Sail Away with Me.....

You may or may not know that you know or have heard of Jeff Koons. (was that a run-on sentence or what?) If the site of this massive puppy-shaped balloon installation at the Met has crossed your path recently...see below...then you've had a taste of Jeff Koons.

This well-known superstar is one of the most intriguing artists of the 20th century. His artwork is labeled as Neo-Pop, a post-modern art movement of the 1980s influences by pop art. Koon rejects any hidden meaning in his artwork. The meaning is only what one perceives at first glance; there is no gap between what the work is in itself and what is perceived. He's been praised and blasted for his work. Some think it's monumental and others think it's cheap and tacky. He's even been an influence on other young comtemp. artists such as our dear friend Damien Hirst, spoken about a couple weeks ago.

Anyhow, he just came out with another hit, and "buoy" it's a big one. A yacht in fact and the owner is guilty as charged... hence the yacht name "Guilty." Greek billionaire Dakis Joannou commissioned Jeff Koons to jazz up his yacht, with the help of architect Ivana Porfiri and draw away from the normal high-class yacht designs to make it more creative. Joannou is an an industrialist who owns one of the world's finest collections of contemporary art.Jeff Koons created a colorful scheme, reflective of his Pop Art influences, yet he claims it is based on a WWI camouflage pattern.

After the yacht's completion, Joannou came across a text painting entitled Guilty by British artist Sarah Morris, which he immediately purchased to decorate the yacht. Pulling into Monaco recently, it was definitely the talk of the Monaco harbor.

Thoughts on this? Is this truly art? Or body detailing at the shop? Andy Warhol puts it best, "Art is what you can get away with." Right on Andy.

A Green Art Initiative: National Park-ing Day 2008

While at a stop-light in downtown Jacksonville, FL two weeks ago I saw the quirkiest and most intriguing thing: green turf laid down in a street corner parking spot filled with shrubbery, lawn chairs and several people playing music and Frisbee. After my initial thought of, "Oh where has this wedding taken me to for the week-end?" I couldn't help but wonder, what are these people doing.

Well, I just found out. This jovial group of Frisbee playing people in the street had participated in the 2008 National Park(ing) Day, held on September 19th, a collaboration between the Trust for Public Land and REBAR (an art & design group based in San. Fran.) as an opportunity to celebrate parks in cities and promote the need for more parks by creating temporary public parks in public parking spaces. This art initiative looks at areas that are under served by public open outdoor space. Areas available to people for rest, play and relaxation are critical to improving our habitat, according to REBAR. REBAR began to answer these questions in 2005 in their city of San. Francisco but considering parking meter payments as rental of precious real estate for a certain time period. Therefore, REBAR thought, well what else could you do with a parking spot before the meter runs out... make it a PARK!

REBAR now teams up with TPL to make this initiative an annual event to reflect the fertile imagination of American park lovers and call attention to the need for more city parks. This year over 450 "parks" were set up in over 75 U.S. cities. The idea behind Park(ing) day is to realize that in cities, over 70% of space is dedicated to the private vehicle, while only a fraction of that space is dedicated to people. Hmm... why are our vehicles, expensive to buy, expensive to fuel and damaging to our earth, causing traffic given so much of our precious space?

I've definitely got the 2009 Parking Day on my calendar. Always a fan of park play (I was the Monkey-bar master), I'm thinking of setting up shop on Lockerman with a hammock, palm tree and a sudoku puzzle. Delaware did not participate at this year's event, but there are plenty of metered spots to call attention to....such as, Rehoboth Avenue in July?

The Weekend's Delaware Delights: Get Crafty

I'm starting to think that I am the bearer of bad weather news. Forecast is calling for rain, rain, cloudiness and more rain. Luckily, there is a plethora of craft fairs this week-end worth putting on your galoshes and wind breakers for. Don't forget the umbrella!

Sugarloaf Craft Festival: Riverfront Center, Wilmington, All Weekend, Opening at 10 a.m.
Free parking is enough to get you to Sugarloaf. Adult admission for $7 covers you for all three days of this traveling festival. With over 250 artists, this is like the King of Prussia of craft festivals... you just can't do it all in one trip.

Handcraft Unlimited Autumn Craft Show, DE State Fair Grounds, Harrington Saturday and Sunday
The Schabinger Pavillion will be packed this weekend with crafters ready to help you jump start your holiday shopping at the Handcraft Unlimited Autumn Craft Show. $4 admission price to check out candles and other fragrant items, clothing, household decorations, floral arrangements, all types of jewelry, dolls, and plenty of artwork.

Art on the Green, Battery Park, Old New Castle, Saturday (10-5)

Delaware By Hand: Members Day Show, Saturday, The Studio on 24, 20231 John J. Williams Highway, Lewes
Talk about the cream of the crop! Support local Delaware crafters at their semi-annual show down at the Beach.


If crafts aren't your thing, I'll let you in on a little secret I learned this morning.... Fright Land in Middletown opens this weekend! And you know where it is!

Muahhhhhhhahahahaha.

Non-Profit (or Doing) of the Week: Spruce Up! Delaware

Before all of this eco-friendly non-sense (is it really necessary to wear $88 Bamboo Organic Sweatpants and Eco-Friendly lip gloss??) that according to my mother is simply "marketing, marketing, marketing", everyone associated saving the planet with a few valuable lessons... most of which were discussed in schools on Earth Day. I always remembered to..

Cut your Six-Pack Plastic Rings to prevent harm to the birds.

Carry canvas bags and ditch the paper and plastic at the Supermarket.

Recycle (need i explain?)

And most importantly, Hug your trees (also known as save your trees) Referring back to 5th grade science class and the oxygen and carbon monoxide cycle lesson, trees are vital for life.

The Delaware Forest Service, the Delaware Nursery & Landscape Association, and the Delaware Community Forestry Council have gone a step further and our encouraging us to not only keep our trees, but grow more. They have combined their efforts in the state-wide fall program called Spruce Up! Delaware. Planting trees is no walk in the park, so the organizations have teamed up with local garden centers to provide an incentive to everyone, a coupon! Visit Ronny’s Garden World, All Seasons Nursery, Lord's Landscaping, Inc. or Countryside Nursery from now until November 15th for a $10 discount on any tree. There are a total of 1,000 coupons available to reach the 1,000 tree goal.

Thinking about waiting til the spring? According to DFS, fall is an excellent time to plant trees as cooler temperatures are less stressful on trees when they are transplanted from planters to the ground. So plant a tree this fall. Besides, who doesn't love a coupon?

A Biggs Deal Dedicated: Claymont Community Center

Thursday plans? I've got a treat for you. This Thursday, September 25th, visit the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art for the 9th Annual Autumn Dinner to benefit the Claymont Community Center.

The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m., tickets starting at $80 per person or $140 per couple. Sponsored by BlackRock, the Autumn Dinner will provide support for all of the programs the Claymont Community Center provides including: Crisis Alleviation, Family and individual counseling, Learning Center, Senior Citizen trips, and Family Health Services. They are are also home to more than 20 other community partners, including the Boys and Girls Club, Headstart, Girls Inc., Brandywine Child Care Center, and the Claymont Public Library among others.

I don't know about you, but I'd be more than willing to wine and dine in the DCCA while supporting an organization that shares the community with none other than the famous Claymont Steak Shop. For more information on event details, call (302) 792-2757

21 Years of Red and White Stripe Spotting

Does the thought of spotting a friendly face in a knit cap and a red and white striped shirt on his world-wide hike bring back nostalgic memories? If you're unfamiliar at to who I'm referring to, it's Waldo! And this past Sunday, he celebrated his 21st birthday.

So does this mean that in any future editions to the existing 7 books translated in over 26 languages, Waldo will be carrying a beer can with his walking stick and binoculars? Of course not. But it does mark the start of a brand new Where's Waldo web-site commemorating his 21 years of travel. The new site is an excellent visit for any Waldo fan. There, you can purchase books, play on-line photo hunt games, learn more about Waldo history in the Waldo-pedia, link to Waldo's on-line networking sites, read Waldo news and sitings in the real world and also visit Let's Go blog for travel tips for your own journeys. After a few rounds of photo hunt, I was glad to see Waldo finding was just like riding a bicycle, it all comes back.

So to send you off on your walk down memory lane, here are a couple of Did you know? facts about Waldo.
-Waldo was conceived in 1987 by a freelance illustrator that specialized in crowd scenes. He was commissioned to create a children's book of crowd scenes and Waldo provided the link and central theme for the book.
- Where's Waldo ranks#88 on the "100 Most Frequently Banned Books" and was banned from many libraries in the 80s due to an exposed breast on a beach crowd scene illustration. In 1997 the breast was covered in a new special edition re-release.
- Waldo was originally named Wally, a British slang term for a spacey person.

When Museums Visit Museums

This past week-end I had the pleasure of attending a wedding all the while enjoying the Florida sunshine in good ole' Jacksonville. As a museum staff member, I've become a magnet to the tourist attraction brochure racks in hotels. I consider them a candy store for marketing material development. My first search is zooming in on any art museums in the area, and then of course visiting them. An early flight Friday morning from Philadelphia provided plenty of time int he afternoon to visit MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville. I was thrilled to visit a museum filled with contemporary art, seeing as the Biggs collection is mostly historical (no offense to Sewell C. of course!)

In addition to the permanent collection, MOCA was hosting two exhibitions, one that had opened to the public that day. Lucky me! Making Marks was quite similar to the Biggs' own annual Award Winners show, a invitational viewing of 33 locals artists' works. I admired their reasoning on the importance of displaying local artist's work as a way to trace the evolution of art in the local scene. Our local artist groups today are so similar to the artist colonies years ago, therefore it's important to continue to acknowledge the history made in this art. Anyhow, the art was awesome, featuring landscapes, installation, sculpture and more.

Though the best was definitely saved for last. In addition to Making Marks, MOCA had just opened Ultra-Realistic Sculpture, a collection of Marc Sijan's, a Milwaukee-based artist, super realistic sculptures. Lifelike didn't even begin to fully describe Sijan's sculptures. Working from live models, Sijan produces plaster molds in plaster, sculpts with tools casts in polyester resin, and uses oil paint for final touches. His figures are all on the verge of movement, which is his way of exploring the human figure on an emotional level. My first thought at the site of these was, "This is Madame Tussauds on a whole different level. From The Maid to the Dancer, the detailing was impeccable down to the veins on the forearms and the scratches on the finger nails and bruises on the shoulders.

Hence to say my visit to MOCA made my trip to Jacksonville enlightening, relaxing and enjoyable. However, a few slices of vanilla wedding cake doesn't hurt either.