Day With/out Art 2012

For years, since the late 1980s, I have recognized 1 Dec as Day Without Art as a day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis. Like many other things it seems the day's approach changed, in 1997, and those changes finally caught up with me.

"red album + red square" (acrylic on mixed media, 2012) is my contribution, made this week, to the Charlotte Street Arts Centre's Day With(out) Art Event/Exhibition of works created by volunteer artists from their ArtReach program.

According to artist WhiteFeather, "Artists will select a pre-existing artwork (painting, cross-stitch, etc—something that can hang on a wall) and paint the entire thing over with red paint. Many abandoned artworks can be purchased for extremely cheap [...]. The idea is to completely ‘red-wash’ the pre-existing work, in order to support the theme of Day Without Art, while raising awareness for AIDSNB, using the colour that symbolizes the AIDS awareness movement. The results will be red works with enhanced texture, that will show the ghost of the original underneath. Conceptually, this also ties in with the theme of loss due to AIDS, as well as the idea of funding cuts to the arts/health and the disappearance of art." To that I add recognition and support for the Québec student movement.

The exhibit will be in the Charlotte Street Arts Centre's Galerie Penny Gallery, 732 Charlotte Street, Fredericton, NB, in Dec 2012 (and possibly longer).

P.S. It's also a fundraiser ... Reserve bidding starts at $75