“If you want to draw, shut your eyes and sing.” ~Pablo Picasso

 

Left: Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Jean-Louis Pascal (1893)

 

 

“August—die she must; September, I remember…”

 ARTES, the fine arts magazine, is beginning its fourth year of publication and, in the words of the Simon and Garfunkle song, April Come She Will, we wish the summer of 2012 a fond farewell. I wish I could say that the staff enjoyed a few weeks of rest and relaxation in the South of France, but they refused to go, deciding instead to remain in the U.S., riding out the remnants of Hurricane Isaac (see right), to focus on a number of high priority projects and unscheduled planning sessions. For, this is now the season of new beginnings: when readers and writers come back from time away, turning their attention to activities and cultural events closer to home. artes fine arts magazine

So, at ARTES, after a brief hiatus of local sun and fun to recharge our batteries in the month of August, we too, are stepping off in some bold new directions for the upcoming year. You may notice that there is a new ‘Theater’ tab on the ARTES Home Page. Also note, as you visit the site, an editorial commitment to broaden our definition of ‘fine art’ to include feature stories dealing with some of the literary, musical and cinematic elements that influenced and, in turn, were influenced by, artistic movements in recent decades. With this expanded focus, ARTES will continue to offer a unique reading experience for our 48,000 unique visitors from around the world each month, with a greater focus on the social and cultural trends and historical influences that make our passion—art, architecture and design—what they are today.

The editorial staff was particularly excited to have ARTES fine arts magazine come to the attention of an influential and much-respected voice in the field of art criticism. With a Pulitzer Prize as one of many honors, Holland Cotter, chief art critic of the New York Times, recently spoke at Yale University Art Gallery, as a Poynter Fellow in Journalism. There, he cited a need for a comprehensive, Web-based magazine that dealt with all aspects of art in the broadest cultural context. After his comments, I asked him to visit the ARTES site, believing that our magazine was filling a much-needed void in the virtual arena. A few weeks later I received an exciting and re-affirming note from Holland, excerpted here:

 Dear Richard,

I very much enjoyed reading ARTES. It is so intelligently written and designed. It is the kind of online publication I was thinking of [when speaking at Yale]. Such things are few and far between and yours is the only one I know of that is so carefully edited and covers the waterfront in art historical terms.

 I wish you the very best of continuing luck with it. I will keep reading.

                                                                                      ~Holland [Cotter, Arts Editor, New York Times]

An endorsement for our efforts from the chief Times art critic is like manna from Heaven and bolsters our collective efforts, just as many others in similar pursuits are viewing on-line editorial content as an unproductive endeavor. ARTES will continue to deliver quality essays and opinions from widely-recognized experts in their fields, as well as continue to expand our offerings as time and staff availability will allow. Once again, I want to extend an open invitation to writers looking to attract an international readership with your opinions and expertise, appearing on the ‘pages’ of ARTES fine arts magazine as one of more than 70 writers whose credentials in museum, academic, critical and professional fields help to make ARTES a truly unique Internet destination.

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 Best Wishes,

Richard Friswell, Publisher & Managing Editor

__________________________________________________________________

 August 3, 2010

 

“Treat a work of art like a prince. Let it speak to you first.” ~Arthur Schopenhauer

Left: Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper (c. 1952). Private collection

 Where Do We Stand?

ARTES, a fine arts magazine, occasionally dips its toe into political waters. In the past, I have run stories about the threat posed to the world’s cultural treasures by extremist uprisings; about the lessons arising from meaningful dialogue through international artistic exchanges; and the changing role of American museums as purveyors of our increasing complex and often contentious socio-political history. In this, an election year, attitudes seem more divided than ever. The wide gulf that has opened between the political left and right seems ever-widened by the billions of advertising dollars now flowing secretly into organizations, aimed at polarizing and fanning the flames of public discourse.

In this month of July, this 236th anniversary-year of our democracy, free speech may seem an illusion. Yet, for all its imperfections, this country represents the most extraordinary experiment in personal liberty and freedom the world has ever known. The Constitution, written over two centuries ago, continues to steadfastly guarantee us freedoms that are the envy of a vast majority of the world’s peoples. Think about it: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…happiness! is embodied in the fundamental tenets of our founding documents. Pinch yourself when a politician does or says something ridiculous and be reminded what a treasure that guarantee truly is. He or she can be gone tomorrow, based on your vote; but your voice can and will always be heard.

* * *

Artnet suddenly announced this week that it has closed its magazine operation. In business for sixteen years, this shocking news took readers and writers by surprise. Lack of revenues from advertising was the reason given for ceasing publication, but more likely is the fact that other parts of their well-funded operation—including a busy on-line art auction site—are more profitable. The question must be asked: how does this bode for other internet-based editorial sites, like ARTES? The answer likely rests with the business structure of the two operations. Atrtnet was funded heavily at the time of its founding by private interests, and their board and stake-holders held high expectations for the performance of each well-staffed division. The decision, after so many years of successful operation, doesn’t represent a failure of the mission of the magazine, merely recognition that its ability to capture meaningful advertising revenues could not, in the end, meet projections and cover costs. The decision to focus on money-making components of the business ultimately trumped editorial messaging.

ARTES, on the other hand, is a modest, debt-free project with a small, hard-working staff and dedicated contributing writers. ARTES carries a big editorial message out into the world each day; yet the backroom operation would be humbled by comparison to our competitors. Our marketplace is your keen interest in the landscape of arts and ideas, with story-telling as our medium-of-exchange. Sponsorship is just around the corner for ARTES, but not until the international readership is firmly established and our cadre of writers continues to grow, in response to the global attention their editorial views attract.

If you are an Artnet writer with stories to tell about art anywhere in the world, and you suddenly find yourself without a home…come to ARTES. Our means are very modest, but our vision for what an in-depth, on-line fine arts magazine can accomplish are flying as high as the virtual cloud that carries the message to our readers everywhere!

Happy 4th of July and thank you for reading,

Richard Friswell

Publisher & Managing Editor

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