By Travis Egedy
It seems there may be something of a feminist (feminine?) revolution bubbling under the surface of Denver’s artistic communities. In last month’s VOICE, I wrote about the no holds barred Titwrench music festival, a local festival of progressive female music and culture that is run and operated by a group of strong, independent women. The festival is an all-inclusive look into contemporary feminist culture and the sounds that go along with it.
As it turns out, this creative energy by groups of women is not just limited to the underground music community, and I was compelled to write about some women who are making similar strides in the underground visual art scene in Denver. These women are a loose collective that call themselves “Pink Collar Glam,” taking their name from the “Pink Collar Army,” who were a group of working class women responding to the idea of “glamour” in the 18th century.
by Travis Egedy
Over the course of the past decade, Denver has gradually been reaching beyond the image of the big cow town. New art districts, galleries and the DAM expansion have ben a few aspects of cultural growth giving Denver a name beyond football, John Deere and the Great Western Stock Show; and Illiterate, a small art magazine gone gallery and art collaborative, has played a role in putting Denver on the map of the art world. David Gildar, Chief Editor and CEO of Illiterate Magazine, talks about why Illiterate is so unique and good for the city.
Published December 2009 Vol. 13 Issue 11
interview by Travis Egedy
Twenty-three-year-old Sterling Crispin is one of Denver’s most unique and exciting up and coming artists. Primarily working in video and digitally manipulated photography, his work explores many ideas on society’s current entanglement with technology and where we are headed as both biological and artificial organisms in the future. A graduate of Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design fine arts department, and a current artist in residence at Redline Studios, Crispin is part of a loose-knit group of radical young artists who are interested in pushing the Denver art community forward into a new era. These young artists are part of a new avant-garde for the recession generation, working with found materials, holding art shows in converted warehouses and critiquing the status of art in both Denver and the world. I was able to sit down with Sterling to eat some burritos, pet a cat and discuss the inevitable fusion of man and machine.
Published November 2009 Vol. 13 Issue 10
by Alecia D. McKenzie
PARIS, France - Like everyone else, Barbara Hashimoto hated the junk mail coming in through the door. Until she decided one day that it could be transformed into art and lessons about the environment.
Hashimoto, a U.S.-born, Japanese-trained artist, has created “The Junk Mail Experiment,” in which huge quantities of unsolicited advertising mail are shredded into temporary installation art and eventually into sculptures. The “Experiment” is currently on view in Paris and in Chicago.
“I was working in a firm and was amazed at how much junk mail we received,” says Hashimoto, a slim dark-haired woman who speaks passionately about her work.
Published February 2009 Vol. 13 Issue 1
From humble beginnings as pure vandalism, street art has transformed into an internationally embraced art form. Artists Shepard Fairey, Banksy and others have crossed over into the mainstream—becoming household names and very, very rich.
In November, 2008 Megafon, a street magazine in Bergen, Norway ran an art auction with works of famous and up-coming street artists from around the world. They gathered artwork from about 40 artists and had a one night only exhibition in Bergen. All the artwork was sold, and they raised NOK 175,000 (about $26,000 USD).