Dispatchwork: a Project by Jan Vormann

Born in 1983 in the city of Bamberg, Germany, the Berlin based artist Jan Vormann initiated a creative and amusing project that would be followed by people around the world.

"Dispatchwork" consists in using plastic bricks, usually 'Lego' ones, to repair damaged parts of buildings and other constructions such as monuments.
The can be found filling cracks on walls or missing parts of stair steps, or even a column's capital.


The artist maintains a website where one can see the photos taken in several cities from around the world from works completed by Jan Vormann and by all those who have joined and continue to join the "Dispatchwork" project.

You too can start your own "Dispatchwork", either by yourself or gathering a group of friends.
This is also a good initiative for schools and a way to give more colour to our cities.






Jan Vormann studied History of Art and Care of Architectural Monuments at the Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg (2003-2004) and Arts and Sculpture at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee.

2011 Photo Month Juried Advanced and Amateur Level Photography Competition

Photo Month is the first juried photography competition offered by Southern Delaware and will be hosted by Gallery 50 in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and Packard-Reath Gallery in Lewes Delaware. This competition invites both advanced and amateur photographers to exhibit their work.

Throughout the whole month of September this gallery will celebrate photography by hosting many special events, including lectures and presentations by professional photographers.

The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2011. The fee varies depending on the skill level with $30 fee for advanced level photographers and $20 for amateur photographers. There are many awards to be won for both advanced and amateur photographers for a total amount of $1150.

Works accepted are limited to gelatin silver and archival pigment prints and no mixed media will be accepted.

Photography will be Judged on the opening day, September 1 by: Lee Wayne Mills, Ellen Elms Notar, Ph.D. John Burger, M.D., Dinah Reath, Owner and Director of Packard Reath Gallery Jay Pastore, Director of Gallery 50.
For more information and application visit Gallery 50 official website.

This article was written by the artist and guest writer Armada Volya

Detroit's new Kunsthalle Detroit Museum

Detroit, Michigan, was internationally recognized during decades as a reference in industry development, with particular focus on the automotive industry.
Unfortunately with the recent economical crisis and subsequent social impact, Detroit had its reputation hurt due to criminal developments.
Nonetheless the majority of its inhabitants deserves to have their once prosperous community back, not only economically but also culturally, and that's where the new Kunsthalle Detroit Museum of Multimedia & Light-Based Art can play a significant role.

Born from the wish of its Founding Director Tate Osten, the Kunsthalle Detroit Museum has the mission to encourage the understanding and appreciation of light-based art, namely by establishing an artistic collection that may be regarded as a worldwide reference on its genre.

Among its plans are workshops, providing workspace, schollarships, and exhibition opportunities, exempt of curatorial bias or commercial constraint, for artists of light-based mediums.

Tate Osten greatly expects the museum to be a leading force in the revitalization of Detroit and a key organization in community outreach programmes.

In the future the Kunsthalle Detroit Museum of Multimedia & Light-Based Art (the second of its kind in the world) is expected to present world renowned exhibitions and become the international leading museum of light-based arts.

As a non-profit organization founded in 2010, the museum is always looking for volunteers to share part of their time and knowledge in several areas, as a way to help the museum with its mission and projects.

Tate Olsten is a contemporary art professional with 15 years of working experience in the fields of film and multimedia. She holds a Master's degree in Fine Arts, a PhD in Creative Writing and Poetry, and also a Professional Certificate in Art Appraisal.
Osten has dedicated part of her career providing fine art consulting and management for numerous corporations and private collectors.

Formerly to her career in contemporary visual arts, Tate Osten worked as a director in the Museum of Dance History in St. Petersburg and as a consultant on international art affairs at St. Petersburg branch of George Soros Art Exchange Initiative.

"Surreal Visions" by SlowArt Productions

Artists worldwide, with 18 years of age or older, are welcome to enter the "Surreal Visions" competition presented by SlowArt Productions and have the chance to see their work exhibited at the Limner Gallery.

The exhibition will accomodate all forms of surreal and visionary figurative art derivative from the artist's interpretation of the Surreal Visions concept.
All interpreatations will be reviewed and considered.

All forms of art including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, installation, graphics, digital, video, etc. are eligible.
Entrants should observe the size limits mentioned in the restrictions.

Winning artists will be featured in a group exhibition of near twenty works, at the Limner Gallery, September 3 - October 1, 2011, which will also be displayed on the gallery's website.
One artist will be awarded a two page display in Direct Art Magazine Volume #19, Fall 2012 issue. Two artists will be awarded a single page display.

All works in the show must be for sale. The gallery will take a 30 percent commission on all sales. Sale price is determined by the artist.

Images must be sent in JPG format (1 MB or less in size) via email or web post with direct html link to a dedicated web page.
Videos artists may post on a web page or on YouTube and provide a link to the page.

There is a $35.00 entry fee for one to four artworks entered, with a $5.00 fee for each additional artwork above four. Details of 2D artwork count as an additional artwork. Sculptors may provide one additional view per artwork without cost.
On regular bases shipping costs will be supported by the artists.

Artists will be notified of acceptance or non-acceptance no later than July 20, 2011. Results will be posted on or before this date at SlowArt's Results page.

Entry deadline for "Surreal Visions" is June 30, 2011.
More information and an e-mail contact are available in the submission guidelines.

Adam Art Gallery presents Behind Closed Doors: New Zealand Art from Private Collections in Wellington

From the 4th of June to the 18th of December 2011, the Adam Art Gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, is holding an exhibition where the public may explore the art acquired by private collectors.

Recurring exclusively to private collections in Wellington, "Behind Closed Doors: New Zealand Art from Private Collections in Wellington" examins selective ‘moments’ in the history of New Zealand art from 1946 to the present, giving the rare opportunity to witness how some private art collections can provide museum-quality exhibitions.

Curated by Gallery Director Christina Barton, the exhibition includes paintings by renowned artists Toss Wollaston and Colin McCahon, seldom-seen works by Michael Smither and Rita Angus, along with provocative multimedia artworks by Peter Robinson and Ronnie van Hout.

A book documenting the pieces as they appear at collector's homes, with photographs by leading New Zealand photographer Neil Pardington and texts by writer Lara Strongman, complements the exhibition with an intimate alternative to the 'institutional' framing of works at the gallery and offers an idea of the relation that a private collector establishes with art. The publication will be launched in August.

The Adam Art Gallery is also staging a series of programmes in its Kirk Gallery room, entitled "in camera: a project series around and about collecting."
Floor talks, panel discussions and film screenings haven been design to engage the public and provide a platform for critical discussion.

"52 Weeks of Free Art" by Crystal Despain

On November 30th, 2010, the North Colorado based artist Crystal Despain started an art project consisting on doing one painting each week for 52 weeks.

After receiving several messages from people who enjoyed her artwork but could not afford to acquire them, Crystal decided to give the chance to some of these people to own an original work of art, and at the same time making the most of an excellent marketing campaign.

The process to receive a free work of art is pretty straightforward.
You have to send an e-mail with a good photo of the subject (try to avoid using flash and arrange a good contrast between light and shadow) and the story behind it, elaborating on how important is for you to have that subject represented by the artist.

After sending the e-mail, participants must check Crystal Despain's blog until next Saturday, to see if their photo was chosen, and contact the artist.
There's an option to subscribe to e-mail updates on her blog.

Those who are selected will not get the painting right after its completion, since the artist pretends to make an exhibition featuring the 52 paintings and their story counterparts.
After the exhibition period recipients will start receiving their paitings.

You can see the paintings that Crystal has completed until now on her website and learn the details about the "52 Weeks of Free Art" on her blog.
A video about this project is also available on Youtube.

Although this kind of project is not new, the idea of representing a person's cherished subject or story through painting and having a final exhibition is an appreciable fact.
Moreover it demands discipline, perseverance and, of course, financial investment.

Magical Moments Festival of Disneyland Paris at the Blankenberge Sand Sculpture Festival 2011

The 2011 edition of the Blankenberge Sand Sculpture Festival shows the works from 38 artists from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Siberia and Australia, who will transform tonnes of sand (the ideal kind of sand comes from the river, featuring coarser and more angular grains, which cling more easily to each other) into wonderful sculptures.

Based on the theme "Magical Moments Festival of Disneyland Paris", the festival offers its visitors a journey to the magical land of imagination that Disney has presented through generations of children and grownups.

By the hands of these sculptors, characters such as Alladin, Alice, Flynn Ryder, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook, the unmissable novels of Jules Verne, or the adventures of the Wild West and the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Blankenberge Sand Sculpture Festival 2011 is an event to be visited by everyone who likes art, namely sculpture, and especially by those who keep the child within.



Tickets can be easily purchased at the box office at the entrance to the festival, in every Belgian Railway station, on the coastal tram service (Kusttram) and online (with a reservation cost).
More information is available on the official website.

The festival can be visited until Semptember 12, everyday between 10am and 7pm.

Jennifer Dalton's "The Biggest Ego" artist reality show

In the 2011 summer issue of Frieze magazine.

Discovered on Edward Winkleman's blog.

Pig Parade (Évora): The pigs were stolen !

Organized by the Federação Portuguesa de Suinicultores (Portuguese Federation of Pig Farmers) and the support of the City Hall of Évora, students and people from other institutions in Évora artisticly decorated near 50 fiberglass-made pigs.

Entitled "Pig Parade", the outside public exhbition intends to promote the II Ibero-American Congress of Pig Farming that is taking place in Évora (Portugal) between the days of 21st and 24th of June 2011, as well as to aknowledge farmers and landowners who on Tuesdays used to get together in the Praça do Giraldo (Giraldo Square) thus originating the "Dia de S. Porco" (St. Pig Day).

Now, in the middle of this month, the decorated pigs were distributed through several strategic places around the city and everyone was quite happy with the event.

The problem is that although the pigs could not move on their own, someone thought that they could use some help and near twelve are missing at this time.

The Art Inquirer is aware that the portuguese economy is not going through its best days, but it will be difficult to make sandwiches with these pigs. Maybe they will try to sell one or two mixed with real ones ?

Due to these facts, the decorated pigs were all moved to the Praça do Giraldo where they'll be closely watched.

Anyway, besides the already mentioned reasons for this "Pig Parade", there will occur a special event that is worth referring.
The pigs will be auctioned on the 29th of June (18h30) in Horta das Laranjeiras and the proceeds will be donated to the APPACDM of Évora, (Portuguese Association of Parents and Friends of the Hadicapped Citizen).

Meawhile two authors of one of the stolen pigs started a Facebook page to help find the pig named "Dummie". The page is called "Vamos encontrar o Porco dummie."

Interview with artist Ben Heine, the author of "Pencil vs Camera"

Born on the 12th of June 1983 in the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Ben Heine (Benjamin Heine) is a Belgian artist widely known by his series "Pencil vs Camera."

Ben holds degree in journalism (Brussels) and a Masters' final assignment on the "limits of freedom of speech in political cartoons" (2007). He frequented drawing, painting, multimedia and history of art in Hastings, England and studied Technologies of Information and Communication in Utrecht (Netherlands). During two years, Ben studied Slavic languages, history and cultures (Polish and Russian).

He started as painter and political cartoonist, but interrupted his political art in 2009 and started focusing on his own art.

In the year of 2010, Ben starts developing the creative idea of mixing drawing and photography, originating his most famous series "Pencil vs Camera" where the artist plays with illusion and surrealism and blends imagination with reality.



In the same year he initiates a new creative process that he names "Digital Circlism", a mix between Pointillism and Pop Art where the artist combines circles of various sizes and colours, each of a single colour, over a black background, usually to reproduce portraits of celebrities and cultural icons.



More recently he starting working on the new project "Flesh and Acrylic", painting abstract shapes with acrylic on a life model.



Ben also has an extensive experience in photography, essential to the creation of his works.


The Art Inquirer contacted Ben Heine for an interview where he talks about his art, projects for the near future and coming exhibitions.

TAI - From what age do you remember of drawing being one of your favourite activities

BH - I think I was 11 year old or so. At that age, I knew that drawing would change my existence and that it would become the primary way to express my ideas and my conception of life.

TAI - What other mediums have you used or keep using ?

BH - To give just a few, I’ve tried many different mediums like pencils, ballpoint pens, pastels, acrylic, oil, watercolor, ecoline and ink, on paper or on canvas. I’ve also made some sculptures and I’m more into photography and digital art now.

TAI - Tell us what those mediums offer to you that makes you want to work with them.

BH - Each medium offers something particular. It’s also nice to mix them together to get unexpected results. I used to work only with simple tools, easily available. I’m now trying more and more to prepare my projects in advance and to make more complex combinations with the instruments I use (See my most recent work “Flesh and Acrylic”, for instance).

TAI - Before your “Pencil Vs Camera” series that got you so well known by the public, what other forms of creativity have you tried ?

BH - I’ve done in the past other series that have had less impact than “Pencil Vs Camera”, like “Wild Animals Downtown”, “Chess Art”, “Digital Caricatures” and others. I never know how the public will react to my new works so I try not thinking too much about it. But when I see that people really don’t like something I’m doing, I just stop and start something else because I want to make art for people, not for me. I’m trying to make it understandable by everybody.

TAI - How did you get to the kind of art that you are doing now ? What triggered it ?

BH - Pencil Vs Camera is a mishmash of my two favorite disciplines: drawing and photography, so this series came quite naturally. Before starting this project, I saw some artists merging a photo in a photo or a drawing in a drawing, but I had never seen a drawing in a photo. So I thought there was a perfect opportunity for me to bring something new and creative.

TAI - Which are your favourite themes and subjects ?

BH - In Pencil Vs Camera, the main themes and values I want to share are love, friendship and happiness. I like to focus on architecture, portraits, nature and animals (a bit of everything). This series mixes imagination and reality in a simple way with simple tools. The only boundary is my own perception of the world, my own imagination. I like playing with illusions, visual tricks and surrealism. Finally, my hand is always visible. I think it emphasizes the connection between the viewer and the action happening on the little piece of paper.

TAI - When you include people in your works, do you try to do it without them noticing, do you tell them or give them a hint of the situation, or it's not relevant ?

BH - When they are famous, there is usually no problem at all, because these people are used to see their personal image exploited, as long as it remains positive. When they are random people I meet in the street, it’s more delicate, I have to make sure we don’t recognize them too much. If we can identify their face, I have to ask them the permission to have their image potentially published in the entire world.

TAI - How do people react when they realize that you're drawing them or are asked to serve as models ?

BH - They are often surprised and intrigued but still very positive and willing to collaborate.

TAI - What's their reaction after seing the final result ?

BH - Most of the time, they are very happy with it.

TAI - When you decide to start one of your artworks, how do you plan your day ?

BH - I often find ideas before going out and starting a new project. I just decide a bit in advance where I’ll go and I do the sketch on the place where I’ll take the final picture. If needed, I do the drawing home, at my desk, more comfortably, and I come back later to the scenery where I intend to take the photo.

TAI - Do you have plans to make this kind of creative work with other mediums ?

BH - Good question. I might be doing “Pencil Vs Camera XXL”, which means that I might use some huge paper on wooden panel (several meters long) and ask several people to carry it in front of a nice landscape, then make a giant drawing on it and take a final picture…

TAI - What would you like to try next ?

BH - I just started a new project called “Flesh and Acrylic”, in which I paint abstract shapes with acrylic on a life model. I think this series has a big potential too, but it’s only the beginning.


Ben Heine's "Pencil vs Camera + Digital Circlism" will be exhibited in the following places:

The Avenue (organized by The Art Movement)
7-9 St James Street, London SW1A 1EE
July to September 2011

Gallery Garden
206 rue Stévin, 1000 Brussels
July the 5th to 4th of September 2011

Art London (Chelsea)
Royal Hospital, Chelsea, SW3
6 - 10 October 2011

AAF Spring (London)
Battersea Evolution, London SW11 4NJ
20 - 23 October 2011

London Art Fair
Business Design Center, 52 Upper Street London N1
18 - 22 January 2012

You can visits Ben Heine's website and his blog, as well as keep up with his latest artistic projects on Facebook.