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Come check out the "Spirit Animal" show at MINT Gallery tonight from 7-11pm.  The Back Pocket's will be leading a Vision Quest of some sort (sorry no sweat lodge), we'll have special "secret drinks," and art from over 40 artists.
 
Why the Atlanta art scene is becoming so exciting:

There’s this phenomenon new to our generation that includes an upheaval of collectives, non-profits, and spaces for emerging artists.  While not directly saying “goodbye hoity-toity, snooty galleries”, or “fuck the establishment”, as an act of rebellion, or a subconscious reaction to Thomas Kinkade’s commercial success, this movement still has a lot to say.

 Our events are so interesting people write about them.  We have Burnaway, Creative Loafing, and numerous art/artist blogs. If you want to check out a show and which to go to there’s Thoughtmarker.

 When attending events like Dodekapus’ Carnival for Living Walls: The City Speaks, Living Walls all in itself, or Flux/10, and the numerous openings at MINT, Young Blood, Beep Beep, Eyedrum, Wonderroot, Kibbee, I was reminded of when I was in school studying Art History, and how I yearned to experience something at even 10% of the level as the Flux or Dada movements of the past, and if I succeeded I would die a happy girl. This surge of creative entities is putting Atlanta on the map for the visual arts. We’re doing something successful this city has long been in need of. None of these organizations look or seek fame, wealth, attention, but thrive by being a part of the community, coming together for common causes, helping any artist get their foot in the door.  Although, always grateful for any donations, and as an artist it is nice to make some sales, many of us do what we do because we love it and are passionate about this route and are unconcerned with what monetary gains it brings us. Yeah, there is LA, and NYC, but being a part of what is taking place in the ATL is a little bit of magic.  Building something out of numerous years, days, and hours of hard work and watching it grow is fulfilling.  And that fulfillment is wealth enough for me.

 The term “emerging artist,” is conflicting in that it really was in short a way to say, a not-yet successful artist in societal and financial standards: being someone who has not yet achieved any fame, commercial success. Of course, being an “established artist,” is the goal of most, but just being able to be called an “emerging artist” and be a part of this craziness is a success all on its own.  Will this period in time happening right now be remembered years from now? Hells yeah it will.



 
I've exchanged a lot of postcards with people from all over the world.  Here's some new ones.
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The Renmen Project
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Cornpone
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Flyer by ATL Artist Cora Seymour

Here's some silly photobooth pictures

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MINT 3rd Annual Fundraiser @ WonderRoot, 2010 Photographed by the wonderful, Magical Merlin Photobooth
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Laser Beam Kitty, Highland Ballroom, 2010 Mary Rebecca
 
We love PurgeATL, and we also love Dashboard, but most of all we just love helping people!
Dashboard Co-op put together an awesome and creative fundraising endeavor and it was a success!  Read more about it in Purge's articleRyan James also did an amazing job photographing! Stay on the lookout for Dashboard's own coloring book that will be put together soon. I'll also post pictures of the show in the future!

http://purgeatl.com/2010/08/22/dashboards-coloring-book-art-will-make-a-kid-of-you
 

 
Here are a few pictures from two show openings in February.  One was at the Mint Gallery: The Ladykiller and Maneater Show, the other was at the WonderRoot Center: Femme Fatale/Film Noir.  Forgive me for the crappy quality of the photos, I only had my bad camera on me!  My favorite part is seeing everyone's different interpretations of a theme and every artist's different style.
Enjoy!
 
We visited Aja in Atlanta recently, and I had some pretty strong thoughts on the whole atmosphere.  Food was meh, but it was a promotional dinner.  Anyway, I used to post restaurant reviews on Citysearch and Opentable, and sometimes still do, but I have not in a while.  To be quite plain, here is a message I wrote to the establishment:

"It is one thing to use Buddhist symbols for pure decor, and it is another to embrace derogatory statements such as "Happy Ending."  The uniforms at Aja are unprofessional looking, and offensive.  They also contribute to the amplification and acceptance of a sexual, wanton, and stereotypical view of Asian women."

While you may not agree or get worked up about it, I feel like phrases and jokes as such as are lame, played out, old sauce.  I mean to be a fine establishment and then have your servers don something that is so blatantly tacky...bad move!  

Positively, (or not for those who are Buddhist and do not agree that the Buddha should not be used as a piece of decoration, especially one that is brass, 10ft tall, and flown from Thailand, yeah yeah, they had the monks bless it and all, but still....my parents would be APPALLED) the Buddha was impressive and I snapped a few photos.
 

For years I have been a fan of Solis' work and projects.  It is able to show the most stunning and beautiful in the most decrepit and decayed.  It is things like this that still make my heart skip a beat.  I know it is weird, but I feel as if this work also pushes boundaries.  What is art now?  How are the lines between fine art and seemingly un-classical, perhaps low-brow to some blurring?  This work inspires me to push myself to continue to create my own.  Without any regard to wanting to sell, make profiit, I think it is projects like these that  become the most successful.  They make us think beyond the piece and observe the world around us.  A lot of work in the past was a manifestation of beautiful ideals we yearned for, now a movement more focused on showing what is going on in the conditions and times that we live in.  Subject matter that shows the reality and inevitability of destruction and decay.  Our past leading to the now present, and how will our future be.  A lot of my artist colleagues and friends' work deals with a huge spectrum within these matters.  Roles of men/women, sexual desires, chaos, loneliness, the human condition, these are all being dealt with in such unique and sometimes vague imagery. 

http://www.travelogue.darkpassage.comweeblylink_new_window

Speaking of wonderful things: April 10th is Kelly Mckernan's Solo show at Beep Beep Gallery, so if you are in the ATL area, mark your calenders! 
http://kellymckernan.com/home.html
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Julia Solis
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Kelly Mckernan
 
http://everythingburnsaway.blogspot.com/2009/12/mint-pot-coffee-porn.html#links

"In particular-i was happy to have seen brandi's work. Hers had leanings creeping beneath them in spirit. Like no others in this show,with an unintentional natural regard for doin', but also significantly shared a feeling with everything in there."