Automata 2011

Automata 2011

PROGRAMMING NOTES

Work by Mark Koven, Ben Reid, and others from North Carolina here only April 2.

Sunday, April 3, 7pm.- special concert:
New compositions by J.O.Evans III performed by his ensemble The South Chamber Ensemble – Chris Johnson, Justin Peake, Simon Lott, and Willam A. Thompson IV. (admission TBA)

After Party! Allways Lounge, April 9, 10pm:
Amphibian Lark
Silver Apples
C-Section 8
Dead Baby Dolphins (new Gulf Coast-French Combo in Memoriam)
DJ Micronaut
& more
info to come

well hello

BBQ!

This was a good night of hard work and hard fun! We raised over $750, which means our expenses for this year are SET– we can now fund 2 more projects by New Orleans artists and cover the rest of our expenses! Thank you everyone!

Special thanks to James Goedert and Leslie Selting for not just busting ass but opening up their home. Also to Tallulah for the best triple grill operation ever witnessed, and solidarity with operating on a sleep deficit. All of the food got eaten, and relished. The initial relish was supplied by Mr. Jeff Shyman of Confederacy of Cruisers, who made us 16 cups of 2 kinds of homemade BBQ sauce: cherry and whiskey. Even if I had to blend one of them at the last minute they made the night. That and the whiskey solo. We won’t underestimate the demand next time…

We’re all extremely relieved to have all of our costs covered this year, and grateful to everyone for turning out at such short notice to help bring Automata to life this year in style. Who knows how the show itself will turn out? We do know local artists finally got money towards their projects, that we paid our rent, that we have begun to bring in artists from outside Louisiana— and see the road ahead in terms of expenses, materials provisions, the work we want to bring into New Orleans and the work we want to foster in New Orleans. We hope to see you all at the show!

One more time:

Thank you from all of us for coming out to the raffle and show this past Monday! It was a surreal and wonderful night. We raised $550, which won’t cover costs for all we’d hoped for– it is a difficult season for fundraising. The truck from California wasn’t meant to be this year, but we will be able to bring in Simeon from Alabama and a whole trailer of amazing sculpture from North Carolina. The generosity of the bands, the Allways Lounge, everyone who came out, all friends who volunteered to help, and those who donated to the raffle made the night a great one! We hope you can join us for this last leap of faith! We still have expenses to cover– in addition, a few local artists came forward with new ideas and they need help with expenses– we want to help get their projects finished. If we can raise at least another $500 before the Automata weekend then we’ve met our goal. Please come out to the party this Saturday, and invite everyone you know!

House party, this Saturday, March 26:
1912 Marais (between Touro & Pauger)
4pm till the food and music run out

Keg & BBQ! Vegetarian food available. Will post menu soon as we have it.

MENU!

Special:
Any entree with 2 sides & two beers: $10

A-la-carte:
Pork Chop, Sausage, or Vegetable Sandwich; Ribs or Chicken: $5

Each side (Potato Salad, Baked Macaroni, vinaigrette Coleslaw, no-meat-Collards): $2

Beer: $2
Highballs: $3
Juice/Soda/Water: $1

If we have water…! If no bottled water then tap water is free.
ie: your children are welcome. This is a family-friendly backyard. Come on in! Please find a dog sitter- life is short. Respect the neighbors. Eat and drink! The music and the air are at their finest.

We’d like to thank our Queen of the Grill, expert and scientific chef, and impresario of the Charismatic Battle, Tallulah Elvis Poodle, who will also do your taxes. Mr. Jeff Shyman of Confederacy of Cruisers is not just a consultant on proper feeding of masses but also maker-from-scratch of the BBQ sauce. 2 kinds of BBQ sauce, depending on your animal.
Thanks also to Wagner’s Meat on St. Claude, once again to Allways Lounge, and all Automata volunteers.

Monday Night Raffle & Dance Party

At the Allways Lounge, 2240 St. Claude Ave., corner of Marigny!
6pm; raffle begins at 8pm. Raffle list below, as it grows.
$5 entrance, $2 red beans, $1 raffle tickets.

Working List of Raffle Items

(links to sponsors in bold)

- Case of Vinavera Chardonnay, from Matassa’s Market
- Bike Tour for 2 from Confederacy of Cruisers (and a dozen fresh eggs)
- Spring-themed headpiece by Kate McNee
- 10 $20 gift certificates to Mardi Gras Zone
- gift certificate for cake from Shake Sugaree Sweets & Treats, valued at $40
- 5 free classes from Wild Lotus Yoga
- Babyhead Bustier by Cree McCree
- Headdress by Ooops the Clown
- $20 to La Divina Gelateria
- 2 3-piece chicken plates from Brothers Franklin Market on Franklin & Villere
- free bicycle tune-up at Gerken’s Bike Shop
- signed copy of the travel book Louisiana Rambles from Ian McNulty
- 5 9×13″ photographic prints by Jose Fernandes
- CD set of music by Micronaut
- Items from the Pop Shop!
- from Garrett County Press: copies of Temp Slave!, Guinea Pig Zero, Letters from New Orleans, and the WPA Guide to New Orleans
- Pete’s Easy Pizza Speakeasy:  a free pizza pie and beer coozy!
- drinks & theater tickets from Allways Lounge & Theater
-  Documenting the Now, set from Neighborhood Story Project
- $25 gift certificate to The Joint
- framed sketch by Rex Dingler
- bottle of Vin de Payes de Vaucluse, Les Aphillanthes, from Bacchanal Wine
- $20 gift certificate to Bywater BBQ
- a year of pro-level web hosting at Vesana.com
- The Little Lambs Throne of Atonement! from Termite Laboratories
- Old New Orleans Rum gift pack: 3 bottles of rum & a tour of the distillery

& other various treasures , either tba here asap or to be revealed at the raffle.

various treasures:  Howl Pop!, potted bamboo, cans of good house paint in various hues, 6-pack of spray paint, possibly a couch, 2 fresh Attic Ted cd’s, miscellaneous interesting books, 5 dvd set of the Complete History of WWll…

We’d like to thank all of the local businesses, musicians, artists and friends who are supporting this effort to bring in out of state artists to Automata this year! We are grateful to everyone for their enthusiasm and are putting these dollars to good use.
The Allways Lounge is an especially gracious host- thank you to Dennis Monn and Zalia Beville. See you there!

Gas Money

Our next fundraiser is scheduled for Monday, March 21st, at the Allways Lounge. A raffle, live bands, and dancing with DJ Micronaut, Automata’s resident soundman. Lefty Parker is our Master of Ceremonies. Band lineup and other information to be confirmed later this week.

Today, highlights of artists we are raising gas money for. There are two main trailers full of kinetic and machine sculpture: one from Asheville, North Carolina, and one originating in California that can bring in work from Prescott, AZ, and Austin. Plus, a special guest via Mobile, AL.

First, Asheville, headed up by Professor Mark Koven:
Koven and conspirators on a larger project (a post for the near future) will bring a trailer of work in from Asheville, including work from Koven’s last show in Seattle and pieces by Ben Reid and possibly Charlotte artist Ryan Buyssens.

Ben Reid

Koven

Buyssens

Next, California and the west as it nears Louisiana!

Ryon Gesink

Bandhu Dunham (Prescott, AZ)

Colin McIntyre (Austin, TX)

(& others, depending… on this ride.)

More as developments unfold in the next few days, including a flyer! Mardi Gras is over, Automata is nearly here- time is short. If we can start this year on what little resources and time we have now to bring in artists from out of state who are willing and able to go on this ride with our help, we will be able to bring many more in the coming years- we wish to bring more connections to machine, robotic, and kinetic artists in New Orleans, and expose more of what is going on in this arena to students, children and the public in this region; bringing in work from out of state is key to the future of Automata.

catching up, caught a cold!

Here we go– lots of info about to roll. Sorry for the silence, pals. Beautiful, balmy springtime in New Orleans, Carnival time, a terrible time for a snot-filled noggin. Glad to breathe again.

Meantime, look at this!

Mik Kastner

This Sunday!

Cheap Art Auction (click to see artist list) at Mimi’s this Sunday!

Preview some of the work up for auction in this album.

Image (with big) thanks to the Cybernetic Zoo: Professor George Moore’s Steam Man.

Update, 11/19: just some notes. All money raised in this auction will go towards exhibition expenses like space rental, and to New Orleans and regional artists towards their materials costs for Automata projects.

Also, the doors will be open to the balcony at Mimi’s to let in fresh air and allow people to move around more. The weather looks fine!

update

Thanks to the Arts Council for running our Call to Artists again- please click the link “information for artists” on the sidebar to the right for the full call.

Some adjustments have been made:

Models and Miniature will not take place this year because the space we were to use is no longer available. This will only be a kinetics, robotics, machine, electronic, and bio art sculptural exhibition at the Ironworks at 612 Piety St. in New Orleans. It will run from April 2-9, open on Saturday evenings and by appointment during the week. There will be a special concert evening, tba, by the J.O. Evans Ensemble. There is a door admission for the concert and the exhibit will be running. All other exhibition nights are free.

See the following entry for information on our first fundraiser, and stay tuned for information regarding funding and what our limitations are in bringing in artists from outside Louisiana. I should have a working list up on this blog of artists who are already committed to the show by early next week.

Please write to automata.nola@gmail.com with your proposal by February 18. Installation will begin at the site on March 30, the Wednesday before the opening night on April 2nd.

Cheap Art Auction fundraiser, Feb. 20th at Mimi’s

First fundraiser for Automata!
Upstairs at Mimi’s, corner of Franklin and Royal.
Preview: 6pm
Auction begins: 7pm
Paddles: $5
(buy-in and sign-in required to bid)
Auctioneer: Bob Snead
Showcase Glamour: Miss Hannah Brown
The Piano Player: Tom

Automata is an exhibition of kinetic and mechanical sculpture of all kinds. It will take place at the Ironworks warehouse at 612 Piety St., April 2-9, 2011.

We need to raise at least $10,000 for this year’s show to pay for:
- transport of heavy artwork from all over the U.S.
- individual grants to New Orleans and Louisiana artists for materials or something towards rent while they complete their work
- rent for the show location

The Cheap Art Auction is a LIVE AUCTION! Prices start at $5 or $10 unless otherwise specified by the artist. Money raised at this auction will go towards exhibition costs and to artists in New Orleans.

Preview some of the work on flickr.
Participating artists (more coming, list updated):

James Goedert
Bob Snead
Myrtle von Damitz lll
Thomas Little
Brad Benischek
Caesar Meadows
Christopher Deris
Harriet Burbeck
Kate McNee
R. Scott Moseley
Miss Pussycat
Skylar Fein
Mara Bentley
Michael Deas (commemorative Edgar Allen Poe stamp booklet, signed)
Kourtney Keller
Mystic Blue Signs, Vincent Mitchell
Marcus Brown- live sound drawings!
Lou Lou Maloney- Muses shoe!
Elyse Manning- Fancy Edibles!
Mo Lappin- Howl Pop Fashions
Calamity Fashions
Lefty Parker
Nina C. Nichols
Keene Kopper
Leslie Selting
Kenny Harrison
Kathleen Loe
Ryan Ballard
Alyssa Dennis
Eli Silverman
Boudreaux
Toby Franklin
Maggie Calmes
Hannah Chalew
Ben Fox McCord

If you are an artist who can donate work to the auction, or wish to support the show as a sponsor, please email Myrtle at automata.nola@gmail.com

Our fiscal sponsor is the Black Forest Fancies, a 501c3 arts non-profit. We will be able to provide you with an invoice so that your donation can be tax deductible where it applies.

See you at the auction!

Myrtle von Damitz lll
James Goedert
Bob Snead