Not Your Grandma's Quilt

In our talented family, we have many creative artists on all sides. Jeanette Jancius Durand of Oak Park, IL, will have one of her fiber works displayed in the upcoming show, A Fine Art Quilt in Memphis, TN.

The image at left is from Jeanette's piece titled, Growing In Rasnov (24" x 24"), inspired by Gustav Klimt and her sister, a Peace Corp. Volunteer.

"This quilted wall hanging is inspired by my sister's travels to Romania as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her first letter home was post marked Rasnov; her correspondence was about a new culture in Eastern Europe and her gaining acceptance with the people of Romania."

READ press release from Jay Etkin Gallery (which also represents photographer Kemper Durand)
VISIT Jeanette's site and blog
SEE Jeanette's studio

Jay Etkin Gallery
Fine Art Quilts 2005
August 19 - September 10
Reception: August 19th from 6:00-9:00 pm

(Memphis, Tenn.) - A “Fine Art Quilt” is definitely not your average grandmother’s bed quilt. With the growing national interest in collecting textile art, these highly collectable works truly meet the definition of “fine art.” In a first for Mid-South art lovers, a major contemporary art quilt exhibition opens in Memphis in August.

Fine Art Quilts 2005 is a national juried competition and exhibition showcasing the best of contemporary art quilts. These original works of art are created from dyed, painted and printed fabrics, using colorful imagery, elaborate threadwork and different textures. The exhibit, which features 30 quilts from 30 different nationally known textile artists, runs August 19 through September 10 at the Jay Etkin Gallery at 409 South Main in Memphis. The public is invited to a Gala Artists Reception scheduled for August 19th from 6:00-9:00 pm. All works in the exhibition are for sale and will also be available in an exclusive on-line gallery at FineArtQuilts.org.

Fine Art Quilts 2005 is co-curated by Arlene Blackburn of Millington, Tennessee and Michele Hardy of Mandeville, Louisiana. “We are delighted to bring this incredible juried exhibition to Memphis and the Mid-South,” said Blackburn. “It’s a great opportunity for novice and experienced art collectors to have first-hand access to this quality of work. For those who are not familiar with fine art quilts, seeing these pieces in person is an incredible experience. We have the best new works from the very best textile artists in the country represented at this show.”

Valicenti's Book of Thirst

Fellow creative director and longest-time friend, Bo Maupin, sends us word of Emotion as Promotion: A book of Thirst, edited by Rick Valicenti, self-described as "a contemporary commentary on the state of contemporary communication design as evidenced in the professional practice from both Rick's public and personal realms."

From John "Bruno" Maupin:

Here’s a PDF [Suburban Maul] from a project Rick Valicenti, a designer who lives outside of Chicago – Barrington none-the-less, did a couple of years ago. I saw him speak at a design group function here in Columbus this spring. He’s a very good designer with a mind for how design affects our culture, and how our culture influences design. For better or worse.

This PDF is from a project he did with two of his interns (see the story that is in the article) about the large “Mac” mansions that were built near his studio in the 90’s “dot com” boom. He had his students take pictures of the houses and then find retail signage that seemed to fit the design of each house.

Kind of funny, a much deeper social commentary in reality. His article at the end of the PDF is nice with some good links to other information about the evolution (or de-evolution of architectural design) in suburban America.

Since I have drunk quite a few Leininkugels in a quaint cape cod in Barrington that was built long before Levittown was realized, and long before Leininkugel was considered a micro-brew (I think we paid $4.95 for a case of longneck, plus bottle deposit), and most of all, since one of my best friends grew up in Barrington – I really enjoyed this piece.

Peter – you should be able to use this on your site if you want. I included the links, there is no longer a site just for Thirst Type. Rick has a site that has most of his book “Emotion as Promotion” at rickvalicenti.com.

I hope every one is doing well. I must get back to my mindless job of turning PDFs into EPS files. Maybe a I shall go in search of a Leininkugels NA at lunch, for old times sake.

Bo

Failed State Index

Via the Z+ Partners blog, we learned about the Failed States Index. According to the Fund for Peace, the first Annual Fund for Peace/Foreign Policy Failed States Index shows that "about 2 billion people live in countries that are in danger of collapsing."

With index factors like "Legacy of Vengeance" and "Progressive Deterioration of Public Services", we are often times left wondering if the same index can be applied to urban neighborhoods in the US!

From FfP article:

"America is now threatened less by conquering states than we are by failing ones." That was the conclusion of the 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy. For a country whose foreign policy in the 20th century was dominated by the struggles against powerful states such as Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union, the U.S. assessment is striking. Nor is the United States alone in diagnosing the problem. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned that "ignoring failed states creates problems that sometimes come back to bite us." French President Jacques Chirac has spoken of "the threat that failed states carry for the world's equilibrium." World leaders once worried about who was amassing power; now they worry about the absence of it."

So, who are the top 3 biggest failures, according to the 12 factors used by the index?

• Dem. Rep. of the Congo - 105.3
• Sudan - 104.3
• Iraq - 103.2

The purpose of the Index is to "encourage others to utilize the Failed States Index to develop ideas for promoting greater stability worldwide."

The hope is that the Index will "spur conversations, encourage debate, and most of all help guide strategies for sustainable security."

In failed states, the commerce of destabilization becomes an industry in and of itself. In Iraq, the business of building and selling IEDs or "Improvized Explosive Devices" is--pardon the bad pun--booming.

Thomas P. M. Barnett's basic idea in The Pentagon's New Map is that Gap States (aka. failed states) are the source of all war, terrorism, disease, ethnic cleansing, mass migration, environmental degradation, etc. And, that the real game is keeping Seam States (those on the border of failure) from "slipping into the Gap".

• Listen to Barnett's brief on the topic.
• See text and images from the recent New Map Game event in Newport.

Global Guerrillas is a blog by Jon Robb focused on "networked tribes, infrastructure disruption, and the emerging bazaar of violence. An open notebook on the first epochal war of the 21st Century." Robb gives good insight into the complex ecosystem of insurgents, governments, NGOs and reconstruction/security contractors that make up the landscape of failed states.

The Failed State Index

1. Mounting Demographic Pressures
2. Massive Movement of Refugees and IDPs
3. Legacy of Vengeance - Seeking Group Grievance
4. Chronic and Sustained Human Flight
5. Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines
6. Sharp and/or Severe Economic Decline
7. Criminalization or Delegitimization of the State
8. Progressive Deterioration of Public Services
9. Widespread Violation of Human Rights
10. Security Apparatus as "State within a State"
11. Rise of Factionalized Elites
12. Intervention of Other States or External Actors