My lil sis registering to vote! SF Pride, 2009

This weekend was full of exercise, good TV show quotes, delicious food, laughter, amazing friends, the occasional naked or half naked person, and of course, PRIDE! My graduation gift to Ms. Riot Grrrl Jr. was a trip to the beautiful San Francisco. We picked an amazing weekend to visit! Not only was SF Pride happening, but it turns out, some other good friends were in town as well. I seriously have the best friends ever. I’m a lucky gal.

Aside from the well designed/organized environment, I shall explain why we left pretty early:

1. I’m old, and need my beauty sleep. I overheard someone from the Jakes say to some guy “We’re going on at 9:30,” to which I said to myself “Oh hell no, it’s Tuesday, that’s late.“
2. I felt like I was in an episode of Laguna Beach. I was surrounded by blonde, tanned, and Hurley-clad teens and started getting flashbacks of awkward high school moments. To add to this, these kids were obnoxious. I’m all for young people coming out to support local artists/musicians, but I was sleepy and not having it.
3. There was a teen couple grinding next to me… like… really? Control your hormones, this is not the Boogie, or whatever club the kids are going to these days.
4. The opening band Dolphin City was projecting video onto the wall behind them. That’s cool. I can appreciate that. Except for when the video is of a woman having intercourse, and the camera is focused on her face the whole time. That was a little disturbing and distracting. I had to situate myself so this tall guy’s head could block the sight of her face.

And there you have it.  Oh! But I did get my breakfast burrito, and BELIEVE THE HYPE. It was excellent.

In other news, a few weeks ago I googled “Project Runway” to see if Lifetime has updated it’s site with new contestant information for the Season 6 premiere on August 20th. To my dismay, they had not. A Lifetime site didn’t even show up in the search results (I looked through page 5), until today. Their SEO department needs to get on top of optimizing Project Runway… as of today, the Lifetime site shows up on the 3rd page of the google results. No bueno, Lifetime. BravoTV still comes up at the number one spot.  Blogging Project Runway wrote a nice memo a month ago regarding some issues that they had, which is a good read, and they make some excellent points. I know, as a HUGE fan of the show, I like to read some show teasers before the new season airs. So far, they don’t have much to offer. Although, their site is nice to look at…

AND I’m excited about Models of the Runway, a show that will air at 11pm right after our beloved PR, giving the viewers a glimpse into the world of the PR models. Unfortunately, there is no link where I can read more about this on their site. Lame! I guess I will just have to be patient. Hopefully Lifetime understands how important this show is to its fans and will be either equally or more awesome than Bravo. Only time will tell…

Now, at a time of economic recession, the LA Theater Ensemble brings us Survived which is the follow up to Wounded, and the second play in what they are calling The War Cycle. As actor, Albert Meijer stated, “As artists, we are not ignoring the headlines that have been buried behind those concerning the economy, politics, and celebrity. We have chosen to bring the overlooked to light.”According to the website:

“Survived is inspired by true accounts of the families of soldiers fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. It follows the lives of the Harper family as they prepare to scatter the ashes of 24 year old Lt. Michael Harper on the anniversary of his combat-related death in the Iraq War. A surprise visit from a soldier who served with Michael at the time of his death ignites a powder keg of emotion and throws the family into crisis as they strive to preserve their memories of Michael while learning to let go.”

The Ensemble holds “Talk Backs” after their Thursday shows where they make themselves available to engage in discussions with the members of the audience. The members of the LA Theater Ensemble are a very accessible group of individuals.  Survived will run through April 25th in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, please visit: http://www.latensemble.com

I had never been there, and definitely want to go back sometime and check out all of the museums in Exposition Park. It seems like a fun place to take my sisters. Anyway, the event was really thought provoking. I learned so much about how many individuals and families are affected by Three Strikes. It was heartbreaking to meet so many mothers who have sons or daughters in prison for non-violent crimes that do not warrant a life sentence. After meeting these families and hearing their stories, it infuriates me to think that Californians could ignore these injustices. According to Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, who was the keynote speaker, African Americans make up 7% of California’s population, yet they represent 45% of those in prison because of three strikes sentencing. Something is definitely wrong here.

The Benefit held a silent auction for artwork made by prisoners at Security Housing Unit — or the SHU, at Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California. Prisoners are not allowed to use art materials in “the hole” so prisoners improvise and use paper pulp from magazines or toilet paper and place that on drawing paper. Colors are obtained by using the coating of vitamins, candy or coffee.

A lot of individuals and groups were present to support FACTS and it was really great to see so many grassroots and non-profit organizations come together to create visibility for an issue that seems to be so hidden and unspoken. The Youth Justice Coalition was in attendance and a young activist performed a spoken word piece that was as gritty and dark as her experiences on the rough streets of LA. As she said in her poem “we’re the children who rose from Watts in ’65… we’ve had enough, take the system down, and build something, now.”

It is imperative that the three strikes law be amended. The prison industrial complex is flawed, prisons are astoundingly overcrowded, and there are obvious racial implications when looking at the statistics. Funding really needs to go to rehabilitation rather than putting people away for life for non-violent crimes. Until that happens, the injustice will continue, and these individuals and their families will continue to be oppressed by the system.

I do not agree with or support some of the ads that are showing up on my blog. Just for the record, and because I don’t care if you all know how I’m voting, I’ll be voting no on Props 4, 6, and 8, and yes on Props 1 and 7. I’m still undecided on everything else. I’m bummed that pro prop 8 ads are showing up. I apologize for that.

But anyway, don’t forget to vote today! I’m sure you are, or already have. Tonight’s gonna be effing nuts.

THEN I stumbled upon Smashing Magazine’s feature for today, which ties into this whole concept of sharing our thoughts or showcasing ideas in a public space.

Although, sometimes grafitti is not always 100% political, I think that the simple act of reaching outside of social norms and utilizing space that is not meant to be utilized for expression is in and of itself making a bold statement. A very brave one, at that.

This idea of rebellion got me thinking of one of my favorite anarchist collectives, Crimethinc Ex-Workers Collective. Although I cannot forsee ever not having a job and being content with that (unless the U.S. decides to provide Universal Healthcare, which it should), I really respect Crimethinc and admire what they do. They’re such a giving group of people. I’ve probably written about them before. They don’t care about profits, or publicity, all they want to do is spread their message of ultimate autonomy. One of my favorite books Off the Map was purchased from their website (for a measly $2, seriously! seriously awesome), and not only did I get a handful of free posters, stickers and zines, someone from Crimethinc wrote me a handwritten message thanking me for my purchase. I can’t say enough good things about them and the work that they do for no money. Again, love it.

Lastly, going with my theme of bad-ass-ness, I think more people should know about the SPRFKR line of apparel. Why more people aren’t as crazy about them as I am is a mystery to me. I am a plain kind of girl, but the only graphic apparel I seem to like and want to support is SPRFKR.

Their illustrations are amazing, and I love that they don’t put their label name all over their clothing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy paying money to be a walking billboard for clothing companies. And that is why I like SPRFKR. Good design. Smart design. Great conversation starters.

The Graphic Imperative: International Posters for Peace, Social Justice & the Environment, 1965-2005

Where?
Cal State Los Angeles
Luckman Gallery
5151 State University Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90032-8116
(323) 343-6604

When?
October 27-December 15, 2007
Gallery Hours: Mon-Thurs. and Sat. 12-5pm

How much?
FREE, except for the dollar that you’ll pay for parking… which is a bargain for parking in LA.

I STILL don’t get it.
What initially drew me to this exhibit? Two words: Guerilla Girls! I love seeing their pieces at different exhibits. They’re so inspiring, I would never pass up an opportunity to experience their work up close. The aura of powerful women is always palpable. I know their pieces are posters, and it’s not exactly the same as viewing a painting, because it’s not one of a kind… but I think that’s what’s so great about this exhibit, and about the graphic arts in general. Graphic art, for me, has so much cultural influence and resonates loudly irregardless of which form it takes; whether it’s a billboard, graffiti, a sticker, or in this case, a poster. It’s a piece of art that is utilized in the mainstream of everyday and in turn may be discussed outside of the political arena, making these issues everyone’s problem instead of just the government’s. It’s kind of sneaky if you think about it. We are advertising a social movement like we’re advertising a consumer good. If you capture someone’s attention, the product becomes more popular, and then more people will jump on the bandwagon. Well, that’s in the utopia for social movements in my mind, but I guess in the real world it’s a little more difficult.

The Graphic Imperative exhibits 111 posters that have served to create awareness of social issues or injustices that existed, and in turn created a discourse to try to make change happen. The exhibit includes posters from the past 40 years; four decades that were critical to many issues such as unfair labor, racism, violence against women, AIDS, the environment, and many more.

The Luckman Art Gallery at CSLA is pretty small space, but an average size for a University art gallery. Although the exhibit is small its message is anything but.