Tuesday, September 16, 2008
About entropy.
What I am really interested in, and what I am so powerfully impacted by as a theme that unites Sparkplug members’ work, is not the phenomenon of entropy itself, but the fight against/resistance to/defiance of entropy and stasis that drives the art making process, and – more broadly – is a causal agent in dreaming up and enacting any kind of change to one’s environment. The contra-entropic impulse, if you will. One dictionary definition of entropy is “the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity” – i.e. the chaos and degradation all organisms and systems tend towards when no additional attention or oppositional energy is directed their way. But even artworks that appear at first to brim over with unbridled, noisy, surplus or even accidental energy and information (that is, lots of entropy!) have definite and deliberate organizing principles and patterns. These stratagems and motifs were put into play during their creation, and continue to evolve through viewers’ deepening engagements with the work over time.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
DCAC’s Sparkplug in New York City, Tuesday, Sept 16.
DCAC’s Sparkplug in New York City, Tuesday, Sept 16.
IT’S STILL. IT MOVES. II
E32 = VIDEO PHOTOGAPHY PAINTING MIXED MEDIA PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTATION DRAWING
Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month in New York City E32 is a video/discussion series that takes place at the 5C Cultural Center in New York City. E32 is pleased to announce DCAC’s Sparkplug is included in the upcoming video/discussion series titled:
IT’S STILL. IT MOVES. II
Tuesday September 16th, 2008
7:30 – 10:00 pm
5C Cultural Lounge
68 Avenue C at 5th Street
New York, New York
The show includes work by members of the DCAC’s Sparkplug including slides of work by: Kathryn McDonnell, Karen Joan Topping, Michael Matason, Lisa McCarty, Jenny Walton, Mark Planisek, Deborah Carroll-Anzinger, Peter Gordon, with Lea Ann Bigelow, curator.
More about E32 at http://e32.hitart.com/.
IT’S STILL. IT MOVES. II
E32 = VIDEO PHOTOGAPHY PAINTING MIXED MEDIA PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTATION DRAWING
Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month in New York City E32 is a video/discussion series that takes place at the 5C Cultural Center in New York City. E32 is pleased to announce DCAC’s Sparkplug is included in the upcoming video/discussion series titled:
IT’S STILL. IT MOVES. II
Tuesday September 16th, 2008
7:30 – 10:00 pm
5C Cultural Lounge
68 Avenue C at 5th Street
New York, New York
The show includes work by members of the DCAC’s Sparkplug including slides of work by: Kathryn McDonnell, Karen Joan Topping, Michael Matason, Lisa McCarty, Jenny Walton, Mark Planisek, Deborah Carroll-Anzinger, Peter Gordon, with Lea Ann Bigelow, curator.
More about E32 at http://e32.hitart.com/.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sept 14 - Meeting - Read carefully!
Hello Everyone – I am going to try to nip any confusion about the “PROPOSED MEETING” in the bud right now. It is happening – but read the below closely – it’s a little unorthodox.
While I was away at school this Summer in Philly there were committees and individuals that have been working on DCAC’s Sparkplug for the past year working. I am meeting with them first at the DCAC Gallery on September 14 from 7-8 PM to get their reports about our slide debut in the East Village, NYC, a Sparkplug proposal for a locally themed show of local artists and how to make membership clearer, fairer and help DCAC. Only people that were working on these projects should come to the DCAC Gallery at 7 PM.
We then wanted to have an open forum after that from 8-9 PM (or until it ends) for everyone that had been attending meetings sporadically for the past year and anyone new that might be lurking since we made our blog public (http://dcacsparkplug.blogspot.com/ ). We are all missing the easier going atmosphere we started off with and understand that we all need to get to know each other better if we are going to work together.
PROBLEM is that there is something in the DCAC theater that nite too – so it will not be a great idea for us to have a group larger than 10 or so people in the gallery on the 14th so as not to disturb the patrons in the theater.
THEREFORE, in order to solve this problem as soon as possible, I propose that at 8 PM we will all head over to the bar & pool hall, Bedrock Billiards, located in the Lower level of 1841 Columbia Rd NW. Some of you may recall this is where we first gathered a huge-ish group of people in 2007 to talk about why what they thought being involved in a collective could mean.
I encourage everyone that may be interested to see how we have handled our first year to come on by Sunday night, September 14 as we approach our “Terrible Two’s”. Feel free to email me directly at karenjoan@gmail.com with questions.
While I was away at school this Summer in Philly there were committees and individuals that have been working on DCAC’s Sparkplug for the past year working. I am meeting with them first at the DCAC Gallery on September 14 from 7-8 PM to get their reports about our slide debut in the East Village, NYC, a Sparkplug proposal for a locally themed show of local artists and how to make membership clearer, fairer and help DCAC. Only people that were working on these projects should come to the DCAC Gallery at 7 PM.
We then wanted to have an open forum after that from 8-9 PM (or until it ends) for everyone that had been attending meetings sporadically for the past year and anyone new that might be lurking since we made our blog public (http://dcacsparkplug.blogspot.com/ ). We are all missing the easier going atmosphere we started off with and understand that we all need to get to know each other better if we are going to work together.
PROBLEM is that there is something in the DCAC theater that nite too – so it will not be a great idea for us to have a group larger than 10 or so people in the gallery on the 14th so as not to disturb the patrons in the theater.
THEREFORE, in order to solve this problem as soon as possible, I propose that at 8 PM we will all head over to the bar & pool hall, Bedrock Billiards, located in the Lower level of 1841 Columbia Rd NW. Some of you may recall this is where we first gathered a huge-ish group of people in 2007 to talk about why what they thought being involved in a collective could mean.
I encourage everyone that may be interested to see how we have handled our first year to come on by Sunday night, September 14 as we approach our “Terrible Two’s”. Feel free to email me directly at karenjoan@gmail.com with questions.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Hi DCAC SPARKPLUGGERS
I'm back from Philly - Hope you all had a good Summer. Stay tuned for details on an open forum September meeting. I won't be able to announce the details until after September 8th or so - but I wanted to give people a chance to ask questions and get prepared for what is on our plate at the moment and find out how you can help out.
Ciao, Karen
I'm back from Philly - Hope you all had a good Summer. Stay tuned for details on an open forum September meeting. I won't be able to announce the details until after September 8th or so - but I wanted to give people a chance to ask questions and get prepared for what is on our plate at the moment and find out how you can help out.
Ciao, Karen
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
July Update
Hi all,
Just a few quick notes.
Our regularly scheduled meeting in July was just Mark and I. We had a great conversation over some beverages at Angles Bar. We missed you all.
Mark, Peter, and I have been meeting about getting the Arlington Arts Center proposal together and hope to have it ready for roll out to the general Sparkplug population by our September meeting. We are hoping to meet with the AAC people very soon and are excited about the possibilities of collaboration.
We are hoping to have an August meeting. So please stay tuned. If anyone has any questions, please contact me.
Jenny Walton
Just a few quick notes.
Our regularly scheduled meeting in July was just Mark and I. We had a great conversation over some beverages at Angles Bar. We missed you all.
Mark, Peter, and I have been meeting about getting the Arlington Arts Center proposal together and hope to have it ready for roll out to the general Sparkplug population by our September meeting. We are hoping to meet with the AAC people very soon and are excited about the possibilities of collaboration.
We are hoping to have an August meeting. So please stay tuned. If anyone has any questions, please contact me.
Jenny Walton
Monday, May 19, 2008
Meeting Minutes 5/12/08
Sparkplug minutes
5/12/2008
prepared by Jenny 5/19/08
First…an update:
Deborah and Josh welcomed little Zoë into the world on the Wednesday, the 14th. Everyone is doing well. She weighed 6lbs 3 oz and was 19.5 inches long.
Now down to business…
Members present: Karen, Lisa, Mike, Mark, Jenny, Kathryn and Peter. New people Christian Benefiel and Eva Hennessa.
Discussion:
Membership – It was discussed how to move forward with projects and still get the maximum enthusiasm and strength to continue in each project. The question of how large is too large was brought up and also if there should be criteria for membership. Several characteristics were discussed of fellow artists that we would hope to look for in someone entering the group. Development of a body of work, accomplishment, seriousness and commitment to working practice of art were all qualities and criteria we would like to look for. Further discussion will happen at the June meeting.
Blog – it is now public. The question of how it can benefit the community as a whole was discussed, as our findings from Learnapalooza were that there were some people that were really enthusiastic about creating, but may never actually want to join Sparkplug. Our question is how do we continue to reach out to those individuals?
E32 presentation draft: Lisa and Lea-Ann have done a great job in getting the draft of the presentation together. Lisa compiled all the images curated by Lea-Ann and put them together in a running slide presentation; each artist has 4-5 images. We did a couple run throughs of the presentation and made any necessary change notes. It was discussed that the show may run in June or September in New York. The general consensus was we would rather have it run in September to allow everyone to possibly get the time off to go see it. Lisa needs all info ASAP to complete the presentation. The presentation will be in it final format for the next meeting.
Cuisine des Artistes presented by Karen: DCAC’s biannual fundraiser is coming up on Wednesday May 28th. Sparkplug members are highly encouraged to participate in some way. Please contact Karen as soon as possible if you are interested in participating. If you are contributing food/art, Blair needs a paragraph bio and the “title” of your piece for the event by TODAY.
Arlington Arts Center proposal presented by Peter: We will be putting together a proposal for the Arlington Arts Center Community Gallery. The space is 13’ x 35’. Jeffrey Cudlin, director of exhibitions would like us in there in early 2009. Some issues to address in the proposal are: site specific to Arlington, how is Sparkplug’s mission different from DCAC’s, What is our idea of a collective. Several of these will necessitate a meeting with Mr. Cudlin to clarify. The idea of a sub-committee to take care of the initial dealings and proposal was brought up to make sure we submit a clear and concise proposal.
Eve Hennessa presented her work.
Next meeting Sunday, June 8th at 3pm at Jenny’s house in Kensington; poolside with potluck BBQ to follow. The meeting will happen from 3pm to 4:30pm then let the potluck begin! I will be inviting other artists to the potluck as a social art gathering. The pool should be open by then so bring your suits if you are interested in swimming. Please RSVP to jenny.walton@gmail.com this meeting and I will forward directions.
AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
i. Continue discussions of membership
ii. View final presentation of E32 submission
iii. Arlington Arts Center proposal
iv. artist presentations (if any)
v. exhibition exchange with San Francisco collective Agent Peach
5/12/2008
prepared by Jenny 5/19/08
First…an update:
Deborah and Josh welcomed little Zoë into the world on the Wednesday, the 14th. Everyone is doing well. She weighed 6lbs 3 oz and was 19.5 inches long.
Now down to business…
Members present: Karen, Lisa, Mike, Mark, Jenny, Kathryn and Peter. New people Christian Benefiel and Eva Hennessa.
Discussion:
Membership – It was discussed how to move forward with projects and still get the maximum enthusiasm and strength to continue in each project. The question of how large is too large was brought up and also if there should be criteria for membership. Several characteristics were discussed of fellow artists that we would hope to look for in someone entering the group. Development of a body of work, accomplishment, seriousness and commitment to working practice of art were all qualities and criteria we would like to look for. Further discussion will happen at the June meeting.
Blog – it is now public. The question of how it can benefit the community as a whole was discussed, as our findings from Learnapalooza were that there were some people that were really enthusiastic about creating, but may never actually want to join Sparkplug. Our question is how do we continue to reach out to those individuals?
E32 presentation draft: Lisa and Lea-Ann have done a great job in getting the draft of the presentation together. Lisa compiled all the images curated by Lea-Ann and put them together in a running slide presentation; each artist has 4-5 images. We did a couple run throughs of the presentation and made any necessary change notes. It was discussed that the show may run in June or September in New York. The general consensus was we would rather have it run in September to allow everyone to possibly get the time off to go see it. Lisa needs all info ASAP to complete the presentation. The presentation will be in it final format for the next meeting.
Cuisine des Artistes presented by Karen: DCAC’s biannual fundraiser is coming up on Wednesday May 28th. Sparkplug members are highly encouraged to participate in some way. Please contact Karen as soon as possible if you are interested in participating. If you are contributing food/art, Blair needs a paragraph bio and the “title” of your piece for the event by TODAY.
Arlington Arts Center proposal presented by Peter: We will be putting together a proposal for the Arlington Arts Center Community Gallery. The space is 13’ x 35’. Jeffrey Cudlin, director of exhibitions would like us in there in early 2009. Some issues to address in the proposal are: site specific to Arlington, how is Sparkplug’s mission different from DCAC’s, What is our idea of a collective. Several of these will necessitate a meeting with Mr. Cudlin to clarify. The idea of a sub-committee to take care of the initial dealings and proposal was brought up to make sure we submit a clear and concise proposal.
Eve Hennessa presented her work.
Next meeting Sunday, June 8th at 3pm at Jenny’s house in Kensington; poolside with potluck BBQ to follow. The meeting will happen from 3pm to 4:30pm then let the potluck begin! I will be inviting other artists to the potluck as a social art gathering. The pool should be open by then so bring your suits if you are interested in swimming. Please RSVP to jenny.walton@gmail.com this meeting and I will forward directions.
AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
i. Continue discussions of membership
ii. View final presentation of E32 submission
iii. Arlington Arts Center proposal
iv. artist presentations (if any)
v. exhibition exchange with San Francisco collective Agent Peach
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