Spokesperson Introduced--Tara Materials, Inc., manufacturer of the innovative new Fredrix Watercolor Artist Canvas, has announced that internationally acclaimed watercolorist Tom Lynch will partner with them to promote their new watercolor canvas. Lynch said, "I feel this product will elevate the acceptance and value of watercolor to new heights and I want to be a part of it." See your retailer for this innovative new watercolor surface.

Art Showcased--The U.S. Postal Service has released "The Art of the American Indian" commemorative postage stamps. The pane of 10 jumbo self-adhesive stamps features photos of American Indian artifacts dating from around the 11th century A.D. to circa 1969. John Stevens, a calligrapher from N.C., designed and created the lettering in the title. Descriptive text on the back of the stamps includes an overview and specific information about each of the objects. In addition to the 37-cent stamps, a booklet of twenty 23-cent stamped postal cards was issued.

Approval Received--The Commission of Fine Arts has given unanimous and final approval to Frank O. Gehry's design for the second and final wing of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The new design doubles the space, reorients the principal entrance, creates new public space and reorganizes the galleries to create a logical continuum of old and new for the visitor.

Free Speech Promoted--The "Freedom of Expression National Monument" located in Foley Square, Lower Manhattan, invites the public to step up and speak their minds during the election season. This enormous red megaphone, a public artwork by architect Laurie Hawkinson, performer John Malpede, and visual artist Erika Rothenberg, will be on view through November 13 and is presented by Creative Time and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Anniversary Celebrated--The Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, PA, is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a lively series of public programs, including family and children's activities, school programs, concert performances and a gala planned for October 14. A special installation, "Echoes: Celebrating 75 Years of Rodin in Philadelphia," illuminates the artist's working process and how he developed his themes and features provocative pairings of his sculptures. Through May 31, 2005. For info, call 215.763.8100.

Exhibitions

Gainesville, FL -- Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art (University of Florida) -- The Tumultuous Fifties: A View from the New York Times Photo Archives is comprised of about 200 black and white photos taken from this collection and focuses on the 1950's. The works examine the seminal issues of the day from McCarthyism, Sputnik and Cold War politics to Bebop, Abstract Expressionism and Beat poetry. Through November 28.

Columbus, Ohio -- Columbus Museum of Art -- Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place pairs 35 significant paintings in tandem with photos of actual locations that display how O'Keeffe's work captured the contours, colors and textures of existing sites in a land that fascinated her. Opens October 5 through January 16.

Baltimore, MD -- The Walters Art Museum -- Popular Prints from the French Revolution highlights how such prints from this period were used, sold and displayed and explores the sources for their imagery in popular culture. Thirty never before exhibited prints from the Walters collection will be grouped into seven thematic sections. Opens October 3 through December 19.

Pasadena, CA -- Norton Simon Museum -- Nature Transformed explores the diverse approaches that artists adopt to depict the natural world and includes over 15 artworks from the 15th through the 20th centuries. Opens October 8 through February 28.

Los Angeles, CA -- The J. Paul Getty Museum -- Cézanne in the Studio: Still Life in Watercolors features over 20 masterworks in the first focused exhibition to highlight the intersection between the genre of still life and the medium of watercolor in the oeuvre of Paul Cézanne. Opens October 12 through January 2, 2005. This exhibition is complemented by "The Prismatic Palette--Four Centuries of Watercolor," opening October 5 through January 2.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 14 No. 12 -- October 2004