Article from Dayton Daily News about Issa Randall and 510project

Here's the link...
http://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyle/artist-hopes-to-spark-interest-with-passersby-1067783.html

Here's the article...

Artist hopes to spark interest with passersby

Issa Randall will 
be working in the front window of Gallery 510.

By Pamela Dillon, Contributing Writer

7:58 PM Saturday, January 29, 2011

DAYTON — For Dayton artist Issa Randall, the collection of Andy Warhol’s 32 “Campbell’s Soup Cans” is a metaphor for the haves and the have-nots.

The 1962 canvas grid wasn’t a cash cow, but it inspired subsequent works. “Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can” sold for $11.8 million. The haves, on one hand, can buy expensive art and hang it on their walls. The have-nots will just be eating the soup.

Randall is the second “510Project” artist that will be working in the front window of Gallery 510.

Randall will try to spark a dialogue with passersby as he works on “They Got Campbell’s, We Get Soup” during the two-and-a-half-week installation. His process will include “cooking” papers, using a kerosene grill on the sidewalk.

“Newspapers provide readers with information about the world around us. But in the information age there is an overproduction of facts and opinions, rendering information and facts into static noise,” Randall said. “This project is a reflection of the current climate of poverty, scarcity and restriction.”

To illustrate those concepts, Randall will make paper, burn paper, cut paper and make paper in a continuous process.

“Feel free to stop by, have a chat and see how I work,” Randall said.

Project510 grew out of a collaboration between Gallery 510 and the Blue Sky Project. Every month a different artist in the series will engage the public in conversations about: the relevance of art in society, the role of artists/audience; what it means to be a creator, viewer, participant or collaborator; and what it means to a city like Dayton. The next artist scheduled is Miamisburg resident Leigh Waltz.

“I really liked what Peter (Benkendorf) did with the residency through the summertime, but he wasn’t able to continue them,” said Gallery 510 co-owner Loretta Puncer. “I really wanted to help Peter, so I’m giving him the front 12 feet of this gallery, which has great window space. The series started last November with Rodney Veal and his “Seen/Unseen” dance installation performance.”

Randall holds a Master of Fine Art in photography from the University of Arts London and a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Dayton. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He was born in Seattle and moved to Dayton when he was 12. Randall has lived in England, Japan and South Africa.

“Contemporary art is about challenging the status quo; you’re always trying to create a dialogue through people you meet,” Randall said.

Contact contributing arts writer Pamela Dillon at pamdillon@woh.rr.com.

Issa Randall - Residency - Days Two, Three & Four

Here is Issa's latest video of his work at Gallery 510 and a few pics! Please stop by and say hello, Monday-Saturday 12-5.  Next burn is tonight at 7pm, then tomorrow at 3pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9JFlCC0O8Y

Issa Randall - Residency - Day One

The first day is done and dusted. The transportation and set-up went smoothly. Moving from one place to another is always a scary proposition about are you forget one thing or another. I’m happy to report that not much was forgotten. For a bit I stressed about am I forgetting something a then I had an epiphany that I’m only moving shop 5 miles away I can always come back. After that thought all was right in the world.

And a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hWIppK10lM

And here is the Packing up video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNOklfdPlFM

Issa

Issa Randall - Residency Explanation & Bio

They Get Campbell’s, We Get Soup looks at the often-ignored parts of our society: minority, working poor and mostly everyone that isn’t famous or individually wealthy.  Andy Warhol’s screen prints of Campbell Soup cans were born out of the idea of America’s prosperity, abundance and freedom. They Get Campbell’s. We Get Soup is a reflection of the current climate of poverty, scarcity and restriction.  Indeed, the current climate is shared by a majority of Americans past, present and possibly future.

The aesthetic of the They Get Campbell’s, We Get Soup has been a development and a long-term exploration of the use of old newspapers. Newspapers provide its readers with information about the world around us, but in the information age there is an over-production of facts and opinion rendering information and facts into static noise.

Installation Dates

1/24 – 25, 12PM – 5PM

1/26 – 2/11, Wednesday – Saturday, 12PM – 5PM

Part of the process is the use of fire. There will be burnings:

Friday, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11 @ 7PM

Saturday, 1/29, 2/5 @ 3PM

The public is encouraged to visit with the artist during the installation.

A conversation with the artist is scheduled after each of the burnings.

Gallery 510 Fine Art

510 East Fifth Street

Dayton, Ohio 45402

Biography
A native of Dayton, Issa Randall hold a Master of Fine Arts in photography from the University of Arts London and a Bachelor of Arts in communication from the  University of Dayton. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Seen/Unseen... encore performance tonight, Friday December 10

Rodney Veal will be giving an encore performance of his art installation titled Seen/Unseen this evening at 7 and 8 pm.  The performance is about 15 minutes in length.  Stop by if you are downtown this evening.  Gallery 510 is located in the Oregon District at 510 East Fifth Street.  Call 937-672-6717 if you need more information.

the first presentation

Seen/Unseen

performance art presentation

November 26-December 3, 2010

Live Performance - December 3-7PM

Seen/Unseen is a media driven performance art installation that allows the audience to observe and interact with the work from a multiplicity of angles. It challenges patrons to really “see,” taking their participation out of passivity into active participation and engagement. When we can only see through a portal that is no larger than a peephole, what do we become as artists and audience?

Using video/sound collage and performance, Rodney Veal, independent choreographer/media artist, hopes to challenge the viewers to “see” the unseen power they posses to impact and change how the performance unfolds, and ultimately how they engage with others. Seen/Unseen, ruminations on life, death and race, will only exist in the ephemeral state in which all performances exist with only the documentation serving as the finished work of art.

Bio

Rodney Veal, an independent choreographer and interdisciplinary artist, serves as adjunct faculty for both Stivers School of the Performing Arts and Sinclair Community College. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a B.S in Political Science and Visual Arts. He recently received his M.F.A in Choreography from The Ohio State University, where he served as the Chief of Staff to the Council of Graduate Students President and as Senator to the Faculty/Student Senate representing the Fine Arts Graduate Students.  He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Ohio Dance and Involvement Advocacy/Blue Sky Dayton Project.

Mr. Veal is the recipient of several MCACD grants and fellowships. Several of his works have been performed as a part of the Ohio Dance Festival. He was one of five artists chosen nationwide to participate in the Blue Sky Dayton Project Artist in Residency Program held in collaboration with the University of Dayton in the summer of 2009.

Mr. Veal recently choreographed the musical Once Upon on This Island for the Sinclair Community College 2010-11 Theatre season.  And collaborated on the Performance art piece Of A River, with Violinist Shaw Pong Lui presented at the  Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center Winter Garden in the summer of 2010.

Upcoming projects include a solo multi-media performance exhibition at the Springfield Museum of Art, Reveal: Five Zones of Beauty in the summer of 2011.

A Collaboration between Gallery 510 Fine Art & Blue Sky Project

PRESS RELEASE - November 15, 2010

   CONTACTS

                         Loretta Puncer, Gallery 510 Fine Art – 937 672 6717

                       Peter Benkendorf, Blue Sky Project – 937 732 5123

                                                                                     

510project

New Initiative Aims to Open Artist/Community Dialogue

Dayton, OH, Gallery 510 Fine Art and Involvement Advocacy today announced 510project, a new public art initiative to take place in the front window of Gallery 510 Fine Art, appropriately located at 510 East Fifth Street in the Oregon Arts District.

Performance. Installation. Art Making.

A window looking in. A window looking out.

Artists engaging Community. Community engaging Artists.

Transformation.

Each month 510project invites an artist and the community to a different kind of conversation about: 

• the relevance of art in the society;

• the role of the artist and the audience;

• what it means to be a creator, viewer, participant and collaborator;

and what it means to BE Dayton.

The genesis for 510project was a conversation between community catalyst Peter Benkendorf and artist Loretta Puncer. According to Puncer, who owns Gallery 510, “I think we both felt that artists who live in Dayton have much to contribute to addressing the challenges we face in the community. They just need a viable venue to begin the conversation. We are excited to have identified our first three artists, all of whom we agree have something important to say about our collective future.”

Opening Installation

November 27 – December 3, 2010, Seen/Unseen with artist Rodney Veal

Friday, December 2, 2010, live performance, 5:00 – 8:00 PM, followed by artist/community conversation

Seen/Unseen is a media driven performance art installation that allows the audience to observe and interact with the work from a multiplicity of angles. It challenges patrons to really “see,” taking their participation out of passivity into active participation and engagement. When we can only see through a portal that is no larger than a peephole, what do we become as artists and audience?

Using video/sound collage and performance, independent choreographer/media artist Rodney Veal, hopes to challenge the viewers to “see” the unseen power they posses to impact and change how the performance unfolds, and ultimately how they engage with others. Seen/Unseen, ruminations on life, death and race, will only exist in the ephemeral state in which all performances exist with only the documentation serving as the finished work of art.

Upcoming Artists

December/January: Issa Randall, Dayton

January/February: Leigh Waltz, Miamisburg

About the Collaborators

Founded in 2008, Gallery 510 Fine Art has developed into a showcase for contemporary art and fine crafts with a focus on local emerging and established artists.  The gallery collection features paintings, drawings, linocuts, ceramics, fiber, wood, art glass and jewelry.  We endeavor to attract and include those new to the contemporary art scene, as well as serve knowledgeable collectors.  The gallery is located in the heart of the Historic Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio.

Involvement Advocacy, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, is committed to strengthening the Dayton region by acting a catalyst for imaginative, entrepreneurial, community-driven solutions to pressing social, economic and civic challenges. These collaborative solutions will include citizen, government, business, institutional, organizational and philanthropic players. Involvement Advocacy’s principle program is Blue Sky Project, (www.blueskydayton.org), a juried, international summer artist residency committed to producing ambitious and meaningful works of contemporary art. It includes a strong youth development component and an emphasis on art making as community-building. The organization was also the originator of the 2009 Ten Living Symposium, a response to the Forbes America’s Ten Fastest Dying Cites list.