"Seeds" mural restoration begins

Today we began restoring "Seeds," a mural I completed in 1996. Feel free to come paint a few strokes, beginning this Saturday, on days when the temperature is over 55 degrees. Below, a glimpse of how the fresh new color looks...

Before

After

And here are a couple photos taken in 1996 during the painting process.

Arkadelphia Mural Dedication

Join us for a ....

Celebration of the new 

Arkadelphia Community Mural

Sunday, October 7th

2:00 - 4:00 pm

705 Main Street

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

more information at 

http://midamericamuralproject.blogspot.com/

Brownback Print CENSORED!

*UPDATE* The Blue Planet informed me that they did not agree to censoring this piece and do not condone or support its being taken down. The piece was taken down by Greg Ready of Gizmo Pictures as you can read below.

C E N S O R E D !

This print was taken down by the owners of Gizmo Pictures today. If you care about free speech especially when it involves criticism of those in power, please call and or visit Gizmo Pictures (upstairs above the Blue Planet) and let them know how you feel. Below is the text of the email I received from, Gizmo co-owner, Greg Ready informing me that the piece was to be censored.

"Dave,

This is Greg Ready. I'm not sure if we have met or not, but I am part owner of Gizmo Pictures and the Thacher building where your artwork is being displayed in the Blue Planet Cafe. We have chosen to take down the picture of Sam Brownback burning out of respect to his daughter Liz, who works for us. This decision has nothing to do with politics or our belief in your freedom of speech through art. Liz is a valued employee and friend to us and I (we) felt strongly against subjecting her to having to look at a picture of her father burning at her place of employment. It should also be noted that this decision was made by me, with the backing of my business partner Jeff, and not at the request of Liz.

I hope you will understand. If you wish to discuss this further, feel free to call either phone number listed below, e-mail or drop by my office at Gizmo (upstairs from the Blue Planet). 

Thanks."

Contact the owners here:

Jeff Carson and Greg Ready, owners of Gizmo Productions

785-267-7878  

greg@gizmopictures.com

jeff@gizmopictures.com

110 SE 8th Avenue, Topeka, KS

Read articles about this story at these links below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/kansas-artist-dave-loewen_n_1940225.html

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/oct/04/lawrence-artist-miffed-after-topeka-restaurant-tak/

http://cjonline.com/news/2012-10-03/artist-miffed-censorship-brownback-print

 

New show at the Blue Planet in Topeka

I've got a new show of stencil prints at the Blue Planet, 110 SE 8th, in Topeka. It'll be up for the whole month of October. The work comes from two different series I've been working on over the last couple of years. One is a series of portraits of Kansas politicians gone awry, including...

Secretario De Xenofobia

Inspired by the new Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach who is best known as the architect of anti-immigration laws in Arizona. Back here in Kansas, he’s been fanning the flames of immigrant paranoia in legislation that would require proof of citizenship if someone looked “suspicious.”

 The Feral Senator 

Another Kansas original, state senator Virgil Peck who, during a March 14, 2011 senate hearing, said (when referring to a state program to manage feral hogs) that "If shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem." 

 Reject Brownback

After enduring one horror after another, from a draconian tax-cut plan that will cripple the state to the elimination of the Kansas Arts Commission,  I came to the conclusion that our governor was powerless to stop the destruction he is wreaking. Like some giant movie monster, he flails around pleading for someone (us) to stop him from doing more damage.

The second series in this show comes from work I've done in support of the Occupy Movement. These prints were used in rallys, protests, and as illustrations related to Occupy. I'm proud to have been a contributor to the Occuprint  group which has been the main venue for getting my posters out to the public. 

My poster as an illustration for a Barbara Kingsolver 
essay in the Occupied Wall Street Journal.

The most widely circulated of these was "Tip of the Iceberg." This was my response to the dismissal by many of Occupy as just a New York thing. It’s based on both a metaphor, that Zuccotti Park is an iceberg, and on a veiled analogy to the Titanic disaster. What’s not spelled out in the image, but helped drive my process, is the story of the Titanic and the hubris that led to its sinking. In early versions, I had a little ship about to hit the Zuccotti iceberg, and even tried out text like “Beware Captains of the 1%”. In the end I felt like I was complicating my main idea – that the movement is much larger than the encampments -  so I took out the Titanic references.

 

 

Kansas arts funding in jeopardy - AGAIN

Artists, Educators, Arts Advocates, and Arts Administrators, 

The future of public support for the arts in Kansas is in jeopardy. Your action is needed now.

In order for Kansas to receive funding in FY14 (July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014) from the National Endowment for the Arts and Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Dept. of Commerce must submit an partnership application to the NEA by October 1st. If they do not, Kansas will not be eligible for this funding until FY15 at the earliest. We must demand that Secretary of Commerce, Pat George, submit this application by October 1st.

There is a second problem. Although the legislature appropriated $700,000, there has been no plan given or public accounting for how these funds have been or will be used. We must demand an accounting for these funds and insure that a large portion is going to non-profit arts programs around the state. If these newly appropriated funds are not used for arts programs, the governor and others may cite this inaction as cause to move the funds to another agency and kill the possibility of renewing public support for the arts in the foreseeable future.

Please contact Secretary of Commerce, Pat George, immediately and urge him to:

1) Submit the partnership application to the NEA by October 1st.

2) Account for the $700,000 appropriated by the legislature for the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission in the current fiscal year. Demand that it be used for non-profit arts programs.

Secretary of Commerce Pat George

email -

pgeorge@kansascommerce.com

phone - (785) 296-3481
 

Kansas Department of Commerce

1000 S.W. Jackson St.
Suite 100
Topeka, KS 66612

Occupy poster featured in Art in America

The June/July issue of Art in America includes a discussion about the Occupy movement and features my poster "Tip of the Iceberg." Check it out here -
http://www.scribd.com/doc/103097469/Art-In-America-Debating-Occupy

Mid-America Mural Project - Arkansas

After a four-day trip to visit with applicant communities in Russellville, Conway, Arkadelphia, Hot Springs, and Fort Smith, the Mid-America Arts Alliance has selected the site for the Arkansas Mural Project.

Congratulations to Arkadelphia, Arkansas!

Beginning in early August, this small town situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains in south central Arkansas will be host to the fourth chapter of the Mid-America Mural Project. Follow the progress of Arkadelphia's mural, and read about the previous projects in Tonkawa, Oklahoma; Newton, Kansas; and Joplin, Missouri on the Mid-America Mural Project blog.