Agitprop mural opening reception and slideshow tomorrow

Central Connecticut State University: Samuel S. T. Chen Fine Arts Center
1615 Stanley St., New Britain, (860) 832-2633
Painting with Fire: Agitprop Murals from Around the World
Feb. 8—Mar. 10, 2007
Opening reception: Thurs., Feb. 8, 4—7 p.m.
Pre-reception slideshow and talk: Thurs., Feb. 8, 2—4 p.m.

Press release

Group exhibition with work from: Sheila Pinkel, Beehive Collective, Doug Minkler, Keith Christensen, John Pitman Weber, Carlos Cortez, Desmond Rochfort, Bread and Puppet, Northland Poster Collective, Farbfieber, Karen Fiorito , Cora Marshall, Abe Graber, Street Art Workers, David Solnit, Artmakers, Fred Lonidier, Pete Driessen, Susan Greene, Break the Silence Mural Project, Francesco Levato, Phil Jones, Labor Art & Mural Project, others.

Special event:

Agitprop: Street Art of the Revolution

Feb. 8, 2—4 p.m.
Slideshow by Mike Alewitz, Agitprop Muralist

The Russian Revolution of 1917 gave birth to one of the most creative periods in the history of modern art. For a few brief years, until the rise of Stalinism, artists took their work into the streets—creating mass spectacles and pageants, painting trains and ships, revolutionizing filmmaking, printing innovative poster art and engaging in diverse art making—everything from reinventing teapots to designing buildings that would float in space. These efforts were an ambitious attempt to create a new way of seeing, an art for the revolutionary future they envisioned.

Agitprop: Street Art of the Revolution reveals a largely-hidden chapter of art history. The presentation provides meaningful insights for the artists of today, as they attempt to create meaningful work in the midst of a deepening economic and social crisis and the global rebellion against the US war machine.

(For a Connecticut Art Scene interview with Mike Alewitz, click here.)