Saturday, January 29, 2005

More on the Seattle Art Scene

Its ironic, but I am actually writing this web log about Seattle's art scene while sitting up on Queen Ann Hill in this beautiful city all lit up at night.

Two days ago I wrote about government funding of the arts in Seattle and recommended to you an excellent, thought provoking article in the Seattle Weekly. There was a follow-up article in the same publication with six of the paper's critics weighing in with their ideas to make "the scene" better.

I share them with you now in this short article.

Go to:

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0503/050119_arts_toughideas.php


Thursday, January 27, 2005

Should Government Fund Seattle Arts?

For more years than I remember, there has always been a question of whether any government, be it local, state or federal, should provide funding for the arts. This question always rears its head when some form of art that most people find to be in questionable taste (to put it mildly) is found to be sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federally run program.

In truth, I find that some of the so called "arts programs" paid for with that agency's money have been in extremely bad taste and are not what I would call "art" at all. In truth, the NEA has sponsored many more excellent arts programs than bad ones. And, the money they have to work with, as allocated by Congress, is actually quite miniscule when you look at the big picture.

In Europe, funding for the arts is a matter of course, and the amounts we spend on it here is negligible compared to Europe's. But, in America there has never been any strong national support for arts funding. America is built on private enterprise, and the majority of people here feel that arts should support itself as everything else does. In truth, government money for arts is seen as some sort of welfare program.

I don't want to get hung up here on a discussion of the NEA and federal funding. What I really want to put on the table is local funding for the arts...local here meaning Seattle.

Seattle is the center for art in the Pacific Northwest, as LA and San Francisco are for California. We have our own superior symphony, ballet and opera companies. We also have an excellent major art museum that carries its own marvelous collection plus brings in spectacular traveling exhibitions by some of the most famous painters of all time. The city is also populated with local art galleries as well as having colleges and universities that help train new generations of artists.

Some of the larger arts programs just cannot be self supporting. They require some sort of government and private foundation funding to keep going. It is not cheap to retain over a 100 musicians for the symphony, for instance. And the Seattle Art Museum may not have been able to keep its doors open without the substantial help provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

But what about government or special taxation for the arts programs of Seattle? There is a 2% special hotel/motel tax in Seattle that was put in place to finance the arts here. Well, guess what? Most of that money was hijacked to pay of the debt of the now-demolished Kingdome. Very little finds its way to our arts.

The bottom line is that some arts program do deserve some help while other should simply be allowed to go away for lack of interest. But who makes the cut and who doesn't?

I was recently re-acquainted with these issues, thanks to a well written, informative article in the Seattle Weekly. I would like to share it with you not only to make you aware of the issues discussed here, but to better acquaint you with the art scene in general in Seattle.

To read this excellent article, go to:

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0503/050119_arts_toughlove.php

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Original Picasso Sells at Costco

With the possible exception of Wal-Mart, the last place one would ever think to look for an original Picasso would have to be Costco. But that has changed.

Costco's online store sold an original Pablo Picasso crayon drawing last week for just under $40,000. The work was authenticated by Picasso's daughter and the buyer was provided with all the right documentation. The work was provided to Costco by a Florida dealer.

This is the second original Picasso sold by Costco. Last year, the same dealer provied the retail giant with another drawing that sold for $35,000.

Unlike e-Bay, Costco does not auction off its artworks. It simply puts a price on it and that is what the buyer pays. Coscto has been selling fine arts for some time on its web site. Not counting the occassional Picasso, prices range from $22 to $1,500 for a limited edition lithograph. Their artists include Marc Chagall, Amadeo Modigliani, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque and many others.

As you may know, Costco has a liberal return policy for everything it sells. If a buyer is not completely satisfied, he or she may return the item, without a receipt, and get a full refund. But, does that apply to $40,000 original drawing? Costco says, yes it does.

Some art dealers say they are uneasy about providing stores like Costco with original art works. They feel it would ruin their reputation to do so. Another dealer says the transaction begs the question whether a buyer could get it cheaper at Wal-Mart.

Monday, January 17, 2005

Best Books of 2004

As an avid reader, I always look forward to the annual New York Times list of the top 100 books of the year. It always comes out in December and is usually split evenly between fiction and non-fiction.

It lists the name of the book and a brief summary of its contents. But, you can click on the title to get the in-depth review that was published originally in the times.

This is an excellent source for readers who feel they might have missed some good books throughout the year. Give it a try.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

New Painting - Along the East Road

I recently completed a new digital painting and have finally got around to putting it up on my web site. It is titled, "Along the East Road."

It is another of my experimentations with the Impressionist style. It is available only as an 18x24 canvas Giclee print at the present time. Giclee paper prints will follow shortly.

Several people, including my wife, have mistaken the location as being in Europe. My wife thought it was something I had done when we were in the Italian Alps in the area of the Swiss-French border. That areas is replete with towers and castles.

However, the tower in this painting is located just outside of Leavenworth, WA along East Leavenworth Road. During the art season when I was doing shows in Leavenworth, I used to drive by it several times a week on the way back to my lodgings . I had a feeling when autumn came that it would make a spectacular image, if properly composed. I think I was right.

I am enjoying my experiments with Impressionism, although I am still creating works using my usual style, as you will see shortly. You may also see some other paintings done from views along the East Leavenworth Road.

I welcome any comments, as usual.


Monday, January 10, 2005

Art and Our Children

I don’t know much about education and our schools. I am the first to admit it. But there are three immutable laws of education that other experts have come up with that I believe to be true. They are:

1. The bigger the school district, the worse the school board
2. The worse the school board, the worse the education that our children receive
3. When money is tight, the first thing usually to be cut is the arts department

Well, I am going to add a fourth rule:

4. When the arts are cut out of school curriculum, our children suffer in ways you can’t imagine.

Recent studies done by the Arts Education Partnership have documented that students with high levels of arts participation outperform "arts-poor" students in virtually every important measure. Why? Because the arts give students new ways to think and problem-solve. It gives them stronger cognitive skills, which are used to master other subjects like reading, writing and mathematics.

In this knowledge-based world, integrating arts into the educational process has never been more important. I invite you to read this very important article recently published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Go to:

http://www.corkrum.com/blogs/Arts%20essential%20to%20learning.htm

Saturday, January 08, 2005

New Eiffel Tower Painting

I have wanted to do a painting of the Eiffel Tower in Paris for some time. On our last trip to Paris, I had captured it on film on an especially beautiful day. Over time, I tried different initial rendering experiments, but was never happy with the results. I didn't like where it was headed, so like most projects that hit me wrong, I put it aside for a while to let my brain work on it in the background.

In October of 2004, after the art tour season ended, I decided to do some experiments using an Impressionistic style. After a few initial failures, I hit upon a technique that I liked. The first one that I completed that I was willing to show was a painting entitled, "Paula's Garden."

It was a radical change from anything that I had ever done before, so like many of my works, I thought about it long and hard before ever showing it. Paula's Garden was first shown at my one man show in Ephrata in December of 2004.

But, while I was thinking about whether to publish Paula's Garden, I decided to see if this new style would work on the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't long before it was clear that this Impressionistic style would work for me on this mighty subject. After some initial experiments, I decided to make it less bold than Paula's Garden, but still hold that Impressionistic look and feel. I also wanted it to have a lot of color as that is what my works are known for.

When the work was nearly completed, I made the decision that the work was to be shown initially only on canvas and that it had to be the largest print I have ever attempted. After putting in the final details, I printed it out on a large 24x36 canvas, then mounted and framed it.

It has been entered in the Columbia Basin Juried Invitational show and, if accepted, will be shown at the MAC gallery in Moses Lake beginning January 29. It will also be shown in another gallery in Vancouver, WA, as soon as final arrangements are completed.

For now, the work only exists in its large canvas form. It is a limited edition print of only 50 copies. There may be a smaller paper Gicglee print done in the future.

The work, entitled simply "Tower," shows the famous structure from the large grassy area known as the "Champ de Mars", or "Mars Fields," so named because Napoleon used to march his troops in the area. Through the legs of the tower, you can see the "Palais de Chaillot," which features a large outdoor balcony for a different view of the tower.

To see the work on my web site, go to:

http://www.corkrum.com/jim/tower.htm

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Should I Take This as a Compliment?

I received a call today from one of the galleries that displays my work. And just so my local friends who read this web log know, it is not one that is in Grant County.

They said they had good news and bad news for me. The good news was they sold one of my limited edition large canvas prints, "Fall Fisherman". Needless to say, I was happy about that.

And what was the bad news? It seems one of my other large prints, "My Uncle's Barn", has apparently been stolen. What?

No one is quite sure how the theft occurred. The prints hang in a large, well traveled area near a restaurant entrance, which I always considered a plus. The prints are secured to the wall in such a way that it a takes a special tool to get them off. Or, apparently, a really strong yank when no one is looking will also work. Whatever the case, it's gone now and there is no point in trying to fix blame. And I know that gallery has learned a valuable lesson and will work on their security.

I can't help but think that someone must have really loved my work to take that kind of chance to steal it in a public place. It was not small by any means so they couldn't stick it inside a coat or a purse. It was big!! So, there was ample opportunity for whoever took it to be seen and subsequently arrested. Whoever stole it took a pretty big chance of being caught.

But that brings me back to my question...should I take it as a compliment? Could it be said that someone who takes a big chance to steal a work by a relatively unknown artist may actually love it more than some who might purchase it?

Well, I do know most people who buy my work do so because they like it very much, maybe even love it. And I don't want to put a legitimate buyer on the same level as a thief. I also know that if someone stole the Mona Lisa or some other famous painting, it would be for money, not for love of the artwork. And you sure can't rank my work on the Most Wanted list for art thieves.

Still, I just can't help wondering about the person who stole it. I'm pretty sure they couldn't afford to buy it. But perhaps they loved it so much that they had to take the big chance so they could love it at home. I don't know if that is true, but I would like to think it is. In that case, I hope they will always treasure it while always regretting the fact they stole part of my livelihood. There are always two sides to every theft.

Monday, January 03, 2005

Irish Artists May Loose Their Tax Free Status

The tax free status given to writers, artists and musicians in Ireland is going to be reviewed by the government. The probable outcome: A minimum tax rate or sliding scale of relief likely to be introduced for top earners.

The review is in response to widespread public anger that millionaires in the music business and other fields have been using relief schemes that allow them, legitimately, to avoid paying any tax on their earnings. Music groups like U2, The Corrs and Westlife, singers including Enya, Van Morrison and Chris de Burgh and shows like Riverdance, are earning millions worldwide, but because they are Irish citizens, they pay no taxes.

The tax free scheme for writers, artists and musicians was introduced more than 30 years ago by Charles Haughey, an arts patron who was then finance minister. The scheme, unique to Ireland, was intended to show how the country valued artistic and creative talent, as well as being of practical help to struggling artists.