MUSIC CONNECTION - JULY 2009

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website/printed magazine. Originally in the July 2009 issue of MUSIC CONNECTION - see www.musicconnection.com for the original archive.]


"The Mojdeh Project: Boundary-pushing players that appeal to a young crowd weary of the alt-pop scene."

by Rob Putnam

The Mojdeh Project
Elbo Room
Chicago, IL


Material: The Mojdeh Project’s stock in trade is folkcore, although it sometimes verges on avant-garde and channels small measures of Björk and art rock. In short, lyrics are what drive this band. Standouts include “The Gateway,” poetically,the band’s strongest song, the percussion-fronted “Poetry,” and “Life Is,” a song that asserts that life is hard when you’re human.

Musicianship: All members of the trio like to push the boundaries and get fairly experimental in their choice of instruments –– found objects, some of them –– and how they’re mic’d. Mojdeh Stoakley shows versatility by playing bass, guitar and improvised instruments such as a propane tank. Drummer Brian Brennan sometimes plays using his hands and at other times employs a djembe, to interesting effect.

Performance: Stoakley joked and engaged in light banter between songs, which was a sharp contrast to the Mojdeh Project’s typically serious, more contemplative lyrics. During the song “Poetry” she battered a propane tank with drumsticks, making her musical points so strongly that she broke one of the sticks. Her vocals were often throaty and somber. Sakhnovski also tapped a thick spring that lent the song a haunting quality. The band’s 10-song set flowed smoothly and the song order was well chosen.

Summary: This ensemble represents a different kind of sound. Their genre and lyrics will likely appeal to a younger crowd that is perhaps weary of pop or alternative. They’re all competent musicians and the band is working hard to get its name out. These artists have done their homework and are headed in their own direction. Fans of folkcore, or anyone just looking for something new, might do well to check them out.

[see original image archive of the article below]



www.themojdehproject.com
www.lethalpoetry.com

EXTRAnews.NET - April 2009

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website/printed magazine. Originally in the APRIL 2009 issue of EXTRA NEWS - see www.extranews.net for the original archive.]
Opportunity to Make Global Connections
The 2nd Annual Global Activism Expo takes place

by Adriana Gallardo

Chicago Public Radio's, Worldview has transformed a weekly segment on their daily show into one of the largest gatherings of international activism in Chicago.

On April 25, over 100 local Global Activists will come together at the second annual expo hosted at Northeastern Illinois University.

For the last six years, the Global Activism series, which airs every Thursday at noon, has highlighted the exceptional initiative of locals taking on issues outside our borders such as access to medical treatment, women's global education, the development of fair trade markets and after-school programs in developing countries.

Jerome McDonnell, host of Worldview and the expo encourages those who are not involved in global activism to join the expo and discover the individuals behind the projects presented on the show.

"People always tell me that the Global Activists inspire them to think they can make a difference too, anybody who comes will see it's actually people just like them that are overcoming some of the world's greatest challenges," McDonnell said.

The projects featured on Worldview move beyond the targeted relief programs that most are familiar with. Dozens of organizations working in Latin America that have been featured over the years include: medical work with rural communities in Bolivia, hospices and orphanages in Haiti, leprosy clinics in Equator and vocational opportunities for the deaf in Nicaragua.

Aasia Mohammad, U.S. Coordinator for the Chiapas Media Project participated in the first Global Activism expo and found that the gathering allowed her to connect with fellow activist in new ways.

"I am looking forward to coming back. I appreciate the opportunity to request and add friends in the organizing community without the Internet. The Global Activism expo is a colorful way to link our energies for creating a stronger social fabric," Mohammad said.

The expo will feature local food vendors from authentic ethnic restaurants and a performance curated by Lethal Poetry, Inc.

"Working with Chicago Public Radio and Worldview is a blessing - it's rare to work with a media source that so consistently tries to service the community through its programming. This is important to us because Lethal Poetry is a mission-based company," added Mojdeh, president and curator for the local arts and entertainment company.

In the theme of Global Activism, Mojdeh focused the lineup at the expo to include Chicago artist and musicians who are either activists through their music or represent global communities in the city. Some of the featured acts are Guerra Freitas (Angolan music), Son Del Viento (Son Jarocho music), Rebel Root Music (Reggae music) and Ogundamasa (Afro-Cuban music).

McDonnell sees the expo as a rallying point for the Chicago community and an extension of what media can do for people.

"It reminds us of the power of broadcasting to make a contribution to people lives here and around the world," he said.

Discussion groups and presentations by the Global Activist will also be held in the classrooms at Northeastern University.

Adriana Gallardo works as a production assistant for Worldview, which airs on 91.5 fm WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio, Monday through Friday at 12 p.m.; Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m.

Global Activism Expo 2009
Northeastern University: Sports Complex
April 25
Noon to 6 p.m.
chicagopublicradio.org/expo

Editorial
by Adriana Gallardo

[see original image archive of the article below]

www.lethalpoetry.com

IndieFeed : Performance Poetry - March 2009

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted March 2009 on the IndieFeed website (as a part of a pod cast series on performance poetry) - click here for original post. Please be aware that online articles and posts do expire on occasion]

Gregory Pickett - Ain't Nobody Hiring Poets



Show Number 522.

Contact Mongo, your show host!

Check out The IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel at iTunes and 1-click auto-subscribe

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN! AND DOWNLOAD!!

www.lethalpoetry.com

MEDILL REPORTS CHICAGO - MARCH 2009

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted March 5, 2009 on the Medill Reports Chicago (via Northwestern University) - click here for original post. Please be aware that online articles and posts do expire on occasion]






Pickett jokingly posed for this picture several years ago. He now books poetry gigs from a Chicago homeless shelter.

Will perform poetry for food

by Victoria Fine
March 05, 2009

Poet Gregory Pickett started the new year at a homeless shelter in Wrigleyville. But losing his job, his apartment, and spending a brief stint sleeping on el trains has had an odd side-benefit, Pickett says. His poetry is getting better, and he's finally finding some of the success he's sought for the last 10 years.

Listen to the audio to hear Pickett's story.

(Music courtesy of Incompetech)

CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO LISTEN TO GREGORY'S INTERVIEW!

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=119947

www.lethalpoetry.com

VOCALO.ORG LIVE RADIO INTERVIEW - FEB 2009

The following is an archive of the radio interview with Fyodor & Mojdeh of THE MOJDEH PROJECT. The two perform a duet live & Mojdeh performs "E-Motion" live as well. The band has the joy of being interviewed by Vocalo's very own Luis!




www.lethalpoetry.com

CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS - MARCH 2007

The following is an archive of the radio interview with Gregory Pickett (as a winner of Fall 2006 virtual poetry slam). The interview has been separated into 8 parts. We cannot embed the audio player (see jpeg below) into our archive. So when you go to this website and scroll down to the player - jog forward all the way to section seven! That's Gregory's part of the interview. He performs his winning poem "A Breath of Fresh Air" in section eight!!


this is not the actual player, go to http://www.globalsolutions.org/partners/mar-apr2007 and scroll down until you see this player!

View the original video submission that won Gregory 2nd place at the Global Solutions Virtual Poetry Slam of 2006.

ChiGround TV - December 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted December 2008 - This is an interview of Gregory Pickett - the embedded video below will be embedded as long as it is active from it's original source.]




[see original screen shot archive of video below]




www.lethalpoetry.com

CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS - JUNE 2007

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. This is an article that features Gregory Pickett in June 2007 on www.globalsolutions.org - click here for the original post. Please note that some articles/posts online do expire.]

Cutting Edge Ways to End Torture

Over the last six months, Citizens for Global Solutions has been working on a campaign to end torture in response to the “enhanced interrogation” strategies employed by the Bush administration that directly violate the Geneva Conventions. These officially sanctioned policies have enabled the CIA to act with impunity in the kidnapping and rendering of suspected enemy combatants to foreign regimes where they have been tortured. This practice has had disastrous consequences for our country’s global reputation, alienating our allies and radicalizing our enemies.

We are at a critical juncture in our history. We need effective action and cooperation on an array of global challenges that confront us. The necessary solutions to meet these challenges must be mirrored by a recommitment to the values that our country has always championed, including freedom from torture.

Our “End Torture Campaign” began with an interactive petition website. The petition urges Congress to create an Independent Bipartisan Commission on Torture and Interrogation Policy. The campaign has proven to be a perfect platform for multiple outreach strategies.

These strategies have allowed us to employ a broad range of tactics including community events, multimedia, social networking and spoken word. Capitalizing on the astonishing momentum of our inaugural Virtual Poetry Slam Contest 2006, we decided to launch another online event around the issue of torture, as well as our first live poetry slam showcase.

Last year’s contest shone a light into a vibrant, informed activist community both in D.C. and across America. The issue of torture and human rights resonates strongly with spoken word artists.

We recently coordinated a live event at Busboys and Poets - an established Washington, D.C. café and bookshop. It caters to a progressive, socially conscious clientele. The showcase, which ran over the course of an evening and included more than a dozen spoken word artists of all ages, was a huge success and demonstrated once again the resonance of our vision and mission and its appeal to multiple audiences.

Among the performers was Gregory Pickett, who captured second place in the 2006 Virtual Poetry Slam. His powerful poem, entitled “It is the Screaming…” was a masterful take on U.S. interrogation policy and torture, and established an early momentum which continued throughout the evening. Other poets included Eric Farrell, winner of Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam; Laila Shareen, an Egyptian-American poet, currently Multimedia and Publications Editor at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies; Tim’m West, a critically acclaimed author, poet and scholar; and members of the D.C. Guerilla Poetry Insurgency – a collaborative, pro-humanity artists’ collective incorporating music, rhythm and spoken word.

From start to finish, the evening was a politically charged, high energy event that reflected the passion of the performers and the power of the medium. Encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd that filled the room, artists drew upon the energy of the audience as they delivered their impassioned soliloquies calling for a return to the path of human rights and freedom from torture.

Meanwhile, the 2007 online competition grew in strength from last year, garnering 5,500 new registrants. It allowed for the words of engaged citizens to filter into the foreign policy debate. The online contest was won by Tim’m West, with Gregory Pickett once again taking second place. Third prize went to newcomer Lucia Misch of San Jose, California.

At Citizens for Global Solutions, we have pushed the envelope over the past few years to pioneer cutting edge outreach tactics to integrate into our program and advocacy areas. The End Torture Campaign has proven to be an extremely effective tool in this area. Rooted deeply in the foundations of the social justice movement, performance poetry has demonstrated its malleability when used to reach diverse audiences on issues from the environment to human rights.

The success of the showcase at the local level, and the virtual poetry slam across our country, also reflects the need to connect global issues to local concerns. The poetry slam showcase was a local contribution in a broad effort to reshape our foreign policy in a way that can recommit our country to human rights and the rule of law. Using this event as the catalyst for similar outreach efforts across America, we can continue to build a formidable activist core around torture and U.S. interrogation policy, and our broader organizational vision.


www.lethalpoetry.com

VOCALO.ORG LIVE RADIO INTERVIEWS - August 2008

The following is an archive of the radio interview of Mojdeh (President, Lethal Poetry Inc) & Tristan (President, Salvo NFP) in anticipation of ART ON TRACK 2008. The interview has been separated into three parts for archival and streaming purposes.


Click on the links to listen:

Part 1: Introduction. You will learn the basic facts about ART ON TRACK such as what will happen on the train and Who's art will be represented on the train

Art On Track Interview on Vocalo.org Part 1

Part 2: You will learn how ART ON TRACK got started, find out how does one rent a CTA train car and hear an interview with Quennect 4 - an art gallery participating in ART ON TRACK

Art On Track Interview on Vocalo.org Part 2

Part 3: More on what awaits you on the train, how you get in, what's inside the train cars + an interview with Flat Iron Gallery - a participating gallery on ART ON TRACK.
In conclusion we discuss our aims to win a Guinness Book Award for the LARGEST MOBILE EXHIBITION!!!

Art On Track Interview on Vocalo.org Part 3

Vocalo's Jesse and Chantelle interview executive organizers of ART ON TRACK

www.lethalpoetry.com

TIME OUT CHICAGO - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Ideals on wheels

Art on Track curates an El of a show.

By Lauren Weinberg

OFFICE FACE Don’t be fooled by the suits: Stoakley, left, and Hummel, right, hope their entrepreneurial skills will help local artists.

Photo: Liberty Harring

Even the most jaded CTA riders may be shocked when an art gallery rolls into the Adams/Wabash El stop on Saturday 30. “Art on Track” will fill an entire Orange Line train with work by emerging local artists. As the eight-car train circles the Loop from 6–10pm—skipping most of its usual route to Midway—its curators hope the project introduces a new audience to the Chicago art world.

Tristan Hummel, 21, a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, came up with the idea for “Art on Track” three years ago. After reading an interview with a director who rented an El train for a film, he learned that anyone can charter a train (except during rush hours) for a fee of $1,200 or more, depending on the size of the event. Hummel won’t say how much “Art on Track” cost. “It’s not as bad as you’d think, but I had to take out a sizable personal loan from the bank,” he admits.

The CTA readily gave Hummel permission to rent a train in order to fill it with art—once he agreed to show works that would be appropriate for all audiences. “Art on Track” faces other unusual constraints, since it can only display pieces that won’t pose a safety hazard on a moving train. Participating artists are making creative use of suction cups and Velcro, and Hummel explains that none of the art is very heavy: “A lot of it is prints.” Everything will be for sale, but collectors must pick up their purchases after the mobile show ends because a Chicago Transit Board ordinance prohibits the sale of merchandise on board.

Hummel coordinated “Art on Track” through Salvo, an arts and entertainment company he founded last fall, and his classmate Scott Footer collaborated on the early stages of the project. (Footer left this summer to pursue his own artwork.) During the last several months, Salvo has received curatorial assistance from Lethal Poetry, a local arts-management company that specializes in socially responsible projects. Cofounder Mojdeh Stoakley, 21, a recent SAIC alum, says she found many of the featured artists through her alma mater.

Six of the eight “Art on Track” train cars will highlight artists from the Colibri Studio Gallery in Pilsen; the Flat Iron Artists’ Association based in Wicker Park’s Flat Iron Arts Building; Quennect 4, a multiuse art space in Humboldt Park; the North Side’s Peter Jones Studio/Gallery; and the Silver Room, a Wicker Park jewelry boutique. The other two cars, one of which was curated by SAIC student Becky Pfluger and the other by Hummel, present young, local artists not affiliated with any galleries or organizations. Hummel notes, however, that Aldo Castillo submitted an installation from his gallery: Cuban-born artist Antuan’s Izquierda o Derecha. Don’t take out your frustrations on this set of red punching bags, suspended from the ceiling, which are printed with the faces of politicians such as President George W. Bush and Senators Barack Obama and John McCain: Volunteers will ride in each car to discuss the art on board and “ensure its safety.”

Stoakley acknowledges that “Art on Track” is a “stunt”; Salvo and Lethal Poetry were founded on the premise that advertising and marketing techniques can be turned to artists’ advantage. Despite her youth—and her colleagues’—Stoakley insists, “[We have] a lot of power to be entrepreneurs, to create a new path or community for artists if we want.”

Admission to “Art on Track” is $5; patrons’ CTA fares will be waived.

[see original screen shot archive below]


www.lethalpoetry.com
www.themojdehproject.com

UR CHICAGO - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Moving Art

---

For one night this weekend, the CTA is getting a creative makeover

by Diana Bae



It was an article in the Red Eye that inspired Tristan Hummel to work on a unique location for an art exhibition. The newspaper piece was a story about odd things to do with your money in Chicago. “One of those things was to rent a CTA train to host a party,” says Mojdeh Stoakley, Hummel’s business partner. “He thought, ‘Why not an art exhibition?’”

That idea, which struck a couple years ago, is finally coming to fruition. Stoakley, the 21-year-old CEO of Lethal Poetry, has partnered with Hummel, also 21 and CEO of Salvo, for “Art on Track.” For one night only, an eight-car orange line CTA train will turn into a moving art exhibition -- and Stoakley hopes it will earn a Guinness World Record as the largest mobile art exhibition. There will be five galleries as well as the works of 200 independent artists. Along with the visual arts, theater groups and a puppetry group will be present as the train rolls through the Loop on the elevated tracks. The $5 entrance fee for the event is also the ticket into the “Art on Track” afterparty at the Joynt, as well as a free drink.

For Stoakley and Hummel, who met as students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, “Art on Track” is a way to showcase the city. Rather than having people leave the Windy City, she and Hummel “want Chicago to be the destination for artists to build their careers. The city’s already halfway there,” Stoakley says. But the city still needs a “rise in the independent gallery world and a lot of community participation.” All artists that will show their work on the train are local talents.

The exhibition is also a way to change people’s perspectives of their surroundings. “The idea is to re-appropriate the expectations of how one views art: to challenge the artists into thinking about how to create their art for this environment,” Stoakley says. The train also lets “both the normal art-goers and non-art-goers to have access to work that’s been created.”

For the future, Stoakley says she would love to continue this event: “If we get an incredible response, then we can prove to the City of Chicago and the CTA that a bunch of youth can really get it done.”

”Art on Track” will take place Saturday, Aug. 30 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Entrance to the train is at the Adams and Wabash El platform.

[see original screen shot archive of article below]


www.lethalpoetry.com

VENUS ZINE - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 29, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature spotlight of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]


photo by Liz Gadhela

All aboard Art on Track: Interactive art exhibition takes over Chicago train

By Aynsley Karps
Published: September 4th, 2008 | 2:20pm

“This train is not in service," the Chicago Transit Authority announcer declared over the intercom. "At the Randolph and Wabash stop, you may get out and change cars." The excited chatter inside the crowded train heightened, and people began inching closer toward the doors. Soon it was like a game of musical chairs, with people dashing out and scrambling to one of the other seven cars before the doors closed.

Photo by Leonard Moody III

Art on Track was responsible for CTA riders’ unusually high spirits on Saturday, August 30. The interactive display, which its Web site claims is the world’s largest mobile arts exhibition, transformed an eight-car Orange line train from 6 to 10 p.m. that night. More than 900 people paid the $5 fee to circle the Loop in the art train. The event was put on by Salvo, a group of young Chicago artists, and Lethal Poetry, an arts and entertainment promotions label.

photo by Leonard Moody III

Each car showcased local galleries and independent artists. Some cars were themed, like one that covered the seating area with plywood to create a raised grassy construction with flowers wrapped around poles and drawings of bulldozers on the windows. A couple of other cars featured a collection of hanging prints for viewers to admire. But for the most part, cars incorporated both the still and interactive aspects of art. From performing musical ensembles to a puppet show to punching bags with photos of Obama and McCain on them, each car was fun, engaging, and conversational — let alone completely different from the next.

Mojdeh Stoakley, CEO and curator of Lethal Poetry, was happy with the exhibition’s outcome. “It was excellent,” she said. “I ended up being like the mom of a 4-year-old instead of my 21-year-old self. I was just so proud of everyone involved. I’ve never seen a bunch of young people work so hard. We really pulled it off.”

photo by Aynsley Karps

Salvo founder Tristan Hummel first came up with the idea of converting an El train into an art gallery when reading an article on ways to spend money in Chicago. The article suggested renting out a CTA train for a party.

Stoakley says the exhibition served a dual purpose. “We want to get the message across that youth can get something like this off the ground,” she said. “A train is so accessible and such a part of our everyday lives, so we wanted to make art accessible too.”

In fact, anyone interested in buying a piece of featured artwork was given the contact information for the artist or gallery. “There were no price tags on the train,” Stoakley said. “We didn’t want to perpetuate what happens in a regular gallery.”

photo by Aynsley Karps

Stoakley and fellow co-workers set up a promotional campaign that included media partner WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. While they were successful at appealing to the targeted college-aged, “alternative-thinking” crowd by arranging various digital and event promotions, people of all ages still turned up Saturday night.

As for the possible return of Art on Track, Stoakley says they’re hoping to make it an annual event, perhaps moving the date to October next year as a part of Chicago Artists Month.

In the meantime, El patrons may find the Orange line a little less colorful.

—

To learn more about Art on Track and its featured artists and galleries, check out chicagoartontrack.com. To learn more about Lethal Poetry, check out lethalpoetry.com.

[see original screen shot archive below]


www.lethalpoetry.com

RED EYE - CTA Blog

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 29, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]



Art on Track Event: You Going?

Posted Aug. 28 at 8:15 a.m.

Want to check out something positive on public transit? How about some exciting artowrk on the "L"? If the answer is yes to both, you're in luck. This weekend, some very passionate locals rented an "L" train and will turn it into an 8-car art exhibit on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Participating galleries include: The Flat Iron Artists Group, The Silver Room, Colibri Studio Gallery, Peter Jones Studio/Gallery and Quennect 4, according to a release sent over by the event organizers.

Sounds like a great time, so if you want to go, it's $5 (fare waived) and participants should meet at the Wabash/Adams entrance for a ride around the Loop from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. You can pre-purchase your tix at chicagoartontrack.com, where you also will find more deets.

Let's just hope the CTA gets the train there on time. Ba dum dum!

[see original screen shot archive below]

www.lethalpoetry.com

The Chicagoist - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 29, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Ideas in Motion: Art on Track

When local arts advocates Salvo and Lethal Poetry, Inc. found a way to convert an 8-car CTA train into a bonafide arts space, Art on Track was born. After lots of toiling and planning, Salvo and LP are putting the fruits of their labor on display as Art on Track takes to the Orange line tomorrow night from 6pm to 10pm.

If this sounds like your kind of thing, hop on at the Adams and Wabash El platform and spend a little time taking in some of the finest works from the Flat Iron Artist Group, Peter Jones Gallery, The Silver Room Gallery, Colibri Studio/Gallery, and Quenect 4 Gallery. But this isn’t just some rinky-dink peek-a-boo kind of art show: three staff members will be aboard each car, sharing info on the artists / displays and making sure the art stays in place.

The train will circle the Loop for four hours, but the four designated stops on the ride mean you can basically come and go as you please. The event costs $5; pay at the door or buy your tickets online.

[view original screen shot archive below]

The Decider - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 30, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Transit: Moving pictures

"Art on Track" exhibit brings art to mass transit

Patrick

by Steve Gillies August 30, 2008

It’s common to wait and wait for a train in the Loop, only to find that when it finally arrives, it’s the wrong train. But it’s not every day that the wrong train is actually an art exhibit.

On Saturday, Aug. 30, artist groups Salvo and Lethal Poetry will convert an eight-car Orange Line train into the Art On Track exhibit, a mobile art gallery, circling the Loop from 6-10 p.m. from its starting point at the Wabash/Adams stop. The Flat Iron Project (an artists group) will curate two cars, while the Quennect 4 Gallery, the Peter Jones Gallery, the Colibri Studio and the Silver Room will each curate a train car. Two cars of work by independent artists will also be displayed. The organizers are applying for a Guinness World Records award for the first and largest mobile art gallery, in terms of square footage and number of miles traveled.

But what does this art say about the human condition and the CTA? Will people get the metaphor of using public transportation to bring art out into the public? What separates the art on display from the art carved into the train windows or the graffiti on the walls and chairs? And if there’s a mechanical failure, will the works of art make the wait any smoother? Art provokes such meaningful questions.

[see the original screen shot archive below]

www.lethalpoetry.com

NINEninetyFOUR.org - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 26, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Art on the move

The el is not just for Santa and his elves anymore. Now you can see art on a CTA train. This Saturday, August 30, you will have the cance to ride the orange line around the loop while viewing a mobile art gallery. An eight car CTA train will be rollin' around the loop from 6pm-10pm carrying art from various galleries and independent artists around town.

Visiting the train will cost you $5, and you can board at the Adams/Wabash stop. There will be staff aboard each train to discuss the art with you, if you lik. De-Railed, the official after-party for Art On Track, will follow at 11pm at The Joynt (650 N Dearborn).

I'm a big geek for the el, and naturally I love art, especially art presented in non-traditional atmospheres. Sadly, I will be unable to attend, as I will be out of town, but if anyone checks it out, I'd love to hear about it and see photos!

[see original screen shot archive below]


www.lethalpoetry.com

CTA Tattler - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 20, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Saturday's rolling art gallery: Chicago Art on Track

An Orange Line train circling the Loop Saturday will cost you $5 to ride -- but you get to view some great art during Salvo's debut event Art on Track. According to the Positive Space blog, Art on Track is produced by Salvo, a group of young Chicago artist and designers, dedicated to the empowerment of the visual arts.

You can board the eight-car train from 6 till 10 pm at Adams and Wabash, Randolph and Wabash, Quincy and Wells, and Washington and Wells. Check it out. (Hat tip to Gapers Block.)

Red Line over the top again. Yes folks, if we want that subway slow zone fixed, we have to endure weekend subway shutdowns. And so it is this weekend, from 9 pm Friday till 7 pm Sunday. Also, a note to Red Line motormen/women -- the average tourist and occasional weekend El rider really doesn't know what "going over the top" means. So please explain a little better what exactly is going on.

Have a great holiday weekend.

[see original screen shot archive below]

EDGEchicago - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 20, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Art on Track
by Scott Stiffler
EDGE Contributor
Wednesday Aug 20, 2008


Art on Track producers Mojdeh Stoakley (left) Tristan Hummel (right)

For those trying to make their living as artists, creating brilliant work is just the beginning. From there, it’s an endless loop of seeking representation, securing a gallery show and getting the work sold. It’s no wonder that artists, like workaday commuters, often feel as if they’re going around in circles. One brave new creative collective has come up with a unique way to turn that circular shape from a source of frustration into a celebration of creativity.

On August 30, Art on Track (www.chicagoartontrack.com) will turn eight CTA orange line train cars into a moving gallery. Paintings, photographs, video stills and uncategorizables will hang by wires strung from the length of the train and secured by industrial suction cups stuck to the walls and ceiling.

Patrons will be able to reach out and touch some of the work (such as punching bags hung from the ceiling containing the faces of some public figures you’ll surely want to slug). One car will be dedicated to a performance piece that uses rainy day craft materials to continually construct and deconstruct a visual representation Chicago’s best-known landmarks and historical events.

The special charter train that contains Art on Track will circle the loop from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, on August 30. To hitch a ride, enter at the Adams and Wabash L platforms (handicap entrance at Washington and Wells). The cost is $5; but those drawn to a particular work can further express their support for the arts by securing a promissory note that allows them to purchase it at a later date.

This unusual triangulation of art, commerce and transportation is meant to provide artists with "a means to exhibit their work unconventionally" while "redefining the public’s role in the arts irreversibly." That’s just one of the provocative promises from Salvo, a think tank of artists whose inaugural project seeks to bridge "the gap between the broader public body and the artistic community." To do so, they’ve chosen to display their art in that most democratic form of travel known as public transportation.

The work on display comes from emerging artists represented by members of Salvo as well as the Aldo Castillo Contemporary Gallery, Flatiron artists group, Quennect 4, The Silver Room, The Colibri Gallery and The Peter Jones Gallery.

By showcasing their work in this unconventional manner, Salvo hopes to "create a new market for the arts. We want to get people used to seeing art in their everyday lives. Once it becomes almost too convenient, it will start to be integrated more fully." That’s the goal of Salvo’s Tristan Hummel (creator and executive producer of Art on Track). Hummel envisions a day where the antiquated gallery system is supplemented by technology that makes art mobile -- so "you’ll see people looking at a Monet or van Gogh the way people listen to songs on their iPod."

Art on Track is the starting point of such an effort: "We tried to find a very public space in which people could make the logical leap from the gallery. The train has this museum quality to it." But unlike the traditional gallery or museum, "We have a very exposed, very raw space. As the train sways, people will grab onto poles and pull themselves closer into the art work; they’ll have to be mindful of it."

Hummel indicates that Art on Track will become an annual event whose second incarnation will "represent more of the Chicago neighborhoods, artists, galleries and communities." One surefire way to ensure the return of a good idea is to throw a lively after party once the train executes its final loop at 10 p.m. Hummel invites Art on Track patrons, and art lovers in general, to the downtown bar The Joynt 650 N. Dearborn. From at 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. you can meet and greet the participating artists and Salvo think tankers -- while getting tanked. It’ll be a fitting end to Art on Track’s noble goal of "providing alternative means to present art while increasing the market for those arts."

[see original screen shot archive below]

The Chicago Traveler - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 29, 2008 - This is an excerpt of the Labor Day Weekend Highlights Feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009.]


"...You've never had a train ride like this. An eight-car Orange Line train is transformed into a mobile art exhibit for Art on Track. View Works by Local Artists as the train circles around the loop. (Aug 30)..."

original screen shot below:



www.lethalpoetry.com

Idea Waitress - August 2008

[Disclaimer: The following is an archive of content that was originally on another website. Originally posted August 24, 2008 - This is an excerpt of a feature in anticipation of Art On Track 2009. - to visit the original post click here. Please be aware that some press/posts do expire.]

Art On Track: CTA as visual art gallery August 24, 2008

As every aspiring visual artist knows, creating the work of art is only one part of actually making a living as an artist. Getting the art in front of potential buyers is sometimes the more difficult part. A local Chicago artist collective is taking matter into its own hands in a very bold way: bringing art to the public by chartering an eight-car CTA train for a one-night traveling show on August 30. For the lowly price of $5, patrons will be able to actually touch at least some of the art and view a performance piece involving representation of Chicago’s famous landmarks and history. The presenters are Salvo, which describes itself as a “think tank” of artists, and Lethal Poetry, a Chicago-based arts and entertainment start-up. I love this idea and wish I were going to be in town so I could attend! It’s a creative and very affordable way to show how art can be part of everyday life instead of something one sees only in a museum or an art gallery — settings that some people find intimidating, uncomfortable or otherwise unengaging. Participating galleries include The Flat Iron Artist Group, Peter Jones Gallery, The Silver Room Gallery, Colibri Studio/Gallery and Quenect 4 Gallery, as well as independent Chicago artists. Full details available at Art on Track.

[see original screen shot archive below]