New illustration collective kicks off in Detroit
Posted September 6, 2008 by bec_young in Justseeds/Member Projects | Comments (1)
Because a girl can never be in too many art collectives, I recently started an illustration collective called Spiderspun with two fellow artists in Detroit. The adorable and amazing drawings of Stacey Malasky and Megan Diviney, which have populated many a show flyer around these parts, have earned the admiration of out-of-town bands and music fans for years; now they will be put to a different use. Stacey's passion to become a free-lance illustrator started the whole thing, which included a whole lot of joyful meetings over breakfast and field trips to bookstores to discover new and interesting illustrators. Stacey's blog has daily uploads of daily-life Detroit drawings and hilarious rants, and she currently is in a show organized by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The show, called Edibles, which runs Sept. 6th until Oct. 3, 2008, at 306 South State street in Ann Arbor, is about the storytelling power of food.
New York Screening of Dos Americas: The Reconstruction of New Orleans
Posted September 5, 2008 by molly_fair in Film | Comments (0)
The film Dos Americas: The Reconstruction of New Orleans by Upheaval Productions focuses on the experience of the Latino community, one that seems to be overlooked unsurprisingly in the media and unfortunately by activist communities as well. This is not to be missed.
Post-Katrina reconstruction is still in progress throughout the Gulf Coast, with much of the City of New Orleans still in ruins. This documentary focuses on those rebuilding this city through interviews with some of the estimated 100,000 Latino migrant laborers who have converged in this area over the past two and a half years. Despite terrible working conditions, massive fraud, a housing crisis, severe harassment by law enforcement, and very limited resources, New Orleans’ Latino community has mushroomed since the storm and is establishing an infrastructure proportional to its size.Take a look at how this community is organizing to defend itself against numerous injustices and the attempts to bridge the gap between themselves as new residents and the pre-Katrina population, all within the extremely unique and tragic context of post-Katrina New Orleans.
Presentado en inglés y español.
9/7 @7pm- Make the Road by Walking
301 Grove St, Brooklyn, NY
9/8 @7pm- Bluestockings
172 Allen St Btw Stanton & Rivington, New York, NY
Swoon's Swimming CIties of the Switchback Sea Opens Sunday
Posted September 5, 2008 by k_c_ in Justseeds/Member Projects | Comments (0)
Swoon's second solo exhibit with the Deitch Projects will open this Sunday, September 7, 6-10pm. At 4-40 44th Drive, Long Island City
In the early evening on Sunday, September 7th, seven hand made boats, or more precisely, seven floating sculptures by Swoon, will dock in front of Deitch Studios on the East River in Long Island City. Their arrival at Deitch Studios will be the final stop on a three-week journey down the Hudson River and around the tip of Manhattan. The seven boats, built by Swoon and her friends from scrap wood and other discarded materials, began their sail down the Hudson River on August 15th in Troy, New York, stopping along the way for musical and theatrical performances. Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea is a two-part exhibition merging Swoon’s recent portraits, found objects of urban decay and a floating sculptural city. One part of the exhibition is on the water. The other is in the gallery.
The Swimming Cities is designed and organized by printmaker and installation artist Swoon. Collaborators include playwright Lisa D’Amour, the band Dark Dark Dark and circus composer Sxip Shirey. Propulsion systems brought by John Rinaldi and Kinetic Steam Works. Boat design and carpentry created in close collaboration with Jeff Stark, Iris Lasson, and with guidance from The Floating Neutrinos.
Paper Politics Cortland opens 9/09
Posted September 4, 2008 by jmacphee in Events | Comments (0)
The Paper Politics show I've organized and have been touring around is heading for a couple dates in Upstate New York. The show is an international collection of over 175 handmade political prints by as many artists. Almost the entire Justseeds crew is represented, as well as tons of other awesome printmakers! If you are in or around central upstate NY, check it out!!!!
Paper Politics
Dowd Fine Art Gallery
September 9th-November 6th, 2008
Opening Reception: September 9th 4:30-7:30pm
Artists’ talk:
Paper Politics - Josh MacPhee: October 28th, time TBA
All exhibitions and events are free and open to the Public.
Dissident Art, Montreal
Posted September 4, 2008 by jmacphee in Events | Comments (0)
This just in from friends in Montreal:
DISSIDENT ART
September 5 - 28, 2008
Opening: Friday, Sept. 5, 5 - 9 PM
55 Notre-Dame West (Metro Place D'Armes)
Diana Arce, Mathieu Beauséjour, Caro Caron, Howard Chackowicz, Kathryn
Delaney, Ronen Eidelman, Freda Guttman, Gord Hill, Dayna McLeod, Jesse
Purcell, Michael Rakowitz, The Shining Mantis, Jackie Sumell / Herman
Wallace, Rick Trembles, Tania Willard
The Art + Anarchy Montreal 2008 collective is pleased to invite you to the
opening of a new exhibition in Montreal, Dissident Art, on September 5th
from 5 pm - 9 pm at 55 Notre-Dame West (in Old Montreal, metro Place
d'Armes). The vernissage will feature performances by Diana Arce (Berlin),
showcasing her political speech karaoke Politaoke in Montreal for this first
time, and The Shining Mantis (New York), engaging in a spontanteous
chalk-on-black-wall drawing war between the collective's two members.
Returning after the success of the Art + Anarchy exhibition in 2007, which
saw 230 local and international artists exhibit their work, this year's
exhibition represents a more curated turn with fifteen artists. From Caro
Caron's (Montreal) excellent artistic musings on the gentrification of
Montreal's artist neighbourhoods to the pairing up of artist Jackie Sumell
(Brooklyn) and Herman Wallace, a Black Panther member whose life sentence is
currently up for review, the exhibition offers variety in concept, style and
contribution to the meaning of dissidence in art. In addition to the fifteen
chosen artists, the exhibition will be offering a room in which unsolicited
artists are invited to come hang their own political work.
Eating Apes
Posted September 2, 2008 by roger_peet in In the News | Comments (1)
Hello, fellow apes. I'm here today to tell you about your relatives. I'm referring to the other three African species of Great Ape, namely the gorilla, the chimpanzee and the bonobo. They're all going extinct. Isn't that interesting? Would you like to know why? It's unpleasant. Actually, I'll go so far as to say that it is catastrophically fucked up in so many ways that a blog entry really does not suffice to catalog the horror. I'll assist the presentation of this information by including some photographs by illustrious Swiss wildlife photographer Karl Ammann. These photographs have been widely seen in other parts of the world, not so much in the USA.
Karl is the protagonist of a book by Dale Peterson entitled Eating Apes, published by the University of California Press. Reading it is one of the most wrenching experiences possible, and has the potential to wreak havoc on the mind of anyone who is thinking critically about the state of the world. Its subject is bushmeat.
Bushmeat can be defined as wild animals hunted by humans for the purposes of eating, as opposed to those hunted for fashion, medicine, public safety, or fun. Eating Apes is principally concerned with the eating of apes. Our three closest animal relatives, residents of the tropical forests of sub-Saharan Africa, will soon be gone because of it.
Peterson describes how Karl, a hotelier by trade in his youth, became a wildlife photographer and how this shift of career brought him into contact with the bushmeat business. Travelling around the region of the Congo river basin, he found hunters and markets and traders doing a brisk business in cuts of ape meat, along with other rainforest meat products too numerous to be mentioned here. Although it's true that the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa have been eating these animals for centuries, certain recent developments have led to a catastrophic upswing in the amount of meat being taken from the forest. It's at this point that we all become complicit.
Logging interests, principally from Europe, open roads into the heart of the forest. Hunters follow the logging operations and penetrate deeply into the newly-accessible patches of jungle to provide meat for the hordes of migrant timber-cutters and machinery operators and their families. That's one way. Another way involves mining.
The high tech industries on which so much of the world now relies for communication and business infrastructure receive certain vital elements from mines in the jungles of the two Congos. Preeminent among these elements is coltan, also known as columbite-tantalite, and its associated minerals like cassiterite, wolframite, etc. These minerals are used to manufacture capacitors for cellular phones, personal computers, and video game systems, among other things. Miners clear the forest and hack at the earth, living terrible lives of squalor and poverty and violence. Their takes are routinely hijacked by groups of armed men from the various militias and armies that infest the region. In fact, one could make a pretty good case that the recent African World War that killed hundreds of thousands of people and involved the militaries of at least ten nations, was driven in part by the desire to control the flow of these minerals and the giant heaps of profit that can be wrung from them. The mineral supply flowing from the region has become so integral to aspects of our global economy that the release of the Playstation 2 in the 90's was delayed because of a crunch in the tantalum supply.
Another Opportunist Takes advantage of Katrina Anniversary
Posted September 2, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspiration | Comments (0)
While Republicans tried to take advantage of the potential destruction by Hurricane Gustav, and the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, stencil artist Banksy visited New Orleans to paint his own pointed messages. It appeared like the GOP, and the current administration, wanted to seem caring and prepared for Gustav's believed force, with photo-ops and "promises" of support. Thankfully for the Gulf Coast residents the storm caused no severe damage, and the Bush has to live with his poll ratings.
More popular than ever, Banksy commemorated the 3 year anniversary with jabs at military "security" and the "Grey Ghost", with other pieces that celebrated New Orleans culture and Second lines
.
Again using his cleverness and wit to raise some poignant and necessary issues.
Like why, 3 years later, hasn't the necessary infrastructure been created to protect ALL its citizens from another storm?
Photos courtesy of Dingler1109
Thanks to NOLA Rising for raising consciousness of whats goin on!
Overspray #8 out now
Posted September 2, 2008 by k_c_ in Books & Zines | Comments (0)
Overspray number 8 is now available through their store, or in whatever lucky little place you hope to find it! (Many independent bookstores and Barnes & Noble carry it)
Overspray is the world's first and only 100% international street art magazine. Created and run by artists, Overspray and all it's satellites exist to document and further urban culture in all it's facets. Our ultimate goal is to inspire and provide tools to anyone who feels it necessary to create art, and sustain the community through bringing it together.
Solidarity with Mpls Anti-Capitalists
Posted September 1, 2008 by jmacphee in In the News | Comments (0)
Here's a poster I designed for the RNC Anti-Capitalist bloc. Find out more about their activities here.
They Live
Posted September 1, 2008 by molly_fair in Film | Comments (0)
at BAM, Wednesday, Sept. 3
I gotta say that They Live is one of my favorite movies and I'm not gonna miss my chance to see it on the big screen. I mean come on- an entertaining critique of capitalism starring "Rowdy" Roddy Piper of the WWF as our fearless blue collar hero leading the rev- what could be better? Also it has one of the most drawn-out, ridiculous fist fight scenes ever.
Part science fiction thriller and part black comedy, the film echoed contemporary fears of a declining economy, within a culture of greed and conspicuous consumption common among Americans in the 1980s. In They Live, the ruling class within the monied elite are in fact aliens managing human social affairs through the use of subliminal media advertising and the control of economic opportunity.
Art Imitates Life
Posted September 1, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspiration | Comments (0)
Someone finally decided to do a street poster based on American Apparel's Dov Charney. Most folks can identify the intriguing and sexual advertisements of American Apparel, yet probably didn't know that there have been accusations of sexual assault against him(just throw his name into a search engine) You probably get that from the posters, or not.
Over at AnimalNewYork.com there's a slew of posts of the previous posters that are worth checking out.
Anyhow, for you ethical shoppers there's plenty of other "socialist" t-shirt factory experiments, try No-Sweat or follow these simple guidelines
Regarding Design
Posted September 1, 2008 by jmacphee in Justseeds/Member Projects | Comments (0)
There's a nice entry about Chris Stain and Justseeds over at the Regarding Design blog.
Kristine Virsis at Reading Frenzy, Portland, OR
Posted September 1, 2008 by k_c_ in Events | Comments (0)
Justseeds member Kristine VIrsis is having an art show:
Thursday, Sept 4th at
Reading Frenzy
921 SW Oak St
Portland, OR
She'll be in attendance with new work and old work, and prints are cheap as always. From Reading Frenzy's site:
We're pleased to present a talented artist and printmaker all the way from New York City at Reading Frenzy this month! Kristine Virsis is a member of the Justseeds/Visual Resistance Artists' Cooperative, a group of artists and activists involved in socially engaged political printmaking.Kristine's silkscreen prints, which begin their lives as intricate paper cuts and stencils, deal with the personal end of the political spectrum -- creativity, self-sufficiency, strength, play, nostalgia and the freedom that a wheel or two can afford you, as well as depression, isolation and resiliency.
Virsis' handpulled prints are produced in large or unlimited editions, in order to keep them affordable.
Police Repression in Twin Cities !!
Posted August 30, 2008 by dara_g
Several houses and spaces have been raided (including media activists) in the Twin Cities before Monday's scheduled protest against the Republican Convention:
Here is the indymedia wire as events unfold: http://twincities.indymedia.org/
Here is the coldsnap legal collectives up to the minute info: http://coldsnaplegal.wordpress.com/
Here is mainstream news coverage from the Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/politics/27695244.html?page=3&c=y
Art of Democracy San Francisco
Posted August 29, 2008 by jmacphee in Events | Comments (0)
ART OF DEMOCRACY:
WAR & EMPIRE
Meridian Gallery
535 Powell Street
San Francisco, California
September 4 - November 4 2008
reception - Thursday September 4th, 6-9 PM
Meridian Gallery
(415) 398-7229
info@meridiangallery.org
Image: Juan Fuentes. See more images here.
NYC Critical Mass Tonight Friday Aug 29
Posted August 29, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News | Comments (0)
Its the last Friday of the month, which means another Critical Mass for many cities. This months ride is the 4 year anniversary of our historic Republican National Convention (RNC) ride, where many thousands of folks took to the streets. (image by Fly)
The NYC Metro seemed to remember this too.
Arrests set course for protests in city
by Amy Zimmer / metro new york
AUG 29, 2008Friday night’s Critical Mass marks a seminal event in the ride’s history: Four years ago the police arrested more than 250 people during the monthly ride that attracted thousands during the Republic National Convention.
Hundreds of protesters were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. Excluding costs associated with the RNC, the NYPD and courts have spent more than $2.3 million on Critical Mass according to numbers compiled by Times Up!
Regardless of our topical nature, we make it look good!
Posted August 29, 2008 by k_c_
The folks over at Regarding Design say some nice things about Justseeds and member Chris Stain.
The Gift Cycle
Posted August 29, 2008 by molly_fair in Political Art | Comments (0)
Here's a cool project that my friend's friends are working on:
A duo of sweet cycling ladies who have initiated a project called The Gift Cycle, are on the final legs of their cross-country biking mission, bringing art from community to community from Providence, RI to Seattle, WA. Sarah Sandman and Melissa Smalls have been biking since June, where they set out from Providence on recumbent bikes pulling a trailer packed with art lovingly gifted by local artists. The project incorporates ideas from Lewis Hyde’s book The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property into an ethos that both art and nature are gifts, not commodities, and thrive in a “gift economy” that does not seek to exchange them for capital. Right on, Gift Cycle! So, as they move from city to city, they have been exchanging art from the previous city for art from the next, and so on until folks from Providence receive art from Seattle. Check out the lovely slideshow and track their progress on their blog.
They reach their final destination in Seattle on Saturday, August 30 - so check them out if you are in the area!
SEATTLE GIFT-GIVING /// FINAL DESTINATION CELEBRATION
No Space Gallery
507 E Mercer St
Corner of Summit and Mercer on Capitol Hill
7-whenever!
AK Press Launches Revolution by the Book
Posted August 27, 2008 by k_c_
AK Press just launched their blog Revolution by the Book.
The purpose of Revolution by the Book, the AK Press blog, is to inform people about anarchist publishing in general and AK Press in particular.We will post interviews with AK authors, reviews of and excerpts from AK books, and reports on the events at AK. We will also post news about other anarchist publishers and booksellers, translations, interviews with activists behind other projects, and lists of relevant conferences. We will use video and audio whenever possible.
Initially, we will post new material three times per week, although we hope to publish with greater frequency in the near future.
Free Speech and Freedom felt somewhere, apparently not Denver or Minneapolis
Posted August 26, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News | Comments (1)
Minneapolis Police Detain 3 Independent Journalists, confiscating video equipment, computer, phones, notebooks and money among other personal belongings
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (August 26, 2008) – Minneapolis Police officers detained three journalists early this morning, confiscating each of the their personal belongings including cell phones, video cameras, still cameras, a computer, hard drive, clothing, personal objects and money. The journalists are all members of New York City based Glass Bead Collective and are in town to document the events around the Republican National Convention. Police officer York photographed the three journalists and questioned them individually about their travel plans and what they intended to report on. The officers refused to file an official report of the incident or a receipt of the items taken, claiming that they were allowed to conduct the search and seizure under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security due to security risks leading up to the Republican National Convention.The journalists were detained and then released after their belongings were seized. The journalists were clear that they did not consent to being searched at any point during the detainment.
Mention of the arrests is on Democracy Now! and will appear in newspapers in the future!
It appears that dissent will be closely scrutinized and monitored this convention season. While outside the DNC pepperball bullets were fired and 91 folks were arrested.
Its not surprising that there are questions like, "Why are they protesting the Democrats?", being left unanswered. It would be devastating to acknowledge that neither, Republican or Democrat, have "the people's" interest in mind. I am assured of an upsetting election, unless the momentum progressives are building last beyond November 4th.
Good luck to everyone that takes to the streets of Denver and St. Paul.
Today's Extinct Animal- The Lake Atitlan Grebe
Posted August 26, 2008 by roger_peet in Inspiration | Comments (0)
I've decided that this blog thing might be useful for regular, depressing updates on the subject that I think about most, namely, extinction. To start off with, I think I'll try to post regular entries dealing with individual species that have gone extinct in quasi-recent times due, at least in part, to human activity. We'll start with the Lake Atitlan Grebe, also known as the Poc.
Otepemisiwak | The People Without Bosses
Posted August 24, 2008 by dylan_miner in Events | Comments (0)
Otepemisiwak | The People Without Bosses
Prints + Installation by Dylan A.T. Miner
01 September - 30 November
Opening | 05 September | 6:00-8:00 pm
At the Nokomis Center | A Native American Cultural Center
5153 Marsh Road
Okemos, MI 48864-1198
nokomis.org
Erick Lyle & Josh MacPhee at 123 Community Space
Posted August 24, 2008 by jmacphee in Events | Comments (0)
Erick Lyle/Josh MacPhee
Thursday, August 28th
8:30 PM
123 Community Space
123 Tompkins, Brooklyn, NY
Erick and Josh will talk about their new books, tell stories and show pictures for you to look at. Erick recently released On the Lower Frequencies, a remix of the very best of his SCAM zine. Josh put together Reproduce & Revolt, a collection of over 500 public domain political graphics from 100 plus artists from around the big old world.
At least one of them will likely make you laugh, and hell, it's free!
R&R Graphics in Guetemala
Posted August 24, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art | Comments (0)
The political graphics in Reproduce & Revolt are slowly starting to spread out around the world! Above is a poster made by communities in San Marcos that are resisting Montana Exploradora's mining project and communities in San Juan Sacatepequéz that are resisting the building of a cement factory by Cementos Progresos.
Justseeds at Portland Zine Symposium
Posted August 22, 2008 by icky in Books & Zines | Comments (0)
If you are in Portland Oregon this weekend be sure to stop by the Portland Zine Symposium. Icky and Pete from Justseeds will be tabling both Saturday and Sunday.
The 8th Annual Portland Zine Symposium is on August 23rd & 24th, 2008 in Portland, Oregon in the Smith Memorial Ballroom on the Portland State University Campus.
hours are:
- Saturday from 10:00AM until 5:00PM
- Sunday from 10:00AM until 4:00PM
FedUp! Benefit with RMO
Posted August 20, 2008 by mary_tremonte
RMO is coming to Pittsburgh!
The Rude Mechanical Orchestra is a 30-odd-piece New York City radical marching band and dance troupe and will be augmented by Pittsburgh's own Break Away Marching Band.
DJ's Mary Mack and Pandemic Pete will also be spinning some dance tunes.
Sunday August 24th
$5-10 sliding scale
Belvedere's - 4016 Butler St - Lawrenceville
Pittsburgh, Pa
7pm
This event is sponsored by the Human Rights Coaltion - FedUp! Chapter.
All money will go to send people to the Critical Resistance 10 year anniversary conference in Oakland, California. Strategy and Struggle to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex
http://rudemechanicalorchestra.org/
http://www.criticalresistance.org
http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup
http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com/
G.R.L artist and 5 American protesters arrested in China
Posted August 20, 2008 by molly_fair in In the News | Comments (1)
Unless you've been living under a rock- you know about all the detentions, disappearances, and shootings of people in China who have been outspoken about the ongoing struggle for a free Tibet.
Needless to say, I was shocked to hear the news that a friend of ours from Brooklyn was just arrested with 4 others for holding up a banner near the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, on Aug. 19 around 11 p.m. spelling out the message Free Tibet in Chinese and English using blue L.E.D. lights. Fortunately this was followed by info that they are safely on their way home.
This banner was co-created with the help of Graffiti Research Lab member James Powderly who was also arrested and is currently being detained due to his plan to use his invention, "The Green Chinese Lantern,” a 400 milliwatt handheld green laser with micro-stencils to beam a Free Tibet message on a Beijing landmark, possibly Tiananmen Square.
Prior to this planned action, Powderly's invitation to participate in Synthetic Times, a new media art exhibition at Beijing’s National Media Art Museum of China, was revoked, after he expressed indignation that the work must be approved by the Chinese government.
According to G.R.L's press release:
James is proud to have been kicked out of the Synthetic Times new media art exhibition in Beijing because he wouldn’t censor his little art project. James wonders why organizations like the MoMA, Parsons, Eyebeam, Ars Electronica and many other arts and cultural institutions around the world who claim to support free speech and expression would participate in a show like this. But they did! It was after being kicked to the curb by the show’s curator that James connected with Students for a Free Tibet and decided he would go to China anyway and do what he though was right in support of Tibet, Taiwan, free speech and the people of China. James lives, if indeed he is alive, in the County of Kings, Brooklyn, and teaches at the Communication Design and Technology program at Parsons the New School for Design.
The NY Times reported that,
Two video bloggers, Brian Comley, 28, and Jeffrey Rae, 28, were with James when he was detained. On Tuesday night, he sent a text message to a friend saying he had been held since 3 a.m. on Monday. His current whereabouts are unknown.
I hope James is safe and released soon. I also hope that attention continues to be drawn to the violence and repression sanctioned by the Chinese government. The price of protest for Chinese citizens is atrocious. Most recently those who applied to the Chinese government's designated Olympic protest zones were rejected, disappeared and detained, and sentenced to "re-education through labor."
Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea
Posted August 18, 2008 by k_c_ in Justseeds/Member Projects | Comments (2)
Last Friday in Troy, NY the Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea was launched. It is a project of ridiculous proportions, over seven crafts being maneuvered down the Hudson River making occasional stops to do performances, and will be turned into a solo exhibition and installation for Swoon. The efforts of many dozens of people have gone into manifesting the crafts and coordinating the trip. Our pal Todd Chandler is working with a film crew that is shooting scenes on the crafts for a film in the works "Flood". The crafts will also turn into Swoon's solo installation in Long Island City at a Deitch space, which is an ambitious endeavor on its own, being thousands of square feet.
The NY Times has an article and images in their Arts Section called "A Floating City with Junkyard Roots" And you can see a slide show there at Floating Sculptures
Erik Ruin/Katt Hernandez/Roby Newton Perform In Baltimore this Saturday!
Posted August 13, 2008 by erik_ruin in Events | Comments (1)
FLIGHT:the mythic journey of a person displaced
Saturday Aug 16, 8PM @ 2640 (2640 St. Paul St.)
I'm really excited about this event as 2640 is one of my favorite venues on the East Coast! Plus Roby Newton was one of the first people I ever heard of doing puppetshows in the punk rock context and inspired the people who inspired me to start doing this kind of work!
Flight is a brand new 30-minute shadow theater piece from radical graphic artist and Just Seeds collective member Erik Ruin, depicting the picaresque journey of a displaced person attempting to escape/ transcend persecution. This show will feature overhead projectors, scrolling landscapes, intricately cut scenes of shipwrecks, refugee camps & burning houses, and a hair-raisingly beautiful improvised score by violinist Katt Hernandez
Also on the bill for the evening is a special treat: "Interference," a puppet show about a stranger in a strange land, a newcomer to the city who finds the experience of living within its confines overwhelming, in a most peculiar way. robot neutron (aka roby newton) uses hand puppets and shadows to tell this tale of "interference". she lives in baltimore and has been making puppets and puppet shows since before the turn of the century.
Plus special musical guests tba. $5-$10 sliding scale.
Celebrate With Just Foods
Posted August 12, 2008 by molly_fair in Events | Comments (2)
International Food and Film Festival
Saturday, Aug. 16th
2-10pm (films begin at 8pm)
5pm canning workshop
Location: Hattie Carthan Community Garden, Marcy and Lafayette Aves, Brooklyn
Just Foods is an amazing organization in NYC that is working to build a healthy sustainable food system. They work to address the needs of regional, rural family farms, NYC community gardeners, and NYC communities.
Come groove to the sounds of live African percussion and experience the fresh tastes and cultures of Brooklyn. All foods are prepared by the garden members. Learn techniques to preserve your harvest all year long! Use mason jars, a hot water bath and your delicious home grown vegetables to make irresistible foods you can eat in the colder months, or that you can give as tasty and beautiful gifts. When the sun goes down, the films will begin!
Directions: Take the G train to Bedford Nostrand. Walk one block to Marcy. Or take the B38 to Marcy & Lafayette
And while I'm at it, here are some pictures of what's growing in my own garden in Brooklyn.
we built a hoop house for growing plants from seed and starters, and three beds with several varieties of tomatoes, basil, beets, garlic, radishes, mustard greens, kale, broccoli, potatoes, cucumbers, nasturtium, sage, and cilantro, mint, and rodiccio
green zebra heirloom tomato
sungold tomatoes
one of the amazing thing about having a compost bin is seeing what pops up! All my cucumber plants and a whole lot of tomato plants grew out of the bin. I ended up giving away many plants
"On Paper Wings" documentary screening
Posted August 11, 2008 by icky in Film | Comments (0)
My friend and co-worker Ilana Sol will be screening her just-completed documentary, On Paper Wings, in Portland this weekend. Check it out if you're in town.
"In the spring of 1945, a Japanese balloon bomb claimed the lives of the only people killed on the continental U.S. as the result of enemy action during WWII. Forty years later, the decision to fold a thousand paper cranes would unite the Japanese and American civilians who were involved in and affected by this incident."
Her film is accompanied by "Passing Poston," a documentary about a Japanese-American internment camp in Poston, Ariz.
The Hollywood Theatre -
42nd and NE Sandy Blvd.
Portland, OR
August 11th-12th (Monday & Tuesday): 7:00pm
August 16th-17th: 12:15 & 3PM (Matinee Shows)
Destroy Paternalism in "Progressive" Consumerism
Posted August 11, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News | Comments (2)
That's a mouthful. I was looking at the WFMU blog yesterday and came across a post called "You Too Can Help Silence Bono". I really like the internet when it brings me closer to others that think similarly, kinda the opposite I feel from mass communications most of the time.
The post highlights the "Bono Retire From Public Life and We'll Donate a Ton of Money to FIght AIDS" campaign promises to collect pledges for the Global Fund and hold them in escrow until Bono promises to go away.
I have always been disturbed by the "activism" of characters like Bono, and most stars. There is belief that they lend their star power to raise consciousness about the "issue". That can be helpful, yet there is a dangerous line that is always crossed in our star obsessed media, and the real organizers and those affected are completely obscured by celebrity. And Bono is the most flagrant example. The criticisms in Kurt Gottschalk post "How to Dismantle a Pretentious Band or U2 Still Sucks" on the WFMU blog, provided some evidence and humor which articulated my discomfort with this "activism".
What it comes down to, is its so typical & paternalistic, of a "Westerner" and doesn't empower those who are in need with the resources they need to be autonomous from countries in the Global North. The critique in The American puts it bluntly
He has done more for raising Africa's profile and our awareness about debt relief, unequal trade, malaria and HIV/AIDS than perhaps any human being in history. He represents a game we have all played for nearly fifty years whose only winners have been corrupt governments and the international development industry.
The writer goes on to say
Here's a radical idea: if we really want to help, why not ask Africans, not their governments, how they perceive the challenges before them, the dreams they have for the future, and the resources they think they need to realize them?
The running theme, treat those you wanna help how you wish to be treated, and LISTEN! Lessons for all of us as we all get famous!
Jura Books Needs a Poster!
Posted August 9, 2008 by jmacphee in Posters | Comments (0)
Our friends over at Jura Books, one of Australia's longest running anarchist book shops and community centers, are holding a poster contest! On top of being a book store, Jura also holds one of the best political poster collections in Australia, they've been collecting posters about different Aussie political struggles since they opened their doors. In order to promote themselves and raise money and awareness for their poster collection, they are looking for someone to design a new Jura Books poster. The full details are here:
Calling all imaginative and talented artists and activists! Could you or someone you know create a political poster that can stand alongside the great political posters of the past, and is also meaningful and relevant to the future?
Print Exchange
Posted August 8, 2008 by meredith_stern in Artwork Needed | Comments (0)
Participate in an Exchange!!!
Submit 13 identical pieces, each 8”x8” by September 25th and receive a dozen prints back from various artists from around the world! The extra print will be archived with the possibility of future exhibition and/or publication. Please view the attachment for specific details. Please feel free to pass this onto anyone that may be interested or to post online! This Exchange is open to printmakers and stencil/graffiti artists internationally.
Thank you! ;)
JAZ
(From the Manhattan Graphics Center in Jersey City, New Jersey)
http://www.jazgraf.com/grafexchange08.html
Public Ad Campaign
Posted August 8, 2008 by meredith_stern in Street Art / Graffiti | Comments (0)
Public Ad Campaign is now in a blog format. It highlights contemporary public advertising issues and ramblings about public space.
publicadcampaign.com
