Mobius : ABAD Exhibition Boston [22]

Mobius Artists Group exhibited A Book About Death at the South  End Open Studios, 725 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, on September 19 - 20, 2009.  The exhibition set up by artist Jane Wang (#414) - Mobius Artists Group, which she collected at A Book About Death's Opening Night at the Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery in New York City.

From Jane Wang: About the ABAD exhibit at Mobius ( http://www.mobius.org/mobius_events.php?enum=941 )

The current location of Mobius the gallery/performance space is officially and ostensibly part of the South End "Art" district in Boston, MA, USA.   We are located on the outer fringes of this area right across from a hospital which means we do not get much foot traffic and additionally, since we aren't really "selling" objets d'art, during the South End-wide Open Studios, we had several "visitors" who actually just wanted to get into the adjoining "Art Block"  building which only had one artist "representin" and who for some strange reason, didn't bother to put a sign up on their locked front door saying which bell to ring to get in to see his work.  This can be somewhat depressing for our little troupe of experimental artists but fortunately, a few visitors (I had a feeling these might be "real" visitors when I saw the punked out Kool-Aid hair and Goth-like black) actually enthusiastically leaped on the ABAD books which I had so carefully put together and I'm happy to say, they must have looked at every single card and read everything on the cards, even taking copious notes.

When I put together my sixteen books for the ABAD exhibit, I wanted to make sure that both sides of any cards that even just had a little stamp or handwritten text on one of the sides would be visible to the visitors - on the other hand, I wanted to protect each of the cards from too much handling or sticky fingers as the case may be.  It came down to cost and what I felt would look interesting and perhaps even vaguely library/museum-like.  I bought several small Itoya Art Profolio Books (Made in China - oh well what can you do?) and one Recycled Brown Binder, one generic white small binder and one Itoya portfolio large enough to fit the largest card by Jacob Mann as well as several packs of Avery protective sheets.

It was fun to try to come up with some underlying link for each of the books - some were restricted because of size, and I didn't really want to categorize cards by artistic field (partially because I'm somewhat ignorant about this although I probably miscategorized several into two Fluxus-centric books).  I went for my own personal taste in colors and progressions from card to card as one flipped through a book.  Some cards ended up being uncategorizable, so I left them together in a group which in turn perhaps put them ironically in a little grouping together.  And of course, since my own card was part of the collection, I have just enough egomania that I put a lot of thought into which book I wanted my card to be in and which cards would go before and after my card.

The books I came up with which I ended up titling were (several were left untitled although grouped in my mind mentally):
- The Red Book About Death
- The Blue Book About Death
- The Black and White Book About Death
- The Bodily Function and Nude Book About Death
- The Sepia + Black Book About Death
- The Surreal Book About Death
- The Collage and Text Book About Death
- The Fluxus 4x6 Book About Death
- The Fluxus 6x4 and Confused Book About Death *

* this is where my card is between James Thomas Joseph and Ania Gilmore

About Mobius
Mobius (est. 1977) is a non-profit, artist-run organization, whose mission is to generate, shape and test experimental art. The members of the organization believe an effective strategy for supporting this art is to establish grounds that build relationships among fellow artists.  Mobius is committed to structuring environments that foster projects incorporating a wide range of disciplines.  This approach sets in motion situations where the artist's impact can be seen locally, nationally and internationally.  Constructing art initiatives outside accepted frameworks and encouraging animated discourse with the public are fundamental to Mobius.

Founded by Marilyn Arsem in 1977, Mobius is known for incorporating a wide range of the visual, performing, and media arts into innovative live performance, video, installation and intermedia works. Mobius has produced hundreds of original works that have attained critical acclaim in Boston, nationally and internationally. Works created at Mobius have been presented throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Mobius is funded by the Boston Cultural Council, a municipal agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; the Oedipus Foundation; by an award for artistic excellence from the Tanne Foundation, and generous private support.

Jane Wang Websites:
http://www.myspace.com/janewangcomposer
http://www.facebook.com/janehsiaochingwang
http://www.mobius.org/mobius_artists.php?id=jane

Angela Ferrara : Uma carta do Brasil [39]

Uma carta do Brasil : Houve um tempo de muita depressão e eu quis experimentar a morte, um tempo acompanhado de pesadelos e pavores noturnos. Em um de meus pesadelos eu havia conseguido passar para o mundo dos mortos, mas minha angustia continuava, sentia me como “Agnes” do filme de Ingmar  Bergman. Acordei aliviada por estar viva e decidi me dar uma segunda chance, busquei ajuda em sabedorias milenares e aprendi de alguma forma que a morte é uma extensão da vida, que as fugas nos levam ao caminho inicial e que atalhos não existem. Três anos depois, recebo da artista Vera Goulart um e-mail sobre a exposição chamada “A Book About Death,”senti uma atração imediata pelo tema e entrei em contato com Matthew Rose, eu imaginava que além da homenagem a Ray Johnson, haveria um motivo muito forte para essa realização....

Um pouco depois eu ví uma colagem feita por Matthew Rose, havia uma mulher linda, do tipo das antigas atrizes de hollywood sentada em uma prancha, pronta para saltar para o desconhecido, em baixo estava escrito Doris Rose (1925-2009).

“A Book About Death” também possui um caráter de manifesto contra a violência mundial, representado pelo rosto de uma jovem em Tehran. Acompanhei os trabalhos que estavam sendo enviados, cada um com uma impressão muito forte de cada artista, consegui ver as varias faces da morte, a face cômica dos trabalhos de Rob White, a morte cravada no peito como nos trabalhos de Ria Vanden Eynde, que exorciza suas dores como Frida Kalo. O trabalho de Sarah Clayton me fez pensar na proximidade da morte e do sono profundo.



A sutileza gráfica de Branka Djordjevic mostra a fragilidade da vida. Jane Wang me fez ver a linha tenue entre depressão e morte. O coelhinho de pelúcia de Patti Singer sugere que a morte não poupa crianças. Talvez a morte seja a fusão no outro como em Betty Esperanza. Como a antiga musica os mortos podem dançar em Keith Buchholz. Mark Bloch expressa todo seu talento fluxus na interpretação da morte. Bibiana Padilla consagrou a visão do cemitério. O belo sofá vazio de Sonja Benskin demonstra saudade de alguém. Eva Brunner me transportou as cenas de Eugène Atget em Paris. O lindo palimpsesto cheio de nuances do tempo de William Evertson. A morte projetada no tempo como em Louise Weinberg. Também me chamou a atenção o trabalho de Yoko Ono, onde as árvores nasciam em cima de caixões de madeira, isso me remeteu as lendas indígenas brasileiras. Cada artista em sua singularidade mostrou uma visão única que enriqueceu o todo. Gostaria muito de falar da riqueza estética de cada um dos quase quinhentos trabalhos, mesmo não sendo possível expresso minha total admiração e gratidão por cada um deles. Finalmente em meu trabalho eu quis expressar a crença em algo além da vida, algo como este projeto que mesmo tendo sido programado para “morrer” insiste em viver, em ganhar o mundo.

Resumo sobre a vida de “A Book About Death” (Um Livro Sobre a Morte) A mostra “A Book About Death” idealizada e organizada pelo artista Matthew Rose (norte-americano que vive e trabalha em Paris) foi realizada em setembro na Emily Harvey Gallery em NY, EUA. Matthew Rose convidou quase 500 artistas de todo o mundo para participarem da mostra de mailarts em homenagem a Ray Jonhson, muitos dos artistas são envolvidos com o movimento Fluxus como Yoko Ono.

Cada artista colaborou com 500 cartões, que durante a mostra poderiam ser escolhidos pelos visitantes para fazerem o seu próprio livro sobre a morte. Artistas partilharam suas visões sobre a Morte e a morte foi vista por diversos ângulos. A exposição havia sido programada inicialmente para “morrer” quando todos os cartões acabassem… Mas antes que isso acontecesse “Um Livro Sobre a Morte” adquiriu vida e uma artista envolvida com o projeto “Jane Wang” levou a exposição para Boston no The MOBIUS Gallery, enquanto isso o MOMA, Museu de Arte Moderna de Nova York mostrou interesse e está adquirindo a coleção para seu acervo permanente. Como se não bastasse a pós-vida do “Um Livro Sobre a Morte,” uma outra integrante do grupo Mara Thompson com a ajuda de Bibiana Padilha levou a Mostra para a Otis College of Art and Design de Los Angeles. Em Los Angeles também o “Livro” esta sendo adquirido pelo Los Angeles County Museum of Art Research Library, Los Angeles. Também foi para The River Mill Art Gallery em New Jersey e já está marcado para iniciar outra mostra no dia dos mortos no Queens Art Museum em Queens, New York, graças a outra integrante do grupo Louise Weinberg. Todo o mérito a Matthew Rose que do Facebook coordena todos os artistas engajados neste projeto, e mérito também dos artistas por manterem o idealismo “Paz e Amor” típico dos anos 60 bem vivo em tempos difíceis. Digo idealismo porque os artistas do grupo ainda se correspondem freneticamente por MailArt mantendo a essência da mostra “A Book About Death” em homenagem a Ray Johnson! Já estão sendo organizadas exposições em Montreal, Ciudad de México, Berlim e possivelmente São Paulo.

(Foto: Angela Ferrara, in her studio, São Paulo, Brazil).

O Fotografo francês Ari Rossner, amigo de Matthew Rose está em São Paulo para verificar a possibilidade de expor “A Book About Death” na cidade. Se alguma Galeria ou Museu de São Paulo tiver o interesse em expor este projeto tão original, por favor entre em contato.

Aguardamos as próximas atrações de Um Livro Sobre a Morte – A Book About Death….

++++

– Angela Ferrara [http://angelaferrara.com/]

ABAD Crosses The Bridge To The Queens Museum of Art : Nov 1 Opening [34]

Louise Weinberg has been busy, and will go into overdrive in the next 10 days, installing a selection of the artists' postcards created especially for A Book About Death collaborative project up at the Queens Museum of Art as one of a trio of exhibitions celebrating the Day of the Dead. The exhibition opens on November 1st and runs through November 15. A reception will be held on November 1st from 3 to 6 pm.

Selections from "A Book About Death" is an artists' collaborative project conceived by collage artist Matthew Rose (an American living and working in Paris) for the Emily Harvey Foundation in New York City where the original exhibition took place from September 10 - 22, 2009. Over 500 artists contributed 500 postcards each created from artworks made especially to create an unbound book about death in homage to Ray Johnson (father of mail art), a celebration of Emily Harvey, and a global exploration of how we celebrate memory and death. The only requirement was to include the words "a book about death" somewhere on the card. Since then, the exhibition has traveled to the Otis College of Art and Design in LA, the Mobius Gallery in Boston, The River Mill Art Gallery in New Jersey as well as becoming part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the LA County Museum of Art Research Library.

The Queens Museum is presenting a selection of cards from the exhibition and are also asking the community, in an artist-led workshop, to create their own postcard about death and add it to the exhibition. 

Artist Call: To be included in this exhibition, make a postcard and send it to: Louise Weinberg, Queens Museum of Art, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368.

For more information, please contact: Louise Weinberg : artphotogirl1@gmail.com

MUBE - São Paulo, Brazil : Call For Works. Exhibition Februrary 2010 [50]

MUBE: Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, opens a new chapter in A Book About Death with a new call for art works for exhibition February 6 - 28, 2010.  http://mube.art.br/

A website set up specially for the exhibition by organizer Angela Ferrara will document the show as it happens. http://umlivrosobreamorte.blogspot.com/

PLEASE SEND:

SINGLE WORKS: Approx. 6" x 9" 
MEDIUM: Open; all works accepted
THEME: A Book About Death
DEADLINE: January 30, 2010

MUBE – Museu Brasileiro da Escultura is asking for submissions from artists throughout the world as a critical part and new chapter in the exhibition of the “A Book About Death” collaborative project. This exhibition at MUBE opens on February 6, 2010 and runs through February 28.

“A Book About Death” is a collaborative project conceived by American artist Matthew Rose for the Emily Harvey Foundation in New York City, where the original exhibition took place from September 10 - 22, 2009. Approximately 500 artists contributed 500 artworks in the form of post cards of varying sizes each created from works made especially to create an unbound book about death.

The exhibition paid special homage to Ray Johnson (1927-1995), a highly influential figure in contemporary American art, a formidable collage artist and long acknowledged as the "Father of Mail Art" with his creation of a network, The New York Correspondence School. The exhibition also paid homage and celebrated the life of Emily Harvey (1941-2004), the late art dealer who tirelessly promoted Fluxus artists and whose Foundation generously supported the project.

The exhibition opened with a packed house, and a line snaking up Broadway more than 500 people long waiting to get in the doors to make their own book. Since then, the exhibition has traveled to the Otis College of Art and Design in LA, The River Mill Art Gallery in New Jersey, The Mobius Gallery in Boston, MA, The Queens Museum in Queens, NY, The Sexta Literary Arts Festival in Tijuana in Mexico, as well as smaller galleries and schools in Louisiana, Wisconsin and Long Island. Complete sets of "A Book About Death have entered into the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (Library), and the LA County Museum of Art Research Library.

The project, in its sprawling, global reach explored how we celebrate memory and consider death. The only requirement to participate in the project was to include the words “A Book About Death” somewhere on the card.

ART CALL: SEND WORKS TO MUBE, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL. DEADLINE JAN 30, 2010

We are also asking individual artists to submit works, either a single card or a group of cards for exhibition at MUBE.

Ideal dimensions are approximately 6" x 4" either horizontal or vertical orientation, but variations in size are permissible. We would like to ask all artists to be aware that we need to easily install works on the wall, so consider this aspect of the exhibition.  Artworks can be handmade or printed commercially. You can mail the card by itself or in an envelope. (Please make a digital capture of the works for your records).

A deadline of January 30, 2010 has been set for reception of all submissions, although we
will install any cards received after that date. Digital works are not accepted, sorry. To be included in this exhibition, make a postcard on the theme of death and send it to:

MUBE – Museu Brasileiro da Escultura
Avenida Europa, 218 – Jardim Europa
CEP 01449 000 - São Paulo - Brasil

All works submitted to MUBE will become a part of the permanent collection of the Museum, and will not be returned.

Documentation online of all new works will be made over the course of the next few months.

http://mube.art.br
http://umlivrosobreamorte.blogspot.com/
http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com/
http://abookaboutdeatharchive.blogspot.com/

FOR INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT :  Angela Ferrara (atelierferrara@gmail.com)
http://angelaferrara.com/ or http://blog.angelaferrara.com/

Matthew Rose :  http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com/

Carta Aberta

MUBE - Museu Brasileiro da Escultura aceita artistas de todo o mundo para apresentar seus trabalhos como parte de um novo capítulo na exposição "Um livro sobre a Morte”, que acontecerá de  6 a 28 de
fevereiro de 2010.

"Um livro sobre a morte" é um projeto colaborativo concebido pelo artista norte-americano Matthew Rose na Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery, em Nova York. A exposição original ocorreu durante o período de 10 a 22 de setembro de 2009. Cerca de 500 artistas participaram, cada um deles contribuiu com uma série de 500 obras de arte sob a forma de cartão  postal, obras de tamanhos variados criadas especialmente para compor páginas desacopladas de um possível livro sobre a morte.

A exposição fez uma homenagem especial ao artista  Ray Johnson (1927-1995), uma figura influente na arte contemporânea norte-americana, consagrado como o "Pai do Mail Art", e como criador do The New York Correspondence School. A exposição também homenageou e consagrou a vida de Emily Harvey (1941-2004), que com a sua fundação apoiou e promoveu generosamente projetos de artistas Fluxus.

A bem sucedida mostra em Nova York, recebeu um sua primeira noite mais de 500 pessoas. Desde então, a exposição já viajou para o Otis College of Art and Design em Los Angeles, The River Mill Art Gallery in Nova Jersey, The Mobius Gallery em Boston, MA, The Queens Museum in Queens, NY, The Sexta Literary Arts Festival em Tijuana, México, assim como galerias e escolas em Louisiana, Wisconsin e Long Island. Coleções completas de "Um livro sobre a morte” foram adquiridas para o acervo permanente do MOMA – The Museum of Modern Art, e para o acervo do LA County Museum of Art Research Library em Los Angeles.

Um projeto de extenso alcance global explora as diversas maneiras de como nós celebramos a memória e a morte. O principal requisito para participar deste projeto é a inclusão da expressão "Um livro sobre a Morte" em qualquer parte do cartão. As obras tem como base as dimensões 10 x 15 cm, em orientação horizontal ou vertical, mas variações de tamanho, formatos e materiais são admissíveis. Podendo ser feito manualmente, impresso ou a combinação de ambos. Desde que os artistas estejam conscientes de que precisamos instalar as obras facilmente na parede.

Os artistas poderão enviar um trabalho único ou um conjunto de obras. O prazo de recebimento se encerrará no dia 31 de janeiro de 2010. Desculpem-nos mas obras digitais não serão aceitas. Para que os artistas sejam incluídos nesta exposição, fazer um cartão postal sobre o tema da morte e envie para:

MUBE - Museu Brasileiro da Escultura
Avenida Europa, 218 - Jardim Europa
CEP 01449 000 - São Paulo – Brasil

Todos os novos trabalhos apresentados ao MUBE passarão a fazer parte da coleção permanente do Museu, e não serão devolvidos. Documentação on-line de será feita ao longo dos próximos meses.

http://mube.art.br/
http://umlivrosobreamorte.blogspot.com/
http://abookaboutdeath.blogspot.com/
http://abookaboutdeatharchive.blogspot.com/

Obrigada,

Angela Ferrara (atelierferrara@gmail.com)  http://angelaferrara.com/   http://blog.angelaferrara.com/

Signs of Our Times [95]

Signs of Our Times, a project launched by Jane Hsiaoching Wang and Mobius.org is looking for digital entries.  Please visit the site for all information about the exhibition, and contribute your works.

Poster for the project by Angela Ferrara.

ABAD History To Date [176]

2011  Quetzalcoatl Gallery, Seattle, WA / November 10 – December 10
Second Avenue Firehouse Gallery, Bay Shore, NY / ABAD: The Ties That Bind / July 31 – September 2
Willo North Gallery, Phoenix, AZ / ABAD: Memento / May 3 – 28
Chiesa S. Antonio Piazza La Rotonda Badoere di Morgano, Treviso, Italy / Un libro sulla Morte omaggio a Ray Johnson / April 9 – 17
Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery, Presbyterian College, SC / ABAD Life / January 20 – February 25

2010 SAL Gallery, CW Post Campus-LIU, Brookville, NY / Ray Johnson & A Book About Death / November 1 – 6
Belknap Mill Gallery, Laconia, NH / October 29–November 1
The Fluxmuseum, Fort Worth, TX / October 8 – 30
Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Florida Atlantic University, FL / July 15 – October 18
The RNG Gallery, Omaha, NE / Till Death Due Us Part / July 31 – August 28

Villa Torri & Biblioteca Comunale, Vimodrone, Italy / May 8-19
Museum of Modern Art, Wales, UK / April 27 – May 8
Exit 11 Contemporary Art, Grand-Leez, Belgium / April 11 – June 27
ASA Art Gallery, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina / April 1 – 15
Prostor, Zagreb, Croatia / March 22–30
Steppling Art Gallery, San Diego State U, CA / ABAD Mexicali / March 10 – April 9
Vladimir Nazor Library, Zagreb, Croatia / February 26 – March 21
Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, Brazil / Um Livro Sobre A Morte / February 6 – 28

2009 La Sexta Literary Arts Festival, Tijuana, Mexico / November 21
Queens Museum of Art, NY / November 1 –15
River Mill Art Gallery, Westfield, NJ / October 17–31
Ripe Art Gallery, Greenlawn, NY / October 11–18
Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles,CA / October 11–31
Mobius, Boston, MA / September 19 – 20
Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery, Soho, NY / September 10 – 20


IMAGE TOP: EHF DIRECTOR, CHRISTIAN XATREC, INSTALLING WORKS AT THE EHF, NYC, 2009.  IMAGE MIDDLE: INSTALLATION AT THE OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, LA, CA, 2009.  IMAGE BOTTOM LEFT: INSTALLATION ABAD AT THE QUEENS MUSEUM, 2009.