Sweet. Paivi and I went through Artomatic site selection this year successfully! While I’ve participated in the past 2 AOM’s as well, for various reasons this is the first year that I’ve been able to pick my own space.  We really (Paivi in particular) wanted to be on the 7th floor with some of our friends, the main bar, but the process involved Artomatic only opening 2 floors at a time (this year, the floors are 1-9).

Our slot was 1:30pm Saturday and floors 2,3,8, and 9 had been opened. We decided to take advantage of the fact that spaces could be picked -after- your time slot, but not before and so we waited all day Saturday to see if floor 7 would be open. It never did open Saturday, so we had to come back this (Sunday) morning at 9am.  We ended up getting core walls on 7. Everyone was crazy helpful, nice, cheery, and definitely helped get this kicked off on an exciting gear.

The space I picked is just to the left of the elevators on the side opposite of the bar on the 7th floor. You’ll be able to tell what it is quickly and easily because I’ll be using a projector mounted on Sherill Gross and Stephanie Bonifant ‘s partition (thank you!!!!) to display art on the wall. It should be easily seen from the elevators.

Other cool kids up there include the wonderful: Caitlin Phillips from Rebound Designs, Sean Welker the Secretworm, and Justin Cameron

The wait Saturday wasn’t a waste of productivity, either! Paivi and I put in a lease application at The Onyx on First. It’s an apartment building just over a block from Artomatic and 2 blocks from the Nationals stadium in the Capital Waterfront district. If all goes well, we’ll be moved in before Artomatic even opens! Here come the after parties and extra volunteer hours! Woot.

More on my art later. It’s going to be moving, projected, dada-esque, sarcastic, and inspired by comments from Paivi Salonen, Barry Schmetter, Jesse Cohen, and others.

Everyone, if you’re in DC any time between May 29 and July 5, come on out and check it out! You’ll have a blast with the Art, the performances, the music, the people, da beer and wine.  Artomatic is just above the Navy Yard Green Line Metro station and if you’re coming to/from a Nats game by Metro, you can’t miss it.

Artomatic is happening again this year (05/29-07/05)! Art by everyone for everyone. Last year, there were 1,000 visual and performing artists and approximately 50,000 visitors. Get involved as an artist, volunteer, visitor, or all three! Artomatic 2009 registration opens Friday, March 27.

For registration questions, e-mail register@artomatic.org. To volunteer, e-mail volunteer@artomatic.org.

You can also visit the forums (which I help moderate) at: http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?board=37.0

I participated as an artist in both 2007:

• http://sintixerr.wordpress.com/2007/04/27/new-artomatic-in-second-life-event-schedule/
• http://sintixerr.wordpress.com/2007/04/04/artomatic-second-life-splattered-paint-oh-my/

and 2008:

• http://sintixerr.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/python-photography-digital-art-artomatic/

Both times were phenomenal experiences as an artist and as a visitor. The art was fun, good, bad, amusing, awful, and totally worth seeing. More than that,  being part of such a huge volunteer-run event outside of the uptight art snootery and commodities market you normally encounter is totally worth it.

The official press release can be found here:

—

Artomatic 2009 to be held in D.C.’s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Artomatic will be bringing its trademark one-of-a-kind
multimedia arts event to Half Street’s 55 M Street, S.E., in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol
Riverfront neighborhood in summer 2009, the arts organization announced today.

In conjunction with the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID) and Monument
Realty, Artomatic will be presenting more than five weeks of art, music, theater, workshops
and more — all of it free for visitors. Located between the U.S. Capitol Building and the
Anacostia River and between Barracks Row Main Street and South Capitol Street, the Capitol
Riverfront is a vibrant new business center, urban neighborhood, entertainment district and
waterfront destination.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Artomatic on this unique arts event. With both Artomatic
and Major League Baseball within blocks of one another, the Capitol Riverfront will be the goto
location for summertime entertainment in 2009,” said Michael Stevens, executive director
of the Capitol Riverfront BID. “Artomatic sets the stage for the type of future festivals and
entertainment that you will see in the Capitol Riverfront at the three new parks — Diamond
Teague, The Yards Park and Canal Park — which begin opening spring 2009 through 2011.”
Artomatic 2009 will be held at 55 M Street, S.E., a new 275,000 square feet LEED Silver Class
A office building developed by Monument Realty. The building, currently under construction, is
located atop the Navy Yard Metro stop and within a block of Nationals Park, home to the
Nationals baseball team.

“We are pleased to be hosting Artomatic at 55 M Street for its 10th anniversary,” said Michael
Darby, principal of Monument Realty. “It is not only a great opportunity to promote the
neighborhood and attract new visitors but also to bring some very talented artists to the
Capitol Riverfront.”

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished indoor space into an exciting
and diverse arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays by hundreds
of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children’s activities, as
well as musical, dance, poetry, theater and other performances. Artomatic 2008, held in D.C.’s
NoMa neighborhood, attracted a record-breaking 52,500 visitors and 1,540 participating
artists.

The 2009 Artomatic event promises to be an equally appealing destination for D.C. area arts
fans as well as those looking for summer entertainment, said Artomatic President Veronica
Szalus.

“The D.C. area has a vibrant, energetic arts scene and we are excited to be able to showcase
that talent and share it with the community,” Szalus said.

Artomatic 2009 will be held May 29 to July 5. The event will be open Wednesdays and
Thursdays from noon to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 1 a.m., and Sundays
from noon to 10 p.m. Artomatic will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission to Artomatic
is always free for visitors.

Registration for participation in Artomatic will open in March and will be open to all artists —
including painters, photographers, sculptors, graphic designers, musicians, poets, actors and
dancers. Artomatic is an unjuried event, so all artists are welcome, from professionals to
beginners. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis and will end once space is
filled. To be notified of the date when registration will open or to stay up on other Artomatic
news, sign up to receive ArtoNews, the Artomatic newsletter, on the Artomatic Web site.
Artomatic is run entirely by participating volunteers, and new participants are sought yearround.
To volunteer and help make plans for Artomatic 2009, e-mail volunteer@artomatic.org.
“Artomatic 2009 will fulfill 10 years of commitment to the growth of our cultural community
and help fuel our creative economy,” said Artomatic Chair George C. Koch.

More details on the event will be available on the Artomatic Web site, www.artomatic.org, in
coming weeks.

###

About Artomatic: Artomatic is a creative community that collaborates to produce and
present a free arts spectacular. Participation is open to all, from recognized artists to
undiscovered talents, who work in a variety of arts forms. In partnership with the
development community, Artomatic transforms unused building space into a playground for
expression, serves as a catalyst for community growth in up-and-coming neighborhoods, and
helps to grow the creative economy. The nonprofit Artomatic organization is headed by a
volunteer Board of Directors and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and
Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more
information, visit www.artomatic.org

About the Capitol Riverfront BID: The Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District
(BID) is dedicated to making the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood clean, safe, friendly and
vibrant; to creating the best quality of life in the neighborhood; and to attracting office
tenants, residents, retailers and visitors. For more information, visit www.capitolriverfront.org
About Monument Realty: Monument Realty is an award-winning full service real estate firm.
The firm’s diverse portfolio includes mixed use, office, residential and hotel properties.
Monument Realty has developed more than 5 million square feet of office space, nearly 5,000
residential units and three hotels valued at more than $5 billion. For more information, visit
www.monumentrealty.com.

Paivi and I have a number of pictures up at DC9 from November 15 – November 22 as part of PixTour, which is part of Fotoweek. I wasn’t sure what or how many pictures to put up, but when I was talking to the Bill (the owner/manager?) I noticed that the 7 big mirrors provided the only really clear space, so I put 2-3 up per mirror. There are 3 “sets” of mine up – “Picture of a Picture” (suggested by Heather), “Doll Angst” (a set of suicidal blondes), and “Misc” (just a few that seemed to fit together) in the back.

These were my final selections:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sintixerr/sets/72157608876695189/

Paivi put up some of her BritishInk pics from Artomatic (hers was more last minute than mine since her original venue, Bar Pilar, fell through. Too bad!)

ABOUT:
—
PixTour: a project of FotoWeek DC 2008
Travel the city to check out PIX TOUR.

PixTour, a project of FotoWeek DC 2008, is showing the work of
area photographers at 40 bars, clubs, restaurants, theaters, and
shops around DC. Artist and Place meet and invite you.

PixTour brings art to the people who are out and about.
Take a walk, have a drink and a meal, and see the art of photography in Dupont, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, 14th Street, Anacostia and More. PixTour is an informal showing of photography on local walls and windows.

Curators: Molly Ruppert, Heather Goss, Beth Baldwin

PixTour was created as a project for Fotoweek DC 2008 by Molly Ruppert molly@warehousetheater.com and Warehouse.

VENUES:
—

DC9                                            1940 9th St NW
Nellie’s Sports Bar                  900 U St NW
Vegetate                                    1414 9th St NW
Velvet Lounge                           915 U St NW
Dos Gringos                            3116 Mt Pleasant St NW
Gala Theatre                            3333 14th St NW
Red Rocks Pizza                     1036 Park Rd NW
Room 11                                   3234 11th St NW
Sticky Fingers Bakery             1370 Park Rd NW
Wonderland                             1101 Kenyon St NW
Asylum                                       2471 18th St NW
Bedrock Billiards                     1841 Columbia Rd NW
Bossa Bistro Lounge              2463 18th St NW
Chief Ike’s Mambo Room      1725 Columbia Rd NW
Idle Times Book Store            2467 18th St NW
Tryst                                           2459 18th St NW
Caramel                                    1603 U St NW
Lee’s Flowers and Cards      1026 U St NW
Mocha Hut                                 1301 U St NW
Polly’s Cafe                               1342 U St NW
Solly’s u street tavern              1942 11th St NW
Vinoteca                                    1940 11th St NW
Cafe Tropé                                2100 P St NW
DC Café                                     2035 P St NW
Soho Tea and Coffee              2150 P St NW
Stars Bistro                               2120 P St NW
Tangysweet Yougurt  Bar      2029 P St NW
Garden District                         1801 14th St NW
Playbill Café                             1409 14th St NW
Timothy Paul Bedding            1529A 14th St NW
Universal Gear                        1529B  14th St NW
ARCH Training Center            1231 & 1227 Good Hope Rd SE
Baked and Wired                     1052 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Big Bear Café                           1700 First St NW
Mocha Ground                          4706 14th St NW
Warehouse                               1021 7th Street NW

ARTISTS
—

Giamoco Abrusci
Ken Ashton
James Calder
Daniel Cima
Jason Colston
Brett Davis
Thomas Drymon
Elsie Dwyer
Josh Gibson
Steve Goldenberg
Jason Gottlieb
Kyle Gustafson
Justin Harris
Linda Hesh
Justin Hoffmann
Seth  Kaplan
Angela Kayklers
Angela Kleis
Brian Knights
Marie Kwak
Bridget Sue Lambert
Pamela Leahigh
Jeffrey Lear
Martin Locraft
Dale Lowery
Cesar Lujan
Pat Padua
Linda Plaisted
Mark Planisek
Michael Platt
Drew Porterfield
Katy Ray
Bruce Robey
Lisa Rosenstein
Julie Seiwell
Kerri Sheehan
Myrna Smernoff
Matthew Smith
Parikha Solanki Mehta
Paivi Solonan
Michael Starghill
Linda Strating
Sanjay Suchak
Ira Tattelman
Raul Valda
John Thurman
Jack Whitsitt
Pete Van Vleet
Amber Wiley
Ken Wyner

Hey all!

I’m going to be showing some data visualizations at the My Space on 7th art show in Washington, DC starting Friday, July 11 at the Touchstone Gallery! Everyone should come out. I took a look at the space and there’s some interesting work hanging already. (And I have to thank Paige, here, who unintentionally helped me decide what to show…but more on that in a later post.)

Oh. And there will be wine tasting opening night.

There will be three old, but reworked images and one new one created just for this show.  Only one has ever been printed before and they all look pretty fantastic.

The new one consists of two superimposed graphs (a paraplot and a scatterplot) of illegitimate traffic going to/from “jackwhitsitt.com” (that would be, uh, most of it).

The three older ones are:

Destination Port Traffic Volume (global sample)

(Test Data from custom developed SEM correlation  modules)

(Pcap data from 10,000 spam emails)

It’s that time of year again! Artomatic is coming up soon! Wait what? Didn’t we just do this last year? It’s hard to believe but it’s true. DC’s mammoth do-it-your-way art event is with us again and far earlier than expected. At last year’s Artomatic, 500 or so artists graced a run down office building in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. This year, 1000 artists are taking over a not-yet-used office building in NE DC right next to the New York Ave Redline Metro stop. And yes, that’s 1,000, 1k, one thousand artists – twice as many as last year. And, unlike last year’s rat-maze (which was fun, but not conducive to finding art), the spaces are much more wide open and visible

Obviously, if I’m posting about it here I must have some interest in it, and I do. Not only am I showing, but my wife Paivi will be there as well. This will be her first art show of any kind and she’ll have some pretty damn cool photographs on display that she put together just for Artomatic. Angela and she (intentionally) grabbed spaces next to each other and are both across from my own space on the 8th floor (come see us!). Angela will be showing (unless she changes her mind) a collection of her more surreal, dreamlike photographs. I’m really a big fan of those and am looking forward to seeing them at the show.

As for myself, Artomatic did approach me to ask about another Second Life installation, but – as much as I would like to – my job/habitation situation (maybe more on that later) is really preventing me from investing a lot of time elsewhere for long periods of time. But, as sad as that might be, it leaves me free to do something a little different.

Over the past year, my friendship with Angela and Paivi’s newfound love for old, cool cameras (and her subsequent lusty relationship with photography in general) has resulted in a complete alteration in my approach to art. Rather than drawing, I’ve taken up the banner of the camera as well (as should be obvious from this blog and my flickr stream).

But there’s more to it than that. I enjoy a lot about photography in and of itself – I get a great deal of personal satisfaction from it – but unfortunately, it will never be “my art”. As an artdc-er not-so-nicely pointed out (I’m looking at you starvingartistdc!), most of what I’ve done in the art the past few years (installations and Second Life excepted) hasn’t been….art. Instead, I’ve considered almost everything I’ve done since my return to doing creative things for fun (specifically the Joy Division piece in Chicago circa 2001) to be technical training. In order to be able to express myself, I couldn’t be getting hung up on details of execution. It would distract me too much. I can recall very few instances where I’ve set out to create art for art’s sake for a long time.

Recently, however (and getting back to the point), I’ve felt like I’ve reached a stage where I can -start- looking again at the art of the work. I’m in a place where I might be able to combine the expressiveness of my teenage years with the technical restraint and maturity I’ve gained since Chicago. I’m not saying I’m any good or you will like my work, only that the mental and emotional viewpoint I maintain on my own work has changed.

This is the opportunity that Artomatic presents to me this year and which I hope to take advantage of.

Everyone, come to check out my new work and see the rest of the great art this year at Artomatic.

It’ll be a circus! Come, have fun!

Details:

—–

Artomatic Comes to NoMa May 9–June 15, 2008

Updated Mon, 04/21/2008 – 10:49pm

For immediate release: March 19, 2008

Artomatic media contact: Marina Reiter, 202-271-4748
NoMa BID media contact: Leslie Braunstein, 703-234-7762

Up to 1,000 artists and 50,000 visitors expected in D.C.’s most exciting new neighborhood

The NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) will host this year’s Artomatic, the Washington, D.C. area’s homegrown art extravaganza. From May 9 through June 15, 2008, up to 1,000 local and regional artists will exhibit their works on eight floors of the Capitol Plaza 1 building, located at 1st and M Streets, N.E., just one block from the New York Avenue Metro station.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished indoor space into an exciting and incredibly diverse arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays and sales by hundreds of artists, the event features free musical, dance, and theater performances; holiday celebrations; films; educational presentations; and much more.

This year’s Artomatic, occupying 200,000 square feet at Capitol Plaza 1, will be the largest to date. Designed by renowned architect Shalom Baranes and owned by an affiliate of The Polinger Company, Capitol Plaza 1 offers 293,000 rentable square feet of Class A office space, with dramatic Capitol and city views from the upper floors.

“We are thrilled to partner with Artomatic in an event that will bring tens of thousands of people to NoMa,” said Elizabeth Price, president of the NoMa BID. “It is a great opportunity to showcase the transformation that is underway in NoMa and infuse it with the energy and creativity of the artistic community.”

“Artomatic has come back to its roots in D.C. with our largest event ever,” said George Koch, Chair of Artomatic. “We are excited about our partnership with the NoMa BID and their help in bringing this new space to our attention. Artomatic 2008 will have an abundance of exhibit and performance space that will be open to all — from recognized artists to undiscovered talents.”

###

About the NoMa BID:
NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested almost $2 billion in 2007–2008 alone, with plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at www.nomabid.org.

Image Artists (top left to bottom right):
Video Installation by Angela Kleis, Paivi Salonen and Jack Whitsitt,
Mixed Media Sculpture by Gabriel Kulka,
Gelatin Silver Print by Vickie Fruehauf.

Come party Day of the Dead style, with art, workshops, altars, music, spoken word, dancing, marigolds and the souls of the departed when the Art Outlet presents “Ofrenda: Art for the Dead” from 3 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, October 13.

Bring an offering to our two artist-designed altars. Come dressed Day of the Dead style, design a sugar skull, and enjoy the art and music.

Artists:
Zulma Aguiar, Michael Auger, Joshua Barlow, Jennifer Beinhacker, Alison Christ, Andrea Collins, Rosemary Feit Covey, Jared Davis, Roni Freeman, Jenny Freestone, Vickie Fruehauf, Susan Gardiner, Angela Kleis, Gabriel Kulka, Emily Liddle, Rob Lindsay, Bono Mitchell, Thomas Paradis, Marina Reiter, Paivi Salonen, Marina Starkova, Henrik Sundqvist, Jack Whitsitt

Schedule:
Day of the Dead Workshop: Sugar Skulls 3 – 5 p.m.
Mariachi Band 5 – 6 p.m.
Film Screening by Zulma Aguiar 6:15 – 6:30 p.m.
(Humanitarian Water – a short film about US/Mexican border issues.)
Mud Pie 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Flo Anito 8 – 9 p.m.
Special Guest Appearance by Inspyra 10:30 pm
(Founder of Capital Fire Arts)
Yoko K. 10 p.m. – Midnight
Location:
2925 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
(Right next Mexicali Blues Restaurant & Bar)

Directions:
By Metro: Take the orange line and exit at the Clarendon Metro stop. Walk down 1 1/2
blocks on Wilson Boulevard. “Ofrenda – Art for the Dead” will be on your left.
By Car: Park in the garage at the corner of Highland Street and Wilson Boulevard. It’s free on weekends.

Ofrenda Installation First Glance

Originally uploaded by sintixerr

This image is a shot I took of Angela standing next to our Ofrenda installation project for the Day of the Dead / Dia De Los Muertos show in Clarendon / Arlington this Saturday (10/13) at Mexicali Blues. Tonight was the first night people had to install their art and it almost turned into a mini show opening! So many people walking by on the street stopped to look, come in, talk, and take postcards out with them. If this traffic is any indication, the show is going to be a wild success.

There is some other outstanding art already there – stuff that moves, stuff that glows, wood cuts, altars, stuff that lights up. There will be music, workshops, and fun. Everyone should stop by – even if you plan on hitting the artdc.org show as well, there’s time to do both!

I meant to write this up for Lynne (aka theartmonkey on artdc.org) for a DCist piece she was doing, but travel preparations got in the way.

Basically, it’s great. Opening night was the fist time I’ve been to an art opening where I felt relaxed, amused, was around friendly and happy people, felt the show was well run, and really liked the art – all at the same time. Other events have been fun, but stressful, Some have had great art but made me want to pull my teeth out and use them to self-mutilate my skin out of raging boredom.

When Flux happened, it was called an Art Sensory Overload – and it was! It was fantastic. The in your face flood of input was perfect and was what most shows lack. But it was in a big space. There were big pieces.  There were bands. This is all great and I freaking love it, but those types of salon events aren’t –relaxing-. And the Wall Mountables show definitely is.

Just in case you doubt the objectivity of my own reactions to it, though (I mean, I am participating in it), I bring to your attention my 16 year old sister. Previously, we had brought this 4.x GPA local soccer star to the Modernism exhibit at the Corcoran. She had little to say to that and actually ended up falling asleep. Her friends took her to the Air and Space museum, but they couldn’t take it and ended up spending most of their time in the café there. When, however, she walked into the DCAC show, she positively beamed. And it didn’t stop there. As more and more people came in twice, three, even four times her age, the smile got even larger. She slowly walked the room, taking in each artist’s pieces one by one – individually. A number of times, I caught her staring intently at pieces with her mouth slightly open. It took her a good 30 minutes to make it through the entire room. By way of comparison, it only took us an hour to go through the entire Modernism exhibit. The difference was night and day.  Later on, shes surprised me with some remarkable answers when I asked her which pieces she enjoyed the most.

What was different? What caused this…this…honest enjoyment of an art show? Obviously, the artists deserve a lot of the credit. Much of the work at the show is fun to look at and really well done. But, let’s be honest – “Bodies”, this is not.  There was little “cutting edge” material (whether you define that in content, technique, or process terms). The DCAC also were a large part of the enjoyable atmosphere and overall experience – they really seemed to have their shit together. What I also think contributed (and Im showing my biases here) was the small venue with floor to ceiling art. If they had tripled or doubles the size of the venue, but kept the same amount of art, the effect just wouldn’t be the same.  This is a concept I often have trouble communicating to others. I believe that an art show/opening is a production. It’s a piece of art in and of itself. I honestly don’t remember the names of any of the artists there whom I didn’t already know (including the participant who really loved my work), but I remember the feel of the whole show as a single experience. And venue selection is a huge, huge part of making that work.

Some will say that to really get a good art experience, it needs to be curated. I disagree. If you create the appropriate presentation vehicle (building feel, size, locations, advertising, artists’ callouts, press), then a salon-style art event like Wall Mountables will always catch the soul and human joy of art that constantly seems to get lost at more…clinically designed shows. In one case, you make 16 year old girls smile and laugh and talk about art. In the other, you attract commodities traders and inspire kids to be accountants.

h