"Art is in the eye of the beholder"

Last Friday on July 31st, Lauren and I went on our second Art Cart adventure in the Oakland district of Koreatown-Northgate.
The Art Cart, which is an AIM vision and dream manifest is actually sponsored by the progressive thinking Korea Town Northgate Community Benefit District
With a positive vibe we dragged our cart, chairs, table, and supplies down to Telegraph and 25th. We set up in front of the Plaza were Constance whom is shown in the photo,owns a yogurt and Internet cafe.












We set up the "space", which is a safe container were folks feel comfortable creating small compositions with free art supplies and seats to create on. Everyone who walks by the Art Cart are greeted with a smile and gentle call to be inspired and to create some art. As always we center our conversation and the art making process around, the main question what does home mean to you?
While creating, William a gentleman who has lived in the neighborhood for well over thirty years, stated "home is having a place to stay." Demiqua as she was expressing her self said, 'home to me, means a safe and warm environment."


The day was a major success. We met friendly folks and we learned a lot about the people that live in this neighborhood. Gino, a local sat down and started creating a yin/yang symbol with blue and orange crayons. We had amazing conversation. He said he had not created art since he was a child. He was really inspired! His philosophy of what is art? was "it is in the eye of beholder." Gino has lived around the corner on 25th and Telegraph for well over twenty years. He said he has seen the neighborhood change a lot. When we asked him about the Koreatown-Northgate banners he did not even know that they existed. Gino 'just laughed and said "they are changing the name of my neighborhood again." What is new."

It seemed like on this corner everyone new each other. While and the Art Cart many folks just wanted to talk and check out what we were doing. They all were happy we were there and wanted to come back another day to create. What is amazing the majority of folks believe that art is extremely important in their community.


Art Cart Observations thus far

The Art Cart
- brings people together
- is an art intervention for the post modern crisis of alienation and fragmentation in individuals that live in the urban jungles and suburbs of America, the Western World view
-making art together stimulates conversation, connection, and validation.
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The ultimate intention of the Art Cart is to reveal that art is a gift that is latent in everyone and that it has the ability to transform our lives as well as the potential to transform the world we live in.
-the Art Cart has become a witness to the community
-creating free art within a community is topical. It helps people to "stop and smell the roses." It is commentary on our bustling consumption and materialism.
-it is a powerful message. Art and its process speak to emotions and the spiritual side of people. It is beyond words. Art can transform world views.
-it activates peoples creativity who do not have the resources to buy art supplies
-everyone can do it from children to elders. One just needs to be open.
-this small section of Telegraph is filled with many worlds, a plethora of diverstity
This is an ongoing list. Please everyone add any insights. What does free community art do to the individual and the collective?



Next Friday we will be at the Art Murmur from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. I am looking forward to seeing everyone out there.

Namaste, Lisa

The fun has just begun...

As much as I would have loved to post of video of the beginning of our ARTcart adventure, alas my computer and I are not getting along very well these days. We're working on it though and I hope to be able to show a video to you all some time soon.

For now, here are a few examples of what HOME means to some of the wonderful Oaklanders we met last Friday on the corner of 31st Street and Telegraph Avenue.




I am so excited that this idea of ours has finally come to fruition. A dream has become reality and it is everything and more than I expected. People really do want to do art. Even those who were apprehensive at first sat down and joined our art party. We decided that we will need more seating room this Friday as there were more people than chairs last week.

I am confident that our ARTcart will impact the tone of the sidewalks on Telegraph. It has already shaken my reality--and I hope it keeps it up!

Don't miss out on the fun! Join Lisa and I between 20th and 25th streets along Telegraph starting around 12pm! Tell us what HOME means to you!

"Whoop De Doo"

Why was this art being censored and why did it create controversy in the little tourist town of Eureka Springs.? This is a follow-up to a post about the controversial art in NWA Arkansas.
Art Attack in Freaka Springs--Controversial Art in Arkansas!
















I was in Northwest Arkansas last week for a family affair. I was really curious to see first hand what was the controversy about and why did it make national headlines.The pieces that caused a stir were --a drag queen piece, an Isis piece, and a depection of Hilary Clinton. My sister Tara and I took a trip up to Eureka Springs to see what all the hoopla was about.

My sisters instant response was "Whoop De Doo...."
I asked for her specific response to the Drag Queen of Hearts and the Isis piece. She as I did not get why folks would think this was offensive. Especially, the Isis piece, Tara said in perplexed manner, "it is obvious it is Isis, the Egyptian Deity and how is that controversial. " What is strange is the three obvious Satanic pieces caused no stir."

Also.I spoke with many shop owners who were not offended by the public art installation and they thought it was no big deal. One woman said it just was a few squeaky or screaming wheels who got the attention of the media.

Overall, the installation was aesthetically pleasing and enlivened an eyesore of a parking lot. I liked the size and multiplicity of the work.
To me what was really troubling was that the image of Hilary Clinton eyes had been defaced and vandalized. Art that is destroyed, by negative intent-- hurts the soul.

Art Cart Here..

Lauren and I began the Art Cart Project last Friday in Oakland's Koreatown-Northgate neighborhood and what an exhilarating experience. We dragged our resourceful cart (as the real Art Cart is in the process of being made as we speak) down the pot holed Oakland streets to 31st and Telegraph.

We were posted around the corner from the Islamic Center on 515 31st St in Oakland. Lauren and I set up our Art Cart with free art supplies and a small camping table for folks to create on. We want all of the world to do art! We greeted everyone that was wondering by. Many of the passer buyers were off to Prayer and gently said they would be back to create some art after. "Click Here"to read a flavorful article that really hits on the vibe of this area from Oakland north.net.
The market we were in front of will be opening in ten days and if want a killer experience check it out. Olive oils from around the planet and it will have an authentic middle eastern restaurant and deli.















Our first creative and courageous guest was William, an amazing man who has lived in the neighborhood for more than forty years. Then came Taday, an Armenian skater with his dog Max. Then the gates opened folks were really happy and receptive to create!!

Everyone was asking if we would be there next week. I found interesting we asked the question: "What does home mean to you" as a jumping off point for their creative process.














The majority of folks art was imbedded with the symbol of the tree. Was it the axis mundi? the collective and universal unconscious "Click Here" to read about the axis mundi. On many levels I feel Lauren and I are not just creating art with people. But building a bridge of connection with humanity.




After our amazing experience today. Once again my core belief that art transcends all boundaries has been affirmed. I cannot wait to meet more and create more with the neighborhood next week.

FYI: Keep your eyes out for our video Lauren is in the process of editing. Also, look for us next Friday on Telegraph Av in Oakland.


Namaste, Assalam O Alaikum, Peace,

Create, create is the mantra of the universe...

Lisa

Update on Art is Moving

Lisa and I are extremely excited to start a new project in Koreatown-Northgate in Oakland.

Every Friday from July 24th - September 18th Art is Moving will be moving around the Koreatown-Northgate neighbor with an ARTCART!!!!

There will be free art supplies for all who want to come out, take a break from the day and make art. It is going to be a blast.

We will be on the streets from 12pm-6pm every Friday EXCEPT on First Fridays we will be out from 4pm-10pm.

If you're in the area you should stop by and make some art.

All the artwork will be saved and shown at the Koreatown-Northgate Festival on September 19th.

We will post photos soon!

***Koreatown-Northgate is (generally speaking) located between 20th and 35th streets along Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, CA***

"Cultureshed"

I am thinking about how substainablity and awareness are all forms of activism. The
Worm Farm Institute is walk'n the talk.

Back in the early days of the Wormfarm, co-founder Jay Salinas developed the term 'cultureshed'.

A cultureshed is similar to the agricultural concept of 'terroir' in which the products grown in an area reflect its unique geography, geology and micro-climate. Likewise, arts and cultural products from different culturesheds also reflect their unique local influences.

click here" to check out this interesting community.

The have artist in residency! How cool would that be. "click here" if you are intereted.

Global Art Project - For Peace

photo provided by global art project

Global Art Project allows anyone who registers to share their art with someone who resides across the globe from them. According to their mission, the project exists to create non-violence and tolerance through out our world.

The Project Description:

Participants create a work of art, in any medium, expressing their vision of global peace and goodwill. The art is displayed locally in each participant’s community. Global Art Project then organizes an international exchange by matching participants—group-to-group and individual-to-individual. The exchange occurs April 23-30 biennially, resulting in thousands of people sending messages of Peace around the world at one time—visions of unity simultaneously encircle the Earth. The art is sent as a gift of global friendship and exhibited in the receiving community.

Visit their gallery to see some of the work that has been completed by participants.

Lisa will love another aspect to this project (below):

Let's All Join Hands is another element of the Global Art Project for Peace. People are invited to send a paper outline of their hand with their name, country, and wish for global peace, love, and friendship on it to the Global Art Project. The hands may be created and sent to GAP at any time. Volunteers in Tucson string the hands together as a visual expression of the thousands of people who join their energy together to create Peace. The paper hands are exhibited as a source of inspiration and a book of paper hands The Handbook for Peace is planned for publication.

It looks as though Katherine Josten, Founder/Director of the Global Art Project, will be speaking at Mills College in the Fall of 2009. Something any artist who is interested in community arts should attend.

Here is an interview with Josten from 2006.



This project is so wonderful and encompasses exactly what I believe Lisa and I want to accomplish through our endeavours. You just have to start! The project is simple and complex all at the same moment. It is a simple exchange from one person to another expressing peace. But, the idea that there is one week every two years where the mail is FILLED to its brim with peaceful mantras, expressions, images, etc. And there are hundreds of thousands of people opening those notes and connecting with some one they will most likely never meet. Powerful project that started with one woman and one idea!

There is still time to register to be a part of this cycles gallery and exchange (Due Date is Feb. 2010). Be a part of global change and PEACE!

Now this is an art intervention! “It’s a blank canvas for everyone’s creativity.”

“They’re out there to get people talking to one another and to claim ownership and activate the public space,” said the creator of the project, Luke Jerram, an artist who lives in Bristol. He previously brought incarnations of it to Birmingham, England; São Paolo, Brazil; and Sydney, Australia. “It’s a blank canvas for everyone’s creativity.”
"Click Here" to check it out in the NYTimes.

"Art is for everybody,"

As I wondered into the new De Young "CLICK HERE" over three years ago I was entralled by the hanging sculptures of Ruth Aswa. The shadow from these work was magical and moving.

Ruth Asawa is an American artist click here to read about her life.



As I was doing research on Aswa, she is an amazing art activist. Ruth says "Art is for everybody," according to Asawa. "It is not something that you should have to go to the museums in order to see and enjoy. When I work on big projects, such as a fountain, I like to include people who haven't yet developed their creative side — people yearning to let their creativity out. I like designing projects that make people feel safe, not afraid to get involved."
"click here" to check out some of her projects.

It is amazing and inspiring to see artists give back. Do you think this should be fundamental role of the artist?

45 questions concerning activist art

I recently discovered that in Boston in 2007 25 artists were invited to talk about art and activism. Organized by iKatun (artist-run organization) and Jane D. Marsching this event asked several questions. Wondering if anyone has any answers. I found some questions quite intriguing and have them in bold below.

1. How is it possible to be activist without alienating the audience that is critical to change?
2. What is an aesthetics of activism?
3. Does art need to be accessible to everyone if it is also activist?
4. Is political art housed in a museum “actionable”?
5. What is art’s role vis a vis the political?
6. Having this conversation situates us in a privileged position, don’t you agree?
7. What is the difference between art and activism?
8. Why do so many people assume, claim, and practice that art can affect no social change, that it does not change the world?
9. How have strategies (in the U.S. and globally) of art intervention shifted since the 70s/80s—what are the radical gestures, strategies operating today?
10. How can we imagine a more open fluid passage between the spheres of art and activism?
11. What is the relationship between the artwork and the response? Is the response necessary? What is the benefit of art to the society at large? Can you think of it as a glass of water?
12. What is the relationship between the formal concerns of art and the political concerns of a community?
13. How much can we measure the affect of activist art as quantity?
14. How important is the form?
15. Is activist art for artists to get their conscience out? Or for people to hear their message?
16. How does the need for documentation/archiving for the art history/art world address the relational/participatory social community of much activist art?
17. Why would art be interested in measuring anything?
18. How do we define/measure activism?
19. How do you move an audience from awareness to engagement?
20. Is effective political art propaganda?
21. Is successful “political” art always accompanied by a text? Or is it a “text” to begin with?
22. Is our definition of activism muddled/collapsed with propaganda? What is the difference?
23. Does art lose anything aesthetically when it takes on social purpose? Does activism lose its verve/punch when “tempered” by art?
24. Do we need an aesthetics of listening?
25. Do you like people? U know them?
26. What is activism? Examples?
27. What are distribution channels for art & activism?
28. Antarctica vs alleyway—do you focus on the big stuff or the little stuff?
29. How can activist art projected be documented for not just he art world but also those community partners involved?
30. How can art influence the community outside the art world?
31. What is the last activist endeavor u participated in?
32. Can art enlarge people’s awareness and jettison their participation?
33. How to transform awareness into evolvement?
34. Do tools matter? How?
35. Why do you do art?
36. Examples of successful activism?
37. What is your race & class?
38. What does art do? Particularly art framed as activism? Is a conversation enough?
39. If the mainstream accepts activism thru art and other stimuli, would activists reject this acceptance because it has become mainstream?
40. Why do we separate art & activism?
Does profit compromise art?
Is the collective dependent upon the individual?
41. Does censorship give that which it stifles—the message—legitimacy?
42. Can we start to specify the mechanisms by which art can make change?
43. What do you think of terrorism?
44. Art and activism metrics?
45. How do you move an audience from awareness to engagement?

Insights? Thoughts?

I feel as though I need to sit with these questions for a bit and search for my personal answers. I would love to hear yours...

Art Activism and Iran Today

When does activism become art and when does art become activism? Or are they always both? Is a protest in the street an artwork or does it become art once someone takes a photograph to document it? Are the banners that are made, the posters that are printed, the speeches of poetry that are recited works of art?

There's a bit of history behind this Art Activism Movement that I want to touch on before we get too far into this month's theme. I know I have mentioned this book before, but I will do it again. But Is It Art?: The Spirit of Art As Activism is a great resource for reading about the beginnings of combining art and activism.

It started in the mid 1970s and hasn't really taken a break since. What I love about this movement is that it occurred because someone with a particular set of talents wanted to make a difference. A person who is inclined to make a painting, sculpture, print, photograph, etc. on a daily basis will look at challenging the government and the community in a different way than anyone else. I love this hybridization of life. There should be more of it.

Anyway, if you want to read more about the history of how this type of art came to exist, I suggest you read the book.

I would like to talk about a more contemporary movement of art activism now. There is a HUGE movement of artmaking via the Internet in support of the protests that continue in Iran today. Here are a few.


photo provided by http://globalvoicesonline.org
Artist: Tim Raines

In this video an Iranian artist sings for Neda Agha Soltan, a young innocent woman who lost her life during Iran's after election demonstrations on June 20th, 2009 in Tehran.

video provided by Neda ye Sarzamin


I found a forum Anonymous Iran in which people from around the world are coming together via the Internet to produce a poster of support for Iranian protesters. CLICK HERE to read the whole conversation and watch the process of developing this poster.
Here is the final poster they all worked together to make:



We all know the Internet has had and will continue to have a vast effect on artists, art projects and collaborations. I personally think the way in the which the Internet is being used to support Iran and spread the word about what is currently taking place is powerful and amazing. It is hard not to feel detached when something is not occurring on your own streets, but the strength that can be gathered by a large group of people in cyberspace is something that wouldn't have happened in the 70's. I love that artists AND activists are using all the tools they can get their hands on to creatively spread the word of freedom and human rights.

What do you think the Internet has done to art activism?

Humans, Fear and Violence

As Lauren and I getting ready to curate Augusts intense show at the Red Door "Insights of Life from the Shadows of Death,"
"CLICK HERE" to read more about the exhibition. I am thinking I want to focus my research for my months posts on Art and Activism. I found this work below. Artist Lisa Brice's response to violence. If anyone knows of any artists working in this realm. Please shoot us a line at artismoving@gmail.com. Art has the ability to bring a voice to the otherwise silent or negated. Any response to the artists work? Any response to this theme? Why are humans so violent? Can art mitigate pain and suffering?



















Lisa Brice's Make Your Home Your Castle was produced in 1995 and reflects the dangers of life in modern South Africa. The artwork demonstrates a South African home, adorned with cozy furnishings such as a couch and a pile of pillows. The art represents the high crime rate and omnipresent risk of physical attacks and burglaries in South Africa. Simultaneously, it references the apartheid system that helped create the danger. Justin Ross

CLICK HERE" to see more of artist Lisa Brice's work.

Lise Brice's Story

In 1990, Lise Brice came home to find her housemate barely alive. An intruder broke into her Cape Town home, stabbing her housemate 14 times and leaving a scene of blood-stained walls and destruction. Following the attack, Brice produced a number of works where she covered homey surfaces like linoleum, tiling, and mirrors with paint and scratched them with razor blades--clear reflections of the violence she was exposed to. The episode, along with South Africa's general state of crime and economic instability influenced "Make Your Home Your Castle," which debuted in 1995 in the Cape Town Castle, the former headquarters of the South African Defense Force. "Make Your Home Your Castle" can be viewed as a representation of the questions that Bryce is now forced to ask herself every time she prepares to go to sleep. Is the alarm on? Is the Trellidor locked? Don't forget the Flying Squad number, 10111.

Image from http://www.artthrob.co.za