she is finally coming to woodstock!!!

Elinor Carucci is going to be lecturing at CPW Saturday June 27th at 8pm. This is not to be missed. All my NYC friends- come up for this!!! You can stay at mi casa!!!

Carucci's poetic voice shines through these intimate yet relatable images of herself and her family. I look at her photographs and get wrapped up in their emotionally charged visuals. Following the undeniably intense expressions and postures which fill the frame I find myself in a trance. The images permeate through me and unleash my own memories, dramas and histories. I can look at these as if they were traces of my own experiences, relatives, friends, moments....

...ahhhh. Can you tell i am excited that she will be in Woodstock?

see you there.

Ahoy mateey!

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild kicks off a season-long series of events celebrating the 400th anniversary of the exploration of the Hudson River with an opening reception for “Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?” a major outdoor exhibition of Henry Hudson memorials designed by area architects, on Saturday, June 13, 4-7 pm at The Villetta Inn, 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way. Curated by Linda Weintraub, the exhibition is an original and thought-provoking contribution to the state-wide Quadricentennial of Hudson’s explorations of the river that bears his name. The site-specific memorials have been installed outdoors on the grounds of the historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, NY and will be on view from June 13 – October 12, 2009.

The exhibition continues through October 12, during which time, the WBG will feature a monthly events to commemorate the Quadricentennial.

Byron Bell and Les Walker, "The Magnificent Adventure of Henry Hudson"

Exhibition curator, Linda Weintraub is a writer, curator, educator and artist. She is the author of a series of college textbooks entitled: Avant-Guardians: Textlets in Art and Ecology. She has curated over fifty-five exhibitions nationally and internationally. She received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University. Weintraub comments that the project is unique, imaginative and local, “…never before have regional architects been featured in a major exhibition. The installations take their inspiration from the site and the historic occasion. The results utilize unusual materials, original designs, and unconventional construction methods. As residents of the Hudson Valley, the participants are responding to this historic occasion in manners that are personal as well as accomplished and informed.”

Henry Hudson is celebrated as a hero, but his life ended in failure. His crew mutinied and set him adrift to die in the icy waters of Hudson Bay. As a result, he never received a formal burial. The memorials in this exhibition are designed and constructed by distinguished regional architects. They interpret the significance of Hudson’s historic journey within the context of 400 years of European occupation.

Matt Bua, "The Henry Hudson Mutiny Memorial Drive–thru Kiosk"

Woodstock Guild Director: Carla Smith. Architectural coordinator: Alan Baer.

Text taken from press release.

First workshop completed.

I have been slacking on the blog entries. I need to be more disciplined!

So...we opened the workshop season with The Art & Craft of Portraiture taught by Platon. This workshop was taught in 2007, during my first few months with CPW, so it was really nice to see it through a second time around (second for me that is, not for Platon or CPW).

Great start to the season. Platon is energetic, intelligent and incredibly passionate for what he does...which is infectious. He carefully nursed every workshop participant through somewhat grueling exercises in "relating and connecting to your subject"--- which in the end brought every single person to a place of better understanding of who they are as artists. It was extremely enjoyable to watch from my end. People really came out of their shells and did an amazing job.

I have blogged about portraiture before and discussed the complicated discussions that exist around it. how much of a portrait is made with genuine "connection" and how much is a projection that we impose onto it? how telling can a photographic portrait really be on its own without other representation? what level of responsibility do we have as artists to properly represent a person? what is the definition of representation!? How does the gaze of the viewer change over time alter the portrait?

lots of questions...lots of different viewpoints...all interesting for another time...

And...the fabulous interns!!! They did a great job and I can tell that they will blossom from the experiences of the next 4 months. I am relieved...I now am confident that my summer will go smoothly.

Linda Connor lecture this Saturday. not to be missed people.