GLOBAL OUTLOOKS, PERSONAL VOICES

Welcome to WEAD Magazine’s second issue. Evidenced by the number of essay proposals received, our audience is growing. We were delighted to be able to select and publish here an especially strong, diverse group of writers covering eco and social justice art in both metropolises and villages across seven+ countries. This is what we want–to represent a broader geographical outlook written in personal voices. It’s a goal that happens only with contributions by writers like those published here. We thank them, and look forward to receiving even more proposals for Issue #3 (due in February 2011).

Our magazine format (like creating any meaningful artwork) remains a work in progress…maybe it will always be this way. Within the unknown, it is stimulating to work toward, “it can be better.” This time we’ve added features, expanded the Op Ed column (that’s on the far left of the magazine home page), and upgraded layouts with more larger images to show artworks at their best. Within the limitations of online magazine design, we know there are advantages still to be found. Next, we will create an adjunct blog so readers can take an equal part in an ongoing dialog. It’ll be one more place to share ideas that keep the collective work open, current and vital.

 

I. THE OP ED COLUMN (The far left)

FEATURED ARTIST—New here, and with each future issue, WEAD Magazine will honor a feminist ecoartist or art writer/curator whose work, over time, has contributed significantly to the field and global dialog. The first artist AGNES DENES personifies WEAD’s criteria with 40+ years of major works in the field. Her 1982 Wheatfield—A Confrontation critiqued corporate food monopolies, presaging critical concerns relevant today. Traveling the world, she continues to construct monumental, and poetic, eco landworks. She plants her projects in real time for future generations.

ON MY MIND. Speaking with wisdom gleaned from 40+ years as a feminist performance artist and ecoartist, BETSY DAMON illuminates her personal view of water as a life force and mentor. She draws fundamental lessons from her water projects in China, Florida and Seattle.

REVIEWS. German artist/curator ANKE MELLIN surveys S. Korea’s 2010 Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, organized by the 30-year-old Korean Nature Artist Association, Yatoo. Under the theme Nature & Peace, 26 Korean and international artists installed site specific work on a rural mountain side 150 km southwest of Seoul.

 

II. INTERNATIONAL ESSAYS

These artists and writers represent a wide range of strategies and outlooks. Collectively they share a dedication to employing their conceptual art skills to enrich community vitality and protect environmental health.

CLAUDIA BERNARDI works in small villages in Central and South America to create participatory community murals that communicate joy where there is much pain to overcome.

JEAN GRANT, working in Liverpool, brings locals together to celebrate underappreciated neighborhood assets while creating new ones, building within an inclusive, informative decision-making process.

RAHELEH ZOMORODINIA & MAHMOUD share the sphere of contemporary Iranian artists and art groups who draw from cultural roots to address pressing current eco issues.

Drawing from 25+ years’ experience, and recent years of excessive floods, INSA WINKLER critiques art and politics of water projects in her native Germany and at Copenhagen’s World Climate Conference.

BETH CARRUTHERS brings us Part II of a first-hand comprehensive survey of Canadian ecoartists and the national underlying issues.

JOYCE CUTLER SHAW examines the consequences of water misuse along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico, affecting a broad sector of the Western US and Mexico.

 

III. ON THE HOME FRONT

While the Directory and Magazine goals are international outreach, in the past five months WEAD has concurrently produced several Northern CA events, most in collaboration with environmental nonprofits, civic groups or educational institutions. In truth, we’ve been doing this for 15+ years. Now we notice that requests for programming are escalating as environmental concerns gather momentum. WEAD knows that ecoart events like these are reproducible. While manual labor is difficult and money is scarce, ideas transport well. We’d like to hear from groups and WEAD listees outside the Bay Area who want to share what they are doing in their own neighborhood and region. Here is a place to share skill sets and critique what works and what doesn’t. This way we can collectively produce more programs around the world. It’s an idea. Let’s brainstorm. Email: weadartists@gmail.com

 

WEAD 15^th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT

John F Kennedy University Gallery, Berkeley, CA.

May 12- June 12, 2010

ARTISTS: Krystle Ahmadyar, Estelle Akamine, Sylvia Algire, Pamela Blotner, Dianne Cohen, Lauren Elder, Linda Gass, Dee Hibbert- Jones, Lisa Kokin, Robin Lasser, Violeta Luna, Linda Mac Donald, Barbara Milman, Liz Merolla, Juana Alicia Montoya, Janice Nakashima, Adrienne Pao, Marella Pedersen, Praba Pilar, Daphne Ruff, Judith Selby-Lang, Danielle Siembieda, Maryly Snow.

 

2010 BIONEERS CONFERENCE, Marin County, Northern CA, Oct 16-18

PANEL: TEACHING ART AS A SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITY

MODERATOR, Beverly Naidus, University of Washington @ Tacoma

PANELISTS- Magdalena Gomez, Teatro Vida, MA; Stephanie Anne Johnson, CA State University @ Monterey Bay; Richard Kamler, University of San Francisco; and Deborah Brandt, from Canada’s

 

 

BIONEERS CONFERENCE EXHIBIT: VANISHING POLLINATORS

WEAD BOARD CURATORS Andree Singer Thompson, Vicki Jo Sowell, Marella Pedersen; with BIONEERS guest curator

ARTISTS: Melissa Bolger , Janet Culbertson, Agnes Denes, Rebecca Foust, Deborah Kennedy, Karen Kramer, Jane Kim, Lee Lee, Linda MacDonald, Sally Nelson , Carol Newborg, Jennifer Noland, Jeanne O’Connor, Susan Plum, Christy Rupp, Elizabeth Sher, Molly Sigman, M. Louise Stanley, Lorna Stevens, Michelle Théberge, Patti Trimble, Anna Vaughan

 

ECOART VIDEO SALONS, cosponsored with ecoartspace.org

Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley CA, November 13; &

Intersection for the Arts 5M Gallery, San Francisco CA, November 17.

GREEN PROGRAMS ECO AWARD SCULPTURE CONTEST

Produced by WEAD for Wells Fargo Bank GREEN AWARDS

WINNER: Suzanne Husky

http://blog.wellsfargo.com/environment/2011/01/engaging_team_members_through_eco_art.html