PERFORMING MARCH 5-7 FIRST COME FIRST SERVE
REVIEWS ON DISPLAY UNTIL MARCH 31

LORI WAXMAN 60 WORD/MINUTE ART CRITIC

BIO
60 wrd/min art critic ART CRITIC LORI WAXMAN TO PERFORM IN COLUMBUS, OH, MARCH 5-7, 2010. BRIEF, SERIOUS REVIEWS GUARANTEED TO ALL ARTISTS ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS.

The short review is at once a challenge, an insult, a record, and a piece of advertising. Its purpose is debatable and arguably quite different for the various parties involved: the writer gets a tear sheet, a couple of bucks, and some editorial gratification; the reader, in the best case scenario, gets a succinct, opinionated description of a body of work they probably did not see in person; and the artist gets published recognition and an entry for their bibliography. But think, for a moment, of the artist who has been reviewed carelessly, who has never been reviewed, who lives in a city where there is little local criticism. What then?

For three days at ROY G BIV Gallery, Chicago-based art critic Lori Waxman will receive artists in need of reviews under the auspices of her project, the "60 wrd/min art critic." Reviews, which are free of charge, will be scheduled and written in twenty-five minute increments between the announced hours only: Friday, March 5, 12-5 PM; Saturday, March 6, 5-10 PM; Sunday, March 7, 12-5 PM. Reviews will be signed, published and ready for pick-up within the time frame of the performance. Artist, artwork, critic, and review will all exist in the same space simultaneously, thereby helping to demystify the art review process. The reviews and some of the art will remain on view at ROY G BIV Gallery through March 27. In addition, the reviews will be published by the Columbus Alive in the weeks following the performance.

Advance appointments can be made on a first-come, first-served basis as of February 20 by emailing critic@60wrdmin.org. Walk-in hours will be held for part of the day on Sunday.

Artists who are reviewed have the option of turning in one work to be possibly displayed in the north gallery for the month. ROY G BIV reserves the right to turn down any work based upon space available. Digital or analog slides will not be displayed. Artists are not required to leave work.

Size Limitations- - 2D works cannot exceed 36" x 36" (including matting and framing) - 3D works cannot exceed a base of 18" square or taller than 36"

The 60 wrd/min art critic is many things: an exploration of short-form art writing, a work of performance art in and of itself, an experiment in role reversal between artist and critic, a democratic gesture and a circumvention of the art review process. At a time when newspaper and magazine art columns are disappearing, the "60 wrd/min art critic" aims to get a community talking about its own art. Columbus is among ten U.S. cities purposefully included in the list of destinations for the "60 wrd/min art critic." Waxman has focused her project on vibrant regional arts communities, from Austin, TX to Portland, OR, from Durham, NC to Kansas City, MO, whose artists rarely have opportunities to receive nationally published art reviews.

Lori Waxman is a Chicago-based critic and art historian. She publishes regularly in the Chicago Tribune and Artforum, and has written catalogue essays for small and large art spaces, including Spertus Museum in Chicago; Spaces Gallery in Cleveland; INOVA in Milwaukee; and Dieu Donne Papermill in New York. She teaches art history at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The 60 wrd/min art critic is a project of the Creative Capital | Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program.