Churches Ad Hoc: A Divine Comedy

"Churches Ad Hoc: A Divine Comedy" is the title of a book of photography by new friend Herman Krieger. The photos capture the comical visual aspects of some churches, but I get no sense of disrespect here.

A reviewer for the New York Times, Rebecca Fairley Raney, wrote that the "sometimes irreverent photo essay on churches draws a variety of responses. Christians see devotion. Atheists see satire. Photographers see artistry."

I see - and like - all three aspects. I first became aware of Herman Krieger's photography, and interesting life, when he left a comment here on our Guestbook. He wrote a very simple note:


Web site of possible interest: Photo essays in black and white: www.efn.org/~hkrieger Some of the photos were made in Chicago. 

He wasn't trying to sell anything. He just wants to share his stunning photography with the world. He did not mention his book. I wrote to him and asked if his photography was for sale.

His quick response: "The book is still available thru Amazon.com. My web site is not commercial. I don't offer photos for sale. Sometimes at an exhibition, a photo may carry a price, but generally I don't sell the photos. When I have extra copies, I give them away. When I worked in photography, I rarely made photos for myself. The were always made for a customer or my employer. If I print a photo for money, I feel I am working for the buyer, and that takes the fun out of it. The only biography available is the bio on my web site. Herman"

A true artist, Krieger does it for the love of his art. So I take it upon myself to hawk his book, available at Amazon.com. At the risk of contradicting myself, I'll also let you know that his photo essay "Churches Ad Hoc: A Divine Comedy" can be seen for free on his web site. Still, I would encourage you to buy his book. It would make a stunning gift or addition to your bookshelf.

Krieger's web site is beautiful. While you're there, be sure to check out his amazing biography. 

Even Obama's Posters Are Fraudulent

Y'all know that Orwellian Obama poster that every sap in the world is making their own photo look like? Sure you do, it was used by Obama supporters all over the country and now it's hanging all over Chicago streets. The artist was been arrested last night, and it turns out that the poster was created from a high-contrast version of a photo owned by the Associated Press. Arrested For Graffiti Vandalism The artist, Shepard Fairey, was arrested in Boston on charges of tagging property with graffiti, police said Saturday. Fairey was en route to one of his own exhibitions when the cops apprehended him. Obama Poster Violated Copyright? According to the AP report, the image of Obama (left) "is the subject of a copyright dispute with The Associated Press." Fairey says he is protected by "fair use." The court is still out on the alleged copyright infringement. However, if Fairey is found guilty of infringement, it would mean that every one of the millions of items sold with that grotesque image on it is also in violation. In theory, at least, every maker of those items would also be guilty. That would mean the City of Chicago would have to take down those hideous posters before the year 2099. Perhaps, even, the Obama campaign would be guilty to copyright infringement. Fairey The Fraud Mary Louise Schumacher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that some folks accuse Fairey of being a fraud. It seems that his Obama image is nothing new for him, inasmuch as he has a history of stealing images and using them without attribution, much less royalties to the original artists. Schumacher links to an article titled "Obey Plagiarist Shepard FaireyA critique by artist Mark Vallen," and it makes a convincing case in words and images that Fairey is a petty thief, unoriginal and unethical. How fitting it is, then, that Shepard Fairey is forever associated with Obama's image. RELATED: U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Law: Chapter 1 Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials 10 Big Myths about copyright explained CNB RSS Feed

Portraits of Heroism

Suzanne Elder writes a touching piece about students who painted portraits of soldiers who died to keep them safe and secure here at home. Read "Portraits of loss" by Suzanne in this week's News-Star. (Note: There were no portaits of beheaded infidels, homosexuals who were stoned to death, or women who were killed for loving the wrong person featured at this exhibit.) RELATED: D-Day: Crisis On Omaha Two Iranian-backed Terrorist Leaders Surrender In Iraq Jury acquits another Haditha Marine - Verdict eliminates charges filed after Murtha accusations Liberals Will Now Have to Change Their Tune on Iraq 3 Jun 2008 Because now even the French see the success: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Sunday that the security situation in Iraq was improving and reaffirmed France's willingness to help rebuild the war-ravaged country.

Artists of the Wall Screwed AGAIN

They're screwing you again.

In 2007, the Loyola Park Advisory Council (LPAC) and the Loyola Park Advisory Council and Rogers Park Community Council (RPCC). charged people $30 or more to participate in the Artists of the Wall Festival. The people were screwed by not getting a clean slate, so to speak, on which to paint. In years past, the wall was sandblasted clean and painted white. But not last year, not the year before or before that. Years of thick layers of paint have built up, and last year they did not sandblast.

Instead of sandblasting, this year they used a weak mixture of baking soda and compressed air, which only partially removed some of the old paint. But as you can see in the photos (click for larger images) and in the video below, the newly "prepped" wall is peeling only hours after it's been painted white. The new white paint job is not even complete, but it is already spoiling.

The Bench showed you what a lousy job the Loyola Park Advisory Council (LPAC) and the Rogers Park Community Council (RPCC) did last year. We're showing you their shitty work this year, too. One of their members assured me more than a month ago that they would clean the wall properly this year. They have not done so, and all indications are that they will screw the people once again.

Shame on the LPAC and RPCC.

ALSO SEE:
Artists Up Against the Wall
I Hate to Say I Told You So...
Artists Screwed at the Wall Festival, Rogers Park

Loyola Park Wall Being Sandblasted

This morning, Streets & Sanitation had two men cleaning the wall. One man was chipping away while the other was blasting with high pressure air. He told me there was actually no sand, but "a little bit of baking soda" in the air stream.

Last year, Rogers Park residents who shelled out more than $30 each to paint small stretches of a wall along the beach pathway at Loyola Park were screwed. The wall was improperly "prepped."

It was merely whitewashed, leaving several layers of old paint from previous years. The result was immediate peeling with days of the "prepping" and months of the artists' work looking like hell.

"This is great, glad to see you guys doing this," I said to the man chipping off the old paint.

"Yah," he replied, "there was some guy up here who made a big beef about cleaning it."

Now, who could that be, hmmmm?

Related:
Artists Up Against the Wall
Artists Screwed at the Wall Festival, Rogers Park
I Hate to Say I Told You So...

SICK BITCH PLANS MULTIPLE MURDERS

Liberalism can be a mental disorder. Further proof:

Beginning next Tuesday, art major Aliza Shvarts '08 will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. ...

Look, I actually do understand that some women get abortions because they feel they need to. I hate the sin, not the sinner, so to speak, and women who get abortions most likely did not get prenant intentionally, and certainly not with the intention of having an abortion as art. But Shvarts goes beyond the pale. She is deliberately creating embryos for the sole purpose of destroying them "for art." Heinous.

Shvarts claims that her goal is to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. (Source)

Next time you hear a "pro-choice" person tell you how much they really hate abortions, remind them of Sicko Shvarts and her premeditated multiple killings. This ghoulish monster will create and kill embyos to highlight the relationship between the human body and art?!? Sick.

RELATED:
Aliza Shvarts stole my work!!! Hard to believe someone else thought killing babies for a senior art project would "spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body". That was MY senior art project as well.

Artists Up Against the Wall

The Artists of the Wall were screwed, just as The Bench warned last summer and just as the photos here show.

The top photo was taken just a couple of days after the wall was "prepped" for new painting. It was already badly peeling.

The second photo shows what a mess the wall became by March, 2008. Badly peeling, many painted spaces were barely recognizable.

Brought to you in part by the same geniuses who brought us the Mile of Murals debacle last year, the Wall is an annual project at Rogers Park's Loyola Beach that should be a simple thing to manage. But then, getting a 200-foot stretch of cement wall painted seems like a simple thing to manage, too. The Wall is painted every summer by Rogers Park residents, for a fee of $35.00 for a four-foot stretch of the concrete artifact.

The Loyola Park Advisory Council is the group of cheapskates in charge of this fiasco. The LPAC members need to go to the park, look at the mess on the concrete strip, and contract a sand blasting service to clean up the horribly peeling and chipping paint that has accumulated over several years.

In years past, the wall has been sandblasted to prepare it for a fresh coat of paint, applied by families, children and a few local businesses. But for several years, the organizers of the event chose to simply paint it white.

Unfortunately, they used crappy paint and did not allow enough time for it to dry thoroughly. As predicted, severe peeling only a few months after it was painted.

Folks paid $35 for this??? They should get their money back, and the Artists of the Wall organizers should issue an apology to everyone who steps foot on the beach that has to look at this ugly sight.

So Long, Eidolon Art Studio

It was a good run, and a best effort.

Sadly, however, Eidolon Art Studio in Rogers Park will be closing its doors forever on April 19, 2008, when they will have a final show and art sale (more info here).

Tara Noftsier, one of Eidolon's artists, told me about the closing when I ran into her Friday evening. She said that a number of Eidolon's artists have moved out of Rogers Park or become involved in other ventures.

"We made a good impact on the local art community," she said.

Eidolon's beautiful red door brightened the otherwise dreary northeast corner of W. Lunt and N. Glenwood. It was always a pleasure to see the art, some of it humorous and quirky, in the large plate glass windows.

The Bench wishes all of Eidolon's artists the best.

Big Honorable Mention For Rogers Park Drummer Jimmy Bennington

Congratulations are in order for jazz drummer extraordinaire Jimmy Bennington! The Rogers Park resident made the prestigious AllAboutJazz.com list of 2007 Honorable Mentions for his album "Jimmy Bennington/Julian Priester, Portraits and Silhouettes (TSP)." I am personally very proud of Jimmy, as a friend and neighbor. But I have a personal stake here: I created the CD cover art. It was fun working with Jimmy on the cover. He provided the photos, and I pieced them all together and took care of technical aspects. So not merely a "congratulations" to Jimmy. A big "thank you" as well, for letting me a small part of your big - and ever growing - stature as the jazz great that you truly are, and truly shall be. God bless you, Jimmy, keep up the good work. Tom, Please check the link below. Portraits and Silhouettes received an Honorable Mention for best records in 2007!!I want to thank you again for all of your help and assistance in getting this project out there... http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=28039#16 Thanks, Jimmy

Screamin' Mo Cahill (Updated)

Hey Mo

August 20, 2007 - She's so cutting edge, so progressive, so ... Establishment! Contradictions? Not in the mind of Mo Cahill, a local arts-and-crafts lady who has to give away free buttons with a co-opted expression that she did not create to get people to buy her arts-and-crafts. (Continues below update...)

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Update, January 4, 2015: MO'S WOES, Harborer of Rats: Seems she's trying to be an urban farmer, and that got her into some hot water with the City of Chicago late last year. While other people are capable of following the city's rules for such farms, Mo just can't get it right. Of course, it's not her fault that the city is picking on her unfairly just because she completely screwed up so badly on multiple charges that include endangering the public health. In her own self-righteous way, Mo Cahill is convinced that she's done nothing wrong. Here, read for yourself at DNA Info.  

Mo has a hard time with original concepts, too: She calls her rat harbor urban farm "Moah's Ark," but that name is already taken by a professional landscaping service in England. On her LinkedIn profile she says, "my skills and passions intersect at designing for political campaigns and issues." Wot? Note to Mo: Use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence. It's sure to impress even your most artsy-fartsies. The LinkedIn profile continues with, "i spend a lot of my time sidewalk teaching and preaching about sustainable agriculture and the plight of the planet. and about responsible stewardship of whatever little parcel of dirt is home." Responsible stewardship? In Mo's world, that apparently does not include rat control or consideration of neighbors. From DNA Info: 

“So there's this thing called rat harborage and it does not require them to show any evidence of an actual rat, it just requires the city inspector to say, I think a rat would really like it here,” said CaHill.

“The educational opportunity that this place right behind us here provides this community is anything but a hazard,” said Andrenia.

The neighbors who are not supportive of CaHill's garden did not want to comment on camera.

Poor Mo Cahill is so dimwitted that she can't grasp the fact that rats like piles of debris made of tree parts from landscapers, logs and wood chips, and just because you see rats doesn't mean they're not there or would be attracted to the piles in the future. The city has rules, ya know. It's like the health code rule that says a restaurant must not leave doors or windows open to a kitchen because it could allow vermin to enter, but the restaurant owner does so anyway and defends his irresponsible action just because he hasn't yet seen any rat poop on the counters. 

As for her "educational opportunity," well, that only speaks to her conceit and self-importance. Mo Cahill's little operation is Amateurville compared to a lot of other urban farming projects. (See a list of those urban farms here and compare.) What great wisdom can Professor Farmer Mo Cahill, PhD teach us by growing ordinary crops in non-astounding amounts in ordinary dirt and preaching about the demise of planet earth to any unfortunate passersby on the sidewalk? There's nothing revolutionary happening in Mo Cahill's garden. The fact that neighbors who "are not supportive" of her "farm" were afraid to comment on the record indicates that, well, they're afraid of Screamin' Mo (see below). 

And just for chuckles, read "still more woes for Big Mo" at conservativecave.com. The best comment there: "So if it's a republican hit with building code violations he's a slumlord, but if it's a DUmmie it's the overreaching of the state." Yep, that's how it works in Mo's World.  

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Original Article, Continued: Cahill is well known in the Rogers Park neighborhood for lurking in the comments of other peoples' blogs, using the nom de web of "been there." She is also well known as the woman who, in a Howard Dean-like moment, screamed at the Mile of Murals meeting that kids are not good enough to participate in the Rogers Park neighborhood mural painting project.

Cahill, who publicly poses as a progressive liberal, has revealed herself to be just another Establishmentarian. She recently claimed that 14- and 15-year old kids do not have enough talent to work on a public mural, calling it a "slap in the face" to say they are capable of such a feat. She sold out for a few shekkels to The Man, the Establishment, the local Political Powers.

Apparently, Cahill's pink buttons are not working. She is quoted by the Broken Heart blog as saying, "I have been putting in more time in my studio, doing more political work... an actual job, tho temporary, may have landed in my lap. There is a local project to do a mural, hopefully the first of many annual projects. actual cash money."

Perhaps we should remind ourselves of RPB's recent revelations that the "Mile of Murals" project is way behind schedule NOT because of the Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG), but because of the locals who are tripping over their own egos and incompetence to put their own stamp on the project. Those individuals are certain members of SSA#24, DevCorp North and the alderman's office. The CTA is partly to blame as well, as sources report to RPB that CTA management is getting overly picky about the art that will go onto CTA's walls.

One wonders what Mo Cahill is contributing to this FUBAR situation. She's made herself a public figure by virtue of her web sites (plural), her ranting on the blogs as "been there" even though she knows that we all know who "been there" really is, and declaring that she is "doing more political work."

Therefore, none of us should feel the need to treat Cahill with kid gloves. If her contributions to the Mile of Murals project are anything like her inane, poorly punctuated and never capitalized blog comments, it may be even longer before the project is completed. Or even begun. While we congratulate Mo on her job, but we question the judgment of her new employer.

Also See:
CPAG's Stuffed Turkey
Hey Mo: Closing the Circle

Dear CPAG...

I hope Rob answers my email. I had the pleasure of meeting him on Monday this week. Articulate and passionate, he is a good spokesman for Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG). I invited him to present CPAG's position on the mural over Morse Avenue, as well as the upcoming mural project for the CTA wall between Morse and Lunt. Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 Subject: Morse Avenue Mural To: rob@cpag.net Dear Rob, Thanks again for spending time with me on the corner of Morse and Glenwood today. I appreciate your passion for what you do, and would like to re-state my invitation to you to write about CPAG and what they do. I will give you an open forum for the piece you write. As for how the community can be made to feel more a part of the process: Please understand (to repeat myself) that I have no quarrel with the Reeds or with the idea of public art per se. The only sore point in the specific case of the Morse Avenue CTA mural is the way in which DevCorp North put it out to the public. If you go to DevCorp's web site, at the very top you will see "Welcome to DevCorp North, Rogers Park's business, community and economic development organization." The problem, then, is not with the art or the artists per se. The problem is with the process by which a corporation (DevCorp) that is charged specifically with improving and helping the business community of Rogers Park. DevCorp did not open it up to Rogers Park bidding. The Rogers Park artistic community seems to have been ignored; many did not know about the project until it was already a done deal, and then it simply announced as a fait acccompli. So, regardless of the art itself, it is the process by DevCorp that is in question. Keep in mind that this is just one more instance of DevCorp (and the alderman's office) announcing that something has been done without any community input. But I digress. I want to get your side of the story. I sincerely hope you will accept the invitation to present the CPAG story and position to about 400+ readers daily at Rogers Park Bench (http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com). Sincere thanks and kind regards, Tom Mannis

I Hate to Say I Told You So...

... but I did, back on June 15, before the Artists of the Wall weekend. RPB showed photos of the wall, which had been poorly prepped for painters who paid their $30.

The photos shown here were taken today, just a couple of weeks after the event. Already, the wall is peeling.

Instead of sandblasting the wall as was done in some previous years, a bad coat of white paint was slathered over the badly peeling layers of accumulated paint.

Now, the peeling is starting all over again. The people who paid for the pleasure of painting the wall at Loyola Park Beach were, I maintain, ripped off.

The wall will be peeling pretty good in the near future. Will it last past January?

Does This Mural Have a Warranty?

The pre-fabricated mural started being glued onto the west side of the CTA Red Line overpass on Morse Avenue on Monday, June 25. This morning (Friday), the artists were gluing up the final strips. Less than a week later, the mural is bubbling, peeling and has portions that are not evenly applied.

The top-left photo was taken on Monday, June 25 at 12:49 p.m. The top-right photo was taken at 4:16 p.m. on Thursday, June 28.

The second photo on the right was taken at 10:29 p.m. on Thursday, June 28. Already, a large strip was peeling way back and flapping in the wind. Even as the artists were "finishing" their work on Friday morning, the piece continued to flap in the breeze.

Meanwhile, other sections of the mural have been applied over cracks, bumps and leaking water in the crumbling concrete CTA overpass. Other portions have strips that are applied asymmetrically.

Old stains from the filthy water that has leaked through the crumbling structure for years have not been taken care of. What effect will this leaking water have on the integrity of the prefab mural strips?

Clarified Clarification (the Damned Mural)

Marcy Sperry is a fantastic writer. Her blog concentrates on the artistic community and the business of being an artist. It's a good read, and she is a thoughtful writer. I am about to criticize something she wrote yesterday. This is not meant as a criticism of her personally.

Yesterday, Marcy wrote wrote this, in part, in a post she titled "Clarification":

I wanted to clarify that when I wrote yesterday that I was tired of hearing about murals and "beautification," I didn't mean to suggest that murals cannot have significant political power and meaning beyond being merely decorative. There is of course a long history of murals as an important public form of social and political commentary. Look at yesterday's post by Lee Bey on a mural's power (also note one of the artists she mentions who did the renovation in 2003). My larger point was that when the topic of art as a revitalizing force in the neighborhood does bother to get brought up into public discussion, it always seems to be only in these nearsighted "art makes pretty" terms. I'm suggesting that we can broaden those terms.

Marcy makes good points, but they miss the mark as to why the mural is controversial. The reference to Lee Bey's fine piece is completely irrelevant to the DevCorp selection process and DevCorp's obligations to Rogers Park's artists and other business people. The point of my objection - shared by others - is not the aesthetic quality of the art. It is the way in which the artists, from outside of Rogers Park, were chosen. As I've said repeatedly, there is no quarrel with the artists. They were offered work and they accepted it. No crime, no foul on their part. However...

The fact that these are NOT local artists IS the point, and demonstrates the hypocrisy of DevCorp and Ald. Moore. This, in turn, is symptomatic of a larger syndrome of grafting their vision onto the neighborhood, public input be damned. When a DevCorp guy insisted to me that these were "local artists," in spite of my being told by one of the artist partners that they are from Bronzeville/Hyde Park, he was lying. Yes, lying.

We could look at each issue that way, I suppose, and say, "Well, that contractor had to shuck out ten grand in contributions to get the permits, but hey, that's the wrong thing to emphasize, let's look at the bigger picture." But in doing that you miss the bigger picture. Every jigsaw puzzle is made up of many pieces. Ignore one and you cannot complete the puzzle.

Marcy Sperry continued:

To clarify even more, I don't want the community to throw this artist under the bus because some do not like the way DevCorp North does their business. That's not his problem. I welcome his art with open arms. To echo another, muralgate, finis! (...uh, I can hope, can't I?).

Nobody is throwing "this artist" under the bus (it's actually two artists; a husband-wife team). Again, this "clarification" misses the entire point of the snubbing of a good portion of the Rogers Park business community: Artists. Which portion of the Rogers Park business community is next?

Ceramicists Wanted: Eidolon Art Studio

Eidolon Art Studio, at N. Glenwood and W. Lunt in Rogers Park, is looking for a few good ceramicists. For details call 773-3831-5462. Click picture below to see larger image.

Artists Screwed at the Wall Festival, Rogers Park

2007 Artists Screwed at the Wall Festival 14th Annual Rogers Park Event June 16th & 17th Theme: “Crappy Paint Job"

Are you painting the cement bench at Loyola Beach Park? Did you pay $30.00 to paint over a nice fresh stretch of concrete? You did? The Loyola Park Advisory Council, LPAC took your money, but what are you getting in return?

You're getting a crappy, peeling, dirty wall on which to paint your artwork. You've been screwed, neighbor.

In years past, the wall has been sandblasted clean of layers of old paint. Not this year. RPB photographed the wall at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. The wall was painted over in white paint, and a sloppy job it was, too. The wall has several layers of paint on it, and it is already peeling severely. If you thought you were going to get a clean slate to paint on this weekend, you are in for a rude surprise.

Thanks for nothing, LPAC!