Grace Slick on tour with art!

I noticed this article in The Boston Herald this morning. Grace Slick is a songwriter and vocalist for rock bands. However for the last 10 years, she has been using her creative talents to paint. She was showcasing her work at Wentworth Gallery in Chestnut Hill. The following is a link to the article. The link may be outdated after today because the article will be archived, and will not be able to be seen for free.

Here is the link to the article.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/1216846791.html?dids=1216846791:1216846791&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+15%2C+2007&author=CHRISTOPHER+JOHN+TREACY&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=40&desc=Slick+show%3A+Grace%27s+latest+form+of+expressionism

Podcast

Check out the podcast that I made about Iranian artwork at Northeastern University. Several weeks ago, the art gallery at NU featured many paintings and photographs by Iranian artists showcasing the turmoil in the Middle East. The following is a link to the actual podcast that you can listen to. Let me know what you think!!

Link to Podcast:
http://ia340929.us.archive.org/1/items/Iranian_Artists/IranianArtistsFinished.mp3

Article on Longobardi!

The Northeastern News covered the guest lecture made by Pam Longobardi. I thought the article did a really good job explaining the event and highlighting the most interesting aspects. There was a lot more to the article than the dressed up sheep. Her slides from her travels to Montana, and while she was a firefighter were really incredible. It was a real mind opener to how big the world actually is, and where people fit in to that larger picture. Another part that was particularly interesting was her work with fossils. She used her artistic ability to draw a guesstimate of what an actual egg might have looked like. Later, her drawing was used in a scientific journal which made her work a historical record. The following is a link to the actual article which is good at explaining her lecture in more detail.

http://media.www.nu-news.com/media/storage/paper600/news/2007/03/14/News/Connecting.Art.With.Physical.World-2775453.shtml

Longobardi's Lecture

Artist Pam Longobardi showcased slides of her most impressive and distinguished artwork on Tuesday night. Inspired by nature and social events, she uses these elements to enhance her art work. In particular, Longobardi discussed the influence of events such as Dolly, the cloned sheep, and the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey.
Most of her paintings, photographs, and installations were extremely creative and original. However, I do have qualms about her artwork pertaining to Dolly. Longobardi showed a slide of two lead sheep figurines. She said that she "decorated" the sheep. One was wearing a lace collar, and the other was wearing a lace skirt. She said that someone once told her they resembled a puritan sheep, and a sexualized sheep. To me, it looked like she just tied a piece of lace around them and called it art. Although art is a matter of subjective interpretation, I beg to differ that her little sheep's were art.
Aside from my mini-rant, a lot of her work was very impressive and original. Check out the link below to see her personal website and pictures of her other artistic creations.

Longobardi's Website
http://www.pamlongobardi.com/

Pam Longobardi- Artist Speaks at NU!!

Don't miss Pam Longobardi who is giving a special guest lecture Tuesday, March 13th at Northeastern University. The lecture will begin in 105 Shillman Hall at 6 p.m. The lecture is free to the public and should be interesting to learn about the trials and errors of another professional artist. Do your best to make it! It will be interesting and insightful.

Laura Kurgan's Lecture

For those of you who may have missed Laura's lecture, you missed out on a exciting turn where art and technology combined together to create better understanding of social issues. Kurgan discussed her experiences purchasing overhead satellite images. While using these aerial shots, she is able, with the help of other researchers, to map out amazing issues. For instance, using data from prison admission and aerial shots of Manhattan, Kurgan is able to demonstrate the areas of the city where crime is centrally located. Using this method, it is easy to demonstrate and explain different social phenomenons. She was also able to demonstrate similar trends after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Using aerial photographs and crime statistics, it was easy to spot trends where violence was most predominate. It is not surprising to find that most of the crime occurring in New Orleans was occurring on the outskirts of populated areas. Not only was it useful to demonstrate crime trends, it was also useful in pin pointing population return, the areas that are repopulated verses areas that are still largely unpopulated. Although she used photographs and art to layer the dimensions of these complex issues, it is particularly innovative when thinking about other areas of social construction.