Final sunset of 2009, Looking East on 55th Street (click to enlarge)
Looking back, it was an alright year… Here is my Top 12:
Reinvented the wheel in publishing 5 issues of my magazine, Coagula Art Journal, in a print-on-demand format after almost 17 years of printing and distributing the magazine. Readers now peruse the entire issue at coagula.net and can buy the magazine as a full color book. Finished the year publishing ISSUE #100 of the magazine I started in 1992.
Curated LOCALS ONLY, a group show of LA artists, at Look Gallery.
Expanded my Coagula.com website to have an artist of the day feature and more content.
Co-Curated (with Marla Koosed) Self Portraits in the Age of MyFaceSpaceBook group exhibition at the i-5 Gallery.
Kept busy with lots of non-art freelance writing work that brought in good money during a time when the economics of the art world have been terrible.
Went to Vegas four times: New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July and for my birthday in September. Made the final table in a few poker tournaments. Non-Vegas vacation: Went to Joshua Tree for a nice weekend.
Moderated a panel at Sotheby’s in Beverly Hills on the convergence of art and entertainment organized by Sophia Louisa Lee for the MOCA Contemporaries – on the panel were Charlotte Cotton (LACMA’s curator and department head of photographs), Douglas Chrismas (director and founder, Ace Gallery) and Tony Krantz (art collector, film and television producer and director).
Filmed a pilot for a reality show about being an art curator – producer is still pitching it in case you are interested.
Wrote a 3,000-word cover story for Juxtapoz magazine’s November issue on artist Robert Williams. He was subsequently picked for the 2010 Whitney Biennial – hmmm, coincidence?
Stayed Sober for the 16th consecutive year, every day of which has been a blessing.
Had much success with my baseball blog, Halos Heaven including radio appearances and some national media attention for some of our stories. I am most proud of using the site to help raise $800 by auctioning off some of my baseball memorabilia for the survivor of the fatal April car wreck that took the life of pitcher Nick Adenhart.
Adopted our second dog from Karma Rescue, a pit-bull named Daisy. Never realized how correct Bukowski was when he penned the line: Love is a Dog from Hell.