For 50 years, artists with amazing talents and unsurpassed skills have returned each July to the streets of Ann Arbor, exhibiting in the genuine Ann Arbor Art Fairs, displaying their latest work and engaging the imaginations of more than 500,000 annual fairgoers. The varied parts of the Fair fit together to form an amazing impression–filled with sound and color and mystery and drama, creating an intriguing event with more than a dash of style. No matter what direction you take, no matter where you look, you’ll discover colors and sights that will energize and captivate, and maybe even change your life. That’s the incredible power of art.

And beyond the art, there’s the remarkable city of Ann Arbor, with stores, restaurants and people watching that rivals any metro area. Come meet our talented artists, enjoy our exceptional city and help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the award-winning Ann Arbor Art Fairs.

As publisher of Art Showcase Magazine, I have had much involvement with the Ann Arbor Art Fairs over the years. This year, however, is the first (I hope the first of many) in which ASM has had the pleasure of presenting to you the Ann Arbor Art Fairs Official Event Guide. Among the many honors that come with this role is the opportunity to work closely with four very dedicated and under-appreciated directors of the four Fairs who do so much work behind the scenes to bring this colossal event to the city of Ann Arbor and its surrounding communities. Please allow me to thank and recognize these fine individuals: Shary Brown of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original (who, as you’ll read on page 14 of the Guide, is retiring later this year after a prolific career in the arts); Kathy Krick of the State Street Area Art Fair; Maggie Ladd of Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair; and Max Clayton of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair.

I am also excited this year because for the first time since starting ASM I will finally have some free time to enjoy the Fairs like a normal, art-loving human being. You see, every year previous to this you’d find me at the Fairs wheeling boxes of Art Showcase Magazines from one end of town to the other in a desperate attempt to keep my magazine racks filled. And as rewarding as that task is, it is extremely exhausting! This year will thankfully be different. As the publisher of the official guide, I can now rely on the wonderful volunteers at each of the Fairs’ convenient information booths as well as the hard-working bunch at the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to distribute the Guide. As a result, I will have time to view the all the art and take in all the entertainment that the Ann Arbor Art Fairs has to offer. I plan to post blogs each day after attending the Fairs describing my Ann Arbor Art Fairs experience. In many ways, it will be as if I’m attending the Fairs for the very first time! I hope you’ll check back each day, read my blog and perhaps share your experience at the Fairs as well.

Until tomorrow then….

Artists are moving into troubled neighborhoods across the Midwest by taking advantage of low property prices and local and regional government and non-profit programs.  Artists in Blight Wall Street Journal article

Having spent most of my life in close proximity to Detroit, my first inclination is to applaud any action that puts old buildings back to use, and contributes to active people engaged in the community.  Detroit still needs this.  This will help bring more people. 

 I know people who never go to Detroit and are frankly afraid to do so.  Arts organizations, like The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, are suffering from lower attendance and subscriptions, on top of losing some of their funding from the automotive companies.  The presence of artists seems like it can only be helpful for an ailing area. 

 There are some who disagree.  The WSJ article linked above mentions possible future implications for a neighborhood that welcomes artists; gentrification.  A great example of this is Bucktown, in Chicago.  Once a recovering community that attracted artists and became home to cool bars like the Double Door, Bucktown is now more of a commercially-oriented restaurant haven with an artsy flavor.  A bad thing?  The trouble is that the very people who helped revitalize an area can later be pushed out due to rising property values (as well as the rising tax rates that follow).

Creating neighborhoods with equal accessibility for people with a wide range of economic means has been difficult since the beginning of time.  My opinion is bring the artists into these neighborhoods, and establish this challenge as one they can help brainstorm to overcome.

By Kimberley Brown

Tonight we watched All That Jazz. The movie stars Roy Scheider as Joe Gideon in a loose autobiography of director Bob Fosse’s life (stage director/ choreographer of “Pippin,” and “Chicago,” and film director of “Cabaret,” to name a tiny sliver of his work). I had some observations to share.

First, Ben Vereen is great. Second, the 70s, the era of my birth, make more sense to me as I age and also as I explore the popular culture of the time. There was a great deal of emotional exploration. Perhaps there was a quest to define what creates lasting emotional security, how to obtain instanteous emotional gratification, and understand the boundary or crossover between the two.

I found the last scene of the movie really inspirational. (What scene with Ben Vereen isn’t inspirational?)  Sorry, cover your eyes / stop reading if you haven’t seen the movie and plan to.  At this point in the movie, Roy Scheider’s character is dying. His experience is displayed larger than life dancing on a stage to George Harrison’s “Bye Bye Love.” Scheider is joined by Vereen in a scene that includes all the people important to Gideon’s life. It’s a celebration of lights, drama, beauty and flair.

It struck me how the experience of death and dying can be so different from the experience of everyday life. We have the energy and wherewithal when we are fully living to create something like Gideon’s last dance. In death we rarely have this chance. It reminded me how someone at a funeral usually remarks, “{Insert name} would have loved to see everyone here.” This is our chance to celebrate and our chance to dance. We have to do it now!

By Kimberley Brown

Hello, I am planning to revisit the UMMA to see their newly-unveiled presence! I’ve heard it’s wonderful. One friend said it rivaled the MoMA! Busy-ness made it impossible for me to get there for the grand reopening last weekend but I’m going to get there as soon as I can and report back.

I reflected on an interview with University of Michigan Museum of Art Director James Steward from Summer 2005 where he discussed the plans for the new museum renovations. I was inspired by him then so you can imagine how eager I am to visit!

Below is the article from 2005.

Sailing the Seas of Change

by Kim Brown July 2005

University of Michigan Museum of Art Director James Steward transcends old perceptions about art museums, introducing new and exciting exhibits from far away lands.

If you’ve been to Ann Arbor’s University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) recently, you have probably noticed an ever-increasing diversity of art collections and exhibitions. Art from Korea, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and beyond has made its way to this small Midwestern town under UMMA Director James Steward’s leadership. “What we offer is attractive and varied, particularly relative to the scale of the museum,” said Steward.

Increasing the geographic scope of art acquisitions and programs helps fulfill the museum’s purview — to develop exhibits that appeal to the lay community and enhance their interest in art, and simultaneously to challenge University art students and stimulate seasoned art professors. Not accidentally, the art exhibits found at the UMMA are also a big part of the cultural cornucopia that draws people to visit Ann Arbor, or to relocate here for work or study.

“We serve as both an anchor and a magnet for visitors, particularly to this part of Ann Arbor,” said Steward. “This location is an intersection between the city and the University. It has the vibrancy of two worlds coming together.” (more…)

Coming soon…

By Kimberley Brown

For over 50 years, Gil and Jan Dorer have been a successful art team. Jan’s unique abstract acrylic paintings, combined with Gil’s business management, have enabled the pair to earn their living through art without supplemental income on the side — quite a rarity. For more information on Jan’s paintings and the story of this dynamic duo, visit www.dorerstudio.com

I saw this painting in person last week and it is awesome!

Gil and Jan have become great personal friends of mine over the last several years. They are warm, fun, enthusiastic about life and continue widening their circle of friends all the time. They are pursuing retirement now and are offering a free art marketing discussion this coming Saturday. Learn from people who have made it selling at art fairs and other venues! In addition, they will be selling Jan’s paintings, various types of artist watercolor board and matting supplies at discount prices.

This is a print of one of Jan’s pieces. The Dorers have some prints and giclees available.

Join them Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 1-5 p.m. at their studio in Chelsea at 736 S. Freer Rd. Marketing talk is at 1 p.m.

For information or directions, please contact them via 734-475-4300, email at dorergj@aol.com or through their Web site contact form.

Another stunning Jan Dorer piece.

By Jonathan E. Himlin

“To create without passion is to create nothing at all.” Bruce W. Sykes

Art Is Creativity
In its purest form, art is creativity. And if you agree with Mr. Sykes’ contention, you must also conclude, then, that art requires passion in order to create anything worthwhile.

As a group, artists are long on passion. Throughout history they have struggled famously for its cause, often sacrificing security, health and happiness to satisfy their own hunger for artistic truth above all else. Sometimes great rewards follow as a result. But too often the adoration of audiences is more difficult to attain.

Passion Doesn’t Always Pay the Rent
In short, passion doesn’t always pay the rent. So, artists are frequently faced with the task of toning down their work to make it more marketable to the mainstream, or resorting to more commercial ways to make money. But is commercial or commissioned work the enemy of artistic creativity? Or is it a matter of adding your own creative signature to whatever work you do, commissioned or not? (more…)

By Chelsea Langston

Imagine a region vibrating with all the color and life of a bygone American era. You need not take an imaginary journey into your favorite Norman Rockwell painting or Rogers and Hamerstein Musical because such an area still exists, tucked into a quaint corner of Northeastern Wisconsin. Door County Peninsula, with its hundreds of miles of shoreline and hundreds of years of unique heritage, is surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan on the north and east and the waters of Green Bay on the west.

Door County is known for its strong artistic community and boasts almost one hundred art venues including galleries, museums, performing arts centers, and studios. It is rare that such a relatively small and secluded place could give birth to such a flourishing climate of artistic production. How could one county, a mere 75 miles long, hold the keys to unlocking inspiration for countless individuals? And more importantly, would I, upon entering Door Country, transcend a threshold of artistic wonder, or would the proverbial door slam on my ideological vision of this place?

On the first morning of my journey, the nondescript sky and the still breath of autumn air seem themselves a blank canvas, ready to absorb the colors, sights, and tastes of Door County. As I drive further into the heart of the peninsula, a bronzed palette of autumn colors burst onto the barren backdrop. If you want an at-once cozy and lavish lodging, do as I did and check into the suite at the Eagle Harbor Inn. What a more ideal way to transition from the splendor of the natural trails and the authentic bay views than to soak in the albeit artificial warmth of the in-room hot-tub or gas fire-place? (more…)

By Jonathan E. Himlin

During the course of writing my Publisher’s Note in the September/October 2007 issue, I posed this question: Does creating art always demand talent, or can someone with little or no skill make a living as an artist simply on his or her ideas?

Perhaps you’ve heard of the work of artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres. I read about him in a magazine earlier this year when one of his “wrapped candies” displays was being exhibited at a New York gallery. Gonzalez-Torres’ displays use simple everyday items—candy, cube-like stacks of paper or 15-watt frosted light bulbs, for example—and invites viewers to take a piece of the display with them. This particular piece was comprised of thousands of individually-wrapped black licorice pieces, which were piled a few feet high into one corner of the room. The candy, gradually being consumed by viewers, was periodically replenished by the curator in order to maintain a seemingly unending supply. (more…)