KLWilliams

I'd like to second Scott's excellent remarks in support of the uniquely integrated model at Founders College, from a different perspective: Founders has formed a partnership with the classical-realist fine art school, Academy of Realist Art, to offer the full 'atelier' program in South Boston, VA. This is the fine-artist training program based on the great Academies of the 19th century, whose practises were, in turn, based on Renaissance apprenticeships with the old masters. Initially, there was no intention to offer a Studio arts program at Founders in the early years. But when they found out about the perfect match between ARA's curriculum and theirs -- teaching the right content, in the right order, by the right method -- they immediately embraced the integration, as both an embellishment of the curriculum and a good business move. Where else have we even heard of a college with that kind of confidence? And no fear of the supposed 'controversy' in teaching a realist-only fine art program? There will be two days of free instruction in the new arts program for anyone who would like to try it out, and have a look at the campus and other wonderful programs, too. (see attachment, with link to video) --Kate P.S. How about ideaneur? Fernando_Sept_11_at_FC_Release__2_.doc

There is still time to sign the petition to air the other side of the story in the debate about David Hockney's theory that the old masters used optical aids in creating their masterpieces. Art historian Dr. David Stork will be presenting an invited lecture on Optics and Renaissance Painting at the Optical Society of America's Annual Meeting on October 12th, and will include mention of the petition. An illustrated press release about the Hockney theory and petition is online at PRWeb at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb166581.php You can sign the petition itself online at http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/debunk...hockney_theory/ --Kate

I see that David Veksler has the Art Renewal Center listed in his links on this very site. On Google, there about 100 listings for ARC associated with other Objectivist individuals and organizations, and just 2 from TOC. (+"art renewal center" +Objectivism) I still say you're painting an unfair picture of ARC with this insistence that the organization "sought to promote itself" via David Kelley etc. The Chairman of the Art Renewal Center (and Linda Dulaney, who volunteered to help promote the site in its early days) would have no way to identify that interview/information requests came from philosophically-undesirable sources. He is not trained in philosophy; he is a successful businessman with a love of great visual art, trying to bring it back into the public's awareness. Now, why should the whole organization be tarred with the David Kelley brush because of one or two contacts, several years apart? I am not trying to claim that the Art Renewal Center is a proper Objectivist organization, only that the false Hockney theory needs to be exposed. --Kate

There is absolutely no association between the Art Renewal Center and David Kelley or any of Kelley's activities. Mr. Ross did once respond to questions from an objectivistcenter interviewer (asked by email, I believe), which hardly constitutes 'seeking to promote' ARC through Kelley. I find only one listing of his name on this Google search: site:www.objectivistcenter.org "Fred Ross" Which is not to say that ARC is an Objectivist organization, either: it certainly isn't; although there are two Objectivists on the management team. Stephen, I wish you would retract this; there is a real need for people to help expose the falsehoods of Hockney, and we know there will be an audience for the Petition at an upcoming optical science event. His ridiculous notion that the great masters of art history couldn't draw any better than he can is already starting to appear in other books, including one art history textbook. --Kate P.S. The Objectivists I was referring to in my original post are the ones here on this forum!

URGENT: Help Protect the Reputation of the Old Masters: In case you haven't heard: David Hockney, an artist of very limited ability by our standards, has had lots of positive press and very little criticism for his theory that the old masters used optical aids such as the camera obscura (a primitive camera-type lense) as early as the 14th century to trace their drawings. Hockney did not bother to look for living artists who can reproduce the appearance of reality 'by eyeball,' in contradiction of his notion that it simply can't be done -- and there are hundreds of such living artists, despite the decline of standards in the 20th century. Now the Art Renewal Center has hooked up with optical scientists and art historians to expose the fraudulent thesis of Hockney's book (Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters), and ARC has posted a Petition calling for a televised rebuttal of the cheating-old-masters idea. Please look at the evidence and sign the Petition if you agree that the other side of this story deserves to be aired. Our petition and other evidence against the Hockney theory will be presented to the media on October 15th, so it's important to act now. This is an instance of what Objectivists will recognize as Hatred of the Good, only Hockney goes even a little further, into what I'd call Smearing of the Great. It's not often we get a chance for real art activism where one issue can make a difference to the culture, but this is one. Please see Brian Yoder's detailed article Why David Hockney should not be Taken Seriously and then sign the Petition. Please also forward this message to like-minded friends and colleagues, or use the Tell-a-Friend feature on the Petition itself if you want to send to a list of email addresses. --Kate Williams

More like Photoshop. Experience cleaning up scanned images, compressing and storing them. But the image processing is not the main qualification.

If you are an HTML expert and know something about web databases and image processing, we know of a dream job that will be available shortly. A well-established popular website needs a new webmaster. The hours are flexible and the work can be done from anywhere. This could be an ideal job for a student who has the skills and can work independently, as well as communicate clearly with a widespread team (some of whom are Objectivists). You must have real experience as a web developer on sites that are currently in existence. Some graphic design ability and an interest in art is an asset. If you’re qualified and interested, please write to [email protected], before the end of June (2004).