"Ecstasy" by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito

The Black Rock Arts Foundation is proud to support the installation of Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito's sculpture Ecstasy at Patricia’s Green in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. This hopeful, figurative work will be on display, free to the public, from February 7, 2010 till June 18, 2010.

First displayed at the Burning Man festival in Nevada in 2008, Ecstasy is one of the eight monumental metal figures of the artists’ masterpiece, Crude Awakening. In Crude Awakening, these eight figures surrounded a 99-foot tall wooden oil derrick in gestures of prostration, worship and exaltation. Alone, Ecstasy embarks on a hopeful journey. Instead of throwing her head back in reverie to the oil derrick, she gazes wistfully into the open sky as she steps forward into an optimistic future, free of dependency on fossil fuel.

Through our Civic Arts Program, BRAF is pleased to further the evolution of this artwork’s message by exposing it to a new audience and community, and to return to the site of Patricia’s Green. In 2005, this location became the site of BRAF’s first public art project.

Working closely with the residents and business owners of the Hayes Valley neighborhood, BRAF established a model of community collaboration towards the curation and installation of public art. These community members continued to work on bringing art into their neighborhood, forming the Hayes Valley Art Coalition. The installation of Ecstasy at Patricia’s Green further affirms the success of this collaboration, and of the model of public, temporary art installation.

Join us in celebration of Ecstasy at the opening reception:

February 26, 2010
Patricia’s Green
at Octavia and Hayes Streets
San Francisco, CA
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Prior posts about Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito

photo: Gary Wilson

Celebrate Valentine's Day with BRAF!

Come party with us at Eat Your heART Out! Bring your beloved, bring your kids, bring your Mom and Dad, we want to meet them all! Come celebrate love and art with us!

We always have fun, don't we? This is Pilar Woodman, a fabulous photographer at the ARTumnal, our most recent fabulous event!




We are very excited and looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming Valentine's Day Eat Your heART Out brunch. Whether you are flying solo, duo or want to spend the day with a group of friends and family, come brunch with us! Many super special people are coming from far and wide to attend.

Celebrate your love for art with BRAF with a sumptuous Valentine's Day brunch in bed, mimosas and bloody marys, fresh brewed coffee by Ritual Coffee Roasters, and LOVEly surprises!

Sunday, February 14, 2010
supperclub sf 657 Harrison Street
11am to 3pm
All-ages; everyone is welcome!

- $0 Children under 5

- $25 Children between 5 and 11 years old

- $75 Adult ticket for Brunch only with cash bar (no reserved seating
- bed seating first come first serve)

- $100 Adult ticket for Brunch with bottomless mimosas/marys at the
bar (no reserved seating - bed seating first come first serve)

- $150 Benefactor Brunch ticket (includes reserved bed seating in your
name at a premium bed location and bottomless mimosas/marys served at
your bed)

BUY YOUR TICKET NOW

Treat yourself and those you love to a sumptuous Valentine's Day brunch in bed, including fresh fruit salad, interactive omelet and sweet/savory crepe station, croissants, artisan breads, jam and marmalade, cold cuts, fresh brewed coffee station by Ritual CoffeeRoasters, and LOVEly surprises. Wear your jammies or dress to the nines, we have had other events at the Supperclub and we have had a great time.

Enjoy interactive art, music, performances and soaring aerial heARTistry by:

Bad Unkl Sista
Diva Marisa Lenhardt
Kramer (Deep End)
Michael Anthony & the Late Nite Sneaky
Secret Valentine
Smoove (Newsbreakz)
Tamo (Angels of bAss, Space Cowboys)
And more!

+ Visit the Queen of heARTs and make-yer-own Valentine in the DIY heART gallery. And tell Cupid what to do with his arrows.

+ Interactive photography by PhotoBOOF! http://www.photoboof.com

All proceeds help bring interactive art to public places across the globe. So, go ahead! Eat your heART out! ...and feed your soul!

artwork: jennybird
photos: CameraGirl
video: Mr Wa

News about Global Lives!

One of our 2008 Grant Recipients Global Lives is up to exciting things.

Last week they had a São Paulo screening of the Global Lives videos that went wonderfully and got some Press.

And in February the Global Lives Project's World Premiere installation will be on view at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from February 26 - June 20, 2010! The exhibit is part of an artist residency that will evolve over four months. They will be showing, for the first time ever, their series of ten 24-hour videos of daily life from around the planet.

And if you are in San Francisco, don't miss the opening night celebration February 26! A special event which will include a large-scale installation, great music by DJs Kid Kameleon, Tinker and Chief Boima, drinks, dancing, and an opportunity to meet the Global Lives producers and directors who created the work. RSVP

PRIOR POSTS

Eat Your heART Out, and Feed Your Soul!

Please come and join us at "Eat Your heArt Out"!

February 14, 2010
A Valentine's Day brunch benefit for the Black Rock Arts Foundation and Art
Lovers Everywhere!
supperclub sf 657 Harrison Street
11am to 3pm
All-ages; everyone is welcome!

$75 Adult ticket for meal only with cash bar (no reserved seating)
$25 Children between 5 and 11 years old (brunch only);
Kids under 5free!
$150 VIP tickets (includes reserved vip seating in your name and bottomless mimosas/marys served at your bed)
$100 Regular tickets (includes brunch buffet and bottomless mimosas/marys at the bar; no reserved seating--beds available uponfirst arrival)

BUY YOUR TICKET NOW

Treat yourself and those you love to a sumptuous Valentine's Day brunch in bed, including fresh fruit salad, interactive omelet and sweet/savory crepe station, croissants, artisan breads, jam and marmalade, cold cuts, fresh brewed coffee station by Ritual CoffeeRoasters, and LOVEly surprises. Wear your jammies or dress to the nines, we have had other events at the Supperclub and we have had a great time so join us and enjoy interactive art, luxurious DJ sets, soaring aerial artistry, music by Diva Marisa Lenhardt, and appearances by Bad Unkl Sista, Cupid himself and more!

All proceeds help bring interactive art topublic places across the globe. So, go ahead! Eat your heART out!...and feed your soul!


artwork: jennybird
photos: CameraGirl

Cardboardia Evolves

Hopefully you have been following our coverage of Cardboardia, one of our 2009 Grantees. They build and inhabit temporary towns made out of cardboard. In the summer of 2009 they inhabited 'towns' in Moscow, Russian, Finland and Germany.

Recently they exhibited at the Darvinovskii Museum. I love the sophistication of the wooley mammoths and dinosaurs and Cardboardia gives a special thanks to Tarina and Victorii who helped create them.

To read more about Cardboardia in english!

photos: paperking
Translator: Bex

"Das Mann of Steel" in the News

I am sure you remember Passage, by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito, which inhabited Pier 14 as the first piece of temporary art in that space, as part of BRAF's Civic Arts Program.

Dan, one of the sculptors is featured in the East Bay Express, check it out, Das Mann of Steel.

Congratulations Dan, it is always great to see art featured in the news!

Be sure and read Dan's response to the article, in the comments section of the article, in which he credits his co-sculptor Karen Cusolito.

photo: Scott Beale\Laughing Squid Laughing Squid

Ni Hao (Hello) to Sanlun Yishu

We have wanted to say a few words about the progress on the Sanlun Yishu Grants to Artists, mobile, interactive installation in Beijing. You may remember them, we told you about them last year here.

Sanlun Yishu, the vehicle, is:

三san (three) 轮lun (wheel) 车che (vehicle) – a versatile, cheap and compact tricycle made from modified motorcycles or bicycles. Small yet mighty, the workhorse of Beijing moves everything from lumber to passengers. Often employed as a low-budget, local taxi.

Sanlun Yishu, the art gallery is:

三san (three) 轮lun (wheel) 艺术yishu (art) – a mobile gallery, a custom-made sanlun che housing an exhibition of print, drawing, sound, and video selected specifically for this context. The primary function is to facilitate personal interaction with art for an audience outside the scope of the traditional gallery.

The sanlunche is one of the most popular ways of getting around the city. Sanlun Yishu, retrofitted the standard sanlunche, and turned it into a mobile gallery. The gallery housed artworks from people around the globe working in various media and carried them into the stream of daily transportation.

Sanlun Yishu is an artist-run, collaborative project based in Beijing, China. For this project they assembled a collection of artwork from all over the world to be exhibited in and distributed by a mobile gallery, Sanlun Yishu, in various parts of Beijing.

The mission is to provide contemporary artists a venue outside the traditional gallery to exhibit their work while giving people who likely have little or no exposure to art with an unobtrusive, positive and interactive art experience.

In the artist's report to the Black Rock Arts Foundation this was my favorite paragraph:

We have been very well received by our passengers: who doesn’t like a free ride? We often encounter shyness or reluctance to comment on the art from passengers who say, “I don’t understand art”, or “it’s really cool, but I wouldn’t know what to say about it”. Not everyone wants to take a print or DVD with them or leaves something in the drop box. In fact, many people never get in and take a ride, but peek and chat from a safe distance.

However, Sanlun Yishu is received by smiles and excited chatter everywhere it goes. One of the biggest thrills of the project has been the level of curiosity, willingness to ask questions and chat about the project.

Overall, the engagement with the project has surpassed our initial expectations. The most rewarding footage captured by our on-board cameras has been from the passenger compartment. It is always a treat to discover the faces when wading through the video files. This is especially true when viewing footage from days when we were not driving the vehicle – we get to meet our passengers and get a glimpse of their interaction with our project.

Tree Spire Dedication in Reno

Check out the City of Reno Video, it is fabulous!

Tree Spire Dedication - Thursday December 10, 2009

A snowy winter day in Reno, the sun was shining and it was a perfect moment.

Positive remarks were given by: Councilman Dave Aiazzi, Arts & Culture Commission Chair John Shelton and City of Reno's Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Services, Julee Conway. The Mayor Robert Cashell was scheduled to appear but was consumed with meetings. These three officials really had great things to say about BRAF and the good work that we are doing with the art, it was a love fest. I spoke and thanked them all for their creative support and BRAF looks forward to creating more art with the City of Reno. When I was done speaking I started to walk away when Dave Aiazzi said they were not done. I was presented with a glass
plaque awarded to BRAF from the City of Reno, which states . . .

"Presented to Black Rock Arts Foundation, In Appreciation for your
Creative Work and Outstanding Contribution on Tree Spire for the City of Reno Public Art program"

Others present at the Dedication were: Christine Fey, Stacey Spain, Maria Partridge, Richard Johnson, Sue Vaughan, staff from Park & Recreation and many other burners.

And then there was a Thank You Party for the Artists and Crew of the Celtic Forest & Tree Spire. The 21st Amendment has been so supportive so we chose to party there and we had munchies and drinks for a crowd of 20 - 30. Jonboy from Fernley Electric, Dave Aiazzi, Barry Scott welder for Tree Spire as well as a majority of burners showed up to celebrate and raise a glass.

Another Surprise happened when the Mayor Robert Cashell showed up, shook my hand and apologized several times that he was sorry that he missed the dedication. The love fest just keeps coming.

Crimson Rose
Fire Goddess by Night
Art Director by Day
www.crimsonrose.org

Photos of the dedication can be found at this link

photos: Larry DeVincenzi

Please join us for the dedication of Tree Spire, a permanent installation, on Thursday, December 10th at 12:30 pm.

A gift to the families and citizens that enjoy Whitaker Park!

Funded by Burning Man and exhibited in Black Rock City 2007, “Tree Spire” was the first project created by the Seattle art collective, the Iron Monkeys. They created 4 fifteen-foot tall trees that were part of the "Mangrove", a group of simulated trees fashioned from recycled industrial materials, surrounding the center-focused icon The Man. These artificial trees were not burned: they survived to subdivide the blue of other skies.

Brought to the south bank of the Truckee River in downtown Reno, on the corner of Sierra Street and Island Avenue after the 2008 Burning Man event, the “Tree Spire” was displayed in the center of a collection of eight tree sculptures made by five different artist collectives called The Mangrove. The creative works were made from construction waste and reclaimed materials. The [BRAF] and a Project Grant from the City of Reno’s Art and Culture Commission funded this project.


The Black Rock Arts Foundation was awarded a Public Art Challenge Grant in 2008 towards the permanent installation of “Tree Spire” in a city park. That grant was matched by donations from Ward 5, Old Northwest Neighborhood Advisory Board, and City Councilman David Aiazzi to place the sculpture in Whitaker Park. Additional funding came from The Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation, Reno Burners LLC, and the Black Rock Arts Foundation.

The Black Rock Arts Foundation thanks the following people, businesses and organizations for their generous support of Tree Spire:

• City of Reno: Christine Fey, Stacey Spain, Councilman David Aiazzi, City
  of Reno Parks & Recreation
  
• Black Rock Arts Foundation: Crimson Rose, Maria Partridge


• Reno Volunteers: Richard Johnson, Bill Schultz, Erika Wesnousky, Dave Kaul, Berry Scott


• Ward 5, Old Northwest Neighborhood Advisory Board


• Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation


• Reno Burners LLC


• Fernley Electric


• Ahearn Equipment, Inc.


• Clean Energy Center


• Telesto Nevada Inc.


• United Ready Mix


• Black Rock City, LLC – Burning Man

AND to the Artists that made it happen: Tabasco Mills, T-Bone, Dave and the Iron Monkeys!

The Iron Monkeys are a Seattle-based metalworking collective, working under the gentle guidance and watchful eye of Tabasco Mills, owner of Seattle's The Blacksmith Shop www.theblacksmithshop.com/ironmonkeys.html .

They work together creating large-scale sculptural pieces, often containing functional elements, and work collaboratively to evolve designs as each work is being developed. Their work has been on display temporarily in Black Rock City at the Burning Man event, Reno Mangrove, Burien Interim Arts Space, and permanently at Rainier Vista's Central Park in South Seattle, Washington and now in Whitaker Park, in northwest Reno, Nevada.

For more information on other activities of the Black Rock Arts Foundation - http://www.blackrockarts.org/