Jacob Ouillette Brushstroke Paintings

My friend Jacob Ouillette and I met when we were both Albee Fellows, several summers ago. He has his first solo show in Manhattan, from now until November 26th. It is at the Nancy Margolis Gallery (link above), 523 West 25th Street (between 11th and 12th Avenues).
This is one of the paintings in the show, Wit's End, 2011.

The Disapparation of James

Anne Ursu's The Disapparation of James was on my list of circus novels. A family takes their children to see a circus (more Big Apple than Ringling Brothers). The second-to-last act features a clown magician. He asks for a volunteer from the audience. Young James Woodrow is chosen, and the clown puts him in a chair. The clown lifts the chair over his head, and James disappears. And can't be found. The police are brought in, the clown is tracked down, no one can find James. A cop is placed in the Woodrow's home.
James' sister, Greta, decides to make drawings of her brother's adventures:
"he's in the jungle with lions and tigers and bears and dogs. He's under the sea with mermaids and funny fishes and otters and underwater dogs. He's in the sky with magic birds and flying dogs. He's on other planets with flying dogs and talking bears...."
Then she decides to make drawings of the things he loves:
"the stuff he likes and doesn't like and stuff. He likes peanut butter sandwiches a lot. He hates tomatoes because he thinks the seeds look like eyes. He likes otters because they are so cute and of course he likes puppies because everyone likes puppies."
Is that 7 year old girl or what?

Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America

I am reading a lot about Hungary (new character is Hungarian) and circuses. This weekend, I read Kati Marton's Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America. Marton's parents were journalists in Budapest in the 1950s who were arrested by AVO (the secret police), held and tried as enemies of the state. Link to New York Times Book review above. This was complicated by the fact that they had two little girls, Marton and her sister Juli. Once her mother was arrested, the girls were placed with a family they did not know, barely escaping being put in an orphanage. Once the parents were released, the entire family escaped after the counter-revolution in 1956.
When they got to Vienna, they stayed in the Hotel Atlanta, just outside the Ringstrasse, near the Allgemeines Krankenhaus. I know exactly where that pension is, because it's where my grandparents lived for a year in the 1920s.
The photo was taken after Dr. Marton's arrest (Mrs. Marton, Juli, Kati). Mrs. Marton was arrested for months later. Via the New York Times.

6 Months in Switzerland

Galapagos is sponsoring a six month residency in Switzerland for visual artist and performance art artists (not for playwrights, unfortunately) in New York City. Press release follows.
natural selection: artists in residence

a.i.r. switzerland

Galapagos has partnered with IAAB, the International Exchange and Studio Program of the Canton of Basel, Switzerland, to each year offer an artist from New York City the opportunity to spend six months near Basel, in the Swiss countryside town of Riehen. In turn, we’ll host a Swiss artist here.

The studio is situated in one of the old estate buildings on the “Berowergut,” just next door to the Beyeler Foundation. When the barns located on the “Berowergut” have been renovated and the Kunst Raum Riehen has been installed, the old coach house at the back was converted into a two-storey live-in studio.

This residency program is generously financed by private and public sponsors. The iaab offers a 700 square foot working and living space from January 1st to June 30th 2012, an allowance of $1,200 per month while in Switzerland to cover day to day living costs and a plane ticket to Switzerland with return to New York. In Switzerland the artist will also receive a ‘half tarif’ public transport card for all public transportation in Switzerland… and lots of chocolate!

More info about iaab: www.iaab.ch

who can apply to the iaab?

The exchange program is open to visual artists all disciplines and performance artists who originate from New York City or have participated regularly at regional exhibitions for more than two years, irrespective of their age and nationality.

application procedure for artists from new york

Galapagos Art Space begins taking applications online October 16th. The deadline for submissions is October 31st 2011. The Jury will study the applications and hold a meeting in the first week of November and will select artists for the second round. Interviews will take place on November 5th. Galapagos will announce the selected artist for 2012 by November 7th.

To apply for the artist residency, please email the following materials to residency@galapagosartspace.com

Completed application (download the Word doc)
Motivation letter
Resume
Project description (detailed concept for the project you would realize during your 6 month stay in Basel, 2 pages maximum)
Digital Portfolio that includes your works of the past 2 years (PDF, Letter size, small compression, max 3MB.) If you work with new media /video you can send us links (3 links maximum).
only electronic applications, please. do not call or drop off any materials.

The Historian

I am doing research about Hungary for my latest play; perhaps it's more accurate to say I'm doing more research on Hungary for a different play. I assembled a list of novels set in Hungary, and I've just finished reading the first, The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It is the best vampire novel since Bram Stoker. Little, Brown published it in 2005, and somehow I missed it the first go round. It travels the world: the US, France, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands. It's a long read, but totally worth it.

October

The White House has proclaimed October National Arts and Humanities Month. Via Americans for the Arts:
National Arts and Humanities Month (NAHM) is a coast-to-coast celebration of culture in America. Held every October and coordinated by Americans for the Arts, NAHM is the largest annual celebration of the arts and humanities in the nation. President Obama has issued a White House proclamation that recognizes the value of the arts and humanities and kicks off this month’s celebrations. Within the proclamation, President Obama states:

"Millions of Americans earn a living in the arts and humanities, and the non-profit and for-profit arts industries are important parts of both our cultural heritage and our economy...We must recognize the contributions of the arts and humanities not only by supporting the artists of today, but also by giving opportunities to the creative thinkers of tomorrow. Educators across our country are opening young minds, fostering innovation, and developing imaginations through arts education."

PARTICIPATE LOCALLY
National Arts and Humanities Month Events Map: Learn more about the NAHM events happening nationwide this October. Use this Google Map to post information about your NAHM events and programs by clicking the "add event" link. You can also see what other activities are happening in your community!

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Follow Americans for the Arts on Twitter (@Americans4Arts) during October to learn about Creative Conversations and featured events happening in your community and throughout the country.

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The Acting Studio

The Acting Studio, where I teach, has had two pieces of good news! The first is, alumna Julianna Margulies, won an Emmy in September. And the second is the short film PERRY STREET, directed by Antonio Padovan and starring Catherine Mary Stewart and James Price, aired on Manhattan Cable Channel 67 - Monday, October 10.