Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality. In Los Angeles. March 2010. The event wrapped up on the 7th. I didn’t make it out to the gallery but found some great photos of the event by NOTCOT and DAILY DUJOUR. As a visual spectacle, it was a powerful statement for equality in America. It was our culture creating momentum for change. And the work to make our place we call home a little more equal and just, goes on. 
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Wieden + Kennedy has a new episode of their D.I.Y. America series online. This one is about skateboarding and selling out.

I’ve been a fan of Kelsey Brookes for awhile now and this video is a great peek into his story. He’s an inspiring artist, not only in his work, but also in his attitude.

…because making is part of things.

Years ago, when Justin and I started putting together the first version of The Match Factory, we had this phrase that we used as an answer to why we are doing this. “…because making is part of things.” This awkward phrase really stuck with me. It captures the spirit of open-ended discovery without heavy-handed goals or judgments.  Why do we make stuff? Because making is part of things.

We both recognized early on that a workaday lifestyle could leave you feeling too focused on measurable goals and results. For the most part, design is about solving a specific problem. Art, on the other hand, can be more about personal expression. In an effort to walk the line between the two, I try to make time in my schedule for random acts of making. The images in this post are examples of time spent messing about. I think of them as design debris, lingering residue from thoughts and projects. Doodles and leftovers or something like that. Nothing really “good,” but then again, making something good isn’t really the point.

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Cover art for Live at KEXP Volume 4

Let’s hear it for the honest and the authentic: KEXP! The coming together of an amazing, wonderful and extraordinary music community. (No corporate hacks found here.) If you aren’t a member, do consider it. You’ll be supporting some of the best efforts at keeping music alive and well today. The KEXP Podcast Songs of the Day (free downloads) are more than worth the membership. And not to mention their live albums they put out every year. (Yeasayer playing 2080 in their studios is one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard.)

Just to be clear, I have no ties to the station, other than I just think they kick so much ass, it isn’t even funny. I don’t even live in Seattle. But there is for sure a special place in my heart for KEXP. So listen up!

Here’s a great video of Thomas Campbell preparing for his October 2009 exhibit Copenhagen, Denmark entitled “Ummmm.” I’ve always loved Thomas’ work but I think what I like almost as much as the finished product is his lighthearted approach to making. He’s a maker, a doodler, a sewer, a surfer… its just an inspiring way of life and this video does a great job of capturing it on film.

The Save the City project will bring together emerging artists and city residents to imagine and prompt creative social engagements and civic activation.

I recently discovered Broken City Lab: “an artist-led interdisciplinary creative research group that tactically disrupts and engages the city, its communities, and its infrastructures to reimagine the potential for action in the collapsing post-industrial city of Windsor, Ontario.” I really love the idea of “MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.” I’m blown away by all the projects and research on the site. And I guess I’m still processing all the radness. So yeah, please just visit their site.

Broken City Lab’s creative activity is located at the intersection of social practice, performance, and activism. The lab attempts to generate a new dialogue surrounding public participation and community engagement in the creative process, with a focus on the city as both a research site and workspace. It is not about doing the work of the city’s officials, or social workers, or politicians; it is about finding new creative ways to address our concerns with the city, while recognizing that our concerns may be similar to those of other community members.

One Half

I’m in the process of making my piece for the Manifest Equality gallery in LA coming up this March. I answered these questions for the “meet the artist” blog on their site:

Why have you chosen to participate in Manifest Equality?

Being part of the push for a better, more equal place to live with such an inspiring group of culture creators is one of those things you just have to do.

Manifest Equality? Yes, of course. I’m in.

Describe a bit about your submission to the gallery or the creative process you are putting into it.

I’d say the artwork is bold and light-hearted. It’s called “HALFSIES or Dear Lovers Keep Loving”. At the most basic level, two halves make a whole, no matter what. So just keep lovin’. The art and design work I do always simplifies, is rather direct, and looks at the use of the piece. In this case, my wife and I have 2 other pieces I made hanging above our bed that say “always love.” She said to me the other day, that I’m her half. I totally love that. When it’s about love, that’s how it is. All else collides in a mishmash of politics, religion, prejudice, stereotypes, taboos, and whatever else is used to callously deny the expression of love between people. The process I went through ended on wanting to assure all of us that the issue is so simple we’ll get it sorted out. Until then, just keep loving each other.

Also, I like big type.

What else would you like to manifest?

Things that America doesn’t like to talk about. A couple of examples: A Department of Peace, a humane immigration system, and economic justice. Really, I see the momentum building from Manifest Hope to Manifest Equality as only the beginning. What this can be is a movement of culture creation so powerful it continues to break down walls and helps make the dream of a more fair and just society for ALL increasingly inevitable.

A diverse array of hundreds of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to celebrate that role and join with our gay (LGBT) friends, family members and co-workers to demand full and equal rights for all Americans.

We believe in FULL & EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL Americans with no exceptions.

Art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum, and this is your chance to get involved. 

HERE: ManifestEquality.com

I love these porcelain scultptures by Kate MacDowell. Great mixture of realism and fantasy.  (more…)