Oct 2000
Dear Folks back home,
Time brings changes leaving lots of debris as well...something I´m well acquainted with here in Leipzig...The pic is of John Annus, a Latvian artist who has become a mentor and good friend. He is one of the best artists I´ve ever had the pleasure of meeting...and yet the system seems to have passed him by. Of course his history needs more than my few words on the back of a postcard (exhibitions across Europe and the US in some of the best galleries). Nowadays he hangs out in a converted factory space near mine...surviving, painting and giving informal seminars and art classes to young artists and students. His daughter has just been accepted at the local art school which once enjoyed a reputation as one of the best in Germany...but no longer, since its instructors have been gradually replaced with west Germans following reunification...so some mixed feelings about its future...! What I have seen of its "products" led me to suddenly withdraw from a group exhibition with a few graduates...I was quite disappointed by the derivative work and the low technical quality (Note: "the best artists borrow or steal, but don´t copy!"). Nevermind, John and I are trying to fight back! Check out his site at http://www.wbaileynet.com/jannus/
Dean