Monday 26 October 2009

you bowl me over & i'm not that drunk

It's no secret that I adore Lilli Carre (my giddiness at seeing her window display at Little Otsu in SanFran this Summer goes to show!), but **just look** at this amazing moving illustration, 'Boogie Women' care of Lilli's blog!!!!!!!!

radical arts



The second issue of ArtXX: A Radical Arts Magazine is out now.
This issue is chock full of mind blowing talent, fierce politics, and endless creativity. Featuring interviews with: G.B Jones, Mary Coble, Monica Majoli, Orly Cogan, Mia Nakano and more, more, more... plus stories by: Eileen Myles, Meliza Banales, Rhiannon Argo, Ill Nippashi.
More info, plus info on how to get hold of a copy, or read parts online, see here.

The GB Jones interview is by yours truly, and is a bit of an inspiration fest, as GB blows my mind. Actually, she's just joined Myspace too, if you wanna be her friend...

Everybody involved with Art XX blows my mind, actually. A terrific set of queers who I was real lucky to hang out with this summer. I have so much love for them, and this magazine xox

Friday 16 October 2009

leeds on saturday

Sapphic Traffic, Saturday 17th Oct, at The Common Place, Leeds brings these treats:

6pm RISE ABOVE: The Tribe 8 Documentary
The Tribe 8 Documentary looks at the life and times of legendary San Francisco Dyke-Punk band Tribe 8.

7.45pm Lynnee Breedlove: Confessions Of A Poser
Breedlove, ex-Tribe 8 singer/lyricist, 1990-2005. Confessions of a Poser is a comic look at men’s bodies, the mystery of the purple dick, lesbian legacies and how to use them, family, the impossibility of manhood, fatherhood, butch heroes, and the evil drive to feminize.

9pm till late Sapphic Traffic Disco

W/Ste McCabe 'Murder Music' Album launch.
Ste joins us from Manchester to hypnotize us with his blend punk rock riffs, pop melodies, dated beats, noisy electro and working class lefty queerness. If that doesn't get you in the mood. You're fucked.

- - -

Fun&Frollics indeed! I'm also going to be taking the zine distro. Me and Emily have decided to re-name and re-launch the distro under a new name (no longer the 'Manifesta Distro', since, in Emily's words the name "no longer seems accurate, as [the distro] has been running independantly from the collective for a number of years, and the Manifesta collective itself no longs seems particularly active") We're going to look at taking new zines and use our zine energies to make a queer/feminst distro as we want it to be, rather than keeping it as what it has always been, or what we felt it should have been. More news on this soon!

somethings are best left never said

In 1989 I wanted nothing more than to be [and look like] Wendy James (of Transvision Vamp), or to be a member of Fuzzbox.

Twenty bleedin' years ago. Ugh.

Vix of Fuzzbox was on the Never Mind The Buzzcocks TV show this week, and it brought it all rushing back...






I'll fess up tho, and say that I was too young (in 1986) to have loved my favourite Fuzzbox song at the time of its release; shame, cuz it's the one I play most often now...


I never did manage to nail the Wendy James look tho (as photos of me from that era will confirm!)... she was a hard act to follow!

photo that makes me smile wide


My pal Sara Hansson wearing a brilliant tshirt by Nanna Johnsson, made for Bang - a really well established swedish feminist magazine that highlights socio-political feminisms, new perspectives, and feminist voices.

I heart this shirt so much!

Monday 12 October 2009

australian comics and zines...

From my inbox...


From: Ghostpatrol

A NEW PROJECT
I’ve recently been asked by a lovely publisher to compile a collection of australian based comics, zines and narrative based drawings. Work can be either colour or black and white and in A4 portrait format of single or multiple pages. If you have any suitable work or know anyone who would like to contribute, please send low res images or questions to: david@ghostpatrol.net I’ll require submissions by the 10th of November.

Friday 9 October 2009

struck with envy?

From my inbox...

Have you ever been struck with envy?
You know, the things that make you wonder about your own capabilities as an artist. How DOES she does that?
How does he manage to capture the emotion so well in his painting?
Oh wow, I wish I could draw something like that.


Well I do. I've always wanted to make art that was edgy and raw. Somehow I could never translate that into my work. I end up with cutesy characters and sunshine-y elements that somehow crept into the fold. So I would get jealous when I see a work that I wished I could make – if only I could force my hand to move that way!
So I'd like to invite you to share your thoughts on the topic for issue #6 of the Good to Know zine:

----------------------------------------------------
Do you get jealous/envious when you view other people’s work? Does it make you a better artist? How do you get over it?
----------------------------------------------------

To participate:
1. Just e-mail with your response (mailinglist@pikaland.com); and also
2. Add in your name + link to your blog/portfolio/shop

And if you'd like to send in images to go along with your entry, that would be awesome! Here is a quick guideline:
1. The image should be in black and white, (dark grey is acceptable as well) - colors won't show up well, so you can tweak your image to make it B&W.
2. Image must be at least 200 dpi for clarity, and be at least 1000 pixels wide.

I can't wait to see what you have to say about this topic, so please send in your answers by Friday, 16th October to be a part of the issue!

All participants will get a free download of the PDF of the issue.(Psst, participants can also purchase the zine for keeps at a special price!)

http://pikaland.com/goodtoknow

Hope you're having a lovely Friday! Warmest,Amy

you know it breaks my heart in half when i see them trying to fly







Thursday 8 October 2009

a cathartic rush

Alas, I can't make this show, but having put Evangelista on in Leeds last year I know that this is a gig not to be missed, and I'm a fool for having other plans. Carla is the real deal.

From my inbox...

Evangelista w/ Carla Bozulich
Jasmina Maschina
Operations
Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra
Sunday Oct 11th at Islington Mill, Manchester
7:30pm
£6 adv (from Piccadilly Records, wegottickets.com)

As one of only 3 UK shows in support of the launch of her new album, The Prince Of Truth, released October 5 on Constellation, we are super megaexcited to have this show here at the Mill.

"Rife with suspense, drama, and a grisly cast of characters, Voyager's probably more likely to ignite your inner playwright than get your foot tapping, but it's still a cathartic rush all the same." - Pitchfork

Carla Bozulich is best known as the singer from LA-based band Gerladine Fibbers and as the woman who re-made Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger – with Willie Nelson as a special guest. Carla has one of the most unique voices in any genre. Her work is at once brutally raw and weirdly visionary.
Born in New York City, she sang in a couple of groups – the Neon Veins and Invisible Chains, the latter of which recorded an album for The Minutemen’s New Alliance label when Carla was 18 years old. In 2001 she scored a Los Angeles production of Jean Genet’s The Maids, and the award-winning feature film By Hook Or By Crook, which she scored and for which she compiled the soundtrack, went to Sundance in 2003. That same year saw the release of Carla’s new rendition of Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger. She has also explored mixed media and performance art, including a commission for The Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

*****

Support for the evening comes in mighty impressive shape of

Jasmina Maschina - 'Superb debut album of beautiful folk guitar music from Berlin-based Maschina. This is straight-ahead folk filtered through an imaginative electro-prism that knocks Cat Power into a cocked hat.'

Operations (Chris Anderson) is a Manchester based conceptual music producer and sound artist. He performs and records with an array of analog synths and effects, reel-to-reel tape and cassette players, and guitars. He has self-released a number of EPs and has records out on the independent DIY label Dead Pilot Record

Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra - From Levenshulme. They use parts of bikes. They also happen to be one of the most intriguing and ambitious acts currently around in Manchester.

EVANGELISTA- http://www.myspace.com/evangelistasounds
JASMINA MASCHINA - http://www.myspace.com/jasminemaschine
OPERATIONS - http://www.myspace.com/operationsoperations
LEVENSHULME BICYCLE ORCHESTRA- http://www.myspace.com/levenshulmebicycleorchestra www.islingtonmill.com/events

fork in hell

1000 Awesome Things by Monsieur Cabinet cheered me up a tiny bit today; especially #s 720, 780, and 858 - the other side of the pillow is my favourite side too!!

Other than that, this week has been spectacular in its ability to crush me.
Ha - the lyrics to the song I'm listening to as I type just said "push me to the edge and I just might jump over". Quite.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

bedazzling eye candy

If I were to have an 'image of the day' style blog, these two from/of Argentinian artist Irana Douer would win for today...




Bottom image is entitled: 'Strange Face'

Monday 5 October 2009

reinspired to spread the love and encouragement





All of the above have made me wanna start up my toilet sticker crusade again! Public bathrooms beware; positive thoughts are coming your way! (this city sure seems to need it at the moment)

Top: I heart Your Bike by heroes and criminals
Middle: the You Are Beautiful sticker project
Bottom: the I Love You cards project

Thursday 1 October 2009

pouting, sulky girls


One of my favourite artists, Miss Van is currently exhibiting in London, until 28th October and I haven't got a hope in hell of making it down this month. Bit grumpy bout this...

[image is from the StolenSpace website, taken on the opening night]

self-described lesbian feminist with punk sensibilities and a solid grounding in queer activism

Eek! Super rad article on k8 Hardy from the New York Times.

zines online

Red Chidgey has done an amazing job of making all issues of Reassess Your Weapons zine available electronically online. They're now archived as part of Grassroots Feminism.net

You can look inside ten issues of Reassess Your Weapons, here. The only issue that's missing is issue six, as neither of us had a copy of that issue, bizzarrely!

Red has also archived a zine I wrote in 2003/4-ish. The zine adapted my Masters research thesis, entitled '"I'm not waiting'. Doing it yrself, now: Challenging constructions of feminist activism and aesthetics in women's punk music communities" into zine format. (Thesis now held at the Centre for Women's Studies, University of York, England). With the zine, I wished to engage the activist community in which I am part, with the academic community in which my research was part of, and bring the two together in discussion of contemporary feminist activism.
The zine (which you can read here) seems really quite outdated to me, reading it back now. But I guess it's still worthwhile documenting such creativity, female production, independent media, and forms of our research.


Incidently, issue #10 of Reassess Your weapons is still available to buy. See my etsy site, or hit the paypal button on COTL myspace to buy a copy for £2 postage paid in the UK.