Speed of Life

ARTIST FOCUS GROUPS for the MINETA SAN JOSE AIRPORT PUBLIC ART ACTIVATION Three meeting dates/times/locations to choose from: Tuesday, August 9, 2005 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. San José Museum of Art, 110 South Market Street, San José Saturday, August 13, 2005 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco Monday, August 15, 2005 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Works/San José Gallery, 30 North 3rd Street, San José The Mineta San José International Airport Public Art Master Plan creates a framework for a unified program of Art & Technology that will identify San José as a diverse global center for innovation and change. Gorbet+Banerjee, a multi-disciplinary artist team was selected as the Arts Activation Team to identify sites and design appropriate infrastructure (platforms) to accommodate the Airport Public Art Program. The initial phase of their design process is to meet with the regional arts community in a series of meetings to inform the design of ...

Thanks to Zeke , an Art Bloggers Conference will be included in Artivistic , an international art conference set for September in Montreal. From the Artivistic Website: "Artivistic :an international transdisciplinary event on the interplay between art, information and activism that will take place September 22 to 24, 2005, in Montreal QC (Canada). Integrating performances, exhibitions, interventions, workshops and panels by diverse practitioners and theorists in a multilingual setting, Artivistic is part of an evolving landscape of inclusive events which celebrate the power of engaged art as a catalyst for positive change. The event aims to promote open transdisciplinary + intercultural dialogue and research on activist art, to create and facilitate a human network of diverse peoples, and to inspire, proliferate, activate."

"Rue Mosnier with Flags" Édouard Manet 25 3/4 x 31 3/4 in. oil on canvas 1878 On a day of national celebration in France, the Getty Museum's collection of French paintings provides a link to Paris. The AP reports today that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the guest of honor, joined French President Jacques Chirac on the official reviewing stand at the Place de la Concorde to view the Bastille Day Parade. Brazilian President Silva was invited to the observances as part of "the year of Brazil in France," which aims to promote economic and cultural ties between the two countries. After the parade finished, Chirac and Silva stood at attention outside the presidential Elysee Palace as sirens sounded across Paris to observe two minutes of silence in solidarity with London. Manet's "Rue Mosnier" was painted two years before July 14th was declared the French national holiday in 1880. The holiday is known as the Fête Nationale in France and ...

Anna Conti has captured the world of art blogs in a tight grid. Links to each. Click away.

“Unity is a universal message.” Rachid Taha Backstage at a Clash concert in the early '80's, the young French-Algerian singer Rachid Taha pressed a demo tape of his own mix of punk, rock and middle eastern music into Joe Strummer's hands. Rachid Taha didn't hear back from the Clash. But shortly after their backstage meeting, the Clash's "Rock the Casbah" made it onto vinyl. The song could have been written by Taha. “I like Joe Strummer. We have the same obsession - freedom,” says Rachid. When he heard of Strummer's recent death, Taha recorded his own version of the Clash song: "Rock el Casbah " as a tribute. Watching video clips during the first Iraq War, Taha heard the Clash song blared by US troops during the short engagement with Iraqi forces. – “I wanted to show that this is not a war song, but much more a peaceful song.” Rachid Taha’s "Rock El Casbah", sung in Arabic, is a sly cover of the Clash classic and provides ...

RIMI YANG — TRANSITION JULY 6 — 31, 2005 *Photos from Opening Reception: Rimi Yang at Artamo Gallery Rimi Yang "sublimely unemphatic" 72"x48" oil and encaustic on canvas 2005 From the Artamo Gallery : "Rimi Yang’s first solo exhibition presents her newest work, which shows the artist’s progression from classic drawing and figurative painting to total abstraction and reflects the transition in her life from a culture driven by tradition into a new world of non-compromised expression. Rimi Yang’s compositions are borne from a method of automatic painting in which she allows her feelings to take hold of her in the course of execution. In avoiding conscious renderings of a preconceived idea, Rimi responds to the emotions of the given moment, reaching within her soul for guided inspiration as she gives form to her thoughts with the use of tangible materials." 11 W. Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, California 93101 Phone 805-568-1400 Email...

As part of the City Streets exhibition at the STUDIO Gallery, painter and art blogger Anna Conti will present an artist talk: "Another Way to Look at the City" Sunday, July 10th, 3 - 4 pm From the STUDIO Gallery: "Anna is one of the gallery's most popular painters, and we're delighted to have a number of her pieces in the City Streets show. Whether she's painting realistic cityscapes, her popular Doggie Diner series, or her collaborative "bean paintings" of toys from the Musee Mechanique, Anna's work always captures the mood of the City. We hope you'll join us for Anna's talk, see the show and of course have some refreshments." STUDIO Gallery 1718A Polk Street San Francisco 415-931-3130 http://STUDIOGallerySF.com

"Stainless Light" 38"x38" oil on linen 2005 London's "Guardian" reports on today's bombings: "It was about three minutes after we left King's Cross, when there was a massive bang and there was smoke and glass everywhere. I was standing near a window, and I've still got some in my hair." "The lights went out, and, with the smoke, we couldn't breathe, and we sort of cushioned each other during the impact because the compartment was so full." "It felt like a dream, it was surreal." - Fiona Trueman, 26, who was on a train a few minutes south of King's Cross when it exploded. London Tube Attack -photo by Adam Stacey Continual updates on the "Guardian's" blog: guardian blog Photo coverage on flickr: London pool

On this Independence Day, I think of the Americans who were forced from their homes and businesses on the west coast to internment camps spread across the US interior by President Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. During the 1940's, the town of Topaz was one of the largest cities in Utah. Like most towns, there were houses, gardens and elementary schools. Unlike most towns, there were barbed-wire fences and guard towers marking the city line. George Matsusaburo Hibi Guard Tower - Topaz Camp 22" x 18" oil on canvas 1944 On June 11th 2005, in the Utah desert , a group of ageing Japanese Americans boarded buses for a dusty trip back to the Topaz Internment Camp to remember the 60th anniversary of their release from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. Hisako Hibi "Western Sky" oil on canvas July 1, 1945 Topaz internment camp opened on September 11, 1942. Situated 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, the...