Angelika Rinnhofer - Felsenfest
Will Walker will be participating in the Last Supper Festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Sept 30:The Last Supper Film Festival is an indoor/outdoor film, food, music, and art festival taking place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during the cruxt of seasonal change on September 30th. Referencing the celebratory nature of the feast, the film festival kindles the creative miasma sparked by New York's peppery fall, and inventive chutzpah embodied in the interaction of disciplines.
13 short films (served with proselyte dishes of culinary arts), along with 13 art works from emerging artists will be displayed at Supreme Trading Gallery II (Back space) on Saturday September 30. 4 Bands: Majestic Rest, Dorie Vance, Exeter Popes, Yah Supreme and 3 DJs: Devin Devaux, Seek Ten, Ted Shred will grace downtime with sonorous skill. A benefit of motley nature, the Last Supper seeks to expose the diverse dialogue between artist/performer/director and audience. Prizes awarded for Forbidden Fruit Bobbing.
Saturday, September 30th, 2006
8pm-12am Sharp
The Last Supper Film.Art.Music.Food Fest
Supreme Trading Williamsburg, Brooklyn
North 8th b/w Driggs + Roebling
L train to Bedford$5 cover includes first come first served food, films, art, music, bobbing13 Films: Geoff Bailey, Arun Chaudhary, Irina Danilova, Fulana, Nick Golbeiski, Happy Hour Trio, Matthew Lambert, David Lachman, Victor Lytninenko, Elliott Montgomery, Mirko Rucnov, Kiel Scott, Matthew Thomas
13 Artists: Devin Deveaux, Sara Dierck, Mikel Jason, Kevin Kedroe, Chris Eckert, Toni Ishikawa, Seth Mathurin, Coralina Meyer, Mike Quinn, RoMa Steel, Will Walker, Justin Worsdale, Annie Wienmeier
13 Dishes including Sacrificial Lamb roast on the outdoor spit provided by Culinarians Brooke Errett & Company
4 Bands: Majestic Rest, Dorie Vance, Exeter Popes, Yah Supreme
3 DJs: Devin Deveaux, Ted Shred, SeekTen
1 Projection: TV Carnage
Volunteer opportunities, Advertising, Questions, Comments, Submissions contact: lambastic@gmail.com
More information on the Last Supper Fest may be decifered here.
The Delaware & Hudson CANVAS was born due to my attendance at the Orange County Citizens Foundation 2004 Focus Groups for our cultural needs assessments . We started the paper as a direct result of that participation and based our plans on the results of that study. We feel it is your paper, your voice, and we know many of your feel the same way. I believe we have been extremely successful. But....
After two years of publications, the D&H CANVAS can no longer exist in its present manner. Changes need to be made.
We can no longer print everyone's press releases within our 24, 28 or 32 page issues. We need to expand the newspaper to 52 pages so that we can service all of you and your events & exhibits with our multiple calendar listings and the feature stories that you asked for at the focus sessions. (We have not been able to get the necessary advertising support of the non-arts business community in any of the three counties we cover which would have automatically enabled us to expand.)
We at CANVAS believe we know how you can help. We need to know how you think WE at CANVAS should proceed.
We are holding a Focus group on Tuesday, September 26 at 2:00 pm at the Orange County Citizens Foundation on White Oak Drive in Sugar Loaf. We hope you can attend and participate.
If you respond to me at bp@DHcanvas.com that you can attend, I will forward you a short list of items to be discussed.
If you cannot attend, please do email me at bp@DHcanvas.com to let me know. I wish to then forward you a short survey to respond to and email back to me.
Thank you.
A FULL NELSON FOR THE ARTS
9/20/06 Dear Friends:
The recent controversy over Elia Gurna’s flag, “I Hear America Singing,” and its display in the window of the Howland Public Library in Beacon brings to the fore some profoundly disturbing issues. Not only did the controversy result in the removal of the flag from the library, but transformed this unthreatening artwork into an object of scorn that some would have banned from any kind of public view. Opinions have been heatedly expressed on both sides of the issue and, certainly, these points have been well taken. But, just as personal opinions enjoy the freedom of a public forum in this country, so do art and its open discourse with the general public.
Some Beaconites, however, apparently do not share that view, and suggest through their actions that any artwork that does not align with their personal opinions must be removed from their sight, and from that of those who may potentially take issue with that artwork. What’s more, several locals, I am shocked and ashamed to report, would take illegal action against those who display art that is not to their liking. It has come to my attention that certain unnamed individuals had been allegedly conspiring to smash the windows of Go North gallery on Main Street in Beacon, where the flag in question was briefly displayed as part of the Windows on Main Street project. The flag has now been taken down, so the object of scorn is out of sight. But one has to wonder whether these individuals even took the trouble to find out what Elia Gurna’s flag is all about. It was called a desecration of our national flag by some, an insult to patriotic Americans by others—yet the meaning of Ms. Gurna’s flag has always been clear. The artist’s statement has been accessible to the public all along, and mentions nothing about desecration of any flag, US or otherwise. It does, however, talk about very patriotic things like hope, growth, and the beauty of honest labor. How did Ms. Gurna’s flag become so monstrously misunderstood?
Lots of miscommunication and muddled thinking has led to the demonization of a piece of art that never intended to offend anyone. Certain famous artworks have gotten a bad rap, mainly due to narrow-mindedness, media spin, and political machinations; some art cannot help but provoke controversy. And so what? What’s so terrible about a work that stirs your blood, makes you think, leads to discussion, and perhaps broadens your horizons? Last time I checked, we still live in a country where the display of art and the discourse it engenders can freely take place. Our laws guarantee it, because many brave people took risks and made sacrifices for that right. To silence even one individual, in this case an artist and her work, is to set a very menacing precedent. Censorship puts a headlock on freedom because it lets a few individuals think for the rest of us. Beacon is better than that—far better—as demonstrated by its remarkable renaissance, integrally supported by the arts. Let no one or nothing here be bullied, including the arts. Do not allow censorship in Beacon—it’s un-American.
Sincerely,
Gregory L. Slick
Co-director
Go North gallery
Dear friends and fellow artists,-Karlos Carcamo
This should be of concern to all of us as residents of Beacon and citizens of this country. As many of you are aware there was controversy about an artwork that hung at the Howland Public Library as part of the "Windows on Main Street" event this past month. The piece in question was Elia Gurna's "I hear America Singing" A piece based on and inspired by Walt Witman's poem of the same title. The piece in question was a replica of an American Flag made of translucent vinyl using pink and green colors. It was accompanied by a CD player with a recording of Walt Witman's poem.
The veterans in Beacon protested the piece, demanding that it be taken down. In their view it was "un-American" and "disrespectful" to those who fought and died for the values the flag represents and a slap to the face of every veteran. According to the veterans the intention of the piece does not matter. No one has the right to alter the flag in any way shape or form because it is a national sacred symbol. Elia's piece is homage to Walt Whitman and to America's working class. I've attached Elia's Statement for all to read. In any case, the Howland Public Library voted to remove the piece before the end of the Windows event.
That same day we decided to install the piece at Go North Gallery so that it could finish the run of the Windows on Main Street exhibition. While the piece was on view at the gallery individuals have routinely walked by making gestures and hurling insults. Now, it has come to my attention that certain unnamed individuals were planning on "smashing" the window of Go North Gallery and ripping Elia's piece to pieces. Also, there have been inquires into my own ethnicity by unnamed individuals wondering if I was of Middle Eastern descent. It angers me that these thugs have the nerve to say that they believe in the very values the flag symbolizes yet they go against the same rights the flag represents. They practice the same tactics that dictators in all repressive regimes use which are, violence, intimidation, racism and censorship.
They continue to use the word "Freedom" back and forth in the Beacon Free Press yet they deny an artist the freedom of self expression protected by the constitution which they all fought for. They claim ownership over a flag that does not belong to them but to every single individual citizen of this country. I refuse to stand by silent while they continue their crusade against our right as free citizens to voice our opinions and to watch the values we hold dear erode because of ignorance. Greg and I are starting a writing campaign to get the word out on what is happening in the community. So far the only voice I have heard in the press in Beacon is that of the veterans. We as a growing art community need to rally together and show them that there are other voices.
I hope you can join me in writing letters to the Beacon Free Press, Beacon Dispatch, and Poughkeepsie Journal, and any other news organization we can think of. I also want to send letters to the American Legion, Knights of Columbus, Veterans of foreign wars, Beacon City Hall, and Howland Public Library. You can get the address for these organizations from beaconcityhall.org website. I will be sending another e-mail to anyone interested with a page from the Constitution that spells out what our rights are. You will be able to download this so that it can be printed out. Please mail five copies of this page to the American Legion as a reminder to the veterans of what our rights as free citizens are.
Anyone interested in brainstorming ideas for other ways of getting our voice heard please contact me. We are also planning a couple of other T-shirt projects. One is "No Censorship in Beacon". We want to get the point across to the veterans and the community that there are other more important issues affecting Beacon. If the veterans need to be angry about something, it should be the drugs that are being sold right outside their own doorstep. They shouldn't be threatening our individual freedoms and decide for us what we should say, think, or believe in. We live in a democracy not a dictatorship.
Best regards to all,
Co-Director
Go North Gallery - A Space for Contemporary Art
Postcard sized work at Go North.
Elia Gurna's "I Hear America Singing" found a home at Go North to complete the duration of the Windows on Main St project after the Library Board voted for its removal from the library.
On Sunday, I ran to the opening reception for the exhibit curated by Daniel Fuller "Only the Paranoid Survive." The Peekskill Project opened this weekend and there's a lot to take in.
If you're heading to Peekskill in the near future, here are some upcoming P.P. events:
Saturday, Sept. 23, noon: A meditation mediation event at RiverFront Green.
Sunday, Oct. 1, 4pm: Roundtable discussion, "Here, There, Everywhere: Peekskill Project 2004-2006." A discussion with participating artists looking back at past and current Peekskill Projects moderated by Ingrid Chu. Reception to follow.
Saturday, Oct 7:
1pm: Shaun El C. Leonardo "Self Portrait Icon: Retrato Iconico Individual" Starting at Riverfront Green and ending at HVCCA.
12-4pm: Elsie Green gives a presentation and workshop on making Zines at HVCCA.
Event info will be updated at the HVCCA website this week.
Tony Moore is sizing up Harald Plochberger's choice of material at the opening of bau 21.
Kathy Feighery will be at the opening of her recent work at Van Brunt Gallery. Also showing, are Susan English and Jane Bloodgood Abrams.
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics—each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat—the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench—the hatter singing as he stands;
The wood-cutter’s song—the ploughboy’s, on his way in the morning, or at the noon intermission, or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother—or of the young wife at work—or of the girl sewing or washing—Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day—At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.
Elia Gurna
I hear America singing
A Piece based on and inspired by Walt Whitman’s poem of the same title
I chose to make a piece at the library because it is a public institution dedicated to the betterment of its community and because literature often inspires my work. I believe that all art, like literature, should be for everyone, not just the people that can afford to pay for it.
I hear America singing is an idealistic piece about hope in America for America. I chose Walt Whitman’s poem because it is homage to the working class. To me it serves as a reminder to preserve the public good (like the library!), at a time when the notion of the public good is being redefined by corporate and consumer interests. The piece is also about imagining and remembering an idealism that to me is specifically American – it calls to mind a vision of productivity and hard work towards a common constructive goal.
I chose to make a pink and green replica of the flag to accompany my recording and musical adaptation of the poem, because I mourn the America that Walt Whitman describes – that idealistic America with its belief in hard work towards a public good, and because I wanted to reimagine the flag. The traditional red white and blue is probably the most abused emblem that exists. It adorns chewing gum packets and signs announcing sales for corporate chain stores. It is my view that it has become a symbol used to promote unchecked capitalism and imperialist war.
I chose pink and green because they are lively colors of growth. I made the flag out of vinyl so that it would not block the light to the reference room and because I wanted passers by to see themselves reflected in it, to be a part of the piece and to consider the meaning of this emblem that is all over Main Street.
Sewing this flag is my gesture of hope, reminding myself that the first flag was sewn (by a woman!) as the symbol for a revolution from oppressive conditions, and that Walt Whitman’s (and in turn my own) idealism and love for the country should not be considered cynically or nostalgically, but are useful and most necessary today.
August 2006
Dakin Roy, Untitled 8/200d. cotton fabric, fishing line, sisal, metal gears
The suspended bells in the foreground are part of a piece by Nancy Bauch. 
photos by Linda Stewart
