For the first time EVER I ventured down to DC's Artomatic event, this year taking place down at the waterfront. I decided to go on the second day, because I hear it's absolute madness on opening day/night. And unlike a lot of others, I prefer looking at work with a bit of wiggle-room, over being looked at while looking at work ...as I find it's simply more comfortable that way.
In the previous years, I'd avoided Artomatic, always hearing that "it's not worth your time if you're serious about art ...serious about making waves ..and/or serious about creating a true voice in the community." And while I, regretfully, still agree with some of these sentiments, all in all, I'm glad that I attended. So don't get me wrong; Artomatic is a great event that supports the arts, but after attending, I feel it's more of an entry-level "art experience" for those who are new to the art world. Plus, I hear a lot of work sells! So, of course, these reasons keep it a good/great thing in my mind. And for further clarity, when I say "entry-level" I'm not referring to the artwork ...so don't be offended Artomatic participants, who stumble upon this blog. I'm referring to the fact that there's just sooo much artistic information to digest down there, it's hard to seriously focus on singular statements. And the fact that they let ANYONE participate without any kind of jurying often taints reflective thinking after viewing some of the good work. So with that, I find it's a good place to, maybe, bring a date and enjoy conversing over things you like and/or dislike as you walk around the enormous space ...You know, share the experience, and maybe have that lead into viewing solo shows, and or group shows that focus on more singular, deeply-rooted themes.
For me personally, after exploring about four floors, I started to feel completely overwhelmed by the whole experience. It really is an artistic-mixed-bag situation that I'm not really used to. The show features good work here and there, ok work here and there, and some "c'mon, really? are you friggin kidding me??" work from time to time. So much so, my mind actually started to go numb after a while (of the ups and downs) and I actually found I was getting most of my true enjoyment from comments I was hearing from other viewers of the show. And while I know this is random, here are some of my favorites:
- "I think I figured it out, you're supposed to weave through [hand-motions] and not forget to check out the walls."
- "Oh giiiirl, you see, you see. Sometimes you gotta look for a while before you see them [figures]."
- "I grew in up Herdon" "Oh god!" replied his date taking offense for whatever reason.
and my absolute favorite (actually directed towards me)...
-"Is that Julia Roberts? [pause]...or is that an Obama girl??"
So with all of that, my suggestion for next year's participators would be this: "Find a way to make your wall standout as it's own singular space!" No matter how tired my eyes got during my tour, I found that was the one consistent separating factor ...presentation of the work. Those who painted or covered their wall in basic, yet effective ways always seemed to win the "battle of the floor" as I like to call it. Even those who chose to only use a small centralized portion of their wall were extremely affective. It really came down to breathing room, and how one can display work to force viewers to pause in their space.
In conclusion -- if your time-table permits -- my final suggestion is to just visit Artomatic over the course of three of four days and only hit two or three of the 9 floors each day ...then go home and reflect. I may even return, taking my own advise on that one. Plus, on a daily basis Artomatic features live performance-art along with music events on a lot of the days, so catching more of the shows would definitely create a more enjoyable experience ...and speaking of, though I was six floors up at the time, I was actually able to catch part of a pretty cool fire show.
And hey, if you're the player/playet type, you could always bring separate dates with you each day/night, and live it up Bill Bellamy style. Though, it may not be considered the most moral of actions, you may actually gain a different outlook on artistic processes through the multiple conversations. Plus, now that this post is up, you can always blame it on me if you get caught out there ;-) ...so why not right??
Click HERE for more on Artomatic.
-Jonathan
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