2007 November | Art Palaver

Not Quite Art

November 30th, 2007 admin

Today I stumbled across “The art show that believes there is life outside the galleries.” I found the show on iTunes. It is a show out of Australia and currently there are 3 episodes available for download. Each show is 30 minutes long. The host Marcus Westbury takes his camera out to look for art from the “outside.”

The first episode covers a new cultural center in Newcastle Australia that is in the works, but artists in the town wonder why all the attention is paid to a big culture center when there is already culture happening in Newcastle. Why spend all that money to create a place to bring in art and culture when the city already has art and culture. Maybe money should be poured into Newcastle’s present art and culture scene. There are some good questions raised.

Click here for the show’s website were you can download each episode.

Posted in Art on the Web | No Comments »

How To Survive As An Independent Artist

November 27th, 2007 admin

A guy name Michael W. Dean made a nice little movie called D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist. It is made up of conversations with artists in many mediums who have made it on their own. Visual artists who stay away from the gallery system. Musicians who refuse to sign to labels. And performance artists who do not hire managers. All in all it is a very inspiring film for an artist trying to make a go at it without a lot of cash.

My favorite quote from the movie is: “Zines are more important than Rolling Stone.”

The movie was cheap at $8 for the DVD with no copyright protection in place. In fact the cover of the disc tells you to, “Burn The DVD.” But now you can watch it free on YouTube. The filmmaker has listed his reasons for putting it on you tube here.

Here is the first part of the film:

And here is part two:

Click here to check out the rest of the movie.

Posted in Art on the Web, Film | 1 Comment »

Former FC Mayor Publishes A Book

November 21st, 2007 admin

Former Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez has published a book called Baby Boy-R: A Memoir.

Mr. Martinez spent the first 5 years of his life in a state run orphanage. He then grew up to become a police officer, spending 24 years solving other people’s mysteries, all the while wanting to know his biological mother. This book is the story of his journey to find her.

Click here to find the book at the Fort Collins Public Library.

Click here to get your copy at Amazon.com.

Posted in Written Arts | No Comments »

Create For A Cause

November 19th, 2007 admin

Posted in For Change | 1 Comment »

Bryan Collins Limited Prints Available

November 18th, 2007 admin

Local artist Bryan Collins has these 3 limited prints available for sale on his website. There are 50 of each and they are hand signed and numbered, they also include a certificate of authenticity.

Click here to buy. (You will be taken to Bryan’s website.)

Posted in Art on the Web | 1 Comment »

Is There Still A Rocky Mountain Foundry?

November 17th, 2007 admin

I ask the question, “Is there still a Rocky Mountain Foundry in the works?” because I have not been able to find any information about the upstart artist community. The idea of the RMF was to be an affordable artist community with studio, gallery, and living space built from large metal freight container boxes. It planned on being located near Old Town Fort Collins. Last year the editors of the Rocky Mountain Chronicle named it “The Best New Addition to the Arts Scene.”

Currently the website, www.rockymountainfoundry.org, is a dead URL. And the address is not registered. I did some asking around and some Googling but could not find out any information on the current status of the RM Foundry. If you know anything please leave a comment.

Posted in Fort Collins, Projects | No Comments »

When Artists Strike

November 16th, 2007 admin

I’ve been keeping an eye on the current writer’s strike since it may prove to be a watershed moment in art history. At the core of the strike is the fact that studios do not want to pay artists for material on the internet. I have been planning on posting about it at some point but today The Rocky Mountain Chronicle covered it and included two well done videos:

Click here to read Rocky Mountain Holla’s blog. Tell em Art Palaver sent ya!

Posted in Art on the Web | 2 Comments »

The Fort Collins Art Festival

November 15th, 2007 admin

Ah the Fort Collins Art Festival, that great time of year when the city’s artists show off their work to the community and the nation. People of all types come out to see art and meet artists. Discoveries are made, deals are struck, connections begin, and inspiration is in the air. And all those people from around the country who travel here to visit our city for it’s well known art, doing a little shopping in Old Town, and touring a brewery or two. The weekend is always a good time and quite a gem on the landscape of Fort Collins’ culture.

Hey wait a minute… There is no Fort Collins Art Festival. Sure we have a few events around where artists can rent a booth such as New West Fest. But there is no weekend that is accessible to artists of all levels and people in any tax bracket that really brings out and showcases the art community in Fort Collins. No one time people from around the world could come to Fort Collins and know they would see what we have to offer when it comes to art.

I am not complaining. I am starting dialogue to create change. I believe all the people of Fort Collins would benefit from a city wide Art Festival.

What do you think? Leave a comment and let us all know.

Posted in Art, Event, Fort Collins | 4 Comments »

CoCOA Call For Entries

November 14th, 2007 admin

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Colorado Coalition of Artists Benefit Show:
“Hook, Hammer, and Hang—An Art Happening”

Show Dates: Dec. 14-28, 2007

New Gallery Location: 402 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80524
In the Poudre River Arts Center (with the Artists Nook)

Entry Fee (per piece): $12 for CoCOA member/$20 for nonmember
All artworks must be hang-able, and ready for display.

Doors Open to Artists to hang works: Friday Dec 14, 2007 at 5:00 pm

Opening Reception for Public: Friday Dec 14, 2007 6:00 pm- 9:00 pm

Date for Artworks to be Picked up: Dec 29, 2007 10:00 am-6:00 pm

About the Gallery:
CoCOA, created by artists and run entirely by our member volunteers, is a non-profit arts cooperative located in Fort Collins, Colorado. CoCOA’s mission is to unify artists in the community and provide a common meeting ground where artistic products will be created, displayed, and sold. CoCOA provides both free and paid classes and workshops in all areas of the arts.

About the Show:
Hook, Hammer, and Hang is a spontaneous art happening. Artists will have the opportunity to hang their works, and network with other artists and patrons. Doors open at 5:00 pm Dec. 14, 2007 and Artists will hang their own works, (with the assistance of CoCOA volunteers). Wall space will be first come first served. CoCOA will have some hanging hardware, but artists are encouraged to bring their own, if work requires special hanging considerations. Reception will feature music, refreshments and lively discussions, open to all. Come celebrate CoCOA’s new location at the Poudre River Arts Center.

Liability:
All reasonable care will be given to work in the custody of the CoCOA Gallery. However, the gallery WILL NOT assume responsibility for the theft, damage, or deterioration of work at any time. Artists are strongly encouraged to insure their work. The CoCOA Gallery does not provide insurance.

Contact Information:
Colorado Coalition of Artists, attn: Laura Brent - Director
423 S. Mason Street (until Dec. 1, 2007
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-221-3019
info@cocoaart.com
www.cocoaart.com

Posted in Call For Entries, Fort Collins | 1 Comment »

Summit Studios

November 13th, 2007 admin

Summit Studios is a photography studio in Old Town Fort Collins. The works produced at the studio are created by the husband and wife team of Darren and Lisa Mahuron. Their work is always inspiring with a “how did they do that?” element to most images.

I wanted to share some of Summit Studios latest work: