Passion Play Poster in New York Times

The New York Times' Arts Beat blog posted a nice interview with me about the art I created for Epic Theatre Ensemble's latest production Passion Play by Sarah Ruhl. You can read the entire article HERE.

Literature versus Traffic

How powerful are books? Well they can apparently stop traffic if there's enough of them. The clever folks at Luzinterruptus, whose temporary light-infused guerrilla art installations we've written about before, are back with a surreal and lovely scene in Brooklyn that I wish I could've encountered in person. More pictures and information about the piece can be found HERE.

REPRESSED V: FREE TO SPEAK - Call for Entries

From our friends at Gallery 5 in Richmond, Virginia comes this call for activist art...

REPRESSED V: FREE TO SPEAK May 2010

José María Heredia - poet: inspired the Cuban people to stand up and fight against Spain.

Seymor Chwast-designer - illustrator: his anti-war poster "End Bad Breath" indirectly encouraged the anti-war movement of the 70's.

John Lenin and Yoko Ono - famous musicians/artists: created the powerful anti-war campaign stating "THE WAR IS OVER...if you want it to be."

What makes statement driven art so emotionally powerful? It being witness to a piece of work that creates a bond between you, the viewer and the creator of the piece. A bond that can change the direction of thought and purpose.

A successfully executed statement driven piece can be the catalyst that inspires the average person into an active agent for change. Art exists in societies to create shared dialogues and experiences. No matter the medium, art and artists can be the spark to establishing a commonality, to allow us to empathize with each other and encourage altruistic pursuits for the greater good.

Dedicated to social awareness, Gallery5 invites visual and performing artists to submit their statement focused work to Repressed V: Free to Speak.

Deadline is March 6th.

More info and an application can be downloaded HERE (PDF).

Millionaire Squatters

For much of the 90's I was an active member of an amazing squatted art/music/activist space in New York City's Lower East Side called ABC NO RIO (I even designed the logo that's still in use!). During the time I was there, the building (which has been in continuous use since 1980) was threatened with closure, but thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers the building was officially given to the collective that ran it and the process was started to raise the funds to rehabilitate the dilapidated structure. Money trickled in over the years, but it was never enough for the growing costs (phase one is now budgeted at 2.4 Million) and it seemed like a full rehabilitation would only happen in the distant future. Fast forward to earlier this year when ABC was awarded 1.6 Million in city funding, leaving a much more manageable budget gap to be filled. Not bad, but then this past November Steven Englander, the space's executive director,  received an anonymous donation of an additional 1 Million dollars! Needless to say phase one plans are now full steam ahead and the space will live on for generations to come.

Thanks to The Groundswell Blog for sharing this news!

ALR on Tour: Skulls at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

I was recently asked to present a talk and workshop as part of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' annual Teen Symposium. The program features several guest artists who present to 100+ students and art teachers from across Virginia. I talked about my Skull-A-Day project and then led the participants in a mini-project in which they picked an image and then made as many versions of it they could in a short period of time using a variety of materials. The results were really terrific, especially when people realized they could move beyond fixed, traditional forms. More images can be seen on my Flickr stream HERE.

Posters4Tomorrow Exhibitions - December 10th Worldwide

Poster4Tomorrow, an international poster competition to promote freedom of expression, will have 23 worldwide exhibitions opening on December 10th. On display will be 100 posters selected by 9 jurors (including Marjane Satrapi, the author and filmmaker of Persepolis) from 1,834 submissions received from 67 countries. The entire 100 will be revealed online and in the galleries on the 10th, but here's a sneak preview of some of a few of the winners:




Exhibition location and dates:

Ankara, Turkey, Bilkent Universit, December 10-18
Beirut, Lebanon, Lebanese American University, December 10-17
Belgrade, Serbia, REX, Cultural Lab, December 10-14
Brussels, Belgium, Libre Académie de Belgique, December 10-13
Buenos Aires, Argentina, University of Buenos Aires, December 10-20
Cheonan, South Korea, SangMyung University, December 10-13
Derry, United Kingdom, University of Ulster, December 10-January 8, 2010
Gdansk, Poland, Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, December 10-13
Heidelberg, Germany, Theaterplatz, Heidelberg, December 10-18
La Paz, Bolivia, Museo Nacional de Arte, December 10-January 8, 2010
Lima, Peru, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, December 10-15
Lisbon, Portugal, Lx Factory, December 10-14
Los Angeles, United States, Seyhoon Gallery, December 10-17
Marrakesh, Morocco, Ecole Supérieure des Arts Visuels, December 10-25
Milan, Italy, La Triennale di Milano, December 10-20
Montreal, Canada, École de Design, UQAM, December 10-14
Paris, France, Les Arts Décoratifs, December 10-13
Quito, Ecuador, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, December 10-January 10, 2010
Sevilla, Spain, Facultad de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, December 10-17
Stockholm, Sweden, Designens Hus, December 10-13
Strasbourg, France, Agora Building, Council of Europe, December 10- March 10, 2010
Tbilisi, Georgia, French Embassy Cultural Center, December 10-20

The project has been endorsed by Reporters Sans Frontiéres and the Italian chapter of Amnesty International and granted the endorsments of two interrnational organizations, the Council of Europe and the French Commission for UNESCO. More info about the entire project can be found HERE.

credits:
Paris exhibition poster: Illustration by Marjane Satrapi, Graphic design by Hervé Matine
Milan exhibition poster: Photo by Sergio Tornaghi - Studio Smog, Graphic design by Pasquale Volpe
THE PRESSident: Pamela Campagna, Thomas Scheiderbauer - Triggiano, Italy
Censure: Rémi Gombert - Perenchies, France
Because this mouth is mine: Frank Arbelo - La Paz, Bolivia
Hello: Babak Madandar - Tehran, Iran
Freedom of expression : Mingliang Li - Guangzhou, China

Design Rebels: Project Winterfood

Project Winterfood, the final project of my Design Rebels students this year, had a hugely successful opening event this past Wednesday night. Despite the miserably rainy weather scores of people came out to learn more about local food, sample delicious items from local businesses, enjoy live music, and buy art to support two area non-profit organizations. The art has now traveled over to Gallery 5 for an extended exhibition through the end of December. If you're in the area I hope you'll stop by and check it out.

The exhibition focused on three foods that are available in Virginia in the winter: apples, spinach, and sweet potatoes...

Free brochures with recipes and details on the benefits of eating local...

Fee apples and information on local food options...

Dozens of works on display from students area artists...

Event partners talk with visitors about various local food options, including farmers' markets and CSAs...

A map of the region highlighted local grocery stores, restaurants, CSAs, and farmers' markets...

Free food samples dished out by two of the Design Rebels...

Work by 3-5 year olds inspired by the project!...

The Farm To Family Bus parked outside...

Live music keeping the mood festive...


Kids especially enjoyed the free apples...


Apple Cardigan by Design Rebel Kira Lantz...

Tools For Actions

Plant The Piece, a guerrilla gardening art project I created with fellow artist Christopher Humes in which we made guns out of dirt and plant seeds, is included as #54 of the Candadian Centre for Architecture's list of 99 Tools For Actions, which is part of their traveling exhibition "Actions: What Can You Do With The City". Check out all the Actions HERE.

Spotted in Boston: Street Art?

I enjoy reading a few blogs about street art so I'm always on the look out for good examples wherever I travel. In Boston the other week I spotted this billboard that I had to give a good long look at to figure out if it was just falling apart or if someone had done this intentionally. In the end I figured it was just something that happened, but I love the idea that the rough/dirty reality is being revealed behind the pristine image reminding you that you "can't buy happiness".

Book Review: Art for Obama

Art for Obama, edited by Jennifer Gross & the infamous Shepard Fairy (whose iconic Obama image is still the focus of a court battle), is an excellent overview of some of the amazing art that was created in support of the Obama campaign for president. Say what you will about what's happened since the election, the fact remains that it was an historic election on many levels, not the least of which was how this candidate was supported by the art community (and vice versa). Just the fact that the work of a graffiti artist (who had already been arrested many times) was the centerpiece of the campaign says a lot about how remarkably different this was than the elections of the recent past. The book not only showcases the well-known posters, but also art that was created specifically for the Manifest Hope exhibitions co-organized by MoveOn.org. The range and quality of art is truly impressive and at the same time it's overwhelming to see how intensely people's hopes and dreams were invested in one man. Looking back it's hard not to see that people would be disappointed no matter what happened after the election was over. There's no way one person could live up to such expectations, but at the same time the book is a great reminder of what could be made a reality when the general public actually felt like they had a chance to have their voices heard.

Ask for it at your local independent bookstore.

Art for Obama
Abrams
$22.50

ALR in Recharge Your Design Batteries

My Skull-A-Day project is featured in the new book about creative inspiration from How/Rotovision: Recharge Your Design Batteries by John O'Reilly and Tony Linkson.

Power To The Poster...on your wall

The folks at the Power To The Poster project are now offering high quality prints of 30 of the issue driven posters they've collected. I was proud to help with the selection process along with a long list of fellow socially conscious design folks. Each 15" x 24" poster sells for just $20, with $10 going to the artist and $10 to the printer and they just ask that you donate an additional $10 to a charity of your choice (there are larger posters available for a similar deal as well). The 30 selected posters can be purchased HERE. And of course all of the original posters can still be downloaded as hi-res PDFs from their site HERE.

1000 ice men against Global Warming

To Draw people's attention on global Warming and the melting of the ice caps in Antarctica and Greenland, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) created this event on September the 2nd (2009) with a thousand small men made out of ice, in Berlin, Germany.
WWF warns that the melting ice could eventually cause sea levels to rise more than 3.3 feet (1 meter) by 2100 and that it might change weather in many part of the world.

The little figures were made by Nele Azevedo, a Brezilian artist.

The little sculptures melted in half an hour s the outside temperature was about 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23° C)










































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The Yes Men need your help!

It may be economically tough times but The Yes Men are hiring!

Flavorwire reports that these ever-pranking, culture-jamming, do-gooders have put out an open call for help on a new project. Perhaps they are gearing up for the US theatrical release of their new movie The Yes Men Fix The World.



Here's the scoop:

Help the Yes Men! The Yes Men need your help! If you live in New York, legendary cultural jammers the Yes Men and friends need you now to pull off some large-scale shenanigans in September. It’ll be fun and stupid, and it’ll create a splash in the media. Your work COULD get seen by millions! To volunteer, please contact larken@artevolve.org. Here’s what they need: * People who can sew or build things. * People who know how to shoot and edit video and have their own equipment. * People who enjoy wearing deeply ridiculous costumes in potentially perilous situations. The work will go on for four weeks starting now. You can volunteer for any length of time that you like. The location will be: 342 Maujer, Bushwick (L train to Grand Street) www.houseofyes.org

all I can say to this is... um...YES!

post script: I noticed that all of my friends fall neatly into the 3 categories listed in this - coincidence? I think not.

Melting Animals

Those three sculptures from Japanese artist Kawano Takeshi were created to sensitize on the global warming. They're inspired from the disappearing and melting animal world.














































via.