New InDigest Up Now!

Dear Readers,

Hopefully you've had time to get through all of the great work that was in our anniversary issue, because now we have even more outstanding poetry, art, reviews, and short fiction for you in our first issue of 2009.

For those of you in New York we're excited to also tell you about our new reading series in the art gallery space of (le) Poisson Rouge in New York's historic Greenwich Village. On March 4th, InDigest 1207 will take place for the third time (it happens the first Wednesday of every month). The first two were great, and we expect this one to be as well. We will be welcoming the poets Jibade-Khalil Huffman and Paul Dickinson (bios below). And if that's not enough, there will be free absinthe tasting from 6pm-7pm, just to get you in the right mood.

Now, the latest issue!

Narratives:
Mackenzie Epping takes us on disorienting trips through Germany and Nashville in "Auslaender" and "Nashville."

Poetics:
Mandy Herrick's "Bob Dylan's Cell Phone" and "They Say."
mumbling incessantly,
while thrown down the throat of the barrell,
ready for the trigger to lurch and smile
and say, can you hear me?


Gallery:
Kate Casanova's sculptures, inspired by social materials, those that are readily found in everyday life. These manufactured materials blend with natural forms to create otherly worlds, thought objects and new meaning.

Erratica:
Non-fiction is the focus this month as Bedside Stacks looks at the oddities of the English Language and turn of the century sideshows.


Part III of The Ulysses Sage (Tips 'n Tricks) takes the potential reader through the hooks and hang ups of Joyce's madness.


InDigest 1207
03/04/09
Jibade-Khalil Huffman was born in Detroit and raised in Florida. His poetry, fiction and photography have appeared in Boston Review, Court Green, NOON, Aufgabe, and Encyclopedia, among others. Educated at Bard College and Brown University, his awards include the Grolier Poetry Prize and fellowships from the Millay Colony for the Arts and the Ucross Foundation. "19 Names For Our Band" is his first book.

Paul D. Dickinson is a poet based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul. His work has appeared in City Pages, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Request.com, and Conduit. Dickinson has read on Minnesota Public Radio, 93.7 "The Edge", KFAI, and 89.3 "The Current". He currently hosts the "Riot Act Reading Series" , a cutting edge literary event that features national and international writers. His latest spoken word CD is "Lord Byron Gets Busted" on Speedboat Records . He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UMASS Amherst.


As always, thanks for reading.

David and Dustin,
Editors


InDigest is currently looking for design and editorial interns. If interested, for more information email Dustin at dlukenelson [at] gmail [dot] com and/or David at doody01 [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Lack of Content

There hasn't been a whole lot of content on the old Minneapolis Street Art Observer. Reasons: I have recently moved across the country. But: I will be heading back to Minneapolis to continue the project with some frequency.

What that means: The updates are going to be less frequent than they have been, but the project will continue.

What else: I'm going to start a new, and somewhat similar, project. streetartobserverdaily.blogspot.com is going to launch shortly and will, as the title indicates, be updated daily.

InDigest Issue 7

Issue 7 of InDigest is now up. Thanks for your patience on this one, folks. As some of you may know, Dustin has recently moved to New York, so it's been a new adventure getting this issue together with half a country between us. Among other things this move prompted us to do our first Letter From the Editors.

What else you'll find in this issue:

Crows and the poltical machines of the world are satirized and recontextualized in a series of paintings by Pamela Kirton. HERE>>>

Flash Fiction from Brandon-Scott Gorrell.

The other men in black suits and sunglasses began running around in small circles and shooting at Alex with Uzis. Alex shot them and killed them. Alex said something to Keith about how good he was with the sniper rifle.

The hardest working woman in music, Holly Munoz, sits down with Ellen Frazel to talk about running Draw Fire Records, plotting cross-country bio-diesel tours, and recording a new album with her band Aviette.

Reverend Billy talks to Dustin about consumerism run amok in the U.S. Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir have been singing and screaming the perils of over-spending, global warming, and frivolous globalization for over a decade.

On the heels of the Republican National Convention, I offer my thoughts about rappers Atmosphere, Mos Def, and The Pharcyde not speaking up enough at a concert that took place right next to where the Republicans were congregating. There are fewer than two months until we vote for the next President (and VP) and all opportunities have to be taken advantage of.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for continuing to support this thing, InDigest.

David Luke Doody & Dustin Luke Nelson

Uptown Street Art in the Waning Days of Summer

The kind of stencil where a little wear and tear makes it look so much better. It looks like it was meant to be this way.




So gritty and dirty..so much better for it.







Nice reinvention of a familiar face.










Pretty rad sticker.










Both of these guys are next to each other on Nicolet.

Help Save Cinema Revolution

For readers in the Minneapolis area:

If you are like me, you enjoy a good cup of coffee, a nice tumbler of whiskey, rain storms, and movies. Particularly movies that are not going to be found at your local Blockbuster. Also you probably enjoy all of these things at locally run businesses (damn those FOXNEWS sponsored thunderstorms...).

This isn't just a random rant about something that pissed me off so stick with me here.

I frequented Cinema Revolution for many years (it's actually just off to the side of many of the pictures on this site), it's easily one of the best video stores (if not the best) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and they are in trouble. The store is having some financial difficulties and I thought I'd throw something up in hopes that you value what John and Cinema Revolution do for the community as much as I do. The store is run by volunteers who support film screenings around town, host cinema discussion evenings, allow you to rent local filmmakers (often for free) and have a selection that no one else in town can compare to. So here's a little bit of an e-mail John Koch (owner) sent out to some today, about why Cinema Revolution is important:

We believe that a local store run by live local people is something of value - a store that curates film as a gallery would curate any other form of art, a store that actively promotes film in the community, a store with a real, tangible personality. Cinema Revolution creates an artistic context for your DVD rental experience; we help guide you through innumerable choices, and celebrate films that otherwise are marginalized or ignored. We are active in the community as well. Through the nearly five years of our existence, we have shot a feature film using all local talent, we have held dozens of film screenings through Cinema des Artistes and our Film Society, commissioned new original short films from local artists, held weekly live film discussion groups, started a local record label, and have helped actively promote countless festivals, performances and screenings by local producers. It is a major part of our mission to connect, support and inspire our local artistic community. If you value what we do for the community, we ask you to please help us continue in these endeavors.

So, if you can donate a little bit to help them out, if you can't do that, make an effort to rent some films from there, go to a screening hosted by Cinema Revolution, or participate in one of their weekly film discussions.

Here are the details sent out about how you can help out:

We are seeking to raise $5,000 by September 15th to help make our move to a new location a reality, as it cannot be done without this additional support. The suggested donation is $20 (and if 250 people can do this, we will make our goal), but please feel free to give at any level you can afford. With your collective help we can make this happen.

We are also seeking volunteers to help in this fundraising effort. If you are interested in helping out, contact john@cinemarevolution.com. We are also open to any suggestions or advice anyone may have to help us along.

In just the past two years we have lost legendary video stores Discount Video and Box Office Video. We have seen the Oak Street and Bell Auditorium film programs vanish, we have watched the entire film editorial staff at the City Pages lose their jobs, and Hollywood fare is now seeping into our beloved Lagoon Cinema. Please help keep an active, inspiring film culture alive in the Twin Cities and donate securely via PayPal today at www.cinemarevolution.com (Click on the link below).

Please note that if for any reason we do not achieve our financial goal, your generous donations will be refunded directly through PayPal. If we should raise more than our goal, the extra money will be applied to growing our movie collection to help fill our new space. Also be aware that we are not organized as a non-profit organization for tax purposes, so your donation is not tax deductible.

That's all I've got, it's well worth a little bit of your time or money to help keep filmmaking in the city alive. Adios.

I am Robin Gunningham

There has been a lot of talk flying around message boards, blogs, and even reputable papers and magazines like Time and The Guardian about the potential unmasking of Banksy. For those who are somehow unfamiliar with one of the most influential artists alive, Banksy is a street artist whose whole persona has relied on the fact that no one knows who Banksy is. He started has a regular tagger in London, and has evolved into an international criminal and hero. Creating a Guantanamo prisoner blow up at Disneyland, tagging the walls of the West Bank, recreating works like the Mona Lisa and sneaking them into the Louvre, tagging the front steps of the Tate Modern with a "Mind the Crap" stencil. Banksy has helped to legitimize street art, bringing it into galleries, both undercover and legitimately.

All the while, through books on his work, huge installations and international fame, the mystery of Banksy has remained much like the mystery of Batman. People have searched - especially the law - and no one has been certain who Banksy is.

Recently a 2004 photo in Jamaica and some research done by a UK paper have revealed that Banksy might possibly be Robin Gunningham. That facts are that the 2004 photo shows Robin Gunningham crouched over a Banksy stencil holding a can of spray paint. It was revealed through research that Gunningham was a middle class art student in the UK with an interest in street art. Interviews with former friends and roommates have revealed that he was a good artist in many mediums and that, at that point, he was not spraying, and was not Banksy. Representatives of Banksy (do they know who he is?) are saying that the man in the photo is not, in fact, Banksy.

So the debate has raged online. Many say the photo has existed for years and that the papers are just trying to stir up a little bit of controversy. Others are claiming that it has taken this long to put together the facts and truly figure out who Robin Gunningham is.

I think the real question here is why are we trying to unmask one of the greatest artists of our time? Surely many law enforcement agencies would like to have him unmasked and prosecuted, but does the press really want to be to blame for that? If there is any follow through here, and they can prove Gunningham is Banksy, what are the real implications of that?

There is certainly an "I am Spartacus" sort of reaction going on around the globe right now. No one wants to see him unmasked, as curious as we all are. But there is certainly the potential that many "Banksy's" have been done by other artists, as the potential for being a copycat of an unknown person is there. Printing of "I am Robin Gunningham" shirts have already begun, and the backlash towards the people ripping the mask off of a hero.

Mystery Science Theater of the Mind

This is probably my new favorite stencil. How awesome.