Hey Folks, The Yes Men are coming!! That's right, the fly in, all that's wrong w/ the world's, ointment will be setting up shop(for five weeks) at DW... And we need your help! We need 3 male Mannequins ( which are not easy to come by apparently). Oh, and with heads! If any of you have any leads PLEASE contact Jon: jread@diverseworks.org
Also.. We are having a painting party on April 18th+19th. Its going to be a blast. Trust me! We'll be painting the entire from black to white. There's nothing like it. Again, if you are interested, drop me a line. Xoxox-Jon
This week, we'd thought we'd let our interns blog. So here's what one of our interns, Abi Semtner, has to say.
So I’m sitting here trying to think of what to write because I’ve never done one of these things. Ridiculous…I know.
Being an artist is hard work. Recently I’ve been struggling with going in a new direction with my own artwork. Partly because some teachers have pushed me towards it and partly because I know I need to. That’s what this is all about right? How boring would it be to do the same painting your whole life!?! I’m realizing how important connections and experiences are to my own work. People connecting with other people, and mainly me connecting with other people (I’m trying to stop being such a painfully shy person). Since I started interning at Diverseworks I've been able to define the new direction I want to take in my artwork easier. A performance by a group called SO Percussion at Diverseworks really brought this idea home for me. See how Diverseworks has already helped in my crusade against shyness! The performance brought me to tears. Seriously!
I guess you could call it their closing piece; it involved one of the four members Josh Quillen making connections with certain audience members. It’s hard to explain but Quillen ran to these certain audience members and politely asked them to yell “I Love You Jason” as loud as possible to try and get Jason Treuting (another SO Percussion member) attention. While said audience members were trying to profess their love the other three members (Jason Treuting, Adam Sliwinski, and Eric Beach) were only paying attention to the piece they were playing that gradually got louder and louder and louder. So if you can imagine an audience yelling at the top of their lungs (which did happen because Quillen eventually recruited the whole audience) at one performer “I Love You Jason”, it was kind of an epiphany for me. How often do I ignore possible connections? So thank you Diverseworks and SO Percussion!
Abi Semtner is a graduate student, studying painting and drawing at the University of Houston.
DiverseWorks members do it with style, contemporary flair and more importantly they do it at DW. What you might ask? See amazing programs, support an fixture in the Houston arts scene and, of course, have a ball. Where else can you get up close and personal with an elephant, be openly invited to peek into a room, get all dolled up for Debutante Ball and see dancing zombies? At DiverseWorks that's where. So if you are a current member, thanks for all your support and we love to see your happy mug around DW. Not a member or you have let your membership lapse, we'll let me make it easier for you (just click here.)
Wow. It's been a few weeks since our last post. Yikes! Sorry for the lack of posts but it's been a crazy couple of weeks at DiverseWorks with the Debutantes Run Wild Gala, Allison Hunter's Zoosphere and Kelly Richardson's Twilight Avenger. The staff of DiverseWorks has been busy but hopefully we will return to a more steady blog schedule very soon.
Recently I have been trying to investigate which artists and art organizations have been using video/social media in an interesting and creative way. My focus over the last few weeks has been primarily on You Tube/Vimeo. However, I am discovering more and more avenues to share your work (For example, The Yes Men On Babelgum). Although there is lots of research to be done, I figured that I would share some of my favorite discoveries.
Michelle Ellsworth -Hamburger Sex
Michelle Ellsworth has performed at DiverseWorks a few times and most recently with The Objectification of Things. Maybe you remember "Can I give a Shout-out to Carbon?"Probably one of the wittiest performers that you will ever see, Michelle Ellsworth created this video for her performance and it still makes me giggle. Please be advised-If you are a vegetarian or vegan, this might be a little unsettling.
Dance Theatre Workshop- Twitter Choreography
DTW creates a video every few weeks with themed choreography from Twitter suggestions.On Tuesdays, they ask for the suggestions, then they pull together the responses, find an awesome person(Ursula Eagly, Gang Dance, Ashley Tyler and many more) to perform them and film it.
http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org/blog/2010/01/20/twitter-community-choreography-20-part-1/
Creative Time's Holiday Message Creative Time joined forces with a great young magician named chris k to create this video/trick. It's a creative fundraising technique to raise money for Creative Time.I would love to know how much money they raised.
Live! from PantsuitLand I'm not sure if this visual /performance piece is still happening but I always enjoyed it. The host PJ Chavez (in real life artist Jill Pangallo) takes this piece around to various art events and interviews attendees.
Zoe Juniper-the Devil you know is better then the devil you don't
Performing artist Zoe Scofield and visual artist Juniper Schuey posted small clips of their work online. I saw a performance by Zoe Juniper at the National Performance Network conference in Seattle a few years ago and I still think about it.The video does not do justice to how beautiful this performance was but it is a lovely reminder.
Dean Ruck and Dan Havel in front of their installation Inversion at Art League Houston
As part of this year's Debutantes Run Wild! Gala, we are taking the time to honor a few of those in our community who continue to support, present and create art. It's these people along with many others who continue to inspire and make Houston what it is today. Dan Havel and Dean Ruck have a long history with DiverseWorks and we are very proud to be honoring them at this year's gala. Plus, it's Dan Havel's Birthday so what better way to celebrate then to be honored! Havel and Ruck took some time out to talk about DiverseWorks and the gala, check it out…
Shawna Forney Public Relations & Marketing Manager DiverseWorks
More people are dancing into the gala and surrounding activities. We are really excited about your response to the Debutantes Run Wild! Gala! on Friday, Feb. 19th at The Bell Tower on 34th Street. Paul Mitchell Products staff will be on hand to give you a Deb upsweep and make-up during the gala.
Auction items such as trips to Hawaii and artwork by well-known Houston artists including photographs by Andy Biggs and Frank White and paintings by Howard Sherman, Aaron Parazette, Nicola Parente and others you all know. The auction also has a 4-day Trophy Hunting trip for Beceite Ibex in Barcelona, Spain; a weekend at a private Bay home in Rockport; a wine tasting led by Houston Chronicle’s wine writer extraordinaire Dale Robinson, a Dolce Vita Day Spa certificate and even an Andy Warhol T-Shirt from The Nasher Museum of Art and lots more.
Less than two weeks to go, and the reservations are coming in fast. Buy your tickets now to reserve your spot!
The most fun that will be going on in Houston in mid-February will be happening through DiverseWorks. So, keep checking back.
Margaret (DeeDee) Bott Development Director at DiverseWorks
AUCTION, AUCTION, AUCTION! We are all now well versed in what to expect at gala & charity auctions....but have you ever been to a Diverseworks gala? Expect the unexpected, and dress to impress! Our auction in the past has proved to stand up to the same wacky expectations as our gala and our outstanding guests. We've had trips to Marfa, a smart car for a day, Reverend Butter Ice Sculptures, sports memorabilia, and "Star Dates" with ballerinas, ball players, and politicians! This year look for the daring, bid on a tattoo sitting, or the not so daring, a Henna artist sitting. Go green with David Morello's 2 hour design time, 2 45-gallon live oak trees, and planting included! Take a trip out of town with 3 of your buds, to Bay Flats Lodge, with 2 guided fishing trips. Don't forget the best part of the auction is the ART itself. Add to your own personal art galleries and bid on the outstanding art donated to us by local and international artists. This is just a small mention of what you will find in our auction. The best part is all of what you bid goes to Diverseworks and it's amazing artists they support! So put on your party dress, practice your curtsy, grab your saved stash of cash and GET YOUR BID ON!
Sarah Walters Auction Chair Debutantes Run Wild! Gala
(Above pic of Sarah Walters at last year's FireSale Gala!)
