Monday, September 19, 2011

The need for revolutionary art

Posted by Mickey Z on 09/19 at 03:57 AM

  2. Nicely put Mickey, Che Guevara said non-revolutionary art was the equivalent of a monkey performing pirouettes.
    I had a tutor at Art College who asked if I was an artist or a political activist. I said I was both. She said I couldn’t be both...so which one was I!? I said both (I learnt to be stubborn).

    Tutors either thought I was really good, or a waste of space.
    My advice would be to accept that being stubborn is sometimes a gift. Marx said that no great breakthough in Art has ever been made without controversy, so what’s a few negative comments!

    Posted by Rick (the Cartoonist) from England  on  09/19  at  12:31 PM

  3. Hear, hear, MZ and Rick. In the face of distraction, destitution, and desperation, I’ve started some artistic outlets: a writer’s group with some great gals and attending the frothy open mike at a nearby comedy club.

    On a hike this past weekend, we saw two healthy adult salmon in a river where I’d never seen any sort of fish in dozens of hikes. If that ain’t hanging in there, I don’t know what is.

    The Kingdom of Survival plays in Seattle this Fri/Sat. Gotta take some notes, maybe cobble together a review. Trailer: http://tinyurl.com/3jxub3p

    “Give me your tired, your poor, and I will fck them mercilessly”: http://tinyurl.com/3gkdj5f

    Posted by Zen Prole from Pac NW  on  09/19  at  11:56 PM

  4. The nice people want to kill Troy Davis..., they want to kill, they know nothing to deal with their hatred, their unknown fear induced anger.

    The article talked about the cost of mental illness in the workplace. Businesses are losing money due to health care costs and people losing work time due to mental health problems, focusing on depression. Now, is that an absurdity or what?

    What can anyone expect life to be in an insane society, a society that is so nuts, it only knows how to kill, destroy. But we shouldn’t be depressed about this. Go see your psychiatrist, who, more than their client, desperately needs some form of counseling. Oh, a psychologist is more informed? Tell him to find his head and ask for a fee.

    Next time you visit your counselor, sit on his or her lap, bite their neck and charge them big bucks for a personal appearance.

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  09/20  at  05:49 PM

  5. Good evening Joe, Zen Prole and Rick, Hi Mickey. I am not much of an artist except for you know living my life....but I sure appreciate the inspiration that artistic expression brings to my world...I like the Playing for Change project and see that as revolutionary.
    Of course beauty and inspiration and understanding are in the eyes of the beholder..for the ones who close their hearts and minds to what an artist communicates...deafness and dumbness awaits. And then there are those who censure.....
    The Oakland Museum of Children’s Art decided to cancel an exhibit that would have included Palestinian children’s depictions of the 2008-2009 Israel/Gaza conflict, during which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Jewish groups and members of the community voiced their opposition to the display of pictures illustrating bombings, tanks, and Palestinians being shot and killed.
    http://tinyurl.com/689lbnd
    Here is a beautiful mix of oud and painting in a video called Free Palestine:
    http://tinyurl.com/5tavv98

    Posted by Frances from coastal bc  on  09/20  at  07:07 PM

  6. Hi Mickey, Frances, Joe, Zen, Rick, and all…

    The Troy Davis case is unbelievable - not really...it is consistent with USA policy. No Justice. More than 300 innocent have been released from Death Row after serving and waiting for the executioner for many years. That shows how dysfunctional the legal system is. They never should have been convicted in the first place.  Jose’ Padilla is another one - and what about Lynne Stewart - given 10 years for forwarding a Press Release at the request of her client. DN is streaming from Georgia tonight.

    Just got home from the post office. The post man there tells me that the feds will no longer come up with the money for printer paper. They are now using scraps of paper to print… Aren’t we lucky to live during the time when the Empire is disintegrating. Should we bury a time capsule with an apology for all who come after us?  We need to apologize to the Palestinians and a whole lot of others…

    EXECUTION IS LESS THAN 5 HOURS AWAY… I am profoundly sad…

    Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  09/21  at  01:36 PM

  7. This is a dark morning.

    Troy Davis was executed by cornpone stormtroopers last night. His courage stands - he never gave an inch. I also heard he opted out of the last meal indulgence, choosing instead to eat the same meal as the other prisoners. If aggrieved parties don’t decide on some payback, this will happen again and again. Let’s see how much of the milquetoast Left is up to that mild task.

    Then, some other bad news about a dear friend. I’m glad I’m headed to the shelter tomorrow, and on into the national forest afterward.

    The punchline is that I kicked a corporation in the ankle today. It felt great.

    Posted by Zen Prole from Pac NW  on  09/22  at  03:38 PM

  8. The US Justice system...er.

    Hold your noses folks, there’s going to be a noble (Nobel?) speech by Obama at the UN.

    Vote on Palestinian statehood, and the annual vote on the US Blockade of Cuba. Will Obama go Democracy...or Pariah State veto...hmm...I wasn’t born yesterday!

    Posted by Rick (the Cartoonist) from England  on  09/22  at  05:09 PM

  9. Dark days indeed. I followed DN last night and it was very disheartening. I read later somewhere else that Mr. Davis was kept strapped to the gurney for 3 hours while the judge made up his mind, whether to murder him or not. Grim
    Here in Canada our government is bringing back the anti-terrorism laws,bringing back the harsh penalties for possession of pot, a 6 month mandatory sentence for growing 6 plants or having a pot cookie or brownie on hand, beefing up the rcmp and funding the building of more prisons...going backwards essentially. Here in my little town the NIMBYs are squabbling about building a 24 hour salvation army shelter for the homeless...its been going on for 5 years now, meanwhile people are dieing on the streets. Our food bank has to keep shifting locations every few years, again with the nimby… We have a car-free sunday coming up where for a few hours some streets will be closed to traffic...that took a lot of pushing to achieve, so has getting a few bike lanes on major routes through town...its nuts. But city council has no problem fast tracking the big box stores and okayed the installation of a gas station on our fragile estuary.
    Zen Prole, I like the idea of heading out to the forest...I am with you in spirit lol
    Take care everyone and thanks Mickey for holding this space to share.

    Posted by Frances from coastal bc  on  09/22  at  06:19 PM

  10. Good evening all…

    I’m well out of the loop, but feeling depressed about the TD thing :(

    Heading out to the forest is probably the only way to sanity, although I am in the early stages of trying to get a crew together to move into an old car dealership and turn it into something useful/inspiring. While the forest/mountains/remote places definitely get my vote, I think I might just be able to start something urban to get people motivated.

    Too little, and way too late, but what else is there?

    Posted by subgenius from hell-A  on  09/22  at  11:05 PM

  11. Hello friends...thanks for the comments and please know I am honored to share this space with you all.

    On that note, a new post is now up and running.

    Captcha sez:TOGETHER

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  09/23  at  03:56 PM

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