Marjane Satrapi, the creator of Persepolis has created a new series of informative online comics about the recent political turmoil in Iran. Check out http://www.spreadpersepolis.com/
Persevering Despite the Impossible
June 25th, 2009 § 1
Finished the Tough Stuff from the Buff DVDs. The discs look great!
Wrote an essay for the accompanying booklet Persevering Despite the Impossible: A Brief History of Media Activism in Buffalo, NY. Download the booklet as a PDF here.
Better yet, buy the DVD here.
Long Live Art Front
June 20th, 2009 § 0
In my research for the Art for the Millions bike ride, I came across an amazing little-remembered publication, Art Front (1934-1937). This magazine provided a fantastic resource and community sounding board for issues surrounding art and politics during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) period. Based in New York City, the magazine was the official organ of the Artists’ Union and served as a main organizing tool. Contributors included Fernand Leger, Harold Rosenberg, Louis Bunin, and Stuart Davis, among numerous others.
Art Front’s mission was “as wide as art itself.” Stated its editor, H.S. Baron, “Many art magazines are being published in America today. Without one exception, however, these periodicals support outworn economic concepts as a basis for the support of art which victimize and destroy art. The urgent need for a publication which speaks for the artist, battles for his economic security and guides him in his artistic efforts is self-evident.”
Tuff Stuff on DVD…out now!
June 14th, 2009 § 1
Been busy bloggin the shit out of Tuff Stuff from the Buff, booking the last shows and making a DVD, which is now avail for pre-order.
The 70-minute program includes recent works by: Gabirelle Citirniti, Tony Conrad, Critical Art Ensemble, Terry Cuddy, Chris Ernst, David Gracon, Stephanie Gray, Paris Henderson, Esther Johnson, Meg Knowles, Marc Moscato, Julie Perini & Kelly Spivey. For full track listings/ info check out the lineup here.
Each disc also comes with a 20-page booklet and handmade packaging. Help make our load lighter on the bike tour and pick up a copy!
dill pickles site up and at ‘em
June 14th, 2009 § 0
Created a site for The Dill Pickle Club, a new experimental cultural/ education center in Portland, OR.
Starting June 2009, The Dill Pickle will begin hosting a monthly presentation series in which academics, zinesters, political activists, artists and people of every political shade under the sun can come together to examine life as we know it. Presentations will be controversial, offbeat and intellectual, and provide an experimental format to critique contemporary politics, culture and humanities.
Up first, “Art for the Millions,” a leisurely bicycle tour of Works Progress Administration (WPA) sponsored projects in Portland. The ride will make several stops along the way to hear from leading scholars and examine the WPA’s relevance to contemporary society. The ride is $10 and includes lunch. Register at yes@dillpickleclub.com.
notes for a people’s atlas of portland
June 7th, 2009 § 0
Inspired by AREA Chicago, I recently created a piece for “Grassroots Cartography,” an exhibition at SEA Change Gallery in Portland, OR. “Notes for a Peoples Atlas” is a multi-city, participatory mapping and design project that began in Chicago in 2005, and has since traveled to Zagreb, Croatia and Syracuse, NY. A sort of lo-fi, more political Platial, the project invites participants to fill in the blank outline of the political border of their city or region with individual and collective local knowledge, forgotten histories, ongoing debates and changing definitions of urban space. Not to show favoritism, but this one is extra special.
For more photos go to the photstream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36959900@N08/sets/72157619413018494/
Check out more highlights after the jump, or download and fill in your own.
History repeats itself
June 1st, 2009 § 2
Came across this entry while browsing through An Oregon Almanac: A Handbook of Fact and Fancy (1940), a fascinating pamphlet produced as a WPA project of The Oregon Writer’s Project. The booklet provides humorous anecdotes and random bits of Oregon History for every day of the calendar year. Considering the city’s ongoing dilemma on how to approach homelessness in Portland, it struck me with particular relevance…
you tube’s greatest hits
May 29th, 2009 § 1
On Thursday, May 28, a group of friends got together for a potluck at the Eyeful Gallery/ Dill Pickle Club office space. Over the course of the evening, each attendee retrieved one of their favorite online videos and, together, we created a youtube channel over dinner. The show runs about a half hour; enjoy.
annoucementland
May 28th, 2009 § 0
3 announcements of important going-ons:
Brian Borrello and Vanessa Renwick have teamed up to create a new sculpture in honor of Portland mini-bike critical massers, the Zoobombers. The publicly-sanctioned scultpture features a gold-leafed minibike hoisted above a jumbled pyle of bicycles. The unveiling takes place this Friday, May 29 at 4PM at the Zoobomb pyle (10th & SW Oak) whereupon the party will parade to the new site, where Mayor Sam Adams will speak alongside performances by The Sprokettes.
The following week, Store for a Month inhabits an empty storefront on 1216 SE Division Street, as a temporary art gallery, social center and pie bakery. Loosely based on Claes Oldenburg’s “Store” (1961), the show features works by 60 Northwest artists, most of which were created specifically for the project.
Lastly, the following weekend, June 6-7, the Axiom Collective hosts the first annual Portland Anarchist Book Fair. The fair features over 20 booksellers, publishers, and zinesters peddling a wide range of radical literature and art (bafflling enough, the list includes the Multnomah County Libray – only in Portland)! There will also be a series of (free) workshops and (not free) food.
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