Contemporary - Pulitzer

Contemporary: Local Artist Opps

Tomorrow is the deadline for both the Great Rivers Biennial and Open Studios. I'm really looking forward to seeing how many local artists will be taking the opportunity to participate in these two programs.  Open Studios is looking like it's doubled in attedence from last year - with a suprising amout of new artists signed up.  We're also working on organizing a number of tours throughout the city - we'll have bike tours, walking tours, self-guided tours, and tours arranged by medium/theme, etc.  We're in need of lots of interested parties who might want to volunteer during the event - and helping the public connect with local artists and see the wealth of art being created right here in our own city. As for the Great Rivers Biennial, we should have the results from our jury in less than two months and we'll be able announce the artists selected to have an exhibition at the Contemporary (who will also receive a $20,000 award - each).  Exciting.  Artists: check out the artist opportunities page on our website for information on these two programs - and our other ongoing programs for artists, Flat Files and Visiting Critics and Curators. (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: The Precociousness of the "Primitive"

"Critics are always talking about this and that influence on Matisse's work.  Well, the influence on Matisse when he painted this work ["Portrait of Marguerite," 1907] was his children, who had just started to draw.  Their naive drawings fascinated him and completely changed his style.  Nobody realizes this, and yet it's one of the keys to Matisse."  (Picasso to John Richardson, 1962)

Last week, at the Bruno David Gallery, it was the students of St. Michael School who taught the lessons.  Their gallery-spanning watercolors allowed visitors to develop an informed idea of what youthful drawing is all about.  To me, it seemed to be about the artist stimulating his or her own imagination.  Whether the students' efforts were playful or willful, their works were always sites of discovery.  The pictures invented stories, revisited experiences, or were themselves the residue of some experiment. 

Of course, it's difficult not to see children's drawings through the lens of modern art.  Because of artists like Picasso and pictures like "Portrait of Marguerite," mentioned above, naiveté often resembles sophistication.

Yet one of the things that struck me about the SMS watercolors was that they didn't look half as genuinely naive as Picasso and Matisse had led me to expect (i.e. the modern masters created children's drawings that look more childish than the real thing!).  Looking closely, you could tell that many of the children had assimilated certain models: there was a dog the same breed as Snoopy, birds the same breed as Toucan Sam.  And one picture could have been titled "Self-portrait in the Manner of Whoever Draws Dora the Explorer"!  So interesting.  The children had devoured aspects of art by adults--some of which is (ironically) based on the art of children--to make their own statments.  Looking at their watercolors, at times, it was like watching someone learn to talk--fluently.  (Camran)

Contemporary: A View from The Front

So, I was asked today to write my first official blog.  So, where do I begin?  I guess I couldn’t properly give my perspective of the CAMSTL without telling you who I am, or what I do.  So… My name I Cole and I’m the Special Events Coordinator/Install crew/ front desk/gift shop guy.  If you’ve been to the Contemporary chances are you’ve seen me.  Maybe I told you that you can’t have a drink in the galleries, or maybe I’ve shut the lights off on you while you were taking your time leaving after a Select Night, regardless I’m usually here.  Now I can’t lie and say that I would have attended all of the events that we have here if I didn’t work here, but it’s odd that the events that I don’t really look forward to are often the best.  I don't know if it’s the fact that I get to learn about subjects that are necessarily appealing to me or that I get to meet people from a variety of interests, but I do know that we are never run out of things to do here.  From openings to lectures, from parties to poetry readings, sometimes it seems like we have something different every night of the week, but really I don’t think we would have it any other way.  For us it is all about getting new people and old friends together, sharing art, ideas, and maybe a couple drinks for a good time. (Cole Root, Special Events Coordinator)

The Pulitzer: Celebration

Camran, the Pulitzer's curatorial assistant, worked closely with the St. Michael School on their program and putting together this week's culminating event.  Here's a post from him about the evening. His post is also featured on the St. Michael School blog on our main website.  As a side note, this blog will be off for the Memorial Day holiday, but we'll be back in business next Tuesday.  Have a good weekend!  (Rachel)

Tuesday night the Pulitzer and the Bruno David Gallery hosted an open house to celebrate the results of the Pulitzer's educational partnerships with the St. Michael School and Shaw Elementary.  It was a great success and, in my opinion, a lot of fun.  The Bruno David Gallery, which presented student artwork inspired by field trips to the Pulitzer, is right across the street from the Pulitzer, so you could see the students' art and their artistic inspirations all together.  If you were a student, a teacher, a parent, or in any way involved with the realization of the event, it was hard not to feel a sense of pride as you walked between the two buildings.

I'll write more about the event--especially the students' fascinating artwork-- next week.  (Having pushed pins into 100+ watercolors, I got a very good look at each individual work!)  For now: pictures!  (Camran)

Contemporary: Gallery Walk and More...

Hello everyone!  This is Umberto the intern once again, coming to you from the offices of the Contemporary.  It has been a crazy couple of weeks, what with the Arts Desire art auction and the Katie Holton and Shoot the Family exhibitions opening back-to-back.   The numbers are in, and it looks like we made our projected budget for the art auction.  But I'll let Jen fill you in on that more later.  And now tomorrow is the Grand Center Gallery Walk.  We sure hope to see many of you at the walk.  It should be informative as well as fun.  There will be a horse-drawn carriage and trolleys to take people from venue to venue, with street performers and wine tastings at almost all the sites.  It will be a great way to relax and spend a leisurely, beautiful Friday night.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in my blog that the last day of my internship would be the evening of the art auction --- wrong!  I took a week off after the auction to get some renovation projects done around the house, but now I'm back and I am finding it hard to leave.  The staff here is so great to work with, we are more like family. So I will be working on an off all summer if Erinn Gavaghan needs me.   I will be going to Mexico for a month from mid-June to mid-July for a Spanish-intensive program at the University of Guadalajara.   I will be staying with a family there, so I better brush up on Spanish or I'll be doing a lot of sign language.

When I get back from Mexico, the Contemporary will be kicking off our Second Annual Open Studios Exhibition, July 17-24.  We will have a preview here at the museum on July 17th, lasting throughout the week.  The actual Open Studios Weekend will be July 21-22, when patrons will be able to follow a map to the studios of local area artists.  Judging from some of the donations in the recent art auction, St. Louis has a mother-lode of talented artists.  It should be an exciting weeklong exhibition.

There will be a lot of events planned in and around St. Louis for art lovers, and most of it is free.  So keep yourself posted so you don't miss anything!

The Pulitzer: Student Portraits

Tonight is finally the "Schools at the Pulitzer" event with Shaw and St. Michael.  In case you haven't read my past posts on this program, elementary age students from each school have been creating portrait art works, inspired by the exhibition at the Pulitzer.  These works are on view across the street at the Bruno David Gallery.  I just got back from a sneak peek, and I gotta say -- it's AMAZING.  The talent and creativity of these kids is absolutely incredible, and the show has been installed perfectly.  I have a few teaser photos for you to see below.  After the program is over, we're going to work on putting their artworks and photos from the event online in a mini-exhibition catalogue.  So stay tuned for that.

  Here's a view of hundreds of portraits running the length of the gallery. It was fun to see what each student chose to represent in their work.

These you really have to see in person.  The students picked a favorite art historical portrait, and posed like that particular work of art.  The lighting, costumes, frames (which the students decorated) are unbelievable.   (Rachel)

Contemporary: Gallery Hopping

This Friday is the Grand Center Gallery Walk - I believe it's our 3rd or 4th one now.  I'm proud to say that Rachel at the Pulitzer and I planted the seed that has now grown to be quite the event.  More than 12 galleries in Grand Center will be open on Friday afternoon and evening, along with a few restaurants offering discounts and some activity on the streets.  What I'm excited about (and still in the middle of planning) is a little behind-the-scenes gallery hop with our Director Paul Ha. He's agreed to lead a small group of ArtLinkers (our Young Friends group) through the contemporary art galleries to meet their directors. We're starting with ours - and highlighting our Flat Files programs (the educational piece is to show that you can start collecting now) and then we'll make our way to the art galleries to speak to gallerists about the work they sell, how to talk to a gallerist and what options are available for those who wish to purchase art - then we'll end at the new Pace Framing shop, which just moved to Grand Center and talk about how art work is framed. It's kind of the second -half of the 'creation story' - what to do with art after it's made and offered for sale.  Then, in July, we'll get a glimpse at the first-half of this story - when we host Open Studios and we can visit with artists and hear them talk about how they work, while we see where they do what they do. It'll be a great way to demystify the contemporary art world.

Ah, and did anyone happen to go to Hartford Coffee Company to see Free Candy last night?  The talk show is witty, comical, and informative.  Paul was on to speak about contemporary art, our mission, and our current exhibtion. He was also joined by the owner of the soon-to-be open grocery store featuring local products opening near Tower Grove Park, and a fabulous mind that has organized free movies to be shown outdoors in various venues - meant to construct community, conversation, and a good reason to enjoy popcorn outside  (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Back from AAMing

So, I'm back in STL after a week's worth of AAM conferencing in Chicago.  I had a great time, there were some pretty good sessions, and of course, it's always nice just visiting Chi-town.  My co-worker Elise, who's the assistant registrar here at the Pulitzer, went also and between the two of us, I think we covered a LOT.   I'll try to coerce her to write something soon about some of the registrar-esque things she's learned (I know she'll be really excited about this...).

I noticed this year there seemed to be more website sessions than usual (or maybe I just went to more), but
overall you could tell that the importance of the web to museums is really taking hold.  Last year there was a blog session (though there wasn't any this time, which was too bad) and this year, there were mulitple sessions talking about web 2.0 and the growing trend of user participation on museum websites.  One of these sessions created a blog about the topic, if you're interested in taking a look.  They also have a nice sidebar of links to various examples of user participation -- some of them were new to me (I thought the Tate's "Write your own label" section was an interesting idea).  Anyway, check it out and I'll write more about AAM as I think of things!  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Shoot the Family

Staff, docents and gallery attendants are currently getting a tour of the Shoot the Family exhibition which opens tomorrow night along with Katie Holten's Paths of Desire. Shoot the Family is an interesting photography exhibition - it's touring and the work of 15 international artists will be at the Contemporary for its time here.  The commonality throughout the exhibition is that each artist portrays the relationship between him/herself and the concept of family. Several photographs are self-portraits, others are photographs of family members - video are included as well. The tour began with Susan Cahan (Professor of Art History, UMSL and consultant for interpretive texts with iCI, the organizer of the exhibition) opening a discussion on the the title "Shoot the Family." She commented how our local NPR station has been referring to the exhibition as "Shot the Family"  rather than "Shoot the Family" and she considers how the title may be uncomfortable for many. Is avoiding the use of the word "shoot" subconscious?  How does it relate to recent events in world? What does it mean to pair the action "shoot" with "family"? Someone had mentioned the advertisements that were airing to me yesterday and I called the NPR station to have the radio spot corrected.  I discovered the mistake was due to a type error into the traffic system. So, back to Susan's point - was it a simple error due to reading copy too quickly or was it something more? Who knows?  It was probably a simple mistake. But you might consider how much do our families affect our actions, our characteristics, our mannerisms, and our thoughts? Where does the public 'cozy' image of family meet with the private behind-closed-doors family picture? The images in this exhibition may bring these questions to mind - and I'm sure they will bring a number of other questions to consider as well. There are strong, powerful images in the exhibition that will certainly relate to experiences and ideas we have about what it means to be family. I hope you'll be able to join us sometime over the next several months to consider this work.  Reminder: Opening Night is tomorrow (Friday) at 7pm.  (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: First Impressions

As we prepare for our next exhibition, Water, I’ve been revisiting some of the existing statements about water in the Pulitzer’s building.  William J.R. Curtis’s “Spaces Between” (2001), the first essay devoted the Pulitzer building, still offers some of the best.  Many of the points we plan to elaborate in the upcoming show are already apparent there.  He writes

'For Ando, water is another building material, a surface to be looked at and through.  Reflecting and transparent, it combines the poetry of reverie with the practical function of filtering light into interiors through windows placed low down in the side walls flanking the pool.  But water is a mental substance as well, and he uses it to hint at the visible and invisible forces in the natural world.  Water registers the passage of breezes, the cycle of the seasons, the changing position of the sun throughout the day.  It supplies a horizontal “datum” and a surface like a mirror.  It also brings the sky down into the building suggesting a vast, ambiguous space.'

The exhibition opens July 20.  Just two short months away! (Camran)

Contemporary: A Weird Carnival

Cole, our Events Coordinator, just pointed out that the Sunday following Arts Desire, the Contemporary's biennial gala left quite an impression on the street.  A mixture of Tiffany boxes, Campbell soup cans, and Bud Select bottles lined the street, underneath the great impression of a huge white tent - stretching from one side of Spring Ave to the other.  All were saved and recycled. . .the Tiffany boxes may be used at an upcoming Family Day (focusing on recycling and environmental issues), the Campbell soup cans went to a local charity providing food to those affected by AIDS and cancer, and the Bud Select bottles were picked up by a local company who recycles aluminum cans.  We imagine that passerby thought that a strange carnival had been celebrated over the weekend, leaving only traces of stories to be told. And, we do have a story to tell!  We raised more revnue for our exhibitions and education program than any event in our fundraising history! That's quite an accomplishment.  Final totals are still be tallied, but let's say it's good and I'll share our numbers later. In the meanwhile, Katie Holten, whose first solo museum exhibition will open this Friday at the Contemporary, is busily working on the Missouri Oak she is constructing in the gallery out of museum recycled materials (as mentioned before, we seem to have plenty).  Please plan to join us in celebrating Katie Holten's opening as well as the opening of Shoot the Family, a traveling exhibition of cotnemporary photography - this Friday.  (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Road Trip 3

Looking at paintings in books is nothing like looking at paintings in real life, but with sculpture the difference can be even worse.  So how about a road trip just for sculpture?  Try the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska. The collection includes Medardo Rosso's "Jewish Boy" in wax (c. 1892-93), Brancusi's "Princess X" in marble (1909-16), and Richard Serra's "Greenpoint" in steel (1988).  And that's just the beginning.  There's Heizer, Lewitt, Truitt...and a Philip Johnson building to boot!

Getting there: take I-70 W (200 miles) to I-435 N (30 miles) to I-29 N (120 miles) to IA-2 W (50 miles), which becomes 10th Street. From there, go right on O Street and left on N. 12th Street.  The museum is at the corner of 12th & R.  Total time: 6.5 hours. (Camran)

Contemporary: On Campbells and Art

A follow-up on Campbell's Soup. We've had to empty more than 50 cans of soup (rumor has it that the total has approached 100 cans).  And of course, we couldn't let it go to waste, so several staff members found excellent recipes that have been used this week to provide staff lunches as we prepare for the BIG event: Arts Desire (tomorrow).  Erinn made Tomato Bisque.  It was delicious. I really can't distract her from auction duties, so I can't share that recipe, but I can share an excellent recipe for gazpacho that Katherine put to the test this week:

Blender Gazpacho

The blender gazpacho makes instant work of this cold Spanish soup. Since gazpacho improves with age, make it ahead of time whenever possible. Although the olive oil is optional in this recipe, it adds real dimension to the flavor and texture of the soup. Even if you leave it out of the gazpacho, drizzle a tad on top at serving time.

6 servings

2 pounds of rip tomatoes - peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped, or one 28 ounce can best-quality plum tomatoes, chopped; 1 medium onion, preferably a sweet variety such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, coarsely chopped; 1 large cucumber, peeled; 1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped; 1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped; 2 scallions, coarsely chopped; 3 garlic cloves; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 T. sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar; 1-2 t. hot pepper sauce, 1 t. ground cumin; 1/2 to 1 c. chilled tomato juice (Contemporary's substitution of 1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup and water); salt and freshly ground black pepper; croutons, chopped fresh herbs, sliced scallions or diced avocado, for garnish.

1. In a large bowl, stir together the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, bell peppers, scallions and garlic. Working in 2 cup batches, whirl the mixture in a blender until finely chopped but not pureed. Return the mixture to the bowl and stir in the oil, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, and cumin. Add enough of the cold tomato juice (or soup!) to make the gazpacho soupy (see it works perfectly - mission accomplished), but not too thin. Season generously with salt and black pepper.

2. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the soup until very cold, at least a couple of hours or for up to 2 days. Stir the gazpacho and ladle it into bowl, or pour it at a table from a wide-mouth pitcher. Garnish with croutons, herbs, scallions or diced avocado.

And for our final preview of work for the auction, here's

Lucky DeBellevue
Study for Outdoor Sculpture, 2007
Wood and chenille stems
14 x 12 x 8 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Value: $4000

New York-based artist Lucky DeBellevue earned her BFA from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and her MFA from the University of New Orleans. Although originally a painter, DeBellevue had this to say about media: “I liked finding something to do with whatever was at home, and in my case, it was pipe cleaners, copper wire and garbage bag twisties.” From these ordinary objects, DeBellevue builds intricate sculptures which reveal her interest in the repetition and ritual of busywork. Recent solo exhibitions including Feature Inc., New York; Ingalls and Associates, Miami; the Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville; and the Roger Björkholmen Galleri in Stockholm, Sweden.

For info on more work in the auction, visit the website. (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Mais Oui!

As I've recently mentioned, each of our school programs has a culminating end-of-the-program event, where the students involved can showcase what they've been working on and everyone in the community is invited to come and participate.

Tonight is that event for our French program with Lindenwood University.  They'll be in our galleries, ready to talk about the art work on view.  However, the catch is, you have to know (at least a little) French to discuss the works with them.  My French is limited to being able to nod and say "oui" so if you can at least do that, you should come.  The students put together French descriptions of each of the works they'll be talking about.  Here's the one for Roni Horn's Asphere VIII in our Entrance Gallery. 

Roni Horn (née en 1955)
Asphère VIII, 1986-90

Acier solide
Collection Hauser et Wirth, Zurich

L’identité est une notion très importante à Roni Horn, qui définit Asphère VIII comme son autoportrait.  Il ne s’agit point d’une sphère parfaite, même si la première impression suggère le contraire.  Pendant les 5 ans de la création de cette œuvre, l’artiste a travaillé sur d’autres définitions de sa propre identité, comme The Odd Morphology of the Asphère.  Horn s’intéresse à l’idée de l’androgynie, alors, quand vous regardez l’oeuvre, pensez à comment elle peut être vue comme masculine et/ou féminine.

If you could understand at least 20% of this, then we'll see you from 5-7pm tonight. (Rachel)

Contemporary: Featured Auction Art

Today's Featured Art's Desire Contibuting artist is Alix Pearlstein. 

Alix Pearlstein
Distance (Wishbones), Production Still, 2007
Digital C-print
10 x 14 inches
Edition 1 of 5
Courtesy of the artist
Value:  $1200  Starting Bid:  $500     Buy it Now:  $1,500

New York-based artist Alix Pearlstein produces live performance art and captures these works on video and digital C-prints. Pearlstein’s work is done primarily against a white, void background which forces the viewer to concentrate on the action in the scene. The viewer is invited into Pearlstein’s laboratory where she examines human behavior, relationships, as well as social and business constructs. Exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Palm Beach, FL; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Arts Desire: The Art and Wine Auction is currently on exhibition at the Contemporary 10am - 5pm Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th.  The complete auction catalog can be view from the Arts Desire website:  www.contemporarystl.org/artsdesire07 Tickets can also be purchased for the After Party on the website.  Contact Erinn Gavaghan at 314-535-0770 x213 with questions or to place an absentee bid.

The Pulitzer: Shaw's Final Project

As promised, here's Tim's entry on the Cindy Sherman portrait session with Shaw....(Rachel):

We wrapped up this year's collaboration with Shaw Elementary V.P.A. with a final project. Historical portraits a la Cindy Sherman. Each student had selected a portrait from art history texts that they decided they wanted to emulate and we assisted them in finding appropriate costuming and props (the St. Louis Repertory Theater helped greatly with this). The photo shoot was done at the building Shaw is using during renovations of their school. We attempted to approximate the backgrounds in the original paintings, at least in style, applied make-up and manipulated lighting to aid in the illusions. What a huge amount of fun this turned out to be.

Our gallery assistants, Courtney, Amy, and Katy did amazing things with the costuming, hair and make-up while Natalee created magic with her camera. Special kudos must be given to Reba from the Rep's costume rental facility, she not only used an expert eye to find just the right clothes, wigs, jewelry, etc. but also brought her make-up kit and formidable abilities that were invaluable. Another assisting in this team effort was Gavin who "made-do" with whatever was at hand to create sets and assist Natalee's efforts.There was a feeling that we were doing something amazing the entire time. Even the channel 9 film crew were swept up into the theatrical nature of this activity, staying much longer than originally planned.

These portraits along with other student projects from both St. Michaels' School and Shaw V.P.A. will be on display for a one night gala opening at the Bruno David Gallery on Tuesday, May 22nd from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.  You'll have to come to the event to see the final product, but here's a photo of the one of the portraits being taken and the set-up.... (Tim).

Contemporary: Arts Desire

The Contemporary's biennial art auction is quickly approaching - this Saturday, in fact.  We have more than 140 works hanging in our space, all for sale, and you can come in, enjoy free admission, and bid away - all this week.  We thought this week, we could preview an artist and a piece of art work for those of you unable to be in St. Louis buying art (I will mention that you can buy online from our website).  Today's feature is: Judy Glantzman.

Untitled (witness), 2005
Oil on canvas
8 inch diameter
Courtesy of the artist and Betty Cunningham Gallery
Value: $1800

New York-based artist Judy Glantzman earned her BFA in painting at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Primarily made up of faces, eyes, shoulders, or hands, Glantzman constructs intense scenes full of movement and emotion.  In her artist statement, Glantzman explains her paintings as “A cacophony of voices desired to be heard, these paintings can be seen as the inside of my head made visible.”

Selected exhibitions include shows at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; P.S.1, Long Island City, New York; the Dactyl Foundation, New York; and the Frye Art Museum, Seattle. Glantzman’s artwork has been featured in Art in America, The New Yorker, Artnews, and Artforum.

The Pulitzer: "Joe", history portraits, and more to come

So I know I've been writing a lot lately about the elementary school programs happening at the Pulitzer, but as we're getting closer to the end-of-the-program event, it's been getting busier and busier around here with various visits and projects coming to a close.

Tim's going to be writing a post next week (if I can coerce him) about the Cindy Sherman style history portraits taken at the Shaw school.  Just WAIT until you see the end result of that photo session. Wow.  Camran has written lately about recent visits with the St. Michael kids, and two of them just updated their school blog with some nice thoughts on "Joe" in the courtyard.  Take a look here.  And here's another great photo of some St. Michael students trying to push Scott Burton's "Rock Settee".  One student was convinced he could move it because he was "pretty strong", after all.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: The transformation of an office

I’m usually neater that this, no really… I’m the kind of person who curates exhibitions with the postcards on her bulletin board (April’s theme was green things in celebration of Earth Day and artist Katie Holten’s arrival in STL) and makes it a point to display only black and silver pens in the silver mesh cup on her desk. That’s the cup that sits next to my Konstantin Grcic “Mayday” lamp…but lately things have gotten out of control! In addition to the sushi wind ups and my collection of functionally-specific drinking vessels—the Japanese teacup for tea, the ceramic NYC take-out coffee cup for coffee, and my goldfish emblazoned water glass, I’m now sharing my space with a sewing machine and yards of yellow felt and a pile of hot pink vinyl! Sew what? You might ask.  Well first of all, I can’t remember the last time I sewed anything… up until recently when I decided to transform one of our banners into a tote bag, and from there it was just a short leap to sewing a six foot yellow banana.  That’s right, a six foot stuffed banana, and it’s all in the line of duty. With any luck we’ll be debuting our tote bags in a DIY workshop for kids 8 and older at Family Day on Sunday May 20th and the banana is destined to hang over the bar at Arts Desire, our Art and Wine Auction on Saturday May 12th. The event has a factory theme and I’m basing my banana on the Warhol-designed Velvet Underground album cover. Can work be any more fun than this???? Now if I can only find the camera under all this mess! (Kathryn Adamchick, Director of Education)

The Pulitzer: Raindrops Keep Falling...

So, though we crossed our fingers as hard as we could, it still ended up raining last night for the Chelsea Girls screening.  No, not rained -- thunderstormed.  However, despite all the kinks, everything ended up working out perfectly. 

We held out until about 3pm on whether or not we'd move it inside (with lots of weather radar monitoring in the meantime -- I feel as though I could be a meterologist at this point).  We finally decided to move it indoors, and not a moment too soon.  The thunder started rolling in shortly after. 

Our neighbors at the Contemporary were amazing and completely saved the day -- they let us use their performance space as the rain location.  The set-up was perfect, and even with a huge storm, we completely packed the house.  We took some photos -- it was pretty dark in there, so they didn't turn out that great, but it gives you the idea:

Here's outside in the courtyard, where we would've screened the film:

Here's a look out the Contemporary's front door:

And here's a view of the space (with the two screens the film was projected on up front):

All in all, it was a great program, and makes us look forward to more film screenings in the near future (hopefully lots more!).  (Rachel)

Contemporary: 50 Things You Can Do With a Can of Campbell's

What can you do with a Campbell's Tomato Soup can? We have 500. Here's a few suggestions our staff came up with, .listed in the order they were received.

1. Use the soup to make "quick spaghetti". Boil a can of tomatoes, add the soup (Kathryn)

2. Finger-painting for kids (Kathryn)

3. Use the soup as a face-mask (Paul)

4. Make the can into a centerpiece at Arts Desire (yes, we're doing this)

5. Make the can famous (Warhol)

6. Tomato soup can races down Wash Ave (Erinn)

7. Use the can as a paperweight. (Josh)

8. Make a telephone (Josh)

9. Pieromanzoni did something with a can, but we're not sure what.

10. Roll dough. (Josh)

11. Punch holes, put in a candle, a poof! you have a latern (Rachel)

12. Is anyone getting married? (Rebecca)

13. Play kick the can. (Bruce)

11. Use it as a doorstop (Lisa)

12. Kathryn has a variety of recipes (Tomato Aspic Salad, anyone) that incorporate Campbell's Tomato Soup).  You can email her for suggestions.

13. Grow plants (Bruce)

Well, the list goes on.  We are using them as centerpieces for Arts Desire on May 12.  That evening, we'll let our Young Friends sponsor a can for $5 (they get to sign it) and then we donate all cans, regardless of sponsorship to Food Outreach so more can enjoy a good bowl of soup. (Jennifer)