bling: after an early botticelli

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cornify

Did you ever wonder what the "cornify" button at the bottom of this blog does?

dwayne

Congrats Dwayne:) You've still got nine minutes and thirteen seconds left!

University of Memphis BFA show

University of Memphis BFA Show 

Opening is Saturday, April 25 in Jones Hall and in the 

BRAND NEW GALLERY

at Area 47!!!

Michael Aldana: In Katrina's Wake

Michael Aldana's show In Katrina's Wake opens this week in Lulalyn Gallery

In Katrina’s wake, I found myself looking at the culture I love teetering on existence, struggling for survival. The destruction of the wetlands that surround New Orleans by oil and natural gas companies has slowly led to the erosion of these vast wetlands which are New Orleans buffer against hurricane storm surge. Without these wetlands, hurricanes of the future will threaten the city even more. Katrina showed just how vulnerable New Orleans is to hurricane damage and as a consequence we are looking at the possibility of a city that may never revive itself wholly. I see this culture I grew up with vanishing as people would rather move than confront the problem. 

What I focus on in my art are the effects of erosion (as metaphor) on culture and family in South Louisiana. I revisit places and things of my youth that are vanishing and apply these things to what I am handing down to my children. This is a slow whittling away of my culture taking place now. As people leave, as the water moves in, as traditions are lost, the soul of a region is being lost. It is my goal, as an artist of this region, of this culture, to point to these losses. I look at my art now as a mourning process. 

I liken it to the mourning of someone before they have passed. As if they have a poor diagnosis, and hope is bleak. We begin the process of mourning before the person has passed. However, there is always hope. And I do feel that I address hope in my works as well. The hope exists in the passing down of traditions and histories and the sharing of a love for a place. My art reflects both the fears and hopes of a people who are as a David, facing a Goliath. The odds may be against us, but no task is too tall, and we can overcome.

- Michael Aldana

As an artist, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the way Hurricanes have shaped my life story.  I'm intrigued by the way Aldana speaks about the relationship between geological erosion and cultural change.  I share his love of the Gulf Coast and can't wait to see the artwork.

In Katrina’s Wake - Selected Works by Michael Aldana, opens Friday, April 17, 6-9 p.m. 

at Lulalyn Gallery. The show will run through May 16.

Wonder Monday: Twitchhiking

I wonder if it's better to use social networking sites to build goodwill in a small local community among people you've met or if it would be more fun to follow people around the world so you could accomplish  something like this.

Paul Smith travelled the world relying solely on the goodwill of his fellow twitter-users and raised thousands of dollars for a clean water charity while doing so.  I don't know if I'd get very far doing the same thing . . . probably not, most of the people I follow on twitter are in Memphis and it seems like risky business to do something like this as the mother of a two-year-old.  Maybe it would be a better idea to attend a local event like this with Memphis social media experts:

The Social Media Expedition will be hosting a tweetup on April 16th. This is the after hours version of our Expedition breakfasts. It's a little more casual, but still packed with information and networking opportunities. There will be plenty of time to catch up with your Memphis social community, as well as some more core conversations to help each other stay on top of our Social Media game. We hope you can all make it out. If you have any questions, call us at 888-5862  

Animate!!!!!

This week in my Drawing 2 class we studied Josh Mosley, Jeff Scher, and William Kentridge. We also watched these videos from YouTube. Now the whole class is working on a 20 second animation piece. I'm REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT. Bold Italic Excited!!!!

Donna Smith exhibition

Activism

The argument about craftivism made me want to share this painting (which is an about a year old). I find it really intriguing that people who are most passionate about activism can harbor a deep hostility for everyone else's cause.  This watercolor is about ten inches tall and maybe 36 wide.  

I've started some sketches of pillow fights that are a lighter take on the same drama.

Wonder Monday: What is Craftivism?

This post written by Julie Finn from Crafting a Green World asks a great question--how can crafting change the world?  There's a team on etsy dedicated to the idea of craftivism and apparently they've redefined their mission statement to limit the scope of their activism to a left-wing American political agenda.  Etsy is a global marketplace, so I wonder if this definition limits the role that this community can play in a larger arena?

Edit:  To clarify, no mission statement has actually been redefined through this discussion.  Finn's exact quote is "Craftivism the Etsy Team is remaining (for now) implicitly (though still not explicitly, I believe) tied to a liberal political agenda, and the team profile is meant to be read through such a lens."

What It Was: My Conversation About Iraq

If you think it's might be a little awkward having a conversation with an Iraqi artist while standing in front of a rusty bombed out car that exploded on the streets of Iraq, you might think it would be even more unsettling to do so while he's wearing a microphone and another artist is fiddling with his zoom lens and snapping pictures of your conversation.

When I drove into the parking lot of First Congo Church in Cooper-Young this afternoon the first thing I noticed was that giant rusty hunk of exploded car on a trailer behind a tour-bus.  Jeremy Deller's project "It is What it is:  Conversations about Iraq,"  consists of that trailer and two "conversation partners."  These men are on hand to answer questions about their experience in Iraq.

Jonathan Harvey, the first man I talked to, is a reservist in the military who recently served in Iraq.  This friendly looking young white man was stationed under a tent in the First Congo parking lot with a table full of Iraqi newspapers, comic books, knit scarves, and Urban Art Commission stickers.  I sat down under the tent with him and tried to butt into a conversation between him and another vet to ask a few questions about his experience.  He told me a little about his work with PsyOps distributing propaganda and even showed me a comic book that he had helped distribute in Iraq.  He was obviously having a good conversation with his fellow vet, but the most memorable moment of that conversation to me was when he was talking about the evolution of insurgency tactics.  As a metaphor, he started talking about how impossible it is to kill cockroaches in New York with an ordinary can of Raid.  Then someone mentioned something about nuclear weapons.  Yikes.

That grossed me out a little, so I excused myself from the table and started up a conversation with Esam Pasha, an Iraqi artist who sought asylum in the US in 2005.  Mr. Pasha was very approachable and I feel like I could have chatted with him for hours, I even felt the need to apologize at one point because I felt like I was monopolizing his time.  I was fascinated by the duality of his experience.  Mr. Pasha, a man who speaks five languages, has been interviewed about his work by CNN, and who worked in the British Embassy in Iraq, claimed his favorite place in the United States is the decidedly un-exotic Connecticut.  Since Connecticut is not high on my list of places to visit, I thought this was really funny.  Maybe I should go there to see what all the fuss is about.

Mr. Pasha's descriptions of cafe life on the banks of the Tigris River before the First Gulf War made it seem like a real paradise.  He talked about nights spent barbecuing fish with friends and family and afternoons where people would gather at the Mutanabbi street market to sell or trade their favorite books.  Since Mr. Pasha and I were standing in a parking lot that is filled with booths in the Fall during the Cooper-Young Festival , it was easy to imagine that a Friday on Mutanabbi street would be a lot like neighborhood festivals where vendors set up little booths to sell the things they love.  At the Cooper-Young festival we sell art and trinkets and t-shirts while eating corn dogs and drinking something cold; in Bagdhad they'd drink piping-hot super-sweet tea and leaf through books while chatting with neighbors about the things they have read.

Mr. Pasha told me that the education he got while discussing literature at these Friday street markets was far more valuable to him than the things he learned in business administration classes.   I guess it's because of those discussions that he's in Memphis today instead of cooped up in a cubicle in Connecticut doing accounting.  Knowing how important Mutanabbi Street was to Mr. Pasha added an additional weight to our conversation; the car bomb that travels with Deller, Pasha and Harvey exploded on Mutanabbi Street on March 5, 2007 .  

Although I stood with my back towards that reminder of violence for the duration of our conversation, that hulk of rusted metal seemed to loom ominously over every question I asked.  I wondered how Iraq would ever be able to pay to have things put back together in a way that was as beautiful as the world Mr. Pasha described.  He reminded me that the Middle East has so much wealth in oil that they really could pay for anything if they could just bring peace to the region.  Right now people who need electricity only get about two-hours of power a day in Baghdad.  If they want more they're paying for generators the size of a trailer, a substantial investment for the convenience of a working refrigerator or coffee pot.

After chatting with these two men for about an hour and watching Deller running around busily with his cameras, I said goodbye to Mr. Pasha, waved thanks in the general direction of Deller and Harvey, and decided to put some distance between myself and the car bomb.  The entire time I was there I couldn't forget that this rusty mess of the trailer killed 30 people and wounded 100 more.  

I'm really glad I had a chance to engage in this dialogue.  I got an email this morning from my father-in-law showing pictures of him next to the monuments in Baghdad.

How small is the world?    

Off to David Lusk and L. Ross, to look at paintings that are pretty and sweet.

5QFriday: Anna Kordsmeier

1. Can you explain a little about what the title of your show Calendars and Commas refers to?

The title Calendars & Commas has to with the concept of time – calendars suggesting the breadth of time, and commas suggesting the pause, an instant of time. Both of our works have to do with the concept of time – mine specifically is focused on the concept of memory – a brief moment of time captured in our minds that then changes and shifts the farther away we get from it.

2. What piece of art in Calendars and Commas is your favorite? 

My favorite piece right now is a hanging work entitled Roy Rogers and Call it a Night.

3. What were the highlights of your experience in the MFA program at Memphis College of Art?

If I were to make a clip reel of my time at MCA, I think it would mostly incorporate the people that I have met along the way. A lot of the silly moments that happen extremely late in the studios that no one but the accused know about would be put in.

4. What's been your favorite venue for seeing the work of emerging artists in Memphis?

My favorite venue for work in Memphis has been Marshall Arts and Material Art Space. I think that both venues allow artists to break out of the norm, and that’s why they excite me.

5. Is there any particular creative work that you've been putting off while you completed your thesis that you're looking forward to picking up now that the show is installed?

I think that I am looking forward to being in the studio and working in general. Since getting ready for my defense and writing my thesis have taken up a lot of my time, it feels as though I have been out of the studio for far too long. So I can’t wait to just pick up anything and work!

rock candy

I saw these giant strings of rock candy last night on Gossip Girl during Jenny's Sweet Sixteen party.

And it made me want to do this:


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XOXO

Cooper Young Night Out - First Anniversary Party is This Thursday!!!!

Celebrate the first anniversary of the popular Cooper Young Night Out on April 2 at 5:00 pm. Jim Pettit and Friends will be playing jazz at the Gazebo located in the neighborhood square at the corner of Cooper and Young Avenue starting at 5:00 pm. It will be a great night to stroll the sidewalk and support local artists. Darla Linerode-Henson, Jes Crownover, Jennifer Hyatt, Lizi Beard-Ward, Chuck Parr, Rene Nickel, Marjorie Mebane, Angi Cooper, Karen Bottlecaps, Carol Robison, Alisa Clifton, Steven Hudson, and Cindy Uphoff will have sidewalk art sales going on from 5 – 9 pm on this evening.

Are you up for a little contest? The folks at Celtic Crossing have joined with area restaurants to host afree CY – Menu Hunt event that will have you roaming from one restaurant to the next in search of the right answer to the questions listed on the trivia sheet. At the end of the evening, one lucky winner will win a prize package of $700 in gift certificates from 13 area restaurants. Teams of 1 to 4 can register in person at Celtic Crossing, Young Avenue Deli, or the Gazebo at 5:30 pm the day of the event or online at www.celticcrossingmemphis.com. Menu Hunt begins at 6:00 pm and ends at Celtic Crossing with all answer sheets turned in by 9:00 pm. This will be BIG fun and it’s FREE.

Help us celebrate by dropping off a new toy for the children of St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Donations for St. Jude can be dropped off at Burke’s Book Store and Midtown ATA Marital Arts during the month or the Gazebo the night of the event.

Other things to get into on this night would be a drawing for a $100 gift certificate and free refreshments at Loudean’s. Toad Hall Antiques is celebrating their 100 year old building with a Champagne Preview Party with 15% off all items. Kiss a toad while you are there!

Debra Parmley will be at Burke’s Book Store from 5:30 – 7:00 pm to read from and sign copies of her first novel, A Desperate Journey. The reading starts at 6:00 pm. Stash-the Midtown Yarn Shop is having a Knit-In and Secret Sale from 6 – 9 pm.

Rusty Lemon will be live on the patio at Celtic Crossing along with discounts on beverages and the Celtic Sampler. Across the street, get into action with the Memphis Drum Shop, they will be hosting a Drum Circle in front of their shop starting at 6:00 pm.

Central BBQ has half-off their BBQ nachos and beverage specials. On tap at Young Avenue Deli andSoulFish Café, the kiddies eat free with an adult entrée purchase. Gary Johns and his Boys are playing some classic Sinatra tunes at the Beauty Shop. Don’t forget its Open Mic night at Java Cabana or you can join Café Ole for some Happy Hour Margaritas.

There is a BIG sale going on at Lux, the designer clothing store, so stop by for some refreshments with Memphis Flyer Hottie, Tadd. Midtown ATA Marital Arts is the place to drop the kids for only $5.00 for babysitting from 5 – 9 pm. Or get in on some free Reiki by certified practitioners from 5 – 9 pm at The Sanctuary and get half off second piercings at Underground Art. There is absolutely something for everyone in Cooper Young – this is the place to see and be seen on April 2nd!!