Pecha Kucha Presentation

Here is the promised presentation from the Pecha Kucha Kreuzberg special. I haven't actually reviewed it myself, because, as a human being, I detest the sound of my voice and the quality of my content. The presentation's format, like the JCP itself, is defined by interesting restrictions. Presenters are asked to supply 20 images and may speak about each slide for 20 seconds only.

This saves bad presentations from going on forever and leads you to wanting to know more about subjects that were engaging. JCP artist Anna Krenz was one of the co-curators of the evening.

Click here to watch/listen.

LA Record + Reception + Brady's Head

[Brady = neo-Noir]

Last night's opening of the JCP LA was a riot. It was all good fun, until one artist [or, rather, one artist's girlfriend] decided it was not only appropriate, but tolerable, to flip over part of the piece and light a firecracker in the gallery.

We have some video of the fallout, and Brady will tell the whole story real soon.

Speaking of Brady, LA Record just ran an interview with Brady and insisted on shooting a photo of him. Above is the photo. Here is the write-up, which is probably the clearest description of what's been going on + a little of the Orphanage ----> Found's backstory.

Happy 5th + Meet Your LA Artists

The last 2 days, we've been installing at Found, forgoing some of the holiday weekend festivities to ensure the LA show will be a thought provoking one. So, here are your 24 LA artists.

[again, in no such particular order]

Joe Wall
Grace Oh
Lisa Adams
Amy Kaps
Marissa Underwood
Ashley Tibbits
Michelle Liu
Leora Lutz
Liz Acosta
Britt Ehringer
Renée Martin
Gretchen Rollins
Michael Hayden
Kim Bagwill [2nd time]
Milo Martin
Dominic Quagliozzi
AnnCharlotte Tavolacci
Saul Gray Hildenbrand
Paul Pescador
M.M.
Joe Merrell
Alexandra Wetzel

Joint Custody LA Opens Tomorrow

After a month of apathy, anxiety, anticipation, and anthropomorphistic dabblings, we're pleased to announce that Joint Custody Project: Los Angeles opens tomorrow – July 5. Join us for the opening reception at Found Gallery from 6-9pm. After party at the Hyperion Tavern.

The last four weeks have brought us together, and pushed us apart. Some of the pieces have been reinvented from the ground up. The B Collaborators took this, their final pass, as an opportunity to make some extremely bold (if much belated) moves. To the A Collaborators who spent the last two weeks whining about how little their partner had been contributing – watch out. You might not recognize your piece. At all.

Out of the 11 pieces in the show, four of them hang from the ceiling. There were seven canvases at the beginning of June - only four remain – and only two of those four escaped the spectre of the knife, the needle, or the gun. We have nudity, sex, gambling, addiction, and yes – doubling. Doubling of all kinds. The heaviest piece is over 50 pounds. The lightest piece is less than 2 ounces.

22 artists – 11 pieces – 1 night. Will artistic differences trump social decency? If you come to one event at Found this summer – this better be it.

Berlin Reception

We opened the Berlin version of the Joint Custody Project last Friday night. It was a wildly engaging and fun evening, replete with overlapping creative circles getting together for the first time and a general curiosity from the viewers and artists alike. See photos here.


MIDAS TOUCH from Mwebex Radio Fork on Vimeo
[thanks to DJ Nomad + Hunee for playing the reception]

Additionally, we organized a barbeque this past Tuesday with the artists and other folks involved with the success of the project. Here are a couple photos below.
































































More on the individual artists, their thoughts on the pieces, etc. over the next 2 weeks.

LA is installing as we speak. Opens Saturday.

Happy Siebenschlaefer + Meet Your Berlin Artists

Germans celebrate June 27th as their version of a summer Groundhog Day. Today, we also open the Joint Custody Project Berlin. We've decided to finally share the list of 24 excellent artists who have spent the last month toiling, sharing, and arting.

[in no such particular order]

Click on them for more treats
Nomad
Eve Hurford
Sweza
Jules Herrmann
Katja Sonnenwend
Paul Thomas
Sophia Domagala
Kerstin Wagener
Daniel Wang
Sandra Siewert
Klaus W. Eisenlohr
Rigobert Pupacher
Anton Unai
Despina Stokou
Mike Ruiz
Enrico Centonze
El Bocho
Gert-Jan Akerboom
Jessica Gellweiler
Klaas Hübner
Amanda Vietta
Anna Krenz
Kai von Rabenau
Uwe Behrens

JCP Berlin Vernissage // TOMORROW

One of two moments you've been waiting for has finally arrived -- The Joint Custody Project: Berlin opens tomorrow (Friday, 27 June) at Raab Galerie. We spent today installing the pieces, which span from canvasses to multimedia presentations to a floor "carpet." Stay glued to the blog, as we will release the names of the artists a few hours before the reception begins.

(an official invitation to you + yours)

Join us at Raab Galerie [map] from 7-9pm for a night of surprises, introductions, and experimentation in West Berlin as we celebrate the opening of the month-long saga of the Joint Custody Project Berlin. The evening becomes a West-meets-East migration as the celebration continues late into the night at 103 Club [Kreuzberg - map], hosted by Discos Capablanca.

The Joint Custody Project landed in Berlin on the 1st of June. 24 artists from all mediums were selected by curators Jonny Coleman and Chris Cruse, and paired off into 12 teams. Each team was tasked to create a cohesive piece of art -- without exchanging a single word. All the artists were given the same theme -- "You Can Never Go Home Again" -- to think about as they developed their pieces.

Each artist worked, back and forth, on the piece over the last four weeks without any verbal communication or knowledge of his/her partner's identity. Many tears were shed; much joy was shared. These pieces are more than end-products -- they are stories.

Join us on Friday for the exciting conclusion of the pieces, as they are revealed at the Raab Galerie. As an added treat, this will be the first time the artists will have the opportunity to meet. Come have a drink with us, enjoy provocative art, and participate in what will no doubt be the most exciting night of this project. Then stay out late with us...

Los Angeles: Rounds 3, 4 + 5

In the heat of Los Angeles, 22 artists are finally starting to understand what it means to share custody. Only two swaps to go before the opening on July 5, and things are getting real. We've got partners who are playing tricks on one another, partners who refuse to communicate, artists who don't want their name on their piece, artists who want all the credit, and artists who feel like they are pulling all the weight... One thing is certain, however – everyone is nervous/anxious to meet their mate.

Included below are random smatterings from the last three swaps. As usual, you can find more images from Round 3, Round 4 and Round 5 on our Flicker Stream.



















In other news, I witnessed the US beat Barbados 8-0 right here in LA. Made for a boring game – but I did learn that the Barbadan flag features the Maserati logo. I smell some excellent product placement opportunities.


What up Berlin?

Berlin Round 5

[photos by Tania Castellvi]

We are two days out from the final dropoff. Artworks have been changing dramatically, more and more with each round. In this particular round, 2 different artists withheld some major elements [in one case, the entire piece] and delivered brand new work, often to the dismay of their partners.

Again, the last dropoff is Wednesday, and the opening is this Friday. Click the image above to enlarge. Click here to view the whole set from the Found Flickrstream.

No soccer Monday Night --- Pecha Kucha

I am presenting at Pecha Kucha tomorrow evening in Kreuzberg [for Germans, go here] about the Joint Custody Project. The short-form presentation format is active in several cities around the world. Each presenter works under the limitations of presenting 20 images which stay projected for 20 seconds, netting a 6 minute 40 second long discussion on a given subject. Like the JCP itself, the restrictive format is very interesting. I have never been to one of these, though they have taken place in LA at the Mountain Bar.

Also, I am extremely excited to hear from the Chessboxer.

--------

Infos:

Festaal Krezber / Skalitzer Straße 130 / Close to U-Bahnkof Kottbusser Tor

Start 20:20 h / Doors open 19:30 / Entry: Eur 5, -

And here is the list of speakers so far (subject to change):

• Cäthe Pfläging (Amt für Gestaltung / about girls and motorbikes)
• Jonny Coleman (Found Gallery / Joint Custody Project)
• David Selden (writer / The Invisible Kiez)
• Thomas Janze (Producer, director / The Science of Horror)
• Christiane ten Hoevel (artist / Covers of books that still need to be written)
• Nicky Szmala, Raul Krauthausen (SOZIALHELDEN / The Ring-S-Bahn as office, talkshow studio and gameshow environment)
• Stefan Riekeles (Les Jardins des Pilotes / Moosismus - Topologie der Moose)
• Dietmar Post (Regisseur / Entstehung des Films 'The Monks')
• Tanja Dückers (Schriftstellerin / "Reise nach Transnistrien. Bericht aus einem Land, das es nicht gibt")
• 
  
• Frank Stoldt (Policeman, Chessboxer / about the Chessboxing Worldchampionship 2008)