AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

I recently began a new project of making a deck of tarot cards. I have
studied the tarot since I was twenty, and have tried numerous times to make
my own deck, but I always got hung up on the details. I just could not wade
through all the contradictions. But finally I came at it from a purely visual
direction. I needed a deck of tarot for a music video I want to make, I have a
huge collection of tarot decks, some are beautiful reproductions of antiques.
But I realized I wanted to have my own deck to use in this video production.
And so I just dove into the process of making them.
I told my closest friends, my favorite muses, and then I sent out a casting

I have just returned from APIS a seminar held in Santa Fe New Mexico which is hosted by Bostick and Sullivan.

They are also the folks who make the chemicals for platinum, carbon, cyanotype, gum bichromate, and bromoil printing processes.

www.bostick-sullivan.com

Every other year they put on this wonderful seminar and bring guest speakers who talk about these alternative printing processes.

My favorite contemporary Los Angeles artist is Mear One. He comes from the graffiti tradition, and continues to build his fine art career along the path of artists like Banksy and Sheppard Fairey. Ask me about him. I love him to death.

Here is the new bio I just wrote for his website & promo materials... Enjoy!

***

MEAR is a philosopher-artist with a raw, vibrant style that captures essence of pain, struggle and the human experience. His name is an acronym that stands for Manifest Energy And Radiate, which is a philosophy he invented to combine soul-level spirituality with creative expression and the energy of the streets. Keenly interested in art as a transcendent language, MEAR first became known in the art world for his political messages, crying out with intense sorrow, rage and disbelief at American foreign policy, the cult of consumerism and all forms of oppression.

Hey all!

I wanted to tell you about some of the exciting things happening with my band, missFlag (exciting to us, at least :P).

Less than a year ago, when we were still at the beginning of the road with just a self-produced EP under our belts, we got our first opportunity to perform in the US (we're Israeli), thanks to an organization inviting us over for a private show.

I contacted Terri, creator of AMP, asking for some help booking more shows in LA, and she really helped us out and provided us with a long list of venues in the area. Thanks to that list, we then had a few more shows in LA.

Well, that trip was very successful. One thing led to another, and since then we've done a much bigger tour in the US and recorded our debut album with a very talented LA producer named Guy Erez. The album was released on the Internet a few months ago, has received some very exciting reviews and has earned us a rapidly growing fan base.

2 months ago, Nic Harcourt, the renowned DJ from KCRW - http://www.kcrw.org, starting playing one of our songs ("Hidden Thieves") on his show "Morning Becomes Eclectic". This was a really big achievement for us, seeing as this guy is one of the most influential DJs in the US, and is known for breaking new acts in the US such as Coldplay, Travis, Norah Jones, Dido, and countless more successful artists.

Well now, after being regularly aired on his show for 2 months, Nic has invited us to perform live on his show. The show usually hosts famous and successful bands and is highly desired even by bands that are already in the prime of their career. Performing at this radio show is considered a significant milestone in a musician's career, and well, as you can guess, this is thrilling (and sorta scary :P) for us!

We'll be performing live on the show in one month, on September 17th. That same evening, we'll be performing at an LA venue called The Knitting Factory. We'd love it if as many people as possible would tune in to hear the radio show on 89.9 FM in Los Angeles (you can also listen online at http://www.kcrw.org), and of course we'd love to see you all at the Knitting Factory show (http://www.knittingfactory.com).

In the meantime, I invite you all to check out the attachments to this blog and download our song "Hidden Thieves" for free. Hope you enjoy! :)

All the best, and thanks for reading my ramblings ;)

Gil
----------------
www.missFlag.com
www.myspace.com/missFlag

I am very new to the internet artist community. Originally from Lafayette, LA, I moved to Philly in 2006 to pursue my MFA at Tyler. I am in the printmaking department, but I cross-over with fibers and sculpture. I have one year left of my studies, and I'm looking forward to joining the network of artists out in the world! I hope I will meet some interesting and friendly people through this site, and hopefully attend some AMP parties in the Northeast.

Hi everyone!

EV does all the recording for the Corrientes. You can look at the Wordpress blog below to see all finished projects. We are putting our music up in as many places as possible because we are trying to really get heard. Please pass the word along to anyone you think might enjoy our music.

Here is the Wordpress Blog link where you can see the ep's and albums we have finished and available for free download.
http://evtproductions.wordpress.com/tag/eps-and-albums/

Please let us know what you think :)

Also, Corrientes is playing more and more shows we hope you could make it out to see us play live. :)

Artists Feel Painted Into a Corner in Baghdad

By Megan Greenwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 5, 2007; Page A19

BAGHDAD -- Ultimately, it won't be the constant threat of violence
that drives celebrated ceramics artist Mahir Samarrai out of the
place of his birth. When he finally, reluctantly moves out of
Baghdad later this year, the cause will be much more mundane.

"To do ceramics, you need to fire the pieces in the kiln for eight
hours. Since 2004, we've had one or two hours of electricity here
each day," said Samarrai, 57, who said he cannot afford a
generator. "So what is the choice?"

There is less than a month left of our show here in Nantes .

Come check it out if possible .

www.cabaretnewburlesque.com

www.estuaire.com

In discussing my vision for AMP with ever-more people, I am continually refining and specifying it. We're having an event in Amsterdam (AMPsterdam?) on Friday, September 28. In writing to my co-organizer for this event, AMP member Paul van Dijk, I specified thus:

I see the website as only a beginning tool. There is a lot that can be done with the website, that much is clear already - it's a way for members to learn about each other and connect - eventually in real life too, post their art and their thoughts, post and learn about opportunites and events, learn about the world's art worlds...but the eventual goal is to have a physical AMP center (or affiliate) in every major center of the world (for some reason I have the number 30 in mind). Each center would have performance space, workshop space, gallery space, office space, and a kind of artists' hostel upstairs, where members could stay for short times while passing through, for either a nominal fee, or workshop instruction, art creation, maintenance of the center, and so on. If they need to stay longer, they can connect with other AMP members in the area - longer still, and they can be pointed to artist-friendly resources throughout the area. Each center would also be an information and networking hub for the area, connecting visiting artist members with other artists and arts communities in the area, as well as with the appropriate resources. The basic idea: when you fall into a new space, you don't fall hard on the ground - you are caught by a connecting web of fellow creatives - everywhere, really opening a world of art. That is what I'm trying to build from the ground up. The parties and ticketed events are to build community between members, raise AMP's profile, and gather more members and friends, not to mention have a good time. :D The website is a tool. The big idea is much, much bigger.

If you are an Artist, work in Theatre, or wish to, there's a great chance to Network this Monday in SF. Go here for details on the "Just-Theatre" Designer Clambake:

http://www.justtheater.org/clambake.html

I will be there, along with all my Theatre and Haunted House buddies. Hope to see some of you guys there too. Here's my Sculpture Portfolio, The Union Square Macy's project, and shots from "Carmen", the Opera I painted and Sculpted on:

http://flickr.com/photos/hadara69/sets/
http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d38/hadara69/44/
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Ict2rly2ZMXqg