NESTS - Exhibition by Elizabeth Hamby

August 6 - 28th, Reception August 6th, 5-8 pm Artist's StatementMy work is concerned with the intimacy of site. I use symbols and materials that are at once familiar and abstract: my use of circles and spheres refers to a wide naturalistic imagery that ranges from water droplets, to the rings in trees, to stars and planets. My vocabulary is concerned with inscribing a specific place for quiet examination, while learning new "words" to understand the utterly ordinary and everyday.In particular, I am interested in the concept of nests and nesting. Nests, I think, provide a perfect model for intimacy and specificity. They are sized according to their inhabitant and their environment, simultaneously, and they are made out of material that simply re-enters the life cycle upon their abandonment. In his book The Poetics of Space about nests and shells, Gaston Bachelard says, "With nests and, above all, shells, we find a whole series of images that I am going to try to characterize as primal images; images that bring out the primitiveness in us_a human being likes to "withdraw into his corner," and that it gives him special pleasure to do so."August 23rd, 7:30 pmOrganized Color Intoxication by Jonathan ZalbenMultimedia installation with video projections, original music & audience participation.August 27th, 8pmMIKE DIANA - In Person. The first comic artist to be jailed in US for his art. Join us for portraits & performances captured on video including Mike Kuchar's "Statue in the Park" and Cramer & Waters "Introducing Mr. Diana" plus more unseen footage and excerpts. A discussion on censorship will follow.http://www.testicle.com/mikediana.htmIn 1994, underground cartoonist Mike Diana was thrown in jail for 4 days without bail on obscenity charges, for publishing, advertising, and selling his zine BOILED ANGEL. Mike was on probation for 3 years, terms of which included fines of $3000, no contact with children under 18 (or within 10 feet of a minor), 1280 hours of community service (more than 250 hours were done at Le Petit Versailles in NYC), maintain full time employment, and at his expense, see a psychiatrist and take journalism courses at his own expense; AND no drawing for his own personal use... his home was subject to unannounced searches by local police to make sure he was complying. Mike Diana is now serving another 2 years of probation, including $2000 in fines, and the same probationary terms.On June 4, 1996, a ruling issued by Largo, Florida, Circuit Judge Douglas Baird declared Mike Diana's zines, Boiled Angel #7 and #ATE as obscene. The judge emphasized throughout Mike's ruling that he personally found Diana's comics "patently offensive." Referring to Diana as "the appellant," and stated, "The evident goal of the appellant's publication is to portray shocking and graphic pictures of sexual conduct so it will be noticed. If the message is about victimization and that horrible things are happening in our society, as the appellant alleges, the appellant SHOULD HAVE created a vehicle to send his message that was not obscene."The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has estimated that over $56,000 has been spent on Mike's case to date. "It's futile that Mike's case is appealed to the State court as the State of Florida's history of overturning is nil." stated Susan Alston from the CBLDF.Mike Diana & his case are the fictionalized subject of a new play, Busted Jesus Comix, now playing in Manhattan.August 28th, 8pm"Dance of the Dark Soul"Butoh Dance & Films! AVANT GARDE(N) in conjunction with Howl Festival. Dance of Darkness co-curated by Bradley Eros and M.M. Serra.http://www.howlfestival.com