Afrika Bambaataa, widely considered the godfather of Hip Hop, was one of the first artists & leaders to insist that political/social/historical consciousness be fused with the culture of the genre. His life as a gang leader in the Bronx during it's rough 70's heyday influenced him to form the Zulu Nation, a Hip Hop organization dedicated to driving the street culture traditions of pride and competition away from violence towards self-knowledge, excellence and respect. His expansive worldview led to some of the first crossovers between Hip Hop and Punk. Contrasted against the blight of much of today's mindless rapping about being drunk in a nightclub (notwithstanding the great Hip Hop artists that continue to inspire), his achievements stand like a monolith in troubled waters.

A limited edition fine art screen print poster of Bam was released by Hard Pressed Studios on November 12th, 2008 to coincide with the official birthday of Hip Hop and the anniversary of the Zulu Nation. The image is a portrait by photographer Theo Jemison and remixed by graf artist Kofie One. This 18" x 24" limited edition screen print was printed with 8 colors (including metallic gold ink) at Hard Pressed Studios in Los Angeles CA and signed by Afrika Bambaataa, Kofie and Theo Jemison. Each of the 100 prints is priced at $135. yodepot.com.
Technorati Tags: Activism, Activist, Afrika Bambaataa, Art, Culture, Graffiti, Hip Hop, Kofie, Music, Political, Poster, Art, Urban

January 20th, 2009 and the Obama regime couldn't come quicker!  Illustration by Steve Bell.

Technorati Tags: Bush, Steve Bell, Art, US Presidency

The kind of radical change brought forth by Obama's possibly presidency has a lot of us inspired as we imagine what this means for generations to come.  The grave flipside of all that feel good-ness is the knowing that 4 years of McCain would suck the marrow from all that is creative, transformative and healing on our planet.  By no means am I in support of the dominating two party system that exists within the US.  But for the love of creativity, please VOTE THIS TUESDAY!  Or better yet, vote in advance.  No election has ever been this important. 

Below is a PSA from Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and other H'wood heavyweights..

Fellow Yo! artist Kyle Goen has co-curated a new political show that is opening soon in NYC. Great to see Emory Douglas's name on the artist roster, as well as Sandow Birk whom I had the opportunity to meet a few days ago at Farmlab in LA.

SEDITION
October 29th - Nov 24th, 2008
Opening Reception: Wednesday October 29th, 6pm - 9pm

Featuring work by: Melanie Baker, Wafaa Bilal, Sandow Birk, Emory Douglas, Hasan Elahi, Mounir Fatmi, Jon Hendricks, Arnold Mesches, Naeem Mohaiemen, Sheryl Oring, Jenny Polak, Martha Rosler, Jackie Salloum, Hank Willis Thomas and Raphael Zollinger

Curated by Dread Scott, Kyle Goen and Hajarah Abdus-Sabur

White Box (Bowery)
329 Broome Street New York, NY 10002

www.whiteboxny.org

Special Election Night Party November 4th, 7pm till

Technorati Tags: Activism, Activist, Antiwar, Art, Exhibition, Political, Emory Douglas, Kyle Goen, Sandow Birk

I began this project January of this year, as a response to the fear mongering pointed at Iran and Iranians.  I felt that the messages most of us in the west received through images and headlines were Ahmadinejad's scary face or talk of Iran's nuclear ambitions.  Point is, the US wanted to enter another (doomed for failure) war, and I wanted to counterbalance that rhetoric by providing an outlet for Iranian people to tell their story.  It seems safe enough to say at this time that the threat of that war is less likely.  Nevertheless, Persian culture and Iranians still deserve celebration!  As Americans, we should know better than to judge a people by their leader. 

Check out the new anti war music video by Adam Stern, feturing the artwork of Yo! artist Mear One:

JUST HOW DOES A PATRIOT ACT
A Response to US Policy at Home and Abroad
Curator : Joella March

at OCCCA

October 4th - 26th, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 4th 6pm-12am

Performance art Event:

October 18th from 8 pm to 11 pm. (Free event).
Featuring “Letters To The President” a multi-media spoken word performance by M.S.Garvey; original performance art by Toni Ivashkov and a spoken word poetry slam performed by local poets, including D'Lo, John Trudell and Douglas Kearney and special guest Vietnam Vet / anti-war activist Ron Kovic

The Grab, Ryan Broughman, 2008

The Exhibition:
“Just How Does A Patriot Act” seeks to create a forum for conversation and debate, extending beyond the current political climate of denial, distraction, and dismissal of the public voice and will.

The Artists in this Exhibition:
The artists in this exhibition work in a variety of media including traditional and new forms : Painting, Drawing, Screen printing, Assemblage, Animated Neon, Kinetic Sculpture, Installation, Fashion, Sculpture, Text Art, Photography, Sound sculpture, Digital Media, Conceptual Art, Performance Art and Video. They represent various ages, political, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and are all answering the call to inquire, investigate, analyze and create.

Revealing questions, answers and solutions through their own unique process, as they contemplate and respond to U.S. policy at home and abroad, (including Abu Grahib, War profiteering, 9/11, Over deployment of U.S. troops, Public Apathy, Loss of Civil liberties, Accountability, Environment, Economy Immigration, Homeland Security )

Just how does a patriot act in a changing world?
I invite you all to ruminate upon this query. To begin a discussion that extends beyond gallery walls. To take an active role in the future of this nation and the world. To not loss faith in ”the power of the people” or the ability for one voice to make a profound difference. Knowledge redefines power, use it or loose it!

“To dissent is Patriotic” – Thomas Jefferson, founding father

We The Artists:

Andrew Armstrong * Bryan de Roo * Cat Gwynn
Chris Revelle * Clayton Campbell * Dan Van Clapp
Danielle Adair * Dianna Cohen * Douglas McCulloh
Elana Mann * Francisco Letelier * Hillary Mushkin
Hayley Blatte * Jason Chakravarty * Joe Biel * Jody Zellen
John Carr * John Trudell * Karen Atkinson * Karen Fiorito * Lunna Menoh * Matthew Bryant * Meekyung Shim
~
Nabby El-Soudani * Nancy Buchanan * Nicholas Grider
Noah Breuer * Rebecca Lowry * Richard Ankrom
Robbie Conal * Robin Clark* Roman Genn
Ryan Broughman * Sahar Alsawaf * Sheila Pinkel
Stephen Anderson * Suzanne Mejean * Tomas Moreno
Toni Ivashkov * Wayne Coe * William Stone
Zachary Biberstine * Zig Gron

Michael Garvey / Spoken Word Performance Artist
“LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT”
M.S. Garvey has composed over 130 letters (and counting) to President George W. Bush. In the mysterious Courtyard’s inner sanctum and under the watchful gaze of his cat Mr. Pickles, he writes the letters on his human-powered typewriter and mails the originals to the White House.
The letters express Garvey’s thoughts on topics from administration policies, the direction of our country and the current wars, to charity, peace and the power of taking baths. He held the first live readings in the summer of 2002 at O’Brien’s Pub in Venice, and then went on to perform selected letters in Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Berlin, as well as various cities in Romania. M.S. Garvey also participated in the 2004 Republican National Convention by staging readings outside of Madison Square Garden during convention events.

Over time, the show has evolved into a collaborative performance piece that defies description, with a rotating cast of accomplished musicians. Garvey, a charismatic presence and expansive performer, proclaims the letters against a sonic backdrop of improvised music that beckons the sounds of old New Orleans, the Kansas plains and the dark bars of Los Angeles. Full of humor, insight and passion, these rare performances are not to be missed. In an exclusive two-week engagement (November 29th to December 9th, 2007), M.S. Garvey’s “Letters to the President”, co-produced by Ice Hat Creative and the Robert Berman Gallery, was performed with The Hootenanny All-Stars at the Electric Lodge in Venice, Calif.

“Michael Garvey’s solo show is something different...in just under an hour he poignantly raises a question familiar to many...creates a welcoming place for the confused and downhearted citizen.” --The Chicago Reader

CURATOR:
Joella March is an artist and curator living and working in Los Angeles. She has exhibited her kinetic sculptures in many galleries including the Museum of Neon Art. Joella has curated group and solo exhibitions throughout Los Angeles.

Joella March
Exhibition contact: PatriotArt2008@yahoo.com

Admission Free

First Friday Films: October 3: 8pm
Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers (2006)
Director: Robert Greenwald

EMC Concert no.27: October 11: 8pm
Slow
Audacity
Life on The Bang Bus

OCCCA
117 North Sycamore
Santa Ana, CA USA 92701

Yo! What Happened To Peace? crew will be participating in an exhibition called Art Is A Hammer that is taking place at the We The People Festival in Los Angeles on September 27 2008. We're honored to be appearing with such an incredibly diverse and downright interesting performance lineup. We'll be showing our anti-war and pro-peace posters and also getting our hands dirty on the wheat-paste tip along with some of our favorite graffiti artists, rumored to be Werc and Mear One. Looking forward to seeing great music and listening to people like Cindy Sheehan and Cynthia McKinney talk about the horrible mess we're in and how we can work together to heal our battered world.

Create:Fixate, the bi-monthly arts & cultural event that takes place in Los Angeles, is having a political themed show this weekend. Called AMP (Art, Music, Politics), it is being presented as an “artist as activist” event to promote free speech, progressive thought, and peace. From the press release:

"On the eve of International Peace Day, Create:Fixate brings together leaders in the political, art and music community, activist groups, and over 40 individual artists, musicians, and DJs. As our country embarks on the upcoming presidential election we are faced with the opportunity to actively utilize the powers to choose, voice, and influence the path we will take. Since the beginning of time, artists have been at the forefront of political consciousness, reflecting and altering societal perceptions and voicing a call to action.

Participating activist groups and partners include: The Onion, CODEPINK, Young Progressive Majority, Press for Democracy, Giveback, NextAid, Veterans for Peace, Yo! What Happened to Peace?, The Center for the Study of Political Graphics, and Healthcare for All.

The event will also include a group project entitled “Art Piece for Peace.” The curators have asked all participating visual artists to produce an art piece that demonstrates each artist’s individual expression of peace through their art form. Proceeds from the sales of these art pieces will be donated to VFP - Veterans For Peace. VFP is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war and is an official Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) represented at the UN. VFP supports recently returned vets, actively participates in efforts to save VA healthcare, defends veterans’ rights and champions military family rights. www.veteransforpeacela.org"

Technorati Tags: Activism, Activist, Antiwar, Art, Exhibition, Peace, Political,