In the late 1980’s, visiting Chicago on the occasion of one of his exhibits at an art gallery of the city, Thom Shaw witnessed a gang fight, the members of which were wearing T shirts depicting the late Malcolm X. He found the association intriguing, Malcolm X in his mind being a promoter of unity […]
I recently visited the city of Oaxaca, the capital of the State of Oaxaca, in Mexico and had the chance to view the 18th Biennial of Painting Rufino Tamayo at the Museum of Contemporary Arts of Oaxaca (MACO, Museo of Artes Contemporaneos de Oaxaca). Founded in 1982 by the internationally known Oaxacan artist, one of […]
“The face is a living presence; it is expression… The face speaks,” writes the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas in his book Totality and Infinity. The face speaks of the “other” that it represents, to the “encounterer” who meets it, but also to the artist who depicts it in his/her portraiture artwork and to the viewer […]
Upon my recent return from Lebanon, I wrote a letter in the March aeqai in which I spoke of the prevailing creative energy I found there, a creative energy that permeates everyday life. In it I also gave a review of the art show “Sifr” by Lebano-Senegalese artist Hady Sy whose work focuses on […]
Every time I visit Lebanon, I am amazed by the prevailing creative energy that permeates everyday life. This energy is chaotic, screaming, often in your face and not rarely to your taste; but it still makes you resonate with the moment, connect to your environment and fellow human beings, question the status quo and the […]
I just returned from Lebanon, where I helped organize in Beirut the 1st SOS Art Liban event. SOS Art, which stands for “Save Our Souls” Art, is a collective art exhibit and a festival of the arts focused on creative expressions for peace and justice. It was started in Cincinnati in 2003 at the beginning […]
On June 11, I went to the opening reception of the retrospective art show of one of my dearest friends, Andy Fausz. Andy passed away unexpectedly Nov 10, 2012, at the young age of 36. I still cannot believe that he is gone forever and am deeply saddened every time I think of him. Walking […]
I. Images For A Better World: Julie LONNEMAN, Visual Artist Julie Lonneman would not describe herself as an activist. Her social concerns are manifested in her everyday life choices, such as using public transportation, shopping at thrift stores and farm markets, composting, and planting wildlife-friendly native plants in her yard. In the early 80’s, however, […]
I. Images For A Better World: Ellen Jean PRICE, Visual Artist Ellen Jean Price was born in New York City and grew up in Queens. She studied life drawing at the Art Students League and enrolled in Hunter College before completing her BA in Art at Brooklyn College. She then went on to earn an […]
I. Images For A Better World: Albert WEBB, Visual Artist Albert Webb, born in Barbourville, Kentucky, spent his youth in the rural community of Rockholds. The son of a Vietnam Veteran and of a devoted mother, he received a strong patriotic upbringing. Encouraged by his father to pursue art instead of the military, and backed […]
I. Images For A Better World: Carole WINTERS, Visual Artist Carole Winters, born in Northern Kentucky, spent most of her childhood in Western New York where her father, an electrical engineer, had relocated for work in the emerging television industry of the mid-50s. At age ten, a visit to a major exhibition of the work […]
Words and Images For A Better World: Aralee STRANGE (1943-2013), Literary Artist, and her Visual Artist Friends Aralee Strange, a poet and playwright, was born December 5, 1943, in Birmingham, Alabama. After living and working in Atlanta, GA, Cambridge, MA, and New York City, NY, she settled for more than twenty years in Cincinnati, OH. […]
I. Images For A Better World: Halena CLINE, Visual Artist In 1988 Cincinnati-born visual artist Halena Cline visited a retrospective exhibition of Umberto Boccioni’s paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. At the time she felt strongly the strength of his futuristic ideals and those of his comrades, ideals about moving […]
I. Images For A Better World: Kelly and Kyle PHELPS, Visual Artists Identical twin brothers Kelly and Kyle Phelps are Associate Professors at private Catholic universities in Ohio. Kelly is an Associate Professor and Chair at Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH) where he oversees the sculpture department; Kyle is an Associate Professor at University Dayton (Dayton, […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Scott DONALDSON, Visual Artist Scott Donaldson graduated in 1982 with an MFA degree in Theater Arts from the University of Minnesota. Until 1990 he worked professionally as a set designer, also as a scene painter for 5 years with the Kalamazoo […]
I. Images For A Better World: Suzanne CHOUTEAU, Visual Artist Suzanne Michele Chouteau is Professor of Art at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She teaches a variety of courses including printmaking, art history and a summer course in Rome. Chouteau received her BA in Art from Saint Ambrose University, Davenport, IA, and MA and MFA […]
I returned from a visit to Lebanon in March 2014 with my head, eyes and emotions all over board, triggered in all directions, confused but at the same time fulfilled and satisfied. Lebanon was a chaotic whirlwind of energy, creativity, contrasts, contradictions, peaceful and agitated moments, fears of violence, restful encounters. It was the occasion […]
I. Images For A Better World: Alison SHEPARD, Visual Artist Alison Shepard is a well-established artist and musician, born and raised in Cincinnati where she currently lives with her husband, Evan Hildebrandt, also an artist and director of Bromwell’s gallery. Shepard received her BFA from Northern Kentucky University and her MFA in printmaking from Miami […]
by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Andrew AU, Visual Artist Andrew Au, a Cincinnati-based artist, was born in1972 in Chicago, IL; he grew up in Keyser, WV. Au has drawn ever since he was able to put pen to paper, influenced from an early age by science fiction, religion, reading and art. […]
by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Nathan WEIKERT, Visual Artist Nathan Weikert was born and raised in Kettering, Ohio. He graduated from Miami University with a BS in art education (1998), a BFA in painting (1998), and a MA in art education (2002). In 2013 he had a solo exhibition at 1305 […]
by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Ricci MICHAELS, Visual Artist Ricci Michaels was born and raised in Philadelphia, the seventh of eight daughters. Encouraged by her teachers, she started painting at a very young age, as far back as kindergarten. She liked to see her pictures hung often in her classroom. Being […]
by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Kimberly HENSON, Visual Artist Kymberly Henson has been working in the arts for over 30 years. After graduating with an art degree from Edgecliff College she owned and operated a wearable art studio called “Kymber Originals”, producing one of a kind and limited edition hand-painted and […]
by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Leigh WALTZ, Visual Artist Born in Dayton, Ohio, Leigh Waltz took drawing lessons at an early age. In high school, he traveled through Europe and spent a year on the island of Borneo. There, he learned photography and darkroom techniques with Amarjit Singh, a local photographer. […]
by Saad Ghosn I. Images For A Better World: Paige WIDEMAN, Visual Artist Paige Wideman, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has a BFA degree in sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute (1989), and an MFA degree, also in sculpture, from the University of Cincinnati (1999). Wideman took 10 years […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD by Saad Ghosn • Images For A Better World: Roscoe WILSON, Visual Artist Roscoe Wilson was born and raised in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. His environmental values were shaped in this mostly rural Mid-western setting which enabled him to experience nature and discover an awareness that only a […]
“What is Contemporary Art and Why does it Matter?” by Saad Ghosn “Why Does Contemporary Art Matter?” or why does art in general or all art for that matter, matter. And is contemporary an adjective pertaining only to a certain category of art or does it apply to any art, making it a universal […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD by Saad Ghosn • Images For A Better World: Gena GRUNENBERG, Visual Artist Gena Grunenberg, a Cincinnati artist, initially studied graphic arts, switching later to fine arts. In addition to drawing and painting, she learned various techniques, including pottery, silkscreen, jewelry and stone setting… She uses them interchangeably in her […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD by Saad Ghosn Images For A Better World: Jimi JONES, Visual Artist Jimi Jones, a Cincinnati artist and graphic designer, was born in Asheville, North Carolina; he lived, however, most of his life in Ohio. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD by Saad Ghosn • Images For A Better World: Kimberly SHIFFLETT, Visual Artist Kimberly Shifflett was born in Champaign, Illinois, grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and settled for a few years in Tucson, Arizona. After skipping her art classes at the University of Arizona to learn to weave, […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD • Images For A Better World: Billy SIMMS, Visual Artist Billy Simms, artist and educator, was born and raised outside of Washington, DC. He moved to the Tri-state area in 2004. Simms has a Bachelor of Art degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in theatrical scenic and lighting […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD by Saad Ghosn • Images For A Better World: Rob JEFFERSON, Visual Artist Rob Jefferson was born in 1970 on a naval base in Memphis, Tennessee, and has lived in Cincinnati ever since. A graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati with a BFA degree in painting and drawing (1992), […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD By Saad Ghosn • Images For A Better World: Gary GAFFNEY, Visual Artist Gary Gaffney, born in New Orleans, LA, is now Professor Emeritus at the Art Academy of Cincinnati after a teaching career of more than 30 years. He has worked in a wide range of visual and literary […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD ~ Saad Ghosn • Images For A Better World: Jan BROWN CHECCO, Visual Artist Jan Brown Checco, a painter, sculptor and art administrator, holds a BFA degree from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and an MFA degree from the University of Cincinnati/DAAP. She has been working as a studio artist […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD Saad Ghosn Images For A Better World: Matt REED, Visual Artist Matt Reed is an artist, educator, and radical leftist currently living in Cincinnati, OH. His work has appeared in galleries in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Los Angeles, and Munich. His illustrations have been used for magazines, comic books, t-shirts, […]
ART FOR A BETTER WORLD By Saad Ghosn Images For A Better World: Farron ALLEN, Visual Artist Farron Allen grew up in the mountains of southern West Virginia, product of three generations of coalminers. He was raised by loving and religious grandparents who imparted to him the rigorous teachings of their Southern Baptist faith. […]
by Saad Ghosn “Art For A Better World” is a new column that will regularly feature Greater Cincinnati Artists who use their art for a message and for a change. Each column, divided into two sections titled respectively “Images for a Better World” and “Words for a Better World”, will give the stage to a […]
