October is

 - October is breast cancer awareness month and if you scroll down a bit to my last post you see my overview of the F**K the Big C exhibit. The show featured work by three friends and wonderful artists, each one a cancer survivor and an inspiration.

Ria Vanden Eynde, Betty Esperanza and Branka Djordjević have come through their cancers with a positive spirit and each in their own way brought their process to light through the exhibition.

I collaborate with Ria as part of the Seeking Kali Artist Collective and was delighted to make editions from her original pieces.

Ria is donating a portion of the sale price of every print to My Hope Chest. This is a Florida based charity who's mission is helping uninsured breast cancer survivors afford breast reconstruction surgery.

We hope to be able to make at least a $500 donation by the end of October. I invite our friends and supporters to share this post and to consider purchasing a print from one of the editions during the month of October.   A beautiful example of [He]ART'S Healing Power.

Link:   View and purchase prints from Ria's editions Here

Post F**K Cancer

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El Sueno - Ria Vanden Eynde

 My friend and fellow Seeking Kali collaborator, Ria Vanden Eynde of Belgium was in the States recently showcasing her work at Jennifer Kosarek's Eve N Odd Gallery.   The exhibit, F**K the Big C,  features work of cancer survivors Betty Esperanza, Branka Djordjević and Ria Vanden Eynde.  All three artists exhibited new works that reveal their elevated intensity, passion for creation and a glimpse of how their cancer and treatments transformed their art practices.  Over the summer I worked with Ria to make small print editions from several of her oils for this show.  Earlier this month I traveled to Florida to deliver the prints for the signing and the exhibit.   I've worked closely with Ria on art collaborations for over two years but it was always across the ocean and by skype, emails and Facebook. It was a great experience meeting, documenting the exhibit and being a part of bringing the works of these remarkable women to Florida.

I’ve struggled more than usual to blog about this exhibit.  Probably because I collaborate with Ria on many other projects outside of her cancer work I fear writing something that typecasts her as a “cancer artist”; that her work is simply about that aspect of her life. Her biography reveals that she has a PhD in Mathematics, a certificate in Gestalt Therapy and perhaps most revealing is Buddhist studies.  The later, I find essential to her work, for it touches on her attention to the details of an examined life and how our human sufferings unite us.  Ria could certainly be teaching advanced mathematics or working as a therapist, yet through her work as an artist she is able to concentrate our attentions on the transformative aspects of the trials we endure throughout life.  Her art has content, it is not art about art but rather art about life.  I sometimes refer to her work as activist art.  Not a blatant in your face superficial take on our common sufferings, but a realization that these trials progress throughout our lives, one after the other and how we cope with change is what defines our lives.

Aggressed Body - Ria Vanden Eynde

Ria told me about the exhibit last winter and we discussed how to work out the problems printing small limited editions.  Ria handled the scanning or the photography of her original pieces while here in the US I would receive the files and make trial proofs which were sent to Belgium for suggestions and final go ahead.


I have to admit that although Ria had approved the final versions of everything that was printed, since I never saw the oils I was somewhat apprehensive that after all the work and travel they weren't going to be faithful to the originals.   As it turned out, we both loved the final printing and had a great time hanging examples from the newly signed editions.

Works from this limited print series are still available online through our Seeking Kali website.  The sale of these small editions of nine prints each directly benefit a charity called My HopeChest, which is the only national breast reconstruction organization working to help “uninsured” women heal completely. 

 Ria Vanden Eynde signing print editions at the Eve N Odd Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL

 Jennifer Kosharek of Eve N Odd Gallery (in red) and Ria Vanden Eynde (center) on the set of NBC Daytime prior to the opening

During the opening Ria read her series of Acrostic Poems from her "Dear Thyroid" series.  The following video shows a small  excerpt (the full performance is on Vimeo)

Ria Vanden Eynde and F**K the Big C

http://www.riavandeneynde.com/

The KALI Edition

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 The Kali artists with the three AP copies

We began our limited edition portfolio on the social network platform of Facebook with that status line where it asks, “What’s on your mind?”  At the time I was staring at a tanghka on my studio wall and I idly wrote, “The manifestations of Kali.”  Ria Vanden Eynde of Belgium, an artist I had exchanged some mail art with replied and suggested collaboration on a piece.  Soon Susan Shulman of Canada joined the conversation and the idea of a limited print edition based on the Goddess Kali was born. We had become acquainted through participation in the group show, A Book About Death at the Emily Harvey Gallery in NYC in 2009. Although we never actually met, we were acquainted with each other’s work from the online blog documenting the exhibit.  Over the course of several weeks we worked out some rough guidelines; double sided folios would be folded and placed unbound in a clamshell case.   

We set no deadline but as we shared pieces by posting on Facebook several artists surprised us with their own Kali images. Eventually, we decided to announce an open call for this type of image and were pleasantly surprised when, by last December, we had over 100 works by 80 artists.  The works ranged from traditional media, mixed technique, spoken word, video and performance.  These we documented on a dedicated blog then compiled a DVD of the material. The DVD has since made debuts in Berlin, Montreal and Boston.   

My work on Kali went the route of performance as well and I developed a shadow theater production that was performed on Long Island at CW Post and in Boston at the Mobius Artist Space.  During this period we collaborated on several more projects including posters for International Women's Day and videos, and works for new venues of A Book About Death. 

We finally had enough material by spring of 2011 and I began a process of making trial proofs that were sent to Canada and Belgium for approvals.  The printing and case construction was complete over the course of the summer.  

 The six hands of the artist group Seeking Kali

 All that remained was to finally all meet so the works could be signed.  While I had meet Susan twice on occasions when she visited NYC, both of had yet to meet Ria outside of our weekly Skype progress sessions.  We settled on September in NYC since Ria was traveling to the US for a show of her work in Florida at that time.  All that remained was to determine where to sign the edition. 

   

 Taken at Hyperallergic Headquarters in NYC (photo credit: Hrag Vartanian)

We contacted Hrag Vartanian at the art blogazine Hyperallergic and he graciously agreed to host us as we set up, signed the works and documented the process.  We were pleasantly surprised that that he wrote a short piece on us in Hyperallergic, given the timing of his other deadlines.   

The 18 month journey was complete on September 16^th as we sat in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn Headquarters and signed.  

 The edition, ‘Kali’, rests in a handmade cloth covered 9” x 12” x 2” drop spine case with the title and artist’s names in 24k goldleaf.  We produced this as an edition of 9 with an additional 3 artist proofs.  The books contain 6 double-sided prints from each of us. A hand-stitched booklet contains artist statements, biographies and screen grabs from our original Facebook conversation completes the edition.   Folio sheets are printed on Moab 190 Entrada rag with the Epson Stylus Pro 3800 ink jet.   

The edition is available starting in October through TBCL (The Book Collectors Library) a Montreal based dealer of Livre d'Artiste.  I'll make the link to TBCL when the book is posted to their site.  More information on our collective works and future projects can be found at seekingkali.com

 Inside the Kali edition case

Art in the Dark

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 The road to our house after Hurricane Irene

I live in southern Connecticut and was hit rather hard by recent Hurricane Irene.  While our home faired well, the road I live on had many downed trees that took out the power lines.  It took over a week for the power to be restored.  I realize that it is a rather minor inconvenience in comparison to the standard of living most people on the planet are forced to endure.  Still, it was enough time for me to reflect on the practice and process of artists in other times or other circumstances; the times before instant worldwide communication via the Internet, before phones, or places where light at night means flickering candlelight.  The work I usually do on the computer ceased.  There was no video editing, no blogging, no photo editing, no submissions for grants.  This was all replaced with the realization that as an artist I was in the dark, seemingly invisible or at least handicapped in efforts to have my work seen.  It was an event that I had plenty of time to prepare for since I could see the storm’s track updated and predicted by excited weathermen.  The dire warnings were in place, so about three days out I went to stock up on the recommended batteries and cell phone chargers and of course there were none to be had….anywhere.  I’m not quite sure when this happened, but note to self: you have to start very early to beat the survivalist crowd….very early!  

 My preparations were a bit more naïve.  Do all art requiring electricity STAT!  Make sure that everything I had agreed to print for my Belgian friend Ria Vanden Eynde was finished in time for the F**K the Big C exhibition in Florida.  Make sure that the editions for our Kali Folios were printed and complete in time to be signed in NYC the next week.  Nail down various hotel and airline reservations.   And then the storm hit. Not huge by hurricane standards but big enough to knock out the power to most of Connecticut.  So art could still be done during the day, but nothing requiring power.  Want to wash a brush?  Haul up some pond water.  Frankly, forced camping isn’t as much fun as a planned camping trip but I did get a chance to focus on some basics.  I printed from a woodblock, made the folio cases to house our editions and spend several evenings gilding by flashlight and an oil lamp.   

From a friends house I checked up on the artworld and discovered that art critic Jerry Saltz who was vacationing had announced several days before that all was well because power was back on in Connecticut. Ha, I thought, perhaps just in the sections that count.  Jerry’s comments on his popular Facebook page were very tongue in cheek concerning the trials and tribulations faced in that section of the state (running low on supplies of pate de foie gras etc)  Now that I am sitting with a laptop, water on tap, a running refrigerator and all the comforts of the first world I’m thanking lucky stars that this was not worse.  I’ve also had enough dark nights to reflect on the parts of the world still suffering from disasters and wonder who is sitting by firelight struggling to make art.

Mail Art Party

I've hosted several Art Parties for local friends over the last couple of years. They are informal affairs where we gather over finger food and art supplies.  The subject matter for the group is emailed to everyone ahead of time and tend to be a bit off beat. Topics like blindfolded painting, paper maché pizzas and masks.  Over the course of an evening we eat, drink, chat and create and everyone leaves with art.  Last Sundays event was mail art and we gathered to support my friend, artist Ria Vanden Eynde, who is gathering mail art as part of her contribution to the F**K the Big C exhibit opening in September. Along with cancer survivors Betty Esperanza of Canada and Branka Djordjević of Luxemburg, they are featured at the Eve N odd Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida during the month of September. The exhibit features original work from theses 'three sistahs'.  The works are inspirational and the message is that these artists have emerged as stronger women and artists after going through a cancer trajectory, fully determined to Live their Art Life to the fullest. Over the course of the last several months I've worked with Ria to produce small giclée editions of her originals.  A portion of sales from the editions help support My Hope Chest, a Seminole, Florida charity that aids low income women afford breast reconstruction.  The mail art call helps support the American Cancer Society Benjamin Mendick Hope Lodge in Tampa Florida.

Our Art Party focused on Ria's call for artists to submit 4 x 6 examples of mail art to the gallery and during the course of the exhibition visitors may take them home for a donation. The cards are also featured on Ria's mail art blog.  There's still plenty of time to make some art to support Ria, Betty and Branka and cancer charities; there's even time to organize your own Art Party.

F**K the Big C!

 The F**K Cancer show’s title alone is enough to raise some eyebrows, but the art in this three women exhibition is certain to do more than that. This international show features the work of Ria Vanden Eynde (Belgium), Betty Esperanza (Canada) and Branka Djordjević (Luxembourg).  The art practice of each is a heart felt response to the condition of having and battling the big C…cancer.  It serves both as an object lesson and a testament of their courage to persevere and produce their art.

I know all three from their contributions to the A Book About Death exhibits that I’ve contributed to and which continues to expand into many worldwide venues.

One of the women, Ria Vanden Eynde and I have collaborated since 2009 on many artworks and over the last 18 months have teamed with Susan Shulman of Canada into the artist collective Seeking Kali.  Although we live in different countries, through the connectivity of the Internet and Skype, we work in collaboration from virtual studios that seem as close as the next room.  Earlier this spring in preparation for the F**K C show, I told Ria that I would like to do the printing of her pieces for the exhibit.   

Aggressed Body - ©Ria Vanden Eynde

Cancer is something that has effected my family, my friends and many fellow artists and I wanted to be able to find some way to help “the three sistahs” who are exhibiting.  Over the last two months several tubes have crossed the Atlantic to Ria in Belgium.  The tubes contain the trial proofs for the editions and give Ria control over the color differences that can occur when translating an original oil or pastel into a giclée print.

The time has come where the actual prints are being made and we are both very pleased with how true to the originals they look.

Sueno - ©Ria Vanden Eynde

Ria is offering the prints for sale via our Seeking Kali website.  Aside from having a great opportunity to purchase one of Ria’s terrific prints, she is donating $40 from each sale to the Florida based charity My Hope Chest, providing aid for women requiring reconstructive surgeries after mastectomy’s.

There is also another way for you to help.  Ria is organizing a mail art call to coincide with the exhibit.   Pieces received at the gallery by September 8^th will be available for purchase by donation which also benefits My Hope Chest.  Complete details on how to participate on the F**K C mail art call can be found at the tumblr link at the bottom of this post.
F**K Cancer opens September 8^th at Jennifer Kosharek’s eve N odd Gallery, located at 645 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL.  The exhibit opens 9/8/11 and runs through September.

Link to F**K the Big C tumblr blog
 _ contribute your mail art to F**K Cancer

 Seeking Kali and F**K the Big C  
_ pre-order prints

Medusa Gaze

_We draw from deep personal experience in our art...or at least the best of our art. Getting to that point of experience is the most difficult part of an art career.  I've seen my share of art about art and art that needs a mass of explanation to appreciate. Translating an experience into resonance is something we strive for and it never gets easy; it seems to take hours, days even years in the studio to make the occasional breakthrough where an experience is broadly felt and hits that resonant tone with the viewer.  My fellow Seeking Kali collaborators, Susan Shulman, Ria Vanden Eynde and I have a piece like that now.  The Medusa Gaze is a simple piece but it draws on a shared experience.

Susan, Ria and I work from different countries as an artist collective; Susan is in Canada, Ria in Belgium and I'm in the US, yet we make it work via Skype, Facebook and email.  It's almost like we're in adjoining studios and over the last year we've collaborated in several ways: working on separate projects that are exhibited together and "group think" pieces.  The latter is different from the stereotypical artist alone in his or her studio trying to express that lifetime of experience.  More like "cloud" works or a musicians jam session.

The Medusa Gaze started in Facebook with Ria describing a particularly scary encounter of sexual harassment in a public space outside her library in Belgium. Susan adds her outrage and suggests we blog it and I post a pix of a large scale projection of Ria on a building with the words "I will not be intimidated."


Radio Interview from June 24th, 2011 on CJAD 800 (Canada) featuring Seeking Kali artist Susan Shulman discussing the launch of the Medusa Gaze during the Dr. Laure Betito program "Passions". Medusa Gaze is a collaborative art project by William Evertson, Susan Shulman and Ria Vanden Eynde.

We're doing both. Plus we're collecting stories and pictures of other women for inclusion in our guerrilla projections to end sexual harassment.  Our current artist call is calling for women to submit either a picture or short video segment of their best Medusa Gaze - the face and expression of disapproval. Submissions are included in our guerrilla projections.  Details on how you can participate are available on our tumblr project blog where we document our progress or on our Facebook Events Page.

Unlike silent bystanders or society (men and women) who excuse or overlook this bullying behavior in our public spaces, I refuse to be a token male and strongly feel the need to be involved. Every woman I know has a story similar to Ria's. The fact is our society too often turns a blind eye or worse blames the victim in a never ending feedback loop that ensures second class social status is simply unacceptable.

Susan, Ria and I are artists first rather than activists; as artists we have a vision and tools to make experience visible. Join us.

Hyperallergic Mail Art Show

 

_Preparing the package_

One of my tic tac toe projects surfaced in Brooklyn yesterday at the opening of Presents: Mail Art Show sponsored by the blogazine Hyperallergic.   Who doesn't love getting mail art?  Editor Hrag Vartanian and co-curator Kate Wadkins liked it enough to begin a mail art feature that documented their packages over the course of the last three months. Friday night's exhibition featured 125 works ranging from postcards to art in plastic liter bottles, with over 100 artists represented.  I occasionally send out the little carved seal stamps I make as exchange with other artists for mail art received.  Back in April I carved a couple for the Hyperallergic folks; mostly just because I love their writing, coverage and insight into the art world.

_Crowded opening at the Brooklyn offices of Hyperallergic_

I had a chance to talk with editor/curator Hrag Vartanian about their ongoing feature and the development of mailart in general. Many credit artist Ray Johnson with bringing the practice into widespread recognition as an artform in it's own right, although as Hrag pointed out there have been great examples circulating as long as there has been mail.

_Couple playing with the tic tac toe stamps_

When I got to the opening I found that my piece was actually place on a small table with a couple of chairs available for people to sit and play with the work...just as intended.  In fact from an article Hyperallergic published they had taken the time to review my website and blog for more info about this ongoing project and learned that the actual game play is integral to the work and that I do performance based work with them.

_Shadow Theater still_

I could see from looking over the art at the opening that plenty of research went into the project. Many works included instructions for assembly, performance etc; one referenced a video of the packing of the box that contained the URLof the video.  I included not only the tic tac toe stamps but also references to other ongoing projects such as the Kali projects I collaborate on with Susan Shulman and Ria Vanden Eynde and an "analogue mountain climber" group blog. 

_Susan gets the Blues - from Analogue Narratives_

My last look at the art - (backwards..I knew that ;-)

Shadow Theater at Mobius

As part of the Archetypology Exhibit, curated by Ivana Rezek, the Seeking Kali Shadow Theater will be staged during the opening this Friday. (June 10th. - performance time 8:30)

The Theater combines puppets, hand drawn sets, cut outs and live performers in a 15 minute performance loosely based on traditional Nang puppetry and morality fables.  In this version as the goddess blithely goes about her business of creating a perfect world she finds various demons and forces bedeviling her efforts.  The theater design and characters are by William Evertson with an original musical score by composer Larry Cohen of Canada.

Throughout the opening the submissions from the 2010 Seeking Kali artist call will be shown.  Over 80 international artists are represented in the eight and a half minute looped video.  The call contains a variety of works submitted on the subject of the Hindu goddess Kali.  The call was curated by Susan Shulman, Ria Vanden Eynde and William Evertson during the fall of 2010.

The video and poetry submissions will also be screened throughout the opening.

Mobius is located in Boston at 725 Harrison Avenue. Reception from 7-9 with artist talks and light refreshment.

The Seeking Kali DVD containing this archived material is available via Paypal from our website.

ABAD 23 - The Ties That Bind

_A Seeking Kali poster for the next A Book About Death exhibition_

(Download a free copy of this poster)

Among other art work coming out of the studio this month is a poster design for the next incarnation of ABAD.  The Mathew Rose concept for a group exhibit linked to the father of mail art, Ray Johnson, first premiered at the Emily Harvey Gallery in NYC in September of 2009 and now is in it's 23rd showing.

ABAD - The Ties That Bind is curated by LuAnn Palazzo and will run from July 31st. to September 2nd in Bay Shore, N.Y at the Second Avenue Firehouse Gallery.

Link to the Ties That Bind exhibition blog. 

LuAnn will be hand binding the submissions to this show and the finished volume will be on exhibit along with the individual page submissions.

To help with the costs associated with the project she has launched a Kickstarter Project fund that is currently running. Several fine givebacks are available for donors.

This is an open call with work being accepted until July 15th.  

Our Seeking Kali collaboration for the Ties That Bind (we wrapped ourselves then Susan brought us together and printed it out)

Seeking Kali is William Evertson, Ria Vanden Eynde and Susan Shulman

For more information about the history of the A Book About Death series of exhibits visit the ABAD Exhibition Archive.