Political Art
The More Things Stay The Same
Posted May 15, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
Marc Moscato has put up online a great short video he made about the life of Chicago anarchist Ben Reitman, lover of Emma Goldman and biographer of Boxcar Bertha. I grabbed the code and embedded it here, so take a couple minutes and watch this amazing slice of radical American history!!!
here's what Marc has to say about the piece:
The More Things Stay The Same examines the life and world of Dr. Ben Reitman (1879-1942), known in his day as “the Clap Doctor”, “King of the Hoboes” and “the most vulgar man in America”. It forms an endearing portrait of Reitman’s colorful life, and investigates the cultural and social context of his times. From labor unrest to sex education to the genesis of the homeless crisis in America, Reitman’s work continues to have importance and relevance to the hard-hitting issues of today. The More Things Stay The Same not only sheds new light on this lost but vital slice of underground Americana, but also provides an urgent rallying cry for the present.
Event: World War 3 Illustrated artist's reading
Posted May 14, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
Tonight!!
The Cup and Pen Small Press Reading Series
World War 3 Illustrated Artists
May 14th, from 8-10 pm at Think Coffee in Manhattan, 248 Mercer Street
There will be a fabulous reading featuring slide shows and multimedia by:
Rebecca Migdal
James Romberger
Sabrina Jones
Tom Keough
Fly
Mac McGill
Also featuring: our hostess the lovely Rebecca Alvarez; the vocal stylings
of Breeze; and the accompaniment of Andy Laties on saxaphone, flute,
harmonica and the garden hose!
Here's you chance to pick up an autographed copy of WW3, and be vastly
entertained while sipping java and nibbling cake.
In the Middle of a Whirlwind
Posted May 12, 2008 by k_c_ in Political Art
Justseeds member Kristine Virsis coordinated with the Team Colors crew to produce the accompanied image for their upcoming project "In the Middle of a Whirlwind"
In the Middle of a Whirlwind (Whirlwinds) inquires into current organizing efforts in the United States, and through that process, assembles a strategic analysis of current political composition as a tool for building political power.Whirlwinds’ strategic context is this summer’s RNC and DNC protests; through these documents and the discussions that erupt from them we hope to directly impact the anti-Convention organizing. In a larger sense, and in the long-term, Whirlwinds is intended to provide a set of useful documents for contemporary radical organizing. Each essay and interview addresses the issues of movement, working class power and composition, and/or gives strategic insight into organizing, and the strengths and weaknesses of current movement/s in the U.S.
A one-off online journal of theory, art, activism and organizing to be released May 25th!
fierce pussy show at Printed Matter Inc.
Posted May 10, 2008 by molly_fair in Events
Printed Matter Inc.
195 Tenth Avenue, NYC
April 5–May 24, 2008
fierce pussy was a New York–based collective of queer women that emerged in 1991 from the ferment spawned by ACT UP. Promoting lesbian visibility and self-defined identity, fierce pussy helped politicize the urban landscape by wheat-pasting posters, distributing stickers and T-shirts, and "renaming" a number of New York streets after lesbian heroines.Their low-tech aesthetic is exemplified by photocopied posters, which have been reissued in a book published by Printed Matter and are exhibited there above vitrines of related ephemera. Members' childhood snapshots are emblazoned with words like MUFFDIVER and DYKE; the phrase LESBIAN CHIC MY ASS is illustrated with a bathroom-stall-worthy rendering of an ass followed by the words FUCK 15 MINUTES OF FAME. WE DEMAND OUR CIVIL RIGHTS. NOW. Contemporaneous groups such as Queer Nation, Dyke Action Machine, and the aforementioned ACT UP pioneered an activist appropriation of the slick language of advertising, taking a cue from Situationist détournement and the work of Barbara Kruger. fierce pussy's posters share aesthetic kinship with the more punkish 1979 publication Durhing Durhing by Joseph Wolman (founder, with Guy Debord, of the Letterist International), in which random faces are overprinted with Marxist-inflected words.
This kind of contextualization, however, distances the work from the queer bodies that made it, and queer bodies are still not visible enough. Riding that wave of lesbian chic, The L Word now epitomizes self-defined lesbian (with little mention of gender-queer or trans) identity. fierce pussy's book, the most vital part of the exhibition, opens with reprints of three nearly twenty-year-old posters comprising a more diverse spectrum of identities, among them dyke, butch, pervert, femme, feminist, and queer. The pages are detachable and reconfigurable. Just add wheat paste. —Amoreen Armetta
Greetings from the Outside: Cards for Prisoners
Posted May 9, 2008 by molly_fair in Political Art
It's hard to believe that almost a year has passed since our friend Daniel McGowan has been in prison. I've kept in touch with Daniel, and also have come to realize through his encouragement and by attending bi-weekly political prisoner letter writing dinners, that it is really important to reach out to other political prisoners/pow's/and activists who are incarcerated. Many continue to struggle and to be involved in movements both on the in and outside.
Over the winter I went to a gathering to make holiday cards for every political prisoner who is serving time in the U.S. and it became quite an assembly line! It inspired me draw the image to the right for a greeting card for any occasion that can be sent to our comrades, friends, and family whether they may be political or social prisoners. Hopefully I'll have them available soon.
Also, I sadly want to note that Eric McDavid was just sentenced to 19 years and 7 months. Take the time to write to Eric, and please check his support site for letter writing guidelines:
MCDAVID, ERIC X-2972521 7E128
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Radical Cross Stitch
Posted May 7, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
So, I've been trying to learn to sew for the past month, and it has been a both frustrating and very rewarding endeavor. My friend Kat got me started and showed me the basics of the sewing machine, and I've been trying to get the hang of it ever since. Chris Stain, Billy Mode and I just did this large scale installation in Brooklyn (Threat of Chance, see below), and I really think the hardest part for me was the sewing!
There has been a lot of focus on "craft" lately in the punk, political, art and DIY scenes, and to be honest, I find most of it annoying. That said, I'm finding a new appreciation, and am getting more interested in what one can do with fabric than ever before.
There are likely a ton of political craft sites out there, but we recently got an email from Kakariki in Australia who upkeeps the Radical Cross Stitch Blog. She sent us to a project she did stitching words into fences, and the whole blog is filled with a nice mix of politics and craft, with connections to many other projects. So if this is your thing, definitely check out what the folks down under are up to with their yarn.
Prisons Affect All of Us!
Posted May 6, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
Critical Resistance NYC is putting on an exhibition of prisoner art:
Prisons Affect All of Us
May 17th, 1-8pm
Critical Resistance Office
976 Longwood (corner of Beck St.)
South Bronx
The art will also be up until May 31st, and can be seen by appointment by calling Critical Resistance at 718.676.1660.
"Atenco Somos Todas" Action in Madrid
Posted May 4, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspirations
A collective in Madrid, called Atenco Somos Todos, held an action in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Reminding the Spanish government and the rest of the world of the police repression and torture that occurred 2 years ago today. Following is their communication:
Political Freights
Posted May 2, 2008 by jmacphee in Street Art / Graffiti
I just got these great photos of new freights from Max in Minneapolis:
Trip to Bethlehem-Swoon
Posted April 29, 2008 by swoon in Political Art
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
Off with Their Heads: Essay on Appropriated Images
Posted April 14, 2008 by dara_g in Political Art
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, 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
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.
What will change?
Posted March 31, 2008 by k_c_ in Political Art
Seen around Bed-Stuy, historically predominant African-American neighborhood, in Brooklyn, NY. Begs the question...
The neighborhood has been forgotten and downright neglected by city institutions for decades, yet in recent years there has been interest in renovations of buildings and infrastructure. Most of this activity is a result of people relocating themselves to this neighborhood. The neighborhood is going thru a serious "revitalization". Many new condos are being built, empty lots are no longer so. And there is a different class and culture are taking root here.
So, as happens in NYC, things are always changing.
What change will this election year bring for Bed-Stuy, who knows?
I can't imagine it will be much more than the usual steamrolling of existing community for more affluent ones.
Did I mention that the neighborhood has one of the highest rates of incarceration and recidivism in NY?
LA vs. WAR
Posted March 31, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
LA vs. WAR is a huge anti-war show going up in LA next week! It looks to be amazing, so if you are in the area, definitely check it out!
LA vs. WAR
April 10-13 2008
12 noon to 11pm
The Firehouse
710 S. Santa Fe Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90021
Downtown LA
LA vs WAR schedule:
Thursday, April 10, 2008: 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11, 2008: 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 12, 2008: 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 13, 2008: 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
LA vs WAR highlights the travesty of a senseless war now going into its 6th year, giving LA artists a platform to exercise their freedom of speech. Hundreds of artists representing our diverse communities unite in delivering a universal message of peace and understanding, and offering resistance and opposition to the US government's war policies.
LA vs WAR highlights:
- Yo! What Happened to Peace?: posters on display from the international touring peace poster exhibition; live anti-war poster screen-printing demos
- Hit+Run: live t-shirt printing featuring custom artwork from the Hit+Run artist network
- Mark of the Beast: display of corporate-jammed logo spoofs
- Crewest Graffiti & Stencil Art Garden: graffiti artist network doing live graffiti and stencil painting
- Center for the Study of Political Graphics: anti-war themed display from America's premier political poster archives
- Artwork Exhibition: handmade creations by independent local artists
- Universal Peace Altar: a memorial to lives lost in the war created by Ofelia Esparza and Shrine
- Peace in Iraq Photo Project by Azul 213: audience participation photo project to promote peace
- Dublab: music selections created by DJs from the web radio collective
- Lost Film Fest hosted by VJ Scott Beibin: film and video celebration of culture jamming and illegal art
- Light installations and projections: interactive entertainment provided by Todd Lazer
AND MORE...
All ages are welcome and admission is free.
EXPRESSION = LIFE: ACT UP, Video and the AIDS Crisis
Posted March 30, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
EXPRESSION = LIFE: ACT UP, Video and the AIDS Crisis
Friday, April 18, 7pm
New York University Cantor Film Center
A rare gathering of veteran members of ACT UP, filmmakers, and media theorists will dissect the history of grass-roots media coordination in America and its role in advancing AIDS activism from the 1980s until today.
A screening of rare news and independent film footage will be the centerpiece of a panel discussion. Speakers will examine the origins of media activism and explore the myriad opportunities for new and alternative communication strategies in a world now dominated by corporate-owned media. Panelists will revisit the early days of ACT UP activism and how the resulting coverage and media strategies contributed to the creation of an underground communications network still in operation today.
The Panelists for the program include:
-John Greyson, award-winning director of numerous films, include Patient Zero. He currently teaches film at York University in Canada.
-Jean Carlomusto, award-winning filmmaker and video artist who co-curated the interactive AIDS archive project AIDS: A Living Archive, for the Museum of the City of New York. She currently teaches film making at Long Island University.
-Jay Blotcher served as media coordinator for the founding chapters of ACT UP and Queer Nation and was co-founder of Public Impact Media Consultants, which provided guerilla publicity for leading progressive, grass-roots organizations.
-Ben Shepard is professor of Sociology at the City University of New York, and the co-editor of From ACT UP to the WTO: Urban Protest and Community Building in the Era of Globalization.
-Stephen Duncombe is professor of Media Studies at New York University, the editor of Cultural Resistance Reader and Dream: Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy.
Free Tibet Demo in NYC & beyond
Posted March 24, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News
There have been a lot of activity around the current events in Tibet. A lot of actions focusing on the Olympics in China. One I came across today on the BBC newswire is about the disruption of the lighting of the torch in Greece. 
Even a few months back at "Where Have You Been?"
one story focused on a trip and action at the base camp of Mt Everest.
Recently, in NYC, there were reports of some aggression outside of the Chinese Consulate on 42nd street, leaving injured people and broken glass. People are demanding a stop to the killing in Tibet and a boycott of the upcoming Olympics in China.
This past weekend in NYC, a march passed thru Union Square. Here's some flicks I was able to snatch of the posters and banners. The messaging was really clear in their images and chants, and was a very moving experience as the thousand or so demonstrators moved thru the Union Square Greenmarket.
Past and Present History of a REPOhistory “Civil Disturbances” Sign
Posted March 17, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Street Art / Graffiti
Justseeds readers likely need no reminder of the importance of politically engaged street art, yet it is always good to hear when work put up in the streets not only stays up for a long duration, but is also greatly valued by the community in which it is placed.
Recently, a sign by Jenny Polak and David Thorne from a past REPOhistory project Civil Disturbances that was put up in 1998 in Brooklyn has drawn some renewed attention, especially from collective members who had assumed that the majority of the signs had been taken down.
For those unaware of the project, the Civil Disturbances was a sign project that REPOhistory collaborated with the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI.) Over a two-year duration from 1998-1999, 20 signs were placed at various locations in the city that addressed legal cases that had important social and political ramifications for New York City and beyond.
The sign by Jenny Polak and David Thorne commemorated three victims of police shootings and the families that attempted to prosecute the police. Specifically, it addressed the senseless death of Nicholas Heyward, a young boy who was shot and killed by a Housing Authority Officer in 1994 who mistook his plastic toy rifle for a weapon, Kevin Cedeno who was shot in the back in Washington Heights, and Anthony Baez who died from a police choke-hold in the Bronx. The signs were placed at each location where the deaths had taken place. For example the sign honoring Nicholas Heyward was placed on Baltic Street, between Hoyt & Bond in Brooklyn and helped focus public attention to this tragedy and the issues of police brutality and accountability.
Yet the sign did not remain up for long. Shortly after it was installed, the sign (along with a number of other Civil Disturbances signs) were either vandalized or quickly taken down against the artist's approval.
However, the artists and the community made sure that it was re-installed in 1999. Polak recently explained, “There is a story you may not know about why it's lasted. I came to know Nicholas Heyward, the father of the child the sign memorializes… A while after the project was done, he told me the sign had been knocked down - hit, he thought, by cops perhaps. He rescued it and we decided to rededicate it. At the time he was still living right there. I tried to make a bit of an occasion of it. Tom came to bring the spare sign, and a poet [Samantha Coerbell], did an intense poem she'd written about the killing which she came and performed on the street to a couple of people including Nicholas senior, and a local reporter I got hold of. I think the continued activism of Nicholas, his taking ownership of the sign, and the way people around here feel about the police all may have helped keep it there.”
Since this rededication effort in 1999, the sign has remained installed on Baltic Street for close to a decade and speaks of the importance of making sure that past and present struggles are honored and made clearly visible for all to see.
Photo by Daniel Tucker. For an article on the re-dedication of the sign in 1999, See, Michael Hirsh “Police Brutality Memorial Returns to Baltic Street”, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill Courier, Vol. XVIII, No. 16, April 26, 1999. For more information on REPOhistory, See http://www.repohistory.org
Oaxaca Resiste!: Print show in Madison, WI. March 27-April 6
Posted March 16, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Posters
If your in Madison, Wisconsin in late March, check out a show at the Common Wealth Gallery on the Oaxaca teachers strike uprising. The show features woodcut prints, stencil art posters, photos, and comics.
MARCH 27-APRIL 6, 2008
ASARO (Asamblea de Artistas Revolucionarios de Oaxaca)
& Local Artists Ana Nimos • Steve Chapell • Lester Doré- Michael Duffy • Eric Hagstrom • Miguel Peña & Others
Sunday March 30 • 7-9 PM: Opening Reception
Music by Son Madunza
Tuesday April 1 • 7 PM : Mexican Revolutionary Graphic Art from Posada to the present Gallery Talk by Melanie Herzog, Professor of Art History, Edgewood College
Thursday April 3 • 7PM: New Jill Friedberg documentary Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A little bit of so much truth) on people’s takeover of Oaxacan media
Common Wealth Gallery • 100 S. Baldwin St. • Madison, Wisconsin
Imminent Disaster on Mujeres Creando
Posted March 11, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspirations
Our friend Imminent Disaster is back with her second installment of her travels in South America. Thanks to her and continue to have great experiences.
Mujeres Creando is a feminist organization in La Paz, Bolivia. Unlike other social projects in Bolivia, it is not run by an NGO nor affiliated with a church. It's run by a core group of Bolivian women and set up to be autogestionable-- they have a free day-care that´s supported by a restaurant, Internet café and hostel. They run classes at night on a variety of subjects including women in society and feminist law. They run a radio station in La Paz (Deseo 103.3 FM). They have a legal consultation office for women who have experienced physical or sexual abuse. They have published a few books: one, called Ninguna mujer nace para puta (No woman is born to be a whore) is based on a conversation between an Argentinean prostitute and one of the members of the organization, and calls out for readers to question a society that subjects thousands of women to exploitation through prostitution, and what this kind of exploitation means for the treatment of all women within society. They have done a few exhibitions in Bolivia and Argentina displaying powerful photos of women killed by domestic violence and images of prostitutes from the turn of the century police register in La Paz (a time where every prostitute had to have their photo on file in the police station with a record of personal information, activity with clients and results of compulsory vaginal exams.) They have organized protests in Bolivia and Argentina and provided support to women who were imprisoned for over a year after a protest in Buenos Aires. And they take to the streets with their actions and their graffiti.
In Ninguna mujer nace para puta they explain their belief that the streets are the single most transformative political space because it is the only place where you can establish a relationship "flesh-to-flesh" with society. For women, who have historically only been given domestic and private spaces for their own, they believe that taking over the street is the ideal forum for women's acts of rebellion to be shown and seen. At the core, their key word is rebellion: to destroy the role of a woman as silent and dependent in a society deeply entrenched with machismo. And the women of Mujeres Creando are doing it with the gut-wrenching frankness that probably hasn't been seen in the United States since the 1970´s.
Below are a few shots of the Mujeres Creando graffiti in La Paz. Some have links to more information when they refer to specific political events or figures.
"if Evo had a uterus, abortion would be legalized and nationalized"
"I baptize my abortion as redemption, the nun" "We give birth, we decide"
"I´m not an originator, i am an original"
Blanca Liliana was sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a bar in La Paz while celebrating her birthday. Because it happened so suddenly, her friends almost didn't believe it happened and the bartender´s response was to tell the group to leave the bar. Blanca went to the police station to file a report, but it quickly became clear that because she had been drinking the courts would try to call the assault an act of consensual sex. After battling the Bolivian justice system for some time, Blanca finally had a "fair" trial, and the rapist was found and convicted.Full story in spanish
"Justice for Blanca, not for the rapist"
"i want to rebel" "i want to fall in love"
"i desire"
A few others that are worth reading:
"Un pene, cualquier pene, es siempre una miniatura."
A penis, any penis, is always a miniature.
"De Gennaro: Si la prostitucion es una trabajo, sindicalice tu pija y tu ano"
De Gennaro (founder of Central de Trabajadores Argentinos union in Buenos Aires): If prostitution was a job, I would have unionized your penis and your anus.
"Las putas aclaramos que ni Sanchez de Lozada, ni Sanchez Berzain, son hijos nuestros."
The whores (bitches) would like to clarify that neither Sanchez de Lozada (president of Bolivia ´93-´97 & ´02-´03, resigned, fled to U.S., wanted for genocide and other crimes) nor Sanchez Berzain (ex minister of government under Sanchez de Lozada), are sons of ours.
Peaceline Panorama
Posted March 3, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
This just in:
Peaceline Panorama: Recent Photographs by Frankie Quinn
March 5 – 29th, 2008
Opening Reception, Wednesday, March 5, 6:30 – 8:00PM
The Brecht Forum
451 West Street, New York, NY 10041
www.brechtforum.org
The Brecht Forum are pleased to present this exhibition of recent photos by Belfast photographer Frankie Quinn. Taken over the last five years, these photographs document life along the 48 walls and barriers, known as 'Peacelines', that divide the city of Belfast in the north of Ireland. The walls, many of which were constructed at the height of the recent conflict by the British Government, were initially conceived of as a temporary measure to separate communities divided along political and religious lines and to control mobility within the insurgent nationalist community. Far from being a temporary measure, the walls have increased in number and in height over the years, forming a network of enclaves, ghettos and deeply divided communities across the city. This exhibition of photos testifies that despite the developments of the recent peace process, the continued presence of these fault-lines ensure that Belfast remains a divided and segregated city.
Frankie Quinn has been a photographer for the past 25 years. His interest in documentary photography developed as a result of his involvement with the MacAirt Camera Club in East Belfast. Since 1983 his work has been exhibited extensively both at home and abroad. His work has also appeared in numerous local publications including 'Falls in Focus' published by the Falls Community Center (1987) and 'Shoot Belfast' (1986), a guide for amateur photographers which was funded by the Northern Ireland Arts Council. His work has also appeared n the book 'Garvaghy Road: A Community Under Siege' (1999). He was a founding member of the Belfast Exposed Community Photography Resource Center. He lives and works in Belfast, Ireland.
Wear Orange Day
Posted March 3, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
Tuesday March 11th is Wear Orange Day in San Francisco, where the art group Plain Human is inviting anyone concerned with the conditions in jails and prisons to wear orange in order to publicly represent incarceration (prisoners are often made to wear orange jumpsuits...). This is an activity which is part of the Prison Project of Intersection for the Arts, a socially-conscious and community -based gallery in SF.
Here's the schedule for the day:
-Public Art & Gathering Events: 11am - 2pm at various in SF [Locations of activities for this day will be available in this website and at The Intersection for the Arts]
-Participatory Performance-Physical Exercise: 3:30 – 4:30pm at the Civic Center lawn, San Francisco
-Reception: 5 - 6pm at Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia Street, San Francisco CA 94103
Gran Fury Interview
Posted March 1, 2008 by jmacphee in Street Art / Graffiti
My friend Sam just sent me this link from Queerty.com to an interesting interview with Avram Finkelstein, one of the members of Gran Fury. Gran Fury was a creative/graphic collective that produced a large amount of the more graphic art and design around the AIDS crisis in the late 80s and 90s, including the Silence=Death graphic, which I would argue is one of the most powerful political graphics of the last 50 years. Here's a quote:
AB: Do you think posters are effective today? There are posters and advertising on every space.AF: I do - I mean, there was advertising then and that was part of the strategy: to intervene on the commercial space with a message that was not commercial. That’s why we chose postering. We decided against doing these flat-footed, didactic Marxist tomes with lots of text and instead chose to do high gloss posters. And, in fact, the design of the poster - we discussed it endlessly and decided to go with what we called “yuppie graphics” - fonts that were popular at the time, so it was deceptive and would draw an unsuspecting bystander into a very serious conversation. It had to work on two levels: you had to be able to see it and think about it as you were whisking by in a cab, but then it had to work on a street level.
Having said that, I don’t think it could ever work in this social landscape, no. I don’t think it would be possible. It’s not so much about having to compete on the media landscape as what public space is now, as opposed to public space then. Public spaces - although there are a lot of people who would argue against it - are largely new media. I don’t really think it’s about the streets. It’s about the internet."
I wish I could share his optimism about the internet. I think it is a powerful communications tool (which is why we are using it for things like this blog!), but it seems like folly to consider it the "new public space." The infrastructure (fiber-optic lines, traffic hubs, etc.) are in the hands of a very small number of corporations. It may be in their interest to allow for a fair amount of open communication and dialog now, but lets not forget their is nothing public about their ownership, it is completely private, with no real checks to even further consolidation.
That said, I enjoyed this interview immensely, only wishing it was longer and more in depth. I'd love to see a serious roundtable conversation between graphic artists involved in the AIDS struggle, and really hear about how they created the images, built the messaging, and assessed the efficacy of their designs.
BLF Strikes Again
Posted February 28, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
I've long thought that the Billboard Liberation Front, beyond being one of the longest running billboard alteration groups, is also one of the smartest. Rather than simply playing off corporate logos, they often are able to use billboards to create a critique that cuts a little deeper, and yesterday they put up a good one in San Francisco. Here is an extended excerpt from their press release:
The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.“This campaign is an extraordinary rendition of a public-private partnership,” observed BLF spokesperson Blank DeCoverly. “These two titans of telecom have a long and intimate relationship, dating back to the age of the telegraph. In these dark days of Terrorism, that should be a comfort to every law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide.”
AT&T initially downplayed its heroic efforts in the War on Terror, preferring to serve in silence behind the scenes. “But then we realized we had a PR win on our hands,” noted AT&T V.P. of Homeland Security James Croppy. “Not only were we helping NSA cut through the cumbersome red tape of the FISA system, we were also helping our customers by handing over their e-mails and phone records to the government. Modern life is so hectic – who has time to cc the feds on every message? It’s a great example of how we anticipate our customers’ needs and act on them. And, it should be pointed out, we offered this service free of charge.”
Commenting on the action, and responding to questions about pending privacy litigation and the stalled Congressional effort to shield the telecoms from these lawsuits, NSA spokesperson [REDACTED] remarked: “[REDACTED] we [REDACTED] condone [REDACTED] warrantless [REDACTED], [REDACTED] SIGINT intercepts, [REDACTED] torture [REDACTED] information retrieval by [REDACTED] means necessary.”
“It’s a win-win-win situation,” noted the BLF’s DeCoverly. “NSA gets the data it needs to keep America safe, telecom customers get free services, and AT&T makes a fortune. That kind of cooperation between the public and private sectors should serve as a model to all of us, and a harbinger of things to come.”
OUR FLESH OF FLAMES: collages by Theodore A. Harris, captions by Amiri Baraka
Posted February 26, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Books & Zines
Philadelphia artist Theodore A. Harris, who has been creating some of best political collage work for the past decade, has a new book out that he collaborated on with Amiri Baraka. Check it out and encourage your local book store to order copies.
OUR FLESH OF FLAMES:
Collages by Theodore A. Harris
Captions by Amiri Baraka
Introduction by M. K. Asante, Jr.
Afterword by Gene Ray
Is now out and can be ordered from the publisher for $29.95
Anvil Arts Press
64 West Penn Street
Philadelphia, PA 19121
USA
215-849-2793
http://www.anvilartspress.cjb.net
Also check out the video interviews of LeRoy Johnson and Theodore A. Harris at their exhibit at the Penn State University HUB-Robeson Gallery ACRID DIALECTIC:The Visual Language of LeRoy Johnson and Theodore A. Harris
http://www.sa.psu.edu/usa/galleries/Videos.shtml
Free Culture Camp
Posted February 22, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
Our friends Rum46 in Denmark are putting on a Free Culture Camp in a week on February 28th-March 1st. The event looks like it'll be a great weekend, and includes the following artists and groups: Sine Bang (DK), Kayle Brandon (UK), Kristine Briede (Let), Adams og Itso (S), Field Work (DK), Groupwork / studerende fra Det Jyske Kunstakademi (DK), Andreas Wegner (D/AUS), Henrik Moltke (DK), Amy Balkin (US), YNKB (DK). More information is on the Rum46 website, and here is a great quote about the Camp:
The culture that we all create should not be owned or privatized by corporations. We will produce with lust for life and dance on the graves of the bloodsuckers of the creative class and the experience economy. Free Culture is a 3 day camp in Rum46 followed by an exhibition. Events and talks will be mixed with performance, production and group works. It will be a live-in environment for cultural production, and exchange between academics, artists, social movements and a participating audience. Welcome!
YNKB, who hosted Icky and I when we were in Copenhagen, are doing a workshop at the camp:
YNKB Repair Workshop
Do you have anything to repair? A chair with loose joints? A bike in need of care? Clothes that can be changed into something else? A broken vase that can be glued? Or furniture, a baby carriage that can easily be repaired?
Through reuse and repair, commodities that we are fond of can be renewed. This is a way of giving mass-produced commodities value, another meaning and a new aesthetic, which did not exist before they are worked on anew as individual objects. At the same time an alternative economic structure is created, which differs from (the buy-and-throw-away culture (?) that consumerism advocates.
Come and repair your broken items and spend a nice day together with others. You are also welcome even if you have nothing to repair. You can stay and help others make reparations. The repaired items will be photographed for documentation. You can also make reparations at home, of things or places that are not movable. If you take a photo and send it to us, it can be part of the archive.
Have a look at website: www.ynkb.dk under activities 2007 and "reparation workshops."
Call for Entries/ Call for Show Hosts: The Art of Democracy
Posted February 12, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Artwork Needed
The Art of Democracy is a national coalition of art exhibitions (scheduled for the fall of 2008) that addresses the dire state of the political scene in the U.S.
Leading up to the November 2008 national elections, artists from around the country will be creating and exhibiting posters and prints that respond to the election, politics, and governmental policy. The Art of Democracy exhibition seeks to attract other individuals and artist organizations from around the nation to help amplify our messages of civil activism, reform, dissent, and protest.
This is not a single show but an affiliation of shows in numerous cities across the U.S.
To contribute your work to these shows, go to: www.artofdemocracy.org
Relevant contact information is provided for most shows.
Artwork by exhibitors can also be found on:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/art-of-democracy/
We encourage artist to put work up on the Flickr site and create posters. The posters will be exchanged with venues around the country. For more information, contact: info@artofdemocracy.org
Art from Inside: Paintings by Political Prisoner Tom Manning
Posted February 12, 2008 by erik_ruin in Political Art
Just got this email from the Foglight Collective (formerly known as the People's Free Space) in Portland, ME. They're holding an online auction of original paintings by political prisoner Tom Manning.
Check it out-
The Portland Victory Gardens Project and Foglight Collective are holding a silent auction for Art from Inside to benefit four groups: the Jericho Movement (National), Foglight Collective (Portland, ME), Blackbird Legal Collective (Portland, ME), and Kellogg St. Girls Medicinal Herb Class (Portland, ME). Some paintings sales also benefit the Rosenberg Fund for Children.
For a complete listing of paintings go to: www.cantjailthespirit.org
For more information about Art from Inside visit: http://cantjailthespirit.org/about/art-from-the-inside.html
To bid on a painting send your maximum bid amount, address, phone number and email to artfrominside@yahoo.com
Feature Event for Art From Inside: SCAR's Legacy: Art and Activism in Portland 1972-2008. Feb 15, 7PM (doors open at 6PM) with speakers Ray Luc Levasseur and Daniel Chard, and music by Mark Otim and Chris Teret at the Meg Perry Center at 644 Congress St. in Portland, Maine
The auction will end on February 15th at 8pm EST. We are also conducting an in-person auction at the Meg Perry Center at 644 Congress St. in Portland, ME.. The highest bidder (either online or in person) will win the auction.
Iraq War: 5 Years Later
Posted February 12, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
Thai artist Vasan Sitthiket is showing a series of new paintings about the Iraq War 5 years on at the National Art Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The show opens March 20th, and looks pretty interesting. Sitthiket has been injecting politics and information about the current Iraq War in his dense, layered paintings for awhile now, and has been successful in a way that seems impossible for a US-based artist working so seriously with the same themes. Just another reminder how isolated the US is as a country....
Beehive Collective is Searching for New Worker Bees
Posted February 11, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
Just got this in the inbox, the Beehive Collective is looking for people to join their new campaigns:
In anticipation of our most exciting and busy year to date, featuring the launch of two new graphics campaigns, our swarm of eleven is in need of five more workers. We are currently seeking a few passionate and committed organizers, educators, and artists to join us full-time in Maine, at satellite Hive locations, and on the road, beginning as soon as possible.
Please pass this note on to others who might be interested!
Current Positions Available:
- Archivist/Documentarian (Mountaintop Removal Mining campaign)
- Graphics Campaign Coordinator (Mesoamerica Resiste)
- Education Coordinator (Mountaintop Removal Mining campaign)
- Illustration Collaborator (pen & ink, Mountaintop Removal Mining campaign)
- Distribution, Networking & “Pollination” Coordinator (core Hive position)
Detailed descriptions at www.beehivecollective.org
Pay for Graffiti on the Apartheid Wall??
Posted February 11, 2008 by jmacphee in In the News
I had some serious questions about Banksy's Santa's Ghetto project in Bethlehem (like the point of Faile's boxer piece, which flattens out the Palestine/Israel conflict to a simple equation of two brute's punching each other, rather than one massive military bully with billions of $$ in arms squeezing the life out of an out-gunned, out-financed and generally brutalized people), but this new project on the wall really makes my head spin. A Dutch group called Send a Message has set up a website where you can pay a Palestinian 30 Euros to graffiti a message of your choice on the Apartheid Wall?!?!?!? The group is a non-profit, and the Palestinian painters are artists and getting paid for the work. Supposedly the money is funneled into Palestinian NGOs working on local infrastructure projects.
Certainly capitalism isn't going to provide a solution to the conflict, but I'm afraid that's what these people think they are doing. They claim to want the wall to come down, yet their first example of why the wall is bad is that it "kills business"!! It's certainly a great to create some cash flow to beleaguered Palestinians, but does the cost have to be the crass commercialization of one of the largest symbols of oppression in the world?
What does it mean to turn the wall into a giant billboard, so that Jenny and Mike from San Francisco can express their undying love for each other on the historic (as the company calls it) wall?? The tag line is "It was meant to keep people apart, now it brings people together."
I don't want to attack people for trying to help solve serious problems, but something about this project feels wrong. It comes out of a workshop design pros held in Ramallah with young Palestinians, and smacks similar to a number of well-intentioned design projects where designers over-value the importance of their skill sets. Convinced by the integral relationship design and advertising has to the turning of the gears of global neo-liberal capitalism, designers believe they can advertise and photoshop a new world into existence. Rather than look at and address the historical relationships that the state of Israel has had to individual and organizations of Palestinians, or the real power differentials at play, there is the creation of a marketing device to raise awareness.
I'm really interested in what others think about this, because my guess is we'll be seeing more and more projects like this in the future. Soon we'll be able to pay Rwandan refugees draw caricature's of our loved ones in order to get enough food to eat. My fear is that we're on a very slippery slope, where soon (if we're not already there) solidarity with the Global South will look a lot like a minstrel show.
Artists At War
Posted February 10, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
Here's a new art site trying to grapple with the fact that we're 5 years into a never-ending war, and most of us have moved on to pretend that it isn't happening.
Artists At War is just starting out, but it's worth taking a look at and thinking about contributing to. it's a good thing to ask artists to respond to the larger world and to think about the war. Here's what they have to say for themselves:
Enter art, culture, TV, fashion and filmmaking. What does the current cultural output say about our subconscious grievances, fears and desires percolating below the surface in a society where we perpetrate unfounded war abroad? What role is culture playing in galvanizing a collective understanding about the troubled times we’re living through?War threatens our imagination as well as our humanity, which are qualities that every artist thrives on. This website seeks to provide a solid foothold of subversive artwork that can support a thread of defiance and demystification through the culture at large.
Artists At War is a collaborative project organized by LA artists Steven L. Anderson and Thomas McKenzie. New projects will be posted monthly ad the first project is work by Los Angeles artist Charles Irvin, with four pieces that explore the nature of the political press conference.
A Call to Mapmakers
Posted February 8, 2008 by jmacphee in Artwork Needed
My good friend and comrade Daniel Tucker in Chicago just sent this over. If you are working on any sort of map projects, get in touch with him!!!
Dear Mapmakers,
This is an invitation to have your maps included in the new “We Are Here” archive that will travel the United States for 2 years (starting Fall 2008) in an exhibition entitled “Experimental Geography” and then be housed in a portable archive in Chicago IL to be available for future exhibition, preservation and research. The archive is dealing with 3 main categories of contemporary cartography: Complexity/Power Mapping; Resource/Asset Mapping; and Alternative Visions of Dominant Geography (see below outline of the kinds of maps we are thinking about).
I have been asked by the organizers of “Experimental Geography” to put together this archive because of my background in organizing mapping related exhibitions and events in Chicago for the last 4 years. This is a great opportunity to get a lot of really interesting and inspiring work together! I should also say up front that I am not being paid to do this and am receiving no budget to work with, only $400 to purchase a poster display rack to preserve the maps. The cost of shipping the collection once it is complete will be covered by the host institutions, but I have no budget for your initial shipping costs to mail the maps to me. I am hoping your motivation for sending your work to me will be the same as mine for putting this together, to get new and excited audiences to have access to this interesting and inspiring work. The show will tour primarily to university galleries and small museums, almost always engaging audiences who are not in attendance at small galleries or cultural institutions where this kind of work is typically displayed. The benefit of having it as part of a larger exhibition about the use of geographic metaphors in contemporary art will also connect this cartographic work to conceptually related work from other genres and spheres of influence.
Iraq Veterans Against the War Combat Paper
Posted January 31, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
I've just been so impressed with all the work of the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) lately....Here's another amazing project, Combat Paper. Working with artists in Vermont, IVAW members have been cutting, cooking and beating their old combat uniforms worn in Iraq into pulp, and then turning them into paper. The paper is made with watermarks, and then when it is still wet, it stenciled. Check out the video:
IVAW have dozens of videos of their actions up on their site, definitely check them out.
Operation First Casualty
Posted January 30, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
Hands down, the Iraq Veterans Against the War(IVAW) are doing the most kick ass political and cultural work in the US today. For a year or so they have been organizing a series of actions under the title Operation First Casualty, the first casualty of war being truth. Fully geared up Iraq War veterans have been descending on cities across the country and performing military actions on the street. This video gives a hint at how intense this is:
In addition IVAW is gearing up to hold their Winter Soldier tribunal March 13-16 in Washington DC. Here's what they have to say about it:
Winter Soldiers, according to founding father Thomas Paine, are those who stand up for the soul of their country, even in its darkest hours. With this spirit in mind, IVAW members are standing up to make their experiences available to all who are concerned about the direction of our country.Unfortunately, this is not the first time America has needed its Winter Soldiers, in 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into an increasingly bloody occupation. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
Check out the IVAW website for more information, and definitely pass it on to anyone you know who is a veteran or is currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
STOLPERSTEINE - intervention in germany
Posted January 29, 2008 by mary_tremonte in Political Art
I found these engraved brass cobblestones on sidewalks throughout Cologne, Germany, when I lived there a few years ago. The stones are memorials to residents of buildings that were displaced during World War II to concentration camps. I saw the artist responsible for this intervention, Gunter Demnig, speak at our infoshop back in 2001. The name of the project, Stolpersteine, translates to "stumbling stones." Demnig has by now installed more than 12,000 stones in roughly 270 German towns and cities since 1996. This piece, in its subtlety and intimacy with everyday behavior, brings the sometimes abstract death and horror of the Holocaust to the concrete reality of the individuals who were destroyed.
For more information, there is a great article in Smithsonian magazine that you can check out here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/stolpersteine.html
Powerful Iraq War Performance
Posted January 29, 2008 by jmacphee in Political Art
If you've only got 3 minutes to look at the internet today, definitely check out this video of a performance that the arts group triiibe did at the January 27th, 2007 demo in Washington, DC against the war in Iraq. Yes, it's a year old, put it is well worth it! I could say a lot, but I think it is just better to go to www.triiibe.com and click the top button labeled "movie." They've been doing similar performances in other locations as well, here is a video from one at Boston Common.
Call for Mural Show
Posted January 25, 2008 by jmacphee in Artwork Needed
This just came through the inbox from the Wouter Osterholt en Elke Uitentuis in the Netherlands, seems like a cool project:
Speaking Through Walls
We're looking for people that can help us finding political/revolutionary murals for a project called 'Speaking Through Walls' that will be presented during the art exhibition 'Ground', September 2008 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
The murals can be made by professionals, amateurs, protest groups, schools, government, children, etc. For us it's more important to find murals that tell a story about situations of social injustice within your county than the esthetic beauty of the painting. Do you know any murals in your surrounding that would fit within our project and would you like to help us out? Please contact us and give us as much information about it as possible.
CRAFTING PROTEST!
Posted January 23, 2008 by meredith_stern in Political Art
Crafting Protest
http://www.newschool.edu/eventDetail.aspx?id=13844
01/26/2008 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Many contemporary artists are using craft to make diverse and timely political statements. Because creating crafts is so often social and communal, they can play a vital role in the public sphere. The speakers examine the role of craft in forming national identities, especially in times of political turmoil or war; notions of patriotism; feminism and the domestic sphere; and unconventional economic models. Five artists will present projects and discuss their work. By linking the act of production and handmaking in the public realm to ideological issues of agency, participants ask how art makes political subjects. Panelists include Liz Collins, artist/designer; Sabrina Gschwandtner, artist/curator; Cat Mazza, artist/activist; and Allison Smith, visual artist. Moderator: Julia Bryan-Wilson, art historian and critic, University of California at Irvine.
This program is presented concurrently with the release of the February issue of Modern Painters magazine, within which a roundtable discussion by the panelists is featured. Participants of this program have also collaborated on a large-scale knit banner to be unveiled at the event. Following the panel discussion, audience members are invited to an informal craft reception in which panelists will present tactile examples of the materials, machinery, and processes they use in their work.
This lecture is co-sponsored by Modern Painters and Artists & Audiences Exchange, a public program of the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Location:
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor
Admission:
$8; free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID
Box Office Information:
In person purchases can be made at The New School Box Office at 66 West 12th Street, main floor, Monday- Friday 1:00-7:00 p.m. The box office opens the first day of classes and closes after the last paid event of each semester.
For events scheduled during the summer term, the box office will open one hour before each event. During this period only, reservations and inquiries can be made by emailing boxoffice@newschool.edu or calling 212.229.5488.
FACADE PROJECT: Chicago Printmakers Collaborative
Posted January 16, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Political Art
I recently came across an amazing project in Chicago that has been ongoing since July of 2004. All of the windows of the top 3 floors of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative building contain a photograph of US soldiers who have died in Iraq. The installation is incredibly powerful and reminds one of the terrible costs of war.
The Facade Project is created by Carrie Iverson with the support of the CPC and she writes, “The installation will be ongoing until the troops currently stationed in Iraq return home.”
To see the project in person visit the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative at 4642 N. Western Ave.
On line it can be viewed at: http://www.chicagoprintmakers.com/docs/gallery/facade.php
Interview with Lincoln Cushing
Posted January 11, 2008 by jmacphee in Posters
A nice short interview with political poster archivist and artist Lincoln Cushing just popped up on the PLAZM magazine site. It's definitely worth the quick read, check it out here, and below is a short quote:
"It seems that you have been busy with research into Chinese political posters from the GPCR, and the survey of the archives of Inkworks Press, the worker-owned cooperative press in Berkeley. Are there any other historical poster movements that you've become interested in lately?
I’m interested in ALL of them lately, especially the connections between them and the gaps in scholarship. The sad fact is that we really know so little about these poster movements. Few people are aware of the numerous poster workshops that sprang up in the U.S. right after the 1970 National Guard murders at Kent State and Jackson State. Even “iconic” poster history is barely scratched – who knows that the art students who made the Paris 1968 posters were, in fact, screenprinting for the first time? They hadn’t been taught this technique in school, but it was the right medium for the moment. I didn’t know this until a colleague, Gene Marie Tempest, conducted some interviews with participants in 2007."
Lincoln also has his on site, Docs Populi, which has a huge collection of information and images on the history of political graphics, from Chinese and Cuban posters, to the cultural production of the labor movement, to the history of the use of the graphic fist in US political movements.
Swoon/Stain/Poloroid Kid Video
Posted January 10, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
A very cool little video about these kids recent show in Paris, check it out here.
Alternatives to Spray Paint: Try Mud Stencils!
Posted December 29, 2007 by nicolas_lampert in Street Art / Graffiti
Milwaukee-based artist Jesse Graves created a number of mud stencils that he recently put up on sidewalks and the sides of buildings. Below is his “how-to-guide” and a link to his website with more images.
To avoid using toxic spray paint, I found a way to make mud stencils. Here is how you do it.
Materials: Mylar, X-Acto knife, tape, mud, sponge.
1. Design your stencil. Draw your stencil the size you want it, or design it on a computer and print it. Make sure you do not have islands (parts of an image that will fall out if you cut around them, like the middle of an O.) If you are using text, use a stencil font. If are using a computer print your design the size you want the stencil to be. If it is larger then 8X10 cut it apart in photo shop and print it in pieces, or enlarge it at a local copy store.
2. Cut it. Tape your design behind or in front of the transparent Mylar. Mylar is the same stuff used as transparencies for projectors, you can find a roll of it at art stores. Use the X-Acto knife to cut your deign out of the Mylar.
3. Get Mud. Find or make some mud. I mixed soil and water then beat it with a whisk. Make sure your mud is not watery. It should be about the same consistency as peanut butter.
4. Post it. Tape the stencil to whatever you want it on, it works on sidewalks or walls. If parts of the Mylar roll up put some tape under it. Then use the sponge to dab the mud on your stencil. Do not press too hard because if you squeeze muddy water out of the sponge it may sneak under the stencil.
5. Enjoy. Remove the tape on the outside of the stencil. Carefully remove the Mylar, and enjoy you non-toxic mud stencil.
This is still an experimental process. Post your comments, ideas, and pictures at http://mudstencils.wordpress.com/
Making Our Own Art Histories
Posted December 17, 2007 by jmacphee in Artwork Needed
This just landed in our inbox:
The Southern California Library, in South L.A. will be hosting Making Our Own Art Histories, a series of art exhibitions as an effort to make contemporary art accessible in a community where there are very few galleries or contemporary art museums. The first art exhibition in this series begins with Word on the Street, opening in January of 2008. In the same way that SCL uses history to advance social justice while preserving the histories of communities in struggle for justice and making our own histories, artists and activists have created works to educate, organize and inspire people towards action for justice. Often these creative works are not always seen in galleries or museums, they are in the street. This small exhibition will focus on showing works that have been created and used for political, spiritual, social and environmental justice campaigns, actions and interventions. Works that we are especially looking for are those that have been put out on the street, guerilla style, in the effort to educate the public as well as to incite action and critical thought. Such works may include silkscreen posters, printed media, stencils, stickers, flyers, and photos of graffiti and guerilla street art.
If you are interested in participating in this exhibition, please contact Joy at 323.687.6743 or majikalnature [at] gmail.com before Jan. 1st!
8th Annual Chicago Anarchist Film Fest
Posted December 17, 2007 by jmacphee in Artwork Needed
For the 8th year, the Chicago Anarchist Film Fest is seeking un- and under-distributed films and videos to include in next years film fest, which will be happening April 25-27th, 2008. This is the same weekend as the Finding Our Roots anarchist conference in Chicago.
The Film Festival will present a sample of films from mainstream sources, rediscovered classics and the works of filmmakers engaged in social change with an anarchist vision. Along with submissions of actual work, they are also looking for "suggestions for titles that may inadvertently allow anarchy to seep through the cracks of the status quo. Movie collage, music videos and trailers for works-in-progress will also be considered."
Submission guidelines can be found here, and an entry form here.
A Response to OBEY Plagiarist
Posted December 14, 2007 by jmacphee in In the News
It's taken me a long time to get this together, but I wanted to throw my ideas into the discussion around the artwork/plagiarism of Shepard Fairey that has been spinning around the web. For those that might not know, Shepard Fairey is the creator of the "Andre the Giant has a Posse" sticker campaign, which became a long running series of "Obey Giant" posters. Mark Vallen, a Los Angeles-based artist (who created some of my favorite street posters from the early LA punk scene), recently published a long critique of Fairey on his blog, Art For A Change. What I'm writing here directly relates to Mark's piece, so if you haven't read it, give it a look here.
Mark's write-up came out of a long discussion that has been going on between a number of politically-motivated artists and archivists about Fairey's work. Throughout the whole process of discussion it has seemed clear that we have been coming from parallel but divergent positions, with different parts of the larger issues at hand being more or less important to each of us. Mark is clearly concerned with social and political potentials of ART, and believes Fairey's wholesale "theft" of historical images cheapens the potential for art to make change in the world. Lincoln Cushing, an artist, archivist and author who has been involved in the discussions, is very concerned with how plagiarism hurts efforts to empower our communities with their own revolutionary art history. However, he also supports strategic use of existing copyright law, and recently got Fairey to pay retroactive royalties on a t-shirt with Cuban artwork appropriated without credit. Favianna Rodriguez, also involved, has been particularly frustrated with Fairey's use of and profiting off of the art of people of color, and the images of the struggles of people of color, while he has had to pay none of the costs for having to live as a person of color in this society or world.
"Reclaiming the F Word" Call for Entries!
Posted December 11, 2007 by meredith_stern in Artwork Needed
Here is a call for entries from the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, located in Los Angeles, California.
"Reclaiming the F Word" Submissions Deadline: December 15, 2007
This show will open March 2008 at the Art Galleries, California State University, Northridge.
The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) is asking artists,
organizations, and activists for poster submissions for our upcoming exhibition
entitled Reclaiming the “F” Word--Posters on International Feminism. This
exhibition will feature posters about the ongoing struggle for women’s rights
showing us that feminism must not be treated like a dirty word.
http://www.politicalgraphics.org/pdf/Call%20for%20F%20Posters.pdf
Bestiary Calendars
Posted December 8, 2007 by jmacphee in Political Art
I guess it's definitely calendar season. An old friend from Chicago (who now lives in Puerto Rico), Dave Buchen, has been hand printing these great animal linoleum cut calendars every year for the past 10 years or so. The 2008 one looks great! You can check it out here, and also find out how to order one. And to the right here are a couple of the months to give you an idea (you can see the rest on his site.)
Liberation Ink T-Shirts
Posted December 8, 2007 by jmacphee in Political Art
We just got an email from our Bay Area friends Liberation Ink. They are selling some of the best political t-shirts I've ever seen, and a chunk of the money goes to political and activist organizations they are working directly with. Definitely check them out!
The image to the right is the Loteria shirt design by Mariana Viturro.
Call for Submissions! War in Iraq!
Posted December 7, 2007 by meredith_stern in Artwork Needed
Call for Entries: Deadline January 12, 2008
"Experiencing the War in Iraq"
An Artist Curated, Multi-Media Exhibit of Art about the War in Iraq
(Following text is copied from the call for entries):
What does it mean to experience this war firsthand,
in combat, or as an Iraqi civilian? What does it mean to
experience it from a distance, or on television? How can we
in America reconnect to the reality of war? Are there shared
visions of peace despite cultural and religious differences? The
work will be selected on artistic merit and look to include as
many perspectives as possible, beyond politics.
Check out more details and download a submission form at the following link:
http://reconnectus.org/downloads/ReconnectUS_CFE_dataset_0001.pdf
Abu Ghraib Art Contest?
Posted December 7, 2007 by jmacphee in In the News
As if the war in Iraq wasn't surreal and fucked up enough already (with televised "victory" events before the real war even started, mass public spectacles like the tearing down of Saddam's statue and the freeing of Jessica Lynch which were completed fabricated by the US Military, and regular "We're Winning" announcements when it is painfully clear that the largest, most trained and well equipped military in the world is generally unable to do much of anything in the face of a ragtag Iraqi resistance with little or no comparable weaponry or training), Abu Ghraib, home of the famous "thumbs up, we've got you naked and on a dog leash" torture and photos is now home to a strange US Army PR stunt, an art contest!!!
I shit you not, we are now supposed to think warmly about how well we treat our prisoners in Iraq because we let them paint the outside of their torture chambers! Awesome! This has to be one of the strangest public art projects of all time....Here's the lead paragraph in the Army press release come news story:
"Concrete bunkers, strategically placed within the confines of Abu Ghraib prison for detainee protection, turned into works of art when juvenile detainees were offered the challenge to paint them in the form of a contest."
You can read the rest here. Does anyone else think this is totally bonkers?
Borf Print to Support Daniel McGowan
Posted December 6, 2007 by jmacphee in Street Art / Graffiti
Washington, DC troublemaker BORF is back, with a great 5 color silkscreen print to help support Daniel McGowan, one of the activists imprisoned in the recent US government round-up of environmental activists. BORF and friends at the Brian McKenzie Infoshop in DC have produced the print and are working with us here at Justseeds to get it out into the world. The print is available here, but we only have 40 copies (of an edition of 50) and these are going to move fast.
For more info on McGowan, go here.
For more info on Borf, go here.
Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History
Posted December 4, 2007 by meredith_stern in Events
Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History
Traveling Exhibit! Arriving in New York at CUNY Graduate Center
Opens: December 10th, 6:30 - Recital Hall
To read the article in it's entirety: http://www.friendlyagitate.net/category/art/
This text lifted directly from their website:
The SDS Comic Show, a traveling exhibit drawing upon the book Students for a Democratic Society: a Graphic History, will be open at the CUNY Graduate Center in December. Come see the exhibit and join us for a book signing and panel discussion for Students for a Democratic Society: a Graphic History, scripted by Harvey Pekar and others and edited by Paul Buhle, editor of the 1960s SDS magazine Radical America. Harvey Pekar, real-life star of the award-winning film and the book series American Splendor (and sometime Letterman Show guest), will deliver a talk on comics and politics, followed by a panel including Buhle, former SDS-NY regional officer, Weatherman Jeff Jones, and members of the New SDS.
Howling Mob Society Strikes Pittsburgh
Posted December 2, 2007 by jmacphee in In the News
Justseeds is having its first annual meeting and retreat in Pittsburgh this weekend! And while we're here we ran into some amazing political street art. The Howling Mob Society has installed a series of historical markers correcting the public perception of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which was one of the most lively and violent labor uprising in the history of the US. Here's who they are (from their website):
"The Howling Mob Society (HMS) is a collaboration of artists, activists and historians committed to unearthing stories neglected by mainstream history. HMS brings increased visibility to the radical history of Pittsburgh, PA through grassroots artistic practice. Our current focus is The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, a national uprising that saw some of its most dramatic moments in Pittsburgh."
Defend the SF8
Posted November 26, 2007 by jmacphee in Events
This friday in New York City there is a benefit event in support of the San Francisco 8. The SF8 are eight former Black Panther Party members and active supporters (now ages 56 to 72) who were arrested last January on charges related to the 1971 killing of a San Francisco police officer. Some of these men faced virtually identical charges almost 35 years ago—charges that were dropped after it was revealed that police torture had extracted the “confessions” used to justify the case.
Now the case is back on, based on the same flawed evidence. The judge has released the 6 bail-eligible defendants on bond, and I was able to see them speak in San Francisco a couple months ago at a benefit event put on for them by Freedom Archives and the San Francisco Print Collective that was also a book release event for Emory Douglas. The SF8 were incredibly humorous, humble, thoughtful and moving to a man, I was very impressed.
Of course I was not able to meet the 2 defendants who are not eligible for bail. They are political prisoners Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim. Both have already served more than 34 years in New York state prisons. This new case charges them again with actions for which they are already serving time.
Former Black Panther Minister of Information and propagandist Emory Douglas is one of many cultural workers that has done a lot to support the SF8. He has created a special poster to raise funds for them, it is intense (and it is the top image in this post). You can buy a silkscreened or offset printed version here and support the struggle.
WRAP Posters
Posted November 25, 2007 by jmacphee in Political Art
WRAP (The Western Regional Advocacy Project) is a homelessness advocacy group that has realized the power art has in spreading a message. For the past year or so they have been working closely with San Francisco printmaker Art Hazelwood to develop a series of mass-produced posters to illustrate the main points in their Without Housing campaign. Four Bay Area artists (Ed Gould, Art Hazelwood, Claude Moller & Jos Sances) created poster designs which are now available from WRAP. You can see the posters and order them here. To learn more about WRAP go here. And they are hoping to work with more artists in the future, so if you are interested, contact Art Hazelwood.
An Atlas Exhibit & Book Launch
Posted November 24, 2007 by jmacphee in Events
Good friends Lize Mogel and Alexis Bhagat have been hard at work on a really great project called An Atlas of Radical Cartography. A collection of maps and essays illustrating the intersections of geography, mapping, politics and activism, it is finally coming out! Beyond being politically engaging, it is an amazing book object, a slip case that contains a book of essays and 10 actual full-size fold-out maps dealing with such issues as extraordinary rendition/torture planes, garbage and waste removal, water pathways, borders and surveillance cameras.
Here's a couple shots of the maps:
They will be on display in Chicago starting this weekend:
An Atlas
November 27 2007 – January 19, 2008
Gallery 400, University of Illinois, Chicago
OPENING RECEPTION and book launch: Wednesday, November 28, 5-8pm
Gallery talk @ 6:30pm
An Architektur
the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)
Ashley Hunt
Institute for Applied Autonomy with Site-R
Invisible-5
Pedro Lasch
Lize Mogel
Trevor Paglen & John Emerson
Brooke Singer
the Speculators of AREA Chicago
Jane Tsong
Unnayan
Organized by Lize Mogel and Alexis Bhagat
An Atlas is a traveling exhibition of artists working with “radical cartography”—a practice that uses maps and mapping to promote social change. The participating artists, architects, and collectives take on issues from globalization to garbage and explore the map’s role as a political agent. The exhibition and accompanying publication contribute to a growing cultural movement that cuts across boundaries of art, cartography, geography, and activism.
The companion publication, An Atlas of Radical Cartography (Journal of Aesthetics and Protest Press, 2007) will be available for purchase at the gallery, and available online as of December 1.
Click here for more information and Chicago-area lecture schedule.
And finally there will a New York City book launch at Bluestockings Books on 172 Allen St. on December 6th.
The Production Unit's The Long Distance Runner
Posted November 19, 2007 by jmacphee in Events
The Celebrate People's History posters are included in a new exhibition organized by The Production Unit called The Long Distance Runner. The show is at Den Frie Udstillingsbygning in Copenhagen, Denmark. If you are in Denmark, definitely check it out, they are deeply influenced by one of my favorite filmmakers, Peter Watkins.
Here's some info on the show from the curators:
The Production Unit is a network of artists from Sweden and Denmark working with narrative experiments, the construction of history and media critique. The exhibition at Den Frie Udstillingsbygning will be the first public presentation of their archive THE The Long Distance Runner, which includes both collaborative and individual projects as well as works by a number of other international artists. The show is part of Den Frie Udstillingsbygning’s focus on self-organisation and collectivism and gives an example of how a group of younger artists works collaboratively across languages and nationalities. The artists of The Production Unit are Petra Bauer, Nanna Debois Buhl, Kajsa Dahlberg, Sara Jordenö, Conny Karlsson, Runo Lagomarsino and Ditte Lyngkjær Pedersen.
The Long Distance Runner is comprised of projects, which in various ways discuss current political and cultural questions as well as historical events. The different parts constitute a series of discussions related to communities and publics with emphasis on questions concerning nationality, identity and language. The material varies in form covering video installations, poster projects, sound-based work, photography and various publications produced by the members of the group and artists as Josh MacPhee, Carlos Motta, Jenny Perlin, Hito Steyerl and Ylva Westerlund.
A central part of the presentation of The Long Distance Runner is Peter Watkins film La Commune from 1999. Through its’ controversial form the film challenges prevailing notions of documentary film experimenting with an unconventional way of discussing the historical event of the Paris Commune in 1871 and the relationship between subject, community and revolutionary action.
The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 5pm Thursday 10am to 9pm
Free guided tours Saturday and Sunday at 3pm
Den Frie Udstillingsbygning
Oslo Plads
DK-2100 København Ø
Tlf. +45 3312 2803
www.denfrie.dk
The Coffee Calendar
Posted November 16, 2007 by jmacphee in Political Art
Ricardo Levins Morales, one of the main artists and organizers behind the Northland Poster Collective in Minneapolis has just released a great new collection of work in the form of a calendar. The 2008 Coffee Calendar is a wall calendar, a full color collection of Ricardo's art, and an introduction to the history, culture and politics of coffee. He has created an completely new body of art work around coffee and done a huge amount of historical investigation into the politics of coffee production. The calendar can be seen in all its glory here, as well as a list of online stores that carry it. The calendar is also union printed using high quality recycled paper and soy-based ink.
Art for a Democratic Society
Posted November 13, 2007 by jmacphee in Artwork Needed
Excited to see this in my inbox, the crew over at Not My Government are trying to put together a Bay Area project similar to the Street Art Workers:
In collaboration with Not My Government, Art for a Democratic Society announces an open call to all visual artists in the Bay Area interested in creating a social/political poster zine. Our goal is to get ten different artists to make one poster each, with the final product being ten 18"x24" posters, probably printed one color on newsprint.
Once we have the crew of artists together, we will all collectively decide the theme of the poster zine. Possible themes include: health care, war, police brutality, opposing the "new Jim Crow," etc. The process of poster design and printing can be done collectively or individually. A skill-share will be organized to help any or all of the artists involved in the project.
If interested please contact us at:
art4democraticsociety [at] earthlink.net
Please tell us your name, email, phone number, what days and times you would be available to meet, and a little about yourself - your background, interests, skills, etc. Artists at any level of experience are welcome.