The Occupy with Art blog provides updates on projects in progress, opinion articles about art-related issues and OWS, useful tools built by artists for the movement, new features on the website, and requests for assistance. To submit a post, contact us at occupationalartschool(at)gmail(dot)com .
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Thursday
Dec222011
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 12:44PM
[From The Guardian - click image to see the slideshow.]
Writers and artists design money fit for modern times - in pictures
Global economic meltdown, the euro crisis and Occupy protests – this year has been dominated by financial issues. But what is money anyway? We invited writers and artists including Jonathan Franzen, Margaret Atwood and Naomi Klein to invent new currencies and banknotes for a changed world
Among the most widespread and enduring forms of progressive organization in the suburbs are environmental groups, food co-ops, and politically oriented arts groups and small galleries. These work with the domestic ethos of home and garden rather than against it, and they do a lot of good. They support open space preservation and local farms, particularly organic farms, and establish neighborly micro-economies as alternatives to the mall and highway hegemony.
Much of what the Occupy Wall Street movement advocates in the way of human-scale, participatory, and sustainable social organization already exists amidst the country clubs and ranch houses of the suburbs. It is small in scale and particular organizations tend to struggle with the attrition of a difficult economy and, alongside that, the general drift toward the preoccupied life; people have kids to take care of, things to do. Nonetheless, the alternative economy persists, resistance is fed in the most seductive way by local honey, herbs, cheese, beer and vegetables, and in a more spiritual sense by local art, music, and poetry. Seduction is not revolution, clearly, but it is something not to be scorned.
In thinking about Occupying culture in the suburbs, then, the coop and the alternative arts space came to mind as institutions to enlist. The challenge is to introduce the dynamic of a vanguard social movement, Occupy Wall Street, into these institutions and, beyond that, to determine a format that would best encourage a creative exchange of ideas and approaches among the participants in a given project. This is partly a matter of striking a balance between contributions from local artists and those based outside the area. It wouldn’t do simply to install an exhibition of Occupy-related work from downtown Manhattan in a suburban gallery; this would run the risk of being a show rather than an action. Similarly, one would hope that any event would advance the principles of the movement rather than support or illustrate them.
Occupy Wall Street is inherently transformative; it arose, and continues to arise outside of and in contradistinction to the parameters of party politics, class and social divisions, established forms of mobilization and resistance; it is a profoundly cohesive and inclusive civil rights movement, civil rights understood in terms of economic as well as political enfranchisement. If an expression of art and social activism in the suburbs is to reflect and engage the Occupy movement, it should be internally transformative, not just another cultural event in the suburbs but one that is informed by the questions that have impelled the occupations and street demonstrations worldwide: what does democracy look like? What does art for the ninety-nine per cent look like? Is an occupied suburb possible, an occupied suburban culture and social expression?
The Holiday season is now upon us, and it's most definitely time for tiny-tenting!
Tomorrow, Thursday, is the darkest day of the year - the Winter Solstice. For many cultures it's a festival of lights: Christmas Tree Lights, Hannukah Menorah's, Kwanzah Candles, and the like. For OWS, it's also... tiny tents! We can create little glowing structures that remind people about the spirit of justice and the warmth and solidarity of the 99%!
Tiny tents are popping up all over the country- what will NYC tiny tents look like? Bring materials such as newspapers, glue, little sticks, print-outs, make your own design, we will have some materials on hand too.
Can anyone bring OWS journals?
Thursday 2:00-4:40 in an art studio near Gowanus.
Then we'll so some tenting!
Please contact me for details.
♫
fischer.noah [at] gmail [dot] com
Update on Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 01:22PM by
admin
[NOTE: OwA contributing photographer Paul Talbot first posted this follow-up on his excellent blog, The Wheel.]:
"The most revolutionary acts are not those of violence, but of kindness; try a little tenderness, try a little tiny tenting! Make a tent, create a message, and GO TENTING! it can be done anywhere, everywhere, and costs almost nothing. Get twigs, old fabrics, glue, and hazah! You have a poetic tiny tent which spreads radical imagination everywhere" (Alex C.)
Building of a tiny tent with dowels and canvas
Building Materials
Luminaries in side the tent, this size seemed to be the best for fire inside the #tinytents
Used recycled materials and stuff from outside to build your tents
Art supplies for writing our messages on the canvas, wax, paper or any other material that would act as a lumiary
#tinytenting is fun and inspirational, the occupy movements have to find ways to allow people to have fun and be creative and this is one way that has come about in kind of a natural progression since most occupation are being evicted. Tiny Tenting allows you to occupy spaces that you would otherwise be immediately turned away from. Push the boundaries, take a picture. Leave a tent or two in an area to see what kind of response the tents have on others.
For more information about #tinytent building or to share your tenting adventures tag your photos with @nerephotography and #tinytenting #ows
To see all photos and ideas on how to build tiny tents click the link below
The Aaron Burr Society will occupy the Winter Solstice by marching through the Oak, Maple and Sycamore tress of our Commons at McCarren Park in Williamsburg.
At 9pm on Thursday, December 22, we will meet at the Matchless bar on the corner of Manhattan and Driggs, just one block from McCarren. Then from 9 till dawn of the new celestial year [1], we will march back and forth over the roots of these old trees to celebrate our Common ground, this planet, our earth. There will be no agenda, just communing with our fellow travelers and the spirits of change, which will be in perfect balance, suspended by the solstice. Please join us to commune with these transgendered spirits and together we will tip the balance to the 99%; to save this misshaped sphere, our planet, Mother Earth.
Celebrate with us by making noise, smoking cigars and placing luminaries along the pathways of our Commons. For the uninitiated, luminaries are paper bags with lit candles inside. Of course the Society's luminaries will be stamped with "Free Money" and "Slave of Wall Street" just as our Federal Reserve Notes [dollars]. And we will write #OWS on the bag in anticipation of our newly ordered stamp.
Our march will be accompanied by the French bugle, the chrome plated baritone bugle/tuba, and symbols which are the cymbals that we have played from Madison WI to the Summer of Change and throughout the occupation. Please bring bells plus pots and pan to bang. Of course it goes without saying that additional musical instruments are always welcome.
and yes, yes, I said yes, the Society will bring a bottle of our home distilled, 2nd Whiskey Rebellion spirits to warm our collective soul.
p.s. attached is a foto of the New York Stock Exchange’s xmas decorations. Please note the predominance of Red without Green, the traditional holiday colors. The monochromatic light emanating from the NYSE is indicative of the fires of hell, though I regret besmirching the devil’s reputation by aligning the prince of darkness with Wall Street Bankers.
Our Winter Solstice luminaries will feature white candles in brown, working class lunch bag.
p.p.s. it goes without say that all Pilgrims are welcome to our Solstice celebration whether or not you are a member of the Society or haven’t been occupying. Please pass this along.
[1] Please do not confuse the dawn of a new celestial year with the dawn of the next day. The new celestial year is 12am, not the rising of the sun. We would assume that members will be continue celebrate well past midnight but no consensus has been reached about last call.
Today the exhibition will showcase films, projections, posters and protester signs. A series of conversations and workshops will address different mediums and design strategies to exercise different acts of protest and communication.
Films 12pm-3pm: Gearoid Dolan's 99% is a series of 4 black and white stop motion films on the ongoing Occupy Wall St. movement in NYC.
Guerrilla Media 3pm-5pm: Urban video projections activated by personal mobile messaging are able to construct urban pieces that bring individual voices into the collective. Ken Farmer will showcase a series of open software, platforms and strategies to act in the city through the use of light and the urban landscape.
Performance 12pm-6pm: Signs by Alexandra Lerman. Parade of Protests: Visitors will be able to participate in an individual performance by grasping some of the signs created by Alexandra Lerman and performing an individual action around the neighborhood.
Conversation 5pm-6pm: Keller Easterling and Benedict Clouette.
Strategies for Public Occupation is an exhibition and a 7-day marathon of talks, workshops and events that bring together a creative force of experts, artists, architects and citizens at large to discuss the current state of affairs in relation to the Occupy movement.
The exhibition, understood as a space of confluence and flow is a space for gathering, conversations and informal discussions that is continuously broadcasted at http://www.ustream.tv/user/StorefrontArtArch.
Everyday, throughout the duration of the exhibition, the gallery displays different works in relation to the different themes of exploration, the conversations, performances and workshops.
General support for Storefront is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts through the Warhol Initiative; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; The Peter T. Joseph Foundation; by its Board of Directors, members and by individuals.
What does $100,000 Mean to You? WHEN: TUESDAY DECEMBER 20th at 1pm
WHERE: 10th Ave & 18th Street (starting at street level) in front of the $100,000 Billboard
WHAT: General Assembly and Photo Action (Bring smartphones and cameras to participate!) WHY: On December 2nd, The High Line unveiled "The First $100,000 I Ever Made," a 25-by-75 foot billboard created by artist John Baldessari. We, as members of Occupy Wall Street, ask: what is the history of the $100,000 bill and what does it mean to resurrect its image in our current moment of economic crisis? Who is this billboard speaking to? How does it speak to you? What does $100,000 mean today to workers and residents of Chelsea, along with all New Yorkers, as economic conditions continue to worsen for the 99%?
December 17, 2011: Occupy Wall Street teams up with artists, musicians and faith leaders to demand a space for public expression and to seek sanctuary in an unused lot owned by Trinity Church, an institution that has shown support for the movement despite its strong ties to Wall Street. Episcopal Bishop George Packard is the first to scale the fence, and is arrested along with fellow occupiers. Reverend Lawson, a leader of the Civil Rights movement, urges the protesters to keep "treading water" because the country needs them. Music from Dean and Britta, live from WBAI studios.
On Monday morning, the last remnant of Occupy Calgary was lifted onto the back bed of a truck and moved to an undisclosed location. The Occupy sculpture, "Heart of the Beast," provided the Calgary Occupy protesters with a lasting symbol of hope, but after an eviction from Olympic Plaza last Friday, it was only a matter of time before the sculpture too, was dismissed from the space.
Created by an anonymous artist known only as "D.H.," the nearly ten-foot high sculpture was placed in Olympic Plaza in the middle of the night, hours before bylaw officers moved in to clear the encampment altogether. Now, the city is faced with what to do with the symbolic sculpture.
hey OWS people...my friend Robert Krautheim of NJ is starting a flyer series from slogans i'm feeding him...any that seem germane i'll pass along to the group...please post widely!
OWS Sustainability Working Group and Evolver Present: The OWS Holiday Bazaar and Skill Share…..
Where? CityLife Wellness 75 Frost St. Brooklyn NY 11211 (take the L train to Lorimer)
When? Sunday December 18th, 2011 1pm to 9pm
This is a FREE event! OWS Sustainability and Evolver are committed to building alternative economies out of the shell of the old. Instead of relying on currency to determine value, we believe in a system that allows individuals to work together and assess value for themselves. People are encouraged to bring items or skills of their own so that they may interact with the vendors. Its packed with workshops and a live barter market, donation based body work, dinner and live music. Everyone is encouraged to bring an item, art, s…kill or service to come and barter with. Folks are also free to accept donations as well.
Organizers: Gayil Nalls, artist Sophia Marisa Lucas, curator Partners: Second Saturdays in Staten Island (Brendan Coyle) 99 Occupiers (Possibly Jean Toche) Location: Doorways at 62 Van Duzer Street in Staten Island (very accessible from the Ferry Terminal)
Mission: To engage Staten Island’s North Shore community in dialog with OWS. Staten Island is overwhelmingly conservative, except for it’s North Shore area, and few from this community have been mobilized to join the movement. It is home to a predominantly lower-middle and lower class demographic, including many artists, musicians and immigrants of Mexico, Sri Lanka, Gana and Liberia.
The conceptual framework for the project is not quite a direct action or form of cultural resistance, but rather an endeavor to further introduce the movement to those who have never been in Zuccotti Park, through an intellectual and sensorial experience. For those whose sole understanding of the movement comes via the lens of media coverage, not only is their perception of the movement’s participants limited, but their sensitivity to the overall message is hindered by their lack of physical connectivity to the resisting body. The expectation is that through this increased affinity, that by the end of the exhibition, locals will be more engaged with the veritable ideas of the movement, making for a powerfully participatory closing reception, which serves as generative element for uniting people in this isolated borough.
Date: Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 10:35 PM Subject: MAKE ART, NOT COMMERCE (Artist's Strike, 1.13.2012) To: owsartiststrike@gmail.com
Dear friends,
We are writing to you in solidarity as working artists with information about an upcoming Artist's (or "Artist" or "Artists" or "Artists' ") Strike, a word we employ as both a noun and a verb. The strike, which was proposed at an Occupy Wall Street Poetry Collective meeting several weeks ago, will be held on January 13, 2012 in solidarity with the Occupy movement. This date happens to be a Friday the 13th as well as just a few days prior to OWS’s four-month birthday!
So, I'm producing this pilot series for Pacifica Radio Network, called "Occupy Pacifica" (info on that below). Three shows to start. #1 is now up and available for streaming or as a podcast on occupypacifica.org. The site is just a stub site, and will be developed further as we go (and as funding becomes available. IF it becomes available. I think its a pretty interesting show.
-Mark [Read]
Dear Programmers, and Listeners,
The Occupy Pacifica website is now up, and the first show is available as a podcast. Please share it with your friends. http://occupypacifica.org/
We are continuing to work on the site, which we hope will become a resource for news and information from around the country as this grassroots movement grows and evolves.
THE NEXT SHOW WILL BE BROADCAST ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 29th. December 29th- "The Culture of Resistance." What are the cultural commonalities amongst various #occupations, and what are the differences? How does culture impact the political aspirations and identity of a community? How open and accessible is the culture of #occupy? How can art and culture be used to "redistribute the sensible" and prepare the ground for radical change? Learn about the culture of #occupy in this second episode of #Occupy Pacifica.
So several people have expressed interest in helping out with Occupy The Holidays which is performing this weekend. We can DEFINITELY USE YOU. Here's how:
BUILDING If you want to help build come to 20 jay street suite 214 anytime after 1pm! Ask for Jo Robin or Joe
PERFORMERS We finally have a schedule and if you can make these times, then come down to rehearsal tomorrow night (friday) at 6:30 pm at 10 jay st suite 903 and we will figure out how to use you.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Sat 12/17 10am performance at the People's Performance Plaza (50th and broadway where occupy broadway happened) 1ish performance at Duarte Square (depending on what the scene is like... we might move to the alternate occupation site) somehwere around 3ish we will attempt to perform in Zucotti....
Sun 12/18 10 am washing ton heights (location will be available at rehearsal) 11:30 harlem (locations will be available at rehearsakl) 1:30 Thompkins Square Park Then we will go to the awesome OWS event in Williamsburg to finish the day off
Mon 12/19 5pm Battery park 530 somewhere very close by....
If you can come to most of these performances, we can still use you probably! come to rehearsal on friday night and we will figure it out.
Also: We do not expect to be arrested, and are not asking you to be arrested -but of course with unperfmitted performances and the insane nature of the nypd, you just never know....
Occupy Theory has been manifested as a new theory publication tidal. It’s fantastic! The first issue even includes an essay by Judith Butler. You can read it all for free online by going here. Or, at the very least read the first article “Communique 1“. It’s a feast and feat of language and pretty much says it all! The People’s Library loves the geniuses behind tidal! And they’re looking for work for future issues so sit down and start theorizing! Occupy Wall St is your movement!
Arts & Labor is a working group founded in conjunction with the New York General Assembly for Occupy Wall Street. We are artists and interns, writers and educators, art handlers and designers, administrators, curators, assistants, and students. We are all art workers and members of the 99%. Arts & Labor is dedicated to exposing and rectifying economic inequalities and exploitative working conditions in our fields through direct action and educational initiatives. By forging coalitions, fighting for fair labor practices, and re-imagining the structures and institutions that frame our work, Arts & Labor aims to achieve parity for every member of the 99%
Arts & Labor Informal Discussion: Thinking Through Collectivity
When: Friday, December 16th, 7:30-9PM
Where: H.E.N.S. (Hanns Eisler Nail Salon Gallery/Solidarity Center)
Southwest Corner of Bergen and 3rd Avenue
Directions: H.E.N.S. is located 3 blocks from the 2,3,4,5,B,Q,D,M,N,R stop at Atlantic/Pacific Ave. or 4 blocks from the A,C,G train to Hoyt/Schermerhorn. (It is a gallery with glass windows).
PLEASE JOIN ARTS & LABOR FOR AN OPEN, UNSTRUCTURED DISCUSSION at 7:30PM:
What are the challenges of maintaining one’s place in the “real world” vs. striving for the utopian goals of OWS?
What are the challenges of maintaining the concerns of the singular/particularistic within the framework of the collective embodied in the GA model?
How is curatorial practice implicated in perpetuating the 1%?
Is the notion of “singular authorship” incompatible with a notion of a politically engaged art activism?
What is the “turning point” at which an artist leaves their studio practice and makes activism their main focus? Is this a false dichotomy? Can studio practice ever be activism? Have we all reached that turning point?
Is it necessary to share our personal histories in order to effectively organize together? How do we define efficacity, and is that our highest goal?
OWS Temporality: because time moves so fast within the landscape of OWS, and within the space of a week an entirely new situation on the ground may transpire, how does this effect our process and thinking within OWS?
The above is but a provisional sampling. To see the full list of questions compiled by Arts and Labor Members, join our discussion list at ows-arts-and-labor@googlegroups.com!
After the informal discussion, join us for a potluck and Holiday Party from 9 to 12AM as we make banners and signs for D17!
Art heeds the clarion call of the Occupy Wall Street movement at the AC Institute. This special show of posters is dedicated to the spirit evinced by the patriots at Liberty Square. Original, commissioned artwork will be shown beside authentic posters from the protest and will be on view for one week.
In addition to an opening there will be a poetry reading and talk with the curators, Bob Holman and Savitri D on Thursday, December 15 at 6:30pm.
The artists will then take their artwork to Liberty Square to demonstrate on Saturday, December 17, leaving the gallery at 1pm. This effort will be made into a film.
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 12:44PM 
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