BrushFire – Provisions Public Arts
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out.” Arundhati Roy
BrushFire is an arts initiative showcasing key contemporary artists whose public projects engage crucial social issues such as immigration, the war in Iraq, food, sustainable energy, housing, the electoral process, the economy, health, and the environment. Taking place in highly visible public settings such as state fairs, urban centers, public parks and highly trafficked recreational areas around the United States, BrushFire aims to enrich the environment for public discussion about the value of democracy in the crucial run-up to national elections in November, 2008.
BrushFire is a Provisions Public Art program with support from CrossCurrents Foundation.
PROVISIONS LEARNING PROJECT
1611 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-299-0460
WWW.PROVISIONSLIBRARY.ORG
Mountaintop Removal – The Beehive Collective
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The Beehive Collective will collaborate with activists and artists in Appalachian communities to create a complex, large-scale banner about Mountaintop Removal (MTR). MTR is an extreme form of surface mining that involves absolute physical destruction of the summit ridge of mountains. It is undermining the life-sustaining capacity of the most biodiverse temperate forests in the world, and is ardently opposed by local residents and environmental activists, drawing upon the region’s rich history of labor organizing and cross-generational storytelling to mobilize against the practice. The final banner will be widely exhibited in public spaces.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
A collective of educators, illustrators, and researchers, the Bees function as word-to-image translators of complex stories of global destruction and resistance. Using plants, animals, and ecological metaphors as the basis for storytelling about crucial issues, the collective creates anti-copyright images that emphasize the interconnectedness of economies, the natural world in crisis, and social justice struggles. The collective was established in 2000 in rural Washington County, Maine.
http://www.beehivecollective.org/
The Floating Museum – The Floating Lab Collective
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The goal of the project is to create a mobile museum that travels to various public sites located in the periphery of metropolitan areas, such as day labor sites, strip malls and community centers. This nomadic museum will be a platform for diverse immigrant populations to explore issues of personal and social identity and reveal new modes of creative expression. The Floating Museum will focus on immigrant communities normally excluded from, or those that don’t typically participate directly in, mainstream cultural institutions.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
The Floating Lab Collective is a group of artists working collectively on public art and media projects. Its goal is to bring the arts into everyday public life and to stimulate engagement about contemporary art and social issues.
Floating Lab founder Edgar Endress was born in Chile and his work has been shown internationally at the MoMA, Contemporary Arts Museum of Cartagena, New England Film and Video Festival, Boston Fine Arts Museum, New York Video Festival, and Lincoln Center. He teaches at George Mason University.
http://www.floatinglabcollective.org/
Energy Plans – Futurefarmers
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Futurefarmers will visit four cities and raise a temporary tent in a public park where the general public will be invited to engage in conversation with invited scientists about future forms of energy. Conversations in each city will be videotaped and edited for web-casting.
In cooperation with the Union of Concerned Scientists, two scientists willing to converse with members of the public will be enlisted for each city.
Special posters will be produced encouraging public participation.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Futurefarmers investigates social issues through participatory art projects. Their uniquely evocative visual style and fresh approaches have attracted international acclaim. They are well known as innovators in graphic design as well as new media art and have exhibited internationally at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, MoMA, ZKM in Germany and the Whitney Biennale. They have received the Webby and Transmediale awards.
The State of Things – Ligorano/Reese
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese will make an ice sculpture of the word “Democracy” and present it in highly visible locations at the Republican and Democratic Conventions. People, including news media, candidates and conventioneers will be invited to use the sculpture as a backdrop for dialogue about the nature of democracy. Responses to the sculpture will be videotaped.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Ligorano/Reese have collaborated since the early 80’s on art projects about patriotism, hidden agendas, and perversions of the legislative process. In 2001, they launched an online retail website for their infamous political art series. Ligorano/Reese have exhibited at the New York Public Library, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum fur Angewandte Kunst (MAK) in Frankfurt, Germany, MIT MediaLab, Museum of Arts & Design, the Neuberger Museum of Art and The Kitchen.
Entries