Emanate Gallery Virtual Exhibition Opening
Ah, 2020…what a strange year. Full of new experiences, good and bad. The opening of my show at Emanate Gallery on September 5th was mostly virtual, with a handful of brave masked art lovers filtering in throughout the day. We made a little impromptu video tour of the show, which actually turned out quite nicely, I thought. Check out the story behind the Art of Ashtanga drawings:
The Circle: Conversations with Artists from Around the World
During the lockdown, I teamed up with some artist friends to share some interviews with other artists about what life is like in 2020, and how we can help each other stay sane and creative during tough times. Thankyou Kelly Cassidy Smith for starting this project, and I hope we can restart the conversation soon.
Watch my interview with my bestie and Art in Arms Niki Cotton here:
Read an interview with Reno News & Review blogger Jeri Davis here:
Emanate Gallery
I’m thrilled to announce that I’m now represented by the beautiful Emanate Art Gallery! Located at the Crossing at the Y in South Lake Tahoe, this classy little space is just what South Lake Tahoe has needed for a long time.
The owners are lovely people, with great taste. They only have a small stable of artists, which they develop a close relationship with. I really like the other art in there, so I’m honored to take a place alongside paintings and sculptures I admire.
This is also a full service frame shop, so all my work will be framed by Angela, a master framer and one of the co-owners. She’s awesome at what she does, so I trust my originals in her loving, capable hands. Benjamin, another partner in the gallery is the man you’ll meet when you walk through the door. He’s friendly, knowledgeable and a creative outdoorsman. This is a gallery you won’t be intimidated to walk into, but will experience a quiet, inspirational space to contemplate art.
The gallery already have some of my Ashtanga drawings, some of which are being framed and will hang in the main gallery soon. Others will be available to view unframed if you ask. Emanate have a list of what’s available, as I’ve already sold over 20 of them. I won’t be drawing any more Ashtanga pieces, as drawing over 80 of them (there were some duds in the beginning!) almost wrecked my neck and shoulders. It was an amazing project, that I’m really proud of, and I learned a ton about drawing, anatomy and yoga from Laura Josephy (collaborator and model), but I could never do it again.
So, these drawing are the ultimate limited edition!
Visit Emanate Gallery at the Crossing:
Address:
2030 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Telephone:
Black Lives Matter South Lake Tahoe
We had the privilege of lending our voices to #blacklivesmatter. Every person has the ability to stand up, be heard and…
Posted by Quedup Entertainment LLC on Saturday, June 13, 2020
Art for Black Lives
Tahoe Activist Artists joined Black Lives Matter Tahoe for a peaceful rally and march from the commons last Friday. We had painters, singers and sculptors come out to use their art to amplify the message that we support our brothers and sisters in the fight for equality and justice.
Art for Black Lives is a call for a creative response to the protests in support of our black community.
Photos by Sheilah Boohthby for MakeTahoe.com
Posted by Annie Davidson on Sunday, June 14, 2020
Annie Davidson singing “Sweet Lord” at the rally
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (After Caravaggio)
I started this demo piece when I was teaching Oil Painting a couple of years back. I’d love to finish it one day! For now it hangs in our downstairs bathroom where I wash my brushes, and has lots of reminders in it about technique.
“The Incredulity of Saint Thomas was painted in the early years of Caravaggio’s residence and success in Rome (1602)
It is housed in the Sanssouci Picture Gallery, Potsdam, Germany. In this painting, Caravaggio depicts Thomas the Apostle’s doubting of Jesus’ resurrection as told in the Gospel of John, with Thomas looking at—and feeling—Jesus’ wounds.
This particular scene has been popularly recreated in art since the 6th century through a traditional stretching on to Caravaggio; it has since become symbolic of the conflict between Protestant and Catholic art as both traditions hold differing views of its value in teaching blind faith.
Both Rembrandt and Rubens also painted this particular episode in the 17th century. As with many of Caravaggio’s paintings, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas is swamped in theatrical darkness, bringing to life the central figures of Jesus and his apostles as if lit upon a stage. The absence of the usual halo around Jesus’ head is meant to emphasise the corporeal nature of Christ on earth. This painting has, unlike some of Caravaggio’s works, survived the Second World War when held in the Prussian royal collection.
By 1600, Caravaggio had gained considerable renown for his painting style and was commissioned by the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of St. Louis of the French (San Luigi dei Francesi) in Rome. Caravaggio delivered the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew to the Contrarelli Chapel in 1600.
The two paintings have since become a major tourist attraction. However, because of Caravaggio realism in painting heavenly themes, his paintings created a sensation in Rome as both dramatic and divisive. Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro technique was polarising to contemporary Catholic critics with some considering it vulgar.
Religious paintings had up to this point mostly been drawn from idealised imaginings of biblical and Godly themes. By contrast, Caravaggio used life models to render his work realistic, drawing the heavens down to earth and into nature.
Given the originality of this approach, Caravaggio was an instant success on the art scene; he went on to secure numerous high-profile and prestigious commissions for other religious works. However, Caravaggio was not without his own personal controversy; he was known to drink, to fight and brawl, eventually fleeing Rome for Naples in 1606 after murdering a young man, Ranuccio Tomassoni. “
Carolus-Duran (After Sargent)
This master copy hangs in my studio now, reminding me of the lessons I’ve learned by copying masterworks like this one. It’s as if Carolus-Duran (and Sargent) are staring down at me, saying things like, “State the masses!”, “If it doesn’t work, scape it back!”, and “Squint!”
Charles-Émile-Auguste Durand (1837–1917), known as Carolus-Duran, was a celebrated figure in the world of Parisian art and theater. Known for his elegant society portraits, he was also highly influential as a teacher. Sargent entered Duran’s studio in 1874 and became his star pupil. Duran’s approach was radical: he encouraged his students to draw and paint simultaneously, using a loaded brush. In this stylish portrait, which received an award when it was shown at the Paris Salon in 1879, Sargent pays homage to his teacher by embracing his fluid technique. The affectionate dedication to Duran, inscribed in French at the upper right, announces Sargent’s artistic pedigree but also caused some contemporary viewers to remark that the student had surpassed the master.
Human Trafficking Campaign (2018)
The Tahoe Activist Artists ran a campaign during the SuperBowl this year in South Lake Tahoe. SuperBowl Weekend is the highest volume time for Human Trafficking in our community. We posted these signs on the back of restroom doors throughout the casinos, sports bars, gas stations, and grocery stores throughout the town. We were sponsored by Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club and Whittel High School Interact Program.
What is human trafficking?
According to The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000:
Sex Trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is indu- ced by force, fraud, or coercion. or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; and
Labor Trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Who is at risk?
Anyone can be at risk. Mostly girls, but also boys. Traffickers are expert manipulators, and prey on vulnerable young people. Contrary to what you might assume, it isn’t just vulnerable homeless or addicted people who can be trapped into modern slavery.
One method traffickers use is to recruit attractive young men nicknamed ‘Romeos’ to seduce young girls. This seduction or ‘grooming’ can happen via social media, websites like Craigslist, at sports events, or anywhere teenagers hang out unsupervised. The perpetrators often romance their victims, making them feel like they are entering a relationship, making them feel loved. They make promises and buy expensive gifts.
At some point the money ‘runs out’ and the victim is asked to ‘earn’ the money back, perhaps by stripping or having sex with someone. They are trapped.
What can I do to protect myself, my friends or my children?
Learn the signs and educate yourself about human trafficking.
Some of the signs that a person is being trafficked:
- Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes
- Is under 18 and is providing commercial sex acts
- Is fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, or nervous/paranoid
- Exhibits unusually fearful or anxious behavior after bringing up law enforcement
- Avoids eye contact
- Appears malnourished
- Shows signs of physical and/or sexual abuse, physical restraint, confinement
- Has few or no personal possessions
- Is not in control of his/her own identification documents (ID or passport)
- Is not allowed or able to speak for themselves
- Lack of knowledge of whereabouts and/or do not know what city he/she is in
Has numerous inconsistencies in his/her story
PROTECT – PRevention Organized To Educate Children on Trafficking
PROTECT is a human trafficking prevention education program that was developed in 2015 through a coalition of three nonprofits (3Strands Global Foundation, Love Never Fails, and Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives), in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General for the State of California, the California Department of Education, Cisco Systems, and the Institute for Social Research at Sacramento State University. Through this program, teachers and students are learning about red flags, protocols, and ways to prevent exploitation through an online curriculum that provides all classroom materials necessary.
To learn more, visit https://vimeo.com/protectnow/introvideo
3 Strands Global Foundation sponsored legislation which requires California public schools to teach California’s school-age population how to avoid becoming victims of exploitation, help them understand the problem of human exploitation and learn ways to address the problem through service initiatives.
In January 2018, The Human Trafficking Prevention Education and Training Act became law.
“In my 26 years of teaching, this is the first of its kind that I’ve ever encountered as an educator. I feel I’m now more empowered as an educator and a protector of children.”
– Ed M, Teacher, Vallejo City Unified School District
“When we moved from Las Vegas to a sleepy suburb of Sacramento, I never dreamed our family would be directly affected by this heinous crime. However, our 17-year-old was taken from the local grocery store, driven to a motel in the Bay Area, drugged and pimped out through ads on craigslist and repeatedly raped by men looking for sex with underage girls.”
– Vicki Mead, Co-Founder of 3Strands Global Foundation, Mother of a Survivor
Call the National Helpline number: 800-373-788 anonymously for help
Update: Fundamental Freedoms Exhibition coming to Oakland May 2021
I spoke to Ron Scroveni, owner of the Warehouse 416 Gallery recently about my show in October. With the revolution going on all over the US, which are causing a lot of damage in places, and the COVID19 lockdown I wondered whether we’d still be doing the show. I’d actually written it off in my mind a while ago, thinking we’d have to delay at least a year. He was surprisingly optimistic and upbeat, which was nice. There’s so much to be depressed and angry about right now, that it was pretty awesome to hear hope in his voice.
I asked if his gallery neighborhood had been damaged by the protesters. “Oh yes,” he told me, “we’re right in the thick of it. They haven’t damaged any of the galleries though, so that’s good!” Maybe they’re all art lovers?
I wholeheartedly support the movement to end institutional racism, and to dismantle the militarized police force. I am anti-racist, an ally, and an activist artist. I understand that there is a deep wound in our brothers and sisters, that will not be healed without major transformation of the system, and our collective attitudes. I understand that there is anger, a lot of it. But damaging property and looting is never ok, in my opinion.
So, depending on the lockdown restrictions in October, we’re hoping the show will happen. The Fundamental Freedoms collection is an educational resource, that I hope will help the cause. A donation is made to the charity most connected to each painting.
When draw murdered faces, activists, auction artwork for the cause, when I hold up my sign at a peaceful protest, I just want to say, “I see you. I want to help.”
Let’s hope the show will happen!