Saturday Night October 13, 2018

 

KARL MARX’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Performance free ADMISSION and FREE BEER AND BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Goethe Institute

530 Bush St. #204, San Francisco, CA 94108

Sat: 3:30pm till 9pm.
I go on at 5 and 7:30

https://litquake2018.sched.com/event/FQMK

“The bourgeoisie will remember my carbuncles until their dying day.”
— Marx to Engels, 1867

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I create experiences that explore the
human desire for transcendence because
ultimately humanity will prevail over technology.
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My work invites audiences to take an active role in order to complete each work.
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These experiences focus on the somatic and psychological aspects of being human.
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They are optimistic alternatives that subvert technology’s intended functional use and break the barrier of exclusive access that promote passive consumption.
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Seeking poetic juxtapositions found in the collision of hand-built machines, high-tech hardware and biological systems
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I operate from a distinct sense of activist engagement.
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The Surplus Value Generator Machine Quartet
(A participatory robotic band re-skilling and uniting labor)

Marx still haunts capitalism two hundred years on.
We all know this system isn’t working,
this piece is a workaround an an example of you seeing your labor in action and it getting exploited by a middleman (LED Lights).

Look at your beautiful muscles! So much better when I take your labor!
to contribute to the liberation of the modern proletariat.

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I am in a NEW Book!

Emory Douglas

Dear Kal,

Greetings. I hope you are well.

I am writing to inform you of the long-awaited publication of my book, WHAT’s NEXT? Eco Materialism & Contemporary Art. The book will officially launch later this week. Can you please send me your mailing address? I am happy to send you a complimentary copy to express my appreciation for your cooperation.

I hope you will help promote this innovative text to your colleagues and acquaintances. You might tell them that, in addition to assembling remarkable artists like yourself, Eco Materialism introduces a timely new cultural/philosophical context for this work. Furthermore, the book is distinguished by the publisher’s willingness to digress from conventional publishing protocols in order to adopt ‘eco materialist’ principles in its manufacture and distribution:
–  All paper copies are print-on-demand in order to avoid transportation costs and waste.
–  The book is also available as an e-book.
–  Readers can either purchase the entire book or they can select individual chapters. This is both expedient and resourceful.
–  PDFs of the book are available to colleges for printing on campus. This eliminates all transportation costs – financial and environmental.

Ordering will soon be available:
The University of Chicago Press website https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/W/L/au31276393.html
The Intellect Books website https://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/books/view-Book,id=5303/
Amazon Books website https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Next-Eco-Materialism-Contemporary/dp/1783209402/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539108675&sr=1-3&keywords=weintraub%2C+linda

Another pending development is the inclusion of this book on my website: www.lindaweintraub.com

Finally, please send me your media contacts and suggested sales opportunities, and I will pass this information on to the publicity and marketing departments at Intellect Books.

Your comments are welcome. I look forward to staying in touch with you.

Linda Weintraub

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ATA Sept. 29, 2018.

 

ATA Sept. 29, 2018.

Thus, this Saturday at the venerable Artists Television Access.
992 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-3890
ata@atasite.org

A screening of 2-3 short films about my work, and a small NOISE MACHINE you will be able to operate before the screenings, during the break and after! A never ending social practices experiment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKVwtqID7o
And a full spectrum of other film screenings.
If you have never been to ATA or Other Cinema you are missing one of the oldest stalwart venues in the Bay Area. Truly a national treasure, as is Craig Baldwin, the proprietor and host of decades of events there!
http://www.atasite.org/?p=12449
++++++++++++++++++++
Here is what Craig wrote.
Hello!

Thought you’d like to know how to help a SF live-work hero, Kal Spelletich, just pushed out of his Dogpatch studio:

Here’s a chance to support a true Frisco stalwart, Kal Spelletich, brave anchor of the Seemen project, and a veritable pillar of our arts community, evicted from his long running tenure at his Dogpatch studio by the relentless forces of gentrification. A percentage of monies from the door and bar (so drink up!) goes towards Kal’s daunting moving/storage expenses. Screening are a daring duo of his robot docs, his noise-machine piece, and a life-raft of science-fantasy reels, to kick off a Trash Film thread that runs through this season’s schedule (also on Optron2 and Archive1).

Peppering the party is the climax of the classic kaiju “Gamera the Invincible”, the last scene from “Colossus: The Forbin Project”, pick hits from “Journey to the 7th Planet” (double-projected), “Earth vs. Flying Saucers” (all the prior four in 16mm!), “The Great Martian War”, and of course Unarius’ lesson on “The Extraterrestrials”.

ALSO Jon Reiss’ “Bitter Message” (an SRL machine battle) Allison De Fern’s “Fembot in Red”, Peter Lichter’s “George’s Poem”, and David King’s (in person) “Every Red Death”. Come early for Wilhelm Reich’s Cloud-Buster, the anomalous “Number Stations”, and sci-fi highballs! Doors open for reception at 8; Admission $7-$20

*********
UPCOMING:

MAYBE HOLLAND NEXT MONTH.
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KARL MARX’S BIRTHDAY!
https://www.facebook.com/events/455677994904612/
https://litquake2018.sched.com/event/FQMK
Marx-athon: 200 Years of Karl Marx
Saturday October 13, 2018
3:30pm – 9:00pm
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Stochastic Labs Exhibition
November 2018
http://stochasticlabs.org/
–
December 7
Illegal Art Exhibit catalog release event with Special Guests.
At the Luggage Store Gallery
Featuring essays by Genevieve Quick, Mark Van Proyen and Matt Gonzalez.

http://www.luggagestoregallery.org/2017/11/illegal/

•

 

I am Getting Evicted….and Robots Are Heavy->

 

 

Thanks Everyone!
What an amazing response to my fundraiser. I am almost there, now is when you go OH! I forgot to kick Kal a few bucks OR you close this message. But WAIT, look farther down this message if you already gave or cannot.
https://www.gofundme.com/save-kals-robots

When this is all said and done and the lawyers are done with their lawyering, I will have kept making art no matter what. I spent my summer breaking down the Kalpalace, so much for a holiday, camping, taking a break or even working on projects that were due, sorry Danielle and Alexander! I did spend two days a week at Stochastic Labs building a pair of artificial lungs that trigger a pipe organ, organs running organs shall we say.  It is already weird not having my workspace, let alone never having it ever again. I do have a great temporary workspace.

I pretty much have everything moved, even sold some art, threw away a bunch of very heavy, dangerous and unwieldy old pieces and socked away into deep storage what I thought would be fitting for my retrospective in 2048!

Not my worn out old truck breaking down in the middle of it all, my ragged worn out hands nor my knee that went out on me climbing scaffolding and lugging tons of gear could stop this. Working 7 days a week for 4 months 10-14 hours a day is, when you are old, a challenge. I am happy to be not running an artspace anymore, home and community center for so many people (it’s like I am a single artist again!) after 25 years, though it was all beyond rewarding.

Mad props and thanks to Matt Heckert, Charles Gadeken, Deidre and Marty, Jay Brommel, Devin, Devo/Devin, Walter, Marylee, Big Daddy and John Law for your extra special helps.

I got several articles in the media about this epic eviction/move:
https://kaltek.wordpress.com/pressmedia/
PBS is doing something but it won’t be out for a while.

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Meanwhile, I’m not letting up. I’m stoked about these:
On September 29, 2018
I will have some video documentaries on me at Other Cinema/ATA Gallery in S.F. videos of my works, maybe a noise machine, plus monster movies and sci-fi cocktails will be on offer. Full blurb up in Sept. at:
www.othercinema.com/calendar
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On October 13, 2018
I am exhibiting at Geothe Institute ART-Lounge
530 Bush Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
This is going to be a lot of fun!
Honoring Karl Marx’s 200th birthday complete with a GIANT birthday cake in Conjunction with Litquake and City Lights Bookstore. There are readings, a film, a discussion and my robotic band you can operate, what can possibly go wrong?
Did you ever wonder why Karl Marx’s theories remain relevant, today? This year Marx would turn 200. The Goethe-Institut uses this occasion to commemorate the impact of his theories upon the German and U.S. society today.
https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/sfr/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=21336837
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This Fall I am in the exhibit in conjunction with my mini summer residency at Stochastic Labs http://stochasticlabs.org/
I will show one or two of my recent Artificial Organs Series! Human organs triggering a pipe organ. The date is yet to be determined but it will be chock-a-block full of great art and technology pieces.
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This is funny, I have a Wikipedia page! There is so much to add! Any suggestions?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kal_Spelletich

AND
My buddy and old roommate at the warehouse made this piece on current nazi’s in the good ‘ole US of A, it is horrific and yet heroic. AC Thompson is a fearless warrior. We all need to know what these lunatics are doing here.
Watch his Frontline documentary
https://www.propublica.org/article/48-hours-in-charlottesville#frontline-player
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My OTHER old studio mate, Trevor Paglen, is now a genius, according to the MacArthur Foundation. Don’t forget us normals Trevor! Looky here: https://www.macfound.org/fellows/994/

AND, some fanmail, a surprise and makes it ALLLLL worth it…….

Don’t know if you remember me, Kal, but I wrote an article about you for a Denver art rag in 2000. Sad to hear you are having rent trouble, it’s people like you who made me come to the BayArea and find a home.
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Kal took me in when I was homeless and let me live on the shelf above the bathroom. He still calls me “Shelf-Girl”. Throw $100 bucks his way or whatever amount you can, if you still love the kind of San Francisco he helped to blaze. We love you Kal!
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Good on ya Kal. I have been obsessing over SRL and your work since I was just a wee Cyberpunk in the 90’s. We need your creative mayhem now more than ever. Happy to support.
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Kal, you inspired so many of us to get up out of our comfort zones and go out to the desert to see wood burn or spin fire up on a rooftop or lay naked in a huge huddled mass on a filthy street under a bridge or on a bridge and I will be forever grateful to you for that. While the scene. Was organizing in nyc before 2000, I think your machine art show in Chelsea really lit a fire under all our collective arses. Thank you for continuing to inspire!!  K.R.
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YES!! What a swell clip! I’ve met Kal personally (some time ago back in the Bay Area): I’ll attest to his ingenuity, integrity, insanity, creativity, empathy, passion… I was very fortunate to have had a few chances to kinda tag along, hang out, behold The Epic Art Process, lend a hand, share, even participate in his fun-loving Vision. I recall (during a performance at his Space in SF) nervously standing still – bolt-upright, at attention – Battling My Worst Fears whilst enclosed within the exhilarating ‘Fire Shower’ he’d built. Trying not to freak out; I was totally scared! Still, there I was: grinning wildly like some crazed maniac, the acrid smell of burnt hair hanging sickly in the air, twerking my nostrils… Hey! Just how cool was that then, right? WAY COOL! Thanks Kal, my ol’ pal! Keep on keeping on n’ on that path you’re on, Funk-Soul-Brother! K.B.
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I just wanted to send you a quick note and say *thank you* for introducing me to Stacey (and also for bringing me into the warehouse more than six years ago since that’s where a lot of this started).
And, I think I already told you this but I was totally delighted a few weeks ago when I went to your show and got to play with the interactive seagull-sound piece. All of this is just to say that I feel lucky to have people like you all to look to as sources of inspiration and to stretch my imagination.
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I am overwhelmed by the support you are giving me! THANK YOU I’m really looking forward to creating something new with all of you. With a warm heart,  Kal
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And don’t forget to keep your booty shakin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar7sKNb4UUE
–
https://www.gofundme.com/save-kals-robots
–

–

I’m getting evicted from my warehouse studio. I urgently need your help to raise $10K to relocate in the next month. I’ve hand built hundreds of robots, fire machines, and held jaw dropping events in the past 25 years in the warehouse. This is where I built the first ever flamethrowers and robots used at Burning Man in the ’90’s. I hosted music, noise and art events with the likes of the Bicycle Rodeo, Mitch Altman, Matt Heckert of Survival Research Laboratories, Heather Dewey-Hagborg to name a few and exhibitions with and for many many other artists and art groups.

https://www.gofundme.com/save-kals-robots

In 2019 his work will be shown in a solo museum exhibit at St. Mary’s College of Art Museum in Orinda, CA, and a concurrent solo exhibit at the Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, CA as well as other shows.

 

I ran my studio as an experimental art/live space that housed and supported over 100 other artists and activists. All with NO grants, no outside support, no gallery sales and no renting to tech businesses. In 1995 when I moved in the street was dirt and littered with abandoned cars and homeless everywhere, prostitution rings and  crack-heads lurking to rob you.
It was the project that should have never worked: an artist supporting artists by sharing below market rent.
Yet the 25 year run of people, events, exhibits are a testament to art over commerce.
Now, like virtually all other artists in San Francisco, I’m getting evicted.
I will keep making art. I will keep supporting others who make art and are active for change.
Sincere thanks from the bottom of my heart for any support you can offer.
It has been a gift to share my space with so many amazing people. I’m looking ahead to how I can keep doing this for the next 25 years.

 

https://www.gofundme.com/save-kals-robots

Artificial Organs

HARD AT WORK ON MY KIDNEY. And Lungs, heart and Liver. Symptoms of kidney failure are due to the build-up of waste products and excess fluid in the body that may cause weakness, shortness of breath, lethargy, swelling, and confusion. Inability to remove potassium from the bloodstream may lead to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death. Initially kidney failure may cause no symptoms.
Addendum: Hello everyone, I am healthy and fine. One day, I won’t be. So this is a preemptive health care art project. Maybe you all will need some backup organs as well, I am your DIY organ guy!!! I have never had health care so this is how we roll in the 3rd world U.S./San Francisco. The output of the four organs will trigger custom instruments, possibly pipe organs.

 

Thanks to Jone Foote  http://rotormind.com/projects/Bio/

 

and Stochastic Labs for getting this started!

http://stochasticlabs.org/

Google Translate Twerked

Mary Muszynski and I started using Google translate on a trip to Europe, and soon found it was desperately seeking the English language wherevewe pointed it. Even at clocks. We are experimenting with images, live footage, symbols and abstraction beyond it’s intended use. Algorithms and artificial intelligence networks have enabled phones and computers to “see” autonomously.

 

Google Translate goes Crazy. The 4 Minute version (for those with attention Spans).

 

https://youtu.be/q9e_XnWYlGk

 

 

What does it mean that “seeing” and interpreting no longer requires a human “seer” in the loop? Who or what is watching whom or what? The project explores the invisible world of robot-to-machine-to-art seeing. We are using Google’s software that allows us to use various computer-vision algorithms to interpret what we it/you are seeing. These algorithms are essentially reinterpreting what we are looking at as artists. Their software used in conjunction with artificial intelligence morphs our gaze into random noise. It translates and glyphs in poetic, surreal and sometimes sinister ways. This “intelligence” sees shapes and makes pictures out of randomness. Think of the Rorschach inkblot test, the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas). What psychologists call apophenia—the human tendency to see connections and patterns that are not really there—it gives rise to conspiracy theories. This AI seeks recognizable images from random noise—and creates the phenomenon of pareidolia, in which one sees bunny rabbits in the clouds. What happens when we depend on this technology to interpret reality for us? These algorithms are only as wise and informed as their makers. This technology is biased. It is proven as racist, bigoted and narrow as it’s creators. Who are predominately white, male and wealthy. It can be patriarchal, gender biased and class divided. How are these robot and AI being taught? It is critical to question and experiment with this AI before it permanently infiltrates our cultural thought and law processes. Who needs the NSA when we have Google and Facebook?

So I got the old band back together! LAB Performance April 5

I am presenting my Robotic Trio, Group Play Machines.
There are three compositions with video scores with three randomly chosen audience volunteers get to operate the band. It is a lot of fun and hearkens back to my old noise band days in the ’80’s.

http://www.thelab.org/projects/2018/4/5/norman-westberg-thor-friends

 

• Thursday, April 5, 2018
• 8:00 PM 10:00 PM

I will go on PROMPTLY at 8:30.

 

In about 1986 I heard about a band called SWANS. I started buying their albums and was floored by their raw intensity. I saw them soon after and have followed their journey since. So I couldn’t be happier to be performing with some of them!

On a troubling note, after 23 years, I am getting evicted from my studio from the edge of San Francisco. Gah! (it’s been a good run) Anyone with any tips on how to continue to make art in this nutty city and/or Bay area please let me know. I am stumped.

Hope to see you there!

All best,
Kal