Arty Girl: Gear up for Art Detour

Get ready for a whole lotta this…I realize Art Detour, the annual weekend-long downtown art event, is a way’s off. The spectator’s portion of the weekend doesn’t happen until March 7th and 8th. But, if you want to be a participant this 21st year of Art Detour, you better get…

Arty Girl: Chihuly Update

It’s Chihuly…again! Check our fabulous slideshow.Well, Arty Girl got caught in the crossfire between two other bloggers in the Valley and, consequently, was called out on dropping the ball on today’s previous Arty Girl blog.The free weekend at the Desert Botanical Garden has apparently been booked up, as was pointed…

Arty Girl: James Turrell at Phoenix Art Museum

It’s waaaay prettier in real life, I swear.God bless the Contemporary Forum. God Bless ’em, I say!Last night was the unveiling of the new James Turrell installation at Phoenix Art Museum and the Contemporary Forum – the support organization committed to accumulating donations in support of the museum’s contemporary collection…

Arty Girl: Mimosa Sundays in Scottsdale

I have a nasty habit of booking up my schedule weeks in advance and, since I’m not the only person in this town with a busy life, I assume some of you are the same way. All of a sudden, boredom is never an option and neither are last minute…

Artist Angela Ellsworth Channels Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith and Makes a Point in Sette Gallery’s Underpinning

Right: One of Ellsworth’s sister wives toting a machine gun in honor of Valerie Export’s “Action Pants: Genital Panic” (1969)It was during last night’s ridiculously crowded opening where Ellsworth, known not only for her ever-morphing paintings, drawings and sculpture, but for her amazing performance work, wove her most provocative magic…

Angela Ellsworth: Underpinnings in Multimedia

For the opening of her show “Underpinnings” at the Lisa Sette Gallery, Angela Ellsworth had performance actors dressed as members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints and acting out performance works from the 1960s, 70s and 80s by famous women performance artists.  Writer Kathleen Vanesian describes the scene in…

Arty Girl: Jana Peterson at Chandler Center for the Arts

Casa Gilardi by Jana PetersonI have to admit, that last blog took a lot out of me.So instead of droning on about complicated matters, I’m going to keep this one short and sweet.Chandler Center for the Arts has a new show opening today by painter Jana Peterson. I have to…

Arty Girl: Hyperbolic Crochet in Scottsdale

“Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden” with sea slug by Marianne Midelburg. Photos by Alyssa Gorelick.Some blogs are easier than others.This one has to do with math so forgive me if I botch some of the ideas here. Trust me, I’m trying.Scottsdale Public Art Program is teaming up with the Institute…

Arty Girl: 2009 Contemporary Catalyst Award

If you’re reading this, I assume you keep up with the local arts scene, right?Either that, or you’re my boyfriend, my best friend or my mother and you’re fulfilling your obligation (thanks guys).If you belong to the first group, it’s time to think real hard…who do you know in the…

Arty Girl: Suzanne Falk at Perihelion Arts

“matches do more than light cigarettes” oil 30″x40″ (dedicated to Faye M. Larkin) by Suzanne FalkSuzanne Falk is no stranger to the pages of our beloved New Times. Maybe you remember her from this…or this (btw – this photo of her sucks! She’s way pretty in real life).But it’s really…

Arty Girl: Glen Allen and Ben Beshaw at Pravus Gallery

“Encanto” by Glen Allen.Most of my art education was whittled down to endless flash cards for college exams. There was a time when I could recite the title, artist, medium and year of the majority of the artworks pictured in Janson’s History of Art.Screw the memorization – my favorite part…

Arty Girl: Laura Spalding at five15

See? She’s good.I could blog about a show that you only have a few days left to see…or I could blog about a show that you really should have seen already. But, being that it’s so close to the new year, I really don’t want to look back. No, it’s…

Arty Girl: Klaus Rinke at Bentley Gallery

Dame with Tailbone by Rinke.Okay, enough about downtown Phoenix. While I sure appreciate all the art options in that area, I’ve been blogging a liiiittle too much about it lately. So here’s a blog about someplace else…the land of milk and honey, Scottsdale.(That last sentence works better if you whisper…

Arty Girl: Elihu Vedder Drawings at Phoenix Art Museum

So I’m a writer, right? At least, that’s what I’ve been telling everyone at these Holiday parties I’ve been frequenting. It’s only natural that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself away from this blog on Christmas Eve. And while I don’t expect any of you to take in an…

Arty Girl: “Ain’ting” by Ryan Peter Miller at Eye Lounge

“Dip Dick” by Miller.You can’t blame me for starting this blog with the wiener picture. Such a racy image might snag some attention and get me some new readers.But enough about my strategy to keep Arty Girl alive. What I really want to write about is Ryan Peter Miller’s solo…

Arty Girl: Photographer Lindsey Nochta at Modified Arts

This is how Nochta snagged her victims -er- subjects.Everyone likes music on some level. I mean, come on – we’re alive, we’re human beings and we have emotions. Photographer Lindsey Nochta set out to find those who are beyond the casual music listener. She’s had her sights fixed on the…

Arty Girl: Angela Franks Wells at Five15

Photo By Angela Franks WellsIt’s been raining this week and, as a native Phoenician, I’m ready for it to be over. I can’t help it, I’m addicted to the sun. So it’s no wonder I’m already thinking about Friday. It’s the first day this week that the forecast icon has…

Arty Girl: John Battenberg at West Valley Art Museum

By John BattenbergIf you’re a religious reader of the Night & Day section of the Phoenix New Times – and, my God, why wouldn’t you be? – you’ve probably already heard about Michael Dixon’s show, “Sambo Scatches His Navel and Watches His Crazy Sister” at West Valley Art Museum.With a…

Arty Girl: “Fill in the Groove” at Hoodlums slideshow

Puzzled by Tim HamIf you’ve know me for any amount of time, you know I’m an incessant story re-teller. It’s an unforgivable offense and I apologize to my friends and family for having to put up with me. There’s nothing more embarrassing than starting off with a great build-up only…