Art Threat

Anarchist action figure is spot on Target for Christmas

Rob Maguire — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 14:23:10 -0500

Did you awake to find an anarchist hiding under your Christmas tree this morning? If so you might not be alone, as artist Packard Jennings shopdropped a batch of Anarchist action figures at Target and Wal-Mart stores across San Francisco, waiting for unsuspecting consumers to pick them up this holiday season.

“When better than Christmas to make a point about hyper-consumerism?” Jennings asked the New York Times in a recent interview. A stereotype to the max, his plastic black block buddy sports a gas mask, bolt cutters, a gerry can of petrol and two Molotov cocktails. And did I mention he looks very, very angry?

You can watch the confusion as cashiers attempt to ring in the toy, as Jennings sticks around and videotapes the interaction. Actual quote from store manager: "It actually looks like something that some anti G6 [sic] summit activist would just put on our shelf."

Check out more photos and video at Packard Jennings' website.

Alter and swap your greeting cards with shopdropping.net

Rob Maguire — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:01:06 -0500

Do you have some extra greeting cards kicking around this holiday season? Put them to good use by participating in this collaborative project by Shopdropping.net:

SHOPDROPPING.NET is now calling on artists, designers, media makers, and creative folks to purchase or "regift" greeting cards and alter them in any way they see fit in order to create a new and unique card. Any form of commercial card, from wedding to graduation to birthday to bereavement, is eligible. But clever and witty will be given preference over easy and distasteful.

Please submit JPEG reproductions of the altered greeting cards to submissions@shopdropping.net with GREETINGS as the subject line.

All files must be sized to 1024 x 768 at 72 dpi. Each altered card must include the text "www.shopdropping.net" somewhere in the new design. It can be discreet, on the back of the card, and unobtrusive but it must be present. When submitting the cover and inside of the same card please indicate this clearly in the file titles (for example "cover.jpg", "page2.jpg").

The deadline for submissions is April 1st 2008.

Once all of the digital reproductions have been submitted, selected artists will be given the address of a fellow participant to swap cards with. The cards will then be shopdropped back into circulation and the digital reproductions will be featured on SHOPDROPPING.NET. Please do not submit digital files if you do not intend to follow through with the act of shopdropping a fellow participant's work. The digital reproductions are a means to select and document the artworks, but do not replace the act of shopdropping the originals into unsuspecting stores.

Photo by law_kevin.

Short webfilm tells the story of stuff in time for stuff-filled holidays

Ezra Winton — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:33:28 -0500

Annie Leonard became interested in the materials economy when she was attending college in NYC. During the daily six-block treks on 110th street she became fascinated with where the morning's piles of trash ended up as she walked home on the emptied sidewalks in the evenings.

Her interest in material accumulation and disposal has manifested into a new 20 minute web-released animated film, produced with Free Range Media, the folks who brought us The Meatrix.

The Story of Stuff is an engaging and extremely straightforward walk-through of the stages of the materials economy. From "Extraction" through to "Disposal" Leonard's narration is hard-hitting but not riddled with too many facts or technical jargon. The animation visually interprets much of what is spoken by Leonard, and it too is kept to a minimalist, simple presentation.

The end result is a film that is both and activist tool and a pedagogical resource. If you've ever wanted to explain what was wrong with the global economy (or just the economies of North America) and couldn't find the right words, it's time to press play.

The Story of Stuff brings complex economic data, theory and practice onto the screen in understandable, provocative and urgent language with animation that builds the narrative instead of distracting. In the end, the information is not dumbed down, and the message could not be more clear than an unpolluted lake: People made this system, and people can change it.

As the holidays approach for many in North America and elsewhere, it's good to be reminded of a story that needs telling over and over until the malls are empty: The Story of Stuff.

To watch the film and explore the site which is choc-bloc with all kinds of information for alternatives and interventions, visit: StoryofStuff.com.

Austria's Prix Ars Electronica – call for submissions

Michael Lithgow — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:52:18 -0500

The 22nd Prix Ars Electronica - International Competition for CyberArts is open for entries.

Online Submission Deadline: March 7, 2008. Entries are organized by category:

INTERACTIVE ART - dedicated to interactive works in all forms and formats, from installations to performances. At the top of the agenda is artistic quality in the development and design of the interaction as well as a harmonious dialog between the content level and the interaction level. Of particular interest is the sociopolitical relevance of the interaction as manifested by its innate potential to expand the scope of human action.

ANIMATION / FILM / VX - recognizes excellence in independent work in the arts and sciences as well as in high-end commercial productions in the film, advertising and entertainment industries. In this category, artistic originality counts just as much as masterful technical achievement.

DIGITAL SOUND & MUSIC - Contemporary digital sound productions from the broad spectrum of "electronica" come in for consideration in the "Digital Musics" category, as do works combining sound and media, computer compositions ranging from electro-acoustic to experimental music, as well as sound installations.

HYBRID ART - The new “Hybrid Art” category is dedicated specifically to today’s hybrid and transdisciplinary projects and approaches to media art. Primary emphasis is on the process of fusing different media and genres into new forms of artistic expression as well as the act of transcending the boundaries between art and research, art and social/political activism, art and pop culture.

DIGITAL COMMONS & COMMUNITIES - The "Digital Communities" category will honor important achievements by digital communities as well as innovative artistic approaches towards web-based communities. This category focuses attention on the wide-ranging social and artistic impact of the Internet as well as on the latest developments in the fields of social software, ubiquitous computing, mobile communications andwireless networks. Special attention goes to community-related “net.art”. "Digital Communities" spotlights bold and inspired innovations impacting human coexistence, bridging the geographical as well as gender-based digital divide and cultural conflicts, sustaining cultural diversity and the freedom of artistic expression or creating outstanding social software and enhancing accessibility of technological-social infrastructure. This category showcases the political and artistic potential of digital and networked systems and is thus designed as a forum for the consideration of a broad spectrum of projects, programs, artworks, initiatives and phenomena in which social and artistic innovation is taking place, as it were, in real time.

FREESTYLE COMPUTING - is Austria's largest computer competition for young people. It has been held annually since 1998 as an integral part of the Prix Ars Electronica. Established in 1987, the Prix Ars Electronica is the world's foremost competition in the cyberarts as well as a showcase of artistic excellence and innovation. Prix Ars Electronica's "u19 - freestyle computing" category is a competition for Austrian youth. Only young people age 19 and under who are permanent residents of Austria are eligible to take part.

MEDIA.ART.RESEARCH AWARD - prize honoring an outstanding theoretical work on the subject of “Interactive Artforms.” Prix Ars Electronica Media.Art.Research Award wants to further scholarly investigation of media artforms that have not yet gotten established in the context of art museums or in the commercial art world, and of processual, conceptual and interactive art that assumes subversive, situational and committed positions at the interface of art, technology and society.

For more information check out the Prix Ars Electronica 2008 website or contact info@prixars.aec.at

New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang: cultural diplomacy or state sponsored propaganda?

Anikka Maya Weerasinghe — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:56:14 -0500

Since the announcement Tuesday that the New York Philharmonic plans a 48 hr visit into the heart of North Korea, the world has been a buzz. Headlines praise and criticize the visit on February 26th, 2008 for both encouraging discourse between states and legitimizing the D.P.R.K.’s regime. This is not a first for cultural diplomacy; China, the Soviet Union and Iran have all had their methods of trying to befriend the North American powerhouse, but is the agenda behind them cultural, political or both?

Cultural diplomacy: a gentler type of carrot

It’s no secret that North Korea is a bothersome splinter impeding the far reaching grasp of the current Bush administration. As one of the founding members of the ‘Axis of Evil’, North Korea has been less than forthcoming with U.S. plans for its denuclearization.

The current Six-Party Talks (U.S., China, Russia, Japan, D.P.R.K and South Korea) have been attempting to deflate tensions between states and force a shutdown of D.P.R.K’s nuclear programs. But despite the recent headway made at the sixth round of Talks, progress is slow. The traditional methods of sticks and carrots (sanctions and concessions) have been largely inefficient. Both sides continue to have hostile relations, while the demonization of the D.P.R.K as sponsors of terrorism cannot help open channels for dialogue. Perhaps the back door use of cultural diplomacy will prove to be more fruitful.

The Institute of Cultural Diplomacy insists that cultural influences are very effective means of taking down barriers between hostile parties, and will be increasingly important as traditional methods of diplomacy begin to fail.

“The current issues within local, regional, national and international systems can not be resolved without effective change at the grassroots level…The global community currently finds itself in a situation where state governments are starting to realize the significant constraints of their traditional models for diplomacy as the neutrality and legitimacy of their respective initiatives are systematically being questioned.”

If this is so, then The New York Philharmonic might be on the right track. It seems that the trip they planned was one of musical appreciation, education and understanding. Unfortunately it seems to have been overshadowed by the Bush Administration’s zeal for political gain.

Cultural appreciation vs. political animal

Outlined in the statement issued by the Philharmonic’s President Zarin Mehta, one of the Philharmonic’ conditions to perform was that their musicians insisted on interacting with other local musicians and music students. As such, they have arranged open rehearsals, and master classes for local music students during the visit. They further decided upon the musical arrangement, which, like a proud sporting event would begin with the national anthems of both the D.P.R.K and the U.S.A., as a sign of respect and understanding between the two countries.

However, the mainstream media largely interpreted the concert and specifically the playing of the American anthem as some small victory for the U.S., as if the game had already been won. Mehta further thanked The State Department for all of its support, and held the conference with Ambassador Pak Gil Yon, Permanent Representative of the D.P.R.K to the United Nations. The U.S. State Department took questions concerning the concert on December 11th, not hesitating to incorporate their own political agenda into their statement:

“The Department of State supports the decision of the New York Philharmonic to perform in North Korea. In the October 3, 2007 Six-Party Joint Statement, the U.S. and DPRK agreed to increase bilateral exchanges. We believe cultural exchanges such as the upcoming visit by the New York Philharmonic to Pyongyang provide an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding.”

All these overt political tones seem to have overshadowed that beauty of this musical event. And while mutual understanding may possible through music, politically, the tune keeps changing, further skewing the hopeful possibilities of this union.

December 12th, Secretary of State Condelezza Rice announced that the U.S. was still unwilling to negotiate ‘broadly’ with Pyongyang as they believed that D.P.R.K was not completely forthcoming with all of its nuclear activity. Back to square one?

It is unfortunate that cultural and political diplomacy cannot remain divorced for this historic event, for if one goes a foul, it is likely the other is to follow. The Institute of Cultural Diplomacy furthers in its introductory statement that “it may be concurrently asked whether certain governmental initiatives are true efforts to build dialogue, understanding and trust or just a way of promoting a self-serving national or political agenda.”

When February 26th rolls around, be sure to watch the world commend and criticize. Sit back and enjoy the show. At the very least there’s sure to be some good music.

Follow spies in the skies with Terminal Air

Leslie Dreyer — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:49:22 -0500

Artist, author and experimental geographer Trevor Paglen has created the ingenious project Terminal Air to spy on the spies. Developed in collaboration with the Institute for Applied Autonomy, the web-based work facilitates public visualization of flights known or suspected to be involved in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program.

Eluding national and international law, this governmental scheme involves kidnapping and relocating suspected terrorists to undocumented "dark prisons" where they can be held, interrogated, and tortured indefinitely. Under the guise of national security, US agents use these covert tactics to sidestep habeas corpus and basic human rights.

Terminal Air's flight-tracking software and database monitor specific CIA aircraft flights from 2001 to the present. Their daily routes are displayed in near real-time. Paglen and IAA have designed the flight viewer so that one can easily trace these extraordinary rendition routes around the globe.

To expedite this enterprise, the CIA regularly uses leased equipment and private contractors that often go through civilian airports; thus, their movements are subject to public record. If you're looking for details, down to the history of each plane's use for abductions, the project's data browser is the library for you.

Though the pages take a little time to load, exploring them is worth the wait. Visit IAA's webpage to discover their other tactical media projects, or check out Paglen's site to view his radical artwork and writings.

TankTV seeking submissions of your 'best lists' for the whole wide world

Ezra Winton — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:28:03 -0500

tank.tv is looking for lists! Top 100s, 50s, 1000s! Lists of people, animals, minerals, vegetables! Good lists, bad lists and mediocre lists.Lists of anything and everything.

tank.tv is inviting submissions to its forthcoming show, The Whole World, curated by Ian White.

The Whole World is a list of lists: a programme of artists' film and video and an interactive online exhibition.

Both a formal device and a political strategy, film and video that deploys a list as part of its structure often does so with political intent: to subvert hierarchies, to undermine rationalism or to reveal contradiction. In contemporary culture the pop chart's Top 10 has been replaced by an ever-expanding craze for "Top 100s" of everything from Hollywood genres to celebrity gaffes. The Whole World attempts to wrestle back the initiative…

The Whole World is situated somewhere between the absurd and obsessive enterprises of Flaubert's eponymous characters Bouvard and Pecuchet (they hopelessly collect and explore until, exhausted, they revert to their
original jobs as copy clerks) and the Japanese animated game Katamari in which players roll all matter – objects, buildings, landscapes, the world itself - into snowballing globes of stuff. The Whole World is ridiculous and irreverent, ambitious and viral.

All are invited to contribute to the programme selected by Ian White by uploading their own video list, be that an extract from an existing work or something made specially for the purpose, to compile a unique, exponential collection: an extraordinary list of lists, of the world as we know it – the whole world. Submissions will be considered for both tank.tv and the CASZartscreen in Amsterdam.

Submit work via the website or mail mini DV tapes and/or Quicktime files to:

tank.tv
5th Floor
49 - 50 Great Marlborough St
London
W1F 7JR
UK

SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL 1st MARCH 2008
Please complete a submission form and email or mail with your submitted
work: www.tank.tv/submissions.htm

Queries and questions to: Alice O'Reilly / alice@tank.tv

Cartooning for Human Rights brings humour to the UN

Anikka Maya Weerasinghe — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:25:49 -0500

The United Nations rarely has a sense of humour, but yesterday, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the coinciding Human Rights Day, the UN opened the tightly sealed doors of its headquarters to the public, offering an exhibit of editorial cartoons entitled Sketching Human Rights. The show appears in the Visitors’ Gallery and will last until mid-January before beginning its worldwide tour, with stops in Jerusalem, Berlin, Wellington and Istanbul.

This exhibit was launched concurrently in Rome, as the UN-backed touring show Cartooning for Human Rights, a spin-off of the year-long tour Cartooning for Peace. As a project founded by Jean Plantu, one of France’s foremost editorial cartoonists, these shows have become a movement of sorts, reacting to the anger and riots that stemmed from the editorial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad early in 2006.

"There has to be a response to the condemnations launched by some Imams, but it had to be done tactfully so as not to fall into the trap of a too frontal attack, which would have been seen as blasphemous in the Arab world. A reaction was called for," Plantu writes of the origins of Cartooning for Peace. "I do think that somehow there is a way to continue being critical, forceful and penetrating without hatred and, above all, without such a marked disrespect for the religious convictions of believers and non-believers alike."

The first edition of Cartooning for Peace was shown in April of 2007 in Paris, now at Rome’s Archeological Museum, it is in its sixth edition. The exhibit features artists from Italy, Turkey, Kenya, Japan, and France. Boasting the great cartoonists American, Jeff Danziger; and Iranian, Hassan Karimzadeh, who is no stranger to the political power of cartoons having been imprisoned for his drawings in 1993.

Both exhibits are hoping to achieve similar ends—create awareness and dialogue about human rights issues around the globe, and examine the relationship between political satire and political power. For both shows, no subjects are off limits with Darfur, Iraq, racial discrimination and women’s rights being some of the topics presented.

The buzz around the movement and this exhibit in particular is simple: pictures are worth a thousand words. "We make drawings without knowing that we practice human rights every day. Our language is the cartoon. My first language is not English, it is not French. My first language is drawing," said Plantu.

Class war and ethnic conflict: the lessons of Saturday Night Fever

Rob Maguire — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:49:05 -0500

It has been decades since John Travolta first blessed our cinema screens with his tight, white, polyester pants. Saturday Night Fever celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this month, and while the leisure suits may be passe, the film's politics are as relevant as ever.

In an article for the Washington Post, Bruce J. Schulman discusses how little has changed since the days when Travolta's Tony Manero worked a dead-end job and daydreamed of dancing. It seems we still have much to learn from the dark days of disco.

"Lapels aside, the film seems strangely prescient—a road map to the income inequality, the ethnic and racial politics, and the lure of celebrity that we see today. Culturally speaking, the '70s are back. As we grapple with soaring gasoline prices, tune in to "Dancing With the Stars" and work through a new kind of national malaise, we would do well to heed the cautionary lessons of the young man in polyester."

New Comic "Extraction!" Takes on Canadian Mining Companies

Ezra Winton — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:49:55 -0500

Cumulus Press has published a 128 page comic book/graphic novel that combines investigative journalism, comic art, and the politics of mining and resistance to mining. Extraction! is divided up into four stories and four extracted elements of the earth. Whether its gold in Guatemala or oil in Canada (Alberta to be specific), this book delivers some excellent critical analysis of plundering while offering up some excellent art-driven narratives.

The book was inspired by other political comix producers such as Joe Sacco, and of course the ongoing malfeasance of Canadian mining companies who continue to ignore domestic populations the world over as they dig and strip the earth for precious stones, industry staples and fuel.

Four journalists teamed up with four artists to dig up the dirt (excuse the pun) on the activities of some of these companies and the result is a great bed-time read.

To find out more or to purchase (for $20), visit the cumulus press site.

Bethlehem banks on Banksy to boost tourism

Rob Maguire — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:55:04 -0500

In a creative bid to boost Bethlehem's sagging economy, Banksy has brought his seasonal "Santa's Ghetto" exhibition to this Palestinian town that has seen few tourists in recent years.

The infamous stencil artist joined several others in creating over a dozen works on the concrete wall surrounding the town, turning a hated symbol of Israeli occupation into an massive open air art gallery. Another dozen or so works are on display in a former chicken shop in Manger Square.

In more peaceful years more than 100,000 tourists would pour into Bethlehem during the holidays. Last year the town saw a mere tenth of the traffic. Having visited Bethlehem in December a few years back I can personally attest to the recent drought of visitors. With over 70 percent of the workforce depending on tourism, signs of a wounded economy are everywhere.

“You wouldn’t worry about Christmas becoming too commercial in Bethlehem – they couldn’t afford it. There’s more festive lights in the window of your local Woolworths than you’ll find in this entire town,” Banksy told The London Times. “It would do good if more people came to see the situation here for themselves. If it is safe enough for a bunch of sissy artists then it’s safe enough for anyone.”

More info can be found at the Santa's Ghetto website, and the BBC has an image gallery featuring the works.

Pakistani Political Artist Harassed by Military / New Group Show Opens in London

Michael Lithgow — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:51:23 -0500

Figurative Pakistan is a group show opening at the Aicon Gallery in London, UK featuring four prominent Pakistani artists, Ijaz ul Hassan, Naiza Khan, Sana Arjumand, and Ahmed Ali Manganhar.

Ijaz ul Hassan is a long-time activist and dissident who came to prominence as a political artist in the 1970s when he was jailed for his public condemnation of martial law under General Zia-ul-Haq. Hassan was arrested, held in solitary confinement for four weeks and endured threats to his life and to the lives of his family and friends. Hassan's artwork was deemed so dangerous that is was removed from galleries and refused entrance into group exhibitions after his release from jail. During the worst of the political repression under General Zia-ul-Haq, Hassan painted messages on handbills and posters and distributed them by hand. Even today some of his paintings remain “classified”, although many have been declassified, some of which were shown in a recent retrospective at the Canvas Gallery in Karachi.

Hassan is considered one of Pakistan's most revered contemporary artists, but his work continues to attract suspicion and fear from state officials for its graphic images of violence and images of political protest. In the midst of Pakistan's current turmoil, he is once again being forced to endure military harassment and initmidation and his son, a lawyer, faces house arrest. Hassan left Pakistan early this month to be in London for the opening the Figurative Pakistan exhibition.

Hassan, who turned 67 this year, has begun creating images addressing Musharraf's current crackdown...

Hassan, who turned 67 this year, has begun creating images addressing Musharraf's current crackdown in his attempts to retain political and military power. In a recent article in The Independent, Hassan said that "It's absolutely frightening, what's happening. We have army courts in place, there is no habeas corpus, there is no bail before arrest. The paintings I'm working on will reflect what's happening and my experience of events, which has brought out the same kind of anger I had as a young man, but disenchantment also.”

Also appearing in the group show are up and coming Pakistani artists Naiza Khan, Sana Arjuman and Ahmed Ali Manganhar.

Naiza Khan is known for her work exploring the representation of women in Pakistani culture. Khan writes in an artist statement that “My recent work has been visibly less about the nude, and more about the body. The clothes she wears, began as a strategy to create a more explicit code of seduction between the viewer and the work. A sort of hide-and-seek, full of contradictions….the boundaries between them are fluid and unstable. Constellations of attire have surfaced in recent works, to shadow the body. I feel this attire is the skin on which we must mark the emotional and the physical as a lived experience. Lingerie, chastity belts, straight jackets and other objects of fetishistic desire, play the stage. The narrative becomes more difficult and confrontational. The figure has been slowly erased out of the picture, as in the Henna Hands on the streets of Karachi , where the people on the street had dismembered the body made on the walls in henna pigment.”

Artist Sana Arjuman describes her work as “not just looking at the mirror, but also what events take place which bring about the expression on my face. The expression of shock, of questioning, of anger, yet acceptance, are all captured at once in my work. Since childhood,” she writes, I have always wanted to be part of theatre. Therefore as a child the mirror became my stage and I became my own audience. But later in life when i got the opportunity to be part of theatre, media, and dramas, set ups in society, pressures from family and reactions from public forced me to turn down any such opportunities that came my way.”

Artist Ahmed Ali Manganhar describes his work as a reinterpretation of the genre of "Company" painting, from the era of the East India Company. He writes that ”I have often looked at these concrete memories of British Empire in India and wondered about relationships of betrayal and of continuity...Although this present body of work had begun in drawings of colonial buildings on Lahore’s Mall Road, when I returned to live in Karachi. Sindh’s metropolis had grown and decayed in equal measure, but I realized for the first time that “English Karachi” did not accept me. While I taught in a public sector university and looked for myself, I ploughed the Sindh archives in the search of the life stories and pictures of the city’s local and foreign rulers and also for the changing definition of these terms.”

The exhibition runs until December 8, 2007. To see some of the exhibition go to the Aicon Gallery's website.

Pivot Journal: 2nd Call for Submissions!

Mél Hogan — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:07:21 -0500

Calling all graduate student artists and academics... Pivot Journal is calling out for your work!

A centre point. A counter point. Pivot provides the space from which to respond to the shared and divided scholarly territories of visual culture. Concordia's new peer-reviewed graduate academic interdisciplinary journal brings together the Departments of Art History, Studio Arts and Communication Studies in a forum for graduate scholarship working towards the exploration of relationships among diverse forms of art practice and production, as well as among art historical scholarship, visual studies, theory, and criticism.

Currently Pivot is an online journal with a small print run. Pivot accepts submissions from graduate students across many disciplines within Canada and internationally. As a journal of visual culture recognizing art production as a site for scholarly exploration, Pivot accepts content in the form of academic papers, artist project descriptions, short texts by artists and image based proposals.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
PIVOT: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Journal of Visual Culture
Second Issue: BUILD
DEADLINE: Friday January 18, 2008

For our second issue, Pivot invites you to explore BUILD.

We are constantly building - we build up, we build in, we build out. We build objects, communities, revolutions, relationships, movements, networks and theories. We build ourselves. With the theme of BUILD, this edition of Pivot will explore and critique how and why we build.

To build can be work or play, a hobby or a natural instinct. It can signal an idealistic concept or a concrete action. "Build" can be something evolving, malleable, and volitional and at the same time trigger the process of entrenchment of things fabricated, stifling and problematic. In a climate of apocalyptic projections, "build" becomes about progress, contemporary modernity and an inherent desire to move forward and take the next step. As an action, it is always present in one form or another - propelling us through our lives, visibly and invisibly.

Taken literally or metaphorically, the theme of BUILD welcomes academic papers, experimental texts and art projects which relate to this theme in a variety of direct and indirect ways.

A copy of a manuscript, preferably in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect 6.0 or above, may be sent as an attachment via email. Style and format should be consistent with The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition or above. Authors must obtain permissions for illustrations, videos, sound works, or other documentary material. Captions should be typed on a separate piece of paper, with appropriate credits and permissions. Images can only be accepted as digital files, preferably as jpegs at 300dpi. Deadline for submissions is January 18, 2008. Email submissions will be accepted at info@pivotjournal.net as well as through the pivotjournal.net website.

Pivot is a collaborative project of Concordia's Graduate Departments of Art History, Communication Studies and Fine Arts.

Submissions will be accepted by mail at:

Pivot
Department of Art History
Concordia University
1455, de Maisonneuve Blvd. West
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1M8

Aboriginal Activist Causing Stir in New Zealand – Police Arresting Artists

Michael Lithgow — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:29:56 -0500

It seems just a phone call from this fellow is enough to get your flat ransacked by the police. At least two New Zealand artists have experienced state intimidation, confiscation of their property, and criminal charges for their association with Tuhoe and Maori activist Tame Iti.

In a coordinated series of raids in October, Tame Iti and 16 others were arrested and detained by state agents. Ite has come to the attention of state authorities as a high-profile advocate for an independent Maori state. He gained notoriety for baring his butt at public officials at the Waitangi Tribunal, the official treaty resolution process in New Zealand, and for shot-gunning a New Zealand flag. Ite travels in many circles, counting among his acquaintances wealthy art patron Jenny Gibbs and millionaire car-dealer John Murphy, while also co-hosting a television program for emotionally distraught Maori boys on Maori TV, and running sessions for adults with drug and alcohol problems through the Tuhoe Hauora health trust.

Ite is accused under anti-terrorism laws of operating military-style training camps in the Northern Highlands of New Zealand. He is accused of preparing some kind of large-scale event with environmental activists.

The two artists who were targeted in the October raids were Marama Mayrick and Gordon Toi. Mayrick was arrested and imprisoned for eight weeks. She is an artist, environmentalist, activist, student and filmmaker. She is accused of participating in a Tuhoe training camp. Iti is a long-time family friend of her parents. The arrest came just before an exhibition of her artwork was to open at a La Commune Cafe in Hamilton, NZ. The exhibition was renamed Orchids Under Surveillance and, shortly after her release from prison, opened earlier this month.

Gordon Toi had his tools and computer equipment seized during a raid on his home. He a prominent actor, carver, author and tattooist. Police kept his equipment for more than a month, only returning it after receiving a letter from his lawyer. The raid on Toi's home was in response to a text message he received from Tame Iti inviting him to a weekend camp – an invitation he says he declined. Toi met Tame Ite as a tattoo client (other of Toi's high-profile clients include American musician Ben Harper). Toi has a studio in Amsterdam, and regularly exhibits in Canada.

Despite gains made in coming to terms with the legacy of colonial violence, First Nations in New Zealand still suffer disproportionately. They make up about 15% of the population, but represent 40% of all convictions, and 50% of the prison population. Average household income among the Maori is 70% less than the national average. Life expectancy among Maori is 10 years lower than non-Maori.

No one is sure whether or not any of the charges against Ite and the others have evidence to back them (nor would it be the first time a state security agency has acted more on paranoia than fact). But the raids and arrests have heightened an already tense situation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations in the country. New Zealand is quietly and tensely waiting to see what laundry will get aired when the charges finally make it to court.

Wal-Mart the Musical: Coming to a Town Near You?

Ezra Winton — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:03:28 -0500

Walmartopia, the Off-Broadway musical that targets the happy yellow face, has been playing in NYC since the end of September. As the good reviews keep coming in on this political comedy for the stage, I wonder, will it take off? This is a challenge to any theatre directors out there - bring the Big Box farce off Off-Broadway, way off, to other cities and towns. This topic is way more universal than Miss Saigon, so lets see some franchising!

Jeremy Thal of the Indypendent had this to say:

The campy absurdity of the musical only works because our present reality is so bleak. The lyrics of many of these songs could be used by the Bush attachés to promote their next surge in Iraq or an invasion of Iran. Musical theater is disarming and audience friendly, but the message in Walmartopia rings through as serious and urgent. Rohn’s songs have a home-grown sound, true to Walmartopia roots in community theater. Expertly arranged by August Eriksmoen and sung by a skilled cast, the songs are at once exuberant and thought-provoking and overcome their camp. The finale is an almost Brechtian invocation to the audience to get out of their seats and do something, and while doing it, to keep singing.

Even sounds more entertaining than watching a Wal-Mart burn...

Lifetime Achievement Award for Political Artist Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin

Michael Lithgow — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:29:51 -0500

Long-time activist artist Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin was given a life-time achievement award by the city of Los Angeles last week. Aparicio-Chamberlin started her career in the 1970s doing street theater in East LA, and has spent most of her life teaching and continuing to use art to address social injustice. She is a painter, print-maker and mural artist.

Most recently, Aparicio-Chamberlin has focused her attention on the immigrant community in the US. In February, she conducted workshops for immigrant children, many who live in trailer camps, introducing them to the works of Frida Kahlo and Matisse. In late August, Aparicio-Chamberlin joined other activists in a march in support of Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant with an 8 year old (US born) son who was recently arrested by immigration officials. She also recently coordinated an art auction for conscientious objector Augustin Aguayo, a US Army paramedic who refused a second deployment to Iraq.

At the awards ceremony, after thanking the mayor, Aparicio-Chamberlin then asked the council to stop the war – at which point, they took the mic away from her.

To see more of Aparicio-Vibiana's work, go here.

Image of Aparicio-Chamberlin's painting "Women of Iraq: No War for Oil"

Revenge is a Dish Best Served By Email: How To Get Someone Spammed to Death

Michael Lithgow — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:08:26 -0500

Ever wondered if villains get their inboxes filled with spam, too? Now you can play a hand in your favourite villain's e-fate. PleaseSpam.Us promises to put the emails of the most popularly unpopular people in a prominent place on their website (i.e. homepage) specifically designed to attract spambots. Here's the democratic catch. Not just any email will get posted. It must receive enough votes from the general public before the webmaster will make the email address spambot bait.

PleaseSpam.Us is yet another clever intervention by Johnah Brucker-Cohen who works out of Eyebeam Gallery in New York. The intention, according to artist Brucker-Cohen, is to critically re-examine the proliferation of electronic communications systems such as email as well as to question the advent of collaborative filtering (used by sites like DIGG and all of the "DIGG copycat sites" and "Reputation Systems" (as found on many commercial and community oriented sites). The ultimate intention with the project is to explore the tensions of utilizing spam as a cultural and social tool to encourage the debate of how these social systems often work to polarize opinions and pigeonhole debate into specified channels.

So far, George W. Bush's email – president@whitehouse.gov – has the most number of votes ...

Laika: a graphic novel of the first dog in space

Rob Maguire — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:53:18 -0500

I've always had a soft spot for Laika, the first dog in space, who tragically died upon the Sputnik II shortly after takeoff. I wanted to name my current pooch after the canine cosmonaut, but lost the naming battle with my partner. I can finally live out my space dog dreams through a beautifully illustrated biography of the most famous dog in the former Soviet Union.

Laika, a graphic novel by Nick Abadzis, recounts the life of this furry victim of the Soviet space race. Based upon historical fact with flourishes of fiction, Laika's colourful characters bring life to a dark period of Soviet history. And for those with a cartoon dog fetish, Laika reminds BoingBoing's Cory Doctorow of the famed Tin Tin, a similarity that "nicely complements the subject matter, contributing much to the sweetness of the story, and serving as counterpoint to the exhaustive research."

Image + Nation celebrates and reflects as it turns 20.

Mél Hogan — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:48:23 -0500

Image + Nation, the week-long queer/glbt film fest in Montréal is celebrating 20 years of providing queers with something to get excited about as the days get shorter, colder. 20 Years: that's a long time... and opportunity to reflect back... to think ahead.

This Friday, Activist-Academics, Trish Salah and Marc Lafrance will facilitate a workshop/conference panel "Gender/Transgender Dynamics: Then and Now". Featuring Julianne Pidduck (Canada), Kam Wai Kui (Netherlands), Chris Straayer (USA), and Paul Vek Lewis (Autralia). the panel will discuss issues of community, cinematic representations, and notions of performativity.

Proving to be an interesting panel, i+n combines workshop and film to engage activists, filmmakers, queers, artists and filmgoers in a conversation about the community's evolution over the last two decades.

In its "Gender Trouble" programming, i+n will feature the following films: Black Men and Me by Michéle Clarke, Dedicated to Rebelsexuals by Anita Schoepp, Gender Trouble by Tom de Pekin, Lucy and Those Eyes by Margo St-Amour, Trannymal by Dylan Vade & Chrys Curtis-Fawley, The Perfect Man by Maria Akesson, The Boyschoir of Lesbos in New Shoes by Moynan King and, the controversial, The Gendercator by Catherine Crouch.

Crouch's Gendercator has been subject to much criticism by the trans community in San Francisco, and was actually the first film to ever be pulled from the San Francisco Frameline Festival.

The film's transphobic premise will undoubtedly conjure up some resistance among queer and trans folks attending the screening.

I+N's 20th anniversary is indeed a time to revisit the mandate and to explore these issues further.

In response to the hype surrounding the short film, Anna Pully from Dramanonymous writes:

"A strictly textual reading of the film, not of the filmmaker’s politics, presents an innocuous, somewhat clichéd, B-rated film that is garnering much more attention than it deserves. And advocating for it to be barred from future festivals is, in a way, giving the film greater sway when it would’ve most likely dropped off into obscurity a few months after its festival runs. As Feder says, “Honestly what I think needs to be addressed is WHY people are reacting so strongly - the ISSUES need to be addressed not the film itself” (emphasis hers). I couldn’t agree more, especially when a majority of the arguments surrounding the film begin, “Well, I haven’t seen it but...”"

Those lucky enough to be in Montréal for the weeklong Festival will have a chance to see what the hype is all about (...or skip off and see something else).

Dykes on Mykes Radio has dedicated an entire show to this debate, schedule for December 10th.

But enough about the Gendercator already!

This blogger's pick are:

"Red Without Blue" by Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills, Todd Sills

and

Gwen Haworth 's She's a Boy I Knew

---------------------------------------
Red Without Blue
Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills, Todd Sills | U.S.A. | 2006 | video | 77 min | english

Red Without Blue is a resolutely honest portrait of identical twins Mark and Alexander Farley as they come out gay and transsexual respectively. As their parents Jennie and Scott reminisce about happier, more innocent times, the Farleys’ picket-fenced idyll is soon overtaken by divorce, drug use, Mark and Alexander’s gender/sexual orientation issues, sexual abuse – and joint attempted suicides. Reunited after two years, Mark and Alexander are further rocked by Alexander’s desire to become Clair. Jennie’s ambivalence about Clair’s transition is contrasted with Scott’s unwavering support. Mark and Clair rely upon the enduring power of twins as they begin their journeys towards adulthood. Directors Brooke Sebold, Benita and Todd Sills craft an exquisite, multi-layered narrative from Polaroid snaps, Super-8 home movies, and footage shot by Mark and Clair themselves. Filmed over three years, Red Without Blue has garnered seven awards for documentary filmmaking at both mainstream and LGBT festivals. A haunting soundtrack featuring Indie stars Anthony and the Johnsons, Cocorosie and The Magnetic Fields guides this incisive and intimate account of a family’s death – and, ultimately, its rebirth. – BP

Gwen Haworth, a filmmaker who makes her home in Vancouver, turns her camera at herself for this simple, down-to-earth documentary that follows her transition from male to female over the course of several years. This thoughtful film is less a detailing of surgeries and more a meditation on family ties – a mapping of the transitions that take place within Gwen’s blood relationships, friendships and love over a time of great personal transformation. Through one-on-one interviews as well as photographs, letters and phone messages, she gives plenty of space for her mother, father, sisters, wife and best friend to tell their stories and share their reactions to the ongoing process of her transition. Their words are at times painful to hear, but the sheer honesty of Gwen’s family in recounting their fear, anger, understanding and support provides an exceptional snapshot of one family’s journey in coping with change and learning to love Gwen as she is – much as she learns to do the same. – AZ

America's War Against Democracy: A Story Whose Time Is Long Overdue

Michael Lithgow — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:06:34 -0500

The War On Democracy is the 58th (or so) documentary made by filmmaker John Pilger, and is his first feature length made for cinematic release. Piltger has been a TV director/producer since 1958, and has built a reputation and following for his investigative journalism into some of the world’s most difficult human problems.

The War On Democracy is a history lesson tied to the present by Pilger’s bounding interest in the political potential of poor communities to transform national politics. His geographic scope in this film is the so-called “backyard” of the United States: Latin America. And this shy bit of Orientalism (in calling a continent with 20 or so counties, more than half a billion people, a combined GDP of 2 trillion, and hundreds if not thousands of cultures far older than the American Republic a “backyard”) goes to the heart of this compelling indictment of American foreign policy. America has been at war against democracy in the region seemingly since America began. Pilger’s catalyst for telling this not so new story now is the resurgence of popular democratic movements across Latin America fueled in large part by the charismatic and deep-pocketed leadership of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

We meet president Chavez, along with an eclectic array of historians, activists, former victims of various regimes, and former CIA senior planners. This is a retelling of how America has fought against the formation of democratic governance and accountability throughout Latin America and at great, tragic cost. The debate between Pilger and one former CIA executive about the number of the dead in Chile under Pinochet reinforces any lingering doubts about the pigheaded and callous disregard some American officials have had and certainly continue to have for human life, especially among the poor and indigenous. We learn some of the tragic stories of Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the all too familiar story of Allende’s fall under an American backed coup lead by Pinochet. What emerges is a clear and murderous disregard by American administrations for democratic principles and national sovereignty.

But we also get a glimpse of the social transformation taking place in Latin America, one of Pilger’s main theses in this film. In Bolivia, rural villagers exerted their collective strength and chased an ill-conceived and bad faith attempt to privatize their water resources. In Venezuela, after Chavez was kidnapped by an American-backed consortium of dissident army leaders and industrialists in 2002, it was the demands of the hundreds of thousands of poor from the barrio hillsides around Caracus who had taken to the streets and surrounded the presidential palace, that eventually forced the hand of “empire” to return Chavez to the presidential palace unharmed.

This notion of “empire” is another of Pilger’s central themes: that America is better understood as empire -- an aggressive political, military and economic entity of oppression, domination and expansion. It is an argument that, despite not being new, continues to be well suited to the times. Films like Pilger’s will perhaps do their bit to help move into the mainstream this persistently under-recognized and expanded notion of what it means to be an American.

Homosexual Baby Ad Triggers Reaction in Italy

Ezra Winton — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:18:39 -0500

An ad designed by Canadian agency Émergence and originally used in Quebec is causing an uproar in Italy. The ad (pictured at right) shows a baby with a hospital bracelet reading "homosexual." The regional government in Tuscany has recently put the ad up on billboards in a region-wide campaign to end homophobia.

The ad has sparked criticism from the conservative community and the LGBT community, with some arguing that it may communicate that homosexuality is a disease. One thing is certain - Émergence has stirred public interest, and it's not the first time.

From le Fondation Émergence (translated from the french):

The next question will be asked: is homosexuality innate or acquired? So far, science has been unable to answer this question in the affirmative or consensual. However, there is consensus on one fact: one does not choose their sexual orientation, which has inspired the theme of the campaign.

Read an article on this ad at gay.com.

Abidin Travels: Book a Holiday to Remember

Leslie Dreyer — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:52:24 -0500

Adel Abidin, an artist who left Baghdad for Helsinki in 2000, has created Abidin Travels, a satirical travel agency to promote vacation trips to his hometown. This artwork functions as both a website that locates flights and an installation. You can enter the mock agency to find brochures and advertisements absurdly combining horrific images of today's Iraq with typical commercial sales slogans.

Book a flight and get details on hotels, rental cars and tours of Baghdad through Abidin Travels. Keep in mind you will probably only need a one-way ticket, as you may not be returning. Your tour will be full of surprises, maybe an explosion here or there, but "all the beautiful places that you might have read about have either been destroyed or looted. There really are no sights left." This information and other harrowing vacationing tips can be found at abidintravels.com.

Abidin Travels is on view in the Nordic Pavilion of the Venice Biennale through November 21. This and other works covering themes such as: fundamentalism, identity, nationalism, religion, totalitarianism, and common stereotypes can be viewed on the artist's website. While some pieces maintain equal levels of humor and irony, others, like Construction Site and Common Vocabularies, are quite heartbreaking; all Abidin's works are worth exploring.

Broken Boundaries: An Interview with VAL Desjardins

Mél Hogan — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:35:51 -0500

VAL Desjardins is Montréal-based photographer and a video artist who uses performance as a way to express her ideas about gender and queer sexualities. I was able to attend her Coming Home show, after she'd been away for years in New York, finessing her photography and becoming evermore involved in performance art.

[Interview by Mél Hogan for Art Threat]

AT: You are an artist who appears as much in front as behind the camera--can you talk a bit about what those different positions offer?

VAL: Breaking down the boundaries that have traditionally existed between the camera/artist and the subject has been pivotal in my work. Being able to move between the back of the camera where I plan images and engaging my body in performance for the camera allows me the freedom necessary to express my ideas and include myself as a source of exploration. I love creating images but also feel a strong need to be seen, therefore I need the dance between the two positions to be extremely fluid and open. Sometimes I work with models and shoot traditional portraits, sometimes I set up my camera on a tripod and perform alone for the camera, other times I collaborate with people and create images that record a live performance. It’s always different, there are no rules in my image making world…just feelings, ideas and the desire to express them by making images.

AT: You also do a lot of collaborative work--how does collaboration enhance your work?

VAL: I’ve always enjoyed working with the people around me… friends, lovers, people who intrigue me and more recently with artists whom I want to converse with through creativity. It’s amazing to see the endless possibilities of art that can be produced when different minds and talents work together around a chosen subject. A self-reflective art practice can be isolating so I like to surround myself with people once in while to avoid crashing into myself and getting lonely in my work. Furthermore, collaborating always brings fresh ideas and perspectives! My first collaboration happened quite naturally when I was 16 years old, I began to explore the gender roles in my first queer relationship by putting the camera on tripod and timer so that I could be in the images with my lover. Now my collaborations are much more conscious and mostly involve connecting with other queer subjects, artists with similar discourses, people who have stimulating ideas and visual artists with a strong sense of aesthetic that I am interested in working with.

AT: Your photos are stunning and present queer sexualities in a very powerful way. I especially liked the shared space (the gallery) of sex work, queer politics, and issues of violence towards women. How do these themes come together for you?

VAL: All the themes in my work are somehow connected because they all address boundaries and possibilities in regards to gender and sexuality. Being queer made me search for my place within society and therefore think a lot about the body, social roles, relationships between men and women, and female/male gender fluidity. This search brought up the inherent issues of power, control, and the violence that occur within a group of animals and has lead me to play with the performance of social roles within a binary gender system. Sex work is a reoccurring theme in my work simply because I’ve known many people who work in the sex industry and it is a fascinating territory where gender roles and power and violence all play out on a very complex yet primal level.

AT: Coming Home was your last solo show. It was both very personal and, well, public. How do you negotiate the personal and the public? Is the personal political? If so, how? What does self-reflexive art offer?

VAL: For the show ‘Coming Home’ I asked 10 artists to do portraits of me. This meant being open and listening to what others saw while also accepting a lack of control over the images that would be chosen and presented in the show. Every artist had the freedom to express their perception of me which, of course, varied depending mainly on the relationship I had to the artist. This exposed some personal relationships and some parts of me that I had never exposed but being that I curated the show and chose the artists, there was still an element of control over what became public! I think it’s important to have a comfort level that we’re in tune with and choose how much of the personal we expose to the public. That being said, I am a feminist and do choose to expose myself in my work because ‘the personal is political’, always.

AT: Coming home implies both a sense of returning to a familiar place and making peace within oneself. Is there a "therapeutic" side to your art?

VAL: Yes. My art practice has become a venue for me to explore, express and manifest the different inner tensions and turmoil that exist in my life. We all have issues and subjects that we struggle with and art offers a venue for exploring these subjects. I am fascinated by gender and sexuality and I feel compelled to break the boundaries, explore the reasons why our society is so afraid of fluidity and furthermore examine my personal relationship to these subjects, to my body. I feel that art offers a playground in which I can express my questions, ideas and construct my convictions. For me, making art through performance has allowed me to create a space, a place to inhabit when I’m exploring. And when I feel ready, I can come out and share my images and performance to create a discussion with the world around me.

AT: You have been invited to perform in Alberta (name of show/gallery?) as a "Francophone" artist--how does presenting in french change the ways in which you can communicate issues of sexuality and gender given the differences in language and culture?

VAL: At the end of November I will be performing at ‘lattitude53’ gallery in Edmonton, Alberta. The evening is entitled: ‘Fatale: A Dangerous night of Femme Performance’ (which is pretty hilarious considering that I’m more of a girly boi than anything, but hey, I am a ‘femme’ in French!), it’s part of the ‘Exposure festival’. Performing in french always inspires me to address my French Canadian roots, particularly today because the ‘Quebecois de Souche’ culture is in serious need of a wake up call! Our problems with alcohol, abuse, silence and guilt need to be exposed if we are going to evolve as a culture. I am working on some texts that will address the latent racism, fear and insecurity inherent in the expression ‘Pure Laine’ and link it to my experience as a homo growing up in a large ‘Pure laine’ family. Being queer in this culture has been difficult and I feel that it is in part due to the xenophobia that prevails in Quebec, so I’m going to address it, with my words, my naked body, some sound and some video projection.

AT: What projects are you working on now?

VAL: I now have a studio space at the' Long Hall' (aka Long Haul) in Montreal.
It's a very inspiring 20-member artist collective that hosts events, screenings, fundraisers...I have my own 300sqf space, which is going to be set-up for photo/video shootings and for hosting video screening event so its time to start hibernating and collaborating with people to make some bold and powerful visual art!
Oh ya, and I am completely fascinated by Animal Homosexuality so that’s for sure a theme that I’m going to play with this winter…fun fun...!

Thanks VAL!
Be sure to check out valdesjardins.com and http://www.myspace.com/valmtl

CONFRONTation Art Exhibit Opens in Washington DC

Ezra Winton — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:46:02 -0500

Three floors of artwork exploring connected themes around protest and confrontation are on exhibit at Washington's Katzen Art Centre. From DCist:

In an audacious presentation of political and protest art, the Katzen Arts Center’s Art of CONFRONTation showcases three separate exhibitions that share a confident outspokenness. Whether it’s the poignant reenactments of torture of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero, or the surreal depictions of the city-dominated human condition by Irving Norman in Dark Metropolis, or the multifaceted collection of some of the 1970s most important feminist art in Claiming Space, these works are united by a passionate and irrepressible yearning to speak and be heard.

Despite their similarities, each exhibit has its own floor in the Katzen Arts Center—whose curved walls and pointed hallways make it a perfect venue for such a dynamic collection—so viewers are able to see each one independent of the others.

Read the whole article here.
Visit the Centre's website here.

All Your Heroes Will Wear Your Shitty Shoes: Rolling Stone Turns 40

Ezra Winton — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:51:40 -0500

Rolling Stone Magazine has determined the future, and it is bleak my friends. Yes, we may be used to the patriarchal drivel emanating from the pages of a magazine clinging to a post 40-has-been epoch, so much that we should not be surprised when they print a cover that promotes the underpinnings of patriarchy so conspicuously. But the guys who run Rolling Stone Magazine do not give a shit about this critique: they are still, stupidly, myopically, listening to their advertisers. They are, alas, still jerking off to their air guitars while feeling purpose in what they do: the promotion of corporate music culture that truncates the white male over the Others. Rolling Stone, you have grown up, and you have displayed your culture badge to us all: the visionaries of your future, are, wait for it, all MEN and ALL WHITE. Reality check? You bet, with performances like this your days are numbered, and some of us can’t wait until the count is up.

Take one second and examine THE 40th ANNIVERSARY COVER of Rolling Stone Magazine and you will see a promotion of phallancentricity, a sexist proclivity toward a culture of males. There is no other word on the eve of this magazine’s 40th anniversary to describe them: sexist ASSHOLES. Burn your copies, because folks we are in the age of pop culture patriarchy.

Rolling Stone, you make me sick.

Author's note: Some of you out there have sent me pretty nasty emails about this post, and while I appreciate you sticking up for your favourite culture-mag, I'd like to point out that this post is a provocation, I'm not really angry or sick. Unsurprisingly, this sarcastic post has even attracted sexist, self-described "aryans" jumping at the opportunity to defend whitedom. For that reaction and others, check out the comments section. And let's keep our sense of humour, no?