Letter from Birmingham Jail

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL 

In honor of Monday's holiday remembering Dr. King, here are just a few excerpts from his potent letter written now 47 years ago.  The entire letter is easily accessible and you can download it from my 'links' page, and I encourage reading the entire document.

My Dear Fellow Clergymen:

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary... But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.

I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I-it" relationship for an "I-thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness?

Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world.

We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.

Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?

M. L. King, Jr.

16 April 1963

Donna Hurt and Jamie Kreher in Fanzine

See Fanzine here: 10 x 15

Donna Hurt and Jamie Kreher are in this issue. Nice work.

Seeking Art ! Bargain Basement in Chicago! November 20th, the storefront at Co-Prosperity Sphere

My good friend and wonderful artist Hui Min Tsen is again curating and running the Bargain Basement exhibition in Chicago. To coincide with the Select Media Festival, The Bargain Basement will have a grand re-opening on November 20th in the storefront at Co-Prosperity Sphere. 

The Seeking Art Bargain Basement is a project by Hui-min Tsen.

 Bargain basement artists include fabulous artists such as Jamie Kreher and Rose DiSalvo.

Originally located in a booth at Version Festival's NFO XPO in April 2009, this experimental art space is returning in the storefront at Co-Prosperity Sphere.  The Bargain Basement will have a grand re-opening on November 20th to coincide with the Select Media Festival and will remain open throughout the month for the holiday season.

Bargain basements first appeared in 1909 as an effort by department stores to move unwanted merchandise.  Selling surplus goods at discounted prices cleared the way for new products, catered to the consumer's desire to acquire hidden gems for less than their worth, and allowed lower-income shoppers to participate in the trendy new world of mass-produced goods.  The Seeking Art Bargain Basement celebrates the 100th anniversary by applying the same economic and psychological principals to the art market, uniting artists' leftover work with shoppers seeking affordable art.  Unlike the products at Robb Pruitt's "Flea Market" or Martha Rosler's "Garage Sale," the items at the Bargain Basement will be new, with the artists themselves determining the value of selling the work.  All works will be accepted, inviting the viewer to participate in the process of discovery and the purchaser to determine what is of value as an art piece to them.  All proceeds go directly to the artist.  

In a world of simultaneous surplus and exclusion, the Bargain Basement seeks to raise issues inherent in today's art market including the accessibility of art, the practice of limiting dispersal to drive up prices, the speculative nature of the art market,  and whether there is a stigma for artists to exhibit or sell in certain venues.

 Artists include: Lisa Anderson/ Adriana Baltazar/ Irmaly Brackin/Nathan Brines/ Lisa Bulawsky/ Carrie Crow/Alex Dean/ Rose DiSalvo/Ron Ewert/ Amanda Franck/ Usama Haddad/ Annie Hogan/ James Kao/ Marie Kazalia/ Kathleen King/ Chintia Kirana/ Jamie Kreher/ Alex Lee/ Nate Lee/ Lemeh42/ Sara Lynch/ Laura Venestra Montgomery/ Jay Muhlin/ Amanda Paulson Niels Post/ Dave Robinson/ Molly Schafer/ Johannah Silva/ Eduardo de Soignie/ Basia Toczydlowska/ Nika Vaughn/ Dan S. Wang/ Jay Zerbe

Thanks Hui Min! Check other works of Hui Min Tsen here 

3 shows opening this Saturday November 14th, 2009 on opposite sides of the world!

If you are in Toowoomba in Queensland or Sale in Victoria ( Australia), pop in an see some of my work in the regional galleries.

In Sale, VICTORIA at the Gippsland Regional Gallery, curated by Simon Gregg and all kinds of other great photo-people,  pop in and see the works of:

PETER BIALOBRZESKI, SIMRYN GILL, ANNIE HOGAN, MARK KIMBER, RICHARD LIPP, KENNETH PLEBAN, IZABELA PLUTA, JUHA TOLONEN

Disappearers, 14 November to 24 January 2009

Curated by Simon Gregg opens at the Gippsland Regional Gallery this coming Saturday the 14th.

This show includes work by many wonderful Australian Artists. 

ANNIE HOGAN' s murals prints include:

Forgiveness, 2000, Type C print, 40" x 50"

Trust, 2000, Type C print, 40" x 50

Essence, 2002, Type C print, 40" x 50"

Dreamin', 2002, Type C print, 40" x 50"

 or if you are in  Toowoomba, QLD, drop in and see the exhibition at the Toowoomba Regional Gallery.

Synchronicity, Queensland Contemporary Photography at the Toowoomba Regional Gallery, Toowoomba, QLD. Curated by Maurice Ortega and Alix Perry. Its bound to be a cracker....William Yang, Tracey Moffatt, Martin Smith and Marian Drew among other great Photo artists from the Sunshine State.

I'd like to invite you to the opening of Synchronicity: Queensland Contemporary Photography.

The exhibition a was curated from the Queensland Centre of Photography &
Daryl Hewson collections.

The exhibition is on display at the Toowoomba Regional Gallery from 14th
November - 20th December 2009. The official opening is on Sunday 15th of
November @ 2pm. 

Ambivalence, 2002, Type C print, 50" x 40"

Artists featured in the exhibition include:
Paul Adair, Priscilla Bracks, Camilla Birkeland, Renata Buziak, Ray Cook,
Nathan Corum, Kim Demuth, Marian Drew, Joachim Froese, Sharon Green, Annie
Hogan, Imogen MacDonald, Siegfried Manietta, Hugh Swingler Manning, Deb
Mansfield, Robert Mercer, Virginia Miller, Peter Milne, Tracey Moffatt, Paul
Mumme, Glen O'Malley, Maurice Ortega, Lyndal Petzke, Scott Redford, Bruce
Reynolds, Francesca Rosa, Martin Smith, Doug Spowart & Victoria Cooper,
Julie Stephenson, Anika Wilkins and William Yang.

Or if you are in the UNITED STATES of AMERICA: This coming Saturday is the Annual Fundraiser for the Light Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina.

www.lightfactory.org

When the gavel comes down, will you take home that coveted piece of art? Outbid your friends and have a great time doing it with food, music, margaritas and fabulous art!- Join us the evening of Saturday November 14th to acquire extraordinary art in support of The Light Factory, Charlotte's museum of photography and film.

The evening will begin at 7pm with the silent auction, and the live bidding begins at 9:30pm. The evening will be catered by Something Classic. We'll have hors d'oevres, dessert, wine and margaritas.

Tickets are $45 for TLF members and $50 for non- members.

The work 'Field of Mine' has been donated to be auctioned. It is a special print of 30" x 40".

 

 Field of Mine, 2005, Type C pring, 40"x 50" (For this donation, I printed this at 30" x 40" as a one off.

The 'A Tradition of Excellence, 2009' and 'From a Woman's Perspective' in DC

Right now at the Wellington B. Gray Gallery at East Carolina University is the Annual Faculty Exhibition. The exhibition opened on October 16 and closes on November 21st. Now is a great chance to see the wealth of talent who teach the student's of all the areas of the School of Art & Design. The Annual faculty exhibition encompasses  a diverse range of media.

The artists participating in the exhibition are:  Kelly Adams, Alice Arnold, Kay Barrow, Cynthia Bickley-Green, Carl Billingsley, Beth Blake, Tom Braswell, Annette Brooks, Linda Darty, Bill Dermody, Michael Dorsey, Scott Eagle, Robert Ebendorf, Jill Eberle, Matthew Egan, Michael Ehlbeck, Seo Eo, Holly Garriott, Trish Monnett Hayes, Liz Henley, Annie Hogan, Mi-Sook Hur, Hanna Jubran, Audrey Kilgore, Nanyoung Kim, Kate LaMere, Timothy Lazure, Gil Leebrick, Jacquelyn Leebrick, Susan Luddeke, Punam Madhok, Mark Malley, Craig Malmrose, Joan Mansfield, Maria Modlin, Robert Quinn, Dindy Reich, Lisa Beth Robinson, Terry Smith, Jim Tisnado, Charity Valentine, Michael Voors, Catherine Walker, Gerald Weckesser, and Christine Zoller.  Former ECU School of Art and Design faculty participating are Charles Chamberlain, Ray Elmore, Art Haney, Paul Hartley, Richard Laing, A. Robert Rasch, and Melvin Stanforth.

The ECU School of Art and Design faculty exhibition will present works in the following media including ceramics, computer illustration, drawing, electronic art, interactive multimedia, digital imaging, textile design, glass, graphic design, metal design, wood design, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture and weaving.

My works below are Archival Inkjet Prints and are the usual 40" x 50". They are on show at the rear of the Gallery with other works by Scott Eagle, Gerald Weckesser, Mark Malley and Charity Valentine.  I'm in good company!

Double Vision, 2009, Archival Inkjet print, 40" x 50"

Slave Cabin, Charleston, 2009, Archival Inkjet print, 40" x 50"

These images were made during my research over the summer of 2009. I took an extensive trip to South Carolina where I visited several Plantations. One that was not in use and closed to the public, one that was a grand house and tourist attraction and the last was a former Rice plantation that was run by the Parks and Wildlife office. Slave Cabin, Charleston was made at McLeod Plantation on St Johns Island, Sth Carolina. Double vision was made at Drayton Hall, Charleston and the row of slave cabins at McLeod. 

There are only a couple of days left to see the exhibition 'From a Woman's Perspective' at the Edison Gallery in Washington DC. This exhibition closes on Saturday October 30th. The Women's Caucus for Art exhibition was a juried event drawn from its members in the DC chapter.

The Pepco Edison Gallery is across the road from The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. The address is 702 8th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

 

   

Gallery Hours
12-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday