blogs, links, events and art from the teens behind ►

Although I’m trying to cut back on the unhealthy amount of time I spend on the internet, I thought I’d introduce a few websites I visit every day (or pretty often) If you’re ever looking for some fun sites to kill time on check these out.

Okay, hopefully everyone knows about Pandora by now. As a radio DJ hopeful this site is really fun for finding new music that match your tastes. You can basically create your own radio stations based on the artists you enter in the search box. I’ve got about 5 different stations I listen to depending on my mood. You can only skip something like 5 songs an hour I think- but it’s better than real radio where songs you hate are guaranteed to be played. You can always give a thumbs up or down to a song and they’ll try not to play anything like it again. Pretty swell. Pandora Radio.

Daytrotter is my new favorite music website. They basically have bands come in and play exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks. Lots of pretty well known bands are on the site, and it’s a great place to find new music as well. (Free downloading..) They’ve got a team of writers and illustrators to interview/draw the artists too. Daytrotter.

Maybe flickr only entertains me as a lover of photography, but it’s always cool to browse people’s photographs and see the range of talent. I’m on there too. The other really cool photo website is JPG mag where people submit and vote on each others photos to get published in a real live photo magazine! I should really submit something..

If you’re ever having a bad day it might make you feel better to visit Fmylife, where people submit little 1-2 sentence stories about a really terrible experience they’ve had. You might not want to read some of them while you’re eating though. You can agree/disagree as to whether the person’s life is indeed f-ed, or whether they deserved what they got.

Hulu is a great place to watch really funny SNL clips and catch up on any TV shows you may have missed. Really high quality videos, and limited commercial interruption! If I’m bored I also like to watch movie trailers on apple.

One of the most hilarious websites out there is definitely the best of craigslist. Simply because you realize how many witty/cynical/sardonic/pissed off people there are in the world who are willing to rant their hearts out to cyberspace…and how many idiots there are out there. My favorite has to be the guy who put up photos of a “cat” he found to find the owner. The creature is clearly an opossum. Wow.

Now for the sites I occasionally remember to visit. For awhile I was really into thefatmanwalking.com which documented this dude Steve’s journey across America to lose weight and regain his old life. He’s amazingly insightful and I still check up on how he’s doing every now and then. Postsecret is a website where people send in artistic postcards that reveal one of their secrets anonymously. New secrets are posted every sunday, and there are a few books out. Many of the funniest bumper stickers on facebook actually originate from someecards a site with tons of hilarious ecards for any occasion. 

This is all I could think of for now, but maybe there’ll be a second time-wasting blog up soon..

I first interviewed Ewok (HM, AWR, MSK, SEVENTH LETTER) about five years ago when he and Chen AKB were doing live-painting for the Third Annual Twin Cities Hip-Hop Festival & Celebration. Since then he’s changed his address to the much nicer climate of Southern California, and joined MSK and THE SEVENTH LETTER, two of the most prolific and innovative graffiti crews in the world. He also happens to be a founding member of Life Sucks Die magazine as well as a member of Minneapolis super-design firm, BURLESQUE of NORTH AMERICA.

In wanting to kick up dust for WACTAC’s event “Don’t Sleep On It,” I thought it would be good to check in with Ewok and see if we can pressure his Burlesque affiliates to bring him out for the event.

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Sorry, that’s a little embarassing.

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FRIDAY, MAY 15, 6 PM through SATURDAY, MAY 16, 6 PM (Closing Party at 8 PM)

ART-A-WHIRL WEEKEND!

Location: California Building, 2205 California St. NE, Minneapolis

Browse the schedule below to scope out which artists you most want to work with, or just show up and stay for the whole 24 hours! Drop us an email at teenprograms@walkerart.org if you want to participate in this 24 hour event featuring bands and activities led by local artists.

Grandmaster Schedule of Events

Friday, May 15

6 – 9 PM: BRETT & ERIN SMITH, Sister & Brother Design Duo

As the artists behind such sensations as Walker Mini Golf and many a maze made of mattresses, Brett and Erin Smith are sure to bring a double dose of sibling creativity and installation verve as they explore the California Building.

9 PM – MIDNIGHT: CHRIS PENNINGTON, Conductor of Cardboard Chaos

Chris Pennington is an installation artist/enormous party orchestrator with enough energy to power the Twin Cities. As a collaborator on The Soap Factory’s Haunted Basement, the 2008 Liberty Parade, The Soap Factory’s Ten Second Film Festival, and the Art Shanty Water Balloon Fight, join Pennington as he takes over the space with what’s sure to be the awesomest refrigerator box fort you’ve ever seen.

SATURDAY, MAY 16

MIDNIGHT – 3 AM: HARDLAND/HEARTLAND, Apocalyptic Art Collective

Hardland/Heartland are collaborative instructors of destruction, reconstruction and internet poetry. They have plans to recycle materials used by Chris Pennington in what may amount to the evening’s largest demolition project.

3 AM – 6 AM: BURLESQUE DESIGN, Rock-n-Roll, Rap, Raves, and Screenprinting

The boys from Burlesque are going to be keeping the insomnia alive with a 3 am rave party. They will also be creating a unique grid installation, projected on the wall and composed of album covers brought in by participants. Get ready to dance!

6 AM – 9 AM: ANDYMCINNIS, KRISTINA MOONEY, and CARISSA SAMANIENGO, Illustration, Architecture, and Printmaking

Kristina Mooney is coming in and tearing down the walls in her signature sheetrock slashing style. Andy McInnis and Carissa Samaniego join in to throw some screenprints and painyings into the mix, creating a chaotic, interactive melee.

9 AM – NOON: LIZ MILLER, Manipulator of Felt and Fabric

Liz Miller’s entangling, complex felt installations make a renewed appearance as she changes up her method of making art, just for this show. Her previous work, composed mostly off-site, will be turned into a group collaboration to respond to the changed space of the Don’t Sleep on It gallery.

NOON – 3 PM: SCOTT STULEN & ANDY DUCETT, Drippy Landscapes and Couch Forts

Scott Stulen plans to take over the event with a build of monstrous proportions. He is joined by Andy Ducett, crafter of giant contraptions, in an installation that challenges scale from all angles.

3 PM – 6 PM: ERIK BURKE, MIKE FITZSIMMONS, and JOHN GRIDER, Creatures, Spray Paint, and Stencils

The BrokenCrow Collective will be incorporating aerosol art with other visual elements and making everyone with a will to paint gets involved. Come and slap some paint on the wall!

8 PM: Closing Party

Celebrate the close of the event with a screening of a time-lapse video of the previous 24 hours and musical performances.

As WACTAC  gears up for the 24-hour marathon art-making madness that will be Don’t Sleep on It, we’re getting to know our participating artists through a series of snappy little videos. While there just isn’t enough time between now and May 15 to interview all eight groups of artists, check back here for more information on who’s who and what they do. Especially keep an eye out for video interviews with Burlesque Design, John Grider of BrokenCrow, and Scott Stulen coming fresh from the WACTAC video production team in the next few weeks.

For now, check out our inaugural interview with members of Hardland/Heartland design collective.

Don’t Sleep on It kicks off on May 15 at 6 pm and runs through May 16m with a closing party at 8 pm. A full schedule of artist-led activities and musical performances is listed on this site.  Shoot us an email at teenprograms@walkerart.org if you want to participate in this free event.

PHEW!

Trying to get everyone together this year for the annual WACTAC Alumni Reunion Party was quite the task for me. I spent the majority of my time during the fall of 2008 updating the WACTAC Alumni Database, printing off millions of mailing labels, furiously stuffing envelopes (I’ve got the papercuts to prove it!), and licking hundreds of envelopes until my all of my tastebuds were numb. By the end of it all I was exhausted! Luckily, for me, (and for everyone else) the party was a hit and the food was fabulous. We dined at King & I Thai, and I don’t know about everybody else, but I went home with enough leftovers to last me a week!

Winter was a completely different story. While Witt was busy conducting in-person WACTAC Alumni Interviews, I was diligently clicking away at my computer, transcribing every single interview (yeah, that’s right, even down to every last “um’). Surprisingly enough it was pretty interesting for me to hear all of the things that various WACTAC alumni had to say about the program. Finding out what everyone was doing with their lives now was even more interesting to me. Feel free to roll your eyes at me for this, but WACTAC kids seem to be doing a great job of shaking up the world post-WACTAC (in a good way of course).

Upon spring’s late arrival I was finished transcribing (…and was steadily recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome). My next job was to  mail out WACTAC Alumni Surveys to those alumni who hadn’t done an in-person interview. I’ve spent the last two weeks enduring more papercuts and more numb tastebuds, but my job is finally coming to an end.

On April 25th, Witt will be giving a presentation to the high and mighty folk who fund WACTAC. Hopefully in conjunction with the wonderful comments made by various WACTAC Alumni and Witt’s killer charm, WACTAC will continue on in the coming years (we can only hope so,  right?).

Well, I think that’s about all of the WACTAC Alumni news I have for you.

There should be more than enough WACTAC Alumni food for thought here for you to chew on…

…If it’s not check this out:

If you are a WACTAC alumni or if you know someone who is a WACTAC alumni tell them to check out our facebook profile! Just search: “WAC TACAlumni” and click “Add as Friend“

Furthermore, all of you WACTAC Alumni who are reading this and have received the WACTAC Alumni Survey either by snail-mail or by e-mail, please fill it out ASAP and send it back to us!

Don’t forget: “Your feedback is invaluable to creating successful programming now and in the future.”

-Basanti

On April 2nd, I went to the Lagoon to see a restored print of Federico Fellini’s 1974 film “Amarcord.” Here’s a preview (or review) of the film:

I bought the movie last christmas from Cheapo for a solid 40 bucks, but it was so worth it. Unfortunately, April 2nd was the last day to see it on the big screen, but there’s a big tour going around the country right now for any “Fellini-Heads” out there.
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Deadline for Submissions: Friday, May 29

The Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) is looking for young photographers (ages 13 – 19) to participate in a photo contest examining the many faces of the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs. One photographer will be awarded Top Prize by WACTAC. Top prize will receive a $1500 gift card and 25 runners up will receive $25 gift cards from Best Buy.

Guidelines:

• Email your submission(s), name, age, phone number, and email address to WACTACPhotoContest@gmail.com
• No more than 5 photos will be accepted per photographer.
• Submissions must be titled by last name (example: smith_1.jpg).
• Images should be saved in JPG format, at a high level of quality, 72 dpi, no more than eleven inches (or 792 pixels) along the image’s longest dimension.

Prizes:

• Top Prize: One photographer will be awarded a $1500 @15 Scholarship.
• Finalist Prize: 5 photographers will each receive a $100 Best Buy Gift Card.
• Runner Ups: 15 photographers will each receive a $25 Best Buy Gift Card.

Criteria:

• Top Prize and Runner Ups will be selected by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) based on three equally weighted categories – technical quality, originality, and overall strength of portfolio.

Rules:

• Photographers must be 13-19 years old.
• Submissions must prominently feature faces of people who reflect the diversity found in the Twin Cities.
• All photos submitted by Friday, May 8 will be displayed during Northeast Minneapolis’ Art-A-Whirl from Friday, May 15, 6 PM through Sunday, May 17, 5 PM at the California Building (2205 California Building, Minneapolis).
• All photos submitted by Friday, May 29 will be featured in a scrolling projection at the Minneapolis MOSAIC Kick Off Event on Saturday, June 6, from 6 – 10pm on 8th Street between Hennepin Avenue and First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.
• By submitting photos to the WACTAC @15 Photo Contest, the photographer warrants that he/she has control of and/or has obtained the rights to exhibit the photo(s), the photo(s) do not infringe upon copyright or licenses held by any other artist, estate, publisher or other entity; the photographer will be responsible for any charges or legal action brought by the exhibition of the photo(s) or the infringement of any rights held by others and will hold the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis MOSAIC, and mnartists.org harmless against such claims.

Co-presented by:

• mnartists.org
• Minneapolis MOSAIC www.minneapolismosaic.com
• Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) teens.walkerart.org
• The WACTAC Photo Contest is sponsored by Best Buy

http://www.at15.com
Email teenprograms@walkerart.org
Phone 612.375.7683

Last Wednesday I somehow managed to stumble out to the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown Saint Paul to catch the Death Cab for Cutie show. Death Cab is currently on tour with Ra Ra Riot (a really sweet band from NY with a really sweet cello) and Cold War Kids.

Roy Wilkins is a really bizarre venue for a show in my opinion. It’s so large! I mean granted they filled up a lot of seats but the standing room area was so expansive. If you weren’t standing in the first row (which I was after a two hour battle of sneaking around) then your view was completely obstructued. But I don’t know, I guess when you’re up that close the sound quality isn’t as good. Whatever floats your boat.

Anyways….I really recommend that anyone reading this check out Ra Ra Riot. Their set was kind of awkward because not all of their mics were very loud BUT the fact that they had string instruments completely made up for that! AND THE CELLIST’S CELLO WAS SO TIGHT! Check this:

Ra Ra Riot's Cellist

Okay, so its hard to see in that picture, but the body of the cello is ABSENT! It was a neck with strings and a frame!

Cold War Kids played an okay set. The audio quality was good, but every song sounded essentially the same to me. Granted, I’m not the hugest Cold War fan so I’m not too familiar with their music, but I found myself feeling bored.

And Death Cab simply rocked the house. They did a nice job of playing music from a variety of their albums (although I was extremely disappointed that Espo ‘86 was never played…) Technically, they rocked too, they had good lights. Good lights can make a good difference. Yeah. They’re awkward about encores though. You know, typically a band will leave the stage for about 3 minutes before returning for an encore. I’m pretty sure Death Cab was gone for about 6….at least it felt like forever.

Anyways, good show overall. Go see ‘em when they come again.

Bah! Links:

Ra Ra Riot

Death Cab for Cutie

Cold War Kids

I recently saw this documentary about the sewer children in Bogota, Columbia. Basically, VBS comes through once again in capturing the essence of urban plight in a foreign country. These are street children who are better off hiding in the dark, underground, then taking their chances on the streets where death squads and police constantly harass and beat them. The death squads have also been known to pour gasoline down the sewers in order to burn large amounts of the street children at once.

This is not only a very well made documentary, but it is also incredibly insightful, describing a problem I had no previous knowlege of. Give it a click, I guarantee you won’t be able to stop watching until it’s over. That way, the next time you hear someone complaining, you can make the quick comparison to their lives here, and the lives of sewer children in Bogota, shutting them up for good.

Check it out by clicking here.

Allow me to fill you in really quick on the best kept secret in the cyber world- for all you stingy students who haven’t bought a cd since Linkin Park’s The Hybrid Theory, or those of you who just need new music. The appropriately named “Hype Machine” (www.hypem.com) allows you to search every blog on the internet for music posts and see which songs are getting the most attention. From Britney Spears to Nujabes, no matter how obscure the artist or the remix or the mash up or the pish posh (new slang I just made up), the hypemachine will offer up music. You can favorite the song and then listen to it on your dashboard whenever you like. OR if you’re lucky, click on the “read the full [blog] post” button beneath the song and see if the blog hooks you up with a download link. Using this, not only do you get hooked up with the tunes, I have come across some really dope blogs. For intance, THE HOOD INTERNET (www.thehoodinternet.com):

Seen above: Tupac having a serious with kaki king (one of many examples).

The kings of the remix, the hood internet offers up hundreds of mash-ups, usually music of modern indie or electronic artists with your favorite mainstream or underground rap artists. Best part: it’s all free.

Go check out the Hype Machine. Go check out The Hood Internet. Thank me later.

Cool video lifted from Wooster Collective. An animation made using only clipart.