April 2007
ASAR-O Street Art Exhibit
Posted April 25, 2007 by in Art & Politics
The opening of Resistencia Visual is this Thursday at ABC No Rio. The exhibit features street art by the collective ASAR-O from the Popular Movement in Oaxaca, Mexico.
This exhibit is made up of woodblock prints and stencils made by
ASAR-O (Oaxacan Assembly of Revolutionary Artists), a collective
involved in the popular movement APPO in Oaxaca, Mexico. ASAR-O
formed in October of 2006, respinding to the call of the APPO
(Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca) a diverse movement of
civil society in Southern Mexico. With the goal that "all sectors
will organize themselves to resist and unite in the struggle
against the tyranny of a government that represents the interests
of the wealthy..."
Come out to see an exciting glimpse of the work that has been
produced for "mega-marches" and painting on the walls of Oaxaca
City. Its an inspiring body of work that makes the demands of the
movement visually.
For some background info read k. see's previous post about ASARO and Oaxaca.
The exhibit will run April 26th-May 24th
Sundays 1-3pm
Wednesday & Thursdays 5-7pm
Thursday May 3rd 7pm
Proyecto Autogestion will screen “el machete: la lucha por el poder popular”
a documnentary filmed and edited by indigenous people of
CODEP(Committee Organized in Defense of the People’s Rights) in
Oaxaca.
http://elenemigocomun.net/878
Thursday May 10th 7pm
Discussion with James Wechsler on Mexican Art and Politics of
1920's & 30's. Possibility of other speakers. James is an
independant scholar based in NYC who worked with the Philadelphia
Museum of Art on the exhibit Mexico & Modern Printmaking.
http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/special/103.html
The exhibit can be seen in the near future at The Phoenix Art
Museum, Phoenix, Arizona. From June 29–September 16, 2007
For more info about ASAR-O and their work check out
http://web.mac.com/dfteitel/iWeb/ASAR-O/Home%20-%20Inicio.html
This exhibit has been brought to you by:
Visual Resistance
www.visualresistance.org
CASA
http://www.chiapaspeacehouse.org/
Exhibition Funded in part by the NYS Council on the Arts
and Dedalus Foundation
The Insurection Internationale Is In Full Swing
Posted April 23, 2007 by in Art & Politics
Version Fest Hits Chicago Once Again...
:: VERSION>07 THE INSURECTION INTERNATIONALE ::An unconventional network of creators, workers, musicians, organizations, artists, activists, producers and organizers are collectively waging asymmetrical warfare on the established systems of control in our cultural, political and art worlds.
The Insurrection Intenationale is a moment. It is a point of confluence between various networks and subcultures that believe in the solidarity of our multitudes. Together we are waging a revolt against established systems and authority to create new worlds to inhabit. We are creating alternate realities, independent economies, developing alliances and infrastructures to support our beliefs. We are engaging in a culture war against the establishments in all their guises.
This year Version will explore the various networks undermining the forces of stagnation, decay and business as usual. Individuals and groups involved in creating alternative modes of operations, communications and networks of cooperation are gathering at our annual convergence this spring to discover the plausible worlds we can create together.
We hope you can join us in enjoying the confluence of now and planning the community of future.
“ This is the final struggle/Let us join together and tomorrow/ The International/Will be the human race”
Check out the Flickr page of opening night photos...
Tuesday: Activist Culture & The State of Radical Art
Posted April 23, 2007 by in Events
The Center for the Humanities
CUNY Graduate Center presents:
Activist Culture and the State of Radical Art
What is the role of radical art and cultural resistance in a city full of expensive galleries and sleepy politics?
A panel discussion with:
--- Stephen Duncombe, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Gallatin School, NYU, and author of Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy
--- Hugo Martinez, gallerist and founder of the ‘United Graffiti Artists’
--- Nato Thompson, Curator/Producer at Creative Time
--- SKUF, graffiti writer and filmmaker
--- Nicole Schulman, New York based artists and editor of World War III Illustrated and Wobblies: a Graphic History
Tuesday, April 24, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Martin E. Segal Theater
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue (btwn 34th & 35th)
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
No Registration. Please arrive early for a seat. 212-817-2005 / ch@gc.cuny.edu
Paradise Remixed
Posted April 21, 2007 by in Art & Politics
Paradise Remixed- a neighborhood wide art event opened this weekend in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee. Ten different arts spaces and local businesses in the neighborhood are showing work and participating in the event. Collectively there are over 50 artists participating using a wide range of media and approaches- from installation and video, to book arts, painting and drawing, and recycled or detourned work.
As stated by the organizers:
"Paradise Remixed" asks local artists and curators to reinterpret popular visions of paradise. Visions of paradise have always found bizarre & beautiful representations in our everyday pop culture objects and experiences. Reworking mass-produced objects, recycled materials, & popular conceptions, artists will present us with everything from sanguine utopias to portentous dystopias. "Paradise Remixed" weaves together a diversity of artists, curators, and art spaces in the Riverwest neighborhood, which, on some bright days can feel like our own little earthly paradise.
The idea for the show came from Mark Lawson, gallery director at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. When a tenant left him 20 pieces of mass-produced art, Lawson didn't have the heart to throw them away. "I thought the show would be a good use for them," he said.Adding the neighborhood to the mix was born out of a conversation with Polina Malikin. "We have some of the most cutting-edge art in the whole city . . . but we never do anything together. . . . our main goal was that everyone acquainted with each other would get to work together."
Participating spaces include:
Cream City Collectives, Neighbors Gallery, Hot Cakes Gallery, Green Gallery, Riverwest Film & Video, Feed Shop, Vision Eye Center, Woodland Pattern, Art Bar, and the Riverwest Food Co-op
Participating Artists include:
Archaeology of the recent Future Association, Sam Augustine, Brandon Bauer, Anne Bisone, Jeff Bogartte, Noah Brehmer, Jessie Brown, Ray Chi, Santiago Cucullu, Mary DiBiasio, Matt Fink, John Gatti, Peggy Haubert, Steve Hough, Oluwabukola Harrison Idowu, Juliet Jaeger, Darryl Jensen, Jeremiah Ketner, Paul Kjelland, Laura Klein, Caroline Knueppel, Sue Kriofsky, Nicolas Lampert, Mark Lawson, Xav Leplae, Kathryn Martin, Chris Miller, Darota Biczel Nelson, Keith Nelson, Josie Osborne, Annuska Peck, Melissa Dorn Richards, Michael Roberts, Naomi Shersty, Jeana Sohn, The Sparkle Dancers, and Merle Wind
"Business Day" by Brandon Bauer
Big week of anarchist book events
Posted April 13, 2007 by in Events
New York City Anarchist Bookfair
Saturday April 14th, 11am-7PM
Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, Manhattan
The 1st Annual, 1st Ever NYC Anarchist Book Fair, will host a one-day exposition of books, zines, pamphlets, art, film/video, and other cultural and very political productions of the anarchist scene worldwide, on Sat., Apr. 14, 2007 at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan. The 1st Annual, 1st Ever NYC Anarchist Book Fair will feature over 40 tables as well as an art gallery. Panels, presentations, workshops, and skill shares will provide further opportunities to learn more and share your own experience and creativity.
Realizing the Impossible Book Release
My new book finally came out! Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority was just released on AK Press and my co-editor Erik Reuland and I are celebrating at Bluestockings Books. The book is a huge sprawling collection of 23 essays on the intersection of art and anarchism and has something for anyone even the slightest bit interested in art and politics.
Book Release Party/Event
Sunday April 15th, 7PM
172 Allen St. (just below Houston)
Erik and I will be using the book as a jump off point to discuss the role of art and culture in radical social movements, and a number of contributors will talk about their work. Should be really fun and a nice collection of voices and images. Come check it out, hang out, and celebrate with us!!!
Monday April 16th -- Art and Anarchism Roundtable Discussion
Roundtable Discussion on Anarchist Aesthetics
16 Beaver Street, 4th Floor, Manhattan
7:30pm -- Free and open to all
Roundtable Discussion with Contributors to Realizing the Impossible.
Erika Biddle, Dara Greenwald, Josh MacPhee, Cindy Milstein
We would like to start the Roundtable promptly at 7:30, so please come early if possible, and bring your questions.
This event will be a dovetail to the 1st Annual New York Anarchist Bookfair. We are really hoping that this event together people that maybe haven’t been in dialogue yet but should be. And so, this is not a panel discussion in anyway, but an open forum.
Presenter Bios:
Josh MacPhee is an artist, curator and activist currently living in Troy, NY, usa. His work often revolves around themes of radical politics, privatization and public space. His second book Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority (AK Press, co-edited with Erik Reuland) was just published. He also organizes the Celebrate People's History Poster Series and is part of the political art collective www.justseeds.org.
Cindy Milstein is co-organizer of the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference and a board member with the Institute for Anarchist Studies. [ www.anarchiststudies.org] She's also a member of the Free Society Collective and Black Sheep Books Collective in Vermont. Her written work appears in periodicals and several recent anthologies, including Globalize Liberation (City Lights), Confronting Capitalism (Soft Skull), and Only a Beginning (Arsenal Pulp).
Erika Biddle is a founding member of the collective Artists in Dialogue. She can often be found tweaking text for Autonomedia and for Perspectives, the biannual journal of the Institute for Anarchist Studies. She is also on the board of the IAS. One of these days she's going to lose her mind, remember how to write, and become a full-time poet.
Dara Greenwald has participated in collaborative and collective cultural production and activism for many years. Participation includes the Pink Bloque, Ladyfest Midwest Chicago, Version>03, Pilot TV Chicago, and other groupings that resist being named. She worked as the distribution manager at the Video Data Bank from 1998-2005, where she distributed independent media and experimental video art and worked on the preservation of the Videofreex collection. She also writes, curates, and makes art. Her videos have screened widely, including at Images Festival(Toronto), New York Underground, Yerba Buena Center (SF), and Ocularis(NY). She is currently studying Electronic Arts at RPI in Troy, NY.
Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007
Posted April 12, 2007 by in Art & Politics
From Slaughterhouse Five:
"It was a movie about American bombers in the Second World War and the gallant men who flew them. Seen backwards by Billy, the story went like this:
American planes, full of holes and wounded men and corpses took off backwards from an airfield in England. Over France, a few German fighter planes flew at them backwards, sucked bullets and shell fragments from some of the planes and crewmen. They did the same for wrecked American bombers on the ground, and those planes flew up backwards to join the formation.
The formation flew backwards over a German city that was in flames. The bombers opened their bomb bay doors, exerted a miraculous magnetism which shrunk the fires, gathered them into cylindrical steel containers, and lifted the containers into the belly of the planes. The containers were stored neatly in racks. The Germans below had miraculous devices of their own, which were long steel tubes. They used them to suck more fragments from the crewmen and planes....
When the bombers got back to their base, the steel cylinders were taken from the racks and shipped back to the United States of America, where factories were operating night and day, dismantling the cylinders, separating the dangerous contents into minerals. Touchingly, it was mainly women who did this work. The minerals were then shipped to specialists in remote areas. It was their business to put them into the ground, to hide them cleverly, so they would never hurt anybody ever again."
It's never too early to start making plans...
Posted April 11, 2007 by in Art & Politics
The 2008 RNC Welcoming Committee has put out a call inviting anarchists, anti-authoritarians, radical artists, and activists from all over the country to converge on the Twin Cites this fall- August 31st through September 3rd. This Pre-RNC convergence will give activists a chance to get to know the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and give them the opportunity to begin some serious planning to confront the RNC in 2008.
Questions to be asked and answered include:
What do you want to see happen in 2008?
How do you think we can get there?
What resources do you have to contribute?
What will you need?
The Pre-RNC weekend will kick off with Critical Mass on Friday August 31st, and continues for the next three days with tours, workshops, skillshares, games, strategizing sessions and L(A)bor Day activities. There'll be a lot to do- everything from brunch to street medic training to capture the flag- the activities are intend to be as diverse and accessible as possible.
The organizing committee has also made a specific call for volunteers: they are looking for people to run skillshares and workshops of all sorts- if you have skills, knowledge or experience that you want to impart, you are encouraged to let them know.
RNC Welcoming Committee Website: http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/
To receive updates from the Welcoming Committee email: rnc08-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Or you can become a myspace friend: http://www.myspace.com/rnc2008welcomingcommittee
Questions? Email us: pReNC@riseup.net
Benefits for Oaxacan Street Art Collective
Posted April 7, 2007 by in Events
On June 14th of 2006, the governor of Oaxaca, a state in southern Mexico, ordered the removal of striking teachers from the city plaza. The authorities, which ranged from Federal police, Municipal forces to firefighters, were unsuccessful in removing the teachers despite battling them with tear gas and live ammunition. The teachers, with the support of the surrounding community, erected barricades to prevent the police from regaining control of downtown Oaxaca City. Three days later the APPO (Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca) was convened which called upon people in Oaxaca to organize themselves into popular assemblies. People organized by street blocks, neighborhoods and municipalities to work cooperatively and govern themselves while demanding the resignation of the Ruiz administration.
Growing from this momentum a group of artists began to utilize their skills to communicate the demands of the APPO. The collective, now known as ASARO, created stencils, woodblock prints, and posters that began to appear on walls all over Oaxaca. Following the traditions of Mexican popular art and printmaking, ASARO offers the movement new images that communicate some of the values and demands being made in Oaxaca.
The Visual Resistance Collective, CASA, and Carlito's Cafe are proud to present the artwork of ASARO in NYC this Wednesday, April 11th.
¡Resistencia Visual!
Images from the people's struggle in Oaxaca
Prints and stencils from ASARO (Oaxacan Assembly of Revolutionary Artists)
Live musical performances by DooWop Moderno, and videos from the Mal de Ojo TV media collective
Wednesday, April 11
7-10pm
@ Carlito's Café y Galería
1701 Lexington Ave (bet 106 & 107 st)
New York, NY
$5 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds
All proceeds will be used to further the work of the collective.
ASARO is a collective of artists from Oaxaca who are dedicated to creating accessible art to communicate the vision and demands of the popular movement. For more information visit ASARO
¡Resistencia Visual!
Imagenes de la lucha popular en Oaxaca
grabados y stenciles de ASARO (Asamblea de Artistas Revolucionarios de Oaxaca)
Música en vivo (DooWop Moderno) y videos del colectivo Mal de Ojo TV
Miércoles, 11 de Abril
7-11pm
Carlito's Café y Galería
1701 Lexington Ave (entre 106 y 107 st)
New York, NY
7-11pm
donación: $5, nadie será negado la entrada por falta de fondos
ASARO es un colectivo de artistas oaxaqueños que se dedican a producir arte popular para expresar la visión y las demandas del movimiento popular en Oaxaca. para mayor información sobre
ASARO: http://web.mac.com/dfteitel/iWeb/ASAR-O
organizado por CASA, Carlito's Cafe y Visual Resistance
There will also be a three week exhibit of ASARO's work at ABC No Rio running April 26th-May 17th, with concurrent events. Check here for updates!
Graphic Work: Imaging Today's Labor Movement
Posted April 2, 2007 by in Events
Graphic Work: Imaging Today’s Labor Movement
April 5 to April 30
Opening Reception
Thursday, April 12
6pm to 9pm
Gallery 1199
Open M-F: 9-5
310 W 43rd Street New York, NY 10036
For more information contact Zoeann Murphy: zoeann@wdiny.org
The US labor movement has created some of the most effective political graphics and images in history. However, work and workers, along with the labor movement are often depicted as experiences of the American past: photographs of children in factories in the early 1900s, paintings of historic strikes and Rosie the Riveter. Now the labor movement needs new images of the issues confronting workers today. Graphic Work, curated by Josh MacPhee and Zoeann Murphy is a collection of 40 posters aimed at representing the new fact of labor.
Graphic Work is a project of the Workforce Development Institute, the Bread & Roses Cultural Project of 1199SEIU, and JustSeeds.org
