Category Archives: Press

MayWorks 2011 Booklet Design for Artcite Inc.

February 12, 2012 – 10:28 pm

The front cover of the full colour, 6.5" x 8.5", 25 page program made for Artcite Inc.'s MayWorks 2011. The booklet featured a listing of all MayWorks events marches, and ad spots purchased by our generous sponsors and supporters.

I recently had the opportunity to intern at Artcite Inc. during the MayWorks 2011 events series.

“Artists, workers, and students have met over many months to organize a collection of exhibitions, projects, events, a rally and a parade, to celebrate our creativity as a community, our dedication to the values of workers’ solidarity, social justice and human rights.

The various activities will highlight our support for our city and our history of solidarity, concern for social justice and our tradition of labour arts.” – Artcite Inc. (artcite.ca)

I worked with Christine Burchnall and Bernard Helsing and a group of volunteer committee members to develop the contents of the program and the events that were to take place. I was also given the opportunity to curate a gallery show at the Common Ground Gallery in Windsor’s historic Sandwich Town. The show was called “Hell Is Other People’s Money”, referencing the most famous line of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit”. I will be making a post on that show soon.

I used CS4 InDesign and Illustrator to create the layout for the publication and edit the contents.

The first pages of the book, featuring a statement from Artcite Inc. and a callender of events featuring photos from Justicia For Migrant Workers' (J4MW) march from Leamington to Windsor to demonstrate worker solidarity and protest the lack of workers' rights.

The program also featured a two page spread about the the play "Riveter" and it's cast from the Windsor Feminist Theatre.

The advertisement I made for the gallery show that corresponded with Artcite Inc.'s MayWorks 2011.

This ad is based on the American Repertory Theater’s production of Sartre’s “No Exit” in 2006.

No Exit revolves around three recently deceased strangers who find themselves locked in a drawing room. All have led extravagant, quasi-criminal lives: Estelle is a nymphomaniac who drove her lover to suicide when she killed their illegitimate child; Inez is a lesbian who drove her cousin’s wife to suicide; Garcin is a militant pacifist who betrayed his own cause and was shot while attempting to escape. Now all three are trapped together for eternity, prisoners in an endless love triangle that forms their own private hell. Jean-Paul Sartre’s classic thriller is part philosophical melodrama, part farce; Jerry Mouawad’s stylish production sets the stage in a maddeningly unstable world—where the three inmates must literally fight to retain their footing with every step. - A.R.T

Above are the ads for the show that I created in Illustrator CS4, based on the A.R.T. production of the play and it’s set.
The show featured works from Teresa Carlesimo, Mike Ngo, Marcy Boles, Rachel Chause and Stephen Surlin. All with works “inspired by the psychologies of late capitalism.”
By Stephen Surlin | Also posted in Activism, Design, Digital, Illustration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Artist As Activist Projects: The Present And Future Of…

September 5, 2011 – 9:52 pm

My “Artist As Activist” series of works has made me re-examine my art making and social engagement with several strata of society. My recent travels and experiences have formed a lot of what I consider to be of importance in my dialogue with the world around me.

Explaining to the village who we are and why we are there

I have focused on the people I encountered in my travels to Nigeria, Africa leading me to create the Rechargeable Solar Powered Bag project. These works involved several stages of research and developement. I had to consult several people, especially Bob from Windsor Powerhouse to help with the electrical engineering work. I had the bag for the project donated by Ten Thousand Villages Windsor (where I used to volunteer). I spoke with many friends, family and colleagues over several months, bouncing ideas off them to develop my ideas.

My article in the Windsor Star

I stumbled on some of my most important research, found in Stuart Walker’s Sustainable by Design: Explorations in Theory and Practicewhere I learned several of my guiding principles for design.

Inventiveness Of Necessity
Sustainability demands resourcefulness and restraint. New solutions have to be found which require less.

Improvisation And Spontaneity
The constraints of limited resources at the local level in terms of materials, processes and tools, combined with a realization that most contemporary products are actually a physical manifestation of unsustainable practices, can create a liberating environment in which to reconsider the nature of objects.

Integration Of Scales – Mass-Produced Plus Locally Made Parts
An important but little explored aspect of sustainable product design is a reassessment of our scales of production so that products can be made, repaired and reused within an industrial ecology of cyclic resource use at the local or regional level.

Elegance And Empathy Through Design
When developing products within the limitations imposed by locale, processes, techniques and human skills must be used imaginatively to convert often uninspiring or non-ideal materials into elegant forms that contribute in a positive way to our material culture.

"The Artist's Tools" from my Artist As Activist Exhibit

Then I began to prepare for my gallery show at the Lebel Gallery at the University of Windsor. The exhibit was titled “Artist As Activist”. The show went well and allowed me to get local press and interviews. This then led me to have a feature in VIEW magazine University of Windsor’s Alumni magazine.

For the future…

I will now be beginning another chapter in my “Artist As Activist” projects. I will be working quite closely with several Migrant worker, Farmer’s Union and community groups to the migrant worker population in Leamington, Ontario. First I will be focusing on bike safety, where I will talk about the needs of workers with the workers themselves and the community groups, then apply aspects of LED technology to add light to their bikes or walks.

From this I will make a short documentary and hopefully have a few design projects come out of my time working with these groups.

Check out this site to find out more information on my upcoming projects.

By Stephen Surlin | Also posted in Activism, Conceptual, Curation, Design, Digital, Illustration, Installation, Interactive, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

VIEW Magazine Student Feature: Artist As Activist

August 22, 2011 – 9:51 pm

The above image is the interface for viewing the digital version of the publication. Which you can go to by clicking on the image.

     Stephen Surlin is searching for the right words. It’s not that he’s at a loss for them – he simply has so much to say, to do, and to achieve. It’s as though the bright and curious third-year student is breathing in potential and exhaling ideas.

Majoring in Visual Arts, Surlin is laying a broad foundation for his future, minoring in women’s studies and computer science. His ultimate goal is to take his passion for art, social justice and technology and fire these elements into a finished piece that inspires thought, social equality, and even sustainable products that benefit disempowered communities.

- Jennifer Barone

I was recently contacted by VIEW Magazine‘s editor, Jennifer Barone, to do an interview for VIEW’s first ever Student Profile section of their publication based out of the University of Windsor. The magazine’s website describes VIEW as the:

University of Windsor alumni magazine, connecting more than 60,000 alum with each other and their alma mater.

The alumni-campus relationship is central to the life of a university. UWindsor prepares its students to make their mark on the world; in return, graduates give back in multiple ways — as mentors, donors, and champions of the school. View builds on that relationship by sharing stories about the University that instill pride in its graduates.

The magazine has also brought recognition to the University, winning awards for its design and photography from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.

I was very excited and proud to do the interview and feature. Barone had said her attention was first caught by my interview in The Windsor Star by Sonja Puzic titled University of Windsor artist’s gallery showing inspired by humanitarian trip to Nigeria. In the article, Puzic asked me several questions about my recent trip to Nigeria and how that experience led me to create several sustainable design and social justice focused projects using LED lights, rechargeable batteries and solar panels. VIEW magazine also used the photo that Dan Janisse took of me for that article.

Click here to download a condensed PDF version of the VIEW article featuring my works.

By Stephen Surlin | Also posted in Activism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Human Rights and Equality Art Show Hosted By The OHREA @ U of W

August 8, 2011 – 3:53 pm

I was recently enrolled in the art exhibit entitled A Celebration of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility. The program booklet, a glossy full colour publication printed by the OHREA (Office of Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility) for the show, describes the event:

“[The exhibit] showcases the artistic talent and social conciousness of Windsor-Essex students. In commemoration of March 21st (The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination), this exhibit raises awareness around issues of discrimination and systemic oppression, while offering windows of hope.”

The booklet that accompanied the exhibit.

The event was co-ordinated by the OHREA and the organizing committee featuring Kaye Johnson, the director of the OHREA, Jasjeet Ajimal and others. The exhibit took place on March 21st, 2011 in the CAW Commons at the University of Windsor, Ontario. The exhibit was a judged competition featuring several judges chosen form community and a people’s choice award. In the “Message from the President” section of the book of the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor, Dr. Alan Wildeman, addresses the  exhibit’s contents.

“Expression through art is a part of the human experience, and one of the most powerful ways in which aspirations for social justice have been presented… It is the goal of the [OHREA] to help us all gain awareness of the need for everyone to have dignity and to have opportunity. Supporting the advancement of human rights, equity and accessibility is the responsibility of all of us. The work of these students is an important part of spreading that message across the University of Windsor and our surrounding community.”

Dr. Alan Wildeman
President and Vice-Chancellor

My section in the booklet.

For my contribution to A celebration of Human Rights… I exhibited my recent “Artist as Activist” works, including the Rechargeable Solar Powered LED Bag, the Untitled Photo works and the video Trying on Glasses. After the judging period was concluded I was awarded an honourable mentions award, presented by Kaye Johnson.

The letter signed by Kaye Johnson congratulating me on my award.

The CAW Centre at the University of Windsor, the Native Canadian drummers can be seen setting up on stage. The art works are setup all around the stage and chairs. My exhibit is at the booth under the banner.

A judge is looking at my booth, taking down notes.

My LED Lamp and "Artists' Tools" works.

Untitled (Not Seeing Nigeria) photo works on display.

By Stephen Surlin | Also posted in Activism, Curation, Installation | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Beckett’s Car With A Broken Window featured on A Piece of Monologue

March 29, 2011 – 6:56 pm

On March 25, 2011, the literature, philosophy and critical theory blog, A Piece Of Monologue featured my piece entitled Beckett’s Car With A Broken Window. The work focuses on the famous and greatly influential writer and playwright Samuel Beckett and the car I discovered he owned.

Beckett’s Car: Art Project

Stephen Surlin’s paper sculpture reflects on Beckett’s work and contemporary violence

Stephen Surlin, ‘Beckett’s Car With A Broken Window’ (Paper model 2010)

 

As part of an Intermedia class on a Bachelor of Fine Arts programme, Stephen Surlin chose to create a paper sculpture of Samuel Beckett’s car. Entitled ‘Samuel Beckett’s Car With A Broken Window’, the sculpture was inspired by the artist’s connection with Beckett’s writing, whilst reflecting on contemporary violence and twentieth-century history.

Click here to see the article.

Click Here to see the Beckett’s Car With A Broken Window project.

By Stephen Surlin | Also posted in Sculpture | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Interview With Broken City Lab

January 27, 2011 – 11:30 am

Recently one of the senior research fellows at the local artist/activist group Broken City Lab named Josh Babcock interviewed me about my current gallery show “Artist As Activist” on at the Lebel Gallery on the University of Windsor Campus.

Broken City Lab is an artist-led interdisciplinary creative research group that tactically disrupts and engages the city, its communities, and its infrastructures to reimagine the potential for action in the collapsing post-industrial city of Windsor, Ontario.

The processes of Broken City Lab remain grounded in the lab’s observations and concerns about Windsor, as a city, as a community, and as a network of infrastructure, and aim to do two things: first, Broken City Lab works through interventionist tactics to adjust, critique, annotate, and re-imagine the city that we encounter; secondly, through these interventions, the lab seeks to educate, inspire, and facilitate a new way of viewing the potential for interacting with and in the city.

Broken City Lab’s creative activity is rooted in community-based social practice, where the lab attempts to generate a new dialogue surrounding public participation and community engagement in the creative process, with a focus on the city as both a research site and workspace.

You can READ THE ARTICLE HERE.

By Stephen Surlin | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Stephen Surlin’s Windsor Star Interview

January 27, 2011 – 11:20 am

Stephen Surlin, a University of Windsor arts student displays his rechargeable solar powered LED lamp Wednesday January 19, 2011. The piece is part of an exhibit Surlin will present at the Lebel Gallery at the school.

Photograph by: Dan Janisse, The Windsor Star

University of Windsor artist’s gallery showing inspired by humanitarian trip to Nigeria

BY SONJA PUZIC, THE WINDSOR STAR JANUARY 20, 2011

An eye-opening trip to Nigeria with a humanitarian organization is the inspiration behind a local young artist’s latest exhibit.

Stephen Surlin, a 24-year-old University of Windsor visual arts student, will showcase his latest work at the university’s LeBel Gallery next week.

The exhibit, entitled Artist as Activist, opens Monday and will feature what Surlin calls activism design projects, including a solar powered rechargeable LED lamp. His work combines installations, audio, video, painting, photography and sculpture.

Surlin, who works with the local artist collective Broken City Lab and has been involved with Artcite’s Fringe Festival and the Fahrenheit Festival, said he was inspired by new design and technology ideas as they relate to impoverished nations like Nigeria.

“After my trip to Nigeria … I did a lot of research on the idea of architecture as activism,” Surlin said. Many of the people he met in the West African country were very interested in technology and electronics, although they had limited access to it. At the same time, they lacked basic necessities – proper medical care, HIV/AIDS treatment and eyeglasses.

Surlin travelled to Nigeria with the AIDS Crisis Response Team, a non-profit organization that provides direct medical services, medications and education to people in developing countries affected by the disease.

“I handed out a lot of glasses there. I had people telling me they wanted to be able to thread a needle, see better,” he said.”I was also a documentarian during the trip.”

Surlin said he hopes to raise awareness of social and humanitarian crises through contemporary art and engage people in discussions about social activism.

Lizzy Walker, director of the AIDS Crisis Response Team, will join Surlin for his exhibit’s closing reception Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at the gallery, located in the visual arts building at Huron Church Road and College Avenue. She will talk about her work with the organization.

For more information, visit Surlin’s website, stephensurlin.com or check him out on Facebook.

spuzic@windsorstar.com

By Stephen Surlin | Also posted in Activism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)
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