Activist Complaint Drawings

A series of drawings in response to activist complaints solicited in early 2007. The original call for complaints is excerpted below.

 

WHAT

I'm collecting activist complaints—actually, complaints about activism—for an art project. Tell me one thing that BUGS you about activism today.

 

For example:
• Too many meetings
• Identity, identity, identity issues
• How come activists never have clean cars?
• Lefty in-fighting
• Those G-D Trotskyists!
• Rants about tactics (Protests at City Hall... on Saturdays?)
• Self-(fashion)-policing, or lack thereof.
• The mass-email-to-everyone-tactic
• "Kids today don't know what we went through in the 60s"
• Gripes, quibbles, bellyaching, nitpicking, etc!
• The decline of the ability to laugh at oneself

 

The more specific, the better. Keep it short and sweet. No need to include names of individuals or grand narratives of shit-storms.

 

Phase I: I'll pick complaints and make drawings in response. They'll be shown at a the Recovering Activist's Night Market, a one-night event at Kearny Street Workshop on Friday, July 13, 2007. The drawings will be sold to support Activist Imagination.

 

Phase II: I'll continue to tolerate your nitpicking as part of my research for the Activist Imagination exhibition, scheduled for early 2008. I'm looking forward to developing new work, which may include drawings, kinetic sculptures, and web-based interactive works.

 

WHO (am I to judge?)

You don't have to be an activist to participate.

 

WHO (do I think I am?)

I'm a visual artist who makes drawings, prints, sculptures, installations and paper cuts. My current investigation into optimism and pessimism probably relates to my previous activities as an activist and community muralist.

 

WHY

Get it off your chest. Your complaint might be transmogrified into an artwork. In the best instance, the drawings might initiate a humorous dialogue about contemporary activism and future possibilities.

 

The Bay Area is filled with passionate activists, disillusioned naysayers, sympathetic bystanders, idealists, cynics, visionaries, and those struggling to reconcile living in a world that doesn't reflect one's values while trying to create another. It's also, one might argue, a place where everyone knows each other and is afraid that critiques might hurt people's feelings. Activist Complaints can be a way, dare I say—yes, I do—to plant the seeds of change.

Images

  1. Activist Complaint #1: Socialist Newspaper Vendors (Web Site), 2007, 6 x 4 in., graphite on vellum. Text: "http://www.capitalSsocialist.com/ Socialist Daily Online. Socialist Newspaper Vendors Put Out of Work: Activists Rejoice"
  2. Activist Complaint #16: People Who Think They Are Still Bomb-Throwing Radicals from the 60s, When They're Actually Wealthy, Obnoxious Professionals (RPG Prius), 2007, 6 x 4 in. graphite on vellum
  3. Activist Complaint #3: Young People Can't Shoot, 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum, collage. Text: "Welcome to Camp Guerilla / Shooting Range / Crafts: Molotov Demo, 2 pm / Medic's Office: First Aid Workshop"
  4. Activist Complaint #4: Michael Franti Plays at Every Event (You're Fired), 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum
  5. Activist Complaint #6: Young People Don't know how to Fix a Flat, 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum, collage. Text: "Guerilla Garage Institute / Fixing Flats / Hotwiring / Disabling Armored Vehicles, Advanced Techniques / Motorcade Intervention Tactics For Beginners"
  6. Activist Complaint #7: Revolution is Not Picnicking at the Park, 2007, 6 x 4 in. graphite on vellum, collage.
  7. Activist Complaint #9: So much 'Activist Art' is Not Enjoyable, 2007, 6 x 4 in. graphite on vellum, mixed media. Text: "Some shiny suggestions to make 'Activist Art' more enjoyable / Metallic Paper / Glitter / Copper Anything"
  8. Activist Complaint #10: Feeling Guilty about Eating Hamburgers, 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum Text: "Bun cap / Onions / Tomato / Lettuce / Garden Burger Crust / Secret Beef Core / Bun Base"
  9. Activist Complaint #11: People Who Think They Are Still Bomb-Throwing Radicals from the 60s, When They're Actually Wealthy, Obnoxious Professionals (Moltov-Frap), 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum.
  10. Activist Complaint #12: People Who Think They Are Still Bomb-Throwing Radicals from the 60s, When They're Actually Wealthy, Obnoxious Professionals (Pinot), 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum, collage.
  11. Activist Complaint #13: Activism is Seen as a Professional Non-Profit Job, 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum. Text: "Ben Activist / attend conferences / send emails / build consensus / lousy non-profit pay / inc. laptop and water bottle / casual work wear / Professional Non-profit Action Figure"
  12. Activist Complaint #14: Socialist Newspaper Vendors (#2 Vending Machine), 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum. Text: "Socialist Weekly / Lefty Productivity Up 30%; Newspaper Vendor Ban Applauded / Buy it Here / And we won't infiltrate your meetings"
  13. Activist Complaint #15: Very Long Consensus Process—When Everyone Agrees, 2007, 4 x 6 in. graphite on vellum, collage Text: "Consensor / Sense! (on/off) / Tangent (pause) / Discuss / Browse / Next"