Youth art exhibit at Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona Daily Sun

Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Youth are hosting an evening program and exhibit presented by 15 young artists.

The young artists spent seven days on a river trip being mentored by photographer Michael Buchheit, artist Sarah Hooker and park ranger Juliet Oakes as part of a program called Grand Inspiration.

In between riding the rapids and taking remote day hikes, the youth developed a collection of paintings, creative writing and photographs that will be on display at Grand Canyon National Park Headquarters from July 8 though Aug. 8.

The grand opening of the exhibit will be Friday at 7 p.m. Afterward, the youth will join Buchheit, known for his Grand Canyon photography, in presenting a special evening program at 8:30 p.m. in the McKee Amphitheater behind Park Headquarters.

The young artists applied for the program by submitting an application and a piece of artwork with the theme "Nature's Boundaries." Although many youth had an individual specialty, each participated in workshops for painting, photography and creative writing.

Artists have a longstanding history of advocating for people and places. The original idea of preserving the wild, unique lands of the West as national parks is often attributed to painter George Catlin. Other artists and writers like Thomas Moran, John Muir, George Masa and Ansel Adams offered politicians and the American public their first glimpses of the natural wonders of the American West. Their work became a catalyst for the protection of the land.

The Grand Inspiration program is a partnership between Grand Canyon Youth and the Environmental Education branch of Grand Canyon National Park. Together, the two organizations strive to provide inspirational backcountry experiences for diverse youth, connecting them to place through experiential and service learning.

For more on Grand Inspiration, visit the Grand Canyon Youth website at http://gcyouth .org/destinations_grand- canyon_gi.php.

Source : Click Here

Read More

NXNE Q&A: Art Brut - National Post (blog)

Angela Hickman  Jun 16, 2011 – 8:00 AM ET | Last Updated: Jun 15, 2011 4:30 PM ET

English post-punk band Art Brut started catching tastemakers’ ears in 2003 when the five-piece released their independent EP Brutlegs, the original home of soon-to-be hits Formed a Band, Modern Art, and Moving to LA. Best known for their 2005 single Emily Kane, Art Brut just released their fourth studio album Brilliant! Tragic!.

The South London gents and lady — Eddie Argos (lead vocals), Ian Catskilkin (lead guitar), Freddy Feedback (bass), Jasper “Jeff” Future (guitar and backing vocals), and Mickey Breyer (drums) — have an instantly recognizable sound that manages to be both chaotic and measured, thanks largely to Argos’ vocals, which are more spoken than sung. But no more! Art Brut is spicing it up. The Post caught up with Argos a few days before Brilliant! Tragic! dropped on May 23 to talk about the new album and what it was like to learn how to sing.

Q: How do you feel about your singing voice?
A: It’s okay I think. It was weird, actually, because our manager came up to me and said “I think Frank Black is going to get you to sing on this one.” I really thought I couldn’t sing, you know. I didn’t think I had it in me. He sent everybody home and he kept me there, one evening really, and sort of made me learn to sing with him — like, he’d sing a bit and then I’d sing it back and stuff.  It was nice. And when I heard it back I didn’t really recognize myself. It’s like a whisper, my singing voice, I think.

Q: There aren’t a lot of lead singers who don’t consider themselves singers.
A: No. I always thought I was singing, to begin with, and then we started getting reviews and things and people were saying that I was speaking. And I was like, “Oh. Really?” I thought I’d been singing. It was terrible. I just thought I was singing when I wasn’t and then I realized I was just talking and then we finally broke it through. Four albums and I can sing now. Ish.

Q: What was it like being back in the studio with Frank Black?
A: It was brilliant. The first time we were a bit intimidated because he’s in The Pixies and they wrote lots of our favourite songs. But this time, you know, we’ve known him for two years now, we’re sort of mates. I think it was a lot better this time because we had a more open dialogue between us and we were just hanging out. It was good.

Q: You have sung in the past about things that you like. What do you like at the moment.
A: I’ve tried to stop doing that, really, because I went so far with it, about what writing things about things I like. I thought I’d try something different this time. We did that before with the Replacements on the last album, DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes. It was cool because people would bring me milkshakes and comics and Replacements to the shows, so really I should have kept doing that, shouldn’t I? I should have written about The Soft Boys and Marvel comics and money, and people would bring these things to the show. I like Axel Rose on this album, and that’s kind of it really.

Art Brut play at the Mod Club at 9 p.m. on Friday, June 17.

Source : Click Here

Read More