What's Your Story?

I'll put in bluntly; Every School in the country needs to be doing a project like this one recently held at Anderson Ranch. I can count on one hand the number of writing assignments my kids have had in nearly 24 years of public education. Yet, those creative projects have effected them in profound ways. This project teaches empathy, it builds bridges across cultural and class divides, and it honors each student. It's a simple approach, like placing on bandage on a wound, it seems a shame we do it so rarely.

Iraq, Paper, Scissors

I recently read a quote that said there are only two kinds of people; those who create, and those who destroy. I had been thinking about that statement a lot when I came across this project on my friends' blog Groundswell. These Iraqi veterans are reinventing themselves in a profound way. This is a touching and thought provoking project.

Long Silent Voices Uniting in Chorus

I took a group of students to DC this October and one of our stops included The Torpedo Factory. Wandering through the complex and around the thousands of children and their parents actively making art during an open house, I discovered woodcut printer, Rosemary Covey, and her 0 Project (That's "Zero" Project.) Starting with a single image of a person speaking out / howling in protest / or being silenced - you choose, she has created an ever evolving installation and performance piece that is inspiring and exciting. She writes that the projects goals include:

."....express(ing) voicelessness but also the inverse, a howl of protest. The project demands response and response has come from sources worldwide—from musicians, writers, artists, photographers and others. In a very real way, their reactions are extensions of the artwork itself. And as the project develops, their reactions build on each other as well as on the artwork. One response is modified or amplified by another, and so on. Inevitably the project multiplies in the same endless manner as the original 0 art work. The project is designed to demonstrate that when art acts as a catalyst and invites responses, the ensuing dialogue becomes a form of art in itself."

I hope Covey can bring this project to the next Visualizing Human Rights Conference at UNC-Asheville next November. Until then check out the project's progress at http://rosemaryfeitcovey.com/0/

My first Movie

I would appreciate any feedback you would like to give on my first imovie attempt. This one is an overview of my art projects. I plan to make more that document specific projects and will also incorporate video. Thanks for your feedback here.

Building Community Through Art

Thought bubbles made for The Talking Mobile

What's the best way to address fear and share hope? Artists Todd Drake and Wade Billeisen believe it is to talk about it. Their project, The Talking Mobile, attempts to get the fears and hopes of students coming together at a new high school out in the open. Why? They believe that by sharing these thoughts students will find common ground between seeming differences. "We believe that everyone coming to Northern Guilford High School has hopes for a better education and worry whether they will be safe, successful, and accepted." Principal Joe Yeager approved the project and provided funding because he believed it would build community, a central goal of his leadership role at the new school.

After asking every student coming to Northern High School to share their hopes and fears about coming to the new school, Wade and Todd read through the responses and selected 40 questions asked by the students. Their selection seeks to represented the mind set of the students. "A lot of students, on both campus's wrote about concerns over getting along and blending the two communities, others expressed concerns over being accepted whether because of race, looks, or income." says Drake. By putting these concerns out in the open Todd and Wade believe the concerns and hopes of the students will be honored and considered. "Some of their questions, like "Will they hate me?" break your heart, others like "Will I be 'that dude' at the new school?" were humorous, but all were insightful." said Drake. Every single student question will be included in a note book for review by anyone. "This note book of student questions should be read through by every teacher and administrator at Northern." said Drake.

After displaying the "thought bubbles" on both campuses of the soon to be merged school, Todd and Wade will hang all the questions at the new high school to greet students on their arrival. After a month of living and learning together, all the students will be asked to respond to the questions posed in the mobile and the most provocative and insightful answers will be displayed beneath the questions as "speaking bubbles." Some class time will be devoted to discussing these questions and responses.

By giving voice to the students in this unique way Todd and Wade hope this project will make the new Northern High School a stronger, more accepting community. Though all of Drake's art is community based, this project is very personal; "My school did nothing like this when we intergrated back in the 70's. The only fight I got into my life occured as a result. I hope this project helps these students learn to respect each other and see past stereotypes that, along with fear, often blind us to making friends of strangers."

Community Artist Dizney Comes to Duke

Brett Cook Dizney is coming to Duke University next semester as a visiting artist. While at Duke he will create works of art shaped by the community. Brett's current work are colorful portraits that are initially colored by the community he is working with; like open coloring book images, Brett outlines the portrait on a large canvas and then lets the community have at it. Their coloring inside and outside the lines are respected by Brett who then takes the works back to the studio. There Brett finishes the works using his artistic training. The collaborations are inventive and striking. Brett also places a lot of importance on building community by adding food and music to his efforts. Artist and Duke art instructor Bill Fick turned me onto Brett by saying that he was full of energy and did a great job exciting Bill's drawing students. Brett will add a lot to the Duke and Durham community and will hopefully help build bridges between strained segments of that community post- and pre- Lacrosse mess. Welcome to NC Brett - I hope our community remembers how to show its classic Southern hospitality. More on Brett will be posted here after he arrives and gets to work. Visit Brett's website here.

Dias and Riedweg got it right!

Source

A good friend of mine and a fellow artist sent me this quote today. I initially thought she had written if for the project we are working on, then I realized it was by two contemporary artists I had not heard of. These guys are making video installations built around interaction with communities. I hope you find their artist statement as inspiring as I did:

"We consider interaction to be a form of artistic expression. We base our work in the philosophy that art, as a creative experience, has enormous potential as a communication vehicle among people. We work exclusively through interactive processes in which the representation of themes and issues directly involves concerned people or groups. Our work is not necessarily designed as community-oriented projects but as art realized with communities as part of the larger society, delving into the relationship between these communities and society.
More important than knowing or stating is asking. By exposing fragility or even ignorance we have a possibility of establishing contact with groups of people to which we ourselves do not belong....For us, art (especially contemporary art)...is the best tool for achieving communication and establishing interaction between disconnected territories in society. We work mostly with social groups that are left out of the art world; in this, we have a special interest in youth. Thus, we seek to reaffirm art as a necessary experience outside of the political and cultural definitions of society - art as a subversion of culture and politics."

-Mauricio Dias and Walter Riedweg

Coffee, Culture, and Cherokee, NC

Crush all your stereotypes about Native-Americans while sipping on great tasting coffee in the Qualla boundary (Cherokee, NC.) Drive past the god- awful looking high rise casino, the ugly generator of some good things for the Cherokee people, and find the old but soon to be remodeled Cherokee Museum in the historic section of Cherokee. Across the street and near the river that runs through Cherokee is Tribal Grounds Coffee House, run by Leon Grodski and Natalie Smith. These guys are great and have made a go for many years now of mixing great coffee with support of the arts (visual and musical.) While their website is lacking (www.coffeewithculture.com) nothing is lacking in their ability to bring together the diverse community that is now Cherokee for some inspiring contemporary art and beautiful music. My wife and I will never forget the open mike night we experienced there. Check it out for yourself.

Secrets that Bind

Artist Cathy McLaurin from Lawrence, Mass., is breaking new ground with her art as she reaches out to others while maintaining an artist's focus on the visual. I first met Cathy when she was bringing her "Secrets" installation to North Carolina. Check it out at http://www.cathymclaurin.com/SecretsMain.html Since then Cathy has related to me some of the provocative responses it has created. While there are other artists working in similar direction, Cathy's works maintains a raw honesty that comes from a place of caring. Cathy has recently conducted a residency in Texas where she worked with teenage single mothers. I look forward to seeing more on this project when it is posted on her site.

If you live in the Boston area be sure to catch her current show, Swaddled Babies and Dead AnimalsSeptember 15 – October 12, 2007, Opening Reception: Saturday September 15, 3-6pm
250 Canal Street, Lawrence, MALocated in Washington Mills, 4th floor Gallery hours: Fridays September 21–October 12 10-3Additional hours by appointment: 978-387-2947