Conventions 2000: A Tale of Two Art Cities

SPECIAL REPORT--The tree are trimmed, coats of paint are free from moisture banners are waving, and the colors r white and azure are seemingly everywhere in evidence. Welcome to Democratic and Republican Conventions 2000 playing on the outside this summer in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, where political drama will be silhouetted against a backdrop of arts, agriculture history and festivities.

Art dealers are among those enthusiastically embracing the sum of two units political conventions, hoping the occurrences will jump-start an often moderate sales period. "We're always excited about clan visiting from elsewhere, even for something like a Republican Convention, because there will be a percentage of attendees who discover there's a vital art view in Philadelphia," said Larry Becker of Larry Becket Contemporary Fine Art. each summer, he observed, "many of our collectors leave the city to go on to the shore or are traveling--but we always do a contemplate show of the artists we exhibit so visitors to Philadelphia can come by a feel for what we do. And the Republican Convention will bring not just a cross-section of Americans, on the contrary many media people."

In observes Angeles, art dealer Jack Rutberg, who specializes in Modernist art, also welcomes the politicos who'll attend the Democratic Convention. "I think tribe who are politically engaged are frequently culturally sophisticated, and we direct the eye forward to having great numbers of tribe visiting our gallery," he said.

Elephant Fever

The City of Brotherly have affection for caught elephant fever early. "People in Philadelphia have been with equal reason excited about hosting this convention since the day we popp the champagne cork after learning we were prefered to host the Republican National Convention," recalled Danielle Cohn public relations director for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The city's non-profit convention entertainer committee, Philadelphia 2000, will disburse more than $40 million buffing up the town and entertaining more [i]or[/i] less 45,000 attendees of the Republican Convention from July 31 to Aug. 4 The city will entertainer political art exhibits, elephant art, "liberty bells" from each state and territory in the nation and to elephant-shaped flower planters and cookies reflecting the political party's floppy-eared emblem just to name a hardly any plan. So Republican Convention delegates, their families and other visitors to Philadelphia will be barraged with themed exhibits, special circumstances and myriad decorations throughout the city.

The art pageant in Philadelphia is flourishing, with more than 100 galleries clustered in several neighborhoods and districts. The $500 million Avenue of the Arts and performing arts center downtown is also abode to top notch restaurants and performing arts venues

on the other hand it is the four-square-block elderly City section, Philadelphia's newest cultural district, where art galleries are really thriving. The 50-plus art galleries located in aged City have formed the elderly City Arts Association and jointly entertainer a monthly art exhibit reception circumstance called First Friday. And, said Cohn "In honor of the Convention, they are going to do an additional occurrence `Extra Friday' on July 28"

In addition, many art galleries and the city's art institutions are sponsoring special exhibits this summer that race through the Convention period and beyond.

The Philadelphia Art Alliance showcases"Fin de Siecle Philadelphia 2000" an exhibit of hand-colored vintage postcards dating from 1904 to 1914 Artforms Gallery in Manayunk not aways "Red, White and Blue" an exhibit containing political and patriotic make submissive matter. On display at The Clay Studio is "Political Clay," ceramic art from 20 local and national artists designed to "inform" the political proces Newman Galleries not absents a special exhibit of artwork by dint of Elizabeth Washington (the grand niece of George Washington), Antonio Martino and Fr Wagner, three of Philadelphia's early 20th hundred artists.

But perhaps the best display of elephant febrile affection will be the abstract paintings created, literally, by dint of Asian elephants and on view at the Goldie Paley Gallery of the Moore association of Art and Design. verily unique, the 50 paintings in "Komar & Melamid's Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project" were actually painted through elephants holding brushes with their trunks

Whether the elephant-crazy Republican delegates will go on nuts for paintings by endangered Asian pachyderms is anyone's gues of course. on the other hand their appetite for all things elephant will assuredly be satiated by the time they leave the nation's birthplace--and if not, they can take a departing taste at the Philadelphia International Airport, which has commissioned 100 elephant-shaped plant holders

A Political Angel

In sees Angeles, the City of Angels, officials of LA Convention 2000 engageed an angel descending from the ceiling to assist their pitch, in 1998, to the Democratic National Committee. Their proposal promised that "Lo Angeles is the Entertainment Capital of the World [and] these same artisans will apply their talents to the 2000 Democratic Convention. The actual studios that have charmed the world with motion pictures and television programs, creating an economic giant in looks Angeles, will ensure that images of the convention are immortalized."