Editor:
Thanks for Jan Degrass' Friends of the Gallery review (Coast Reporter, Feb. 1).
I enjoyed the fun, creative way Jan made her awards, and I'm sure all the artists in the show were happy to see a review, even if only in time for the last weekend.
I appreciated the way she reviewed how the show comes together: no jury, every member allowed one piece in the show. Her comments on the various media the artists used in their works were very informative for potential gallery visitors.
It was also great that the artist/volunteer who had the job of "sitting" the gallery got her photo in the paper - a wonderful way of thanking her for volunteering her time, especially as the gallery is run by volunteer work. I'm definitely going in for one more good look at it all, keeping in mind Jan's comments.
My only whine comes about my own work, titled Costumes, Events and Performances from 1971-2009, which she called "events and wild parties."
I guess she hasn't seen enough performance art to know that an artist, Cavellini, writing his history on a nude body, does not constitute a "wild party" but suppose that's the only thing that came to her mind from the image.
For starters, I recommend a look at the 2004 book Caught in the Act: an anthology of performance art by Canadian women by Tanya Mars and Johanna Householder. There's a whole world of artists out there making art that has nothing to do with drawing and painting.
Anna Banana, Roberts Creek
