John Corbett, co-editor of the WhiteWalls Sun Ra titles The Wisdom of Sun Ra, Pathways to Unknown Worlds, and the forthcoming Traveling the Spaceways, recently wrote an article on Sun Ra for Design Observer. Corbett provides an eloquent introduction to Sun Ra and his Arkestra, mapping the Chicago spaces inhabited by Ra and his collaborators as they developed the El Saturn label and launched the Arkestra.
Learn More about The Wisdom of Sun Ra
Byron Coley recently praised Pathways to Unknown Worlds from WhiteWalls in the May issue of the Wire. Coley praises the visual work included in the volume, "It looks incredible. . . ." He praises the essays by Corbett and Adam Abraham for setting the scene. Finally, he exclaims of Ra's work, ". . . [I]ts visionary brilliance will become plain to anyone who takes the time to look at it with the wonder it deserves."
The Wire: Adventures in Modern Music (Review Unavailable Online)
Scott Verrastro recently reviewed Pathways to Unknown Worlds from WhiteWalls in JazzTimes, calling it, ". . . a fascinating array of early Sun Ra and El Saturn artifacts. . . ." Verrastro contextualizes the collection within the universe of Sun Ra, reminding readers new to Sun Ra that his Afro-Futurist mythology is both serious and full of humor.
We agree with Verrastro: "To these eyes, too much Sun Ra epehemera is never enough. . . ."
In connection with The Wisdom of Sun Ra, WhiteWalls and John Corbett have teamed up with the Hyde Park Arts Center for an exhibition, Pathways to Unknown Worlds, and series of events, Travelling the Spaceways. The exhibition and events run until January 14th, 2007.
There is simply too much to list here: screenings, curator talks, a symposium, performances, musicians, artists, rock stars.
Learn about Pathways to Unknown Worlds and Traveling the Spaceways at the Hyde Park Arts Center
The magisterial proclamations contained in Whitewalls' Wisdom of Sun Ra are garnering interest from Chicago, where the broadsheets were written, to the U.K. at the New Statesman.
Peter Margasak writes in the Chicago Reader:
The Wisdom of Sun Ra includes beautiful reproductions of the dog-eared broadsheets, with full transcriptions in the second half of book. As interesting as the writings are in their own right, they're also offer powerful insights into the personality and philosophy that was central to Ra's later work.
Rachel Aspden is less enthralled with the particularities of Ra's space-mythologies than Peter Margasak, but she still advocates the book as a "fascinating window" into Ra's views:
It's easy to overdose on Ra's liberal use of capitals and frequent invocations of Neptune, but for browsing, John Corbett's selection offers a fascinating window on to the weird world of one of the 20th century's most influential musicians.
Read Rachel Aspden's review in the New Statesman
You heard it in President Bush's "State of the Union" address. America needs more investment for basic research programs in the physical sciences. Always ahead of the curve, Temporary Services and Whitewalls now bring you Prisoners' Inventions, highlighting the work of the incarcerated.
Imagine that your house is only six by nine feet, your mattress is just two inches thick, you are known solely by an identification number, and nearly all basic necessities are outlawed or severely limited. How do the over 2 million prison inmates who live like this throughout the United States function day-to-day? In 2001, the artists' collective Temporary Services asked an incarcerated artist named Angelo to document the myriad ways that prisoners adapt to their confinement. The resulting compilation offered here, Prisoners' Inventions, is a wholly original work that reveals a rarely seen aspect of prison life.
Anthony Elms, editor of WhiteWalls, is showing a collection of his drawings at VONZWECK in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. The show, entitled Rhubarb...rhubarb, rhubarb...rhubarb... focuses on the art of still life, although, in the words of the press release, "[W]hile tabletops and foodstuffs may not always be prevalent, the drawings have never left the realm of the small gesture, the quiet scene, the domestic, the minute, the day to day."
Opening reception: Thursday, February 2, 6-9pm at VONZWECK, 1626 N. Humboldt Boulevard, Chicago.
VONZWECK is open Thursdays in Febraury, 6-9pm
Visit VONZWECK's web site for more information.