Alex Ebstein chained to a tiger.

RADAR: Tell us something about yourself. You know, the usual, like, where did you grow up, what was your favorite toy, film or ice cream flavor, etc etc. and why did you become interested enough in art to commit to a blog focused on it?

Ebstein: I am originally from Stamford, CT and moved to Baltimore in 2003 to attend Goucher College, where I majored in studio art. While at Goucher, I co-founded The Goucher Review, a prestigious, student-run arts and culture magazine, in order to pursue my interests in journalism, art, and art-journalism. It was really through a series of self-imposed projects and deadlines that I developed an obsessive interest in documenting local art events, and became active in the unique, regional scene. I tend prefer coffee-based ice cream flavors.

RADAR: When and why did you start your art blog THERE WERE TEN TIGERS. Where did the name come from? Why ten?

Ebstein: The answer to this question is arguably more boring than the title itself….I went to the circus while it was in town, giving away how recent the Ten Tigers project actually is (March 2008), and enjoyed the turn of phrase while describing it to friends. Yes, there were ten tigers at the circus…not too exciting huh? I started Ten Tigers because, after graduation, I missed having those rigorous deadlines and sense of involvement in the arts community. I finally had settled into a job routine here, after moving to NY and back, and felt it was time to take this kind of project. I never allow myself to miss events I could learn from, and those of friends I could support, knowing that Ten Tigers will help spread the information (potentially) world wide--or at least to my parents.

RADAR: What role do you think blogs can play in regional arts and culture. Why are there not more?

Ebstein: Blogs offer artists minor exposure, and a chance to have an entire, again-potentially international, community interact with their artwork. They are among the most user-friendly and unlimited tools for social and professional networking, allowing critics and artists to have equal say in the same forum. And, beyond that, they help to archive local events, publicize them before they happen, review them as they do, and preserve them for posterity. They keep our regional scenes connected and "in the know," and hopefully through this comprehensive network, create connections between artists, collectors and critics-ideally forwarding everyone's careers and hobbies.

RADAR: The photos on your blog are particularly strong and show a broad range of work, can you speak to this?

Ebstein: I focused mostly on photography up until my junior year at Goucher, at which point I was told it was only luck, not skill that was reflected in my images, and a bunch of other nasty things…so I branched out artistically, but continued to be the art and photo editor (as well as photographer and illustrator) of The Review. Thinking editorially about photography definitely forces you to consider the whole story. I also occasionally outsource to Sara Seidman, who is incredibly dedicated to the Ten Tigers standard of excellence.

RADAR: Do you think there is something about the Baltimore/D.C. region that is unique or are we now living in an globalized art world due to communication shifts such as the web?

Ebstein: I think we are fortunate to be part of an incredibly exciting, academic and vibrant scene. The Baltimore/DC region, in particular, is incredibly inviting, between its array of alternative venues and community-wide events (such as Artscape, and the Open Studio Tour, Artomatic etc), it's not hard to make connections and take advantage of amazing opportunities. And while this is true of most cities, Baltimore has been enjoying its recent discovery by the outside world, creating an exciting environment for working artists and performers. The "web" seems to have brought the world to us.

RADAR: Pick five artists we should know about who we probably have never heard of. Tell us something about each.

Ebstein: In the spirit of the region, the five artists I selected are either native to, educated in and/or working now in the Baltimore/DC area:

David Purcell, a Baltimore based artist, presents a quiet machismo in his work that is reminiscent of some of his artistic idols, Picasso, de Kooning and Diebenkorn. Purcell expresses an honest, almost raw passion in his pieces that is the best language for its articulation.

Oggi Ogburn is a DC based photographer who has been working for the past 25 years photographing major music and movie celebrities. He once told me he hopes to fill the shoes of the late Gordon Parks, and has the portfolio to one day do so.

Emily Nachison attended MICA undergrad as a fiber arts major and has since moved to San Francisco where she is working as an artist and receiving some well-deserved press. Many of her pieces are large-scale fabric installations involving screen printing, embroidery, and fabric reduction processes. She uses bold color in her images, and finds inspiration from fables and folklore. Her work, especially in person—between its scale and drama—sends jaws floorward.

Tim Campbell is a recent American University MFA graduate who creates images using text from a bible translation. His work is meant to be confrontational, challenging his viewers' ideas of language, religion, and the abstractions that language endures over the course of history. He takes a text that is a pillar of Western society, one whose meaning has inevitably been twisted though language abstractions, and affects his own, visual abstraction to its history. The images he creates through this calculated process are incredibly moving and somewhat affronting, with their large familiar symbols, and their magnificent scale.

Andrew Laumann is another Baltimore artist who has left us for San Francisco. His stark photographs range from a timeless "fringe culture" realism to his more-recent, abstract work. Laumann interned for Ryan McGinley, and garnered an understanding of his aesthetic that has helped to mature his eye and his subject matter. At 21 years old, he is a motivated, dedicated artist that is at the beginning of a very promising career.

RADAR: What is your opinion of current newspaper and magazine arts critics? Do you read them? If so who do you admire and who do you dislike.

Ebstein: Its not that I don't want to answer this question, but I don't think I could do it justice…I read what I get my hands on, whatever I remember to check—mostly the Post, Times, Time Out and New Yorker, Art Forum, Sculpture Magazine, as well as city paper (dc and bmore) and, of course, blogs. I saw that you included Hatchets and Skewers on your recommendation list, I think Jeffry Cudlin has a fantastic, engaging writing style. His opinions are always paired with personality, its hard to forget that he is only offering one take on a subject, but his is a writing-voice I enjoy reading, be it on his blog or in more formal articles.

RADAR: How often do you go to New York and have you considered you should really be going to Texas instead?

Ebstein: I don't get up to New York as often as I would like, since moving back, but there is a plan in the works to broaden the Ten Tigers horizon by the end of summer. With any luck, we will have authors in Austin and New York before September.

RADAR: Do you curate exhibitions yourself? Regardless if you do or you don't what would you curate if you could and where?

Ebstein: No, other than my own, I have yet to curate an exhibition. However, given the opportunity, I would love to curate a show of Emily Nachison and Christine Tillman's work at a place with high ceilings and excellent, natural light—so probably at someplace like the Current, but with Paperwork's patrons. An exhibition of their work would combine their individual approaches to similar subject matter and involve mostly large-scale pieces. The show would be overtly feminine without a hint of docility. Emily's fabric murals would provide a background for Tillman's naturalistic floor installations, transforming any space into an interactive fairytale.

Also, perchance to dream, I would love to see an exhibition that pairs Robert Sparrow Jones' work with Rick Delaney's video installations and still-frames. They both work with imagery that offers a fuzzy-and at times foreboding-take on nostalgia.

RADAR: And finally, what do see as the general role of the artist in today's culture?

Ebstein: Goodness, they're everywhere aren't they? They're a mainstay of modern media and education, of trendsetting in fashion and music culture, community building etc. I think I have a rather pragmatic idea of artists and their current role in today's society. I have unending respect for people who have enough energy to create work for themselves and teach others to find their voice in the arts. Artists examine, challenge and enhance daily life through their creative contributions. Art is a cathartic process for a lot of people and can be immensely personal, which is what makes it universal. It is therefore important, as an artist, to encourage dialog, community and a network that continues to support and challenge one another.