Repeat Performance
Time - barely - for a shameless plug: Both Lauren and I have pieces in "Repeat Performance," an auction/fundraiser for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic that's being held on Saturday by the Pikes Peak Music Volunteers.Lauren's piece is Sky Fiddle, a violin that's been painted with a deep blue night sky scene; mine is Stradivarius Toothpick, a priceless violin that's been whittled down until only a single sliver remains. (Yes, it's a joke.) Of course, there are 40 or so other artists who've contributed work, including Steve Morath, who accomplished miracles with an old guitar.
The auction is 7 p.m. Saturday at the Smokebrush, 218 W. Colorado Ave. (Underneath the Colorado Avenue bridge.) Tickets are $30, which includes a glass of wine. Come and spend money; more information here.
posted by Mark Arnest at 7:41 PM
6 Comments:
Would have donated something and attended with a bit more notice. Hard to know what's going on in COS when one doesn't live there, even reading the online newspapers.
A generous thought, but the problem on Saturday night wasn't the quantity of good art - it was insufficient wealthy buyers.
To me, the event seemed to be, if not exactly a fiasco, at least fiasco-like. The atmosphere at the Smokebrush was convivial and the company was great - but the bids just weren't there. Morath's beautiful "Kachina Gal" sold for a fraction of what it deserved, and the same was true for many other works. Lauren and I are now owners of a lovely David Caricato paintbrush-with-hummingbird, which we bid on not because we loved it more than other Caricato pieces, but because we were embarrassed that such a beautiful object was sitting there with no bidders.
Perhaps the auction can be tweaked to be more successful next year. Sarah Milteer told me that the Denver Art Museum had a similar event at which they served, instead of wine, margaritas - a far more efficacious wallet-loosener.
"Stradivarius Toothpick" did quite well. The low minimum bid - $1.87 - probably helped set off a minor bidding war.
WHAT NO ART BUYERS IN THE 719... surely you jest!
It seems there were a lot of events on the 5th and 6th. The Artists Lair had it's opening nights of "African Soul." There was a decent turnout, more were definitely expected and also the same lack of buyers. African Soul will be running through the end of the month. Interested parties can visit the gallery M-F 12-5 or other times by appointment. www.artistlair.net for the address and other information.
I was really surprised at the lack of publicity this event got. It wasn't even listed in the Springs Arts Guide. It does seem that a lot of people showed up merely for the free food and wine... :P
All the more reason to have known about it.... I'm always ready to buy something good that's not overpriced. And willing to help drive the costs up to a less embarassing figure ;), when the opposite scenario occurs as is often the case in an art auction. Weren't the FAC auctions usually a success? They always advertised the hell out of that event and made it a not-to-miss event for the nouveau riche.
The official word is that the auction raised nearly $10,000 for the philharmonic - which is a respectable sum for, I think, 55 pieces. (That number includes a few non-art pieces - gift certificates, etc. - and the two or three pieces that didn't sell.) It just shows that what looks fiasco-like doesn't become an actual fiasco until the bidding ends...
Not bad, but not comparable to the previous week's auction to raise money for the Palmer Land Trust. THAT auction - eat your words, AE - took in over $50,000, with 23 artists selling art to 31 people. Martha Mans' "Red Rocks" fetched the most at $3,800. So perhaps the biggest problem with "Repeat Performance" was simply that it took place so soon after the Palmer Land Trust show.
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