Tag Archives: Economy

Depression Era Games: Silk Screen Prints

July 8, 2012 – 12:08 pm

The Creation Of: Depression Era Games from Stephen Surlin on Vimeo.

“Depression Era Games” is a silk screen print series that was inspired by recent socio-econimic and political divides within North America. These tensions resemble the time of the “Great Depression”, where reckless practices in the stock market caused a change of lifestyle for many citizens, especially those within the “dust bowl” areas.

Monopoly the board game was a response to the seemingly absurd circumstances that lead the recklessly wealthy to treat the neighbourhoods and citizens of America to be treated like game pieces.

The four screens are placed on this foldable sheet. A test for a cheap way to disperse the imagery.

Sale Of Stock

Pay Income Tax

Go Directly To Jail

Get Out Of Jail

Yellow Sale Of Stock

Green Sale Of Stock

Red Get Out Of Jail

All works by Stephen Surlin 2012

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Activism, Conceptual, Illustration | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Body Form Test: An Interactive Installation Through Social Practice

July 1, 2012 – 3:49 pm

Body Form Test from Stephen Surlin on Vimeo.

Body Form Test by Stephen Surlin & Michael Ngo

Stephen placing the body form.

The project was an attempt to engage with the often apathetic Windsor community. Especially their aversion to the “homeless” and the ability to ignore a problem that is often so obvious, while remaining hidden, elusive or difficult to engage with. We received several mixed and intense responses to the work.

We were heavily influenced by the interventionist street artist, Mark Jenkins, and his public sculpture work. The subjects/characters represented in his works often possess a grotesque and ambiguous quality, often dealing with distinct social tensions or taboos.

It was our intention to interact with the public and receive an illicit response, possibly triggered by strong emotion. We received threats of violence and words of encouragement.

Filmed in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Creation: Stephen Surlin & Michael Ngo, Film: Stephen Surlin, Photography: Michael Ngo, Music: Aphex Twin – Father

The variety of reactions were part of the goal. Michael and I had the opportunity to talk to several people about their uniqie connection to people in need. From a person who works in health care to a miner form Alberta and their awareness of people with addiction, including himself.
Photo by Michael Ngo 2011

Photo by Michael Ngo 2011

Photo by Michael Ngo 2011

Photo by Michael Ngo 2011

Photo by Michael Ngo 2011

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Activism, Conceptual, Installation, Interactive, Photography, Sculpture | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

“Hell Is Other People’s Money” Group Exhibit @ Common Ground Gallery

February 18, 2012 – 3:46 pm

During May of 2011 I was given the opportunity to curate a gallery exhibit at the Common Ground Gallery, located in MacKenzie  Hall in the Old Sandwich Town region of Windsor, Ontario. With my involvement in the MayWorks Festival planning committee, I was assigned to curate a labour/economics themed exhibition. The space was paid for  by Artcite Inc. for the exhibit.

“Sergio Forest, one of the volunteers for the non-profit gallery, explains the gallery started as a kind of grass roots movement twenty-six years ago, supported by the Art Gallery of Windsor and Artcite. The intention was to support local talent by offering affordable, high quality studio space to burgeoning artists. While it is still mainly local multi-media artwork that is to be found on Common Ground’s walls.” - Windsorite.ca

Artcite Inc.’s MayWorks 2011 is based in the May Day labour celebration. The events are in solidarity with workers and labour rights as Artcite’s website describes:

“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)

Sartre - No Exit by A.R.T.

The theme for the show was inspired by my interest in existential theatre and literature and it’s examination of the individual and their connection to society. This is exemplified in Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” from 1944. The play revolves around three main characters who discover their situation is the result of “sinful” lives and that they are in “hell” which is simply living with “other people” for eternity. This is where the play’s most famous line comes from, “hell is other people“. I used this as the conceptual context for the exhibit, calling it “Hell Is Other People’s Money”.

The title is referring to the complexities of human interaction, especially within the context of contemporary economics. The tensions, fear and struggles found in a seemingly perpetual era of economic crisis.

After developing the theme I made a priority of including one of my colleagues, Teresa Carlesimo, who had recently created a work called “The Room” or “Waiting Room”. This work, which acts as a contemporary view of the  type of “non-spaces” that we inhabit, also emphasizes the connection to Sartre’s theatre production.

Teresa Carlesimo's "Waiting Room"

Later I found several more artists for the exhibit that could work within the theme. The participating artists were: Marcy Boles, Mike Ngo, Rachel Chausse, Teresa Carlesimo and Stephen Surlin.

Marcy Boles’ installation is a pseudo-historical devotional collection of materials of traditionally female labour that often involves a type of pain that Boles herself feels in her repetitive auto-motive factory job. The anti-arthrital braces are Boles’, which are beside the etching tools she used to create the printing plate in the installation.

Marcy Boles' installation.

Marcy Boles' installation detail.

Mike Ngo’s installation is a colaborative piece between him and the Campus Community Garden at the University of Windsor. Ngo collected buckets of compost from the gardens pile, which is for sale, and used one of their organic tomato plants for the installation. The tomato plant is a very charged icon for the recent economic histories of Windsor/Leamington region of Southern Ontario, along with it’s tumultuous colonial history with Spain and other countries.

Mike Ngo's installation.

Mike Ngo's installation detail.

Ngo also had a shelf installed with information and a donation jar for the CCGP in the space.

Rachel Chausse’s work featured a colour photo of a miniature model that she made which was then printed large. The photo engages with the complex and painful histories of Leamington’s tomato industry which often advantages from the exploitation of migrant Mexican workers who are caught in racial tension and resentment form local population who greatly advantage from the industry.

Rachel Chausse's large scale photograph.

Stephen Surlin had a varying collection of works including paintings, text based/interactive and new media works. All of Surlin’s work deals with the intricacies of contemporary consumer culture/identity, the spectacle of politics and the “battle” with depression and suicide that many people face.

Paintings by Stephen Surlin

A reflexive moment with Surlin's internet based paintings.

A look at the didactic work by Surlin which encouraged participation from the patrons.

The beginning of the artist talks (from left to right): Mike Ngo, Rachel Chausse, Stephen Surlin, Marcy Boles

After a moment to allow the attendees to view the exhibit, Susan Gold-Smith, one of the Artcite Inc. planning committee members, introduced the artists and gave a brief word on the history of the MayWorks Festival.

Surlin beginning the interactive question of "what scares you about the economy?"

After the talks, I began the discussion of “What scares you about the economy?” to bring to the fore some of the anxieties that cause tensions between individuals and groups. The black board I created includes text and diagrams that compare the salary of artists and government spending on the arts and etc. The audience began shouting out ideas and I wrote them down and tried to keep the discussion going.

The black board after the discussion. Filled with the anxieties and fears of the individual in response to the economy.

The discussion was intense and varied, and sometimes comical. Though this was a kind of therapeutic purging of collective dis-ease that was focused on in the exhibit in varying ways.

Read More »

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Activism, Conceptual, Curation, Design, Installation, Interactive, Painting, Photography | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Make It Work: Creativity In The Great Recession @ SoVA Gallery

September 22, 2011 – 11:15 pm


I was recently a part of the exhibit Make It Work: Creativity In The Great Recession in the School Of Visual Arts Projects Gallery in the Lebel Building on the University of Windsor Campus. The gallery show was a response to “the great recession” that is currently upon us.

I submitted two pieces for the show. The first is a video work entitled “Reruns” which feature some C-Span footage of Paulson and Bernanke discussing the need for a bailout in 2008. Though I added a laugh track to the banal scene, exposing the “comedy” of this “situation”. The rerun aspect relates back to the idea of “tired” plot lines being played over and over on our television screens. The recent economic decisions, especially made by the federal reserve (a private corporation, not a government branch) seem to take place on a stage far removed from “every day life” yet effect it so greatly.

The second piece is a painting work that I had done earlier entitled “Save”. A text based work modelled after the actual signage of local businesses, mainly gas stations, dollar stores and quick loan businesses. The seemingly discarded signage is placed in a glass case in the Lebel Building’s halls that resembles the many empty and neglected store fronts in Windsor’s downtown.

The exhibit was also in collaboration with the panel discussion INTERSECTIONS: Art + Economies which is described below. The discussions gave a lot of context to the works and framed them around a post-industrial phenomena that is gripping a large portion of Southern Ontario and the American Midwest, while at the same time, emphasizing the need for new creative economies. The talk featured two of my influential professors: Lee Rodney and Justin Langlois.

INTERSECTIONS: Art + Economies

While the idea of creative economies has become commonplace in large cultural centres, there has been less consideration of the possibilities and challenges of working in economically distressed cities that are at a distance from cultural capitals and the art market. Research into the trend of shrinking cities in recent years has drawn attention to the question of how to consider cities that are losing population and basic infrastructure. Possible answers to the problems raised by shrinking cities have not been coming from economists or politicians, but from artists, designers and architects.

Conventional logic dictates that artists and other creative professionals are drawn toward large established cultural centres to support their careers; however in recent years there has been a small but notable trend emerging in former industrial regions in North America where alternative creative communities have been organizing in places seemingly left behind by globalization. These artists, designers and architects share a concern for questioning the values of market-driven aesthetics and the conventions of artistic practice that are linked to large international centres. In contrast the emphasis in these regions has been toward articulating locality through new audiences. We will seek to trace some of the varied adaptive methods of artistic practice that are linked to smaller and informal economic arrangements that have emerged as big industry ceases to be the defining force within these regions.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the School of Visual Arts we are hosting a panel discussion to address the intersection of art and economy as our region undergoes transition. Speakers will address what role the arts has had in shifting and redefining the culture of industrial cities struggling to survive in an information economy. To this end our two local panelists will be joined by two dynamic curators from other cities that have negotiated similar economic shifts – or are in the process of doing so. We plan to discuss a range of questions such as: What might locality and local production mean when two cities are located on an international border? What role do artists and grassroots organizations have in redefining local realities? How do ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural realities play out in negotiations of place and identity, and how can these negotiations posit new sorts of regional or global identities? And what might local mean in the Detroit-Windsor region, for example, where some creative practices are focused on audiences at the scale of the neighbourhood or even the block, while others seek audiences far beyond?

Gallery View of Make It Work

Reruns: Excerpts/Installation View from Stephen Surlin on Vimeo.

Save By Stephen Surlin

Detail of Save

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Conceptual, Painting, Video | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Artcite’s MAYWORKS Labour Arts Festival 2010

February 21, 2011 – 9:40 pm

For Artcite’s annual MAYWORKS Festival 2010 I used the 410 Pelissier storefront to curate a minimal show with my Save paintings and the installation of 3 tables that were found around the space.

The paintings work as a group that resembles the collected detritus of a recently emptied out storefront, a scene that is very common in the Windsor, Ontario region. The ambiguous text takes on several meanings regardless of the context they’re placed in. In this particular setting, they may appear as a forgotten request to save a few dollars or this entire building from being demolished or converted into more parking space.

The tables were inspired by the recent garbage strike that was also happening during the creation of the Street Dreams show for the Fringe Festival. The tables, that are similar to the ones in many municipal government meetings exist perpetually overturned. A symbol of indecision and inefficiency by local bureaucracy.

For the month of May, Windsor Ontario’s labour and arts communities will join with other cities across theCanada to present our firstlabour focused cultural MayWorks festival in Windsor in 2010.

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

Our various activities will highlight our support for our city core, our old Sandwich Towne community, our history of solidarity and labour arts.

-Artcite.ca

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Curation, Installation, Painting | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Warhol Dole Bananas

January 10, 2011 – 8:01 pm

Warhol Dole Bananas

Warhol Dole Bananas

Illustration made in Adobe Illustrator CS4 2010

by Stephen Surlin

The aesthetic calls upon an obvious reference to Andy Warhol and his work with the banana as subject, which can be seen on the cover of the Velvet Underground record and other works in advertising or record cover design. Warhol is known for his role in the “Pop” art movement of the 60′s and late 20th century. His work brings a poignant and critical eye to the consumer culture and mass media of contemporary society.

Especially in the context of Warhol, the banana is already charged with meaning, though in this work I create a new layer. One that calls upon issues surrounding contemporary global economic shifts, especially ones that connect to globalization and the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The Dole corporation company sticker that I added to the banana by Warhol engages with these concepts.

The banana is an exemplary subject when looking at the effects of globalization and international debt systems. The Jamaican government was pressured into turning a large portion of the country into cash-crop farming for trans-national corporations, especially because of the debt to the IMF. This method of farming and government conflict of interest causes workers to receive low-pay, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and inadequate medical attention. Cash-crop farming also leads to extremely low-biodiversity, which is a problem for the health of the ecosystem and to the consumers of the bananas. Since in the recent past there were over 70 species of banana and now most people in the world only consume 4 or 5 species, especially when shopping in corporate owned grocery stores.

The repetition in my work brings to mind the repetition found in the low-biodiversity of the cash-crop farming method. The method appears to be a screen print copy, which calls upon the saturation of print and other visual media and advertising found in the work of Warhol and other “Pop” artists; though my method will involve a rather meticulous process in which I paint the bananas by hand which is in direct opposition to mass production. This methodology calls for an understanding and care for the conceptual motivation, to meditate on it’s meaning. The process once again subverts the ethos of the “Pop” movement and consumer culture by creating a work that is impermanent and difficult to “package” and “sell”.

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Illustration | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Save Series

December 31, 2010 – 5:41 pm

 

Save

Acrylic paint on stretched canvas

Stephen Surlin

2009

This series of paintings work together to create a singular gesture. My process involved an examination at various aspects of contemporary society, especially the recent shifts in the local and global economy. The word “Save” already possess an array of meanings, taking action in reducing the amount of money spent, the idea of rescuing a person, place or thing, reserving something for later in order for someone to enjoy it, etc. This word appears to be charged with meaning in contemporary society.

My painting technique used an aesthetic of the reproduced and saturated ethos of the type of consumer found in many of the 1960′s “Pop” artists, enabling a connection to consumption and the economy. Though my method, from afar, appears to have created a uniform and “clean” production and reproduction of the text; upon closer examination, a viewer will notice the numerous “imperfections”, the raising paint, ripped away edges or evidence of the paint “bleeding” into the stencil. This is because, instead of using a more precise silk screen method, I used a cutout tape stencil, a process that will most likely produce less than “perfect” results.

The design method and fonts are influenced by my immediate surroundings. I took photo documentation of the word where it appeared in situations that in one instance represent common uses of the term in public, though in another sense, embody the very forces involved in my work: a car wash, dollar store and payday loans store. These photos can be seen below.

The examples I used from my community for inspiration.

By Stephen Surlin | Posted in Painting | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)
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