metropolitan bakery show: extended

You have more time to see my ink drawings at Metropolitan Bakery...
The show will be up through Sunday November 11.
All work is custom-framed and for sale.
Enjoy!

Connective Tissue
Recent Ink Drawings

Metropolitan Bakery and Cafe

4013 Walnut St
West Philadelphia

October 6 - November 11 , 2007

Cafe open 7:30 am - 8 pm daily

images from open studios

Open Studios was lovely last weekend... thanks to all those who stopped by!
Here are some images ( taken before everyone showed up):

metropolitan bakery and open studios!

the show at metropolitan bakery opened saturday with a nice little reception.
all 6 drawings are custom framed and ready to find new homes after the show ends!

































my friend, artist Zarouhie Abdalian, said of the show, "I love seeing large works on paper, and your drawings really took over the space - your presentation was excellent. I also enjoyed seeing your work installed in a cafe setting - it definitely made me see the sections of tissues differently - seeing the work in the cafe with pastries all around as I sipped my coffee made me think of my intestines, which was unappetizing, but I enjoyed how it made me reference my body."

This exhibition is in conjunction with Philadelphia Open Studio Tours...
mark your calendar for my Open Studio,
i will be there for one day only, although my studio will also be available for viewing on saturday the 27th...



Sunday,October 28
Noon- 6 pm
1370 South 46th Street
West Philadelphia

also, make sure you check out other west philly open studios while you're in the neighborhood!
use our awesome google map.

images of recent shows!

finally! i give you... images! ( more coming very soon)

from "artifact-metafact" at Repetti Gallery, Queens.
A group of three drawings from the series Eyes Like Black Cherries/ Eygelech vi di Shvartse Karshelech, drawn with Black Cherry Juice, based on a yiddish expression to describe a beautiful Jewish woman:













from "milky images" at arttransponder, berlin.
an installation of breastmilk (donated by lauren krug) on paper:

updated list of updates...

***

August 24- September 29, 2007
Milky Images/Hexenmilch
Arttransponder, Berlin, Germany
Curated by Lisa Glauer
Opening Reception: Friday August 24, 7-9 pm

I will be presenting an installation of drawings, made with breastmilk donated by Lauren Krug. This work presents the product of the female body as both sacred and mundane, and as a reminder of the physical and metaphysical connection of our bodies to those of our mothers.


***

September 8 - 30, 2007
Artifact/Metafact
Repetti Gallery, Long Island City, New York
Curated by Carla Aspenberg and Tamas Veszi
Opening Reception: Saturday September 8, 7-9 pm

I will be presenting a group of drawings based on the yiddish expression to describe a beautiful woman: " eyes like black cherries". These drawings, based on the patterns in my own iris, are made using black cherry juice, and explore the symbology of the eye in seeing the self and other.

***

Sundays In September, and First Friday:
Show Someone How You Feel About Something
Landmark Contemporary Projects, Powel House, Philadelphia
244 south 3rd St, Philadelphia

The next occurance of this public drawing project will take place at the Powel House in Old City:
Sundays in September, 2-4 pm.
( exception: Sunday September 16, Noon-2 pm)
and
First Friday- September 7, 6-8 pm.

***
Philadelphia Open Studio Tours
October 27 and 28, Noon-6 pm
1370 South 47th St, Philadelphia

My studio will be open to the public, with recent work on display and available for purchase.
check out the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours Video! I'm in it!

And, a wonderful map specifically for West Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. check us out!

***
Recent Work on Paper
Metropolitan Bakery and Cafe
4013 Walnut St, Philadelphia

During the month of October, as part of Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, I will be displaying recent work on paper at the cafe.
Exact dates to follow.

so many things.

To start with, I have been invited to exhibit my work in Berlin! I will be one of four artists in the show "Milky Images" at Arttransponder, curated by Lisa Glauer, who is also writing her PhD on breastmilk in art.
The show will open Friday August 24 at 7pm, if you're in Berlin...
I will be showing breastmilk drawings that reference natural and physiological connections, as well as creating a performance relating to my attempt to make glue from human breastmilk. I'll be in Berlin for about a week, and I'm so looking forward to it, having never been to Germany before.

( straining sea water in Maine)

The group show "Artifact-Metafact" at Repetti Gallery in Long Island City, Queens, NYC, now has an opening reception date:
Saturday September 8, 7-9 pm.

On Friday, July 20, I was part of an artists' panel for the Philadelphia Museum of Art's VAST program for educators, along with Syd Carpenter and Sarah McEneaney. What an honor!

I will be with a brigade of art-activists in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia encouraging passers-by to make a drawing to "show someone how you feel about something" and then mail it to a public official. Come by to help facilitate, or to make a drawing!
Noon-1pm on the following dates in July: 19, 23, 24, 30, 31.

And, my drawing " Encounter 1"
will be featured in the 2008 InLiquid wall calendar.

Join me in the studio this summer!

Ernst Haeckel: Ascidiae, 1904.

I will be teaching an evening Continuing Education course at University of the Arts, over five Thursdays from July 12 to August 9.

The course description is below, and you can register and read the syllabus and supply list at:

http://www.uarts.edu/continue/edu/index.cfm#courses
(click on "Fine Arts" and then "From Cells to Stems")


From Cells to Stems: A Workshop in Drawing from Nature

CE 1645C
1.5 CE credit $275
CE 1645N Non-credit $245
5 Thursdays July 12-Aug 9
6:30-9:30pm
Act 48 Hours: 15
Observe the fascinating world of nature this summer with new eyes, a range of explorations and a variety of drawing media. In this course, you'll be able to intimately observe biological details that often go unnoticed—or are unnoticeable—in the everyday world; the effect of this close-focus concentration can be calming and meditative. You'll create finely detailed drawings based on sources ranging from cellular tissues viewed through a digital microscope to botanical still lifes created with local flora. Working with repetition, scale, pattern and texture, students of all levels will create breathtaking abstract and realistic images in pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor.

Lawsuit Settlement!

I am pleased to announce the settlement of "Cohen et al v. City of New York et al ".

This is the lawsuit that was filed on behalf of the 18 artists from the Brooklyn College Masters of Fine Arts class of 2006, whose Thesis Exhibition, "Plan B" at the Brooklyn War Memorial was censored by the Brooklyn Borough Parks Commisioner Julius Spiegel in May 2006, and whose artwork was subsequently removed and damaged by Brooklyn College.

For the full back story and links to previous press, please see our blog: www.PlanCensored.blogspot.com

The settlement includes a payment of a total of more than $56,000 by the city, which includes $750 per artist, and fees paid to our lawyers.

Most importantly, Julius Spiegel released this statement:

------------
Statement of Defendant Julius Spiegel, Brooklyn Borough Commissioner of New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, in Connection with the Settlement of Cohen, et al V. Coty of the New York, et al.

While I had no role in the removal and subsequent damage of the Plaintiffs' artwork by others, I acknowledge my responsibility for ordering the closing of the Plaintiffs' art exhibit at the Brooklyn War Memorial, and for thereby setting in motion actions that led to the damage of Plaintiffs' artwork, which a reviewing court might find constituted a violation of the student-exhibitors' First Amendment rights. Whatever the outcome in court might have been, I apologize to the Brooklyn College art students who spent long hours and considerable effort in creating their artwork and in mounting their exhibition at the Brooklyn Memorial site.
------------

We have a few new items in the press:

www.nysun.com - we are at the top of the front page right now.
http://www.nysun.com/article/56021 is the permanent link.

and, arts briefly in the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/arts/07arts.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin

other press notices:
http://chronicle.com/news/article/2452/new-york-city-pays-up-and-apologizes-for-censoring-students-art-show
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06072007/news/regionalnews/xxx_art_victory_regionalnews_stefanie_cohen.htm

Some of the artists will be donating a portion of the settlement money to benefit the production and distribution of the documentary that is being made about the Plan B exhibition and its censorship. For information on the film-makers, see: www.eidia.com.

blogging links to blogs...

I'll be participating in this year's Art for the Cash Poor on Sunday June 10th...
and am profiled on the philly arts and culture blog uwishunu...
check it out!

on the horizon...

things are slowly blooming in the background...








I've been selected for the second round in the selection process for the Fleisher Art Memorial 2008 Challenge Exhibitions...

Soon I'll have a page up as a new member of the InLiquid network...

I'm bringing the Listening Stations as a visiting artist to a course at UPenn this week...

I am featured in the just-released Seed edition of Art World Digest Magazine...

and plans are afoot for a Philadelphia art/action network (email me if you're interested!),
and a new public, participatory project for the summer...

stay tuned for updates!

The Listening Station at the International House!

The Listening Station was at The International House, from January 11 to February 2, 2007

A reception with the artist ( me) was held on January 11, 2007 from 5-7 pm

I was present to facilitate and discuss the project on Thursday evenings from 5-7 pm throughout the installation ( January 11, January 18, Januray 25, and February 1)


The Listening Station was permanently installed on the upper level of the International House lobby, available for use by all who visit the building. The lobby is open to the public, so stop by and give it a try! You are welcome to visit with someone you would like to take turns listening with, or come and participate with me or someone who you have not met before.

See the Listening Station blog for more details, and documentation.

Artifact-Metafact

most recent projects-in-the-works:

a group show organized by Carla Aspenberg and Tamas Veszi, "Artifact-Metafact"
I'll be creating a new group of ink-bubble drawings for this exhibition, as relating to the symbolism of the female body, and the process of understanding my relation to my mother's breast cancer.

See the ongoing blog project by the artists.

The show will be exhibited in September 2007 at
Repetti in Queens, NY not far from PS1

stay tuned for exact dates and opening info....

Open Art Room

Open Art Room is a series of drop-in workshops that I am leading at this fall ( and beyond?)
at the West Philly radical community room, the A-Space.

So far, attendance tends to include young parents and their young children, and adults of all ages from the neighborhood. It's been about five to seven people at each gathering.

My ideas for this project are very well summed up in this press clipping:

The Philadelphia City Paper

=========================================

Open Art Room!

1st and 3rd Wednesday Nights at the A-Space
October 4- December 20, 2006 ( for now)
Remaining Dates: Nov 15, Dec 6 & 20
4722 Baltimore Ave
7-9 pm

Open Art Room is a series of open art workshops, for people of all ages
led by West Philly artist and art educator Zoë Cohen.

All are welcome!
encouragement and guidance for those who feel new to art,
support and constructive feedback for those who usually make art on their own.
The first half hour of each session will be a class format in which Zoë will present a skill or lead a group art game.
The rest of the session will be open art time- you can continue trying out new skills, get instruction and feedback on art that you make, play around with group art games, and connect with other people about art and creativity.

Please bring your own materials, and consider bringing found or recycled supplies to share with others.
suggestions:
SCISSORS!, pencils, pens, erasers, markers, crayons, charcoal, old computer paper, recycled one-side-printed paper, color paper, newspaper, cardboard, paper plates, a ruler, hole-puncher, masking tape, clear tape, elmer's glue, glue sticks, white-out, ink or watercolors and brushes, small tubes of water-based paints, old books, scraps of: magazines,wrapping paper, tissue paper, ribbon, yarn…

Sliding Scale: $5- $12
Drop in: no registration needed
lots of parking for bikes and cars, steps from the 34 trolley
Children under 12, please bring an adult

updates: LAVA Installations and The Navel Project

It's happening!

Harmony Thompson, Jay Sand, and I are so please to announce....
The inauguration of the on-going LAVA Installation project.

The Lancaster Avenue Autonomous Zone is a center for radical media and organizing at 4134 Lancaster Ave in West Philadelphia. The LAVA collective's mission is to create an empowering and welcoming physical space where diverse communities converge to build connections and break down barriers, blending media-making, artistic expression and hardy nuts-and-bolts organizing in order to advance movements for justice.

The LAVA Installation project is an attempt to fill the entire three-story row house that is LAVA with permanent art installations by Philadelphia artists who are interested in using art to move social change forward.

Jay Sand invited Harmony and I to organize this on-going project, and organize we did!
In addition to inviting, curating, scheduling, and publicizing, Harmony and I have both created installations in the space.

The images below are from my installation- The LAVA Navel Project. Each form is a plaster cast of the navel of a person who is involved in the LAVA space in some way. The installation is on the stairs from the second to the third floors of the building.





















press!
The Philadelphia City Paper
The Philadelphia Weekly


The first round of installations opened with a well-attended reception on Saturday November 4, 2006:










the crowd











bathroom by bilwa












tile mural by harmony and beth
posters by eian










molly sand wheat-pastes with zoe in the " show someone how you feel about something" bathroom










harmony means business. donate, dammit!


participating artists include:

Beth Uzwiak & Harmony Thompson
Bilwa
Des Jackson
Dominic Lepore
Eian Weissman
Elysa Voshell
HAAK Collective
JJ Tiziou
Jodi Netzer
Michael Schwartz
Mary Tasillo
Sarah Phillips
Zoe Cohen

We are now seeking proposals for the next round of installations, due to open in May 2007. Interested artists can stop by the space during open library hours, Wednesdays 4-8pm and Sundays Noon-6pm. Please contact me for more information.

updates: Philadelphia Open Studio Tours

Saturday, October 7 and Sunday October 8, 2006
Noon - 6 pm
4013 Chestnut St, West Philadelphia

On exhibit were drawings and sculptural installation in my studio, listening station documentation in the gallery, and the actual listening stations were available for use on the porch ( documentation coming soon on the Listening Station blog)

I had a wonderful weekend, with more than sixty visitors over the two days, including New York artists Paul Lamarre and Melissa Wolf, who are creating a documentary about the censored Brooklyn College MFA Thesis show of 2006.

For more information on Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, see the POST website.

updates: The Pressed Image- Art in City Hall

The Pressed Image
Art in City Hall

July 10-October 6, 2006

City Hall, Philadelphia
north-east corner, 2nd floor

On display was the hanging embossed print from the installation
The Seven Fruits of Israel/Palestine

a bit of press I received for this exhibition:
The Jewish Exponent

updates: The Listening Station

The Listening Station is an on-going, public, participatory art project. I conceived of this piece and built the two current listening stations while in Brooklyn.

From July 2006 to January 2007 ( and beyond)I will be presenting the listening stations for your use in a series of public installations around Philadelphia in conjunction with my residency at the 40th st Artist in Residence program.

Please see the Listening Station blog for the complete archive of documentation of this project, and for updates on future installations.

updates: 40th St Artist in Residence

In June of 2006 I moved back to Philadelphia from Brooklyn, having completed my MFA at Brooklyn College ( with no small effort- see previous post).

From July 15, 2006 to January 15, 2007 I will be in studio residence at the 40th St AIR program in West Philadelphia.

This program provides studio space for West Philadelphia artists in exhange for community projects. As part of this residency, I am presenting several public installations of the Listening Station project.















Zoe in the studio at 40th St AIR - October 2006

updates: Plan B and Plan B Prevails

zoe and tamas at plan B prevails





How to summarize helping to organize an 18 person group MFA Thesis show in a Veterans Memorial Hall with movable partition walls and a tiny budget, having it open successfully, then locked up the next day by the Brooklyn Parks Department, the artwork illegally removed by one's own University, locked up for a week, being pressured into re-opening the show in a new space in DUMBO, working to get all 18 students to agree to go ahead with the re-opened show, trying to get the University to holding its end of the bargain in re-mounting the show, and then suing the City of New York, the Brooklyn Parks Department, and Brooklyn College for first-amendment violations and damages to the artwork?

oy.

for all the info, including all press releases, links to New York Times and other press, and photos, see:

Plan B Prevails- the website for the re-mounted show in DUMBO

Plan Censored- The Official Blog

updates: repeat after me

Repeat After Me ( January 7-28, 2006) was curated by Carla Aspenberg and Sarah Phillips, friends from the Brooklyn College MFA program. We had a packed reception at the Flux Factory, Queens. The image from the previous post is the installation piece that I created for the show. It consists of hundreds of unfired clay impressions of my navel, arranged on fabric in a pattern that interprets the cellular tissue of the uterine lining and placenta.

A press clipping for this exhibition:
Queens Chronicle