This was the toon I sent with the Argus Letter to the Editor, but they never used it.

In preparation for my show at Michelle’s the end of the month, I’m gonna be knocking out some cheap ones, for all my low end friends!

ANDY WARHOL INVENTED PUNK ROCK
16″ x 20″ – Unframed – $50
Mixed Media on Canvas

‘The Day Ray Johnson Died’

Shadow Box – 12 x 12 x 3″

FOR SALE

———————-

THE REJECTION STORY

Every year for the past 5 years I have donated a piece to the Washington Pavilion VAC Arts Night (A fundraiser for the Visual Arts Center). As you all know, I’m not a big fan of the Washington Pavilion or art ORGS in general. Although I believed in supporting the Visual Art Center because it’s the ONLY FREE amenity in the publicly funded facility, and Howard is pretty cool (Howard is the curator, he actually wrote my intro on my webpage and he told my best collector, Clyde, that I was the only TRUE artist in Sioux Falls, because I’m vocal about the arts in Sioux Falls). Arts Night is kind of fun too, you get to see all these rich hob-knobbers slobber all over each other. They usually overdress for the event and underpay for the art. I have been very vocal the past couple of years about minimum bids, etc. Of course the Pavilion feels it is about the quality of the work, that is why the art doesn’t bring enough. Never mind that they don’t use a real art auctioneer, or that they overcharge for the ticket (Approximately $80 per person for just the meal and a seat at a table). The meals are usually cold and the meat is usually dry. Last year the PAV decided to start JURYING the art, too get better quality – so to speak. I think this is unwise for a couple of reasons:

1) They should accept every single piece donated, isn’t this a fund-raiser?

2) Don’t invite artists that do poor quality work.

Last year after a couple of long time artist contributors were rejected, I brought up these two things. Of course things did not change. They wanted to have a ‘meeting’ with me about my concerns. I said a meeting was unnecessary, because I told them what I thought and they need to fix the problem internally. Like I said, after a few months I never heard anything, so I sent them a NY Times article about artist donations, and how some ORGS give back to the artists. I still never heard anything, and I am assuming that was the straw that broke the camel‘s back.

My donation was rejected this year with 34 other artists. In the form letter they say pieces are picked by quality, saleability, media, and CONTENT (Huh?) but I have a feeling my rumblings had something to do with my rejection and not my art. I worked at the PAV for 4 years, every decision they make is POLITICAL.

Every year I try to submit something different and interesting. It’s not that I’m some hack who does close-up photos of tulips or 5-minute abstract paintings. My piece brought $850 dollars last year which is about double of what others artist’s work brings. Two years ago I tied for first place for the People’s Choice award and the year before that I was on the Arts Night planning committee. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I put in my time, and my art is appreciated. I could care less what people pay for it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for giving other artists a chance. That was the goal of my art group MAC that I formed a couple of years ago. I think that is actually the positive thing that could come out of this, but it could be handled differently, like rotating artist donations every year, or having two Arts Nights per year. Howard once suggested one before Christmas would be a good idea. I’m finding out more and more though that people who had an education in the arts or arts management have trouble thinking for themselves and exploring new ideas. Apparently, creativity is not a part of the education.

This year I did a shadow box called ‘The day Ray Johnson died’ It wasn’t a political piece, I usually try to stay away from that for Arts Night. It was a tribute to the famous self-taught collage/mail artist Ray Johnson. Ray was anti-establishment, maybe it’s fitting that that piece was rejected. He never had a manager and peddled his art on his own. Maybe the words ‘Art is Dead’ painted on the shadow box glass deterred the jurors from selecting it (you know, that CONTENT thing). It was in reference to RAY‘s death, not art in general, and in a postage mark. Basically I was saying that ‘Mail Art’ died a little the day Ray died. It’s really not a complicated message. I think sometimes people look too deep into my art, I’ve told people it is all on the surface. A couple of years back, a local art critic poked fun at my work because I painted words on my paintings. He felt I was giving something away to the viewer, art is supposed to be giving to the viewer not cloaked in mystery. What if Caravaggio believed that, would he have invented the Baroque style? Speaking of Caravaggio, it makes me laugh that in 2007 artists are judged for their personal beliefs and personal lives instead of their art. Imagine if patrons would have felt this way about Caravaggio? He would have never worked a day in his life. He was quite the hellraiser. Patron’s wanted him for his art, not for his personality. I think that is what it is all about, by banning my art, they are banning me personally. Seems like a silly assertion, but trust me I have had past experiences with the Ol’ Pavilion.

This rejection was the last kick in the balls I’m going to take from any art organization, especially the Pavilion, a place that has kicked me twice before. Once when they refused to market my individual exhibit because it may be ‘controversial’ and once when I was passed up for a management position when I worked there because I was ‘too outspoken’. Maybe I’m the stupid one here for continuing to donate. I tried getting out of it two years ago, but was personally asked by Howard and his assistant Erin, and that changed my mind. I was reassured by Erin that my work would probably never be rejected because I’m a long time donator that the VAC appreciated. Apparently times have changed.

There’s a new Sheriff in town, David is the new director of the VAC. Howard was filling in until they found one. I have never met David, but he had no problem putting a personal note on my rejection letter that he would like me to donate next year. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen – pal. According to his resume, he’s one of those ART SCHOOL apologists who judge art on it’s appearance. It’s a shame he had to pay for his education. I wonder if his new blood had a little to do with my rejection? I left David a phone message asking who the jurors were, he never called back. An email to him revealed that he was out of town until Monday, according to the auto reply. Seems convenient that he would be gone when all the rejected artists were picking up their work, so his staff has to deal with them. That’s typical of the Pavilion management: The best way to solve a problem is to ignore it. Looks like he will fit in nicely.

Make no mistake, the Pavilion is about private money and their donors. The donors shape what goes on in that building and the executive director and employees are merely their minions. I wonder what kind of soap they use to clean their noses?

Don’t believe me. Check this out. A couple years back, Arts Night registered a domain for the event where they show pictures of the artists work. I went there today to see who got selected:

www.artsnight.com

Pretty cool huh? A credit card company apparently got picked.

So what’s next? I’m going to insist that the juror names be released or the reason why my piece was rejected. Secrecy only makes my suspicions stronger.

EMAIL EXCHANGE:

This is the Email exchange I had with the Pavilion, I CC the Executive Director on the Final response.

—————-

David,

No need to call, I work all day and am hard to get a hold of.

I just have two questions:

1) What criteria did I fail that resulted in my piece getting rejected?

2) Who were the jurors? I am assuming this information is available
since you are a publicly funded institution.

Thank You
Scott L. Ehrisman

————————

Scott,

As was mentioned in the letter that was mailed out, “The volunteer jurors considered several key criteria while reviewing artwork. It was exciting because the quality of the pieces presented for consideration was amazing. However, with this event quality is not the sole criteria. Additional criteria included variety in media, content, and buyer appeal. It was a most difficult challenge to select from those 90 pieces approximately 60 that would be included in the live auction.”

The jurors selected are members of the community and friends of the arts. The jurors are anonymous because of the nature of this fundraising event.

Thank you again.

Best regards,

David

——————-

David,

I guess I can understand (or maybe I can’t) why the jurors need to remain anonymous BEFORE the selection and rejections. But I can’t understand why they need to remain anonymous after the process is over?

I have been in several JURIED shows and the juror or jurors are always advertised, usually ahead of time. In fact I have even seen your name as a juror in a couple of exhibits. It only makes my suspicians stronger that my rejection was purely political.

And, even if the jurors need to be ‘secret’ why can’t you give specifics as to why MY PIECE was rejected? A form letter is tacky.

I have donated to Arts Night for the past 5 years. I was a member of the Arts Night Planning Committee 3 years ago. I won the People’s Choice award 2 years ago and my piece brought $850 last year (double of what half of the other pieces brought in the auction.) I highly doubt my rejection had anything to do with your ‘CRITERIA’.

I think REJECTING donations from artists in the community is unwise, as I told Howard and Erin last year after several of my friends were rejected.

Secrecy and Censorship is NOT the cornerstone of art – especially in a publicly funded facilty.

Regretfully,
Scott L. Ehrisman

PS- Save yourself some postage and remove me from ALL of your mailing lists.

———————————-

FINAL COMMENTARY:

Like I said above “Secrecy and Censorship” have no place in public art. Sometimes I sound like a broken record when I tell arts administrators about this.

When did Neo-Cons take over the Arts?

Hopefully this experience will pan out, and I will be able to make a point once and for all about Elitism, Censorship and Secrecy in are the Sioux Falls arts community.

I sent this off to Jason to see if he wanted me to add more detail, or to leave as is? We will see what he thinks.

If I did, I would use india ink and a fine brush to add the detail, then put on a protective coat.

This is the finished collage, and tempering. I will attempt to finish the final painting next.

This is called tempering the canvas. It is something I learned from Sante Fe pop artist Patrick Harris. Patrick is originally from SF and had a show and workshop at the Washington Pavilion Visual Arts Center. The process basically involves putting down several layers of color and gesso, and after each layer dries, you scrape or wash away ‘some’ of the color. This is the first layer. I’m not sure how many I will put down before I start painting the final image. I will probably do the collage next, so I will try to stay away from wasting paint in the collage areas.

 

I did this painting for the Iraq War Peace Rally Art show at Michelle’s coffee this Sunday from 3 – 5 PM.

It kinda creeps me out.

CHENEYSTEIN

16 x 20″ – Mixed media on Canvas – $50 Unframed.

 

This is the sketch for the painting of Hunter S. Thompson. The painting will have collage on either side of his head in the blank areas. the rest will be paint and ink.

I rarely get commissions, I usually don’t like them, but the last few I have got were interesting enough for me to pursue. Former SF natives Jason and Shannon Raney asked me to do a painting of Hunter S. Thompson. Ironically I have been contemplating painting Gonzo – so I told them I would give it a shot. I have never really shared the creative process on my site, and I thought this project presented an opportunity for that. I will be updating you every couple of days on my progress. I am assuming the painting will probably take me about a month or so.

Jason asked me to select a photo of Hunter. Though there are a lot of great photos of him, I felt this one is the best and most famous. After I found it on the internet, I pulled it into Photoshop and enlarged it a bit, contrasted it and smoothed it out. This is the photo I will work from.

 

ATTENTION ALL MEDIA – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival, JazzFest 2007 Artist Information

(Sioux Falls, 2/20/2007)  The main stage performance line up for the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival – JazzFest (spelled as one word with a capital J and F), in Yankton Tail Park in Sioux Falls on July 20-21, 2007 is as follows:

Main Stage Performers
Listed in no particular order.  Artists are subject to change at any time.

Northlanders Jazz Band
http://www.augie.edu/dept/music/index.html

Augustana College’s Northlanders Jazz Band was started in 1954 with Earl Colgan as its first student director. It continued as a student-run organization until Dr. Harold Krueger assumed its leadership in 1965. Since then, the Jazz Band has performed for many campus and community events as well as being featured with numerous guest soloists in the annual Jazz on the Upper Great Plains Festival.  Dr. Paul Schilf directs the group.

The Lee Boys
http://www.leeboys.com/

The Lee Boys are a family band – three brothers and three nephews – at the forefront of “sacred steel” guitar-driven gospel. The Florida sextet’s soul-stirring sounds have justly earned a cult following thanks to Roosevelt Collier’s inspired pedal-steel playing, leader Alvin Lee’s fine Fender work and songwriting skills, Keith and Derrick Lee’s full-throttle vocals and lots of happy crossover with the jam band scene. 

Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers
http://www.themightyflyers.com/

Rod Piazza has been the driving force behind Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers since 1979.  The band recorded their first album in 1980.  From that time on up through the present, Rod and his band mates have released nearly a dozen albums and have toured blues clubs, venues and festivals in the US, Canada, England, Germany and Japan.  With his wife Honey Piazza on piano and upright bass player Bill Stuvee, as well as guitarists such as Alex Schultz and Rick Homstrom and drummer Jimmy Bott, their sound combines the styles of Jump Blues, West Coast Blues, and Chicago Blues.  Known for their exciting and powerful live performances, Rod Piazza often strolls around the audience, while not missing a note on harmonica, jumps on a bar or counter and duels it out with either the piano or guitar.

Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans
http://www.doreensjazz.com/index.htm

Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans is a group whose interest lies in spreading the culture and traditional music of New Orleans all over the world through performance and education.  Their show-stopping performances at private engagements and music festivals all over North and South America, Canada, Europe, and Asia have coined them the name “The Show Stoppers.” They not only entertain their audiences through music, but also teach the rich, historic and diverse culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. They have received rave reviews from newspapers, magazines, radio and television programs such as VH1, PBS, BET and MTV which tell of the many delightful surprises in each and every one of their performances.   Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans performed in Sioux Falls in March 2006.

Steve Weingart and Mike Miller

Steve Weingart began his musical career playing piano at age three. In his formative years of classical study, In 1984 Steve was awarded a full scholarship at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music to further his study of jazz. It was during this period that Steve’s writing and playing abilities were brought to the forefront. His mastery of the keyboard and programming expertise quickly thrust him into the thick of the Cincinnati music scene. In 1994, Steve decided on a change of scenery and moved to Los Angeles CA, where he has found his way with new musical experiences, and has become one of the most in demand keyboardist in town. Steve is now based in Burbank, California and along with his busy playing schedule; he is also on the faculty at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood.

Mike Miller was born into a musical family in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1953.  He was the third of four bass-playing brothers, performing with his father’s jazz combo at twelve.  While much is made of individuality and originality among musicians, Miller seems beyond those qualities: he is unlikely in the way he defies description.  Consider that Miller has worked with jazz pianist Chick Corea, diva/comedienne Bette Midler, pop craftsmen Gino Vanelli and Burton Cummings, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, Wall of VooDoo’s Stan Ridgeway, film composer and former Devo front man Mark Mothersbaugh, the Frank Zappa Banned from Utopia alumni band, and many others.  This is a range of experience that challenges the imagination – edgy spontaneity in Corea’s electric jazz, slapstick “comedy guitar” with Bette Midler, and complex orchestration in writing of Marc Anthony Turnage and Frank Zappa.

Bonerama
http://www.bonerama.net/

The sheer force of four trombones playing simultaneously was to be their calling card. Still, when Mark Mullins and Craig Klein formed the trombone blitzkrieg of Bonerama, skeptics and traditionalists raised their voices in puritanical protest. The initial stirrings of the trombone cavalcade known as Bonerama began in 1998, when Mullins and Klein found themselves with some rare time off from their steady gig in Harry Connick Jr’s big band.  The ensemble tours frequently, selling out venues like Manhattan’s Tobacco Road. San Francisco’s Boom Boom Room.  Bonerama has gained a remarkable reputation for incendiary live performances, as well as a devout and ever-expanding fan base.

Jon Cleary and the Monster Gentlemen
http://www.joncleary.com/

A funky piano wizard with a standout soulful voice, Jon Cleary embodies decades of Crescent City music magic, continuing the tradition of R&B giants like Professor Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint.  A slot at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1994 proved that he was an integral part of the local music scene and coaxed Cleary to form his own permanent backup band.  Named the “Absolute Monster Gentlemen” after a catch phrase uttered by late guitar luminary Johnny “Guitar” Watson, the band brings an array of roots styles to Cleary’s raw sound. Cleary’s band garnered fast popularity on the merits of its skin-tight arrangements and intense interplay.

Robert Cray Band
http://www.robertcray.com

Robert Cray is one of a precious few active blues artists with the talent and vision to successfully usher the idiom into the future without resorting either to slavish imitation or simply playing rock while passing it off as blues. Just as importantly, his immensely popular records helped to jump-start the contemporary blues boom that still holds sway to this day. Blessed with a soulful voice that sometimes recalls ’60s-great O.V. Wright and a concise lead guitar approach that never wastes notes, Cray’s ascendancy was amazingly swift — in 1986 his breakthrough Strong Persuader album for Mercury (containing “Smoking Gun”) won him a Grammy and shot his asking price for a night’s work skyward. Unlike too many of his peers, Cray continues to experiment within his two presiding genres, blues and soul. Sets such as Midnight Stroll, I Was Warned and Shame + a Sin for Mercury show that the “bluenatics” (as he amusedly labels his purist detractors) have nothing to fear and plenty to anticipate from this innovative, laudably accessible guitarist. – Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

Derek Trucks Band
http://www.derektrucks.com/

The Derek Trucks Band takes a progressive approach to roots music, blending rock, blues, jazz, and world music into the sound that now defines the DTB. The chemistry between the band members in this ensemble is undeniable, a result of heavy touring and fearless improvisation.  The Derek Trucks Band is known for their amazing live performances, led by Trucks’ soaring guitar work, and backed by the impressive individual talents of this band.  The Derek Trucks Band is supporting their 2006 release “Songlines” as well as their DVD release “Songlines Live”, providing further proof of the explosive power of this live juggernaut.  Just 27 years old, Trucks has forged a name for himself over the years as an innovative guitar virtuoso, the youngest musician named in Rolling Stone’s List of “The Top 100 Guitarists of All Time”.  Trucks was recently asked to join guitar legend Eric Clapton’s world tour as a featured soloist in his band.  Touring over 300 days per year, Trucks currently divides his time between The Derek Trucks Band, The Allman Brothers Band, and his new gig sharing the stage with Clapton. 

The second stage line up will be announced at a later date.

More information about JazzFest 2007 can be found at www.jazzfestsiouxfalls.com.