by Bob Martin | Jun 25, 2009 | Art, Creativity, Education, Learning
Call for Artist: Thematic Residencies
01 Master Class: Seven Weeks with the Taskmaster with Kutlu? Ataman
Program dates: January 6 – February 23, 2010
Application deadline: September 14, 2009
Kutlu? Ataman, Turner Prize-nominated artist and film-maker, will lead this unique Master Class designed for young artists who want to break into the international art scene. Instead of teaching art history, art theory, or critical studies, Ataman will encourage ten participants through weekly group and one-on-one discussions to work through impasses, develop new studio practices, and bring their ideas to fruition.
08 Polymath Breakthrough with Joseph del Pesco
Residency Dates: November 16 – December 11, 2009
Application Deadline: July 15, 2009
This residency is designed to bring artists and their collaborators together to experimentally work toward big ideas. Existing collaborative pairs of artists and professionals from disciplines outside the arts will participate in an intensive series of think-tank style discussions and give presentations on research topics to exchange their collective and creative intelligence.
by Sandy | Jun 21, 2009 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Culture, music
She sings the music of Cape Verde, an island off the west coast of Africa which declared independence from Portugal in 1975.
Singing both in Portuguese, and in the language of her small country, Lura mixes some of the musical traditions, like “Morna”, with a more contemporary, urban sound. Different from the better known tragic, emotional Portuguese “Fado” songs, the music from the Cape Verde interior catches you up in its smooth, jazz-like rhythms.
Lura Albums:
“Di Kopu ku Alma” (Of Body & Soul)
“M’Bern di Fora” (I come From the Country)
by Bob Martin | Jun 16, 2009 | Art, Artist, Books, Culture, Events, Lecture, Live Performance
SAT JULY 11TH BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT “VIVA FRIDA!” FEATURES THE PHOENIX FRIDAS CRAFT COLLECTIVE
The Valley’s most popular craft collective, The Phoenix Fridas, returns to Tempe’s Changing Hands Bookstore on Saturday July 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. for “Viva Frida!” to celebrate the birth of the world’s most renowned Mexican female painter, Frida Kahlo.
“We play! We have pain and passion.
We love to paint and we live in Phoenix.
We are the Phoenix Fridas!
Rising up from triple-digit temperatures for the sake of art and craft!”
Last year’s event drew hundreds of Frida fans to Changing Hands, 6428 S. McClintock Drive, @ Guadalupe in Tempe; (480) 730-0205.
“This year we’ve ramped up our presentation to include cooking, a silent auction and photo fun,” says Carmen Guerrero, known as “Frida Beader.” Carmen, a jewelry maker and musician, will perform. A special look at the life of the artist also is scheduled.
Participants will be able to purchase original art and crafts from members of the Phoenix Fridas, including paintings, jewelry, hand-crocheted tops plus home and fashion accessories. A silent auction to benefit a local nonprofit will feature members of the Phoenix Fridas: Kathy Murillo, Emily Costello, Anita Mabante Leach, Lucia Madrid. April Edwards and Carmen Guerrero.
The Frida Photo Frame-Up, allows store guests to “pose” as Frida for a quick snapshot. “From Palette to Plate;” features food inspired by the bright colors of the artist’s palette will be presented by Anita Leach and will be shared with the audience.
Come make a special “Make and Take” craft with Author Kathy Murillo.
“Toxic Love” is a lecture presented by visual artist April Edwards.
The afternoon will rap up with a Panel Discussion by all the Fridas on how the artist has influenced their personal lives.
The Phoenix Fridas, voted Best Art Collective by the Phoenix New Times in 2007, take their inspiration from the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The group’s members each take the artist’s name to create a personal crafty moniker.
Contact: Carmen Guerrero
(480) 834-5731
by Sandy | Jun 14, 2009 | Art, Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Books
The PBS program and book, both called “Simon Schama’s – Power of Art”, reveals that although one of my favorite artists, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), was gloriously talented, he was also a youthful offender – violent and incorrigible. Not a mischievous “Denis the Menace” type, but, as Schama labels him – a thug. He murdered a rival! I was shocked!
But, does his anger and madness show in Caravaggio’s art? Maybe.
Considered part of the early Italian Baroque style of painting, his work, perhaps as a way of seeking redemption, focused on biblical themes – but, if you look at the faces, you will notice that there are no cherubs or saints, his paintings are inhabited by the people that he found in the local taverns with all their blemishes and wrinkles. I’ve found his work to be vibrant and alive regardless of its theme – card players or John the Baptist – full of energy, often full of violence, always very up close and in your face.
BTW – Caravaggio was like Alfred Hitchcock, who always had a walk through in his movies and TV shows – the artist liked to paint himself into the middle of his scenes – with a table of card sharks, with a group of musicians and most notably, he served himself up as the “…Head of Goliath”.
Images: “David with the Head of Goliath”, 1607, oil on wood and “The Cardsharps, 1594” oil on canvas
by Sandy | Jun 9, 2009 | Art, Blogroll, Creativity, Culture, Exhibits, Museums
Starting June 20, the deYoung Museum of San Francisco will have over 50 masks and sculptures from 4 Central African cultures, Luba, Chokwe, Songye (fetish figures) and Luluwa. Even though the 4 groups are different, they did share common beliefs. The pieces, fashioned mostly of wood with brass and bead touches, were made to appease the spirits and were thought to have the power to protect an individual from harm.
According to the museum catalog, the exhibit “examines the artistic traditions of the heart of Africa within the
context of historical change, thus countering the commonly held perception of African art as an art without history. “
“Art and Power in the Central African Savanna” 6/20 – 10/11/09
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
Images:
1- “Luba” – wood, beads, brass
2- “Chibinda IIunga”, Chokwe, Angola, West Africa
by Sandy | Jun 8, 2009 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Books, Writers
An article by Fred Kaplan, “1959: Sex, Jazz, and Datsuns” featured in the June 8, 2009 issue of New York Magazine determines that 1959 was an important year for music, politics, world dynamics, social issues, and the arts. The 60’s might have gotten more press, but, 1959 was the year of change, innovation, out of the box thinking.
The magazine piece is based on Kaplan’s book, “1959: The Year Everything Changed”. He presents his examples of some of the greatest happenings of this special year and they include:
Actor turned director John Cassavetes was perhaps the first “Indie” filmmaker with his partly improvised script for his movie “Shadows”. The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, changed the NYC sky line on the upper East Side. The first micro chip introduced by Texas Instruments. The release of the Miles Davis album (they were albums then) “Kinda Blue” (considered by many to be best jazz recording ever). Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro invited to NYC and staying at the St Teresa Hotel in Harlem. The emergence of Malcolm X and his conversations on race and politics.
Where were you in 1959?
(I was attending Paul Lawrence Dunbar JHS in the Bronx)
“1959: The Year Everything Changed”, by Fred Kaplan
