July 17th, 2009 § 0
Today I leave for a two and half week biking jaunt through the great Pacific Northwest, showing movies about Buffalo and the end of capitalism. Hooray! Be sure to check out the blog/ site for the tour, as we’ll be regularly updating it with stories, pics and videos from the road.
I will have limited access to e-mail so please bear with me; it may take a while to respond to any inquiries. Thanks and hope to catch you soon…
July 8th, 2009 § 0
In addition to having some kind of installation on hoboes, displacement and anarchists playing in a tent in a warehouse, I’ll be participating in this event at this year’s What the Heck Fest.
“MAKING IT HAPPEN”
An Open Discussion on Making It HappenSunday, July 19th 10:00 am
at the Department of Safety, 1011 12th St., Anacortes, WARoll out early and join a discussion or two on creating events, running venues, and kick-starting special moments.
- What works where you are?
- What is happening elsewhere?
- What kinds of face-to-face moments are important in a hyper-connected world?
- How do we keep going when everybody’s broke?
Participants will include:
Mariella Luz (Olympia All Ages Project, Olympia, WA)
Marc Moscato (Dill Pickle Club, Portland, OR)
Aimee Buyea (Sugar City, Buffalo, NY)
George Wietor (Division Avenue Arts Cooperative, Grand Rapids, MI)
Hollow Earth Radio (the internet)
Kevin Erickson (All Ages Movement Project)
Joe Ahearn (Showpaper, NYC)and… YOU!(?)
Now all I have to figure out is how I’m getting there!
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.
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!
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.
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.
May 25th, 2009 § 0
This Thurs, May 28, my film The More Things Stay the Same will screen as part of Off the Map: The Western Oregon University Experimental Film Festival. Curated by students in the Art Department at WOU, the program also includes works by Andy Blubaugh, Rose Bond, Carl Diehl, Gretchen Hogue, Ryan Jeffery and Steven Slappe. The festival is free and open to the public.
May 16th, 2009 § 0
Getting ready/ planning for “Tough Stuff From the Buff,” a summer bike film tour, July 17-August 2. Fellow filmmaker David Gracon and I are teaming up to put the rubber to the road, showing experimental and activist films about Buffalo, NY, at theaters, all ages venues and barns throughout the Pacific NW. A diverse collection of work, ranging from Tony Conrad and Critical Art Ensemble to youth-produced videos from Squeaky Wheel, the program highlights the city’s little-known Do-It-Yourself media arts community and reflects the city’s public spaces, political struggles and perseverance under late capitalism.
Visit the show’s blog, which will be regularly updated from the road. If you can help set up a show in your town, drop a line!
May 15th, 2009 § 0
Leonard Crowdog is a legend. He served as spiritual advisor to the American Indian Movement (AIM) and played a pivotal role at Wounded Knee during its 71-day siege in 1973. He will be speaking in defense of American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, next Wednesday, May 20 at 7PM, at the Native American Student and Community Center at Portland State University (on the corner of SW Broadway and Jackson Streets). David Hill, official spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, will also speak.
Organizers of the teach-in hope to raise awareness as part of a nationwide effort to renew support for Peltier’s release. Peltier was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for a sixth consecutive year, and last fall, President Obama met with Native American leaders and indicated his willingness to consider clemency.
Peltier’s case has been hotly debated as to his guilt and the fairness of his trial. He was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the murder of two FBI Agents in a 1975 shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His story is vividly told in Peter Matthiessen’s book In the Spirit of Crazy Horse and in Michael Apted’s film Incident at Oglala.
The event is free and open to the public.
May 12th, 2009 § 0
Check out RIP: A Remix Manifesto, a fantastic new film by Brett Gaylor. Focusing on the “band” GirlTalk, the doc makes a compelling and thoroughly researched argument for the relaxing of intellectual property/ copyright laws, and its implications on everything from the music industry to prescription drugs.
True to its subject, Gaylor’s distribution model encourages the remixing of his film footage, paying whatever you want to download the movie, and hosting your own screening. Read more in this Wired interview.
