MBN The Monte Bubbles Network

Mar 6

 Obi-Wan's brown cloak sells for $104,000

STAR WARS AT BONHAMS AS OBI WAN KENOBI'S CLOAK FETCHES £54,000


The Angels Star Collection, UK's largest film & television costumes at Bonhams
A remarkable collection of costumes created and supplied by Angels The Costumiers, for some of the most iconic international film and television in history sold at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, London, today (Tuesday 6 March 2007), in what is believed to be the UK's largest and most important archive of film and television costumes to come to auction. More than 400 costumes were available to collectors and amateur fans alike.

In a jam-packed saleroom, bids were relayed to the auctioneers of the day, Pippa Stockdale and Jon Baddeley. Ownership of Obi Wan Kenobi's cloak was battled for by two telephone bidders. Four enthusiasts for Doctor Who fought a bidding war for related TV costumes. Items throughout the sale fetched between eight to 20 times their estimates. Costumes from James Bond, Monty Python, Braveheart, Only Fools and Horses, Four Weddings and a Funeral also proved very popular with the bidders.

Jon Baddeley, Group Head of Collector's Department at Bonhams, comments: "We are delighted at the results of this sale. There has been a tremendous international interest in what is normally considered to be British cult television and film which is very exciting to see."

Tim Angel, Chairman Of Angels, comments: "We are delighted at the success of today's Bonhams sale of Angels costumes. We always intended for this sale to appeal to both the big international collectors of memorabilia and also to members of the general public keen to get their hands on a piece of movie history, and we are pleased that today has seen our wishes fulfilled and established that there is a clear market for such memorabilia. We will be giving serious consideration to another search of the Angels archive in the near future."

The top costume prices in the sale were:

Cloak worn by Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars - £54,000

Dinner suit worn by Sean Connery from Thunderball, 1965 - sold for £33,600

Full outfit worn by Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart - sold for £25,200

Promotional costume worn by Tom Baker as Dr Who - sold for £24,600

A grey linen overcoat worn by Gary Oldman as Sirius Black from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - sold for £15,600

Fur Coat worn by Diana Rigg from On Her Majesty's Secret Service - sold for £12,960

Navy Battle dress jackey worn by Roger Moore from The Spy Who Loved Me - sold for £11,760

Batman & Robin suits worn by David Jason & Nicholas Lyndhurst in Only Fools & Horses - sold for £10,200

A full medieval suit worn by Kevin Costner in Robin Hood Price of Thieves sold for £7,200

Tim Angel, Chairman of Angels, and fifth generation of the family firm comments further, "The joy of being in this business is that you know you are creating something that will help an audience immerse itself in a different world. Our costumes are famous for fulfilling the exact requirements and needs of the film, and are researched and tailored to the highest standard. Whether it is the cloak of a Jedi knight from a galaxy far, far away, or the most elegant suit worn by Her Majesty's best secret agent, our job is done if the audience are convinced by the authenticity and effectiveness of the costumes shown on the screen. The flip-side of creating such iconic costumes, that become so very famous and so firmly associated with key movies, is that they can never be used in other films or productions, nor can they be made available from our fancy dress shop...for obvious reasons! With over a century and a half's worth of costumes on the racks, each with ever increasing insurance requirements, and space at a premium, it seemed the right time for us to allow collectors and fans the chance to take home a piece of the movie magic."

ANGELS - SUPPLYING COSTUMES FOR A CENTURY AND A HALF

Angels, founded in 1840, is the world's longest-established supplier of costumes to the film, theatre and television industry. Angels shop became popular with theatre actors who, at that time, had to purchase their own clothes and costumes for auditions and performances. It was Morris Angel, the company's founder, who allowed actors to hire, rather than buy their outfits - the first man to make such an innovation. With the advent of cinema, the Angel family made their second major diversification by supplying costumes to the fledgling movie industry and, through primary company Angels The Costumiers, has continued to be a quiet and constant success story within the British (and international) film industry. Since 1946, when costumes supplied by Angels received an Academy Award® for Laurence Olivier's Henry V, Angels The Costumiers has supplied costumes to a further 26 movies that have won Oscar®, for 'Outstanding Achievement In Costume Design' for work undertaken on major international films including Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, Titanic, Gladiator and most recently Memoirs of a Geisha. At this year's Academy Awards®, Angels costumes are in the running again for costumes supplied for Marie Antoinette and The Queen. Angels The Costumiers is based in Hendon, and boasts a warehouse containing over a million and a half costumes on five miles of hanging rails.

Below are selected highlights:



STAR WARS

The original Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi's cloak worn by Sir Alec Guinness in the masterpiece science fiction adventure, Star Wars (1977) sold for £54,000

Obi Wan Kenobi is one of the most prominent characters in the Star Wars saga. Whilst the character is central in the recently filmed prequels (Episodes I-III), starring Ewan McGregor in the role, the character first appeared in the first installment of the saga, Episode IV, A New Hope. Sir Alec Guinness gave a remarkable performance as the ageing Jedi knight in Episode IV and resumes his role in the other sequels.

When Star Wars was first released in 1977, thousands of people flocked to cinemas to watch what was to be the sci-fi epic that would redefine the genre. Alec Guinness starred with Carrie Fisher, and the then 'little known' actor, Harrison Ford. Produced by Gary Kurtz and written and directed by George Lucas, this classic epic of good versus evil was the highest-grossing movie for twenty years and continues to enthral audiences worldwide.

This original cloak, an integral part of this world of excitement and mystery is estimated at £50,000-60,000. Also from Star Wars is an imperial commanders uniform, estimated at £8,000-10,000.

DR. WHO

Costumes representing Dr Who include the original Tom Baker coat and Patrick Troughton trousers all worn in the series. The remaining outfits were worn by the actors for promotional reasons but not worn on set.

The complete promotional outfit made for Tom Baker includes a maroon wool topcoat, three pairs of trousers (tweed, grey wool and dark grey cotton), striped waistcoat, three felt hats and a striped scarf, and fetched 20 times its estimate to realise £24,600.

An original wine coloured 3/4 length coat, complete with two large added pockets for the Doctor's jelly beans and sonic screwdriver used by Baker in various episodes of Dr. Who (including some Dalek Episodes), fetched £8,400.

A Patrick Troughton outfit (the second Dr. Who) fetched £9,600

Comprising full-length fur coat, tailcoat, checked trousers, shirt, tie, handkerchief and bandanas. Known for his scruffy appearance, Troughton played a much quirkier Doctor. The producers and writers behind the programme wanted the Doctor's second incarnation to be a contrast to first Doctor, William Hartnell's 'Victorian Headmaster' mode of attire. Therefore, Troughton was unveiled as, in his words, the "Cosmic Hobo," an eccentric exemplified by his unusual combination of garments, and in particular his long hair coat.

John Pertwee as Dr Who, 1970 - 1974 - Costume fetched £9,600

The third Doctor Who, John Pertwee, is represented through the promotional outfit consisting of black cape coat, burgundy velvet jacket, black cravat, and sonic screwdriver. Pertwee took the character of the doctor in a different direction from the 'Cosmic Hobo' of before, Pertwee opting for being a dandy with a twist: he was a master of Venusian Karate and became a Doctor to rival James Bond with his ingenious gadgets and quick wit, Victorian tailcoats, deep purple velvet jackets, capes and scalloped shirtfronts.

Peter Davison as Dr Who, 1982-1984 Costume fetched £5,400

A promotional outfit for the fifth Doctor, Peter Davidson, is represented with a beige and orange-edged single breasted top coat, stripe trousers, cricket jumper, white shirt and straw hat, estimated at £1,200-1,500.

An promotional outfit worn by Sylvester McCoy - the seventh Doctor Who - including a cream linen jacket, grey pinstripe trousers, shirt, tie, pullover, scarf, shoes, cravat and hat, fetched £1,200.

JAMES BOND 007

Sean Connery's dinner jacket worn in Thunderball in 1965 will be sold. Made in blackwool and lined with burgundy satin,this jacket fetched £33,600.

Original outfits worn by Pierce Brosnan in three of the films he starred in from 1995 to 1999 from GoldenEye (1995) featured. Brosnan's Brioni grey three piece-suit sold for £8,640.

In GoldenEye, a new Bond for the 1990s was created, when Pierce Brosnan took over as 007. The long-established house of Brioni in Rome, supplied him with their famed look of style and elegance. Brioni has a stipulated way of tailoring their suits with a minimum of 185 steps to produce the finished article which creates an ageless fashion statement. The grey Brioni suit was used extensively throughout the film, most memorably in the scene between Alec Trevelyan and Bond in the disused communist statue park.

A wine coloured ski suit worn, with fur-lined hood, worn by Sophie Marceau in The World is Not Enough, sold for £1,800.

Outfits worn by Roger Moore - James Bond from 1973-1985 - include a navy battle dress jacket, complete with commanders epaulettes and inner pocket for the Walther PPK sold for £11,740. Made for The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977, this jacket was used in the finale of the film during the battle between Bond and the Stromberg operatives on the super-tanker.

MISCELLANEOUS OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

The amusing Batman and Robin suits used on Only Fools and Horses worn by David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst as the Trotter brothers, Derek and Rodney sold for £10,200. The series has won countless awards and is ingrained into the British culture with many classic gags and quotes. Recently, the Batman and Robin sequence in the Episode Heroes and Villains (1996) was voted in the top ten of memorable comedy moments on British television. These classic costumes were designed by Robin Stubbs.

A grey linen overcoat, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), as worn by Gary Oldman as Sirius Black sold for £15,600.

Other female costumes in this sale, include items worn by: Kirsten Dunst, Ava Gardner, Jane Horrocks, Kate Hudson, Gemma Jones, Joanna Lumley, Sophie Marceau, Andie McDowell, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Alanis Morrisette, Christina Ricci, Helen Slater, Joan Sims, Meryl Streep, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslett and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Male actors whose costumes are featured include - Richard Attenborough, Christian Bale, Stephen Berkoff, Orlando Bloom, Dirk Bogarde, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Burton, Robert Carlyle, John Cleese, Sean Connery, Billy Connolly, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Errol Flynn, Harrison Ford, Stephen Fry, Mel Gibson, Sir John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Charlton Heston, Benny Hill, Dustin Hoffman, John Hurt, Sid James, Val Kilmer, Jude Law, Johnny Lee Miller, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Robert Mitchum, Roger Moore, Laurence Olivier, Al Pacino, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Peter Sellers, Dick Van Dyke and Ray Winstone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(C) MBN 2007 Joyce Chow

Bullish on Music DVDs

In what has been a rather dismal, flat or declining industry for the music and DVD markets, the music DVD segment is the bullish bright spot according to music industry panelists at Music DVD3, the Third Annual Music DVD conference by Home Media Magazine held at the Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood earlier today.

While in its second here in a row to climb according to Judith McCourt market research director of home media magazine, the visual component in a DVD is increasingly becoming more important, especially to record labels, musicians and consumers. Music is facing a changing market environment. As a percentage of all new DVD releases was 14.3% in 2006, and can obtain a higher suggested retail price than the typically target $14.99 price point.

Many may consider music DVDs to be either a segment of music or DVDs, or it can fall into both categories. Music, and film/TV DVDs both have industry reports that inform you about what will be coming out in the future, but music dvd as a niche market does not. While the music market has been under considerable pressure from the digital download market, music DVDs, whose content was previously on music video channels only MTV and VH1, has not been a victim of devastation of digital downloads as the much smaller audio only files. Music dvd benefits from bandwidth issues, that is the larger bandwidth required to download, and the longer download times familiar to tv and other video content.

One of the biggest items to note, is that the industry is going through a considerable amount of change with much uncertainty. Ralph Tribbey of the DVD Release Report, indicated a space crunch at retail and that film libraries are being exhausted. The space crunch at retail is not only merchandising but also volume. After all, how many titles do you really need of any artist? And how do you fill the gap left by Tower Records? Since 2003 and 2004, the studios discovered they could sell tv on dvd.

The biggest challenge is the consolidation of retail and retailers taking fewer skus. The consolidation of retail from music retailers to relying on big box, otherwise known as Best Buy and Circuit City, Target, Wal-Mart, and warehouse stores has changed the availability of linear retail space for music, and thus volumes, in fighting for shelf space, versus other products. Another challenge is high definition formats. In the music DVD segment, most retailers asked the suppliers why they put out high definition music DVDs, when they were told they wouldn't buy it. The reason? Higher profile music content. For example, Barry Manilow.

Call the retailers cranky, but they like the audience are waiting for good content, content to be excited about. Creating a successful music DVD can mainly be contributed to good content. After that, it's proper pricing and knowing that consumers want to see concerts uninterrupted and like the back stage pass. Artists contribute to their own success with self-promotion during concerts, websites and personal appearances timed with releases. Just ask Barry Manilow, whose career has had a resurgence after appearing almost nightly in Las Vegas.

Much of the newer content is being shot in high def. With costs of $30,000 to master, the music industry is awaiting the shakeout between Blu-Ray and HD DVD formats. If you're curious about the high def format war, John Power of Image Entertainment mentioned that he was approached by then HD DVD camp and is still waiting for Blu-Ray to come knocking.

As for a dramatic change in the industry, changes are expected at 7.1 versus 5.1 audio popularity, as most currently listen to their audio in stereo and haven't quite gotten to the 5.1 surround set ups. Compare it to the tv monitors being standard def versus the grandual adoption to high def. Interesting enough, when the audience was asked how many owned HD TVs, about two thirds of the audience raised their hands. When asked how many owned either and HD or blue Ray player. Only one person raised their hand.

When it comes to digital domination, having learned their lesson from digital downloads, it is now time to embrace digital. Digital is here to stay and gives the opportunity to reach the masses, where there previously may have not been opportunity, according to Mitch Mallon of Egami Media. The last time I had heard such an embrace of digital media, was at last years anime conference in Long Beach. Digital and downloads were considered a method of reaching audiences that might never have been.

"To succeed as an entire entertainment community, we need to evolve the industry...and continue to develop an outstanding entertainment experience" shared Amy Jo Smith of The Digital Entertainment Group. Touché, Amy Jo. Isn't that why it's called entertainment? Now if everyone in the entertainment industry came to that realization. Could someone tell Sony and Warner Brothers who were MIA?

Joyce Chow

 

NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Jason Michael Carroll
By Peter Cronin and Kristen Sherer

 

© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

Jason Michael Carroll is a 28-year-old North Carolinian who's not afraid to dream big. As a preacher's son, Carroll grew up not being allowed to listen to "secular" music, but like any resourceful young man, he eventually found his dream emanating from the radio.

Carroll became obsessed with Country Music and quickly got his first break, winning a local radio station's karaoke contest. As a result of that triumph, he was asked to join a local band. His appearance on "Gimme the Mic," an "American Idol"-style show for local FOX television affiliates, led Carroll to a national competition in New York City where he caught the attention of manager Rusty Harmon, who had helped Hootie & the Blowfish to multi-Platinum success. A subsequent meeting with producer Don Gehman (John Mellencamp, REM) led Carroll to a deal with Arista Nashville.

Things started falling into place when he was given the opportunity to write with Jewel, a singer/songwriter he had long admired. They collaborated (with Shaye Smith) on the ballad "No Good in Goodbye," which they recorded as a duet on Carroll's Gehman-produced debut album Waitin' in the Country, released Feb. 6.  An unflinching look at the life and death of an abused child, first single "Alyssa Lies" is one of five songs written or co-written by Carroll on the album, and is quickly climbing the charts. The single has already set multiple records, and it's massive airplay success has now made Carroll the first new male Country artist in two and a half years to take a debut single into the Country airplay Top 5.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:
Who is your musical hero?  
"Garth Brooks, George Strait, Steven Tyler. Do I have to pick one?"

What book is on your nightstand?  
"Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith."

What moment in your life would you relive if you could?  
"The day I left North Carolina and moved to Texas. That was my last day with both of my grandparents."

What word or phrase do you find yourself saying over and over again? 
"I can sleep when I'm dead."

Do you have a lucky charm? 
"I have four of them: My kids, Gavin Michael, Savanna Nicole, Stori Paige and J.W. They're all the luck I'll ever need."

If you wrote an autobiography, what would the title be? 
"Don't Try This at Home: The Jason Michael Carroll Story." 

On the Web: www.myspace.com/jasonmichaelcarroll

 

 

Kenny Chesney: Everyday Superstar
By Holly Gleason

 

© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

In a knit cap, a pair of baggy khakis and a gray sweatshirt, the young man looks like any 20-something frat boy who's making his way in the world, but isn't quite ready to cave into the uniform of respectability. That's the beauty of Kenny Chesney: the two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year (2004, 2006) and 2004 CMA Album of the Year (When the Sun Goes Down) winner looks just like everyone else.

It's not a practiced camouflage. Even with 25 million albums sold, Chesney really is an artist who is his audience. That identification with the people who bought nearly 6 million concert tickets over the past five years goes both ways: when Chesney looks out in the audience, he sees himself.

"I absolutely was one of those kids on the grass, and I think I still am," Chesney said. "When I get onstage or I'm making a record, I try to think about what turns me on, because I want to give those people the time of their life."

Since blowing wide open in 2002 with No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems - on the heels of the double-Platinum Everywhere We Go and Greatest Hits - Chesney has struck a chord in the lives of people beyond the media centers. Celebrating accessible moments has given the singer a common touch that offers a dignity to the things everybody goes through.

"We all go through the same things, and that's what a lot of these songs are about," said the Luttrell, Tenn., native. "It's why I wrote 'I Go Back,' because I think no matter who you are, there are songs that mark those moments. When you hear them, you're right back there. I've been blessed with a lot of songs that do that."

Indeed, "Summertime," Chesney's five-week No. 1, captures what it means to be young and alive in the carefree days out of school; while "The Good Stuff," a six-week No. 1, defines the things that truly matter in life; and "There Goes My Life," the eight-week chart-topper, offers a sense of how powerful lives can be when fully lived.

"That's the thing," said SONY BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante.  "He's never forgotten what it was like to be the kid in the crowd, looking up at the star onstage. He continues to be a fan. Look at his ticket price. He could charge more, but he wants his fans to be able to feel like they got the value, unlike some other stars."

In some ways, Chesney is an unlikely superstar. Last year, he played nine football and soccer stadiums - selling out such nontraditional places for Country Music as Seattle, Boston and Detroit, as well as New York City's Madison Square Garden.

"You don't think about that stuff, because you're trying to make the moments mean something," said the soft-spoken singer/songwriter. "People tell me the stats and it makes me pause and think about it. Sometimes I'll try to take it in, but those are just numbers. To me, it's about the people who are turning up their car radios or singing along with us when we play their town. Those are the moments that matter."

Equal parts hard work and good song sense, Chesney, who sang in Nashville's Lower Broadway dive bars before the legendary honky tonk row found its renaissance, also applied a somewhat magical intangible: dreams in the truest sense of the word. For a kid who didn't get serious about playing guitar until freshman year in college, it was a big dream to take a bite out of. Yet he did, moving to Music City after graduation.

A little success would lead to slightly bigger dreams, but there are things even a jumbo-sized dreamer like Chesney wouldn't dare - being interviewed by Rodney Crowell about songwriting, getting to sing "You Don't Know Me" at the all-genre Ray Charles tribute celebrating the opening of the movie "Ray" and now producing Willie Nelson's upcoming album.

"When he opens his mouth, there's just so much there, beyond the notes, even," Chesney said. "He's Willie Nelson. He's one of the great American voices of all time, and he's someone I've listened to my whole life. So the idea that he'd call me about making a record with him, well, you just don't dream stuff like that."

Having honed his craft at Acuff Rose as a staff writer, Chesney learned songwriting in the old school sense.  What makes a song work was ingrained in him, and it was something he took very seriously when looking for material for Nelson. Drawing on Guy Clark, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Dave Matthews and Randy Newman, Chesney sought out songs as strong as Nelson's singing.

"We had all the guys in the studio in a circle, and they were just so there," Chesney said. "This was Willie Nelson, singing some of the best American songwriters, and you could tell everyone was completely into it. Even Willie said it was the most fun he'd had in the studio. That made me proud."

Between the Nelson album and a bluegrass project for his own bandmate Tim Hensley, both co-produced with longtime creative cohort Buddy Cannon, it would seem Chesney's focus has shifted. After all, with Chesney's drive and commitment to what he does, how much could be left over? The answer is exactly what you'd expect from a man committed to keeping ticket prices reasonable, his shows exciting and his music connected to his audience. He began looking at set designs for his "Flip Flop Summer Tour" almost before his 1.3 million tickets sold "The Road and the Radio Tour" was finished - and he and the band have already begun thinking through the new set list.  The new tour, sponsored by Cruzan Rum, kicks off April 12 and rolls through early fall with an all-star line up including Brooks & Dunn, Sara Evans, Pat Green and Sugarland. Chesney recently appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes" and in the "Sports Illustrated" Swim Suit issue.

Galante recognizes the drive within the artist he helped mold.

"Kenny will continue to grow as an entertainer, writer and singer," Galante said.

"He learns from experience and is a student who knows when someone does it better than him. It raises his game.  Having played sports, you're taught to always think things are possible even when it seems they aren't. The end result: you put more of yourself into it, and keep striving."

Five singles deep on the triple Platinum The Road and the Radio - with its multiple week No. 1s, "Living in Fast Forward" and "Summertime,' as well as a pair of No. 2s, "Who You'd Be Today" and "You Save Me" plus his current release, "Beer in Mexico," his fastest moving single to date at No. 2 and rising, Chesney has been spending time listening to songs and thinking about what he wants to say next.

"The thing that keeps you at this is that desire to dig a little deeper into a song's core," Chesney said. "Being blessed with such great songs really sets the bar pretty high.  If there's one thing I've learned on the road - whether driving in my car, listening to the radio, or playing shows - the songs really set the tone. If you've got the songs, everything else is possible; if you don't, then even the best stuff just kind of falls apart around you."

On the Web: www.kennychesney.com

Holly Gleason is a former publicist for Kenny Chesney.

The Topps Company, Inc. to Be Acquired by the Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners

The Topps Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:TOPP) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Michael Eisner's The Tornante Company LLC and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, a leading private equity firm. Under the terms of the agreement, Topps stockholders will receive $9.75 per share in cash, for a total transaction value of approximately $385.4 million. The Board of Directors of Topps has approved the merger agreement and has resolved to recommend that Topps stockholders adopt the agreement.

"After careful and thorough consideration, our board of directors determined that this transaction is in the best interests of Topps stockholders at this time," said Arthur T. Shorin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Topps. "This will be a change in ownership, not a change in direction. We look forward to working with an experienced group of investors who understand the creative aspects of our business and are committed to our continued growth."

Scott A. Silverstein, President and Chief Operating Officer of Topps, said, "While there is still much work to be done, we are proud of the achievements of our dedicated and talented employees whose efforts over the past few years have made this transaction possible. We have realized dramatic changes in our business and have taken numerous actions to implement our strategic plan. We look forward to working with our new owners to address the challenges that lie ahead, as we continue to grow the business."

Speaking on behalf of the investors, Eisner noted, "Topps is a wonderful company with a powerful brand portfolio and a rich history. Topps' management team and employees are the best in the business, and we look forward to working with all of them to grow the company in new and exciting ways."

The transaction, which is not contingent upon financing, is subject to the approval of Topps stockholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the calendar third quarter. In connection with the merger, directors constituting a majority of the Board of Directors of Topps, including the Company's Chairman and CEO, have entered into individual agreements with Tornante and Madison Dearborn Partners pursuant to which they have each agreed to vote their respective shares of Topps in favor of the merger. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Topps intends to solicit superior proposals from third parties during the next 40 days. There can be no assurances that the solicitation of proposals will result in an alternative transaction. Topps does not intend to disclose developments with respect to this solicitation process until it is completed.

Lehman Brothers Inc. served as sole financial advisor to Topps and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal advisor. Deutsche Bank served as financial advisor to Madison Dearborn Partners and The Tornante Company. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP served as legal advisor to Madison Dearborn Partners. Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP served as legal advisor to The Tornante Company.

About The Tornante Company

Founded in 2005 by Michael Eisner, The Tornante Company is a privately held company that makes investments in and incubates companies and opportunities in the media and entertainment space. For more information, please visit www.tornante.com .

About Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC

Madison Dearborn Partners, based in Chicago, is one of the most experienced and successful private equity investment firms in the United States. MDP has more than $14 billion of equity capital under management and makes new investments through its most recent fund, Madison Dearborn Capital Partners V, a $6.5 billion investment fund raised in 2006. MDP focuses on private equity investments across a broad spectrum of industries, including basic industries, communications, consumer, financial services, and health care. For more information, please visit the MDP website at www.mdcp.com .

About The Topps Company, Inc.

Founded in 1938, Topps is a leading creator and marketer of sports and related cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery. Topps entertainment products include Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and other trading cards, sticker album collections, and collectible games. The Company's confectionery brands include "Bazooka" bubble gum, "Ring Pop," "Push Pop," "Baby Bottle Pop" and "Juicy Drop Pop" lollipops. For additional information, visit www.topps.com .

Additional Information About the Merger and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed merger, The Topps Company, Inc. will file a proxy statement and other materials with the SEC. WE URGE INVESTORS TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND THESE OTHER MATERIALS CAREFULLY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TOPPS AND THE PROPOSED MERGER. Investors will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement and white proxy card (when available) as well as other filed documents containing information about Topps at http://www.sec.gov/ , the SEC's Web site. Free copies of Topps' SEC filings are also available on Topps' Web site at www.Topps.com or by contacting the company's proxy solicitor, Mackenzie Partners, Inc. at topps@mackenziepartners.com .

Participants in the Solicitation

Topps and its executive officers and directors may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Topps stockholders with respect to the proposed merger. Information regarding the officers and directors of Topps is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting filed with the SEC on August 25, 2006. More detailed information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by securities, holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed merger.

This release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although Topps believes the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This information may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in Topps' Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

 

Web site: http://www.tornante.com/
http://www.mdcp.com/
http://www.topps.com/

 

'American Idol' Contestant Antonella Barba Bumps MySpace as New Number One Search Term With Web Users

Online Interest in Barba Continues to Soar for Second Consecutive Week, 13% More Popular Than MySpace

'Lost Tomb of Jesus,' Helen Mirren, James Cameron, Big Search Gainers

The LYCOS 50 for Week Ending March 3, 2007

LYCOS, Inc. (www.lycos.com), a leading community destination for broadband entertainment content, today announced the following information from The LYCOS 50(TM), the 50 most popular Internet search results for the week ending March 3, 2007. For a complete list of The LYCOS 50(TM) and for in-depth text of The LYCOS 50 Daily Report, go to http://50.lycos.com/. Readers of The LYCOS 50 can also share their thoughts on Internet trends and pop culture on The LYCOS 50 Blog located at http://lycos50.tripod.com/blog/.

Biggest Movers and Shakers for Week Ending March 3, 2007:

1. Antonella Barba 1001 %

2. Lost Tomb of Jesus 900 %

3. Helen Mirren 592 %

4. James Cameron 400 %

5. American Idol 329 %

6. Hockey 118 %

7. Diets 109 %

8. Easter 106 %

9. Spyware 101 %

10. Facebook 60 %

Notes of Interest:

The nude photo scandal involving "American Idol" contestant Antonella Barba continues to dominate search traffic, as Barba takes over the number one spot with web users, knocking MySpace to number two on this week's Lycos 50. Barba generates 13% more search activity than MySpace, with nearly half of Antonella Barba-related search queries specifying "Antonella photos." Lycos users continue to show their support for the 16 "American Idol" contestants who remain standing with their favorite "Idol" video moments located on Lycos MIX at http://mix.lycos.com/mix/american-idol-hopefuls. Interest in Barba has also caused a surge in traffic for "American Idol" (#15), which jumps 329% this week, jumping from number 38 last week.

Search Gainers:

James Cameron's controversial documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" also sees a dramatic spike in search interest, up 900% over the past 48 hours since the film aired on The Discovery Channel on March 4. As described on the Discovery Channel website, "The film makes a case that the 2,000-year-old 'Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries' belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth and examines DNA extraction from human residue found in two of the ossuaries, revealing new evidence that throws light on Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene. The documentary includes dramatic recreations, based on the latest historical evidence, illustrating accurate images of Jesus of Nazareth, his family, his followers, his ministry, his crucifixion and his entombment." The film has also sparked interest for Cameron, who jumps 400% in search activity. The "Lost Tomb of Jesus" debate has continued online with Lycos users posting numerous clips from the film, as well as news coverage reports, and offering comments both pro and con located at: http://mix.lycos.com/mix/the-lost-tomb- of-jesus.

The LYCOS 50(TM) Top 10 Search Terms for the Week Ending March 3, 2007:

1) Antonella Barba 6) Britney Spears

2) MySpace 7) Anna Nicole Smith

3) Poker 8) Naruto

4) Paris Hilton 9) RuneScape

5) Spyware 10) Disney

About LYCOS, Inc.

LYCOS, Inc. (www.lycos.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications Corp., a leading Internet portal and e-commerce destination in Korea with a growing presence throughout the Asian markets. LYCOS, Inc. operates search and technology websites that foster online communities, including the new LYCOS Cinema, which combines community with high-quality broadband video content. Other LYCOS products and sites include LYCOS.com, Hotbot.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, LYCOS Mail, LYCOS Phone, LYCOS Entertainment, LYCOS Music, LYCOS Games and LYCOS Planet. LYCOS was acquired by Korean Daum Communications Corp. in October 2004 and has its U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. Daum Communications Corp. is traded on the KOSDAQ: 035720, www.daum.net.

Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Lycos, Inc. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Daum Communications Corp., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Source: LYCOS, Inc.

Web site: http://www.lycos.com/
http://50.lycos.com/
http://lycos50.tripod.com/blog
http://mix.lycos.com/mix/american-idol-hopefuls
http://mix.lycos.com/mix/the-lost-tomb-of-jesus

 

The Search Is On! MTV and MTV Tr3s Join Forces to Find the Next Menudo Beginning on March 31

Casting Calls For Teen Latin Sensation Scheduled In Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and New York

MTV Tr3s Follows The Casting Journey With 'Road to Menudo'

The search to recreate Menudo, one of the biggest and most successful Latin pop singing groups, gets underway on March 31 in Los Angeles, followed by casting sessions in Dallas, Miami and New York through the end of April. MTV Tr3s will chronicle the entire journey of thousands from the first audition to the last, culminating with the selection of seven finalists in "Road to Menudo" which debuts on May 12. The road continues on MTV this fall when the band will dwindle down to the five final members of the new Menudo as the channel air the 10-episode reality series (title TBD.)

Reveille is producing the MTV series in association with Road Games and Menudo Entertainment. Reveille, producer of the two-time Golden Globe winner and Latin crossover hit "Ugly Betty," is expert in developing programming with multilingual appeal. The company also produces the Emmy Award-winning "The Office," "Nashville Star" and "The Biggest Loser," to name just a few.

Once selected, Menudo will be part of the Epic Records family. The partnership between Epic and Menudo kicks off with a first single in July and the group's "debut" album in December 2007.

MTV Tr3s will document the nationwide search to find the talented and hungry young artists that will get their shot at making it big in the fast- paced world of the music industry. Four casting sessions will take place beginning in the Los Angeles community of Lynwood on March 31st at Plaza Mexico; in Miami on April 14th at Bayside Marketplace; in Dallas on April 21st at the Valley View Mall; and in New York on April 28th at the Queens Center Mall in Queens. Celebrity judges along with renowned music manager, Johnny Wright will be on hand to audition teenage boys on their natural singing and dancing abilities, charisma and stage presence. The auditions are open to males who are at least 15 years old and appear to be less than 19 years old. All contestants will be asked to sing a song, in English or Spanish, from a pre-selected song list available on mtvtr3s.com. A legal guardian who can sign a release must accompany contestants under 18. Complete eligibility requirements are available at mtvtr3s.com.

"The Menudo series will introduce an entire new generation to a cross- cultural music phenomenon that once captured the hearts and minds of music fans all over the world," said Lois Curren, President, Entertainment and Programming, MTV. "The series is poised to deliver content that connects deeply with our audience by giving them unlimited access across all our screens, to the young and talented hopefuls aspiring to join Menudo and win their spot on the world stage."

MTV Tr3s' "Road to Menudo" which begins on May 12, will include four half- hour shows that take viewers to all auditions and give them front-row access to all the anticipation and excitement. After the casting sessions, 12 semi- finalists will be picked and each one will be featured in short form capsules that will introduce the potential band members to multiple MTV audiences across all MTV screens. MTV Tr3s will also air a 1-hour special in July, "Road to Menudo: The Finals," where the members of the new Menudo will be revealed.

MTV Tr3s will also produce a four-part series, "Road to Menudo Presents: De La Calle to the Stage" that showcases musical success stories from the Menudo audition cities such as Miami's Gloria Estefan and PitBull and New York's Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Fat Joe.

Online, mtvtr3s.com and myspace.com/mtvtr3s will feature "Road to Menudo" details including casting information, audition highlights and early audience favorites.

MTV Tr3s Radio and VH1 Radio affiliates in the audition cities will feature on-air Menudo trivia contests for prizes, interviews with the judges and live remotes at auditions with contestant interviews.

"MTV Tr3s has set out to create and define a new generation of Latino pop music and culture and what better expression of that than helping to discover the new Menudo, the biggest brand in Latin pop music over the last thirty years," said Lucia Ballas-Traynor, SVP and general manager of MTV Tr3s. "The new Menudo will be reflection of our audience in every way and we are going all out to ensure that every talented teenage boy across the country has a shot at stardom. It's another way MTV Tr3s is providing a voice to young Latinos."

Additional summertime Menudo programming on MTV Tr3s will include a half- hour special on the history of Menudo; "Fans of Menudo," a trivia game between parents and teens; "History of Boy Bands," a 30-minute look at the biggest and most successful boy bands of all time (Menudo, NKOB, BSB, NSYNC, Barrio Boys, Proyecto Uno, etc); and "Life after the Band," a half hour show featuring videos from the solo careers of boy band members (Ricky Martin, Robby Rosa, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Ashley Parker Angel.)

The MTV series will follow the new Menudo's rise to super pop stardom and feature the band recording their first album together, learning about the music industry and interacting with legendary icons who will offer personal and professional advice along the way. As fans see the band struggle to become a cohesive unit, the guys will have to learn how to overcome their differences, challenges and rigorous work schedules during this crucial time in their career.

The original Menudo, which took the US and Latin America by storm during its run in the late 70s and 80s, recorded 35 albums and sold more than 40 million records and set concert attendance records worldwide and produced superstars Ricky Martin and Robby Rosa. The new Menudo will record a contemporary hip urban/Latin rhythmic sound and will be managed by Menudo Entertainment and legendary manager Johnny Wright who has worked with *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake as a solo artist.

Rod Aissa is executive in charge of production for MTV. Lily Neumeyer is executive in charge of production for MTV Tr3s.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 120 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 95 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

MTV Tr3s is the most-widely distributed TV network dedicated to superserving today's bicultural Latino youth. MTV Tr3s' programming is rooted in the fusion of American and Latino music, cultures, lifestyles and languages. Music programming is at the core of MTV Tr3s and the channel features hitmakers, emerging artists and new sounds that resonate with young U.S. Latinos. In addition to music programming, MTV Tr3s programming slate also features lifestyle series, news, documentaries and other long-form programs that celebrate US Latino hybrid identity and culture.

Reveille is a leading independent production and distribution company focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through scripted and alternative television formats. Launched in 2002 by Ben Silverman, the company produces innovative entertainment programming across all television genres such as the Emmy Award-winning "The Office" (NBC), which has also received two Television Critics Association Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award; "Ugly Betty" (ABC), winner of two Golden Globe Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award; "The Biggest Loser" (NBC); "Identity" (NBC); "House of Boateng" (Sundance Channel); "30 Days" (FX); "Blow Out" (Bravo); "Bound For Glory" (ESPN); "Nashville Star" (USA); "Date My Mom" (MTV); and "The Restaurant" (NBC). Reveille is also the world leader in creating integrated marketing opportunities for leading advertisers while developing alternative financing paradigms. In addition, Reveille's growing library of programming is distributed to more than 150 countries worldwide through Reveille International. The company also creates, acquires and develops a broad slate of diverse films through its feature film division, Reveille Motion Pictures. Reveille maintains offices in Los Angeles and New York.

Epic, a division of Sony BMG Entertainment, is a trailblazing multi-media entertainment company and the creative habitat of some of today's most vital and diverse musical artists such as Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, The Fray, Natasha Bedingfield, Matisyahu, Fiona Apple, Incubus and Los Lonely Boys to name a few.

Source: MTV

Web site: http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.mtvtr3s.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mtvtr3s

 

'Nashville Star' Celebrates Record Ratings for Season Five Finale and Show Veterans Miranda Lambert and Chris Young Garner a Combined Three ACM Nominations Including Top New Male And Female Vocalists

Miranda Lambert's Debut Album 'Kerosene' Also Reaches 1 Million Albums Sold

On the heels of record-breaking ratings, "Nashville Star" is celebrating the success of show veterans Miranda Lambert and Chris Young, who earned ACM Nominations today for Top Female Vocalist, Top New Female Vocalist and Top New Male Vocalist. Additionally, Miranda Lambert, who recently earned her first Grammy nomination, just achieved Platinum status for her debut CD "Kerosene."

"The past week has signified everything we hoped to achieve with 'Nashville Star,'" said executive producer Ben Silverman. "The show resonates with television viewers and country music fans because it produces stars and we couldn't be prouder of Miranda, Chris or our newest star Angela Hacker."

Last Thursday more than 3 million viewers tuned in to USA Network as season five winner Angela Hacker beat her baby brother Zac Hacker to win the title of "Nashville Star" and thereby earn a record deal with Warner Bros. Nashville, a brand new Chevy truck and the chance to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. For the single mother of an 8-year-old son, this was Angela's dream come true and an incredible rags-to-riches story for both her and her brother. Angela's CD will be released on April 3.

The season finale of "Nashville Star" was the #1 most watched program in basic cable primetime with an 11% increase from last year's finale among adults 18-49 (1.4 MM) and strong numbers among adults 25-54 (1.4 MM), total viewers (3.0 MM) and households (2.24 cvg rating). The season five finale was the only program of the night to deliver more than 1 million adults 25-54 and more than 3 million total viewers. Additionally, the fifth season was the most watched among adults 18-34.

NASHVILLE STAR is created by Reveille and executive produced by Ben Silverman ("The Biggest Loser," "The Office") and H.T. Owens ("The Restaurant," "30 Days"). Jeff Boggs will executive produce in association with Reveille. Todd Lubin ("30 Days," "Black.White") serves as co-executive producer. The show is produced by Jon Small ("Garth Brooks Live From Central Park," "Billy Joel Live at Yankee Stadium") and his production company, Picture Vision, alongside co-executive producer Mark Koops ("The Restaurant," "Blow Out").

For photos of NASHVILLE STAR, please log on to the NBC Universal Media Village at http://www.nbcumv.com/.

Reveille is a leading independent production and distribution company focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through scripted and alternative television formats. Launched in March of 2002 by Ben Silverman, the company produces innovative entertainment programming across all television genres such as the Emmy Award-winning "The Office" (NBC), which has also received two Television Critics Association Awards; "The Biggest Loser" (NBC); "Ugly Betty" (ABC); "House of Boateng" (Sundance Channel); "30 Days" (FX); "Blow Out" (Bravo); "Bound For Glory" (ESPN); "Nashville Star" (USA); "Date My Mom" (MTV); and "The Restaurant" (NBC). Reveille is also the world leader in creating integrated marketing opportunities for leading advertisers while developing alternative financing paradigms. In addition, Reveille's growing library of programming is distributed to more than 150 countries worldwide through Reveille International. The company maintains offices in Los Angeles and New York.

USA Network is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports and entertainment events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. The #1 basic cable network across the board in 3Q06, USA Network is seen in 90 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

Source: USA Network

for USA Network

Web site: http://www.usanetwork.com/

 

Legendary Entertainer Bill Cosby Sits Down for an In-Depth Conversation With Comedian and SIRIUS Host Jim Breuer Exclusively on SIRIUS Satellite Radio

Bill Cosby riffs on the importance of storytelling in comedy, his beloved character Fat Albert, and why he admires Redd Foxx, Lenny Bruce, and Jonathan Winters

-- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) today announced that it will broadcast an exclusive, hour-long conversation between legendary entertainer Bill Cosby and comedian and SIRIUS host Jim Breuer on Raw Dog Comedy Uncensored, SIRIUS channel 104.

One of the most admired entertainers in the United States, Bill Cosby sits down with Jim Breuer for a rare, in-depth conversation to discuss significant moments from his life and career, including insight into his creation of the beloved character Fat Albert, bigotry he witnessed as a child, and the importance of storytelling in comedy. Cosby also discusses some of the comedians he admires most such as Redd Foxx, Lenny Bruce, and Jonathan Winters.

"For me, as a comedian, talking with a legend like Bill Cosby was fascinating," said Breuer. "I feel like I touched a god of comedy, it was phenomenal."

Breuer, a stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live alum, hosts a daily afternoon comedy show, Breuer Unleashed, every Monday through Friday from 4pm ET to 6pm ET on Raw Dog Comedy Uncensored. Breuer's show - where he hangs out with friends and talks to callers about the funny side of family, work, and life-has been heralded by the Village Voice as the "Best Reason to Get SIRIUS (Besides Stern)."

"SIRIUS pioneered uncensored comedy on the radio-putting no limits on comedians, our hosts, our guests, or their creativity-and we are happy to be a home for comedy geniuses such as Bill Cosby, who has been a leader in free speech throughout his storied career," said Scott Greenstein, President of Entertainment and Sports at SIRIUS. "Jim's show is Raw Dog's flagship, and it was a pleasure to hear a conversation between these two comedians."

The hour-long interview airs Thursday, March 15 @ 6pm ET on Raw Dog Comedy Uncensored, channel 104.

Bill Cosby is one of the United States' most popular and admired entertainers. A veteran stand-up performer with a number of successful albums, including Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow, Right! and To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With, Cosby moved on to television shows such as I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show, and The Electric Company. He also created the humorous educational cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and, from 1984 to 1992, produced and starred in The Cosby Show, which is considered one of the defining cultural sitcoms of the decade.

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS, "The Best Radio on Radio," delivers more than 130 channels of the best programming in all of radio. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial free music channels in satellite radio, offering 69 music channels. SIRIUS also delivers 65 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NASCAR, NBA and NHL, and broadcasts live play-by- play games of the NFL, NBA and NHL, as well as live NASCAR races. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95.

SIRIUS Internet Radio (SIR) is a CD-quality, Internet-only version of the SIRIUS radio service, without the use of a radio, for the monthly subscription fee of $12.95. SIR delivers more than 75 channels of talk, entertainment, sports, and 100% commercial free music.

SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 25,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, RadioShack and at shop.sirius.com.

SIRIUS radios are offered in vehicles from Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep(R), Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Rolls Royce, Scion, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Hertz also offers SIRIUS in its rental cars at major locations around the country.

Click on www.sirius.com to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription.

Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance with respect to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and, accordingly, such statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the key factors that have a direct bearing on our operational results are: our dependence upon third parties, including manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers, our competitive position and any events which affect the useful life of our satellites.

 

 

Web site: http://www.sirius.com/

 

Actor Cheryl Hines is Tired of Counting Sheep to Sleep ... and is Painting Them Instead

Hines, The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and Other Celebrities Join Together to Fight Insomnia

Today, actor and insomnia sufferer, Cheryl Hines, joins the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Foundation to pull the covers off insomnia. Together, Hines and the AANP have launched Why Count on Sheep to Sleep?, an educational initiative, supported by sanofi-aventis, that uses the concept of "counting sheep" to raise awareness of insomnia and provide people with solutions to manage this medical condition. More than 30 million Americans are affected by chronic insomnia each year.

Hines, an actor on the hit comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm, has experienced insomnia for more than 20 years. Before consulting her healthcare professional, Hines tried everything to get to sleep, including counting sheep. Now, through this charitable effort, Hines is painting sheep instead. Hines and fellow celebrities have painted life-size sheep sculptures that depict their interpretations of their feelings associated with insomnia- related sleep loss. The sheep, which Hines unveiled today at a launch event at DUVET in New York City, are being auctioned on eBay at www.eBay.com/whycountsheep to raise funds for the AANP Foundation to support educational programs focused on insomnia and its impact on health and overall well-being. Joining Hines in this initiative are supermodel Angie Everhart, television actors David James Elliott (CBS's Close to Home) Marlee Matlin (Showtime's The L Word), Kathy Najimy (CBS's Numb3rs) and Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer.

"Unfortunately, managing my insomnia wasn't as simple as counting sheep. At first, I wasn't even aware that I was experiencing insomnia because my issue wasn't just being unable to fall asleep when I went to bed at night. I was also dealing with waking up in the middle of the night and then not being able to get back to sleep," explains Hines. "The consequences of this had a significant impact on my day, especially when I had early morning calls. You need to be well-rested to handle such long days and to be at your best in front of the camera."

Insomnia-related sleep loss can impact an individual's waking hours as well. People, like Hines, who suffer from insomnia may experience a reduced ability to concentrate, excessive daytime sleepiness and irritability.

"Insomnia may also affect a person's daily work performance or have a negative consequence on personal relationships," explained Michael Thorpy, M.D., Director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center.

After years of experiencing difficulties sleeping, Hines decided to talk to her healthcare professional, who recommended a number of ways to help manage her insomnia, including setting a regular sleep schedule each night, and not exercising close to bedtime. Her healthcare professional also recommended Ambien CR(TM) (zolpidem tartrate extended-release) tablets CIV, the only controlled-release prescription sleep aid approved by the FDA to help people both fall asleep and stay asleep.

"The prevalence of people suffering from insomnia and the impact it can have on overall health underscores the need to raise awareness about insomnia," said Mona Counts, Ph.D., NP, FNAP, FAANP, President of AANP. "The AANP is committed to building a person's ability to recognize the different symptoms of insomnia -- such as waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep -- and encourage people to seek help from their nurse practitioner or healthcare professional to manage their sleep problems."

There are things people can do get a good night's sleep. The AANP suggests you first talk to a nurse practitioner or other healthcare professional to determine the best way to manage your symptoms. Suggestions may include lifestyle changes like going to bed at the same time each night, avoiding caffeine before bedtime or sleeping in a dark room with a comfortable temperature. If insomnia persists, talk to a nurse practitioner or other healthcare professional to discuss other methods, including prescription medications, to help manage symptoms of insomnia.

About Insomnia

Insomnia can be a serious medical condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep, waking up too early in the morning and feeling tired upon waking. Insomnia-related sleep loss may even have serious health implications and has been linked to obesity, depression, cardiovascular, pulmonary and gastrointestinal disorders.

There are many factors that can cause insomnia. Lifestyle factors, including smoking or drinking prior to going to bed, may create or worsen sleeping problems. Environmental factors, such as loud noise, too much light or extreme room temperature, may affect one's ability to sleep soundly. Psychological factors, such as stress, may trigger sleep problems. Insomnia can also be caused by depression. Pre-existing medical conditions, such as kidney disease, heart failure, asthma, Parkinson's disease or conditions that cause pain or discomfort, including arthritis or menopause, may impede on one's ability to get restful sleep.

For more information on insomnia, please visit www.shuteye.com.

Talk to a healthcare provider if one or more symptoms of insomnia continue for more than one week.

About Ambien CR

AMBIEN CR is indicated for treating insomnia.

It is a treatment option you and your healthcare professional can consider along with lifestyle changes and can be taken for as long as your healthcare professional recommends. Until you know how AMBIEN CR will affect you, you shouldn't drive or operate machinery. Be sure you're able to devote 7 to 8 hours to sleep before being active again. Side effects may include next-day drowsiness, dizziness and headache. It's non-narcotic; however, like most sleep medicines it has some risk of dependency. Don't take it with alcohol.

For full prescribing information, please visit www.AMBIENCR.com and see accompanying prescribing information.

Everyone responds differently, so it's very important that people who experience sleep problems work with their healthcare professionals to determine the best way to get a good night's sleep.

About AANP and AANP Foundation

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Foundation was created by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners to help meet the ever-increasing need of and requests for NP-related funding for education and healthcare research and projects. The AANP Foundation is the first national foundation of its kind to benefit nurse practitioners of all specialties, including sleep disorders and insomnia.

The mission of the AANP Foundation is to advance the role of nurse practitioners through the support of education, research and practice for the improvement of the public's health.

The AANP Foundation is committed to supporting educational programs focused on insomnia and its impact on health and overall well-being.

To learn more about the AANP and the AANP Foundation, visit www.aanp.org and www.aanpfoundation.org.

About sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. Backed by a world-class R&D organization, sanofi-aventis is developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, thrombosis, oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous system, internal medicine and vaccines. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE:SNY) .

Source: sanofi-aventis

Web site: http://www.sanofi-aventis.us/
http://www.sanofi-aventis.com/
http://www.shuteye.com/
http://www.aanp.org/
http://www.aanpfoundation.org/

 

 

Hope Floats: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Remastered and Expanded for Release by Capitol/EMI

Unavailable Since 2000, 1998 Soundtrack's U.S. Sales Exceed 2.7 Million

New CD and Digital Release Adds Six Exclusive Bonus Tracks From Barry Manilow, The Temptations and More!

-- Unavailable since 2000, Capitol/EMI's hit soundtrack to 1998's Hope Floats has long been a collector's choice. With U.S. sales totaling more than 2.7 million units to date, Hope Floats: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack has been remastered and expanded for reissue on CD and digitally on April 24 by Capitol/EMI.

Already a double platinum smash, with tracks from Sheryl Crow, the Rolling Stones, Lyle Lovett, Trisha Yearwood, Bob Seger, the Mavericks and other top music artists, the remastered soundtrack is newly expanded with six exclusive tracks from artists including Barry Manilow, The Temptations and original score composer Dave Grusin, raising the track count to 18.

In the award-winning film, Hope Floats, directed by Oscar(R)-winning actor and director Forest Whitaker, Birdee Calvert (Sandra Bullock) seems to have it all. She's been married for years to her handsome high school sweetheart Bill (Michael Pare), and she has a brilliant and sensitive child. But when her picture perfect life comes crashing down around her, Birdee must start over. With no place else to turn, the former beauty queen, along with daughter Bernice (Mae Whitman), heads back home to Smithville, Texas. There, Birdee's life becomes even more complicated as she tries to cope with a mother (Gena Rowlands) she must get to know for the first time, a daughter who desperately misses her father, and the prospect of a new romance with an old schoolmate, Justin Matisse (Harry Connick, Jr.). But as Birdee undertakes her emotionally-charged journey, she begins to find the strength to reclaim her life, rediscover her family and return to something she had almost given up on... hope.

Hope Floats: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (expanded CD and Digital Album)

*newly-added track

1. Dave Grusin Main Title: Going Home*

2. Sheryl Crow In Need

3. The Rolling Stones Honest I Do

4. Bob Seger & Martina McBride Chances Are

5. The Mavericks All I Get

6. Gillian Welch Paper Wings

7. Jonell Mosser Stop! In The Name Of Love

8. Whiskeytown Wither, I'm A Flower

9. Deana Carter What Makes You Stay

10. Lila McCann To Get Me To You

11. Lyle Lovett Smile

12. Bryan Adams When You Love Someone

13. Trisha Yearwood To Make You Feel My Love

14. Barry Manilow Daybreak*

15. The Temptations I Can't Get Next To You*

16. Paul Davis Cool Night*

17. Laura Harding Who Cares Anyway*

18. Dave Grusin Justin & Birdie*

New Ringtone: "What Makes You Stay" (Deanna Carter)

Source: Capitol/EMI

 

Xenon Pictures' THE PASSION OF JOSHUA THE JEW, a Story of Faith and Religious Intolerance, Makes DVD Debut

Italian Filmmaker Pasquale Scimeca's Story of a Jewish Scholar Banished From His Homeland Amidst the Spanish Inquisition to Be Released on DVD on Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Xenon Pictures announces today the March 20, 2007 DVD release of the feature film, THE PASSION OF JOSHUA THE JEW, from Italian filmmaker Pasquale Scimeca, whose debut feature, Il Giorno di San Sebastiani, won a Golden Globe Award(R). His latest film is a spiritually inspiring drama that also highlights the cruelty and misguided convictions that come with religious intolerance and persecution. THE PASSION OF JOSHUA THE JEW (La Passione di Giouse L'Ebreo) will be released in DVD widescreen format, in Italian with English subtitles.

The basis for Scimeca's story comes from the historical royal edict of 1492 that unified Spain under Catholicism, ending centuries of peaceful co-existence among Spanish Christians, Jews and Moslems, and banishing all non-Christians from the country. The central character, Joshua, a young man with a brilliant mind and a strong interest in the Christian Gospels as well as Jewish theology, finds himself perceived as the Messiah by his fellow Jewish exiles in Italy, where he and his family have settled after leaving Spain. The elders of a neighboring city choose Joshua to portray Jesus Christ in their annual Passion play, but the forces of anti-Semitism bring about a tragic conclusion.

An official selection of both the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival prior to its theatrical release, THE PASSION OF JOSHUA THE JEW exemplifies Xenon Pictures' continuing efforts to present audiences with new international cinema from acclaimed filmmakers. According to Xenon Pictures' President and CEO Leigh Savidge, "the film's themes of faith, intolerance and the futility of violence justified by religious beliefs are very relevant to today's audiences. As the film's DVD release coincides with the Easter/Passover season, it offers audiences a thought-provoking drama focusing on spirituality, racial and religious tolerance at an important period in world history."

THE PASSION OF JOSHUA THE JEW was directed by Pasquale Scimeca, who also wrote the screenplay, and stars Leonardo Cesare Abude in the title role. It is a production of Arbash Film, in co-production with ICC (Spain), and with the support of Eurimages and Italy's Ministry of Culture. Xenon Pictures' release of THE PASSION OF JOSHUA THE JEW will be available at all major retail and online stores for $19.99

Source: Xenon Pictures

Web site: http://www.xenonpictures.com/

 

Universal Music Publishing Group Signs 9X GRAMMY Award Winner, Academy Award Winner, Hip-Hop Icon, Multi-platinum Artist/Songwriter/Producer/Label Exec Eminem to an Exclusive, Worldwide Administration Agreement

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) announced today the signing of multi-GRAMMY award winner, Academy Award winner, multi-platinum artist/songwriter/producer, Eminem, to an exclusive, worldwide administration agreement.

The deal encompasses tracks on Eminem's multi-platinum greatest hits collection Curtain Call; the latest Shady Records offering, Eminem Presents: The Re-Up; songs co-written on 50 Cent's -- The Massacre; as well as the huge hit "Smack That" produced by Akon featuring Eminem; and new songs to be written by Eminem. The deal also includes a joint venture with Eminem's publishing company, Shady Music Publishing, allowing Eminem and manager Paul Rosenberg to sign other writers and artists.

David Renzer, Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group states, "Eminem is an icon for millions of music fans around the globe. His success as a writer and producer for both his own records as well as other artists continues to grow. We are honored that Eminem and his representatives have chosen Universal Music Publishing Group as their new home."

As an artist, Eminem has received nine GRAMMY awards, including three for Best Rap Album (The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show); three for Best Rap Solo Performance ("My Name Is," "The Real Slim Shady," and "Lose Yourself"); one for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group ("Forgot About Dre"); one for Best Rap Song ("Lose Yourself"); and one for Best Short Form Music Video ("Without Me"), which also earned him an Oscar. Eminem has released seven multi-platinum albums -- six of which have reigned as the Billboard No. 1 Album, including 1999's The Slim Shady LP, 2000's Marshall Mathers LP, 2002's The Eminem Show, 2004's Encore, and 2005's Curtain Call -- The Hits. He has also has had a total of sixteen different songs in the Top 10 of various Billboard Charts, bringing him fifty-three Top 10 chart positions.

Marshall B. Mathers III, a.k.a. Eminem, a.k.a. Slim Shady, has made a name for himself as a rapper, record producer and actor. Mathers got his big break when his talents were discovered by pioneer rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who signed him to his Aftermath Entertainment label, becoming a crossover sensation with his debut single "My Name Is" and simultaneously earning respect for his technical and lyrical ability.

Eminem is noted for his ability to change his vocal pace and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat, and has been widely praised for his skill in alliteration and assonance. Mathers is also infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics.

The most recent release from Aftermath was a greatest hits album from Eminem called Curtain Call: The Hits in 2005, a compilation covering many of his previous commercial hit songs, in addition to three new tracks. Mathers has taken a focused interest in producing and writing with fellow Aftermath artists as well as 50 Cent's G-Unit Records artists and rappers under his Shady Records label.

Most recently, on December 5, 2006, Shady Records released Eminem Presents The Re-Up, an album compiled in mixtape format that features Shady Records artists. Having sold over 70 million albums, Eminem is the best selling music artist of the decade so far.

About Universal Music Publishing Group

With 47 offices in 41 countries worldwide, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is part of the Universal Music Group. Owning or administering more than 1 million copyrights, UMPG's writers and catalogs include: U2, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, 50 Cent, Dave Grohl, Prince, Mariah Carey, Jack Johnson, Ludacris, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Ice Cube, Ciara, Mary J. Blige, Wolfmother, Eminem, The Corrs, Brian McKnight, Beastie Boys, DMX, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Paul Simon, the catalog of Henry Mancini, among many others. For more information, visit: www.umusicpub.com.

Source: Universal Music Publishing Group

Web site: http://www.umusicpub.com/

 

 

Big Screen Entertainment Group Options Ron Zimmerman Script 'Standing Down'; 'Hellboy's' Ron Perlman to Star

-- Big Screen Entertainment Group has announced that it has optioned the screenplay "Standing Down," written by Ron Zimmerman, whose long list of credits includes the television series "Seventh Heaven," "Action" and "My Wife and Kids."

Ron Perlman is attached to both star and executive produce. Perlman is well known for his film work, which includes Guillermo Del Toro's "Hellboy" and the upcoming "Hellboy 2," "Blade 2" and "Star Trek: Nemesis." He also starred as Vincent in the critically acclaimed television series "Beauty and the Beast," which was recently released on DVD to strong sales.

"Standing Down" tells the story of Sgt. Patrick Ulysses Macklin (Perlman), a career soldier who must face the prospect of life without the US Army. Producer and BSEG CEO Kimberley Kates has long championed the script, and is confident that audiences will respond favorably to both the heartwarming and gritty elements. Producing with Kates for BSEG are Michael Manasseri and David Zappone.

Also attached is hip hop sensation Pras Michel, who will star, executive produce and contribute to the soundtrack.

In addition to Pras' work as a member of musical group The Fugees, Pras recently completed the documentary "Skid Row." Described as a "startling look at the grim destiny of poverty," it follows Pras as he "sheds all the comforts of home and co-habitates with the destitute for nine days."

"Skid Row" was directed by Michael Mann protege Marshall Tyler, who is also attached to "Standing Down." Tyler has been traveling with Oscar winner and Grammy nominee Jamie Foxx, documenting his World Tour for a possible upcoming documentary. Tyler co-directed "Diary of: Jaime Foxx," chronicling the star's "Unpredictable" tour in 2006.

"We are putting together a dynamic team to bring Ron Zimmerman's powerful script to life," said Ms. Kates.

About BSEG:

Big Screen Entertainment Group (BSEG) is a full service entertainment company designed to develop, produce, purchase, exhibit and distribute products in all media formats, including motion pictures, television, music, publishing, video games and cell phone content.

BSEG has completed three films, three films in post-production, five films and an MMORPG and two casual games in development. Visit our website at www.bigscreenent.com for more information on these movies.

Forward-Looking Statements:

A number of statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including timely development, and market acceptance of products and technologies, competitive market conditions, successful integration of acquisitions and the ability to secure additional sources of financing. When used in this press release, words such as "could," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "potential," "should," and similar expressions are forward looking statements.

 

www.bigscreenent.com

www.forgetaboutitthefilm.com

www.themirrorfilm.com

www.babysitterwanted.com

www.biggervu.com

Source: Big Screen Entertainment Group

Web site: http://www.bigscreenent.com/

Web site: http://www.forgetaboutitthefilm.com/

Web site: http://www.themirrorfilm.com/

Web site: http://www.biggervu.com/

 

Mar 5

Modern & Contemporary Art

at Bonhams & Butterfields

on May 22

International fine arts auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields bring Modern & Contemporary Art to auction on Tuesday, May 22, 2007.  Simulcast between the San Francisco and Los Angeles salesrooms, the auction features works by the foremost artists of the 20^th century and icons of the present day.

Artists featured this spring include: Gustave Loiseau, Maria-Helena Vieira da Silva, Andre Lanskoy, Maurice de Vlaminck, George Grosz, Victor Vasarely, Martial Raysse, Jean Arp, Bernard Buffet, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Patrick Heron, Andy Warhol, Adolph Gottlieb, Kenneth Noland, John Baldessari, and Bruce Nauman, among others.

About the Artists and Offered Art:

Parisian painter Gustave Loiseau painted with Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard and other members of the Pont Aven School.  In 1894, Durand-Ruel, a leading art dealer and champion of the Impressionists, began handling Loiseau's work.  Loiseau's technique exhibits the influence of Gauguin, Pissarro, and Seurat.  Like many other impressionist painters, Loiseau was fond of travel, and he painted landscapes in various parts of France, including the Normandy coast, Fecamp, Etretat, Saint Jouin, Le Havre, and Marseill.  L'Oise a Pontoise, 1901, (est. $50/70,000) is an oil on canvas depicting a view of the River Oise at the town of Pontoise.  It was originally sold through Durand-Ruel in Paris and should interst collectors.

Considered to be one of the important postwar Abstract artists, Portuguese-born French painter Maria-Helena Vieira da Silva is known the world over for her involved, multifaceted and almost maze-like compositions.  Although not considered a "pure

abstraction" painter by scholars, her work resembles that of a number of artists such as Paul Cézanne, and movements and stylistic elements of the time including Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Tachisme, allegory and the fragmented form.  Untitled, 1958 (a signed and dated 14 x 19 ½ inch oil on canvas) is estimated to bring $70,000 to 90,000.

The international flavor of the May 2007 sale is highlighted with a 1968 watercolor of British abstract painter Patrick Heron.  Indigo Round Umber and Venetian and Into Ultramarine (est. $25/35,000) is a classic example of the artist's use of saturated color to express the pleasure of sight as one of the most important human senses.  According to specialists, his work is devoted to the analysis of natural forms and colors.

Untitled (Pictograph), 1949-50 (est. $25/30,000) by American abstract expressionist Adolph Gottlieb is also on the auction block at Bonhams & Butterfields.  Born in New York, Gottlieb studied at the highly esteemed Art Students League of New York.  Boasting a virtual "Who's Who" of faculty and alumni, the League has given rise to great modern talents such as Roy Lichtenstein, Isamu Noguchi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alexander Calder and Cy Twombly.  In 1935 Gottlieb joined fellow League alumni Mark Rothko and nine others to form a group known as "The Ten."  The group would later become known as the Abstract Expressionists.  Shortly thereafter, Gottlieb was introduced to a group of exiled artists who affirmed his faith in  Surrealist theories to express free thought.  It was this encounter that led the artist to experiment with symbols, resulting in Gottlieb's 1940s "Pictograph" series.  Signed by the artist, this gouache on paper is expected to bring $25,000 to 35,000.

Bruce Nauman was among the first of postwar contemporary artists to use his body as an expressive instrument in live performance and in studio performances made for film and video. The fundamental themes the artist addresses throughout his oeuvre include the role of the artist, the function of art, and the primacy of the idea over whatever form it takes.  His offered work Study for the Right Half of My Body Carved into a Tree is characteristic of his art.  The watercolor and ink on paper is expected to garner interest from an international audience (est. $50/70,000).

In his paintings of the late 1950s and early '60s, Kenneth Noland used familiar forms such as circles and chevrons to explore the expressive potential of color.  In his chevron paintings especially, he experimented with color to make a well-known form uniquely his own.  In his work from the 1980s, Noland again used the chevron to pursue other aspects of painting: translucency and pearlescence, and their counterpoints opacity and luminescence.  Bonhams is pleased to offer an acrylic on canvas from 1984, Songs: Out of Nowhere (est. $20/25,000).

Other highlights from the sale include Andre Lanskoy's Untitled oil on canvas (est. $40/60,000); an oil, silkscreen and silk rose on canvas from Martial Raysse titled Tableau

Presque Cuvé, 1965 (est. $20/30,000); a rare early assemblage by John Baldessari, X Sign
for a Crucification, 1962 (est. 60/80,000); two acrylic works by Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely Malna, 1964 (est. $25/35,000) and Gamma-G, 1958 (est. $20/30,000); Judith Rothschild's acrylic on paper mounted on foam board (in relief) Rubum VI 1980 (est. $4/6,000); and Untitled (Crowd), 1947 (est. $20/30,000) from Pop Art icon Andy Warhol.

The May sale also includes a selection of graphic works by artist, illustrator and American counter culture revolutionary Robert Crumb.  For more than 30 years, Crumb has entertained, often shocked and continually challenged the imaginations (and the boundaries) of art collectors and enthusiasts of the illustrated comic form.  His voluptuous, LSD-inspired experiences of the 1960s gave way to comparatively sober, introspective dialogues and biting indictments of American culture.  More than ten lots of work will be offered during the spring sale of Modern & Contemporary Art. (Pleasecontact Bonhams Press Office for a separate press release)

Previews are free and open to the public: May 11-13 in San Francisco and May 18-20 in Los Angeles.  

 

 

Second Annual Hollywood and Games Summit to Celebrate Collaboration Between Movies and Video Games

Elite Forums to Discuss Packaging Cross-Platform Media Deals, Leveraging Hollywood Talent, Improving Production Methods, Influencing Independent Development and More

-- The second annual Hollywood and Games Summit (http://www.hollywoodandgames.com/), presented by The Hollywood Reporter and the Game Developers Conference, will unite top executives to address the increasing collaboration between film and interactive entertainment, and the resulting opportunity to improve production methods and business models. The event will take place on June 26-27, 2007, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

Uniting to exchange ideas in an entertainment-specific forum, Hollywood studio and videogame executives will collaborate to identify creative business ideas that may lead to the next hottest videogame or movie blockbuster. The summit will also allow leaders from the respective industries to interact and discuss best practices for strategically marketing original intellectual property.

The 2007 Hollywood and Games summit will feature business and creative visionaries from both industries addressing the following topics:

* How to build collaborative relationships between the game and film

industry

* Packaging a new media deal -- creating an attractive cross-platform

property between film, TV, music, game, mobile and Internet

* How Hollywood talent is relevant in the interactive medium

* Conversations between top indie film producers and indie game executives

* The future of game-enabled interactive narratives -- featuring new

dimensions in story-telling

* Managing a unified system, highlighting the simultaneous creation of

films and games

* Using game engine technology in the film production process

* Marketing properties with alternative reality games

The event will include focused sessions, small-scale exhibits and a reception, enabling both sides to network.

"Packaging deals and creative co-development between Hollywood and games talent are achieving a level of depth far beyond simple licensing," said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the Game Developers Conference (GDC). "By featuring leading voices from both entertainment industries sharing their successful experiences, mixed results, and collaborative breakthroughs, we have all the ingredients for attendees to create groundbreaking entertainment."

"The entertainment industry is at a turning point, where the technology and creativity of the gaming sector is changing the way Hollywood approaches storytelling and redefining the relationship with the audience. It's a very dynamic convergence, and very interesting to note the prime movers who are making it happen," said Paula Parisi, VP and Executive Editor of The Hollywood Reporter.

The summit is supported by an esteemed advisory board made up of seasoned industry decision-makers including:

* Seamus Blackley, Agent, CAA

* Guillermo del Torro, Director, Pan's Labyrinth

* John Gaeta, Academy Award winner for Visual Effects on The Matrix

* Yair Landau, Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment and President,

Sony Pictures Digital

* Lorne Lanning, President, Oddworld Inhabitants

* Jordan Mechner, Writer and Director, including Prince of Persia: Sands

of Time and Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story

* Dave Perry, Founder, Shiny Entertainment, and Principal,

GameConsultants.com

* Jim Ward, Senior VP, Lucasfilm, and President, LucasArts

* Neil Young, Vice President & General Manager, Electronic Arts Los

Angeles

Speakers will be added to the lineup on a continuous basis. More information about the Hollywood and Games Summit including registration is now available online at www.hollywoodandgames.com. If you are interested in speaking at the Hollywood and Games Summit, please contact Jane Pinckard, Conference Manager, at jpinckard@cmp.com or 415.947.6274. For press credentials, please contact Megan Levinson, The Rosen Group, 212.255.8455, ext 213 or Megan@rosengrouppr.com.

About the CMP Game Group (www.cmpgame.com)

A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online and event products. These include Game Developer magazine, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, SeriousGamesSource.com, GameCareerGuide.com, the Game Developers Conference, the Austin Game Developers Conference, GDC China, GDC Mobile, the Serious Games Summit, the Hollywood and Games Summit, the Game Career Seminar Series, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit www.cmpgame.com.

About CMP Technology (www.cmp.com)

CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion.

About The Hollywood Reporter (www.hollywoodreporter.com)

The Hollywood Reporter is a must-read for entertainment's most powerful, influential people, with more than 175,000 key decision makers worldwide relying on the brand that enables success in a continually evolving business and creative environment. The Hollywood Reporter's products include print editions published both daily and weekly, a daily e-mail edition, THR-East, the Neal award-winning Web site, www.HollywoodReporter.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Esq., The Hollywood Reporter Europe and Starz The Hollywood Reporter, a weekly half-hour TV news program that focuses on the business of making movies. The Hollywood Reporter also has partnerships with both Reuters and IMDB, which help to facilitate the channeling of information from The Hollywood Reporter to industry players and consumers alike. The Hollywood Reporter is a unit of The Nielsen Company based in New York.

About The Nielsen Company (www.nielsen.com)

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek) and trade shows. The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA.

Source: CMP Game Group

Web site: http://www.cmpgame.com/
http://www.hollywoodandgames.com/

 

 

Mar 4

PAT BOONE  FOR MY COUNTRY-BALLAD OF THE NATIONAL GUARD

 

 

CAREER FACTS

Pat Boone's career began in local radio and television, and singing in church. A television amateurhour contest winner from the 1950s, he has gone on to sell over 45 million records, chart 38 Top 40 hits, and hold the unbroken record of 220 weeks on the charts with more than one song.

His first hit single, a cover version of the R&B song "Two Hearts" by the Charms, debuted April 2, 1955, and peaked at #16 on the Pop charts, followed by a cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" that went to #14 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the Pop charts in July of 1955. In those times the cover song was a common industry practice that helped create an opening to mainstream audiences. Boone's subsequent covers of R&B songs, including "At My Front Door" (EI Dorados), "Gee Whittakers" (The Five Keys), "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" (Little Richard), and several others, continued to top the Pop and R&B charts, feeding the frenzy for soul music in the mainstream culture in 1955 and 1956 and preparing the way for the R&B-based Rock 'n' Roll explosion to come.

Pat Boone starred in 15 movies, including Journey to the Center of the Earth, Bernardine, April Love, and State Fair, and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (music, television, and movies). His books, such as Twixt Twelve and Twenty and A New Song, have sold millions of copies, and his autobiography, Pat Boone's America-50 Years, A Pop Culture Journey through the Last Five Decades, arrives in stores November 1. Pat and Shirley, his wife of 50-plus years (daughter of legendary Country music star Red Foley), live i,! Los Angeles.

BILLBOARD'S TOP ARTISTS

#2 Billboard TOP MALE ARTIST OF THE DECADE, FIFTIES ('55-'59) #6 Billboard MOST CONSECUTIVE TOP 10 HITS

#8 Billboard TOP 500 ARTISTS

#9 Billboard MOST TOP 40 HITS

#10 Billboard MOST TOP CHART HITS #16 Billboard MOST TOP 10 HITS

Source: Bil/board Top Pop Singles 1955-1996, 8^th Edition

1955-1996,

BILLBOARD'S TOP POP SINGLES 6 #1 HITS ('55-'61)

6 #1 HITS ('55-'61)

18 TOP 10 HITS (TOP 20 OF ALL TIME) 38 TOP 40 HITS

Source: Billboard Top Pop Singles 1955-1996, 8^th Edition

1955-1996,

BILLBOARD'S TOP R&B/HIP-HOP SINGLES 2 #1 HITS, ('55-'57)

2 #1 HITS, ('55-'57)

3 TOP 10 HITS

Source: Bil/board Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 1942-2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(C) MBN 2007 Joyce Chow

TOP ARTIST OF THE DECADE FIFTIES ('55-'59)

Elvis Presley

Pat Boone

Perry Como

Fats Domino

Nat "King" Cole

9220 SUNSET BLVD iii SUITE 310 III Los ANGELES, CA 90069 III (310) 858-0044. FAX (310) 858-3769 • boonesbiz@aol.com

BILLBOARD'S BEST OF 'B' CHART

TOP ARTISTS

Beatles (#2)

James Brown (#5)

Pat Boone (#8)

Beach Boys (#14)

Bee Gees (#25)

MOST TOP 20 HITS

Beatles 42

PatBoone 26

Beach Boys 25

Bee Gees 24

5. Brook Benton 16

5. James Brown 16

CONSECUTIVE TOP 20

Beatles ('64-'76-) 39

Pat Boone ('55-'58-) 21

Beach Boys ('63-·67-) 17

4. Bon Jovi ('86-·90) 10

4. Bobby Brown ('88-·9:a.). 10

MOST CHART HITS

James Brown 99

Beatles 72

PatBoone 60

Beach Boys 59

Brook Benton 50

MOST TOP 10 HITS

Beatles 34

PatBoone 18

3. Beach Boys 15

Bee Gees 15

Bon Jovi 11

Source:

Billboard Top Pop Singles 1955-1996, 8th Edition

MOST'TOP 40 HITS

Beatles 51

James Brown 44

Pat Boone 38

Beach Boys 36

Bee Gees 29

MOST #1 HITS

Beatles 20

Bee Gees 9

Pat Boone 6

Bon Jovi 5

5. Beach Boys 4

5. Boyz II Men 4

13 RIAA® CERTIFIED GOLD® SINGLES, 2 GOLD®AND 1 PLATINUM®ALBUM • 45 MILLION RECORDS SOLD WORLDWIDE

o 61 OVERALL HITS

• 220 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS ON THE CHARTS WITH MORE THAN 1 SONG

(ALL-TIME RECORD HOLDER)

3 STARS ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME (MUSIC, FILM, TELEVISION)

STARRED IN 15 FILMS

PERFORMER FOR MULTIPLE PRESIDENTS, DIGNITARIES, KINGS & QUEENS

AUTHOR OF MULTI-MILLION SELLING BOOKS

 

PAT BOONE PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL GUARD WITH UNPRECEDENTED HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY AND HEART -WARMING MUSIC VIDEO "FOR MY COUNTRY" ON VETERANS DAY NOVEMBER 11

 

- The United States National Guard continues to serve and protect us and our country throughout each war and national catastrophe. The hardworking, officers and soldiers that create this fine group continue to make monumental sacrifices as they put their personal lives on hold to keep Americans safe. For the first time ever, the National Guard will be honored and acknowledged with this historical documentary and touching music video created, produced and performed by legendary music icon and statesman, Pat Boone. FOR MY COUNTRY-BALLAD OF THE NATIONAL GUARD, a DVD/CD package containing the 50-minute documentary, music video and a special message from Pat, will be appropriately available to consumers on Veterans Day - November 11,2006 for a suggested retail price of$12.98. A major portion of the proceeds will benefit the Paralyzed Veteran's of America.

Narrated by Pat Boone, this special tribute documentary contains historic war memorabilia culmed from the U.S. Military Film Vault. Hundreds of paintings and photos dating back to 1800's and official combat film footage taken from WWI through current day will take viewers on a journey throughout the rich and honorable history of this amazing group of people. Never before seen footage captured during WWI, The Spanish American War, Desert Storm, and highlights with General Roosevelt and brave soldiers honored with the Purple Heart create a detailed portrayal of the National Guard's dedication and extraordinary service.

Says Boone, "We can never pay the debt we owe the National Guard; everyday it grows larger. This tribute is only a partial payment."

This acknowledgement to patriotism culminates with a beautifully filmed and emotionally charged music video tribute by Pat Boone (featuring singing sensation Valor) to fallen heroes, and the brave soldiers who continue to stand tall for our country.

To complete the picture of the sacrifices made by these courageous men and women, FOR MY COUNTRY-BALLAD OF THE NATIONAL GUARD takes viewers inside the lives of actual members of the National Guard as they tell their stories of defending the United States and its interests all over the globe, and talk about what's waiting for them at home.

Page 2

These soldiers have been injured while crossing enemy lines, and have watched friends and comrades die during missions. They talk about their love for this country and what compels them to willingly kiss loved ones goodbye for an undisclosed amount of time to fight for a freedom we are all enjoying.

For over 65 years, America has honored Veteran's Day for the men and women who have served this country and sacrificed their lives. On this special holiday they will be further honored and acknowledged with this moving salute for all those who live in The United States of America to take home and share with their families.

The National Guard is the nation's oldest military organization today. December 13,2006 marks the 370th anniversary of the formation of the National Guard in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which predates the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy by over a century.

FOR MY COUNTRY-BALLAD OF THE NATIONAL GUARD will be available online at www.tormycountry.lIsorww\v.palsgold.com

will be available online at

###

FOR MY COUNTRY - Ballad of The National Guard The Gold Label

The Gold Label

Release Date: November 11, 2006 SRP: $ 12.98

Catalog number: DVD 8102-9/ CD 8102-2

 

Counter Culture & the Cutting Edge

Bonhams & Butterfields Announces Blockbuster May Sale of Modern & Contemporary American Art

Graphic Artist Robert Crumb works highlight May sale

Bonhams & Butterfields, the West Coast's leading fine arts auctioneers, brings original graphic works by artist, illustrator and American counter culture revolutionary Robert Crumb (known to many as R. Crumb) to auction May 22, 2007, highlighting its Modern & Contemporary Art sale in Los Angeles (and simulcast to San Francisco).  Timed to coincide with the International Fair of New Art at the Armory Show in New York City, highlights from the Modern & Contemporary Art sale including works by Crumb, will be exhibited at Bonhams in the historic Fuller Building on Madison Avenue February 23-26, 2007.

For more than 30 years, R. Crumb has entertained, often shocked and continually challenged the imaginations (and the boundaries) of art collectors and enthusiasts of the illustrated comic form.  His voluptuous, LSD-inspired experiences of the 1960's gave way to comparatively sober, introspective dialogues and biting indictments of American culture.  The eternal outsider, Crumb used his talent to force the viewer to confront issues with his work, tackling topics such as racism and sexism, sometimes turning the pen on himself.  Crumb's list of iconic popular culture figures includes highly recognizable names such as: Mr. Natural, Angelfood McSpade, Flakey Foont, and most especially, the hedonistic anthropomorphic version of Crumb's childhood pet Fritz (a cat).

Created for the San Francisco Comic Book Company, one sale highlight is the original artwork to a seven-page story entitled "Mr. Natural," from MR. NATURAL #2, October 1971, where Crumb has a field day with 1970's cults and his alter ego from the subconscious id - Mr. Snoid makes a cameo appearance.

Born in 1943, Crumb was the middle child of five.  His father was a career military professional who fought in the Pacific during World War II.  Following the war, the Crumb family relocated often, from Pennsylvania to California, with stops in Iowa and Delaware.  Due to a difficult home life, Crumb and his siblings retreated into a fantasy world created by comics, television and movies of the 1950s.  These influences inspired his brother Charles, to create his own hand drawn comics with Robert following suit. 

Crumb drew for his own amusement for more than a decade before going to work for American Greetings, designing cards in Cleveland, Ohio.  By the mid-1960s, he was ready for a change.  On a whim, Crumb decided to travel west to San Francisco, California, then, the epicenter of the American counter culture movement.  During this time Crumb submitted work to a magazine called Yarrowstalks.  His illustrations were well received and Crumb was asked to produce an entire comic book, soon after, the first issue of Zap was born.  Several issues of the publication are to be offered along with additional works by Crumb this May at Bonhams & Butterfields -- many have become highly collectible over the years.

Additional featured lots include:

Robert Crumb's original artwork for a five-page story entitled "City of The Future," from Zap No. 0, published in 1967 by Don Donahue.  The pen and ink work is unsigned because it lies within Crumb's first issue of Zap (before he brought on board the group of underground artists later famous with this title, S. Clay Wilson, Robert Williams, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, and Gilbert Shelton.), after the stories entitled "Meatball," and "Ducks Yas Yas."  The reason this issue was numbered as #0 was because Robert left the artwork in the late 1960's for the entire first issue with his first wife Dana Crumb, and she lost it!  Crumb was forced to give his new publisher Don Donahue Xerox copies to use for the first printing of this comic book.  This story shows Crumb's early interest in science fiction, and he would later do longer stories involving alien visitations to Earth, and his famous biographical story about the 1960's author Philip K. Dick. 

 "Abstract Expressionist Ultra Super Modernistic Comics," a three-page story from The All New Zap Comix No. 1, 1967, is also on offer at Bonhams & Butterfields this May.  From the first issue of ZAP Comix, though dated 1967 it actually came out in February of 1968 and was sold on the streets of San Francisco in the Haight Ashbury district during the summer of that year by the artist himself to help the Poet Publisher Charles Plymell recover his printings costs.  Original Artwork from this first issue has only appeared for public sale a few times previously and it is extremely rare.  Crumb has commented many times on his experiences taking LSD during the 1960's, and this story is one of his first experiments using very few word balloons (the only two words used in balloons "spa fon" refer to an old 1950's EC comics idiom used in their 1950's science fiction comics, and later the name for a famed EC fanzine of the same title), progressive abstract panel designs, and images from his own dreams or subconscious mind.  This story also reveals the strong influence of fellow artist Rick Griffin who did many early stories using only pictures and abstract word symbols.

Sure to attract collectors and connoisseurs alike is Robert Crumb's original artwork for a Two Page (Centerfold) Entitled "Kitchen Kut-Outs," from The All New Zap Comix No. 1, 1967.  Published by Charles Plymell the pen and ink on paper is unsigned.  The two-page centerfold ran in the #1 issue of Zap Comix and quickly became one of Crumb's most famous works from his early period.  Similar to the familiar "Keep On Truckin" image, which stuck with everyone who ever read the one page comix feature, or the artists cover for Janis Joplin's famous second BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY record album with its paneled design layout, the Kitchen Kut-Outs instantly became a classic image from the counter-culture of the 1960's.  Many people actually cut-out these figures, colored them, and stuck them up on their kitchen refrigerator during the 1960's, and like some of the more famed Rock and Roll Posters from the Fillmore West concerts, this two page feature had a life of its own outside its appearance in the first issue of ZAP.  This artwork also reflects Crumb's synthesis of using common everyday objects along with organic-looking 1930's comic characters and it also showcases his desire to draw 100% of every page - including the hand lettered overhead title, and character names for each kut-out.  Not unlike some of the impulses of the Pop Artists of the 1950's and 1960's who insisted on using common everyday images and objects for their subject matter, here Crumb used common kitchen objects to further his humor and own art within the pages of a black and white comic book.

Called the 'Father' of the underground illustrated comic movement by some and considered the 'Grandfather' of alternative comics by others, R. Crumb was influenced by American artists Edward Hopper and Reginald Marsh, French masters Daumier, Toulouse-Lautrec and German Expressionists Otto Dix and George Grosz.  Crumb's artistic influence has grown beyond the counter culture into the art world influencing American artist Philip Guston among others.

Another featured lot from the May 22 sale is one of the original five cutout figures that Robert Crumb created for Bob Sidebottom's Underground Comics store in the early 1970's.  Originally in the collection of famed French collector Didier Moiselet in Paris, this wooden sculpture, from the original five figures, would be second only to the "Mr. Natural" figure in desirability for collectors.  The Lizard Girl, The Dirty Dog, and the Hippy Girl [to be offered] were originally in the collection of Jerry Weist, privately sold to another collector in the 1990s.  The three-dimensional 1971 storefront wooden figure painting on cut-out plywood entitled "Mr. Snoid", was originally commissioned by Sidebottom, an underground enthusiast and publisher, for his San Francisco comic book store. 

Other highlights from the Robert Crumb section of the sale include original artwork for: an ink drawing entitled "Oggie the Frog" from an early sketchbook drawing, circa 1964-1965, pen and ink on paper; inside front cover one page feature entitled "This Cartooning Business is Tricky Business," from SNOID COMICS, December 1979, Kitchen Sink Enterprises, pen and ink with brush on paper, signed by the artist; the anti-war-themed cover of THE PEOPLES COMICS, Golden Gate Publishing, 1972, pen and ink with brush on paper (est. $30/$40,000); a four page pen and ink with brush on paper story entitled "Karnal Komix presents What A World!  Starring Two Cats and a Bird, Part Two." From FUNNY ANIMALS, Apex Novelties, 1972; a pen and ink with brush on paper Centerfold Manifesto and a Five Page story Entitled "Chuck and Bob".  Estimates upon request for all works by R. Crumb.

Additional featured artists for the spring Modern & Contemporary Art sale include: John Baldessari, Adolph Gottlieb, Bernard Buffet, Patrick Heron, Andy Warhol, Kenneth Noland, Martial Raysse, Victor Vasarely, Bruce Nauman, Roland Petersen, Gustave Loiseau and Maria-Helena Vieira da Silva.

Bonhams & Butterfields specialists provide unprecedented expertise and leadership in achieving high standards in market performance, making Bonhams & Butterfields one of the leading global auction houses. Previews are free and open to the public: May 18-20 in Los Angeles and May 11-13 in San Francisco, with a highlight exhibition February 23-26 in New York City. 

-End-

1. "Wild Hogs," $38 million.

2. "Zodiac," $13.1 million.

3. "Ghost Rider," $11.5 million.

4. "Bridge to Terabithia," $8.6 million.

5. "The Number 23," $7.1 million.

6. "Norbit," $6.4 million.

7. "Music & Lyrics," $4.9 million.

8. "Black Snake Moan," $4 million.

9. "Reno 911!: Miami" $3.8 million.

10. "Breach," $3.5 million

 

 

March 3

 

WACK! Exhibit

 

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution at MOCA

Written by Joyce Chow

The feminist movement and how it fundamentally changed art is examined in the first major exhibition to examine the foundations and legacy of feminist art produced internationally from 1965 to 1980, on exhibit at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA tomorrow through July 16, 2007 in Los Angeles.

Comprised of the work of 119 artists from 21 countires, with nearly half being non-American, the installation includes the breadth of art and printed medium and a collection of films and videos so extensive it would take 8 days to watch them back to back. Art as it has developed throughout the years has at times been so controversial that a magazine opened in the exhibition, simply asked "What is Pornography? This? or This?"

Enter the exhibition, and Magdalena Abakanowicz's Abakan Red 1969 suspended from the ceiling comprised of sisal and mixed media, appears a representation of female anatomy now in gigantic proportions likely 15 feet in height. Behind me is Judith F. Baca's The Great Wall of Los Angeles, Farewell to Rosie Riveter, 1973-1983 and ongoing, a digital print on vinyl which was printed to scale from Great Wall, located at the Los Angeles River. Marina Abramoviæ, known for Rhythm 0, 1974 and testing the limits of the relationship between performer and audience is represented. Marta Minujín's Soft Gallery of mattresses is a mini exhibition of her 200 mattress Soft Gallery in 1977 in Washington, D.C.

Curated by Connie Butler, the essential story of WACK! is told in terms of women only, to maintain perspective. The exhibit will later tour to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., MOMA in Long Island City, New York and the Vancourver Art Gallery in Britich Columbia, Canada.

For pictures and additional information, visit www.moma.org

Look for our video on WACK here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(C) MBN 2007 Joyce Chow

 

DISCOVER THE DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND FEMINISM THROUGH MOCA PROGRAMS BEGINNING IN MARCH

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution Complemented by

Special WACKsite, Featuring a Blog to Encourage Community Response and Dialogue

A Conversation with Judy Chicago and a Panel Discussion on Art, Feminism, and Psychology Performances by artists Faith Wilding and Suzanne Lacy

   Tornberg Lecture Series: Angela Davis, Lucy Lippard, Linda Nochlin, and Griselda Pollock Gallery talks: Jennifer Doyle, Catherine Lord, Lorraine O'Grady, Terry Wolverton, and much more

Los Angeles-A variety of programs-including conversations, gallery walkthroughs, performances, family workshops, and lectures-are planned in keeping with the spirit of dialogue and community inspired by WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution-on view March 4-July 16, 2007 at The Geffen Contemporary at MaCA, 152 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles.

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is the first international survey of a remarkable body of work that emerged from the dynamic relationship between art and feminism in and around the 1970s. Organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art (MaCA) and curated by Ahmanson Curatorial Fellow Connie Butler-curator at MaCA for 10 years (1996-2006) and current Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (MaMA). WACK! brings together the work of 119 artists from 21 countries to examine how the feminist movement fundamentally changed the way we see and understand art. MaCA Director Jeremy Strick notes that, "It is particularly apt that such an exhibition should emanate from a west coast institution, given Los Angeles's status as an important locus for early feminist discourse and the undeniable impact that feminism has had on artists and art-making here." Mr. Strick continues, "Los Angeles was home to the Feminist Art Program and Feminist Design Program at The California Institute of the Arts and The Woman's Building, which housed influential programs like the Feminist Studio Workshop."

WACKsite

The exhibition will be accompanied by the WACKsite, a community driven component of www.moca.org dedicated to enriching viewers' understanding of the exhibition and its many supporting programs. Utilizing the blog format, the WACKsite will be a collaborative environment for consciousness-raising and

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution programs

discussion. Members of the general public, artists, and authors are invited to participate in this discourse by posting responses to artworks and themes in the exhibition, and by expressing their reactions to other supporting programs. The WACKsite is scheduled to launch on February 23, 2007 and can be accessed at www.moca.org/wack!

Guide by Cell Phone Tour

The Guide by Cell Phone Tour offers museum visitors the opportunity to hear from many of the artists featured in WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution as they recall the impetus for creating the ground breaking work displayed in the exhibition. By calling 408-794-0842 and following the prompts, visitors can hear from 25 artists including Marina Abramovic, Judith Baca Judy Chicago, Harmony Hammond, Lynn Hershmann, Mary Kelly, Suzy Lake, Senga Nengudi, Martha Rosier, Alexis Smith, and Terry Wolverton. The Guide by Cell Phone Tour will also be accessible on www.moca.org.

PROGRAMS

Conversations

Saturday, March 3,2007, 2-4pm-The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, MOCA Store A Conversation and Booksigning with Judy Chicago

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution curator Connie Butler talks with Judy Chicago, who will sign copies of her new books Becoming Judy Chicago: A Biography of the Artist and The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation. A FREE event for MOCA members hosted by the MOCA Store. INFO 213/633-5323

Thursday, March 29, 6:30pm-The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Critical Discussions of Feminism and Form

Presented on the occasion of WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, the panel is moderated by Judith Halberstam, Director of the Center for Feminist Research at USC.

Sunday, June 3, 2007, 2-6pm-National Center for the Preservation of Democracy Panel Discussion: Art, Feminism, and Psychology

2-4:15pm: Panel discussion moderated by Thomas Brod, M.D., with panelists Carol Mayhew, Tamar Hoffs, Brandon French, and Esther Dreifuss-Kattan.

4:30-6:00pm: Gallery Discussions led by psychoanalysts from the CG Jung Institute of Los Angeles, the New Center for Psychoanalysis, and the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. For more information, please call 213/621-1745 or e-mail education@moca.org.

Performances

Sunday, March 11,2007, 11am-5pm-The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Wait-with, a performance by Faith Wilding

In conjunction with WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, Faith Wilding reinvents her 1972 work Waiting. For more information, please call 213/621-1745 or e-mail education@moca.org. FREE with museum admission.

Saturday, June 16,2007, 5pm-The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Suzanne Lacy's Stories of Work and Survival

MOCA Education's Public + Artist Program invites living artists- the contemporary art institution's greatest resource-to create and implement dynamic projects that enhance and deepen visitors' experiences. In conjunction with WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, Public + Artist has invited artist Suzanne Lacy to create a project building upon feminist history that

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution programs

fosters communication between women and brings visibility to women's issues. In collaboration with the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures, The Roski School of Fine Arts at USC, and Otis College of Art and Design, this project features public and private conversations between communities of working women that will occur at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in ·April. The project will culminate in a large-scale performance and potluck dinner at The Geffen Contemporaryat MOCA. Seating for the event is limited, reservations are required. For more information, please call 213/621-1745 or e-mail education@moca.org.

MaCA Art Talks Presented by Gallery C

MOCA Art Talks Presented by Gallery C are informal discussions on current exhibitions led by arts professionals. The talks take place in the exhibition galleries unless otherwise noted. Attendance is free with museum admission and no reservations are required. For more information please call 213/621-1745 or email education@moca.org.

Sunday, March 4, 2007, 11am and 2pm-The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Walks Through the Revolution

Two walkthroughs of WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution moderated by Jennifer Doyle and Catherine Lord. Using a non-traditional format, a multi-generational gathering of artists, writers, curators, and feminist-minded folk will engage in a roving discussion of the exhibition. Participants are encouraged to stay for both tours and sensible shoes are recommended.

Thursday, March 22 at 6:30pm- The Geffen Contemporary at MaCA Lorraine O'Grady, artist

Sunday, April 29 at 3pm- The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Terry Wolverton, artist/member of the Lesbian Art Project

The Ralph Tornberg/Museum Director's Distinguished Lecture Series

Looking at the legacies and potentials of feminism in relation to WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, the Tornberg series investigates how feminist thinking on all levels-social, artistic, political, psychological and theoretical-is important in our cultural life. Individual ticket prices: $15 MOCA members; $20 nonmembers; Series ticket prices: $45 MOCA members; $60 nonmembers. Advance tickets required; no refunds. For information visit moca.org/wack!

Sunday, April 1 at 2pm- Pacific Design Center, SilverScreen Theater Lucy Lippard

Sunday, April 15 at 2pm-Pacific Design Center, SilverScreen Theater Linda Nochlin

Sunday, May 20 at 2pm-Pacific Design Center, SilverScreen Theater Griselda Pollock

Sunday, June 10 at 2pm- Colburn School, Herbert Zipper Concert Hall Angela Davis

Teens of Contemporary Art (TOCA)

Want to learn more about contemporary art with other teens? Join us every month for exhibition explorations, art workshops, discussions, and special events. FREE; no reservations required; snacks provided. For more information, please call 213/633-5310 or e-mail dgray@moca.org.

SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 3-5 pm-The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Be heard and hear others in this discussion of feminism and art, with a guided exhibition tour of WACK!

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution programs

Additional Programming

Alongside MOCA's extensive programs, parallel activities are being mounted all around Los Angeles to coincide with the presentation of WACK!, including a film series at REDCAT; symposia at both the California Institute of the Arts and the Getty Center; a series on women and humor at the UCLA Hammer Museum; and exhibitions at the California Institute of the Arts, the Santa Monica Museum of Art and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, among many others.

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The exhibition curator is Connie Butler, former curator at MOCA and current Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. At MOCA, the exhibition is coordinated by Corrina Peipon, Curatorial Assistant and Project Coordinator.

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is made possible by the Annenberg Foundation.

Additional generous support is provided by Geraldine and Harold Alden; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the National Endowment for the Arts; The Peter Norton Family Foundation; Audrey M. Irmas; The Jamie and Steve Tisch Foundation; The MaCA Contemporaries; Wells Fargo Foundation; Vivian and Hans Buehler; the Barbara Lee Family Foundation Donor Advised Fund at the Boston Foundation; Etant donnes: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art; the Robert Lehman Foundation; Institut fOr Auslandsbeziehungen e. V., Stuttgart; The Broad Art Foundation; the Pasadena Art Alliance; Frances Dittmer Family Foundation; the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation; Peg Yorkin; Merrill Lynch; the Fifth Floor Foundation; The Cowles Charitable Trust; and the Polish Cultural Institute.

Major support is also provided by Susan Bay Nimoy and Leonard Nimoy with the members of the WACK! Women's Consortium: Contemporary Collectors-Orange County; Mandy and Clifford J. Einstein; Lois G. Rosen; Pamela J. Smith; Amgen Foundation; Carol and David Appel; Ann and Olin Barrett; Drs. Arie & Rebecka Belldegrun; Pamela and Roger Birnbaum; Fabrizio and Lorraine Bonanni; Blake Byrne; Christie's, Inc.; Rosette V. Delug; Leslie and John Dorman; Gil Friesen and Janet Reinstra; Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro; The Karan-Weiss Foundation; Suzanne Nora Johnson and David G. Johnson; Dr. and Mrs. Kihong Kwon; Lyn and Norman Lear; Mesdag Family Foundation; B.J. Russell Mylne; Brenda Potter and Michael Sandler; Jennifer and Manfred Simchowitz; Catharine and Jeffrey Soros; Beth Swofford; David Teiger; Lauren and Bobby Turner; The Unterman Family; Joe and Susan Wingard; and the Wolff Family Private Foundation.

This exhibition is presented as part of the Millennium on View program. The Millennium Biltmore Hotel is MaCA's Official Hotel Sponsor.

89.9 KCRW is the Official Media Sponsor of MaCA.

Generous in-kind support is provided by MySpace.

MaCA Art Talks Presented by Gallery C is made possible by The Times Mirror Foundation Endowment and Gallery C.

Public + Artist is sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

The Ralph Tornberg/Museum Director's Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by the generous support of The Ralph Tornberg Trust.

General support for education programs at MaCA is provided by The James Irvine Foundation; the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs; Jean and Lewis Wolff and Family; the Weingart Foundation; The Lura Gard Newhouse Charitable Lead Trust; the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission; The Joseph B. Gould Fund for Education; the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; MCI; The Capital Group Companies; and David Hockney.

 

 

THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

 

MOCA TO PRESENT FIRST MAJOR EXHIBITION TO EXAMINE

THE FOUNDATIONS AND LEGACY OF FEMINIST ART PRODUCED INTERNATIONALLY FROM 1965 TO 1980

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution

At The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA March 4-July 16, 2007

Martha Rosier. Nature Girls (Jumping Janes), from the series Body Beautiful or Body Knows No Pain, 1966-72, photomontage. variable size, courtesy of the artiSI

Los Angeles-The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) presents the first international survey of a remarkable body of work that emerged from the dynamic relationship between art and feminism in and around the 1970s. WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution-on view at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA March 4-July 16, 2007-brings together the work of 119 artists from 21 countries to examine how the feminist movement fundamentally changed the way we see and understand art. More than 8 years in the making, WACK! is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Ahmanson Curatorial Fellow Connie Butler-curator at MOCA for 10 years (1996-2006) and current Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. MOCA Director Jeremy Strick notes that, "MOCA is a most fitting institution to organize this groundbreaking exhibition given its tradition of mounting scholarly, ambitious, and risk-taking thematic surveys." Following its debut at MOCA, the exhibition will tour to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. (September 21December 16, 2007); P.S.1 MOMA in Long Island City, New York (Winter 2008); and the Vancouver Art Gallery in British Columbia, Canada (Summer 2008).

WACK! at MOCA Sprin~/Summer 2007

In the late 1960s through the '70s-a period marked by the resurgence of feminism-a fundamental shift in women's perceptions of their own social roles began to have an impact on contemporary art practices. As reflected in the exhibition's title, WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution focuses on the intersection of art and feminism during this era and recaptures the idealism of the feminist movement. "WACK" is not an acronym in itself, but was chosen by curator Connie Butler to recall the acronyms of many activist groups and political communities from this time whose activities focused on women's issues and cultural production.

While the term "feminism" can be broadly defined, scholar and author Peggy Phelan states, "Feminism is the conviction that gender has been, and continues to be, a fundamental category for the organization of culture. Moreover, the pattern of that organization favors men over women." Embracing this definition, WACK! argues that feminism was perhaps the most influential of any postwar art movement-on an international level-in its impact on subsequent generations of artists.

In the past few decades, a canonical list of American artists have become identified with the feminist movement. The exhibition dismantles this canon through the inclusion of women of other geographies, formal approaches, socio-political alliances, and critical and theoretical concerns. The artists in WACK! do not necessarily all identify themselves or their work as feminist. Nonetheless, as artist Susan Hiller has said, "Art practice with no overt political content may, nevertheless, be able to sensitize us politically." The globalized model adopted by WACK! acknowledges the importance of artists working in their own communities and/or connecting with artists elsewhere, and recognizes that while individual artists may work in relative isolation, their practice-and worldview-comes together through discourse, affinity, and relationship.

Influential proto-feminist work produced by artists in the years immediately prior to the florescence of the '70s is also featured, including work by important figures who were active through that crucial decade and beyond, but whose contributions in the mid-'60s anticipated new feminist aesthetics that took hold during the '70s. The scope of the exhibition also allows for the inclusion of the early work by such artists as Cindy Sherman and Lorraine O'Grady, representing a division between essentialist work of the '70s-which hypothesized a universal way to portray female experience-and a more theory-driven approach adopted during the '80s-which accounted for concepts like race, class, and sexual orientation.

Rather than following a chronological sequence, WACK!"s thematic organization encourages a dialogue between individual works from a wide range of media-including painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, and performance art. The themes are: Abstraction, Autophotography, Body as Medium, Body Trauma, Collective Impulse, Family Stories, Female Sensibility, Gendered Space, Gender Performance, Goddess, Knowledge as Power, Labor, Making Art History, Pattern and Assemblage, Silence and Noise, Social Sculpture, Speaking in Public, and Taped and Measured.

 

 

WACK! at MOCA SprinQ/Summer 2007

Exhibition Catalogue

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue. Each artist in the exhibition is represented by a short biographical text, and a selected bibliography. An extensive chronology offers an essential overview of the period. In addition to a significant curatorial essay by Connie Butler, the catalogue presents new scholarship on individual artists and subjects related to feminism in art. Contributing authors include the highly ~espected scholars Connie Butler, Judith Russi Kirshner, Catherine Lord, Marsha Meskimmon, Richard Meyer, Helen Molesworth, Peggy Phelan, Nelly Richard, Valerie Smith, Jenni Sorkin, and Abigail Solomon Godeau. Design is by Lorraine Wild and Green Dragon Office, Los Angeles.

Public Programs

MOCA will host a variety of related programs in conjunction with the exhibition, including an in-depth lecture series, round-table discussions, workshops, an extensive film series, and an independent website. Taken as a whole, the components of this project will initiate new dialogue about feminist art and will provide a forum for scholarly reconsideration of one of the most influential movements in American art of the postwar period.

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The exhibition curator is Connie Butler, former curator at MOCA and current Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. At MOCA. the exhibition is coordinated by Corrina Peipon, Curatorial Assistant and Project Coordinator.

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is made possible by the Annenberg Foundation. Additional support is provided by Geraldine and Harold Alden; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the National Endowment for the Arts; The Peter Norton Family Foundation; Audrey M. Irmas; The Jamie and Steve Tisch Foundation; The MaCA Contemporaries; Vivian and Hans Buehler; the Barbara Lee Family Foundation Donor Advised Fund at the Boston Foundation; Etant donnes: The FrenchAmerican Fund for Contemporary Art; The Broad Art Foundation; the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation; Peg Yorkin; Merrill Lynch; the Fifth Floor Foundation; and The Cowles Charitable Trust. Major support is also provided by Susan Bay Nimoy and Leonard Nimoy with the members of the WACK! Women's Consortium: Contemporary Collectors-Orange County; Mandy and Clifford J. Einstein; Lois G. Rosen; Carol and David Appel; Drs. Arie & Rebecka Belldegrun; Pamela and Roger Birnbaum; Fabrizio and Lorraine Bonanni; Blake Byrne; Christie's, Inc.; Leslie and John Dorman; Gil Friesen and Janet Reinstra; Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro; The Karan-Weiss Foundation; Suzanne Nora Johnson and David G. Johnson; Dr. and Mrs. Kihong Kwon; Lyn and Norman Lear; Mesdag Family Foundation; B.J. Russell Mylne; Brenda Potter and Michael Sandler; Jennifer and Manfred Simchowitz; Catharine and Jeffrey Soros; Elizabeth Swofford; David Teiger; Lauren and Bobby Turner; The Unterman Family; Joe and Susan Wingard; and the Wolff Family Private Foundation. 89.9 KCRW is the Official Media Sponsor of MaCA. The Millennium Biltmore Hotel is MaCA's Official Hotel. Generous in-kind support is provided by MySpace.

THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

 

ANDREA ZITTEL: CRITICAL SPACE

AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES

ZITTEL'S FIRST NORTH AMERICAN SOLO EXHIBITION ON VIEW AT THE GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY AT MOCA

March 4-May 14, 2007  

So few artists live their work as fully as Andrea Zittel. She throws off the equilibrium of everyday life by turning work into play and taking leisure seriously. The fluid transition that she makes between her art and real life forces others to think about the ordinary choices made each day that are normally taken for granted."

-Trevor Smith, exhibition co-curator) the New Museum of Contemporary Art

Los Angeles-Andrea Zittel: Critical Space, the first comprehensive solo exhibition in North America of one of the most influential American artists to emerge since the 1990s, opens at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles this spring. Zittel investigates contemporary life in Western societies through her sculptures and installations, which draw on architecture and geography to explore the psychological, biological, and economic aspects of domestic and urban existence. "We are delighted to bring the works in this exhibition back to Los Angeles-in close proximity to Zittel's studio and the

natural environment where the artist lives and works," said MOCA Director Jeremy Strick, "This exhibition fulfills the common mission of the artist and MOCA: the integration of the visual arts with contemporary culture." Co-organized by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York and co-curated by Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Senior Curator Paola Morsiani and Trevor Smith for the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Andrea Zittel: Critical Space will be on view at MOCA's critically acclaimed exhibition space in Little Tokyo, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA March 4-May 14, 2007. MOCA's presentation will be coordinated by MOCA Curator of Architecture and Design Brooke Hodge. This follows showings at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (October 6, 2005-January 1, 2006), the New Museum of Contemporary Art (January

MOCA AT  

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

26-May 27,2006), Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo (October 6, 2006-January 7,2007), and precedes a presentation at the Vancouver Art Gallery in British Columbia, Canada (June 9-September 30, 2007).

Andrea Zittel has inextricably linked her personal and professional life in her artistic endeavors by focusing her investigations on herself and beginning every project from conundrums she encounters in her everyday existence. Early in her career, Zittel lived in urban environments where space is at a premium, inspiring her to create more efficient living retreats that pare down the clutter and chaos of life to the essentials-such as a bed or dresser-and explore the multiple functions these utilitarian items could execute. In the early '90s, she formalized her experimentations, utilizing her initials to create an artistic corporate identity "A-Z Administrative Services." Under this corporate pseudonym, Zittel researches, designs and constructs handcrafted "uniforms" and domestic settings, such as A-Z Management and Maintenance Unit (1992). These objects and installations emphasize the ways in which personal needs such as security, self-empowerment, intimacy, and comfort are fulfilled. Superefficiency has become the mantra of Zittel's life and work since these early investigations.

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space brings together approximately 21 of Zittel's living units and environments from 1991 to the present, including A-Z Living Units, A-Z Escape Vehicles, A-Z Desert Islands, and A-Z Raugh Systems, as well as the complete series of handmade clothing she has created to date ·and a selection of her drawings. The exhibition will also feature recent work developed at A-Z West, the name Zittel has given to her desert studio in Joshua Tree, California. Through her experimentations in the desert, she combats cultural preconceptions about that environment and makes populated spaces more organized-culturally, politically, and economically.

The Artist: Andrea Zittel was born in Escondido, California, in 1965 and currently lives and works in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, California. She received her BFA from San Diego State University and her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 1990. Her work has appeared in numerous solo exhibitions including Andrea Zittel: New Work, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1995); A-Z Deserted Islands, The Public Art Fund, Central Park, New York (1999); and Andrea Zittel-Personal Programs, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2000). Zittel's work has been included in several major group exhibitions, including Aperto '93: Emergency, XLV Biennale di Venezia, Italy (1993); Sense and Sensibility: Women Artists and Minimalism in the Nineties (1994) and Tempo (2002), The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the 1995 and 2004 Biennial exhibitions at The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Publication: A major catalogue, the most comprehensive publication on Zittel's work to date, co-publistled by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, and Prestel Verlag accompanies the exhibition. The catalogue contains more than 300 color reproductions-including all the works in the exhibition-and essays by co-curators Paola Morsiani and Trevor Smith; Cornelia H. Butler, Chief Curator of Drawings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Robert Cook, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; an interview with Zittel by Beatriz Colomina,

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Professor of Architecture at Princeton University, and Mark Wigley, Professor of Architecture and Dean of thE Graduate School of Architecture, Columbia University; and texts by the artist.

Family Workshops

First Sundays are For Families

On the first Sunday of every month, MOCA hosts hands-on workshops inspired by current exhibitions. For families with children ages 5 and up. Participation is FREE and no reservations are required. INFO 213/621-1712.

Sunday, March 4, 1-3:30pm, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Sunday, April 1, 1-3:30pm, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space is co-organized by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York.

The exhibition has been made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency; the patrons. benefactors, and donors to the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston's Major Exhibition Fund; and the Peter Norton Family Foundation.

The accompanying catalogue has been made possible by a grant from The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston with additional support from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.

MOCA's presentation is supported by an anonymous donor.

####

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MaCA) is your source of creativity and inspiration in Los Angeles through innovative exhibitions and programs by significant and compelling contemporary artists. MaCA is a private not-for-profit institution supported by its members, corporate and foundation support, government grants, and admission revenues.

MaCA Grand Avenue is open 11 am to 5pm on Monday and Friday; 11 am to 8pm on Thursday; 11 am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday; and closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wells Fargo provides free admission every Thursday from 5pm to 8pm. General admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students with I.D. and seniors (65+), and free for MaCA members, children under 12, and everyone on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm.

For 24-hour information on current exhibitions. education programs, and special events, call 213/626-6222 or access MaCA online at moca.org. 

 

WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution Biographic Information for Participating Artists

Magdalena Abakanowicz (b. 1930, Falenty, Poland)

Marina Abramovi6 (b. 1946, Belgrade, Serbia)

Carla Accardi (b. 1924, Trapani, Italy)

Chantal Akerman (b. 1950, Brussels)

Helena Almeida (b. 1934, Lisbon)

Sonia Andrade (b. 1935)

Eleanor Antin (b. 1935, New York)

Judith F. Baca (b. 1946, Los Angeles)

Mary Bauermeister (b. 1934, Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

Lynda Benglis (b. 1941, Lake Charles, Louisiana)

Camille Billops (b. 1933, Los Angeles)

Dara Birnbaum (b. 1946, New York)

Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911, Paris)

Sheila Levrant de Bretteville (b. 1940, Brooklyn, New York)

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (b. 1951, Pusan, South Korea, d. 1982, New York)

Judy Chicago (b. 1939, Chicago)

Lygia Clark (b. 1920, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, d. 1988, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Rita Donagh (b. 1939, Wednesbury, England)

Kirsten Dufour (b. 1941, Copenhagen)

Tee Corinne (b. 1943, S1. Petersburg, Florida, d. 2006, Sunny Valley, Oregon)

Jay DeFeo (b. 1929, Hanover, New Hampshire, d. 1989, Oakland, California)

Disband (1978-82, New York)

Assia Djebar (b. 1936, Cherchell, Algeria)

Lili Dujourie (b. 1941, Ghent, Belgium)

1

Mary Beth Edelson (b. 1933, East Chicago, Indiana) Rose English (b. 1950, Hereford, England)

VAllE EXPORT (b. 1940, Linz, Austria)

Jacqueline Fahey (b. 1929, Timaru, New Zealand) Louise Fishman (b. 1939, Philadelphia)

Audrey Flack (b. 1931, New York)

lole de Freitas (b. 1945, Belo Horizonte, Brazil) Isa Genzken (b. Bad Oldesloe, Germany)

Nancy Grossman (b. 1940, New York)

Barbara Hammer (b. 1939, Los Angeles) Harmony Hammond (b. 1944, Chicago) Margaret Harrison (b. 1940, Wakefield, England) Mary Heilmann (b. 1940, San Francisco)

Lynn Hershman (b. 1941, Cleveland, Ohio)

Eva Hesse (b. 1936, Hamburg, Germany, d. 1970, New York) Susan Hiller (b. 1940, Tallahassee, Florida)

Rebecca Horn (b. 1944, Michelstadt, Germany)

Alexis Hunter (b. 1948, Auckland, New Zealand)

Mako Idemitsu (b. 1940, Tokyo)

Sanja Ivekovi6 (b. 1949, Zagreb, Croatia) Joan Jonas (b. 1936, New York)

Kirsten Justesen (b. 1943, Odense, Denmark) Mary Kelly (b. 1941, Fort Dodge, Iowa)

Joyce Kozloff (b. 1942, Somerville, New Jersey) Friedl Kubelka (b. 1946, London)

Shigeko Kubota (b. 1937, Niigata, Japan)

2

 

 

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929, Matsumoto, Japan) Suzanne lacy (b. 1945, Wasco, California) Suzy lake (b. 1947, Detroit)

Maria lassnig (b. 1919, Kappel am Krappfeld, Austria) lesbian Art Project (1977-79, los Angeles)

lee lozano (b. 1930, Newark, New Jersey, d. 1999, Dallas) lea lublin (b. 1929, Brezesc, Poland, d. 1999, Paris)

Anna Maria Maiolino (b. 1942, Scalea, Italy)

Monica Mayer (b. 1954, Mexico City)

Ana Mendieta (b. 1948, Havana, d. 1985, New York) Annette Messager (b. 1943, Berek, France)

Marta Minujin (b. 1941, Buenos Aires)

Nasreen Mohamedi (b. 1937, Karachi, India, d. 1990, Kihim, India) Linda M. Montano (b. 1942, Saugerties, New York)

Ree Morton (b. 1936, Ossining, New York, d. 1977, Chicago)

laura Mulvey (b. 1941, Oxford, England), Peter Wollen (b. 1938, london) Alice Neel (b. 1900, Merion Square, Pennsylvania, d. 1984, New York) Senga Nengudi (b. 1943, Chicago)

Ann Newmarch (b. 1945, Adelaide, Australia) lorraine O'Grady (b. 1934, Boston)

Pauline Oliveros (b. 1932, Houston)

Yoko Ono (b. 1933, Tokyo)

Orlan (b. 1947, Saint-Etienne, France)

Ulrike Ottinger (b. 1942, Konstanz, Germany)

Gina Pane (b. 1939, Biarritz, France, d. 1990, Paris)

3

 

 

Catalina Parra (b. 1940, Santiago, Chile)

Ewa Partum (b. 1945, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland) Howardena Pindell (b. 1943, Philadelphia)

Adrian Piper (b. 1948, New York)

Sylvia Plimack Mangold (b. 1938, New York) Sally Potter (b. 1949, London)

Yvonne Rainer (b. 1934, San Francisco)

Ursula Reuter Christiansen (b. 1943, Trier, Germany) Lis Rhodes (b. 1942, Cornwall, England)

Faith Ringgold (b. 1930, New York)

Ketty La Rocca (b. 1938, La Spezia, Italy, d. 1976, Florence, Italy) Ulrike Rosenbach (b. 1943, Bad Salzdetfurth, Germany)

Martha Rosier (b. 1943, Brooklyn, New York)

Betye Saar (b. 1926, Los Angeles)

Niki de Saint Phalle (b. 1930, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, d. 2002, San Diego, California) Miriam Schapiro (b. 1923, Toronto)

Mira Schendel (b. 1919, ZOrich, Switzerland, d. 1988, Sao Paulo, Brazil) Carolee Schneemann (b. 1939, Fox Chase, Pennsylvania)

Joan Semmel (b. 1932, New York)

Bonnie Sherk (b. New Bedford, Massachusetts) Cindy Sherman (b. 1954, Glen Ridge, New Jersey) Katharina Sieverding (b. 1944, Prague)

Sylvia Sleigh (b. 1916, Llandudno, Wales)

Alexis Smith (b. 1949, Los Angeles)

Barbara T. Smith (b. 1931, Pasadena, California) Mimi Smith (b. 1942, Brookline, Massachusetts)

4

 

 

Joan Snyder (b. 1940, Highland Park, New Jersey)

Valerie Solanas (b. 1936, Ventor, New Jersey, d. 1988, San Francisco) Annegret Soltau (b. 1946, LOneburg, Germany)

Nancy Spero (b. 1926, Cleveland, Ohio)

Spiderwoman Theater (Founded 1975, New York)

Lisa Steele (b. 1947, Kansas City, Missouri)

Sturtevant (b. 1930, Lakewood, Ohio)

Cosey Fanni Tutti (b. 1951, Hull, England)

Mierle Laderman Ukeles (b. 1939, Denver, Colorado) Cecilia Vicuna (b. 1948, Santiago)

June Wayne (b. 1918, Chicago)

"Where We At" Black Women Artists (Founded 1971, New York, Disbanded 1997, New York) Colette Whiten (b. 1945, Birmingham, England)

Faith Wilding (b. 1943, Primavera, Paraguay)

Hannah Wilke (b. 1940, New York, d.1993, Houston)

Francesca Woodman (b. 1958, Denver, Colorado, d. 1981, New York) Nil Yalter (b. 1938, Cairo)

Zarina (b. 1937, Aligarh, India)

 

 

Organized by CORNELIA BUTLER

Essays by

Cornelia Butler, Judith Russi Kirshner, Catherine Lord, Marsha Meskimmon, Richard Meyer, Helen Molesworth,

Peggy Phelan, Nelly Richard, Valerie Smith, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, and]enni Sorkin

tdited by

LISA GABRIELLE MARK

,

• ART AND THE FEMINIST REVOLUTION

THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

THE MIT PRESS Cambridge, :Massachusetts

ART AND FEMINISM: AN IDEOLOGY OF SHIFTING CRITERIA

 

 

Women's Action Coalition protest at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, '992

Photo © 1992 Lisa Kahane, NYC

Cornelia ~utler  

During the late 1960s and early 70S, feminism fundamentally changed contemporary art practice, critiquing its assumptions and radically altering its structures and methodologies. But what exactly is feminism? And, following that, what is feminist art? Peggy Phelan has offered what seems to be the most serviceable definition of feminism: "the conviction that gender has been, and continues to be, a fundamental category for the organization of culture. Moreover, the pattern of that organization usually favours men over women.'" "WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution" is predicated on the notion that gender was and remains fundamental to culture and that a contemporary understanding of the feminist in art must necessarily

look to the late 1960s and 70S. The exclamatory title of the exhibition is intended to recall the bold idealism that characterized the feminist movement during that period. Like the transformative power of Pop art memorably chronicled in Barbara Haskell's 1984 exhibition "BLAM! The Explosion of Pop, Minimalism and Performance, 1958-1964" at the Whitney Museum

of American Art, New York, the impact of feminist art has yet to be fully theorized and accepted by academic and museum institutions. Though "WACK" is not an acronym, it gestures to those of many activist groups and political communities beginning in the 1970S whose activities focused on women's issues and cultural production-including the Art Workers Coalition (AWC); Women Artists in Revolution (WAR); Women's Action Coalition (WAC); Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (WITCH); Women's Caucus for Art (WCA); and Women, Students, and Artists for Black Art Liberation (WSABAL). The violent and sexual connotations of "WACK" serve to reinforce feminism's affront to the patriarchal system, while the exhibition's conjoined subtitle is intended to acknowledge the intersection of feminism and art that is this exhibition's raison d'etre and the source of its revolutionary potential.

My ambition for "WACK!" is to make the case that feminism's impact on art of the 1970S constitutes the most influential international "movement" of any during the postwar period-

in spite or perhaps because of the fact that it seldom cohered, formally or critically, into a movement the way Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, or even Fluxus did. For that reason,

I want to invoke bell hooks's proposal to resignify the term "feminist movement," to deliver

it from its nomenclatorial fixity and reconnect it to the verb "to move"-with all the restless possibility that word connotes.² Moreover, I want to assert that feminism constitutes an ideology of shifting criteria, one influenced and mediated by myriad other factors. Whereas art movements traditionally defined by charismatic individuals tended to be explicated and debated through manifestos and other writings, feminism is a relatively open-ended system that has, throughout its history of engagement with visual art, sustained an unprecedented degree of internal critique and contained wildly divergent political ideologies and practices. Many of the artists in "WACK!" do not necessarily identify themselves or their work as feminist. Nonetheless, to quote Susan Hiller, "art practice with no overt political content may, nevertheless, be able to sensitize us politically."3 It is my contention that-whether unintentionally or lacking the language or cultural context to support a feminist idiom-the artists in this exhibition contributed to the movement and development of feminism in art, if only by reinforcing two central tenets: the personal is political, and all representation is political. Through a proposed dismantling of the received canon of feminist art, the exhibition and accompanying

 

 

Peggy Phelan, "Survey," in Helena Rickett and Phelan, eds., <i!rt and (Feminism (London:

Phaidon Press, 2001), 18.

2

bell hooks, (Feminism is for C;verybody: 'Passionate 'Politics (Cambridge, Massachusetts: South End Press, 2000).

15  

3

Susan Hiller, in "Anthropology into Art:

Susan Hiller Interviewed by Sarah Kent and Jacqueline Morreau,n in Women's 'Images o[:Men (London: Pandora Press, 1990), 151.

:E 1/1

Z ii

III I&. 1:1 Z < lII: <  

publication consciously reenact feminism's legacy of inclusivity and its interrogation of cultural hierarchies of all kinds to suggest a more complicated history of simultaneous feminisms. While the American feminist art movement is embedded from within, this international exhibition of 119 artists, activists, filmmakers, writers, teachers, and thinkers necessarily moves beyond the familiar list of American feminist artists to include women of other geographies, formal approaches, sociopolitical alliances, and critical and theoretical positions.

There is considerable debate over the origins of feminist art; however, it is not my project here to write the narrative of its inception. Rather, I prefer to gesture to the proliferation of practices that revolutionized the practice and discourse of art and whose impact was felt globally. Certainly, during the late 1960s and 70S, the United States (New York and Los Angeles, in particular) and Britain were centers for feminist art and activism-thanks in part to the groundbreaking work of critics including Lucy R. Lippard, Linda Nochlin, Rozsika Parker, Griselda Pollock, Arlene Raven, and film theorist Laura Mulvey. However, as Marsha Meskimmon adroitly argues in her essay elsewhere in this book, asserting that feminism in art emanated from these centers through a kind of global "ripple effect" merely replicates a colonialist model (ironically reinforcing the notion of a master narrative) and does not acknowledge the importance of artists working in their own communities and/or in dialogue with other artists elsewhere. The globalized spatial model Meskimmon puts forth as an alternative recognizes that while individual practices may have initially occurred in a condition of relative isolation, they often coalesced through discourse, affinity, and relationship.

Myriad connections characterize the proliferation of feminist activity in art of the late 1960s and 70s-the movement of the movement that hooks elucidated. For example, John Baldessari invited Ulrike Rosenbach and Gina Pane to perform and teach at California Institute of the Arts and Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, respectively, though neither artist was hosted by the Feminist Art Program. Elsewhere, contemporaries and friends Zarina and Nasreen Mohamedi were equally radical as women artists working out of the hegemonic and repressive context of India; while Zarina emphasized the resistance against cultural traditions of representation by incorporating very specific references to transculturalism, Mohamedi manifested her urban architectonic vision through photographs and subtle abstract drawings. Within the framework of this exhibition, the practices of these two artists, who worked abstractly and from different cultural contexts, can be considered in relation to feminism, though they did not engage in the same critical terms as their Western counterparts.

For many of the artists in "WACK!," feminism often coexisted with political engagement on other fronts such as race, class, and sexual orientation, which at times superseded feminism as the dominant discourse within which they preferred to situate their work. Here in the United States, this is particularly evident with regard to women artists whose feminism evolved out of a deep engagement with the civil rights movement, such as Faith Ringgold and members of "Where We At" Black Women Artists, whose collective activity emerged from

16

 

 

Andrea Zittel

"Warp and Woof: Comfort and Dissent," installation at Artists Space, New York, 1991  

their involvement with Black Power and the Black Arts Movement, with whom they remained closely affiliated. On the West Coast, the hegemonic orientation of the Chicano movement inspired women such as Judith F. Baca in Los Angeles to invent hybridized practices and generate expanded notions of community and audience. Spiderwoman Theater, the first Native American feminist performance group, found ample material in the histories of subjugation embedded within native women's lives. Another test of feminism's relevance and resiliency occurs with artists who did not participate in, and whose work did not circulate through, the mainstream (read: white) art world. Emily Kame Kngwarreye, for example, was an Australian aboriginal artist who, during the 1970S, made textiles as part of the Utopia Women's Batik Group. Their collective art-making activities became a form of social mobilization with the goal of reinstating their land rights, as the batiks were offered for sale through local vendors, raising both money and awareness of the plight of their people. Though Kngwarreye later gained recognition for her abstract paintings, which were shown in galleries during the 1980s, she is not represented in "WACK!" because the economy in which the Utopia Group's early production circulated did not favor institutional collections and archives.

As a curator, my own interest in 1970S feminist art arose not as a participant or peer but from observing its impact on contemporary practice in the early 1990S. I concur with Holland Cotter's assertion that "most of the interesting American artists of the last thirty years are as interesting as they are in part because of the feminist art movement of the early 1970S.

It changed everything."4 Unlike the current generation of twenty-something women coming out of graduate programs and into the professional world, for me the nomenclature of feminism has never been an issue or a problem. I attended a woman's college at the height of the Reagan era and was brainwashed by the 1980s propaganda of the career-track woman who can have it all-work, family, sexual liberation, and political autonomy. Equally profound was the impact of early 1990S cultural conservatism that represented a backlash against the freedoms women had gained during the 1970S and 80S. Working as a curator in New York at that time, I was involved with artists such as Janine Antoni, Xenobia Bailey, Sowon Kwon, Rita McBride, Beverly Semmes, and Andrea Zittel, and engaged in the discourses coming out of the Whitney Independent Study Program around the subjects of gender and cultural difference.

 

 

4

Holland Cotter, "Two Nods to Feminism, Long Snubbed by Curat~rs," The :New 60rk Times, 11 October 2002.

Beverly Semmes

Yellow Pool, 1993

Organza and velvet

8 x 28 x 29 feet

Collection of the artist Installation at Contemporary Culture, Dallas, Texas

Lynda Benglis pouring latex paint for an installation commissioned by the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, 1969  

For me, the watershed moment was the formulation of the Women's Action Coalition (WAC)

in the wake of two meta-cultural moments in New York. The first involved the Anita Hill! Clarence Thomas debacle and the conflation of media sexism and racism that surrounded those proceedings. The second occurred around the panel discussion "Representation and Value: What Role Will the Language of Feminism Play in the Art World of the '90S?" organized at Cooper Union. An opportunity for dialogue on the subject of feminism in art criticism, the event was effectively hijacked by the meteoric ascension of Matthew Barney-a truly unique voice whose practice is deeply imprinted by feminist art. His breakthrough show at Barbara Gladstone Gallery in 1991 had virtually eclipsed several other simultaneous exhibitions featuring women artists. During the panel, all critical discussion around issues of gender and sexuality seemed to coalesce around Barney's work and ignored the women artists who were exhibiting atthe time. In my recollection, this sparked a community-wide sense of inequity and frustration.

Up the street from Barney's exhibition was a show at Blum Helman Warehouse organized by Catherine Liu called "Plastic Fantastic Lover (object a)," including such artists as Polly Apfelbaum, Angela Bulloch, Sylvie Fleury, Aki Fujiyoshi, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Rebecca Horn, Liz Larner, Annette Messager, Rosemarie Trockel, and Zittel, among others. Ironically perhaps, in light of the fact that all eyes seemed to be on Barney at that moment, the exhibition catalogue for "Plastic Fantastic Lover" opened with the following reflection on that moment in the early 1990S:

In the contemporary art world, there is a general air of confusion that could be attributed to the fact that there are no new Masters who have appeared recently, or else the chaotic state of affairs could be the result of the fact that many people have simply stopped waiting with bated breath for the Master's appearance .... The work of the artists in this show represents 'an eclectic sampling of different strategies of artistic production in the absence of the Master. These artists are, each in her own way, exploring the possibilities

of worlds without an anchoring Master Signifier.⁵

During the early 1990S in New York, a dynamic group of artists emerging out of the Whitney program and elsewhere were, in various ways, looking to the art and artists of the 1970S feminist movement to address a host of questions about identity construction, gender, and the social inscription of space. Janine Antoni's :Lovinfj Care performances (1993), in which

she dragged her own dye-saturated hair across the floor, resonated with Lynda Benglis's processbased paint pours (1968-70), which initially reacted against the heroic action-painting of Jackson Pollock. Even Barney's work is unthinkable without that of Barbara 1. Smith and Martha Wilson, as well as Ulrike Ottinger's film (Freak Orlando (1981) and Adrian Piper's Mythic Being performances (1972-75).

 

 

5

Catherine Liu, '1'lastic (fantastic :Louer (object a), exh. cat. (New York: Blum Helman Warehouse, 1991), 4.

18

 

 

top row: ]anine Antoni loving Core, 1993 Details of performance

at Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London

bottom left:

Ulrike Ottinger Norzisstischer Hermaphrodit in Begleitung eines

Zwerges und einer Bartfrau from Freak Orlando, 1981 35mm film, color and sound 126 minutes

Courtesy of the artist

bottom right: . Matthew Barney Production still from CREMASTER " 1995

35mm film, color and sound 40 minutes

Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York

Women's Action Coalition protest at the Solomon

R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992

Photo © 1992 Lisa Kahane, NYC  

In 1992, when word spread that the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's inaugural exhibition for its SoHo space would only feature the work of white male artists, WAC found a target for its first protests. The New York art world, for a moment, was focusecj in a very public way on its own inequities. WAC also staged demonstrations around incidences of rape, media discrimination, and anti-women's rights legislation.

Historiographically, the mid-1990S was marked by a number of ambitious exhibitions that each addressed aspects of the legacy of feminist art. Among these were the traveling exhibition "Empty Dress: Clothing as Surrogate in Recent Art," organized by Nina Felshin in 1993 and including male and female artists whose work dealt with clothing and the construction of gen-

dered identity over two decades; and "More Than Minimal: Feminism and Abstraction in

the '70S ," organized by Susan Stoops at the Rose Art Museum in 1996 and featuring Benglis, Jackie Ferrara; Nancy Graves, Eva Hesse, Ana Mendieta, Mary Miss, Ree Morton, Michelle Stuart, Dorothea Rockburne, Hannah Wilke, and Jackie Winsor. If there is any model for "WACK!," it is "Inside the Visible: An Elliptical Traverse of 20th-Century Art in, of, and from the Feminine," organized in 1996 by M. Catherine de Zegher for the Institute of Contemporary

Art in Boston. I admire de Zegher's deeply historical traverse of the twentieth century through the shared sensibilities of women working internationally. In her introduction, de Zegher described her strategy:

20

The curatorial procedure may be likened to an excavation of material traces and fragmentary histories, which would be recombined into new stratigraphies or configurations to produce new meanings and insights of reality. Several recurrent cycles, rather than a linear survey with its investment in artistic originality and genealogies, structure the exhibition .... The exhibition thus addresses the specificity of the encounter between work and viewer and the continual reinvention of the aesthetic experience.⁶

Other important exhibitions of the mid-1990S include "Bad Girls" (1994), organized by Marcia Tucker for the New Museum of Contemporary Art; "Sense and Sensibility: Women Artists and Minimalism in the Nineties" (1994), organized by Lynn Zelevansky for the Museum of Modern Art; and "Sexual Politics: Judy Chicago's ':Dinner '1?arty in Feminist Art History" (1996), organized by AmeliaJones for the UCLA Hammer Museum. Also worth noting is the 1994 publication of The '1?ower of (Feminist dIrt: The dImerican Jvlovement of tl1e 1970S, (ffistory and 'Impact, by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard, the first comprehensive survey of the feminist art movement in the United States.

In organizing "WACK!," I had hoped to invoke feminist art's lofty and romantic striving for nothing less than a complete reorganization of cultural hierarchies. Rather than apologize for certain practices that are more ephemeral, less influential, or more qualitatively uneven, I chose instead to exalt the ways in which different women artists positioned themselves vis-a.-vis the feminist movement, making the question of selection criteria-critical for any exhibitionmost controversial here. First and foremost, the presentation had to be visually compelling,

a powerful experience that would linger in one's visual memory. Over the course of thinking about this project, I resolved that a survey exhibition that takes to heart feminist strategies

of resistance, disrupts canon formation, and supports intentionality, narrative, and biography could contain a wide range of practices that each function differently within multiple frames of organization. For that reason, I felt some artists' roles as activists, critics, and organizers were equally or more compelling and important to represent.

A critical aspect of my research was the interrogation of every aspect of the construction of feminist art's historical narrative, since a fundamental goal of feminist thought and practice during the 1970S was the complete reimagining of histories past and present. Initially the project was broader in scope, examining the period from the 1950S through the 70S. However,

I quickly concluded that the shift that happened with the civil rights movement and the cultural revolution of 1968 was so profound, and the art produced thereafter was so fundamentally different in its social grounding, that I had to focus on the ensuing decade. Yet I was also aware of the problems of decade-based historical models because they simply do not account for proliferation on a global scale. In the case of feminist art, once consideration moved beyond the United States-with its domination of publishing and scholarship in that area-

a new, more elliptical model immediately surfaced.

6

M. Catherine de Zegher, introduction to 1nside t~e 'Dis;ble: t7!nl::lliptical Traverse of 20tnCentury t7!rt in, of, Clnd from t~e (feminine, exh. cat. (Boston: The Institute of Contemporary Art; Kortrijk, Belgium: The Kanaal Art Foundation; and Cambridge, Massachusetts:

The MIT Press, 1996), 20.

21

 

 

Ketty La Rocca

Verbum, Parola, Mat, Word, 1967  

In examining the 1970S, many institutions have tended to privilege Conceptual art, sometimes overlooking the debate around feminist art that still brackets Conceptualism? Part of what makes historicizing the 19705 so complicated is the overlap of feminist practice with other concurrent impulses, evident in the work of artists such as VAllE EXPORT, Mary Kelly, Lee Lozano, Ewa Partum, Adrian Piper, Ketty La Rocca, Martha Rosler, and Sturtevant, all of whom brought feminist concerns to bear on their Conceptual art practices.^s

There are two issues I rethought constantly during the organization of "WACK!" The first was whether or not to include male artists. Early in the show's development, I met with de Zegher, who said without hesitation that her only regret in organizing "Inside the Visible" was not including men in her show. Her contention was that most women artists want to have their work seen in an equitable situation where history is evaluated by criteria other than the sociopolitical or gender-based mandates of "the all-women group show." I fielded this with many of the artists in "WACK!" as a way to start a conversation about their works' relationship to feminism; thanks to several tough discussions with Uli Dujourie, Hiller, Sturtevant, and others (many of whom agreed that an integrated history is the next step), I have chosen to stand by the "women-only" model. I decided-and the artists overwhelmingly agreed-that, as a major institutional survey, the essential story of "WACK!" must be told in terms of the women who pioneered the movement and those who struggled to make work either within the dictates of a feminist language or in reaction and relationship to it.

The second issue I went back and forth on was that of structure. My earliest impulse was to abandon traditional installation models for survey exhibitions, which tend to highlight certain artists in depth, creating constellations around them. However, during a fruitful conversation, Kelly questioned why women artists should not benefit from the same kinds of selection criteria as their male counterparts. In other words, why can't women artists.be represented in greater depth as the work-and the contribution to issues of the exhibition's themes and narrative-demands. She was entirely right to pose this question, leading me to the potentially radical strategy of "reshuffling the deck"-of presenting an exhibition in which constellations of artists are in dialogue across social, political, geographic, and chronological boundaries.

In order to accomplish this, I created a structure in which themes were conceived as propositions rather than definitive categories (i.e., can a work exist in dialogue with those of other international contexts and parallel concerns?). If an artist's work appears radically singular

in nature, solitary and unresponsive to a group context, what might this mean in terms of constructing counterarguments within the exhibition? Are there categories and practices that resist the feminist art movement in productive ways? It is my hope that the themes will serve to multiply the possibilities for entry into the work. While some artists are present in greater depth and in multiple themes-as befitting their contribution to feminist discourse-I have attempted to present a narrative that is open-ended, elliptical, and discursive in its consideration of a diverse and powerful range of practices. The only intended hierarchies are those that indicate levels of achievement and commitment in relationship to feminism and art.

 

 

7

I am thinking here of many excellent exhibitions, including the Whitechapel Art Gallery's reconsideration of Conceptual practice "Live in Your Head, Concept and Experiment in Britain, 1965-75," which included a number of artists in "WACK'" There are many other examples, such as the Donna DeSalvo-  

curated portion of "Century City' Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis" (2001), organized by the Tate Gallery, in which feminist art was bracketed as one of a number of impulses in New York in the early 1970S. Lucy R. Lippard's essay "Escape Attempts" in the 1995 catalogue for "Reconsidering the Object

22  

of Art, '965-'975," organized by Ann Goldstein and Anne Rorimer for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, addressed the connection between Conceptual practice and feminism as part of a general paradigm shift in art at that time.  

S

Scholars such as John Weij:hman, Kellie Jones, and Julie Carson are currently doing work in this area.

Though I initially used the themes as an internal device to think about the installation, they eventually became a conceptual framework around which to structure both the exhibition and the publication. I imagined them working in different ways. Some themes-including Family Stories, Knowledge as Power, Silence and Noise, and Social Intervention-function historically to highlight the work of artists who were attempting to articulate a distinctly feminist/activist aesthetic, while Making Art History and Speaking in Public represent strategies to subvert established art history and social conventions in the service of political commentary. Collective Impulse, Labor, and Social Sculpture group artists who explored collaborative projects as a way to decentralize authorship, experience collaborative activity as a microcosm of the larger society, and generate new non-hierarchical models of organization and production. Also concerned with the articulation of a feminine aesthetic, Abstraction, Gendered Space, and Female Sensibility attempt to carve out a space for female subjectivity within a phenomenological framework. The body is represented in Body Trauma, Body as Medium, Gender Performance, and Goddess as the prima materia for explorations of physical, psychological, and spiritual experience, as well as sexual identity. While the works in Pattern and Assemblage share certain formal strategies-including color, texture, and ornament-they are also connected to Body Trauma in suggesting the psychological effect of layering and fragmentation. The artists

in Taped and Measured and Autophotography used formal devices such as seriality to investigate the dynamics of picturing oneself and their experience of objectification.

I am deeply grateful to all of the catalogue essayists who dared approach this contested territory with freshness and rigor. They include new scholars as well as some whose fields

of study have led them to consider feminist art from unexpected perspectives. After more

than a year of preparation, punctuated by numerous individual and group meetings, I was initially surprised at the essays' eclecticism-few wrote to assignment, and many chose to discuss artists whose work is not included in the exhibition. I concluded that something about the subject of feminist art inspires a healthy sense of expansiveness, resistance, and subversion; rather than reject this as a threat to the sanctity of curatorial selections, I decided to embrace the opportunity for internal critique that these texts afford. However far afield they may take the reader, they continue to gesture to the possibility of other narratives and other histories that may be written about this subject and period. While "WACK!)))s inclusions and exclusions will surely be the subject of debate, it is my hope that the exhibition will lead to a more expansive consideration of feminism's impact on art, throughout the 1970S to today.

23

Mar 2

 

The XM Customer Promise: XM Reaffirms Customer Commitment During Merger Approval Process

XM Satellite Radio, which recently joined Sirius in announcing plans to merge to form the nation's premier audio entertainment service, today put a stake in the ground to remain focused on existing consumers and prospective subscribers by announcing the XM Customer Promise. This Promise was issued to XM's more than 7.6 million existing subscribers and to consumers who are considering purchasing the industry- leading XM service.

The Customer Promise, signed by Chairman, Gary Parsons, CEO, Hugh Panero, President and COO, Nate Davis, reiterates that existing XM radios will continue to feature XM's stellar programming before and after the merger.

The merged company will be able to provide consumers with even better programming and more choices. The merger is expected to be completed in late 2007.

In an open letter to XM customers published in today's USA Today, the company said: "As long as you are an XM subscriber, your XM radio will continue to receive XM's great programming. Following the merger, XM expects that the existing radios will be able to receive a mix of programming from both services."

The company's letter also said: "XM's programming, including Major League Baseball, Oprah & Friends, Bob Dylan, Opie & Anthony and commercial-free music channels will not be interrupted by the merger. In the future, we will be able to offer the best of both companies' programming."

XM said that customers with questions are encouraged to visit the new portion of the XM website dedicated to consumer input and updates on XM's business throughout the merger process at www.xmradio.com/promise. While on the site, consumers are encouraged to sign up for The Signal, XM's weekly customer e-mail that provides updates on XM's programming, promotions and, now, also on the merger.

Existing consumers can also contact XM Listener Care at 1-800-XM-RADIO (1-800-967-2346).

About XM

XM (NASDAQ:XMSR) is America's number one satellite radio company with more than 7.6 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2007 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: commercial-free music, premier sports, news, talk radio, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.

XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota is available in 140 different vehicle models for 2007. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com/.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the business combination transaction involving Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., including potential synergies and cost savings and the timing thereof, future financial and operating results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," or words of similar meaning. Such forward- looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Sirius's and XM's management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sirius and XM. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement: general business and economic conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the transaction on a timely basis; the failure of Sirius and XM shareholders to approve the transaction; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the transaction or delay in realization thereof; the businesses of Sirius and XM may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer, be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than expected; and operating costs and business disruption following the merger, including adverse effects on employee retention and on our business relationships with third parties, including manufacturers of radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers. Additional factors that could cause Sirius's and XM's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Sirius's and XM's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2006, June 30, 2006 and September 30, 2006 which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov/). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and Sirius and XM disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

Important Additional Information Will be Filed with the SEC

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed business combination involving Sirius and XM. In connection with the proposed transaction, Sirius plans to file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing a Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and each of Sirius and XM plan to file with the SEC other documents regarding the proposed transaction. The definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will be mailed to stockholders of Sirius and XM. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF SIRIUS AND XM ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by Sirius and XM through the web site maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov/. Free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC can also be obtained by directing a request to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, Attention: Investor Relations or by directing a request to XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., 1500 Eckington Place, NE Washington, DC 20002, Attention: Investor Relations.

Sirius, XM and their respective directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding Sirius's directors and executive officers is available in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which was filed with the SEC on March 13, 2006, and its proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 21, 2006, and information regarding XM's directors and executive officers is available in XM's Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2005, which was filed with the SEC on March 3, 2006 and its proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 25, 2006. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.

 

Web site: http://www.xmradio.com/
http://www.xmradio.com/promise

 

Virgin Media Will Ensure Consumers Aren't Short-Changed

Virgin Media (NASDAQ: VMED) welcomes the National Consumer Council's announcement concerning the availability of Sky's basic channels to our customers.

We strongly agree with the NCC -- there are flaws in the UK pay TV market which are harming the interests of consumers and an investigation is warranted. As we have said repeatedly this week, anything that will shed daylight on these problems and our recent dispute with Sky is welcomed by us. We have invited independent arbitration to resolve this matter and Sky rejected that.

We will fully cooperate with the NCC and the regulators, should they be asked to intervene.

We are working hard to ensure that our customers have the best in programming.

To help address any concern over the loss of Sky's channels, we will soon be announcing a major movie promotion which will be available to our existing TV customers and those that have joined us this week. They will receive information about this offer shortly.

The NCC has asked us to clarify our position regarding contractual issues.

In recent months we have made major enhancements to our TV service, including significant discounts on Sky's sports channels. In view of this and the declining viewership of the Sky channels, the withdrawal of Sky's basic channels does not breach our agreement with customers. However, if any of our TV customers wish to cancel their contract, we will allow them to do so at any time up to the end of March. This commitment will not impact our contractual rights to recover any outstanding arrears owing at the time of cancellation.

We are available to meet with the NCC, and any other interested parties, at the earliest available opportunity to try to find a solution to this dispute that serves the consumer.

Responding to the NCC's statement, Virgin Media's CEO Steve Burch said: "Virgin Media wants to do the right thing by its customers and resolve this dispute, as well as its underlying causes. We think our customers will quickly recognise that the improvements we've recently made to our TV service, together with other exciting enhancements we've got in the pipeline, make Virgin Media's TV service the most comprehensive and exciting in the UK. Over the next month, however, if they don't agree, we will not use technical legalities to stand in the way of them switching to another service.

"Among both our customers and the public as a whole, we believe there is a significant groundswell of support for our decision to stand up to Sky: we are determined to ensure it is the customer that benefits from our determination to do so."

 

Source: Virgin Media

 

 

Music Artists Join The RE*Generation - Helping Virgin Mobile USA Help Teens at Risk

Deftones, Lil' Boosie and Zero 7 to Donate Ringtone Royalties

-- Tapping into the power of music, Virgin Mobile USA today announced that three powerhouse recording artists have joined on to help support The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile's pro-social initiative to build awareness about the issues surrounding at-risk youth and teen homelessness. Deftones, Lil' Boosie and Zero 7 have all signed onto the innovative effort, joining Gnarls Barkley, James Blunt, Jewel and Panic! At the Disco, all of whom helped launch the program with Virgin Mobile last year. In support of this effort, Deftones, Lil' Boosie and Zero 7 will donate their ringtone royalties on select tracks to The RE*Generation.

Virgin Mobile USA introduced The RE*Generation in 2006 in partnership with non-profits StandUp For Kids and YouthNoise, to help the millions of young people across the country who are largely "invisible" to everyday society -- particularly those who are at-risk and homeless.

Virgin Mobile USA introduced The RE*Generation in 2006 in partnership with non-profits StandUp For Kids and YouthNoise, to help the millions of young people across the country who are largely "invisible" to everyday society -- particularly those who are at-risk and homeless.

The following artists will donate royalties from their respective tracks, joined by Virgin Mobile who will donate 100% of its net profits from the same select tracks to The RE*Generation charitable partners:

-- Grammy Award-winning experimental rock group Deftones -- "Hole in the

Earth" (instrumental) (Warner Music/Maverick Records).

-- Rapper Lil' Boosie -- "Supafly" (Asylum Records/Trill Entertainment)

- The rapper's latest release Bad Azz peaked at #5 on the Billboard

Rap Album Charts and is his best-selling album to date.

-- UK electronica/trip hop duo Zero 7 -- "Futures" (Atlantic Records) --

Zero 7 was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award in the category of Best

Electronic/Dance Album.

In addition, an exclusive interview with Chi Cheng of the Deftones about his own pro-social activities is available at www.youthnoise.com/virginmobileusa.

"The RE*Generation initiative has gained great traction in less than one year, due in large part to the musical artists who have truly stepped up to help us build awareness about the vital issues surrounding teen homelessness," said Ariel Rosen, director of pro-social initiatives at Virgin Mobile USA. "We welcome this diverse and committed group of new artists to The RE*Generation and hope our customers will continue to "download and donate" and take part in The RE*Generation by translating their good intentions into tangible actions."

In addition to downloading ringtones, Virgin Mobile customers can also contribute to The RE*Generation by sending a text message to deduct $1 from their balance as a contribution or making a cash donation via credit card at www.virginunite.com. To support the program from a corporate level, Virgin Mobile donates 5% of net profits from sales of all downloadable content (ringtones, graphics and applications) and donates 100% of its net profits from The RE*Generation ringtone downloads.

The RE*Generation ringtones can be downloaded from the WAP browser available on Virgin Mobile handsets -- or online at The RE*Generation home page found at www.virginmobileusa.com/regeneration.

About The RE*Generation

Virgin Mobile USA, together with Virgin's charitable arm, Virgin Unite, is helping a generation to help its own. The RE*Generation is a movement to connect at-risk youth -- homeless, in poverty, without resources -- with young people who want to help and make a difference through a partnership with innovative non-profits including YouthNoise and StandUp For Kids. For more information, visit www.virginmobileusa.com/regeneration.

About Virgin Mobile USA, LLC:

The nation's leading wireless youth network, Virgin Mobile USA provides more than 4.6 million customers with the most flexibility and choice in wireless products and services without long-term contracts. Voice pricing plans range from monthly options with unlimited nights and weekends to by-the- minute offers, allowing consumers to adjust how and what they pay according to their needs. Virgin Mobile's full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets, including the popular Switch_Back and Slice, are available at more than 35,000 retail locations nationwide and online at www.virginmobileusa.com, with Top-Up cards available at more than 130,000 locations. The company operates on the Sprint Nationwide PCS network, and is a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Virgin Mobile highest in customer satisfaction among wireless prepaid services, and its own customers report a 94% satisfaction rate.

 

Source: Virgin Mobile USA

 

Web site: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/

 

Bucky Covington Video Debuts at #1 on CMT Pure Country

Fan Excitement Builds for American Idol Finalist's April 17th CD Release

 Fan excitement is growing exponentially in the weeks leading up to the April 17th release of American Idol Season 5 finalist Bucky Covington's self-titled debut CD.

The video for his first single, "A Different World," debuted this week in the #1 position atop CMT's fan-voted CMT Pure Country video playlist. Additionally, the video debuted this week at an impressive #36 on Yahoo Music's all-genre video chart, putting Covington in the company of fellow American Idol alum Carrie Underwood as the only two country artists with videos in Yahoo's Top 50.

On-line fan support is also mounting on MySpace, where Covington's MySpace friends increased 19% following the premiere of his video on CMT, GAC, and Yahoo Music. Covington's was the second greatest increase of all country music artists for the week. Over at CMT.com, Covington ranks in the Top 25 artists, and is the only artist in the Top 50 who has yet to release a debut CD.

At radio, phone lines are lighting up at stations across the country and station message boards are buzzing everywhere - all with excited fan response to "A Different World." The single is one of the most requested songs at stations nationwide and had over 4 million audience impressions just this week.

Bucky Covington will be released on Lyric Street Records on April 17th, 2007.

www.buckycovingtonmusic.com

Lyric Street Records is a part of the Buena Vista Music Group. The Buena Vista Music Group is the recorded music and music publishing arm of the Walt Disney Studios.

Source: Erickson Public Relations and Lyric Street Records

Web site: http://cmt.com/
http:/// www.buckycovingtonmusic.com

 

 

Mar 1

Dora the Explorer Invites Preschoolers to Reach for the Stars With Her New Friends - the Tres Estrellas Exploradoras - on a Brand New Episode, 'Star Mountain,' Premiering Monday, March 12 on Nick Jr.

-- Dora the Explorer is reaching for the stars as Nick Jr. premieres a new half-hour episode of the international preschool phenomenon entitled "Star Mountain" on Monday, March 12. The new episode will teach viewers their numbers and colors in Spanish, as they journey along with Dora, Boots and the Tres Estrellas Exploradoras (Three Explorer Stars). Since its debut in 2000, Dora the Explorer was the top-rated preschool series on all of commercial TV for over five consecutive years and garnered the number two spot for 2006, second only to Nick Jr.'s number-one rated The Wonder Pets!

"Star Mountain," will premiere on Monday, March 12 at 9:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nick Jr. and will encore later in the week on Friday, March 16 at 9:00 a.m. (ET/PT). Dora the Explorer airs regularly Monday through Friday on Nick Jr. at 9:00 a.m. (ET/PT) and 11:30 a.m. (ET/PT). Additionally, kids and their parents can go to Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.'s broadband video service on Nickjr.com, for a two-minute sneak peek of "Star Mountain" on Friday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Nick Jr. Video will also offer an "instant replay" of the full episode at 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Monday, March 12.

An international success, Dora the Explorer is broadcast all over the world, teaching the majority of her viewers English rather than Spanish. Syndicated to TV broadcasters in 125 markets and translated in 24 languages, Dora the Explorer is the number one rated show in France, Canada, Italy and Mexico and is a top 10 rated show in nearly every major broadcast market in the world including the UK and China.

In "Star Mountain," Dora's grandmother makes her a necklace to match her favorite bracelet, but it isn't long before Swiper flings it all the way to the top of Star Mountain. To get to the peak, Dora and Boots must race up 15 star steps and climb up a diamond to get to the giant star. Along their journey, Dora and Boots team up with the Tres Estrellas Exploradoras (Three Explorer Stars), made up of Glowy, the bright light star, Tool Star, the star with the cool gadgets, and Saltador, the jumping star. Together the group battle fog, ice, wind, snow and steer clear of the rising green goo. Dora and Boots ask the preschoolers at home to help them find Dora's necklace by teaching them numbers and colors in Spanish.

Dora the Explorer is a play-along, animated adventure series starring Dora, a seven-year-old Latina heroine whose adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests. Dora explores her world just as preschoolers do everyday, and the show is designed to actively engage its audience in an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques.

In every episode, Dora and her best friend Boots invite the audience to participate in an exciting adventure, where each step of their journey features a problem or puzzle that Dora and the audience must think their way through in order to solve the next problem. Dora is proudly bilingual and uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals. In each episode, Dora teaches a Spanish word or phrase to the viewers and then asks them to use it to solve a problem and forge ahead. Ultimately, Dora and Boots triumph, and the story always ends with a "We Did It!" anthem.

Dora the Explorer was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh and Eric Weiner. Gifford and Walsh serve as executive producers on the series. "Star Mountain" was written by Gifford.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

Nickelodeon, in its 27th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 92 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for almost 12 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) .

Source: Nick Jr.

Web site: http://www.nick.com/
http://www.nickjr.com/

 

Spring 2007

Upcoming Events: March-April

For more information about these events or all Vara Fine Arts services, please go to www.varaart.com

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Collector's Day, The RISD Museum

Renee Vara will be speaking at the first annual Collector's Day at The RISD Museum, as a member

of a group of experts who will be presenting on how to establish, care for, assess and insure

collections of fine arts.

To RSVP, please contact Carol Cutler, Museum Membership at (401) 454-6322

Saturdays, April 14 and 21, 2007

Lifestyle Series, Borough of Manhattan Community College and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

Renee Vara will be part of two of the three installments of the Lifestyle Series of Continuing Education courses on current trends in contemporary art and the art market, organized by the Borough of Manhattan Community College and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Saturday, April 14, 1:00-3:00pm: Lecturer, "Art in the 21st Century"

Saturday, April 21, 1:00-3:00pm: Panelist, "Collecting Contemporary Art"

For more information or to register, please go to www.bmcc.cuny.edu/ce/Lifestyle_Courses.html

Recent Articles and Press- Renee Vara

The Wall Street Journal- "Building a Collection"- December 2-3, 2006- page S6

Oggi7 Magazine- "L'arte di far scoprire l'arte"- December 3, 2006- page 8

For more information, please contact:

Vara Fine Arts

(212) 475- 4404

www.varaart.com

info@varaart.com

 

 

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Terror Knows No Bounds as the Producers of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Unleash the Action-Packed, Bloody Thrill Ride, 'The Hitcher'

Available on DVD and HD-DVD May 1, 2007 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

 A young couple becomes trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse when the blood-drenched, action- packed thrill ride "The Hitcher" comes to DVD and HD-DVD on May 1, 2007 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Sophia Bush ("John Tucker Must Die," "One Tree Hill") and Zachary Knighton ("The Prince and Me") star as college students who are terrorized and framed for a killing spree by a sociopathic drifter, portrayed with chilling intensity by Sean Bean ("Lord of the Rings Trilogy," "Flightplan"). In his feature film debut, director Dave Meyers deftly creates a brutally intense, heart-pounding saga that will keep viewers on the edges of their seats all the way to the bloodcurdling climax. "The Hitcher" is available on DVD and HD DVD Combo format. Both include spine-tingling deleted scenes and bonus features that ramp up the fear factor in this unforgettable movie.

The latest unmissable psychological horror movie from producer Michael Bay ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "The Amityville Horror"), "The Hitcher" is packed with hair-raising plot twists and electrifying stunts that make it the most terrifying DVD of the year. The DVD is priced at $29.98 SRP. Pre-order close is March 27, 2007.

EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT BONUS FEATURES

"The Hitcher" DVD includes a truckload of exclusive bonus features that make it a must own title for all horror/action aficionados, including:

  -- Dead End -- Wake up with Zach Knighton in his hotel room on the day of      his character's big death scene.   -- Road Kill: The Ultimate Car Crash -- Comprehensive footage of the      amazing, hard-hitting car stunts featured in the film.   -- Fuel Your Fear: The Making of The Hitcher -- This fascinating      featurette goes behind closed doors with the filmmakers to find out      how they created the tension and terror of "The Hitcher."   -- Chronicles Of A Killer -- Follow the murderous rampage of an evil and      cunning serial murderer with mock news stories that follow in John      Ryder's blood-drenched footsteps.   -- Deleted Scenes    SYNOPSIS 

A road trip takes a deadly turn in this terrifying thriller about a young couple (Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton) tormented by a psychotic hitchhiker (Sean Bean) who forces them to face their fears head-on. The open road becomes a battleground of blood and metal in the race to reveal the chilling truth about this relentless killer. No one knows who he is, what he's after, or how to stop this "truly twisted villain" *. Watch the madness unfold with intense edge-of-your-seat chase sequences that drive this sinister film to a deadly ending you won't soon forget!

  * Christy Lemire, The Associated Press    CAST & FILMMAKERS   Director: Dave Meyers 

Written By: Jake Wade Wall, Eric Bernt (based on the 1986 screenplay by Eric Red)

Produced By: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, Alfred Haber and Charles R. Meeker

  Director of Photography: James Hawkinson   Editor: Jim May   Production Designer: 

David Lazan   Costume Designer: Leeann Radeka   Music By: Steve Jablonsky   

Cast: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Neal McDonough    

TECHNICAL INFORMATION   DVD   Street Date: May 1, 2007   

Pre-Order Close: March 27, 2007   Copyright: 2007 Universal Studios. 

All Rights Reserved.   Price: $29.98   Selection Number: 62033276 (widescreen), 

62033277 (full frame),   Running Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes   

Layers: Dual Layer   Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen   

Rating: R (for strong bloody violence and terror) 

Languages: English and French Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

  TECHNICAL INFORMATION   HD DVD/DVD COMBO   

Street Date: May 1, 2007   Pre-Order Close: March 20, 2007   

Copyright: 2007 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.   

Price: $39.98   Selection Number: 62100066   

Running Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes   Layers: HD-30   

Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen   Rating: R (for strong bloody violence and terror) 

Languages: English and French Dolby Digital Plus5.1; Subtitles: English SDH, French

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

Source: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

 

Web site: http://www.universalstudios.com/

 

Miss Universe 2003 to Host 'Suegras' Reality Show by Azteca America, Launching March 12

-Amelia Vega to Narrate What Happens When 12 Women, 6 Men and Their Moms Share a Close Living Situation-

 -- The lovely Amelia Vega, former Miss Republica Dominicana and Miss Universe, will be hosting Azteca America's innovative reality show "Suegras."

"Amelia was selected for her exceptional talent, and we expect her national stature and Dominican heritage to serve as a bridge to all Hispanic audiences, especially given the spectacular participants, who represent a broad array of Hispanic American cultures," said Bob Turner, President of Network Sales for Azteca America.

Participants boast heritage from countries throughout the Hemisphere, including Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Cuba, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as Mexico.

The format places 12 women seeking the loves of their lives in a close living situation, along with six men ready to marry ... and their mothers. Weekly challenges for the men and women, as well as the suegras, reveal more about true motives and habits, as well as potential conflicts.

This interactive ten-week show will include audience voting through Terra.com, as well as SMS voting. However, it is the "suegra," or the mother- in-law, who will have the last word on who is worthy of her son in this reality format with limitless product integration opportunities.

For more information, visit www.suegras.tv.

Don't miss "Suegras" launching Monday, March 12 at 10 pm EST and PST/ 9 pm CST

About Azteca America

Azteca America is the fastest-growing Hispanic network in the United States. The network is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V., one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language television content in the world. Azteca America currently has presence in 55 Hispanic markets, including: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Phoenix, Brownsville-McAllen, Albuquerque, Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, San Diego, El Paso, Fresno-Visalia, Denver, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Orlando, Tampa, Austin, Boston, Atlanta, Tucson, Las Vegas, Corpus Christi, Seattle, Hartford, West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Bakersfield, Portland, Monterey-Salinas, Salt Lake City, Laredo, Colorado Springs, Odessa, Naples-Ft. Myers, Palm Springs, Raleigh-Durham, Lubbock, Santa Barbara, Milwaukee, Amarillo, Yakima, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Reno, New Orleans, Greenville, Boise, Omaha, Victoria, Chattanooga and Charleston.

  Azteca America is a Grupo Salinas Company.   Visit: www.aztecaamerica.com/corporate          www.gruposalinas.com  

Source: Azteca America

 

 

Music World Entertainment Hosts Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit (HSAN) Reception at House of Deréon Media Center on March 2, 2007

 

Who: Join Mathew Knowles and Music World Entertainment as they host the official exclusive VIP welcoming reception for Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's "Get Your Money Right" Financial Empowerment Tour at the House of Deréon Media Center in celebration of the Hip-Hop Summit's return to Houston. The night will feature performances by Solange Knowles with an opening performance by up and coming hot new female rapper IB3. Special VIP and celebrity guests will also be in attendance.

When:    Friday, March 2, 2007 (9:00 pm to 12:00 midnight CST)  

Where:   House of Deréon Media Center          

1505 Hadley Street (between Crawford and LaBranch in mid-town)          Houston, TX 77002 

Why: Music World Entertainment will welcome The Hip-Hop Summit to Houston by hosting the official exclusive reception Friday, March 2, 2007 at 9:00 pm at the House of Deréon Media Center in Houston, TX. On Saturday, March 3rd the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) will kick off its 2007 national "Get Your Money Right" tour on financial empowerment at Texas Southern University at 12 pm - 3:00 pm, sponsored by Chrysler Financial and Anheuser-Busch. Joining Co-Chairmen Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis in Houston will be R&B / pop stars Ciara and Monica, Hip-Hop stars, E-40, Chingo Bling and Slim Thug, Mathew Knowles (President / CEO, Music World Entertainment), super producer Bryan-Michael Cox, and Congressman Al Green (D-TX). Hip-hop television personality, Free, will co-moderate the Summit with Dr. Chavis.

 

HSAN is a non-profit, non-partisan national coalition of Hip-Hop artists, entertainment industry leaders, education advocates, civil rights proponents, and youth leaders united in the belief that Hip-Hop is an enormously influential agent for social change which must be responsibly and proactively utilized to fight the war on poverty and injustice. The Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment is a grassroots effort to help engage young people in discussions about the importance of personal finance. www.hsan.org

Music World Entertainment (MWE) is one of the world's leading entertainment and music conglomerates dedicated to bringing quality entertainment to the world. MWE worldwide business includes record labels, artist and producer management, staff producers, artist development, Master catalog series, investment and property holdings, including offices in Houston, Los Angeles, New York and London. MWE is the brainchild of President and CEO Mathew Knowles, the powerhouse management behind the success of Grammy Award-winners Beyoncé and global phenomenon Destiny's Child, the most successful "girl group" in the history of pop music.

Music World is one of the most successful labels in the world with over 100 million records sold to date including releases by Destiny's Child, Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Michelle Williams, Sunshine Anderson, the "Dreamgirls" Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, "Roll Bounce" Soundtrack and the highly anticipated upcoming Music World Master Series releases which includes Chaka Kahn and The O'Jays. www.musicworldentertainment.com

 

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