The Most Influential Cuban Artist 1st show in the US

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We're going here tonight...You should too!

Kinetic Sculpture Derby

Something fun I went to a week or so ago...

See the rest of the photos here

We Went on a Search

Matt Siren did some street art and we didn't know exactly where, but we went on 3 different walks to find it. Still missing the main piece that was bolted to a sign. Here's some photos from our "adventure".

SUCCESS!

Why is art important?

There are many galleries throughout the world and I'm sure most people like browsing the artwork. But why is it important to me, you, and society? Simply put the arts play a large role in shaping the way communities, large and small, communicate about ciritcal issues.
 Art is a way to express visions that are beyond what we can express with words. The government funded program, from 35'-43', employed artists to help recover the economy after the Great Depression. The WPA Poster Division employed hundreds of artists and craftspeople to create millions of posters to promote New Deal programs, affordable housing, workplace safety, cultural and arts events, healthy living, and tourism. The program employed workers not only creating the art on the posters, but thousands to print and hang them.

What a massive role the artists played even in recent history! Knowledge of the arts is an indispensable foundation for enlightenment in our complicated world.

Here's what Seattle's Mayor Greg Nickels stated talking with Jeffrey Hirsh of Encore Magazine: "When you are trying to attract top talent, one of the things people look for is a vibrant, dynamic city. That includes the arts and cultural life of the city. The arts in Seattle make it easier to get people to come here to contribute their talents to our city. And it certainly helps in terms of the bottom line: tourist and people who live here contribute dollars to our economy by participating in the arts. That helps me to balance my budget and provide for the arts and for many other important services."
 

Please leave a comment with your thoughts!

We, The Slingluff Gallery and the art world, would love to hear from you!

The start of the snow storm!

Nick Pedersen's Artwork

Reviewed by Kevin Margitich. Thank Kevin!

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I didn’t know quite what to expect. I only saw one piece in person prior to the show, but what I knew from that one piece was that he had a great grasp on his medium. I checked out whatever I was able to find a week leading up to the opening. His multimedia work has a lot going on to say the least. The postcard for the show alone lured me in: Deer facing off in an end-of-the-world mess full of power lines, garbage, broken down structures, a McDonald’s and a bowling alley.

Lana and I picked up Nick Pedersen and his friend Dan from 30th St. Station an hour before the opening. They hung the show earlier in the day after a two-plus hour ride in from Brooklyn. Nick seemed as anxious for the show as he did just to know about the city and what was around him, as well as who we were and what we did. (We had all met briefly during the summer at the official opening of the Slingluff Gallery where we were part of the Group Birdhouse Show.)

Pulling up to the show, I was pretty struck by the layout. The walls were filled with a nice mix of large-scale work on thick wooden box frames, as well as a huge collage of black framed prints. Titled “The Reclamation,” the show is a scathing commentary largely focused on humans’ impact on nature and vice versa, where images are manipulated into a digital collage of improbable landscapes. Pedersen creates a hopeless habitat for wildlife where any inkling of home can not be found. The show’s title piece, an expansive 30” x 75” five panel creation, is where Pedersen’s theme comes full circle: Cityscape structures begin to be overrun with greenery and wildlife and pre-industrial man relearns survival.

This show will be up through November at The Slingluff Gallery in Fishtown, Philadelphia. You can view the show at slingluffgallery.com.

Cheers for now.

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