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

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=84CS5oJp5Cc]

I haven’t blogged in a couple of weeks and didn’t think this is what I’d be writing about first, but so-be-it!

I filmed and edited this video of Artomatic’s “Art in Fashion” show last Saturday. It was a lot of fun – a good cap to the party-in-the-rain capital pride parade (which isn’t my thing, but Paivi and I went because that sort of event is always done with good humour and fun). 

The voice Ive mixed in to the song (obnoxiously at first – dont worry, after the first minute or so it quiets down) is of Andrea Collins shouting “Don’t you think the hotter the better??” (It was funny to me at the time)

Enjoy.

Just to let everyone know, Rebecca famous (and infamous, I hear) asked Angela and I to help out with moderation of the Artomatic forums on artdc (probably because we’re -always- there gabbing). That’s cool.

She actually said the funniest thing in her email to me:

What I really like best about what you do on the forums is get people to think and interact instead of flame and run. And you both do so with much humor, but with the all important “go fuck yourself” at the ready. We appreciate that.

That’s a compliment, right? Right?

Anyway, there’s a lot of good information about Artomatic and DC art in general on the board, so if you haven’t visited, you should. Becoming a member is free.

Check it out here:

http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?board=37.0

First, I finished the python code I was working on that will allow two -color- images to be merged into one color mosaic. The color transformations it has to make to fit in the smaller picture to the larger one seem to result in some pretty wild effects – I’m digging it. I’ll clean up the code and post it here tomorrow.

As far as social stuff goes: Angela Kleis’s blogger night at Artomatic was pretty cool. I don’t want to post a lot of thoughts on that yet (I will tomorrow), but it did reinforce the fact that a lot of event management will have to be done at the June 6th ArtDC Artist’s tour dinner. Unfortunately, people have short attention spans and the time each artist speaks will have to be managed and expectations set ahead of time. 5 minutes seems to be about the “max”. We’ll have to bring a timer or something. It’s going to be a -really- interesting night, though, and a lot of fun.

More info on the upcoming dinner can be found in this thread:

http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?topic=8997.0

Pictures of Blogger’s Night can be found here in a set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sintixerr/sets/72157605133432629/

Finally, Erin Antognoli took a couple of great shots of my space while I talked about it to what was left of the crowd:

Last night was fantastic. It started off kind of quiet, but even at 6-something, plenty of people were milling about. The number of people there was perfect. Enough to feel well-attended on all 9 floors, but not so many that you couldn’t move around.

Early on, I had a lovely conversation about art, politics, technology, cataloging, and other sundry topics for about 20 minutes with a woman whom I found out later was a friend of Rebecca.

Not many of my most recent “friends” made an appearance, but I did see quite of few of my old and good ones. Justin Marino, for example, and his girlfriend were there. It was funny, but in the time (years?) they’ve been together, this is only the 2nd time I’ve met her and I was wearing the same scary paisley shirt in both cases, heh.

Similarly, another friend – again, Justin-Bryce – came to chat for awhile. Justin and I grew up near to each other in Daytona Beach Florida, met at Duke University during a middle school summer program, and have had many various adventures together. We’ve even worked for the same company here in DC. Twice. His girlfriend is actually on artdc (which I found out last night) as craftpunk….whom Id had suspicions about, but no confirmation

This was the first time Id seen Justin since he became one of only 45+ people since 1950 to cut his esophagus open swallowing a sword.

Throughout the evening, I was entertained and interested in watching people interact with my art and really As more and more people cam by, I started seeing a pattern. Some of them saw the “big” picture. Others just saw the small ones. So, I put some tape down on the floor in the shape of a “1″. Then made a straight line of tape closer to the piece with a “2″. The reaction to the piece was SO much more interactive after I did that and the response improved even further. (Ill post a pic of that Wed of this week.)

Notables:

• A couple didnt want to buy my piece, but asked if I did commission work and enthusiastically repeated (more than once) that they’d be in touch. I doubt they well, but I was happy to have that kind of interest.
• One girl walked up and down my tape line then went to grab 5 other people to bring them and show them the piece from another side of the floor completely.
• One couple spent 5 minutes just talking about it.
• Etc.

The best time, though, was spent with Secret Sean, Kerri, Brad, Erin, Michael, and other artdc’ers. Secret Sean and Kerri, and particular, spent a great deal of time with us. It really made the night.

(Especially on the metro on the way home. Because….thats the way we roll)

We also made a stop at Miss 5 NE C3′s space to see what kind of art she had brought to the table (after she trashed -everyone else’s art- at Artomatic. It’s too bad her attitude was so bad, I would’ve thought better of the art. (Can find the thread here: http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?topic=9112.20)

Two nights ago, Paivi, Angela, and I worked our second Artomatic volunteer shift together.

I got to look at my installation finally that night in a variety of lighting conditions and Im -really- happy with how the plastic helped out. It doesnt prevent the glare completely, but it does fix it from all the important angles.

It was also definitely still satisfying to watch people look at the installation from a distance. They’d look at it from 15 feet away. Walk up to it. Move back. Walk up to it. Interact with it…too cool.

We came in beforehand so Paivi and Angela could talk to Paul (britishink…I didnt have much to say, though, I was zoning out for whatever reason – sorry! ) and we got to roam around for a bit. Waved at Danny and the crew manning the blood drive (sorry I didnt give, lost track of time…I was a bit distracted when I arrived). Saw jennifer, who was fun to talk to as always…

And we saw Tracy‘s piece beforehand as well, which I honestly liked a lot. As I’ve said things about Tom’s partition resonated with me, so did Tracy’s. I think using pieces from one’s life and arranging them into art can be dramatically effective, as hers was. Particularly (and Im not sure this was intentional), but she had a lot of materials there from her childhood….things that smelled like everyone’s childhood does after it’s been sitting in a box or the attic for decades. That made the installation tangible and personal, to me. It enhanced the impact and created a connection to the piece that wouldn’t have been there otherwise (for myself).

On shift, I helped out Barry with lighting (and worked it on my own for most of the shift) and worked as an errand boy in between problems. I -really- enjoyed this shift a lot more than the last one and felt I made some more concrete impact on the event. I enjoy solving problems – mine or others’. I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of which floors had which lighting problems other than to say there is probably a short or something odd on the 6th floor that makes it markedly different from the others.

I took care of issues on 5, 6, and 8 at least. If you had a problem on another floor which wasn’t resolved, I apologize – I didnt hear about it. (Someone told me the THIRD floor had an issue. Uh. Yeah. It would )

Did some trash duty…found out Aaron is in a similar profession to mine ….and did other odds and ends. At some point, a guy who had seen my piece started gushing over how good it was to meet me. I didnt really know how to respond to that.

I also met Angela’s 5th floor volunteer-mate, Ann Saybolt, who was nice, conversational, and has some photos up on 5 that I particularly like.

At the end of the shift, I transitioned lights over to one of the incoming volunteers that indicated he’d had lighting/electrical experience.

We roamed around a few floors for awhile, but I was a bit too gone to remember much of it by then….Paivi pointed out -her- volunteer-mate’s (they were on one of the 1st floor bars) photos on 8. Some of them were from the south pole, where he took a job there for 4 months just to be able to go there and take pictures. The south pole ones were cool, but that guy had THE BEST picture of Burning Man I’ve ever seen. Really, it’s fantastic. First name was Pat…8th floor…can’t remember the rest. Try and check that piece out if you can.