A 1995 video demonstrating Joe Connolly’s methods of graffiti abatement in Los Angeles. He has some interesting, but questionable, theories.

Joe Connolly did the (many) buffs/tags on Washington Blvd. rooftops in the 1990s:
“GRAFFITI NO LONGER ACCEPTED HERE. PLEASE FIND A DAY JOB. THANK YOU.”

The Book Trust Prospectus examined new possibilities for funding, trade value, and distribution by attaching a different kind of significance to the object, thus short-circuiting the expected monetary transaction. Production of the Prospectus, however, relied on labor-intensive methods that required hours of input for a relatively small output. With the Futures newsletter, IFS, Ltd. has hybridized the positive aspects of large-scale corporate publishing — economies of scale or large print-runs, distribution of labor, and maximum efficiency — with the dictatorial authorship afforded by self-publishing. This new model maximizes potential as authors and designers while minimizing the opportunity cost of production and distribution.

Within the logic of IFS, Ltd. Futures will also act as a form of currency: readers can use their copy of the newsletter to trade for a copy of the Book Trust Prospectus (see: the Prospectus, left). These recirculated copies of Futures will then be re-made available as a way to generate revenue for a future, freely distributed, as-yet-undefined project thus continuing the self-sustaining eco-system of publishing and distribution, one in which readers and producers collaborate to generate and circulate content outside of the cost-prohibitive channels of traditional publishing.

The IFS, Ltd. Futures Newsletter is, in non-equal parts: a corporate bulletin, a speculative trading instrument, an experiment in memetic and symbiotic publishing, an internal-external analysis of company performance (B. Critton, H. Gassel, B. Griffiths, Z. Klauck, M. Nguyen), a proposal for an allegorical Escape Act (S. Dockray), a bid for a series of six activities (D. Horvitz), an abridged catalogue of semi-fictional gemstones (L. Francescone), a profile of independent art book distributor (Textfield, Inc.), and a self-reflexive / -reflective cartoon caption contest (R. Rozendaal).

PALS — “They came for the fame and stayed for the spectacles.”
Opening Saturday, January 15, 7-10pm
Actual Size
741 New High St
Los Angeles CA 90012

Pals (full title: Pals for Life / Life for Pals) is a teleplay about the dialectics of friendships under the strain of artistic endeavor. Shot principally in January 2011 at the Actual Size gallery in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, the approx. 34-minute video — told from the point of view of a traditional studio audience television program — revels in the angst and emotion of 4 friends/lovers who must install their respective art works in the presence of frenemies large and small. Each Pal is named after a specific human being, though the story implies that these pals are simple archetypes from a vast universe of narcissistic micro-movements.

Pals features performances by Wilson Chang, Richard Lidinsky, PJ Risse, and Natascha Snellman, with cinematography by Tyler Jamison and original theme music composed by Wilson Chang. Three rotating versions of the show poster will be on exhibit in the gallery through the duration of the performance from January 3rd to February 5th, 2011. The gallery will open to the public on the 15th of January for the first screening of Pals and an artists reception. The film will also be on view during gallery hours and by appointment from January 15th — February 5th, 2011.

In addition to the screening of the final film, works by the artists featured in Pals will be on view at Collective Show LA from January 20th — 30th, 2011. Collective Show is an artist-organized, ten day exhibition of contemporary art collectives. This collaboratively curated “group show of group shows” features local artist-run spaces, independent curatorial initiatives, not-for-profit endeavors and web-based groups established in the last five years. To find out more go to www.collectiveshow.org.