While most of the local art community patiently waits for its abused livers to shrink back to acceptable pre-CAM proportions, let us take a quiet moment to reflect. Certainly, the more than 70 shows delivered in just 31 days served the purely artistic, yet pathological need to participate and produce, but don't we need some feedback? A slap on the back for our somewhat intangible community service, or simply a nod for a collective job well done? At the risk of public stoning, I propose the following: For those not content to quietly mourn the loss of our consolidated free time and our temporarily clouded sanity to simply wait for next year so we can do it all again, we now have (trumpets, please) the Unofficial CAM Awards.
For clarity's sake, categories must be assigned, so I guess it makes sense to separate museums, institutions, foundations, commercial and non-commercial galleries (including artist-run spaces) from one another. Classification can be tricky. To give just a few examples, SAMA and the McNay are museums. The Southwest School of Art & Craft, Blue Star Art Space, and UTSA can be considered institutions. ArtPace, the Esperanza, Jump-Start, and Say Sí are arts-related foundations or centers. Parchman Stremmel, Finesilver/FYI, and Joan Grona are commercial contemporary art galleries. San Angel and RC Gallery are commercial folk art galleries/retail outfits. Sala Diaz, Cactus Bra, Three Walls, the Bower, the 811 Art Lounge, and the Triangle Space are just a few examples of artist-run, non-commercial spaces. Arts related events open to the public include WAX, Art in the 'Hood, the Automatic Studio Tour, and the Theo Street Fair. Whew. You'll have to figure it out from there…
BEST GROUP EXHIBITION
1. Museum
2. Institution
3. Arts-related foundation or center
4. Commercial gallery
5. Non-commercial or artist-run space
BEST SOLO EXHIBITION
1. Museum
2. Institution
3. Arts-related foundation or center
4. Commercial gallery
5. Non-commercial or artist-run space
BEST CURATORIAL EFFORT
1. Museum
2. Institution
3. Arts-related foundation or center
4. Commercial gallery
5. Non-commercial or artist-run space
BEST REASON TO ATTEND A CAM EVENT
(CHOOSE ONE)
1. The art
2. The people
3. The politics
4. The food
5. The beer
6. The music
BEST ARTS-RELATED EVENT (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
BEST OPENING (ALL CATEGORIES)
BEST OVERALL SHOW (PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS IN ALL EXHIBITION CATEGORIES)
BEST EMERGING ARTIST (LOCAL)
BEST EMERGING ARTIST (NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL)
BEST STUDENT SHOW (ALL CATEGORIES)
And last but not least:
Do you think CAM should stay a stand-alone, non-affiliated July event or should it be moved to be included in Office of Cultural Affairs' Fall Arts Festival in October 2004?
1. Yes, it should stay in July.
2. No, move it to October.
3. I don't understand the benefits.
4. I don't understand the consequences.
5. I don't understand the question.
6. I simply don't give a shit.
Remember, this is totally off-the-cuff and unofficial - meant to be a warm fuzzy, not a cold prickly. One ballot per real person, please - this is not a presidential election. And if I get more than two responses, I might actually print the results! Please clip the above ballot and return it ASAP to the Current at 1500 N. St. Mary's, SA TX 78215. Godspeed, you fine art fiends. •
