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World Art - by Craig Hill
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Community Art Improves Society
May 11th 2009 09:00
Community-based art is creative expression that emerges from communities of people working together to improve their individual and collective circumstances. Community-based art involves a wide range of social contexts and definitions, and includes an understanding of "communities" that includes not only geographical places, but also groups of people identified with historical or ethnic traditions, or dedicated to a particular belief or spirit.
Those who identify themselves as community-based artists are concerned with the ways art can function within many different types of public arenas, including community development, corrections, education, intergenerational communication, aging, the environment, healthcare, technology, politics, disability, conflict resolution, community regeneration, cultural citizenship and more. They are working in all media, in all disciplines, in all locations.
They can be found in traditional galleries, theaters, museums and centers of higher learning, as well as hospitals, unions, community centers, prisons, community-based organizing groups, wilderness areas, youth organizations and juvenile halls, and public schools.
They are committed to bringing the arts to bear on the widest possible range of social conditions and challenges facing our communities. This includes, but is not limited to, issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, classism, ableism, and all forms of discrimination that systematically deny individuals' rights and opportunities because of physical traits, family background or social identity. These efforts seek to create social change at every level of society, from the most "personal" to the most "political."
At the heart of this social vision is a belief in cultural and creative expression as a means to affecting deep and lasting social change. Laws may be altered, court decisions may be handed down, officials may be voted in and out of office--but if the majority of the people do not believe in the possibility and the rightness of their/our common cause, nothing authentic or long-lasting will be changed. This is where art, artists and artist educators play an essential role. If we want freedom, we must promote free expression. If we want equity, we must have equal access and support in expressing ourselves. If we want respect and love and beauty among us and all our many communities, we must actively and systematically promote it through our art and through our teaching of others. Teaching, in this sense, becomes a political act, a conscious effort to build a movement of people prepared to facilitate and participate in social change.
Community art is by its nature dialectical. It is an expression of both individual and group identity. All creative expression, no matter how "original," is an expression of both individual and group life. In recognizing this, community art distinguishes itself from more conventional Western approaches in both vocabulary and theoretical approach. Instead of being viewed as an isolated individual genius, the artist (or artists) serves as a cultural catalyst, an integral part of a larger process of social intervention and transformation.
Through art, we can challenge many of our society's deepest-seated assumptions, such as the boundaries between self and other, "artist" and "non-artist," present and past, male and female, young and old, "normal" and "abnormal." The community artist builds upon the power of artistic creation and expression to spark new ideas and elicit new actions, both from people who participate in the creative process and those who witness its results. Art can catalyze critical thinking, inspire individuals to work together, create visions, heal. This energy, in turn, helps catalyze, inspire and heal the community artist who facilities its development.
Those who identify themselves as community-based artists are concerned with the ways art can function within many different types of public arenas, including community development, corrections, education, intergenerational communication, aging, the environment, healthcare, technology, politics, disability, conflict resolution, community regeneration, cultural citizenship and more. They are working in all media, in all disciplines, in all locations.
They can be found in traditional galleries, theaters, museums and centers of higher learning, as well as hospitals, unions, community centers, prisons, community-based organizing groups, wilderness areas, youth organizations and juvenile halls, and public schools.
They are committed to bringing the arts to bear on the widest possible range of social conditions and challenges facing our communities. This includes, but is not limited to, issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, classism, ableism, and all forms of discrimination that systematically deny individuals' rights and opportunities because of physical traits, family background or social identity. These efforts seek to create social change at every level of society, from the most "personal" to the most "political."
At the heart of this social vision is a belief in cultural and creative expression as a means to affecting deep and lasting social change. Laws may be altered, court decisions may be handed down, officials may be voted in and out of office--but if the majority of the people do not believe in the possibility and the rightness of their/our common cause, nothing authentic or long-lasting will be changed. This is where art, artists and artist educators play an essential role. If we want freedom, we must promote free expression. If we want equity, we must have equal access and support in expressing ourselves. If we want respect and love and beauty among us and all our many communities, we must actively and systematically promote it through our art and through our teaching of others. Teaching, in this sense, becomes a political act, a conscious effort to build a movement of people prepared to facilitate and participate in social change.
Community art is by its nature dialectical. It is an expression of both individual and group identity. All creative expression, no matter how "original," is an expression of both individual and group life. In recognizing this, community art distinguishes itself from more conventional Western approaches in both vocabulary and theoretical approach. Instead of being viewed as an isolated individual genius, the artist (or artists) serves as a cultural catalyst, an integral part of a larger process of social intervention and transformation.
Through art, we can challenge many of our society's deepest-seated assumptions, such as the boundaries between self and other, "artist" and "non-artist," present and past, male and female, young and old, "normal" and "abnormal." The community artist builds upon the power of artistic creation and expression to spark new ideas and elicit new actions, both from people who participate in the creative process and those who witness its results. Art can catalyze critical thinking, inspire individuals to work together, create visions, heal. This energy, in turn, helps catalyze, inspire and heal the community artist who facilities its development.
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Comments (1) The World as Art
February 5th 2009 20:06
The World as Art
The Alluring Aurora
Photographers have been attempting and occasionally succeeding at capturing the essence of our planet. The artist supplied with a vast selection of natural and manufactured wonders is employed as vessels for creative expression.
Machu Pichu
From desert to snow, towering waterfalls to mystifying temples and pyramids. All can evoke a response, an atmosphere created by light, angle and form.
Striking a desert pose
The images selected here conjure a subjective emotional reaction that at once can be beautiful, daunting, majestic, haunting or all the other shades of reactionary responses.
The recognizable western
Ansell Adams exquisite eye in Yosemite
Angel Falls
The shape of things to come
A magical selection Ansell Adams Landscape
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Genji - The World of the Shining Prince
January 29th 2009 23:29
Now Showing at the Art Gallery of N.S.W
Genji in NSW
Celebrating its millennial anniversary Murasaki Shikibu’s Japanese novel of the Tale of Genji is an historic and important work. Inspiring numerous premiere artists to offer their own visual interpretation of this influential study of courtly life, the art gallery of NSW is exhibiting Genji: The World of the Shining Prince until February 15th 2009.
From www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
“2008 marks the 1000th anniversary of Japan’s oldest novel, The Tale of Genji, written by the court-lady Murasaki Shikibu. Since the 12th century, the 54 chapters of the tale have inspired Japanese artists to visualise the fascinating world of the story’s main character the Shining Prince (Hikaru Genji) in countless hand scrolls, folding screens, hanging scrolls and albums. Painted mostly by artists of the Kano, Tosa and Sumiyoshi schools, these pictures (Genji-e) reflect the refined aesthetics of the courtly tradition.”
“Featuring about 70 works drawn from the Gallery’s collection as well as loans from other Australian major public and private collections of Japanese art, this exhibition aims to show the imaginative power of Japanese artists in adapting the classical theme on various media such as paintings, ukiyo-e prints, woodblock printed books, and manga comics.”
“Featuring about 70 works drawn from the Gallery’s collection as well as loans from other Australian major public and private collections of Japanese art, this exhibition aims to show the imaginative power of Japanese artists in adapting the classical theme on various media such as paintings, ukiyo-e prints, woodblock printed books, and manga comics.”
For more information please visit www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
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Rough Work by Frank Frazetta
January 28th 2009 21:36
I totally agree - I recently bought Frank Cho's Women, and the sketches contain softness and movement, things that can be eliminated or reduced when the ink takes over.
Frauenfelder has Frank Frazetta's "Rough Work" - Frazetta is one of the most popular illustrators for fantasy and science-fiction work, most likely to his incredibly attention to body structure, and his ability to capture movement.
Here's a scan that Frauenfelder put up on the site:
Incredible! I love the exaggerated proportions, the faded lines, and the simple colours. Ok, Mark, you've convinced me - I'm putting this on my Amazon wishlist!
Click here to read the BoingBoing post!
Frank Frazetta Gallery
A wonderful selection of Frazetta's work, from early comic books, to movie posters!
I found this Clint Eastwood poster there!
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artist profiles
Australia: Socceroo Stars Support Homeless World Cup
December 5th 2008 03:08
Australia’s ‘Socceroos’ have thrown their support behind the sixth annual Homeless World Cup, which started on Monday in Melbourne. They urge everyone to show support for the unsung heroes of this life-changing event.
The Homeless World Cup is a world-class international football tournament that has triggered and supports grass roots football programmes in over 60 nations engaging 30,000 players who are homeless all year round. 56 nations are competing in the annual international football tournament, which uses the power of sport to transform the lives of homeless people around the world.
“The Homeless World Cup is not just a tournament - it’s an opportunity for people to change their lives. I urge everybody to get behind the teams, spur them onto victory, and help them give themselves a fresh start,” Socceroos Captain and player for West Ham (England), Lucas Neill said.
Socceroos stars lending their support to the campaign are Lucas Neill (West Ham FC), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven), David Carney (Sheffield United FC), Brett Emerton (Blackburn FC), Scott McDonald (Celtic FC) and Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory FC). They have all recorded personal messages, which can be viewed on the Big Screen at Federation Square during the tournament and at www.homelessworldcup.org.
Champion Socceroo Jason Culina, praised the international tournament, saying: “The Homeless World Cup unites homeless people from around the globe and gives them the opportunity to play the greatest game in the world – football.”
In addition to a great sporting spectacle, the Homeless World Cup has a long-lasting impact on the players involved. Over 70 percent of players significantly change their lives for the better, including finding homes, employment, coming off drugs and alcohol, reconnecting with their families and even becoming coaches and football players.
Up to 56 nations, including eight all-female teams participating in the first ever Women’s Homeless World Cup, will play a total of 349 matches over the week-long tournament.
Matches will be played on three purpose-built stadiums at Federation Square and Birrarung Marr, in the centre of Melbourne, including a spectacular grandstand with viewing capacity for 2500 people right in the heart of Federation Square.
The Homeless World Cup is a world-class international football tournament that has triggered and supports grass roots football programmes in over 60 nations engaging 30,000 players who are homeless all year round. 56 nations are competing in the annual international football tournament, which uses the power of sport to transform the lives of homeless people around the world.
The Argentine Homeless World Cup Team Last Year
“The Homeless World Cup is not just a tournament - it’s an opportunity for people to change their lives. I urge everybody to get behind the teams, spur them onto victory, and help them give themselves a fresh start,” Socceroos Captain and player for West Ham (England), Lucas Neill said.
Socceroos stars lending their support to the campaign are Lucas Neill (West Ham FC), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven), David Carney (Sheffield United FC), Brett Emerton (Blackburn FC), Scott McDonald (Celtic FC) and Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory FC). They have all recorded personal messages, which can be viewed on the Big Screen at Federation Square during the tournament and at www.homelessworldcup.org.
Champion Socceroo Jason Culina, praised the international tournament, saying: “The Homeless World Cup unites homeless people from around the globe and gives them the opportunity to play the greatest game in the world – football.”
In addition to a great sporting spectacle, the Homeless World Cup has a long-lasting impact on the players involved. Over 70 percent of players significantly change their lives for the better, including finding homes, employment, coming off drugs and alcohol, reconnecting with their families and even becoming coaches and football players.
Up to 56 nations, including eight all-female teams participating in the first ever Women’s Homeless World Cup, will play a total of 349 matches over the week-long tournament.
Matches will be played on three purpose-built stadiums at Federation Square and Birrarung Marr, in the centre of Melbourne, including a spectacular grandstand with viewing capacity for 2500 people right in the heart of Federation Square.
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Sarah Palin and John McCain - The Morning After
November 10th 2008 22:01
It's definitely a disrespectful idea, but this painting of the McCain-Palin Straight Talk Express on the morning after the election is a hilarious bit of scathing satire.
It's a painting by Zina Saunders, who posted it up on Drawger, along with several other election themed works.
I can't help but laugh at it - the soothing blues give the painting a sorrowful, remorseful look, but the hints of red on the faces, make it look lusty and depraved. The off-kilter glasses are a nice-touch as well.
This image was found on BoingBoing, which notes that Saunders is releasing a book with a collection of these pieces, called The Party's Over.
Saunders is a talented artist, with a knack for capturing the 'look' of her subjects, without making the image look clumsy or awkward, like many other satirical artists end up doing. Her colours are vivid, reminding me of the full colour pictorials that Mad Magazine might have done, with ruddy noses and textured skin.
Here are some of her finer works:
McCain Fireside Chat
Palin and the Shopping Spree
Maverick John and Calamity Sarah
It would appear that she REALLY doesn't like Sarah Palin.
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artist profiles
Horror Art for Halloween.
October 31st 2008 03:22
Demons of Gothic Horror for a Hallowed Eve.
Deteriation of Mind Over Matter by Otto Rapp
The pagan party is upon us again. Celebrating ghouls, ghosts, goblins, witches, warlocks and embracing the evil spirits that for the other 364 days of the year terrify us. halloween may be a uniqely American/Western celebration but most cultures have their own form of the ceremony. Today's festivities that include Trick or treating, jack o lanterns and donning menacing costumes were in part bought the the shores of the U.S by Irish immigrants in the 1800's.
Classic Demonic Visions
All Hallows Eve evolved from the Ancient Celtic tradition of Samhain, which revolved around teh harvest cycle and was practised under the belief that each October 31st the unearthly walls of the deceased were shattered causing the dead to bring harm to the living and their stocks. In the modern crime riddled, morally questionable era we live in Halloween has become a novelty, not a ritual to protect the innocent from evil spirits.
J Ross Bach Surreal terror
Images of grotesque horror have always been a staple of the art world, challenging religious faith, death writes and perceived fear of the supernatural and mysterious. There is no better day to share these sometimes shocking, always atmospheric creative expressions of a dark, gothic world flowing with dangerous imagery. Happy halloween, I hope you enjoy the pictures.
The Red Dragon of Nightmares
The Examination
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Australia: Internet Censorship and Sedition Laws
October 29th 2008 00:33
Australia is set to introduce compulsory internet censorship, supposedly to control access to anorexia and euthanasia sites. It would appear only a matter of time before it is expanded to incorporate the new sedition laws, introduced in 2005.
Governments around the world and throughout history have always used a softening approach to introduce controversial, unconstitutional or downright illegal laws. In thsi case, they are playing on the emotions of the population, saying such laws are to protect anorexics from themselves. It is only a matter of time before they decide that the public need protecting from a wide variety of matters, including political material that is deemed "unpatriotic".
Australia is already seen internationally as lacking internet maturity or sophistication. With low internet speeds and high costs, and technology that lags behind the world, we are precluded from many services that other countries take for granted. In USA last year, for example, I had high speed access, with unlimited downloads, for just $29 month. It was similar in China, no download restrictions by most companies, at affordable costs.
Now the government wants to restrict what we can access even more. Such censorship would put Australia on a par with countries such as China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. I experienced such censorship when I was in China, and know first hand the effect lack of knowledge can have on a population.
The advent of information technology has generally been heralded as a force for the breakdown of authoritarian political control. In days gone by, such governments seized printing presses and burnt books. The internet made such practices futile.
However, about a decade ago, Singapore adopted a strategy of controlling the internet, by ensuring all ISPs connected through a government controlled server. In 1995, Singapore's Second Minister For Foreign Affairs (now Minister), George Yeo, stated "censorship can no longer be 100% effective, but even if it is only 20% effective, we should not stop censoring."
In September 1996, it became clear that Singapore had achieved much higher than this 20%. ASEAN met in Singapore, and agreed to collaborate on finding ways to control the internet (Philippines was the only ASEAN member to reject such political control).
Even before this meeting, China had sent senior information official Zeng Jianhui to Singapore to learn about internet policing practices. So had Vietnam. After a brief period of blocking access to 137 sites in September 1996, Chinese officials followed the Singapore example of more selective restriction, and a greater reliance on the threat posed by the mere possibility of monitoring.
In Australia, this brings up the possibility of the use of the Anti-Terrorism (No.2) Act 2005. According to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the Act contains the largest legislative impediments to press freedom ever seen in Australia. The laws allow police to hold a person for 48 hours without charge on mere suspicion of "terrorist activity." A journalist who reported such detention faces five years imprisonment, with no defence of "public interest" where a journalist reports miscarriages of justice.
In 2006, an academic who had been awarded an $829,000 Australian Research Council grant was warned by Attorney-General Ruddock that his proposed interviews with international terrorist leaders, as part of this research, would be in contravention of the anti-terrorist laws, even if such interviews happened outside Australia. The academic was forced by the government to alter the framework of his research using the threat of these laws.
It remains to be seen how long before Australia expands it's censorship of the internet to incorporate the anti-sedition laws, and to what degree.
More stories by this author after the following important information
by Craig Hill
Governments around the world and throughout history have always used a softening approach to introduce controversial, unconstitutional or downright illegal laws. In thsi case, they are playing on the emotions of the population, saying such laws are to protect anorexics from themselves. It is only a matter of time before they decide that the public need protecting from a wide variety of matters, including political material that is deemed "unpatriotic".
Australia is already seen internationally as lacking internet maturity or sophistication. With low internet speeds and high costs, and technology that lags behind the world, we are precluded from many services that other countries take for granted. In USA last year, for example, I had high speed access, with unlimited downloads, for just $29 month. It was similar in China, no download restrictions by most companies, at affordable costs.
Now the government wants to restrict what we can access even more. Such censorship would put Australia on a par with countries such as China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. I experienced such censorship when I was in China, and know first hand the effect lack of knowledge can have on a population.
The advent of information technology has generally been heralded as a force for the breakdown of authoritarian political control. In days gone by, such governments seized printing presses and burnt books. The internet made such practices futile.
However, about a decade ago, Singapore adopted a strategy of controlling the internet, by ensuring all ISPs connected through a government controlled server. In 1995, Singapore's Second Minister For Foreign Affairs (now Minister), George Yeo, stated "censorship can no longer be 100% effective, but even if it is only 20% effective, we should not stop censoring."
In September 1996, it became clear that Singapore had achieved much higher than this 20%. ASEAN met in Singapore, and agreed to collaborate on finding ways to control the internet (Philippines was the only ASEAN member to reject such political control).
Even before this meeting, China had sent senior information official Zeng Jianhui to Singapore to learn about internet policing practices. So had Vietnam. After a brief period of blocking access to 137 sites in September 1996, Chinese officials followed the Singapore example of more selective restriction, and a greater reliance on the threat posed by the mere possibility of monitoring.
In Australia, this brings up the possibility of the use of the Anti-Terrorism (No.2) Act 2005. According to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the Act contains the largest legislative impediments to press freedom ever seen in Australia. The laws allow police to hold a person for 48 hours without charge on mere suspicion of "terrorist activity." A journalist who reported such detention faces five years imprisonment, with no defence of "public interest" where a journalist reports miscarriages of justice.
In 2006, an academic who had been awarded an $829,000 Australian Research Council grant was warned by Attorney-General Ruddock that his proposed interviews with international terrorist leaders, as part of this research, would be in contravention of the anti-terrorist laws, even if such interviews happened outside Australia. The academic was forced by the government to alter the framework of his research using the threat of these laws.
It remains to be seen how long before Australia expands it's censorship of the internet to incorporate the anti-sedition laws, and to what degree.
More stories by this author after the following important information
by Craig Hill
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Horse Paintings by Cholla
October 27th 2008 02:28
It's hard to believe, but we've finally evolved to the point where we've outsourced our paintings to the animal kingdom.
I mean, we've all seen these watercolours by elephants, that's old news. It's almost pedestrian; boring. With it's prehensile trunk and that big, knobbly head, why wouldn't an elephant paint?
There's even an Elephant Painting gallery. I'm yawning at the incredible dullness of that idea.
Now, a horse painting a picture, and that picture going on exhibition in Italy? That's the stuff that dreams are made of. Horses are some of the most productive animals on the planet, used by humans to drag around big pieces of farming equipment, or carry our soldiers, or just to stand there, being the focus of young girls' fantasies after reading "Black Beauty".
This happy character is Cholla the Horse, an 'artist' that was discovered when his owner let him take a shot at painting the fence:
"Cholla's painting career began by accident, Chambers said. He'd follow her around when she'd paint the corral each year, and one day her husband quipped, "You should get that horse to paint the fence."
Chambers instead tacked a piece of paper to a railing, bought some watercolors, mixed them up, and handed a brush to Cholla, who gripped it in his teeth and stroked the paper.
"He's been painting ever since," she said."
Chambers instead tacked a piece of paper to a railing, bought some watercolors, mixed them up, and handed a brush to Cholla, who gripped it in his teeth and stroked the paper.
"He's been painting ever since," she said."
It raises an interesting question: do animals have an appreciation for art? It's often been said that animals can enjoy music - but if they're actually capable of creating art, then the distinction between man and beast grows hazier. If they can paint, and so can we, are we really that special? Is it just our thumbs that makes us different?
""Yes, it's a novelty that a horse can paint," she said. "But it's not about novelty anymore. It's about his validation as an artist." "
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Artist profiles
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