Update on the state of Desperation

our deadline for accepting work for "the audacity of desperation" has now passed. the dates of the show have changed in urbana and are not quite set. the dates for los angeles have been.
Urbana- Champaign IMC: May (3 or 10) - June 15
Los Angeles, Sea and Space: October 23- November 16

we are excited about everything submitted, and also humbled by how far and wide the call went out and the work came in.

we are in the process of contacting everyone now. we have around 60 folks to contact, so it will take a day or 2 more to complete it all.

please know that if we did not accept your work, it has nothing to do with the quality or concept as a distinct art piece. after looking at everything and discussing each piece, making lists, making more lists, and then making new lists, the decision making process comes down to our curatorial conception and/or the way the art works and projects are creating relationships with each other that provoke a variety ways of thinking about the work, the show, and the concept of desperation.

we are both very familiar with the ups and downs of submitting art for exhibitions (articles and/or images for journals and conferences, job applications, health care applications, etc. etc. etc.). this is a significant part of how we started talking about "desperation." old skool feminism reminding us that the personal is always political and new skool thinking in how the political is always personal. yes we took this to the current state of electoral politics in the US and what it means to never have had hope in the State before this bush admin., under this bush admin, or in international relation to this bush admin.

here's a passage written by Arundhati Roy that speaks to ways citizens of other nation-states have a critical relation to the idiot, i mean president, in charge of the US right now. it is from the introduction to Noam Chomsky's book, For Reasons of State (2003), and in her book, War Talk (2003):

"I realize that for Noam Chomsky, a U.S. citizen, to criticize his government is better manners than for someone like myself, an Indian citizen to criticize the U.S. government. I'm no patriot and am fully aware that venality, brutality, and hypocrisy are imprinted on the leaden soul of every state. But when a country ceases to be a country and becomes an empire, then the scale of operations changes dramatically. So may I clarify that i speak as a subject of the U.S. empire? I speak as a slave who presumes to criticize her king." (p.83)

please check back in for updates about the show, panels, video screenings, discussions and other events happening at the urbana IMC, and a possible second call for work before the LA installation at sea and space this fall.

keep us posted about interesting projects, calls, exhibits, links, or whatever that we can post here to keep building on the idea of "the audacity of desperation" in its myriad expressions.

drop the charges! (click)
jessica and sarah