As of 12 Dec., 2003, Miamiartexchange.com will be the site of future art blogging. Artlab33's blog will be retained for educational purposes and, site of a photography and creative writing project. Thank you for your cooperation.

The first and most important part of the art season has now come and gone. Next is the January events of Art Miami and Palm Beach Contemporary (art fair). Even though they are not on the same level (in terms of sales, collectors, or galleries), they nonetheless are an important part of our art culture. Some locals have already said that those events are a waste of time however, just a few short years ago that is all we had. It's good that a few people I know made some money this past week selling art (both artists and dealers). [written: 7 Dec., 2003]

Art Basel Miami Beach and related events reportage with images.

Thank goodness the art fairs of December are over. I was starting to get hassled for not showing up at a few openings. I am still giving finals, with the last one being tonight in about an hour. I have a web updating job that's going to pay me real money. That's a necessity when one has bills. A couple of my sponsors on Miamiartexchange.com were trying to get me feature them during the fair. Sorry, but I couldn't without more advanced planning. I did choose work that I thought was good and I could write about pretty quickly. I covered all the major venues and that's as much as I could do. I didn't attend a single party although, there were LOTS of them around.

The problem, as age old as it is, is that artists don't have the luxury to create their work then go out promoting it too. In reality, it takes just as much time to promote the work as it does to create it, if not more. That's why artists seek out galleries and dealers. And, dealers are not interested in promoting work that isn't easy to sell, unless they really like the work and see potential in it and or the artist. That is the reason dealers and gallerists take up to a 50% cut of the selling price.

Based on those terms, dealers get very territorial, literally and figuratively. Unless you have a written contract it might be problematic on some level to have another dealer promoting your work. There are advantages and disadvantages to both having and not having a written contract.

Museums don't normally get into the business of selling artists work but, if you see a wall label that says, "Collection of the artist," it means the work is most likely for sale. In those situations collectors can probably get work at a lower cost and the artist won't have to give up a cut of the money.

Commissions, public and private, are a whole different matter. Just the process itself can be taxing enough to make many artists never do it more than once. Public commissions require the artist to do the bidding of many people one would not normally deal with in the creation of ones art.

Anyway, I've gone way beyond the art fairs-as-exhibition spaces, and beyond the first week of Decemeber having become the MOST important week for ANY and EVERY artist living in Florida. The faculty of UF even had a exhibition in Miami! Gainesville is 800 miles north of here!

Comments?

Antoni Miralda's sculpture in the Dacra office area.

Art Basel Miami Beach is just its second year has become THE most important art fair on the U.S. east coast. Also here is -Scope fair, a 4 story hotel filled with galleries, and NADA=New Art Dealers Alliance Fair in a vacant commercial bldg. Over in Miami debuting for the event was a new art space, Miami Art Central. And, as shown in the above picture the Miami Design District office of Dacra, the main developer of the area into the hottest gallery district in Miami. Craig Robbins is the principal of Dacra and a great supporter of art and artists.

I spent the entire day and into the evening trekking thru each of the above venues, with the exception of Miami Art Central which is some distant south. I'm working up a report of some kind on the events, art, and activities for Miamiartexchange.com. However, I have a final critique and exam to give this morning. I got a phone call yesterday telling me what "right on time" Nayland Blake's recent commentary is as edited on Miamiartexchange.com. Thank you Nayland!

I set out for another two days of image gathering this past weekend. I set out without a map in hand. I thought I knew exactly where I was going. I was totally off base. I set out Saturday and drove north to Palm Beach County, then west toward Belle Glade but, I knew I had to drive a bit further north. I couldn't find it. I bought a map only to open it and find it only showed the eastern half of the county. What kind of stupid map makers do that?

I decided to drive to Indiantown and possibly find my true location of Port Mayaca, where Lake Okeechobee and the waterway flowing east to the St. Lucie estuary and the Atlanic. I glanced at a roadside sign and did a U-turn to a place called, Grassy Waters Preserve. I had never heard of it.

The location was a natural water and animal conservation area maintained by the City of West Palm Beach. There were similar things to the Savannas but here, the canoe tours are only scheduled a few times per year.

I walked along a long boardwalk above the water and wet gound. I did see one bird I hadn't seen before, the Everglades kite, a hawk type bird. It was hovering around but not enough for me to get a picture. Kite image More on the kite.



This image I was standing on some steps that went right down to the water. I didn't ask what it was for since the canoe launch was in a different area. The Glades kite kept flying into the middle of this pic but I couldn't get an image of it.



I walked deeper into the preserve along the boardwalk. Above, the trees are Cypress but, they're pretty young and small.



Above is an 'air' plant. They are very popular here for giving a 'southern flavor' to the yard. I actually don't know that much about them, now that I'm typing this up but, this one was very healthy. [see below comments for more info on this plant.]



Above is the far end of the boardwalk. This structure is called a chickee hut, an architectual style of the Seminole natives. Its roof is made of palm fronds and is pretty waterproof in the rain.

A photographer at Grassy Waters told me how to get to Port Mayaca. It was not even in Palm Beach County but, in Martin County the next county north. On the way there I stopped at a wildlife management area. It is hunting season. There are hogs, deer, racoon, squirrel, bobcats, wild turkey, possum, and a few other animals that can be hunted. The brochure said only one animal per year per license for most animals. I guess hogs are about the only animal where it is legal to shoot more than one per year.

I arrived at Port Mayaca and was able to get some images for my burial shrine project even though I had to drive back there on Sunday afternoon. The late Saturday sun cast long shadows and some gravestones were impossible to shoot because of the darkness. Sunday wasn't so good with grey overcast skies. Oh well, I did my best.



Here's the only image for sharing at the moment from my burial shrine project. Author Zora Neale Hurston talks about this hurricane in her book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God." That book has been considered her greatest work. Hurston was born near Orlando and died in Ft. Pierce, where she is buried. There are always offerings of candies, rum, cigars, money and notes left on her grave. She was initiated into Haitian Vaudou in 1937 I believe, and many believers leave them. More about Hurston.

So, another weekend of productivity. Having a trustworthy vehicle makes a world of difference!