The Pop Culture Salvage Expeditions The Center for Artistic Activism

The Lost Episode! We recorded this episode over 2 years ago and dug it out of the vaults for you! We left off at episode 12 - The Chevy Suburban.







Superstores, supercenters, megastores! These aren't big boxes, they are GIANT boxes and inside are not only swaths products, but on-brand restaurants or services like opticians and hairdressers. Yes, we could have gone to Bed Bath & Beyond, explored the cafe at the top floor of a Nordstrom's, or even wandered around a Walmart. But you know how we do, we chose Bass Pro Shops! Listen as Pat, Steve, and Steve go through the lifecycle of a retail outing, from excited to disenchanted. Steve and Pat get kinda uncomfortable, but that's the point!







Bass Pro Shops is a hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor clothing and recreation chain started in Springfield Missouri but, while they started in the south, they have stores across the country. They own the brand Cabela's and have over 175 stores bringing in $8 billion in revenue in 2018. Bass Pro Shops sponsor NASCAR drivers and host the NRA's National Sporting Arms Museum in their flagship Springfield store.







Their Bass Pro Shops "Outdoor World" stores include restaurants, aquariums, open ponds with live fish and boats, taxidermy, bowling alleys, as well as shooting and archery ranges and classes on outdoor skills.







Sound Note: This show was recorded in a superstore and moving car - and given that it still sounds good! Thanks to Jimmy Bigbee Garver who recorded, edited, and mixed this episode.







Links:







* Bass Pro Shops on wikipedia* The Memphis Pyramid* The Socialist Rifle Association







Photos











Steve, Steve, and Pat, hiding among the camoflauge











Outside the store, showing off our purchases











Pat, reconsidering owning a vehicle in New York City











Thank you







We want to thank our sponsor who made this episode of the Pop Culture Salvage Expeditions possible, Bass Pr– just kidding! That’s never gonna happen. This show is paid for by donations to the Center for Artistic Activism, a 501.3c non-profit organization.







If you like our work – donate! (It’s a tax-deductible and a little bit goes a long way)







DONATE!

"It's a brand new car!" The gang hit the road in a 2018 Chevrolet Suburban SUV. Rugged, automation, comfort, and luxury - how can we use these lessons in our activism?







Sound Note: This show was recorded in a moving car. Thanks to Jimmy Bigbee Garver who recorded, edited, and mixed this episode.







The Chevy Suburban







Why the Suburban? It's the longest continuous use automobile nameplate in production, starting in 1935, and has traditionally been one of General Motors' most profitable vehicles.







Chevrolet Suburban - Wikipedia







We were driving the 11th Generation of the Suburban. Truck front, station wagon back: it's the reverse mullet of the Chevy truck line.







If you're not familiar with the Suburban...























What do we make of fake engine noises?







* Faking It: Engine-Sound Enhancement Explained-Tech Dept.* www.popularmechanics.com - The Rise of the Fake Engine Roar* BMW M5 generates fake engine noise using stereo* A roar deal: why your car’s engine noise might be fake







Thank you







We want to thank our sponsor who made this episode of the Pop Culture Salvage Expeditions possible, The Chevrol– just kidding! That's never gonna happen. This show is paid for by donations to the Center for Artistic Activism, a 501.3c non-profit organization.







If you like the show - donate! (It's a tax-deductible and a little bit goes a long way)







DONATE!

Creative Resistance is a special edition podcast mini-series in affiliation with the Center for Artistic Activism and is hosted by Research Fellow, Sarah J Halford.







EPISODE 5 -- SUCCESS & FAILURE







Creative Resistance is a special edition podcast mini-series in affiliation with the Center for Artistic Activism and is hosted by Research Fellow, Sarah J Halford.







In this episode, we heard from art activists Diana Arce, Elliot Crown, Mark Read of The Illuminator, and André Leipold of the Center for Political Beauty.







From Stephen Duncombe, co-founder of the Center for Artistic Activism:







"I'm very interested in metrics which are relative to what artistic activists want to do\...I think it's too arrogant to say, 'here's the one path to success' - that doesn't get to the nuances of how artistic activism works. But I do think we need to demand that people have an idea of what they want to have happen and have criteria, their own criteria, for measurements of: are we moving closer to it or farther away from it? Because without those measurements how do you know if what you're doing actually works?"















Photo credit: Elliot Crown (Pictured: Elliot Crown in costume).







Key takeaways from episode 5:







How do we know when something has succeeded or failed? We "measure" it with parameters called **metrics. **







Everyone has different metrics of success and failure; it's up to you to choose your own. These may be statistical (i.e. how many people showed up to my event?), but they could also be more intangible (i.e. a story someone shared about changing their actions).







Remember the affect/effect relationship when figuring out your metrics of success and failure. If someone told you that your work made them feel a certain way, great (that's the affect). But did they do something different (that's the effect) based on that feeling? We're shooting for a tangible effect in artistic activism.







Going back to your objectives/goals can help you to determine your metrics.







* (https://c4aa.org/2016/09/diana-arce/)* (https://c4aa.org/2017/01/elliot-crown/)* (https://c4aa.org/2016/08/andre-leipold/)







Music By (in order of appearance):







* Theme: "Drum Flute Loop in G Minor" by Enoe* "Golden Hour" by Podington Bear* "Sepia" by Podington Bear* "Hip Horns with Drums" by Ryan Cullinane







Music courtesy of freemusicarchive.org







Special thanks to Professor Stephen Duncombe.







For more information on the Center for Artistic Activism, visit: https://c4aa.org







THAT'S IT!







This was a mini-series, and this was the last episode. The Pop Culture Salvage Expeditions will return to this feed in the future.







Thanks again to Sarah J Halford, creator and host of Creative Resistance: The Podcast Mini-Series







Who is Sarah J Halford?







Sarah J Halford is an academic and activist based in Boston. She has worked closely with the Center for Artistic Activism as a research fellow, conducting fieldwork for the Æfficacy project. Additionally, she worked as a fellow of the Urban Democracy Lab and acted as lead researcher in projects for the British Council. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate of Sociology at Brandeis University,

Creative Resistance is a special edition podcast mini-series in affiliation with the Center for Artistic Activism and is hosted by Research Fellow, Sarah J Halford.







EPISODE 4 -- CONTEXT







In this episode, we heard from art activists: Ron Goldberg, Elliot Crown, Avram Finkelstein







From Avram (on the context of the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic):







"Well, it was pretty nightmarish actually. In 1984 - it was before Rock Hudson was diagnosed, Reagan had never mentioned the word, it was a very private moment to be experiencing what I did...Of course, I thought I was going to die myself - there was no HIV test back then, so you just had to make assumptions about yourself. And you have to realize people were literally dying in hospital corridors and being thrown out of their apartments and dying on the street. It was really bad! It's impossible to understand how bad it was."















Photo credit: Avram Finkelstein (pictured at center, circa 1985)







Key takeaways from episode 4:







Context can make or break any action. It is perhaps the single most important element of artistic activism, as there's a context for your audience, your tactics, and even logistical things like location and the weather.







The various contexts that we're working with need to be on our minds consistently when creating artistic activism, and a helpful way to do that is to practice shifting our focus from the little picture to the big picture and back again.







The more you look, the more contextual elements you'll see that need to be taken into consideration.







* Ron Goldberg Full Interview Transcript* Elliot Crown Full Interview Transcript* Avram Finkelstein Full Interview Transcript







Music By (in order of appearance):







* Theme: "Drum Flute Loop in G Minor" by Enoe* "Conveyor Belt" by Podington Bear* "Adventure Darling" by Gillicuddy* "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar







Music courtesy of freemusicarchive.org







Special thanks to Professor Stephen Duncombe.







For more information on the Center for Artistic Activism, visit: c4aa.org







Donate Now







Enjoying this show? We're glad. Your donations help make things like this happen. The Center for Artistic Activism is a 501.3(c) non-profit - we do this because we love it. If you love it to - donate! A little bit, (or a lot). We make it easy and we have great thank you gifts: c4aa.org







T H A N K S

Creative Resistance is a special edition podcast mini-series in affiliation with the Center for Artistic Activism and is hosted by Research Fellow, Sarah J Halford.















Tactics & Strategies







In this episode, we hear from art activists Ron Goldberg, Joey Juschka, Diana Arce, André Leipold (Center for Political Beauty).







From Ron:









"You have to get into a room. Get in a room with people who maybe don't think the same way as you, but who see the same problems. It's about building that trust, that love, that knowledge-base."

















ACT UP protest of the FDA in 1988 Photo credit: (http://www.actupny.org/)## Major takeaways from episode 3:







A tactic is a thing that you do in order to reach an objective. In artistic activism, often times those tactics will be art-related.







A strategy is the overall plan for your work, which takes on different areas - often artistic activism takes on a cultural strategy, but there can be a legal strategy, political strategy, and so on. Strategies are also linked to goals, the big things that we want the work to accomplish. We create a strategy in order to direct the tactics and collect successful objectives along the way.







There is no one right way of approaching tactics and strategies in art for social change efforts. Ron Goldberg recognized that his tactics needed to be ready at a moment's notice with the ability to be improvised, Joey Jushka wants her writing to be funny and imaginative, while Andre Leipold and Political Beauty want to throw you off your axis and provoke you into action.







* Ron Goldberg Full Interview Transcript* Joey Juschka Full Interview Transcript* Diana Arce Full Interview Transcript* André Leipold Full Interview Transcript







Music By (in order of appearance):







* Theme: "Drum Flute Loop in G Minor" by Enoe* "Please Listen Carefully" by Jahzzar* "Golden Hour" by Podington Bear* "Hip Horns with Drums" by Ryan Cullinane







Music courtesy of freemusicarchive.org







Special thanks to Professor Stephen Duncombe.







For more information on the Center for Artistic Activism, visit: c4aa.org







Donate







Your donations help programs like this happen. The Center for Artistic Activism is a 501.3(c) non-profit - we do this because we love it. If you love it to - donate! A little bit, (or a lot). We make it easy and we have great thank you gifts: c4aa.org/donate







T H A N K S

Creative Resistance is a special edition podcast mini-series in affiliation with the Center for Artistic Activism and is hosted by Research Fellow, Sarah J Halford.







Episode 2: Audience!







In this episode, we heard from art activists Avram Finkelstein, Mark Read and Rachel Brown of The Illuminator, Diana Arce, and Beatrice Glow.







From Avram:







“First of all, I think that art that isn’t about communication is about class. So, if you’re an activist who’s making art and what you’re trying to do or say is not clear, you’re no better than being in a Gagosian Gallery. It’s not activism if it’s not understandable. So, clarity is essential to having an audience understand it.”















Avram Finkelstein | C4AA.org - photo credit ACTUPny.org







From Beatrice Glow:







“I talk about these domino-effects in a perfume shop, and that allures an audience that I find normally wouldn’t go into an art space. An art space presents this hierarchy, and in a shop it’s broken down into consumer language, which is I think becoming a universal, international language at this point. So, how do we find new ways of reaching out to folks? That’s the biggest challenge that I think educators and artists face today.”















Beatrice Glow | C4AA.org - photo credit - Beatrice Glow







Major takeaways from episode 2:







* The audience is a key element in artistic activism; incorporating the audience into the work is what can take the art from a personal project to social activism.* We need to figure out who the audience or audiences are, and get as specific as possible.* Then, we need to investigate what kinds of signs, symbols, and codes resonate with them so that we can make artistic activism that is understandable to the people we’re trying to reach.







Avram Finkelstein Full Interview TranscriptDiana Arce Full Interview TranscriptBeatrice Glow Full Interview Transcript







Music By (in order of appearance):







* Theme: “Drum Flute Loop in G Minor” by Enoe* “Adventure Darling” by Gillicuddy* “Conveyor Belt” by Podington Bear* “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar







Music courtesy of freemusicarchive.org







Special thanks to Professor Stephen Duncombe.







For more information on the Center for Artistic Activism, visit: c4aa.org







Donate







The Center for Artistic Activism is a 501.3(c) non-profit - we do this because we love it. If you love it to - donate! A little bit, (or a lot). We make it easy and we have great thank you gifts! c4aa.org







T H A N K S