Underground Art Gallery

OUR SPRING '10 GALLERY EXHIBITION!!!

"30 Years of the Art of World War 3 Illustrated : America's Longest Running Political Comic Book"

On display February 22- June 26, 2010. Open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., as well as an hour before, during and an hour after events and by special arrangement.

  ***Meet the artists of World War 3 Illustrated on Saturday on May 8 at 8 p.m., at their 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration, as they rejoice in their history of cutting-edge art with multimedia presentations, puppetry, performance and music!

Founded in 1980 by Seth Tobocman and Peter Kuper, World War 3 Illustrated  is a labor of love, run by a collective of artists working with the unified goal of creating a home for political comics, graphics and stories.

Their confrontational comics shine a little reality on the fantasy world of the American kleptocracy, and have inspired the developing popularity and recognition of the graphic novel medium in the U.S.

World War 3 Illustrated has served as a document of our collective history—including many aspects ignored by the mainstream press. The retrospective exhibition is gathered under key themes:     

"From Reagan to Bush"

"No Police State !"--"Housing Is a Human Right!"

"Politics of Medicine"--"Women and WW3"

"Against Global Capital"--"Environment"

"Anti-War"--"New Orleans"--"9/11"

WW3 contributors range from first-timers to veteran artists whose first published pieces appeared in their pages were launched into their careers. Though numerous contributors have had their work appear in all areas of art from museums to major magazines they continue to return to WW3 to find one of the few uncensored venues for their art.

The artists attracted to World War 3 Illustrated are activists. They have been involved in direct-action movements. They squatted and took part in demonstrations. They experienced poverty, violence and injustice first hand. Their stories ring true because they reflect this first-hand experience.

If WW3 had a manifesto (which they don’t) it might say if you’re going to talk about changing society, a magazine’s not a bad place to start. WW3 has functioned as a microcosm of the the kind of society they would like to see. Content is valued over style and ideas are not regarded for their popularity, but for their substance. Artists are given a forum to reach an audience with their work and the opportunity to interact and examine their concepts in a group setting.

World War 3 Illustrated isn’t about a war that may happen, it is about the ongoing wars our so-called leaders have been waging all our lives around the world and on our very own doorsteps. World War 3 Illustrated  also illuminates the war we wage on each other and sometimes the one taking place in our own brains.  They have illustrated personal subjects from race to religion to sexual relations and drawn their dreams and nightmares both real and imagined. They’ve been covering all these areas and more for 30 years and they’re just getting warmed up!

THE ARTISTS OF World War 3 Illustrated :

The World War 3 Illustrated  30th Anniversary Exhibition was curated by Christoper Cardinale, Sabrina Jones, Rebecca Migdal, Nicole Schulman, Susan Simensky Bietila and Seth Tobocman. Other members of the collective featured in the show include Peter Kuper, Scott Cunningham, Kevin Pyle, Eric Drooker, Sue Coe, Susan Wilmarth, Ryan Inzana, Paula Hewitt, and Chuck Sperry, among many others. This show originated at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee Library Special Collections and was assembled and archived by Susan Simensky Bietila, Jessica Bublitz and Max Yela.

The magazine could never have survived without this collective effort and the contribution of so many other artists and writers who have donated their talents. In the hierarchy of the magazine editors and contributors receive the same pay—a magazine they’ve helped build. Only the printers and distributors are paid, all profits go into producing the next issue.

 
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OUR FALL '09 GALLERY EXHIBITION!!! 

Photo journalist Nina Berman

"Evidence and Fantasy: Militarism in American Life"

with photographs from "Purple Hearts," "Marine Wedding," and "Homeland"

Photo by Nina Berman, from "Purple Hearts"

Nina Berman is a documentary photographer with a primary interest in the American political and social landscape.

Internationally known for her photographs of wounded American military, Nina Berman's exhibit "Evidence and Fantasy: Militarism in American Life" includes work from her series "Purple Hearts," portraits and interviews with wounded veterans, "Marine Wedding," and "Homeland," a look at militarism, religion and security in post 9-11 America.

Check out the NY Times articles on Marine Wedding and Purple Hearts.

Photo by Nina Berman, "Red Carpet" from "Purple Hearts"

Her work has been extensively published, exhibited and collected, garnering praise in both the art and journalism worlds. She has received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, awards from the World Press Photo Foundation, and a grant from the Open Society Institute Documentary Photography Fund. She is a member of NOOR, a worldwide photo collective.  She is on the faculty of the International Center of Photography and lives in her hometown, New York City.
   

Meet the artist on Veterans Day, when Nina Berman comes to the Sanctuary to discuss her work and share a multi-media presentation. For more information about this event, check out our Nov. 11 event, Veterans Day Reflections on the Casualties of War.

“I don’t believe in the notion of the objective photographer,

that somehow a photo is balanced and you’re dispassionate.”

“I don’t think that would have value.

That’s like a security camera.”

“ That doesn’t mean

I have an agenda. 

But I do have areas of interest.”     

                               Nina Berman in The War's Long Shadows- Lens Blog-NYTimes.com

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We bring innovative media and visual artists to the Capital Region of New York State, and are dedicated to presenting artists whom mainstream media and art venues often neglect.  We especially seek artists who push their art to create new languages and expressive forms; we feature works with an aesthetic and conceptual edge that challenge the viewers to look at the world anew.

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CURRENTLY IN THE SANCTUARY WISH GARDEN--

local artist Sara Worden's

permaculture project, 

"VERTICAL MUSHROOM GALLERY"

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LAST SEASON'S EXHIBITION

Photo journalist Brenda Ann Kenneally's

 "Upstate Girls: What Became of Collar City"

We strive to inspire folks by bringing visibility to cutting edge creative projects and networks, and by educating them to use media arts and technology for creative resistance projects designed to motivate citizens to integrate art and independent, critical thinking into their active lives.

Check out more about Brenda Ann Kenneally's "Upstate Girls"  at:  the Raw Files.

“Upstate Girls” is a look at a part of working class America that, despite sweeping technological advances, remains essentially unchanged since the heyday of the Industrial Revolution—an indictment of the by-products of globalization that shape the American visual and social landscape. The ongoing project aims deep into the emotional and psychological cycle of poverty from a women’s eye view.

The photographs are on display in the Underground Gallery at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, available for viewing an hour before, during and an hour after events and by arrangement. Visit www.therawfile.org for more of Brenda Ann Kenneally’s work.

Award-winning photographer Brenda Ann Kenneally is a mother and an independent journalist whose long-term projects are intimate portraits of social issues that intersect where the personal is political. She began reporting in 2004 on the lives of five teen girls from north Troy who would come of age in an industrial city in post-industrial America. She is working to push the boundaries of the social document, using the web as a tool to expand and contextualize her immersion style of reporting. Her many awards include the W. Eugene Smith Award for Humanistic Photography, a Soros Criminal Justice Fellowship, the Mother Jones Documentary Photography Award, the International Prize for Photojournalism, a Nikon Sabbatical Grant, the National Press Photographers Association’s Best of Photojournalism award, and the Cannon Female Photojournalism Grant. Born in Albany, she now lives in Brooklyn.

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Media Alliance's Arts and Education program strives to inspire folks by bringing visibility to cutting edge creative projects and networks. We use media arts and technology for creative resistance projects designed to motivate citizens to integrate art and independent, critical thinking into their active lives.

Just a few doors down from the lot in the photo above, where "Sponge Bob" poses, the Sanctuary's Underground Art Gallery is a recently remodeled 280 sq. ft. museum quality gallery exposition space. The walls are painted matte white for traditional gallery appearance and the ceiling exposes extensive track lighting that can be adjusted to suite any exhibit. It's uniqueness lies in its hallway linearity, allowing the viewer to flow through the space.

Click here to view photos of the Underground Art Gallery