“The Mothership Depot”- Black Futurist Movement

"Art is Business" by Admin Oakland Art Enthusiast   2013



DeadEyes has begun creating free-standing installations

Dead Eyes, “The Mothership Depot” at

Redux Studios & Gallery

Oakland artist DeadEyes culminates his 2013 Artist in Residence at Redux Studios & Gallery, a creative community program within the Alameda Saint Vincent de Paul Society, with “The Mothership Depot” a solo exhibition celebrating “the key forefathers of the Black Futurist movement: Sun-Ra, a traditional jazz musician who transitioned into free jazz; George Clinton, who went from doo-wop to a self-made free-form style called P-Funk; and Lee Scratch Perry, the seminal reggae producer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production.”

DeadEyes, "The Mothership Depot

DeadEyes, "The Mothership Depot"

 

DeadEyes, "The Mothership Depot"

Led by a fictional guide “Galacticus,” audiences of the installation and visual art made made from vintage and recycled items recognize The Mothership Depot is a space both narrative as well as illustrative of the concepts not only of reflection amid a long journey as well as recognizing inspiring legends, but as a place from which to propel, receive inspiration and “send those who are ready to leave this world behind for worlds of elevated consciousness that match their level of Funkiness.”

Screening of Work-In-Progress Doc 'Chronicles of Summer' (3 Young Black Girls Shaping Their Identity)

"Art is Business" article By Sergio.            

Last year I wrote about Chicago-based filmmaker and urban anthropologist Ife Olatunji and her new documentary, "Chronicles of Summer: Childhood in South Shore," which centers around 3 close friends, Indigo, Ameera, and Akili, all 8 years old and growing up on the South Side of Chicago.

Her goal in her film was to capture “the thought processes of the three small girls as they negotiated their way through the volatile and changing education system… (and was) interested in conveying how schools’ arts programs impact children’s construction of their own identity”.

Both girls were given the opportunity to participate in visual and performance arts after school. But when school ended for the summer, it was up to the parents to find a safe and affordable education for their daughters.

"Despite financial and family troubles, parents enroll their kids in summer programs with the hope of preparing them for more than just the fall semester… (as the film details the experiences of the girls as they learn while dealing)… with the personal and artistic challenges that shape their identity during a critical age. Confronting notions of a “poor education,” this community redefines what is worth learning."

The filmmaker was a 2014 Katemquin films/Community Film Workshop Diverse Voices in Documentaries Fellow and calls herself a documentary filmmaker specializing in observational cinema methods and ethnographic fieldwork.

With a BA in Anthropology from Syracuse University, and a graduate MA in Visual Anthropology from the University of Manchester, UK, she says that her "anthropological fieldwork has led me to teach media and art to students of all ages, and worldwide," and she has formed her own documentary production company Freedom Lover Films.

There are few films, whether narrative or documentary,  that focuses on the lives and experiences of young black girls and for Ms. Olatunji, "Chronicle of Summer" will be important because it "seeks to capture the voices and experiences of elementary students as they explore the value of education and arts in shaping their identity."

This Friday, there will be a special advance screening of her film as a “work-in-progress” at the Black Cinema House in Chicago located at 7200 S. Kimbark starting at 7PM.

Watermelon Bay project developed by Janelle Dowell

Reposted for Lavon N. Pettis, ..."I want to introduce you to a really talented and dynamic emerging artist Janelle Vaughn Dowell. "

The opening reception for the exhibition is Thursday, May 14, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.
Center for Book & Paper Arts 1104 S. Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 http://events.colum.edu/event/interdisciplinary_arts_department_mfa_thesis_exhibition_and_performances_reception_masters_showcase#.VVPUiZO1_t4

Interdisciplinary Arts Department MFA Thesis Exhibition and Performances Reception Master's Showcase

           

Thursday, May 14 at 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Center for Book & Paper Arts

 

1104 S. Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605      

This exhibition features the thesis work of MFA candidates in the Interdisciplinary Arts Department.

 

The exhibition, which includes artists' books, works in handmade paper, print media, installations & sculpture, new media, and time arts events is the culmination of one year of guided research. Each reflects the department’s dual focus on an interdisciplinary book and paper arts and interdisciplinary arts and media.

 

Participating artists include Christopher Bednash, Justin Botz, Sid Branca, Heather R. Buechler, Adrienne Ciskey, Angela Davis Fegan, Janelle Vaughn Dowell, Grayson Hügh Bagwell, Amy Leners, Tom J. Ruiz, Dustin Seelinger, Levi Sherman, Kellen Walker, Amanda Blake Willett.

 

*Visit colum.edu/bookandpaper for a detailed event schedule

"MATRIARCH" DESCENT AND RELATIONSHIP

"Art is Business"  Griffin Gallery

SAVE THAT DATE: Fine Art Exhibition and Reception

Friday June  19, 6-9pm

FINE ART & INTERIOR DESIGN

2233 S. Throop St. #209

Chicago, IL  60608

A matriarchy is a social organizational form in which the mother or oldest female heads the family. Descent and relationship are determined through the female line. Most anthropologists hold that there are no known societies that are unambiguously matriarchal, but some authors believe that exceptions are possible, some of them in the past. 

 

GRIFFIN FINE ART  proudly presents the work of five outstanding women artists. As they have created incredible artworks  from that intangible, primordial space that is the spirit and essence of  female expression.  They visually reflect upon the stories of life in the nurturing tradition that is uniquely feminine and fundamentally, matriarchal.  

 

"This exhibition promises to be a feast for the eyes and nourishment for the soul". 

Burnham Wildlife Corridor RFP Informational Sessions

"Art is Business" Curator Alpha Bruton

W.IN.E TV Interview Mrs. Renee Baker

LOVE FOR SALE- CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER

"Art is Business" Reposted for, Barbara Koenen + Tim Samuelson

Tim's new exhibition, Love For Sale, will put a spell on you. Even the Rolling Stones get in on the act. Love For Sale opens on Friday April 24 from 5:30 - 7pm. The exhibition runs through August 2, 2015. The Chicago Cultural Center is located at 78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL. www.chicagoculturalcenter.org

 Everyone wants love. And who doesn’t want good luck and success in life? Or how about looking their best? In business on Chicago’s South Side from 1926 to 1984, the Valmor Products Company offered all these things and more.

Perfumes, hair pomades, incense, and a number of other products came packaged in small bottles and tins bearing colorful, eye-catching labels that affirmed the powers of the products within. Although largely unknown to historians of commercial art and advertising, the graphic design of Charles Dawson, Jay Jackson and Ernest Macha created an indelible identity for the houdou, cosmetics, hair care, wigs, perfumes and love potions of the Valmor Products Company and was among the most creative and original of the era.

Collectively, the Valmor labels and advertisements are significant and thought-provoking reflections of twentieth-century graphic art and cultural history. And if the promised powers of love and good fortune can be conveyed to the visitors of this exhibition, so much the better! Who doesn't want beauty, luck, happiness and thrills?

City of Chicago :: Lake FX Summit Expo

Lavon Pettis- Global Resource ID to discuss her work in the Chicago community, join her on Friday, April  17th, panel discussion on Build Community Best Practices, learn about strategies for engaging communities through the arts.

Lake FX Summit + Expo

April 16-19

"Improvisation and Innovation"

Lake FX Summit + Expo presented by Google is the region’s largest FREE conference for artists, creative professionals and entrepreneurs. The inaugural four-day event, running April 16-19, will welcome thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations for keynotes by industry leaders, professional development panels and workshops, networking opportunities, music and film showcases, the Expo resource fair and a marketplace featuring local artisans.

PANEL ORGANIZER/LEAD: Jacqueline Samuel, Claretian Associates (moderator)
PANELISTS:  Emily Leonard, Beverly Arts Center; Lavon Pettis, Phantom Gallery Network; , Karen Woodbury, The Superior St. Center for Arts and Music; Moira Pujols, Cultura in Pilsen
DATE AND TIME: FRI 4/17   3:00:00 PM  
LOCATION OF PANEL: Chicago Cultural Center
ROOM :Exhibit Hall
TITLE OF PANEL: Build Community Best Practices
DESCRIPTION:  Learn about strategies for engaging communities through the arts from these leaders.
City of Chicago :: Lake FX Summit Expo

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble wants to make jazz cool again with young people

"Art is Business"  Public Affairs Director Global Resources ID Lavon N. Pettis

 Hypnotic Brass is  prepared to offer workshops on the history of jazz, and it's relationship to funk & hip hop!  We are also interested in offering any age students musical fundamentals for each instrument.  Hypnotic would be willing to offer comprehensive & constructive critiques for high school jazz students. 

Our goal is to inspire youth interested in learning, developing and sharing ideas about how to sustain & make a living in the music industry.   HBE will speak at length about every aspect of the business including how to collaborate with other artists, how to get your music in films, and how to protect your intellectual content.  We will also look at the ever evolving role of technology in the music industry. 

Our normal rate for one school workshop is $2,500.  4 concert/workshops in one academic year or 4 different school visits.  $10,000. If you are interested in scheduling a workshop 

contact Public Affairs Director Global Resources ID Lavon N. Pettis, 773-458-9864

Project Manager Southside Music Series. lavonnpettis@gmail.com.

 

See Hypnotic perform for the youth and the Cultural Ambassador of  Mexico!

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble y la Orquesta Azteca | Noticias de Cultura (YOUTH CONCERT):

 http://youtu.be/rwiWzi7UdPM

Here's a write up about our project in the Southside Weekly University of Chicago:  http://southsideweekly.com/artful-outreach/

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Live at Julian High School (Chicago):  
http://www.pljulianhs.net/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=338124&id=0

Dublin Hypnotic Brass Ensemble all ages event listing:
http://journalofmusic.com/listing/01-12-14/hypnotic-brass-ensemble-1

ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF CREATIVE MUSICIANS (AACM) 50TH ANNIVERSARY.

"Art is Business" Curator/ Douglas Ewart/

 "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."  -- unknown--

Press list is growing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/arts/music/50-years-on-

association-for-advancement-of-creative-musicians-influences-jazz.html

The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 ...
www2.mcachicago.org/.../the-fre...

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now ...Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a still-flourishing organization ofChicago ... Combining historical materials with contemporary responses, The Freedom ... to be presented on the MCA Stage, and on a related installation within the exhibition.

The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and ... - Do312

do312.com/.../the-freedom-principle-experiments-in-art-and-music-1965... 

• This exhibition is organized by Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator, and Dieter Roelstraete, Manilow Senior Curator, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

... in Art and Music, 1965 to Now at Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on July ... Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in 1965 and the MCA in 1967. ...of The Freedom Principle is very much on contemporary artists' responses to  ...

Sat, Jul 11

The Freedom Principle ...

Museum of Contemporary Art ..

50th anniversary of AACM celebrated at DuSable Museum ...

www.chicagotribune.com/.../reich/ct-jazz-aacm-201501... 

Chicago Tribune

Jan 27, 2015 - howardreichHow is Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sanchez reinventing ... the AACM was born in 1965, a copy of the Articles of Incorporation  ...

Howard Reich Articles, Photos, and Videos - Chicago Tribune

www.chicagotribune.com/.../arts.../journalism/howard-r... 

Chicago Tribune

50th anniversary of AACM celebrated at DuSable Museum. Howard Reich. Jazz was in trouble. In the early 1960s rock was ascendant, jazz clubs were closing,  ...

Missing: acm

DuSable Museum of African-American History Articles ...

www.chicagotribune.com/.../arts.../dusable-museum-of-... 

Chicago Tribune

50th anniversary of AACM celebrated at DuSable Museum. Howard Reich. Jazz was in trouble. In the early 1960s rock was ascendant, jazz clubs were closing,  ...

Missing: acm

A growing list of AACM celebrations - Chicago Tribune

www.chicagotribune.com/.../reich/ct-aacm-events-new-... 

Chicago Tribune

Feb 27, 2015 - howardreichHow is Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sanchez reinventing his quartet? ... 6 at the DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. ... At the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.;  ..

Kehinde Wiley's Empire of Vulnerability- by Joel Kuennen- ArtSlant

“Kehinde Wiley is everywhere right now,” said Eugenie Tsai, John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum, as the small press tour began. This was not an exaggeration by any means; Wiley garnered recent attention when his paintings appeared as backdrops in Fox's Empire, a highly stylized melodrama from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong that collages black stereotypes while positioning black bodies into a King Lear-like drama, and for his fashion week photoshoot with New York Magazine. Wiley has been an art star since the mid 2000s when his masterful paintings of black men posing in the tradition of classical portrait painting first began making the rounds, yet he is certainly having a moment right now with the opening today of the largest survey to date on the 37-year-old artist at the Brooklyn Museum. New works include masterful stained-glass portraits from Prague and appropriated from Christian chapels, bronze busts crafted in China, and a selection from his series An Economy of Grace. Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977), The Sisters Zénaïde and Charlotte Bonaparte, 2014, Oil on linen, 83½ x 63 in. (212 x 160 cm). © Kehinde Wiley. (Photo: Robert Wedemeyer, courtesy of Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California) As many critics have noted over the years, Wiley is well-packaged. A young black artist from a disadvantaged background, raised on the mean streets of LA by a single mother, etc.—Wiley fits the narrative. His practice of “street casting”—where he asks people he sees on the street to select poses to inhabit from the art historical canon—as well as his brilliantly-direct practice of inserting black bodies in poses of power and affluence is often derided as too easy. It is easy, but it should not be disregarded. New York Times Critic Martha Schwendener is not a fan, and has onmultiple occasions dismissed the premise behind Wiley’s paintings while refusing to go into the intricacies of black male identity that his work takes on. In one of her shadiest rebukes, Schwendener uses Wiley’s premise itself to discount his project: From the outside, the problem might seem merely that Wiley's genre is stale. He's coming late to the game of figurative art; what he's doing isn't particularly new or interesting, except that he's depicting African-Americans and Africans instead of white Europeans. Schwendener goes on to point out that Wiley isn’t the first to insert black bodies into the Western art historical canon—Barkley Hendricks was doing this back in the 70s to much more controversial effect. But who really cares about firsts other than historians? The contestation of black identity within a visual culture of white supremacy—it takes a lot of visual repetition to inscribe the black body with violence and danger—must be an ongoing project. Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977), Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005, Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Collection of Suzi and Andrew B. Cohen. © Kehinde Wiley. (Photo: Sarah DiSantis, Brooklyn Museum) The criticism of Wiley as "too packaged" betrays a lack of nuanced understanding behind the project itself—for it has an agenda far beyond the art world. His brand drifts between confrontational and consumable and his prior use of only black male bodies as his subjects (An Economy of Grace, focuses on the black female body for the first time in his practice) reveals the artist’s intention of remaking the brand of the black man in Western society. Wiley’s work is consumable and it needs to be if it wants to be successful at more than finding its way into museum collections and TV-mansions. Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977). Saint Remi, 2014, Stained glass, 96 x 43 1/2 in. (243.8 x 110.5 cm). Courtesy of Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris. © Kehinde Wiley  The concept and practice of branding is practically synonymous with self-identity in a culture that primacies the visual the way ours does. Brands can elevate; they can evoke power, affluence, and class, but they can also denigrate. A particularly detached marketing executive might say that “the black man needs some rebranding.” Wiley’s project is just this: an extensive rebranding project that hinges on the deep, racial assumptions within American culture. A representative study Wiley painted in 2006 is on view in The New Republic: a careful painting of a young black man on a white background. Underneath his image is a set of large, white-washed numbers that indicate the painting is of a mugshot. Wiley says he found the mugshot crumpled up on the sidewalk one day and the young man’s image struck him: his softness, his vulnerability. This point of view is where Wiley diverges from popular culture. Kehinde Wiley, Mugshot Study, 2006, Oil on Canvas, 36 x 24 in. Sender Collection. Image courtesy of the author  Herman Gray, Chair of Sociology at UC Santa Cruz, puts it succinctly in his essay "Black Masculinity and Visual Culture": “Self representations of black masculinity in the United States are historically structured by and against dominant (and dominating) discourses of masculinity and race, specifically (whiteness).” This posturing counter to the visual hegemony of whiteness led to the seemingly mutually beneficial “thug/gangsta” trope where whiteness can accept the black body as outsider and criminal and the black subject can enact resistance and participate in self representation. Empire engages with these tropes melodramatically, portraying a black hero who rose to the top through breaking the law and sometimes murdering his closest friends, or as it is characterized on the show: “hustling.” The fine line here is between a portrayal of very real life experiences for many oppressed and marginalized people and the reification of damaging stereotypes, a line that is echoed in feminist debates on self-representation of the female nude. The brilliance of Wiley, for this writer, is that he is able to redirect the discussion towards vulnerability and stage that vulnerability as power. Wiley’s New Republic is an empire of vulnerability as strength. — Joel Kuennen (Image at top: Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977). Shantavia Beale II, 2012. Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in. (152.4 x 121.9 cm). Collection of Ana and Lenny Gravier, courtesy Sean Kelly, New York. © Kehinde Wiley. Photo: Jason Wyche) > COMMENTS ON KEHINDE WILEY'S EMPIRE OF VULNERABILITY (0)    [add a new comment] Reposted by Alpha Bruton- Phantom Gallery Chicago Network

Kulturbrücke/Culture Bridge International Art Encounters From Germany & USA

"Art is Business" Curator PIOTR WOLODKOWICZReposted for IAG by Alpha Bruton

Kulturbrücke/Culture Bridge Exhibition: Feb. 21 - March 21, 2015 International Art Encounters from Germany & USA at the DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western The DANK Haus presents KULTURBRUECKE, a cultural bridge of musicians, painters, dancers, and sculptors from Germany and the United States. Curated by Piotr Wolodkowicz and Marianna Buchwald, the International Arts Group Chicago, with more than 50 artists from 5 different continents, features a broad range of works with an intention to deepen cross-cultural ties. Opening Reception and performances by Ursula Gallenkamp and Kao Ra Zen at 8 pm Saturday, February 21, 2015, 6pm – 10 pm ANKE KORIOTH,URSULA GALLENKAMP,GABI PAUL,RENATE GOLDE,HENNING GREVE,ELSA TOEBELMANN,KARINA WANG,CHRISTA ZOCH,H.-U.BUCHWALD,WILLIAM WHITEHALL,KAO RA ZEN,PIOTR WOLODKOWICZ,PENELOPE THRASHER,MARTHA JUAREZ,TAMARA WASSERMANN,NICHOLE HARROD,SPENCER HUTCHINSON,ELIZABETH PARKER,SUSAN MULLEN,NANCY STRAHINIC,TIMOTHY RODENHISLER,CHRISTINE PERRI,REBEKKA WOLFRAM,EWA BLOCH, ULLI SONGS,MARK VAN DIJK,SIDDHA WEBER, LINDA PLATH,RENEE BAKER, HILDE DE BRUYNE, GLADY GLADYS,AGA FURTAK,ANA SALINAS,ANA WINSKA-BAJENA,DEIRDRE FOX,EWA BLOCH,GEORG LARSON,JOANNA SZYMANSKA,PATRICK PUTZE,SUE TURAYHI,URSZULA LELEN,TERESA ROZAN,STANISLAW KIELAR,ROBERT POCKMIRE,PIOTR ANTONOV,LESZECH BAJENA,KASIA SZCZESNIEJEWSKI,GOSIA GORALCZYK,DAVE KOHN,KATHRYN GAUTHIERS,DIANE PONDER,LOTHAR SPEER,JAVIER ENRIQUEZ Opening Reception Refreshments Provided by: Chicago Brauhaus, Cafe’ Selmarie, Jewel Osco in Andersonville.