Marking the 79^th anniversary of the stock market crash that caused the Great Depression, artist collaborators Ligorano/Reese will stage a literal meltdown of the economy on October 29, 2008. In a new, time-based art installation, called “Main Street Meltdown,” the artists will install a five foot tall, 15 foot wide ice sculpture of the word “ECONOMY” at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, across from the New York State Supreme Court building, close to the heart of the U.S. financial district.

 

“With the recent turmoil in the financial markets and anxiety creeping through the country from Main Street to Wall Street, this sculpture metaphorically captures the results of unregulated markets on the U.S. economy. To see the word “economy” melting down is representational of our extreme time,” said collaborator Nora Ligorano.

 

Weighing almost 1,500 pounds, “Main Street Meltdown” is the fourth in a series of ice sculptures by the artists addressing important political issues of our time. The artists will interview bypassers onsite about the economy and create time-lapse photographs and films.

 

Mainstreet Meltdown is part of BrushFire, a national public art series organized by Provisions Library with support from the CrossCurrents Foundation.

 

The Craft of Politics, Megan Van Wagoner, Hilary Doyle, Xiang Yang, Jennifer Marsh, and Jennifer Drinkwater, November 4 - 30, 2008 in the Main Gallery  at the Montpelier Arts Center 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel MD 20708

Curated by Montpelier instructor, Elizabeth Crisman, this exhibition features artists who work with traditional craft materials to create works of social commentary. There will be a gallery talk by the artists Jennifer Marsh and Megan Van Wagoner during the opening reception on Friday, November 7.

Reception And Gallery Talk, Friday, November 7, 7-9 pm

Image: Dara Greenwald, What is Capitalism?, 2006

Join filmmakers Emily Kunstler, Dara Greenwald, Brian Spinks, and Shelly Silver for a night of screenings, argument, and conversation, moderated by artist Mary Billyou.

Wednesday Oct 1, 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Art in General.

Image: Martha Rosler, Point and Shoot, 2008

Currently at e-flux: OUT NOW! - an exhibition on the occupation of Iraq organized by artist Anton Vidokle:

The questions involved in mounting a political art exhibition are extremely complex. In the past I’ve been skeptical of such direct forms of political expression, primarily due to the instrumentalizing effect they have on artistic production. And yet I have been extremely disconcerted by the near total lack of involvement or discussion of this subject by art institutions here in the only country capable of ending the occupation of Iraq.

Having spoken at length with a group of artists about this radical separation between the political reality of this place and its cultural reality, we decided to present OUT NOW! – a project which is less of a curated exhibition than an attempt to explore possibilities for a sympathetic cultural backdrop for urgent action and discussion toward ending this war.

Artists include Friends of William Blake, Patrick Cockburn, Kathy Kelly, Trevor Paglen, Martha Rosler, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Jalal Toufic. Accompanied with a lecture program at The Cooper Union.

Here for more information.

Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960’s to Nows, is an exhibition at Exit Art in NYC featuring hundreds of posters, photographs, moving images, audio clips, and ephemera documenting dozens of international social movements.

Organized thematically, the exhibition presents the creative outpourings of social movements such as those for Civil Rights and Black Power in the United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in Europe; environmental activism and women’s rights internationally; and the global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests for indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and student and worker revolution in France. The exhibition also explores powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics to create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organizations.

Although histories of political groups and counter-cultures have been written, and political and activist shows have been held, this exhibition is a groundbreaking attempt to chronicle the artistic and cultural production of these movements. Signs of Change offers a chance to see relatively unknown or rarely seen works, and is intended to not only provide a historical framework for contemporary activism, but also to serve as an inspiration for the present and the future.
Ongoing screenprinting workshops with guest artists and activists in collaboration with the Lower East Side Printshop as well as the following programs and events.

The exhibition runs through November 22nd.

This Thursday the 25th there will be a two-panel symposium:

6 pm: Producing and Distributing Social Movement Culture
Panelists include: Judy Ann Seidman/ Artist and Writer (South Africa); Sphinx/Indymedia Africa; illcommonz (Japan), Favianna Rodriguez/Tumis Design (Oakland, CA) and others TBA. Moderated by Gregory Sholette, Assistant Professor Queens College Department of Art, Co-Founder PAD/D & REPOhistory/New York.

8 pm: Assessing the History and Future of Social Movement Culture: A Critical Analysis
Panelists include: Stephen Duncombe/Writer & Professor, NYU; Dee Dee Halleck/Media Activist, Co-founder Deep Dish TV; Sasha Roseneil/Professor of Sociology and Social Theory, Director, Birkbeck Institute for Social Research, Birbeck, University of London (UK), Jose Vasquez/Iraq Veterans Against the War, CUNY Graduate Center and others TBA. Moderated by Kazembe Balagun, Brecht Forum/blogger: blackmanwithalibrary.com (New York, NY).

Democracy in America, Creative Time’s sprawling show at the New York Armory is on through the 27th.  Here’s a review from the NYTimes (login required) and a great interactive audio slide show.

The Museum of the Moving Image has an incredible online gallery of political campaign commercials called The Living Room Candidate.  It features more than 300 commercials, from every presidential election since 1952, when Madison Avenue advertising executive Rosser Reeves convinced Dwight Eisenhower that short ads played during such popular TV programs as I Love Lucy would reach more voters than any other form of advertising.

Don’t miss President Johnson’s infamous “Daisy Girl” ad, which ran only once during an NBC broadcast of Monday Night at the Movies on September 7, 1964.

The Curator’s Choice is a great place to start getting inspired to vote.  Slate magazine’s Chief Political Correspondent John Dickerson, also compiled a playlist here.  There’s a great lesson plan for teachers as well.

       

Images: Nicolas Lampert, Eric Drooker and Marsha Shaw

The New York Society of Etchers is spearheading an ambitious country-wide series of print exhibitions featuring political graphics.  With an amazing 50 exhibitions in the initiative, you’re sure to find one (reasonably) nearby.  You can also tour their Virtual Exhibition.

   

Image: Meghan Sbertoli and Eric Santoy