Lights of Women: an international exhibition in Gwangju, Korea Fall 2012

As part of a delegation of women from the Pacific Northwest, I was invited to exhibit work in Gwangju Korea. Lights of Women featured work by over 140 women artists from around the world, was sponsored by the Geumnamro Gallery of the Gwangju Art Museum and opened during the opening week of the Gwangju Biennale.

Notes for Domestic Violence/The War on Terror: Military Archeology 2 (JBLM)

Here are notes I made in preparation for
a new work to be exhibited in Gwangju this month (see catalog of work I took there from the Pacific Northwest, North America)
Notes for Domestic Violence/The War on Terror: Military Archeology 2 (JBLM)
dimensions: 52 x 183 cm
Media: acrylic, digital print, watercolor pencil, ink on paper
date: 2012
other titles in the series:
The Destruction of Cultural Heritage Disrupts Daily Life (Iraq)
Collateral Damage: Civilian Casualties at Fort Bragg
The Destruction of Cultural Heritage  . . . (Afghanistan)
When will you be all you can?
An issue of public health
State of Siege
thinking about real estate values, mental health, part militarization resistance
Where have all the Flowers gone?  (song by Marina Reynolds)
soldiers' tales
Port militarization resistance
anti-war organization May 2006
organized protests at Port of Olympia to block military transports from JBLM
2004 to May 2006- shipments made with protests
May 2006  3rd brigade 2nd infantry division US Army conveyed equipment including Strikers vehicles from Ft Lewis to Port of Olympia for loading on USS  Pomeroy
protests met with arrest, pepper spray, rubber bullets, Laser
March 2007
Port of Tacoma,  YouTube covered
4th brigade, 2nd infantry division US army from Ft Lewis
convoyed  Strikers vehicles and other equipment to Tacoma for loading on USS Soderman
protests March 3,4 through 15, mostly at night
protesters arrested, rubber bullets shot, Taser
people arrested for asking questions, videotapes, backpack confiscated
speaking at Tacoma council, people then brought backpacks stuffed with copies of the Constitution
ref: You Tube "Film is Not a Crime"
rates of the incidents in crime and violence escalate near the base
Methamphetamine use has increased in Lakewood and surrounding municipalities. Allegations of war stress treatment disparities at the base arose when we learned that the alleged perpetrator of the Khandahar massacre had been based at Ft Lewis. Sixteen Afghani people were killed, 6 wounded and 9 casualties were children. Concerns increased that the costs of trading Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are the cause of downgrading diagnoses. Since 2003, 68 base service members have suicided. Two soldiers were charged were charged with waterboarding their own children. In July 2009, John Lowery was outed for spying on anti-war activists for at least 2 years. He was contracted as a US Army informant for a protection unit. In 2007 Lt. Ehren Watada was court martialed for his refusal to deploy to Iraq. The first officer to refuse in this war, he was discharged in 2009. Lt. Watada served in Korea before he was stationed at Ft. Lewis. His parents are anti-war activists. JBLM deploys massive amounts of matériel, now a major export of the US. Items include Stryker vehicles and large transport airplanes, C-17 Globemaster III, made by a division of Boeing, which makes commercial planes in metropolitan Seattle. Beginning in 2004, people protested Ft. Lewis weapon shipments through the civilian Port of Olympia, south of base. By 2006 Port Militarization Resistance organized to block JBLM military transports through the Ports of Olympia and Tacoma, . . . including Stryker vehicles to load on USNS Pomeroy and Soderman inspired by the massive area dominated by the US and Korean military bases in South Korea and the bid to build a nuclear submarine base in Jeju. Dedicated to activists in Western Washington, at Coffee Strong, Okinawa, Jeju-do, Subic Bay who reclaim the land for peace.
In July 2012, the FBI raided activists' homes for black clothes, literature and computers. Currently the activists are under grand jury investigation and some are in jail.

Discussion around Gallery Censorship

I'd forgotten about this mention in City Arts (at the bottom of the review) of my private comments after a discussion at the Henry Art Gallery informed by the censorship at the Smithsonian portrait gallery in 2010. Here's the link. It's still a problem and I'm preparing a visit to DC in May with Jim (he has a meeting). We're planning to meet our senator, Patty Murray, for "coffee" (friends don't let friends go to Starbucks...). I was going to talk about arts funding WPA style and the issues of real estate for artists, but I might just include this link, too. What do you think? What kind of digital device, like a business card with a couple of links, should I leave? Flash drive? or something else?

WCA and CAA national conferences

Amazing to being in LA at such a time of great change and not as much in evidence in panels. Lots going on in galleries and private discussions. Advise you to check out some of my links, to be posted later.

Moss Norway Twitter exhibition

I'm submitting a card to David Sandum who's holding a Twitter exhibition to benefit Women's Crisis Center in Moss, Norway. You can submit, too by checking out David's call

Here's a description of the work I'm sending:
stencil study Trust Women ©2011 Alice Dubiel @odaraia, Seattle USA http://www.planetart.us/
Trust women is a meme adopted by supporters of women’s reproductive health care after a motto of George Tiller, MD a family practice physician in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Tiller performed abortions, especially those required due to complications in late pregnancy, and was assassinated on May 31, 2009 for his work. This work is a study for a limited edition stencil and spray paint graffiti artist’s kit.

for information about Dr. Tiller

Cultural Sensibilities: Back from Daegu, Korea

join me for a talk at Sev Shoon Arts Center, Ballard Art Works
2862 NW Market Street, Third Floor, Seattle 98107
Thursday, January 26, 2012
7pm
for information: 206.782.7455 or alicedubiel@planetart.us

National 5.18 Memorial to Democracy Gwangju

Traveling with members of the Oregon chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, and members of IRIDA from Moscow, Russia, we were graciously hosted by colleagues in Daegu and Gwangju, Korea. Our work was exhibited in three Korean cities and we toured numerous cultural treasures, ancient and contemporary. I will share images in a talk, and have catalogues for perusal. Cultural Sensibilities has been the title of a series of exhibitions in Portland, Daegu and Moscow offering opportunities for cultural exchanges in friendship. Community artists from Korea and Russia are inspiring and share perspectives on our work environments, education and political contexts.

Twitter essay: working title #occupyWestlake

Currently this is in draft state: will add photos and outline to differentiate between my "essay" and conversations. Not sure how to format yet, but will work on it.

    
Richard Neil of Seattle Police Guild on KUOW at 10 am today: total projective identification + agent for corporate retail in downtown.
 Here's the link to Weekday KUOW interview with Richard Neil of Seattle Police Officers' Guild. He's on before Dow C. http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=25083
Richard Neil has no problem with privatization of public space by corporate business in downtown, wants suburban shoppers not #occupyseattle
 In Seattle, Pacific Place parking garage was built with HUD funds.  inside garage with wiwaxia in front
Time to reclaim public space privatized by corporate businesses downtown. HUD parking at Pacific Place #occupyseattle  Chase ATM RT by

kaskadia Kit R

RT @odaraia: Time 2 reclaim public space privatized .. downtown. HUD parking at Pacific Place #occupyseattle And just where are those suburbanites from, Seattle Police guild Richard Neil? at these prices... #occupyseattle   price sign  

@kaskadia Thanks for RT. This garage & re-open Pine are theft of public property as far as I'm concerned. Why important to occupy Westlake.

SeaRFez Stephen Fesler

@odaraia as a planner, I largely have to agree. Mainly because public spaces owned/maintained by businesses are exclusionary and fail to..

SeaRFez Stephen Fesler

@odaraia capture the interest of patrons. There are exceptions however, but there has to be a stong money motive and good to work inspite

SeaRFez Stephen Fesler

  @odaraia *good design team to work inspite of status quo

@SeaRFez It's more fun and engaging to go to a real public space with real benches, people interacting. Why street food and real parks work.
This HUD parking garage at Pacific Place is nicely appointed for suburbanites to come downtown. Why #occupyseattle  (elevator pic)
More fancy and expensive (lighting) appointments at HUD funded parking Pacific Place. #occupyseattle  elevators
Footnote @Dktr_Sus @SeaRFez You might be interested in my installation essay at old 911 in 1993 varoregistry.org/dubiel/more4.h…

 The clincher: the hoi polloi need not show up to HUD parking garage at Pacific Place. #occupyseattle   valet parking and two range rovers  
Conversation
  tigerljily Ljiljana

@

@odaraia I heard that. B/c I thought it was Dow, I was completely shocked, but then I recalibrated

  @tigerljily Dow was trivializing, I think, but he might have been embarrassed by Neil's artless support of bizness.
The complicity of city, county officials & police officers such as Richard Neil in privatization of public space is why #occupyWestlake 

tigerljily Ljiljana

@

@odaraia and come on, it's not like these businesses are your neighbors' haberdashery, they're all soulless corporate junk sellers.

@tigerljily Yes, there's no Theo chocolates at Westlake; it's Warren Buffet's See's Candies!

@tigerljily +You must have seen new tv commercials from AMEX re small businesses: I think Amazon is defined as a "small bix 4 tax purposes."