whittlin’ away

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.”

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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.

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…

Gadflies who organized The Version Festival in Chicago received a rude awakening last week when a mural that was commissioned as part of the festival was destroyed. Chicago Alderman James Balcer personally took offense to the mural, due to its content that depicted police surveillance cameras omnipresent in the neighborhood.

Balcer reasoned he thought the following image was gang-related and the makers did not have a permit.

The building now looks like this:

The Bridgeport Alderman did not contact the property owner, nor the artist, Gabreille Villa, before ordering the mural’s removal early in the morning, May 14. Chicago does not require a permit for murals on private property. The property in question is owned by the festival organizer’s mother.

The mural was part of Bridgeport WPA, a project that encouraged artists to make work in the cooperative spirit of the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration. The project resulted in silk-screened prints that were posted in public places around the neighborhood and in a gallery. More images, courtesy Paul Rizzuto, after the jump.

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This past week I attended two emotionally charged events related to the city’s economic crises. On Thursday, the Regional Arts & Culture Council presented its “State of the Arts” report to a packed City Hall, making the case for renewed funding despite the city’s financial planning office recommendation that RACC funding be cut by 10% this year. On Friday, the following day, a rally was held in support of the Oregon Historical Society’s Research Library. OHS laid off 23% of their staff this past week, including all of their library staff, and closed their archives to the general public.

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