GASP! Reception Today!

GASP! reception is today at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis 5PM to 10PM. Head on over! The event is featured in the print copy of CityPages A-list.

Performers you can expect to see there

S.K. Shipwreck: Porn Production For Poor Pervs (educator)
Heather Trash: Gender Abolitionism (educator)
S.K. Shipwreck: 10 things I Know About Polyamory (educator)
Smitten Kitten: Safer Sex/Toxic Toys (educator)
Ronnie Berg (poet)
Leah Matz (spoken word)
Koaz (hiphop artist)
Heidi Barton Stink (hiphop artist)
Ignacio Rivera (poet, performer, educator)

It is also the first opportunity to see the hanging visual art, and a chance to mingle with the artists. I am so excited!

Featured Artists: Jessie Marie & Allison Anne

Jessie Marie and Allison Anne are longtime friends and frequent partners in crime, with Jessie doing the writing and Allison the art for their various madcap ideas. Jessie is a freelance writer living in St. Paul, and Allison has worked under the moniker Dear Detective since moving to North Carolina.

Their zine Tinderbox, a combination of Riot grrrl and Hans Christian Anderson, will be on sale, (for the first time!) at GASP’s reception. Bonus: they’ve worked on GASP’s blog, with Allison crafting the blog and graphics, and Jessie as blogger and website maintainer.

Get Connected:
http://www.tinderboxzine.com/
http://www.deardetective.com/
http://typewritingribbon.wordpress.com/

Featured Artist: Mourette Valcin

Mourette Valcin is a recent graduate and emerging artist, who would love to fight oppression through expression as they navigate this world. They are interested in all mediums and work from within, as opposed to large volumes of experience.

Featured Artist: S.K. Shipwreck

S.K. Shipwreck creates work that challenges and provokes hir audience’s understanding of power structures in their worlds. At GASP! ze will be exhibiting “Crotches,” small (4×6) framed pen/pencil and ink drawings of crotches arranged in the lower level of the gallery space. Ze will also be starting off the show with two educational seminars on sex positive topics.

S.K.’s past and present has been shaped by confrontations within power structures, specifically, the institutional power of the Roman Catholic Church and academia, the authoritative power of the State, and parental/familial power.

S.K. responds artistically to this volatile interaction of identity and power. Ze says, “I investigate how my body responds – physically, emotionally, mentally, psychically; what my body desires; and what power feels like as it journeys through me, is given, and is taken away.”

Get Connected: http://kelleymeister.com/

Featured Artist: Brynn Diazack

Brynn Diazack draws inspiration from human teeth and bones, mostly for their concurrent vagueness and specificity. In their artist statement, they say, “a bone is a bone is a bone.”

“At face value, a solitary bone or tooth tells us nothing about its previous owner. It does not communicate personality, age, political positions, sexuality, or even gender. Despite this, these objects are some of the most visceral and recognizable signifiers of human presence.”

They use art to delve into dualities, including the duality of sadness and joy, a duality which is perhaps the final word on human experience. Brynn will be showing an installation that is an extension of the dialogue that ‘brownpaperproject’ began in 2007.

Get Connected: http://hypothesisonline.com/brynn/

Featured Artist: Ellen Stagg

Ellen Stagg began shooting photos at 16 years old, and instantly fell in love with the art form. She has a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts and is currently based in New York. As a professional photographer, she has worked extensively in advertising and fashion. Stagg has always been drawn to the erotic. Her muse, model Justine Joli, introduced Stagg to many models from the adult industry.

Too “artsy” for porn magazines and too “adult” for commercial, Stagg’s stockpile of erotic images found a home on her popular website StaggStreet.com. This outlet has garnered international exposure, including gallery shows, a documentary series on IFC.com, and shoots for Penthouse and a show on Playboy TV.

Hey Cool, Press!

Mrs. Pederson of Here’s Margie.com and Weekend Preview Plus at The Colu.mn (a Minnesota LGBT Minnesota news and culture website that is a terrific resource, btw) put GASP’s Reception up on her blog.

Here it is on the Girl Germs Blog (I’m a big fan, obvs)! I plan to go to their TV Party this Monday, February 7th, at the Red Stag Supperclub and you should too!

CityPages featured us in their blog Dressing Room, and it’s fabulous!

Other little mentions: GASP’s Reception is up on Twin Cities Indymedia, mnartists.org, Riftmagazine Art Event, and Minnesota Monthly’s Event Calendar.