OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS: Art in Odd Places 2011

Art in Odd Places 2011: RITUAL

OPEN CALL FOR ARTIST SUBMISSIONS

Art in Odd Places (AIOP) invites artists working across disciplines to propose projects for its seventh installment. Taking place from October 1 to 10, 2011, along 14th Street from Avenue C to the Hudson River in New York City, we encourage proposals that explore this location's rich history, configuration, and heterogeneous communities. The theme for the upcoming edition of AiOP is RITUAL including Ceremony, Habituation, Myth, Obsession, Superstition, Liturgy, and it will be informed by propositions on the sacred and profane in everyday actions of people in public space.

In the contemporary moment, the idea of ritual is a highly provocative concept. It is most commonly linked to the set of actions in religious ceremony or cultural celebrations, but the notion is also applicable to the socializing behaviors performed among individuals in the daily engagement with the social environment and civic space. This edition of AiOP seeks proposals that subtly disrupt the procedures of the everyday or emphasize the ritualistic character of small gestures or acts in both religious and secular life, to establish temporary moments of ecstatic contemplation in the public realm.

AiOP 2011: RITUAL offers artists the opportunity to make art outside formal spaces by reconfiguring their artistic practice as public actions or urban interventions without the confinement of a gallery or museum space. AiOP 2011: RITUAL wants to engage passers-by, providing them with a new perspective of an otherwise familiar environment through site-specific installations, social and spatial interventions, video and audio projects, performance, new media, and other inventive practices. In addressing the distinct manifestations of ritual, the festival aims to broaden the public’s outlook on art, city dwelling, and social conventions.

To apply visit artinoddplaces.org (submit proposal) for full guidelines and application forms.

Proposal Deadline: May 8, 2011

AiOP 2011 Guest Curators: Trinidad Fombella, El Museo del Barrio and Kalia Brooks, MoCADA

AiOP Founder and Director: Ed Woodham

AiOP Festival Producer: Lucia Warck Meister

We look forward receiving your applications!

Thank you for all who submitted their proposals!

Art in Odd Place would like to thank everyone who submitted their applications for AiOP 2010: CHANCE. There was a great turnout with over 200 applicants. Our curators Yaelle and Petrushka will be busy within the next week choosing a collection of great works for the festival. Please check our blog regularly for announcements and updates.

What's coming up with the blog?
As we await the list of artists this year, our blog will continue to feature artists from previous years to keep the excitement flowing. Here are the artists to look out for the next entries (in no particular order)

Tattfoo Tan
Todd Ayoung
Sophia Hadjipapa
Laura Nova
Terry S. Hardy
...just to name a few

What's new, however, are entries featuring not only our curators but also our Art In Odd Places Director, Ed Woodham. You can finally put a face to the people making this festival happen.

Most importantly, we will reveal the details for our annual Art in Odd Places benefit happening on the 22nd of June. The theme for this year is "Sideshow". More details for follow.

Isn't this exciting?

As always, you can visit our website for more information. Share to your friends details about the festival and encourage them to follow us online.

Money can't buy you happiness, but you can find it on Jan Sokota's coins

I told you!
Our featured artist this week has a very special place in Art in Odd Places' heart. She has been part of the festival for not just one, not two, but four consecutive year since its 2005 inception. If there is one person aspiring artists should listen to regarding becoming part of this year's festival, that person is Jan Lynn Sokota. Jan is enough of a veteran to impart wisdom on how Art in Odd Places has grown through the years and impacted not only 14th street but the New York Art scene in general.


She chose to talk about her work during Art in Odd Places 2008: Pedestrian, where she used minted "happiness" coins displayed in "random" places along 14th Street. The concept of randomly placed coins is such a great topic to discuss since it definitely oozes this year's theme of "CHANCE". Perhaps this should spark creativity among artists still currently working on their proposals as the deadline of submission approaches (May 14).

Without further adieu, I give you Jan Sokota

Aiop: Tell us about you?
JS: I was born and raised in NY where I received my MA from NYU Gallatin School and BFA from SUNY Purchase. For twenty years I have worked full time in television while spending the other part of my life making art. Each informs the other and it is a very interesting mix of endeavors. I studied photography all my life but my current work, since 2005, is minting coins.
Aiop: How was your Art in Odd Places experience?
JS: I began showing work with Art in Odd Places since its inception in 2005. Thereafter, I was included in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 shows. Ed Woodham is a pleasure to work with as are the curators he chooses for each show. The curators concepts for the shows are always interesting, providing a platform for creative inspiration. Since 2005 I have watched Art in Odd Places grow significantly in many ways. Each year I look forward to this art event whether I am a participant or a viewer.

Aiop: Where did you place your coins along 14th street?
JS: For Pedestrian in 2008, Find Your Happiness 2008e coin was shown at the South West corner of Union Square in the park as well as on 14 Street between Broadway and University.









Aiop: Walk us through your thought process in creating your piece for Art in Odd Places.
JS: My work for each show depended on the concept created for each show. For instance in Pedestrian 2008, I considered how people interact with art on the street. I saw this as a meeting place between them. From there I had to figure out a way to integrate my coins within this space and determine what kind of exchange could take place. There were various incarnations of the final piece which when finalized included visual, auditory, interactive and hidden devices within the exchange between the viewer on the street and the art I produced. For this show I created the Find Your Happiness 2008e coin. The figure on the coin was based on international symbols that instruct people as seen in airports, bathrooms and parks. The text was a short poem of sorts announcing that perhaps a bit of happiness had come their way. The piece included three elements: finding a coin on the street which is fairly commonplace in a large city, secretly disbursing the coins to passersby who would then casually find a coin at a later time in their shopping bag or pocket and having people watch me place the coins in the environment for them to pick up or not. I wanted to use the idea of happiness as something you chance upon in an ordinary day, as in finding a lucky penny.



I receive responses from people all over the world who have found my coins. One email that was particularly interesting stated that finding the coin helped them to make a decision
to go to another country and do volunteer work to help another community. This made me very happy.



Aiop: Any words of wisdom for artists who are interested in becoming part of this year's Art in Odd places festival?
JS: I think the most important ingredient in making art is to be true to your vision or idea and then be objective about what it is that you are making. Try to put yourself in the place of the viewer and see what different perspectives are contained in that alternate view. I think perspective is a very important element when making public art as the general audience who happens upon it is a vastly diverse population of people.

Aiop: What projects are you currently working on?
JS: Currently, I am working on N-DENT (Nix-Dubious Exchange of our National Trade) 2009d which is a series of 50 Statehood Quarters plus D.C. and U.S. Territories totaling 56 quarters that I have engraved with graffiti commemorating a slightly different perspective of each state. I love working on this new piece and the first 6 can be seen at Fuse-Works:




Aiop: I am sure a lot of people would love to contact you. Where can you be reached?
JS: I can be reached at the contact page on my website: http://www.coinartist.com/

Aiop: Any final words?
JS: Art in Odd Places is great! I love the show and hope it continues as an annual art event in New York City for many years to come.

Thank you, Jan! Your responses definitely brought everyone happiness. We hope to see you on this year's festival.

Just a reminder: The deadline to submit artists' proposal is on May 14. Here at Art In Odd Places, we hope that featuring artists who were previously part of the festival on our blog help inspire and motivate people as they go through the application process. Good luck everyone!

As always, the application can be found in the Art In Odd Places website.

Visit the blog for more artists!

The Artist known as LuLu LoLo

Portrait of LuLu by Vince Evans / Photo by Paul Takeuchi

For this week's entry, we touch base with one of our favorite performance artists who recently returned from France. Allow me to introduce LuLu LoLo, or should I say the Fabulous LuLu LoLo. She was part of Art in Odd places 2009: SIGN. Unlike last week's artist who used silence to communicate, LuLu LoLo utilizes an active approach to attract people: her larger than life personality. What makes Art in Odd Places such a wonderful event is the idea of embracing such creative differences in approaching themes. And rest assured, the festival will continue to capture this idea of "unity through diversity" this year.

You wonder how LuLu LoLo's approach worked? Read on.

Aiop: What’s in the name?
LL: LuLu LoLo is my name. My Italian grandmother called me LuLu. As Twayla Tharp says in, “The Creative Habit, Learn it and Use it for Life” ‘There is a magic and power invested in our names…done wisely and well, a change of name can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.’

AIOP: Kindly share your Art in Odd Places experience?
LL: My performance for AIOP on 14th Street as 14th Street NewsBoy— was very exciting—because of the wonderful response from the many people who stopped to take one of my newspapers about the history of 14th Street. Each week I gave out over 300 newspapers—because there were different issues, people were emailing to get the next issue if they missed meeting me in person. I performed on the corner of University and Union Square— in front of the Strawberry Store down the street from Whole Foods. It was interesting to see what type of person took my newspaper—young or old—male or female—student—I wish I had made a study of the demographics of who took my newspaper. Also by shouting out an intriguing headline I was able to get someone who resisted to take my newspaper—some of my favorite headlines that I would shout were: “Oscar Wilde’s play was a flop!” “Lillian Russell’s mother ran for Mayor! First Woman to run for Mayor—she got 4 votes!” “Oscar Wilde swindled by a Bunco Artist” –By engaging the people walking by—they would stop and take a newspaper. I would have returning people who said—“Oh I loved the last issue—can’t wait to read the next.” When I thought of my performance on 14th Street—I knew a lot of history of 14th Street but as I researched the history of 14th Street---I learned so much that I wanted to share this history—and I thought of a newspaper—my biggest problem was editing the wealth of images and information that I collected about 14th Street.

Photo by Paul Takeuchi

Aiop: Any words of wisdom for artists who are interested in becoming part of this year's Art in Odd places festival?
LL: My words of wisdom are really think about location and time of day of your performance. Early morning as people are going to work—they seem focused on getting on the subway—I thought they would want a newspaper to read going to work—but they seem more leisurely when they returned from work. People going to the Greenmarket on Saturday morning were very relaxed —and happy to take a newspaper which I had to stuff into their overflowing Greenmarket shopping bag. Do not stand by bus stop—too noisy—think of traffic noise—Also people are either listening to music or talking on cell phone—so they don’t hear you or notice you. If you are giving them something—they won’t take it if they think it is a store promotion. You should stand at a spot you are thinking of selecting—and get the feel of the kinds of people that pass by and the time of day which seems best for their interactions with your performance.

Aiop: Sounds like a moving performance. If you had to do it again, what would you have changed about your piece?
LL: I think I should have been at same spot at the same time each week—as people wanted to find me for the next issue—I staggered the time to see what kind of response I received at
different times.

Aiop: This year’s theme is Chance. What is your take on the theme?
LL: All of my work is about Chance: An encounter on any street in any city in the world, where strangers spontaneously interact with me as I appear as one of my many personas. Even my
scripted theater plays have an element of chance—as I sometimes improvise the dialogue each evening. Being a performance artist is taking a “Chance”—a risk. Michel Seuphor (author of “Piet Mondrian, Life and Work”) said, “Art stands still if you are afraid to take a chance.”


Aiop: Tell us about your work as an artist
LL: My work alternates from performance art to scripted one-person plays based on history. Recently I performed an excerpt from my play: “Soliloquy for a Seamstress: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire” at Judson Church for the 99th anniversary of the fire. I am involved with www.rememberthetrianglefire.org our coalition is developing projects for the 100th anniversary in 2011.

Performance at Judson Church. Photo taken by Iris Selke

Recently, I was in France—where I performed a few days ago in LeMans France—a series of performances for the Ghost Art Gallery “Les Errances de l’eau a Le Mans” “The Wanderings
of the Water” an exhibition connecting LeMans France and Campagna, Italy.

My performance was “The Cosmic Grand Prix” uniting two miniature racing cars—one carrying water from the town of Campagna, Italy and the other street dust from LeMans. Continuing my performance work as LuLu LoLo, Dust Collecting Specialist, (The dust I collects forms a microcosm of our culture and civilization). I collected dust in the City of LeMans, encasing the sacred dust in a precious vial attaching it to one of the racing cars. In the performance the two cars raced around the gallery. At the finale of the Cosmic Grand Prix the sacred water and the sacred dust carried by the Cosmic Race Cars were sprinkled on site by LuLu LoLo as an act of consecration for the healing of the Earth.

Aiop: Please let our readers know about your upcoming projects? LL:
April 24- Participating in “Wherever There is Water Night Parade” in Philadelphia,
www.fleisher.org/exhibitions/water.php
www.whereverthereiswater.blogspot.com
April 25- A performer at the Fund Raiser for Revolution Books, 146 W. 26th Street 5-8 pm
May 13- “You Know Who I Am: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen”, Conceived and realized by Joel Allegretti performed by Davidson Garrett, LuLu LoLo, and Jane Titus, Cornelia Street Café,
29 Cornelia Street, cover $7 (includes one house drink)
June 1-4- LuLu LoLo Dust Collecting Specialist with Sean Miller and the John Erickson Museum, www.jema.us at the Musei
di Nervi - Raccolte Frugone, Genoa, Italy
Summer 2010: “Dust from My Ancestral Homeland: An Act of Immigration Reinvented” continues my work as a worldwide Dust Collecting Specialist celebrating the mystical nature of dust. I will travel to Southern Italy to the home towns of my grandparents who emigrated from Melfi and San Fele in Basilicata collecting dust particles from churches, palazzos, statues, fountains, etc . These dust samples will be displayed at the Spazio Utopia Gallery (Campagna) as Immigrants gathered for departure to America and brought to New York docking at Ellis Island where the samples will be arbitrarily admitted for entry or rejected. The samples admitted will settle in East Harlem, NY at the sites where my grandparents lived for a unifying street performance. Also in Italy I will be “Basilicata NewsBoy” hawking a free newspaper about the Italian immigrants in New York City and highlighting the work of my parents, community activists who devoted themselves to the community of East Harlem—the street I live on in East Harlem/El Barrio is named for my father: Pete Pascale Place.


Aiop: Thanks LuLu! You certainly have lots of interesting things to say!

For more information about this vivacious performer, visit her website www.lululolo.com. I can assure you the website definitely doesn't disappoint.

Do you think you have what it takes to show a compelling piece along 14th street? Take a "CHANCE" and submit a call for artists application available here

Come back next week as we feature past Aiop artist, Tattfoo.

OPEN CALL FOR ARTIST SUBMISSIONS Art in Odd Places 2010: CHANCE

Art in Odd Places (AIOP) invites artists working across disciplines to propose projects for the festival's sixth installment (October 1 – 10, 2010). Taking place along 14th Street from Avenue C to the Hudson River in New York City, we encourage proposals that explore this location's rich history, configuration, and heterogeneous communities. The forthcoming edition of AiOP is informed by various interpretations of the term CHANCE, including proposition, luck, randomness, risk, and opportunity. Within this context, artists are given the opportunity to apply their practice to an unconventional structure—playing off the idiosyncrasies inherent to the urban plane.

With emerging formats of communication, our culture has become a fertile ground for broad intersections between individuals, ideas and situations. This has resulted in unpredictable exchanges, relinquishment of control, surprise collaborations, and instances of spatial revelation. AiOP 2010: CHANCE intends to provide passersby with a new perspective of an otherwise familiar environment through site-specific installations, social and spatial interventions, video and audio projects, performance, new media, and other inventive practices. In addressing the distinct manifestations of chance, the festival aims to broaden the public’s outlook on art, city dwelling, and social conventions.

2010 guest curators: Yaelle Amir and Petrushka Bazin.

AiOP Founder and Director: Ed Woodham.

Visit http://www.artinoddplaces.org/ for artist application and guidelines.

Application Deadline: May 14, 2010, midnight

Sustainability and Public Art?

Our last entry was about James Kuntler's take on the importance of public spaces in defining our community. Following this line of thought, today's entry offers the importance of sustainability in creating a public space. With Art in Odd places' "Call For Artists" announcement just around the corner, it is important to begin a discourse on how we use public art in sending a strong message.

A touchy (and perhaps, trendy) issue nowadays is the Green Movement. Words such as "carbon footprint" and "recycling"are thrown around to stress the impact of our actions to the environment. The movement has made great strides in putting the message across with the "green" label. However, it does raise the question whether words are enough to make a difference?

Luckily, a group based in Canada STEPS, or Sustainable Thinking and Expression and Public Space, understands the need to address issues surrounding sustainability. Their mission is to "engage public space enthusiasts in a collaborative effort to promote sustainable and community-centered public spaces by using art as a medium for dialogue on liberating the urban commons."


The beauty of this group lies not only in its principles, but the understanding the power of collaboration . From community health organization to urban health research centers, STEPS work with different groups to encourage people to use their space as hubs in addressing issues about the environment. It is a form of activism that is more than just a "writing on the wall". Now we can see how art expression can be a strong form of action, that can turn into legislation.

For more information about this group and on how to get involved, visit their website.

With this year's AiOP theme "Chance", we hope to see projects taking chances in sending messages that create dialogue for change. Remember our mission: public space is an "epicenter for diverse social interaction and the unfettered exchange of idea".

The STEPS initiative is just one of the group making this world (or public space) a better a place, and the world (or public space) needs to see more them.

IF PUBLIC SPACES COULD TALK, WHAT WOULD IT SAY?