (WolfBrown consultant), Diane Sanchez (East Bay Community Foundation director), Perry Chen (Kickstarter CEO),  James Rucker (ColorofChange.org co-founder), Philip Huang (Dana Street Theater founder), Judilee Reed (Levering Investments in Creativity Executive Director), Cora Mirikitani (CCI President and CEO), Jaime Cortez (SF artist), Margaret Jenkins (CHIME choreographer), Jon Funabiki (SFSU professor of journalism), Hugo Morales (Radio Bilingue co-founder) and Laura Sydell (NPR Arts & Technology Correspondent).

Jonah Lehrer, neuroscientist, is the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist.  He peeled the layers of decision-making, metacognition, self-control and daydreaming.

A few points:

1. In decision-making, emotions underline our reasoning.
2. Metacognition is “…thinking about thinking.”  How do you know something you don’t know?
3. Self-control and how to allocate your attention to get the most of your decision-making.
4. Daydreaming builds lasting connections.

More highlights to come…

ArtReview 2009 Power 100, Julieta Arnada and e-flux

From www.artreview100.com:

“The ArtReview Power 100, published each year in the November issue of ArtReview magazine, is a comprehensive listing of the artworld’s most powerful figures. Entrants are ranked according to a combination of influence over the production of art internationally, sheer financial clout (although in these times that’s no longer such a big factor) and activity in the previous 12 months – criteria which encompass artists, of course, as well as collectors, gallerists and curators. Regular appearances are also made by those who run the major art fairs, by museum and foundation directors, and even by the occasional critic.”

The first woman that appears on the list at number 8 is Julieta Aranda in conjuction with Anton Vidokle and Brian Kuan Wood with their e-flux website.  Julieta Aranda is also an international artist that lives in New York and Berlin.

What is  www.e-flux.com?:

“Established in January 1999 in New York, e-flux is an international network which reaches more than 50,000 visual art professionals on a daily basis through its website, e-mail list and special projects. Its news digest – e-flux announcements – distributes information on some of the world’s most important contemporary art exhibitions, publications and symposia.

The daily digest is put together in cooperation with nearly a thousand leading international museums, art centers, foundations, galleries, biennials and art journals. Our focused and selective approach to the information we choose to distribute has been rewarded by an exceptionally high degree of attention and responsiveness from our readers.”

Carmen Herrera

The January ARTnews features an article written by Ann Landi titled Shaping Up. It investigates and celebrates how Carmen Herrera finally found recognition after seven decades of art practice.   According to Herrera: “Nobody paid any attention to women.  The men always found a place, but the women had to fight, and they did fight- very, very hard.”

A dealer once came to her studio and said: “Carmen, I want you to know that you can paint circles around the artists I have, but I’m not giving you a show because you are a woman.  The men have families to support.”

Today Carmen Herrera is 95 years old, represented by Frederico Seve Gallery in New York and her large canvases sell up to $65,000.

To see the work:

http://www.latincollector.com/artists/lang/en/?pg=gal&artist=rep+carmen+herrera

The Heretics

Mel Prest sent me a link to a film called: “The Heretics.”

From the website: http://helios.hampshire.edu/nomorenicegirls/heretics/#home

“Synopsis: THE HERETICS uncovers the inside story of the Second Wave of the Women’s Movement for the first time in a feature film or video. Joan Braderman, director and narrator, follows her dream of becoming a filmmaker to New York City in 1971. By chance, she joins a feminist art collective at the epicenter of the 1970’s art world in lower Manhattan.  In her first person account, THE HERETICS charts the history of a feminist collective from the inside out…”

Check out the website to see the 10 minute trailer.

Tight Times Loosen Creativity

“Nobody wants me to do anything, so I’m just doing what I want.”  Liz Fallon, visual artist, Portland, Me.  The quote comes from an article and photo essay from The New York Times series: Artists and the Recession.

The specific article, Tight Times Loosen Creativity, published on May 19, 2009 contains current sentiment.   The discussions I have with artists are similar in nature and depth.  On a positive note, I believe freedom of creativity is at its highest.

Here’s the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/arts/20rece.html

The Mona Lisa Curse

I just finished watching the twelve You Tube episodes of “The Mona Lisa Curse.” Robert Hughes, art critic, delivers interesting insight and punch into the culture of art, money and investment.

A few points:

1.  Do people go to “see” art or to really  “look” at it?

2.  Large auction prices, are they feeding off of artists?

3.  Is art only become an investment?  I remember a buyer telling me that he better get a return on his purchase of my art…

4.  Branding of the art and artist to become a commercial product.

Thank you Emily Clawson for the links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbQ0GqX0Its

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pxkn5xUqKY

Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0CV_7_TdqI

Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5IJw2h720M&feature=PlayList&p=B6391C4358F4D041&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

Part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Wme5GgWUc

Part 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAUJBF6GE9g

Part 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ugR6wqdH8

Part 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7leN2qYQWqM

Part 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZGj1gBaR6Q

Part 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esu1cPwotRc

Part 11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVF9ahlbTHI

Part 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvfZqw2jrEs

The Economy and the Arts…

“Spark, in a joint report with The NewsHour, looks at the impact of the economic recession on artists such as muralist Sirron Norris and writer Carla Blank and discusses whether a public arts program similar to the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the 1930s is a viable way to help artists who are feeling the financial pinch.”

Here’s the link:

http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=24606