This past April I received an invite to attend an art opening at the Transport Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. The show, titled Mark of the Beast, was scheduled for one night only on April 23rd, 2005, at the small gallery space located in the Factory Place art colony. Graphic artist Brandy Flower curated the show, which consisted of recognizable…
April 30th, 2005, marks the 30th anniversary of the US defeat in Vietnam. As a twenty two year old in 1975, I commemorated the end of the war by creating a large oil painting simply titled, Vietnam. The preliminary sketch for that painting is reproduced at left. The Vietnamese peasant woman portrayed in my artwork glances at you with cold…
I’ve long understood the connection between visual art and music. To me the musician and artist are kindred spirits, and music has always fanned the flames of my own creativity. Naturally I’ve always been an avid music fan, and since my childhood I’ve enthusiastically collected music recordings. In fact when I was 7 years old in 1961, the very first…
Axis of Evil, the Secret History of Sin, a group show at the Columbia College Chicago Glass Curtain Gallery, was visited by Secret Service agents who photographed artworks and asked the museum director for the names and phone numbers of all participating artists. The Columbia group exhibition is made up of submissions from 47 artists from 11 countries. The exhibit’s…
In 2005 I rediscovered a number of my old sketchbooks that had been packed away for decades. These sketchbooks contain hundreds of pencil and pen drawings created by me during my high school years. Most of the artworks were created in 1970 when I was only sixteen years old. The drawings were largely of my classmates and friends, and some…
Part of the mission of my Art For A Change web log is to invigorate the arts scene, turning it from its isolation and lethargy to a newfound engagement. Here’s a bit of news artists around the world should take note of, particularly those living in the United States who insist that art should remain detached from social action. Professional…
When I wrote a critique of the March 25th Whither Arts Journalism in LA? public forum, I didn’t expect it to strike such a deep chord with people. My analysis of the event stirred dozens of working artists, gallery owners, curators, educators and art lovers to send me encouraging e-mails. Of the dozens who have wrote to me, none were…
Many in the arts community wonder why the general public shows so little interest in contemporary art. Perhaps it’s time for a bit of reflection and self-criticism on the part of artists, who to a certain degree are responsible for the tremendous gulf between themselves and the public. Artists by and large have altogether ceased addressing the wider society. They…
