The Hurt Show

This Saturday night at The East Side Lounge. This show should be great art in a sub-par venue, I hope it goes well.

50 Artists at WonderRoot

This Friday, Septebmer 19th, at WonderRoot. More info about 50 Artists here.

I "Set It Off" for EC

Epidemik Coalition's ongoing interview series "Set It Off" has finally made its way to ThoughtMarker. If you want to learn more about what I am up to, check out the interview here.

ECxTM tee from last year

Beautiful Losers at The Plaza Theater

MINT Gallery has orchestrated artwork to be shown along side the screening from local artists Brett W. Thompson, Shaun Thurston, Joe Tsambiras, Justin Weaver, John Paul Floyd, Stephanie Howard, Urban Medium, and Saint. Opens Thursday, September 18th at 7, screening at 8 at the The Plaza Theater.

In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture.

Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories. It speaks to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth.

Don't Miss This

Right now at Aurora Coffee in Little Five Points the walls are adorned with what I believe is Dosa Kim's most impressive and cohesive show to date, "Weight."  His signature style of black/white illustrations are molded into dynamic compositions of struggle and triumph.  The show is entirely made up of framed and embellished one-off digital prints, complete with embossed certificates explaining the process.  The thought that went into presentation alone, far exceeds the low expectations set by our local underground art traditions. It should be up for a few weeks still and I strongly suggest that you go out of your way to check it out.

"Weight Python" by Dosa Kim

"Weight Python" detail by Dosa Kim

There is good news for those of you who can't afford to drop cash on a big framed piece. Dosa has put together a book of digital sketches from the process that created this show. You'll recognize some of the imagery from "Weight" and some from his ongoing "Apparatus Atlanta" project. Rumor is these books will be available as soon as tonight at Beep Beep Gallery's opening. I have a feeling you'll be able to find it around town pretty soon.

Huge Weekend (Part Two)

This Saturday, September 13th, brings even more events to Atlanta. Beep Beep Gallery is opening it's new exhibit "Rooms Upon Waking" featuring new works by Aubrey Pope and Herb Harris. The Rabbit Hole Gallery opens Angie Mason's solo show, "A Murkey Managerie." East Atlanta Tattoo's latest group show, "Pin-ups and Pistons" also opens. And finally, Lenny's Bar is hosting the Atlanta leg of the "Ignite What's Next" tour from Upper Playground and Juxtapoz featuring live art from Sam Flores, Alex Pardee, and N8 Van Dyke ($10).

above: Angie Mason at The Rabbit Hole Gallery

Huge Weekend (Part One)

This weekend can barely contain all the openings and closings and live art and whathaveyou. Here is everything going down on Friday, September 12th, here in the A. Octane Coffee has an opening for "Love Hurts" recycled art by Michael Thrush. Check out some pictures of the work over at Local Ephemera. A group show is opening at Alcove Gallery. The Opal Gallery opens "The Jena Project", photographs and installation by Michael David Murphy. And The MINT Gallery is closing it's mixtape show "reMIXT" which you can read about here courtesy of PASTE Magazine.

Digital Arts Entertainment Lab

I've been planning on posting something about DAEL for a while now. Essentially, DAEL records high-definition video of all the cool bands in Atlanta performing live. They've got a bunch of video streaming at their site, entertainmentresearch.org, including some of my local favorites like The Black Lips and The LiverHearts. But this video of The Booze that has been given the black and white, old timey treatment is what finally pushed me over the edge.

Weekly Street Art: Wheat Pastes

Atlanta's street art scene is generally devoid of good wheat paste pieces. Some recent exceptions are these drawings by local printmaker Joe Tsambiras.

Linda Hall opening at Youngblood

Looks like another quality showing that I've come to expect from Youngblood Gallery. Opens Saturday, September 6th from 7-10.

The Excited Pile at WonderRoot

Southern Drawl

Grand Opening this Friday, September 5th inside of The Five Spot in L5P from 7-10. Right down the street from Dosa Kim's opening so I say hit up both.

Thursday Events

This Thursday, September 4th, Youngblood Gallery is bringing back Kraftwork, a collab between Indy Craft Experience and Youngblood to present work from local craftsmen. Free.  Then head over to the Five Spot for a benefit for local designer and filmmaker Michael McReynolds who's jaw is currently wired shut due to a recent bicycle accident.  The event will include bands and improv. $5.

Dosa Kim @ Aurora Coffee L5P

"Weight"
September 5th - October 1st

Beep Beep has curated shows for Aurora Coffee for three years now and have greatly enjoyed the experience. Working with Aurora, we plan to use the Little Five Points space (468 Moreland Ave. next to Criminal Records) as an extension of our gallery, giving it the same attention, promotion, and quality of work as we have with Beep Beep.

And we are very excited that our first "official" show at the L5P Aurora, features new work by Atlanta illustrator, designer, and all around creative badass Dosa Kim. His fluid and stark creations change and evolve quite rapidly, making it hard to pin down exactly what Dosa's working on next. Expect plenty of suprises out of this show!

OPENING FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5TH 7-10PM

MUSIC BY CHRIS DEVOE

AURORA COFFEE 468 MORELAND AVENUE 30307

DragonCon

I hope everybody had a good Labor Day weekend. There are a lot of art shows and events coming up this week all around town (Youngblood, Southern Drawl, Aurora, WonderRoot, etc.) but I'm gonna start the week off with a few pictures from Dragon Con, the best place on earth to take pictures of people wearing crazy-ass outfits. For more images from Dragon Con, check out flickr.

Weekly Street Art: Stolen Edition

It's been a little while since I've posted any street art and it hasn't been from lack of trying. I even went out on my bike today looking for art and came home empty handed. Never fear I've scooped up some street art from local and international blogs to tide you over. Locally, Local Ephemera recently posted a stencil of a baby with a parachute. And here is a photo, courtesy of Wooster Collective, that proves Banksy is visiting New Orleans. More photos here and here.

ArtHouse Scavenger Project

Reviews

A couple of current exhibits have gotten interesting reviews, both print and blog. First off Cinque Hicks in this week's Creative Loafing parlays Beep Beep Gallery's current group showing "The Ringling Brothers" into a statement about lowbrow's infiltration into art education here. More about that show at Local Ephemera. Group 7's exquisite corpse style show at Whitespace received an exquisite corpse style review from Jeremy Abernathy (Ghostmap Microwave), Ben Grad (Proclaim it Lost), and Susannah Darrow (Il Faut Cultiver Notre Jardin) here.

Benefits

There are bunch of ways to help some good local causes this week just by going out and maybe bidding on some art.

Thursday:


Friday:
KRYSTAL WOODS ART AUCTION

All the art hanging for the month of August has been donated by a number of artists to benefit Krystal Woods, Aurora employee, Karaoke Diva, beaming ray of sunshine, and all around amazing woman. Krystal suffers from “keratoconus”, a condition of the eye where the corneas thin and begin to bulge into cone-like shapes. Eventually this condition will lead to total blindness. After trying several alternatives, Krystal is now faced with one option: $20,000 corneal surgery. She has reached out to the government for assistance, but her barely functioning eyes are intact just enough to disqualify her for assistance. Her friends, and the Atlanta art community, have decided to pull together to raise some money and give Krystal the operation she sorely needs.

Please help her by bidding on a piece of art this month.

The auction will end with a closing event August 29th at 10PM.

Saturday:
Come to A. Ghost and Monkeyheart's

Wormhole to Illinois!
Saturday, August 30 7pm
at Wonder Root
982 Memorial Dr. 30316

www.wonderroot.org


This art auction, organized by Anna Simonton and Joey Boren, is a fundraiser for The Chicago Playwright's Festival. The festival is a weeklong workshop of ten plays by ten young playwrights, including Boren.

The auction will feature works by artists from Chicago, New York, Montreal, and Santa Cruz, as well as works by Atlanta artists. There will be music provided by DJs Charlie the Popcorn Man and Big Brian Lawd, and plenty of food and wine.

The Playwright's Festival boasts the involvement of Chicago theater professionals in the forms of directors, mentors, and audience members. It is a chance for everyone involved to make connections and showcase their work. Anna and Joey are going as representatives of Atlanta with the expectation that the work they do at the festival will connect Atlanta to Chicago's theater scene and result in new productions here.

The festival relies on funds raised by its participants. The money raised at the art auction will go towards paying rent on performance space and publicizing the event. Your support will help make this possible!

For more about the Playwright's Festival go to: elementtheater.weebly.com

WonderRoot Needs Volunteers

WonderRoot has recently put out a call for some help in various fields. Here are the details:

WonderRoot Seeks Mentors

"This September, WonderRoot is launching a new creative writing mentoring program. We are so excited to be working with an experienced poet and mentor who will be facilitating the program for high-school aged students. The mentoring program will have two aspects. First, the students will participate twice a week in a group workshop. Second, the students will meet individually with their respective mentors.

Mentors will be asked to commit between 3-5 hours per week to meet with students. They will read and write together, and they will go to literary readings and events.

If you are interested in being a mentor, please send an email to info@wonderroot.org. We are so excited to launch the project and have an opportunity to build relationships with youth in need."

WonderRoot Seeks Sculptor

"WonderRoot is seeking a sculpture artist for an exciting project we have coming up. We are looking for someone who works with metal and could produce a large scale outdoor piece. Please send an email to info@wonderroot.org if you are interested. This is a great opportunity to have your work seen by tons of people and be a part of a wonderful community project."

Regator

You may have noticed a little button that has been added on the right side of the blog that says featured on Regator. That is because my blog went into a steel cage with other similar blogs armed only with a handful of flyers and 5.9 posts per week, and came out a glorious but bloodied champion. Check out Regator. It is a new, easy to use blog aggregator that was created locally in Decatur, GA.

What else?

I already mentioned the mixtape show over at MINT, but there is a lot of other cool stuff going down this Saturday, August 23rd. SOPO is holding the premiere of some sort of video at The Graveyard in East Atlanta. Alcove Gallery is hosting a retrospective of concert posters by Methane Studios. Of course Atlanta Underground Film Festival is going on right now including screenings at both Youngblood Gallery and Vacation. And WonderRoot is holding a show with music and live art from "top psychedelic artists."

Ninja Puppet Workshops

Ninja Puppet Productions and MINT present a series of workshops on the art of puppetry. These workshops are designed to give the participants an academic and hands on overview of both the performance and building aspects of the puppet. We will be covering several different styles of puppetry that are the basic backbone of all forms. These workshops will be broken up into a 3 session set that will take a hands on approach to some of the endless avenues that puppetry can take. Each participant will have the opportunity to create and design their own puppet that will evolve throughout the sessions.

Workshops will take place on September 6, 13, and 20 at 10am at Eyedrum


Some of the topics that the workshops will cover will include:

Writing for Puppetry (visual vs verbal)
Basic building (what a puppet needs to move)
Basic Performance skills (Capturing the illusion of life)
Puppetry for Video (exploring the option of digital media)
Life of a Puppeteer (practical options for a professional puppeteer)
Putting a show together (bringing it all together and performance options in Atlanta)

Ninja Puppet Productions has been on the cutting edge of adult oriented performance art puppetry for over 7 years. Each workshop will be hosted by Raymond Carr, Artistic Director of Ninja Puppet Productions. Raymond has been a puppeteer for over 15 years and has traveled all over the country and to Europe performing and teaching workshops. Some of Raymond's credits include: Puppeteer for Nick Jr's Lazytown, first American Puppeteer voodoo operator for BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience, 6 time writer director for the Center for Puppetry art's Xperimental Puppetry Theater, Writer/Director for The Center for Puppetry Art's Family Series show A Sunday Morning Puppet Show, puppeteer for Dad's Garage Puppet Slam, and Late Night Creepy Horror Theater, and Workshop leader and performer for One Way Street Inc of Denver CO.

Those who participate in the workshops will then be given the opportunity to perform their pieces at the The Ninja Puppet Extravaganza November 3-5 at Eyedrum.

$10 per session or $25 for all three.

For more information or to register for workshops contact TheNinja@ninjapuppet.com

reMIXT at MINT

"reMIXT" opens this Saturday, August 23rd at MINT Gallery. I could go on and on about the show as I've been involved in putting it together for months, but I will let capable others with outside perspectives do the dirty work.

Jeremy of Ghostmap Microwave writes a great preview with quotes from myself along with some artists involved in the show for Pine Magazine here.

Design team, Epidemik Coalition helped me out with some limited edition laser cut prints that you can read about here. Also shown below.

More info about MINT Gallery and reMIXT respectively.

Southern Shelter

SouthernShelter.com is an ongoing archive of live shows recorded mostly in Athens sometimes in Atlanta. You can find live shows from all of the big acts out of Athens including Dark Meat and The Whigs. Most recently, Southern Shelter has posted a show that Atlanta band Deerhunter played last Friday at Vacation Boutique.

Photo by Mike White via Pitchfork

Phantom Electric

"Phantom Electric" is the latest episode from local futuristic anime style illustrator Saint's ongoing series of comic novels. This time around his work will be shown along side other Atlanta artists including Cultura and Dosa Kim at the newest house/gallery 411 Harold st. in Chandler Park. Last time I saw a show there they brought it old school house party/art show style with DJs and food on the grill and drinks from a keg.

Call for Artists: Munnybrella

Check out FantasyBurrito.com for details.

Majestic Hours

If you've seen any of the recent work by Atlanta artists Sam Parker (recently showed at Youngblood Gallery) or Joe Tsambiras (had a great show early this year at Aurora Coffee L5P) then you can imagine how amazing their current collaborative project must be. They are busy creating 100 collaborative drawings for an approaching show at Beep Beep Gallery later this year, but you can check out some of their progress at their "Majestic Hours" myspace page.

Mixtapes and Tomahawks

This Thursday, Epidemik Coalition will release the Tomahawk tee from its upcoming PROCESS clothing line in a limited Mexican flag colorway for EL BAR.  This is the second of five events that will preview their line before it drops next spring. Drink specials, photo booth, DJ Cristo Disco, tee shirts, etc.

Along with these first look release parties, EC is also releasing mixtapes by Nite Ratz DJs. Download mixtapes by Prince Presto or Slugger with more to come.

Weekly Street Art: Vacation

Local artist Joy Phrasavath recently finished painting the store front of Vacation, a new spot for vintage clothing, weird books/zines, local records, and art. And it's awesome.

The Ringling Brothers

This Saturday, Beep Beep Gallery opens it's latest offering of local emerging artists. "The Ringling Brothers" is comprised entirely of graduates of Ringling College of Art and Design, and includes some extremely talented artists such as Matt Relkin who's work is currently hanging at Youngblood Gallery and Steven Dixey who is responsible the black ThoughtMarker shirt that dropped last winter.

Jeremy of Ghostmap Microwave previews the show in Pine Magazine. Check it out.

Skin Paper Canvas

"Forsake the Way" opens this Friday, August 8th at Octane Coffee. Tattoo style art by Jason Kelly, Keet, and Ugly.

Dear Dosa Kim,

When is ThoughtMarker going to be included in Apparatus Atlanta?

Saturday Openings

Free bicycle style movie screenings at WonderRoot plus photography by local bicycle enthusiasts. New work by Matt Relkin at Youngblood Gallery. New work on paper from graffitiers HENSE and SHIE at The Highland Inn Ballroom with DJ sets from Noot d' Noot. There is certainly something for everyone this Saturday.