Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Amy Khoshbin: Redefining Art, Politics, and Their Intersectionality

VOTE AMY KHOSHBIN: CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 39
Amy Khoshbin is running for City Council in District 39 of Brooklyn in the Fall 2017 Race. According to her website, "Khoshbin is running as an information-gathering strategy, to demystify the supposedly complex structures of government and to empower others to run for office." Reviewing her official page, she is presented as a very common politician who wants to tackle trendy issues:
  • Prioritize a culture that supports creativity -- "we all start as creative individuals when we're children"
  • Put Brooklyn citizens before politics and corporate interests
  • Empower Brooklyn citizens with skills to create their own livelihoods and not be completely dependent on a corporate system
  • Dismantle all white supremacist systems
  • Ensure Brooklyn is a safe space for immigrants
  • Value Brooklynites -- their skills, talents, and insights -- to help strengthen the economic, social, cultural, and environmental state of Brooklyn
  • "Build a future we want to see, together"
What separates Khoshbin from other traditional politicians is her extensive background in art. Khoshbin is "an Iranian-American Brooklyn-based artist merging performance, video, collage, costume and sound to examine our individual and collective compulsion to create, transform, and sometimes destroy the stories of who we are and who we think we should be. She produces media and mythologies using humor and a handmade aesthetic to throw a counterpunch at the high-definition, profit-generating codes and signals that American audiences are trained and accustomed to consuming." 

Recently, her work was featured in the exhibition Archival Alchemy: South Asian Women's Creative Collection, located at Abrons Art Center. Her piece, entitled Scheherazade Project (2017), is a multimedia project that "merges live performance and an original score with animated Persian illustrations, images from the Iranian Revolution, found and newly created film footage, and immersive video game tropes to explore the power of storytelling, past and present."

There has not been a politician, in recent years, that frequently engages with communities through the means of art. If Amy Khoshbin's campaign is a success, she could redefine the relationship art and politics continue to endure. She has the potential to construct innovative methods to interact with individuals within the community and within the government: as a result, the bridge between politicians and the people could be gapped. 

 For more information about Amy Khoshbin: http://tinyscissors.com
To view more of her work: https://vimeo.com/semiotech
To view The Scheherazade Project: https://vimeo.com/198574125

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Thursday, April 6, 2017
Rally for the Arts!!


On April 3rd, an assortment of artists gathered at New York City Hall in order to protest against Donald Trump’s plan to exterminate all outlays for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the Institute of Museum of Library Services (IMLS).

A View From the Outside
Photo by Baie Rogers
Inside
Photo by Bob Lee
As explained in a previous post about the NEA, the Federal Budget in 2016 was approximately $3.871 trillion; both the NEA and the NEH spent around $148,000,000 within the budget, which is, according to Washington Post’s Philip Bump, is only 0.03% of the overall budget — The NEA gave $14.5 million to 419 groups in New York City last year. However, Trump’s administration still wants to relocate money away from domestic (art) programs, and towards security and defense  — the proposed budget increases the two departments by $54 billion overall. 

The Rally to Save the Arts united a wide spectrum of artists who represent both the visual and performing arts: independent artists, the Asian American Arts Centre, the Actor’s Equity Association, New York Musician’s Union, and The Poetry Society of New York are some examples. 
Chuck Yeun, Whose Work is Featured in the AAAC's Permanent Collection, Attended the Rally
Photo by Bob Lee
Dion Chen Supporting the Actor's Equity Association
Photo by Bob Lee
DANCE EDUCATION FOR EVERY CHILD!
Photo by Baie Rogers
There were also some highly prestigious guest speakers, such as Queens Councilman and chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee, Jimmy Van Bramer. “President Trump’s budget is an unprecedented and vicious assault on the arts, the humanities, libraries,” he said. “President Trump talks a lot about making America great again, but you can never make anything great again by crushing its soul.”
Sami Shumays (Left): Founder and Director of Zikrayat -- Peter Koo (Right): Councilman (D-Flushing)
Photo by Bob Lee
Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne also spoke at the Rally. He viewed Trump’s plan from a more economic lens. “You may hate the arts. You may hate the stuff that people paint and the theater that they do, but do you want to lose all those jobs? Do we want to kill this part of the economy? That’s just completely stupid.” He extends his argument in a self-written blog post, entitled What Good Are the Arts?:
“A recent study called Arts and Economic Prosperity found that nationally the non-profit arts (we're not talking about Broadway shows, pop concerts, video games, movies or the art world) generates $135.2 BILLION in economic activity in the US… In 2013, the production of arts and cultural goods added more than $704 billion to the U.S. economy. This amounts to 4.23% of GDP. The arts and cultural sector contribute more to the national economy than do the construction, agriculture, mining, utilities, and travel and tourism sectors.”
ALTERNATE FACTS
Photo by Bob Lee
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito recalled the cultural impact the arts had left on her. “I came here at the age of 18, but my mother made it a point to take us to museums, to take us to the theater.” She later added, “Art and culture enhanced my life, gave me a perspective, an understanding of the world we live in, of our collective wellbeing, that we are not in this alone. That we can reach across the aisle and learn about other cultures, create a sense of understanding and camaraderie.”
SAVE THE ARTS Written in Five Languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Scottish Gaelic
Photo by Baie Rogers
The Protester Who Held the Sign SAVE THE ARTS in Five Languages
Photo by Baie Rogers
Actress Ciara Renée defended the arts by highlighting it’s more psychological impact. She said that the arts is a “collaboration of what is with what can be” and a “connection to something higher and more powerful than any stagnation or destruction and abundance, a surplus…Does that sound bad to you?” she said. “So it’s a wonder why the powers that be wanna take an ax to it, stop it in its tracks when it’s already placed at the bottom of the totem pole of existence?”

Jelani Remy, who portrays Simba in Broadway’s The Lion King, contributed his own personal stories relating to how important the arts were to him as a kid. He then lead the crowd, outside City Hall, in a rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” 

"Below is a picture of a high school senior who, when asked which of the arts she attributed to saving her life, she said, 'The visual arts.' I had a feeling that I had just taken a picture of the most profound sign at the Rally. So, let me thank Sara(h) for taking her picture." -Bob
ART SAVED MY LIFE
Photo by Bob Lee 
To quote Jimmy Van Bramer, "He [Trump] has come for artists and the cultural community today but first, the president came after Mexicans, then Muslims, then immigrants—including the undocumented—then it was the trans youth of our country, then the health of millions of Americans with Trumpcare and now he comes for us. But he was defeated on Trumpcare, wasn’t he? Because of rallies just like this. People taking to the streets saying that we will not accept this, this is not who we are. We are better than this.”

 National Priorities Statistics: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/


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Friday, March 31, 2017
Louis Chan Exhibits Work at Pearl River Mart

Louis Chan, an Asian American photographer, exhibited his work at the Pearl River Mart. "The larger-than-life pictures from out latest artist-in-residence," Pearl River Mart's official blog states, "explore New York City immigrants' live in America through their possessions and how they display them."

Photo by Bob Lee

Photo by Bob Lee
"Founded in 1971, Pearl River Mart is an eclectic emporium where you can find one-of-a-kind Asian-inspired home furnishings, fashion and everything in between. A beloved destination for people from all over the globe, Pearl River has become symbolic of the uniqueness, authenticity and multi-culturalism of New York City." 

To read an official interview with Louis Chan, conducted by Pearl River Mart: https://www.pearlriver.com/blogs/blog/louis-chan-artist-in-residence-explores-homes-and-belonging

For more information about Pearl River: https://www.pearlriver.com
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Friday, March 28, 2014
Taiping Tianguo: Revisited


E-Flux recently presented the show Taiping Tianguo - A History of Possible Encounters: Ai Wei Wei, Frog King Kwok, Tehching Hsieh, and Martin Wong in New York. Exploring the histories of these four Chinese artists during their time in New York in the 80s and 90s, the show questions the interactions each artist may have had to one another given their overlapping time spent in the Big Apple. Furthermore, it examines what can be said about time and place in art history, as well as the development of their art practices, when looking at their works together.
Here are some photos from the exhibition:

Young Ai Wei Wei


Young Ai Wei Wei


Young Ai Wei Wei


Young Ai Wei Wei


Young & Nude Ai Wei Wei


Ai Wei Wei - Cuffs


Ai Wei Wei - Hanger


Kwok - detail of artwork


Kwok - detail of artwork

Kwok - detail of artwork


Martin Wong - artwork on book


Young Teh Ching Hsieh


Teh Ching Hsieh - One Year Prison Performance


Walking Tour on Martin Wong
As the exhibition presents, certain connections were forged between the four artists while in New York. For example, Kwok provided significant assistance for Hsieh in his One Year Performances, Wong and Ai had been friends themselves, as well as there being multiple interactions between these artists at KWOK Gallery (Kwok's SoHo gallery at the time). With the early days of contemporary Asian/ Asian American art, it is interesting to take note which artists have crossed paths and through what particular avenues. In addition, it is highly probable that the Asian American Arts Centre, also played a factor in forming the relationships between these important figures. As Bob Lee, AAAC Director, reflects on the interactions these artists had to AAAC:
"I recall Ai Wei Wei rarely came by, only once or twice did I see him hanging around and only later, in 1985 when he participated in an exhibition and helped finalize a poster for the show.  Kwok was around lots, a very friendly fun guy. We did several things with him. We hung around his home/gallery too, before AAAC exhibitions started. Martin was around but only after we had him in an open studio exhibition in 1985. I visited Teh Ching Hsieh when he set up the prison piece... but he rarely came by AAAC, only much later during his 13 year piece did he stop by to see an exhibition of his friend Zheng Liangjie in 2002."


Ai Wei Wei participated in an Open Studio exhibition called Ten Chinatown in 1985 and helped Bob Lee with the layout of the poster.  The design incorporated Martin Wong’s Chinese Opera figures. It was selected by Exit Art for their Alternative Histories exhibition in 2010 as pictured here. Ai Wei Wei's name is printed on the lower right.


While each artist spent a limited time with AAAC, their paths may have crossed or overlapped with one another during their time within this space. Moreover, their interactions were not limited to each other, but developed with other fellow Asian/ Asian American artists that participated in the Asian American Arts Centre. Such is a possibility in AAAC's first panel discussion in 1983, Eye to Eye, which brought together Asian American visual artists on the East Coast to discuss mutual concerns. It was given the name to imply that a meeting of the mind was necessary to recognize what was happening between two cultures, two outlooks. In these old pictures of the panel below, there looks to be a man that may be Teh Ching Hsieh. Though it cannot be entirely sure that this was him, these photos still give proof to the pertinent interactions of Asian American artists and their solidarity in the beginning stages of the Asian American Arts Movement. 

 It is intriguing to think about the crossing paths of Ai WeiWei, Teh Ching Hsieh, Martin Wong or Kwok Man Ho because they are prominent now. As Asian American art becomes better understood and a critical consensus emerges around its role within a Western context, other artists will acquire attention, and their interrelationships may also become intriguing to think about. 

AAAC's Eye to Eye Panel (1983)Panel: David Diao, Margo Machida, Lucy Lippard, Lydia Okumura, Kit Yin Snyder, John Woo, John Yau



Eye to Eye Audience


Some of the panelists with Bob Lee AAAC curator before the start of the event, including Lucy Lippard, Margo Machida, and Kit Yin Snyder. Kwok's artwork hangs in the back.


Was this Teh Ching Hsieh? Sitting next to Nina Kuo who operated the slide projector. Eye to Eye was held June 25th and Teh Ching Hsieh's year long performance with Linda Montano started in July. The possibility is there.


Was this Teh Ching Hsieh?
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