Inspiration
Another Opportunist Takes advantage of Katrina Anniversary
Posted September 2, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspiration
While Republicans tried to take advantage of the potential destruction by Hurricane Gustav, and the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, stencil artist Banksy visited New Orleans to paint his own pointed messages. It appeared like the GOP, and the current administration, wanted to seem caring and prepared for Gustav's believed force, with photo-ops and "promises" of support. Thankfully for the Gulf Coast residents the storm caused no severe damage, and the Bush has to live with his poll ratings.
More popular than ever, Banksy commemorated the 3 year anniversary with jabs at military "security" and the "Grey Ghost", with other pieces that celebrated New Orleans culture and Second lines
.
Again using his cleverness and wit to raise some poignant and necessary issues.
Like why, 3 years later, hasn't the necessary infrastructure been created to protect ALL its citizens from another storm?
Photos courtesy of Dingler1109
Thanks to NOLA Rising for raising consciousness of whats goin on!
Art Imitates Life
Posted September 1, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspiration
Someone finally decided to do a street poster based on American Apparel's Dov Charney. Most folks can identify the intriguing and sexual advertisements of American Apparel, yet probably didn't know that there have been accusations of sexual assault against him(just throw his name into a search engine) You probably get that from the posters, or not.
Over at AnimalNewYork.com there's a slew of posts of the previous posters that are worth checking out.
Anyhow, for you ethical shoppers there's plenty of other "socialist" t-shirt factory experiments, try No-Sweat or follow these simple guidelines
NYC Critical Mass Tonight Friday Aug 29
Posted August 29, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News
Its the last Friday of the month, which means another Critical Mass for many cities. This months ride is the 4 year anniversary of our historic Republican National Convention (RNC) ride, where many thousands of folks took to the streets. (image by Fly)
The NYC Metro seemed to remember this too.
Arrests set course for protests in city
by Amy Zimmer / metro new york
AUG 29, 2008Friday night’s Critical Mass marks a seminal event in the ride’s history: Four years ago the police arrested more than 250 people during the monthly ride that attracted thousands during the Republic National Convention.
Hundreds of protesters were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. Excluding costs associated with the RNC, the NYPD and courts have spent more than $2.3 million on Critical Mass according to numbers compiled by Times Up!
Today's Extinct Animal- The Lake Atitlan Grebe
Posted August 26, 2008 by roger_peet in Inspiration
I've decided that this blog thing might be useful for regular, depressing updates on the subject that I think about most, namely, extinction. To start off with, I think I'll try to post regular entries dealing with individual species that have gone extinct in quasi-recent times due, at least in part, to human activity. We'll start with the Lake Atitlan Grebe, also known as the Poc.
"It Don't Gitmo Better!" Steve Powers in Coney Island
Posted August 8, 2008 by k_c_ in In the News
There's a bunch of press on Steve Powers-ESPO- new sideshow installation, “Waterboard Thrill Ride”, in Coney Island. It appears that Powers made some robots that simulate waterboarding in a space out on West 12th Street, just off Surf Avenue, in Brooklyn. Before you check it out you can read about it on the NY Times, BBC, ABC News, and probably a ton off other blogs. The piece will move to the Park Avenue Armory in September and be a part of Creative TIme's Democracy in America: The National Campaign events there. Chris Stain will also have a 70' mural included as well!
Help Support the Start of a Resource Library / Info Shop in a Historic Boxcar
Posted August 7, 2008 by nicolas_lampert in Inspiration
This is a great project worth supporting at any level if you are down with art, zines, radical cultural spaces, and freight train hopping. Hard to imagine a better alternative art space than one in a boxcar! Below is their call for support.
From the BBCRC website “In mid-July the Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture (BBCRC) in Northern California made an arrangement with the Heritage Junction Museum in McCloud to acquire two historic pieces of rail equipment - an ex-Sacramento Northern wood boxcar (SN 2349) and an ex-Pacific Fruit Express iced refrigerator car (PFE 55224). Both cars date from around 1912 and are in reasonably good condition. We plan to move both cars to Black Butte later this year.
We intend to use the boxcar as a resource center/library/info shop and as an arts/project space for visitors to Black Butte. We hope to be able to have some art shows in the boxcar and to use it for special events. The reefer will be located alongside the boxcar and will also provide community space and add to the historic railroad atmosphere at Black Butte. The railcars will both be owned by the BBCRC, a California based non-profit agency. The intention is that they will be a long term resource for our project and our community.
Right now, we are appealing for help in raising funds for this ambitious project. Acquisition of both cars, moving them to Black Butte, and site preparation will all together cost about $10,000. We will also have additional restoration and rehabilitation costs. We have already raised about $4000. But we need A LOT of additional help in a fairly short period of time if we are going to pull this off. If you are able to make a contribution of any size, please write out a (tax-deductible) check to the Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture and send it to us at 800 Black Butte Road, Weed, CA 96094.”
More info:
BBCRC Boxcar/Reefer Project
Groundswell Collective's Blog
Posted July 30, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspiration
As you may have noticed the Justseeds site goes thru some minor adjustments from time to time, one being the recent addition of the "blog roll". (Its found on the right of your screen) I wanted to highlight one of the links because I've been looking over the Groundswell Collective Blog. They have a really good looking site that is "Dedicated to clever and innovative trends of art and design in activism." And cover a lot of similar topics and themes we hope to here at Justseeds. So when you're cruisin the blogosphere and we haven't been on top of things check them out, or likewise.
A post I started with was there recent coverage of IllegalBillboards.org going "live". Read it there
Inch by inch, row by row...
Posted July 11, 2008 by meredith_stern in Inspiration
Gonna make this garden grow....
My garden is in full bloom, and I thought it would be nice to share some photos!
I'd love to see other gardens in bloom also! Let's start a garden blog!
Show Photos - Out of the Shell of the Old
Posted July 9, 2008 by colin_matthes in Justseeds/Member Projects
I am sitting in the airport in Pittsburgh after a workshop with RUST - the Radical Urban Silkscreen Team. RUST is a rad goup of teens making prints in Pittsburgh and they were a blast to work with.
My plane is delayed and I have a few minutes to sort through some photos of the completed Justseeds exhibition at Space 1026 in Philadelphia. Here they are.
Maxo Vanka Murals @ St. Nicolas in Millvale, PA
Posted June 27, 2008 by shaun in Inspiration
I booked a tour this week to take some of the kids we're working with at RUST to see the murals of Maxo Vanka at St. Nicolas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, PA (just north of Pittsburgh). Vanka, a Croation immigrant to the States, painted these murals inside the church in two stages - in 1937 and again in 1941 - commissioned by Father Albert Zagar. They are filled with fierce and vivid anti-war and anti-fascist imagery, and seasoned with some illustrations of the reality of the immigrant experience in industrial America. I've never seen work like this inside a church of any sort, and each time I go back to see them I'm still amazed.
I first read about the murals at St. Nicolas four years ago in Icky A's zine Nosedive (#13), and went to see them with friend and Justseeds artist Erik Ruin while he was in Pittsburgh for a visit. Mary Petrich, who remembers Vanka painting the murals when she was a child, gave the tour today - by far the best oral illustration I've experienced with these paintings. The church building is in need of financial help since the fallout from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 flooded much of Millvale and damaged the walls and roof of St. Nicolas. The church is accepting donations towards this work, which will include efforts to preserve the murals before the water damage gets any worse.
If you're in Pittsburgh, do not miss these murals! Mary Petrich can be reached for her amazing tours at 412-681-0905. Also, visit the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka website to see much better photos than I posted here!
The Great Rebel Raft Regatta
Posted June 27, 2008 by jmacphee in Events
John Jordan (mover and shaker in Reclaim the Streets, We Are Everywhere and the Climate Camp UK) is helping put together an amazing looking new event/project called The Great Rebel Raft Regatta. It looks and sounds like a more political and decentralized Miss Rockaway Armada, with an invite for anyone and everyone to build a raft and join:
A strange fusion of futuristic flotilla, activist armada and charity raft race floats down the river Medway. Hundreds of rebel rafts of every shape and size are swarming towards Kingsnorth power station, like a giant shoal of disobedient fish with a single aim, to shut down the climate criminals.Launched from the Climate Camp on the 9th of August, as part of the mass day of Action to stop the construction of the UK's first coal fired power station in 30 years. The GRRR will be made up of a multitude of rebel rafts constructed out of flotsam and jetsam of this overheating world.... There will be pirate ship rafts, musical rafts, desert Island rafts, migration rafts, polar bears floating on ice-berg rafts, apocalyptic rafts, yellow submarine rafts, car wreck rafts, Robinson Crusoe rafts, battle ship Potemkin rafts, Viking rafts, Kontiki rafts, life rafts and love rafts, dark rafts and hope rafts.
9th August, high tide, RIver Medway, Kingsnorth Power Station, Kent
Get a team together < Build a raft of your dreams < Come to the Climate Camp August 3-11th > GRRR Launch >>> August 9th
Propaganda of the Deed
Posted June 23, 2008 by k_c_ in Inspiration
Today in 1892, Anarchist,Alexander Berkman, entered the office of Henry Clay Frick and attempted to assassinate him, holding him accountable for the deaths of strikers in the Homestead Massacre. This attentat was intended to avenge the murders, by Pinkerton Detectives, and inspire the working class to revolt.
Frick survived, due to Berkman's poor marksmanship, and Berkman spent many years in prison.
I woke up today thinking about how can movements build power as opposed to taking it. While in an election year all anyone talks about is changing our elected officials. It doesn't feel much more than making another consumer choice, Coke or Pepsi (or some "natural" soda), to shop at Starbuck or Not, Obama or McCain?
On the ground it's not Presidents or congresspeople that are confronted with the reality of the economy, unemployment, foreclosures, or incarceration. It is a matter of some real progress in thinking, acting, and organizing ourselves that will wield "power"
We can neither eliminate, or hold accountable, any one individual that will spark the revolution we need in the world today.
Mr Berkman had incredibly strong conviction to carry out his act. I wonder what he would do today?
What are we going to do today?
