All the Pieces Matter

Grace Hartigan, Cedar Bar, 1959

John Lewis — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:22:53 +0000

This is my favorite photo of Grace Hartigan, taken by John Cohen. There are Hartigan obits in The Sun and New York Times. Best of all, check out Cara Ober’s piece at Bmore Art.

Life-Changing Art: Grace Hartigan

John Lewis — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:37:48 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? One of the things that really changed my life was meeting Jackson Pollock and seeing his drip paintings when they were still wet in the studio. They impressed upon me that the canvas and self are indivisible—they cannot be divided. The work is [...]

Grace Hartigan R.I.P.

John Lewis — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:59:25 +0000

Grace Hartigan, Baltimore’s grand dame of painting, passed away yesterday. She was 86. Hartigan, who taught at MICA for more than 40 years, burst onto the national scene in the 1950s with fellow abstract expressionists and running buddies such as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and Helen Frankenthaler. She was included in MOMA’s landmark 12 Americans [...]

Happy Birthday, Joyce Scott

John Lewis — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:06:31 +0000

Tonight’s birthday party for Joyce Scott (who’s turning 60) at MAP dovetails nicely with her new show, Painful Death/Painless Life, at Goya. The exhibit, which opened today, runs through January 23rd and features some of Scott’s finest, and most provocative, work. But first things first… Happy birthday, Joyce! Puddin’ loves ya.

You’re a Mean One

John Lewis — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:25:32 +0000

It’s not every evening you go to the theater and find a fierce linebacker opening the show. But at the Hippodrome last night, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis ambled onstage and read the first few pages of How the Grinch Stole Christmas before the curtain went up on the musical version of that Dr. Seuss classic. [...]

Life-Changing Art: Manuel Barrueco

John Lewis — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:58:41 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? Back in 1987 I had the opportunity to get to know the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu while performing his concerto “To the Edge of Dream” with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony. Up until that time I had seen classical music and my own work [...]

Double Dagger Signs With Thrill Jockey

John Lewis — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:26:32 +0000

Double Dagger just became the latest Baltimore band to sign with Chicago’s Thrill Jockey Records, following in the footsteps of Arbouretum, Human Bell, Daniel Higgs, and Pontiak. The art/noise/punk trio is currently recording its Thrill Jockey debut, due out next year, and will play at Sonar in December as part of the Baltimore Round [...]

Life-Changing Art: Lafayette Gilchrist

John Lewis — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:46:44 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? The album Money Jungle, the famous trio date involving Max Roach (drums), Charles Mingus (bass), and The Man himself Duke Ellington at the piano. I never knew sound could have such adventure, and imagination. I knew after hearing this record my life would [...]

Lafayette at Newport

John Lewis — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:41:14 +0000

Think of all the jazz greats who have played the legendary Newport Jazz Festival: Miles, Duke, Ella, Billie, Coltrane, Monk…. Now, you can add Lafayette to the list. Hyena Records’ Kevin Calabro tells me that Baltimore’s Lafayette Gilchrist has been confirmed for next year’s festival. Gilchrist is scheduled to play on Saturday August 8th. Closer to [...]

M.I.A. & Blaqstarr Cover Wire Theme

John Lewis — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:49:13 +0000

M.I.A., the British/Sri Lankan songwriter/producer/designer, has teamed with Baltimore DJ Blaqstarr for this take on The Wire theme song, “Way Down in the Hole.” It’s the latest version of the Tom Waits-penned tune, which has already been covered by The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Neville Brothers, Steve Earle, and DoMaJe, a local gospel group. [...]