Art on a cart has grown up

I've written about The Easel Rider before, but this UNC-TV video has really affirmed my faith in this program. Funded with city dollars, the Easel Rider requires less resources to operate and can potentially provide greater outreach than traditional "recreation center" programs.

Another innovative aspect is that the Easel Rider can accommodate a variety of artists and media thanks to the help of new media artists Mark Koven and Gene Felice who outfitted the van with some state of the art digital electronic equipment.

I'm not sure how many other cities in the US have implemented programs similar to Easel Rider, but I hope people can look to this production as an example of inspired and resourceful city spending.

If you are an artist/writer/performer who would like an opportunity to utilize the Easel Rider, follow this link for more information

The New Materiality at The Asheville Art Museum

Tim Tate; Burned but Not Forgotten

Artists respond to technology’s ubiquity by combining traditional crafting methods with electronic media. The New Materiality, a traveling show curated by Fo Wilson of The Fuller Craft Museum, assesses the boundaries between the handmade and the automated, the traditional and the contemporary. Among the work presented: Videos of oak trees embedded into a classically crafted wooden table, jewelry constructed from pixelated low resolution images of gems, woven tapestries depicting the sound waves of hand-operated and mechanized looms, and hand-blown glass vessels ornamented with cast glass encasing mini videos that pay homage to books.

Donald Fortescue and Lawrence LaBianca; Sounding

There are a few glitches in the presentation: some batteries need recharging, and not everything is operating at its fullest capacity, though from a certain perspective this points to a larger issue regarding electronic technology’s fragility and current dependence upon finite resources. Still, considering the multifaceted creative legacy of Western North Carolina, this exhibit is very relevant to the local dialogue of contemporary art and craft, and is worth seeing. Kudos to the museum for exhibiting new media.

Read more: Art Bets Mtn Xpress Dec 14

Through March 18 at the Asheville Art Museum. $8 for nonmembers. Free every first Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. www.ashevilleartmuseum.org

Artist Profile: Libby O'Bryan

I had the pleasure of meeting Libby O'Bryan when I wrote this article for Verve Magazine. O'Bryan is one of several artists featured in the Out of Fashion exhibit currently on display at SECCA in Winston Salem.

On the opening night of the exhibit, Out of Fashion, O’Bryan performed a piece called “Sewed In,” during which she literally sewed herself up. Sitting inside a bubble of fabric with her sewing machine, she sewed furiously until the bubble collapsed and the material clung to her like a second skin. She ended her performance by breaking out of the wrap, but the performance brought to mind images of suffocation and horrific sweatshops. “I do get a little panicky when I’m in there,“ O’Bryan admits.

“Sewed In” was one of several performance pieces O’Bryan developed as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago starting in 2008. It’s a way to illustrate, as she puts it, “a physical manifestation of what the sewing machine and I do together.” Like O’Bryan’s other large-scale conceptual performance pieces, “Sewed In” explores the way individuals are implicated in the socio-political and manufactured worlds around them.

Read more: Sew Cool, Verve Magazine December 2011

Brain Eno's 77 Million Paintings

Photo credit: Brian Eno/lumenlondon.com via LA Times blog

Brian Eno's in town!!!!

It's Moogfest, so there's a lot of synthpop, electronic, krautrock bands playing in Asheville this weekend, and this year Moogfest has expanded its reach by adding an audio visual "act" to the lineup. Brain Eno's 77 Million Paintings, a constantly evolving environment of sound and light based on generative software, will be on display at the YMI through the month of November.

If you have a Moog pass you can go check out the installation all weekend. If you don't, the exhibit opens to the public on Wednesday November 2. Tickets will be $10 and can be purchased at the door.

On Saturday October 29, Eno will give an illustrated lecture at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at 2pm. Moogers get first bids on seats, and then the general public is allowed admittance for $35. (That's about 7 drinks at Broadways, or a pretty fun dining experience for one at Zambras)

Anyway, the point of this post is to urge you all to get to the YMI during the month of November to experience this "visual music" phenomenon. Allow yourself plenty of time to become fully immersed. It's so hypnotic you might have a hard time leaving.

Here's a description of 77 Million Paintings off the Moogfest website:

http://moogfest.com/brian-eno/77-million-paintings/

At a press conference Thursday October 28, Eno had some enlightening things to say about art and his creative approach. Here are some of my favorites:

(These may not be verbatim because I was writing not recording.)

"I wanted to see where the threshold of eventlessness lies."

"I really like art when it's magic. I don't like it when it's just clever."

"With all the images [in the 77 Million Paintings software banks,] there is something like 100 million cubed [possibilities.] "What you see today you won't see tomorrow. The piece you just really loved will never happen again."

"I'm anti occult in a certain way " (when asked about the spiritualist overtones in his work,) "but very pro playing with your own timing devices."

"We've dignified the act of control, but we have to learn how to surrender to things. If you can't shape them you have to learn to be a part of them."

"We consider it a huge achievement to control nature. It's also a huge achievement to surrender to nature."

"Graffiti is very much like calligraphy."

"I see myself as a gardener more than an architect. I plant some seeds, watch them come up [and then decide whether I like what's happened and how I want to alter them.]

"[I commend them because] it's like trying to reproduce a Jackson Pollack painting" (On Bang on a Can's cover of Eno's Music For Airports.)

"I have strong opinions." (when asked what makes him a good record producer.)

On art mentors in art school: "What mattered is that they had strong opinions, because that forced you to take a stance in relation to their opinions -- [whether you agreed with what they said or not.]"

Podcast of the press conference recorded by Alli Marshall for the MountainXpress: part one, part two

www.lumenlondon.com for more Eno stuff.

Heather Lewis: Drawing towards the light

Photograph by Matt Rose, courtesy of Verve Magazine

Since she was a little girl, Heather Lewis has been drawn to the light. Growing up in Trinidad next to an oil refinery, Lewis, now 49, recalls the long shadows cast upon her bedroom walls by the factory. It’s not the sort of thing most kids grow up with, but for Lewis, the glowing orange light and elongated shadows were staples of her childhood.

They’ve become staples in her artwork as well—installations and projections that Lewis categorizes as “nontraditional drawings.” A shadow, she explains, is much like a stencil that uses light as a medium—flat, the way a traditional drawing is, and totally accurate. But shadows can also be toyed with, and she’s made a career out of doing so. “I can take it outside and blow it up big on a building,” she says of a projected shadow. “It can be destroyed and created in an instant.”

Read the full article: Shadow Boxer; Verve Magazine, August 2011

Heather Lewis is part of the Green Shadow exhibit at The McColl Center in Charlotte through August 20. Her work will appear in a group exhibition, Waking up with Van Gogh, at the Hickory Museum of Art next year. For more, check out www.heatherlewis.net.

Bridget Elmer

We can go beyond it

Combining her interests in handmade books, libraries, information exchange and social justice, Bridget Elmer produces works of art that go beyond the book — literally.

Her thesis project, Fibre Libre mirrors the way open-source technology is developed. To make paper for the book, Elmer brought together 10 people who each contributed to its production. Similarly, she had participants adjust processing code to produce a variety of digital images for the book, demonstrating the fundamental ideas of collaboration and revision found in open-source technology.

Another project, We Can Go Beyond It, (pictured above) explores theories of neuroplasticity -- the assertion that the human brain is capable of changing itself. Comprised of various maps of brain activity, the book detaches into "links" that can then be manipulated by the handler: a physical manifestation of the way a person might dismantle and resolve destructive ways of thinking.

Read more: Bold Life Magazine 4/11: Books without Borders

Elmer will perform a collaborative piece involving her printing press and artists R. Brooke Priddy, Matt Schnable and Nathanael Roney at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center {Re} HAPPENING event April 9. Visit rehappening.com for details.

See more of Elmer's work at www.flatbedsplendor

{Pre}Happening on Walnut Street

On the evening of March 12th, one block of Walnut Street in downtown Asheville was closed to traffic in order to accommodate {Pre}Happening a multi media event sponsored by the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and Asheville's Media Arts Project.

Here Mark Koven and Gene Felice project video onto the BB&T building. The bus they are sitting on is called Easel Rider Mobile Arts Lab. Says Koven, "It is a project that was the vision of Diane Ruggerio, city superintendent. I have been helping her and her team put it together and we were really excited about its debut. It will be showcased again on April 9th during the Re Happening and again during the Hatch festival."

Video projections by Scott Furr

Performance by Claire Elizabeth Barratt

LED throwies bulletin created by participating audience members. (Wing structure built by Mark Koven.)

Sound by Elisa Faires and Chandra Shukla

The event was part of a series to promote April 9th's {RE}Happening which is set to take place at the historic grounds of the main campus of Black Mountain College. As stated on the website: "{Re}Happening balances the history, tradition and experience of BMCM+AC with the forward thinking and media-based collective of artists that define the MAP."

www.rehappening.com

themap.org

www.blackmountaincollege.org

ReMade by Nava Lubelski

Nava Lubelski, an internationally known artist who lives in Asheville, is currently involved with a project I find interesting due to it's alternative economic-based format. Lubelski's ReMade Project is part of The Present Group Art Subscription Service which creates limited editions of original artwork by reputable artists. Subscribers to the service receive artwork while funding contemporary art projects. A yearly subscription of $150, for example, gives a patron three limited edition art pieces.

For the project, Lubelski has used a scan of one of her original stained and stitched "paintings" and converted it into computer code so that it could be reproduced en masse by an industrial sewing machine. As she explains in a video she made, the glitches and odd ways the machine interpreted her code contributes to the interest of the manufactured pieces (pictured above.)

To see Lubelski explain her art and the project visit: http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/project/remade

www.navalubelski.com to see more work.

Soundclash: It's electric

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE ORANGEPEEL!!!!! $10

I'm not sure how many people in Asheville are aware that there is actually a thriving scene of musicians (nerds?) who compose really amazing music on their laptops and loop machines. This Saturday night several of the finest electronic musicians our humble town has to offer will be appearing at the Orangepeel. Some of these musicians (Auracene, J.R.R. Fool Killer, Kimathir) have composed soundtracks for movies or have appeared on national bestselling cds (Auracene.) Others have toured internationally (DoomRibbons) or received worldwide notoriety for their musical accomplishments (sys-hex, pomme de terre, IO)

Purists out there often scoff at the idea of making music on computers, but like any instrument, it takes time and inspiration to produce complex soundscapes via digital software. I've heard arguments that electronic musicians are simply allowing the software to make the music, but thats like saying that filmmakers allow the camera to dictate their cinematography or editing. The computer or electronic device is simply another instrument and how the musician handles it is where the artistry lies. 

Not only does this show promise to be a diverse sonic experience, but visuals will be provided by infamous VJ The Moon Foetus Proceeds from the show will go towards the brand-spanking new local radio station Asheville FM.

Here's some links to quell your anticipation:

Auracene

Music to Chaos in Berlin trailer by pomme de terre

Sys-Hex

DoomRibbons

The 48 hour Film Festival

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to direct my first movie ever via The 48 Hour Film Project. For those of you who still don't know about it, the point is to produce a 4-7 minute film based on a line of dialogue, an object, and a specific character that each film team is given at the start of the project. This year everyone had to incorporate the line "I wish I had an answer for you" The prop: Glue, and the character of ballplayer Lefty or Liann Lober.
Every team chose a different genre and ours was HORROR.
The experience was quite interesting. We filmed out at an old school in Alexander (thank you Nathan Green.) It was hot as heck and there were no toilets. I learned a lot. Like for example, it's really hard to make a movie in 48 hours. And I don't really know anything about acting so it was awkward to try to "act" out the script when directing the actors. For me choosing wardrobe was the funnest part - and making the signs, and also the shared experience of getting stressed out with my friends but secretly knowing it's not the end of the world if something goes awry.
All in all I'm pleased with the final outcome. To be honest I wasn't sure how it was going to come together in the end, but once I heard Kima Moore's sound design I knew we had collectively put together a pretty cool movie with some awesome cinematic moments. There's some things I'd do differently now, but that's part of what it's all about.
I have a prediction that one day people will collect 48 hour films like baseball cards. The least popular ones now will be the most sought after in the future.

Benefit for On Coal River

The Mountains of West VA brought to you by Massey Energy Co.
Photograph by Ken Abbott

On Tuesday March 31st a benefit will be held at The Asheville Brew and View at 77 Coxe Avenue to raise money for the final production stages of the documentary, On Coal River.
I've been lucky enough to see rough cuts and outtakes of the movie and I can assure you that in its entirety On Coal River is a production that will make Asheville proud. It is an engaging documentation of 4 characters as they patiently and tirelessly jump through a myriad of bureaucratic hoops in their struggle against Massey Energy Co.
Shot over a four year period, On Coal River follows the transformation of these four remarkable individuals as they face the challenge of a lifetime, fighting for the survival of their way of life, and the lives of future generations.
Watch the trailer for On Coal River here.

Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work will be performing at the benefit; sneak preview scenes from On Coal River will be shown and there will be a huge raffle of local delights (including a painting by me) There is no cover, but obviously donations are encouraged.
Tuesday March 31st
6:00pm - 9:00 pm
Asheville Brew and View
77 Coxe Avenue
Please come out and show your support for this beautiful and important project.
If you do not live in Asheville and wish to donate to this project, you may do so via the website www.oncoalriver.com

Maximum Sorrow

A Magical Place i.

A Magical Place ii.

My first reaction to Kevin Brewersdorf's photography and drawings was, What's so great about these? I kept clicking through the endless images posted on his site maximumsorrow.com and slowly began to get it. What makes this artist's work so compelling to me is his interest in everyday situations and people, and before long I was totally in love with his photos and his entire website. His work also got me thinking that in this cyber era a new type of folk artist is emerging.

Bright Green Workers

On further investigation I found out that Brewersdorf has outlined a spiritual practice of embracing mediocrity, which he calls Maximum Sorrow. For his show Monuments to the INFOSpirit he says: The Marketplace is empty of everything but products; you are the Product, and therefore contribute to the market; Info is the free-flowing energy generated by your production and consumption. The INFOspirit, which encompasses all of these concepts, is both the state between the knowable and unknown, and mediocrity in its purist form.

Kevin Brewersdorf has also constructed a philosophy of "corporate spiritualism." His brand Maximum Sorrow is an exaggeration of the internet artist - the person looking to do it all via the web. Whether a net artist brands them self with a sparse list of links on a humble white field or with loud layers of noise and color or with contrived logos in a bland grid, they are constructing their own web persona for all to see...I think these persona empires are the great artworks of our time, and they inspire me to keep building my own brand.
Check out this interview for more. I find it all very interesting and oddly validating.

Better Ventures brings it on

This Thursday night local events organizing group, Better Ventures, is bringing on ELECTRO:ODYSSEY at the Emerald Lounge on Lexington Avenue in Downtown Asheville.
This is a touring three-day regional event of electronic music innovation. "From the dopest low-end bass dubstep to the glitchiest hip-hop tabla funk to the deepest house you've heard in years, this line-up will open new sonic dimensions in your mind."
Electro:Odyssey will also be happening on Friday in Charlotte NC, and Saturday in Charleston SC.
Better Ventures aims to promote artistic growth through the exchange of local and international talents.
Visit www.betterventures.net for more information.

concept and candy

Video by Koerner Union for Larytta. Both out of Switzerland.
Viewed without sound I found myself thinking about ideas like math and science, the natural world vs. the created world.....the pulse of chaos..overpopulation, and the so-called "natural state of things," Also wondering how they got all those animals in there, and the implications of the use of animals detached from their natural environment...And so on...
Viewed with music the meaning of the video transformed into a more audio-visual experience - almost feeling commercial. Reminding me to never underestimate the power of music and its absence.

Sewing the Muse on the Internet

Visit the link here
Thank you everyone who helped me and supported me with this project.

"Sewing the Muse" on URTV

"Sewing the Muse," an Art Seen Asheville production, is finally complete and will be airing repeatedly on URTV. This week it is scheduled to air on charter cable channel 20 at the following times:
Monday Dec. 1st - 2:00 am and 9:30 pm
Wed Dec 3rd - 2:30am, 2:00pm, 10:30 pm
Thurs Dec 4th - 9:30pm
Sat Dec. 6th - 4:30pm
If you are one of the many who proudly do not own a tv or have cable you can now stream URTV on your computer! Go to www.urtv.org and check it out.
URTV is the public access community television station in Asheville, NC and broadcasts to all of Buncombe County. It is a tremendous resource for the community and a plethora of groovy shows have sprouted out of URTV.
The KC Waters Show, Mount Dungeon, Pleasure Saucer, The Wall Paper Project, The Mad Monk of Montford, The Matt Howard Show, Glo Lady TV, The Ellen B Show and The Global Report are among my personal faves.

An interview with Chris Bower

Chris Bower lives in Asheville and has produced several short films in addition to the feature length science fiction epic Moon Europa. Bower is currently producing We Won't Bow Down a documentation of the Mardis Gras Indians of New Orleans. In addition to his film making pursuits he fronts the notorious and ever-evolving punk filth band, The Sexpatriates

www.mooneuropa.com
www.wewontbowdown.com

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ASA: How did you get into film making?

CB: I started doing experimental film and slide dissolve back in 93 with a group of artist in Knoxville. From there I messed around with it when I could get my hands on a camera. I jumped around a lot as a younger artist. I did music, painting, sculpture, installations, photography, writing, design and went to school for historic restoration. I came to a point where I felt I needed to commit to one thing. I decided it would have to be film because it is the one field where I was going to use everything I was into. Also it was the most challenging.

Do you think you have a specific style or approach to your films that differentiates you from other filmmakers?

My style is very visual. I’m sort of old fashion in that I believe in “pure cinema”, telling a story through images. I like to push the medium, experiment with the camera and with narrative structure. There is a certain magic that can be achieved through proper cinematic decision-making. I also believe that film can be a powerful art form and not just a commodity. I’m not sure if that differentiates me from anyone but these are the ideas that shape my process.

What are the advantages to being a filmmaker in Asheville?

You have a lot of community support from individuals and small business. A good infrastructure with Blue Ridge Motion pictures. As well as a large pool of talented people to collaborate with.

Disadvantages?

It has very little economic opportunity. The arts are used to attract people to the area but there is little offered to help the artist. The city and county could get together and offer healthcare and housing/studio services to the people whose backs they have built their reputation on but I doubt this even registers in their thought process. They take our creativity, commodify it, and sell it to the outside world. What does the artist get? Nothing but higher rent. What is the artist worth? After a few nice words and a glossy magazine spread, Zero. Give back? What is that? Support? We’ll give bloated prices for a piece of bullshit public art instead of making a significant contribution to members of the arts community that are struggling to survive.

Again, the city and county could offer health care to artists through the health department. And use some city funds and land to build short-term housing and studio space to nurture and replenish what they have harvested from us. This would free up resources and allow artists more time to develop, produce, market and sell innovative work. Leading to a more vibrant community and more tax dollars. But unfortunately, I think that the city’s love and support of art is really the love of exploiting people for it’s nice P.R. and ad campaigns. I sound jaded I know, but I think this can change for the better if we want to make it an issue.

What prompted your interest in documenting the Mardi Gras Indians?

Steve Mann’s photographs. When I first saw his images I knew I had to see these amazing people. I got my chance after Katrina when Steve invited me to go down to help document how Katrina was affecting the Indians. We were trying to get a grant that George Soros was giving away to help tell the story of that tragic situation. Unfortunately we did not receive the grant. A good six months went by and I couldn’t get it out of my mind so I went to Steve and Craig Hobbs, producer of Moon Europa, and asked if they wanted to do a feature documentary on the Indians. They said yes and we went down and talked it over with some of the Indians and they were down so we went for it.

How has the production of a documentary been different than the production of a narrative movie?

The whole process is different in everyway.

Are there any movies or filmmakers that specifically inspire you and your vision as a filmmaker?

I like the philosophy of Herzog, the grand vision of Kubrick, the dedication to craft of Sergio Leone, Ridley Scott and the Coens, the daringness of Godard and the completeness of the Maysles brothers.As far as films go, so many mean so much to me in different ways that it is to hard to single any one out.

You've been painting lately, is this something you've always done or is it new to you?

When I was younger I concentrated on painting but gave it up because I wanted to explore other things. Then when I lived in Paris I did a series of paintings based on space but then got wrapped up in film and once again lost interest. I haven’t painted in almost 8 years so it feels very new.

Describe your process of making the paintings.

Well it’s like found object art. I paint houses to pay the bills and so I’ll save left over paint I find on the jobsite. I’ll find boards and other scrap material in the alley, I live chicken alley, and then I’ll find random imagery that excites me in some way. After I get enough stuff together I’ll do as many paintings as I can as fast as I can. It is sort of primitive I guess.

I love to work as fast as possible because film making is soooo slow. It takes years from beginning to end. After doing film for so long it amazes me that I can create something and it is finished quickly. Sometimes in a few days!

In your opinion, are there any similarities between your paintings and your film making?

We built the spaceship in Moon Europa and Solatrium out of found and salvaged objects, so I bring that same spirit to the paintings. But what I like about my painting is that I can just let go and do it. With the films I am constantly thinking, questioning and planning.

Chris Bower discusses the inspiration and costuming of Moon Europa in "Sewing the Muse" a new Art Seen Asheville production about the work and collaborations of R. Brooke Priddy.

An interview with Megan McKissack

I often seek the advice of Megan McKissack when I'm working on video projects. I trust her eye, her opinions, and her technological know-how. Megan developed the opening title to Art Seen Asheville, and has helped with production of "Sewing the Muse." She has made leaps and bounds as a video projection artist over the past two years both technically, and creatively, and best of all she's really cool to hang out with.
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ASA: How did you get into video projecting and electronic media in general?

MM: I started out editing my partner Ben's music show on the local public access station, URTV about two years ago and working with my friend Scott Furr who is a vj. Scott was the first person I had seen do that style of video performance and I was blown away. He introduced me to the software and got me started with how to use it and we started doing shows in tandem. I have always been fascinated by and impressed with the potential of computers but had never really had a worthwhile computer until four years ago, I was typing papers on a manual typewriter until about my second year of college. I guess now I'm making up for that by trying to learn as much as I can.

ASA: Describe what you do.

I curate video clips and edit them down to their essential parts and then use video mixing software similar to a dj and play and mix clips live in reaction to music played by a band or dj.

ASA: How do you find your images?

Some clips I make myself but a large amount of clips I use come from places like youtube, archive.org (which has a lot of open creative commons videos) and old vhs tapes that I find.

ASA: What are you looking for when searching for imagery?

When working with a band or dj, I start thinking about a theme or a mood that the music expresses to me and then collect imagery that I feel relates. I am really biased toward videos that are homemade and more lo-fi. I usually don't like to use video that is too high quality unless aesthetically it is of a beautiful subject. I like using youtube videos because they express a human touch, there is bad lighting or glitches in the video, they are never seamless and perfect, a quality that makes them attractive to me.

ASA: What programs do you use and why? what are you learning? what is your favorite program?
I use final cut pro, vdmx (video mixing software), quicktime, and photoshop almost daily. VDMX is wonderful in that you can take the basic elements that the program provides and build a custom video mixing system suited to you, in that same respect it can be challenging because you don't just open the program and start mixing. It makes for a really dynamic program in that you can constanly learn about and change the program from top to bottom. I'm also trying to learn more about adobe after effects and quartz composer.

ASA: What has been the most challenging event you've done?

The most challenging event so far has been working on the Arts Council Purple Ball. I had spent a lot of time preparing video to go on all of the screens in the building plus using the projector as a lighting source for a dance performance but on the very day of the event nothing was working so I spent every last minute right up until the start of the event redoing a lot of the work I had done and it came together just in the nick of time. It was the most stressfull thing I have ever done but the staff at 11 on grove were extremely helpful in getting everything together.

ASA:Tell us about a really fun event.

After everything came together for the Purple Ball, it turned out to be a great event. I worked with Brooke Priddy projecting onto an 8 foot tall dress that she made for a singer to wear at the Purple Ball. I loved being able take the projection off of a flat wall or screen and onto the architecture of the dress.

ASA: What is your favorite thing?

The smell of old books

ASA: What video artists or people in general inspire you.

I really like the work of Takeshi Murata, Stan Vanderbeek, Josef Albers but I'm really inspired by my friends and other artists I have meet here in Asheville, they consistently do amazing work despite not have any support from the community at large and performing even when they don't get paid.

http://www.shift.jp.org/en/archives/2003/12/takeshi_murata.html Takeshi Murata link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Jf_p3lHxY Stan Vanderbeek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLqa2Jf35o4 doom ribbons link

Two cool things in one night!

Tonight at 8:00 at the Firestorm Cafe,The Iron Ladies will be screened as an event to benefit Asheville's Tranzmission Prison Books Program. The Iron Ladies is a Thai comedy based on a true story about a men's volleyball team whose players are mostly transvestites, transsexuals and homosexuals. I haven't seen it, but it looks like it's gonna be campy as hell and awesome. Proceeds from tonight's movie will go towards the Asheville Tranzmission's Prison Books Program. You are encouraged to donate money and books that are LesbianGayBiTranny/Queer specific or are written by queer or tranny authors, or that pertain to gay men. The books will be sent to prisoners around the US who have requested them. Tranzmission serves to promote awareness and advocacy around gender issues, and they often throw fabulous fundraising events which is why I love them so much. More info about Tranzmission can be found here.
After the movie, check out Bobo's for some great electronic ambient bands including Body of John the Baptist and klezmiresque music by the once duet now quartet Ashes in Order

On Friday October 24th

Lube Royale

Lube Royale will be making a special appearance in West Asheville at The Rocket Club friday October 24th. I'm very excited about this because I've never seen them play live but I love their music and from what I've seen on video, their performances get arty and weird. Show starts around 11:00ish.

Also happening on Friday night at 9:30: The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be showing at 191 Lyman St. in The River Arts District to benefit the Asheville Free Book Exchange.

William Kentridge

The animated films of William Kentridge are constructed by filming a drawing, making erasures and changes, and filming it again. He continues this process meticulously, giving each change to the drawing a quarter of a second to two seconds' screen time. A single drawing will be altered and filmed this way until the end of a scene.



A theme running through all of Kentridge's work is his particular way of representing his birthplace of Johannesburg, South Africa as metaphor for the duality of man. I am particularly drawn to the expressive and raw quality of his drawings, and his courage to represent the lonely and dissociated state of the ruling class.