artsfarts.org

Terrence McKenna's message to Artists.

leosoup:

Art’s task is to save the soul of mankind. Anything less is a dithering while Rome burns. Because if the Artists, who are self selected for being able to journey into the “other”, cannot find the way, then the way cannot be found.

Upcoming artsfarts

Fall is always a busy time for the artworld. Here is a short list of events and lectures that I know about and am planning to go to. (if you want a full run down, go to fecalface)

Tonight 10/27  Libby Black lecture at CCA 7pm

Wednesday 10/28 Kota Ezawa artist talk at Haines Gallery 5-7pm

Thursday 10/29 Ever Gold par-tay w/ a bunch of former SFAI ers including Shalo, Alex H, Johnny Rogers, etc

Friday 10/30 Going to the Headlands for some artist talks and then amah-zing dinner

Saturday 10/31 Halloween, duh.

Nexxxt week :

Wednesday 11/4 YBCA Opening of “When Lives Become Form: Contemporary Brazilian Art”  Free drinks and brazilian music

Thursday 11/5 Ever Gold Aaron Terry

Friday 11/6 Non-Mart opens at Y2Y gallery

First weekend back

After some arting around LA and Minneapolis. Last night sAw some nice found/amateur films at ATA in the mission hosted by the Pretingers. Going to check out their library space this afternoon. Will post pics.

ACC conference re-cap | Craft and Livelihood by Elissa Auther

As a first-timer to the ACC conference or any similar kind of event, this lecture was a great introduction to the history and ideology of Craft in the last 100 years or so. Elissa Auther, the lecturer gave a brief but ambitious overview of the Craft movement from the turn of the 20th century up until the present moment. It focused on the different roles of lifestyle and livelihood throughout these movements and the many ways in which discussions of identity, community and authenticity have been framed within the Craft marketplace.  Auther makes the distinction between livelihood and lifestyle by defining the former as a means of living and making money while the latter is a source of social identity and consumption.

The first so-called  Arts and Crafts Movement came as a response to the Industrial Revolution, a de-humanizing period in Western production when workers were forced into assembly lines and were no longer responsible for the full creation of a product. The practice of arts and crafts was idealized as a restorative lifestyle and was believed to serve as a catalyst for inward development.  Craft was meant to give meaning and agency to the people who practiced it as well as re-insert meaning into the objects they produced.

In the 60’s, the craft movement re-emerged as a counter culture against corporate life that had developed from Post-War culture.  Groups such as the Belinas Guild aimed at turning craft into a livelihood as well as a lifestyle. This led the way for the counter-culture publishing movement that began in the early 70’s in conjunction with the Punk movement.  Projects included the making of zines, handmade books and smaller independent publishers.  These artists and craftspeople pursued authentic living through crafting.

This ideology was appropriated and absorbed by the hyper-materialist culture of the 80’s through advertising and the corporate culture that it had once tried to subvert. Now it is commonplace to see companies marketing lifestyle choices rather than just products.  You can buy a neat looking table and lamp at your local chain superstore that will complete your personal ideology of peace and harmony rather than crafting the furniture yourself.

However, the message I got from the conference this year was not to get too disheartened because the concept of craft as a critique of capitalism has managed to re-emerge every ten or so years.  Again in the 2000’s we see craft as a way for marginalized populations to redefine themselves outside of corporate structures.  The early concepts of craft = meaning, wholeness, authenticity and responsible consumption have come full circle and seem to take center stage in the more politically and socially active circles of craft and DIY with groups like the Pottery Liberation Front, Radical Cross Stitch, Gestures of Resistance  and those behind the Handmade Pledge.

Re-cap of ACC conference | “Patterson Cottage” or Mad As Hell and Not Gonna Take It Anymore

This is a draft of one of the blog posts I am going to submit to the ACC blog about the conference. I thought I would post it here along with some info that may not be relevant to their website.  I have so much to say and have seen so many interesting projects and met a lot of great artists that I think I will be posting about this for many moons to come.

* * *

I want to preface my post by saying that I was thoroughly surprised by the emotional energy that came from the conference this weekend in defense of the different factions of crafters. As a newbie to the crafting world, I didn’t not anticipate the heated debate over Martha Stewart, DIY or the after-math of the Garth Clark lecture.

I had some trouble following the scope of Clark’s argument but he outlined his main points as follows:

The crafting world is structured like a palace in the sense that there is a hierarchy among crafters reflected by the way funding is distributed. Rather than fund and reward only a few successful artists through organizations like the American Craft Council (ACC), we should be focused on reinforcing and supporting the Cottage Craftspeople that are making work in small, tourist towns in the Midwest that better represent the tradition of crafting. This could be done, in part, by having a lobbyist for the ACC in Washington DC making the case for more money and more governmental support for the small town crafters.

After his short speech, a storm of comments ensued. Many argued that he unfairly criticized the ACC because he had occupied the same institutional hierarchy as the dealer of a blue chip gallery in New York until only a couple years ago. Others were gratefully for his instigation of a new dialogue and were no doubt charmed by his humor and passionate delivery.

I personally lost interest when he started gushing about his cynicism-melting experience at Burning Man. I could see the stars in his eyes from where I sat in the back as he spoke about how amazing it was to see these people making work without any of the constraints of the marketplace or the Art world.  His talk had the tone of a person who believed he had spent precious years of his life making a living in the cut-throat and capitalist world of New York art dealers. And now in his later years he is trying to make up for it by attaching himself to something “pure.”  Both his interest in Burning Man and his anger at the ACC seemed simplified and almost naïve considering his experience and long term place within the craft community. He is definitely a romantic at heart and rather than solve problems and build up new beginnings in an understanding and moderated way, he would rather burn bridges and hail insults in a dramatic fiery explosion. No wonder Burning Man appeals to him.

Heavy metal show at ever gold

Air and Blood, new work by Heather Johnson at Glowlab in NY

Here are some pics from the new show at Glowlab gallery. The artist, Heather Johnson, is a former CCA grad. She makes small, place specific works that require the viewer pays attention.  It looks like she is using some of her drawing techniques to make embroidered images.  I would be curious to see more close ups of these… If you are in the area, check it out. Photos by Naomi Szto of Glowlab.