jordan faye contemporary: Opening Reception of Small Wonders

12 December 2007

Opening Reception of Small Wonders

Small Wonders, is opening at Jordan Faye Contemporary in Clipper Mill on Friday, December 14 from 5 - 11pm. It will run through January 31, 2008. This dynamic group exhibition features work by Baltimore's finest painters, sculptors and photographers. Small Wonders provides new collectors an opportunity to purchase work that is affordable. It also provides seasoned art collectors with smaller works to compliment their already expansive portfolio. Work ranges in price from $150 to $1000. We will be open all day Saturday & Sunday afternoon following this reception. Works purchased at the opening will be available to take home the same day. Your collection begins here, the artists and I look forward to seeing you friday evening.

-Jordan Faye Block

Christine Bailey: New Work - Exhibition to run thru March 1st, 2008

This was a project in which I adopted a business model from the world of fashion, that of making “designer replicas” to see how-- or if-- that could translate to the business of art making within our local community. The attached image of a fashion pyramid reproduced from Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman’s paper “The Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design” demonstrates this model. Drawing parallels to this model, I worked in the style of another artist using more economical materials (acrylic wash on paper rather than paint on canvas).

For these paintings, I used the work of Baltimore artist Cara Ober, among others, as a point of reference. My intention was not to harm Ms. Ober personally nor was it to damage her reputation or insult her work. I signed my name to the paintings and included it on all printed and electronic announcements, as I am not in the business of making forgeries or counterfeits. The images and text are appropriated from various sources, some of which include online clip-art, the dictionary, gardening magazines and an antique book on phrenology.

In making an analogy to the business of fashion and branding, I am not arguing that this is the correct or ethical model for an artist's studio practice. But I do think that it points to many issues and problems relevant to art-making and market forces, including those of intellectual property, authorship, appropriation, the desire for novelty and the legality or illegality of making a picture.

While some in the fashion industry view designer replicas and knock-offs as damaging to business, others see it as beneficial to innovation. Writing on this subject, James Surowiecki states that "sometimes imitation isn't just the sincerest form of flattery, it's also the most productive." (Surowiecki, James. “The Piracy Paradox”, The New Yorker, Sept. 4, 2007)