Good Art News
At last!

Police recover stolen Munch masterpieces

OSLO, Norway - Police recovered two paintings they believe are the Edvard Munch masterpieces “The Scream” and “Madonna,” two years after masked gunmen seized the priceless artworks from an Oslo museum in a bold, daylight raid, authorities announced Thursday.

Both paintings, stolen from the Munch Museum in August 2004, were in better-than-expected condition, police said at a news conference.

“The pictures came into our hands this afternoon after a successful police action,” said Iver Stensrud, head of the police investigation. “All that remains is an expert examination to confirm with 100 percent certainty, that these are the original paintings. We believe these are the originals,” Stensrud said.

Maybe they can work on finding bin Laden. Clearly George and Rummy are having no luck.
- posted by Cynthia @ 12:07 PM | | | Link |

 
Late Summer Art Notes
Just a few: a rant and a shameless plug:

First, the shameless plug:

I (in my Cynthia King persona) will have 3 pieces in the print show at Morpho Gallery opening (along with every other show in Chicago) on September 8th, usual reception hours (tho in my experience they usually party on very late).

Morpho Gallery
5216 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60625
773-551-4850
www.morphogallery.com

Also in the show: Judith Hladik (I used to print with her -- good stuff), Stephanie Ramsey, Anthony Lazarko, Kim Fink, Charles Beneke, and Missy Polly. I will try to provide links for them later (tho of course you can do the googling yourself).

I realize I just reviewed the Elke Claus exhibit at the gallery, so some would find it suspicious that I'm suddenly accepted into a show there, but I assure you, there was no payola involved. I am a Democrat, after all.

Now the rant: I wanted to do a little preview of what's coming up at other galleries in Chicago, but practically none of their websites have updated schedules. This is very frustrating. I realize we're at the tail end of the summer, and everyone is still up at their luxury cottages on the Michigan shore (or that hideway on Nantucket), but jeez.

Finally, there is still a bit of back-and-forthing about who's paying for our appearance at Farmers' Market, but hope to have an update soon.

Oh, nearly forgot: internet buddy EC Brown, who does wonderful apartment shows, has work here and there (check out Lisa Boyle) writes that he and Renee Gory are having a "retrospective" exhibit:

On Sept. 9 (a week from next Saturday), Butcher Shop Dogmatic will present "The Longest Piss", a retrospective exhibit for EC Brown and Renee Gory. Aside from new paintings, both of us will be hanging works tracing back numerous years (2000 for Brown, 1994 for Gory), much of which has only been seen in small one-time exhibits in Chicago over the years.

Exhibition website: http://www.kittyspit.net/longestpiss/

Opening: Saturday, Sept. 9, 6-10 pm
Refreshments served!
1319 W. Lake St

This should be lots of fun. And he's a pretty good cat painter and photographer, too. (I must wait until catblogging Friday to post a snap he's sent along, so check back).
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:54 AM | | | Link |

 
Give This Guy a Raise
Stay with it to the end.



Thanks, Keith. We're sick of these twisted bastards too. Rumsfeld has got to go.
- posted by Cynthia @ 12:26 AM | | | Link |

 
Suppose He's a Republican?
He's certainly acting like one:

FBI Investigates Popular Artist Kinkade

At least 10 former dealers nationwide have alleged in arbitration claims that the ''Painter of Light'' -- a California native beloved by some but reviled by the art establishment -- exploited his Christianity to persuade people to invest in the galleries, which sell only Kinkade's work.

After they had invested tens of thousands of dollars each, the ex-owners said, the company's policies drove them out of business. They say they were saddled with limited-edition prints no one wanted to buy [ed. there is some hope for the world], forced to open stores in inappropriate venues and undercut by discount galleries peddling the same items at prices they couldn't match.

Some also say Kinkade -- who claims to be the most widely collected living U.S. artist -- schemed to devalue his public company, Media Arts Group Inc., so he could buy it on the cheap. In 2004, Kinkade and other investors paid $32.7 million to take Media Arts Group private, changing its name to Thomas Kinkade Co.

Wow!

Good evening, friends. Another rainy day here with machines tormenting my ears. And a new twist -- I have been apparently sharing my peanut butter with a squirrel.

For the last few days I had noticed that the peanut butter jar that usually sits (usually with top off) waiting in readiness near the toaster had fallen to the floor. Since I'm none too steady when aiming for the toast in the morning before I've had coffee, I thought nothing of it, or figured it had something to do with the construction out back.

Until I caught him literally red handed -- or rather brown handed -- or perhaps brown nosed, head in the jar. We stood eye to eye as he scampered all over the place trying to get back out -- finally escaped over a loose board next to the window air conditioner.

But euuuwww.... eeeuuuwww.....eeeeeeewwwwwuuuuuu.... ptuuiiii.... pttuiiiii....

And that comment goes equally just letting my brain rest for a second on the image of a Kinkade cottage.

Eeeeeuuuuuwwwww...
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:22 PM | | | Link |

 
But Will They Give the Money to the Poor?
From the Stranger than Truth file:

BBC's Robin Hood tapes stolen:

Thieves have stolen the only master tapes for the BBC's new £8m series on Robin Hood and are demanding a £1m ransom for their safe return, it is reported today.

Good morning, friends. Is raining on the one day I know I have to be wandering around in it (dentist appt in Loop).

Even though it's pouring out there right now, the machines are still grinding away, tanks full of gas. (See below if this confuses you).

Have just begun the morning surf. Will try to find a few other choice items to help us avoid doing other things.
- posted by Cynthia @ 9:44 AM | | | Link |

 
Signage of the Times -- Dan Seals for Congress
Seals everywhere, as far as the eye can see...





More than 50 volunteers assembled 3000 signs for Democrat Dan Seals (looking to unseat the unspeakable Mark Kirk in the Illinois 10th Congressional District) this afternoon. It only took 2 hours to slide them on the wires, staple them, and get them neatly stacked in the garage in convenient groups of 50, ready to go.

Imagine how pleasant and efficient government can be with this kind of organization and fervor!

I talked with one 80 yr old plus gent whose wife has organized a "Republicans for Seals" group. They had expected maybe 20 or 30 people to come to their first meeting and were flabbergasted when over 90 showed up -- and not all of them dems!

He remembers voting for Rumsfeld, way back when. "Not the same man," he said. "Nor am I."

Well said.
- posted by Cynthia @ 3:22 PM | | | Link |

 
Some machine building the condo behind me has been grinding away at something since about 7:30 this morning. When it's not grinding, it's sitting and idling loudly. I want it to run out of gas NOW, since I can't stand it much longer. Even the Metra train out my back window ran out of gas on Wednesday:

Out of Gas

A Chicago-bound Union Pacific North Line train sputtered to a stop at Central Street in Evanston about 7 p.m. Wednesday leaving 82 passengers stranded.

The problem was traced Thursday to a Union Pacific employee, said Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet.

"An employee was told on a number of occasions to refuel the locomotive and failed to do so," she said.

Metra riders reported that even the crew sounded bewildered when announcing that the train, which departed Kenosha at 5:51 p.m., had run out of fuel.

"I could hear them saying in disbelief, `We're out of gas.' ... Like they were trying to register it themselves," said Chicago resident John Hines, 45, who was on the train.

What's even worse is that I was probably sitting in my studio staring at the train the whole time but was oblivious to the whole thing. May have been so busy bashing gnomes that I didn't notice -- (Hammer Heads, really good game), trying to figure out how to bash Stabby (hit him once, then wait till he's tired, then hit him again. But you have to have the really big hammer).

Please, stop NOW!
- posted by Cynthia @ 11:31 AM | | | Link |

 
A Bushel of Etchings, Please
... and three pounds of coffee mugs. And are the earrings fresh?

Good afternoon, friends. Have just learned that it is confirmed that we (the ceramics, jewelry, and printmaking departments at the Evanston Art Center) will have a booth at Farmers' Market here in Evanston on the following dates (all Saturdays):

September 23, 30, and October 7th, from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm

In exchange for letting us sell our stuff there, we have to distribute "propaganda" (as the email puts it), schedules, etc. There is some talk of dragging in a small press and doing a demo.

Anyway, this is both exciting and exhausting news. As far as we know, the EAC has never attempted this before, and certainly not without at least 6 months of planning.

More news coming up later today (probably).
- posted by Cynthia @ 1:21 PM | | | Link |

 
Hmmm
Polar bear genitals shrinking due to pollution

The icecap may not be the only thing shrinking in the Arctic. The genitals of polar bears in east Greenland are apparently dwindling in size due to industrial pollutants.

Scientists report this shrinkage could, in the worst case scenario, endanger polar bears there and elsewhere by spoiling their love lives and causing their numbers to diminish.

Hey, I thought size didn't matter. Guess female polar bears didn't get the memo.

Good evening, folks. Lots of stuff to report, but I don't feel like doing it at the moment, so would rather discuss the sex lives of polar bears.

However, if it puts a scare into some men out there (think: I'm next), maybe they'll see the light and vote with their balls this November. What I mean is:

Screw Bush (While You Still Have Them)
- posted by Cynthia @ 6:56 PM | | | Link |

 
Misc. Art Notes
Lisa Boyle writes:

Lisa Boyle Gallery is MOVING to a new location! Naturally, there will be a big party to inaugurate the new space and mark the opening of the fall gallery season. It is only natural. Luckily, it will be about a week later than most of the other gallery openings, and with this shining advance notice, you'll have very little reason to miss it.

SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday September 16th, 6-9pm.

Please join us in our new space at:

1821 West Hubbard Street, 2nd Floor
(This is 1 block south of Grand, 3 blocks west of Ashland, only a few blocks from the current space. Parking aplenty!)

(Western Exhibitions Gallery will also be moving to this location and opening the same night.)

This (and companion gallery Western Exhibitions) are pretty good. I can't visualize where the new location is, so will have to go and look. The old location was funky beyond belief -- I don't think there was a genuine front door -- you always had to go up the back fire escape to get there, and had to get to W.E. by going thru the Boyle gallery.

Only a few more weeks till the start of the new art season. I am refinishing and polishing my basic blacks, contemplating whether to tip the new haircut with green or orange this year, or go with a completely classic blond flat top*, and charging up an extra battery pack for the camera.

As a token of my promise to do a little better this year, here's the (I just realized) promised images of the Santa Sheep from this year's Evanston + Vicinity Biennial. Finally shook all the bits out of my camera this weekend:








*not really
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:39 AM | | | Link |

 
Little Feets
An image I've been working on:



Bet you thought it was all dancing, all the time here on the blog. Pic might show up a little darker than it really is.

And am combining it with all sorts of stuff that makes it all bigger (tho maybe not better), but doesn't fit on the scanner, and as usual, the camera is in the car.

No, the flip flops aren't chine colle or hand colored. Hint: phone book covers.
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:47 AM | | | Link |

 
Booooooo!!! Boooooo!!!!
It shoulda been Travis.



I love this video.

But maybe he won after all. He doesn't have to be in Celine Dion's Vegas extravaganza.
- posted by Cynthia @ 9:08 PM | | | Link |

 
We Want One
Peggy sends this along:



Securely at the top of the birthday present list. Thanks! I love you, You Tube.
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:12 AM | | | Link |

 
Kitten Blogging Friday
After a hard week of terror and politics, thank god it's Cat Blogging Friday:



Kids, Kittens Escape Fire Near Cemetery

The fire broke out inside a cemetery caretaker's home Friday morning, according to fire officials.

The children got out of the house on their own, but firefighters had to rescue some kittens.

After the animals were rescued, firefighters gave them oxygen to help them breathe.

A firefighter suffered minor injuries while fighting the blaze.

The fire broke out in an occupied building at All Saints Cemetery, at 8901 W. Higgins Road in Chicago, Rosemont police said.

Fire officials were notified of the blaze at 7:50 a.m.

What caused the fire has not been determined.

I'm sure tomorrow will bring fresh horrors to this world, but until then let's be thankful for kittens and the firefighters who rescue them.
- posted by Cynthia @ 6:05 PM | | | Link |

 
We Don't Know What To Think
After seeing all the headlines and screaming news alerts, I'm confused:




(click on it if you can't read it)

This from the actual Homeland Security site. I thought Red Alert meant (now that communism has been thwarted) tons of horrible things were imminent. But I guess we're just supposed to go shopping as usual. Elevated is no biggie. Been there, done that. We all know it will never dive down to a comfortable temperature in our lifetimes.

Good afternoon, friends. Or rather, here we go again. According to The Guardian, Bush and Blair discussed this on Sunday, and the investigation has been going on for months. If a Red Alert was needed, why wasn't it posted the minute George knew? And if the nation is in such dire peril just because Joe Lieberman didn't win his primary, imagine what would happen if he did!

Thank goodness George is on vacation again, or at a fundraiser or something, or maybe flying around the country until he sobers up and not in Washington during these dangerous days. My cynicism and snarkiness have been fed by too many cries of "wolf," is the problem.

If this is a genuine plot and not just a bunch of students or unemployed guys sitting around talking big and getting off on it, we sincerely thank the vigilance of the Brits.

Now maybe they can find Osama while they're at it.
- posted by Cynthia @ 2:36 PM | | | Link |

 
Available Poetry
This phrase was coined by my collaborator on this piece, Peggy Shearn, to describe stuff I was putting together simply because I had enough letters to set the text in type on the letter press. So here's a thing we drifted into this afternoon (click on it to read the text). I will tell you the story in a moment:


  

For various reasons, only partly because as a commercial artist she has clients in China, Peggy ordered some Chinese character type on Ebay, which we were so excited to see printed that we didn't want to wait to take the poem (the one I've been spending dozens of hours typesetting) off the press first (or wait for me to run a boring old edition).

So she arranged the type under the poem, we locked it down, and were thrilled by the nonsensical but quite attractive result. Apologies to Chinese friends, we mean no disrespect if we've inadvertently created a monstrosity. I just hope if it is, it's hilarious and you'll let us know what it says.

So we printed only 6, then took the type off so I can stick the title on and do a boring old plain edition. The title is supposed to be "Below 90," which the weather has pleasantly been these past few days.

So will post this now before Blogger goes offline. They're supposed to be taking it down at some point, but maybe it's tomorrow.
- posted by Cynthia @ 7:02 PM | | | Link |

 
Fat Lady Auditions
...in progress in Connecticut, other states to follow.

Good evening, friends. What an exciting evening! Even though I don't have cable (and my WIFI has collapsed again), have been following the Lieberman/Lamont fight online in a couple of blogs.

Regardless of what the pundits and consultants tell you, my fellow Democrats, when the voters have had enough, they will vote you away.

So those of you who wanted to play it "safe" and vote for the "safe" candidate for the fall (what they keep telling us Lieberman is), you now have no fear, and you are forgiven for trying to play the game. And you get a rich guy, too! I thought Ned Lamont handled himself remarkably well on the Daily Show clip I saw.

Joe, if you really don't do the gracious thing and call the winner and congratulate him, and throw your support behind him, etc. etc., like all the other primary losers since the dawn of time have done, you will have tainted your memory even more than you've done these past few years by cuddling up to the Evil Ones.

So there you go.

Have nearly completed setting the poem on the press. It's only taken about 18 hours solid, no joke, since I don't have enough leads to brace it correctly, so the type keeps collapsing and has to be redone. Just need to get the title line on, and I'm done. Then perhaps will scan it in and show you so you can jeer.
- posted by Cynthia @ 9:52 PM | | | Link |

 
Taylor Update
If you're in Oak Park (IL) tomorrow (Saturday), check out more of Joe Taylor's woodcuts at the opening of the new Nerve Gallery (link is supposed to be www.thenervegallery.com, but as of right now it doesn't work). He's showing a whole bunch from his "FBI's 50 Most Wanted" series, which are magnificent, plus a few more unnamed.

Details:

Nerve Gallery
Opening Saturday, Aug 5th 6 - 10 p.m.
43 Harrison St
Oak Park, Illinois
708-838-0027

This from an email. Go, Joe, go!
- posted by Cynthia @ 6:45 PM | | | Link |

 
Brrrrrr
What's that strange sensation around the bottom of my legs? Could it be . . .

pants legs?

Please wait a second while I find my slippers. Gosh, it's chilly in here.

Sorry to taunt the east coast. Our heat (I nearly typed "hate") wave has finally broken. It's exceedingly pleasant to look out at the dreary, rainy day and listen to the sucking of tires on wet pavement without the air-conditioner whine.

If this is what it takes to break CNN's deadly grip on the Israeli-Lebanon war, good, but I wouldn't throw around the word "torture" like that if I were you. George might think you're unpatriotic, or something.

Speaking of which:

Fellow printmaker Joe Taylor has a new one:



If you can't read the caption, it says, "Cute Little Terrorist." We've seen far too many cute terrorists slaughtered, haven't we?

So what are we gonna do about it?

This is still America, right? So we vote.
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:36 AM | | | Link |

 
Dripping Fingers
Dripping with sweat, that is. The room that's air conditioned doesn't get good WIFI reception, so am sitting in what used to be (before the last time it was deluged with rain coming in and flooding the work surface) my studio.

About to deliver the last of the promised summer projects, for the "Crossing Boundaries" show at the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. Which means leaving the house.

Which means driving somewhere in my air-conditioned car. Joy joy joy. I think I'd deliver something to them even if I wasn't in the show just to have an excuse to drive around.

This is actually what I did last night around 10 pm. My feeble air conditioner couldn't be coaxed into producing cooler air, so went for a drive up along the lake shore, thinking maybe I'd go for a walk on the beach. Beach was, if anything, hotter than inland, unfortunately, so went to a Walgreens and milled around with the other people escaping from the heat. Amazing how many people suddenly felt the need to buy a toothbrush and had to spend a couple of hours on the selection.

Then had a power outage during the night, so woke up completely disoriented because it was so silent -- no sound of fans or air conditioners or neighbors's air conditioners or even traffic (I guess everyone had left Walgreens by this point). Figured I'd suffocate or broil if I stayed in the closed up space in which I'd barricaded myself, so dragged myself upstairs to the room with the fan and the open windows and the soggy pile of something called bed and pillows.

I think the hours spent in actual "sleep" since this thing started number about 5.

About to leave now.

Here I go...
- posted by Cynthia @ 12:11 PM | | | Link |