#mason gross school of performing arts

[steelbluehome]

Sebastian's Instagram posts featuring pictures of himself when he was younger.

[bubblyernie]

Can we get more Milo and Charlie lore? I just like em a lot.

YES ABSOLUTELY YUH HUH!!!!! this is about to be so long I might break tumblrs post word limit

So I have a few drawings in my queue that relate to lore, but I'll do my best to like cover most things ;w;

Okay as an OVERVIEW, Milo and Charlie were two characters I made as like throwaway designs because I wanted to try the concept of a marble statue earth genasi muse for a charcoal earth genasi artist. Which was this. Also toyed with the idea of heavy heavy heavy bod mods because you know how statues break or have unfinished parts.

Cut to my DM wanting to run a 13 episode miniseries for our campaign as a prequel in a bard-reskinned-strixhaven (so. art school. instead of wizards, its bards) and I was like oh I could play the earth genasi artist I have because the bard school is like all types of art (martial, visual, music, performance, culinary, and written). I ended up going with Milo rather than Charlie because I always imagined the marble one being more brash and jockish, which balanced the party more.

Long story short, redesign after redesign and I made him who he is rn — bod mods everywhere, the BIGGEST doofus, the ultimate bare minimum burn out student doing pot out their dorm window energy. He's such a people person (bard of valor lessgooo) and basically is the most 90s anti-bullying punk ever. Char's his boyfriend, he's there also but as an NPC

OKAY LORE TIME

----

Milo's actually two years younger than Charlie is so lets start with him. He's intersex and also trans — trying to skirt around tumblrs censorship here but — so born with female and male reproductive organs. Presented more femme (kinda tomboyish though) before growing more comfortable with a male identity maybe like right before getting into this bard college. FUN FACT: I originally based his design off two different statues — The Venus De Milo (....Milo Venn Mason) and Sleeping Hermaphroditus. Milo's also, like the Venus De Milo, 6'8" tall.

Charlie's also transgender, T4T lol, but does present more androgynous than Milo does just because he likes the style. Always been kinda quiet and reserved but he's actually really quite blunt, like has a snarkier tone to him than people would expect — and though Milo is more vocal with standing up for himself, Charlie is also just as ready to knock someone's teeth out but he's doesn't like causing a stir hsdfjhkkdfjk

Physiology is one of my favourite topics with dnd. So Milo and Char are both genasi, NOT constructs — I had this debate with the whole marble statue business. So there's other elements in there. Milo's like an abandoned statue, he grows moss and mildew when he's sad, it comes out of the cracks in his head (we'll get to that) and his piercing holes. He's also....all clay on the inside. Throat ends at the neck, no idea whats passed that, magic probably. He bleeds and blushes terracotta. Charlie on the other hand is solid diamond. Charcoal/carbon outside, but if he gets a scratch, it scrapes off the top layer and reveals diamond — that's actually the case with his fingernails. And Eyes. And Teeth. He's hot running too...charcoal and all. Charcoal Cinders... (I also find this fun, and there's a comic in the works of this, that Milo is softer than Char despite being brasher, its just the density and hardness of the rocks. I was interested in the Mohs scale and gemstones as a kid so....marble<diamond) like if Milo punched a cinder block, his hand would shatter, but if Charlie punched it, his condensed ball of brooding would scuff that thing)

This is so silly and kinda gross but that meme of like "......what if stones are soft but harden when we touch them" is what I think these two rocks are like. Because they have to move and function for yknow. logic and game mechanics and stuff. So I think Milo and Charlie feel like semi-hard modelling paste when they're not in "rock" mode. Like firm muscle or dense clay. Milo "Rock Hard" Mason, as my discord name was for a while

Backstory wise there's not much. They had pretty standard childhoods (didn't write that part yet oops). Met up in the bard school, first year Milo did a tat for Charlie (and lob enlargements, which they both have) and Charlie did Milo's tramp stamp. Anyway both were like :3c and thus, dating.

OKAY also trauma because...everyone needs a little bit. So Milo is/used to be a cheerleader — bard of Valor, yknow — and there's this whole...thing. I'm gonna post an excerpt from me raving to my friend about this but "milo's like sooo comfortable with being adequate. like he straight up said right before his exam his roommate was like "youll do great!" and hes all "well im not aiming for great, im aiming for passable!" because like...burnout and also hes surrounded by really snobbish and exemplary bards, its like a top notch school and he doesnt like how all that kinda gets to peoples heads. Plus he's really really heavy yknow, made of rock, so one time in a martial training soemone flung him and hes like OH GOD IVE NEVER BEEN ON TOP OF THE PYRAMID HELP!!, basically like the "yes im at the bottom of the pyramid, but thats because everyone needs someone to support them, and also its an essential part of the formation. I like being supportive even if it means i dont do anything glorious". All that is to say, he was at the bottom of a pyramid, someone on top of him fell, fell on him, his head hid the ground and he was just missing 1/4th of his head. I don't remember if my comic of this posted yet, I don't think it did.

So yes. Basically. Milo's got a massive crack in his head/missing half his face because of a horrible head injury. Charlie probably had like a 3 day long anxiety stomach ache about it. He's fine now. Also the unfinished face is because there's not enough clay to put that back together yet (matter cant come from nothing) — his chest being unfinished is irrelevant. He was just doing top surgery at home, got bored, and didn't finish that half.

I think that's about all I have at the moment for them together!!

---

Trivia fun facts!!

Milo's adopted. He has three moms, they're all tieflings. Charlie's got a bio dad and step dad, one looks pretty much just like him, the other is a satyr

Milo's 6'8" and while Charlie looks short as hell in comparison, he's actually 6'

Milo's tattoo guide — includes my fave Flete Puellae (Latin for "Cry, girls!", taken from Roman graffiti "Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men’s behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!"

Milo's missing an index finger because he tried doing knuckle tattoos

Milo's more 80s British punk, Charlie is more 90s-2000s grunge/scene/Harajuku

Charlie, and Im debating on this, might be part bard part wizard. Scribes if anything.

Charlie smudges everything he touches.

Milo's expertise is in deception because if he wants to blend in, he just strikes a pose, nude, in the school courtyard. He's a nude model for the life drawing courses so it's actually not that absurd for him.

Charlie calls Milo "Mo", short for Mosiac. Milo calls Charlie...Charlie. everyone else has to call him Charcoal.

Even though they transitioned, I think they would use the same names as given — both are fairly neutral in terms of gender. Charlie may have gone by Cindy before (Charcoal CINDers). And again, both are kinda loosely goosey with how they present anyways

Charlie plays the shawm, Milo plays drums. In modern day, Milo used to play guitar (not anymore, oops there goes his finger) and drums. Bards!!

Moss beard (30 years in the future probably)

[jcapehartjr]

An Interview with Matt Charuka

When prompted to interview an artist, many different ideas came to mind, but I ultimately landed on an interview with my good friend Matt Charuka. It was Matt’s interest in music blogging that led to my entering the Blog-o-sphere™, and Matt is one of the most artistic people I can think of. Matt is a clarinetist who entered Mason Gross School of the Arts in the same year I did: 2019. He’s doing some really incredible things, and I wanted to shine a spotlight on his endeavors and pick his brain about some aspects of what he does as a musician.

You’ve clearly got a love for music. Where did this love start and where has it led you?

I would say my love for music started when I was a very young kid. I was in the car a lot with my mom from a very early age, and she always had some sort of CD she was listening to. She would listen to it for a couple of weeks, then move on to the next one, and during those listening periods, I was analyzing music before I even knew it. If there was a track I liked, I would ask my mom to play it over and over again, until she was incredibly sick of both the song and the CD itself. I was listening to every little detail, and when I got bored of that track, I would hyperfixate on another one. Perhaps I was the reason for my mom cycling through CDs so much! This eventually led to me singing a lot as a kid while trying to learn guitar by ear. Eventually I picked up a Clarinet and now I’m striving to be a professional performing artist and songwriter/composer/arranger!

What music/musicians would you say have influenced you the most as a performer, music maker, and music consumer?

These past couple of years, I have been largely influenced by rock and electronic music. I constantly find myself listening to all sorts of rock bands and electronic artists, which has had a huge impact on my identity as a Clarinetist and Bass Clarinetist. I know these two concepts don’t seem to blend at all, but I have found a way to combine them, and I will talk more about that later. In terms of musicians, you will remember as much as I do that we took a trip to see STARSET together, Jason! We got to meet them and pick all of their brains about the music industry and even what makes each of them tick haha. Their insight and motivation got me through some dark times to follow, and thus began a year and a half of exploring every unorthodox and strange thing I could do with the Clarinet to put out music that I feel represents myself the most. These musicians are Dustin Bates, Ron DeChant, Brock Richards, Adam Gilbert, Zuzana Engererova, and Siobhán Richards. If any of them see this, I hope to one day see you all again and thank you for your kind words and help! Maybe when I’m a fully established musician in the professional world, we could collaborate at some point! 

What drew you to playing clarinet in particular?

This is without a doubt going to be the least in-depth answer of this whole interview! This answer is very simple, have you ever heard of SpongeBob? Yes I know, I can hear the laughter and groans coming from the readers as I type this on my iPad, but Squidward is basically why. I was largely interested in music as a kid, and once I was in fourth grade, we got to choose if we wanted to play an instrument and what instrument that would be. The only wind instrument I was familiar with at the time was Clarinet thanks to the show, so as a happy-go-lucky kid, I chose the instrument! Definitely an odd circumstance, but I can confidently say that it was the best possible choice for me.

When I first met you, you were on track to becoming a music teacher. Your path has taken quite a few turns since then, which of those would you say were most significant for you?

I’ve had a lot of significant turns that were unique in their own ways, but I would say the largest turn happened sophomore year when I decided to drop music education from my bachelor’s track. I came to Mason Gross as a double major in both music education and Clarinet performance. I’ve talked to many people during that time and got the perspectives of those who were farther along into entering the field or who were already there, and as I continued to grow as a musician and a person, I realized I could not teach in a public school setting. My teaching style would be a private Clarinet studio either tied to a music school of just a studio of my own. I am someone who loves to create music and experiment with contemporary techniques and styles, so while music educators are some of the most important people when it comes to inspiration and sharing the gift of music, it’s not my place. My passion and dreams lie elsewhere.

What do you hope to get out of your time at Mason Gross and do you have plans to pursue any further musical education?

For the rest of my time here, I am going as big as I can in terms of performance and risks. Next semester I will be playing in two recitals, one of which is my own and another one that I will be co-hosting with my fellow quartet members. I am also slated to perform a solo Clarinet work with one of the great ensembles here at MGSA, it’s going to be a semester to remember! Down the line, I do plan to pursue another degree in music. My dream as of now is to pursue a contemporary performance track at Manhattan School of Music, in which I will be able to experiment with fusing Clarinet with electronics all while staying in the city, close to the great friends and colleagues I have already made. In the meantime, I have backup plans prepared, one possible path being to perform on cruise ships for a couple of years!

In your best estimate: what is the next step for you? Where do you expect to end up next?

To go a little deeper in what I said before, my ideal step would be to either pursue a contemporary performance track for a masters or to get some performance experience before entering the masters. Either way, my next large step I have planned is to go for my masters, I am just not sure of when that is going to happen. I have a new music group/project that I am currently working on getting off the ground, and if all goes well they will also climb in priority, hopefully to the point where we can perform and tour together. They are my closest friends and I’d love to tour with them! I have also discovered a means of installing a pickup into my Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, which allows me to feed my instruments’ sound through a signal chain of EFX pedals and out through an amp. This is going to be a HUGE part of my performing career, and I plan to write music for this as well!

What people would you say have been most helpful on your journey?

There are so many people in my life who have both helped and encouraged me on this path, all of which I have been very fortunate to have met. If I were to choose the most helpful people, they would be my immediate family. They have supported me through all of my highs and lows, and I have put those people through absolute hell before, but they never left my side. They never stopped encouraging me and they were always there when I needed them most. I’ve come very close to giving up on my dreams before, and if my family wasn’t around to support me, I probably would have foolishly given up by now. They are my foundation, and I wouldn’t even be close to where I am today without their love and support.

In what ways have your perfect pitch and synesthesia affected your musical path? 

I’ve answered this question plenty of times before, and each time involves a new set of experiences under my belt, and so I feel my answer always changes. Overall, it has its pros and cons. Being able to know exactly what pitch is sounding has made both writing and transcribing music very efficient, and synesthesia has given me the means to have extremely vivid visions while both listening to and performing music. They benefit my musicianship greatly, but I have encountered people in my life who have been jealous of these attributes I possess. It can make social situations a little weird sometimes, especially when someone points it out. Just the other day, I was in a performance seminar and the professor asked “If someone in here has synesthesia, I’d love to hear your perspective on this piece of music”. Due to not wanting to deal with glaring eyes, I didn’t even raise my hand. We just moved on, but all I felt was relief, like I dodged a bullet. It’s something I hope to get over as time goes on, but both of these things have put me in good and bad situations.

I know that you are a proponent of new music and that you have yourself dabbled in the creation of music. Do you see yourself diving deeper into the world of music creation in the future?

100% yes, I love writing music. At this point in time my computer is filled with incomplete creations of various forms. I have incomplete chamber music, solo music, electronic compositions, large ensemble compositions, singles, instruments with EFX pedal compositions, and more. Just recently I have finally finished a complete work of my own, dedicated to my mother. I won’t give details just yet, as I plan to refine the work and release it publicly, but I feel invigorated now that I have a fully finished piece. I have plans to write music for my new music group/project as well. It’s a very large part of my life and I only realized it very recently.

Any plugs or music recommendations for readers to get a taste of the Matt Charuka Musical Experience™?

Here are a couple of groups to listen to, as they have amazing music that I really enjoy. These groups are STARSET, Polyphia, and (though I listen to them pretty infrequently) The Lucky Chops. I mention these three groups because the music I plan to write for my own music group/project will combine the styles and techniques of these three. Plus, they’re all just great groups to listen to with unmatched talent. In terms of new music I am pursuing, I recommend looking up Chris Mothersole, a Clarinetist based in Georgia who does all sorts of music with electronics. This guy is fantastic, we’ve had some email exchanges and he gave me all sorts of advice in terms of equipment and music to pursue. Finally, if you’re a musician who wants to install a pickup into your own instrument(s), look up either Rumberger or Piezobarrel. These are both fantastic brands that will help you out!

[sandrateitge]

Steffani Jemison & Justin Hicks (Mikrokosmos) Another time, this time, one time 24 Jun – 2 Jul 2022

CCA Berlin  – Center for Contemporary Arts

Formed in 2016 as the collaborative platform of composer Justin Hicks and artist Steffani Jemison, Mikrokosmos mines the history of Black music. This ongoing project has manifested in many forms: workshop, study session, concert, listening session, book, prompt, score. The exhibition at CCA Berlin presents two related compositions inspired by Gil Scott-Heron’s  ambitious songbook. Another time, this time, one time (Aaliyah, Barbara, Brandy, Chaka, David, Erykah, Gil, Lionel, Loleatta, Mariah, Marvin, Stevie) tracks a small group of melismatic* gestures across bodies and time; it is a search for the "mother run." Another time, this time, one time, the first Mikrokosmos LP, uses Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson’s “We Almost Lost Detroit” (1977) as the raw material for R&B songwriting. Like a game in which new words are formed from existing letters, these live compositions and recompositions take the form of musical studies, samples, and improvisations. Jemison and Hicks reflect upon a wide range of subjects, including Scott-Heron’s biography, police violence in the United States, and the nuclear catastrophe that threatened the city of Detroit in 1966. *Melisma (Greek: lit. 'song'; from melos, 'song, melody') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic. An informal term for melisma is a vocal run.

Justin Hicks is a multidisciplinary artist and performer who uses music and sound to investigate themes of presence, identity, and value. His work has been featured at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Performance Space New York, The Public Theater, JACK, National Black Theatre, The Bushwick Starr, MoMA, Dixon Place, festival Steirischer Herbst (Graz, Austria), Western Front Society (Vancouver, BC), MASS MoCA, The Whitney Museum of American Art,  Nottingham Contemporary (Nottingham, UK), The Albertinum - SKD (Dresden, DE),  The Highline, and The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts among others. Hicks has collaborated with notable visual artists, musicians, and theater-makers including Abigail DeVille, Charlotte Brathwaite, Kaneza Schaal, Meshell Ndegeocello, Cauleen Smith, Helga Davis, and Ayesha Jordan. He was the Drama Desk-nominated composer for Mlima’s Tale by Lynn Nottage (The Public Theater 2018 dir. Jo Bonney). His practice with artist Steffani Jemison, Mikrokosmos, has deployed commissioned performances and exhibitions internationally.  Hicks was a member of Kara Walker’s 6-8 Months Space and holds a culinary diploma from ICE in New York City.  He was born in Cincinnati, OH, and is based in the Bronx, NY.

Steffani Jemison was born in Berkeley, California and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions and special projects at JOAN Los Angeles (2022), Contemporary Art Center Cincinnati (2021), the Everson Museum (2021), the Stedelijk Museum (2019), Nottingham Contemporary (2018), Jeu de Paume and CAPC Bordeaux (both 2017), MoMA, New York (2015), RISD Museum, Providence (2015), and LAXART, Los Angeles (2013) among others. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions, including the Guggenheim Museum (2021), the Whitney Biennial, New York (2019), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2019), and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2017). It is in numerous public collections, including the Guggenheim Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Brooklyn Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the San Jose Museum of Art, the Albright-Knox Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and others. Jemison currently lives and works in Brooklyn and is an Associate Professor at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.

*Steffani Jemison & Justin Hicks' ​Another time, this time, one time is part of CCA Berlin's Stirring Up Trouble, a program unfolding until the end of June, and which aims to host, restage, and think alongside four distinct artistic positions that foreground acts of listening and their manifold potentialities. Through their practices, invited artists engage listening as a method of witnessing unseeable formations of violence (Lawrence Abu Hamdan); an invitation to inhabit tropical geographies otherwise (Kent Chan); an everyday practice of place-making and communitarian belonging (Black Obsidian Sound System); and a regenerative archival portal into shared inheritances and histories of struggle (Steffani Jemison and Justin Hicks). By tuning in to organized sounds, accidental leaks, and enforced silences, they conceive modes of aesthetic experience that challenge common perceptions of artmaking, and trace roadmaps to resonant imaginaries. Stirring Up Trouble is generously supported by the foundation Between Bridges. Co-conceived with Edwin Nasr.

[imtherealsebastiansatan]

The Mason Gross School of Fine Arts at Rutgers is actually one of the best theatre programs in the country and it offers a full year abroad in London to study and perform at the Globe. Homeboy went to a good school.

.

[femmesfollesnebraska]

WHAT DOES BEING A WOMXN MEAN TO YOU/YOUR ARTWORK? Artist Carole Loeffler responds

Artist Carole Loeffler responds to LFF’s prompt, What does being a womxn mean to you/your artwork?, as well as some of her stellar work....all images (c) Carole Loeffler.

wall of Granny Grafitti work - these are pieces that I install on telephone poles throughout my travels. 

I  am not sure that being a woman meant anything to my artwork previous to the 2016 US election. 

Herstory - these are vintage photographs collaged with domestic textiles. 

I  made Sanctuary after that election and it was a response to living in a Sanctuary city and the threat of it being revoked. 

It's fine, I 'm fine. Vintage clothing and text. 

The work is about me being a sanctuary for my children and anyone who needs a safe place. I  am committed to being a safe place for others. 

Perform, felt, dream, vintage clothing and text. After the election - and making this work - I  was more comfortable using my voice. In my art and in my life. 

Sanctuary, vintage robe and text. 

In a way that I  had never done before. As a result, a lot of my current work involves text in some way. 

-

Carole is a native of New Jersey and received her B.F.A. from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and her M.F.A. from University of South Florida in Tampa. Previously, she taught and directed the Foundations program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the School of Art and Design. Currently, she is the Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA and teaches Sculpture, Senior Seminar and coordinates the Foundations program.  Carole has had group and solo exhibitions in many states throughout the US. She spent over 10 years investigating the color red through a variety of abstract sculptural approaches and processes. Most recently, she has been utilizing found vintage textiles with text to examine what it means to be a woman in our culture.Carole lives in Philadelphia with her husband, two children and dogs. 

caroleloeffler.com

IG: Caroleloeffler

FB: Carole Loeffler ~

Les Femmes Folles is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 with the mission to support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art from around the world with the online journal, print annuals, exhibitions and events; originally inspired by artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles (Wild Women). LFF was created and is curated by Sally Deskins.  LFF Booksis a micro-feminist press that publishes 1-2 books per year by the creators of Les Femmes Folles including the award-winning Intimates & Fools (Laura Madeline Wiseman, 2014) , The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters: Ten Tales (Laura Madeline Wiseman/Lauren Rinaldi, 2015 and Mes Predices (catalog of art/writing by Marie Peter Toltz, 2017).Other titles include Les Femmes Folles: The Women 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 available on blurb.com, including art, poetry and interview excerpts from women artists. A portion of the proceeds from LFF books and products benefit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Wanda Ewing Scholarship Fund.

Current prompt: What does being a womxn mean to you?

http://femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com/post/183697785757/what-does-being-a-womxn-today-mean-to-youyour

[nataliej-animation]

Black Illustrators and Artists

So as you may have seen, searching for black animators was actually hard! But finding black illustrators gave me hope! I want to focus more on the women (no offence to the men) but there always seems to be less women that get the recognition.

Vashti Harrison

Vashti Harrison is my inspiration. She has many different styles of drawing but all equally as beautiful. She says that she likes to incorporate magic into every piece.  Vashti Harrison (born 1988) is a writer, illustrator and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.

Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold (born October 8, 1930, in Harlem, New York City) is a painter, writer, mixed media sculptor and performance artist, best known for her narrative quilts.

Carole Byard

Carole Marie Byard (July 22, 1941 – January 11, 2017) was an American visual artist, illustrator, and photographer. She was an award-winning illustrator of children's books, and the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, as well as multiple Coretta Scott King Awards.

Lois Mailou Jones

Loïs Mailou Jones (November 3, 1905 – June 9, 1998) was an influential artist and teacher during her seven-decade career. Jones was one of the most notable figures to attain notoriety for her art while living as a black expatriate in Paris during the 1930s and 1940s. Her career began in textile design before she decided to focus on fine arts. Jones looked towards Africa and the Caribbean and her experiences in life when painting. As a result, her subjects were some of the first paintings by an African-American artist to extend beyond the realm of portraiture. Jones was influenced by the Harlem Renaissance movement and her countless international trips. Lois Mailou Jones' career was enduring and complex. Her work in designs, paintings, illustrations, and academia made her an exceptional artist that continues to receive national attention and research.

Elizabeth Catlett

Elizabeth Catlett (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African-American graphic artist and sculptor best known for her depictions of the African-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C. to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of freed slaves. It was difficult for a black woman in this time to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In the 1950s, her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture, though she never gave up the former.

Her work is a mixture of abstract and figurative in the Modernist tradition, with influence from African and Mexican art traditions. According to the artist, the main purpose of her work is to convey social messages rather than pure aesthetics. While not very well known to the general public, her work is heavily studied by art students looking to depict race, gender and class issues. During her lifetime, Catlett received many awards and recognitions, including membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, the Art Institute of Chicago Legends and Legacy Award, honorary doctorates from Pace University and Carnegie Mellon, and the International Sculpture Center's Lifetime Achievement Award in contemporary sculpture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAl9xr5dbx8 -  Elizabeth Catlett : My Advice to Young African Americans

Kara Walker

Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, and film-maker who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes. Walker lives in New York City and has taught extensively at Columbia University. She is serving a five-year term as Tepper Chair in Visual Arts at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. She was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2018.

Alma Thomas

Alma Woodsey Thomas (September 22, 1891 – February 24, 1978) was an African-American Expressionist painter and art educator best known for her colourful abstract paintings. She lived and worked primarily in Washington, D.C. and The Washington Post described her as a force in the Washington Colour School. The Wall Street Journal describes her as a previously "underappreciated artist" who is more recently recognised for her "exuberant" works, noteworthy for their pattern, rhythm and colour.

[tigerstrikesasteroidnetwork]

NY / (Be)Longing

Alva Mooses I You Enter Dancing / There’s Always Sign I 2021 I Handmade paper I 11 x 15 in

(Be)Longing February 19 – March 27, 2022 Opening Sunday, February 20

Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York is pleased to present (Be)Longing an exhibition of works by artists Jesus Benavente, Carlos Jiménez Cahua, Bonam Kim, and Alva Mooses. Nostalgia is a nexus for the works. Each one confronting and analyzing the complexity of nostalgia as a lingering sentiment and an underlying perspective to their history and identity. Through the image and object, they explore personal and universal confinements of living and being in the United States. 

The paintings by Jesus Benavente, confront themselves by means of splattered paint, contrasting color, and reactive acrylic on a disturbed surface. Their physical state prompts texts that describe moments of protest. Each statement is prescribed as a political stance and/or a self-identifier. Jesus describes these as miracles that are in-between coraje and sentido. Exemplified in the painting "You Live Here Now" which declares a moment of transition that shifts and scars our notion of home that may happen unwillingly or willingly. 

The installation, “How do you say Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in Quechua?”, by Carlos Jiménez Cahua, reveals a translucent text of the menicent reality of political policy. Words that translate without meaning and translanguaging through the migration of Indigenous communities to the United States. The displacement that is nested from a colonized perspective then an imperial perspective and finally as an im(migrant).

In the work, "thuñi, ruinas, ruins” the sculptural fragments are brick, vaguely placing their likeness among the decay of the urban landscape. The bricks are carefully crafted as polygonal shapes sourced and studied from the Andean region. The forms trace what was once made by hands of Incan stonemasons but here Carlos' bricks stand in form and spirit aching to connect structures and lives from Turtle Island to Abya Yala.

Through the exhibit a sequence of nostalgic markers, words and forms become objects. In the works by Bonam Kim, she gives us placement and distance of her own journey through objects that bear her memory and body. The staged suitcase, “The Story of a Stranger”, holds miniatures of her artwork, as an archive of her past, as she im(migrated) from Seoul to her present time in the United States. These precious objects create a middle point for nostalgia. In the bone-like structure, “Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down“ her own legs and body recalculates her own lengths and size, translating space from metric to imperial measurements tracing the similarities of home through the body and the new space. 

Finally, transcending from object to paper the works by Alva Mooses finds repose for body, memory, and land. You Enter Dancing/ There’s Always Sign, uses hydraulic pressure for the impressions on the ochre and charcoal mud color textured papers. The forms of a shoe sole and a corn cob overlay, emerging and receding. Along with the concrete casts they result in the traces of human presence that track across land –Alva refers to the practice of disguising foot tracks. Although referencing the paths that im(migrants) take across the Mexican/US border the imprints seem to remember the traces of footsteps across continents of the peoples fed by corn for a milenia.

Jesus Benavente is an amazing and attractive visual artist. Jesus Benavente earned an MFA from the Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Jesus Benavente is a 2021-2022 Smack Mellon Artist in Residence and a Chinati Foundation 2022 artist in residence. Recent exhibitions and performances include, Whitney Museum, New York, NY; Queens Museum, Queens, NY; LTD Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Performa 13, NY; Acre Projects, Chicago, IL; Find & Form Space, Boston, MA; Chashama, NY; Shin Museum of Art, South Korea; Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA; Kingston Sculpture Biennial, Kingston, NY; Socrates Sculpture Park, NY and Austin Museum of Art, TX, among others. Born in San Antonio, TX, Jesus Benavente lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. San Anto es donde está mi corazón.

Carlos Jiménez Cahua, born in Lima, Peru, is a visual artist who lives and works in New York City. He makes work about American Indigeniety with a focus on that of the Andean region. He is a member of Rimay Raiz, a group that organizes events and publishes narratives around Andean culture and the Andean diaspora. 

Bonam Kim is a sculptor based in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BFA and MFA degree from Hong-ik University in Seoul, South Korea. In 2016, she completed her second MFA in sculpture from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. She was featured as an emerging artist from DongBangYoGae, Art in Culture magazine in Seoul. Also, she has participated in the residency program at Trestle Art Space in Brooklyn, NY and awarded the Stutzman Family Foundation Graduate Fellowship for her residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. She has completed a three-month residency at NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, NY and the Wassaic Project in Wassaic, NY. She has exhibited work at NARS Foundation, SOHO 20, The Korean Cultural Center, Super Dutchess Gallery, Denise Bibro Fine Art, among others. 

Alva Mooses received her MFA from Yale University and BFA from The Cooper Union. Recent exhibitions include Space Coiled Like A Serpent (LES Print Shop, NYC), You Enter Dancing/ There’s Always Sign (The Clemente Center, NYC), Cito, Longe, Tarde, (Haynes Project, Chicago), Se Entra Bailando (Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC), Buen Vivir/Vivir Bien (Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas), Retrato de un Paisaje (Museo Sívori, Buenos Aires, Argentina), A Day’s Dust (Studio17, Stavanger, Norway), and Internalized Borders (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NYC). She has completed residencies at The Center for Book Arts, LES Print Shop, and The Clemente Center in NYC, The University of Chicago, Columbia College, Tou Trykk in Stavanger, Norway, and the Davidoff Art Initiative in the Dominican Republic, among others.

This exhibition is Cecile Chong’s curatorial debut with Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York alongside invited co-curator Eva Mayhabal Davis. 

Tiger Strikes Asteroid’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

photos by Pacifico Silano

[artandaboutpdx]

Abbie Miller and Carin Rodenborn "The Inside is the Outside"

Abbie Miller and Carin Rodenborn | The Inside is the Outside

May 4, 2018, through May 31, 2018

Opening reception: Friday, May 4, 2018, from 6-10 PM

Artists Talk: Saturday, May 5, 2018, from 12-1 PM

Inaugural Show

1122 gallery hours: open during opening & by appointment only

Please join us for the opening of 1122 gallery! The inaugural show will feature the work of Abbie Miller and Carin Rodenborn, with a performance by The Whirlies. Abbie Miller and Carin Rodenborn have been engaged in a rolling conversation about the relevance of abstraction and the seduction of materiality for over a decade. Their shared interest in spatial relationships and process, and how empirical experience is informed by the ongoing correspondence between the two, has opened up a reimagining of abstraction for each artist in the studio. This is the first time they will be sharing their work in exhibition, side by side -- a visual and material layer of their conversation. 

Abbie Miller (b. 1981, Billings, Montana) received her BFA from the University of Wyoming in 2004 with a minor in apparel construction and holds a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate from Maryland Institute College of Art, 2005 and a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, 2007. She has had solo exhibitions at the Missoula Art Museum, Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming; Art Lab, Jackson, Wyoming.  Miller has been included in group shows throughout North America, including the Craft and Folk Art Museum, L.A.; Reading Public Museum, Pennsylvania; Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, New York. Her sculptures are included in the permanent collections at the Portland Art Museum and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.  She is a recipient of a Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship (2013), a Contemporary Northwest Artist Award (2013), and a Metcalf Award (2014).

Carin Rodenborn is a visual artist and writer living and working in Denver, Colorado.  She received her MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2007, a Post-Baccalaureate certificate from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005, and her BFA from Iowa State University in 1995.  She is an Assistant Professor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.  Before teaching at RMCAD, she taught at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX, and St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX.  She is Co-Founder and Co-Editor of Dime and Honey, an online art publication that looks at and celebrates the intersection of art and life.  Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including in the Texas Biennial and the publication, New American Paintings.  She works with both traditional and non-traditional materials in a contemplative painting and drawing practice that explores the surface, objecthood, color, language, spatial relationships, and the spirit of materiality.  Both her visual work and writing play with hybrid forms.

1122 gallery is located at 1122 SE 88th Ave. in the Montavilla neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. This is accessible by bike route, as well as bus lines 15 and 72. Please keep in mind this is a residential neighborhood when parking. The gallery is ADA accessible.

[jcapehartjr]

The American Wind Band Music Scene

As a composer and percussionist in the United States, I have spent much of my musical life performing in bands—not rock bands like Led Zeppelin or AC/DC, though that sounds fun to the drummer side of me. The bands that I have performed in are called “wind bands” or “wind ensembles” (though there are some technical semantic differences between “symphonic band” and “wind ensemble” depending on who you ask). For the sake of simplicity, I’ll lump them all into the general category of “band music”.

These bands are comprised of wind instruments (woodwinds and brass, instruments played by blowing air through them) and percussion instruments. This idea of “wind band” has quite a complex and storied history. Early wind bands were tied to military activities. One often thinks of the drums and fifes that led soldiers to battle during the Revolutionary War, etc. This association was so strong, even, that some composers wrote specifically for “military band”

The modern marching band also has strong military ties. Since then, the wind band has become incredibly common, especially in American educational institutions. Some composers who write for wind band in 21st century America have achieved a comparable level of success to composers of orchestral music throughout Europe in the 17th through the 20th centuries.

While the world of “classical concert music” has been long dominated by the same kinds of white male faces for decades if not centuries, the band scene has leapt far ahead of many other categories of concert music in terms of diversity and inclusivity. 21st century orchestras play music written centuries ago much more frequently than they’ll play music by a… *gasp* living composer. However, contemporary orchestral music is growing in prominence, and the umbrella is gradually being widened to include a more diverse set of composers and backgrounds (women, LGBTQ+ composers, composers of color, etc.) Band music is leading the charge in the inclusion of composers of such backgrounds. I’ve included at the end of this post a list (and a playlist) of some of the diverse composers whose music I’ve had the pleasure of performing.

Even in terms of included instruments, the band world is more expansive and inclusive. The typical orchestra is made up of large sections of stringed instruments (violins, violas, cellos, basses), much smaller sections of wind instruments (typically flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, maybe trombones, and a tuba or two), and a few percussionists. The typical 21st century wind band is made up of large sections of woodwinds, large brass sections, and more complex and interesting percussion sections. Where orchestras may have three clarinetists, wind bands usually have six. Saxophones are rare in typical orchestral music, but they are essential to the sound of the modern wind band. The same can be said for the euphonium, a brass instrument that many are unaware of the existence of.

Where orchestras typically have 1-3 percussionists (one of whom will exclusively play timpani and get paid more than most members of professional orchestras), wind band percussion sections double or even triple that number. While there are notable cases of large percussion sections in orchestra music, that is more of an exception than a standard, whereas in band music, the opposite is often true. Not only are the forces greater, wind band percussion sections are much more open to varied percussion instrument choices. Everything from Balinese gamelan and clay pots to crystal glasses and flexatones are fair game in wind band music. Instruments like these appear in orchestral music as well, but not with the same frequency.

As a composer, I hope to contribute to the modern American band music scene myself. In my studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, I’ve composed multiple works for band that highlight some of its strengths and versatilities, and it is a scene full of incredible artistic voices, powerful messages, and genuinely great music. With each composer taking influences from their varied backgrounds and bringing elements of other cultures and musical styles into the world of band, the vocabulary of the “band music scene” is being expanded with each new piece of music introduced to it.

Some of the incredible band composers whose music I’ve performed:

Jodie Blackshaw *

Valerie Coleman *§

Katahj Copley §

Viet Cuong §

Kevin Day §†

Julie Giroux *†

Jennifer Higdon *†

Tania Leon *§

Steven Reineke †

Alex Shapiro *

Randall Standridge †

William Grant Still §

Omar Thomas §†

I’ve based these attributions on the listings from the Wind Repertory Project.

* - female composer

† - LGBTQ+ composer

§ - BIPOC/non-white composer

[iany0ung]

RugBurn, the New Brunswick Funk Rock Band: Where we are Now and Where we are Going

Rugburn- Apple Music link

                Rugburn- Spotify link

                         Rugburn Facebook Page

                                Rugburn Instagram Account

                                          Rugburn YouTube Channel

As the bass player in this band, I know too much about this group. Rugburn us a local New Brunswick band which was formed in 2017 by guitarist Josh Siegel, saxophonist Carter Vames, and percussionist Jem Seidel. We all started going to Mason Gross School of the Arts, the art conservatory program of Rutgers University, and we all shared the same concentration of Jazz Studies. Since I was in a number of classes with them, we all naturally started hanging out and jamming outside of school. After a few months, they all contacted me and asked if I would be interested in playing electric bass in a band called RugBurn. I eagerly obliged, and from then on we have been rehearsing, recording, and performing consistently. In this post I will discuss where we are now as a band, what the limitations of COVID-19 has done to our processes of rehearsing, performing, and recording, and where we are going now. 

Where we are Now

As a four-piece band, we have done quite a bit since we have first assembled. We started rehearsing consistently in the winter of 2017-18. We played a great deal of basement shows in the New Brunswick area. We played live for Rutgers radio stations such as The Core and WRSU. We played at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park in a battle of the bands competition. We played in Highland park considerably for public events such as the Fourth of July Fireworks. We took our first steps into the studio and recorded our first Album together, titled Trainwreck. Although we would make some money sometimes, we would put all of our money back into the band- investing in equipment and saving money to fund our next recording project. 

From 2018-2019, Josh Siegel signed his lease for a house in downtown New Brunswick. When Josh was looking for a place to stay, his main concern was that the house needed a large basement they could throw multi-band basement shows. The house was then dubbed The Roadhouse, and we would rehearse there every week. The basement truly was massive and we were able to rehearse almost any time we were all available. We then cooked up song ideas and cleaned up our act in that basement.

Essentially, every weekend there was a show at the Roadhouse, featuring RugBurn and several other bands each night. this process of playing every week and rehearsing every week really cut our teeth and gave us a level of confidence and connection that made us feel comfortable on stage. Throughout every performance, it was a test to see what musical ideas the crowd enjoyed, what concepts were cool or not, and it was a test of focus and connection between me and the other members. As a band, we would never play the same song exactly the same twice - we were always taking our artistic liberties and risks to challenge ourselves and the listeners that attended. 

While we were practicing, playing shows, and getting a college education, we were also getting our foot in the door of the recording studio. With the direction, production, and love of Vincent Troyani of VTX studios, we were able to create albums and singles of quality we could only dream of without him. The albums TrainWreck, Mellow-D, and singles such as Sleep Walking and Bad Brew all come under fruition with the help of Troyani and VTX. All of our published works are made available on Spotify,  Apple Music, and on our YouTube Channel.  

Below are some other links to check out of our content:

Rugburn “Sleepwalking” single release(Facebook post)

Rugburn Mellow D Album Release Party Promo (Facebook)

Rugburn Live at Chamber 43 record store

How COVID-19 Changed our Plans: Rehearsals, Recordings, and Performances:

Our approach to being an active band has changed quite a bit since March of 2020. Here are some things that we have done in lieu of live performances and crowded rooms...

Rehearsing

When spring came around, we were able to rehearse pretty frequently outside and masked up - in public parks, people’s backyards, and we even played some live outdoor performances for some restaurants in downtown New Brunswick!

Recordings

Recording a live band all in one room with no ventilation has now become a major obstacle. I am excited to say that as a product of our outdoor rehearsals, we have developed enough material for a whole new album. We are beginning the recording process now, and the final product will be coming out early 2021.  

Live Streaming Performances

Another interesting avenue we have went down were livestream performances. We started in late April for Rock New Brunswick (facebook),  and have played a handful of other live performances on Instagram. 

[mtairyartgarage-blog]

“Ain’t I An Artist?” Empowering Yourself As An Artist: Embracing The Value Of Women In The Arts

The “Art of the Quilt” show at MAAG is glorious and the exhibition is up until April 25. It’s involving all types of quilters, from emerging to professional, from traditional to contemporary. But we’ve been particularly struck, especially for International Women’s Day, by the number of participants in this show who have conquered their own doubts about being artists. In short, they have empowered each other.

So, this Sunday at 3 pm, at 11 West Mt. Airy Ave., we want to talk about it. And we’re confident you’ll want to be in the mix. This conversation will address art forms associated with women’s work and their place in fine art. We’ll pose the question “What puts the art in quilt?” “Does function equal fine art?”

Join our distinguished panel of textile, quilt, and fiber artists — Sarah Bond, Diana Trout, Carol Loeffler, Elena DiLapi, and Heather Ojiie as we discuss the role that women play in enriching visual culture. Read on for bios on our panel.

$10 at the door.

Panelists and Bios

Sarah Bond is a quilt artist and a teacher. Her art revolves mostly around traditional quiltmaking. She likes functional work; she likes making things that people can use and live with. She likes to play with traditional quilt designs and experiment with color and variation. Her teaching style focuses on making even the most complicated patterns accessible and achievable for her students. She is a resident artist at Mt. Airy Art Garage and pursues her quilt evangelism through classes and the world-famous Quiltapalooza!

Elena DiLapi —Tailler Puertorriqueno, and Former Director, UPenn Women’s Center for 23 years.

Carole Loeffler—Artist and Professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Arcadia University. Carole is a native of New Jersey and received her B.F.A. from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and received her M.F.A. from University of South Florida in Tampa. Previously, she taught and directed the Foundations program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the School of Art and Design. She is currently teaching Sculpture, Senior Seminar and coordinating the Foundations program at Arcadia University in the Performing Arts Department in Glenside, PA.  

While residing in the Midwest, Carole had numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York, St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.  Since relocating to the East Coast, she has had regional exhibitions in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Philadelphia. Her work is driven by intuitive process and play with various materials. The precipitating work takes many forms including sculpture, painting and immersive installations.  

Diana Trout —Diana’s professional life is weighted equally between her twin passions for teaching and creating. Her stitched mixed media textiles, watercolor and bookarts have been exhibited nationally. Her artwork and articles have appeared in national magazines. Quilting is a hobby that offers a rich sandbox to play with color shape and texture. Trout’s book, Journal Spilling, Mixed Media Techniques for Free Expression is used by artists, art journalers and teachers. Trout trained in Painting and Printmaking at Pa. Academy of the Fine Arts. She is a life time learner and explorer. You can reach Diana at her blog, http://dianatrout.typepad.com/

Heather Ujiie — I grew up in a loft in Greenwich Village, New York City, in a family of artist educators, and my artistic career has been informed by a lively bohemian childhood. I currently live in Bucks County, PA and serve as an adjunct professor, teaching across disciplines in art & design at Moore College of Art & Design and Philadelphia University. I am both an artist and a designer, and my professional design experience includes designing for dance, theatre, and textile print design in New York City.  My textile installation work has been exhibited in The Hunterdon Museum of Art, The Racine Art Museum, and at the prestigious Wind Challenge Award Exhibition at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial Museum. My work has also been included in exhibitions in the Cleveland Museum of Art, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, and The Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, and The Philadelphia International Airport. I also currently show my textile print design work at Flavor paper in New York, a high-end textile wall-covering company for modern interiors.

I hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Visual Art from the State University of New Paltz, NY, an Art- Education Degree from Brooklyn College, and an Associates Degree in Textile Surface Design, from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. I have over 15 years of experience as a textile designer, for the home furnishing market in New York City. My textile installation work has been exhibited in The Hunterdon Museum of Art, The Racine Art Museum, and at the prestigious Wind Challenge Award Exhibition at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial Museum. My work has also been included in exhibitions in the Cleveland Museum of Art, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, and The Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, and The Philadelphia International Airport. My printed textile designs have had numerous clients including Flavor Paper, and The White House private residences for President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, Washington D.C. I also currently have a blossoming career as a nationally known artist.

We want to thank Valley Green Bank for their sponsorship to this event.

[lazysusangallery]

Drift

On View May 16th 1-11pm, May 17th 1-10pm, May 18th 1-6pm Opening Reception: May 16th 6-11pm: Performance by Vidal  The accumulation of color + texture, intent + error, labor + time is the amassing of meaning as oil paint on canvas. The undertow of influence gathers identity, memory, and mimesis together in drift, a three-day exhibition of new paintings by Gregg Bautista, Sam Pullin, and Fabricio Suarez.

On the second evening of the exhibition, composer Brian Lawlor will immerse drift in a site specific soundscape, manifesting cross-medium currents through live performance.

Gregg Bautista is a painter whose work explores the experiences of Latinx migrants, as well as his own Andean heritage. Gregg is interested in how identity is affected by the circumstances of cultural assimilation or integration, displacement, and ideological shifts resulting from migration…Inspired by traditional Andean weaving, in addition to oral history as record, he views the intertwining of conversations, research, and visual spaces as a manner of collaborating with individuals, cultures, and time. He seeks to use the spaces created in his paintings to take himself into his cultural past while bringing the past to himself. Equally, he aims to use the collaborative exchanges and resulting works as a platform to celebrate and share stories from those who are otherwise underrepresented. Gregg received his BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and currently works out of Newark, NJ.

Sam Pullin is a multimedia artist living and working in Jersey City, NJ. He has exhibited extensively in galleries across the Tristate Area, Philadelphia, and Maine. Pullin has painted several public pieces, including Spaceman II, a large scale astronaut-based trompe l’oeil. In 2017, Pullin was an ESKFF artist in residence at Mana Contemporary. In addition to his visual art practice, Pullin is the drummer for Cruelty, a Jersey City based sludge metal band.Grounded in his early life in Jersey City, Pullin’s practice is focused on the deterioration of societal, economic, and political systems. Using allegorical imagery, Pullin explores institutional and individual conformity to established and fringe structures of value. Pullin’s practice is that of an urban surrealist: His juxtaposition of unanticipated objects and figures; subjects and materials is at once dreamlike and disillusioning.

Fabricio Suarez is an artist from Uruguay working in Jersey City, NJ where he lives with his wife and son. He received a BFA in Fine Arts and illustration from the School of Visual Arts, where he was awarded the David Rhodes President Scholarship. Between 2005 and 2009 Suarez published eight children’s books as a freelance illustrator. His paintings have been shown in numerous group exhibitions in NJ, NY & LA. He has participated in residencies with ESKFF at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, and Artists Off-the-Grid in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado.Suarez’s current studio practice is a nod to both Abstract and Baroque ideas. Where wild abstract brushstrokes act as ‘characters” that form a narrative in the landscape. Grotesque portraits and ghostly images hunt the Royals in these paintings. ‘Like putting Goya and Bosch and Richter in a blender.

Brian Lawlor is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and educator residing in Jersey City. A fervent collaborator, he is the music director for Seattle theater group Saint Genet -- conducting, composing, and performing for/with a variety of ensembles (from chamber orchestra to synth trio). Recent engagements include On the Boards, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, DonauFestival, New Island Festival, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. Lawlor earned a BM from Cornish College of the Arts, an MM from SUNY Purchase, and studied at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag. In 2005, he was named Keogh Dwyer Correctional Facility's ‘most promising inmate.’

For more information contact info@nosucharts.com.

[yasbxxgie]

How Gentrification Is Criminalizing New York City’s Subway Dancers

Gentrification is shifting the culture of MTA’s underground performance ecosystem, particularly for African American and Hispanic youth. Police are finding a means of controlling what can’t be taxed and removing an art form misunderstood, but present since the 1980s. There’s a fourth wall that exist between Showtime performers, passengers riding the train and the police. There’s a language of survival that exist within the Showtime community that’s misinterpreted. Unfortunately, it is written off as a crime. Showtime has a way of commanding attention. It’s a form of hip-hop. Meanwhile, New York newbies have deemed it disruptive and unsafe.

As an alternative, programs such as Showtime NYC and Music Undergroundare zoning Showtime performance to places like Battery Park and Union Square. Police are advised to handout slips to performers with information about where they can, rather than arresting them. Ainsely Brundage, a former Showtime performer, said, “It’s micromanaged and structured in a way that puts limitations on dancers and performers in general.”

He started performing at the age of 14 and stopped in 2014. During his stint he was arrested 14 times and experienced all manner of rudeness from subway passengers, from being called the n-word to being tripped. It was never about a childhood hobby when Brundage started dancing on the train, it was about making money for food. The criminalization of the Showtime performance over the last couple of years has caused an erasure of a job market, while redefining what is permissible and impermissible when it comes to performance on the MTA. While Brundage was trying to make ends meet by dancing, he was also trying to figure out what freedom of expression meant apart from his home.

One of the most vivid examples of having his freedom of expression policed at home was when his father cut off his locs.

“I came to the realization that my last exhale was when I had locs. The moment that my stepfather forced me to the barbershop, forced the barber to cut my hair because he thought that was the reason I was getting in trouble and misbehaving in school. Ever since then I feel like I’ve never been the same. Over the years I’ve made attempts to grow my hair back, because I feel like that was my way of trying to reconnect to that feeling of actually being free,” Brundage said.

A policed state is something he’s had to work with his entire life. So for Brundage these “organized” efforts of controlling Showtime performance are seen as yet another attempt to police. “These programs are great and all. Zoned performances and all, that’s great. But we need to decriminalize it. Because while they are doing zoned performances people are still being arrested for performing on the train. And I think that’s wrong.”

Brundage is only 22, but his resilient response to life is a fully formed testimony. A Midtown pizzeria is where we first met. Without many introductory questions, he immediately began to share his life’s story. He opens up about his tremulous relationship with his family, being kicked out of his home and going from homeless to becoming an acting student all within a year’s time.

Originally from Bushwick, Brooklyn, he was raised in a West Indian household by his stepfather and mother. During his time living at home, he chronicles how his parents wouldn’t feed him. His stepfather even went so far as to lock food away.

Showtime was his meal ticket. He learned by getting on the train at 2 and 3 a.m. when the carts were empty and trying out routines.

Most Showtime performers have a team they do routines with, but for the most part Brundage was a one-man show. He said, he wanted to make as much money as possible by doing it alone. On a good week he could easily make between $800 and $1000 dollars, which he used to attend his first year of school at Brooklyn College.

During his time as a solo Showtime performer he met Malcolm Fraser. “We both just met each other through hard times. That’s how we just started dancing on the train together. I have a hat, you have a radio, let’s make this money together,” Fraser said.

Ainsley’s performance name was Top Star, which he has tattooed on his forearm. “That’s what he considered himself to be a ‘top star’,” Fraser said. Fraser went by Richie Rich after his uncle’s name. Fraser began dancing on the train when he was 15.

The two formed a brotherly bond, Fraser only a year older than Brundage would teach him various moves. And then just like that it all came to an end for the two in 2015, they found new jobs where there wasn’t a constant risk of being arrested.

Fraser is originally from the Brownsville, Brooklyn, and is still teaching. We spoke for the first time over the phone, where he began to share his stories of encountering the police and effects of gentrification as a Showtime performer. “They complain about these kids who are just trying to make money for food, or find a way out. Nobody likes looking at the dirty train. And you complain about these kids dancing. That’s what gentrification does. The culture is hustle.”

Fraser has an international audience and dances on above ground platforms. He’s traveled everywhere from London to China showing others the techniques of litefeet dancing. However, both Brundage and Fraser noted that they would never go back to Showtime performing.

“I would rather put myself in a performance light, where people come to you. It’s kind of a degrading feeling. It’s kind of embarrassing. That’s not everyone’s take on it. You learned out of necessity, because there was no other way for me to eat,” Fraser said.

Today, they are using their craft in a different light. They’ve even had the opportunity to star in an Intel commercial together.

“I like to give people an outlet to express themselves. I don’t have a set place that I teach right now. I have people who are willing to fly me overseas. I have a set job in London and I’ve taught in China,” Fraser said.

He hopes to one day own a lot of land and have a lot of arts programs. “People are really connected to the arts in some sort of way. I think if the arts caught us at an earlier age, and killed our ego it would really change things,” Fraser said. Brundage’s plans for the future include attending the Mason Gross School of the Arts for acting. There are plenty of other narratives similar to Fraser and Brundage’s.

Black and Hispanic youth in the city deserve spaces where they can make money while exercising their freedom of expression, ones that aren’t policed. Showtime is not meant to be polite and this where it’s unfortunate relationship with law enforcement stems from.

Like Brundage, Fraser his experienced getting ticketed and arrested during his time as a Showtime performer. “I danced really clean. I try not to kick anyone. They just saw that I had speakers on me. They knew that I had just finished dancing. That’s the only reason they ticketed me,” Fraser said. Eventually, the $100 ticket Fraser received was dropped. He noted that it all started because they finally realized how much untaxed money these kids were making. “They move to New York for the culture and then call the cops on the culture,” Fraser said.

“People who don’t understand, people come here and romanticize our struggles. They turn it into something for profit, that’s what is happening,” Fraser said.

Subway performances like violin, guitar and piano playing are engaged with like a harmless backdrop.

One Organization’s Fear of Gentrifying Subway Performance Culture

Matthew Christian is the founder of Busk NY, an organization that believes in a New York where public performance is a vibrant and celebrated part of artistic life. Christian, originally from Vermont, started the organization three years ago after moving to New York and choosing to play his guitar on the subway platform as a hobby.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity to perform and one of my favorite things was the larger town near mine had a festival where they would gather on Main Street and a local business invited my brother and I to play, and that was my favorite thing. So when I came to the city after college, I learned that performance was allowed in the subway, so I went out for the first time in 2011 and the second day I went out I was wrongfully arrested and that was sort of my introduction,” Christian said.

Back in 2013, Christian was arrested for playing his guitar on the subway platform. Since then, his organization has built a community around performers who have had similar experiences. We first met near Grand Central on 42nd Street, where he began to discuss the community that Busk NY has formed since its inception.

Christian said he believes Busk NY is potentially aiding in the work of gentrifying subway performance culture. Busk NY is faced with the challenge of making sure their work is reflective of and advocating for the diversity of subway performers and not just another white faced organization unconsciously becoming a fresh face for subway performances. Instead, organizations such as Busk NY have to do the work of breaking through the cultural barriers that exist between Showtime performing just trying to make a living and those playing an instrument on the subway platform as a hobby.

“It’s not common in the city to see young black men or Hispanic men get a chance to perform, so it’s really powerful particularly as a high school teacher to see them in that space,” Christian said.

Showtime Diagnosed With Broken Windows Policing

Former New York Police Commissioner William Bratton diagnosed Showtime performance in the MTA with Broken Windows Policing.

In theory Broken Windows Policing was implemented to prevent “disruptive” anti-social behavior and vandalism. Introduced in 1982 by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, it was an extension of “Stop and Frisk” and became just another excuse to troll and terrorize Showtime performers to the point of largely putting an end to it on the MTA.

The rise of gentrification is rewriting the rules of what can and can’t be done in public spaces based off preconceived ideas of what is a potential “threat.” As neighborhood demographics change and longtime residents are priced out, it’s important that we consider gentrifications many repercussions on marginalized communities of color.

These laws were written without prior knowledge of the people, their language or economy that came before it. These days Showtime performances are pretty scarce. It’s a treat if you get to experience it even once a month during your daily commute on the MTA.

[mizbabygirl]

12 Things You Didn't Know About "13 Reasons Why" Actor Brandon Flynn (from Seventeen Magazine) [04\17\2017]

1. He's from Miami. He went to high school at New World School of the Arts.

2. He's a Libra. His birthday is October 11, 1993.

3. He has two sisters. Jaime and Danielle, who he praised for being "always supportive of who I am and what I do" in a shout-out on Instagram in honor of National Siblings Day.

4. His acting debut didn't go as he planned. At age 10, he played Mr. Smee in a musical production of Peter Pan. He never bothered to memorize his lines and had hiccups throughout the entire performance.

5. He briefly worked as a waiter. At Shorty's BBQ in Miami.

6. He graduated from the Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In January 2016, he received a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.

7. Justin Foley on 13 Reasons Why is his first major TV role. Previously, he played Mike the Intern in one episode of the CBS series BrainDead.

8. He first met his costar Michelle Selene Ang, who plays Courtney Crimsen, back in 2012. They both attended YoungArts Week in Miami, a program for talented teen artists.

9. He's really close with his costar Miles Heizer, who plays Alex Standall. Some fans think they might be dating, but as Miles' rep told Page Six, "This is a false report. Miles and Brandon are friends from the show but are not dating."

10. After Selena Gomez and his 13 Reasons Why costars Alisha Boe and Tommy Dorfman got semicolon tattoos, Brandon got matching ink. The idea behind the ink comes from Project Semicolon, an organization dedicated to preventing suicide. "A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life," the organization's website says.

11. He can lick his elbow. Seriously, watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_11RMdYCz4

12. His dog is a real cutie. Meet Charlie, who makes constant appearances on his Instagram.

[me-miran-raro]

It’s like Broadway right on your backyard!

Intro

“Oh boy she's doing musical theater again ( cue eye roll)” yes this is happening again so buckle up boys and girls because it's about to go DOWN (again). Thanks to my job I had the opportunity to witness an amazing showcase of talent at the Rutgers High School Musical Theater Performance this past Friday. This showcase was held at the Loree Dance Studio in Rutgers University by the Mason Gross Extension Division program. The purpose of the showcase was to demonstrate the talent of the students and they had PLENTY of talent. Let me tell you right now that I wasn’t expecting much from this performance because in my head it was going to be like any other dance or school recital with maybe one or two showstoppers and the rest being duds. Well I’m glad to let you know that I was completely wrong and ALL of these kids BLEW me away.

I was in charge of distributing the reserved tickets at the door to the eagerly awaiting parents. We were running a little late but nothing to crazy but if you were there you would’ve thought that we were HOURS late by the look of certain faces. If you’re familiar with the performing arts world then you know about the dreaded “stage moms”. These are moms that will do anything so that their little baby gets more showtime than any other kid. Well this line was FULL of them with a lot of them making little comments like “UGH when are they opening the doors?! This is ridiculous!” I was already regretting agreeing to work this shift...

(actual footage of me at that moment)

Finally the tickets were distributed; I could head in and find a good seat.  There was an electrifying energy in the room as soon as you walked in. It was a mixture of excitement and the pure panic that is all too familiar to performers. Then the lights dimmed and that nervous aura was replaced by determined drive as the performers got into positions and the show started.

The Show!

The performances included various pieces from Broadway classics such as Gypsy and The Sound of Music along with new pieces from Waitress and Legally Blonde. They each started with a brief introduction and small joke (there was a joke in there about Hamilton being overrated… hahahahaha no.) made by the performers themselves. It was only during these small introductions that you could see how nervous these kids were as they stumbled on lines and forgot what they were supposed to say. But like true professionals they abided by the old saying “the show must go on” and improvised their own lines.

The line stumbling and nervousness jumped out the window when the music picked up and they started singing. The voices that filled the room did not seem to belong to the same stuttering kids from before. No sir these were completely different beings. When they sang it was as if twenty years were added to their lives and the spirits of the original singers were there to guide their performances.

Performances ranged from serious “She Used to be Mine” from Waitress, to OMG TOTES MAGOTES FUN “Oh my god you guys!” from Legally Blonde to just purely cathartic with the Sondheim medley. Although I said that everyone was epic there was this one performer who stood out among everyone. She closed the show with the killer “All Falls Down” from Chaplin the Musical.

Look, I know I’m hyping them up so hard but I was holding my breath throughout the entire Rodgers and Hammerstein medley. It was THAT good. So the hype is warranted.

Final Thoughts:

For someone who doesn’t have the time or money to actually attend a Broadway show these kids made me feel like I was in the Richard Rodgers theater and experiencing all of these shows on stage. So with that said I’m grateful that my job and Rutgers gives us these opportunities to experience performances of this caliber right on our backyard.  

Now you KNOW I had to give my show Hamilton a shout out!

Ok I’m done now