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HOME / MURALS / WRITING / ZEN COWBOY MESQUITE PROJECT / SCULPTURE / GRAPHICS / LEGACY PROJECT Invitation! 2nd World Community Arts Day, February 17 2008 CLICK ABOVE FOR NEW OUTLINE AND HISTORY BELOW IS INFORMATION FROM MY INVOLVEMENT IN LAST YEAR'S WCAD March 27, 2007 This week it seems the "Gulliver" sculpture is in the news again but this time because planning department wants to tear it down. There is an opportunity to protest if you care to submit at this site: http://citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/publicaccess/dc/DcApplication/applica This what I submitted:
I was the lead artist who worked with the Craigmillar festival to
initiate the Gulliver sculpture (see
http://kewolve.com/Communityarts.htm). I worked directly with the
local team of cement finishers for the first week in getting them
started in creating the ground sculpture. My role was purely to inspire
their confidence in being able to do such a monumental piece. They
succeeded beyond my expectations and created not only the sculpture but
community pride in knowing local people could empower their own lives.
Therefore to destroy the sculpture is also the destruction of a moment
in history of the community of Craigmillar. All shall be diminished.
1st WORLD COMMUNITY ARTS DAY was
Feb. 17, 06
March 3, 2007 Madrid's Walk of Fame in temporary location before placed as a path in Sculpture Garden FEBRUARY 17, 2007 --- WORLD COMMUNITY ARTS DAY IN MADRID, NEW MEXICO BEGAN AT NOON--THE THEME WAS PRIMAL---PEOPLE PLAYING IN MUD, OR MORE ACCURATELY, CEMENT. 20 ONE FOOT SQUARES WERE FILLED WITH CEMENT, AND OVER THE NEXT FOUR HOURS PEOPLE DECORATED THEIR OWN SQUARE WITH COLORED SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES, FOUND OBJECTS, THEIR HANDS, SOUL AND SIGNITURES... IT WAS AN HONOR TO BE PART OF A GLOBAL CELEBRATION AND PAY TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF A GREAT MAN, REG BOLTON.
WHEN DRY, THE ONE FOOT SQUARE CEMENT BLOCKS WILL BE PLACED IN FRONT OF THE WINDHORSE ART GALLERY AS MADRID'S WALK OF FAME, AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL CONTINUE EACH YEAR TO EXPAND THE PATH WITH MANY MORE NAMES. |
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ARCHIVES OF PREVIOUS WEEKS December 28, 2006 So far all I have managed to do is get this page together and talk the talk with several local artists and shop keepers in Madrid, New Mexico about the idea of doing something special in the village on February 17th. Ideas thus far: 1. Creating a one day found object sculpture. 2. Painting a mural during a band concert in the local bar. 3. Getting some kind of poster/newsletter together to advertise day and contact local newspapers. 4. Try to get some funding from local community council.
From 1974-1984, I was involved in an arts activist group in Edinburgh, Scotland. Collectively we thought of ourselves as "Community Artists" and ultimately we made social change in the local government by creating a category of arts funding under the title of COMMUNITY ART. I was one of the many people who were responsible for the movement of community arts in Scotland that was further defined as ART IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION which now is taught in universities around the world. Historically, the principal of "community art" is as old as mud, first developed by cave people that went on for centuries before reaching its zenith in the Renaissance. Now, another idea being proposed, is recognition of COMMUNITY ARTS by defining a special day for that movement. You can see what is being proposed originating from Andrew Crummy, and the CRAIGMILLAR FESTIVAL SOCIETY by looking at: http://www.communiversity.org.uk/worldcommunityartsday.htm
MORE HISTORY OF COMMUNITY ART IN SCOTLAND 1977
Mural in Pilton Adventure Playground in 1977 No. 1 Beginning down on the ground. No. 2 Getting up there local Mom watches. No. 3 As far as the mural got, 45 feet up... No. 4 Notice the old milk truck used... One funny story among many of my three years working at the ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND in Pilton, was my young body-guard nick-named "Smego". Usually he contented himself by thumping the other kids into obeying anything I asked of them. If Smego did pick up a brush the normal result was me carefully going back over his "artwork" and disguising what ever obscenity he had scrawled. On the last day of this particular mural I turned around to discover Smego was up 45 feet in the air, standing on the the last rung of the ladder with a brush and can full of paint. Not only was I convinced a very large "F" word would be painted for the world to see, but also terrified Smego would fall. I pleaded for him to come down but he ignored me and carefully began to paint. I gritted my teeth and prepared a plan of action of repainting after I had taken Smego to the hospital or morgue... To my absolute amazement, Smego painted in a two foot perfect five-pointed star with shadows, then carefully came down the ladder without spilling a drop of paint JANUARY 13-19 2007 It has been sentimental to go back and look at photos of the time I spent in Scotland from 1974 to 1984. All of that time was amazing. I have always thought of that period being the real university of my education, where I got the bachelor, masters and doctorate of life-art. Everything I know came from then. Last week a local artist said to me, "It is interesting to see your work evolve over the last few years..." I was somewhat dumbstruck. I said to him, "I hate to tell you this, but everything I have done since I have lived here is repetition." Maybe that is what it is to be an artist. You get to a point where you stop "evolving" and "revolve" meaning that you start polishing old tricks. I don't know. Anyway a blast from the past was looking at the making of the Giant Gulliver in Craigmillar of which Jimmie Boyle somehow got all of the credit he did not disserve. If anyone should get the credit it should be a great man called Jack (I have forgotten his full name and his assistant)... I remember Jack because he took the workshop I led for a week where I designed the head and Jack carried on with his helper for the next several weeks and actually created the Craigmillar"Gulliver." If anyone knows the full name of Jack and his helper I would appreciate the information
I have a large photo album of many Scottish "Community Arts" projects, and of course individual photos of what is shown above, should anyone be interested. Contact me at: kjwolverton@aol.com
Above are few of the kids and "community artists" involved in a two day festival where Hugh Graham built a clown fire truck that caught and fire and exploded as part of the show (bottom left). Below are photos of where I began my "Community Art" experience in Scotland.
No. 1 to 4. My first experience in "Community Art" began in Pilton's Adventure Playground during Spring break March 1975, doing art projects with the children. There was no money for materials so I improvised. I bought a small box of colored chalks and got the kids to cover the glass strewn tarmac with designs. On the second day I begged a few tins of paint from the local council but could find no brushes. This was no obstacle because with some effort the paint was spread with broken sticks. Soon the whole area was covered in a "Snakes and Ladder" ground painting. N0. 5 to 15. In the next few days we went on a treasure hunts which resulted in the collection of burnt auto seats, bed springs and wire which later became "The Dragon". Previously TWE had built a several wooden structures that had rope swings. They lasted for about a week before all were destroyed except one, and it was charred black from fire. It would become the "Dragon" that the children would help me build in the next year I worked in Pilton, as the first "funded" Community Artist in Scotland. (Funded by Leverhulme Trust of London) Over the next few months the Dragon developed legs and a tail. There was no shortage of burnt bed springs, auto seats, hub caps, wash tubs, buckets, and a hundred other kinds of discarded metal objects scattered around the depressing "playground". Ainsley Park Middle School students came once for a photo OP (No. 9) for the Evening News. The amazing thing was that our "dragon" remained standing unguarded, while all of the previous playground structures were chopped to pieces or burnt to the ground. Once some one set the dragon on fire, but the children saved it. Eventually we covered it head to toe with a skin of concrete mixed one bucket at a time and applied by hand. Sometimes it was only one or two children and me working on it, but there was a group of about 30 kids that rotated in working on the dragon. TWE members (No. 7, a young Mike Rowan in the (background) came occasionally. Jim Ferguson (11 &13) was later hired by the local council to be a "playground leader" and he would pitch in. About three years later, the council decided to tear down the dragon and sent a bull-dozer, but the children chased the driver away with rocks so many times that the council changed their mind and made it part of the playground design. The dragon became an urban legend and was instrumental in bringing about the Giant Gulliver which was created in Craigmiller. More Theatre Workshop Edinburgh pictures from the Hamburg World Children's Theater Festival tour in 1976.
Theatre Workshop Edinburgh (TWE) had few big time achievements in the ":Art World" but below is the photo of one of its "international" successes, when we won second place in the first "International Children's Theatre Festival" in Hamburg Germany, 1976, organized by Uwe Deeken and Eberhard Mobius. Japan won first place, but we beat Russia, Iran, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Poland and Germany.
I happen to be in the ass-end of the giraffe and John Bolton was in the head. John farted a lot. Also in the photo are some famous characters. It is hard to see, unless you double click the image, even then difficult, but they are from the left, Roz Clark, founder of Theatre Workshop, John Melville, Neil Cameron, Robert Noble, on the van John Sampson and Pete Simpson, John Bolton and me in the giraffe, Linda Chase Broda and Mike Rowan. Neil Cameron, who was more than instrumental in getting "Community Arts" started in Scotland, got in touch with me today. He sent a yearly tape that he records in a car going somewhere--a tradition we have carried on since he went to Australia in 1982. I owe everything that I did in Scotland to Neil, and Neil owes all that he did to Reg Bolton and so in a way we are both disciples to Reg. Reg died in 2006 and we all miss him.
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CURRENT WEEK COMMUNITY ARTS UPDATE DOUBLE CLICK PHOTOS TO SEE LARGE SCROLL DOWN FOR PREVIOUS WEEKS March 3--- The Paving blocks created on WCAD will be placed in the Sculpture Garden of IN CAHOOTS ART GALLERY sometime in mid March. More individual blocks will be added at later times and hopefully next WCAD we will have even a biiger festival of hands on art making.
Feb. 19 Let the stepping stones dry( the beginning of Madrid's WALK OF FAME) for the last 36 hours...then later today they will be removed fro the wooden form.
Feb. 15...at the MINE SHAFT Geez...I have no idea what communication happened but somehow the date got confused with the band and the videographer. So there I was with my love, Ruth, a box full of chalks, a large sheet of pastel people and about 20 people in the bar. I gave Ruth my little digital camera and she caught the last glimpse of a seven minute drawing done to a rock'n'roll record. I announced the WALK OF FAME cement art party on Feb. 17, so who knows, maybe the band will show up then. Anyway, below is a segment of what took place last night in respect to World Community Arts Day and in memory of Reg Bolton who was a dear friend and great heart....
Feb. 13...at the Mine Shaft
No.1 On Feb. 13 I did a test run Chalk drawing at the Mine Shaft Tavern to see how the pastels looked under their stage lights. No. 2 The drawing is an advertisement for WORLD COMMUNITY ARTS DAY which will be on Feb, 17, 2007. ON Feb 17 I will be doing two things. (1) upload a small MPEG video of the Chalk Drawing performance done on Feb 15, and (2) in the afternoon mix cement to be poured in the grid framing, so people can add their names and decoration for our version of THE WALK OF FAME as in Hollywood. Article from the EVENING NEWS of Edinburgh, Scotland. Arts festival nets worldwide attention through the
web JANUARY 27- February 2, 2007 In addition to the music mural at the Mine Shaft, a new idea has come in what may be done in Madrid on WORLD COMMUNITY ARTS DAY. It is a very simple concept and at the end result will benefit a few small shops. The idea is to create a kind of Hollywood style Walk of the Stars... Members of our community will plant their hands and signatures as well as decorate a one-foot square cement slab. When dried the squares will be set in the gravel to provide a decorative path to individual shops. As the plan develops photos will be posted to show how we went about it. January 20 - 26, 2007 The Rue Barbs Playing at the Mine Shaft The band that will be playing in front of a performance art mural February 17, 2006.
PLAN OF ART ACTIVITY IN NEW MEXICO Community Art comes in all forms, of which of course music plays a big part. In Madrid, New Mexico, the local bar is The Mine Shaft, named such because the little village was originally a coal mine town, and nearly 300 miles of tunnels run through the mountains around it. The coal mine shut down in the mid sixties and at one point in the early '70's the whole village was for sale at $250,000. The fortunes have changed and in the last ten years Madrid (pronounced mad-drid) has become an "arts" village. Now one would be lucky to buy just one of the old coal-miner shacks for a quarter-million. But to get back to Community Arts and the up-coming world celebration day, several artists and musicians are coming together to do a "performance art" piece at the local bar, The Mine Shaft. There is a sign above the bar that reads: MADRID HAS NO TOWN DRUNKS, WE ALL TAKE TURNS. Our contribution to WORLD COMMUNITY ARTS DAY will be to create a large pastel mural on stage while a local band , the RUE BARBS play music for the audience. The event will be digitally filmed and then on the 17th of February it will be uploaded on the web and become viewable to all who are curious.
For me this is a very ironic and nostalgic return from when I began creating art in public places. In 1966 I got a job at the Broadway Inn which was a Strip Club / Go-Go joint in downtown Portland, Oregon. My job was to do two or three minute charcoal sketches of the nude dancers who posed on a high stool. I learned a lot about art and life. I have no photographs of that period so you just have to use your imagination. Ten years later, with Theatre Workshop Edinburgh, I used what I had learned as a quick sketch artist when I created scenes in front of children in the play we presented for the International Children's Theater Festival in Hamburg Germany. t was the small screen in the center set, seen below.
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