Making 'Of Lamb' on display at Real Art Ways through December 11th
December tends to be a whirlwind of activity, between festive events, office parties, and the gatherings for family and friends. Here are just a few of December’s open-to-the-public highlights:
December 1, 2011
December 1st is World AIDS Day, which means it is also The Day With(out) Art. Real Art Ways will be participating by screening Untitledall day. This is free. While there, check out the “Making ‘Of Lamb’” exhibit.
Poster Boy’s work will be displayed in a local gallery after all.
Last month, Trinity College postponed the solo exhibit after Poster Boy’s art was already set up in the gallery. Before heading back to New York, the artist altered two billboards in the Parkville neighborhood, where the public could view the work in spite of the canceled/postponed show.
Poster Boy’s Street Alchemy 2.0 exhibition of altered billboards will open on October 20th at Real Art Ways, an arts center which has a history of supporting controversial and censored art. Last December, after the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery bowed to pressure and removed video art by David Wojnarowicz, Real Art Ways displayed the disputed artwork here in Hartford.
The opening reception for Street Alchemy 2.0 will take place during Real Art Ways’ Creative Cocktail Hour from 6-8pm on October 20th. There is an admission fee for the opening event, but entrance to the exhibit is free other times. The work will be on display through January 20, 2012. Real Art Ways is located at 56 Arbor Street.
Last chance to catch a performance of Hunger at Real Art Ways! The Bated Breath Theatre Company production is brilliant and uncomfortable, with wine, food, and audience participation. There is a showing this evening at 8pm and one on Sunday at 3pm. This event is not for children.
Below the now removed Poster Boy exhibit in Parkville, chicken remains were scattered along the railroad tracks. Some were wrapped in clothing, others in plastic bags, and others still just tossed on the ground without a care. Continue reading 'Scenes from the Sidewalk: Installment 28'»
While most Connecticutians were navigating the crowded grocery stores, topping off their gas-guzzlers, or filling their bathtubs with water early on that Saturday morning in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, others set out for a bicycle education class arranged specifically for members of the media. Given that I typically walk or bike to events that I cover when wearing my media hat, I thought it appropriate to attend.
Real Art Ways hosted the event, which was coordinated and taught by Bike Walk Connecticut instructors who received certification from the League of American Bicyclists. Coffee and bagels made the dreary morning more manageable as we settled in for a video that demonstrated street cycling techniques. This was followed by a Powerpoint presentation mainly concerned with “taking the lane,” something that new road cyclists tend to not know they can do, not understand the best way to do so, or are completely terrified of trying. The main point of this lesson: bicyclists should behave like motorists in terms of which lanes to use. Making a left turn? Get in the left turn lane.
For me, a lot of this was review, so I asked questions about more complicated maneuvers. I envisioned how I might run errands in the West Farms sprawl region and asked what apparently amounts to survival techniques. Continue reading 'Schooled on the Street'»
Instead, Poster Boy’s art shared a space with yet-t0-be-altered canvas; the exhibit was also moved outdoors. This unsanctioned display on Hamilton Street (by the railroad tracks) is what audiences will have to settle for if they did not manage to see the show that was completely set up last week and then removed from the gallery at Trinity College this morning. The new display featuring two altered billboards was created last night; it does not include the works intended for the exhibit at Trinity College.
When I spoke with the artist, he said that officials at the college dubbed the show “postponed until further notice.” Poster Boy, however, called it censorship. Initially, when the solo exhibit was arranged, nobody there expressed concerns about the nature of the work: billboards that had been altered and then removed. Apparently no one did a quick search of the Internet until late last week to learn about Poster Boy and what is involved in modifying advertisements. He is known for his work on ads and signs within the New York subway system.
Given the amount of appropriation that occurs in modern and contemporary art, cracking down on this particular exhibit seems surprising. Artists like Andy Warhol, Banksy, and Shepard Fairey are known for practicing various types of appropriation. The billboard above, altered by Poster Boy, was inspired by L.H.O.O.Q by Marcel Duchamp. The work — a readymade — by Duchamp features the addition of facial hair to the Mona Lisa. Poster Boy’s rendition makes the Mona Lisa into what the billboard already suggests passersby do, but adds letters meant to be read aloud in English; the Duchamp version, intended to be read aloud in French, is a raunchy pun.
Altered billboard by Poster Boy on Hamilton Street in Hartford
The recent totally-unscientific-but-fun poll told me a few things: nobody buys all groceries from one vendor, Whole Foods is very popular, and people want food to be local and fresh. While digesting this data, I visited four stores in Hartford to see which ones most closely met your criteria of the ideal store; I looked at other aspects, including whether or not I could reasonably shop for basic food and household items. I looked at the two most popular grocery stores in the city, along with two that fewer people shopped at. Continue reading 'A Tale of Four Markets'»
Meklit Hadero — born in Ethiopia, raised in the United States and now living in San Francisco — played in the theater of Real Art Ways on Wednesday evening. She was joined by Darrell Green on drums, Darren Johnston on trumpet, and Evan Flory-Barnes on bass.
Her style does not fit neatly into a single category, though jazz was certainly present. Her voice brings to mind Regina Spektor, Phoebe Snow, Joss Stone, and maybe India Arie.
The Guerrilla Girls‘ work might never be done. The activist group — which is featured in the film !Women Art Revolution — began in the 1980s after observing that an exhibit intended to highlight all of the major contemporary artworks actually excluded women; 13 of the 169 artists in this exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York were women. In 2007 — two decades after the Guerrilla Girls began their work — they created a poster which counters the commonly held belief that everything is copacetic today. On it are the names of several major museums which, at the time, favored work by male and white artists. The National Gallery of Art was described as displaying work by men 98% of the time, and work by white artists 99.9% of the time!
!Women Art Revolution provides footage of female artists since the 1960s.
The film opens this Friday at Real Art Ways and runs through June 30th.
Not fatigued yet by all these development meetings? Here are four more to add to your schedule then:
June 22: Handel Performing Arts Center on the corner of Albany Avenue and Westbourne Parkway will host the discussion pertaining to Asylum Hill, Blue Hills, Parkville, and the West End.
June 23: Metzner Recreation Center at 680 Franklin Avenue. This meeting is for the Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, South End, and Southwest neighborhoods.
June 27: Hartford Public Library will host the meeting for Downtown, Frog Hollow, Sheldon/Charter Oak, and South Green.
June 29: Parker Community Center at 2621 Main Street will host meeting for Clay Arsenal, Northeast, and Upper Albany neighborhoods.
The meetings about Livable & Sustainable Neighborhoods are described as opportunities for the public to learn about how the One City One Plan projects are being implemented. Literature sent from the City of Hartford says this will pertain to “infrastructure, community development, and anti-blight projects” happening “over the next two years.” A press release from the City indicates that this is part of the One City, One Plan. The One City, One Plan — the Plan of Conservation and Development through 2020 — was developed after receiving input from NRZs and the public. The projects vary from neighborhood-to-neighborhood. All of these meetings run from 6-7:30pm.
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