See Saw

STAY TUNED FOR THESE GREAT NEW EXHIBITS

Some of these artists I've already posted about, some not. I'm so excited about the lineup of shows at PSAW. Even though times are tough, and businesses are tumbling like dominoes in an earthquake, we here at Pine Street Art Works (and Atelier Tove) are determined to keep going and thriving.

APRIL - TIM MATSON/ PILOBOLUS

Tim Matson photo of Pilobolus. Dance called Untitled.copyright 1978. Used by permission of the artist.

The dance troupe Pilobolous began in 1970 at Dartmouth College. Tim Matson began photographing them early in their career, and, in conjunction with a Pilobolus April 11th performance at Burlington's Flynn Theater, PSAW will exhibit a dozen or so of Matson's original prints. Matson's book of Photographs, Pilobolus, was published by Random House in1978 and is still available through used book dealers.

MAY OR JUNE - DAVID POWELL

Plattsburgh NY/ Burlington VT artist/educator David Powell will show his collages and prints at a date to be announced. I've been a fan of David's for a few years. He had a show last year at Burlington's Fleming Museum which was super.

Into the Future. David Powell. Copyright 2000. Digital print mounted on Wood Panel. Used by permission

AUGUST - ALIINE SMITHSON

Aline has been winning awards and grants left and right, and I'm happy to say I knew her when. She will be exhibiting here in August.

 

Aline Smithson. Arrangement in Green and Black. Portrait Of The Photographer's Mother. Copyright Aline Smithson. Used by Permission

SEPTEMBER - TMNK - THE ME NOBODY KNOWS

I've blogged a lot about TMNK, but here's another image and a reminder that this amazing NYC street artist will be here on Sept 11th for the Burlington South End Art Hop. 

  

TMNK-The Me Nobody Knows. Copyright 2009. Used by Permission.

APRIL 2010 -CAROL GOLEMBOSKI

 

How To Read The Hand. Copyright Carol Golomboski. Used by Permission

"Psychometry is a series of black and white photographs exploring issues relating to anxiety, loss, and existential doubt. The term refers to the pseudo-science of "object reading," the purported psychic ability to divine the history of objects through physical contact. Like amateur psychometrists, viewers are invited to interpret arrangements of tarnished and weathered objects, relying on the talismanic powers inherent in the vestiges of human presence. These images suggest a world in which ordinary belongings transcend their material nature to evoke the elusive presence of the past. 

Copyright Carol Golomboski. Used by Permission

Through an examination of fortune-telling and clairvoyance, many of the images confront the desperate human desire to know the unknowable, historically referencing the Victorian interest in spiritualism as well as the look of the nineteenth century photographic image. Illegible text and arcane symbols in pictures with themes like palm reading, tea leaf reading, and numerology force the viewer to consider man's insatiable need to anticipate his own fate.

The concept behind each picture dictates its darkroom manipulation, sometimes requiring research and revisions that last weeks or months. Combining photography with drawing, seamlessly incorporating photograms, integrating appropriated text, and scratching the emulsion of the negative create images where horror, history, and psychology occupy the same imaginative locale." Carol Golomboski from Photo Eye Gallery

DR. DOROTHY I HEIGHT, POLLY COWAN, AND THE INAUGURATION

My mother, Polly Spiegel Cowan, civil rights activist, died in 1976. As I watched the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama I held in my heart the image of my mother and her dear friend and colleague Dr. Dorothy Height.

Cheers to you, Mom, watching from wherever you are now. And cheers to you, Dr. Height. I'm glad you got a great seat at the inauguration. You more than deserve it.

From the NY Times, Sept 17, 2009

One of Mr. Obama’s guests, Dorothy Height, 96, will have a place of honor on the platform — in her wheelchair. Ms. Height, a longtime social activist, was accepted at Barnard College in 1929 but was turned away when she arrived because the school had met its quota of two black women.

“I never thought I would live to see this,” she said of the inauguration of a black president. “This is real recognition that civil rights was not just what Dr. King dreamed. But it took a lot of people a lot of work to make this happen, and they feel part of it.”

From NewsChanne8 in Washington, DC, January 19, 2009

At 96 years old, Height has seen many firsts, but when Barack Obama is sworn-in as the nation's first African-American president, it will be an experience for her unlike any other. "I'll be glad I lived long enough to see it and I think it's the answer to so many prayers- something that people have worked on for a long time."

Born in Richmond, Height first started working in New York City. By the late 1930's, she had established herself as a civil rights activist and joined the National Council of Negro Women.

American leaders regularly met with her. Height encouraged President Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Lyndon Johnson to appoint African-American women to positions in government. "She has been the glue that has held our civil rights and human rights movement together for the last 40 years and one of the things I'm so happy about is that she lived to see the day," said Rev. Walter Fauntroy, civil rights activist.

In 1957, Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women. It was a position she held throughout the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960's. It was a time when the idea of an African-American becoming president seemed impossible. "You know, I had thoughts that often were disturbing, but you can't work at something if you don't believe in it. And I believed that someday this would happen," said Height.

Now that it is happening, the National Council of Negro Women is gearing up for a huge celebration on Inauguration Day. Height will be at the swearing in and then as the parade comes down Pennsylvania Avenue, there will be a celebration at their headquarters along the route.

"We are the only African-Americans who own a building within this quarter of Pennsylvania Avenue and for the first time we'll be ushering in an African-American president," said Christine Toney, National Council of Negro Women

But while the crowds along Pennsylvania Avenue celebrate a new president, Height will also use the day to reflect. It's been a long road to get here and she knows there is still work to be done. "I think that many opportunities have opened up. The country's come along way and I would say to young people to keep up the spirit that we have now and keep your eyes open and your heart open and see how you can take us to the next step," said Height.

So at 96 years old, Height marks another first on Tuesday - one that's stirring up feelings like none other. "It's not just a feeling of joy. It's a feeling of achievement and a feeling of greater confidence in a society in which we live. I think the possibilities of America are unlimited."

Links to Wednesdays In Mississippi, the Civil Rights organization founded by my mother and Dr. Dorothy I. Height.

http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/WIMS/

http://www.wimsfilmproject.com/

http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2008/11/07/got-docs-wednesdays-in-mississippi/

OBAMABELIA - FLASHBAGS

With the Inauguration only days away (YAY!!!) I want to remind you about the Obama handbags by Flashbags. These make great Obama inaugural gifts,Obama inaugural commemoratives, and of course, are a piece of inaugural history. They are bound to become valuable and valued Obama collectibles.

Flashbags, the wonderful woman-owned, independently operated micro business in Burlington Vermont has been making Obama bags since early in the campaign days.

These beautiful bags are made of laminated paper, with images inside as well as outside,  hand stitched and sewn with swoops and swirls that complement the composition of each image.  Each bag features  a cellphone pocket, and handles made of beverage tubing. The main edges are bound with clear plastic to keep your bag durable. Very sturdy and comfortable to carry.

Flashbags has been making handbags and accessories for over three years, I've sold them since we both went into business, and I stand behind their amazing product.

Obama Inaugral Flashbag

 

 

ALMOST OBSOLETE OBJECTS - ALINE SMITHSON

I found these photos and text over at Aline Smithson's blog, Lenscratch,

"We live in a world full of technical distractions. I see my children gathered around their computers as though it’s a summer campfire, faces aglow, as they peer into a world of friends and fantasy, participating in a new forms of entertainment that further remove them from the childhood that I experienced."   A. Smithson

Aline Smithson. Copyright 2008

"Today’s generation has lost touch with the activities that previous generations have enjoyed—reading a good book in a comfortable chair, playing board games on a rainy day, flipping through Life magazines, or sprawling out on the living room rug while listening to records and reading the backs of album covers." A. Smithson

Aline Smithson, copyright 2008

"And it’s because of this that I have been looking at bookshelves and untouched childhood pursuits with a new eye. With great sadness, I realize that these objects will someday be obsolete, at least in their current incarnations. And like a curator of antiquities, I see them now as beautiful objects to be admired and preserved, if only on film.

I can only hope for rain, a heavy rain and maybe a power outage." A.Smithson

Aline Smithson will have a solo show at Pine Street Art Works in August 2009.

CLOSE TO NOBODY

TMNK/Nobody and Glenn Close at the Outsider Art Fair. 2009. Used by Permission.

TMNK, The Me Nobody Knows, presented his paintings at the Outsider Art Fair in NYC recently. Being Nobody as only Nobody knows how, he presented his outsider art outside the fair. Brilliant.

So there was Glenn Close at the Outsider Art Fair. She's a New Yorker and from what I hear, a fabulous person. We had a mutual friend who used to rave about her. And I once had a really horrible boss who picked a nasty fight with Close on the sidewalk in Soho in NYC.
Something about their dogs. I've loved Glenn Close ever since I heard that story. And of course, Cruella De Vil = Pure Genius.

Somebody really needs to get Glenn a Flashbag handmade handbag, I think. That purple satchel she's got rocks but how much better would she look with a Flashie on her arm?

Anyway, I don't know the full story of the Nobody/Close encounter, but here's what Nobody said on his blog:

"Okay, so she posed with me for a picture. Big deal, thats what celebrities do, right?. But that she “WANTED” to get down like a NOBODY and mask up! WOW, thats big ma! Now we got “Nobody’s” in HOLLYWOOD. Damn NOBODY’s Listening, I’ve been trying to tell yall - 2009 NOBODY’S EVERYWHERE! - (wink) - TMNK"

 

TMNK- Happy New Year 2009. Used by permission

Remember, Nobody will be here at Pine Street Art Works next September for Art Hop. September 11th and 12th.