My Artomatic Space!

Originally uploaded by akkleis

Woo! It’s D-O-N-E.

Actually, I didn’t spend as much time on this as I did last year, mainly b/c last year it was so much closer. This year: one day to paint, one day to do the rest. Paivi took care of the light set-up for both of our spaces and I painted. And, after being jealous of all the pretty vinyl letters from last year, I did the same thing this time. Super cheap and easy to use.

blur, the name of my show, includes nine bad, blurry photos. From a technical standpoint, they are bad. But, what does that mean? Define “bad”. Well, actually, I don’t care what the definition of “bad” is because it’s my show and I can hang whatever I want. And, I’m happy with it. I am also rebelling against the perfection that comes from shooting ones and zeros.

I shoot film; the trendy and hipster word for this is “analog”. Screw that. It’s film. I like being able to choose my grain based on the film type and the smell of the chemicals and the fuck ups during developing and having to wait to see what I get. I also don’t post-process my photos but to adjust contrast and levels, things that I would do in the darkroom using filters when they are printed.

There are over 1,000 artists in this year’s Artomatic. If I can actually do it, I want to count each photographer’s exhibit. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of perfect photos; I wanted to do something different.

Speaking of different: this is my wall partner Paivi Salonen’s first ever show. She gave me so much shit about not using digital ever (which isn’t true, I use my cell phone camera all the time). Then, one day when out taking photos of an anti-war protest, she saw this and then the ebay-buying fury began. [It was contagious, too.] 40-some-odd cameras later, I think she’s done. Oh, ahem, did I mention that these are FILM cameras? Right. Hence, that post I wrote earlier this year about film not being dead and all. Mmhmm. Maybe Kodak and Polaroid should be reading posts like that and watching the cult following that’s developing.

Anyhoo, this is Paivi’s first ever show. And, she did something different, too. A series of dark portraits in black and white; some film, some digital. She transformed their apartment into a studio and for 5 hours we dressed Jen up and took her photo. Another photo shoot involved another girl, Flora. And, even Jack. They turned out really cool. So, be sure to check her show out, too. It’s not hard. When you go see mine, when you’re done, just turn your head to the left.

Tonight’s the opening, but I won’t be there…I have tickets to the Cure show that was rescheduled from last September. Never seen them before, and I can’t wait! Then, in a few weeks, Duran Duran, and then in July, George Michael. Yeah, you read that right.

When I’ll be at Artomatic:
Saturday, May 10, 5-10pm (volunteer shift)
Sunday, May 18, 12-5 (volunteer shift)

Saturday, May 17, time TBD… Artomatic Blogger’s Night, which I’m organizing

And, various other times until June 15, the closing.

I found this nice little waste of time earlier tonight and tried it out on 3 photos of myself. Apparently, I resemble Jett Li and Bill Murray, depending on the day

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family genealogy - Geneology software

Get yours and waste an hour Here.

Artomatic

Originally uploaded by akkleis

Soon to be primed and painted and lit up!

My space is on the right side, and Paivi’s is on the left. Come visit us at Artomatic 2008!

May 9 – June 15, 2008
Capitol Plaza I
1200 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Metro: Red Line, New York Ave., M St exit

More photos to come…

032808-04-01

Originally uploaded by akkleis

For the first time in about 5 years, I used color film. Mainly because I’d seen some cool photos of slide film being cross-processed as regular color negative film (E6 in C41 chemicals) and thought the effects were cool. And, it’s spring and the flowers are blooming and if I’m gonna shoot color, it might as well be in time for the cherry blossoms.

Most of these were shot using Fuji Provia slide film and cross-processed as negatives. Then, a friend found some Fuji Fortia super-saturated color slide film, made specifically for cherry blossom time in Japan. We took a day off at the beginning of the peak bloom time and headed out to the Tidal Basin early in the morning. All of the Fortia photos are processed as slides.

I think it’s out of my system, now.

Site selection on Saturday, April 12 @ 9am

Registration opens tomorrow!

For immediate release: March 26, 2008
On your mark. Get set. Go! Artomatic 2008 registration opens March 27

Calling all artists: Time to wash off those paintbrushes and tune up your guitars. Registration will open online Thursday, March 27, at noon for artists who want to participate in Artomatic 2008.
The annual art extravaganza, to be held May 9 through June 15, 2008, will be the largest Artomatic to date. Hosted by the NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID), Artomatic 2008 will be held on nine floors (more than 200,000 square feet) of the Capitol Plaza I building. The building is located at 1200 First Street, N.E., just one block west of the New York Avenue Metro station, in Washington, D.C.
Registration for Artomatic will be $90 per visual artist — such as painters, photographers, sculptors and graphic designers. Each visual artist is required to serve three volunteer shifts (approximately 15 hours total) to help stage the event. Artomatic is an unjuried show, so all artists are welcome to participate, from professionals to beginners. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and will end once space is filled. Full details on registration, exhibit space, installation and hours of the event will be on the Artomatic Web site at www.artomatic.org.
Performers — such as those who present music, dance, theater or poetry — are also invited to register
and take part in Artomatic. Details for performers will also be available on the Artomatic Web site at www.artomatic.org.
Artomatic is expecting about 1,000 local and regional artist participants and 50,000 visitors at this year’s event.
“We are looking forward to seeing what the creative energy of the area’s arts community can bring to the event and to the NoMa neighborhood,” said George Koch, chair of Artomatic.
Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished indoor space into an exciting and diverse arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays and sales by hundreds of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children’s activities, as well as musical, dance, poetry, theater and other performances.
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About Artomatic: Artomatic is a creative community that collaborates to produce and present a free arts spectacular. Participation is open to all, from recognized artists to undiscovered talents, who work in a variety of arts forms. In partnership with the development community, Artomatic transforms unused building space into a playground for expression, serves as a catalyst for community growth in up-and-coming neighborhoods, and helps to grow our creative economy. The nonprofit Artomatic organization is headed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.artomatic.org.

About the NoMa BID: NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested almost $2 billion in 2007–2008 alone, with plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at www.nomabid.org.

It was PACKED! The line was outside and around the corner…in the rain.

Can see me from 0:23 - 0:29

“black and white and… all over” Curated by J.T. Kirkland

Erin Antognoli, James W. Bailey, Danny Conant, Max Cook, Stephen Crowley, Justin Hoffmann, Mike Dax Iacovone, Nick Jbara, Jane Jeffers, J.T. Kirkland, Angela Kleis, Prescott Lassman , Tom Paradis, Aleksei Pechnikov, Susana Raab, Alexandra Silverthorne, Jim Tetro, Bryan Whitson, Lloyd Wolf, Tom Wolff

February 27, 2008 - March 29, 2008

Reception: Sat. March 1st 5-8PM

H&F Fine Arts
3311 Rhode Island Avenue, Mount Rainier, MD 20712

Just Announced!
This event coincides with the DCist Exposed Photography show that I have two photos in!

On March 13, join us for Emerge Exposed, a panel discussion for emerging collectors. Pink Line has lined up an amazing group of people from all sides of the art buying experience, who will discuss everything you want to know about collecting photography and art in general:

Sarah Kennell, Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Art
Henry Thaggart, Collector
Jason Falchook, Photographer
Alyssa Rosenberg, Emerging Collector (and author of the blockquote you see above)
Philippa Hughes, Moderator

The panel discussion will begin promptly at 7 p.m., only costs $10, and there will be a free reception following from 8 to 9 p.m. - all at Civilian Art Projects. We hope that those of you who are interested in buying art, but don’t know where to start, will join DCist and Pink Line for this important conversation.

More information HERE!