I was at the Cleveland Institute of Art today to review the subtle "Home House Show" of green affordable housing and noticed across the street the extravagant, stony Cleveland Museum of Art expansion is really taking shape. While not scheduled to open until Summer 2008, contractors are already adding the skin to the East Wing and it is now possible to visualize what the finished product will look like. Most visually dominant, the surface of the addition is covered in marble that is similar to the light gray of the original 1916 Beaux-Arts building, transitioned with horizontal thin dark gray lines in a pattern lifted from the more recent 1971 Breuer addition, and the new structure is overall very much in that modern, brutal style. Still to come is all the glass, which should give the structure greater lightness. I now look forward to the end result.

As part of the "Home House Project," the Cleveland Institute of Art will host a panel discussion on "Sustainable, Affordable, Innovative Housing Design in Cleveland." Participants will include Cleveland City Planning Director Robert Brown; developer Nathan Zaremba; Columbus architects Beth Blostein and Bart Overly; and Jeffrey Bowen, director of the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity.

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Cleveland Institute of Art Reinberger Gallery Director Bruce Checefsky has a deep personal interest in green affordable housing, so I was not surprised to learn the CIA was hosting an exhibition on the subject. Still, when I had the pleasure to preview the show "The Home House Project", I was overwhelmed by the breadth and originality of the content. This is an innovative exhibition on innovation in planning, design, construction and architecture, which is timely and opportune to help this community move from generally bland, resource depleting sprawl to intelligent community redevelopment for an age of global conservation, smart planning, urban renewal and economic transformation. This show is all about visioning our new economy at its foundations, literally, as it explores 100s of concepts for building "green" affordable housing... the anti-McMansion show came to town, and it is fascinating.

A friend sent me the folllowing article from the Wall Street Journal, suggesting it may be an excellent model for Northeast Ohio. I'll plan to make a visit and report further some time I'm passing through Erie, which is frequently. In the mean time, this article paints the picture well, and makes a good case for "Rembrandt in the Rust Belt"

I was very pleased to be joined by the new Director of Development for East Cleveland, Tim Goler, last Monday, November 13, 2006, at the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council (GCLAC) Steering Committee meeting. Tim has an undergraduate degree in early child development, and has taught kindergarten and 4th grade, and he has a master's degree in urban planning from Cleveland State University, and has been active in that field, nationwide, including working in environmentalism in NEO. So, he is an excellent addition to the team in East Cleveland, and to the war against lead poisoning in our region. Short story, he has assured me East Cleveland is not intimidated by Sherwin-Williams suing them for suing the paint industry over the public nuisance of lead poisoning in that community, nor efforts of State Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, who hopes to tweak previously passed legislation that would prevent cities or anybody else from using the state’s public nuisance law to sue the lead pigment manufacturers - Tim Goler is in step with East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer and their law department in pursuing due process and justice and they will drive an aggressive battle against lead poisoning in this region.

Art House is a non-profit organization that helps professional artists and those who just enjoy  taking an art class every now and then. They offer reasonablely priced classes for people of all ages and abilities. The holiday sale is an annual event; this year expect to find jewelry, prints, ceramics, small paintings, handmade cards, bookmarks and more from local artists. You can even make it a family outing; free family art activities will be offered.

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Start your holiday shopping at MOCA this Friday and Saturday. Find the coolest gifts, support our very talented local artists and our great contemporary museum-- much better than shopping at the mall!

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Over the past few months, Phillip Williams and I have been working with one of the world's most important art galleries, Material Matters Contemporary Glass Gallery, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to develop their virtual community. The site has been up for about a month now, and has generated lots of global traffic (and congratulations to the gallery on that), and this weekend the site really paid off, as we can attribute a first major sale of art by Material Matters to the fact the new website exists - the buyers (from Cleveland, as a matter of fact), saw two major works by an amazing Canadian glass artist they otherwise would not know, and they bought his only available work I know of in the world. The Canadian glass artist made money, the gallery made money, Phillip and I made money, and the collectors in Cleveland got two amazing works of art (for a great price), shown in their new NEO home above. This is just a small beginning for Material Matters' virtual community, which already represents the greatest glass artists of Canada, as they are in the process of going glocal in many important ways, in the process improving Toronto's Glocal arts economy. NEO arts leadership may learn more here...

I had the great pleasure to attend the 7th Toronto International Art Fair:  “Art Toronto 2006”.  Over 80 galleries from all over the world  selling  20th and 21st century art were represented at the four day event held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The majority of the galleries were from Canada, but there were also many from the United States and Germany and others from Spain, England, the Netherlands, Columbia and Argentina. 

Only adding to the excitement surrounding the art auctions of the last few days, Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto, a blue period painting by Picasso from 1903 was withdraw from Wednesday's auction, its provenance clouded claims that it  should be counted among the art looted by the Nazis. Andrew Lloyd Webber's charitable foundation is the current owner and consigner. The British composer bought the painting for the foundation in 1995. He had hoped  the funds from  the auction Wednesday would benefit the foundation. A Federal Judge in Manhattan, Jed Rakoff decided that the Federal court has no jurisdiction over the case and the auction could go on; however, the man who claims to be rightful owner, Julius Schoep, heir of a Jewish baker and art collector living in Berlin, plans to take his claims to the lower court. Andrew Lloyd Webber's foundation willingly withdrew the painting. Hopefully these claims, which sound spurious will not hurt the value of the work.

I can't think of an artist more deserving of this award! Please read on ...

President Bush Announces Viktor Schreckengost as 2006 Medal of Arts Recipient
Washington, D.C. – Cleveland resident Viktor Schreckengost has been named one of 10 National Medal of the Arts recipients for 2006. President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush will honor him in an Oval Office ceremony at the White House Nov. 9th.

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Constantine Petridis is Assistant Professor, Department of Art History & Art and Associate Curator of African Art, Cleveland Museum of Art. Prof. Petridis will discuss this recent acquisition he recommended for the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

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The Story of the Apple reveals the solution to a long-standing puzzle: where did the apple come from, and why is the familiar large, sweet, cultivated apple so different from all the other wild apple species with their bitter, cherry-sized fruits? It was long assumed that the apple of our gardens and supermarkets is the result of a complex history of hybridization and selection. But the true story turns out to be even more interesting, involving earthquakes in the mountainous Tian Shan and the spreading of deserts in Inner and Central Asia, the eating habits of bears and horses (and perhaps dung beetles), the Silk Roads and other ancient trading routes, the discovery of the horticultural technique of grafting, and the multiple virtues of cider. (Check out this website for more information on Mabberley and the book he co-authored)

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Visit CIA's departments of Enameling and Jewelry + Metals (Gund Building 108, 112 & 113), meet current students and faculty, and see their completed work and their works in progress. The evening will also include ongoing slide shows, refreshments and more. This is a great opportunity for alumni to reconnect with their departments and professors as well as chat with students. The event takes place on November 16th from 6:00-9:00 p.m.

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Exhibition opening at Spaces Gallery: "Misdemeanor". Described as "skewed views of the everyday and mutations of real and imagined form." Includes photography, video, sculpture, installation, ceramic and mixed media by 11 local and national artists.

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Robert Storr was a curator at MOMA from 1990-2002, he taught at New York University, and has published on aspects of Modernism. this forum is moderated by cultural commentator Kurt andersen, and focuses on visual and popular culture issues, in partnership with Cleveland Public Library and Cleveland Public Art.

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I was thrilled today to see a large collection of the small sculptures, prints, sketches and drawings of John Jackson exhibited at the remarkable Zygote Press, on E. 30th Street and St. Clair. As john Passed away this year, this is an exclusive opportunity not to be missed.

Issue 18 -- the signs make it seem so clear. "Arts & Culture". Yes! I'm for that! That's what my life is all about, really; five years earning my B.A. in fine arts, two years for a  M.A. in art history , 6 years of a Ph.D. in art history and museum studies. I go to art openings, visit MOCA and the CMA frequently, and I collect art. I go to the opera, the film festival, a few plays and musicals each year. I love to support arts and culture.

Free lectures at the CMA in conjunction with BARCELONA & MODERNITY: PICASSO, GAUDI, MIRO, DALI

Wednesday, November 1
6:30-7:30 pm
Jordi Falgas, Cleveland Fellow in Modern Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art

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PUBLIC LECTURE
Sponsored By
The Department of Art History & Art
Case Western Reserve University
 
November 2, 2006
 
PROFESSOR LYNETTE BOSCH
SUNY Geneseo

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One of my favorite sculptures by one of my favorite sculptors is "3-Way Plug" by Claes Oldenburg, in a little pocket park to the right of the main building at the Allen Museum in Oberlin, seen above. 1 of 3, constructed in 1970, this is a great pop piece in a perfact setting. Check it and the Allen and Oberlin all out - great scene! BTW, while there, they have a Frank Lloyd Wright, and Oberlin's Conservatory of Music and the College's King Building were designed by World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki to name a few highlights.

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John Jackson  Works and Processes Opening Friday, Nov 3rd 6-9 p.m.   Zygote Press Gallery 1410 East 30th St. Cleveland OH 44114

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