Artomatic

[fauxklore]

We got dismissed from work a little early on Thursday, so I decided I would check out this year's Artomatic before it closed. The location this year was a new building right on top of the Navy Yard metro station. That meant for some quite spectacular views, especially from the upper floors. From one side, you could see the ballpark; from the opposite side, the Capitol.

But it was the art I was there for - eight stories of it (plus a stage on the ground floor). Unjuried art shows can, of course, be hit or miss. There is, inevitably, somebody who thinks it is amusing to pull out their 3rd grade finger paintings and claim that displaying them is an antidote to the pretenses of the art world. Fortunately, there is a also a lot of talent out there.

I won't attempt to list everything I liked, but here are a few links for your enjoyment:

Caitlin Phillips - handbags made out of Nancy Drew (and other) books.

Emily Locke - photography

Forrest McCluer's computer viruses (representations of human viruses made from computer parts

Tim Tate - glass reliquaries, some with video in them

Eileen Williams - fabric art incorporating faces of women

Lisa Osgood-Dano - glass panels with intriguing textures

Mishka Jaeger - representations of musical scores with found objects and collage

Of course, not every artist I liked has a useful (or any) web site. For example, Anne Benolken, of Montgomery College had wonderful pictures of the Indian goddess Kali dealing with the irritations of everyday life. And David Alfuth's intricate three-dimensional etchings in a vaguely Gorey-esque style were intriguing.

There are times when I wish I had a huge house just so I could fill it with art.