Life is quite sweet sometimes isn't it...?

An adorable dance company named Under One Dances (founded by Kyla Ernst-Alper) proposed folks send in choreographic ideas for 1 minute #TweetDances to be performed at this year's #Figment Festival on Governors Island in New York. 

I thought...what the hey...I'll play.

They ended up using the idea and here's what they did...performed by Meladonna.  
So sweet.




#TweetDance: Meladonna dances "giving in to love..."
from Kygwen on Vimeo. Meladonna
Figment, Governors Island, New York, NY

@SeBiArt:
'giving in to love...again'

At the start, every 15 seconds, and at the end of the 1 min dance - cup one hand in the other (gesture of offering) and then
cup it over your heart. (so the gesture would happen 5x)
For the whole piece - Improv a movement story of heart break followed by a heart riZe to love in between each gesture.
-To learn more about Meladonna visit http://www.underonedances.com/#!meladonna/c1zp

Colorado Boxes

suburban subdivisions of greater denver - slightly bigger boxes...

foto by SeBiArt - found object piece by Carlos Michael Finn/KANON Gallery, Denver, Colorado

Taking A Piss

I do not purport to be a spoofer, satirist, graphic designer, or anything of the like - but I just can't get over the slick timing of the events in the news over the past 2 weeks.  

From all that nonsense with the presidential hopeful Donald Trump, and his rude, baseless, and thoughtless time wasting insistence on getting proof of Barack Obama's birth place; to the disappointing  concession of said proof.  And then, the hysterical and painful slamming of Trump with college haze-like 'you-think-you-can-handle-this-town?' jokes from both Seth Meyers(SNL Head Writer and Cast Member) and Obama at the Whitehouse Correspondence Dinner (PLEASE watch if you somehow missed that...nonstop hilarity); and finally the ultimate, can I say, 'trump card' issuance less that than 48 hours later - the Obama got Osama/You Can't Touch This bitch slap.  

I don't think I've ever seen someone punked to this level ever,  with absolutely no chance of a comeback.  I mean - wow.   It's possibly the funniest and sexiest thing I've ever seen a current president do - to sweep aside a spoiled, rich and bossy hopeful with absolutely no real political agenda, and just a self centered schtick.  

In the latest news: Trump just announced an hour ago that he will not run for President in 2012 - ahahahaaaa  -  bye bye Donald.  Apparently politics and real estate development ain't the same business bitch.  lol 

 

So a friend of mine (thanks for the 'aha' Mark!)  mentioned Wag the Dog when we were going over the whole thing, and that got me all tickled about making a spoof poster of the film.  Of course so much has happened (and is happening) since then, but I had to put this up here for posterity, joining CNN, BBC, ABC, et al in going on and on and on about this...                                                                                            
(Click the image to see details in bigger copy)

In case you missed it by some unfortunate mishap - the jokes:

BIG PICTURE Fun on the Rock

So I just made my photographic debut in Denver this last Friday with the opening of the BIG PICTURE show in celebration of the Month of Photography. It's a cool idea really - where photography meets street art on a global scale, with a clever use of geotagging so all can attend - all conceptualized by the directors of ILLITERATE Media Gallery. 

Though I'm clearly not in Denver to see my work up (I do have spies on the look out tho - heehee) - I was excited to get Jamaica on the BIG PICTURE google map by posting work by Colorado artist Brenda Biondo - sent on from the gallery. 

It was also a great opportunity to get Studio 174 involved! It's a great community art space located @ 174 Harbour Street in downtown Kingston, and founded by Rozi Chung, where the creative potential of inner-city kids is unearthed, nurtured, and fully expressed in Saturday morning art workshops.



Rozi and I have been in conversation about creating outdoor projects specifically aligned with global outreach programs for kids, most specifically with CITYarts in New York (more on that in another post). Anyway this came along and Rozi was the best person to run to! Luckily volunteer clinical psychologist, Dr. Tammy Haynes was on site as well; both women were so excited and  accommodating in letting me treck my zerox prints and yucky wheat paste down there for the kids to put up our work outside on the studio walls.

 

 

  

 

 

Rozi Chung - founder of Studio 174

 

Rozi and Jason, also a one of the DIGICEL Mural Artists (see YardEdge)

Crude as the finish appears, I think it's cool, and it was a really a fun and fulfilling Saturday morning with those kids.  With just two moderately sized 16x20 prints and everyone getting their hands in on fitting the pieces and sticking - a smooth finish was not the point - at least not in the end - ha!  Participating in the exchange and showing the work was, and ohhhh yes, I'll have more please! Can't wait to see it up on the map. Stay tuned!

 

*Workshop fotos by Me and Dr. Tammy Haynes

**Studio 174's Rozi Chung, Dr. Tammy Haynes, and photographer Max Earle have cofounded INSCAPE. It is a non-profit organisation which evolved from an earlier collaborative endeavor known as the Tivoli Resolution Project), which helped traumatized young victims of the Tivoli incident last May (2010), through visual and performing art therapies. The mission of INSCAPE is to provide the space and resources to continue such work in the inner-city communities in Jamaica - free of charge to those in need. Please follow the links to learn more about them and how you can help.



Big Picture Works on Live View in Kingston on Harbour Street:

Plant With Roots © Brenda Biondo

Behind The Hidden Gate © SeBiArt

Big Picture Works on Live View in Denver:

CrowDeD - Maki © SeBiArt

Dragon's Lair © SeBiArt




View the BIG PICTURE Worldwide MAP

Walking Impressions for Inspirational Flight, with a whole lotta Leica

Back in October that photographer friend of mine I recently posted about, Christian Macauley, and I spent a day getting inspired. First he met up with me at the PDN Int'l PhotoPlus Conference and Expo at the  Jacob Javits Center. It's a sort of capitalistic-anxiety-inducing-soul-sucking-goodie-coveting-"shit-I'm-poor"-yet-thoroughly-exciting event where you get to look, touch, test, and learn about the latest photo, video, printing, and  software tools, as well as marketing services newly available to image makers. 


Armed with my floor map and exhibitor list - off I went for my industry  education and the free goodies! I'd hoped to sit in on a seminar or two but the whole thing got a bit overwhelming after a while, so off we went. 

Composite Source: YellowKorner

Christian took me walking through SoHo and we stopped in this pop up gallery set up by YellowKorner, a British company specifically aimed at making photographic prints more accessible to buyers of lesser means than trust fund babies.  Pop up galleries are the coolest concepts I think - they are to visual artists what low cost old warehouse spaces and self-publishing programs are to musicians...in a way: prime spaces (on short n' free or barter loans, or leases) to exhibit work in a gallery setting, sans the politics and prohibitive costs or commission fees for the artists.  

Anyway - there were some great prints on display, but one image/artist, Kourtney Roy, held me spellbound and sent me rushing to the nearest bench, to jot down my reactions in my little journal that I carry with me at all times.  Since photography is typically prohibited in exhibition spaces - I needed to write something to remind me of this work and what I felt upon seeing it.   I am thoroughly moved by artists who can produce a simple image that induces complex emotions or projections from the viewer.  I felt her image accomplished this perfectly - or at least, it did so for me... and the fact that it was a self portrait killed me all the more.

 



Heart reaching into the 'guess' of an event 

- prior - now - or about to happen,

The hanging pause of the story of two...

Who falls, who catches, who fails, who saves?

Deal, Dare, or Damage?

Is there Death, Ownership, or Love?

Another stop along the way was a thing of wonder, a prime example of reasons to LOVE LOVE LOVE New York: The Levi's/Leica Workshop.

 

 Located where the Deitch Project used to be, :(, Levi's®, along with sponsorship by Leica, opened up a temporary space for photographers to utilize an incredible wealth of equipment PLUS studio space...FOR FREE!!!

photo & logo composite: http://workshops.levi.com

The list of cameras included the Nikon D series, the Canon EOS-D series, and of course a range of film and digital Leicas - including the  $30,000 monster body Leica Camera AG S2 and  fitted with the Summarit-S 1:2.5/70 mm lens. Other vintage/film cams on hand were the Hasselblad 500 series and the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. There was an open white studio space, plus a cheesy basement set - both of which you could use with your choice of Profoto monolights, modifiers, and power packs; make up stations for M.U. artists and models; MAC G5 work stations with 30" screens for post-production work; and printing stations for fine art prints, etc.  It was QuiTe incredible.  All you had to do was sign up in time, book the space, and the camera you wanted to use, and voila!  No deposits even (while in house)!  The insurance on this friggin deal must have been INSANE!  You could even sign out cameras to shoot on location - for a mere $100 refundable deposit for 24 hours! 

Wha-HUH????!!!!!  

photo source: Camera Monster

I thank my lucky panties that I got to squeeze in two sessions before it got too crazy in there.  I opted to shoot with the Leica S2 which I couldn't believe was available both times.  And you know - I couldn't take myself too seriously with it all. I decided, rather than to use this opportunity for work, to just have fun; so I called up some friends to 'shoot the shit' - hahaha. No major planning, no stress, just show up to the studio where all was on hand PLUS the Bentley of cameras in my hand (that creates images with pixels the size of a fucking fist ), and here's the silliness we got up to: some friendly portraits, fashion fun with an African feather headdress (JuJu hat), and a music bubble session Las Vegas 70s style - heeeheee.  Gotta love New York!  Thank you Christian!!! And thanks Michael, LaLa, Justin, Yolanda, Manny and Kevin!! It's all coming back to me now - I CAN'T BELIEVE I shot with that thing! :D

Michael Gilbert, founder of Language of Opposites

NB.  If you're reading this on Facebook you may need to click "view original post" to see all media in this post.

"I'm On a Horse" LOL

I just got this and had to share.  "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"  smells like the best damn advertising in a while. It's good for repeated guffaws. I'm not sure what I'm more amazed by - the smooth set transitions, or the unwavering seductive aplomb of actor Isaiah Mustafa throughout this crazy single-shot ad!

Check it out, and how they did it. 

"Did You Know"

 

The making of Old Spice's commercial: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like - an interview by Leo LaPorte of TWIT with the hilarious writers Craig Allen and Eric Kallman of Wieden + Kennedy [ad agency] to find out how they did it.)

Odic Birthday Message from a dear friend

God looked down admiringly, exclaimed "Nothing could be fine-ah!"
"Than the sassy smart and sweet lil babe I just forced out that vagina!"
She knew not then her destiny nor recalled the moment prior
When God had asked her to descend to stir up quite a fire
"Blaze not with rage but warmth and light for this is what is needed"
"It will take some time to figure out, to get the garden weeded"
So, each year, when the day arrives that marks your popping out
Know you are light and not mistakes, and know this with no doubt


by Mark Pergola
 
Thank you Marky-boo!  I love you SO MUCH!

AFP Sunset Jam. Here's what it looked like...

"Be Yourself No Matter What They Say"

Yesterday I went to the Art for Progress event I told you about at the Bandshell in Central Park and it was so much fun.

Yesterday I remembered how to love New York and why.

Yesterday was liberation ~ giving way to a bit of peace today.



Performances by:
DJ's Nickmatic, Gatto, JP Solis, Dennis Sebayan and Sal Leone with a special vocal performance from JC Cassis.

Grafitti artists Royce Bannon and Alberto Hernandez created words live - drawing inspiration from the crowd.

And then, there was the crowd... see if you can guess who my favorite person was. (big smile)

Love and Light for your week my darlings.

Support Post: "Nouveau Americain" with Naganuma Dance & AFP's "Sunset Jam in Central Park"

Here are two events coming up this November that will be well worth your time.

Naganuma Dance is a modern dance company here in New York that produces interesting and provocative pieces where movement, imagery, and text are presented on stage in a way to stimulate senses and to spark intellectual examination and discourse. My dear friend Justin became a part of this company a little over a year ago and I'm so proud to support his efforts, but more proud to spread the word so you do too - as honestly, it's not some piece-of-crap company - thankfully!!


Click on the image below to see the postcard bigger and in a separate viewer.




You can also see more of them at the new Naganuma Dance website!

Photo of Justin from a shoot we did together recently:



___

My Bliss is Dance...what's yours?

Few things make me as happy as dance; it is after all, the love of my life, and has been since I discovered self expression and freedom of the soul through movement at the age of 6.

Since then I have had quite the tumultuous mental, emotional, and physical affair with it - much of this affair has been in the dark, in private corners, in secret spaces. Though I explored movement on stage in high school and during my acting years - it was funnily enough when I was an adult that I finally took on formal training in the art that makes my soul sing.

Living in New York avails one the constant access to the best dance companies in the world, as a student, and as a theater-goer. I have enjoyed this fact for the 10+ years that I have lived here, and have often felt blessed to have enjoyed watching some VERY good performances, and even more incomprehensibly lucky for having broken bread with, learned from, and worked for or alongside some incredible talent on wonderful stages in this city.

But with that said - there are few nights like tonight, for tonight I had a smile pasted across my face for two hours straight as I watched at the JOYCE Theater - the Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT II). This was a limited engagement (they have not been to the United States in 10 years!!) with 2 extended performances - that all sold out FAST! Scores of heartbroken people were turned away from the theater box office. The staff at the JOYCE (with whom I've become quite familiar from my frequent visits to attend shows) were giddy from the excitement rarely seen in the theater. We were after all, gathering in sweet anticipation of one of the most innovative ballet companies on the planet - to see a group of dancers with incredibly diverse facility of movement, boasting as their resident choreographers one of the most celebrated and revered in the world - Jirí Kylián (who - as rumor has it, will be retiring next year) and the beloved Lightfoot/León!! Well - they DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I quite literally squealed in delight when I read the program - I could not have asked God or Fortune for more!!! All my favorite (straight dance) pieces from these choreographers that I've seen video of countless times I just saw LIVE!! OMG!!! Yes - I just said "OMG"!!! I leave you with YOUTUBE snippets of each of the pieces I saw tonight - and not another word...












In order of appearance:

Said and Done (2001) - Lightfoot León

Sleepless (2004) - Jirí Kylián

Shutters Shut (2003) - Lightfoot León
(poem written & read by Gertrude Stein about her friend Pablo Picasso)

Sad Case (1998) - Lightfoot León
(full piece shown in two parts)



For this video - Said and Done is the third clip in...

'Carpe Diem'...even in the rain...

From Chess in the Rain

The other night I was lucky enough to see what I thought was the best example of "living in the now". I had just finished dance classes and was walking across the Union Square piazza in the pouring rain towards one of the train entrances. After bidding adieu to two friends as they descended into the MTA tunnels, I continued on my wet journey. Very shortly thereafter I stumbled upon two chess players seated on crate boxes barely sheltering themselves and their chess board with one black and one bright yellow umbrella! It was startling and unreal and wonderfully amusing. They were rapt in their game and barely noticed the second and third glances they got from passersby.

As I strolled slowly past them I almost gave myself whiplash unable to resist repeatedly looking back at them and at another passerby in particular who was having the same trouble. Note though that they didn't attract a crowd or even a small gathering as spectacles are apt to do in city squares - I think because it was raining buckets. But the irony is, if it were dry outside they wouldn't have attracted any attention at all!

I have always been nerve-wracked about shooting public scenes - I guess a true photojournalist I am yet to be. :) Anyway, on this singular occasion how could I resist?!?!?! Manifest before me was the odd reality that bore resemblance to a surreal dramatic scene in a Kubric film! In recognition of this I muttered sotto voce to myself "fuck it", pivoted on my heel and approached the men, and asked them if I could take a shot. They didn't look up, but instead nodded "yes" in unfettered compliance.

As I began snapping away, that other similarly seduced passerby had apparently also decided to follow the 'now' example and came over to join me. Together we circled the men, he holding the umbrella steadily in the wind, as I did my best to capture a clear flash-free shot in the pouring rain, at night, with my little old point & shoot camera. I promised my spontaneous companion that I would email copies of this most unforgettable moment to him.

I'm glad to have these pictures (blurry as they may be)** of the 'chess game in the rain', to remind me of an age old philosophy recycled a thousand ways these days because we keep forgetting:

CAPE DIEM!!



**I took advantage of the blur by playing around with saturation and hue levels in photoshop to make certain colors pop out more. I reduced the noise as much as possible in some shots, did some slight sharpening, and added a crosshatch filter (varying strengths and stroke lengths in the images) to create a painterly effect.

SeBiArt Hosts Video Blog on YARDEDGE - 1st Interview - SPUR TREE LOUNGE, NYC

PART I

PART II

1 COMMENT FOR THIS ENTRY

germaican_lady

Laaawwed, mi hungry now!! ...lol... Oh, by the way, what DON'T you do, girl?

Posted by GermaicanLady on Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 21:50
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I'm a Genius!!! LOL

So my friend Justin posted this in his blog - hilarious I thought - and in a competitive spirit I decided to give it a go. I beat him by a measly two points - but it's something!!! It's too bad all this knowledge is going to waste these dayZ - LOL!!! Yes, I know this is stupid - but I have some time on my handZ!!!

You have a Sexual IQ of 144
When it comes to sex, you are a super genius. You have had a lot of experience, and sex interests you so you know a lot about it. You pride yourself on being a source of information and guidance to all of your friends.
'What is your Sexual IQ?' at QuizUniverse.com

2 COMMENTS FOR THIS ENTRY


GOD of THUNDER/Mark Harris


And this whole time, I've been paying the Honda dealer $75 for a rim-job every 6 months...

Posted by GOD OF THUNDER on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 22:41
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MaryContrary™©

I taught you everything you know. Not firsthand knowledge, of course. you just read my diary...

Posted by MaryContrary™© on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 22:43
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