Wednesday, July 15, 2009

fellow artists, we've been recognized by the Cleveland Scene Magazine blog. Check it out -fifth paragraph:http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2009/07/13/festivals-prove-that-local-is-better#more an even better description of what Dana and we artists pulled off in record time can be found at:http://www.blackheartcleveland.com/2009/07/12/dana-depew-shows-ingenuity-fest-how-its-done/ here is what i wrote my friends about it, from a personal perspective. hats off to all of you! there is not one whit of exaggeration in the descriptions contained within the blackheartcleveland blog. the transformation of this space in mere days was no less than miraculous. i know, because i was there the first night that clean up and room assignment began, and i couldn't really fathom how we could ever make it presentably clean, or even well illuminated. those first days were pretty much all devoted to harvesting fluorescent bulbs from the third floor and trying to get the fixtures in the 1st and 2nd floors to fire up, not to mention the unending loads of debris, and miscellaneous crap to be moved and disposed. then over the several weeks, as the artists began to bring and install their work, the common areas seemed to become even more trashed and unpresentable. i'm not trying to take any credit here,,, i spent several hard nights but many others did much more, and Dana spent literally every waking hour there, except when he was also curating and setting up his important, annual "19" show at his real gallery in Tremont! the difference between how the place looked when i finished my room on Tuesday, and how it opened Friday night was astonishing, even though i'd seen the gradual progress and most of the art beforehand. frankly, i'm surprised Dana still has his day job and his wonderful and understanding new bride, Lauren. or should i say saint Lauren! another miracle was Dana's ability to marshal the artistic and construction resources [for no remuneration] to whip this space into what has to have been, one of the most amazing temporary art galleries ever created in under 20 days. the 60+ artists showed incredible skill at creating art of all types, many created for just the spaces allotted them, mostly cramped former offices. i'm honored to have been a part of this event and it was truly an unforgettable experience. thanks to all of you who came to share this with me, especially denver dell who ran sound for my performance, and our friend jordan dunkel, who helped me set up my installation -pedro