More Eyes You Got To Sees

Posted by salvo cheque on January 31, 2012
Posted in: art, Austin. Leave a Comment

If I was better organized, I woulda posted this about 3 weeks ago.
Things being what they are, you get it now.

Eyes Got It! alum have been all over the Austin art calendars this past month.

And as a last push, please consider helping Michael Menchaca (Eyes Got It!) get to his residency in Buenos Aires.

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.

Group Hug!! Opens Friday, Feb 3

Posted by salvo cheque on January 30, 2012
Posted in: art, Austin. 1 comment

They applied. The judges looked them over. They did not win the Eyes Got It! 2011 solo show.

But they don’t go home empty-handed!

Group Hug!! features finalists; David Culpepper, Becky Joye, Andrea Nguyen
as well as semi-finalists; Dana Brown, K.C. Collins, Dieter Geisler, Emma Hadzi Antich, Vladimir Mejia, Sarah Rangel, and Jason Webb.

And to help identify certain visual trends by Austin artists, also included in the show are works by participants Stephanie Gage, Suzy Gonzalez, Thomas Jack Hilton, Christina Sukhgian Houle, Lauren Klotzman, Max Marshall, Andrea Pramuk, Andrew Riggins, Bobby Scheideman, Cassie White, Amanda Winkles, and Karen Woodward.

Eyes Got It! 2011 is an open call art competition organized as part of the East Austin Studio Tour 2011. Through this public critique of local artwork in a variety of media, and its subsequent exhibition, Eyes Got It! seeks to demystify the juried show process, illuminate critical reviews and attract attention to artists within the Austin community.

February 3 – 24, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday February 3, 8-10 p.m.
Pump Project Flex Space
1109 Shady Lane
Austin, TX 78721

FB event page.

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.

Hybrid Arts Summit 2011: Art Criticism Track

Posted by salvo cheque on January 10, 2012
Posted in: art, Austin. Leave a Comment

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

Posted by salvo cheque on January 6, 2012
Posted in: art, Austin. Leave a Comment

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:

I’ll tell you ’bout what I sees.

The Way I Sees It, Is A Bit Different

Posted by salvo cheque on January 5, 2012
Posted in: art, Austin, Soapbox. 4 comments

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.