David Walsh, film and art critic, social activist, and writer for the world Socialist website, http://www.wsws.org spoke to a small group of students on Thursday April 16th. The lecture was presented by the International Students for Social Equality. The advertised topic was "The Future of Art in our Crisis of Economy"
Walsh spent the majority of his time focusing on his background, the history of the great dperession, and the socialist agenda. He opened his lecture with a culture commentary, stating that "people accept the culture they encounter as a given". He went on to elaborate on the economic crisis we are in, stating lots of dark figures and numbers; 50 trillion dollars have been destroyed in the last month. Walsh claimed that the democratic activists promoted Obama as a way to forestall civil unrest, but Walsh believes that sometime in the near future, masses of people will gather to actively defend their lives and way of living.
Walsh's answer to the crisis is to make public nearly everything; health care, insurance, banks. You name it, he wants it nationalized.
Walsh finaly segued into the topic of art. He said that "tellin the truth in art is difficult", and no one is prepared for the economic situation. What of the artist? "Did any major bodyt of art point to the coming of the upheaval?" He claimed that no photo seroies, no book, play or film predicted the place where we are today. The one silver lining in his lecture was when walsh stated "The psark of Human Genius has not gone out".
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sun april 19th Nathan Harger
Nathan Harger was born and lives in Cleveland Ohio. He earned his BFA in Photography from the Cleveland University of Art and his MFA from Parsons New School of Design. Minimal information is available online, but he was another PDN featured 30 Emergiing Photographers to watch, and he is represented exclusivly by Hasted Hunt Gallery, New York City, NY.www.nathanhargerphotography.com
www.hastedhunt.com
Thurs april 16th: intersect
Intersect
verb
to cut or divide by passing through or across
I'm using the word blogs to break apart my artist statement and make sure it says what it should mean. "At the intersection of the booming oil industry and America's economic recession...."
So here I see this space, where we have passed the height of oil company growth, of multimillionaires popping up like a disease, and are facing a gloomy future. Of course we're also moving past the gas guzzling fuel wasting times towards a greener, more economically conservative way of life. we lose some, we gain some.
It's hard to say what's coming next. Some econimc forecasters are not giving us good news; many suggest things are only going to get worse, that we may even be facing times of civil unrest. (http://www.trendsresearch.com/). The only thing that is certain, is that nothing is for certain. And that is nothing new. :)
verb
to cut or divide by passing through or across
I'm using the word blogs to break apart my artist statement and make sure it says what it should mean. "At the intersection of the booming oil industry and America's economic recession...."
So here I see this space, where we have passed the height of oil company growth, of multimillionaires popping up like a disease, and are facing a gloomy future. Of course we're also moving past the gas guzzling fuel wasting times towards a greener, more economically conservative way of life. we lose some, we gain some.
It's hard to say what's coming next. Some econimc forecasters are not giving us good news; many suggest things are only going to get worse, that we may even be facing times of civil unrest. (http://www.trendsresearch.com/). The only thing that is certain, is that nothing is for certain. And that is nothing new. :)
sun april 12 Emma Livingston
Emma Livingston, born 1976 in Paris, France, currently resides in Beunos Aires. She received her BA in History of Art from the University of London. She has done many solo exhibtions and one group. She is featured as on of this years PDN's 30 Photographers to watch; it is her photos above, Tree Portraits, that gained the recognition. Livingson currently works as an editorial photograher, while pursing an art career in her spare time.
artist site: www.emmalivingston.com
Thursday April 9th: change
change
verb
to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone
I've finally come to realize what my current work might have in common with my other, seemingly totally different bodies of work. It all revolves around something changing, around either moving into new ideas, or leaving something behind. Both the myspace photographic sculpture & the missed connections series were about these new ideas and how they're affection social norms. What I'm doing today looks back over the shoulder of our culture moreso than the others, & I am enjoying that shift in view point.
This is also the prefect opportunity to highlight a art action group. (I'v avoided this subject in light of barrage of Obama themed work; that's not the kind of change I'm talking about). www.artforchange.org It's a non-profit org that focuses on "increasing civic participation through art programs and performances that provide equal access to information; inspiring reflection, discussion, collaboration and action. By merging art and community, AfC provides a space to explore social issues and celebrate the richness of cultural diversity". Very good stuff.
verb
to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone
I've finally come to realize what my current work might have in common with my other, seemingly totally different bodies of work. It all revolves around something changing, around either moving into new ideas, or leaving something behind. Both the myspace photographic sculpture & the missed connections series were about these new ideas and how they're affection social norms. What I'm doing today looks back over the shoulder of our culture moreso than the others, & I am enjoying that shift in view point.
This is also the prefect opportunity to highlight a art action group. (I'v avoided this subject in light of barrage of Obama themed work; that's not the kind of change I'm talking about). www.artforchange.org It's a non-profit org that focuses on "increasing civic participation through art programs and performances that provide equal access to information; inspiring reflection, discussion, collaboration and action. By merging art and community, AfC provides a space to explore social issues and celebrate the richness of cultural diversity". Very good stuff.
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