Harrell Fletcher

Born in Santa Maria, California 1967
Lives and works in Portland, Oregon
Studied at San Francisco Art Institute (B.F.A., 1990) and California College of Arts and Crafts, (M.F.A., 1994)
For over ten years Fletcher has worked collaboratively and individually on interdisciplinary, site-specific projects exploring the dynamics of social spaces and communities. Along with this work he has developed a series of more personal and idiosyncratic pieces that take various forms - drawings, prints, writings, events, videos, and sculptural pieces. Fletcher embraces socialist ideas about the way we could live. He chooses to focus on subject matters that contains a participatory element or activist mentality. Relational aesthetics is a term used to describe works that are collective activities or art about social relationships. And engagement is at the core of relational aesthetics, and as Fletcher has said, it is "a requirement" for pieces to be successful.

The learning to love you more website requests the submission of life stories to learn about strangers and neighbors. The title of Learning to Love You More is meant that the love between the participants exists prior the assignments being posted.  So its the "love" that drives the assignments in which creative actions take place, and communities organize together.

Assignment #9

Draw a constellation from someone's freckles.

Connect a series of freckles, moles and/or birthmarks on someone's body using a ball point pen. The shape that is formed can be abstract or representational. Draw this on someone else, not yourself.

ACCEPT THIS ASSIGNMENT
Every submission must include the following: NAME (as you'd like it to appear on the website) and LOCATION (where you are from). Submissions missing these details will not be posted.

D O C U M E N T A T I O N >
Take a close up picture of the freckle constellation you have drawn. Make sure the picture is in focus. Use the name of the person that you did the drawing on as the title for your piece, for example "Mandy's Arm Constellation." When you accept the assignment, please be sure to include your name and where you live.
Send us your work using either our UPLOAD PAGE or via emailEMAIL .

Sakevi Yokoyama

Sakevi Yokoyama (19??-Present) has published little information about himself. He was most well known for a band represented by the acronym G.I.S.M. in the early 80's that functioned as a bristling social scraping of the fluffy 1980's sense of growth and whitewashing that covered up so much turbulent history. Borrowing imagery from Japan's period of alliance with Nazi Germany through the Japanese diaspora, bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and international sectarian violence of the 70's, Sakevi began winding a graphic identity of unrest and sickness. His live performances were done clad in military attire, balaclavas and brandished fists. He inspired violence at his shows and grew uneasy when the crowd was passive, so the band began to lash out further. Throwing mic stands, fighting the audience and eventually graduating to lashing a lit acetylene torch into the front rows of the theatre were his means of pulling any semblance of comfort out from the young demographic which attended his show. Other bands were inspired by his violence, such as Hanatarashi, fronted by Yamantanka Eye. Eye roadied for a fairly wild dystopian avante-guarde band called Einstürzende Neubauten. He borrowed elements of the avante-guarde performance with Sakevi's anti-glam-punk aesthetic and message of upheaval, literally driving a bulldozer through the stage and venue as the rest of the band and audience watched in terror.

Sakevi's art was not only performative, he was a fantastic printer and generated the image of G.I.S.M., shielding it from punk bootleggers by swearing physical harm to anyone copying his prints (which was backed up). Posters and flyers did not advertise necessarily the band, but the prevailing dictated anarchronistic and ahistorical fable of success Japan was exhibiting. Directing videos featuring his printed works interlaced with Vietnam War footage. A series of zines interviewing coroners, avante-guarde artists, terrorists, and Japanese hardcore bands.

He continued printing this after his label and the band G.I.S.M. stopped generating music. He created one solo work under the acronym "S.K.V." and then began his printing career under the title of "stlTH."

Philip Matesic uses public space and social engagement in his work. He received his MFA in Studio Arts- Sculpture from UIC in 2008. Many of you probably know him, but if you haven't taken the time to do so it is definitely worth it to check out his website (just click his name it will take you there). It's interesting to see how he works with social space, and maybe looking at his work will spark some ideas for our class. If not, it's still worth it to take a look.

You Go Girl!

The Women of Pink Bloque

Pink Bloque is a collaboration of women from Chicago who use public space and performance to engage their audience. They encourage people to dance along with them in an effort to illuminate their causes that range from anti-war protests to rape awareness. These women use the print medium, such as flyers and banners, to aid their visual performances. The flyers have informatioin reguarding the issues they are protesting and provide a residual multiple for people to remember them by. They use multiples in this way and in the manner of their performances, as the group is made up of about 20 or more women at any given time. By using sounds, images and language of contemporary popular culture, Pink Bloque attempts to redefine and femminize protest in the 21st century.

First Place!!! YAYYY!!

Guys, Im super super happy! I won first place in the Loyola Bling competition for my piece, "Survive in Style" Wow, i never really won anything before. Especially in art. Im ecstatic! On a more serious note, I intend to continue with idea and theme. I am planning on making a series of not only blinged out gas masks but other war equitment and survival equitment. I feel like this is the start of something that I can truley be passionate about. In your face Loyola!! Go Flames!

So I was watching Color Splash on HGTV the other day and they went to this place that hand printed wallpaper. It was really amazing how beautiful and perfect each strip of wallpaper was printed as well as the many number of layers they used. They even quickly showed the process on the show. The wallpaper printers did each print with silk screen and all by hand, no giant machines doing any of the work, it was amazing! I was very impressed. This image in the exact print they were printing. :)

Murals in BK

Some stuff we came across while we were in Brooklyn last week

Also my pals that live in Humbolt Park make their apartment into an exhibition space 4 times a year. Basically everything in their house is screenprinted, they use their bathtub to rinse screens and such. Next time there's a show I would check it out.. Humbolt Exhibition