NEW YORK - Museum of the Moving Image and Mezco Toyz, a leading manufacturer of licensed merchandise, today announced the establishment of an annual donation of film- and television-related toys and materials to the Museum’s collection. Among the artifacts in the inaugural gift are conceptual sketches and
action-figure prototypes for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, a film directed by Guillermo del Toro currently showing in theaters. The Museum will continue to receive a donation of merchandise and production materials from Mezco, every year.

“Among licensed merchandise, toys are among the most powerful tools, as well as the most desirable objects, used in the marketing of movies, television shows, and video games,” said Rochelle Slovin, director of Museum of the Moving Image. “We are grateful for this commitment from Mezco Toyz to donate their popular action figures and also, very significantly, the one-of-a-kind prototypes that are created during the design process.”

The only museum dedicated to the art and industry of all of screen culture, from the earliest silent films to today’s video games, Museum of the Moving Image includes a collection of more than 130,000 artifacts from motion pictures, television, and digital media. Among these, the Museum’s licensed merchandise holdings are particularly noteworthy with more than 17,000 artifacts dating from 1914 to the present. Highlights include an extremely rare, original Shirley Temple doll (c. 1934); more than 150 artifacts relating to Our Gang films dating from 1922 through 1944; and a collection of 1,200 action figures, toys, board games, housewares, and other items from every Star Trek television series and all 10 motion pictures. The Museum provides access to the collection through its website, exhibitions, and education programs.

Among the items in the Mezco gift are materials that show the process of designing and producing licensed toys. They include ten conceptual sketches and five “first mold” prototypes of Hellboy 2’s main characters: Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Liz, Wink, and Prince Nuada. Drawn by Mezco design-team member Michael Pasquale and digitally colored, these sketches represent one of the first steps in the process of turning characters from film into action figures. Between these initial conceptual drawings and the sculptor’s final rendering of the proposed action figure, there is a constant dialogue between the toy designers and the film licensor. Specific requirements are set by the licensor pertaining to the action figure’s size, accessories, and overall aesthetic, which must be respected by the designers. In addition, an action figure based on a live-action character must also be approved by the actor whose likeness is depicted.

The five Hellboy 2 action-figure prototypes are the first plastic models made by the factory based on “final sculpt” resin models. The primary purpose of these models is to test the movable joints of the action figures, as well as to assess any sculptural details that need refinement. As such, these models are poured from leftover scraps of plastic from previous action figures, resulting in the models’ irregular coloring. After approval from Mezco, the factory moves into production, wherein the final version of the action figures are poured from either vinyl or injection plastic and painted. These five prototypes can be viewed on the Museum’s online Collection Catalog at http://collection.movingimage.us/index.php?search=Mezco.

Mike Drake, Director of Special Projects at Mezco, said, “The Museum of the Moving Image is such a unique institution and a perfect partner for us. In the Museum’s collection, our toys will be preserved for future generations. Moreover, the public will be able to see the toys in the context of movie and TV merchandising.”

In addition to the Hellboy 2 materials, the Mezco gift includes a wax head and resin models of the head and torso of a King Kong action figure relating to Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005). These models, combined with an earlier gift from Mezco featuring prototypes of full King Kong figures, illustrate the step-by-step story of how action figures are designed and manufactured.

Other previous donations from Mezco include toys and prototypes relating to the major motion pictures Hellboy (2004) and The Warriors (1979), and the animated television series South Park and Family Guy.

The Agora Gallery (530 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York, NY, 10001) is proud to present EdNa in Masters of the Imagination: The Latin American Art Exhibition. Scheduled to run from September 9th through September 30th, the collection will feature a captivating selection of EdNa’s unique works.

About EdNa:

Puzzling together an array of different mediums from collage to paint, EdNa defies the sleek and seamless that some artists hide behind. Too often we’re unable to see the artist behind the mask, but EdNa wants to show her face, her hard working hands. We’re meant to see her seams, the tape that connects two pieces of text or mends a tear. She intends for us to realize what it is to piece together a work of art and to stitch meaning into an image. Seeing the process results in an appreciation for art that is hard to come by in something more manufactured. Text is a recurring material and theme in EdNa’s work, proof that, as she’s stated, literature has been a determining factor in her life.

An understanding of the bricolage of the modern world guides her, bringing to light the idea that no art stands in isolation. The fragmenting and puzzling back together of images and shapes allows the audience to feel part of a collaboration. It is raw, unique, and ultimately timely.

Exhibition Dates: September 9, 2008 through September 30, 2008
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 11, 2008, 6-8 pm
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York
Gallery Hours: Tues - Sat, 11am - 6pm

Agora Gallery
530 West 25th St
Chelsea, NY 10001
212-226-4151

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery dedicated to the promotion of national and international artists, providing quality and original art to established and emerging collectors, catering to special events in support of fine art, organizations that foster social awareness and promote environmental issues . The gallery is also the publisher of ARTisSpectrum Magazine and the sponsor of Art-Mine.com

Avisca Fine Art gallery proudly announces the opening of “Stitches in Time,” an exhibit by Milton Bowens, on Friday, September 12, 2008 from 6-9 pm. The exhibition will feature Bowens’ current series of over 40 mixed media works, which draw on the visual tropes of African-American quilting, and offer a profound commentary on the universal striving for freedom, love, and hope. The exhibition will run at Avisca Fine Art gallery from September 12, 2008 through Friday, October 3, 2008.

Metaphorically and aesthetically rooted in the African-American tradition of quilting, each piece in “Stitches in Time” is a tapestry of a history, politics, music, and faith that is African American, but is also decidedly American. The images in this exhibition powerfully evoke American Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and sketch a political heritage from Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama. Bowens’ work not only reflects on the American past but also on the potentiality of America’s future.

A native of California, Bowens began his formal art training at the Renaissance Art School in the city of Oakland. After high school, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the California College of Arts and Crafts, but after a year enlisted in the United States Armed Forces where he became an illustrator. Bowens continued his education in the Arts, attending both Austin Peay State University, TN and Fayettevile State University, NC while serving his tour of duty in the military. He has been the subject of twenty solo exhibitions since 1992, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Avisca Fine Art will host an informal afternoon of conversation with the artist on his work and on the topic “Art, Dialogue and Community” on Sunday September 14 at 3 pm.

Avisca Fine Art is a contemporary fine art gallery that showcases work by emerging and mid-career African American artists, and artists from the Caribbean and Latin American. Through regular exhibitions, outreach, and related educational programs the gallery is dedicated to the cultural enrichment of the Marietta community and the southeast region.

Event Date:
Friday September 12, 2008
6 pm to 9 pm
(Open and free to the public)

Place:
Avisca Fine Art Gallery
507 Roswell Street
Marietta, GA 30060
Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday 12 pm – 6 pm or by appointment

Contact: Byrma Braham
Tel.: 770.977.2732 - Fax: 770.509.0598
E-mail: contact@aviscafineart.com
www.aviscafineart.com

SAN CARLOS, Calif., - Menlo Park Artist Tiffany Birch announces her opening reception, Lighting up with Art, scheduled Friday, September 12, 2008 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Niko Lighting in San Carlos, California. This reception honors the collaboration of Ms. Birch; Niko Lighting; and Linda Lenore, Feng Shui Grand Master, to showcase her work in the atmosphere of hand-crafted lighting fixtures which adorn the store.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080821/AQTH079)

“I am very pleased to have this elegant showroom as a gallery for my artwork,” says Ms. Birch. “Niko Lighting provides a creative environment that reveals my paintings as individuals would see them in their personal settings.”

Each of the 18 paintings was placed deliberately according to Feng Shui principles. “It is my philosophy that Feng Shui enhances and supports the flow of creative movement,” says Ms. Birch. “Ms. Lenore, who is only one of three Grand Masters in the United States, applied her expertise to enhance my paintings among this elegant lighting and create a unique gallery setting.”

Ms. Birch is an inspirational artist who understands how to create symbolic representations of people’s souls that reflect aspects of their personality. Paintings, such as Dancing Jewel, shimmer in exuberant colors against a blue background that looks like laughter floating in air. Other works, such as Beginning, move from the vibrant solar flares of the universe into a world surrounded by the flow of love that brings a sense of peace when viewed.

Living in Northern Virginia, Ms. Birch’s exploration of art led to the Art League of Olde Town Alexandria, Virginia where her passion for imagery enabled her to produce 60 paintings in 45 days. Her artwork was represented by Marin-Price Galleries in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Her move to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2002 fueled her passion for art as she worked not only with private and corporate clients but also with children, teaching them art through special programs for the Charter Learning Center of San Carlos and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Her recent exhibit of shimmering hues adorned the walls of Ariba Headquarters in California.

Ms. Birch’s work can be viewed at Niko Lighting, 1148 San Carlos Avenue; San Carlos, CA 94070 during normal business hours and is available for sale. Many of Ms. Birch’s work can be viewed on her website: http://www.tiffanybirch.com.

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas artist, Bob Bacon, will be the Lone Star State’s only exhibitor at this year’s Burning Man art event to be held in the Black Rock Desert north of Reno, Nevada August 25-September 1. Approximately 300 artists from around the world will exhibit their artwork at the event which has an expected audience of 48,000.

Burning Man is an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance. This year’s art theme—American Dream—is about nationality, identity and the nature of patriotism.

Bob will be exhibiting his 7,500 pound, 57-foot long steel sculpture “Primordial Fish”. The work, which will appear as a fossil imprint on the desert floor, is a celebration of the power of life and ideas.

“The American dream is wide-open spaces; sun, sand, sea and the freedom to live and express yourself in your own way,” explained Bob. “The Primordial Fish project comes out of our need for rest, recovery and renewal after a traumatic life event.”

In 2006, Bob’s 48-year old wife, Annie, suffered a massive stroke. Annie and Bob have been in a recovery, rehabilitation, and rediscovery mode ever since. This catastrophic event forced him to rethink the value of life. His art is an outlet and part of his own recovery through the ups and downs of stroke.

Following the Burning Man event, the sculpture will be exhibited at Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Art Park.

Kifer Associates LLC
Ann Kifer, 713-528-2291
Cell: 713-702-5701
ann@kiferassociates.com
or
Annie Bacon, 512-785-6403
anniebacon@austin.rr.com

LAWRENCE, KS - Schedules, appointments, deadlines, PDAs, day planners, calendars, wristwatches… Such timekeeping devices give structure to our lives, and we rely on them to chart the minutes of our days and the moments of our existence. As astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni notes, “Time gets spent, wasted, killed, kept, and lost. We have leisure time, quality time, good times, bad times, hard times, and even hot times.” Our interest in keeping time is by no means a recent phenomenon, when one recalls that prehistoric man, by simple observation of the stars, changes in seasons, and conditions of day and night began to come up with early methods of measuring time to pursue such activities as farming, hunting, and the celebration of sacred feasts. Now, our need to understand time compels physicists to explore the space-time continuum and theorists to postulate that time is merely a structure we impose on the universe.

In fall 2008, the Spencer Museum of Art will have two exhibitions that contemplate time and its representation in visual culture: Time/Frame and Wendell Castle: About Time (September 20-December 21). Time/Frame opens first, assembling works from North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and across various media, to consider how time is manifested visually in art and material culture from around the world. Petah Coyne, Andy Warhol, Jan van de Velde II, Diane Arbus, Preston Singletary, Larry Schwarm, Marcantonio Raimondi, Watanabe Gentai, and Elliott Erwitt are among the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition. For more information on the Castle show please visit: http://www.spencerart.ku.edu/exhibitions/castle.shtml

Time/Frame was organized collectively by the 2007-08 Spencer Museum of Art graduate student interns: Robert Fucci, Shuyun Ho, Lauren Kernes, Lara Kuykendall, Ellen Raimond, and Stephanie Teasley.

DUBLIN - A major international symposium which investigates new perspectives on the role and function of public galleries and museums in the 21st-century will be held at the Irish Museum of Modern Art , Dublin , from 12 - 13 November 2008. Museum21 will bring together six leading international artists, curators and historians who together will present a vast range of perspectives on the role of galleries and museums informed by past and present contemporary art and practice. The theme of the symposium traces the historic function of the museum, in particular the impact of institutional critique in the 1960s and early 1970s and questions how best galleries and museums can maintain their relevance and legitimacy in the contemporary world.

Exploring the wider notion of the museum as institution, idea and practice, the following questions arise: ‘What is the point’ of a museum in the 21st-century? Should galleries and museums compete or create an alternative to the mega exhibitions of Biennales and Art Fairs? How can galleries and museums best serve a mobilised multicultural public? Has the need to attract audience and funding made the artistic or intellectual credibility of galleries and museums questionable? Are public galleries and museums still the main sites for cultural innovation and the reception of contemporary art?

This is the fourth in a series of international symposia at IMMA exploring institutional issues relating to galleries and museums. To Have and To Hold, 2003, addressed collecting policies, Curating Now, 2004, investigated curatorial practice and Access All Areas, 2006, addressed public access to contemporary art and artists.

Papers will be presented by the following six international speakers:

Okwui Enwezor, is a curator and critic and currently Dean of Academic Affairs and Senior Vice President, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco , and Adjunct Curator, International Center of Photography, New York.

Charles Esche, is a curator and writer and currently Director of Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven , The Netherlands.

Andrea Fraser, Artist, based in New York , whose work has been identified with performance, video, context art and institutional critique.

Enrique Juncosa, Director, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin .

Susan Pearce, Professor of Museum Studies, University of Leicester , UK .

Carey Young, Artist, based in London , whose work employs a variety of media, including video, photography and performance.

The symposium will be chaired by Siún Hanrahan, writer and artist, and from September 2008 Head of Research and Postgraduate Development at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin . The discussion moderator is Jens Hoffmann, Director, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco , and Senior Lecturer, Curatorial Practice Programme, California College of the Arts.

The fee for the symposium is €90 for organisations, €40 for individuals, or €20 concession (students, OAPs, unwaged). In addition to the presentations, this includes an opening reception (12 November), lunch and refreshments (13 November) and the symposium pack.

A Booking Form is available to download from the IMMA website at www.imma.ie It will be possible to book online from early September. Booking is essential as places are limited.

In association with this year’s symposium a time-based web resource will be available leading up to the live event featuring information about IMMA’s biannual symposia, archival material, profiles of speakers, bibliographies, associated events and blog. This will be available from September at www.imma.ie/museum21

RICHMOND, VA - The University of Richmond Museums presents Building the Collection: Recent Acquisitions from the Harnett Print Study Center, on view through September 21, 2008. The exhibition features works on paper recently added to the permanent collection of the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center. Ranging from Renaissance engravings and Impressionist etchings to contemporary American screenprints and lithographs, selected works demonstrate a variety of printmaking processes.

Highlights of Building the Collection include: · Jean Arp’s (French, 1886-1966) Constellation, an abstract screenprint from 1951; The auction, a 1988 intaglio by Sue Coe (British, born 1951); An offset lithograph, Hammers, 1970, by Jim Dine (American, born 1935); The etching Le Chapeau Épinglé, 1894, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919); Isadora Duncan, 1915, graphite on paper by Abraham Walkowitz (American, 1878-1965).

Founded in 2001, the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center houses the permanent collection of works on paper of the University of Richmond Museums and serves as a research center for the study and exhibition of prints, drawings, and photographs. With more than 5,000 works on paper in the collection by artists from the fifteenth century to the present, the Center promotes exposure to original works of art to the University’s students, faculty, and staff as well as the Richmond community and the region. Through research, programs, publications, and exhibitions, the Harnett Print Study Center encourages the study and appreciation of works on paper and the visual arts.

Named in honor of Joel and Lila Harnett, the Center continues to actively add to the collection. Among the more than 800 artworks acquired by the museum over the past two years are acquisitions from the Center Street Studio Archives, and gifts by transfer from the Richmond Public Library and the Valentine Richmond History Center. Individual donors include Franken Grohs Collinson, Walter McKinley Crowe, David Finkbeiner, Joel and Lila Harnett, Derek Mason and Daniel Jacobs, Xavier Nuez, William and Ann Oppenhimer, and Andrew Stasik.

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition was co-curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University of Richmond Museums, and Katie Der, ’11, business administration and studio art double major, University of Richmond, and the 2008 Harnett Summer Research Fellow, University Museums.

Dallas, TX - A rare and famous portrait of Boris Karloff in his full Frankenstein makeup, rendered by renowned illustration early twentieth-century artist Rolf Armstrong, now has a permanent home in the Norman Rockwell Museum, located in Stockbridge, MA, thanks to Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries.

“This work of art had been in a private collection for many years,” said Grey Smith, Director of Vintage Movie Poster Auctions for Heritage, “and when the owner passed away, the estate was interested in having us auction the piece, but told us that a condition of the owner’s will required the painting to be donated and displayed for at least a year in a museum or similar institution.”

Doug Norwine, Heritage’s Director of Music & Entertainment Auctions, continues, “Because they are the premier museum for illustration art, we arranged for the painting to be donated to the Norman Rockwell Museum, with the idea of auctioning it after an appropriate period of time and paying the proceeds, after commission, to the museum. As it turns out, this marvelous piece has proven so popular that the museum elected to keep it in their permanent collection. We are honored to have played a small part in the recovery, and now the permanent display, of this historic treasure.”

Rolf Armstrong (1899-1960), widely hailed as “the father of the American pin-up,” was an important illustration artist whose work adorned countless calendars, magazines, and sheet music covers during the first half of the twentieth century. He captured the images of such top stars as Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, and Greta Garbo, and even persuaded Boris Karloff to pose for him on the set of Bride of Frankenstein (1935), resulting in this incredible portrait. For years, fans of the Golden Age of Universal Horror have speculated that this iconic work was forever “lost to the ages,” an assumption now happily shown to be false.

“We’re pleased that this painting has found such a good home,” said Smith, “and that it will now be available to the general public to see and enjoy for many years to come.”

More info www.HA.com.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - On September 5, the Bay Downtown Vancouver will officially launch a new line of art, ‘MiMa at the Bay’. In addition to the opening of a gallery on the 5th floor, MiMa will also start supplying the Bay with art to complement the Bay’s furniture line. This initiative means support and increased exposure for a number of Canadian artists, most of whom are from British Columbia. The launch of “MiMa at the Bay” coincides with the Bay’s launch of a nationwide new marketing campaign, titled “Live Artfully”.
MiMa Fine Art Publishers, Inc. was founded in 2005 by Mitra Ghaffari and Mark Prior. Over the past three years, their joint venture has brought the art of over 40 artists to a national and international public. MiMa also works with art consultants, architects, interior designers, hotels, galleries, the hospitality industry, health-care facilities, and now, a department store.
“We just happened to approach the Bay at the right time,” says Prior. “The Bay was looking for art to compliment their furniture on the 6th Floor and also offered us space on the 5th floor to establish a gallery. Since May we have been working on this project and we now have about 350 works of art on display. The staff at the Bay has been very enthusiastic and report terrific reactions from customers who love the unexpected ‘art experience’ as they walk around the 6th floor.”
On September 5, Sunshine Coast artist Motoko will give live demonstrations in the store during the day. The evening event will give the public and the press a chance to meet a number of MiMa artists, such as Richard Hunt, Brian Scott, Page Ough, Bill Wilkinson, Won-Hee Gowen, Elisabeth Sommerville, Jocelyn Barrable Segal, and Carol Short. Annie Siegel, one of MiMa’s artists as well as a professional jazz singer and pianist, will provide entertainment. The evening will conclude with a charity auction of a painting by Motoko. All of this will be made most agreeable with traditional wine, cheese, strawberries, and chocolate.
The launch will be held at the Downtown Bay, 674 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia on September 5, from 6-9 p.m. Please contact the Bay at 604 681-6211 if you would like to attend.
You can find out more about MiMa Fine Art Publishers, Inc. at http://www.mimagallery.com/.