Artomatic! Don’t You Love/Hate It?
Over the weekend, I went to Artomatic.
Held frequently since 1999, Artomatic is a “one-of-a-kind multimedia event” with a multitude of exhibits–literally over 1,000 this year–and activities, shows, and special events. Here’s what I recall most vividly about the night: Hearing, every time I stepped into the elevator, “Where are the Peeps?” “Are the Peeps on the 7th Floor?” “Are the Peeps on the 8th Floor?” “I’m dying to see the Peeps. Let’s go check out the Peeps.”
(The “Peeps,” of course, were dioramas of those marshmallow treats Peeps dressed up as superheroes, Marilyn Monroe, etc.)
I, personally, saw three floors of art. I enjoyed them. But, the fourth would have been uncomfortable.
I guess that’s a rather bland take on the event though…because usually, Artomatic elicits strong feelings. Everyone I’ve talked to about it has an opinion. Either they think it’s a great D.C. cultural event, or they’re vowing to never go back. Take for example this gem: “It’s floor after floor of bad art: Oooh Bush sucks! I’m going to paint. And then very graphic photos of gay men…Artomatic is the Costco of art,” says an anonymous ranting City Paper staff writer.
Here’s a sample of positions to consider before making the trip:
“The one year i went, it was like throw-up everywhere. But throw-up with gold flakes sprinkled throughout.” —Keli Anaya, Mt. Pleasant resident.
Photo by Mr. T in D.C.
“I didn’t really pay attention, seemed like you needed patience to sort out the good from the bad which I did not have at the time. There was just so much of it- overwhelming,” says Harry Mushlin, Shaw resident.
“Better venue than last year’s Crystal City. Better view of the city, could sorta see lit-up monuments peaking through buildings. They were clearly strategic when choosing that neighborhood, bringing people to the New York Ave area on the cusp of development, future neighborhood of NPR building. But still so dicey. Around the time we were walking back, there were a few shootings just a couple blocks away. The art was hit or miss. Crap mixed with “hmm, okay, I see what they were going for,” says Erin Zimmer, City Paper contributor.
“Artomatic is the place that you go when you “feel” like you should support local art. But it always just serves as a reminder as to why you didn’t support local art in the first place: It’s a bunch of overpriced nonsense. In an unfinished office building. Full of people just waiting for a Craigslist ‘Missed Connection,’”says another anonymous City Paper staff writer.
“I loved the glass organs on the seventh floor,” says Columbia Heights resident Andrew Green whose friend made the glass organs.
This year’s event is in a building at 1200 First Street in NoMa, lending credence to the Soho-ish vibe that the neighborhood seems to be trying to create. Unfortunately, the name NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) still needs to be explained, as evidenced in the Artomatic press release. And if there’s one thing I can speak passionately about, it’s the need to revive the old neighborhood name Swampoodle! But, anyway. I say: go see Artomatic. Judge for yourself. Good luck finding the Peeps.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Hey, how about a little love on the photo? That’s my wife, by the way - she was a tad skeptical about it, too.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I was looking for G.I. Joe action figures (it was a sculpture of various action figures/dolls painted blue/green).
May 13th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I pulled it from the “Creative Commons” of Flickr. But, thank you both.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Mr. T,
You’re right. When we pull stuff from Flickr under a CC license, we should always give credit. There’s been a little (OK, more than a little) confusion on that issue over here. It’s been fixed now.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Thanks, Mike and Ruth, no problem - I’m happy to allow use of my photos anytime, and enjoy reading the City Desk blog. Flickr rules do require a link, but I was mostly kidding about looking for a “little love”.
Best,
Mr. T
May 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I couldn’t do more than 3 floors myself when I went to visit this weekend. The elevators were so slow, the lines for refreshments were super long, it was hard to find a place to sit down, and the sheer volume of art to look at was a little overwhelming. Since Artomatic is being hosted in a building thats in mid-consturction, there is no working AC which made things a bit uncomfortable as well. If you really want to see it all, you’ll have to make a few trips.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Yeah, you definitely have to check it out a couple floors at a time. Let’s be honest, you couldn’t take 8 floors of the National Gallery or Met without getting tired of art and burned out. Regarding the quality, some people see bad art and stare at it and bitch, other people see bad art and keep walking until they find good art to stare at and smile.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Thought there was both good and bad art, same as any gallery, contemporary art museum or City Paper articles in any given week. If it weren’t for the Metro, I wouldn’t read City Paper at all. No better or worse than Basquiat, Elizabeth Murray, Schnabel, Warhol or host of 80’s NY artists and beyond. Problem with modern art is everything is modern art. CP’s review was written like something out of a high school paper, complete with cool kid disdain. Did you run out of staff to interview or did you go as one big clique? Did the building not carry your publication? Again, your paper and ArtOMatic is about on equal footing.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
On the West side of the 6th floor there are two vents you can stand under if you’re hot. You won’t be, shortly. There are lounges on many (if not every) floor. SW 10th is lush. SW 9th less lush but you can go to sleep there (a friend took a nap while I was doing my shift). Art, being in the eye of the beholder, is everywhere. And I’ll bet 10 people won’t agree on what’s good and what’s bad. And that’s good.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
If the elevators are slow, take the stairs. It’s the best way to get between the floors, I found last weekend.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:35 am
sounds like an excuse not to support local artists. It’s sooo much easier to judge “the scene” by going to Artomatic and wandering around confused for a few minutes and giving up. I wasn’t going to participate this year because of a busy schedule until my wife, Marcie Wolf-Hubbard signed me up for it anyway. I’m glad she did. It got me into my shop to create a new piece when it would have been easy to go make some real money. Artomatic has many talent levels but the heart of all the participants is undeniable and many of the stories are compelling if you take the time to look.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I loved the artistic carnival like take over of a sterile DC office tower. Something that sadly dosen’t occur more often in this town.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Yeah, well. I have to agree with the author of the article. For the amount of money those folks get from grants and other donations (think 6 digits) and the amount they screwed this year up (either through power problems, mis-communicating to artists, signing up too many “artists” (and yeah, I quote that for good reason). Artomatic is woefully, always, dis-organized.
Fair enough, it’s unjuried (it really should be) and as a result you get the good and the bad…The good? A bunch of good or soon to be better artists getting exposure for the first time. Or some artists that are already quite good but take it with a grain of salt (”yeah, that dc event”). The bad? The bad can be absolutely horrific completely decimating any good art in any near proximity. There is substantial amateur “art” at Artomatic and with a combination of literally zero curating of the space, ad-hoc installs and a complete lack of consistency or flow Artomatic falls flatter than an six month bottle of open Coke.
Artomatic folks may need to take some lessons from the Art Whino collective. Not as “grass roots” but significantly more interesting and well put together.