Monday, July 12, 2010

Flarf Comes To WE-ARE-FAMILIA!

WE-ARE-FAMILIA is an extensive global network of creative individuals from all disciplines who have come together to explore the powerful, complex ties which consciously and unconsciously touch all that we experience as humans. Spearheaded by Creative Director Jennifer Garcia, their primary ongoing project is a series of 25 one-of-a-kind Keepsake Boxes showcasing original “mementos” engaging the concept of family.

WE-ARE-FAMILIA, with help from sponsors Art Assets, Atlantic Assets, and GFI Realty, have recently transformed a raw, formerly vacant storefront on Atlantic Avenue into an open studio where they will continue assembling new Keepsake Boxes including a special commission for the Museum of Art and Design. The space additionally functions as a gallery to exhibit new works by Keepsake Box contributors as well as a free event space which aims to extend their family dialogue. The space opened its doors on June 11th, 2010, during Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk and has since had a showing of Jeff Lewis’ meticulous pencil grid drawings as well as electronic performances by Mitchell Akiyama and Nina Mehta of bands First Nation and Rings from Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label.

On Thursday, July 22, WE-ARE-FAMILIA Gallery will host a gathering of flarf poets. Flarf is an international avant-garde poetry movement of the late 20th century / early 21st century whose 30+ practitioners explore “the inappropriate” in all of its guises. Their method is to mine the Internet with odd search terms then distill the results into often hilarious and sometimes disturbing poems, plays, and other texts. Recently profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, the flarf collective create hilarious, shocking, and sometimes downright offensive works. Heated discussions about flarf have been broadcast by the BBC and National Public Radio, and published in The Village Voice, The Nation, Poetry, Poets & Writers, and The Wall Street Journal. “Flarf is a hip, digital reaction to... boring, genteel poetry,” writes poet and critic Marjorie Perloff. Whatever flarf is––whatever you think flarf is––it is most definitely the 21st century‘s first poetry movement. Host and flarfista Sharon Mesmer will introduce some of the collective's New York members: Shanna Compton (Down Spooky), Katie Degentesh (The Anger Scale), Nada Gordon (Folly), Gary Sullivan (PPL In A Depot), Brandon Downing (Dark Brandon), and Drew Gardner (Petroleum Hat).

Thursday, July 22, 2010
6 to 8 PM
We-Are-Familia
539 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, New York
646-709-6702

2 Comments:

Blogger randy antonia said...

the big gay takeover

9:40 PM  
Blogger John Guzlowski said...

“Flarf is a hip, digital reaction to... boring, genteel poetry."

Interesting.

American poetry has always struggled against the genteel, and I think the genteel element in our culture is stronger now than ever because of mass media culture.

Give them hell, Sharon.

4:48 PM  

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