JuneBot: Weapons Of Mass DistrACTION Project
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2004 at 7.30 pm
Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA

Speakers and exhibiting artists:

Joshua Brown, “Electric Babysitters and the Cultural Reclamation Project”: self-trained artist, creative director of the Artistic Media Group (http://www.artisticmedia.biz/) and VP of Northwest Cyber Artists Productions, Joshua discusses how and why he made these works, describing the effect of presenting familiar technologies from a skewed perspective (Electric Babysitters), and using large-scale graphical reproduction equipment not typically used for non-commercial purposes to create the Cultural Reclamation Project. He is “working hard to realize a better world through art by creating culture responsibly: I believe that art CAN save the world”.

Larry Nielson, “How I Became A Documentary Filmmaker In 12 Easy Months”: A professional still photographer and car artist (“Cartist”) for many years, Larry Neilson had hardly held a video camera in his hands until January 2003, when he began a course in digital video for the Web. A few weeks later he found himself in the swirl of history in the making as he filmed the record-setting February 15 peace march through downtown Seattle, an event which changed his life. Amazed by the power of the medium - a film made on his own desktop computer at home - he has been exploring the theme and refining his skills ever since. He will share his results, anecdotes of the journey, and thoughts on digital video's relevance to grass-roots independent media, showing 3 short Quicktime movies about the peace movement and the need for peace in our lives while also discussing the technicalities of digital filmmaking and publishing to the web. http://www.cityofart.net/sample.html tells you more.

Randy Rowland, “The Power In The Image: A Short Course In Stopping Those Who Will Stop At Nothing”: Anybody who dreams of a better future for our planet than the Grim Reapers Who Run Things has to come up against the question "How do you stop those who will stop at nothing?" Guerilla artists and journalists have a plan, and veteran protester Randy Rowland, of the PepperSpray Productions Indymedia video collective, will tell us what that is. Randy was one of the “Presidio 27” anti-Vietnam War mutineers convicted of mutiny in 1968. In 1989, he was the “veteran who napalmed 1,000 US flags” the moment US flag-burning became illegal, the resulting case prompting the Supreme Court’s overturning of that law. Ever since, he has been curating and creating politically aware art-focused projects from the Labor Films Screening Series to his weekly public access TV show, Indymedia Presents. Read about the latest PepperSpray Video Quarterly, The Leader, at http://www.thinksmall.org/pepperspray/.

Mark Taylor-Canfield, “Media and Culture Jamming”: Local artist, activist, composer and musician Mark Taylor-Canfield will present an outline of the concepts of “media” and “culture jamming” using examples of his work in sound art, broadcasting, performance art, music and video. He will share simple techniques which allow artists to use technology to create dramatic contextual and conceptual juxtapositions in the areas of politics and culture.

Paul Luksch: Who among us has not had the urge to hurl a projectile towards a Cathode Ray Tube? When Paul’s dreams collide with his realities, ART is often the cheapest and most effective therapy.

Performance:

* dj bios+a+ic will spin cds featuring local and international sound sculptors and sonic architects. Bios+a+ic is the solo alias of Wesley Davis of entropic advance (http://www.entropicadvance.com/). Wesley fuses ambient, noise, experimental, glitch and texture to create a lucid and encompassing musical environment.

Randy Rowland is a member of PepperSpray Productions, an Indymedia video collective in Seattle. He is producer of "Indymedia Presents," a weekly public access show. Fridays at 9:30pm, Seattle (Channel 77) and King County (Channel 29) the show runs on on Bainbridge Island alternating nights at 11:30pm. The show is also aired in St. Paul, MN. Rowland curates the on-going Labor Films Screening Series, sponsored by the King County Laobr Council, the Harry Bridges Center For Labor Studies, IBEW Local 46, and PepperSpray Productions. His video work has appeared numerous times on Free Speech TV, the people¹s national satelite channel (DISH network), and on Amy Goodman¹s "Democracy Now." Rowland¹s articles have been published on more than one occasion in Z Magazine. During the run-up to Gulf War I, Rowland created the "Real Hero¹s Poster Project," producing scores of posters, each depicting a military resister to the Gulf War. The posters informally went up in cities around the country, with formal installations of the entire project in a half dozen cities. He also organized "Gut Reaction," a national anti-war art show which hung for a month in the OK Hotel. In 1989, Rowland was the "veteran who napalmed 1,000 US flags" the moment it became illegal to burn the US flag. The case which resulted from that action prompted the Supreme Court to overturn Papa Bush¹s flag burning law. In 1968, Rowland, along with other soldiers, was convicted of mutiny, in a highly publicized political trial where the anti Vietnam War mutineers became known as "The Presidio 27." http://www.thinksmall.org/pepperspray/

Mark Taylor-Canfield is a well-known figure in the Seattle area. Sometimes controversial, he has always managed to stir up the political and arts scene and over the years he has developed a reputation for challenging the status quo. His arrest onstage during his own performance at Seattle Symphony’s Benaroya Hall is the stuff of legend and has inspired performance art pieces, cartoons and numerous articles and essays. Mark had planned to protest the state of the arts in Seattle and the lack of public funding, specifically targeting the Mayor’s Arts Task Force which never really accomplished anything to help local artists. In fact, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell had vetoed or shelved all of the group’s proposals. In the ensuing controversy, Taylor-Canfield was arrested before he could actually perform the world premier of his solo piano piece, “Catharsis”, because of slanderous rumors that he planned to destroy the Symphony’s expensive concert grand piano. He had denied the rumors all along, but someone decided he was just a little too political and the rest is history. Of course, no charges were ever filed since he broke no laws. All he did was step onto the stage. The film of his arrest, by the way, was featured on local news programs and the Seattle Weekly headlined their story, “Composer Nabbed, Piano Saved”.

Mark Taylor-Canfield also hosts programs on the Seattle Independent Media Network’s Radio X. As an activist, Mark has been responsible for helping to organize large civil rights and anti-globalization demonstrations in the Seattle area. He is a founding member of the public interest civil rights group the Committee For Government Accountability and the multi-media arts group the Sonicabal. His work on civil rights issues has been recognized by community activists and by city officials. He has testified at many public hearings, including a statement before the Federal Communications Commission. He is co-author of two reports on civil rights which have been forwarded to the Center For Constitutional Rights at Rutgers University.