SARAH PIERCE NEEDS YOU!

Sarah Pierce is an artist based in Dublin, who is making a newly commissioned work at the Mattress Factory for the show Neighbo(u)rhood. Her focus is the University of Pittsburgh campus. She is interested places where students gather, in various registers of "organization" from classroom learning, to political demonstrations, to student government, to campus clubs.

As part of this new work, Pierce is producing a new performance that will take place during the opening of the exhibition on May 13, 2011 from 6 - 8 p.m. She has collected various quotes from student protests and the Black Action Society dating back to 1959-1969, as well as recent ones from studio art classes and student senate meetings recorded in April 2011. These quotes will be incorporated into the performance, along with a series of simple 'gestures' performed by a group of 8-12 volunteers.

It's time to sign up to become a part of the art!

If you are interested in participating as a volunteer for the performance (any and all are welcome), please contact Lindsay at the Mattress Factory at lindsay [at] mattress [dot] org or post a comment below.

TIME COMMITMENT: Volunteers are asked participate in a closed workshop on Thursday, May 12 from 6 - 8 pm at the Mattress Factory, with Pierce to develop / rehearse the performance. There will be a short 'rehearsal' on May 13 at 6 pm, and the performance is at the Mattress Factory during the opening reception of Neighbo(u)rhood on May 13 from 6 - 8 pm.

No performance, drama, or dance experience required. All are welcome to volunteer, age 18 and older please.

CONTRIBUTE TO AN INSTALLATION, CONTRIBUTE TO JAPAN

Hello! We are once again gearing up for an incredibly active ARTLab this Saturday in our lobby from 1:00-4:00 pm. This month’s projects involve two of our artists-in-residence. We’ve been recruited by artist, Glenn Loughran, to help create pieces for his upcoming installation in Neighbo(u)rhood (opening May 13th). Visitors are invited to create origami paper fireworks with the help of MF volunteers and staff. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to an installation that will be shown here at the Mattress Factory during the running of the show.

Origami paper fireworks by MF staff

Don’t have the mind for paper fireworks? Not a problem! We will also be creating smaller (i.e., easier to create) origami creatures for those of you who are intimidated by twelve pieces of paper. In addition, these tiny creatures will be scattered throughout the Mattress Factory galleries as a small nod of compassion to those who are struggling with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.

Create an origami creature this Saturday

For the past month and a half one of our artists, Yumi Kori, was here working on a piece for a special education project that will debut in September. During her stay, Japan’s earthquake hit and she watched her home struggle as the disaster unfolded. Yumi continued on with her work here but she will shortly be returning back to her home. To show our support, The Mattress Factory will be collecting donations for the Japan Society this Saturday to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan. Any little bit will help.

We would like to thank the many visitors that take the time to visit and to participate in our programs. The level of support and creativity that our guests offer constantly amazes us. Thank you and we hope to see you on Saturday!

Who? You
Where? MF lobby
When? Saturday, April 16, 2011, 1-4pm
Cost? None. Come on by.

EXITRIP HACKING WORKSHOP

How much can you do with 40¢?

Apparently a whole lot when you're Lea Bertucci and Ed Bear. This Brooklyn-based artist/engineer team got creative with a now-obsolete piece of technology, the iTrip. Back in 2005, the 1st generation iTrip was a semi-popular FM radio transmitter created for an Apple Nano iPod that is no longer manufactured.

The iTrip's guts

Lea and Ed have found a way to use this once $49.99 (now they can be found on eBay for a mere 40¢) piece of technology for creative and thoughtful artworks. "An express goal of this project is to empower artists with diverse technical and creative backgrounds to create works using radio," share Lea and Ed. "This constitutes a social experiment and community building exercise that documents creative responses to a common tool. How can we, as artists, thinkers, hackers and designers break the cycle of electronic waste that is perpetuated by planned obsolescence and bad design?"

Join us on Saturday, April 16, 2011, from 1:00-4:00pm for a special ExiTrip workshop to learn how to make your very own hacked low power transmitter. Not only will you learn how to hack an iTrip (yup, you'll be using a soldering iron), you'll get to take it home with you and brag to all your friends.

How to Hack the iTrip from Lea.

Mattress Factory
Saturday, April 16, 2011
1:00-4:00PM
$15 ...and you keep your hacked iTrip
(Space is very limited, so register online now.)

ARTLAB THIS SATURDAY MARCH 19, 2011

Hi. I’m Shannon.

I happen to think that I work for one of the most amazing museums in the world. I’m constantly surprised by what we do here. Sometimes it is shock and awe. Sometimes it is just pure joy that only strange art can create. Whatever it is… I love it. I also happen to be in a position where I get to share that experience with the public through programming related to our exhibitions.

Hey, that's me over on the far right

What did I do to deserve this? I’ll tell you what I did… I became theEducation Programs Coordinator for the Mattress Factory in summer 2010. This job allows me the freedom of imagination and reflection to put my own stamp on the programs I plan. So, I imagined ways to revamp our Saturday ARTLab programs. Folks can go anywhere, including countless museums and centers, and create art projects to take home and enjoy on shelves and mantles but how often do they get to become installation artists and temporarily show their work at a museum? Not often. That must change. It will change now.

Factory 14s "Eat It All" opening on July 30, 2010

Every 3rd Saturday of the month our visitors are invited to contribute their blood, sweat, tears, and creativity to a communal installation project here at the Mattress Factory called ARTLab. Please spare us the blood, sweat, and tears but bring the rest. One of our very own museum educators will guide willing participants of all ages through the process of installation art. The level of effort is up to you but the impact of the experience is up to us.

Rice paper flowers

This Saturday (March 17, 2011) Gian Carlos, an installation artist from Puerto Rico, will be leading a ARTLab activity that will help you melt away your worries by creating rice paper flowers and then releasing them along with all your troubles in a large water vessel. Watch your creation slowly disintegrate along with the troubles of the world.

Hope to see you at our next ARTLab this Saturday from 1-4pm!

DESIGN OUR NEXT T-SHIRT!

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, we want your design on a t-shirt to explain to the world how the Mattress Factory is literally a museum where we exhibit "art you can get into!"

Nathan Hall, ex-MFer, is currently busy making beautiful music in Iceland
where he proudly sports his MF t-shirt

The winner of the contest will receive two free general tickets to our 2011 Urban Garden Party on Friday, June 17th! The winner's design will be featured in the MF Shop and online at www.mfshop.org. Once the shirt is manufactured, the winner will also receive one free fabric edition of their own winning design and bragging rights.

Your rad t-shirt design could be featured in our MF Shop

Guidelines:
• Use "art you can get into" as the tag-line or inspiration
• All designs must be completed and submitted to shop [at] mattress [dot] org no later than Friday, April 15, 2011 (happy tax day!)
• Complete all requested information (name, address, email, phone & design as described in the tiny print below)

Tiny print stuff:
The contest begins March 11th, 2011 and ends April 15th, 2011. By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to the rules of the contest and states they are at least 18 years old.
How to enter:
• Graphics and general silhouette (i.e., a representation of how it'll look on a person) for the t-shirt, submitted along with your name, mailing address, email, and phone number.
• All designs to be submitted as .ai format for the design and any image format (e.g., jpg, pdf, gif) for the general silhouette.
• Email your final design (up to 10MB) to shop [at] mattress [dot] org.
• Judging will be conducted by the MF staff and directors, based on originality and creativity
• The winner of the contest will receive two free regular tickets to the Mattress Factory 2011 Urban Garden Party on Friday, June 17th, 2011.
• The winner's design will be featured in the MF Shop and online at www.shop.org. Once the t-shirt is manufactured, the winner will receive one free fabric edition of their own design.

Factory 500 Member Tour: Historic Allegheny West

Just in time to welcome spring, the Factory 500 members and their guests gathered to take a tour this past weekend in historic Allegheny West. Each location was completely new and different, offering a look at some buildings and people with interesting histories.

The members get a tour at Calvary United Methodist Church.

The first stop was Calvary United Methodist Church at the corner of Allegheny and Beech. Construction was started on the Church in 1893, and it features three Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows. Reverend Larry discussed with the group the painstaking effort that went into fund raising for and restoring the Church, and also gave the group a tour through the church’s interior, describing some of the unique architectural details and history.

The group looks at renovation plans for the Hipwell building, bought by Elaine and Mitchell.

The second stop was Elaine Stone and Mitchell Schwartz’s old Hipwell building, located on West North Avenue. The old flashlight factory is full of history and lots of spare flashlight parts. George C. Parks, who was the President of the Hipwell flashlight company, gave a talk and Elaine and Mitchell served hot and cold drinks alongside their Airstream. Mitchell led the group through the building and described some of the renovation plans, including living space, work space and apartments.

Photographer Annie O'Neill snaps some photos of the group at her studio.

The third and final stop was photographer Annie O’Neill’s studio on West North Avenue. The members enjoyed wine and refreshments and Annie spoke about some of her photography and the history of her studio building. The group was able to see a preview of some of her work for her next show on March 25th, and even got to participate in a photo shoot of their very own. Annie was kind enough to make the group a great slide show from the evening that you can view! Click here to see the photos.

Thank you to those who made the evening so wonderful. And as always, we are so grateful our Factory 500 members could come out and spend the night with us. If you want to see more of the photos from the evening, you can check out our Flickr. If you like what you see and want to be part of the Factory 500 membership level, you can visit our online shop to purchase a membership or call Abby at 412-231-3169. See you next time!

GESTURES 15 OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011

On March 25, 2011, the fifteenth installment of the Mattress Factory’s Gestures: An Exhibition of Small Site-Specific Works series will open with a reception from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at our annex gallery located at 1414 Monterey Street. Guest-curated by Katherine Talcott, Gestures 15 includes new work from Sue Abramson, Chris Craychee, Jerstin Crosby, Will Giannotti, Deborah Hosking, HOT SPOTS: What Comes After Oil? (artist collaborators Ann T. Rosenthal, Wendy Osher, Elizabeth Monoian, and Karin Bergdolt), Stephanie Mayer-Staley, Ingrid Nagin, and Garry Pyles.

“Gestures 15 is about process and collaboration: how the curator chooses artists and the process of the artist to create and respond to visual cues or concepts,” says Talcott. “My process as curator is to identify the inner workings and conceptual subtleties of aesthetic practices, see the potential, and offer experimental opportunities to Pittsburgh’s creative community.”

Stephanie Armbruster, Word Salad, 2009, Gestures 13

We started the Gestures series back in 2001 to showcase the diverse talents and practices of Pittsburgh artists. Gestures openings are always a blast. Visitors get the chance to talk with the artists and MF staff over delicious food and drink and incredible artwork. Plus, the turnout numbers in the hundreds, making for an amazing party!

Atticus Adams, castles in the air, 2009, Gestures 12 opening

“This is where you come in. We are consistently blown away by the support of our online community, and with the opening fast approaching, we could use your help getting the word out to people. I’ve embedded an electronic flyer below. Feel free to share the Gestures 15 poster on your blog or other social networking site, or email the flyer to your art-loving friends. As always, thank you so much for the online support, and I hope to see you on the 25th!

Poster design by Paul Schifino