Art Call: Frenzy into Folly

Openings, an artist's collective I'm a member of has just put out their call for work for their 2012 exhibit. It is a theme that seems perfect for an election year. Details below.

Frenzy into Folly

Deadline for submissions: Monday, February 20, 2012 

 Openings invites artists to submit proposals to participate in Frenzy into Folly, a group art exhibition taking place in Fall 2012 at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in NYC.

 Fren٠zy   (frěn٠zē) n.,  1. A state of violent mental agitation or wild excitement.  2. Temporary madness or delirium.  3. A mania; a craze.

Fol٠ly  (fǒl٠ē) n.,  1. A lack of good sense, understanding or foresight. 2.a. An act or instance of foolishness.  b. A grand but misguided idea. 3. A thing built to satisfy a fancy or conceit, often of an eccentric kind. 

 Openings is a collective of visual artists whose mission is to explore the connections between creativity and transcendence.  Each year the group presents an exhibition addressing a particular theme.  The theme for the 2012 exhibition is Frenzy into Folly.  Artists are asked to submit a detailed proposal for artwork in any medium which explores their interpretation of this theme, addressed either personally, publicly, politically, aesthetically, or spiritually.  Artwork will be exhibited within the unique space of the interior of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on Columbus Avenue at W 60^th Street in New York City.

Submission Guidelines 

Artists are asked to submit the following materials:

●      Detailed Visual Proposal for Frenzy into Folly: This should include images of finished artwork you are proposing to show, or clear and descriptive text/drawings/sketches/schematics of a proposed artwork for the exhibition.  Artists are encouraged to visit the exhibition space within Church of St. Paul the Apostle in advance of sending their proposal. 

●      Proposal Statement of 250 words or less describing the proposed artwork and how it addresses the theme of Frenzy into Folly.

●      Contact information: name, address, email, telephone, website url.

●      10 jpeg images of recent work (no greater than 800 pixels or 11 inches at 72 dpi) each labeled with title, medium, dimensions and artist’s name.

●      Current CV.

●      Artist statement of 250 words or less.

Eligibility:  

This call for entries is open to any visual artist over the age of 18.  All submissions must be received via email to frenzy@openingsny.com. There is no fee for submitting a proposal; however, we will request a fee of $50 once you have been accepted into the exhibition.  This fee will go towards the cost of promotion, hanging, publicity and opening reception.  Artists will be selected by a jury of current Openings members. All selected artists will be asked to schedule a studio/work space visit with one or more of the exhibition’s curators as a way to show/discuss works in progress as they relate to the theme of the exhibition.  The suggested studio visit will also be used as an opportunity to record photo/video material for the purposes of generating PR for the show.  Artists or their representative must be present for both the delivery and installation of artwork as well as the de-installation and removal of artwork on the dates specified below.  Openings and the Church of St. Paul the Apostle will not accept or store works delivered in advance of the installation day and cannot store artworks after the de-installation date. Openings reserves the right to refuse to exhibit artworks that differ substantially from submitted proposals.

Event Schedule:

February 20, 2012: Completed submissions due via email

March 16, 2012: Notification of selected artists by email/phone

March 29, 2012: Artist meeting, exhibition space walk through

July 21-23, 2012: Studio visits with selected artists

August 13, 2012: Deadline to submit work-in-progress reports

September 13, 2012: Delivery/Installation of exhibition at Church of St. Paul the Apostle

September 14, 2012: Exhibition opens to the public

September 20, 2012: Opening Reception

October 29, 2012: De-installation of exhibition

Please send all submissions via email to frenzy@openingsny.com. 

Any questions pertaining to Openings or the exhibition can be directed to frenzy@openingsny.com.  

The deadline for submissions is Monday, February 20, 2012 at 5:00pm EST.

Sense

"Elinor agreed with it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition."
Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

This blog's title reflects the hopeful idea that I'd occasionally write about all the enlightening reading I would be doing. Though I have an hour and a half commute, I mostly feel like I wind up looking at the pictures in Science and Nature. Whether I collect any wisdom that way remains to be seen. This week however I've been enjoying the marvels of technology by reading poorly OCR'd Jane Austen on my phone. I wonder why it is that duty bound folks who achieve any benefit by their adherence to good practice are totally absent from the modern fictional landscape. I've always thought following the example of a Jane Austen heroine might make a man of me. Live in hope.

New work in progress

 

A classic bad cellphone shot of  a current miniature work in progress, a wind blown figure about 4 inches tall in quince wood, current battlefield in my efforts to understand drapery...

Side Project WIP 3 and 4

Again a now much out of date picture of the work in progress. At this point the body is becoming fairly well formed, though the head is still over-sized and only roughly indicated...

I sort of forgot to take work in progress pictures for a while, here bringing us up to the present is the current state of the piece,  most of the figure is pretty finished. The feet and hands need some work as well as a little clean up and definition everywhere, then we'll see if I can nerve myself for the intended next stage...

Earthstar Magic

So, I was on my way Friday morning to see a woman about a totem pole, (which is a nice way to start a Friday) when I passed these beauties off the trail at Teaneck Creek Conservancy. I'm a fungus lover in general, but I've always found earthstars particularly magical; I'm not sure why.

Side Project in Progress: 2

A somewhat belatedly posted (you can see my uncompleted piece for the soon to come down Rumble Above the Clouds exhibit in the background) picture of a new(ish) work in progress. I've refined the body a good bit and the weight of the pose is clear though the head and feet are only very roughly blocked in. From this side you can see the gray staining in the wood, which I kind of like as a bit of texture. In the end this is not going to be a pristine china finish piece...

Carving Mary: Day 10

She's pretty close to done now. Some more refinement on the face and hands, and a little more definition in the robes, and that's about it.  The level of cracking though out the project has been pretty controlled, so that it adds to the effect rather than being distracting. I'm curious to see how she'll look once she weathers to a uniform finish, part of the project that is nature's job not mine. Soon to be the next step, thinking about some kind of partial shelter for the piece since a softwood carving like this will not last indefinitely exposed to the elements.