20 x 16 inches, Oil and enamel on linen

artist & website: John Bauer - exhibit @Bellwether Gallery

768 C shaped prints 768 motors, video camera, control electronics.
Size 57 inches H, 78 inches W, 8 Inches D

artist & website: Daniel Rozin - http://www.smoothware.com/danny

Looking for great photo tips?  If not, sorry today’s post won’t mean much to you.  But, if you are, you need to check out Photojojo.com.  There you can signup for a newsletter of great tips and tricks to make your life as a photographer easier.  The great thing about the tips is they are usually concise and to the point and ever so often they point to a great tutorial.  Oh and the really cool thing, you don’t have to signup to see the old newsletters.

An open source digital collage project by Dave Rau and Josh Bertrand.  All of the original source imagery and Photoshop file are available for download for artists to use and remix as they see fix.  Artists can then send the imagery back to Josh and Dave, who will post some of their favorites.  I dig this idea!

artist & website: Red Labor - http://www.redlabor.com/

artist & website: Jenny Holzer - wikipedia page

30″ x 30″ - pen & ink on illustration board

artist & website: Jason Sho Green - http://www.jasonshogreen.com/

oil on canvas - 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches

artist & website: Robert Standish - http://robertstandish.com

Worcester State Hospital - part of a collection of photos - American Asylum

artist & website: Jeremy Harris - http://jeremyharris.com

The San Francisco Art Institute halted the controversial solo exhibit of Adel Abdessemed last Saturday due to concerns of violence from outraged citizens and animal rights activists.

“…the show included a series of video loops of animals being bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in front of a brick wall. The animals killed included a pig, goat, deer, ox, horse and sheep” - link

I have yet to find one of the videos but I have seen many graphic stills of the videos and that was enough. If you feel you need to see some of these - Adel AbDessemed Don’t Trust Me video stills. The controversial exhibit, Don’t Trust Me, has sparked conversation around the world. The concern that many have is that the artist crossed a moral line that should not have been crossed. The artists draws attention to the disconnect that many people have about the process of getting their meat to the table, a valid concern that should be addressed. My problem however, is that this could still be done effectively without actually killing these animals.

So, what do you think?

Update: 3/4/2008

@rodeo - it is unclear what Adel’s level of participation in this was in the killings. He leaves the viewer confused as to what they are watching. This provoked animal rights activists to want the show closed. Adel also fails to relay his message to the viewer, if there is one. If this is an activist exhibit, he needs to be clear with his message. Video footage of matters like these is a powerful tool for change if used effectively. The Discerning Brute says it well,

“documenting animal cruelty is one of the most powerful tools animal advocates have. Look at the Hallmark beef recall case. It’s not that animal advocates can’t handle seeing these images - quite the contrary - it’s because of these images many of us have become animal advocates in the first place.”

Adel purposefully leaves the message ambiguous and fails to separate himself from the atrocity, but why?  Is he psychotic, looking for attention at the expense of these animals, or something else?

27 in x 40 in - watercolor and acrylic on paper

artist & website: Katherine Mann - http://www.katherinemann.net/