Sunday, October 25, 2009

Krystle Warren



Found this on a perfect autumn day. She's from Kansas City and has become a big deal in Europe.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Blu and David Ellis prove all it takes is imagination (and hard work)

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.



This installation painting project's site struck me as the perfect symbol for the Great Recession we are in. These artists take what looks like an abandoned Italian apartment courtyard and give it new life. I hope this video is going viral. Now, if we could make their creativity infectious we might just all survive.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Maya Lin's Last Monument


credit


What is Missing is Maya Lin's self proclaimed last monument. If you have walked the slight grade of the Vietnam Memorial and felt the slow rise of the names in black stone, then you know the feeling she is after with this monument. In this instance, it is the slow disappearance of species after species, habitat after habitat, that our mindless human activities is erasing from the planet. The non-traditional memorial take form in many ways, including digitally. Check out Lin's website on the project. Haunting.

Saving Eden



Sitting in the audience last night at the 1st annual Land Jam I was touched to hear this song about the very place where I work; Rockingham County and Eden, NC. Laurelyn Dossett's song Leaving Eden sums up the struggles in that community, the plant closings, and the death of so many opportunities. I and my colleges are working to give them another option; education and in my case, creativity.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Gary Gresco Doesn't take it sitting down

THe City of Greensboro blew it when they listened to the trite complaints of a few community members and removed a wonderful sculpture from the new greenway in Greensboro. Gary speaks the truth in this News and Record article. Sorry Gary. Your benches were awesome. I apologize that my community cannot elect smarter officials. It's a direct result of our less than acceptable public education where art and art appreciation have gone the way of dial phones and typewriters. I hope the publicity from this gets you 15 more grants. I guess all those "no-good bumbs and prostitutes" are gone now from the streets of Greensboro. What a shame that your art attracted them.


Removal of public art was a desecration

BY GARY GRESCO

When I first poured my heart and soul into the Warnersville bench installation, I had no idea this art project would have such a profound impact.

How could steel and stone be responsible for the ills of this community? Especially when there are so many other benches throughout Greensboro. This question was a major topic of conversation at the Tri-State Sculptors' annual conference at Elon University last weekend.

I have reached some conclusions. The Warnersville bench was removed to thwart the very words inscribed on each segment. They are:

-- Remove Endurance and replace it with surrender.

-- Remove Triumph and replace it with failure.

-- Remove Faith and replace it with apathy.

-- Remove Strength and replace it with weakness.

-- Remove Hope and replace it with despair.

Read rest of article


AMAZING Comment by Zhak on News and Record Comment Board:


"One summer evening a couple spotted five freshly varnished chairs glowing in the moonlight in the Warnersville neighborhood. He wished to sit on the chair marked 'endurance.' She had only ten minutes to spare so vetoed the idea. She wished to sit on the chair marked 'faith' since she had not yet seen his wallet. He suggested 'triumph' as he looked forward to having his way without the benefit of responsibility or character. She preferred 'strength' as would she have the strength to make it through one more shift. Neither considered 'hope' as this seat was taken by the community that hoped by some miracle someone would make this whole situation go away."

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Moore, Sandburg, Woodie



I watched Moore's newest movie "Capitalism-A Love Story" this weekend and realized that he is the living voice of straight talkers like Carl Sandburg and Woodie Guthrie - survivors from our last economic disaster. They saw the plight of the common man and recognized that it was piss not rain falling on their heads from those "above" them. I've posted some of my favorite Guthrie songs here. Also, here is one of my favorite Sandburg poems- worth following the link and reading it all.



TO A CONTEMPORARY BUNKSHOOTER

by Carl Sandburg

You come along. . . tearing your shirt. . . yelling about
Jesus.
Where do you get that stuff?
What do you know about Jesus?
Jesus had a way of talking soft and outside of a few
bankers and higher-ups among the con men of Jerusalem
everybody liked to have this Jesus around because
he never made any fake passes and everything
he said went and he helped the sick and gave the
people hope.

Rest of Poem


Ahhh...Thank You Creative Muses!

Houx knows how to hoe a truthful tune

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Long Train Home



More on Chris Smither.

Every generation lets something slip away. Sometimes it's a good thing- like Racism or Homophobia. Sometimes it's not so good. I wonder if we have let the feeling of the sacred slip away. Maybe it slid out between the teeth and gins of hypocritical preachers or between the shouts of Christians who want the Lord to be a Warrior rather than a Shepherd. Maybe it slipped away because we were too self conscious to teach our children to pray. Or maybe pop culture stole it when they made Christ into a bobble headed dash board toy. I don't know.

I find the sacred still. In nature, in art. In pastors like my friends Linda and Brady who speak the truth even when the truth is not popular. And in songs like this one.