Metabolic Studio Public SalonFelicity PowellFriday, October 2, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

"Medals of Dishonour"

About The Salon

Alongside the well-known association of medals with glory and achievement lies another darker tradition of the medal as an indicator of dishonour. Celebrating works that denounce their subjects and expose the rich tradition of this largely unexplored medal type, Medals of Dishonour is currently on exhibition at British Museum.

Medals of Dishonour reframes items in the British Museum’s permanent collection by presenting selected historic medals alongside newly-commissioned medals by thirteen internationally recognized artists, including Jake and Dinos Chapman, Ellen Gallagher, Richard Hamilton, Mona Hatoum, William Kentridge, Grayson Perry and Felicity Powell. Elegantly displaying the historical and contemporary medals together the exhibition offers a long view through history that is both intelligent and wry.

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon writes that Felicity Powell, the conceptual progenitor and co-curator of Medals of Dishonour, has “singlehandedly…revived an entire Renaissance tradition - a rich and intricate tradition of subtle workmanship and symbolism”. At the Metabolic Studio Felicity will discuss both Medals of Dishonour and works from her recent solo show at London’s Domobaal. It will be a talk “about subversion, secret histories and historical hiccups”.

About The Salon Presenter

London-based artist Felicity Powell has exhibited widely on the international stage and had solo exhibitions at venues including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In addition to winning the Millennium Medal Competition by The Royal Mint and The British Art Medal Society, she has received numerous other awards and honors for her work, including commissions from the Linnaean Society and the Permanent Collection of the V&A Sculpture Department. She was elected a council member of the British Arts Medal Society in 2002.

Images

Above: Felicity Powell: Hot Air

Image courtesy: the British Museum

Further Information

Medals of Dishonour at the British Museum

Felicity Powell at Domobaal

Metabolic Studio Public SalonJulian LairdFriday, September 25, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Arctic Ice and Frozen Seeds - Feeding the Future

About The Salon

High in the Arctic, deep inside a frozen mountain, a concrete bunker provides protection to one of the most important resources for human life on Earth - seeds. Julian Laird, of the Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust, one of the principal partners in this ambitious project, will describe not only how the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was built and how it works, but why its treasure is so valuable and yet so threatened.

About The Salon Presenter

Julian is Director of Development and Communications at the Global Crop Diversity Trust, a young international organisation, with which he has been involved since before the Trust became a legal entity. Before moving to the Trust, Julian was Director of Programmes and Acting Chief Executive of Earthwatch Institute (Europe), an international non-profit organisation supporting environmental field research and conservation in 40 countries. Julian has been involved in the design and development of capacity building programmes in national parks throughout Africa, as well as global environmental awareness-raising campaigns in the public and private sectors.

Above: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Image courtesy: Mari Tefre/Global Crop Diversity Trust

Metabolic Studio Public Salon Public Practice, Otis College of Art and DesignFriday, September 18, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Reunion/Reunión:

“Laton, CA: Public Practice in the San Joaquin Valley”


About The Salon

A cohort of nine first year MFA students designed a collaborative project, building on their observations, their skills and community needs as observed over several months. Their final project took place on Saturday, March 21st, in a public video installation highlighting the unique identity of Laton through multiple outdoor projections onto freshly painted buildings.

People of the community and visitors processed along the two block long main street of the small town of 1200 where they encountered music, video projections of life in the community, and opportunities to talk about the future of the region. Inside the local merchants stores, short video documentaries revealed the role of small businesses in the identity of this community. The once-abandoned Methodist Church was recreated as a community space and art studio. During the evening installation it featured a free store to nurture a temporary barter and exchange system, created by Suzanne Lacy and Otis students, and a video installation by Andrea Bowers. Photographer Raul Vega and Videographer Dana Duff also produced work on Laton suitable for this presentation.

The salon will present questions about how art can influence and change a community. After a presentation on their collaborative “Reunion / Reunion” project, students will open the floor to engage a critical dialogue about the work, and its artistic and political pursuits.

About The Salon Presenters

Public Practice is a new MFA program at Otis College of Art and Design. Its focus is on developing projects that ask the question “who and what is art created for?” With community building, and political action in mind, what can art accomplish? Graduate students explore new artistic strategies and practices based on observation, research, social commentary and activism, and visual and performance arts productions in the public realm.

Above: Event postcard

Image courtesy: Public Practice Otis College of Art and Design

Further Information: http://ospace.otis.edu/publicpracticeportfolio

https://wikis.otis.edu/sjv/index.php/Welcome!_Bienvenidos!_Bem-vindo!

Metabolic Studio Public SalonRickey SmithFriday, September 11, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

Urban Green on Spring

About The Salon

You may have noticed that Millies - the old hamburger stand on the Los Angeles State Historic Park - has been repainted a fetching citrus shade recently? Reincarnated for the 21st century, Millie’s burger stand is in the process of becoming "Urban Green at LASHP". Rather than burger and chips though, Urban Green will grow vegetables and serve them up in delicious vegetarian dishes.

Urban Green has contracted with The State of California Parks and Recreation to build an interactive, interpretive system on the site of The Historic State Park in Downtown Los Angeles. The development envisions “ON SPRING” as a community hub with activities involving educational and practical application of sustainable functions which guests can incorporate into their own personal lives.

Discussing the venture and answering questions will be Urban Green Founder and Director, Rickey Smith.

About The Salon Presenter

Rickey Smith is founder and principal of Urban Green, a social entrepreneurship dedicated to restoring, developing and promoting “green space” within the communities it serves. Urban Green was designed upon Rickey’s philosophy of Circular Synergy, which seeks to establish a CLEAR path connecting the inter-disciplines of Cuisine, Land-use, Environment, and Architecture into Renewable cycles of self-reliant communities.

Inspired by the challenge to evolve food production in the United States, and seeking to create a deeper, more significant experience than just the mere exchange of goods for money, Rickey is committed to the development of functional, small-scale operations using closed-loop, urban-farming systems within the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.

Recognized as a leader and change agent who passionately believes in the Urban Green adage “Waste not. Want not.” He is currently a guest lecturer at UCLA, local charter schools and conference round table discussions. Rickey is also recognized for his community service work with diverse organizations such as Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles Robotics Team and Mother’s Club in Pasadena.

Above: pre-green Millies

Image courtesy http://lashp.wordpress.com