Joan Mitchell Initiative

Joan Mitchell has a new initiative to support your artwork, if you are a painter or sculptor in the Gulf Coast area. Take a look at the Arts Council of New Orleans website for info and apply!
**Profuse** thanks to Joan Mitchell Foundation and their amazing support for Gulf Coast artists and organization. ONLY one bone to pick: it seems that if your medium happens to be digital, you do not qualify for this grant. In my brain, digital media can qualify as painting or sculpture. I guess this is one way to get possible applicants to self - screen.

In Vanda's Room

It's 3 hours long and you will watch ALOT of crack smoking, but In Vanda's Room is art, and it might have a strong effect on those of us watching public housing come down. Director Pedro Costa lived with the residents of the Fontainhas slum in Lisbon for 6 months, as it was being demolished, working with them to create a - I can't really call it a story -- a portrait that blends documentary and narrative uniquely. Shot on DV and blown up to 35 mm, it's a revelation. A follow-up film with mostly the same characters is Colossal Youth, another gem of DV work and impeccable compositions, and long, long shots that rarely cut away or move into a close up. For more info about the film, here's a link to a review and a lengthy interview.

Louisiana Artworks Workshop

Louisiana Artworks presents a printmaking workshop by Kyle Bravo.

UPDATE as of June 27th from LA Artworks:
Louisiana ArtWorks' July printmaking workshops have garnered a great deal of attention and we regret to inform you that our screenprinting workshop is full and closed for enrollment. There is still space available in our relief printmaking workshop, taking place on July 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 10th from 6-9 PM. In the relief workshop participants will learn the techniques and processes for creating linoleum cuts. The class will cover transferring imagery to your linoleum block, safe carving techniques, inking, printing both by hand and with the press, and techniques for multicolor prints. Please call the office at (504) 571-7373 to register.

John Scott's Birthday Event

this in from Ron Bechet:

Dear Friends of John Scott,

John Scott's Birthday is June 30th. To celebrate him we are gathering at Xavier
Art Village on Saturday June 28th through Sunday June 29th. We will celebrate
John's life in the way he gave us, through working, sharing and passing on
information.
Those of us who were honored by going to the studio on Carriere Ct, in New
Orleans east or at Xavier know what happened there. You left full and exhausted.
Usually full of information, inspiration and possibilities and exhausted from
working, intellectually and physically. We hope to share some of what John did
for us at the studio. So please come bring you work, your heart and sketchbook,
also Scott stories to pass among us for the next generations.
The schedule is attached. There is room to work and information to share. Don't
worry if you don't make art, many came to John's studio and left full of art
anyway. If you can't come, come next time.
Pass It On

Times-Picayune STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER ZDON

Volunteers Needed: Art in Action - Jacqueline Bishop

What: “Field Guide”, an “ArtInAction” site-specific installation
Artist: Jacqueline Bishop
Where: Milne Boys Home; Franklin Avenue, Gentilly
When: Thursday June 26th (Installation Begins)
Saturday July 26th (Unveiling Reception On-Site)

“Art In Action” is proud to sponsor “Field Guide”, a site-specific installation by contemporary artist Jacqueline Bishop at the historical Milne Boys Home in Gentilly. “Field Guide” will be initiated June 26th and formally unveiled July 26th. In her efforts to call attention to the current global environmental crisis, Ms. Bishop will be painting 2500 originally designed stencils of indigenous and migratory Louisiana birds on the Milne site.

Volunteers are needed to assist “ArtInAction” and Ms. Bishop with this installation. The primary task will be to work with Ms. Bishop in the painting of the stencils. Hours are from 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. for 5 days. One hour shifts are available – larger time commitments will be greatly appreciated. All necessary tools and refreshments will be provided.

Please contact Elizabeth Underwood at the numbers below to volunteer or for further information. Thank you.

Elizabeth Underwood, Director
504-388-9844 aia@elizabethunderwood.net
www.artinaction-nola.blogspot.com

Curator's Talk - NOVA Projects @ Barristers

Jayme McLellan, founder of Civilian Art Projects in Washington DC, and former resident of New Orleans, will give a talk on the work she selected for NOVA PROJECTS II this Saturday, June 21st, 7pm at Barrister's Gallery. The talk is free and open to the public.

BECA call

BECA has a new show coming up with opportunities for participation:
'CURATE THIS!' - The World as Curator
See the website for details.

Art Voices Magazine

Art Voices is now online at
www.artvoicesmagazine.com

Local artist / arts supporter Terrence Sanders started publishing the magazine last February, as a partner to his gallery ventures. Unlike other magazines, Art Voices has a manifesto, which is quite broad and a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's a huge step in the direction of filling out and focusing / fluffing the local art scene. It seems that all the back issues are online - check out the latest set of reviews here.

St. Claude Art Night

This Saturday night there's alot of openings- check it out at the SCAD NOLA site.

NOVA Projects

The next Semi-Annual show from Nova Projects will open this Saturday
at Barrister's gallery from 6-10pm. The show is curated by Jayne McLellan, Director of
Civilian Arts Projects in Washington DC.

Superdome in Paris

Are you in Paris this summer? you might want to check out this exhibit called "Superdome" at
Palais de Tokyo. The web press starts out with "The Superdome is a mythical stadium: built in 1975 in New Orleans (Louisiana), it has hosted numerous Super Bowls (the American football championship’s final), a Rolling Stones concert, Pope John Paul II, the Republican Convention and refugees of Hurricane Katrina. Paradoxical, the Superdome builds a bridge between the greatest entertainment and the greatest anguish...." It seems that this edge will be explored in five separate exhibitions and numerous events.

2 TRANSFORMA Projects: Plessy Park gathering and Idea Sharing Session

This in from Transforma:
Idea Sharing and Brainstorming Session at Antenna
3161 Burgundy Street [between Louisa and Clouet Streets]
Saturday, June 7, 4p – 6p
Transforma Projects is a collective of artists and creative professional that was formed after Hurricane Katrina as a means of supporting, nurturing and celebrating creative practices that impact the social and physical environment. The initiative explores how art-making can intersect with other sectors such as education, health, environment, and community development. Transforma Projects recently launched the first round of the Creative Recovery Mini-Grant Program to support projects existing at the intersection of art, social justice and recovery in New Orleans and is in the process of developing a series of monthly convenings. The National Resource Team invites you to this “Idea Sharing and Brainstorming Session” as a means of assessing what needs and desires exist within the community. These monthly forums are intended to focus on topics and issues relevant to you and your community, so your participation in this discussion is essential.

Prior to this gathering, Transforma will be participating in events for Homer Plessy and everyone is encouraged to join. The community will gather at Douglass High School, 3820 St. Claude Avenue, at 10am and process to the intersection of Press & Royal Streets where Homer Plessy was arrested on June 7, 1892. There will be discussion of civil rights and educational equity with students from Douglass, students from the NOCCA summer program as well as other students and adults in the neighborhood. There will be a variety of arts workshops and plenty of food. Please spread the word to friends and neighbors.
All are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please contact Jess Garz, Transforma Project Manager, with via email [jess@transformaprojects.org] or phone [215.350.2700] with questions or concerns.

Flight - performance at the Rampart St. Community Center

Flight - Is it theatre? Is it art? oh no, is it * performance art *!?

Full disclosure, I am involved in this multimedia performance, which involves the talents of both Artspot Productions and Mondo Bizarro in the acting realm, the costumes of Susan Gisleson, the writing of Lisa D'Amour, music by Randels and LaRocca, video by me, directed by J Hammons, and, conceived and designed by Jeff Becker, whose amazing large scale moving sculptures form and define the set. (whew!)  The performance was reviewed by the theatre critic at the Gambit, and by the art critic for the Times-Picayune.  It's interesting to compare these pieces of writing for their underlying ideas about art and theatre and their intersections. I take issue with some of the assumptions about performance art espoused in each article; however, happenings or actions that get labeled as "performance art" are far between here, most often found in excellent, dance-heavy form at places like the SideArm Gallery.  Is this label only applied to work that can't otherwise be labeled? Does Wikipedia  help define the undefinable with statements like "Performance artists often challenge the audience to think in new and unconventional ways about theatre and performing, break conventions of traditional performing arts, and break down conventional ideas about "what art is"..."?  Performance art, with its academic origins in Dada, is a shape shifter whose spirit New Orleanians are intimate with every Fat Tuesday.  This spirit comes out locally in concealed forms as well - a recent short film called "Truth"  made by the local youth collective 2-Cent is a great document of a local performance art action.  Watch it on their website. 

BECA Gallery call for artists

‘FOUR’

For this exhibition, BECA gallery will be enlisting the input of art enthusiasts from around the world via ‘CURATE THIS!’, an online juried event which allows anyone from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and email access to select 10 artists from the compiled selection of submitted works. From June 18-21, 2008 art enthusiasts from around the world will view the works submitted by artists from all corners of the globe and will vote to choose the top 10 artists of 2008 working in 2D and 3D mediums including, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, mixed-media, drawing, printmaking, fiber, textiles and photography. The chosen top 10 artists will have their selected works featured at www.becagallery.com and in the upcoming 2008 edition of the publication titled, ‘CURATE THIS!’.

From the top 10 artists chosen, the top 4 artists who have received the highest number of votes will have their works exhibited at ‘FOUR’, the gallery’s third international contemporary art exhibition opening August 2, 2008 at BECA gallery located at 527 Saint Joseph Street, New Orleans, LA, USA in the heart of the New Orleans warehouse arts district. The opening of the exhibit, ‘FOUR’, coincides with White Linen Night, the largest annual visual arts event in New Orleans.

Email submissions will be accepted according the guidelines listed through June 10, 2008. Physical submission receive deadline is June 12, 2008.

‘FOUR’ EXHIBITION DATES: August 2 – September 28, 2008. Complete guidelines and submission form may be downloaded from http://becagallery.typepad.com/my_weblog/call-to-artists.html

BECA gallery

527 St. Joseph Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

www.becagallery.com

becagallery@gmail.com

Grey Ghost saga, con't.

NOLA.com is chiming in on the Fred Radtke debate. If you don't know by now, Fred Radkte - aka the Grey Ghost - is New Orlean's self-appointed superhero painter-outer of that urban plague, graffiti. The writer of the nola.com article takes a stance that likens Radtke's work to the Ab Ex movement in visual art, therefore positioning Radtke right along side the grafitti artists whose work he seeks to grey out. Is he just another visual blight on the urban landscape, or an artist working within a "validated" artistic tradition? I am compelled to point out that this ironic approach to repositioning acts of graffiti removal has its precedent in a short film made in 2001 by Matt McCormick titled "The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal." Narrated by Miranda July, this beautifully- shot 16 mm film takes the same ironic, academic stance - graffiti removal as an artistic movement of its own merit within an accepted tradition - but in this case, the location is the urban wilds of Portland OR. How effective is this approach on the powers that be? Will Radtke start to think of his strokes as aesthetic gestures? Will he hold the paint roller slightly different now, contemplating the next move? Will Freeport MacMoran or the City start calling the money they donate to his project a "public art grant"? NOLAFugees has also chimed in with a slightly different approach in their "Fred Radtke is King" article. Whatever the result of this, the fact is that Radtke will take even non-graffit artists to court, if their work is nailed to light poles - see this NOLA Rising account of the trial ( the judge sounds surprisingly reasonable!) Beware, all you future public sphere artists of the subversive variety!