february 3, 2004

studio_6

A big hello to MAN readers and a big thank you to Tyler for his gracious recommendation to visit us here.

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Catching up on my reading last night I was leafing through the latest issue of Artweek and came across an article by Christopher Miles questioning the need of the larger California museums to skirt provincial typecasting by ignoring regional artists exhibits:

“…if these museums weren’t so concerned with avoiding the appearance of provincialism and asserting their internationalism, that they might be able to strike a better balance and give some truly great local artists the attention that they deserve. Instead, by insisting on devoting clearly the bulk of their energy and space to importing culture from elsewhere, the museums send the signal that in fact they are provincial and in need of imported culture. They also send the message that their local artists are not great artists but provincial artists not worth exporting or even fully appreciating locally. Luckily, in recent years, the marketplace and the smaller museums and exhibition venues have shown they know better.'”

There in lies the rub of living here on the West coast. It is double edge sword, because true there are many people making art out here so why is there the constant reference to looking over our shoulder to the East.
In the same token, I am really glad that occasionally without getting on an airplane I know I can look forward to seeing art that I’ve maybe read about in those other magazines. For instance I am very much looking forward to seeing Christian Marclay’s show that is opening this Thursday at Seattle Art Museum.

I guess balance is the key word. All of this nicely dovetails with yesterdays OGIC‘s discussion about living and working in Chicago versus New York which I very much appreciated, as that topic has been sitting on the forefront of my mind lately.

By the way Artweek is the only magazine that is dedicated to covering the West Coast art world. They are not filled with glossy pictures or ads either so you actually have to read the copy. When I lived on the other coast I truly thought they had gone out of business as I never once found a issue for sale in any newsstand or book store, so add that sad fact to the rest of the list. I am so glad they are still around bringing coverage to the full West Coast, exhibit listings and opportunity listings too.