meredith cutler :: arts marketing :: artist

This just in (via Fay via Tommey via The Hyde Park Arts Initiative):

Open to female artists working in all visual disciplines, this project is accepting submissions in postcard format; either 4"x6" or 14 x 10.5cm. (Sorry, dudes...no boys allowed?)

"Select donated works will be exhibited at the 9th Street Gallery in Washington DC in March 2008 and all donated works will be available for sale during an educational event/exhibit to raise funds for a women's shelter and an NGO helping women and children. Further details about the exhibition and educational event will be soon posted on the project website. Interested female artists are highly encouraged to visit http://www.art4development.net/tpp.html to learn more about the submission/project participation details."

As if we don't already have an overwhelming array of online time-wasters (I mean, ahem, enriching online activities), now I discover the new online networking community of "ItSpace".

A clever derivative of the now ubiquitous MySpace, ItSpace makes its mark on cyberspace by allowing inanimate, household objects to "network" with each other via the beautiful music trapped just beneath their shiny (or soft) surfaces.

And just HOW does this apply to reality (cyber or no) you might ask? Users are asked to record the sounds made with a household object, and to create a musical piece using just these sounds. Then, by uploading the musical clip along with a photograph of the object, a profile is created. Objects may then "befriend" other inanimate objects whose profiles are already included on the site. Another means of enjoying ItSpace is to remix existing objects (or, better yet, create a mashup! Blender, anyone?)

If anyone from the 9yds. days has a recording of that infamous '00 kitchen appliance and powertool jam at 40 Newcastle, please send it my way!

Today the snow is falling, its treacherous Friday flakes dampening any motivation to make the snarled jaunt up Route 128 to my studio. At times like these, I like to browse my magazines and the internet for shows that I would like to attend, preferably out of town, to appeal to my "I need a change of scenery" mantra.

One that caught my eye: "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City. Featuring edgy, contemporary takes on this ancient, embellishment craft by an international assembly of artists, both male and female. I see that the list includes Ghada Amer, whose work I have always admired. Many names are unfamiliar to me, like Andrea Dezsö, whose piece below: "My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though..." draws directly from the stitchy tradition of Sampler and floss, yet calls up a juicy undercurrent of the implications of words and interpretation in childhood.

Sounds right up my alley, actually. For a gallery of archived images of my own take on alternative embroidery, click here.

Just a quickie on the MC recommends circuit today. Ever the last-minute romantic, I hit the Avon Theatre back on V-Day when I saw that Persepolis was on a short run there. I always miss the movies I want to see at the Avon, so I was in a hurry to catch this!

Based upon the brilliant, auto-biographical graphic novel by the ever-sassy Iranian ex-pat Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis is a fantastic example of an artist/animator collaboration that crosses cultural divides like a knife through butter. I was struck pie-eyed by Satrapi's recount of her middle-class Iranian upbringing as an only child during the turbulence of the 1970-80's, even morso by the unexpected familiarity of her depicted struggles with authority and culture.

Of course, in regards to revolution-era Iran, nothing could be further from my safe (yet sullen) upbringing in Regan-era Massachusetts! Regardless, the narrative angle, conveyed through brilliantly stylized animation (by Satrapi's collaborator Vincent Parannoud) bridges the implied cultural divide to draw the viewer into a place and time that must be told. Through suprisingly versatile, black and white design and at times hysterically funny vocal and visual dialogue, Persepolis breathes a familiar and sympathetic spirit into a population and culture that is so often completely misunderstood by outside audiences.

While an English version (featuring the voiceover talents of Geena Davis and Iggy Pop) is forthcoming, I highly recommend catching the original, French language version. With voicing by Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve and Danielle Darriux, you will not regret it.

We had some family business "up noath (north)" last night, so we decided to take the scenic drive up 95, to 93, to Storrow Drive, up JFK and down Mass Ave to catch the CitySampler: Boston release party at Spark Craft Studios. (If you are studio-less, Spark is a place to buy your supplies and work on your projects. I hear that on Friday nights, they give you wine to go with your projects. Fancy!)

To celebrate the wicked pissa-ness of Boston, our hometown, Crostini contributed some special, 2-color gocco prints and "Circolo" earrings. Although the initial batch of Boston CitySamplers sold out yesterday, Alison has made a few more available at the Sampler Shop. It's a wicked steal at only $18. Pick yours up today before they are all gone! (If you are lucky, you might get one of 30 limited edition prints of "It Came on a Grey Day" by Egg-a-go-go's Sarah Coyne.)