UMVA President’s notes, Spring Maine Art Journal

 

If you want to understand how artists think and get a sense of what’s going on in Maine art, click here http://maineartsjournal.com/ to see the exciting new spring issue of the Maine Arts Journal, published by the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA).

Feast your eyes and mind on the extraordinary breadth and depth of images and narrative around the theme of “The Unconscious, the Unknown, the Unsaid,” beginning with the fabulous paintings and story about collective loss and personal grievance by Eva Rose Goetz, the rightful cover artist.

I have two articles to note in this issue: one on “UMVA’s Extraordinary Annual Report,” after a many months of gratifying success in my role as UMVA President, and “How to Prepare Your Work for Exhibit,” the second in a series to help emerging artists. My third piece is on Robert Shetterly’s now-successful presentation about UMVA at “Pecha Kucha” in a packed Strand Theatre last Friday night.

This issue also features the unique work of Emilie Stark-Menneg, currently on display at the Farnsworth Museum. Articles by Alan Crichton and Carl Little both touch on the work of late Belfast eccentric Bern Porter and friends. There are reports on the UMVA Mid-Coast Chapter and the great advocacy work of the Artists’ Rapid Response Team! (ARRT!)and LumenARRT! with their banners and projections on social issues that matter. The work of 25 other UMVA members are showcased in this issue, from the haunting prayer-protection images of Craig Becker’s “Lorica” series , to the mythological, collage cut-outs of Mj Viano Crowe and Andre Benoit’s fun constructions from found objects. There is so much more for art lovers in this outstanding online publication.

 

The theme of the next issue will be “The Artist’s Sketchbook”, scheduled for July 1.  Submissions are due June 1 and the guidelines for submission are at the end of this issue.