Art21 and Mel Chin’s “Fundred” team in overdrive at NAEA
Last month, Art21 and Mel Chin (Season 1) took arts educators from around the world by storm as they presented two of the most dynamic sessions the National Arts Education Association’s annual convention had to offer.The professional development session, presented by Kelly Shindler and Mel Chin, was standing-room only. Teachers were treated to a special presentation about Mel Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project by Mel Chin himself. The following day, the Art21 Super Session was also packed with educators. After creating their own works of “Fundred Dollar Bill” art, teachers headed out to the street for a dramatic suprise entrance of the Fundred Project’s armored truck (pictured above), which runs on cooking oil supplied by school cafeterias.
Here on the left coast, plans to present the Fundred Dollar Bill Project to California’s educators are already underway through partnerships with local museums, KQED’s Spark program, and the Fundred Project’s national director.
Be sure to check out Art:21’s video of students who have already participated in the Fundred Dollar Bill Project and, if you’re an educator, help your students create their own Fundreds for donation to a neccessary and worthy cause. More information can be found on the project’s Web site, www.fundred.org. Password = Paydirt.
Gilbert & George in San Francisco
A huge retrospective of work by dynamic artist duo, Gilbert & George, has landed in San Francisco at the de Young Museum. Organized by the Tate Modern in London, the exhibition will also travel to Milwaukee and Brooklyn. Listen to a lively interview with Gilbert & George on KQED’s popular radio program, Forum, hosted by Michael Krasny.
Beautiful Losers at SXSW
Headed to Austin, Texas this weekend for the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference? Don’t miss the world premier of Beautiful Losers, a film showcasing the work of artists Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen from Season 1 of Art:21, and Spark-featured artist Chris Johanson.
Pioneer skateboarding legend and musician Tommy Guerrero, also featured on Spark, will perform at SXSW this weekend with Money Mark, the composer of the Beautiful Losers soundtrack.
Educator guides related to the Spark films on Tommy Guerrero and Chris Johanson are available for free download.
Political Cartoonist Mark Fiore on Spark
Mark Fiore was a featured artist on the Season 6 premiere of Spark. Fiore takes cartooning a step further by creating timely animations for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site, SF Gate. Catch a glimpse of Fiore’s creative process on Spark.
Trevor Paglen on Spark
Art21 guest bloggers Eva and Franco Mattes recently mentioned San Francisco Bay Area artist, Trevor Paglen. Paglen is a PhD candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley, and a photographer who documents restricted military testing grounds using a telescopic lens. Though Paglen has diligently researched and uncovered secrets from the US Government’s “Black World” through his academic and artistic endeavors, he is still embraced by the secret agent community - he is even a member of the CIA Alumni Association. Paglen was a featured artist on KQED’s Spark; stream the video here. An Educator Guide related Trevor Paglen’s work is also available for free download.
Paglen’s new book, “I Could Tell You but Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon’s Black World,” catalogues embroidered patches earned by US Military Personnel upon completion of secret missions.
Zhan Wang: On Gold Mountain
Renowned sculptor Zhan Wang’s newest installation, On Gold Mountain is currently on view at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum. Wang spent four days interpreting the cityscape of San Francisco through the medium of stainless steel kitchenware manufactured in China. Wang also produced stainless steel castings of rocks collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the exhibit.
Read more on KQED’s Arts & Culture Blog.
