The news is full of art today, hooray!

Art on buildings and in museums and in the minds of underprivileged children. It’s also absent, though, in stories about education budget cuts and shootings and fires. Art can’t solve everything; I agree kids should learn math and science and reading before worrying about which adhesive might work on ceramic materials or the best brand of oil paint. That’s logical. I also think kids who don’t learn much of anything due to home life issues (like Jesse said a couple of weeks ago, it’s extremely difficult for children in low-income conditions to learn at the same rate as their middle or upper class contemporaries when they’re concerned about, you know, food and shelter) can still learn artistic skills that may end up keeping them from buying a gun or crackpipe–regardless of their reading level or SAT score.

Ugly no more. Thanks HR: The Canvas | pic: Christopher Jude Ranes

Hampton Roads: The Canvas is Awesome

Leading our top story, and tooting our own horn a bit, is the Pilot’s coverage of Hampton Roads: The Canvas, where Jesse and Elyse were interviewed on some of the ways this project is brightening the drab closed buildings around town. The first four artists (Elizabeth Cooke, Asa Jackson, James Davis, and Chris Ranes) were selected via panel and their work is now up and viewed daily on the old Zedd’s building on Granby Street. Elyse Lovelace is inspiring and I sincerely hope she reaches the goal of ten buildings in 2011.

Warhol, Dali and More Coming to Newport News

Kudos to the Peninsula Fine Arts Center (PFAC), an organization I wasn’t familiar with at all two years ago (this even after having lived in Newport News), who now grow more and more awesome every time I hear their name mentioned. Their latest coup, which I am willing to drive people across the bridge to view, includes works by Goya, Dali, and Warhol. The exhibit is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Richmond’s Virginia Museum of Fine Arts with this traveling show of their collection. PFAC’s curator and program director Michael Preble was interviewed and seemed genuinely excited about the opportunity to showcase these materials in non-traditional ways (ie: by genre, period, etc.).

Art in Park Place

Tidewater Arts Outreach, a local organization committed to bringing art and music to those who need it most (the underprivileged, the elderly, etc.) spent Monday in Park Place at the Consulate Healthcare of Norfolk. The day’s activity, which our lovely publisher Hannah attended, was an “Intergenerational Visual Arts Program,” which brought together community volunteers, the elderly residents of the healthcare center, and children from the Park Place Child Life Center to sit together and work on an art project. Hannah said, “the most exciting thing about it was, when you get hands on with art, you really can connect with people on a more intimate level. Some of these kids (and folks who are not as apt to open up conversationally) were able to really enjoy themselves and connect with the volunteers just by the physical act of making something.”

Warhol's Marilyn: Now Playing in Newport New

And, in other news…

Educators Want to Teach, Not Scavenge

School superintendents from across Virginia came to Richmond yesterday to explain how they, you know, need funds to educate our children. Besides responding to the heavy cuts they’ve already faced in recent years, the educators are also reacting to Governor McDonnell’s two latest proposals: a program providing incentives to teachers who will work at problem schools, and a tax credit to companies willing to fund scholarships for lower income children for private school tuition. Huh? Why don’t we fix the public schools first?

Reigning in the Cooch

This year’s General Assembly session will include an attempt to refine the civil investigative demand power of the Attorney General. This power, the subpoena-like faculty Ken Cuccinelli used in demanding UVA submit documents its former climate change professor Michael Mann created before leaving the institution in 2005, is too broad for some lawmakers. Sen. Donald McEachin explained that regular attorneys in civil cases have to file a lawsuit first, then issue subpoenas during the investigative process, whereas Cuccinelli essentially did the opposite in the UVA case. There’s no mention by the senators of the sheer ridiculousness and pettiness behind the case, perhaps because they want to make this restriction pass. Nevertheless, I’m glad to see some reason exists in Richmond these days.

RIP Sarge

No money for schools. No money for art. State officials trying to manipulate university-level scientific research to further political agenda. All this crap sharing a headline with Sargent Shriver’s obituary. Shriver, who created the Peace Corps, Head Start, Job Corps, VISTA, the War on Poverty, and led the Special Olympics (which his wife created) was a true American hero who knew the value of education, art, and goodwill.

Coachella Lineup Announced

Aside from the fist opportunity to hear Death From Above 1979 since what actually feels like 1979, I think the majority of these headliners are pretty mainstream. You agree?