 
| OPEN DIALOGUE |
TAAC BULLETIN Volume 19 Number 5February 2003 Previous Bulletins: November 2002 June 2002 December 2001 |
| Welcome to the TAAC Bulletin.
Readers may submit articles of interest
for consideration by the editorial board. All material must be delivered to this email address.taac@taac.com |
MARK YOUR CALENDER: THE SYMPOSIUM ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS
OPEN DIALOGUE IX - SAN JOSE JULY 18-20, 2003 NATIONAL NEWS - CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS
CESAR CHAVEZ COMMEMORATIVE U.S. POSTAGE STAMP  The Cesar E. Chavez Foundation is proud to announce that Los Angeles has been selected to host the first day of issuance of the commemorative United States postage stamp honoring Cesar E. Chavez on April 23, 2003, the 10th anniversary of the civil rights and farm labor leader's passing. A public celebration will be held in downtown Los Angeles to mark the stamp's issuance and to honor Cesar's tireless work for justice and equality for all people through service to others. Leaders in the community, politics, labor, business, and the arts will join the Chavez Foundation, the Chavez family and the United States Postal Service for the event.  Cesar and Dr. King, A Shared Bond The Cesar E. Chavez Foundation is proud to honor and support the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 20. Dr. King was one of our nation's brightest visionaries, who brought hope and healing to millions through his example of dignity, courage, compassion, justice, equality and nonviolence, in the face of great adversity. Like Cesar, his teachings are timeless and have left an indelible mark on the human community, forever changing the world. Dr. King and Cesar held mutual admiration for each other as individuals and as leaders. During Cesar's 25 day fast in 1968, Dr. King sent the following telegram in support:
"I am deeply moved by your courage in fasting as your personal sacrifice for justice through nonviolence. Your past and present commitment is eloquent testimony to the constructive power of nonviolent action and the destructive impotence of violent reprisal. You stand today as a living example of the Gandhian tradition with its great force for social progress and its healing spiritual powers. My colleagues and I commend you for your bravery, salute you for your indefatigable work against poverty and injustice, and pray for your health and your continuing service as one of the outstanding men of America. The plight of your people and ours is so grave that we all desperately need the inspiring example and effective leadership you have given." Martin Luther King, Jr.SENATOR MCCAIN RENEWS EFFORT TO HONOR CESAR CHAVEZ "Washington, DC - On January 15 Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reintroduced a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar E. Chavez. The goal of the legislation is to establish a foundation for preserving these sites as historical landmarks. 'Cesar Chavez is one of the most revered public servants in our history for his leadership in helping organize migrant farm workers, and for providing inspiration to those most oppressed in our society,' said Senator McCain. 'He is an exemplary American hero. It is important that we honor his struggle and do what we can to preserve certain sites located in Arizona, California and other states that are significant to his life….Cesar Chavez was a humble man of deep conviction who understood what it meant to serve and sacrifice for others,' said Senator McCain. 'He was a true American hero who embodied the values of justice and freedom this nation holds dear. Honoring the places of his life will enable his legacy to inspire and serve as an example for our future leaders.' " Important Note Chavez Foundation ArchivesWith your help, we can preserve and record the history of Cesar, one of America's most prominent and loved civil rights leaders, while ensuring that his legacy continues to inspire the human spirit. The Foundation would prefer original items or copies of original items that are in good condition. Please note that all submissions to the archives are donations and that no fee will be paid. Source: From the Cesar Chavez Foundation website
KEEPING IT REEL!
Hard to imagine, but the 2002 edition of VC FILMFEST, The Visual Communications Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival concluded just this past spring. Established in 1983 and presented as a weekend series at the Japan America Theatre in Los Angeles Little Tokyo, VC FILMFEST has grown into the premier event of its kind in Southern California. Since then, the Festival has seen a steady increase in younger audiences eager to se the latest works by our artistic community. And undoubtedly, a chance to rub elbows with Asian American Hollywood celebrities is an added plus.
With over 100 films and videos presented May 16-23, 2002 at the Directors Guild of America, David Henry Hwang Theatre and the Aratani/Japan America Theatre, VC FILMFEST 2002 had a little of something for everyone. Indeed, the Festival in recent years has observed a sea change in both the quality of works presented (increasingly more accomplished and sophisticated) and the direction that newer generations of Asian Pacific American filmmakers are going.
This was apparent by looking at a sampling of the works shown this year. Highlighted by the local premieres of Justin Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow" (the first Asian American feature film to find commercial distribution when it was signed by MTV Films in February), Greg Pak's "Robot Stories," and Bertha Bay-sa Pan's "Face," the Festival's slate of film screenings and workshops included a who's who of Asian American and multicultural acting and filmmaking talents. In attendance were the likes of actors Kieu Chinh, John Cho, Roger Fan, Michelle Krusiec, Lela Lee, Bai Ling, Marie Matiko, Suzie Nakamura, Parry Shen, Ken Takemoto, Jason Tobin, Tamlyn Tomita, Kristy Wu; filmmakers Ernest Dickerson, George Huang, Rita Hsiao, Reginald Hudlin, and many others. Additionally, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Freida Lee Mock ("Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision") was feted with a special spotlight program and seminar hosted by the DGA.
The Festival's exciting slate of short films and videos was highlighted by the World Premiere of works produced through Visual Communications Experimental Narrative and Documentary Film making course; and the Armed With a Camera Fellowship program. The slate of ten new works brought down a capacity house at the David Henry Hwang Theatre, and bode well for the futures of the participating film makers.
Finally, the Festival closed on may 23 at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre with presentation of the Golden Reel Award to Grace Lee's "Barrier Device," with a Runner-Up award to the duo of Derrick Auyoung and Andrew Huang for "Kitchen Katastrophe." The Festival's New Director, new Vision Award went to Gene Rhee for his mock-documentary "The Quest for Length."
VC FILMFEST clearly reflects the aim of bringing Asian American cinema to the mainstream, even as it maintains its position of nurturing and support newer and diverse filmmaking talents. Its offerings provide audiences a valuable opportunity to not only view the best and brightest cinematic works by our communities, but it has also provided a unique sense of "community" not seen in many other cultural events. So mark your calendars for early May 2003, as Visual Communications "keeps it reel" with the nineteenth edition of VC FILMFEST
VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS FILMFEST Wraps 2002 Edition Source: Visual Communications website ROYAL CHICANO AIR FORCE MURAL
Check out the latest mural by Royal Chicano Air Force muralistas Juanishi Orosco (LAN Member), Stan Padilla, co-designed by Esteban Villa with artist apprentices, Daniel Orosco y Jose Orosco, Nalii Padilla, Nathan and Rene Villa. Visit www.rcaf.info
"Commissioned by the East End Project, a series of new state buildings built at the East End of Capitol Park in Sacramento, California, Eartherium offers a view of the Sacramento Valley floor as interpreted by Chicano artistas. This Valley is sacred land not only to the native indigenous people but also to the Mexicano,/Chicano/Latinos who have toiled and worked here. We have raised our children here, we have sent them to schools and universities here so that they can improve on the legacies that we have left for them. This is a departure from our normal imagery but in reality not. We paint that which we feel strongly about. As artistas, we feel a responsibility to help maintain this Valley through our art and ceremonies. El Es Dios"
- Juanishi Orosco  Source: Latino Arts Network, Bi-weekly Newsletter Jan. 25, '03 ELECTION RESULTS AND FEDERAL ARTS FUNDING
With the November elections over, Republicans have retaken the majority in the Senate for 2003, claiming at least 51 seats and giving the GOP full control again of both houses of Congress. Looking ahead to the 108th Congress, which will convene in January, the prospects for federal support of the arts should not be expected to change. Support for the National Endowment for the Arts, which was rebuilt in recent years, has depended equally on champions in the Republican and Democratic ranks. In fact, it was bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled House that increased the NEA's appropriations in 2001 and 2002. The Democratic majority on the Senate Appropriations Committee weighed in this year with a lesser increase for the arts endowment than the amount passed by the House.
In 2003, much will depend on the leadership and initiative of Dana Gioia, nominated by President Bush to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Confirmation of his nomination should move easily through the Senate shortly after the new Congress is sworn in.
Any difficulty ahead for national arts advocates will be caused by fiscal, not political, issues. In October, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that the federal budget deficit was $159 billion in 2002. In 2001, the federal budget accumulated a surplus of $127 billion. The new budget deficit, the first since 1997, caused the OMB director to say that spending has to be controlled while "new defense and homeland security spending is needed." Facing deficits, Congress will find it harder to come up with the money it wants to invest in domestic programs.
Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 11/8/02
EAST WEST PLAYERS (EWP)
EWP welcomes Lissa Lee in the newly created position of General Manager. Lissa served as Managing Director in 1992-93 before becoming Director of Capital Initiatives for KCET Public Television and subsequently an independent fundraising consultant. She replaces Managing Director Al Choy, who is on medical leave.
Other staff changes include the promotions of Marilyn Tokuda to Arts Education Director, a newly created position sponsored in part by a grant from the Weingart Foundation, and Stefanie Y. Wong to PR/Marketing Manager who started at EWP as an intern in Summer 2000.
New hires include Tim Starks as Business Manager, Nancy De Leon as Development Associate and Rodney Kageyama as interim Administrative Coordinator.
EWP introduces its new slate of Board officers and directors for fiscal year 2003. Continuing as Board Chairwoman is Lynn Fukuhara Arthurs. The new officers are President Wendy Fujihara Anderson, Vice President Gay Yuen Wong, and Chief Financial Officer Paul Tanaka. Daniel M. Mayeda, who completed his term as co-president, will remain as legal counsel and a board director. Paul Tanaka, a commander with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Gardena City Councilman, and Jean Miao, a program manager for the Getty Grant Program, are newly elected members to the Board of Directors. Also continuing on the board are Richard Chang, Tim Dang, Suzie Fung, Mark Hsu, Hon. Robert M. Kawahara, George Kiriyama, Norbert Tan, and Chinworth Yao.
EWP welcomes two new members to its honorary Council of Governors, film director John Woo, and Lion Rock Productions Executive Producer Terence Chang. Continuing on the Board of Governors are Co-Chairs Beulah Quo and George Takei and members, George and Sakaye Aratani, Gareth C.C. Chang, Gordon Davidson, David Henry Hwang, Senator Daniel Inouye, Robin M. Kramer, Gregory Peck, John Randolph, Graham Y. Tanaka, Robert Wise, and Hon. Delbert and Dolores Wong. ANNOUNCES NEW STAFF & BOARD CHANAGES Source: East West Players website "VIVA LA RAZA" A limited edition serigraph  Self Help Graphics & Art is pleased to offer a special limited edition serigraph of Salvador Torres' famous image, Viva La Raza, originally created in 1969 and produced as a quality silkscreen print in 1998. Mr. Torres, "El Queso", is the longtime Chicano artist and community leader from San Diego who was involved in the founding of Chicano Park and continues to operate a community gallery in the Barrio Logan area of the city. His papers are now archived by CARIDAD, the Chicano archive resource at the UC - Santa Barbara library center, and the work, Viva La Raza, has been featured in the historic CARA - (Chicano Art Resistance and Affirmation) Exhibition. This commemorative work, along with a teachers guide, slide and artist biography, is available to schools and universities for $500, including shipping and handling. Please call SHG to order. (323)881-6444 Self-Help Graphics & Art |
NATIVE AMERICAN FILMS ATTEMPT TO CROSS OVER By Reed Martin, Special for USA TODAY Following the crossover success of ethnic movies such as Barbershop, Monsoon Wedding and Y Tu Mamá También, Native American filmmakers hope their day may have arrived as well. "Filmmaking provides a new way to merge a strong oral tradition of storytelling with technology and, in the process, revitalize ourselves," says Bird Runningwater, 32, who runs the Native Program, which promotes filmmakers at the Sundance Institute. "We're at a really critical moment in the overall history of Native Americans." This year, Sundance received 150 submissions for 11 spots in its Native Program, up 50% from 2002 and the most yet. "We're increasing the spaces for Native American films, and our Sundance Lab is starting to have more Native American directors enrolled," says Robert Redford, who founded the Sundance Institute in 1981. "There's certainly no unavailability of talented Native American filmmakers." Still, perceptions remain that hamper filmmakers. "Hollywood's standard of what Indians are supposed to be like is still in the Stone Age," says Chris Eyre, 34, who directed the first Native American-produced box office hit SmokeSignals in 1998 and has since directed Skins in 2001 and Skinwalkers in 2002. "They want Indians to be wise and to impart them with some sort of spiritual epiphany all the time. I'm interested in telling stories about Indians who are normal everyday people." Indeed, most modern Native stories have yet to be captured on film. "It's maybe the one place in American cinema where you can still actually say something new," says writer/director Randy Redroad, whose current project is the drama Moccasin Flats. Some indigenous filmmakers feel a responsibility toward cultural customs. "Film is one way to preserve those traditions," says Cradlesong writer/director Darlene Naponse. However, Native filmmakers still face a daunting array of challenges on the way to the silver screen. "Whether it's Kissing Jessica Stein or My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the odds of getting distribution are long, and the odds of being successful are long as well," says Stephen Gilula, president of distribution at Fox Searchlight Pictures. Even after the $2 million Smoke Signals made $6.8 million in 1998, few distributors took notice. "For years, nobody would support Native American filmmakers," says Redford. "Distributors said, 'There is no market, there is no interest.' But I would say: 'C'mon, you guys. Have you really given it a chance? What about the Latin American market you said didn't exist? Look at Y Tu Mamá También.' I believe Native Americans' stories will be able to succeed as well." Because of the skyrocketing costs of marketing and releasing movies, which can run $2 million to $7 million on top of a film's purchase price, distributors are increasingly risk-averse. The failure of last year's John Woo-directed Windtalkers didn't help. But film critic Roger Ebert says that doesn't mean Native-themed films can't succeed. "Windtalkers had a white person as the hero. It wasn't told from an Indian point of view. And it was just a bad movie, so it doesn't prove a thing about movies with Native American themes." While the budget of the MGM-produced Windtalkers was reportedly $120 million, most Native American films are financed privately in the $200,000 range when shot digitally, or closer to Redroad's $1.6 million The Doe Boy or Chris Eyre's $2 million Skins. "A lot of Native people are isolated, so it's harder for them to get a movie made," says Naponse, who received a grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts to make Cradlesong, which screened at last week's Sundance Film Festival. "We edited it inexpensively, but we probably still need another $150,000 to pay for the sound mix and the blow-up from digital to 35mm film." In 2002, Skins, The Business of Fancydancing and critically acclaimed Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) got theatrical distribution, raising filmmakers' hopes for 2003. "It'll just take one hit to bust the (Native) genre open," predicts Skins producer Jon Kilik, who also produced Spike Lee's MalcolmX and The 25th Hour. "Hopefully, as Chris Eyre, Sherman Alexie and other Native directors get more opportunities, it'll start to change." USA Today. ACTION ALERT: ARTISTS' TAX BILL, COSPONSORS NEEDED
The 108th Congress convened on January 7, and taxes loom large at the top of the
legislative agenda. With that opportunity available, the sponsors of the bill to
extend to artists a fair-market value deduction for the charitable contributions
of their work intend to reintroduce the legislation, which last year came very
close to enactment.
To give the new artists' tax bill some extra momentum, the sponsors are asking
that last year's cosponsors sign on as original sponsors when the bill is
introduced this year.
Many legislators will only agree to sponsor a bill if asked by their constituents.
Please look over the list of last year's cosponsors of the House and Senate
versions of the artists' tax bill. Call your legislators named here. Ask for
the
tax staff person, and request that your legislator sign as an original sponsor
when the artists' fair-market value deduction bill is introduced in the House
by Representatives Amo Houghton (R-NY) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), and in the Senate
by Senators Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Thanks for your help in getting this tax measure to benefit artists off to a
good start.
Artists' Fair-Market Value Deduction Bills
AR -
Senator Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR)
CA -
Representative Eshoo, Anna (D-CA),
Representative Farr, Sam (D-CA),
Representative Filner, Bob (D-CA),
Representative Horn, Steve (R-CA),
Representative Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA),
Representative Matsui, Robert (D-CA),
Representative McKeon, Buck (R-CA),
Representative Lantos, Tom (D-CA)
Representative Sanchez, Loretta (D-CA),
Representative Waters, Maxine (D-CA),
Representative Waxman, Henry (D-CA),
Representative Woolsey, Lynn (D-CA)
CO -
Representative McInnis, Scott (R-CO)
CT -
Senator Dodd, Chris (D-CT),
Senator Lieberman, Joe (D-CT),
Representative DeLauro, Rosa (D-CT),
Representative Johnson, Nancy (R-CT),
Representative Shays, Christopher (R-CT),
Representative Simmons, Rob (R-CT)
FL -
Senator Graham, Bob (D-FL),
Representative Crenshaw Ander (R-FL),
Representative Davis, Jim (D-FL),
Representative Foley, Mark (R-FL),
Representative Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL),
Representative Thurman, Karen (D-FL)
HI -
Representative Abercrombie, Neil (D-HI)
IL -
Senator Durbin, Richard (D-IL),
Representative Blagojevich, Rod (D-IL),
Representative Davis, Danny (D-IL)
IA -
Representative Leach, Jim (R-IA)
KS -
Representative Moore, Dennis (D-KS)
MD -
Representative Hoyer, Steny (D-MD)
MA -
Senator Kennedy, Ted (D-MA),
Senator Kerry, John (D-MA),
Representative Frank, Barney (D-MA),
Representative McGovern, James (D-MA),
Representative Neal, Richard (D-MA)
MI -
Representative Kildee, Dale (D-MI),
Representative Kilpatrick, Carolyn (D-MI),
Representative Upton, Fred (R-MI)
MN -
Representative Gutknecht, Gil (R-MN),
Representative McCollum, Betty (D-MN),
Representative Ramstad, Jim (R-MN),
Representative Sabo, Martin (D-MN)
MS -
Senator Cochran, Thad (R-MS),
Representative Wicker, Roger (R-MS)
MO -
Representative McCarthy, Karen (D-MO)
NM -
Senator Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM),
Senator Domenici, Pete (R-NM)
NV -
Senator Reid, Harry (D-NV)
NJ -
Representative Frelinghuysen, Rodney (R-NJ),
Representative Holt, Rush (D-NJ),
Representative Payne, Donald (D-NJ),
Representative Pallone, Frank (D-NJ)
NM -
Representative Udall, Tom (D-NM)
NY -
Senator Clinton, Hillary (D-NY),
Representative Boehlert, Sherwood (R-NY),
Representative Hinchey, Maurice (D-NY),
Representative Kelly, Sue (R-NY),
Representative Lowey, Nita (D-NY),
Representative Maloney, Carolyn (D-NY),
Representative McHugh, John (R-NY),
Representative Nadler, Jerrold (D-NY),
Representative Rangel, Charlie (D-NY),
Representative Slaughter, Louise (D-NY),
Representative Serrano, Jose (D-NY),
Representative Sweeney, John (R-NY),
Representative Towns, Edolphus (D-NY),
NC -
Representative Ballenger, Cass (R-NC)
OH -
Representative Brown, Sherrod (D-OH),
Representative Hall, Tony (D-OH),
Representative Kucinich, Dennis (D-OH)
PA -
Representative Coyne, William (D-PA),
Representative English, Phil (R-PA),
Representative Greenwood, Jim (R-PA),
Representative Hoeffel, Joseph (D-PA),
Representative Platts, Todd (R-PA),
Representative Weldon, Curt (R-PA)
RI -
Senator Chafee, Lincoln (R-RI)
SD -
Senator Daschle, Tom (D-SD),
Senator Johnson, Tim (D-SD)
TN -
Representative Ford, Harold (D-TN)
TX -
Representative Bentsen, Ken (D-TX),
Representative Doggett, Lloyd (D-TX),
Representative Frost, Martin (D-TX),
Representative Jackson-Lee, Shelia (D-TX),
Representative Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D-TX),
Representative Paul, Ron (R-TX)
VA -
Senator Allen, George (R-VA),
Senator Warner, John (R-VA)
WA -
Senator Cantwell, Maria (D-WA)
VT -
Senator Jeffords, Jim (I-VT),
Representative Sanders, Bernard (I-VT)
VA -
Representative Moran, James (D-VA)
WA -
Representative Baird, Brian (D-WA)Cosponsors in 107th Congress (H.R.1598 and S.694) Source: From National Assembly of State arts Agencies, 1/9/03 STUDIO MUSEUM OF HARLEM EXHIBITION EXAMINES AND CHALLENGES VANGUARD, CONVENTIONAL VIEWS OF MODERNISM  "This exhibition will demonstrate how artists captured the changes that occurred as populations of African Americans moved from rural to urban areas in the United States and the Caribbean in the 1920s, 30s and 40s and embraced modern life. Focusing specifically on more vanguard tendencies during a period that has been well-trodden by exhibitions on the Harlem Renaissance, Challenge of the Modern will demonstrate how modernism in the visual arts allowed African Americans to embrace their ancestral cultures and transform how they positioned themselves in the American mainstream and on the world stage. It is no coincidence, therefore, that as black culture was lionized outside its original communities, the 'New Negro' identity emerged and was manifested in Pan-African alliances that sowed the seeds of independence movements in Africa, the Caribbean, and the civil rights movements in the United States in the 1950s and 60s."In the context of more recent revisionist views of modernism, Challenge of the Modern will contribute to the presentation of modernism as a multifaceted process rather than as a singular stylistic phenomenon, revealing the diversity of aesthetic options available to all artists in the first half of the twentieth century. It also will distinguish conventional views of this period in African-American art history from those framed around the concept of the Harlem Renaissance. Challenge of the Modern will focus on elements of modernity that produce more vanguard stylistic and conceptual themes: the engagement of African art, the production of the image of the "New Negro," performance, sexuality and the black body, migration/immigration and the urban experience, elements of design and decoration, as well as spirituality. Modernism will be examined through the work of artists such as Aaron Douglas, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Sargent Johnson, William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis and Bruce Nugent working in the United States; Teodoro Ramos Blanco and Wifredo Lam working in Cuba and Edna Manley in Jamaica. The exhibition will include photographic work from Robert McNeil, Morgan and Marvin Smith, and James VanDerZee. Also included will be works by Euro-Americans, such as Stuart Davis and Winold Weiss, to provide a contextual counterpoint to the elements addressed by the exhibition. This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Major support is provided by Moody's Corporation. About the curatorial team The curatorial team for Challenge of the Modern, directed by Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims, includes Dr. Helen Shannon, Director of the Jersey State Museum and a specialist on the reception of African art in the United States; and Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Dean of Graduate Studies, The Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore) and one of the most prominent scholars of African American and Caribbean art. Also involved are younger scholars, including Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Associate Curator at the Jersey City Art Museum, who recently completed her dissertation on primitivism in the "New World," and its role in constructing modern identities in New York and Havana; and LeRonn Brooks, an art history graduate student at the City University of New York, who is currently conducting significant research on representations of the black male body. Rashida Bumbray, SMH Curatorial Assistant, has worked closely with Dr. Sims on this landmark exhibition. Source: Studio Museum of Harlem website'03 |