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6 years ago
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Federico Guzmán (AKA Fiko) has become an iconic figure in Western Sahara, utilizing the platform art offers as a vehicle to promote peace and social change to the Saharawi people. Guzmán treads between a soldier of solidarity and curator of cultures emphasizing on gatherings, art, and experiences that will induce an exchange of ideas and collaborations between artists and wherever his projects realize, and the local community.
For twelve years Guzmán has co-organized ARTifariti The Arts and Human Rights Encounters of Western Sahara in the African desert "as a way to explain the circumstances of the Saharawi people " creating a "weapon of visibility" to a story not globally known by many nor should be hidden from the public eye: and with projects such as ARTifariti one sees the opportunity to include foreign narratives and artists distanced by unfavorable political circumstances into the art world”.
The selected artists demonstrate couth in human rights and its relevance within the arts, but more importantly "are confronted a reality" that is life-changing from personal to professional, receiving a surreal cultural exchange with fresh perspectives and resilient power from the Sahawari people (especially from the matriarch figure whose role is to lead the community).
During 2018's visitation in the Sahara, the artists delve into intense creative processes of art-making, finally exhibiting and documenting the work(s). Collaborations are accessible on the list of act[...]
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6 years ago
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It was the industrial revolution that first attempted to record sound “as a medium for preservation," activating the phenomena of noise as an integral source when documenting history. Thomas Edison received notoriety for the phonograph in 1877, but it was really Edouard-Lèon Scott de Martinsville who invented the phonautograph in 1857, the first recording device. The device was specifically created to study frequency found in sounds, an intention much different from the phonograph invented by Edison which was to play and “reproduce the recorded sound… originally recorded onto a tinfoil”. As per historical reference ( author unknown ), “The phonograph revolutionized the art of music. Performances were recorded and people could listen to them at their leisure. It also made music and communication more public. The invention signaled the birth of a new form of entertainment and an entirely new field of business that fed the demand for the new invention, the music industry”- hence both inventions put an end to the masses' naiveté to the sense of hearing, and introduced the start of audio’s sensational future possibilities.
When we fast forward through the history of music and sound, we could say that the underground rave music scene (which famously erupted somewhere in between Chicago and the UK during the late 80’s), had a lot of thanking to give the founding fathers of sound, more so Edison’s phonograph. It was the phonograph that gathered groups of people before a speake[...]
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7 years ago
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Street artists are becoming more and more popular each year as graffiti is one of the most accessible forms of visual art for the masses. This genre of art has even become so popular that many superstar street artists work can now be found in some of the finest galleries across the globe! Graffiti involves a great level of skill and creativity and many also like to convey different social and political messages through their work. Below are some of the most influential street artists of our time and where you can view their work.
Banksy
Banksy is arguably the most influential street artists on our list and there are few people who have not heard of him. What makes Banksy so intriguing is that no one actually knows his identity! Much if his artwork features social and political undertones to it and people love the dark sense of humour which he injects into his work. His most notable work can be found in London and other areas of the UK, but you can also find his work in many different parts of the world including America and Israel. He does sometimes auction off his work but you’ll pay a pretty penny for it!
David Choe
While Banksy chooses to operate in secret, David Choe chooses to do the complete opposite! This graffiti artist, graphic designer and muralist is a flamboyant Los Angeles resident. He is famous for his wide range of work which varies from working on film sets to album covers. What’s more, he even painted a portrait of Barack Obama while he was r[...]
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7 years ago
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We recently caught up with the guys from the band Big Sweater to discuss their music, inspiration and their exciting new album they're currently recording.
In one way or another, members of the band have all been part of AFP's music education programs over the years. So, we're very proud and excited to see how they've progressed and evolved as artists. Check out "Platform Stare," a single from the new album.
Platform Stare by Big Sweater
1) What inspired you guys to become musicians, writers?
Collectively what inspired us to be musicians is that of which was instilled in us by our parents and their taste for the most part. Being shown things that would be considered "old school". Those things later becoming memories and what is now sense of nostalgia of car rides and long trips throughout the years subconsciously planting a seedling in a driving force that is creating sound as well as putting words together that sum up how we feel.
2) How would you describe your sound?
Our sound is derivative of multiple things that boil down for the most part to blues. Our upcoming album has a combination of really somber and light tunes and also some really upbeat ones but overall our sound is very mellow.
3) Have you been playing the songs off the new album live, and if so how has the crowd responded to the new songs?
We've played most of the upcoming album in a rotation for about a year now, the crowd now sings along and its one of the most gratifying feelings[...]
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10 years ago
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It was a cold Saturday afternoon, but I was motivated to trek over to Chelsea to check out the Kitchen Girls & Toy Boys show at Rush Arts Gallery. Artists Sindy Butz and Sol Kjok are participating artists in the show and have both worked with AFP on various projects.
It didn't take long for me to identify Sol's very large piece, "Strings Attached" as I walked into the gallery. Her figurative work bursts off the canvas with great detail and her use of color brings out the emotion in her characters. In this piece the characters are strung together and appear to be grasping and climbing over each other while still maintaining a certain co-dependence.
I was impressed with the overall quality and diversity of the work in the show. The work of Reinhold Gottwald caught my attention. His colorful, small, abstract pieces on wood are hung/arranged as if they are a group of planets sharing the same solar system. I found Markus Fiedler's beeswax sneakers quite intriguing and an interesting piece(s) to be included in the show. I was impressed with the incredible detail he was able to achieve using beeswax.
I noticed Sindy crouched down on the floor, but I didn't realize that her performance had already begun. What is she up to this time? Sindy's not afraid to take on the not so obvious social issues of the day. Her thought provoking work continues to evolve and this performance would not disappoint. The message on the floor read, "The West Tastes like Gold." As Sind[...]
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10 years ago
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There's have been so many good electronic- and dance-music releases coming out lately that our heads are spinning…but we've conquered our vertigo enough that we can tell you about two of our favorite recent releases. As an added bonus, both of them have a strong Gotham component - go, home team!—Bruce Tantum
New York Endless
Strategies EP
(Golf Channel Recordings)
“Scale Those Heights,” off the debut EP from New York Endless, is bedecked with the following ornamentation: a metronomic, tick-tocking rhythm; percolating, cascading synths; a spare, haunting melody and, when a four-chord keyboard pattern kicks in around the three-minute mark, a quietly triumphant ambiance. In short, it’s a gorgeous tune that’s not far removed from the work of Kraftwerk, especially the often-meditative, flowing music the German quartet produced for mid-period albums such as ’77's Trans-Europe Express and ’78's The Man-Machine—and for Dan Selzer, the man behind New York Endless, that likely would be the ultimate tribute. Selzer, a veteran DJ and longtime underground presence (he runs the postpunk/new-wave–oriented label Acute Records, among many other claims to fame), doesn’t keep his love of Kraftwerk, and specifically, the combo's “Europe Endless,” a secret, and the shimmering aesthetic of that song and that album runs strong on this EP.
Which is not to say that Selzer has made a slavish, gently cosmic Kraftwerk copy here. “Scale Those Heights” is a full-bodied and muscular work, closer[...]
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10 years ago
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Definition of the word HOME- -n- the place in which one’s domestic affections are centered; adv-deep; to the heart ♥ ; v. to navigate toward a point by means of coordinates other than those given by altitudes.
H.O.M.E. - as an acronym it can be interpreted as wherever you call home. Some might say it’s "wherever you lay your head at night" and that definition may or may not be odds with the dictionary, but it may still be correct. The word HOME has many meanings to many people.
Hence the title of our film, H.O.M.E., as an acronym
home-print
This is where the genesis began. To feature the themes of individuals in New York City who are experiencing urban alienation through an immigrant perspective. Throughout this writing process we decided that eliminating one of the previously planned 3 stories would create a stronger body for the script that would allow the 2 stories to complement each other to still retain the idea that these are not stand alone accounts but a multitude that would convey the essence behind the themes of the film. Hence the synopsis
H.O.M.E. is a feature film about the human condition, comprised of 2 different but related stories involving characters who have intimate and meaningful encounters through the lens of a disconnected and alienating city. Set in New York City, the characters in these stories find themselves in an internal struggle with their environment and proceed to navigate through their path of understanding.
The basis for th[...]
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10 years ago
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Many thanks to Art For Progress for creating this forum to allow it's artists/bloggers a platform to discuss their multi -creative disciplines as well as specific works of art . I've been a member/artist of AFP for a long time and have happily witnessed their growth over their ten years! As a NYC independent filmmaker for 20 years, I'm glad they asked me to blog about film. Being new to blogging, I was at first excited then nervous. This was due to the many different directions I could take. So I feel the best way to start is from my own experience in directing my first full length feature film entitled "H.O.M.E."
Not to get into my filmography/resume too much but I've been writing, producing and directing short films for 20 years. I've worked in the industry on production crews for most of that span which also includes many various other roles I've played whether in post production, programming or even assisting in running film festivals! Let's just say instead of getting the "ol feet wet" I jumped into the pool and have been swimming ever since. In recent years, I'd been focusing more on my own personal projects to cultivate that "dream career" of being an artist/filmmaker in NYC. Well everyone knows by now how difficult that can be and so you better know how to "hustle" in order to juggle your creative aspirations with the reality of living in the most artistically competitive places on earth. With the personal projects, i.e. short films, I was able to hone in [...]
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