political art & cultural policy
Cover art for Radiohead's Hail To The Thief (detail).
Rumor has it that Radiohead will be performing for the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators who are camping out in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park.
The band is in town for a few performances, and their progressive politics are certainly on the record (pun intended). In recent weeks, the band has also lent quiet support to those protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.
Update — rumor shot down:
Skattered throughout Vancouver, bus stop shelters have been turned from ad space to sheet music. Adorno and Nose, as the piece is called, is a collection of ten songs composed and illustrated by Barry Doupe and James Whitman. Each poster contains a different song, notated as standard sheet music, the verse, and a drawn graphic.
“The songs are invitations to play and divertissement, whether private, humming or singing to oneself, or performance, singing out loud to friends or strangers. …People will be surprised, will wonder what they’re for,” explain the artists of the work.
MC Emrical puts police and politicians on blast following the three-year anniversary of Fredy Villanueva’s death
When I told Vox Sambou of the Montreal hip-hop collective Nomadic Massive I had an interview lined up with Emrical his face lit up. “He’s very….” The Haitian emcee paused and silently did his best Tommie Smith impression lifting a black power fist like the African American sprinter atop the podium at the 1968 Olympics.
Q&A with Syrian-American hip-hop artist Omar Offendum
Omar Offendum almost lost his train of thought when he saw a video post on his Facebook wall, mid Skype interview, of his song #Jan25 being played in Tahrir Square. It was July, months after the whirlwind revolution that brought down Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, but as the protests in the Middle East persist, Offendum’s lyrics of liberation continue to be part of an anthem of resistance around the world – both on and offline.
Pianist Yuja Wang's dress creates war of words among reviewers
It’s rare that we cover the classical music world on Art Threat, but the recent spat over pianist Yuja Wang‘s wardrobe is worth mentioning.
As the story goes, the 24-year-old Chinese prodigy delivered a magnificent performance at the Hollywood Bowl on August 2. It was her hemline, however, that seemed to dominate the column inches of some reviewers.
Monday Music Pick: Harp Duet
Sarah Pagé Howl! performance by howlarts
A beautiful duet performance at Howl! II via harpists Sarah Pagé and Robin Best at La Sala Rossa in March 2011. This recording for listening & download to your friends, download the recording for free via the audio link above.
Celebrated harp player Sarah Pagé performs a harp duet set with harpist Robin Best. Pagé has performed as a soloist with both the McGill Orchestra and choir and has participated in many orchestral festivals including the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. In 2002, Pagé became interested in exploring the boundaries of her instrument and has done a great deal of improvising, recording and touring with long time friend and collaborator Patrick Watson.
A conversation with God's Lake Narrows artist Kevin Lee Burton
God’s Lake Narrows is a new interactive narrative on the National Film Board of Canada’s increasingly interactive website. Exploring themes of longing and belonging, Winnipeg artist and former resident of the God’s Lake Narrows (GLN) reserve Kevin Lee Burton deploys photographs, text, and a layered soundscape to introduce audiences to his community and all the beauty and agony that it entails.
The text begins by situating reserves in a framework of proximity and (in)visibility – “For those of us who aren’t from one, or don’t know someone who is, our experience is limited to what we see and hear on the news: an endless loop of stories about poverty, illness, abuse and death.” Burton’s project—originally conceived as an art gallery instillation—sets out to challenge and complicate the way many (Canadians) view, think about, and form opinions of, reserves – all 3,063 of them (and by extension, the aboriginal peoples of Canada).
The story of the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective
In an abandoned candy factory in New York, rap music blares as graffiti artists cover the walls with colorful, almost intelligible, designs. It’s February, the 4,000-square-foot-room is cold and the smell of fresh paint is overwhelming, but so is the sense of anticipation. This is where brothers Rodrigo, aka RodStarz, and Gonzalo “G1” Venegas, who make up the hip-hop group Rebel Diaz, are creating a place where they hope to revive the mobilizing power of New York hip-hop.
New documentary from the National Radio Project
The fine folks from Making Contact (a program at the National Radio Project) present Marching for Change: Street Bands in the US, a new documentary about the musical funsters who make protests danceable.
Social justice marching bands have emerged in recent decades as essential contributors to North American protest movements filling streets of unrest with their fun beats and good vibes.
This new documentary includes appearances by such luminaries as the Hungry March Band, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Infernal Noise Brigade, and the Brass Liberation Orchestra.
Download or stream the doc here.
Friday Film Pick: Gaza Island
That nutty bunch of artists/activists in Toronto have released another political musical parody about Palestine/Israel, this time targeting big name singers who have concerts planned in Israel this summer and drawing attention to the upcoming flotilla. From the video’s Vimeo page:
The Freedom Flotilla 2, with 12+ boats carrying humanitarian aid and 1000+ peace activists, is sailing to Gaza in late June. Alice Walker, who’s sailing with us, calls this the Freedom Ride of our generation. We want to help open this Palestinian port and end the illegal Israeli blockade, which has caused so much suffering. Meanwhile, the global BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) movement is calling on Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson and Kiri Te Kanawa to cancel their 2011 Israel concerts and get on the boat!
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