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http://www.temporaryservices.org/pi_overview.html
Prisoners' Inventions by Angelo and Temporary Services

chess set

salt and pepper shaker

This project was a collaboration with Angelo, an incarcerated artist. He illustrated many incredible inventions made by prisoners to fill needs that the restrictive environment of the prison tries to supress. The inventions cover everything from homemade sex dolls, condoms, salt and peper shakers to chess sets. We collaborated on this project with Angelo for over two years. We had many additional collaborators who made a book, exhibition of re-created inventions and a prison cell possible. This page offers an overview of the project thus far.

"When first approached with the idea of illustrating examples of inmate inventiveness, I was skeptical, thinking that there would be little of real interest to depict. When I set my mind to the task, though, I recognized the surprising range of inventions and innovations that I had witnessed. I had just become so used to it all that the uniqueness no longer registered."

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http://www.temporaryservices.org/

As we live, so we work

Temporary Services is a group of three persons: Brett Bloom, Marc Fischer, and Salem Collo-Julin. We draw on our varied backgrounds and interests to incorporate our aesthetic practice within our lived experiences. The need to create change within our daily lives translates directly to our public projects.

The distinction between art practice and other creative human endeavors is irrelevant to us. We embed the creative work we present within thoughtful and imaginative social contexts and strive to create participatory situations.

We champion public projects that are temporary, ephemeral, or that operate outside of conventional or officially sanctioned categories of public expression. We appreciate such diverse activities as makeshift roadside memorials to accident victims, temporary housing encampments designed by homeless people, tree houses fabricated by children, and idiosyncratic public notices that get stuffed inside the display windows of free newspaper boxes. We like outdoor projects that are encountered by surprise rather than sought out with deliberation like exhibitions and special events. We especially appreciate those projects that do not have permission and challenge expected usages.

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http://www.ybca.org
Center for the Arts, Yerba Buena, San Francisco
First Floor Galleries: Mar 18 - Jul 2, 2006

Pirkle Jones, Women, Free Huey Rally, Oakland, 1968

We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.

So begins the ten-point political platform of the Black Panther Party. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Party, Black Panther Rank and File offers a multifaceted look at one of the 20th century's most controversial and inspirational organizations.

The exhibition pairs rare artifacts--never-before-released documents, recordings, film clips and archival photos, including seminal historical photography--with artworks inspired by the movement and reflecting its liberating ideals. A range of photography, film and artworks from leading contemporary artists will reflect upon the Party's lasting legacy. Also on view will be works by artists who were creating during the rise of the Party. This complex and powerful exhibition uses the Black Panther Party as a lens through which we can explore the role artists play in inspiring social change, and in remembering and reflecting on human struggle and achievement.

Artist list:
Radcliffe Bailey
John Bankston
Ruth-Marion Baruch
Joseph Beuys
Margaret Bourke-White
Nick Cave
Emory Douglas
Ducho Dennis
Sam Durant
Coco Fusco
Ellen Gallagher
Leon Golub
Tony Gray
David Hammons
Ilka Hartmann
Barkley L. Hendricks
Lonnie Bradley Holley
Jeff Hull
It's About Time
Arthur Jafa
Paa Joe
Pirkle Jones
Kerry James Marshall
Daniel J. Martinez
Chris McNair
Zwelethu Mthethwa
Refa 1, Steve Jones and Toons
Paul Sequeira
Stephen Shames
Gail Shaw
Jeff Sonhouse
Carlos Vega
Roberto Visani
Andy Warhol
Carrie Mae Weems
and others

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Recycled Re-Seen: Folk Art from the Global Scrap Heap
by Charlene Cerny

From Library Journal
The focus of this volume (and the associated traveling exhibition) is the increasing tendency of the world's folk artists to utilize the discards of our industrial and postindustrial consumer world as materials for their creations. In 11 essays, various scholars discuss topics ranging from the renowned history of the development of steel drum bands in the Caribbean to lesser-known examples of "recycled" art from India, Africa, Latin America, and the United States. The whimsical nature and surprising practicality of many of the objects depicted make the accompanying photos a visual delight. Highly recommended for academic collections, but the charm of the objects should make this appealing to the general audience served by public libraries as well.?Eugene C. Burt, Art Inst. of Seattle Lib.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

review

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http://www.delpesco.com

Horwinski Poster Show
Nelson Gallery, UC Davis

This exhibition of fifty-five letter-press posters is just a small selection of the social and political event bills printed by Horwinski Press. Pulled from large stacks in the warehouse in Oakland, California, this accidental archive of popular history from the last fifty years is being exhibited for the first time.

The uncertainty of aesthetic authorship is notable as the clients of Horwinski often surrendered artistic control to the printers (mainly due to the technical limitations of the medium). The current proprietor, James Lang, and his father before him, are therefore largely responsible for the design of most of the material you see on view.

Several of the posters in this installation are considered "work-ups," samples for client preview, and were kept as a library of possibilities for future business. Upon close inspection you'll find the occasional inky fingerprint, hand-written note or spelling error which reveals changes and corrections in the printing process. Also in this mix are posters made for contemporary artists Jeremy Deller and Dave Muller. (James is also working on one for Richard Prince)

While letter-press printing has quickly become a nostalgic media form, pushed toward extinction by the flexibility of the full-color offset press, it's specific aesthetic and longevity are akin to the perseverance of black and white photography despite the invention of various forms of color imaging.

The events and images captured in this collection of material culture can retrieve fragments of vernacular memory, informing our idea of what it means to live in California.

(wall text from exhibition - Joseph del Pesco)

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