We rumbled into a narrow street and parked in a Havana neighborhood to observe children making whimsical fun papier-mache’ art. The children and volunteer teachers were underneath a canopy directly on the street, making it even narrower for traffic that we quickly learned to dodge. (Anna has trained us well.) The rambunctious, spirited artiste with dred-locks bouncing educated us about the art project with a booklet filled with photos and stories about the accomplishments…Tony called it a “hard-copy powerpoint.” The artiste’s passion was evident as he even swayed and bobbed with the flow of his Spanish as Anna interpreted. (Anna and Danny would take turns interpreting at each tour spot.) He explained that the group would join other artists and dancers for various events around the city. The daily newspaper was used to create the papier-mache’ creatures, large and small and we watched the children working as he educated us on the project. To our delight the children had created a crayon drawing for each of us to take home with us! He invited us into his studio/home for a visit. The front of the home was covered in creative inspirations from the artiste, as well as the walls inside. I will try to describe the indescribable…montaged, collaged, and printed art filled every square inch. Found objects de arte, such as discarded old TV screens, old telephones, metal objects, and those whimsical papier-mache’ creatures filled all the rooms. Tony and I gave the artiste postcards from Oklahoma…in hopes he would incorporate them into his art. He was delighted!

• published: 26 May 2013
• views: 142

Examining themes of fashion and consumption, we will present durational performances and installation works in this former furniture store's windows. Questions regarding the relationship of art and commerce today are myriad, and while there are no simple answers, most observers agree that there are many troubling implications of the influences of speculation, branding and celebrity on the current climate. Giving away the aesthetic experience through such a temporary event is a return to earlier, more idealistic times, yet placing the work within a shopping district anchors it to the realistic present. We imagine this to be an exciting event which will attract art audiences, as well as provide an unusual experience to passers-by. Jordan Biren and Corrina Peipon present a tableau/performance, "The Exchange of the Avant-Garde" inspired by quotes taken from a recent Norman Klein discussion of the late Jean Baudrillard: "...avant-garde strategies are now central to the branding of all products..." "...The simulacrum was simply the original itself. It had emerged as the glowing center of all global branding...It was simply the mood that sold anything. " The tableau represents the "look" of a business transaction, while an inner dialogue belies conflicted psychological realities of personal negotiation through a world of branded transactions. With the supporting text contradicting the appearance of the action, only the image of the event remains, an image meant to draw attention to the presumptions, or "branded" recognition, of what is taking place. A search for what defines in what we see that which we are told we are seeing. _ Nancy Buchanan's "3 Fates" sees myth reduced to marketing; throughout cultural history, sacred and mythic women have appeared in threes, sometimes also merging into one mythic figure. In Greek mythology, the three Fates personified destiny and controlled the thread of life from birth to death (and beyond). The Greek word moira (_____) translates as a part or portion—and so, one's fate is the part one is destined to play in life. While their forerunners were draped in white, could the gowns worn by these fashionable "Fates" hint at what lies beyond fashion? Siren-red satin, prison-jumpsuit orange, camouflage (with glitter). In Ashley McLean Emenegger's "Judgment Day," colorful felt cut out dolls hang in the balance above a miniature, faux mythological environment, the Garden of Eden meets a metaphoric apocalyptic collapse, where the yearning for sincere expression clashes with the expectation and imposition of compliance to the contemporary notion of aesthetics. Beckoned by the allure and idealization of the Promised Land below, the dolls, both identical and unique, are naturally confused by the conundrum of self declaration versus the desire to fit in. MaryLinda Moss collaborates with Nikii Henry to create a Performative Installation. Through the evening figures moving through space will leave an imprint, a record of the presence of the body in the world. Using gauze and plaster, 'clothing" will be formed on the body. As the body moves on, it's image is left behind to create a record of the journey through time and space Danial Nord addresses the troubling relationships between art and commerce, and the implications and influences of speculation, branding and celebrity on the current art-making climate. His inspiration comes from Hollywood's historical misrepresentation of artists, and overheard dialogues between dealers and potential clients at recent Art Fairs. Nord's installation centers on a projected clip from the film "On the Town" which shows a ballerina as an artist, described in the film as "the perfect urban woman", making a painting. Cielo Pessione & John O'Brien create a tableau in which two personages appear in the dark at the center of the space, like a players in a theatre. The female personage will have a pile of rags or fashion magazines under her She could be a Queen, he a Poet. Each has a different style of dress, which means different ways to live and to consider the capitalism of attire. Astra Price addresses what food we have and what food we use. Inspired by constantly seeing fruit trees that have gone unharvested and unused, this two-part work will repurpose unused domestic fruit in two phases. On night one, she will process this food; juice, simple salad, etc… and serve it to the people on the streets. Given the city of Pasadena's origin having strong ties to citrus production, this work addresses some issues of site specificity, but can just as easily be applied to larger concepts of consumption and waste. Natasa Prosenc's installation, "Innocence – Dissolved" metaphorically performs the impasse of fast lane consumerism wrapped into the ideology of progress; the discarded toys suffocating in the thickened gooey mass of the past embodied emotional investment, that has nowhere else to go except release into obsession with possession and con

• published: 04 Mar 2010
• views: 9583