October 2, 2001
Volume #10 No. #37
Judy Malloy, Editor
jmalloy@nyfa.org
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Like the World Views program's Director, Moukhtar Kocache, (who was raised in Lebanon and in France before he relocated to New York in 1995) they are a diverse group -- including multimedia artists Carola Dertnig, who was born in Innsbruck and lives and works in New York, and Monika Bravo, who was born in Bogota, Columbia and is now based in New York.
Many of them lost all, or a substantial amount, of their work.
Mahmoud Hamadani, whose work encompasses richly detailed abstract ink on paper drawings, was working on a large scale installation. Utilizing the dynamics of light and shadow which pervade his drawings, the installation would have given participants the feeling of walking into his drawings.
Because this work incorporated his drawings from many years, Mahmoud Hamadani lost over a hundred drawings. He also lost the installation he was working on.
Almost on a daily basis he remembers small things about the lost drawings. In particular, he thinks about one drawing he did two or three days before the Towers were destroyed. "It was a lighthearted drawing. In a moment of restlessness, I had poured some ink and was playing with the ink on paper. The next day when I looked at it, I really loved it. Now it is impossible to recreate."
But emphasizing that the dimensions of the tragedy are so huge, that so many people have died, that Michael is dead, he said: "A casualty of a tragedy like this is one's perceptive, the distortion of one's perspective. It is difficult to reconcile the loss of drawings with the enormity of the tragedy. One is personal, the other is national."
In his work, installation and sculpture artist Hyungsub Shin incorporates found objects and mechanical elements -- such as a motorized record player made out of plastic bottles. His low-tech work, he notes, was "a contrast in that building where everyone else was working with high tech.
After the tragedy, Mahmoud Hamadani remembers that Hyungsub Shin told the group "I was a resident in this program for five months. After this I will be a resident in this program for the rest of my life."
Hyungsub Shin lost all his work.
The other artists were: Simon Aldridge, Naomi Ben-Shahar, Laurie Halsey Brown, Justine Cooper, Lucky Debellevue, Kara Hammond, Jeff Konigsberg, Motonobu Kurokawa, Geraldine Lau, and Nathan See. In addition, several artists, including writer Jeff Byles and the Ocean Earth collaborative, were working on special projects in the WTC.
Before the attack, Naomi Ben-Shahar was primarily working on two projects. One was a photo installation which evolved into a reaction to the space itself and to what the towers embodied, both physically and metaphorically.
"Working in the WTC atmosphere was quite an overwhelming experience," she states. "I attempted to affect it by creating an immersive environment within it. The photos evoked a sense of coverage and turned the space to a more protective and even seductive environment. A large scale (8x10 feet) photo of white fur printed on durable material was on the floor and setup photos of melting-like reflections (looking like oval pools of water, and strange inner-organ-like rubber pieces) were hanging on the wall."
All of this was lost.
A video project she was working on also dealt also with interaction, by means of light: "At a party organized on the 91st floor on the night of Sept. 4th, a week before the events, a video camera recorded for 3 hours the city lights through the windows, together with the party guests' exchanges among themselves and while looking at the view. The space was in total darkness, and the guests were equipped with little light bulbs so their movements and interactions were reflected in the dark, as lights floating above the city. Some were dancing together or alone, watching the view, talking, etc. but what you see in the video is only the velocity and movement of the lights in the darkness, inside and out."
"I now see this piece as much sadder than originally intended," she commented.
Jeff Konigsberg lost all of his work from the past year, including a nearly completed 18 x 8 foot wall drawing/painting which was composed of carved, peeled and painted sheetrock. It's "a little hard to describe," he told Arts Wire. "-- abstracted architectural subject matter, different colors of sheetrock and when this surface color is carved and peeled, a brown paper bag color is revealed. Under that is the white plasterboard."
He also lost eight small 10 x 13" works. "I'm working on new ones," he said.
"It's easier to tell you what I didn't lose - my clothes and my laptop," said Justine Cooper, who, in her residency at the World trace Center, was looking at translation systems, pattern and randomness.
"One aspect of the work involved making a synthetic gene of the twin towers, transcribed into the base pairs of the 4 proteins G,A,T,C and derived from the random pattern of lights viewed from the outside of the building," she explains. "This specific aspect of the project was tied up with the greater patterns of global economy. I was looking, in particular, at the wool commodities market (I'm Australian), and how the patterns of economy can be impacted by random events -- in this case the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Europe and UK."
She continues that "The final piece involved taking the synthetic gene I had made and sequencing it in an actual DNA sequencer, then knitting(with wool) that pattern. Knitting patterns look like DNA microsatellites. Plus the knitting machine I was using, used punchcards,like the first computers did. So I was trying to layer these systems of translation and combine that, to a degree, with the idea of creation."
As a component of the project, she was also working with an economics term called the "Tides of Economy" -- which she liked for its poetic name.
She states: "I had done time lapse video of the East River and also the South View, where two days and nights were condensed into five minutes. You could actually see the tide rush up the river, briefly pause, then rush back down. It was a beautiful thing. I could never describe with half the grace of the event itself. But it certainly speaks to the magical qualities and patterns existent in Nature. It was unveiled to me by being positioned inside these Towers, so unnatural. The final work had not evolved into a final vision. Or maybe I've got that backwards? The residency was all about process and that process is still going on."
All the remains of this work are three photographs she was 'mapping' the sequence from and some Australian fleece which never arrived at the WTC because it was lost in the mail system.
"I knew all the ideas I was engrossed in, this work I was trying to complete, it was all gone, irretrievable. And I was lucky as hell" -- Kara Hammond
Kara Hammond -- much of whose work examines the exteriors and the interior details of space program vehicles such Sputnik 3, Skylab, the International Space Station, the Russian Voskhod space capsule -- was working on a series of paintings based on an abandoned office space on the 91st floor, just beneath the World View studios.
"I had been working from life there, stapling up large pieces of vinyl wall covering and painting on it," she told Arts Wire. "I was also working from photographs I'd taken of that space and had plans to work on several other images, including pictures I'd taken back in May, of my cat wandering around the studio, the halls and elevators."
Her cat, whom she had smuggled in in a knapsack, roamed freely in the space. "The spaces in World Trade were pretty anonymous and there was an alienating corporate feel I was trying to capture and then undermine," she explains. Her cat had a brain tumor, and those were the last pictures she had of her.
"I also lost 3 paintings I was putting the finishing touches on," Hammond said. "One was oil on copper, of an abandoned strip mall in North Carolina, another oil on copper of the back of a bar in Bozeman. Montana with a huge satellite dish on the roof, and an oil on linen of the inside of a trashed Wall Street office."
"They were some of the best paintings I've ever done," she added.
Additionally, she lost drawings and the resource material - books and photos mostly - she used to make them with, as well as her best brushes, paints, camera, and music.
"As I sat on the floor of a bike shop on Canal St. and 6th Ave. on Tuesday morning, I was trying to understand the enormity of what was going on down the street. I knew all the ideas I was engrossed in, this work I was trying to complete, it was all gone, irretrievable. And I was lucky as hell," Kara Hammond observed.
"These images depicted a thunderstorm in progress; the raindrops falling on the windows allude to the trillions of tears as if the buildings felt what it was imminent." - Monika Bravo
"As a group of artists and individuals; we have been trying to make sense of this tragedy, dealing with the loss of one of our peers, Michael Richards," World Views resident Monika Bravo stated. "His death also stands for the thousands of people that are currently missing. His work reaffirms the need to find significance in our doings hence helping us to make the appropriate transition. For the past fifteen days, we have created a structure wherein working as a micro cosmos we can find answers to our future endeavors."
Emphasizing that the loss of her work seems irrelevant at this difficult time, Monika Bravo, whose video installations have explored issues such as the viewer-subject issues in public aquariums, described her current work in this way:
"I utilize imagery, materials and technology in order to create illusions of recognizable landscapes and/or environments that examine the notion of space-time as a measure of reality. The viewer is induced to connect by exploring, interacting and at times by focusing on an object-place-scene for a duration of time in a manner that is both meditative and investigative. Mine is an art of seduction, illusion and introspection where subject and representation exchange and engage in conditions that can allow the mind to convey from one reality to the next without the limit of boundaries."
When she applied to the World views residency program earlier this year, she proposed two projects: LABYRINTHS, which aimed to create a territory where the viewer plays, in a simulated "video game", along with images, such as recorded sequences of personal travel; and INFINITE HORIZON, which would offer a representational space where moving images of the earth and sky reverse and oppose as the viewer activates a sensor in front of the screen.
Once she started working in her space on the 92nd floor, she embarked on a third project with the working title of MNEMOSYNE, which was an installation examining the personal mnemonic significance of the 1969-1972 landing on the moon.
"Three weeks prior the attack, I started working on the Labyrinths project," she told Arts Wire. "I had taken down almost all the images from the moon-landing project and I was laying down the grid, which would make the floor matrix with the sensors that would activate the projections."
For convenience, she had taken personal equipment, such as a brand new laptop with digital video capabilities, a printer, a LCD video projector, speakers, a VCR, enough material such as Plexiglas screens, rolls of photographic paper, ink and other necessary tools to finish the project, as well as a digital video camera that was last used on the eve of the event while taping for 7 hours -- for what would be the last images taken from the north tower.
She left her studio in Tower One around midnight. "I only took with me the tape I had just done along with three images that showed the process of the floor matrix, (I would backup routinely my work at home, but had not done it for the last three days)" she told Arts Wire. "Michael and Jeff were watching a football game in Michael's studio when I left."
Some days after the attack, Monika Bravo watched the tape she had recorded right before the destruction of Tower One. She decided that she wanted to dedicate it to Michael and to share it with the remaining members of the group along with the staff at the LMCC.
"These images depicted a thunderstorm in progress; the raindrops falling on the windows allude to the trillions of tears as if the buildings felt what it was imminent," she states.
Like the other artists in the program, Bravo puts her losses in perspective. She notes that Michael lost his life and the opportunity to produce more work, and that her losses are all replaceable one way or another -- unlike some of the other members of the group who lost work done either in site or through the years.
"We all have something to learn from this, perhaps I may not need as many machines, but I cannot let go the sense of duty to share and communicate through my work that we can still make a change for a better and safer world," she said.
Web site created by Laurie Halsey Brown Celebrates Michael Richards' Work and Invites Dialogue
The artists met about two days after the attack The group also included LMCC staff and former World Views artists.
In response to a group desire to put out the word about Michael Richard's amazing work and to have a dialogue surrounding the tragedy, artist Laurie Halsey Brown, who was a resident in the World Views Program at the time of the attack, created an ART IS DIALOGUE website at http://www.movinginplace.net The site has a page devoted to Michael Richard's work as well as statements from World Views program residents. It also focuses on how art is perceived since the September 11, 2001, asking viewers: "Has the meaning of art now changed?" and "Has the role of the artist changed?"
"The World Trade Center is gone, but we remain, as a multi-national, multi-ethnic group of artists, who have been brought together to find an unusual cohesiveness, and a shared determination to complete the spirit of our residency in the face of the terrorist attack," Simon Aldridge wrote on the site.
Sources/resources:
MICHAEL RICHARDS -
http://www.studiomuseuminharlem.org/richards.html
http://www.movinginplace.net/mr%20art.html
LAURIE HALSEY BROWN: ART IS DIALOGUE -- http://www.movinginplace.net
References to the work of some of the World Views residents can be found at the following links:
MONIKA BRAVO -- http://www.sololab.com/monika_bravo.html
JUSTINE COOPER -- http://justinecooper.com
LUCKY DEBELLEVUE -- http://www.featureinc.com/Artists%20Bios/featureinc.com.debellevue.html
CAROLA DERTNIG -- http://www.secession.at/art/2001_experiment2a_e.html
MAHMOUD HAMADANI --
http://www.art-online.org/mahmoudhamadani/index.html
KARA HAMMOND --
http://www.manoverboard.com/archives/kara9/karaptgs1.html
http://www.artformedia.com/next.kh1a.html
JEFF KONIGSBERG -- http://www.jeffkonigsberg.com/pages/sheet2.html
This October , President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, Bob Lynch opens the month with these words:
"Dear Friends, As we prepare for National Arts and Humanities Month 2001, we pause to remember the tragic events of September 11th in New York City, Washington, DC, and in Pennsylvania. This year we dedicate National Arts and Humanities Month to the extraordinary power of the arts and humanities to bring our nation together and begin to heal our collective soul."
Citing the impact of the arts and humanities in every aspect of life in America today including the economy, social problem solving, job creation, education, creativity, and community livability, the United States Conference of Mayors has urged cities to participate in the month long recognition of the arts, to build partnerships with their local arts agencies and other members of the arts and humanities community in their cities, and "to proclaim, to participate in, and to celebrate the month of October as National Arts and Humanities Month."
Among the many communities across the nation who are celebrating the arts during the month of October are:
Haddonfield, New Jersey, where the Markeim Art Center, a non-profit center for visual and applied arts, will, for the third year, be sponsoring their Applause Awards which focus attention on the value of accomplishment in the arts and humanities. Seven individuals will be honored for their work in music, visual arts, literature, theatre/dance, history, education, and media.
Ada, Oklahoma, where on October 13 the Ada Arts and Humanities Council will host an ArtStroll on Main Street and a performance by the Turtle Island String Quartet in celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month.
Austin, Texas, where more than 20 area museums will celebrate the fourth annual AUSTIN MUSEUM DAY on Sunday, October 14. Host institutions include Mexic-Arte Museum; (LUIS JIMENEZ: preparatory drawings, prints & sculpture ) Texas Music Museum; (TEXAS PIANO PROFESSORS - live piano performances, classic piano rolls and videotaped performances) and Women and Their Work. (MARTHA GANNON: mixed media photography installation)
Alaska, where sponsored by the Alaska State Council on the Arts and local arts agencies, communities around the state are continuing their Art Matters campaign to raise awareness of the value of the arts to individuals and communities.
And Los Angeles, CA , where every year, as part of the celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month, the Los Angeles Arts Commission and the City of Los Angeles coordinate THE LOS ANGELES ARTS OPEN HOUSE -- designed to raise awareness of the diversity of cultural resources in the county. Arts organizations present over 150 performances, exhibitions and other cultural events free to the public on the first Saturday in October each year, this year including:
The African American repertory company Towne Street Theatre which will present SALLY HEMINGS THE SECOND MRS. JEFFERSON, by writer Vonna Bowen. Directed by Veronica Thompson and featuring the TST Acting Company, this Los Angeles Arts Open House event will be held at the Stages Theatre.
The dance company Nesting Dolls, recently relocated in Los Angeles, which will host an open company rehearsal at Highways Performance Space. Under the artistic direction of choreographer Cid Pearlman, the company specializes in interdisciplinary collaborations with California artists including composers Jonathan Segel, Erling Wold and Haroon Tahir, filmmaker Ann Kaneko, poet Michelle Murphy, vocalist Laurie Amat, Theater/Film designer Ron Davis, fashion designer Hank Ford, and comicbook artist Jon Macy.
The John Anson Ford Theatre, which will host a free concert featuring Ney Nava Dance Theatre, the Lian Ensemble, Persian Sufi music, and poetry in Farsi/English by Majid Naficy.
Sources/resources:
AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS -- http://www.artsusa.org
THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS ARTS AND HUMANITIES MONTH PROCLAMATION -- http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/resolutions/69th_conference/acr_4.asp
AUSTIN MUSEUM DAY -- http://www.austinmuseums.org/museumday2001.html
ALASKA STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS -- http://www.aksca.org/news.htm
THE LOS ANGELES ARTS OPEN HOUSE -- http://www.lacountyarts.org/
CHAMBER MUSIC AMERICA'S 24TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
"The 2002 Chamber Music America National Conference in January will explore some of the more improvisational aspects of what we do as chamber music professionals. We aim to focus attention on how highly structured planning coexists with, and is complemented by, the virtues of successful improvisation such as listening, reacting flexibly to changing variables, thinking outside the proverbial box, and having faith that goals can be achieved without knowing at the outset what that success might look like." - Conference Chairman composer/musician Steven Mackey
The Plenary Speakers are:
Social scientist/authority on the psychology of creativity, MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI
Composer, singer, creator of new opera and musical theater works, Meredith Monk
Chef Anne Rosenzweig whose unique style of "American innovative" cooking -- gives new life to familiar ingredients by "combining them with the luxurious to create something new:
Among many GENERAL SESSIONS are:
THE RECORDING TRACK
Presenters: Tim Page, Matt Fischer, Nadine Kreisberger, Steven
Smith, Steven M. Gates, Diane Walsh, Alan Coblence
"Three sessions spread over the conference weekend will focus on
the many issues surrounding chamber music recording and
distribution. One session is devoted to Internet options, such as
marketing and distribution of recorded materials, webcasting, and
the knotty issues of file-sharingthrough Napster or other
peer-to-peer systems. In light of troubling news reports over
the past year, another session will assess the state of the
recording industry and where it might be headed. The
last session will further develop the ideas raised in the previous
sessions, and introduce new models for funding recordings."
THE AUDIENCE DOES LIKE 20TH-CENTURY MUSIC
Panelists: Deborah-Rose Andrews, Aaron Egigian
"With the proper collaboration among composers, management,
artists and audience, new music can flourish on any concert
series. Learn ways to perform and promote the rich world of recent
composition that attract audiences and leave them pleasantly
surprised."
CULTIVATING CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
Presenters: James Undercofler, Susan Bolanis, Dorothy Straub
"When partnering with schools, musicians, presenters, and
educators need to be aware of specific programs and methods used
in a classroom. In this session, we explore the changes and
challenges of the national standards versus aesthetic education
and how best to approach these techniques for success in working
with schools."
LIVING YOUR DREAM: CAREER STRATEGIES FOR EMERGING ARTISTS
Panelists: Angela Myles Beeching, Gwen Powell, John Blanchard
"A panel of career advisors from music schools across the country
willoffer their best tips for career advancement. The panel will
also tackle participants' issues; prizes for anyone who can stump
the panel!"
SOLVING THE EQUATION: COMPOSER + ? = NEW WORK
"Commissioning a composer is not only an exciting and rewarding
endeavor, it also has the potential to bring your ensemble, series
- or you! - to a new level of recognition. Lyn Liston of the
American Music Center and other experts of the process demystify
everything from the contract to finding the right composer for you
to creative fundraising ideas."
WHEN SISYPHUS LEAVES ANOTHER VOICE MAIL: MAINTAINING ENTHUSIASM IN
AN INDIFFERENT WORLD
"John Gingrich speaks on avoiding burnout and keeping good spirits
despite the difficulties and frustrations we experience in the
chamber music world."
For complete information and registration, visit http://www.chamber-music.org
CLEVELAND, OH
OHIODANCE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF THE OHIO DANCE COMMUNITY
"Come celebrate 25 memorable years of the Ohio dance community at the 2001 Festival"
With three days of events, beginning on Thursday with a focus on dance education for dance and nondance educators, the Festival returns to Cleveland, where the Association of Ohio Dance Companies was founded in 1976. Friday and Saturday offer master classes and workshops reflecting past and present dance forms, ranging from butoh to baroque, sacred to salsa -- including modern, Flamenco, jazz, musical theatre, Pilates mat work, West Africandance, Theraband, yoga, Graham repertory, Hungarian, capoeira, swing, Dunham technique, tap, dance wellness, and more.
Choreographers' and higher education roundtables provide forums for discussion. Informal showings will give choreographers opportunities to share their work on Friday and Saturday.
On October 19, the Young Artists Showcase is intended to support and recognize schools, companies, and programs with high-quality dance offerings for youth. (primarily middle and high school age) Performing in the show are the following Royal School of Ballet, North Royalton; Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, Cuyahoga Falls; Great Lakes Festival Ballet, Warren; Central Ohio Youth Ballet, Newark; Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School, Columbus; and Factory Street Studio, Athens.
On October 20, the Choreographers Showcase is intended to represent the diversity and excellence of dance in Ohio. Works by the following choreographers will be performed: Sarah Morrison, Cleveland; Brian Murphy, Ohio Ballet, Akron; Chung-Fu Chang, Kent State University; Jose Luis Bustamante; (performed by The Repertory Project, Cleveland) Jovita Weibel, University of Toledo; Rosalind Pierson, the Ohio State University; Danah Bella, the Ohio State University; Marina Walchli, Ohio University; Brianna Schenckel, Ohio University; Natalie Marrone, Columbus; an
Founded in 1976, OhioDance is the state service organization for dance and movement arts, providing information, education, cooperation building, and increased visibility for dance in Ohio.
The OhioDance Festival and Showcases are supported by the Ohio Arts Council, Capezio/BalletMakers Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, the Gund Foundation, Case Western Reserve University, and Cuyahoga Community College.
For more details and online registration, visit http://ohiodance.org/festival.html
OCEAN EARTH: POLICY MODELS Interdisciplinary collaboration, Ocean Earth Development Corporation was founded in 1980 to create comprehensive solutions to environmental problems arising from urban expansion and poor use of local resources. Ocean Earth's team of artists, architects and scientists -- some of whom were artists in residence in Tower One of the World Trade Center when it was destroyed on September 11, 2001 -- monitor and evaluate ecologically compromised sites around the world, design architectural structures for land reclamation, and develop renewable energy technologies for sustainable living.
"Their visionary work, heavily based on the investigations of pioneering earthworks artists such as Robert Smithson and Dennis Oppenheim, bridges the worlds of art, science and international business to construct a new paradigm for environmental and economic progress," the Rockford Art Museum States.
Ocean Earth's projects have often focused on the endangered state of rivers and their corollary ocean basins, the health of which are vital to the renewal of habitat for both human and animal populations. This exhibition outlines several Parallel River Projects which capitalize on the U. S. State Department's current sister river relationships linking the Rio Grande and Mississippi/Missouri river systems with the Yellow and Yangtze rivers in China.
Through models, maps and drawings Ocean Earth details structures and renewable energy systems which could benefit both the American rivers and their overseas counterparts -- transcending geo-political divisions and underscoring the need for international cooperation in dealing with environmental disasters.
Ocean Earth proposes, for instance, that the U. S. develop an official relationship between the Colorado River and the Tigris/Euphrates, the natural flows of which have both been compromised by modern engineering, creating parallel natural disasters in both the Gulf of California and the Persian Gulf. Also on view are plans for Ocean Earth's alternative fuel technologies derived from natural processes. Chief among these is their innovative Giant Algae System (GAS) in which marine algae is harvested and converted into clean-burning methane gas.
An Ocean Earth GAS rig will be installed in the English Channel as part of a concurrent exhibition called SEA CHANGE at Spacex Gallery in Exeter, United Kingdom. Documentation of this event, -- which addresses the need for a US/UK "special relationship" based on renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels -- will be included in the Rockford exhibition.
The New York-based organization Ocean Earth Development Corporation emerged from the Offices founded by Peter Fend, Colen Fitzgibbon, Jenny Holzer, Peter Nadin, Richard Prince and Robin Winters. It was conceived as an instrument for implementing the goals of the environmental art movement, directly building upon the ideas of artists such as Joseph Beuys, Robert Smithson and Gordon Matta-Clark. It has no fixed membership but functions as a loose association of committed individuals, shifting according to the needs of each project as they take place around the world.
Architect/artist Peter Fend (USA) and architect/artist/computer scientist George Chaikin (USA) have been relatively constant figures throughout. Particpants in current projects also include Kate Glazer (USA) videographer; Tegwyn Harris (UK) ecologist; Steve Hughes (UK) biologist/artist; Mike Lawson-Smith (UK) digital artist; Samantha Lavender (UK) oceanographer/geomatician; Dennis Oppenheim (USA) artist; John F. Simon (USA) artist/geologist; and Taro Suzuki (USA) satellite scientist.
The Rockford Art Museum, which is hosting the exhibition, works to enrich the quality of life in the Rockford, Illinois region by communicating the pleasure, appreciation and meaning of the visual arts through a program of exhibition, interpretation, education, and collection. For more information, visit: http://www.rockfordartmuseum.org/exhibit_ocean.html
NEW YORK CITY, NY
ZOOM: COMPOSERS CLOSE UP - HOSTED BY JOHN SCHAEFER:
JEROME KITZKE, COMPOSER
"New music offers no more joyous phenomenon than the irrepressible, earth-worshipping Kitzke. His [Mad] Coyote group veers from intricately notated jazz to virtuoso atonal improv to native American-inspired ritual with turn-on-a-dime control." -- Kyle Gann, VILLAGE VOICE
Jerome Kitzke's The Mad Coyote -- featuring Jo-Ann Sternberg, Alan Kay, Andrew Lamy, Michael Lowenstern, clarinets; David Friedman, piano; Barbara Merjan, percussion -- will perform TEETH OF HEAVEN, a world Premiere based on a Native American Coyote tale from the Wasco Nation. The work was commissioned by the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center.
The Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center is a not-for-profit, multi-arts center which serves as a resource for students of all ages, artists and audiences. The Center was founded in 1952 as The Hebrew Arts School and was first established as a Sunday children's program of music and dance focused on Jewish culture. Renamed the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center in 1991, its expanded mission is to foster an appreciation of, and participation in, the arts for all.
For more information, visit http://www.ekcc.org/merkin.html
WASHINGTON, DC - The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced 25 grants totaling $3,099,000 awarded to nonprofit arts organizations under a new Arts Endowment program, Resources For Change.
Grants, which range from $60,000 to $200,000, will assist organizations in applying technology to enhance their business operations and better serve their audiences.
Resources For Change is a series of initiatives designed to address the organizational development needs of arts organizations. The first part of this series focuses on technology projects which have the potential to serve as a models for other programs. They include developing or adapting software; developing archival documentation and/or preservation standards and techniques; improving communication strategies; adapting technology developed for the commercial world to the nonprofit world; and enhancing the arts experience of audience members with special needs.
Among funded projects were:
For more information, visit http://www.arts.gov/endownews/news01/ResourcesPR.html
A complete list of funded projects is available at http://www.arts.gov/learn/01grants/Resources.html
THE FUND FOR CREATIVE COMMUNITIES NEW DEADLINE: OCTOBER 24, 2001
Due to the tragedy at the World Trade Center, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) lost its offices, performing arts space and World Studio space. However, they are pleased to announce that the Fund for Creative Communities grant program is continuing. The Deadline has been extended to October 24, 2001.
Supported by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and administered by LMCC' Community Arts Initiatives, the Fund for Creative Communities makes the arts accessible to all residents of Manhattan, especially to local neighborhoods and underserved communities. It creates new opportunities for support; strengthens the capacity of community-based arts and cultural organizations; provides high quality local arts programs; and stimulates new arts activities and programs in communities where the need exists.
Manhattan-based non-profit organization providing arts, cultural and creative programming to specific communities (who are not applying to or receiving funding from NYSCA) are eligible. Non-profit groups such as art organizations, social service agencies, senior centers, churches, folk societies, cultural centers are eligible. Artists working with fiscal conduits may also apply.
The new address for sending applications is: Ms. Dorothy Desir, Coordinator, Fund for Creative Communities, c/o SLP Programs, New York State Council on the Arts 915 Broadway, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010
For complete information, visit http://www.lmcc.net
They will be holding one technical assistance workshop on Thursday, October 11, 2001 at 5 PM at Korean American Association of New York 149 West 24th Street, 6th Floor - NYC
"We strongly suggest that first time applicants attend this workshop. Just come with your questions!" LMCC states. <
For more information, email Narisara Vanichanan, Regrant Manager - at nvlmcc@yahoo.com
"Dear Arts Friends... We're in the process of planning the November/December issue of DIALOGUE VOICING THE ARTS," writes Editor Meg Galipault. "We thought it would be appropriate -- and maybe even cathartic -- to invite those in the arts community to voice their thoughts on the recent terrorist acts...how has it changed your life, your art, your view of the world?"
Dialogue invites email submissions of no more than 75 words on the subject by October 5. Put your words in the message space of the email and send them to megg@dialoguearts.com
Please include your full name, title, affiliation. They reserve the right to edit for space/content. (but doubt that they will need to)
Dialogue is a not-for-profit arts organization. The magazine covers the visual arts throughout the Midwest -- working in particular to place and keep the Midwest on the cultural map. The magazine is particularly interested in giving recognition to Midwest artists who are doing amazing work.
For more information, visit http://www.dialoguearts.com
Details about these and other opportunities are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.or- g/current/calls.html To submit "calls" for either artists or organizations, send email to artswire@artswire.org
Deadline October 5-6, 2001, Artists to exhibit a single work in any medium on a walk-in basis, MUSEUM OF NEW ART, DETROIT
Deadline October 20th, 2001- extended; Articles and fiction exploring themes of breathing, wind, pollution, flight and overall AIR, TERRA NOVA BOOKS--MIT PRESS
Deadline: December 1, 2001, Artists - all media including video, installation and performance, EXHIBITION, LH HORTON JR GALLERY, SAN JOAQUIN DELTA COLLEGE, CA
Deadline: December 15, 2002, Digital and Electronic art, Performances, Presentations, IMMEDIA 2002 THE SENSES
Deadline: December 15, 2001, Long Island City artists - work addressing the natural environment, exhibition: CONCERNING NATURE
Deadline: January 15, 2002, Artists to participate in the 2002-2004 Statewide Artist Workshop Program, VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
Deadline: January 30, 2002, Nature Poetry, FRIENDS OF ACADIA JOURNAL
Deadline: Ongoing, Minority Artists, EXHIBITION, COMMUNITY FOLK ART GALLERY, SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEONARDO, The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology, (Northern California)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Cape Museum of Fine Arts, (Dennis, Cape Cod, MA)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - revised listing, The Carver Community Cultural, (San Antonio, TX)
PROFESSOR OF ARTS ADMINISTRATION, (part-time) Audrey Cohen College, (New York City, NY)
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, Ohio Ballet, (Akron, OH)
COMPANY MANAGER, Ballet Tech, (Broadway, NY)
MANAGER, The Chorus of Westerly, (Westerly, RI)
GENERAL MANAGER, Limon Dance/San Jose, (San Jose, CA)
WEBSITE MANAGER, Arts Department @ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (Troy, NY)
RENTAL MANAGER, McManus Enterprises, (Bala Cynwyd, PA)
BENEFIT JOURNAL COORDINATOR, Symphony Space, (New York, NY)
RESOURCE PLANNING COORDINATOR, Office of the Executive Director for Resource Planning and Administration, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, (New York City, NY)
DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR, Boston Lyric Opera, (Boston, MA)
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT FOR RESEARCH, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, (New York City, NY)
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, (school in Central Harlem)
DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE, TADA! (New York City, NY)
GALLERY ATTENDANT, Triton Museum of Art, (Santa Clara, CA)
ARTISTIC ASSISTANT, The Goodman Theatre, (Chicago, IL)
ART INSTRUCTORS, IBA, Inc., (New York City, NY)
MARKETING ASSISTANT, (Broadway Production) (New York City, NY)
GRANTS ASSOCIATE, (Senior) San Francisco Ballet, (San Francisco, CA)
ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, The Columbia Festival of the Arts, (Columbia, MD)
ADMIN COORDINATOR, Jack Straw Productions, (Seattle, WA)
OFFICE MANAGER/ADMIN. ASST, The Columbia Festival of the Arts, (Columbia, MD)
DANCE CAPTAIN/CHOREOGRAPHER INTERN, Brooklyn Youth Vocal Ensemble, (Brooklyn, NY)
INTERNSHIPS, CITYarts, (New York City, NY)
A growing list of links to job resources for artists and arts administrators is available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobres.html
NEW YORK CITY, NY -- On The morning of September 11, 2001, Painter Wendy Cook fled her apartment building which was located in the shadow of the World Trade Center.
She left her two cats -- Sid and Elvis behind because she felt they would be safer inside as long as the building was sound. But, as she took refuge at shelters and the houses of friends in the ensuing days, she was not allowed back into the area.
Finally, on Friday, Wendy Cook was able, with much help, to rescue not only her two cats but also 15 other pets in the building.
Following are a brief excerpts from Wendy Cook's extensive journal of her experiences:
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
"....I was frozen by the horror of what I saw a mere block away
from my home. There was an enormous hole in one of the towers.
Flames were shooting out and black smoke was everywhere. Cars had
crashed on the streets below. Blood and what appeared to body
parts were on the street below. Glass and debris were falling
from the sky and smashing on the street below. People where
throwing themselves from the tower to their deaths. You could see
ties flapping in the breeze as they fell. I saw what my mind
wanted to believe was an indian woman in an orange sari
falling, but I soon realized it was a person on fire....."
"....some police boats pulled in right where we were standing and they yelled for us to get in. We jumped aboard and were taken to a pier across the Hudson in NJ. There I saw 3 workers from my building and we cried and hugged...."
"....Some food was brought in, but I could only eat a few bites. I was distraught over my cats and frantic because I wasn't in a place where I could see my building. We were told we were being moved to a naval base, but then told we would remain. I found a blanket and pulled it over my dirty clothes. I tried to sleep on the floor of the gym, [Bayonne High School] but heard explosions, planes, sirens, and screams all night. I wasn't sure if I was really hearing them or not. Others were hearing them too....."
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 12, 2001 (FROM A SHELTER)
"....I cried most of the day and tried to get to my cats, but
couldn't get past the barricades. There was a VOID of
information. I was worried about a building collapse and knew I
wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to Sid
and Elvis. I barely ate. I was still hearing the phantom noises
although it was getting a little easier to discern what was real
noise and what my mind was replaying. I was on the phone all day
trying to find a way rescue my cats trying to get information. It
was impossible....."
"....The plan was to get in scrubs with my hospital i.d. and try to get past the barricades. [on Thursday] I drew a map of the lobby so I could memorize the quickest route as it would be hard to navigate with merely a flash light. There was no power and the hallways and staircases would be blacker than night....."
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
"....They told me my cats were fed by my (angel) super, Juan, but
my building was surrounded by military. Mixed reports a possible
collapse; a possibility of rescuing the pets. No information.
go to 110th St to fill out a form which made no sense to
me....Fawn called another number and was told, 'Go to pier 40
NOW!!!' We hopped on bikes and the kind workers there were very
sympathetic. They took our names, etc. and we all huddled
together outside hoping for a miracle. Water was passed around
and some food. I tried to eat half a banana as I knew I hadn't
been eating and sleeping and would need my strength to climb 9
stories and carry 2 cats weighing together at least 30 lbs. We
applauded and cried as we saw owners returning with their pets.
It was good to see life being rescued from a place where we had
seen so much death. It was at 2am when I climbed into the van. It
would drop me off just north of BPC. We were told we had 5
minutes and we were risking our lives as well as those that were
aiding us in the rescue therefore if we took anything other than
our pets we would be prosecuted. My thoughts were on the lives of
Sid and Elvis and I couldn't even think about anything else...."
"....We got to my door and it was locked. I cried again. I prayed my cats would be safe another day. When I got back to the van the ASPCA boxes were soggy and useless. I had a hard time throwing them away because I wrote my cats names on them and it felt like I was throwing away my cats, throwing away hope. With all the strength I had, I reminded myself that these were just boxes, and my cats were still safe inside. I would try again tomorrow....."
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
"....Sobbing, I explained the situation to Jack and he grabbed my
face and said 'Get in my jeep..we can't wait or they will stop
us'. He yelled for Juan the super, Anthony and Jose who worked in
my building. Tara came running and jumped in. She said she snuck
past....We knew that we had other pets to save besides our own.
Once again, we put on our masks and took the same route as the
night before. We moved cautiously. It was horrifying.
Abandoned strollers, a random shoe every couple of yards...it's a
miracle that anyone lived through this. So many workers, piles of
debris. We got to my street. Port-o-potties were chained to the
side of my building. Police, military, jeeps and what appeared to
be a tank at the end of the road. We got to my building and made
a plan. First stop, my flat...box my cats, take only what can fit
in my small knapsack and remain inside until Juan's return.
Jack said to wait for him outside our building when we had all the
pets....."
"....We climbed 9 flights in total darkness with a small flash light and counted the steps 7- turn, 7 -floor. I entered my apartment and saw the most beautiful sight...Elvis sitting on the couch. I picked him up and placed him in the box. Called for Sid and did the same....."
"....Juan and Jose returned with more pets. Anthony had a dog named Poncho. We had a dog and a cat in a hamper. By the time we descended the darkness to the lobby we had all the animals left in the building. The problem was how to carry them out. I ran behind the desk and found a cart. Juan said it wouldn't make it over the debris and fire hoses so I tossed it aside. Someone found a mail cart and began loading pets. I found a wheel chair and put my cat carrier on that. Juan grabbed some tape and started taping it to the seat. I yanked the belt of the extra cat bag and made a seat belt to secure the front of the carrier to the wheel chair and put the rabbits on top. We almost made it to the corner when Juan remembered another cat. I yelled and pointed to the extra cat bag near the entrance. Juan got the cat. We now had 17 animals. We moved cautiously over fire hoses, curbs, steps and debris....."
"....It took all 5 of us to lift, push and hold our bundle of animals to get them past each obstacle. Workers in the area stopped and watched us as we rescued these little souls. I made eye contact with one man and his lip quivered and he began to cry as he saw the animals loaded onto to the wheel chair I was pushing...."
".....Several people working on a nearby building were smiling and waving. They understood what we already knew.....the importance of life of ANY kind...."
"....Jack said, 'I'm not a cat lover, but hearing your cat's mewing is the most beautiful sound right now'....".
"MY LOVE AND DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO YOU ALL!!!!!
I am both awestruck and thankful to be alive with Sid and Elvis."
- Wendy Cook
About her work, she writes: "My earliest influences are Thiebaud, Warhol and Katz. For the past several years I have been working and producing a body of work that consists of my favorite childhood 'pop-icons'. These works are 25" x 25" paintings encased in a hollow lucite frame containing materials pertaining to the image held within. They are audience participation pieces evoking memories associated with the image whereby pressing a button, one will hear a recording which will produce a loop of time and memory associated with image, sound and childhood memories."
Visit
http://community.webtv.net/WLCook/WendyCook to find out more.
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