i-tees

Okay, I may be in a lousy mood, and this is going to sound like a rant, so get ready!

If one more person builds a website without caring that it looks like crap, I don’t know what I’m going to do!

Recently, an artist friend contacted me because he wanted to start a new business. I was hopeful, because what I’m best at is a new business start-up, logo design and giving them, their identity… that all around consistent look. I also love working with the arts community. I spoke with him and we discussed various things, but… today I got an invite, and realized he had just pushed ahead with the site, without me. Now aside from losing a potential client, I went to look at the site to see what had been developed. To say I was disappointed and horrified is an understatement.

There are (links) pages that don’t even apply to his company. So does this mean he copied or worse, another site’s pages and is planning to just update the content when he has time?

What could he be thinking?

Why do people feel so urgent? Pushing their information out there, without any control to how it looks, or if it will attract an audience. This has really sent me into a depression, and the realization that on the web, content will always win over style. I suppose only on the web this may be true. When I’m looking for something or shopping, functionality and directness will always win over pleasing design and pictures. But don’t we want to push our content out there in a pleasing way?

There has to be a balance between the content being current and wanting it to look nice. We’ve got to make any client, whether an artist, musician, author, small business owner or fortune 500 company understand that these things go hand in hand. And an artist should know better!

Sunday, October 18 and it was time to visit as many artists, in their studios, as I could fit into one afternoon. Starting out at the Monroe Center with my friend John Crittenden, a photographer who shows his work in the Jersey City Artists Studio Tour, we waited with others, for the old and slow elevator to arrive and take us up. We like to start at the top and work our way down.

While waiting, I was smelling all the wonderful soaps by a local Jersey City merchant, La Moon. I had purchased some wonderful chocolate mint soaps last holiday season at Hoboken City Hall.

First stop on the 5th floor, is the studio of both Camille Cesari (original jewelry creations, Loveprint Jewelry) and Sissi Siska, fabulous silk painter. Their large studio, divided into two spaces, is just as you come off the elevator. If you’re looking for original designs and that one-of-a-kind type of artwork, these two women have it going on!

Next we walked down to the studio of photographer, Craig Dale, who was taking photographs of visitors if they happened to be wearing a logo. He’s been doing a photography series on this and his work can be seen at, Craig Dale’s The Logo Project. You know I was wearing one of my Frogs Are Green t-shirts and I’ll be awaiting one of the photos.

As we made our way through, studio after studio, floor by floor, here are some of the artists who welcomed us in. Laura Alexander is one of my favorite painters. She has a way of choosing subjects, that just make me stop and stare. They are caught in a moment, and we get to share that moment with her.

Laura Alexander in front of two of her paintings at the Hoboken Artists Studio Tour 2009

McKevin Shaughnessy shows us so many different types of work, from designing the poster for this event (and others), his illustrative and photography work, to designing lighting fixtures. Some of the others are: Robert Policastro, painter;  Virginia Rolston Parrott, photographer; Painter and sculptor, Nina Akai; gallery owner, Harry Saylor from Orbit Gallery Space, who had on display a variety of artists, from satire and cartoon styles to 70s poster design; photographers, Jene Youtt and Mary Durante Wehrhahn; and lastly, Hartshorn portrait photography.

Once we had finished at the Monroe Center we parted and went in different directions. I headed downtown to Eureka Gallery on 1st Street, to see the Hob’Art group show. It wasn’t very crowded when I arrived, but seeing much of the food and wine gone, I knew they had had a great gathering earlier. Around the room I saw different types of work, collage, paintings, and photography. Among the works were, Laurel Brooks, Linda Rosendahl, Virginia Parrott, Roslyn Rose, Ibou Ndoye, Willie Baez, Joe Gilmore and Mary Castillo. All of these artists and more can be seen on the Hob’Art co-operative gallery website.

The rain was very slight all day long and it was just a perfect day to be inside experiencing great art and meeting some new artists I’d not met before. I look forward to the studio tour each year and was happy to see some studios open, that had not been open in past years.

To see my photo gallery from yesterday, click here.