October 2009
Is anyone else practicing their karaoke chops in the mirror, getting ready for Brian Raftery’s Festival performance on Friday, November 6? Cause I sure am, especially after watching this video of him singing Led Zeppelin’s Good Times, Bad Times at one of his book release parties. Of course, having a REALLY loud band helps anybody’s singing, and we won’t have that advantage, but he does seem to be a force to reckon with. So, get your tickets now, and practice, practice, practice, because after his presentation, Philly’s karaoke queen, Sara Sherr, is going to break out the ol’ karaoke machine for all of us to sing along!
They wear awesome costumes, even when its not Halloween. They are the Yes Men, joined by a group of activists who work to make climate justice a priority. They are my heroes, enough said. Take a look for yourself at their newest videos.
The ‘Peter Pans’ of politics, these two men meddle with corporations to raise awareness about corporate injustice, especially in relation to global warming.
Yesterday, a news source ran an article about the alleged hoax involving the Chamber of Commerce and the Yes Men. This wiley pair seems to have leaked a press release announcing that The Chamber of Commerce has changed its mind and decided to address the global warming crisis, when in fact this is far from the truth. Right from the get go, evidence pointed towards our favorite rebels, the Yes Men, and they finally did admit to the hoax. The details are scarce, but you can read about it here. Better yet, you can check out the video below – or, even better, you can ask them about in person it at the First Person Festival, when they appear live on November 5!
Here’s the video of the event, poking fun at the government’s response to global warming. It’s nothing short of hilarious. (The audio starts out a little low, so you may have to turn up your speakers):
Charlene Kwon tells it like it is. No secrets. “Hey Mom I Told My Therapist About You”, she announces on the cover of her graphic novel. (I must admit, this made things a little easier for me. I just sent a copy to my mother and let the book do the announcing for me…my therapist was not pleased.) I’ll be the first to confess that I do judge books by their cover, and that Charlene Kwon’s cover caught my attention right away. Immediately hooked, I couldn’t help but flip through the pages. This is more like a treasure trove than a book. Every page is filled with something new: photographs, cards, drawings, text and handwritten notes, and just about anything else you can put on a page. Take a look for yourself at our Salon tomorrow. It’s the last of the season, so don’t miss it!
SALON
7:30 – 9:30 pm (doors at 7:00) on Wednesday, October 14th
Philadelphia Arts Bank: 601 South Broad Street
ADVANCE PURCHASE OF TICKETS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
Everyone knows the best things in life are mixed: mixed drinks, mix tapes, mixed berry pie, Chex mix, etc. So this Wednesday night don’t miss your opportunity to mix things up.
From 7:30 to 9:30 pm First Person Arts is bringing you a mix of outstanding artists. Our recipe for a fantastic evening is pretty simple: combine four artists: one muralist, one performer, one writer, and one photographer, add an audience and voilá! You have an exhilarating evening of art.
Each of our artists bring something different to the table. Willis Humphrey spends his time creating incredible murals all over Philadelphia. Charlene Kwon has written a memoir about her mother’s mysterious disappearance that combines graphic art and prose. Betsy Herbert, an improv actress, shares her short stories with us. And last but not least, RA Friedman will be talking about Tsirkus Fotografika a non-profit public arts project that infuses communities with creativity. He creates his art using obscure photographic methods to capture his intriguing images. And he has a projector named Boris. Need I say more?
The synopsis:
WHO: Four amazing artists and First Person fans.
WHAT: a showcasing and discussion of memoir/documentary-based art
WHERE: 601 S. Broad Street at the Philadelphia Arts Bank.
WHY: art is good for you
WHEN: 7:30 to 9:30 on Wednesday October 14th (doors at 7:00)
ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producerevent/55122?prod_id=5528
The finished mural
The Welcome House in Love Park
Work in Center City Philly? Check out Love Park tonight! It’s Design Philadelphia’s opening night celebration of the First Person Arts Welcome House! Come to Love Park between 7 and 10 for the Festivities: funky Broadzilla DJ’s…an amazing art installation…beer and wine…what more could you ask for? Check out the uwishuknew post HERE for more details!
Pedro Ospina opening art supplies for the children.
It is a rare moment when an entire class of five-year olds looks up and listens with intent, awed expressions. This was the scene outside of the Welcome House this morning as artists Betsy Casanas and Pedro Ospina began to explain their project to the children of CHAD, the Charter School for Architecture and Design. It’s no surprise that the children were so enraptured. They will be creating the art alongside the artists. The plan is to create art that reflects the people of Love Park through multimedia installations using sculpture, drawing, and text.
Its only day three of the Welcome House, and the evolution is already beginning. Its hard to imagine that just yesterday the house was an interpretive dance studio for Nicole Bindler & Liza Clark, who spent the day moving in reaction to what they saw and felt. Even before that, the inside of the cube was covered with transparent velum sheets which artist Anna Moblard Meier divided into squares, filling each one with a different portrait of the people and things she saw in the park. Today the evolution continues, bringing in more people to interact with the art, and transforming Love Park.
Make sure to take a look at the Welcome House each day, and become a part of the transformation.
The Welcome House on Tuesday October 6th
For some of us, “extreme walking” is going ten blocks in the city without a cup of coffee. For others like Todd Carmichael, it’s walking across Antarctica. Impressed? So were we, and so was the Philadelphia Inquirer. Just yesterday they wrote a brief story about his spectacular feats.
It seems that most people know Todd Carmichael as the founder of La Colombe Coffee, a renowned coffee shop and coffee supplier based in Philadelphia; but to us, he is a man of extremes. When he’s not working on his successful business, he can be found trekking across the globe in attempts to conquer ‘the last of the geographical challenges.’
Those of us who want to know a little more about the man behind the mission are in luck. Todd is giving a presentation all about his adventures on Friday, November 6th at the Painted Bride as part of our very own First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art. His stories reflect over a decade of self-sufficient travel and a passion for social and ecological causes.
Or, if you are like some of us less adventurous types who debate the pros and cons of getting up off the couch for some Ben and Jerrys (pro: ice cream, con: getting up,) you can read the article online. Just click here.
If you stroll through Love Park this Sunday and find yourself stumbling upon
a giant glass box with an artist inside, don’t be alarmed. (The artists are
not trapped, and they can breathe.) This is actually an
extraordinary art exhibition, presented by First Person Arts in
collaboration with InLiquid and conceived and curated with Marianne
Bernstein.
The concept goes beyond the idea of a simple exhibition. It is a residence
for artists by day and an installation by night.. The Welcome House is also
a truly interactive project, allowing artists and the public to connect
through art. To get a better sense of the concept behind the project I
interviewed Vicki Solot, founder and executive director of First Person
Arts.
To understand the exhibit you must first know a little bit about First
Person Arts. “Part of our mission statement is to transform the drama of
life into art. That ranges from peoples’ every day experiences to life’s
historic events,” says Vicki. “So here [at the Welcome House] artists are
going to be transforming the interactions of life in a public park into
artwork. I see the Welcome House as a public engagement project that is
designed to give artists and the public a way to engage directly in a making
art.”
Every day for ten days a different artist will be living and working in the
Welcome House, engaging the public in their artwork. The public’s
interactions with the artist will define the work they create. There is
something for everyone here: a private DJ, a woman who is knitting herself
into a cocoon, and silkscreen silhouettes of the crowd. Folks can bring their
favorite objects to the cube to be drawn, (and get to keep a copy of the
drawing!) To top it off, during the whole process, a group of filmmakers
will be creating videos of the art and interactions, which will be projected
onto the Welcome House at night.
For more details, make sure to take a look at the list of artists on the
First Person Arts webpage.
Although the Welcome House itself is new, for the past three years First
Person Arts has been creating public engagement projects to kick off the
annual First Person Festival. Two years ago they created a “story tour,”
using a van to travel throughout the city collecting people’s stories. Last
year they created a complaint choir of seventy community members, who sang
Philadelphians’ complaints throughout the city. These projects have been tremendously
successful in engaging everyday people in making first person art.
The concept of a house was particularly relevant this year. “In light of the
housing crisis we were especially interested in something that would tie
into the idea of shelter and home and homelessness. We wanted something that
would resonate with the times,” said Vicki Solot. In many ways the Welcome
House turned out to be a much more joyous celebration of the idea of ‘home.’
“It says something about how we create a sense of home wherever we are.”
It really opens up a space for individuals to become a part of the art, and to
analyze how we interact with each other to create a sense of home.
Details:
The exhibit runs for ten days (October 4th 13th) in Love Park. After that, the art
that is created there will be exhibited in the Painted Bride Gallery, 230 Vine Street,
starting on the first day of the First Person Festival (which is November 3rd in case
you forgot.)
In a nutshell:
This is something you won’t want to miss. It’s a chance to be a part of the life of the city,
its art and its people. See you there!
