I've moved.

I've upgraded.

Find me at weekfiftytwo.com, which should redirect you to my new wordpress blog, which translates to www.weekfiftytwo.wordpress.com.

The site allows me to use the blog as not just an outlet for writing but a professional Web site where I can post more than just random thoughts.

Please update your links! I will be taking down the blogger site soon.

Thanks for reading, subscribing and commenting.

Impressive stuff from the Lincoln Arts Council

I wrote a column in the Reader two weeks ago about how a bunch of local artists, galleries and museums are embracing the podcast. Now, the Lincoln Arts Council is doing a pretty impressive job of embracing the whole "Web 2.0" thing and I thought I'd share their good work.

Check out the LAC Facebook page and become a fan. You'll get event notifications and help spread the word about all the good stuff the LAC does. If you're Twittering (something I've tried and that has, thus far, failed to keep my interest - but that's another blog post) you can now follow the LAC's tweets at www.twitter.com/artscene. The LAC has a Flickr photostream where the group uploads images of their most recent projects.

If you want it all (and a few more things, like email archives and the ability to submit events online) get it all here.

This Weekend...

My artsy friend Rachel and I are going to check out some art tomorrow night. Artist Allyson Gibbs is opening a show of new work at Benson's very cool PULP Gallery, and we'll be there. (After that its drinks at Jake's, my new favorite midtown bar.) On Saturday night, one of my favorite artists, Renee Ledesma Hoover, opens her annual fall show, this year at Rob Gilmer's RNG Gallery. I'll be reviewing it for the Reader in the coming weeks. Her sculptures are some of my favorites and what makes her art even better is her warm, engaging personality. I look forward to this show every year.

Also, here's something interesting to look at. My sister Lindsey sent me a link and wrote me a note that came with it: "Isn't it weird how this is basically just like the Kaneko?" she typed. Yes, it is. And it makes me think that Omaha is very lucky to have such an innovative art space budding in its downtown.

In other news, I'm enjoying the fall and have been crazy busy with my day job and my editor duties at the Reader. I wish I had more time to devote to writing, drinking wine at La Buvette and going on vintage shopping expeditions. Those are three of my favorite fall activities. I have enjoyed digging out all my forgotten fall clothing and, on the chilly evenings, spending time at home indulging in some of the trashiest and most addictive Bravo reality television. (I DIE for Rachel Zoe and her mind boggling collection of vintage. Sigh.)

And in some final news, I'm super excited for a few upcoming concerts: Stephen Malkamus, Mason Jennings and Wolf Parade are all coming to Omaha.

Glorious fall: perfect for art, fashion and music.

Signing off.

Above photo courtesy RNG Gallery and Renee Ledesma Hoover.

Celaya

Last night my significant and I went to a lecture sponsored by the University of Nebraska. Enrique Martinez Celaya, an NU visiting presidential professor, gave his first lecture in Omaha. NU President JB Milliken appointed Celaya to the position in 2007, and the three-year term began last year in Lincoln, where he gave three public lectures, had a show at the Sheldon Art Gallery, visited with classes and gave a UNL student an internship at his Los Angeles studio.

I don't go to as many lectures as I used to, but I have to say, this one was really worth the time. Celaya's talk was engaging, honest and thought-provoking. I especially loved his comments on the recent Damien Hirst auction that took place on the same day as a huge stock market dive. You can read about his thoughts at his blog.

I took a few notes at the lecture, and asked a question at the end. My question was "You seem to think art is ultimately not understandable. Where does that leave the viewer, the writer, the critic?" Celaya gave an answer that was better than I could have expected, delving into the differences between "good" and "bad" art and why he chooses not to waste his time on art that doesn't challenge, doesn't live up to his standards and isn't difficult.

Read about his philosophies on art, his recent work and his publishing house at his Web site.

He'll be back in Omaha this spring, and will give another lecture. I highly recommend attending. It'll make you think.

Food and Art.

Two of my favorite things. That's why I had to blog about a facebook message I got from the Lincoln restaurant Bread and Cup. Sadly, I haven't made it to this Haymarket restaurant that uses market fresh ingredients to make what sounds like absolutely delicious food.

On Saturday, Oct. 11, Bread and Cup is having a special event called "Chef and Artist Dinner." The restaurant is collaborating with local ceramic artists and will serve a four course meal on hand crafted dishes made by the team of artists. Diners can purchase the plate their food comes on; the purchase will be accompanied by a recipe for the meal the diner enjoyed. The event is by reservation only, and Bread and Cup will seat diners in groups of 4. The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. and is $50 per person.
Make yours at 402-438-2255 or learn more at www.breadandcup.com

Here's the menu, with accompanying wines:

Fruit & Cheese Plate
Figs, nuts, goat cheese with bread & olive oil
Wine: 2006 Champalou Vouvray

Tabouleh on Crisp Lettuce
A cracked wheat salad with olive oil, scallions, lemon, and mint
Wine: 2006 Martin Codax Albarino

Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Apricots, Almonds, & Honey with Couscous
Or
Spiced Potato Tagine with Mediterranean Olives
Wine: 2004 Pont d’ Avignon Cote du Rhone

Kataifi with Candied Pumpkin
Wine: 2006 Nachtgold Eiswien

Two artists, two shows.

Two Omaha "heavy hitters" -- Terry Rosenberg and Larry Ferguson -- are opening shows this fall.

Terry Rosenberg: Colors of War opens at the W. Dale Clark Main Library downtown tomorrow, Oct. 1. A free opening reception for the show is slated for Saturday , Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. Rosenberg will show 100 digital images (one is at left) that take conflicts throughout the world and present them in a new, thought provoking context. Emotionally charged couplets of words - like "Israelis/Palestinians" and "Democracy/Terrorism" appear in vividly colored arrangements on each piece, opening up an opportunity for debate, discussion and interpretation.

Viewers can also post their comments and engage in debates through the artist’s interactive blog www.terryrosenberg.blogspot.com, which features exhibition images and the essay Colors of War and the Colors of Words by Richard Shusterman, the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar Chair in the Humanities at Florida Atlantic University. Following its run at Omaha’s Main Public Library Branch, Colors of War will travel to fine art venues and libraries in the US and abroad.

Larry Ferguson: Moved by the Spirits will open at Modern Arts Midwest Oct. 3 with a 7 p.m. reception. The show is a solo exhibition of black and white images of trees, a subject Ferguson has found inspiration from since childhood, when he watched his mother plant more than 600 olive trees to serve as a windbreak at his rural Nebraska home. (And in case you were wondering, yes, the trees are still there 40 years later.)

Close to 100 images make up the show, which includes the release of an accompanying, limited edition plate book with the same title as the show. City Weekly critic Mike Krainak and art writer Kim Carpenter contributed essays to the catalog.

above photos courtesy Terry Rosenberg and Larry Ferguson.

American Apparel

One other thing...Omaha's outpost of American Apparel opened this week. Rejoice!

Check out our new Omaha store.

We're excited to be part of the neighborhood.
Stop in and say hello.

American Apparel Omaha
733 N 14th St.
Omaha, NE 68102
Tel. (402) 346-3000
Map & Directions

Store Hours:
Mon - Sat10am - 9pm
Sun11am - 6pm

Christo/Jeanne-Claude/Music/Titian

I was one of the 700 people who packed the Kaneko on Tuesday night to see Christo and Jeanne-Claude make their return to Omaha. I have to say, Jeanne-Claude was just as, shall we say, gregarious in person as she was during the interview process I went through with her and Christo. Still, even with her jabs at the media that peppered the lecture, I enjoyed attending the talk: the work, as it were, is beautiful. I think the best moment of the night was when Christo flipped a slide to their 1997-98 project "Wrapped Trees," and the audience - quite literally - gasped.

Take a look. (And click on any of the photos below for a closer look.)





Read more about this project, and all their other work, at www.christojeanneclaude.net.

I'm in Lincoln for the next few days, staying with some future family members and going to see some shows as part of the Lincoln Calling music festival, which my friend Jeremy Buckley puts on each year. Last night we saw Manny Coon, Neva Dinova and Eagle Seagull at the Rococco Theater. After that show ended, a new band called the Knots played outdoors, on top of the old fashioned, theater marquee sign outside downtown Lincoln's State Theater. Buckley's creativity showed in this setup, and it was a sight to see a band rocking on top of a huge triangular sign and a big crowd lining the other side of the street to see the elevated stage. Tonight we're planning to see the Killigans and Forty Twenty play inside the state theater. I'm hoping to make a stop at the Sheldon this afternoon - in college, I spent many an afternoon in its sculpture garden and contemplating the wonderful collection of contemporary art.

Next weekend - Sept. 27 - is the Smithsonian Magazine's annual Museum Day, and three museums in Omaha are participating in the event: the Durham Museum, the Joslyn and the Strategic Air and Space Museum on exit 426 between Lincoln and Omaha. It's the perfect opportunity to check out Joslyn's newly restored work by Titian that just returned to the museum from the Getty Museum's conservation center in Los Angeles.

The 475-year old work by Venetian painter Titian has been gone for 11 months after being accepted to the J. Paul Getty Museum's Conservation Partnerships Program in Oct. 2007. The program allows conservation of important works of art owned by other museums to be undertaken at no cost, with the provision that they are displayed at the Getty for a period of time after treatment. Titian’s portrait of Giorgio Cornaro was on view at the Los Angeles-based Getty from March through August 2008.

The portrait has suffered considerably in the hundreds of years since it was painted. Over time bits of paint have flaked away, colors have changed, the canvas has deteriorated, and varnish, applied over a painting to protect it, discolored, clouding and obscuring the image. The best intentions of restorers and previous owners contributed to further damage. At the Getty’s painting conservation studio, Mark Leonard, chief conservator, performed straightforward but painstaking work on the portrait, transforming it. Before conservation the painting was considered a tired example of the work of a great artist: the merits of Titian’s genius were hidden primarily behind a muddy varnish. With Titian’s colors, his profound use of lights and shades, and his great sensitivity to the character of his sitter again revealed, Joslyn’s portrait of Giorgio Cornaro takes its place as one of the finest works of the Italian Renaissance in an American museum.

Here's the work before conservation, in the studio with another Titian work. The Joslyn's piece is on the left.



Here's two images of the piece during the conservation process. Amy Rummel, Joslyn's spokeswoman, told me the work was stripped of all prior touch ups, leaving only the work done by Titian's hand.





And the final result. Before the conservator did his work, he sealed Titian's original from the touch-ups. Now, the new work is in its own layer and could be washed off in the future without damaging the original piece.



Photos of "Wrapped Trees" courtesy Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Web site. Photos of Joslyn's restored Titian, courtesy Joslyn Art Museum.

Art goes on.

Proof that people never tire of buying art, even when the stock market drops 44 percent in one day.

Hirst’s Art Auction Attracts Plenty of Bidders, Despite Financial Turmoil

Dixie Quicks

One of my favorite Omaha restaurants has become immensely popular after being featured on the Food Network. Now I have to make a reservation before I eat brunch on Sundays.

Cool Snap

It's September in Omaha. I have my windows open and my air conditioning off. It rained earlier this afternoon, quietly and gently. It's almost cool enough for me to wear my new leather jacket. Summer is - and I know this breaks some of your hearts - officially over. At least today it is.

Post college, thanks to the hard convincing of my friends, I've become a lover of summer. But I have to admit that I've always been more of a fall girl at heart. I don't like swimsuits and beaches all that much, and I slather on sunblock like nobodies business. True, I like a good BBQ and some time sitting by a pool now and again. But when the air begins to cool, the days get shorter and I can pull on a thick sweater, a knit hat and pair of slouchy, suede boots. Well. Color me happy.

The fall also gets me in the mood for some serious art, and in Omaha, its the time to be an art lover. It gets me revved up for the Bemis Auction - unarguably the premier art event in the city - and this year is its 10th anniversary. I can't wait to see what tricks the Bemis has up its sleeve. It makes me want to spend cool evening in the warm light of a gallery with a glass of red wine. This season find me at the usual haunts: Tugboat, Modern Arts Midwest, Project Room and the Sheldon in Lincoln. And in Omaha, the Bemis, the Bemis Underground and the Joslyn (Can't wait for Diego Rivera). The RNG Gallery, A Moving Gallery and PULP never let me down. Fall is an exciting time to be an art lover.

The season makes me want to seek out my favorite brewpubs and wine bars in Omaha and Lincoln and gather with friends. La Buvette is lovely on a fall afternoon. And my new found love for the Omaha outpost of Jake's is sure to continue through the season.

I'm starting off my fall art season this weekend with a press tour I've been working on since January. Eight journalists are coming to Nebraska to learn about our thriving arts and culture and hopefully write lots of stories about how great it is here. I'm nervous about it. Wish me luck, and if you see me this weekend, be sure to brag about how great our city is. You might even make it into the pages of a magazine.

photos: above left, "The Last Fire" by Eric Anderson, showing at Project Room in September. At right, "Candid Rear View" by Olivia Jeffries, showing at PULP beginning Sept. 12.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude

I interviewed the duo earlier today. I'll be writing a story for the Reader about their impending Omaha visit and might write about my experience with them, too. Meantime, here's a video of them from 2007 talking about, among other projects, the Gates.

edit: Sorry, readers. For some reason the below video refuses to play all the way to the end. I'll leave it up - it's good for about 10 minutes.

And in the time you would have spent watching the video, check this page out. It was my reading assignment - per Jeanne-Claude - before I did today's interview.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Common Errors

One more thing

Remember I said I had my photo snapped while at the Edison Winter Estates while I was in Florida? Well, here's the result. That's me on the left and my friendly (and very tall) coworker Ann on the right. We're hanging out in front of a very cool early Model T.

Artsy Food

My sister's friend and, by association my friend, Lainey (an awesome amateur outfit photographer as seen on my sister's blog Only Style Remains the Same) has a food blog.

The only thing I love more than art and fashion is eating.

Cheers!

http://foodeatenlifelived.blogspot.com/

Happy Friday

Hello, everyone. I'm back from Florida. Never did see any art, but did spend a morning on a rather lovely beach before I left. Took a boat about 25 minutes from my resort to an island; the beach was chockablock with shells. I picked up a few and was reminded both of the power of the ocean - which never fails to scare me a little bit - and the beauty of what it spit out at my feet every few seconds. I guess you could call that art, huh?

Meantime. Here's some actual art news.

I got an email from Peter Burr this morning. He's a former Bemis resident who put on a great show when he was in town along with his band Hooliganship. Now he's coming back to town as part of a new project: the Cartune Xprez wagon, a travelng show of cartoons and video performances. Burr and his collaborators just finished a new movie called the 2008 Cartune Xprez DVD; its his second video compilation with this group. The traveling show will bring a group of cartoon performers around the country, including performances by Hooliganship and videos by Bruce Bickford, Takeshi Murata, Adrian Freeman, Blu, Martha Colburn, Paper Rad, Shana Moulton, Timo Katz, Emanuele Bortoluzi, Shayne Ehman, Seth Scriver, Eric Dyer, Ola Vasiljeva, Jeff Kricshun, Corey Lunn, E*Rock, Mumbleboy, Tars Hrabowsky, Lief Hall, Josh Mannis, Jim Trainor, Christopher Doulgeris and Burr himself. The animation party comes to Concordia University in Seward on Sept. 10 and to the Bemis Center in Omaha on Sept. 11.

I'm sure most of you have heard that artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude are coming to Omaha for a Sept. 16 lecture at the Kaneko on their two new projects. I'm interviewing them on Monday for a story in The Reader the week before the lecture, which I am looking forward to hearing. I'll be posting a sort of Q&A style rundown of the interview in the blog, and hopefully will be able to include more than I can in the newspaper.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Florida

So I apologize for the lack of posting recently. I've been traveling again - currently, I'm in Bonita Springs, Florida, for a conference for my day job. I haven't seen much art here - honestly, all I've seen is bad resort hotel art. But I did get to visit a cool place the night before last: the Edison Ford Winter Estate. Both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford lived in Edison's compound here in South Florida, and now it's a historic landmark. I have to say the coolest part was seeing Edison's untouched lab where he spent years trying to invent an alternative to rubber. It was truly amazing. Sadly, I left my camera in Omaha, so I don't have any of my own images. (The official photographer for the conference I'm attending did take my photo in front of an old Model T, so when he emails it to me, I might post it. If I look presentable, that is.)

I get home tomorrow and hopefully will have another post for you to read this weekend. Until then, happy Tuesday.

A post that doesn't have much to do with art. (but kind of does.)

One of my favorite features in the New York Times each week is "On The Street," where iconic times photographer Bill Cunningham takes photos of street style in the city. There's a ton of street style sites on the internet these days, but Cunningham is truly the original. His narration is lively and fun and his photographs capture the real vibe of NY city's streets.

A recent "On The Street" was about scarves. Anyone who knows me knows that I have an absolute fascination with scarves. I wear them in all seasons, all weather, all prints, all the time. The first time I wore one in the summer was about two seasons ago - I had on a white tank top and a lime green pashmina around my neck. I remember a boy I knew looked at me, with a puzzled stare, and asked "Why in hell are you wearing a scarf in the summer?" It's all about style, my boy. Style.

During my travels, I often come home with a bag of brochures from museums and either wearing or toting a new scarf. Case in point: three vintage Vera scarves came home from Chicago with me. In Pittsburgh, I got a striped cashmere wrap on ultra sale. In Las Vegas, it was a green and white plaid cotton scarf with accents of yellow. Someday, I hope to own a classic silk Hermes scarf, along with the book it comes with on, what else? The art of scarf knotting.

On The Street: Muffled

Some openings

Opera Omaha continues its recent tradition of working with artists in its latest collaboration. The Opera commissioned artist Waite White to create images for the world premiere performance of The Blizzard Voices by composer Paul Moravec. The show is based on the poetry of former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and is a retelling of the dramatic story of the blizzard of 1888. White illustrated characters and scenes from the poetry that will be projected on large screens during the performances. At left is one of his drawings, called "The Search Party."

White has an accompanying show on display at the Nebraska Arts Council's Fred Simon Gallery, where he's showing a new series of work, titled PULP, as well as bold, vibrant oil paintings inspired by everyday life. In a statement, White said he explores the relationship between the subject, its surroundings and how it relates to art in his work. He draws inspiration from impressionism, realism and contemporary culture.

The Blizzard Voices runs Sept. 12 at the Holland Performing Arts Center and Sept. 13 at the Arts Center at Iowa Western Community College. For more information on tickets, visit www.operaomaha.org. The NAC Fred Simon show continues through Sept. 12.

If you've ever wondered about the origins of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben (and honestly, I have) a new show at the Durham Museum will answer some of your questions. Dawn in Quivira: The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, 1895-1900 chronicles the beginning of the group, which went on to become one of the most influential organizations in the region. The show tells the story of the foundation of the Knights, the ascent of the monarchy and the group's eventual contributions to Omaha and the state of Nebraska. Several prominent businessmen banded together in the late 1800s with the mission of attracting people to Omaha, and eventually assimilated the Spanish myth of Quivira, a legendary kingdom containing seven cities of gold. From this mythology came the royal house of Ak-Sar-Ben with its ceremony, coronation and pageantry. The organization also spearheaded the creation of the Nebraska State Fairs. The show is the first in a series of Ak-Sar-Ben Hall of Fame Exhibitions that will be at Durham; this one is on display through Nov. 9.

Quilts as art (and other musings)

Today I'll get my second lesson in quilting. My significant's aunt is a fantastic quilter and has agreed, while she's in town for a few weeks this summer, to give me a quilting tutorial, which she promises I'll be successful at. (She teaches kindergartners how to quilt; so I had best not be a failure.) I've already amassed two yards each of seven coordinating fabrics, most of which are reproduction prints of styles first made in the 1870s, 1930s and 1940s. Today, in preparation for slicing them, I've washed, pressed and starched each piece of cloth. I'll post my first block when I finish making it (and yes, I know this isn't a craft blog. But there's some art to the world of handicrafts, trust me.)

I've long been a lover of "crafts," and though I've not always excelled at my crafty girl efforts, I find much solace in the idea of making something with my hands: I sure as hell can't make a painting, but you want a hand knit wool hat? I'm your girl.

I taught myself to knit a few years ago, and I mostly stick to scarves (I love a hand knit scarf more than many things) though I've made mittens, hats and other wooly goods, too. Quilting has also always appealed to me, but I've never taken the plunge. I think the opening of the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln earlier this year pushed me toward finally taking more interest in the idea of making a quilt by hand. The heirloom, vintage quality of a hand stitched, beautifully matched series of patterned fabrics appeals to my love of all things old, to my admitted vintage sensibility. Quilts as art used to seem an odd pairing to me; now, those two words together make more sense. Quilts, like most art, are best appreciated in person, but I think you'll see a little bit of what I mean when you take a gander at the photos below. I don't aim to create anything this grand, especially in my first attempt, but hey. A girl can dream.

(These are all log cabin quilts. It's the style I plan to make.)

above: Log cabin quilt made of wool suiting and gabardine, around 1930-1940

above: Pennsylvania quilt, dating from 1870-1890, made of suiting, serge and wool gabardine

above: Pennsylvania quilt from 1865-1895, made of wool. All images courtesy UNL's International Quilt Study Center.

I'm back...

So I've been away for a week or so, I know. My day job, freelance work and travel have made it hard for me to post, but I'll make up for it with some images, a few stories and some notable openings in today's post. If you're curious as to where I've been, well, I've been doing a lot of back and forth between my home office in Omaha and my real office in Lincoln for my day job. When I get home, I'm beat. This weekend, I was in Chicago for Lollapalooza and some relaxing fun - the trip was a Christmas present to my significant. So there you are. On to some art.

First, two openings I'm excited about and two events I plan to attend. Both, coincidetally, capture images -- though vastly different ones -- of Nebraska.

Artist Keith Jacobshagen is showing Journals of the Days at Lauritzen Gardens, and the show includes 20 of his sketches and journal entries from field notebooks. I love Jacobshagen’s beautiful Nebraska landscape paintings; so for me, this is a can’t miss show. He’ll give a lecture on Aug. 21 at 6:30 p.m. about his journaling process, which lead to his final works of art. The lecture is $10 for the general public and free for art students with ID. Reservations are required; make them by calling 346.4002, extension 201. (I'm making a note to be sure and attend this one.)

Another artist whose work I quite like has a show opening in Lincoln’s Great Plains Art Museum. Michael Farrell’s Hinterlands runs at the gallery, 1155 Q St., through October. The show of gelatin prints includes images from Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado from the remote locations Farrell most favors: low population, stark landscape, inaccessibility and a void of tourists are the types of places he photographs. "These are parts of Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado where you can spend an entire day on back country roads or trails and not see another person,” he said. “These places, even though they appear rugged or harsh, are also fragile environments that may not survive, as we experience them now, too far into the future." The show will open officially on Lincoln’s September 5 First Friday, from 5-7 p.m. At left is one of his images of Nebraska. Starkly beautiful, no?

Blogging, though a somewhat time consuming pursuit, can also lead to some unexpected connections. Since I revived Week Fifty Two, I've been in touch with a pair of editors working on a new volume of essays exploring the work of one of my favorite artists, Chris Ware. I've also received an email from friend and Omaha artist Kenneth Adkins, who told me that not only has he relocated to Rhode Island, he's also opening a show this month at Gallery 070 in Vashon Island, Washington. I'm hoping to post a question and answer session with the Ware editors and a ful update on Adkins and his new work on the blog in the coming month. And because I couldn't wait to show a new piece of Adkins, here's the image from the postcard he sent me in the mail. Enjoy.

Farrell image "Nebraska" courtesy of the Great Plains Art Center. Kenneth Adkins "Study for the Hamburger Lady, 2008, mixed media, 8x10" courtesy of Gallery 070.