Balloon Tank

"German Panther" by Hans Hemmert

via Boing Boing

Desolation Doorknob Hangers

D.C. based artist Linda Hesh has made a series of doorknob hangers featuring messages like "I didn't ask for this" and "I feel so lost" that she leaves on various commercial and residential buildings. The Desolation Doorknob Hangers are also for sale on her site so you can participate in he project as well.

via Mica

Community Graffiti

Artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada makes urban murals of everyday people...

Shopdropping: Call for Entries Reminder

A reminder from Ryan at Shopdropping.net, you have until April 1st to participate in their Greeting Card call for entries:

SHOPDROPPING.NET is now calling on artists, designers, media makers, and creative folks to purchase greeting cards and alter them in any way they see fit. Any form of commercial card, from wedding to graduation to birthday to bereavement, is eligible. But clever and witty will be given preference over easy and distasteful.

Please submit JPEG reproductions of the altered greeting cards to submissions _AT _shopdropping.net with GREETINGS as the subject line.

All files must be sized to 1024 x 768 at 72 dpi. Each altered card must include the text "www.shopdropping.net" somewhere in the new design. It can be discreet, on the back of the card, and unobtrusive but it must be present.When submitting the cover and inside of the same card please indicate this clearly in the file titles (for example "cover.jpg", "page2.jpg").

The deadline for submissions is April 1st 2008.

Once all of the digital reproductions have been submitted, selected artists will be given the address of a fellow participant to swap cards with. The cards will then be shopdropped back into circulation and the digital reproductions will be featured on SHOPDROPPING.NET. Please do not submit digital files if you do not intend to follow through with the act of shopdropping a fellow participant's work. The digital reproductions are a means to select and document the artworks, but do not replace the act of shopdropping the originals into unsuspecting stores.

News Roundup

Here are a bunch of news stories I've been meaning to post about for a while...

From the New York Times (thanks Kris):

Wal-Mart's social manifesto?

"Rethinking The Meat-Guzzler." [graphic left]

From the Wall Street Journal (thanks Mica):

Greewashing ads scrutinized by world.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

"Legless artist documents the world in 32,000 stares"

From Ode Magazine:

Solar cooking in Bhutan

Green Travel Special Report

83 Ways To Change The World in Sweden

Take Action: 83 Ways To Change The World is the current exhibition at the Museum of World Culture, in Gothenburg, Sweden. If you're not in the area, you can get a preview of the exhibit, which features work that comes from the intersection of art and politics (including the seed guns created by Christopher Humes and I), HERE.

Illustrated Obsessive Consumption

Artist Kate Bingaman-Burt has been documenting her consumer purchases with a lovely daily illustration for several years. You can keep track of them all on her blog Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today.

Thanks Mica!

Shopdropping: Two Calls for Entries

The folks at Shopdropping.net have 2 calls for entries for activist-artists:

Call 1:
SHOPDROPPING.NET is now calling on artists, designers, media makers, and creative folks to purchase greeting cards and alter them in any way they see fit. Any form of commercial card, from wedding to graduation to birthday to bereavement, is eligible. But clever and witty will be given preference over easy and distasteful.

Please submit JPEG reproductions of the altered greeting cards to "submissions" AT "shopdropping.net" with GREETINGS as the subject line.

All files must be sized to 1024 x 768 at 72 dpi. Each altered card must include the text "www.shopdropping.net" somewhere in the new design. It can be discreet, on the back of the card, and unobtrusive but it must be present.When submitting the cover and inside of the same card please indicate this clearly in the file titles (for example "cover.jpg", "page2.jpg").

The deadline for submissions is April 1st 2008.

Once all of the digital reproductions have been submitted, selected artists will be given the address of a fellow participant to swap cards with. The cards will then be shopdropped back into circulation and the digital reproductions will be featured on SHOPDROPPING.NET. Please do not submit digital files if you do not intend to follow through with the act of shopdropping a fellow participant's work. The digital reproductions are a means to select and document the artworks, but do not replace the act of shopdropping the originals into unsuspecting stores.


Call 2:
SHOPDROPPING.NET is currently seeking 20 artists aged 20-29 to feature and interview for an upcoming book. SHOPDROPPING.NET presents 20/20 will profile each artist and their work and copies of the limited edition book will be shopdropped into bookstores throughout the world.

In the spirit of shopdropping, we are seeking artists who are exploring new forms and pushing boundaries within their field. Bands and musicians with hard to define genres, Internet filmmakers and compulsive bloggers, curators and gallerists working out of their homes, post-vinyl dj's and digital vj's, actors and writers working outside of film, theater, and television, artist collectives, culture jammers, and other hard-to-define creative minds are in demand.

To be considered for this project or to nominate someone you feel fits the bill please submit work samples via web link to: "submissions" AT "shopdropping.net" with 20/20 as the subject line.

DO NOT send jpgs, mp3s, or other file types directly. Links only please. There is no deadline for this project as of yet.

Please repost this information and pass it along to anyone who may be interested.

For additional information please see:
http://www.shopdropping.net

Theater of Democracy

One of my clients, The Foundry Theatre, is producing an intriguing experimental play about democracy and consumerism titled Democracy In America (a reference to the classic de Tocqueville work). Since November 26th they've been allowing the public to determine every aspect of the show (from lighting cues to plotlines) by purchasing them. The market closes on February 14th after which they will create a show from what they've been given and present it starting April 1st, 2008 at P.S.122 in NYC. Find out more about the show (or take part) at BuyDemocracy.com.

Miss Landmine 2008

The Miss Landmine competition in Angola is a simultaneous protest against the use of deadly landmines and a celebration of a broader view of beauty. Created by Norwegian artist Morten Traavik the competition will culminate in a live event on April, 4 2008. You can read about the candidates and vote for a winner on the Miss Landmine site.

via Boing Boing

Istanbul Biennial: Optimism in the time of Global War

My friend Sarah was able to visit this year's Istanbul Bienale, whose theme was "Not Only Possible, But Also Necessary: Optimism in the Age of Global War". She sent some photos of the excellent installation "The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist" by Michael Rakowitz which consisted of recreations of treasures stolen from the National Museum of Iraq made entirely out of Middle Eastern food packaging and newspapers.

Call for Entries: Repressed III socially conscious art

T.O.W.A.R. and Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA are once again looking for socially conscious art submissions for their upcoming exhibition & workshop series Repressed III:

In our contemporary landscape, the irony that we find ourselves immersed in offers little remorse. Political constructs promise to act within the best interest of the people that they serve. We trust them to protect us from insufficient leadership and to be more informed than the general public.

But we know better.

To some degree, we remain conscious of corruption lurking just below the surface. Our sense of social altruism becomes hindered by perceived incapacity. But what resources exist for igniting these socioeconomic changes and how do we utilize them?

For many people, the intellectual realm is both exclusive and censorious. In a culture that is driven by consumerist agenda and billboard declaration, what better way to reach the masses than through the visual landscape of public domain? But is there ever a curiosity as to why most public art is illegal? It isn’t just an eyesore to gentrifiers, business & home owner associations, politicians and tourists.

It's a threat.

The ills of society are being reflected upon by a handful of demonstrators, who do so as visual street poets, permeating our cities' public spaces. These visual landmarks become nodes of free thought. Their philosophies are conveyed in passing. When they are censored, something is robbed from our consciousness.

Others spend their time indoors knowing that their passions are being marginalized; yet they still produce work. Their contributions activate the social evolution of humankind. But without opportunity, these voices become faint whispers. They exist only as the dormant catalysts of revolution. This group of disenfranchised artists/activists know that they must not stop creating because, like sharks, movements must be perpetually in motion or they fade away.

We are asking you to participate in this dialogue as witness and/or dissenter.

In collaboration with T.O.W.A.R., Gallery5 will host Repressed 3, a show dedicated to socially conscious works. This event will take place March 7th, 2008 and will be the precursor to a workshop series. Gallery5 is currently seeking workshop proposals, performers, artists, and volunteers.

Repressed III is being held in conjunction with: The 2008 Southern Graphics Council Conference.

Entry Requirements
1.) All works must be submitted for approval by February 4th. After acceptance, works must be on location by February 26. Space is limited, please submit works early.
2.) Works submitted should contribute socially or philosophically to cultural evolution. Historical propaganda artifacts also accepted.
3.) Artists are responsible for transportation of works. Some exceptions may apply.
4.) Both 2D and 3D works will be accepted.
5.) Works must be matted, mounted and/or framed and ready to be hung, unless intended to be wheatpasted.
6.) All works must be properly labeled with name, date, medium and suggested price.
For those with original multiples there is a space to display and sell prints. Gallery5 will take 35% of these sales to benefit its building, Steamer Company no5, Virginia’s oldest Fire Station.
Please put “Repressed” in the subject line of submission emails. gallery5_AT_ gallery5arts.org or info_AT_thereoncewasarebellion.org.

Download the entry packet PDF with submission form HERE.

Reverse Graffiti

Brazilian artist Alexandre Orion creates reverse graffiti by removing dirt from walls...



Thanks Brad! Via Milk and Cookies

Work It Out

Dancer/Choreographer Bill Shannon developed a unique performance style in response to his bilateral hip deformity that requires the use of crutches. His work challenges stereotypes about disability and is also just plain cool. Check him out in this recent Rjd2 video...

F Bush

OK it's a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist going out for the long weekend on this lovely portrait of W made entirely out of pieces of porn magazines by Jonathan Yeo. Apparently the Bush Library commissioned him to make a portrait, but after they canceled his services Yeo decided to forge ahead and create one anyway. For detail views (which are definitely NOT work safe) go here.

via Juxtapoz

The truth about Ronald McDonald.

This image has been around for a while, but I just ran into it the other day, and it's satisfying to me on so many levels. I wonder what Miss McDonald has been up to this last couple of years.

via DieYoungAndSaveYourself

Shopdropping: Call for Entries

Ryan Watkins-Hughes from Shopdropping.net sends this Call for Entries (too bad I'm too old to participate!)...

SHOPDROPPING.NET is currently seeking 20 artists in their twenties for
a new project that will consist of an upcoming book and exhibition. 20/20
will profile each artist and copies of the limited edition book will
be shopdropped into bookstores throughout the world.

In the spirit of shopdropping, we are seeking artists who are
exploring new forms and pushing boundaries within their field. Bands
and musicians with hard to define genres, Internet filmmakers and
compulsive bloggers, curators and gallerists working out of their
homes, post-vinyl dj's and digital vj's, actors and writers working
outside of film, theater, and television, artist collectives, culture
jammers, and other hard-to-define creative minds are in demand.

To be considered for this project please submit examples of your work
via web link to:

submissions AT shopdropping.net

DO NOT send jpgs, mp3s, or other file types directly. Links only please.

Please repost this information and pass it along to anyone who may be
interested. A deadline will be announced soon.

For additional information please see:

http://www.shopdropping.net
http://www.shopdropping.net/2020.html

Purple Hearts

Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq, a new book from photographer Nina Berman, features intimate images of soldiers who were injured in the line of duty while serving in the current Iraq war. More information and images here.

(image copyright 2004 Nina Berman)

Pennies and Dimes

This is a video I created for the band Gaskets for their recently released Loose Change album/DVD, it's created entirely with public domain footage from the Prelinger Archive. and made under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Here's Teddy Blanks, one half of the duo, with the story behind the song/video:

“Pennies and Dimes” is a song that was written when I was close to graduating college and entering what people call the ‘real world’. It deals with my own anxieties about the prospect of making a living as well as some of the frustrations I had with corporate consumer culture, informed by many of the ideas discussed in the “Design Rebels” class I took with Noah. It seemed fitting that Noah direct the video. He expertly cut together a hilarious selection of economic cartoons and food packaging assembly-line footage into an ironically optimistic visual accompaniment to an overtly cynical song.

How To Make Giant Billboard Covering Stencils

The folks behind the Anti Advertising Agency have posted instructions for making giant stencils to blot out outdoor advertising on Indestructables:

This instructable will show you how to cover 640 Square feet of advertising with giant block letters in less than 3 hours in high traffic areas - all during the day.

Get the full details here.

Artists As Agents of Social Change Workshops: Starting 7/14 NYC

From Eyebeam 540 W. 21st Street (between 10th & 11th Aves) NYC :

Artists as Agents of Social Change workshop begins this Saturday!
Please join us this summer for a month and a half of actions, activism and public interventions.
Sign up for the Artists as Agents of Social Change package (3 workshops) for $75. All sessions require a reservation.

Part 1 : Learn about the practice of 3 different artists and take part in group actions.

This Saturday, July 14 launches Eyebeam's Artists as Agents of Social Change series, as part of our Summer School program. Participants will have the opportunity to hear how three artists are actively engaging the public and altering spaces with their practice. Adam Bobbette, Steve Lambert and Robert Ransick will present. Following the presentations, Steve Lambert will lead an action out into the streets of NYC.

This day will serve as an opportunity to gain information about and inspiration for the projects that participants will be able to build with the presenters during the following evening clinics:

Part 2 : Choose one evening in this section to develop your own action, with the guidance and support of the artist leading the clinic.

Clinic 1: Tuesday, July 17: 7-10pm
Steve Lambert
Participants will have the opportunity to collectively conjure and plan an action, based on Steve's lo-tech, but engaging interventionist techniques often involving dispensing new and/or altering existing signs, based on anti-advertising strategies.

Clinic 2: Thursday, July 19: 7-10pm
Architectural Interventions in Public Space
Participants will be working with lo-tech and easily accessible materials to create architectural interventions in public space. Our purpose is both research and production. The workshop will be concerned with questions and themes of sustainability and land use. How can we build in public in such a way as to draw attention to these themes and create alternatives? The workshop will draw from 19th century style forays, Sun Ra's Sunology, the nesting habits of certain types of blackbirds and weaver birds and the architectural practices of barnacles and parasites.

Clinic 3: Tuesday, July 24: 7-10pm
neuroTransmitter
Exploring the art of radio and broadcast for the purpose of public interventions. Learn how to use neuroTransmitter's com_muni_port (currently on view in Eyebeam's exhibition, Source Code), a self-contained backpack transmitter for short range radio broadcasting, for disseminating information and engaging public participation.

Participants in the three clinics will bring their actions to the streets and present their ideas and experiences in a public event on Saturday, July 28 @ 1pm.

Part 3: Bring your action to the streets.
Saturday, July 28
1:00 - 6:00 PM

The conclusion of Summer School and Eyebeam's Digital Day Camp program. Participants in both programs will present their ideas for participatory projects, and work with members of the public to bring their actions to the streets.

To sign up for workshops, please email bookstore _ AT _ eyebeam.org

Thanks Mica!

Urban Art Workshop

The Urban Art Workshop, a 4 month course taught by artist Javier Abarca at the Complutense University of Madrid, gave art students an opportunity to create spontaneous public art. The results (some of which are shown left) are quite lovely. More details and pictures here.

Foodometer

Watch Your (Fo)odometer is a succinct video explanation of the benefits of eating locally by artist Molly Schwartz. It accompanies an essay on fast food by Donna Schaper on TheNation.com.


Thanks Jessica!

Extreme Green Guerrilla

What do Extreme Green Guerrillas do? Eat roadkill and kill themselves at age 40 among other things. At least that's what Royal College of Art design student Michiko Nitta proposed as part of her graduate project dealing with the future of environmentalism. Get the full details along with diagrams and photos here.

(Shown left, a Rattit: a mutant hybrid of Rat and Rabbit that EGGs will enjoy eating)

via We Make Money Not Art

Retired Weapons

Retired Weapons is an ongoing art project of Japanese designers Yuji Tokuda and Junya Ishikawa which features images of a wide range of "retired" weapons with flowers growing out of them. A recent exhibition in Milan included a life-sized inflatable tank with a flower growing out it's bent gun barrel as well. Their interactive site has downloadable graphics which the artists encourage folks to share.

via Rebel Art

The Joy of Balloon Hats

I've been obsessed with the Balloon Hat project for many years and am hoping their recent foray into web video (despite being sponsored by an alcohol company) will expose this great bit of art/activism to an even wider audience. This introduction explains what it's all about...




More videos can be seen here.

Plant The Piece in Gatherings

Gatherings, a blog for an LA based mission driven event planner, has a nice mention of the Plant The Piece/Swords Into Plowshare art project I worked on.

Toxic Art Supplies

Co-op Ameria's: Real Money has an article on the potential toxic hazards of art supplies and how to identify and avoid them. They also provide a list of resources including a couple of recipes for homemade paints and dyes. Read the article here.

Child Soldier Tea Set

Child Soldier Tea set from exhibition in Lucerne, Switzerland. Via Christian Science Monitor.

Seeds of Change in LA Times

The LA Times published a nice mention last week of the Swords Into Plowshares seed guns that I helped create:

Seeds of change

Give this piece a chance. Plant a 9-millimeter gun or seed bomb from artists Christopher Humes and Noah Scalin, and you'll soon see blooming Shasta daisy, European columbine, foxglove, purple coneflower, spurred snapdragon, lupine or black-eyed Susan. Created as part of the traveling anti-violence exhibition "Swords Into Plowshares, Plant the Piece"...

The full article is online here (but requires registration to read). The guns are currently on sale at the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

Forget Clown College

With the rise in popularity of the graphic novel and the annual sales quadrupling in the past 6 years, a degree in comics is no joke.

The Center For Cartoon Studies offers a two year intensive program focused entirely on the creation and distribution of illustrated narratives. The roster of faculty and visiting artists and writers is sure to impress any aspiring comic artist. Their mission statement also impressed me with an acknowledgement of their commitment to socially responsible practices:

"CCS, recognizing the central role that socially responsible businesses can play in a community, will initiate and be responsive to innovative ways to improve the local cultural and economic quality of life."

After watching a video clip from a documentary in the works, about the school I was sold on their earnest approach and intent to train students to have their own voice.

"As for CCS students, whose aspirations tend to lean more toward literary comics, they seem pragmatic about their prospects (the day jobs), but also optimistic...'All the editors on the graphic-novel beat, they're aware of the Center for Cartoon Studies and are keeping an eye on it.' " from recent CS Monitor story about the first graduating class at Center for Cartoon Studies, read the rest of the article here.

Tiny Metal Soldier

My friend Tere made this striking piece for ThinkSmall3 a miniature art (3"x3"x3" or smaller) show in Richmond, VA in 2005. The removable crucifix is actually piercing the soldier and holding him onto the velvet surface. The frame is covered in hash marks connoting the number of soldiers that had died in Iraq (over 1000 at that time). It's called "In Bush We Trust".

Fuck Shopping

My Dads Strip Club [sic] makes no bones about their politics. The home page for this performance/activism group says "Fuck Shopping" and the site records amusing anti-consumerist actions done by them across the UK and Finland. The entry for a recent action called Fuck Coke features a video of people simulating sex with vending machines with the lovely strap-on Coke bottle shown left.

via Sum1

Memefest 2007: Deadline May 20th

There's still time to submit your work to Memefest 2007, the annual international radical communications competition, which originated in Slovenia. This year they are looking for works inspired by the trailer to Hitchcock's The Birds (as a commentary on human interaction with nature). International students are encouraged to submit to this free competition, which will be judged by a panel of designers from around the world. Non-students can even submit to the "Beyond..." category. The deadline is May 20th. For more information or to see previous years works visit www.memefest.org.

Extended Ribbon

Another great take on the Yellow Ribbon from Clay Bennett.

Previously:
Tattered Ribbon
Infinite Ribbon

Islamic Superheroes

The 99 is a new comic book which aims to give Islamic children positive cultural role models in the style of American superheroes (even using the talents of former Marvel and DC writers and artists). The 99 was created by Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, whose work as a clinical psychologist has focused on building cross-cultural tolerance and understanding. Find out more about The 99 here.

Vegetable Weapons

Love these photographs of women holding guns made from the vegetables in their favorite recipes by Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Ozawa.

Afterwards the dish is cooked and shared by the artist and subject.

Additional images here, here, here, and here.


via Sum1

Visualizing Mass Consumption

I love the striking works of Chris Jordan which document the mass quantities of goods that make up our consumer culture. His most recent series, Running The Numbers, consists of giant stylized depictions of various quantities (pictured: "Cell Phones", which shows the number of cell phones retired every day in the US [426,000] and a detail view of the same image). His earlier series Intolerable Beauty is made up of actual landscapes of consumer items. All of his work can be seen on his site here.

Thanks Mim!

Open Source Resistance...sort of.