Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Project presents
NETWORK TOPOGRAPHIES – a talk by Chicago-based artist Sara Schnadt
Wednesday, September 29, 7:30PM
La Esquina / 1000 West 25th Street KC MO 64108

Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Project is pleased to present a free lecture by Sara Schnadt, an internationally recognized, Chicago-based artist working in new media, installation and performance art. Schnadt will focus on her current project, Network, which explores the profound impact of the internet on our sense of special relationships, as it collapses geography and provides unprecedented access to an expansive network of information and relationships in our daily lives.

“With the widespread adoption of mobile devices, we are increasingly gaining this access not just while on a computer, but at any time as we move through ordinary space. In this way we are, more and more, existing in ordinary and virtual space simultaneously,” writes Schnadt.

Network visualizes this idea of the infinitely expansive virtual space we now inhabit, using large quantities of electric yellow twine (tied in patterns based on both social network structures and Internet network infrastructure) and mirrors to suggest a 'virtual' network landscape cutting through an otherwise ordinary space.

Since November 2009, site-specific versions of Network have been created in Chicago for an unused store front downtown, a gallery space at Hyde Park Art Center, and a house in Oak Park (What It Is project space), where it inhabited the entire space and extended out into the garden, and where the home’s inhabitants lived with the work for a month, negotiating their routines around it. A version will also be presented this fall in a converted industrial space at MOCAD Detroit, and in the curated exhibition for Upgrade! Soft Borders, an international conference of new media artists in Sao Paolo in October.

Sara Schnadt has shown her in work in Chicago at Hyde Park Art Center, Pop-Up Art Loop temporary gallery series, 12x12: New Artists New Work at the MCA Chicago, Looptopia,the Site Unseen Performance Festival, Balloon Contemporary, and at Antena Gallery. National and international shows include MOCAD Detroit, Exchange Rate public projection series in LA and New York, Upgrade! -Chain Reaction in Skopje, Macedonia, CINEA Paris, FreeManifesta in Frankfurt, and the Busan Biennale in Busan, South Korea.

Sara co-curates the IN>TIME Performance Series and is co-founder and technologist for Chicago Artists Resource website at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. She also serves on the Artists Advisory Committee for the Chicago Artists Coalition. Sara holds an MFA in performance art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. For more about the artist, visit www.saraschnadt.com.

Sara’s talk at la Esquina about her own artwork follows a talk on Tuesday, September 28, 5:30-7pm at the Arts Incubator, 115 West 18th Street, sponsored by the 2010 Artist Entrepreneur Speakers Program and during which she will speak about her experience as Co-founder and Technologist for the Chicago Artists Resource.

Sara’s visit to Kansas City is sponsored by the 2010 Artist Entrepreneur Speakers Program, which brings experts from across the nation to Kansas City to discuss innovative ideas and opportunities for the diverse community of Kansas City artists. This series highlights experiences, lessons learned, opportunities, and the unique issues and challenges faced by artists of all disciplines in the business side of their work. TheArtist Entrepreneur Speakers Program is a program of KCArtistLink, a partnership among the Charlotte Street Foundation, the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, the UMKC Small Business Technology & Development Center, and U.S.SourceLink.

Images:
Network, 2009, Site-specific installation for unused storefront,
Pop-Up Art Loop series, Chicago, IL. Photo: John Sisson;
Network, Domestic Intervention, 2010, Site-specific installation for What It Is (artists live-work) Project Space, Oak Park, IL. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Reviewed by Heidi Nast

Oliver Stone directs Wall Street-Money Never Sleeps 23 years after his 1987 hit Wall Street with new faces except for Gordon Gekko starring Michael Douglas plus; a brief guest appearance from his past.  Gekko opens the film as he gathers his valuables, a mobile phone the size of a shoe-box and is released from serving eight years in prison for insider trading, a victimless crime.  In the 1980s, Gekko's classic line, "Greed is good" was sexy; it meant power at any price, an air of entitlement that made each of us hail him as a demigod on Wall Street. He smirked like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas with an arrogance that the audience not only liked, but ate it up. Fast-forward and Gekko's past mantra became his catastrophic reality and ours. No one paid admission to witness the collapse and biggest government bailout in U.S. history during 2008 involving the Federal Reserve Bank, the U.S. Treasury, bloated hedge funds and steroid banking policies escalating the economic climate akin to when Pearl Harbor was attacked — that of fear and helplessness.  Greed is no longer sexy; the behaviors on Wall Street are systemic in practice, a looming malignant bubble that can collapse at any moment causing global disease and world panic. The mother of all evil is speculation on Wall Street. Money is a bitch and she never sleeps!  

Gekko is broke; prison has set him on a new path, a new “creed” if you will — of retribution, of retaliation and the ultimate chase to rise from the gallows of professional despair and personal ruin. He weaves his web of vendetta toward the nemesis responsible for his imprisonment, namely Josh Brolin as Bretton James.  How you ask?  Vis-à-vis his daughter, played by Carey Mulligan as Winnie Gekko and her significant other, Shia LaBeouf as Jacob Moore, who has his own ax to grind.  Winnie wants nothing to do with her father. She’s building her own liberal based nonprofit Web site where she uses her distinct “Gekko like” barracuda tactics in a soft, protected, warm and fuzzy platform as she mourns the death of her drug addicted brother and her mother’s misfortune, and still blames her father for their demise. Winnie does hold a secret and Gekko assumes that she will honor his good will upon his release, but how can she follow-through with her deep-seated anger? The culmination targets the same indictment Gekko paid eight years for — insider trading that takes on many different faces from Main Street to Wall Street. And it's as simple as a rumor about James that brings him to the edge. Does the desire for greed change or evolve, nope; and neither does the glee of retaliation. 

This movie is not a sequel, but a continuation of the life cycle; it's about relationships and intangible basic human needs that make us whole, even if an empire ensues in the process.  In the end, it's not really about the money; but the game between people. Is Bretton James really a moral hazard that takes money and is not held responsible for it?  Does a tiger really change his stripes when Gekko says to James, "You stop telling lies about me and I'll stop telling the truth about you?" Who's calling the kettle black, as each is dedicated to their own self-fulfilling agendas?  Then again, is the most valuable commodity time, or money and power or merely retribution, with a value that’s priceless? 

Greed is Good, Redemption is Better

Reviewed by Jason Gregg

“What actually happened to Gordon and Bud?”  That was the question I asked myself after seeing “Wall Street” for the first time. The film, set in 1985, had an amazing loose end outside of a courthouse that lasted 23 years.  

“Wall Street” and its “Greed is Good” mantra set a standard for the future stockbrokers of America.  It was the epitome of dog-eat-dog.  Speaking of dogs, one of the best lines from the film was, “If you need a friend, get a dog.” It set the tone for the era; love will betray you and money will always be loyal.  

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” set in 2008, right before the financial bubble burst, is Oliver Stone’s sequel to his original.  The title of the sequel takes its name from a line uttered by the legendary corporate raider Gordon Gekko (played by Michael Douglas, who also won an Academy Award for Best Actor in the first film).   

The story begins with Gekko being released from prison into a world that has forgotten about him in 2001. Fast forward to 2008, we are introduced to a young couple Jake Moore (played by Shia LaBeouf) and Winnie Gekko (played by Carey Mulligan). Jake is an ambitious Wall Street investment banker. Winnie is an online activist and also Gekko’s estranged daughter.  The investment firm Jake works for is about to go under and his mentor, Louis Zabel (played by Frank Langella), is making some bad decisions for their firm. 

Gekko doesn’t reappear for another 30 minutes when he gives a grand opening speech at his alma mater to promote his new book. Greed is legal and everyone is doing it, that’s Gekko’s message.  He lets us know it’s not solely the banks’ fault, nor is it entirely the government’s fault. It is the consumer who helped put us into this dismal recession.  Wait, so is greed bad? It’s starting to sound that way. 

The story turns back to Jake. After Louis passes on, Jake is distraught and wants vengeance. He blames Bretton James (played by Josh Brolin) for pushing his mentor out of business. He also wants to bring Gordon and Winnie closer together. He devises a plan to take a good chunk of money from Bretton while simultaneously trading information with Gekko about both Bretton and Winnie. The plot does mirror Bud Fox’s (played by Charlie Sheen) ambition in the first film.  Both characters have the willingness to deceive those around them in order to succeed and also to gain Gekko’s respect.  

Stone has changed the pace of the film from the original.  In “Wall Street,” the scenes of trading and the under-handed behaviors were intense and fast. There was the moment of Fox and Gekko bartering over stock on the phone that just jumped off the screen with tension and energy. It had the same feel and excitement of action shots from an “Indiana Jones” film. 

In “Money Never Sleeps,” Stone takes his time and uses long brush strokes to paint his modern pictures of high society. We are no longer wearing power ties and eating steak tartar for lunch (by the way lunch is for wimps).  We are going green and eating less red meat. Stone understood the dynamic shift in the culture on Wall Street and captured that change on film.  

I am not a financial guy; I know very little about Bulls and Bears. The great thing about Stone and the reliable cast is that they model for the audience the changes in the market.  If you are still lost after the visual aids, you can follow the actors’ reactions to the events.  We comprehend the tension in the room in a scene where the leaders of the top investment firms are sitting around an enormous oak table inside a boardroom arguing about selling off a company. The ardent back and forth at the table set the mood that things were not going improve for the economy. 

The story continues with several double cross events and even some heartfelt moments that we didn’t see much of in the first film. The film does its job of being a sequel. It tells us what happens to the main characters (including a fun cameo by Charlie Sheen) and shows us more than one dimension of Gekko’s “Winner Takes All” attitude.

Should you see this movie? If you need closure on Gekko’s corporate odyssey, then yes, go see it. If you want a snapshot of how we got into this economic mess two years ago, then go ahead and see it.

However, I am disappointed in the title of the film. It’s a powerful, attractive title. I went in thinking it was going to be a film about money, power and greed, but it is a film about human relationships and redemption.  

Beware of the ending; it’s un-Gekko-like and even un-Stone-like. The message was that love is more powerful than money. Maybe the hippies were right. Maybe all we need is love. 

“Catfish,” I Can’t Tell You What It Is

Reviewed by Jason Gregg

“A shattering conclusion.” “The best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never directed.” These are a couple of the tag line quotes that appear in the trailer for “Catfish.” The movie poster tells us “Don't let anyone tell you what it is.”  Watch the trailer and it seems like this is going to be the next “The Blair Witch Project.”  Really, go to You Tube and watch it right now. I’ll wait … 

What do you think? It looks suspenseful and frightening, doesn’t it? Well, it ain’t, sister. The marketing department for “Hit the Ground Running Films” did a number on twisting this two-minute trailer around to make it seem like you are going to see the next big documentary thriller. What you will see is a study in social media and the human psyche that is using modern technology (such as Google Earth, Facebook and texting) to bring the story together.

“Catfish” is a documentary by three aspiring filmmakers. The story begins by introducing us to Nev Schulman who is the main focus of the story that his brother, Rel Schulman, and friend, Henry Joost, are producing and directing.  Nev is a young, charismatic photographer in New York City.  One of his photos he had published made it all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This is where an 8-year-old girl named Abby sees the photograph; she draws a painting of it and sends it to Nev. As having been the father of an 8 year old myself, I could tell something was rotten in Denmark from the quality of work this child was producing.  

Nev and Abby start a pen pal relationship via Facebook. Nev befriends Abby’s entire family on Facebook and even talks to her mom on the phone. He becomes close to Abby’s older, attractive sister, Megan, and starts having feelings for her over the phone. Hey, it happens. There is an accurate scene where a nervous Nev calls Megan for the first time. Within today’s culture of meeting people online, it is exactly how these phone calls play out.  People meet online and text and e-mail back and forth until the day comes where they exchange phone numbers and there is an awkward human connection.  It’s a norm for this generation and they will easily relate to Nev’s nervous behavior while tripping over his words when he is speaking to Megan. 

Nev and the filmmakers start putting the clues together from Megan’s e-mails. Through some detective work on You Tube and other various sites they are slowly realizing that someone is playing them like a squeezebox. They get the bright idea to drive to Michigan to confront Abby, Megan and the rest of the family.  

This is where the movie trailer leaves us hanging. After a long trip, the trio of filmmakers arrives at the barn by Megan’s house in the middle of the night. They peer inside the barn...and... and…sorry I can’t tell you what it is. I have an agreement with a movie poster.  But, what I can tell you is that it’s not some 20 year old standing in the corner of a basement in an abandoned house in the woods. That has been done before. It’s not even startling, not in the sense that I would expect it to be.  

The rest of the film spends its time explaining how Nev and his mystery solving team react to their findings.  If you pay attention (and, it’s pretty easy to do) you can pick up on where the movie was going. 

There was no big “wow” moment nor was there “a shattering conclusion.” It was simply people explaining their actions on why they did what they did.  At the end the audience is rewarded because the film’s title is explained. Trust me — the end does not justify the means. 

Should you see this movie? Only if you want a movie that has a lot of build up and very little climax. It would fare better in a small, independent movie theater rather than on Megaplex screens. In fact, I could see a professor using this as a teaching tool in a Psychology 101 or Sociology 101 classroom. It made some valid points about how people can manipulate one another on the Internet. The point is well taken, because I certainly felt manipulated by the movie trailer.      

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARTISTS:

MALLIN GALLERY: TOMMY WHITE: Exuberant, large, abstract paintings with a systemic notion of play.

CHARNO GALLERY: SANDRA VAN TUYL: Paintings that examine various aspects of the emotional landscape.

UNDERGROUND GALLERY: SARA LARSON: Paintings which are strong expressions of nature.

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, October 8. Artists talk at 6:00pm with reception to follow at 7:00pm

EXHIBITION ENDS: October 29, 2010

LOCATION: Kansas City Artists Coalition, 201 Wyandotte, KCMO 64105

COST: Free

HOURS: Wed-Sat, 11am – 5pm

WEB ADDRESS: www.kansascityartistscoalition.org

TELEPHONE: 816-421-5222

Images below: Tommy White: Title: Conversation Isn’t Combat, Acrylic. Sandra Van Tuyl: Title: Writing On The Wall, Acrylic. Sara Larson: Title: Culp Park II, Acrylic.

“Alpha and Omega” Follows the Pack     

 Reviewed by Jason Gregg

“Alpha and Omega” is your standard kiddy flick of conflict and resolution with much detail to the 3D imagery and not enough to keep Mom and Dad entertained. The story brings nothing new to the party; it’s like the friend that you invite and tell him to bring a side dish. “Toy Story 3” spends all night baking cookies for everyone. “Despicable Me” puts forth an effort by bringing barbeque weenies in a Crock Pot.  “How to Train Your Dragon” takes the time and mixes 7-Up and punch.  Then there is “Alpha and Omega,” who stops at the local gas station and picks up a fun sized bag of Doritos for itself and arrives 30 minutes late.  

The story begins by introducing us to the main characters, Humphrey (voiced by Justin Long, the guy from the Apple commercials) as the Omega wolf and Kate (voiced by Hayden Panettiere from “Heroes”), as the Alpha wolf. They are acquaintances at the beginning of the movie, where it is hinted at that Humphrey has a crush on Kate. After a winter at Alpha school Kate is being trained to become a leader of the pack and Humphrey is still palling around with his knucklehead friends.

Humphrey and Kate’s wolf pack has a rival pack that is trying to take the caribou hunting from them. That doesn’t fare well with Winston (voiced by Danny Glover) who is not only the leader of the pack but also Kate’s father. And, who is the leader of the rival pack? It’s Tony (voiced by Dennis Hopper, in his last film), who has some unexplained history with Winston. Tony. Really? This great wolf is the leader, the old wise sage, and that’s the best name they could come up with? Tony the Wolf. Sounds too much like Tony the Tiger.

Humphrey is in love with Kate but she is arranged to be courted by the rival pack’s Alpha male, Garth. The packs have a ritual where the adolescents meet at a mountain in Jasper National Park to howl at the moon. It’s comparable to going to a junior high dance at the taxidermy display inside a Cabela’s. There was a song and dance element here that felt out of place. I felt uncomfortable to see these wolves dance seductively together in a kid’s film. At that point, I understood why wolves chewed off their own leg when caught in a trap. 

At the “howling” Humphrey and Kate are hit with a dart gun and transported from their park in Canada to a park in Idaho. Here they are set free and it’s up to them to find a way back home.  

The couple is eventually befriended by Marcel, some sort of a cross between a Canadian goose and either a bald eagle or a vulture (I couldn’t tell) and his side kick Paddy, a yellow duck. These two birds are avid golfers. Hitting the golf ball gives the movie a reason to exploit their 3D technology. Hey, you paid for it; you might as well use it, right guys?

Marcel and Paddy keep showing up during the movie to act as guides for Humphrey and Kate. It’s not fully explained how these four keep running into each other but it just so happens that they always show up at the right time.  

The rest of the picture is about how Humphrey and Kate work as a team to get back home while realizing an Alpha and Omega wolf can have deep feelings for each other. 

Should you see this movie? Nope. It was trying to be kiddy movie with goofy elements of bathroom humor and at the same time a movie with adult themes about falling in love. 

The 3D action sequences were well done. There were several scenes of Humphrey finding old trees to slide down hills and incorporate the first and second person angles of sliding. And, as my 11-year-old daughter pointed out, whenever these wolves needed an old tree to use as a sled it just so happened to be within reaching distance. How many dead trees are there in a forest?  

If you absolutely feel that you still need to go, bring your kids if they are under the age of 10 and if they have very little imagination on their own. Or just wait until it’s out on DVD because after you spend $10 each you won’t be howling with excitement, it will be more of a whimper.   

In 1703 Rosalba Carriera started using pastels as her primary medium to paint portraits that became phenomenally popular in Paris, France. Flash forward 307 years to the Irene B. French Community Center Gallery of Art in Merriam, Kan., and the 2010 National Juried Exhibition spearheaded by the MidAmerica Pastel Society. The exhibit is up through Sept. 25.

The crowd flowed around the art hanging in the gallery, admiring color, texture, the play of light and shadows in pieces so diverse. There are landscapes, but even in that word, there is no justice in that diversity. There are images of pastoral farmland, forests in various seasons and distant lands. There are several portraits and images of flowers and fruit. However, these descriptions are just so basic compared to standing in front of them. It really is something that needs to be done, especially in light of how pastels are seen.

Again, the colors are rich, vibrant and sometimes startling. So forget what we have come to see pastel as. It’s not light, often-weak colors at the exhibition. A little more than 200 works from 83 artists were sent to pastelist and juror Lorenzo Chavez for judging. Chavez, considered by many art critics and writers, as the premier West pastel artist, narrowed down the submissions. He selected the "Best of Show" and other awards that need to be chosen in person. The exhibition features 75 works from 49 artists. Artists from Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Wyoming, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri are represented in the gallery space.

Remember pastel paints can come in a rigid stick or a fine powder. Probably the most used are the soft pastel sticks that are easily smudged. Feeback say pastel painting and drawing is a tactile process. Harder pastels are often used for fine details outlines and adding accents. Examples of all these strokes and ideas are part of the exhibit.

At the awards reception, Chavez says he was so impressed with the high caliber of pastels submitted to the exhibition. "It was a very hard job to select among these works. You all are the ambassadors to the pastel medium. We are part of an art movement that’s coming into its own. The true capabilities of pastels are coming out now with new techniques, new colors and new approaches. I would venture to say that more people are working in the medium than ever before."

The exhibition organizers, Karen Johnson and Loreta Feeback, presented 23 awards to the artists. Two of the top four awards went to two local artists. Angela Blanchard from Shawnee, Kan., took the Buttonwood Art of Life Award 2010 for her work titled, "Cael’s Nest." It’s a trio of vibrant blue eyes settled in a nest of grays, browns, yellows, whites and reds against an elegantly and probably deceptively simple background that appears almost stone-like.

The Art Spectrum Donna Aldridge Award went to Rick Hines, who had three works accepted to the show. His work titled "Monk" captured the prize. Hines started pastel work seriously in 1996. "I have drawn since childhood. There was a time in high school I painted with oils, but really I have always drawn. So pastel just was natural for me. I like drawing and then the chance to take pastels to add that color … I love the vibrancy."

By profession, Hines is a hairstylist. One of his clients’ sons travels all over the world and had shown some of the images to Hines. After a brief discussion, Hines was given the go-ahead to use the photos and create his work. "The Monk" shows a teenaged-looking boy in the bright orange of a Buddhist monk. The folds and creases of his robe are clear, as is the determined look. The temple behind him is detailed. "I am totally shocked to have won in a national show. It’s just wonderful. I renew some of my pastel supplies. It’s also encouragement to continue working." Hines says he is currently working on several landscapes.

So the advice to all those art lovers out there, visit and walk away with a better and deeper appreciation of pastels. The gallery is open as part of the community center.

Here are the top 23 awards, artists and titles so visitors know what to look for:

• Lisa K. Stauffer, "Oasis II," MidAmerica Pastel Society Award
• Elaine Lierly Jones, "Overlooking Kill Creek," Images Art Gallery Award
• Marilee Means, "Snowstorm Bull," Southeastern Pastel Society Award
• Loreta Feeback, "Flaming Mask," Pastel Society of New Mexico Award
• Donna Aldridge, "The Sentinels," Pastel Society of the West Coast Award
• Gary Baughman, "95 in the Shade," UART Pastel Paper Award
• Richard Hayek, "January Thaw," Pastel Society of America Award
• Donna Yeager, "Foggy Day," Pan Pastels Award
• Michael Walsh, Home," The Verner Strand Memorial Award
• Tracy L. Teeter, "All An Illusion," Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff Award and Girault Pastels Award
• Gary Ozias, "Season’s Change," Jack Richeson & Co. Award
• Tricia Kaman, "Scottish Hat," Jack Richeson & Co. Award
• Sangita Phadke, "Black & Red Grapes," Guerilla Painter LLC Award
• Beverly Nichols, "Chair No. 1," Heilman Designs Award
• Beverly Carden Amundson, "Slice of Summer," Canson Inc. Award
• Karen Lyman, "Winter Reflections," The Ettinger-Roush Memorial Award
• Ray Hassard, "It’s So Hard to Decide," Savoir-Faire Award
• John Roush, "One Mile East," Great American Art Works
• Mary Pritchard, "Red Reflection," Terry Ludwig Award
• Angela Blanchard, "Cael’s Nest," Buttonwood Art of Life Award 2010
• Rick Hines, "The Monk," The Art Spectrum Donna Aldridge Award
• Derek Wilkinson, "Self-Portrait with Coffee," Best of Show

www.midamericapastel.org