April 2008
to whet the whistle
Posted April 30, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
Another taste of Threat of Chance-opening at Ad-Hoc Art Friday
You can look over at Ad-Hoc for art by Chris Stain, Josh Macphee, Billy Mode, or the Polaroid Kidd.
Photos above taken by Kevin Caplicki.
And when you come, you'll understand
Posted April 29, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
The Threat Of Chance at Ad-Hoc Art
Photos by Kevin Caplicki
Trip to Bethlehem-Swoon
Posted April 29, 2008 by swoon in Art & Politics
Last winter I was able to travel to Palestine with the Santa's Ghetto project, put together by Banksy and the folks at P.O.W. The project consisted of a show, on Manger Square, the proceeds of which were directed to support programs for kids living in the collapsing economy of the newly walled off Palestinian territories. As well many site specific installations in the town of Bethlehem and on the surrounding wall.
I was deeply impressed by the outpouring of sentiment on the Palestinian side of the wall. Voices from all over the world denounced, cursed, expressed solidarity and support, and simply bore witness to a people living up against the wall and everything it
represents.
I had precious little time within which to get to know people and try and comprehend the situation, so I will leave it to the photos to explain.
Kids in Bethlehem
Painting on the wall, by artist Blue
Mixing the paste
Getting started. It was so scary and windy up there.
Each of the squares is a pocket stuffed with quotes from Arhundati Roy, Assata Shakur, Martin Luther King, and many others with many brilliant thoughts to share
Getting a little help. I later learned that the fires that have blackened this guard tower that I paste on where set to mark the spot where a teenager from the neighboring Aida refugee camp was captured and given a seven year prison sentence for climbing a ladder and placing a Palestinian flag at the top of the wall
Sunset
Building something outta nuthin'
Posted April 28, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspirations
Like I said in the earlier post, we've been busy building over at Ad-Hoc Art the last few days. Things are coming together and all the scavenged materials are beginning to take form as structures as opposed to piles on the floor. I'm really excited with a bunch of the images taken so far, yet am only going to give you this taste for the next few hours while I whip up another batch. Check in a little later for more!
Photos taken by Kevin Caplicki
The Threat of Chance
Posted April 27, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
Justseeds members Josh Macphee and Chris Stain are having a show that opens this coming Friday. Its a collaboration with Billy Mode, and pictures by Mike Brodie. We've been building since last Wednesday and hope to have a kick ass installation for you to poke your fingers on, so get your tetanus shot before you enter.
The threat of chance art exposition is based on the temptation of possibility. The possibility of change in the face of stagnation, the possibility of hope in desperate times, the possibility of alternative thought and lifestyle in the doldrums of complacency.For this installation a railroad shanty town has been recreated to further emphasis the struggle between hope and despair. Amidst a gallery filled of shacks made with found material and walls decorated with freight trains and decaying industry you will find photographs by boxcar culture enthusiast the Polaroid Kidd. Proletarian signs, flags, prints, and banners from author/activist Josh Macphee. Interactive sculptures, drawings, paintings and stencils, from graffiti artist Billy Mode, and the sociological display of hand cut stencils by Chris Stain. The Threat of Chance art exposition is pure socialist propaganda , (at least that's how the mainstream will see it) , so stop by opening night and they'll tear you a new asshole.
-pollock johnny
Opening Reception:
Friday, May 2nd, 7pm - 10pm
Ad-Hoc Art
49 Bogart Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn
Afterparty from 10pm until 4am at the Wreck Room Bar
940 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn, NY
On view from May 2-June 1, 2008
Collaboration at Mass MoCA
Posted April 27, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspirations
I recently spent three weeks collaborating with 15 other people from the Miss Rockaway Armada on a "mezzanine" hallway at Mass MoCA. The project was really fun, and I'm proud of the product. The Armada was given a space that is used by student groups, visiting the museum, to eat meals. So instead of creating an installation that documented the journey down the Mississippi RIver, or designing a cafe,
On April 1, 2008 members of the Armada gathered in North Adams to build again for three weeks. The group worked together to sculpt this space, each member contributed individual projects to the overall design. It is a place where you, our visitors, can gather, play, eat, look, touch, and explore
Working with such a large group of people, formulating everything from the theme, to aesthetics, to functions, to well, everything, was, at times, a little bit frustrating. It was also the impossible ideas and dreaming that brought us in to the space to begin with. So the "off the top of the head" ideas were considered, and eventually incorporated into the installation, caves, tunnels, space ships... It was that kind of imagination with the skills of everyone involved that helped manifest our installation.
Walking thru the space you'll find two platforms that provide seating and eating space for around 25 people, our only "restrictions". We scrapped, scavenged and pilfered, 98% of the materials used for the installation from surrounding towns, yards, and MassMoCA's compound of buildings, where old installations are stored. Tables were made from Bavarian milled lumber floated over the Atlantic for other artists structures, and stools made from hacked up bike frames or desks. We were given such a small budget to work with and used our resourcefulness and heads to come up with something that we hope you get the opportunity to experience in real life. There are so many things to interact with, beyond brown bagging it, a marionette puppet, secret rooms, a "space ship" to listen to Rockaway Radio(clock radio's playing a radio stream transmitted in the space), a "story mill" to type out your wishes on an old Royal typewriter(strange thought, it will be the first time some children will see a typewriter), and walls full of "advent" calender-esque shrines, doors, windows, and diorama's to open, close, look thru, and be inspired by.
Following is a video walk-thru shot by SuckaPants Tod's camera and see the "thing" we made!
Photos taken by Tod Seelie Check out a whole Gallery of images of the installation at Everyday I Live
Check out-Antlered Girl or BlueCinema for more flicks
RALLY AGAINST THE VERDICT IN SEAN BELL CASE
Posted April 25, 2008 by molly_fair in Events
TODAY, FRIDAY, APRIL 25th at 5:30 pm
All three cops who murdered Sean Bell were found NOT GUILTY this morning by Judge Arthur Cooperman. Join us in protesting this outrageous verdict! Demand justice for Sean Bell and an end to police violence now! People's Justice for Community Control and Police Accountability is calling for a rally and community speak-out in front of the Queens DA's office TODAY.
Rally will include performers & speakers who have been directly affected by police brutality.
In Nov. 2006, Sean Bell was murdered by the NYPD in a hail of 50 bullets. His friends - Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman - were seriously injured. After a two-month-long trial of his killer, three detectives, the judge has announced his verdict of NOT GUILTY on all charges. The NYPD's murder of Bell and attempted murders of Benefield and Guzman are NOT isolated or random events. They represent the continued targeting of communities of color by the police and the lack of accountability for police misconduct and abuse.
Why People Riot
Posted April 23, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in In the News
Quiz. A major riot took place in Montreal on Monday night where store windows were smashed and close to a dozen police cars were set on fire. Can you guess why?
A. The city rises up against capitalism.
B. Anger over police brutality turns into a full-scale riot.
C. Axl Rose.
D. Justseeds cannot fulfill all of its orders on time. The public freaks.
E. The Montreal Canadians defeat the Boston Bruins in game seven of the playoffs. Rabid sports fans loot downtown.
For the answer, check out this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSQ5uw2UVbY&feature=related
NYC Memorial Ride: Wednesday, April 23
Posted April 22, 2008 by molly_fair in Events
Alvaro Olson and Jian-Lan Zhang were both tragically killed by trucks on April 16, 2008.
Come out to a memorial ride in honor of them tomorrow, Wednesday, April 23
Wednesday, April 23.
7 pm, meet at Union Square South
7:30 pm, ride to Alvaro Olson's memorial, 36th st. and Broadway
8:00 pm, ride arrives
8:20 pm, ride to at Jian-Lan Zhang's memorial, Allen and Hester
8:50 pm, ride arrives
all times are approximate
check ghostbikes.org for more updates
I was over at Flickr
Posted April 22, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspirations
I was checking out our Flickr account today and decided to look at some of my favorite flog's. My pal Anomolous takes incredible portraits, and is a voracious critic of US foreign policy. While looking over his, I came across a thread he began with a photo of Obama, and a piece by Paul Street, written right after Obama's "Race" Speech in Philadelphia.
I hope it reminds people about what it takes to be a presidential nominee, and stimulates the critical faculties in that organ inside their head, so we can get back to discussing how "we" really change power and our relationship to it.
Meet the Resistance: a speaking tour of affected indigenous communities
Posted April 22, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
This April and May, hear voices of communities directly affected by the operations of Barrick Gold. "Meet the Resistance" brings together community voices from Australia, Papua New Guinea, the U.S., and Chile to share their experiences in going up against the world's largest gold miner.
New York Events:
Thursday, April 24, 7:30pm
"Indigenous Resistance to Gold Mining"-Guests, Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone (Nevada, USA), Neville 'Chappy' Williams, Wiradjuri (Australia), Jethro Tulin, Executive Officer Akali Tange Association Ipili (Papua New Guinea) will make presentations, show short films and answer questions about gold mining on their lands.
American Indian Community Center
11 Broadway, 2nd Fl, NYC
Sunday, April 27, 7pm
Indigenous Voices-Films and Speakers-Neville 'Chappy' Williams, Wiradjuri (Australia) Jethro Tulin, Executive Officer Akali Tange Association, Ipili (Papua New Guinea)
Bluestocking's BookStore
172 Allen Street, NYCWednesday, April 30, 7pm
Meet the Resistance: Indigenous struggles from Australia and Papua New Guinea
ABC No Rio
156 Rivington St, NYC
for more info, go to Protest Barrick.
Art & Design Needed-Coalition to Abolish the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
Posted April 22, 2008 by k_c_ in Calls for Art
I received a request from a friend over at the Center for Constitutional Rights(CCR) to ask artists and designers if they are interested in designing a logo for the Coalition to Abolish the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA)
It is my hope that we can find an artist to create a logo and/or other images to be incorporated into a poster, website and other educational and organizing materials. Its important to create an imagine that represents the Green Scare and feels inclusive to people outside of the animal and environmental rights movements because this is not just about animals and trees, it is about the criminalization of dissent in the name of corporate profits. It is also about creating a culture of fear by calling everyone and everything a terrorist.
Read below for more about the AETA, and for contact information.
Gangs of the South Bronx Documentary Double Feature
Posted April 21, 2008 by molly_fair in Events
If you are in NYC you should come out these rare screenings of the 70's documentaries Ain't Gonna Eat My Mind (dir. Tony Batten, 1972) and 80 Blocks from Tiffany's (dir. Gary Weiss, 1979) depicting the Ghetto Brothers and Savage Skulls- legendary gangs that originated in the South Bronx.
The Ghetto Brothers were founded around 1967 by Benjamin "Yellow Benjy" Melendez and his brothers. They were infamous for transforming from a gang into a an organization that lead community service initiatives and helped organize the pivotal 1971 Bronx truce among all other prominent gangs following the murder of their peacekeeper Black Benjie. The Savage Skulls were one of the most notorious gangs at the time, and headed by Filipe "Blackie" Mercado. Despite their scorn for revolutionary politics, they once fought alongside neighbors and members of the Young Lords in an epic street battle against the Fort Apache cops in retaliation for beating a Savage Skull member.
Friday, April 25th, 7:30pm: Special Guest Benjy Melendez, founder of the Ghetto Brothers presents Ain't Gonna East My Mind & 80 Blocks from Tiffany'sSaturday, April 26th:
The 51st State, 7pm
Original TV program featuring Ain't Gonna East My Mind and studio debate with Benjy Melendez and filmmaker Tony Batten
80 Blocks from Tiffany's, 8:30pmSunday, April 27th, 7:30:
Special Guest Filipe "Blackie" Mercado, former president of the Savage Skulls presents 80 Blocks from Tiffany's & Benjy Melendez presents Ain't Gonna Eat My Mind
Maysles Cinema
343 Lenox Ave./Malcolm X Blvd.
Between 127th and 128th Streets
$7 Suggested Admission (Limited Seating Available)
Box office opens 1 hour before showtime
Groundswell Mural Tours, Summer Jobs, and Angela Davis!
Posted April 19, 2008 by molly_fair in Events
TODAY, Saturday, April 19th, Groundswell Community Mural Project is giving guided bus tours to see a selection of their murals celebrating immigrant communities in Brooklyn. Tours are offered from 11am-1:30pm and 2pm-4:30pm. Open to all ages, suggested donation $10.
Tours begin at their studio, contact ryan@groundswellmural.org to RSVP.
Wed. April 23, Groundswell Executive Director Amy Sananman will particpate in a panel moderated by Angela Davis "Urban Artists and the Politics of Visibility: A Conversation with Angela Davis". Panelists include Dread Scott, Alan Ket, and Hank Willis Thomas and will explore making the invisible, visible. Pratt Institute, Main Campus, Memorial Hall 12:30-2:30pm. FREE. No ticket necessary.
If you know a NY teen that wants a summer job making radical socially consicous murals, tell them about Groundswell's Summer Leadership Institute.
Job Details:
For teens 14 and 21 years old
Monday-Thursday 9am-4pm
$7.15 hourly pay for 175 hours
Begins Tuesday, July 1st
call Ryan at 718-254-9782 or contact summerjobs@groundswellmural.org to set up a time to visit the studio and fill out the SYEP application. Applications must be submitted by May 18th
Being Here Is Better Than Wishing We'd Stayed
Posted April 17, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
Hey folks! Since finishing the last collaboration piece at ABC No Rio, I've been up at the Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA working on another one. Its been a really intense experience. Collective process, group & individual dynamics, and just plain old opinion and not liking someone's idea or aesthetic has given me a lot to think about.
North Adams has given me the break that I've been needing, from NYC. I have no cellphone service, its quiet here, and I'm surrounded by the Berkshire Mountains. And I have something to focus on, the installation.
The Miss Rockaway Armada (for Aquatic Glee) was invited to MassMoCA to design an installation related to the journey that lasted over two summers. The small number of crew members that gathered for this opportunity decided that would be a bad idea. Instead we have brought the intentions, ingenuity, and impractical ideas of the project to New England. There have been some outrageous ideas, some scrapped, others manifested with the instruction of those with experience. All very much like the building of the initial rafts in 2006.
We've gotten thru three weeks of process and are coming down to the wire. Our installation "Being Here is Better Than Wishing We'd Stayed" will have its opening Friday April 18th! And remain up for almost a year.
99 percent of the lumber and materials used was scavenged, scrapped, or found at MassMoCA or discarded in the surrounding area. Hardware is another issue, that's where our small budget went. I find it disconcerting, yet unsurprising, when I hear about the new trend that funding and philanthropy are going towards, "green" art projects. I'd like to hear about discussions or writings on the art markets response to the current interest in Capitalism's newest trend.
I'm highly critical of any industry that uses the same infrastructure and inefficiency to produce a product that "appears" to have a conscious or address ecological issues. What are the means being used to express the message, and where does the funding come from?
Seeing Green art show project: 28 Years of People Power mural
Posted April 17, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Street Art & Graffiti
For the Seeing Green show, Susan Simensky Bietila (who co-organized Drawing Resistance and frequently contributes to World War III Illustrated) created the mural "28 Years of People Power" dedicated to the 28-year grassroots campaign and Native and non-Native alliance that defeated the proposed Crandon mine on Wisconsin’s Wolf River. This alliance won an historic victory against one the most powerful mining corporations in the world. This victory is celebrated world wide and the mural is meant to continue to draw attention to this vital history and the need to stay active in ensuring that the river stays protected. The mural will be displayed at Woodland Pattern and then will travel.
For more information on the show, See: http://seeinggreenartshow.wordpress.com/
Brasil Graffiti
Posted April 16, 2008 by jmacphee in Street Art & Graffiti
My friend Heather Rogers went on a trip to Brasil a little while back doing research for her new book, and just sent over these great photos of graffiti down there. Check it out!
Second Annual Mayday Political Print & Poster Art Show
Posted April 15, 2008 by jmacphee in Calls for Art
Calling All Artists!
My friends in Troy are putting on a political print and poster show for Mayday, and you should send in your art! Check it out below:
Second Annual Mayday Political Print & Poster Art Show
A Benefit to Save the Sanctuary for Independent Media
Kismet Gallery, 71 Fourth Street, Troy, NY 12180
This year’s political poster art show is brought to you by the letter F…for freedom: the freedom to display controversial radical art and not be censored by small minded school administrators and petty politicians. Sadly, not everyone here in Troy seems to agree with that idea. This certainly became apparent to us at Kismet after Iraqi born digital artist Waffa Bilal’s video game, Virtual Jihadi, was censored at two art venues in the city. In the video, the artist casts himself as a suicide-bomber who, after learning of the real-life death of his brother in the war, is recruited by Al Qaeda to join the hunt for Bush. The exhibit was originally scheduled to be seen in a gallery at the RPI Arts Department, but administration officials caved into right-wing pressure to shut the exhibit down. The exhibit was then rescheduled to be shown at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy. A protest against both the exhibit’s opening and the Sanctuary was organized by the city’s Republican head of the department of public works (who oversees code enforcement). The day after the protested opening, city code officials contacted the Sanctuary to let them know that they were shutting down the Sanctuary for “ongoing code issues”, necessitating closing of the space and its exhibit.
In response to this urgent issue, Kismet Gallery is sponsoring its second annual Mayday Political Print and Poster Art Show. The event will feature some of the finest radical and socially conscious work from artists all around the country. Not only with this kick the corporate ass, but it will also be priced with working people in mind. This year, in light of recent events and in the sprit of Mayday and solidarity with our brothers and sisters at the Sanctuary, we would like to extend a red hand of support and mutual aid by making this year’s event a benefit to reopen the Sanctuary.
Flight — Northeast Shadow Tour
Posted April 14, 2008 by erik_ruin in Events
FLIGHT:the mythic journey of a persons displaced - a brand new shadow theater show with imagery by Erik Ruin, a live score by violinist Katt Hernandez, and the capable puppeteering assistance of Megan Gibes, may very well be coming to a venue near you!(if you
live in the Northeast U.S., that is)...
About the show:
FLIGHT is the picaresque journey of a displaced person attempting to escape/transcend persecution. Erik Ruin's signature papercut style is animated with scrolling vistas of shipwrecks, refugee camps and burning houses and many fine shadow puppet tricks set to a hair-raisingly beautiful violin score by virtuoso/improviser Katt Hernandez. Erik's prints and Katt's music will be available for sale at their shows.
About the performers:
ERIK RUIN is a Michigan-raised, Philly-based printmaker, shadow-puppeteer, and co-editor of the anthology Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority (with Josh MacPhee, AK Press, 2007). Ongoing theatrical work includes the epic musical shadow theater extravaganza The Nothing Factory, and various improvisational groupings of overhead projectors and musical instruments. Check out some of his print work here.
KATT HERNANDEZ has collaborated with a magnificently variated sea of musicians, dancers, and others, and performed in a vast slew of of subway passages, urban grottos, and troglyditical performace places, as well as other experimental and life-making spaces throughout the East Coast Metropolii.
MEGAN GIBES is both puppeteer and musican. She's manipulated objects with Ben Matchstick and RPM Puppet Conspiracy around the U.S. and Thailand, and played bass, trombone and drums (all at the same time) in International Anthems for Irrational Numbers and most recently with Uke of Spaces Corners.
THE DATES-
4/16- PROVIDENCE,RI- with Joshua Marcus/"NO MORE TIME TO LISTEN INSIDE" compositions and contraptions by
lyndon cordey lopez.,performed by THE WHAT DREAR?
SEXTET/puppet short from Beth Nixon- at Building 16 (call Dan- 401.787.3236- for directions)- potluck dinner! beginning at 8.
4/17- LOWELL, MA- with Amalgam trio (Video Artist and Modular Synth player Walter Wright, Dancer Joe Burgio, and Katt Hernandez on violin)- at Gallery 119- 119 Chelmsford Street- 8 pm
4/18- PORTLAND, ME- w/ Joshua Marcus/ Brown Bird/ The Gargoylez. MEG PERRY CENTER - 8 pm
4/19- BIDDEFORD, ME- w/ Joshua Marcus/ Brown Bird/ The Gargoylez. The Franklin Arts Center
- 8 pm
4/20- BELFAST, ME- w/ Joshua Marcus/ Brown Bird/ The Gargoylez(w/ Special Guest Dave Noyes & Vinz Nez & Brian Arlet)/ Uke of Spaces Corners -WATERFALL ARTS- 256 High Street Belfast Me 04915 - 7 pm
4/22- MONTPELIER, VT- Langdon Street Cafe- 4 Langdon Street Montpelier, VT 05602 - 7 pm
4/23- BRATTLEBORO, VT- more acts TBA- the Tinderbox-17 Elliot St. - 7ish pm
4/24- AMHERST, MA- Food For Thought Books- 106 N.Pleasant Street - 7 pm
4/25- BOSTON, MA- more acts TBA- Lucy Parsons Center, 549 Columbus Avenue - 7 pm.
4/26- NEW YORK CITY- more acts TBA- Space Space- 390 Seneca Ave -(L train to dekalb ave exit front of train at stanhope st walk against traffic on stanhope 3 blocks last door on left before seneca ave)-Ridgewood! - 8 pm
*note- ALL SHOWS ARE CHEAP! if not a pass-the-hat donations type thing, it's a 5-bucks-at-the-door type thing.
**note even more so- at most shows, where there's not a zillion other performers, Katt will also be doing a solo improvised violin performance- not to be missed!
PLEASE FORWARD/POST THIS AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE!
THANKS!
Off with Their Heads: Essay on Appropriated Images
Posted April 14, 2008 by dara_g in Art & Politics
I wrote this essay a while back for Punk Planet which sadly is no longer being published as a print magazine. I wanted to put it up here because it relates to some other threads about artists appropriation.
Off with Their Heads By Dara Greenwald
Originally published in Punk Planet, #77
January/February 2007, p 94-98
Seeing Green art show project: Surveillance Camera Birdhouses
Posted April 11, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Events
Just Seeds member Colin Matthes created a gem of a project for the Seeing Green show -- surveillance camera birdhouses! He researched and designed a birdhouse suitable for birds in Wisconsin, constructed it out of wood, and placed it in the Riverwest woods, a river corridor in Milwaukee. For birds, it serves as a perfect home for finches. For people who stumble upon it while walking down the path through the woods, the sight of the surveillance camera mounted to a tree is completely unexpected and raises a myriad of questions about the priorities people place on property, competition and issues of fear and security that dominate city living. The fact that the menacing form of the surveillance camera is humbled and made into a home for finches only serves to further subvert the camera's original connotation and adds to the surprise of encountering Matthes' public intervention.
http://seeinggreenartshow.wordpress.com/
Check Us Out in New Orleans!
Posted April 11, 2008 by dara_g in Events
Josh and I (Dara) will be doing a screening and presentation at the Iron Rail Infoshop in New Orleans this Thursday April 17, 2008 at 8 pm. The Iron Rail is at 511 Marigny St.
Creative Disruptions: A talk and screening of radical art
and media with Josh MacPhee and Dara Greenwald.
Josh will present a talk and slide show about radical art
past and present.
Dara will make you laugh and cry with her revolving and
evolving collection of short videos.
Josh MacPhee is founder of JustSeeds and the author of
Stencil Pirates. A brand new book edited by Favianna Rodriguez and Josh MacPhee, Reproduce and Revolt will be available!!!
Dara Greenwald is a media artist.
Art Against War
Posted April 11, 2008 by jmacphee in Calls for Art
This just in from folks working with Iraq Veterans Against the War. They're looking for art for a benefit show, read the card below and send in your work!
Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth)
Posted April 10, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth)
Screening in Portland Oregon April 11th
7:00pm
at the Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd.
In the summer of 2006, a broad-based, non-violent, popular uprising exploded in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Some compared it to the Paris Commune, while others called it the first Latin American revolution of the 21st century.
But it was the people's use of the media that truly made history in Oaxaca.
A 90-minute documentary, A Little Bit of So Much Truth captures the unprecedented media phenomenon that emerged when tens of thousands of school teachers, housewives, indigenous communities, health workers, farmers, and students took 14 radio stations and one TV station into their own hands, using them to organize, mobilize, and ultimately defend their grassroots struggle for social, cultural, and economic justice.
(link to a trailer for the film)
Fairey Crys "Thief"
Posted April 10, 2008 by jmacphee in In the News
In what can only be described as classic, Shepard Fairey is suing another artist for stealing from him! After decades of pillaging other people's work wholesale, I guess Fairey thinks he's special, and should be protected from people just like him? Here's the full story on Animal New York. Texas-based artist Baxter Orr has put a medical mask over Andre's face, and gotten a cease and desist letter for his troubles.
PM Press Salon/NYC
Posted April 10, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
PM Press and Bluestockings Bookstore are hosting a salon the night of the NYC Anarchist Bookfair. I'll be at it, and be presenting a little bit about my new book Reproduce & Revolt. Here's all the data:
Saturday, April 12th @ 7PM - Free
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street (between Stanton and Rivington)
Come out for the release of a stack of books and celebrate with their authors. Friends, groupies, nay-sayers and strangers are all invited. Food, drinks and mingling are nice, yes? In the crowd will be crime fiction writer Rick Dakan (Geek Mafia author, I read this one, and it was really enjoyable, a great radical crime novel!), artist Josh MacPhee (that's me!), unstoppable Melody Berger (F-Word Zine), squatter artist Fly (You Don't Need a Brain to Fight the System!
32 Postcards by Fly, some of Fly's best images collected in one place), punk author Sascha Dubrul (The Secret Life Of White People, an expanded version of this zine Sascha wrote awhile back, he's really been struggling to think through a lot of race/class issues, I look forward to reading this when it comes out...), Hothead Paisan creator Diane DiMassa (Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist: 32 Postcards by Diane DiMassa), and visionary Jennifer Silverman (My Kid Rides The Short Bus).
NYC Anarchist Bookfair
Posted April 9, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
This Saturday, April 12th, is the New York City Anarchist Bookfair! This is the second annual bookfair, and last year's was great. Justseeds will be tabling: Kevin, Kristine, Erik, Dara and I will be taking turns selling radical art. There's going to be over 40 publishers, bookstores and political projects tabling, as well as meetings, presentations and an art show. Here's the info:
NYC Anarchist Bookfair
April 12th, 2008
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Sq. South
Manhattan
Directions: Judson Memorial Church is located on the south side of Washington Square Park between Thompson and Sullivan Streets. Take the A, C, E, F trains to West 4th Street station; the R to 8th Street-NYU; or the 1 train to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square. The M1, M2, M3, M5, M6 and M8 bus lines also serve the area.
Kevin and I are the resident bookfair poster designers, and this year's poster features a photo of Emma Goldman giving a speech in Union Square, NYC. 2 color silkscreen prints of the design will be for sale at the bookfair!
Human Rights Protests Interrupt Olympic Torch
Posted April 8, 2008 by dara_g in In the News
In Paris, London, Istanbul, and San Francisco, protesters have interrupted the passing of the Olympic torch in solidarity with the people of Tibet and against China's human rights abuses. Here are two mainstream newscasts about it, I haven't found any good independent coverage yet so for now: in Paris
Help fund this Immigrant Rights Poster Project
Posted April 8, 2008 by dylan_miner in Events
April 5, 2008
We need strong and pro-immigrant art to confront the multitude of images of disempowerment given to us by our daily media - and I need your help to do this.
I am asking for your support in the production and distribution of FIVE empowering posters. This support is crucial in order to place them into the hands of hundreds immigrant right activists around the globe, and the thousands of people they help organize. I am coordinating this project and reaching to you as an individual.
Arab In America
Posted April 7, 2008 by jmacphee in Books & Zines
An old friend from Chicago, Toufic El Rassi, just released his first graphic novel, Arab In America, on Last Gasp Press. I haven't seen it yet (I went to buy a copy from Last Gasp at the SF Anarchist Bookfair and they were sold out!), but it's been getting some interesting reviews. Keep an eye out for it.
Press / Play for an international conversation on art
Posted April 6, 2008 by bec_young in In the News
Press/Play is the first of six experimental broadcasts of 24 local, national and international artists exhibiting a five-minute presentation of what is currently happening within their local art community. The presentations will be projected to an audience of artists and art supporters live via Skype. Press/Play will take place May 10th at 6pm EST. The first event will be exhibited at the 555 Gallery in Detroit, and the Press/Play events will broadcast every other month for one year. Each will concentrate on individual themes within the arts. In September the broadcast will focus on "Art in social context and expressing political issues," and the November broadcast will be about D.I.Y.
The project coordinator, Kt Andresky, is still seeking artists to represent these cities: Pittsburgh, Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Seattle, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montréal, Rome for this first, and future, broadcasts.
The Press/Play broadcasts will be recorded by professional volunteers, and all of the documentation will be used to create 200 pressed records, 200 screen-printed newspapers, and a website. The website and newspaper will provide further detail of each artist representative and all topics brought to attention within the five minute presentation. Each artist involved must have access to the internet (from 6pm – 8pm est. on May 10th 2008 for the first broadcast), needs to have a Skype account, an internet videoconferencing system, which can be downloaded free from skype.com, and should be prepared to communicate to an audience in Detroit through Skype for five minutes discussing what is happening within the art community of their city.
“Seeing Green: Art, Ecology and Activism in Milwaukee” opens April 12th
Posted April 5, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Events
image by Max Estes, "Your Bicycle Misses You"
Guest curator Nicolas Lampert invited over 40 local artists to work on a project for the duration of eight months. During the month of April, 2008 the show will be exhibited at Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the gallery will serve as a hub space, informing the viewer and the public of the many environmental projects taking place throughout Milwaukee, exhibiting visual work and books, screening films and holding discussions and events based around the exhibition.
Familiar names in the show to Just Seeds readers include Colin Matthes who diverged from his 2-D work and created surveillance camera birdhouses! Also, Susan Simensky Bietila (the co-organizer of Drawing Resistance) created a mural “28 Years of People Power” that celebrated the grassroots campaign that defeated the proposed Crandon mine on Wisconsin’s Wolf River. This alliance won an historic victory against one the most powerful mining corporations in the world.
During the next few weeks, I will post more details on the Just Seeds blog about specific work in the show including posters, stencil projects and more.
Seeing Green opens at Woodland Pattern Book Center (720 E. Locust St., Milwaukee, WI.) on Saturday, April 12, 2008, 5:00-9:00pm
John Fekner's City Squad
Posted April 5, 2008 by jmacphee in Street Art & Graffiti
Back in 2002 when I was working on Stencil Pirates I went to visit John Fekner, one of the originators of street stenciling and street art in the US (he started in the mid-70s, way before all the egomaniacs in Europe who claim to be the "first" street stencilers). After our interview he gave me a copy of one of the albums he put out under the moniker John Fekner City Squad. That's when the 80s really started to make sense to me. John, like a lot of his peers, was never just a stenciler, or a fine artist, or a muralist, or a NYC historian, he was also a musician, a writer, an activist, you name it. Being active 25 years ago in the NYC scene didn't just mean you tried your hand at one thing and got good at it, it meant you tried everything! Now John has mp3s of his City Squad songs up online for sale, and if you want to take a peek into the 80s scene, into early breakdancing, graffiti, street art, video games, computer chips, bombed out neighborhoods and all that, definitely check it out! It's here: City Squad Lpepmp3
Save the Date: Critical Resistance 10th Anniversary, Sept 26-28
Posted April 4, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Events
The 10th Anniversary of Critical Resistance will be held in Oakland, California this fall, September 26-28, 2008. For more information, check out: www.criticalresistance.org
New Video about Art Controversy in Troy
Posted April 4, 2008 by dara_g
Check out the whole story:
http://blip.tv/file/797691
"Hudson Mohawk Indymedia has produced a definitive account of the whirlwind of events surrounding Wafaa Bilal's controversial art exhibit, "Virtual Jihadi."
"Art ≠ Terrorism" goes beyond the sound bites to find out what happened when an Iraqi artist came to Troy, NY only to be censored--not once, but twice.
First, Wafaa Bilal was chased off campus after his artwork was mis-characterized as terrorist propaganda by undergraduate bloggers.
When the exhibition was given refuge by The Sanctuary for Independent Media, the city government responded by shutting down the space." - HM Indymedia
Dronz
Posted April 4, 2008 by jmacphee in Street Art & Graffiti
These little guys have been showing up in the streets of NYC over the past couple years, and we just got an email from their maker. Here's what he has to say about the project:
The purpose of the drone is to discuss, and provoke thought within, the audience's own constitution and break the lackadaisical and monotonous thought process which we as Americans seem to have been thriving on since I've been around. We are no longer slaves to the institution but merely strangled by wealth because we are poor, black, native, or uneducated. We seem to be constantly chasing to be a part of that shackle that binds our instinct as we revel in our loss of individualism. The drone is meant to address the sculpting of minds by every type of institution: communism, greenpeace, fox news, the Catholic church. The medium of marijuana "cannies" was chosen because it breaks down the barriers of the law, encompasses multiple cultures, and the entity in its purest form can be seen as an expression of pure defiance. I couple that concept with an explanation of how we come to this state of personal lethargy by including tools institutions use to conform one's individuality and discount free
thought - the military, non-creative games played as a child and so on.
Keep an out for these on the streets!
Legal Wall Finder!
Posted April 4, 2008 by jmacphee in Street Art & Graffiti
We just got an email in from folks who have posted a site where you can find all the legal graffiti walls to paint all over the world. Pretty cool little google map application. Check it out at www.legal-walls.net.
Paper Politics in Corpus Christi, TX
Posted April 3, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
Paper Politics, the political print show I've been traveling around the continent has made it's way to Texas! K Space Contemporary opens Paper Politics on Saturday, April 5th.
The exhibit showcases print art that uses themes of social justice and global equity to engage community members in political conversation. All the Justseeds artists are in the show, as well as 175 other artists from the US and around the world. An eclectic collection of work by artists who are primarily activists, as well as artists, whose work may not always be politically motivated, but who wanted to respond to the monumental trends and events of our times.
Opening: Saturday April 5th, 6-8 PM
Free Admission, Food & Drinks
On view April 5th-May 11th
Also:
Woodcut Printmaking Workshop with Paper Politics artist Mike Stephens
Saturday, April 12th, 10Am-1PM
$65 materials fee, call to reserve a space.
Points of Interest in Braddock, Pa
Posted April 3, 2008 by mary_tremonte in Events
Points of Interest is a public art project instigated by Just Seeds member Swoon & her cohorts in Braddock Active Arts in Braddock, Pa (a steel town just outside of Pittsburgh). Just Seeds artists Swoon & Mary Tremonte, as well as 10 others, are making site-specific out-stallations at sites selected by Braddock youth.
Public events over the next week include a Swoon lecture at Carnegie Mellon University and Shake Your Money Maker, an all-ages danceparty. Read on for event details.
Indykids
Posted April 3, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
Indykids is a project I got really excited about a few years ago, when I was teaching at an after-school program. It can be a really good tool to use in classrooms to discuss current events, general media literacy, and a platform for alternative media.
IndyKids is a free newspaper and teaching tool that aims to inform children on current news and world events from a progressive perspective and to inspire a passion for social justice and learning. It is geared toward kids in grades 4 to 8 and high school English Language Learners. IndyKids is produced five times during the school year.
All the issues are available for download and there are some upcoming events in NYC to note.
Saturday, April 5: Tabling at the “Creating Balance in an Unjust World” math conference in Brooklyn. We’ll talk with educators at the conference and hand out copies of IndyKids.
Monday, April 14: IndyKids brainstorming for the summer ’08 issue at the NYC Incymedia Office, 4 W 43rd St, rm 311
Wednesday, April 23: IndyKids editing meeting 7-9pm at the Indymedia office
Saturday, April 26: Tabling at the Brooklyn Peace Fair in downtown Brooklyn. We’ll talk with fair-goers and hand out copies of IndyKids.
If you're interested in getting involved with any of the above events write to indykids@indymedia.org
Graffiti on the Tate
Posted April 3, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News
Not what you think, or maybe exactly. The Tate Museum, a world renowned contemporary art museum, is looking for some new muralists . Graffiti can stake its claim on museums and galleries again. This time institutions have gotten smarter, they are keeping street art outside. Instead of giving the newest generation of street artists canvas' to paint on the Tate museum will be sanctioning a 35 meter (approx 115') mural on its facade, spokesman stress that the building will not be harmed.
Banksy, English stencil artist, hasn't been mentioned in the press as participating in the exhibit. Yet he was able to sneak his own work into the museum a few years back! looking at his site lately it appears that he has been influenced by Kara Walker.
Artists that have been invited to submit proposals include Os Gemeos, Faile, Blu, Never, JR, and Sixart.
It will be a curious thing, street art has been a passing trend in many cities around the world. Its been adapted to market and sell products and has commodified itself. Is this just another marker of its assimilation into consumer society and bourgeois culture? Will it encourage a new generation of artists to challenge the constraints of public space?
Clothesline Benefit Art Sale & Closing at ABC No Rio
Posted April 2, 2008 by k_c_ in Events
The Clothesline Benefit Art Sale & Ides of March Closing
Affordable works on paper, $25 - $50. Much of the work by artists participating in
the current Ides of March Exhibit, including some Justseeds members. Proceeds from this benefit art sale will go towards ABC No Rio's Building Fund.
Friday, April 4th, 7-10pm ABC No Rio 156 Rivington Street (btn Clinton & Suffolk)
Viewing hours for the show will be extended that evening to 10:00pm,
so it will be a good opportunity (and the last) to check out the exhibition. If you get the chance head up to the computer center on the third floor and check out our hastily produced installation. It was the first opportunity that "we" as a collective have taken at working together, yet definately not the last. Some folks will be busy this Spring. Chris Stain and Josh Macphee will be collaborating in May, with Billy Mode and the Polaroid Kidd. Justseeds will also be busy this Summer in Pittsburgh, with the Warhol Museum and Philly at Space 1026. we'll keep you posted!
Some photos from Hand Prints show
Posted April 1, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
I just got these photos from the Hand Prints show I was in in Richmond, VA with Klutch, Matthew Adamson and Barrett Gordon. Enjoy!
