OASN1 + Human Relations Books Present Ben Nadler's The Men Who Work Under The Ground

The Men Who Work Under The Ground: An Experimental Reading, featuring the poems of Benjamin Nadler + audio by Blake Seidenshaw, Chris Moffett & Amelia Winger-Bearskin + Animations by Paul Mclean [+]

Co-presented by Human Relations Bookstore & Occupational Art School Node #1 on Saturday, December 8, 2012, 7-9PM

• OCCUPATIONALARTSCHOOL.COM
• OCCUPATIONALARTSCHOOL.TUMBLR.COM
• OCCUPYWITHART.COM
• FACEBOOK.COM/occupywithart
• HUMANRELATIONSBOOKS.COM
• FACEBOOK EVENT: http://www.facebook.com/events/299156983534990/

[About The Men Who Work Under The Ground]:

 BEN NADLER
Ben Nadler is the author of the poetry chapbook, The Men Who Work Under The Ground (Keep This Bag Away From Children Press, 2012), and the novel, Harvitz As To War (Iron Diesel Press, 2011). He lives in central Brooklyn, and teaches writing at The City College of New York. He is the grandson of a coal miner.

[Excerpt from Brooklyn, the opening poem in The Men Who Work Under The Ground]:

I always knew we were working against the earth

with a foe like that the odds weren't in my favor.

You attack something for long enough

eventually it attacks you back.

Trespasses are not forgiven.

I do believe electricity

remembers being coal before it was burned. 

[About Human Relations Books]:

Human Relations is a joint venture of some hopeful, fresh-faced youth and the jaded, scowling he-crones of Williamsburg’s Book Thug Nation.

[About Occupational Art School Node 1]:

Our dream is to open a building in Bushwick, Brooklyn with vegetable and flower gardens on the roof, studios of all sorts on another floor (painting, holography, photography, theater, film and all these working together) on another, living spaces and a childcare facility on another and all of these centered on a cooperative economy: food co-op, art and educational co-op, art offered in an alternative economic model. The doors to and in this place will open all ways— out to the community so all are welcome and within the space open to all rooms so people share and work together and create together. There will be teaching in this school, naturally, but no classes. Instruction will be through inspiration and guidance in open apprenticeships. We will practice the spirit of Occupy in the most constructive, joyous, healing way we can. We will step outside of capitalism, not confront or battle it. We will ignore the hegemony of institutions and corporate interests not try to overthrow or fight them. We will work outside of corporate time and within liberated time that flows as it will.

We are doing this. The process is in place. Artists are coming to the school to give lectures, for free. We are attracting people from the community and already we are engaging in an alternative art economy, exchanging services of various sorts for lessons and art. This is happening very fast. We are in deep rem sleep, dreaming hard, and it is a wonderful experience. - OASN1 founding member Chris Moylan

[About Chris Moffett & Blake Seidenshaw]:

Chris Moffett and Blake Seidenshaw collectively assemble, on occasion, as The New Ergonomics (thenewergonomics.com) only to collaborate in turn with other assemblages, reworking the nature of work.

Blake is a contributing editor at ecogradients.com, an online journal of interdisciplinary culture and education. A ceramicist and a musician, he is a cofounder of the Ashtanga Yoga Outreach network. Also: interdisciplinary edutecture; the history and practice of philosophy and the natural sciences; and contemporary (cosmo)political (ethno)ecology.

Chris engages the imagery, philosophy and architecture of education, the way we image forming and being formed by our environments. Sitting in a chair, or refusing to sit still, becomes a form of art making. A nomad scholar and movement educator, Chris is also a founding member of the artist collective ARE (aestheticrelationalexercises.com).

[About Amelia Winger-Bearskin]:

Amelia Winger-Bearskin is an assistant professor of Art and Film at Vanderbilt University in the area of Time Based Media Arts and Performance. She works with 'models' (as defined by agent-based computer programming) as a conceptual prompt in her performance work. She has developed a concept of Open Source Performance Art (OSPA) and has spoken about OSPA at various academic conferences and performance festivals since 2010. She performed at the 10th Annual OPEN ART Performance Art festival in Beijing, China, The Performance Art Network PANAsia '09 in Seoul, South Korea, and the TAMA TUPADA 2010 Media and Performance festival in the Philippines. Winger-Bearskin recently spent a month in Sao Paulo, Brazil performing at the Verbo Performance Art Festival (the first American performance artist to be invited to do so), through an international scholar exchange sponsored by University of Sao Paulo and Vanderbilt University VIO and Art Department. She was an Artist in residence at the University of Tasmania (Australia) school of Visual and Performing arts. Other recent performance credits include the Gwangju Biennial [three events: 1) main pavilion; 2) the Lotte Gallery Media and Performance Festival; and 3) the Women's Biennial in Seoul, Korea]. Currently, she is presenting a sound installation throughout the Nashville International Airport, and in Fall 2012 will be speaking about her work and OSPA as a visiting artist at universities in Portland, OR; Chicago, IL; and New York City, NY.

[About Paul McLean]: 

Paul McLean is an artist accomplished in new media and traditional fine art, a pioneer in dimensional production and integrated exhibit practice. He has exhibited in one-man and collective shows extensively since 1986, and is currently represented by SLAG Contemporary Gallery in Bushwick (Brooklyn, NYC). His research interests include media philosophy, specifically pertaining to time and systems; individual and collective expression; and the convergence of 4D methodologies among military, political, business and social sectors. McLean holds a B.A. in English with a Fine Art concentration from the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN), two Masters degrees from Claremont Graduate University (MFA in Digital Media, Masters of Arts & Cultural Management) and is currently a doctoral candidate at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. He is a contributing writer for the Brooklyn Rail and other publications and has been blogging since 1999. McLean has been a co-organizer of Occupy with Art since September 2011, and is a founding member of the Occupational Art School Node #1 in Bushwick. He creates moving images for projection, art environments and the web; net.art, web and print graphics; paintings and drawings; poems, commentary fiction and non-fiction. McLean lives and works in Bushwick.

OAS Node #1 [10/5]: Starr Street Slam (TEASER + PRESS RELEASE)

PRESS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE IN ALL MEDIA

On Friday, October 5, 2012, from 7-9PM Brooklyn Rail Editor Theodore Hamm will host STARR STREET SLAM an historic series of readings in the heart of Bushwick/Brooklyn/NYC/USA/Earth at the Occupational Art School Node 1 @Bat Haus. The list of presenters includes Barbara Browning, Doug Cordell, Corey Eastwood, Paul McLean and Christopher Moylan. Come join us for a fine time, for merriment, for smart and inspirational words, for libations and finger foods, for communal pleasure of all sorts!

OCCUPATIONAL ART SCHOOL NODE 1 @BAT HAUS

279 Starr Street 
[BUSHWICK] Brooklyn, NY 11237

L Stop: Jefferson Street 
[Exit the train at the Wyckoff/Starr end of the platform, walk with the one-way on Starr towards St. Nicholas a half block, and Bat Haus is just past the famous taco stand on the left. Look for the yellow ochre door that says “Bat Haus.”]

MORE INFO: artforhumans at gmail dot com

URLs:
occupationalartschool.com 
occupationalartschool.tumblr.com
occupywithart.com
batha.us
brooklynrail.org
artforhumans.com

OAS Node 1 @Bat Haus is an Occupy with Art + Art for Humans Project. Founding members include Paul McLean, Chris Moylan, JenJoy Roybal, Alexandre Carvalho (OAS Node n) and Bold Jez (OAS Node 0). 

THE ALL-STARR STREET PLAYERS:

BARBARA BROWNING teaches performance studies at N.Y.U. and writes novels. 
DOUG CORDELL tells stories on NPR and writes them in the Brooklyn Rail. 
COREY EASTWOOD is a writer and co-owner of Book Thug Nation and Human Relations Books in Bushwick. 
PAUL McLEAN is a regular Rail contributor, dimensional artist and founding member of OASN1.
CHRISTOPHER MOYLAN is a professor, poet-artist, union organizer, occupier and founding member of OASN1. 

THEODORE HAMM is editor of the Brooklyn Rail.

ABOUT OAS NODE 1: 

“Our dream is to open a building in Bushwick, Brooklyn with vegetable and flower gardens on the roof, studios of all sorts on another floor (painting, holography, photography, theater, film and all these working together) on another, living spaces and a childcare facility on another and all of these centered on a cooperative economy: food co-op, art and educational co-op, art offered in an alternative economic model. The doors to and in this place will open all ways— out to the community so all are welcome and within the space open to all rooms so people share and work together and create together. There will be teaching in this school, naturally, but no classes. Instruction will be through inspiration and guidance in open apprenticeships. We will practice the spirit of Occupy in the most constructive, joyous, healing way we can. We will step outside of capitalism, not confront or battle it. We will ignore the hegemony of institutions and corporate interests not try to overthrow or fight them. We will work outside of corporate time and within liberated time that flows as it will.

We are doing this. The process is in place. Artists are coming to the school to give lectures, for free. We are attracting people from the community and already we are engaging in an alternative art economy, exchanging services of various sorts for lessons and art. This is happening very fast. We are in deep rem sleep, dreaming hard, and it is a wonderful experience.” - Chris Moylan (October 2012)

ABOUT BROOKLYN RAIL:

Founded in October 2000 and currently published monthly with a print circulation of 20,000 and an international online monthly readership of over 500,000, the Brooklyn Rail is committed to providing an independent forum for arts, culture, and politics throughout New York City and beyond.

Our journal features local reporting, art criticism, fiction, poetry, as well as coverage of music, dance, film and theater. In 2004, the Rail was honored with several awards from the Independent Press Association-NY, and in 2002 and 2003, we proudly received the Utne Independent Press Award for Best Local/Regional Coverage in North America. In addition, the Rail further fulfills its mission by curating art exhibitions, panel discussions, reading series and film screenings that reflect the complexity and inventiveness of the city’s artistic and cultural landscape. If you would like to receive occasional updates on our events and other special projects, please join our mailing list.

Our small press, The Brooklyn Rail/Black Square Editions, publishes books of poetry, experimental fiction, prose meditation, artists’ writings, and interview with artists in addition to art and literary criticism.

The Brooklyn Rail, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, distributes its journal free of charge, and our devoted staff, editors and contributors work on an entirely voluntary basis. We rely exclusively on the philanthropy of foundations and individual donors to meet our production, operation, and program expenses. If you are interested in supporting us, please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation.

ABOUT BAT HAUS: 

Bat Haus is the creation of Natalie Chan & Cody Sullivan, which began as a vague idea just after New Year’s 2012. Through many conversations with small business advisors, bankers, fellow coworking spaces, lawyers, and contractors, this idea has evolved into a complex and well-mannered life-form.

FREE SPEECH

The Brooklyn Rail presents "Free Speech: A Literary Celebration" with Jason Flores-Williams, Mark Read, Ted Hamm and special guests. Fri 3/16 12:30 pm, Zuccotti Park

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Come to “Free Speech: A Lit Event” w/ Jason Flores-Williams, Mark Read, Ted Hamm and special guests. Fri 3/16 12:30 pm, Zuccotti Park

Bios:

• -Jason Flores-Williams is a writer and criminal defense attorney. His story “The Battle of the Open Heart” is an OWS classic.
• -Mark Read is an activist, educator, and the artist who coordinated the "99% Bat Signal" that has inspired Occupiers everywhere.
• -Ted Hamm is editor of the Brooklyn Rail.

[The short essay I wrote for this is HERE - Paul]

& More on The Rail's Free Speech Weekend menu! >

SUNDAY, MARCH 18 AT 10 AM @ LEFT FORUM:

THE FUTURE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT IN NEW YORK CITY

A panel discussion with the NYCLU's Donna Lieberman, civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, and Brooklyn College professor Alex Vitale. Moderated by the Rail's Ted Hamm.

More on Left Forum (3-16/-18 @Pace) is HERE.

Occupy Brooklyn Rail

Several pieces came out of the Occupy reading at Bowery Poetry Club last month that Brooklyn Rail has published in the November issue. These include:

• Theodore Hamm's "Letters to the Mayor"
• Jason Flores-Williams' "In the Battle of the Open Heart"
• Occupennial co-organizer Paul McLean's "A Poem for a Sunday Occupational Reading at the Bowery Poetry Club (10.16.2011)"

The publication contains other terrific #OWS coverage, too.

Below is one of the poems Brenda Coultas read at BPC:

A Gaze

I

A man texts a photograph of his meal, but to who? Himself or others?

Others too, texting in a crowd on a 1st aveune as glaciers recede.

They do not feel the fading cold of the ice. Only the heat of the keys strokes.

A man texts crystal water glass pixels to quench real thirst.

I texted forward a rumor of siphoned great lakes water to China. A Chinese bureaucrat texts images of fresh lake water to billions at home.

At the top of a mountain, where only small mamals live, the air is thin and gives me panic. I do not belong above the tree line even though I can drive there. Stopping to send a pic of the lichen sponge by the gift shop on the glacier, the phone lens: an extension of my eyes.

At times, I forget that I am not an extention of the machine until I burn my palms touching a hot metal pot: recoil and remember to use hot pads to protect the flesh fabric that covers the hand bones.

From the glacier tops, bodies of mountian climbers in the dead zone; Will their corpses sweeten or enbitter the drinkers of the Ganges?

 The leather shoes of the ice man texted forward. Sometimes, the tap runs while I brush my teeth and empty bathwater down the drain.

The last glass of water sits before you, how will you drink it?

We load the car on hwy 50 the lonliest highway in the USA. It whines through Nevada crossing the poney express route and ancient seabeds. Crinoid stems thirst for the ancient sea.

Last glass of glacier water boils in the kettle.  Saffron threads of a viking beard cloud the water glass.

Theft of water, relocation, diverted from its bed.  Hydrofracting.  I never thought they’d use our water against us.

When we began with this full jug of water, without thinking until the police chased us away from the creek of who owns the water, like who owns the sky. Or that satilite overhead, branded by a private owner over public space.

Wanted to absorb it, to get to the bottom and start all over again. A great anixiety about finishing and throwing it away, with a inch still in the bottom, the backwash.

Who owns the creeks and waterways of this valley? The only legal course is midstream so that anglers can trout fish without tresspass.

Into the last glass, I stir the reindeer scat with a herding stick captured from the thaw.

The water, sometimes they use it against us.  I question the interaction between the sythentic (the plastic) and the real inside of the jug on the table.  The water is an hour glass, and I write fast as I can before it runs dry

A glass of water from last glacier sits before you on the table, you glaze at the logo of an abundant flowing stream or the name of the spring which somehow sounds pure and far away as an ice berg, calved off and lassoed from the warming world. Even though you know the source  is a corporate tap of public water.

Fertilzer runs off into our family well. I used to picture a whale, a Moby Dick under the cornfield, a levathian as the source of our water. Because only a vessel the size of a sperm whale could contain the water that flowed on conmand from the tap. Even though people spoke of the well running dry. Ours magically replenished itself under the blanket of  Monstanto crops.

It flows on the green logo and facsmile of a mountain stream of abundant water. Abundant: a 20th century word.

“Natural” is highlighted and in a yellow circle it is written, “contains 16 servings” and there are only two of us left since this, now nearly empty, jug was opened.