FOTM 2008 Master Artists Have Been Announced! View 2008 Calendar

Ten Ventura County artists have been selected for Focus on the Masters (FOTM) formal documentation by a distinguished jury of educators and artists for the 2008 season. The ten artists will be featured the first Tuesday of each month beginning February 5, 2008 as part of FOTM’s popular Tuesday Talk interview series, now in its fourteenth year in programming. Each Tuesday Talk interview will take place at the Technology Development Center at 5200 Valentine Road in Ventura and will be added to the FOTM prestigious archive.

The artists selected for 2008 are listed here. Please feel free to click on the individual links to lean more about the artists and to view their work.

The public is invited to participate in this effort by sponsoring an individual artist’s Tuesday Talk. A Tuesday Talk sponsor’s name (or the name of a sponsoring business) is included in all press releases and all publicity materials relating to the sponsored Tuesday Talk as well as admission to the sponsored Talk for four. For further information about this opportunity, please contact Mary Galbraith, Tuesday Talk coordinator, at 805/653-2501.

Throughout the year FOTM collects information for our archive on as many artists as possible who live or work within Ventura County. Each November a panel of distinguished artists and art advocates select from a nominated list 10 artists for formal documentation. Artists selected are based on the following criteria;

• the artist’s mastery of the medium;
• the artist’s level of peer recognition; and
• the artist’s contribution to the cultural history of Ventura County.

Additional considerations include selecting a group of artists who practice a variety of media so that all creative expressions are represented. The artist’s age, health and availability can also influence the selection process.

Each artist’s documentation begins with the gathering of whatever biographical materials the artists have available. Resources can include publications, essays, published work, slides, CDs, video recordings and ephemera of all types. These materials are the basis for each of the artist’s files. Additionally, the artist is interviewed through recorded oral histories and at the Tuesday Talk, which is video taped in front of a live audience. The Tuesday Talk provides the public with an opportunity to meet the artists and experience their work first hand and allows the artist to exhibit original work, share personal experiences and give advice to the gathered audience.

Finally, each artist is photographed by FOTM Founder Donna Granata and their portrait is added to the Focus on the Masters Portrait Series and posted here, on www.FocusOnTheMasters.com.

We want to hear from you! If you are a working artist within Ventura County, please send non-returnable biographical information to Focus on the Masters, 1147 E. Main St., Ventura CA 93001 or to support@FocusOnTheMasters.com. Please add us to your mailing list and keep us up to date on your career.