2015: New American Paintings: Midwest Edition @ Elmhurst Art Museum

Above: Michael Velliquette's "Radiant Signs" 2014, an iridescent coated acrylic mobile, as seen at dusk in the lobby of the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Today, visitors to the Elmhurst Art Museum (EAM) are greeted by the artwork of Michael Velliquette: he's installed an iridescent acrylic mobile in the lobby. Entitled "Radiant Signs," Velliquette's piece interacts with whatever sunshine filters through the building's glass curtain wall during the day, while reflecting overhead track lighting at night. Being playful, good-looking and potentially photogenic, it's enjoyable by a wide range of viewers and is therefore well-placed within the institution. Yet it's quite natural to wonder: Why has this kinetic, three-dimensional work been included in a show paintings?

Above: Michael Velliquette with his piece "Radiant Signs" 2014, an iridescent coated acrylic mobile, as seen in the lobby of the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

The show in question, "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition," is the concrete manifestation of "a juried exhibition-in-print," as the bimonthly publication New American Paintings (NAP) describes itself. Originally, EAM's Chief Curator Staci Boris was appointed to select 40 artists, from hundreds of applicants, for NAP's issue #113, which was available on newsstands in August of 2014. Subsequently, she brought those same artists into the museum which employed her. It's said to be the first time in NAP's twenty-year history that its featured artwork has been translated from magazine page to physical space, i.e., become a "real" show.

Above: Michael Velliquette's "Radiant Signs" 2014, an iridescent coated acrylic mobile, as seen in the lobby of the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

And even as Velliquette's artwork in the lobby is good-looking, so too the show as a whole is good-looking. There just isn't much that's wanting: whether one prefers geometric abstraction or figurative realism it's in the show and (arguably, of course) it's well-executed. For their part, the artists seem to be as diverse as the artwork. So while per title the exhibition has a geographical constraint, inclusivity is ultimately its defining characteristic. All are welcome here.

Above: Michael Velliquette with his piece "Radiant Signs" 2014, an iridescent coated acrylic mobile, as seen in the lobby of the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

But not everyone's in the show. Consequently, after paying NAP's application fee, many once hopeful artists were left to ponder their rejection. What's to become of them? Their plight seems worth consideration, inasmuch as such outcomes are writ large in the art world of which this particular exhibition is only a little part. And the situation is inevitable, as the market gives everything to a few stars while giving everyone else nothing, or so wrote Holland Cotter in the New York Times last month.[1]

Closer to home, two years ago, occasional Chicagoan Pedro Velez blamed not the "invisible hand" of pure market forces but rather a sort of crony capitalism, or nepotism, which resulted in "friends curating friends" to the exclusion of the majority of the city's artists.[2]

Here, neither explanation, alone, seems wholly satisfactory. For whether artworks do tend to increase in value after they've been shown in a museum, nothing is for sale in this museum; and it's improbable that the curator's social network extends across the eight state region from which applicants were drawn.

Above: Curator Staci Boris, at far left, in the lobby of the Elmhurst Art Museum, beginning the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015. Santiago Cucullu, background, in the museum's first gallery.

Searching further, there appears to be only one review of "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" already published. In the cultural weekly Newcity, writer and professor Alan Pocaro, himself a painter, offered that the show contains "a veritable who’s who of gallery-repped Chicago artists."[3]

Does it? In order to answer that question it's necessary to turn towards the artists' biographies--though such a tack is frustrated by its dependency on each artist's honesty, accuracy and timeliness in reporting, not to mention the faults of the reader.

Above: Santiago Cucullu, at left, Rachel Hellmann, center, and Josh Dihle, at right, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Caveat offered, it seems to be the case that 22 of the 40 artists (or 55% of the artists) chosen for "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" have in fact shown in a gallery in Chicago.[4] But, tellingly, many of those spaces are no longer operational, e.g., in the time since they showed Santiago Cucullu (see photograph above) both Julia Friedman and Rowley Kennerk have closed their galleries.

And of the 22 artists who have shown in Chicago, only 9 have verifiable gallery representation in Chicago: Elijah Burgher and Lilli Carré at Western Exhibitions; Dan Gunn and Ben Murray at Monique Meloche Gallery; Molly Briggs and Amy Casey at Zg Gallery; Emmett Kerrigan at Linda Warren Projects; Diane Christiansen at Kasia Kay Art Projects; and Cheonae Kim at Zolla Lieberman Gallery.

Now, if the numbers are correct, it does seem significant that 6 of the show's 40 artists (or 15% of the artists) are represented by just three galleries in one city. But, with due respect for Pocaro, it doesn't seem like "a veritable who’s who of gallery-repped Chicago artists." Where, for example, are the painters represented by Corbett vs. Dempsey, Rhona Hoffman, Kavi Gupta, Shane Campbell, and Valerie Carberry / Richard Gray?

Above: Josh Dihle's "Say No More (Flowers for Vardaman)" 2015, oil on linen, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Having written that much, it was a useful detour through the artists' biographies which Pocaro provoked, as unexpected patterns were visible therein:

- 11 of the 40 artists (or 27.5% of the artists) in "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" had experience with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago;[5]
- 12 of the 40 artists (or 30.0% of the artists) in "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" had previously appeared in New American Paintings;[6]
- 17 of the 40 artists (or 42.5% of the artists) in "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" had some professional interaction with Michelle Grabner.[7][8]

In sum, amongst many of the artists who were included in the show a shared history was identifiable.

Above: Rachel Hellmann's "A Window to Lean On" "Down the Edge" "Mirrors on the Wall" 2014, acrylic and graphite on board. Josh Dihle at right, background, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Above: Rachel Hellmann, foreground, "A Window to Lean On" "Down the Edge" "Mirrors on the Wall" 2014, acrylic and graphite on board, background, in the museum's first gallery, as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

And, while considering three of those artists who had previously appeared in NAP--Diane Christiansen, Amy Casey, Russell Shoemaker--a history shared by some NAP jurors became identifiable too.

Staci Boris (the juror for NAP #113, wherein "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" originated) had at one time been a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. And it turned out to be the case that a number of her former MCA coworkers had also served as jurors for NAP, viz.: Dominic Molon, Lynne Warren, and Julie Rodriguez Widholm. More, while jurors for NAP, they chose to include some of the same artists who Boris chose to include:

- in NAP #59, Dominic Molon selected Diane Christiansen;
- in NAP #83, Lynne Warren selected Amy Casey;
- in NAP #95, Julie Rodriguez Widholm selected Russell Shoemaker.

Christiansen proved to be the most remarkable example, as she'd been chosen to appear in NAP a total of eight times.[9]

Above: Diane Christiansen with "Untitled Painting (product of a stop action animation) 2015, gouache and acrylic on paper, in the museum's second gallery, as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

Nevertheless, there is no argument against Christiansen appearing here; rather, she's indispensable in the current museum show. For having included a hanging support and a small screen-based animation in her installation, Christiansen ties together the works of Elijah Burgher and Lilli Carré. And it's possible to make the case that it's Burgher who relates to Velliquette in the lobby, as both exhibit multicolored works formally determined by a code of symbols, built upon sheet material which depends from the ceiling.

Above: Diane Christiansen's "Untitled Painting (product of a stop action animation) 2015, gouache and acrylic on paper, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Above: Elijah Burgher's "Year of swords, conclude! (Neither peaceful nor monumental version)" 2013, acrylic on canvas drop cloth, foreground, at right; Eddie Villanueva's "I don't want to be a lawn cutter no more" 2015, wood, latex paint, found arcade cabinet, spray paint, mirror, large format print and found graffiti, background, at left; as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Continuing to think about the artists and their work: In addition to Christiansen and Velliquette, Burgher provides a formal linkage to Cheonae Kim: both presenting works which contain regular linear elements, rendered in primary color, turning at right angles to one another, within their respective compositions.

Above: Cheonae Kim's "Mom" 2013-2014, flashe on panel. "Dad" in the museum's first gallery, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Above: Allison Reimus' "Untitled (Circle #2)" "Circle Drip" "Content Contains" "Vesel with Possible Asbestos" "Hold Me" "Paint Pitcher" "Untitled (Black Vessel)" in the museum's third gallery, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Kim in turn might be linked to Allison Reimus, whose pieces contain grid-like patterns, albeit mostly rendered with a subdued palette in comparison to Kim, and Burgher.

Having made such critical connections between artists, it seems good to remark upon the actual distribution of the artwork within the museum.

Remembering Velliquette's occupation of the lobby, there is otherwise a rough three-part division which is identifiable: (1) geometric abstraction being found in the first, or southernmost, gallery; (2) figure and landscape being found in the fourth, or northernmost gallery; with (3) mostly built works, collage and video filling the space between, i.e., the second and third galleries.

Above: Eddie Villanueva's "I don't want to be a lawn cutter no more" 2015, wood, latex paint, found arcade cabinet, spray paint, mirror, large format print and found graffiti, at center, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Above: Eddie Villanueva, lower left, facing camera, with "I don't want to be a lawn cutter no more" 2015, wood, latex paint, found arcade cabinet, spray paint, mirror, large format print and found graffiti, at center, as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

In the center of the museum, in that group of works most challenging to the conventions of painting, is Eddie Villanueva. After the manner of some of those non-objective abstract expressionists who preceded him, compositional elements, here including both found objects and also facsimiles of popular culture, have been organized on a vertical plane within rectangular boundaries according to a scheme which originates in the artist's own sensibilities and not reality. The working method recalls Robert Rauschenberg--though, when it was put to him, Villanueva explicitly rejected any comparison to Rauschenberg in favor of Frank Stella.

Above: Craig Yu, foreground, facing camera, with Eddie Villanueva's "I don't want to be a lawn cutter no more" 2015, wood, latex paint, found arcade cabinet, spray paint, mirror, large format print and found graffiti, background, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Above: Craig Yu with his artwork as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

Considering the historical categories of painting which might have been underrepresented in this exhibition, landscape and still life were both relatively scarce. And it's interesting that while the natural world is a popular subject for contemporary photographers and installation artists, the contributors to "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" were much more likely to show concern for the human figure and products of the human imagination. Sophia Heymans and Craig Yu were notable exception, Yu's canvases being familiar from a January 2014 show at Devening Projects + Exhibitions.[10] That said, in the past Yu has allowed that his landscape compositions are filtered as appropriate by his own imagination; and, more obviously, the perspective which he offers is often available only by means of flight.

Above: Heidi Draley McFall with "Karem, Kristy and Isabel Practicing Sign Language" 2014, pastel on paper, as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

Above: Heidi Draley McFall's "Karem, Kristy and Isabel Practicing Sign Language" 2014, pastel on paper, at left; David J. Eichenberg's "Aimee in Hoodie III" 2015, oil on aluminum panel, at right; as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Is naturalness, or is verisimilitude, worth anything today? Maybe, the inclusion of Heidi Draley McFall, David J. Eichenberg, and David Holmes--each producing work which springs from Photorealism in the 1960s--suggests an affirmative response. But it isn't so easy to say why these artists have been included in "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition."

NAP's published guidelines suggest that jurors can be expected to consider, blind, all work submitted, regardless of personal preference, so that every issue of the magazine (wherein this show originated) ought to cover a wide range of aesthetic viewpoints.[11] Given that information, teasing out any order of rank among the discipline's branches should be a challenging task; and it might be enough to write that the persistence of some modalities is chiefly an indication of their importance to the artists who employ them.

Above: Ricardo Manuel Díaz's "Head #1" "Head #2" "Head #4" "Head #5" "Head #8" "Head #9" "Head #10" "Head #11" "Head #13" "Head #14" 2013-2014, oil on birch wood panel, as seen at in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" opening reception on May 15, 2015.

Tongue-in-cheek, forgetting the juror, and the painters who were rejected, and the fact that all of this originated in a contest, it's a moment of egalitarian pluralism. And if Ricardo Manuel Díaz wants his expressionist impasto then he should have it; it's no better or worse than David Holmes' hyperrealism. The promise of NAP is to show the best of the work which is being made, not to "discriminate by style or yield to art-world trends."[12] All of which becomes increasingly complicated when taking seriously much contemporary activity, e.g., Raphael Rubinstein's notice six years ago "of a kind of provisionality within the practice of painting."[13] How does one pick the best from a genre underpinned by a philosophic opposition to the category and practice?

Above: David Holmes' "Under the L" 2013, acrylic on wood, as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

The conundrum of the moment is thrown into sharp relief at the exit of the last gallery in the show. There, Holmes and Alex Bradley Cohen have paintings hanging side-by-side. And both artists have chosen essentially the same subject matter: figures, street-side, before an architectural background which also contains trees. Considering the universe which might have been depicted, it's remarkable--as remarkable as the dissimilarity in their rendering of the subject matter.

How should Cohen's work be understood? as identity art? as provisional painting? Given the context, an understanding of identity art while blind to the identity of the artist seems as problematic as the struggle to identify the "best" provisional painting. And it doesn't matter.

At 25, one year after finishing a BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Cohen's work has been, and is being, shown around the city regularly in 2015: January 9-23 with Marissa Neuman at Roman Susan; June 5-July 25 with Kelly Lloyd at Carrie Secrist; May 16-August 23 at the Elmhurst Art Museum; and (upcoming) September 5-October 10 with Steve Ruiz at Roots and Culture. Even more activity is scheduled outside of the city.

Full-time undergraduate students at SAIC can expect to pay $43,140 for a year's tuition 2015-2016.[14] But, unlike Cohen, not everyone who attends the school will be given the opportunity to show their work. Consequently, many once hopeful artists will be left to ponder their rejection. What's to become of them?

Above: David Holmes' "Under the L" 2013, acrylic on wood, at left; David Holmes, center; and Alex Bradley Cohen's "Summertime" 2013, acrylic on canvas, at right; as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

Where there should be a discussion there's instead a deafening silence. In the end, that's the most difficult thing. Because it's really quite alright if someone, like Cohen, presents work which doesn't evidence technical virtuosity; that's been the case for over one hundred years. But, absent such a demonstration there's a greater demand for proof in writing, or in speech, of some wit.

It's not there. Yet he's been to school and earned a degree. So it doesn't seem right to consider his work as naive or outsider art--unless he was able to pass through SAIC without being affected by any education. And if that's the case then wherein does the value of the experience lie?

Even a little help from a critic, or a curator, or a gallerist, would be welcome. Once upon a time that sort of activity was called scholarship. And it was a bridge between the humanities and the fine arts. History, literature and philosophy facilitated our understanding of why things were done.

Frustratingly, as art has become more instrumental for politics and business, the demand for consensus has increased. And, bizarrely, the consensus itself demands cognitive dissonance: it's necessary to both support equality as a political value and also to refrain from questioning the fantastical hierarchy which is a function of the business of art. Not surprisingly, criticism is perceived as odious, while coverage is welcome, which goes a long way towards explaining the current state of affairs in the press.

Chicago particularly has tended to display a hypersensitivity to criticism, being additionally burdened by its comparison to other major American cities.[15] Whether Chicago does have fewer resources at its disposal than New York and Los Angeles, it, apparently, is believed to be needful for the city's activities to be coordinated in order to successfully compete in the national and international arenas--which sort of strategy only exacerbates the shortness of vision which causes culture here to stumble over the course of the long run.[16][17]

It's not hopeless. But too few people are invested in the activity of directly experiencing visual art, reflecting upon what they've seen, and sharing their thoughts. Even considering the city's curators, critics, et al., in most cases there's no sense of urgency to attend opening receptions, to read articles, or to ask questions in public, in Chicago.[18]

Above: Alex Bradley Cohen with his artwork "Summertime" 2013, acrylic on canvas, as seen in the Elmhurst Art Museum during the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" artists talk on May 16, 2015.

Postscript: To hear Alex Bradley Cohen's individual artist talk I returned to the Elmhurst Art Museum on August 22, 2015. Having done so, I don't think that my first impression was far off the mark. Cohen's companion slide presentation included work which he made before, during, and after, the time he attended SAIC. No significant change was obvious; maybe the early work was better.

Another insight previously unavailable was that Cohen tended to paint from photographic or video imagery, which only seemed to reinforce the appropriateness of the comparison between himself and David Holmes.

Also, Cohen made it known that he had taken a ceramics class at SAIC. I guessed, correctly according to Cohen, that it was with William J. O'Brien. And that's interesting both because of O'Brien's own career trajectory and also because of O'Brien's Art Brut aesthetic.[19]

Finally, if there are errors anywhere in this text then please do leave a comment and alert me. I'm thankful to Alan Pocaro for causing me to take a closer look at the exhibition, though I know that there are shortcomings in my report.

- Paul E. Germanos, August 22, 2015.

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EXHIBITION DETAILS:

New American Paintings: Midwest Edition
May 16 - August 23, 2015
Elmhurst Art Museum
150 Cottage Hill Ave.
Elmhurst, IL

https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/

Synopsis: "For the first time in its 20 year history, the critically acclaimed publication, New American Paintings, which presents a juried exhibition-in-print with each issue, will jump from the page to the Museum walls. New American Paintings: The 2014 Midwest Edition features 40 artists selected by Elmhurst Art Museum Chief Curator, Staci Boris. Boris selected from more than 400 works submitted by artists from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Iowa. The resulting exhibition offers a panoramic view of the disparate ways in which paint is used as a medium in contemporary art practice."

Quotation above from: https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/exhibitions/new-american-paintings-midwest-edition

Artists: Brandon Anschultz, Robert Josiah Bingaman, Molly Briggs, Daniel Bruggeman, Elijah Burgher, Timothy Callaghan, Terrence Campagna, Lilli Carré, Amy Casey, Diane Christiansen, Alex Bradley Cohen, Anthony B. Creeden, Santiago Cucullu, Ricardo Manuel Díaz, Josh Dihle, David J. Eichenberg, Linda King Ferguson, Curtis Goldstein, Kevin Goodrich, Dan Gunn, Dyani White Hawk, Rachel Hellmann, Sophia Heymans, David Holmes, Valerie Jenkins, Emmett Kerrigan, Cheonae Kim, David Lloyd, Heidi Draley McFall, Ben Murray, Mark Pease, Justin Quinn, Tom Reed, Allison Reimus, John A Sargent III, Russell Shoemaker, Michael Velliquette, Eddie Villanueva, Seneca Weintraut, Craig Yu

List above from: http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/issues/113

Above: Alex Bradley Cohen's "Summertime" 2013, acrylic on canvas, on the cover of New American Paintings issue 113.

NOTES:

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/books/review/the-contemporaries-painting-now-and-more.html
"And the market did what it always does: It created a few stars, gave them everything and gave everyone else nothing." Holland Cotter, June 25, 2015.

[2] http://art.newcity.com/2013/02/05/eye-exam-friends-curating-friends/
"And the idea that one can presumably create new contexts for a handful of friends while hundreds of artists in this artist-packed city of ours undeservedly never get a show is preposterous." Pedro Velez, February 5, 2013.

[3] http://art.newcity.com/2015/06/17/review-new-american-paintings-midwest-editionelmhurst-art-museum/
"Ostensibly selected via an anonymous jurying process, 'New American Paintings: Midwest Edition' nonetheless includes a veritable who’s who of gallery-repped Chicago artists. While I wouldn’t suggest that these artists are undeserving of additional exposure, their work’s presence in the show inevitably feels like a consecration of the previously anointed." Alan Pocaro, June 17, 2015.

[4] The 22 artists who have shown in a gallery in Chicago: Brandon Anschultz, Molly Briggs, Elijah Burgher, Terrence Campagna, Lilli Carré, Amy Casey, Diane Christiansen, Alex Bradley Cohen, Santiago Cucullu, Josh Dihle, David J. Eichenberg, Linda King Ferguson, Kevin Goodrich, Dan Gunn, Emmett Kerrigan, Cheonae Kim, Ben Murray, Mark Pease, Justin Quinn, Allison Reimus, Michael Velliquette, Craig Yu.

[5] The 11 artists who have experience (as a student, or a teacher, or a visiting artist, etc.) with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Elijah Burgher, Lilli Carré, Diane Christiansen, Alex Bradley Cohen, Anthony B. Creeden, Santiago Cucullu, Josh Dihle, Kevin Goodrich, Dan Gunn, Emmett Kerrigan, Craig Yu.

[6] The 12 artists who appeared in New American Paintings prior to NAP 113: Robert Josiah Bingaman (NAP Blog October 23, 2012), Molly Briggs (NAP 65), Daniel Bruggeman (NAP 4), Elijah Burgher (NAP Blog February 28, 2013), Terrence Campagna (NAP 101), Amy Casey (NAP 83), Diane Christiansen (NAP 17), Heidi Draley McFall (NAP 30), Justin Quinn (NAP 101), Allison Reimus (NAP 88), John A. Sargent III (NAP 17), Russell Shoemaker (NAP 95). Multiple appearances have not been noted. Appearances after issue #113 have not been noted, e.g., David Lloyd reappeared in NAP 117, and Elijah Burgher has received attention in NAP's Blog on multiple occasions subsequent to being chosen by Boris for NAP 113.

[7] The 17 artists who have had some professional interaction with Michelle Grabner: Brandon Anschultz, Molly Briggs, Elijah Burgher, Alex Bradley Cohen, Santiago Cucullu, Josh Dihle, Linda King Ferguson, Kevin Goodrich, Dan Gunn, Cheonae Kim, Ben Murray, Justin Quinn, Tom Reed, Allison Reimus, Michael Velliquette, Eddie Villanueva, Craig Yu. "Professional interaction," here, means (a) to have been the subject of her review when she worked as a critic, or (b) to have shown in her exhibition space when she was a gallerist, or (c) to have taught in her department when she was a teacher and/or faculty chair, or (d) to have appeared in a group with her when she displayed work as an artist, or (e) to have been awarded a prize by her when she worked as a judge or juror, etc., etc..

[8] http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/issues/116
Michelle Grabner was tapped to function as the juror for NAP 116, which was available on newsstands in February of 2015, in the interim period between Boris' own work as juror for NAP 113 and the "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition" exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum.

[9] http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/artists/diane-christiansen
Diane Christiansen has been chosen to appear in NAP 17, 24, 29, 41, 59, 71, 83, and 113.

[10] http://chicagoartworld.blogspot.com/2014/01/2014-craig-yu-devening-projects.html
Craig Yu, "Phantom Limb," January 26 - March 1, 2014, Devening Projects + Editions, 3039 W. Carroll Street, Chicago, IL.

[11] http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/artist-faq
"We use a 'blind' jurying process which means that the only materials presented to the juror are images, media and dimensions of your work, accompanied by the reference number that you are assigned. The juror will have no knowledge of your name, gender, age, level of education or any other personal information [...] The jurors are given strict instructions to consider all of the work that has been submitted, regardless of any personal preferences that they may have  Although each edition of New American Paintings is shaped by the likes and dislikes of a given juror, every book covers a wide range of aesthetic viewpoints."

[12] http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/about
"We work closely with renowned curators in order to select those artists whose work deserves to be seen by a wider audience. Unlike other art publications, New American Paintings does not discriminate by style or yield to art-world trends."

[13] http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/magazine/provisional-painting-raphael-rubinstein/
"...I’ve become increasingly aware of a kind of provisionality within the practice of painting. [...] works that look casual, dashed-off, tentative, unfinished or self-cancelling. [...] all deliberately turn away from 'strong' painting for something that seems to constantly risk inconsequence or collapse. Why would an artist [...] sign his or her name to a painting that looks, from some perspectives, like an utter failure?" Raphael Rubinstein, May 4, 2009.

[14] http://www.saic.edu/tuition/figureyourcosts/undergraduatestudentbudget/

[15] http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/April-2013/Rachel-Shteir-QA/
See above the backlash which Rachel Shteir experienced after discussing Chicago in relation to Detroit within the context of a New York publication.

[16] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/books/review/the-third-coast-by-thomas-dyja-and-more.html
The whole of the paragraph echoes Rachel Shteir's April 18, 2013, article. But the best example of said coordination might be the EXPO art fair.

[17] http://www.brooklynrail.org/2012/03/art/michelle-grabner-with-barry-schwabsky
Read paragraphs 11-16 of Barry Schwabsky's interview with Michelle Grabner. Compare the comments made by Grabner and Shteir; consider the contrast in reaction to those comments.

[18] The United States Census Bureau population estimates for 2014, for the eight states which comprise New American Paintings' Midwest region, given in millions: Illinois 12.88, Indiana 5.97, Iowa 3.10, Michigan 9.91, Minnesota 5.46, Missouri 6.06, Ohio 11.59, Wisconsin 5.76. The total is 60.73 million.

[19] http://paulgermanos.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-william-j-obrien-renaissance.html
William J. O'Brien, May 15 – June 26, 2011, The Renaissance Society, Bergman Gallery, Cobb Hall 418, 5811 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL.

IMAGES:

Above:
Photographs (1-25) May 15-16, 2015;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos

2015: Julia Haw on Leaving Chicago

Biography: My name is Julia Lynn Haw. I'm 33 years old, and I hail from Davison, Michigan. Davison is a small, middle-class city: fifteen minutes east of Flint, and one hour north of Detroit.

Above: Julia Haw, May 2015, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

I began life as a blonde-haired farm girl with dirt behind her ears. I was a tomboy; I hated shopping. My family's land was near the edge of a fading, old swamp. And I spent the better half of my childhood there playing outdoors: climbing trees, collecting rocks, and scouring the freshly-tilled fields for arrowheads. I held swirling ideas of mysticism and fantasy, and carried an abundance of creativity with no reliance on the world of internet, video games or cable television.

My dad never used credit cards; he tore the collars out of his uncomfortable shirts; and he burned our family's trash in a huge stove in one of the many barns he built behind our house. My mom, now retired, was a fourth-grade teacher in an elementary school. I truly "made her feel like a mother,” in the words of my best friend, as I was very rebellious in my teenage years.

I was painfully shy in kindergarten, and I spoke as little as possible; my teacher asked my mom if everything was OK. I believe I wasn’t used to the confines of a classroom and received most of my inner guidance from cats and trees.

In second grade I got glasses: pink plastic glasses with a silver heart on each corner. I had a crush on a guy in my reading group, and I'd hide my glasses each time I went there.

Above: Julia Haw with Jerry Saltz at the Expo Chicago art fair, September 19, 2013. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

In middle school I started to come out of my shell. Romantic and idealistic, I believed I was in love with boys without ever having spoken to them. I wore vests with sunflowers, and silver earrings which dangled. In eighth grade, I discovered the Beatles when I threw “Meet the Beatles” on my dad’s old record player in the basement. I obsessed over them, acquired bell bottoms before anyone else did at that time, flashed peace signs when I could and mourned the fact I wasn’t alive for Woodstock '69.

In the basement of our home I shared an art studio with my sister. I considered myself the black sheep of the family, and I maintained a slight inferior complex: constantly compared myself to my older brother and sister.

Above:  Julia Haw, 1996, Davison, Michigan, USA. Original halftone newspaper print reproduction of a photograph from The Davison Flagstaff. Image provided by artist; converted to black & white; cropped and resized for publication.

Then, in eighth grade I won best of show in the Davison Art Show. I had developed more faith in my personal work and continued to create with a VERY unnecessary ego. My new high school art teacher battled my ego, and had a "chin wagging" with my mom; but he appreciated my abilities, and I won a few more prizes, and I was invited to recite poetry at the annual art show.

In high school I got braces. I was a band nerd, having played percussion since the fifth grade. I went to band camp in the remote cornfields of Ohio, and I became very outgoing. I had friends from many different “groups.” I was at once an outsider and an insider.

I attended college at Western Michigan University. I switched my major a couple times: from fashion to photography to painting. When I was accepted into the painting program I knew that it was the right path for me. From 2004 onward, I developed a serious, professional interest in the world of painting. At WMU , the painters were tucked away in a historic building called East Hall, which sat on top of a huge hill overlooking the city. We blasted music late through the night. The walls flaked their lead-based paint; but that didn’t matter. We were the painters! With the help of the Gwen Frostic Foundation, WMU has since erected a new, beautiful building; it has huge sunlit studios and several large galleries. We were “roughing it" back then!

Above:  Julia Haw's "Human Fodder" 2006, acrylic on canvas, produced at Western Michigan University. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

In 2006 I won best of show while in my senior year at WMU. I won for a slightly abstract piece entitled “Human Fodder,” which was painted with acrylic house paint over board and canvas wrapped in string. The piece honored fallen soldiers, and played on the term "cannon fodder," viz., a “derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire.”

Expectations: I used to frequent a dive bar in Kalamazoo, Michigan, called Green Top. One night there I ran across a man named Mark Turcotte, who, in my opinion, is one of the best living poets today. He gave me a copy of his book "Exploding Chippewas," for which Tony Fitzpatrick had produced a cover.

Above: Julia Haw with Mark Turcotte at Erin and Claire's, a/k/a Studio 1020's, "The First Ward Ball," an interactive community performance scripted by Scott M. Priz, July 31, 2011, at 3220 N. Lincoln, Chicago, IL.

I was deeply moved by the portion of that book called “Road Noise,” which dealt with Mark's grief following the the death of his estranged father. And thereafter I received a grant from the Kalamazoo Arts Council which subsidized a series of paintings based on Turcotte's literary work. I also had solo show at which Mark did a reading.

Mark guided me to Chicago, first by means of a visit to Tony Fitzpatrick's huge show at the Cultural Center in 2008. I was fascinated by Tony's work. And then Mark brought me to Tony’s studio; at the time, Tony was still working in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago. I had never before been to a working artist’s studio. I was blown away. Being a fresh 26 year-old, meeting Tony was a momentous occasion for me. A week away from signing a lease in Brooklyn, I scrapped my plans to move to NYC, and I came to Chicago.

Above: Tony Fitzpatrick with artwork, candid, at Studio 1020, March 27, 2010.

Mark (Turcotte) passed through Chicago again, and he brought me to Tony’s studio a second time. Tony offered me a job. While in his employment, I expected to learn from him: a working artist. And I did have a number of opportunities made available to me. For example, at (curator) Dan Cameron’s Prospect.1 biennial in New Orleans, Tony brought in a few artists (including myself) and gave us our own wall in the old funeral home where he was showing work.

Through Tony (Fitzpatrick) I met: Claire Molek, Mike Pajon, Damara Kaminecki, KS Rives, Dan Cameron, Steve Conrad, Jon McNaughton, Dmitry Samarov, and Wesley Kimler. I also shared an Italian dinner with his friends Neko Case and The New Pornographers! I had never been a part of this sort of creative life before: here was an artist who made a solid living, and surrounded himself with a beautiful cast of characters. My eyes were OPEN.

Above: Wesley Kimler, in his studio, December 20, 2009.

After working for Tony, I worked for Wesley Kimler, and then Steve Conrad. I ran a household for a doctor and lawyer; I managed an art, wine and car collection for Carl and Marilynn Thoma; and, I  learned to hustle. For the past three years I've been able to work for myself. I’ve shown art with Claire Molek (The Studio, Hauser Gallery, Brave New Art World), Illinois State Museum, Chicago Cultural Center and Jonathan Ferrara Gallery (New Orleans). I’ve enjoyed a considerable amount of press in the past few years, especially with my recently completed body of works titled “The Western Veil.” It, “The Western Veil,” has just reopened at the Illinois State Museum, Lockport. Currently I'm working on: (1) a body of work entitled “Comfort and Control,” (2) the release of my first artistic catalogue published by The Chicago Perch, and (3) a collaboration with Gracie Hagen concerning relationships.

School: I did not attend school in Chicago.

Activity: To summarize my time in Chicago: I've been in practice here for eight years. And I've enjoyed much, if not all, of my success on my own terms. I've had no representation--other than Claire Molek. The community here is amazing, and essential to me. My particular community includes artists and curators, as well as non-artists and non-curators.

I'm enjoying my peak experience right now, because my work is better and more seasoned than it's ever been. Having written that, I've had many frustrating moments in the short arc of my career, e.g., rejections, or showing in spaces that weren’t the right fit, and I've had periods where I had no sales and my anxiety was through the roof.

Above: Erin and Claire (Molek) at center, a/k/a Studio 1020, and Stephanie Burke at right, July 31, 2011.

Notoriety: Chicago knows me via my work. Chicago knows me as a colorful, confrontational, and empathetic painter with a story behind every piece. The narrative aspect of my work has really hit home with many members of my audience. I feel I have been more understood than misunderstood, because I am simply sharing the common experience of every man and woman through my work.

I think “Power Pussy” was my most misunderstood or controversial work to date. It was a combative piece, created in response to George Baselitz’s statement in a Spiegel interview that “women can’t paint,” and it was accompanied by an essay with sexist examples from the past year. Women felt very empowered by that piece. I hear it has now been resold for triple the amount I sold it for, and I’m trying to find out who owns it as the seller hasn’t been in contact with me.

Departure: I leave Chicago often. I leave Chicago at least once a month--even if it's only for a short trip home to Michigan to see my family. I spent over six months in Australia this past year as I fell in love with a man who lived in Byron Bay, NSW. We traveled around to the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. I painted at the apartment when my partner went to work.

Above: Julia Haw at Byron Bay, NSW, Australia, in 2014. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

On my first trip to Australia I spent too much time in the ocean. The second time I went, I buried myself in a new series completing ten works; the pieces were rooted in new perspective, slight humor and of course my signature darkness. They're a departure for me and have been received well. Soon, I plan to head to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Travel is essential for my work and overall health. It (travel) helps to maintain the perspective necessary for me to create; it opens my soul and vision to new worlds. I walk and I experience, I breath and laugh and cry. I need to leave Chicago in order to RETURN to Chicago, and to truly understand the beast that Chicago is.

Perspective & Connectivity: While traveling, and looking at Chicago from the outside, I better see the community we have here. I've established a family here. And we are hustlers. We get out and talk to each other; we attend each others' shows. Sometimes, when we haven’t had a sale, we don’t eat as much as we'd like. And when we have dinner parties everyone breaks off a piece of bread to bring home with them. Our work is different and strange, it comes from the gut, it comes from a blue collar, Midwest ethic.

Above: Julia Haw's "The Fall of John Lease" 2010, 28 x 34 inches, oil on canvas, Collection of Sandbox Industries. Black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

I feel that positioning Chicago as an “underdog,” or a “second city,” striving to be like New York, is really cliche. We are our own beast. We don’t have to be anything else; and why would we want to be? Perhaps once we collectively realize we don’t have to be something else, or become more unified, or talk more, or show more, or open more galleries, or gain more press, we'll be in a better place. We ARE there. We ARE here. And we keep spiraling out into the global sphere. Chicago is its own entity, and it’s awesome.

Information: I stay up-to-date through regular visits, long talks with friends, and some online media sources when I’m away.

Above: Julia Haw's studio in use, in 2015, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

Place: I've developed a practice which allows me to work anywhere. And wherever I go in the world I will always return to Chicago, whether to live, or to work, or to show my art. 

For me, “place” is wherever I feel I need to be at any given moment; in that sense, yes, place is important. That said, it's less-and-less important where an artist IS; the internet has changed things. What matters, now, is only that the work is created, and it’s taken to that next level.

- May 14, 2015 (C) Julia Haw

Learn more about Julia Haw and her work by visiting her website: http://www.juliahaw.com/

Images (1-4, 9, and 11) provided by Julia Haw; black and white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

Images (5-8, and 10) above copyright (C) 2009-2011 Paul Germanos.

Edited by Paul Germanos. Apologies for errors and omissions. Contact using the information at right.

Amended by Julia Haw, on May 30, 2015, to preserve her idiom in text.

2015: Mark Staff Brandl on Leaving Chicago

Paul Germanos: Hold old are you? Where are you from? When did you come here? Is Chicago one of many stops on your journey?

Mark Staff Brandl: I just turned 60! I am an artist of the venticento, was born, mid novecento, in 1955 in Peoria and went to high school in Pekin, Illinois. I visited Chicago a lot as a child and after my initial studies moved there in 1980. I immediately fell in love with the city; Chicago is my hometown in my heart till this day. I left in 1988. Since then I have lived with my Swiss wife Cornelia in several places around the world including Tortola in the Caribbean and have lived primarily in Switzerland.

More about me: I am an associate professor of art history at the Kunstschule Liechtenstein and Schule für Gestaltung in St.Gallen, Switzerland. My shows include galleries and museums in the US, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Egypt, the Caribbean; specific cities include Paris, Moscow, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

As a critic, I've been a contributor to London’s The Art Book, Sharkforum on-line, a podcaster for Bad at Sports, a Theory Editor for Chicago's Proximity magazine and a Contributing Editor for New York’s Art in America. I am also the curator of The the Kunstgrill and the Collapsible Kunsthalle.

Works of mine have been acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Whitney Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the St. Gallen Art Museum, The Thurgau Museum of Fine Art, The E.T.H. Graphic Collection in Zurich, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the International Museum of Cartoon Art, the Art Museum Olten and others.

Above: Mark Staff Brandl. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

PG: For what did you hope when you came to Chicago? A degree? A job? What did you think that you'd find here? What was your first impression of the city?

MSB: I began to have many possibilities to exhibit my work around 1980, so I left graduate school and moved to Chicago. I went to Chicago for the artworld. I also quickly got a job building exhibitions, dioramas and the like at the Field Museum of Natural History. Among other things there I was deeply involved in or built with my co-worker friends are the Eskimo house and the Egyptian hall, especially the Mastaba.

At first the artworld was great, with N.A.M.E. Gallery, ARC/Raw Space, Artemisia, Randolph Street Gallery and on and on. Many Kunsthalle-like places to show experimental work. There was a real feeling of breakthrough in the air, the very beginnings of Postmodernism, with amazing artists like Raoul Deal, Wesley Kimler, Michael Paha, Tony Fitzpatrick, Gary Justis, Jeff Hoke and me getting lots of attention. That changed later and is one of the reasons I left.

PG: Did you attend a school here? Which school did you attend? How long were you in school here? Did you receive a degree here? When did you receive your degree?

MSB: I studied art, painting, art history, philosophy, literature and literary theory at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana (BFA), Illinois State University in Bloomington (MA), Columbia Pac. University in California (MA), and received my Ph.D. in Art History and Metaphor Theory magna cum laude from the University of Zurich in Switzerland. So, no, I did not directly study in Chicago. But I learned so much from Chicago's music, the museums, the artists. Like Phil Berkman and Edith Altmann.

PG: How long were you in practice here? Did you enjoy success on your own terms? Can you recall some peak experience? If you felt frustrated, what frustrated you? Poor sales? Lack of publicity? High rent? Crime? Inefficient transportation? Public apathy? Bad weather? What was the total amount of time that you spent as a resident?

MSB: My career as an artist began in Chicago. I must be a Chicago artist in my soul, for as Tony Fitzpatrick's daughter Gabrielle mentioned when we got together in Florence, Italy recently, I still have a Chicago accent in English. I got lots of media attention for my art, sold well, won some awards, was listed as best installation of the year (or something like that) in The New Art Examiner once for a Raw Space piece. And so on. It was going upward, but as you know art careers have ups and downs. I found Chicago's music, literature and comic art world's wonderful. I believe Chicago is a wonderful place to live; my wife loved it too in the year she lived there, and misses it: those amazing neighborhoods, the food, the various ethnic groups. Art too. The Artists. But not it's artworld.

PG: How does Chicago know you? Does Chicago know you? Have you been misunderstood?

MSB: I suspect that my rather wild lifestyle was more notorious than my art at the end of my "welcome" in Chicago ( I have since settled a bit.) I think as an artist, especially pre Neo-Academicist-Conceptualist Chicago days, I was and am known as a somewhat too abrasive, rebellious intellectual. Someone who is insufficiently sophistically behaved. A highly critical conceptual painter, a mongrel addicted to art, personal freedom, philosophy, painting and several vernacular arts, including comics and sign-painting.

Above: Mark Staff Brandl. Image provided by artist; black & white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

PG: Was there an event which precipitated your departure? For which other city did you leave? What was waiting for you in that other city?

MSB: I left at the end of the 80s, when it appeared that there was nothing more for me in Chicago's visual artworld. In one of my recurring, sporadic changes, I had abandoned my earlier Late Conceptual Art and began pursuing the painting-installation-vernacular-art mongrelization that I still engage in. (Although all my "directions" have dealt with the same core content and subject matter.)

As I decided to abandon the Windy City, a brand of art was beginning to be enforced --- an exceedingly trendy, art magazine-derivative Neo-Conceptualism (then still linked to Neo-Geo). The SAIC Kirshner-Klan as we called it then. That, together with all the other aspects of Chicago's recurring provincialism, and a dreadful, dissolving love relationship, made me think, "Why the hell, then, don't you just go directly to that worshiped Mecca --- i.e. NYC?" I could see that Chicago was once again strangling its own creativity and would fade, as it indeed did, from Second City to Third, as LA was up-and-coming --- believing in itself!

I started on my way, yet then met my future wife (in the kitchen of my studio, strangely enough, due to a Maxtavern connection). She is Swiss, and after an unexpected further year in Chicago, and a later year in Tortola in the Caribbean, we headed off to Europe. I have now lived in one place or another in Europe for 27 years. Whenever I live for extended periods in the US, I never seem to make it out of NYC.

Above: A detail of Mark Staff Brandl's installation "My Metaphor(m)" 2013, oil and acrylic on canvas, paper and wall, entire work 15 x 148 feet (450 x 4500 cm). Image provided by the artist; original photograph by Balz Kubli; black and white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication. See below an embedded YouTube video documenting the "My Metaphor(m)" installation vernissage at the Jedlitschka Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland.

PG: (a) Does Chicago look different to you since your arrival to it and/or departure from it? Do you have advice for someone about to begin what you've finished? (b) Do you expect to maintain a connection to Chicago and its art world? What's your incentive to stay connected? Have you left friends or family here?

MSB: (answering both questions) Said a bit too roughly, Chicago is a great place to be from. To be FROM. Leave it. But keep up contacts. There are great, creative people there like Lynne Warren, Paul Klein, Bad at Sports, and so on. But Chicago is too provincial. Chances are better elsewhere. Provinciality is best construed as a state of mind, rather than one of geography. Once upon a time, provinciality consisted of knowing nothing of the world-at-large, only looking at local art and culture. Now that has inverted. The new provinciality is a form of consensus globalism, where you are always looking elsewhere, copying New York or the Biennale or documenta and never really looking at the great art occurring around your own corner.

I stay connected because I know that outside of the boring consensus-correct art, there are always wonderful artists creating unique, original, personal work in our city. Think of Chicago's theatre scene, literary world, and rich music, especially Blues, history. The same is true for visual art. Or can be.

PG: By what means do you stay abreast of developments in the arts in Chicago? Print? Social media? Visits?

MSB: Internet! Visiting, etc. From Sharkforum to Bad at Sports to emailing and facebook.

PG: In the end, is place important? Is physical location a matter of consequence in 2015?

MSB: For your day-to-day life, yes. But not really for art. A curator of a Kunsthalle told me in discussion that I had forgotten that it is the duty of curators in provincial areas to educate the local artists through confrontation with influences from outside. This is completely idiotic. Such "instruction" is totally unnecessary in our globally networked society. Most of us who live and work outside the few urban centers for culture immediately know everything that occurs in them. Normally, I have seen what is happening in New York City directly there, and Zurich, and Berlin, and London, and Florence and Istanbul, and more. And then 8 to 10 years later I am "instructed" about it? This teaching consists mainly in telling us which curatorially correct and momentarily accepted tendencies we should kow-tow before — something of a "Top o' the Pops" for the artworld, or even more banal, "Art World Star Search." As the artist Alex Meszmer opined, behind this lies the attempt to achieve "a little piece of Documenta, or New York, finally in every province." This thought process is what destroyed the originality of much of Chicago's art scene.

PG: Was some important subject omitted from this query? Please introduce any additional material which you believe to be relevant.

MSB: Artists in Chicago: if you do not leave, you can do something even more important. Start and maintain your own artworld, artvillages. Be antisophistic; stop being apparatchiks in your own "dissing." Cooperate with other artists. Ignore the current gatekeepers; they too shall pass. We will not. Art is a huge, millennium-long discussion among artists. The others are listening in. We can welcome them, but stop letting them dominate.

In the whole artworld, but clearly so in Chicago, we are in an academicist, mannerist situation that both artists and curators should rethink. Encourage self-reliance and the acceptance of responsibility on the part of artists, primarily, but also the rest of the Chicago artworld.

- May 20, 2015 (C) Mark Staff Brandl

Learn more about Dr. Brandl and his work by visiting his website: http://www.markstaffbrandl.com/

This article has been presented in its entirety, unedited.

Images (1-3) provided by Mark Staff Brandl; black and white (halftone) filter applied; resized for publication.

Contact editor using the information at right.

YouTube video of "My Metaphor(m)" installation vernissage at Jedlitschka Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland: