Art2Art5 - Talent So Bright Wayne Has to Wear Shades

Last night, over seventy of us got together to share work and party against a stunning backdrop of neon art by Wayne and Evan. In fact, Evan deserves a special mention as the beautiful piece he displayed was his first work in neon. (Frankly, it never fails to amaze me how talented you folks are!). Anyway, because nine of our twelve slots last night were filled by writers, Wayne wore his extraordinary "writer's disguise," which Richard caught on camera (see left). A dark beret, a pair of shades and a special sideways stare. That's how every writer should look. Naturally.

Here are just a few images from last night's performances/displays: a hoop of red neon, a bogey like an oyster, an extraordinary tongue, a riot of poppies, a mystical thread, a Jesus lookalike, and beans planted beneath a full moon. We had the pleasure of music too: the haunting beauty of Francesca de Vries, and Elaine's vibrant opera. Also, Jerry, our fab comedian, brought the news that this economy is now so bad that the Obama administration have changed their slogan to "We'll give it our best shot."

We were bowled over by the standard of the work last night. Many thanks to our wondrous performers, Elaine Zhang, Tara Masih, Hyejung Kook, Sophie Powell, Francesca de Vries, KL Pereira, Matthew Sandel, Bill Sarill and his talented son, Michael Mack, Nick Linsky, Sue Williams (I'm thankin' myself here!), and Jerry Fireman. As always, our audience were so warm and encouraging-- what would we do without you all; you make us! We'd also like to thank Evan and Greg Smutny for helping set up, and Tara Masih who sold her exquisite farthing cards in aid of Art2Art. Art2Art is organised by Wayne Strattman, Jerry Fireman and myself, with help from Richard Williams and Greg Smutny. Thanks for being such a great team.

Oleg very kindly sent us a link to his YouTube video of the event. You can get to it here.

I must add that those of you who helped clear up are much appreciated, especially Rich and Evan who were kind enough to re-chain the chairs. (Holy smoke, that's one tricky puzzle).

And cheers to all who brought food and drink too. If you made the brownies, I love ya.

P.S. Please don't assume you're performing in November unless we have exchanged emails. That's very important. We need to have discussed it in writing or over the phone. I'll add that we are grateful that all performers last night stuck to the seven-minute rule. This really helped keep the wonderful momentum!

The Next Art2Art

The next Art2Art will take place on the evening of October 3rd, 2009.  Do let us know if you'd like to present or display -- there are still slots available.  If you're already on the guest list, you'll receive an evite soon.

Looking forward to seeing you!

More Photos from Art2Art4

Because Blogger won't work for me right now, you'll need to visit my own site to view these stellar photos.  Hopefully I'll have them up here before too long.  They're by Mark Hoffman, so definitely worth a look.

Singing, Sliding, Flashing - Art2Art4

Yes, the economy's struggling.  Yes, we're spending less.  And yes, art still matters.  

We're the proof.

On Saturday night, amidst fairy lights and music, a crowd of over fifty joined to celebrate art.  Here are just a few of the stellar artists who treated us to their work:

Wayne displayed stunning sculptures of colour and light, which caught the eye wherever we stood, and Annie and Margaux sang, with rich, soulful voices, also inviting the audience to pelt out a tune.  Michael Mack, oral poet and storyteller, gave a powerful performance from his play, "Speaking in Tongues", which, I might add, has been reviewed to great acclaim (rightfully named "Exquisite" by NPR, for one).  Several authors shared work-in-progress.  While I read a couple of pieces of flash fiction and talked about what it means to write in the genre, Randy Ross, Matthew Sandel, Bill Sorrell and Chris Payne-Taylor each read from their highly engaging works.  We laughed a lot on Saturday night, not least because of Steve M. who dazzled us with a his witty slide-show, (for which, I am told, he skipped a sunny Saturday prepping his slides in the basement!).  We finished the night with live music from Thom Donovan, whose rendition of "It's a Wonderful World" was original and moving.

No write-up would be complete, of course, without mentioning our audience.  The warmth and support was second-to-none -- these incredible folks bring such life to the evening.

Many thanks to the A2A team, without whom the event wouldn't happen - that's Wayne Strattman, Sue Williams (me!), Jerry Fireman, Richard Williams and Greg Smutny.

If you've been part of Art2Art and would like to share links or news, let us know.  Also, if there are folks out there who are interested in joining us, drop us a line and we'll evite you.  Art2Art, in case you're not aware, is an entirely free event.

(Having said that, we're grateful to all of you who donated time, food, drinks and money on Saturday night.  From fairy lights to napkins and paper towels, every bit helps!).

A2A will be taking a break over summer.  We look forward to getting together again this fall.  In the meantime, do check back for news and events, and feel free to get in touch.

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UPCOMING FREE EVENT!

Yes, I'm first to plug myself, we notice!  If you'd like to hear me, Sue Williams, read and talk about flash fiction in a little more depth, I'll be reading and presenting along with Tara Masih, Stace Budzko (who read at Art2Art1), Steve Almond and Rusty Barnes (Editor of Night Train) at Brookline Booksmith on Thursday June 11th, to promote The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction, edited by Tara Masih.  We kick off at 7pm.  Hope to see you there!

I'll also be teaching a one-night seminar on writing stories about "Vulnerable Monsters" (June 16th).  Do visit the Grub Street site or my own blog for more details.

See You at Art2Art3!

At Art2Art, we've seen a rich variety of performances and displays, including readings from new work by local writers, comedy by talented stand-up artists, stunning kinetic art displays, performance poetry, and much much more. Here's Jerry's invite for the third Art2Art:

Art2Art2 was not only a lot of fun but also educational. Where else could we have learned (from Haik) that English soccer fans sing (to the tune Nah Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah Nah Nah, Hey Hey, Goodbye):

No one likes us

No one likes us

No one likes us

We don't care

Chances are that we never would have figured out how to say the retroflex sounds (such as Zh and r) in Chinese without having Jamie point his sword at us. Nor understood why Joe rarely gets a chance to tell potential dates that his daughter's hair is pink.

But now that Wayne and Sue have kindly consented to present Art2Art3 we will have the opportunity to learn many more interesting things from those within our midsts whose talents have until now remained hidden.

Art2Art is based on the idea that each of us has valuable talent that is worth nurturing and sharing with our supportive (within limits) friends. Each performance is about 5 minutes long and more than half the time is devoted to discussing and partying.

We want to thank you for limiting your talking during the performances at Art2Art2 to 90 dB. At Art2Art3 we are aiming to further reduce the level to 70dB. Pursuant to that goal, we have decided to not allow chain saws and jackhammers into the event.

Many artists or their agents (some of our performers have been handling themselves too long) have already signed on to perform at Art2Art3. But there are still a few slots available. To perform or display, contact Wayne and Sue at:

art2artboston@live.com