The America China Oil Painting Artists League has only nine days left to receive the funding necessary to send 100 of America's best contemporary, representational paintings on a historic tour of China - and they need your help.
Founded in 2010, ACOPAL was created with the purpose of fostering an arts dialogue between China and the United States of America through both exhibitions and the sharing of knowledge. China, whose painting academies were heavily influenced by 19th century Russian schools (and especially the Peredvizhniki), continued to prize realism throughout the 20th century, even while the western world had sought to devalue it. China's adherence to the traditional training methods (European tempered by Russia) has meant that the caliber of work produced by the students of their academies has remained high over the past century. Now that America has seen a renewed interest in representational art, there has been a greater desire for the realist artists and collectors from both countries to see what each other has been producing. With China stepping farther away from the isolationism it imposed upon itself during its stricter Communist rule, the opportunity to share ideas between the two countries has never been greater, and ACOPAL is the first organization trying bridge the gap between these two cultures.
During the past two years, the American branch of ACOPAL has held two major showings of contemporary American and Chinese realist art, the first at the National Arts Club in New York City, and the Second at the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio. The organization's next plan is to send 100 of these American works on a tour of six major museums in China, where it is expected the paintings will be viewed by over one million museum attendees. Several of the participating artists are hoping to accompany the works to the opening of the exhibit in Beijing, where they will participate in panel discussions and take part in demonstrations at the city's Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Unfortunately, ACOPAL does not yet have the necessary funding to pay for the travel expenses of the 20 artists it intended to send to Beijing, nor the finances to crate and send the 100 artworks to China. The difficulty of obtaining the needed financial support has proved to be a great obstacle, and without additional help, the plans for this historic endeavor may need to be put on hold, possibly indefinitely.
In an effort to raise the remaining funds in time, ACOPAL has listed their project on the Kickstarter website, and many of the participating artists have stepped forward to offer paintings, products, and services in exchange for your pledges. Gifts of appreciation include exhibition catalogs from the 2011 ACOPAL exhibit at the Butler Institute in exchange for a $25 donation, a five-day workshop with Paul McCormack for a donation of $500, an original painting by Joseph Todorovitch for $1000, and in thanks for a $5000 gift, a portrait sitting with American Master Max Ginsburg. Visit the ACOPAL Kickstarter page for the entire list of gift options. Of course, any support would be appreciated, and pledges for as low as $1.00 are certainly welcome.
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| Joseph Todorovitch Outdoor Sketch 16 X 12 inches oil on linen Your gift for a donation of $1000 or more |
Should ACOPAL's plans come to fruition, the next step would include plans for exhibits of works by realist Chinese artists in America, along with seminars and workshops where American artists could learn from the traditional methods now taught in the Chinese academies.
12 comments:
Beautiful paintings!
I don't mean to be a jerk but why don't some of the participating artists foot the bill?
A lot of them donated a painting, dvd's, etc. Now I know you are some socialist Canadian Jason, but in Merica other people are supposed to pay for our crap or else we complain.
And another thing.. Aren't there factories in China pumping out forgeries of paintings by contemporary painters, many of which are part of ACOPAL? So.. now you just want to send them the originals to work from?
Jason raises a very good question here and one that needs to be answered. Many of the artists will be paying their own way, but a trip like this is very expensive and for some of the younger artists it will be prohibitive. We'd like to get a good cross-section of our members over there, not just the older, very established artists. Also, this project has been entirely funded by artists so far. I personally have put a lot of my own money into this and it has taken up an enormous amount of my time. There's only so much the organizers can personally do. All of the members have paid in their own way, with personal monetary donations, award donations toward our online competitions, the expense of shipping and insuring their work to the prior exhibits, and the current donations to the Kickstarter fundraiser. The thing that most people do not realize is that ACOPAL is not about a group of realist artists simply showing their work in China, it’s all about getting realism to a level where it’s as respected here in the US as it is China. 2 years ago when we met with 5 of the top realist artists from China that were here by invitation from the secretary of the state of NY, I was dumbfounded at first when this young artist in his early thirties told us that he received 1.4 million USD for his last portrait commission. No it’s not about money….it’s about respect, it’s about appreciation of what we do. The fact of the matter is that the realists in China are commanding the same amount money that the modernists are receiving here in the states. In short, realism is still highly respected in the east, it’s still taught in the universities, and it never fell to the wayside. I have personally put in over 2 years of my time and money into this organization, because I believe that it’s in the best interest of all realist artists here in the states. Realism should be brought back into the curriculum of Universities and colleges. Realism should command the same dollar amount as other art found in the US mainstream. This organization was formed to help in the resurgence of realism here in America. With China on the forefront of the global economy it is my hope that collectors here in the US will open their eyes and finally realize that good art is more than a financial investment, or what a gallery tells them is good. Art should be equal on all fronts where a collector can listen to what’s in their heart.
I think one of the issues and a reason why support among the arts community and artists is sketchy is due in part by the selection of artists. Many initially included were personal invited, myself included. but was then told my work would not be included. Then competitions were held on line, obviously to help pay for the US exhibitions. Many artists paid a relatively high entry fee to compete for a few remaining spots. Since then more artist have been personally invited to participate. It seems to me before we mount a show to showcase the best in representational US art we might want to have a selection process that is better thought out. I'm sure this sounds like sour grapes and yes I am soured by the Acopal organization and their methods but I would love to see their mission advanced with more accountability as to what the criteria was for inclusion and a long term funding plan with sponsors to defray the obvious and expensive costs pertaining to their stated goals.
Representational Art is on the threshold of an exciting reemergence and I believe a serious discussion needs to take place as to why we keep calling all representational forms of art "Realism"? Good luck raising the funds, I really do think some of the best examples of "representational art" were invited and selected for inclusion!
I have to agree with Garin about the vetting process for this competition. A high entry fee was charged to participate and then I come to find out other artists were let in without having to go through the judging process.
I, for one, am so sick of all these competitions that charge fees preying on the hopes and dreams of artists.
ACOPAL ran 2 competitions, one to exhibit at the NAC and one to exhibit at the Butler. 3 winners were chosen by 3 judges, where the judges were asked to select their top ten in prioritized order. Votes were tallied and the winners were selected. The entry fee was only $25 per entry. Yes there were artists added to the roster after the fact for several reasons that the general public is not aware of. First of all, ACOPAL would not exist if it was not for the Beijing World Art Museum, and when the Museum tells us that they would like to have a particular artist included in the exhibition we do our best to comply if we agree that it would be benefit the exhibit and organization. In addition, the World Art Museum is working with 5 other museums in China, trying to get them to agree to host the exhibit as well. When you take these 2 factors into consideration…things happen. Some of the work exhibited at the NAC that was initially selected was then rejected by some of the other museums and pulled. We also had 5 artists pull their work from the Beijing exhibit, all for various reasons. We began filling some of those gaps by FIRST taking the third runner (4th place) from the 2 competitions, Thomas Reis from the first and Peter Fiore from the second. The remaining spots were then filled with additional paintings that were submitted by our present members and then the work from a few new artists that were recommended by the museum and or members of ACOPAL. I completely understand how disconcerting some competitions can be, but I do hope this clears up any misconceptions of how ACOPAL’s final 100 paintings were selected.
Paul, thanks for the details on how the artists were selected. Your account only accentuates how dreadful the selection process was and it is entirely understandable the dismay artists feel by such a pieced-together, tacked-on, arbitrary mess which selects, then rejects, then adds on at the end without agreed-upon rules.
I, for one, would like to see a full refund to all participating artists for this past competition. There is enough said here to warrant a class action suit.
Funny, but when I read Paul's account of this whole process, all I could think of was how horrible it must have been trying to make this possible within a finite timeframe and with so many cooks in the kitchen. I imagine Paul and the rest of the board of ACOPAL would have wanted things to run more smoothly, but it sounds as though much of this was out of their control (other than just scrapping the whole endeavor, it seems the only other choice was to adapt to the requested changes). Perhaps once ACOPAL makes inroads in China, they will have more leverage.
I do understand Garin's frustration also. To receive a personal invitation such as he did, then not be included, could get anyone's ire up. Of course, it sounds as if the local organizers originally chose his brilliant work; the exclusions came later.
$25 isn't a large entry fee if you only submitted one painting, as I did (I didn't get in). I can see how in comparison, where other competitions will take up to three entries for a fee of $45-$60, that $25 a piece might seem high.
Entry fees are a necessary evil though. We don't have many state-run salons these days, nor wealthy backers willing or able to foot the bill of such events. The entry fees are in part responsible for the prizes. It would be nice if the USA had prize purses as large as some UK and Australian competitions do - those of course do have ties with their respective governments (though we do have the Outwin Boocheever Competition with a $35 entry and a $25000 top prize).
As far as "preying on the hopes and dreams of artists" I would say those that earned their way into this competition (or others) are happy to see their wishes coming to fruition and would be devastated if their opportunity was lost because the people who weren't chosen decided to ruin it for everyone.
Competitions like these can be nice boosts - to your wallet, to you recognition, to your ego - but I wouldn't put too much stock in them. No one should try to build a career around them.
I want to thank Matthew for helping spread the word about the Kickstarter campaign and the ACOPAL project. The blog comments clearly show that there are quite a few important issues that the organization, and any artist looking to work in China or another international setting, need to consider. I just want to say that your comments are heard, and important.
I have been involved in ACOPAL for a year and a half now, and I know that primarily, it is a dedicated group of artists, with many obligations, doing their best to promote something we believe in. We all have hopes for the long-term sustainability of the organization, and for the higher attainment of goals of excellence in representational painting that can be gained by artists working together, communicating, and supporting each other. It's not perfect, but I have great for the integrity and intentions, and hard work of the individuals working to sustain ACOPAL. Discussions like the issues dipped into here will certainly be on our minds, in how to make a better organization that helps all of us succeed in making better art.
Patricia Watwood
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