The Bad Newsletter: March
The Bad Newsletter is a recap of Bad Art Club + Upcoming Opportunities + Resources.
This newsletter is 902 words, a 3-minute read.
We had our second (sold out!) meeting of Bad Art Club, and it was great :)
Register for our next meeting, on April 22, at bit.ly/badartclub.
The Recap in 5
1. What is art?
We looked at John Waters’ art collection, “Coming Attractions”, now on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art through April 16, 2023. John Waters is a boundary-pushing artist who is best known for writing and directing the film Hairspray.
We read his interview in Harper’s Bazaar, where he discusses “why he'll always be drawn to work that makes people angry”.
Finally, we considered the question “What is art?” One answer: “In the eye of the beholder."
2. Guest Artist: Ezra Croft
Ezra shared his wisdom on throwing art parties, creating DIY public art, and advised us to “take our art seriously”. He provided copies of his book “The Art of Being Bill” from his Bill Murray Art Show, as well as stickers of his viral quote for the class.
Follow Ezra’s work on Instagram and Facebook.
3. Skills & Activities
One of our themes this month was concept, and we discussed conceptual art, meaning “art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art object.” (Tate Modern definition)
We also discussed composition, meaning the way elements are arranged in art.
Finally, we created our own still life scenes and used composition and concept to create visually interesting drawings.
4. Thank you Steve Murray!
Local photographer Steve Murray stopped by during the last hour of class to photograph our work. Thank you Steve! You can follow his work on Instagram at @ncsteve, and can usually find him taking photos at First Friday at Eno Arts Mill.
5. Upcoming
Next BAC is Saturday, April 22 from 2-5 pm at Eno Arts Mill. Register at bit.ly/badartclub. Register early because we have been selling out!
Our April guest artist is Onicas Gaddis; an Eno Arts Mill studio artist practicing his style of Spiritual Expressionism. Special guest Dr. Alison Gerber will Zoom in from Sweden to discuss her research on bad artists’ value to both society and ourselves, as written about in her article “Bad Art is Good for Us All” (The Enemy Journal).
3 Opportunities
Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design is coming to the North Carolina Art Museum, April 1 - August 6, 2023. Carter has designed for films including Black Panther, Malcom X, Selma, and Do the Right Thing. Over 60 original garments will be on display. Free for NCMA members, $23.60 general admission.
Want to look at art in a new way? Skim Gretchen Rubin’s “35 Ways to Look at Art”. Gretchen is in her third year of going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art every day and just released the book Life in the Five Senses. She recommends techniques such as “search for a specific color” and “look for things that surprise you”.
Must see in-person: Spring Awakening is coming to UNC from April 20-24. This is my all-time favorite musical, with the original cast including Lea Michelle and Jonathan Groff. If you haven’t seen it yet, and still have some rock-n-roll left in you, now is the time! (Tickets on sale soon)
2 things I’m doing
I am teaching a Tarot Art Class at Eno Arts Mill on Saturday, April 15 from 12-3 pm. Are you interested in Tarot, art, or both? Learn to create your own Tarot cards using mixed media.🌜 Register at bit.ly/enotarot. 🌛
2. My art was accepted for publication in LONER Magazine! My work will be in Issue 10: "Things don’t feel like they used to.” I love LONER’s tagline “Where Creative Misfits Come Together”.