successfully synonym: January 2013

Danny Boyle's 2013 "Trance" to Continue the Rakish Image of the Art Thief

"Anyone can steal a painting, all it takes is a bit of muscle, but no piece of art is worth a human life" says the (fictional) thief in the trailer for Danny Boyle's new movie, Trance, set to open in theaters in the United Kingdom on March 27 and in the United States on April 5.

Leah Rozen for BBC America reports that Danny (Slumdog Millionaire) Boyle's psychological thriller involving the theft of a Goya painting by an amnesiac thief (photogenically played by the Scottish actor James McAvoy) was filmed on location at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. McAvoy's character Simon is an employee at an auction house who grabs a painting off the wall during a diversion, bumps his head, and then allegedly requires a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) to recovery the memory of where he hid the stolen painting before his violent associate (Vincent Cassel) tortures the recollection out of him.

This Warm Bodies Weekend, Jan 31st-Feb 3rd

The days have been beautiful.

First Saturday Indie Market on the 600 block - This relaxed First Saturday sidewalk market has grown to be a delightful event with some of the best creatives in the city selling reasonably priced works in a great setting.

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A Couple of Ways of Doing Something: Chuck Close @ FMoPA - Acclaimed artist portraitist Chuck Close, who has explored the genre in depth is exhibited at FMoPA. fifteen of his works will be shown. Opens Thursday, Jan 31st @ 6 PM. Admission $10 for non members.400 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa.

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A Night of Experimental Film @ C. Emerson Gallery -

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First Friday Focus: Herb Snitzer @ Leepa Rattner - Snitzer's famous 1994 portrait of Miles Davis will be presented. Admission $5, $4 for seniors. Suggested donation on Sunday. 600 Klosterman Rd. Tarpon Springs.

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Bodo Art Gallery Opening February 1st.

BODO ART GALLERY OPENING FEBRUARY 1

The Bodo Art Gallery, at 2311 Central (across from Taco Bus and next door to Artissin), will have its official opening Friday, February 1 with a reception/party from 7 to 9 pm. The gallery space is a white cube, 20 by 80 feet, with 16 foot ceilings—enough room for an inspired collection of giclees, original art, origami, and an assortment of healing and nurturing lotions, oils, and essences. One half of the wall space is dedicated to original art, while the other half is comprised of giclees, posters, and other reproductions.

Oanh Do, a native of Vietnam but a longtime resident of St Petersburg, is a multi-talented conceptual artist specializing in origami, flower arrangement, and party planning. Because of her longtime residence in St Petersburg, she has contacts with dozens of local artists and hopes to have their works displayed as much as possible.

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Florida Heat Instructor Work Exhibition @ Morea Arts Center for Clay - The work of artists participating in the Florida Heat Firing Symposium is shown. Through Feb 24th. Free. 420 22nd St. S. St. Petrsburg 10:00 - 5 PM Thursday - Saturday and Tuesday - Wed.
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To See As Artists See: American Masterpieces from the Philips Collection @ Tampa Museum -
100 American paintings from a top museum n display. This promises to be a great show.
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The Big Picture: Cirkut Images at Tampa History Center - Pictures by the Burgert Brothers Studio from the area. 801 Old Water St., Tampa.

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Electronics Alive VII - The Seventh biennial exhibition of Digital Art at University of Tampa's Scarfone;Hartley gallery. Through Feb 22. At UT's Bailey Art Studios. Tampa. Free.

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mm

Gundlach Art Theft: Case against suspected art thieves slowly working its way through the court appearances

Last September thieves broke into the Santa Monica home of financier Jeffrey Gundlach and stole, amongst his possessions, some very valuable paintings. Two weeks later, on the other side of Los Angeles County, with the cooperation of various law enforcement agencies, the paintings were recovered and the arrests began. By early January, six people had been charged in the theft and appeared in court to plead "not guilty" (this is called an arraignment). A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 6 at 9 a.m. in Department 142 at the Airport Branch of the Los Angeles Superior Court. This appearance in court is a just a proceeding to determine if there is sufficient evidence to require a trial.

This theft and recovery of these multimillion dollar paintings seem less glamorous than art thieves portrayed in the media. You can read all about art thieves and the media in a piece by Katie Ogden (ARCA 2009) on the ARCA blog here.

Home for the Holidays: The de la Torre Brothers @ Mindy Solomon Gallery.

Jamex and Einar de la Torre, "Greed Talisman"

Einar and Jamex de la Torre were born in Guadalajara, Mexico in the early 60's and moved with their mother to California a decade later. They led a binary life between the two countries and cultures, and have developed a global awareness in their work.

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On the left is "Greed Talisman". A talisman is something bespoke made to protect a specific person(s), thing(s) or place(s). It is an al rondo composition, with a central portion, a flaming horned devil, with... (see below)

Greed Talisman close-up

Greed Talisman detail

....the words "greed" and "go" in its eyes. Around it a sensationally jagged "halo" in yellow. (On right) Surrounding that devil face are six canoe-shaped spaces defined by strings of toy pearls. Three on either side. On the right is a close-up of one. Note the yellow background, the pennies floating in it. Above, an European head, below, something out of a Mayan Stela (Palenque?). The two worlds.

Their work is mainly baroque in the Latin American tradition, which is derived directly from European trends brought over during the early colonial period, and a Postmodern pastiche of many kinds, including Aztec, Asian, American, Mexican, etc. The work is flamboyant in color, form and concept, gleefully irreverent, powerfully intelligent, blending the sacred and profane with what at first glance might appear impulsive and perhaps random intent. In reality, they use these symbols and signifiers with surgical precision, albeit in an over-the-top manner.

Jamex and Einar de la Torre "El Cakeito"

"El Cakeito", above, (the little cake) made of archival print(s), resin, objects and mixed media, involves the Goddess Tara [Link] in the middle panel, covered in graffiti. On the angled side panels are depicted Japanese storefront windows with fake plastic cakes on graffiti-covered shelves.Clear glass faces, some looking hungry rest over the cakes.

"El Cakeito", Detail of one face.

A She-Buddha, plastic cakes and the hungry. The artists often present us with unreconciled paradoxes or opposites, leaving it up to the viewers.

These works place demands on the viewers. Walk 360 degrees around each one, pay attention and crouch to scrutinize every bit. The brothers' iconographic overload (bordering on horrovacuity) has rewarding surprises in store for the astute viewer. There is a wealth of elements to every work, including some (more or less) hidden ones. I have learned to pore over their works, specially the pedestal pieces, no matter how small or large.

Jamex and Einar de la Torre, "Tanque You"

On the left is "Tanque You", Which translates out to "Tank You", a play on words. The tank is part head, lips locked around the phallic cannon barrel. Look closer. The "tracks" of the Tanque are precisely the color of and look like strips of flesh.The cannon's sight is way off center.

"Tanque You", detail

Look at the front of the tank. There is a Rubik's Cube and a royal symbol: A Fleur-du-Lis. One Divine Right and the other with innumerable permutations, but only one "solution". On the right is a plaque at the bottom front of the tanque. Does anyone know what it means?

Energy abounds in de la Torre works. The future jetstreaming into the present at a rate that is hard to assimilate, in a manner reminiscent of the torrential rate of information flowing into our lives from the Web, with the quality of a throbbing human heart.


Jamexand Einar de la Torre, "Rally du Mort"

In "Rally du Mort" (Rally of Death) we have a golden car driven by what seems like a Mayan Death Deity. This is an extraordinary piece, even within the de la Torre oeuvre.

Detail of side of driver figure

Each work carries a plurality of potential narratives and revelations, all fluidly shifting depending on where you stand physically and spiritually in relation to the pieces.

Some are just formal epiphanies like this detail of the side of the driver/deity. This is an exquisitely sensuous part of this work. Not the kind one ties himself to the mast to hear safely, but dives and swims towards the rocks to savor.

Detail of wheel/tire

Look at the wheels. There are six blue heads in each one. The tires roll on what one of our presidents referred to as "brown ones".

Detail, hood ornament.

The hood ornament is a European man's head, perhaps a conquistador's head. Here one might think they know this work, that this is ample, and there is nothing else to be seen, but they would be wrong.

Angle yourself to the side of the driver figure and look down between the dash/steering wheel to the floor. Where the accelerator would be is this white Death's Face, Laughing. A hidden secret in this work of art, and many of the works there have them, too. This one got my attention.

A lot of binaries in these works. Paradoxes. It's a marginal Cosmology, an intensely human one.

Congratulations to Jaimex and Einar de la Torre and to Mindy Solomon for a very good show.

--- Luis

This show runs through Feb 2nd.

Mindy Solomon Gallery
124 2nd Ave. NE
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

ph 727.502.0852

Gallery Hours

Wed-Sat: 11am - 5pm

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: By Appointment

Salvador Dali's Cat

Salvador Dali had a cat named Babou. It was an ocelot from Colombia that he took wherever he went, including dinner, walks and transatlantic cruises (!).

Dali-Ocelot_5

Dali-Ocelot_5

--- Luis

Seen/Scene: Crislip Arcade afternoon

I went by the Crislip Arcade late one afternoon and ran into....

...Amy Marshall jewelry artist and owner of Strands of Sunshine and painter Bill Drugan, who has his own gallery in the Crilip Arcade, where this photo was taken.

Jay Herre was busy at work in his gallery....

Dysfunctional Grace Art Company's Liz Williams was busy making branches for The Tree of Life out of chain link wire, but took a second for the camera.

Thanks to all for making time for a quick portrait. The Crislip Arcade, where one can buy art, and see it being made.

---- Luis

Street Art: Mystery Mural

This appeared a couple of weeks ago in the alley on the N. side of Central Ave on the 600 block, behind Misred [Link]. It looks like it was done in a hurry by an experienced and very good muralist.


Artist unknown

Red rose, Blue rose, wise-looking Owl.


Right half.


Left Half

Congratulations to the artist for a fine mural.

--- Luis

Greek Erotica @ Museum of Fine Arts

[From Spathos, via Tracy Kennard]

Greek Erotica
February 5, 2013
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

For adults 21 and older.

This fully-illustrated Valentine’s Day lecture presents aspects of Greek erotic representation by introducing the cult of Aphrodite and suggesting the ways in which the Cnidian Aphrodite by Praxiteles in the fourth century BC revolutionized the depiction of the goddess of love.

Dr Robert Steven Bianchi is currently chief curator of the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art/Genève. He has frequently lectured about and published several articles treating aspects of ancient erotica.

Desirable displays in the glass Conservatory, with couture by Spathose in partnership with local hair and makeup artists.

A visual delight of the outrageous as you wonder in the artistry that only true collaboration can bring to the Gods! A Spectacle for the Senses!

Kristine Marcum- VLVT Salon
Samantha Smith- Cutting Loose Salon
Chris Kiss- Chris Kiss Hair

Walking Works of Wearable Art.

Card Readings by Michael Wells.

Henna tattoos by Jen.

Extravagant photo ops!

Marlene Glickman Dye your own sensual silk scarf in minutes!

Exotic Wood Furnishings by Funktionhouse Urban Lumber & Furnishings

Keep St. Pete Local

Tantalizing Tastes from the Savory Spice Shop

Jewelry Designs by Cynthia Samaha.

Chocolate tastings by Viktoria Richards.

Dreamy music courtesy of Harpist Zoe Bocik.

Libidinous lecture in the Marly Room at 6:30pm.

Chocolate fountain and Champagne in the Conservatory following the lecture.

Full cash bar.

The Galleries will be open.

This event was a sell-out last year.

No reservations, first-come, first-served.
$15 members, $25 nonmembers

Presented by the Education Department and the Museum Store.

Preparing next year's 'Enchanted Garden' :)

Hmmmmm.....

What will arrive?

Ten Years of Calligraphy by Ruth Pettis @ Eckerd College

Ten Years of Calligraphy by Ruth Pettis. January 27th to March 15th. Eckerd College, Cobb Gallery. At 4200 54th Ave. S. Free admission.

--- Luis

Chuck Close Exhibit at FMoPA

Opens Thursday, January 31st

A Couple of Ways of Doing Something:

Photographs by Chuck Close/Poems by Bob Holman

January 31, 2013 - March 31, 2013

Chuck Close

Self-Portrait, 2006 © Chuck Close. Courtesy Pace/MacGill, New York
Made in collaboration with David Adamson Editions
Exhibition organized by Aperture Foundation, New York

Opening Reception, Thursday, January 31st 6pm - 8pm

Lecture by Deli Sacilotto, Sunday, February 3rd 2pm

Poetry Reading/Book Signing by Bob Holman

Thursday, March 28th 7pm

Bodo Art Gallery Opening February 1st.

BODO ART GALLERY OPENING FEBRUARY 1

The Bodo Art Gallery, at 2311 Central (across from Taco Bus and next door to Artissin), will have its official opening Friday, February 1 with a reception/party from 7 to 9 pm. The gallery space is a white cube, 20 by 80 feet, with 16 foot ceilings—enough room for an inspired collection of giclees, original art, origami, and an assortment of healing and nurturing lotions, oils, and essences. One half of the wall space is dedicated to original art, while the other half is comprised of giclees, posters, and other reproductions.

Oanh Do, a native of Vietnam but a longtime resident of St Petersburg, is a multi-talented conceptual artist specializing in origami, flower arrangement, and party planning. Because of her longtime residence in St Petersburg, she has contacts with dozens of local artists and hopes to have their works displayed as much as possible.

The giclee art features large, mainly abstract works from Leftbank Art, the premier progressive producer of fine giclee reproductions in the United States. Bob Regli was the principal art buyer for Treehouse Gallery in St Petersburg , and was fortunate to study art history in Florence, Italy. “I’ve been visiting the art dealers’ galleries in High Point (North Carolina) and Atlanta for the past eleven years, where I bought a lot of Tuscan landscapes and other works that seemed to go with the rustic furniture. This gives me a chance to bring in works that are more edgy and abstract, and of course beautiful. It’s hard to really categorize them, except that they are pictures I like. And Leftbank Art does amazing work with their selection of artists and the gel finishes that they have developed. Seeing this industry evolve over the past decade has been eye opening.”

Bodo Gallery hopes to offer other services after the gallery closes for the day, including healing arts such as massage, spiritual readings, and classes, and to produce shows for local artists, great parties, and special events. .

For further information, email the Gallery at bodogallery@gmail.com, send a message on the Bodo Gallery Facebook page, or call Bob Regli at 727 272 7369.

When in the US: Spillian: a very special place to visit, dream - and RAVEL!

Art Sanctuary likes to spread good news! :)

Meet Spillian, a camp for grownups that is being crafted from a glorious Shingle Style mansion embraced by the Catskill Forest.

http://spillian.com/

Evenings in Wonderland: The Attack of the 50 foot Woman

All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide:
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide. --- Charles Luttwig Dodgson.

F.

The evening was a little on the cold side. It could have been anywhere in the world, like Hoxton, Mayfair, Otsuka, Ginza, The Marais or Avignon, but it was much closer to home. The long-awaited, well-Facebooked group show had the usual fabulous double-entendre title, lightly flirting with semiotics. Rigid, egalitarian geometrics and tradition recontextualized. Populist with rich toppings, there was something for everyone, and it looked like they all came.

I spoke with the Fishers, K & Q, about her mother's hair. The blonde attorney, beautifully hosed and heeled traded talk, smiles and cards with me. Outside, fashionable, frustrated talk. Money, blogs and tripods. Unintentionally offended someone because I did not remember them. So many people to remember. The Smith, as usual, gave me illuminating insights as to the local history of the arts in few words. One of the M&M's was sick, the other two angelic. A connection I had been trying to make for CC unsuccessfully, happened on its own. Hopefully a show will come of it. D., I wanted to see you.

There were several out-of-towners visiting, or in transit, looking a little wistful at what they would leave behind. Energy went around the room like heat lightning on a summer's evening. Red and her sister dazzled. The tidal pull of the Moon in her painting seemed to influence the crowd, as it pulsated, at times spilling widely into the street.

Ran into a cow (skull) rancher on the sidewalk and talked about her bright future. Inside all the available roles for artists and viewers played on. But all the art was not on the walls. With something borrowed, under a full moon, a brilliant, humorous and daring bit of feminist performance art happened --- in a blink. Almost everyone missed it.

Stopped at a restaurant, ate a leisurely dinner with a trio of delightful companions. The evening ended up at a Neomodern juke joint in the WAD taking pictures of a good singer/musician in a black midriff top and red lycra undies while dodging wild dancers. The smell of Montana lead outside, where a dedicated artist painted over his own mural in the dead of night.

--- Luis

Recapping the Villa Giulia Symposium - Italy’s Archaeological Looting, Then and Now

By Lynda Albertson, ARCA 's CEO

Waking this morning and checking the news bureaus I came across the January 26th New York Times editorial piece The Great Giveback by Hugh Eakin.

Before proceeding further, let me state that despite the almost 2,000 words of commentary by the senior editor of the New York Review of Books of his personal opinion as to what the motives are in countries like Italy in seeking restitution of their looted art, Eakin doesn’t seem to be talking thoughtfully with anyone in Rome at the present time. If he is, he certainly isn’t attentive to what people closely involved in these cases are saying.

Having just spent last Thursday, January 24th at the round table symposium at the Villa Giulia hosted by Alfonsina Russo, Superintendent Archaeologist for Southern Etruria, in reviewing the work conducted in these contentious cases over the last 15+ years I can assure you that extortion is not, nor has it ever been, a nefarious motive in seeking the return of Italy’s looted antiquities.

Italy’s motive, if it can be summed-up in a simple statement, is to preserve and protect the country’s antiquities for all its generations and in doing so, by recording objects in their discovered contexts, expanding upon our knowledge of the ancient world.

While not as intimately informed about the impetuses for reinstatement of looted art in Greece or Turkey, I think I can speak fairly knowledgeably that like Italy, their objectives are not to strip foreign museums bare of their collections but to protect what is legally defined as theirs. While at times it can seem prosecutorial, these countries, like Italy, seek to right past wrongs, intentionally malicious or not, and to uphold current international law. Ancillary to that is to examine preventative measures so that the illicit trade in antiquities doesn’t merely shift to alternate buying markets.

Last Thursday’s meeting in Rome was a chance for people directly involved in the Italian looting cases of which Mr. Eakin speaks to see how far their country has come in working for the return of works of art stolen or exported illegally. Knowing that as recently as 3 weeks ago a tomborolo in Vulci, Alberto Sorbera, from Montalto di Castro, suffocated while looting an Etruscan tomb, they are faced with daily evidence which starkly highlights that the country has a long way to go in eliminating its looting problem.

The Villa Giulia meeting was a solemn one. Thursday’s talks started with an introduction by the Director General for Antiquities Luigi Malnati, who spoke of the continuing difficulties Italy has in terms of manpower and financial potency in securing cultural heritage sites, especially those in remote areas. His exact words were “Senza il controllo del territorio, non si fa nulla”.

Italy’s law enforcement also spoke. I listened to the thoughtful words of retired General Roberto Conforti, former Commander of the Carabinieri TPC (Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale) who spoke about the early days of the TPC. He explained how Italy’s Ministry of Culture trained officers on the intricacies of the art world and how, during his tenure, the collaborative efforts of judges, consultants and museum personnel culminated in much of what we know today of the illegal trade dealings of the principal suppliers involved in these US and foreign museum related cases.

Major Massimiliano Quagliarella, Head of Operations Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection and Major Massimo Rossi, Commander of the Cultural Heritage Protection Group of the Guardia di Finanza each spoke about current and ongoing investigations involving recent incidents of plundered art. Their statistics emphasized that despite growing public awareness, international focus from the archeaological world and cooperation between nations and museums in requesting the return of pillaged objects, the number of looting sites throughout Italian territories are still significant. Their statistics and images of recent looting served to highlight that the problem with trafficking is ongoing, even if current buyers do not appear to be museum heads.

Maurizio Fiorilli, Attorney General of the State; Guglielmo Muntoni, President of the Court of Review of Rome; and Paolo Giorgio Ferri, former magistrate for the Getty and Met cases and now a judicial advisor to the Directorate General for Antiquities, also spoke of the complexity of Italy’s antiquities trafficking problem. Fiorilli voiced his opinion that it is necessary for Italy to apply not just judicial pressure, but political pressure as well if Italy is to uphold seizure orders such as the one for The Getty Bronze. This statue known in Italy as l’Atleta di Fano, the signature piece of The Getty's embattled antiquities collection, was, according to Italian court records, illegally exported before the museum purchased it for $4 million in 1976.

Muntoni spoke about the horror investigators felt when viewing the hundreds of polaroid photos Tomboroli took of Italy’s looted artwork, seen broken and stuffed into the trunks of cars with dirt still clinging to them. He also mentioned his personal disappointment that professional archaeologists and museum curators used U.S. tax laws to inflate the value of donated objects in a rush to have wealthy patrons collude with them to add to their collections.

Paolo Girogio Ferri listened to me thoughtfully as I talked about the continued need to find compromises that neither destroy US museum reputations nor allow them to indefinitely delay the return of objects they know should be returned. We discussed the lock system of illicit trafficking, and how at the end of the day antiquities should be perceived not just as cultural heritage but as merchandise, and that as long as there are buyers and unprotected territories with objects the buyer wants, looting will continue to represent a problem for safeguarding Italy’s cultural patrimony.

Italian journalists Fabio Isman and Cecilia Todeschini spoke first-hand about current looting cases and the tireless archaeologists in small regional museums who try their best, despite limited funding, to protect what they can. Daily though, these front-line soldiers take photos of their battle scarred regions as evidence that Italy’s battle against the theft of antiquities has not been won.

Isman highlighted the facts surrounding a very recent article he published in Il Messagero, I predatori dell'arte perduta:due leoni alla corte del Getty, where he brought Italy’s attention to two 1912 archive photographs from the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) taken of the front of the Palazzo Spaventa in Pretùro near Aquila. The photos show two lions, originating from the ancient Sabine city of Amiternum, which flank an entrance to the building as sentinels. The fact that they are there is not surprising. This area of the Abruzzo and surrounding territory are known to have been an important zone where Roman funerary lions were carved. What is puzzling is when they were removed and how and when they were trafficked out of Italy.

What we do know though is where they are at present. Acquired by The Getty in 1958 through some of the same trafficking channels made famous by the more public cases Mr. Eakin has written about, the two statues languish in the museum’s storage. Not even on display, the Getty's records attribute the lions' provenance to an old Parisian collection and place their origins as Asia Minor.

The topics of these speakers at Thursday’s symposium are just a selection of some of the vocal Italian voices heard at the Villa Giulia this past week. Their focus is not strong-arm tactic or hostile threat but an honest effort on the part of those involved and who have spent thousands of hours pouring over more than 70,000 pages of evidence to locate the currently-known 1500 trafficked pieces at 40 identified museums.

Trophy hunting? I think not. I think Italy is trying to find the head of the snake when so far it had only just started to uncover its tail.

The Arts Car of St. Pete: Addendum

[From Malcom Johnson, friend, arts activist, documentary photograher and former correspondent to Art Taco]

" The art cars remind me of the van murals in the 1980's. One of the best artists was the late Jimmy Bryant of St. Pete. About two years ago, I saw one his paint jobs on a van in a shopping center. By the time I got back to take a picture, it was gone. There were a number of mural vans in the 'Nite Rider Van Club' of St. Pete. They had a clubhouse somewhere on 49 St. S. They have had an annual ball and the last one I know of was held about two years ago at the Coliseum. I do not know if they are still active. "

--- Malcom Johnson

(I couldn't find pictures of these vans. If anyone knows where they can be found, please let me know)

Eric Hebborn - Portrait of a Master Forger (Interview Available on YouTube)

Here's a YouTube video, Eric Hebborn - Portrait of a Master Forger, featuring an interview with the British painter and art forger. Hebborn was murdered in Rome in 1996.

Kunsthal Rotterdam Art Theft: Speculation Abounds Regarding Recovery of Looted Paintings

When Romanian police arrested three men in Bucharest Tuesday, Rotterdam police confirmed that none of the paintings by Picasso, Freud, Matisse or Gauguin stolen on October 16 had been found yet rumors in the media and declarations by Interpol fuel recovery speculations.

According to an Associated Press article published yesterday by The Huffington Post, Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble has declared that he is confident that the paintings will be recovered.

Romanian-Insider.com ran the headline "Stolen Matisse painting offered to Romanian businessman".

But then Rotterdam police announced no paintings have been recovered.

Portrait of a Museum Robbery: The 1998 Theft of Tissot's "Still on Top" from the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki

At ten minutes past 11 o'clock in the morning on Sunday, August 9th, 1998, a man with a shotgun entered the Auckland Art Gallery, threatened nearby visitors, then went directly to one of the collections most valuable paintings, James Tissot's "Still on Top" (c 1873). The thief ripped the painting from the wall, smashed its glass into the painting, and used a crowbar to pry the canvas out of its frame. He then ran outside the gallery into a nearby park and escaped on a motorcycle. The robbery took less than four minutes.

Here in this YouTube video, Auckland Art Gallery - Restoring Tissot, is surveillance footage of the crime, the story of the damaged painting recovery nine days later, and the long process of restoration for public display.

James Tissot's "Still on Top"

Many of the original newspaper stories published in The New Zealand Herald can be ordered via email through the Auckland City Council Library here.

The man arrested eight days later had demanded a ransom of more than $260,000 from the Auckland Art Gallery and hidden the damaged work underneath a bed. One year later, Anthony Sannd was found guilty and sentenced to nearly 17 years in jail, including charges related to two armed robberies of a security van and a bank branch.

The New Zealand art museum accepted $500,000 for the loss in value for the damaged Tissot painting and was able to repair the work and return it for public display three years later.

On February 1, 2005, the thief, Anthony Sannd (also known as Ricardo Genovese), escaped from a prison farm and eluded recapture for almost four weeks (during which time he was alleged to have stolen a BMW and burgled a home). Two more years was added to his sentence. Sannd was released from jail in March 2012. Then Sannd filed a claim that the government owed him $100,000 for keeping him in jail six months longer than he had been sentenced.

In the Current Creative Loafing

www.cltampa.com

The cover and an article inside on the Warehouse Arts District (WAD), with WAD-istas photographed onstage at the Venture Compound. Notice Duncan let his picture be taken.

Best quotes from the article:

From Jesse Vance: "We want artists to stay in Saint Pete, and we want people to buy their shit."

Brad Kokay: "We want to open their minds like a can of corn."

Jesse Vance: "If you can't have a good time without substances..."

From T. Hampton Dorman: "It's what you see in in creative commerce books. It's a case study playing out in real time". (Quoting Richard Florida's decade-old study, published as The Creative Class.)

Inside, Blue Lucy's Signs show got picked as one of the weekend must-gos


Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Kosharek

Congratulations to the WADistas and to Blue Lucy. A year ago, I was one of the first to review the Venture Compound. Glad to see CL giving them some love.

--- Luis

This Pirated Weekend, Jan.24th - 27th

I live two blocks from Bayshore, the Gasparilla parade route. My next-door neighbor is having a beer pong party to commemorate the event. This means I will be fleeing the area for the day. My cat will be totally spooked, needing therapy after listening to gunshots and cannon fire for hours. All of this to commemorate a plundering rapist pirate that never came to Tampa. Let's see what there is to escape to.

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Star Signs @ Blue Lucy - Chad Mize and Phillip Clark bring us twelve artists, each with works based on a Zodiacal sign.

ARIES – HUGO PORCARO

TAURUS – EDUARDO CAMEJO-GARRIGA

GEMINI – STANLEY MORRISON

CANCER – REBEKAH EUGENIA LAZARIDIS

LEO – JOHN VITALE

VIRGO – SEBASTIAN COOLIDGE

LIBRA – DEMEREE

SCORPIO – STEPHEN PALLADINO

SAGITTARIUS – .STOIC.

CAPRICORN – DANIEL WILLIAM

SAQUARIUS – TODD FRAIN

PISCES – NOELLE MCCLEAF

OPENING Saturday, January 26, 2013 6-10PM

Exhibit runs 01.26.13 – 02.16.13

FREE to attend

That's quite a line-up, and if reality lives up to half the FB hype this should be a good show.

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Carousel, @ Creative Loafing Space - A slide show with the works of ten photographers, including James and Julie Branaman, Edward Linsmier, Chip Litherland, Kym O'Donnell Edmund Fountain, Bob Croslin and Chip Litherland. Each will get a 3-5 min. slide show. Remember those? At the Creative Loafing Space, 1911 N. 13th Street in Ybor Square, above the Spaghetti Warehouse. Admission: $3 (suggested). Thursday, January 24th, starts @ 7:00 PM.

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Photographer Laureate Ric Savid @ AIA - Rick Savid's hand printed black and white portraits of Tampanians is shown at the American Institute of Architects space at 200 N. Tampa St. # 100. Free admission. Opens Thursday, January 24th, 5:30-7:30. Free admission.

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(ongoing) Farming, Family, and Folk Art: Ruby C. Williams @ Gallery 221, HCC Dale Mabry - This Central Florida artist has shown at The Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Washington DC, been awarded a Florida Folk Heritage Award and many other accolades. Her roots go deep in Floridian history and she will be showing a wide variety of work. Gallery 221's director is familiar with Folk art, so this should be good. All at HCC Dale Mabry, 4001 W. Tampa Blvd. Free admission. I have seen this show, will be reviewing it soon, and can recommend it without reservation.

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(ongoing) Rocky Bridges @ HCC Ybor - Bridges is a mostly metal mixed-media artist. Free admission. I recently saw this show, will be reviewing it, and recommend it without reservation.

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Art Festival Beth-El - This show has a sterling reputation and with good reason: quality. It has a great sampling of strong art from established as well as emerging artists. This is their 40th anniversary. With 150 (!) artists and $7000 prize money. Opens Sunday, January 26th. Also open Monday the 27th. Free admission.

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Work by Leslie Neumann

Carrie Jadus and Leslie Neumann @ Nuance Tampa - Leslie Neumann's encaustic work has been reviewed here before, and she has been interviewed here as well [Link], [Link], [Link]. Carrie Jadus, a St. Pete based oil painter whose work has been reviewed here before is the other half
of of this duo show at Nuance Galleries, 804 S. Dale Mabry. Opening is 6-9 PM, Friday, January 25th. Free admission. The artists will give a talk on Saturday, Jan. 26th, starting at 1:00 PM.

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Florida Heat: Instructor Work Exhibition @ The Morean - Works from participants in the Florida Heat Firing Symposium are shown. Morean Art Center for Clay, 420 22nd St. St. Pete. Free admission. 10 AM - 5 PM Friday,

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[From the Venture Compound...]

Thx Mgmt & The Venture Compound Proudly Present
Saturday, January 26th 2013
9pm - $7 - 18+

METH DAD
http://www.methdad.com/

Nashville, Tennessee based high energy super posi electronic dance party filled with sing a longs and sweat.

NETHERFRIENDS
http://www.netherfriends.us/home.php

Chicago's never ending touring and recording one man band that creates elaborate, beautiful pop songs overflowing with hooks and sentimentality

GODSNACK
http://soundcloud.com/godsnack

Dubsleep: The new genre a generation is sleeping on.

NOCTAMBULO
http://noctambulo727.tumblr.com/

The Venture Compound

2621 Fairfield Ave. S., Saint Petersburg, Florida 33712

View Map · Get Directions

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Bone, a Collective Study @ The Bends

***Opening Night Jan 25th 7pm***

Featuring works of art by:
Madi Tisch
Laura Spencer
Kaison Johnson
Renee Marie Little
Tony Vouis
Nicole Morris

DJ Nick Lennon Opening Night.

Only at...
The Bends
919 1st Ave N
St.Petersburg, FL
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Last Chance to View:

Dorothea Lange's America

~and~

Mario Algaze: Cuba 1999-2000

on display through Sunday, January 27th

Migrant Mother - Dorothea Lange

Amanecer en Matanzas

Photo credits: Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936 by Dorothea Lange. From the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, courtesy of Art2Art. Amanecer en Matanzas, Matanzas, Cuba 1999-2000 © Mario Algaze

Iconic photographs of the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange and captivating images of Cuba by Mario Algaze are a must see
at FMoPA this weekend*!

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Fish Out of Water: Diane Gugliotta and Mark Mitchell @ Gugliotta Gallery

Diane Gugliottta is pleased to announce a new show and opening reception at her gallery in historic Pass-A-Grille featuring the work of conceptual pop painter Mark Mitchell.

Reception and Meet the Artist

Reception to coincide with Pass-A-Grille’s block party called “Party Under the Lights”. For more information go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/186817961459515/

Show runs January 26 - February 28, 2013

Gugliotta Gallery
104B Eight Avenue
Pass-A-Grille, FL 33706
727.727.455.1510
www.DianeGugliotta.com

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