Hybrid Arts Summit 2011: Art Criticism Track

I’ve already fallen behind on my writing schedule.

To make it up to you, I have audio from last summer’s Hybrid Arts Summit. The three art criticism roundtables have been uploaded (unedited) so have a listen:

1. Criticism vs Promotion with Jeanne Claire van Ryzin and Wendy Vogel
2. Looking Inward with Chris Cowden, Barry Stone, Charissa Terranova
3. Looking Outward with Robert Boyd, Duncan MacKenzie, Richard Serrano
4. All 3 on a playlist

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.

2011 In Review

Its been about 4 years since I’ve written anything substantial, so I’ve got a lot to share.

Working backwards, here’s a list of shows that kept me thinking with my eyes in twenty-eleven:

1. Buster Graybill @ AMOA, Nov
2. Sam Sanford @ Red Space, Oct
3. Queer State(s) @ VAC, Sep
4. El Anatsui @ Blanton, Sep
5. Deborah Stratman & Miguel Aragon @ Tiny Park, Sep
6. Cao Fei @ Arthouse, Aug
7. Claire Falkenberg @ Champion, Jun
8. Lauren Woods @ Women and Their Work, Jun
9. Jamie Panzer @ BigMedium, Jun
10. Javier Tellez @ Arthouse, Apr
11. Texas Biennial @ WTW, 816 Congress & 1319Rosewood, Apr
12. Beili Liu @ Women and Their Work, Mar
13. Barry Stone @ SOFA, Mar
14. Recovering Beauty @ Blanton, Feb
15. Erin Curtis @ Champion, Jan
16. Michelle Handelman @ Arthouse, Jan
17. Out of Place @ Lora Reynolds, Jan
18. Rock Hard/ Soft Rock @ VAC, Jan
19. The Ambiguous Object @ Pump Project, Jan

Shows I feel I can’t put on a best of list because I feel I’m too close?:

1. Margaret Meehan @ Women and Their Work, Nov
2. LandGrabber @ Pump Project, Oct
3. Robert Jackson Harrington @ TX State, Sep
4. From Specifics, From Concrete Evidence, From Things @ Pump Project, Aug
5. Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow @ MACC, Jun
6. YLA16 @ MexicArte, Jun
7. Wura-Natasha Ogunji @ Women and Their Work, Jan

Cultural events:

1. CoLab funds & releases 2011 Catalogue, Dec
2. AMOA + Arthouse merger, Nov
3. Pastelegram launches, Jul & Sep
4. GenerousArt.org launches, Sep
5. Battleberg Ice @ TownLake, Sep
6. Taste Test book release, Jun
7. Arthouse controversy, Mar
8. ArtLies closes, Mar
9. Lakes Were Rivers book launch, Feb
10. AMOA announces closing downtown location, Feb
11. Apartment Galleries open throughout the year; Red Space, Tiny Park, Forus

Shows I wish I would’ve seen:

• Texas Longest Hammer Choir, Nov
• Lindsay Palmer @ Red Space Gallery, Mar
• Hubbard/Birchler @ Lora Reynolds, Mar
• Daniel Rudin @ VAC, Feb
• SUBstainability @ TX State, Jan
• BYOB Austin @ Wurhaus, Jan

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.

The Way I Sees It, Is A Bit Different

Como yo veo las cosas, como yo veo las cosas
Como yo veo las cosas, yo las veo diferente a los demas

If I gave myself, as an Austin-based sometimes-blogger, just 5 minutes to compile a Top 10 list for 2011 of “most exciting cultural moments” presented “in no particular order“:

1. Eyes Got It! Group Hug @ Pump Project Satellite Space, Feb-Mar 2011
2. Hybrid Arts Summit @ various, Apr 2011
3. Eyes Got It! 2011 @ EAST, Nov 2011
4. My visit to NUDASHANK Gallery in Baltimore, Jun 2011
5. My visit to ICA Boston, Oct 2011

Maybe a couple of shows that I did see and enjoy, lets say 3 of them. But all within the last 6 months.
Then 1 show from the beginning of the year.

Is this acceptable?

I know that I am in the minority regarding arts writers reviewing their artist friends, conflict of interest, etc. according to the roundtable discussion I organized as part of the Hybrid Arts Summit. But I thought it was a poor decision for Glasstire’s Austin blogger, Katie Geha, to end 2011/begin 2012 with such a dismissive list.
I’d prefer if a critic didn’t see 10 things they liked, they’d say “I didn’t see 10 things I liked this year in my town.”

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.

Resolution 2012: Write

I hereby resolve to write again.

SeeSawS.

Beginning with the DAC & PumpProject FlexSpace this week…

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.