PLEASANT presents
‘CHASES ME 1968’

Installation artwork,
The Brecht Forum
August 1st to September 1st 2008
Opening Friday August 1st, 7pm


4 years in development Chases me is a multilayered merging of conceptual sculpture, film and expressionist painting that walks a fine line between the in-depth and the light hearted. Offering slight commentary for a series of social issues affecting the American deep south. Pleasant creates an unpredictable underground = contemporary art that challenges his observers to challenge themselves.

Artist Pleasant originates from the deep south and is an honorary alumnus of School of Visual Arts. A former member of the downtown Gatien era club kid scene of the mid 1990’s, Pleasant’s element of shock is well documented in the form of his ‘Unknown’ masked persona that is implicit in his art. Pleasant has exhibited internationally with the likes of various artists of respected disciplines.

Pleasant is represented in Sweden and the Netherlands.

A feature at the exhibition will be percussionist/composer David Pleasant's LANGUAGE of the SOUL!: A Gullah-Geechee inspired ensemble that illuminates the percussive, vocal, and movement dimensions of Africa in American culture. David Pleasant has composed a series of rhythm centered works that highlight the peculiar percussive legacies of Savannah Georgia and the low country of the southeastern United States. Language of the Soul! compositions will be soulfully adapted by special guests Gary Swindell and Nick Russo . 

 Kindred Cool is a jazz-based photography project created by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn. This series of portraits uses the friendship of Albert Murray, Ralph Ellison and Romare Bearden as inspiration to document the diversity of the contemporary jazz society.  

Kindred Cools opens Sunday August 3rd at MOCADA.  

 Occasionally i get an email from someone sharing their responses to Songs in the Key of My Life.  These messages usually arrive on the heels of a book event or other author appearance.  Now, long after I've stopped checking my Amazon sales ranking and pondering the next great way to get Songs into the hands of more people, I find that while I'm not thinking about Songs, others are--and are discovering it for the first time.  

On Friday I received an email from a friend at church that began:

"...so one day I'm like a need a book to read on the train--your book caught my eye...
WOW!"

I was completely caught off-guard by this message.  This time last year I was spending so much time thinking and worrying about what people were going to think about the book, that I never really got a chance to enjoy some of the positive feedback I was getting.  I often felt more relieved that people were enjoying the book, than honored to have produced something that friends, family, colleagues, and complete strangers were appreciating.  

I would not have blogged about the note I received last Friday, were it not for this:

But, having a startling dream and waking at 5:30 am, I find it hard to drift back into any kind of slumber so I pick up the book.
Folks, I have just completed the first chapter and with sincere exclamation I must say " it moved me!"

 Just as with my friend, this reader drifted to Songs on a whim.  Reading Brother Johnston Michaels' post, I was reminded of the numerous times that I rolled over and picked up a book and ended up doing before sunrise what I had been unable to do in weeks.  Books, like songs, and as I am discovering more each day, like portraits, come into our lives when we least expect them.  

And again, I was not searching for the latest reviews of Songs, or alerted by Google to this blog post...Indeed if there is anyone or anything to thank for this last one it's Shola Lynch for directing Chisholm '72.  My post drew a comment from the Peppermints Arts Collective and as I followed their trail, I realized that we had already been in conversation.  

To all the readers out there I send my best and my love

 The Reel Harlem Film Festival hosts a special screening of Chisholm '72 this Thursday August 31st.  For more information on Chisholm '72 and the rest of the Reel Harlem Film Festival jump here...

Thursday, July 31, 2008

8:00 pm DJ Stormin' of Sundae Sermon spinning classic tunes from the 70's and 80's

8:30 pm FILM: Chisholm ‘72 (Shola Lynch, USA, 75m.) 

Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to the United States Congress (in 1969), and then--long before the likes of Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton--the first African American of either gender to seek a major party’s presidential nomination. Whether or not she met her goal of becoming “a catalyst for change,” is arguable. But that she had guts and the strength of her convictions is beyond debate. The film will be introduced by the film maker Shola Lynch.

Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice is  hosting a special reception at the August 2nd performance of Expatriate currently on stage at The Culture Project.  Click on any of the previous links for more details on this amazing production.