Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project

General Projects
Plastic Crochet Workshop

Sunday, April 19 |1-3pm
at
Outpost for Contemporary Art
6375 N. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90042
(323) 982-9461

As part of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project, the Institute For Figuring is making a plastic reef to highlight the problem of plastic buildup in the oceans. We invite you to join us for a plastic crochet workshop. Crocheters at all levels of experience are welcome, from first-time novices to experienced experts. No prior crochet skill is required but if you are skilled you'll pick up the possibilities quickly. Bring plastic bags, video and audio tapes, and come craft a Reef Monster with Christine Wertheim, IFF co-director.

The IFF is dedicated to exploring the poetic dimensions of maths and science through public lectures interactive workshops and exhibits.

[Text from General Projects website. Graphic from IFF website. Caption: ""Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden" with sea slug by Marianne Midelburg. Photos by Alyssa Gorelick." Cross-posted to Signal Fire]

Jazz Fest Schedule

April 24–May 3
40th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

hour by hour schedule

[Photo by Chris Granger of Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews from the New Orleans Times Picayune. Click on image to enlarge.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue will be performing on April 24, the first day of the festival on the Gentilly Stage at 3:45 p.m.]

Blu

Blu

[with thanks to CDN in Napa for the tip.]

Concurrent Urbanities

Conference: Concurrent Urbanities 1

Friday, April 17, 2009, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Parsons The New School for Design



Kellen Auditorium, Sheila Johnson Design Center
2 West 13 Street, 1st floor
New York City
Free admission

“Concurrent Urbanities 1″ is the first of a series of thematically linked events that bring together designers, artists, architects, urbanists, planners, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, civic and community activists, with government representatives and the private sector, in order to explore the complex production of new urban conditions across the world. The goal of the series is to place global forces in relation to local, situated knowledge and practices so that emerging patterns of urbanity at large can be clearly unearthed and explored. Particular emphasis will be placed on exploring new roles that artists and designers play, and the design theories, methods and techniques of visualization and communication they employ, to encourage radical democratization, forms of social resistance, economic equity, and environmental sustainability.

Speakers for “Concurrent Urbanities 1″ include individuals and groups from the United States and Europe that represent a new generation of design activists whose work proposes a radical remapping of the relationships between urban practices and design through broad participatory design processes, bottom-up organizational approaches, innovative networking, as well as through emergent approaches to field operations.

[text from New School press release. Graphic, Walter Jonas‘ 1963 Intrapolis, from a google image search for ‘Concurrent Urbanities.’ Cross-posted to Signal Fire.]

Starting with the Universe

Museum of Contemporary Art
220 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2643

Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe
March 14 - June 21, 2009



"Philosopher. Forecaster. Designer. Poet. Inventor. Advocate of alternative energy.

R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was one of the greatest American thinkers of the 20th century -- and a visionary for the 21st. Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe is the first major US exhibition of Fuller's work in 35 years and a testament to his fascinating mix of utopian vision and organic pragmatism. A combination of models, sketches, and other artifacts -- many on view for the first time -- represent six decades of the artist's integrated approach to housing, transportation, communication, and cartography."

more

[text and image from MCA website. Caption: "Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao , Dome Over Manhattan, ca. 1960. Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries. Image courtesy the Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller."]

Cosmetic surgery, commercialization and culture:

apexart
291 Church Street
New York, New York

Wednesday, April 15, 6:30 pm
Cosmetic surgery, commercialization and culture: The case of the 'designer vagina'

A talk by Dr. Virginia Braun

In conjunction with the exhibition I Am Art, curated by Anthony Berlet, M.D.

"The so-called "designer vagina" -- a term used to refer to various forms of female genital cosmetic surgery, usually performed by plastic surgeons or gynecologists -- appeared in public discourse about a decade ago. Since that time, this area of cosmetic surgery has been identified as "the fastest emerging growth trend" in cosmetic surgery, itself a field which has expanded exponentially over that time. It seems more and more women are, apparently, having their genitalia altered for aesthetic purposes. What do these procedures have in common with other types of cosmetic surgery? What makes them unique? How can we make sense of the appearance and apparent popularity of these procedures? What makes them problematic? And what might be the (unintended?) implications of the marketing and availability of these surgeries, for girls and women? In this talk, Dr. Braun will outline what the surgery is, and identify a cluster of contemporary and historical sociocultural factors which make the appearance of female genital cosmetic surgery entirely understandable. She will also discuss critical questions this surgery raises, related to choice, agency and ethics, and to notions of genital perfection and pathology.

Virginia Braun, PhD, is a faculty member of the Department of Psychology at The University of Auckland (New Zealand), and is currently a visiting scholar in Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University. Her research interests are primarily focused around the (intersecting) areas of women's health, gendered bodies, and sex and sexuality, with a current focus on female genital cosmetic surgery. She is particularly interested in developing knowledge of how socio-cultural meanings given to bodies and bodily practices impinge on women's experiences, practices, and identities, in ways that can work to promote or preclude choice and wellbeing. For this reason, her research has always examined the nexus between individuals' accounts, scientific knowled ge, and popular cultural meanings. She is currently the co-editor of the international journal Feminism & Psychology.

[text and image from apex art website. Cross-posted on Signal Fire]

Cecil Taylor

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
Buffalo, New York

Saturday, April 18 @ 8:00 p.m.
Cecil Taylor Solo
Asbury Hall at Babeville

"Hallwalls is very pleased to announce an extremely rare appearance by the internationally renowned American icon and major architect of modern music, pianist/composer/poet Cecil Taylor. With an American Steinway concert grand piano in the beautiful Asbury Hall combined with the enigmatic genius of one of the world's most profound musical spirits (after having just reached his 80th year on earth), Buffalo is being treated to a ... legendary concert experience."

$25 general admission, $20 students/seniors, $18 members
tickets available at: www.tickets.com
or call Hallwalls: (716) 854-1694

more

[text from Hallwalls website. Image from search for "Cecil Taylor."]