Madagascar Institute for BORG2 Guest Curator. Is it Art yet?

[Saffron]

The Madagascar Institute is an art combine in Brooklyn that specializes in large-scale sculptures and rides, live performances, and guerilla art events. We are a diverse team of designers, builders, organizers, choreographers, authors, pyro-technicians, safety personnel, actors, accountants, scientists, and well-trained monkeys. If you want to get an idea of what we do, see our website www.madagascarinstitute.com

With a core group of forty members it would be ridiculous to list everyone?s bios and strengths individually, however collectively this is what we bring to the table:
- Years of experience applying for and receiving grants for art installations both in the US and across the globe including:
Robodock Festival, Netherlands
Glastonbury Festival, UK
Ignite, Germany
Coachella, US
Burning Man, US
- Years of experience throwing events including, fundraisers, and guerrilla street performances, see the website (www.madagascarinstitute.com) for a detailed list of our work over the past 6 years.
- We are a mixture of fine art aesthetics and design, combined with entertaining smart-ass concepts and ideas. We also have a steadfast work ethic and extensive knowledge of the common hurdles associated with building large-scale art projects at festivals; including hangovers, heat, intense weather, lack of expected funds and tools, improvising with found materials and using the power of girl to obtain just about anything we need.
- Being based in Brooklyn, and with our international connections we will bring a worldly perspective to a predominantly San Francisco saturated event.
- With our expertise in grant writing and project execution, we have the capability to most efficiently spend the little money we may have.

Outline:
In our experience some of the following points are issues that have arisen working with BM in the past. These are what we will be fighting for side by side with the BORG2 arts council.

Shipping & Availability of Tools
Making it easier for people all over the world / country to get their art, tools, building supplies, and crew to the playa. Set up some kind of transport system using strategic pickup locations around the US/globe to help reduce overall cost. Set up a more grass roots system of sharing resources.

Tickets
As far as we know all BORG2 members have to buy tickets from BORG1. We will fight for all artists to have their ticket prices included in their grant, and/or negotiate with BORG1 on their behalf.

Space to Build / Earlier Access to the Event Site.
In order to save money, allow smaller crews to start working earlier on site.

A Higher Degree of Respect for the Artists.
We will fight for you, the artist. We are down with being the ass holes to get your projects completed.

- We want to make the whole application process easier. Focusing on the skilled artists as opposed to the skilled grant writers.
- We are structuring easy to follow proposal guidelines. Facilitating easy application & voting process.
- As things stand right now we have seen reports that the artists would be able to put their art wherever they would like. We have a vision for overall art placement involving an aerial view conscious layout.

Clean Up

- This will not be left up to DPW. Ryan Doyle, also representing MI,
has worked for DPW for the past 4 years, and he's not going to let
you leave your shit behind, (did I mention he was huge?). As much as I'd like to think we'd all do the right thing, money withheld for clean-up is necessary. We would however like to see artists receive their last payment before they leave the playa.

Finding space for the creation of the larger scale projects.

- We will try to help you, no matter where you are, find a space to fit your needs. For those that are interested in building in a location closer to BRC, there are many spaces in and around the Bay area that facilitate large scale art. NIMBY space, of which I am affiliated with, is a 25,000 sq. ft warehouse, in Oakland, CA which houses many talented artists. NIMBY has much room for those wanting to come in and use its high amounts of electricity and take up lots of floor space (check out http://nimbyspace.org/). I'm not saying any of these spaces will be free or even smell good, I'm saying you won't feel limited by your space.


Artists we would like to see on the playa:
Christian Ristow / RoboChrist - US
Bastian Maris- Germany
Mutoid Waste ? EU
Brain Goggin - US
Seemen ? US
Cyclecide Bike Rodeo ? US
Therm - US
Flamming Lotus Girls -US
The Aesthetic Meat Foundation - US
Madagascar Institute ?US
Lisa Nigro - US
Toy Shop Collective ? US
Dana Albany -US
Lt. Mustardseed ? US
Death Guild - US
Artistes Pirotechnico de Tultepec ? Mexico
Sid Kling - US
Jim Mason ? US
Mark Perez ? US
Deidre DeFranceaux -US
Duane Flatmo- US
Charlie Chunks - US
Antagon - Germany
Flash ? US
Robert Burke ? US
Steve Heck - US



The Madagascar Institute will be represented primarily by Rosanna Scimeca and Ryan Doyle.

Rosanna: ([email protected])
I have been creating art for 9 years
Attending Burning Man since 1999
Member of Madagascar Institute since 2000
NIMBY Space affiliated
Competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazen Hussy (6 years), martial arts (9)

Art projects include:
2004 ? Modern Promethius, LLC. ? fabricator/aesthetics person
Part of UCLA Live Theatre festival
2004 ? BM Candelabra Café Portal Art ? creator/artistic director
Coachella Music Festival, Palm Springs, CA
-Cleavage in Space Chandelier
-Encroaching Corrosion Black Widow ? creator
2003 ? BM Cleavage in Space Chandelier ? creator/artistic director.
Mega Junk Yard Wars season winner
Coachella Music Festival 2003- Thunderball (fabricator)
NYC Decom Instillation Art
2002 - BM The Last Stand ? project manager/fabricator
BM Creature of the Deep Octopus? fabricator
NYC Decom Installation Art
2001 ? BM Draka the Dragon ? fabricator / Volunteer Coordinator

Doyle:
[email protected]
6 foot 6 inches, 264 pounds
Doing art since 1986
Graduated from The Lola and Rudy Perpich Minnesota Center for Arts Education: Arts High School in 1997
Attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design 1997-1999
6 years attending Burning Man
Member Black Label Bike Club since 1998
Member of Madagascar Institute since 2002

Burning Man related involvements
DPW in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
Clock tower ?99, Camera Obscura ?99 (carpentry)
Draka the Dragon ?00 (design/fabrication)
Clean-up crew ?02 DPW metal shop ?02
Clean-up crew ?03 DPW metal shop ?03 Chandelier (fabrication) ?03
The gremlin (conceptual drinking and driving art car, design/ fabrication) ?04
NYC Decom art installation ?04- The Donkey/ Make-out room (design/fabrication)

Non-Burning Man related projects
Mega Junk Yard Wars season finalist ?03,
Coachella music festival 2003- Thunderball (fabricator)
Coachella music festival 2003- Cleavage in space Chandelier/Encroaching Corrosion (fabricator/installer)
Cyclecide bike rodeo tour ?02-?03 (jouster/stunt rider/fabricator)
Robodock arts festival 2004 [Amsterdam]- The Wrecking Ball (design/fabricator)
World Tall-Bike Jousting Championships 2004- (jousting champion)
How far have you fallen? - The party 2002, Hell Rider (design/fabricator)
Black Label Bike Kill- Brooklyn 2003, 2004 (jousting champion/ fabricator)
Red Bull Flugtag NYC 2003- Flying Tall-bike (fabricator)
Fuck Parade 2003 [Germany]- The Radiator (design/fabricator)
And I?m fucking huge.

Email [email protected] to volunteer / ask any questions / make any comments.

[stuart]

Clean Up

I heard a rumor about the leviathan clean up. Would anyone like to respond?

[Q]

http://www.burningman.com/themecamps_in ... #leviathan

Two different pieces.

Although I must admit the drawings have some similarity.

Q

[stuart]

I am referring to the playa installation

[swampdog]

As far as we know all BORG2 members have to buy tickets from BORG1. We will fight for all artists to have their ticket prices included in their grant, and/or negotiate with BORG1 on their behalf.

Will all BORG2 members be expecting free tix? If you want to use part of your grant for tix, who's stopping you?

[Saffron]

Clean Up

I heard a rumor about the leviathan clean up. Would anyone like to respond?

Stuart,
Leviathan was not a Madagascar piece. Creature of the Deep was our piece that year. We worked very hard on clean up that year.

Rosanna

[Q]

Creating spaces for 'people' to become 'artists'.
They keepup a workshop, create events, installations, etc...
More amazing work, events, and people come ouf of Mada every year...
They help make NYC great.

And their newsletter tells you to "Eat Glass"

There is no other place like in NYC that I know, and their reach is worldwide.


Madagascar Institute, Doyle, and Rosanna for Guest Curator.

Q

[sweepinggirl]

absa-playa-lutely. Madagascar Institute is everything they claim and more!

[beatdizzy]

Madagascar Inst. is always conscious of its clean up - in a very *forceful* fashion - Brooklyn - they see what a nasty mess can create... check their website for the condiment wars - that was a major project and a major clean up - as u can imagine.

Madagascar for guest curator.... It doesnt get any better. Ever. Fingers crossed and SIGN UP TO VOTE HERE:
http://saucer.spaceship.com/mailman/listinfo/bep

it is after all - all about the art.

[stuart]

thanks very much for the clarification

[Saffron]

[/quote]
Will all BORG2 members be expecting free tix? If you want to use part of your grant for tix, who's stopping you?[/quote]


Granted artists should not be expected to use their grant money for tickets. The money should go to building costs. I would like to recommend that granted artists for BORG2 receive gifted tickets, the same way that BORG1 granted artists do.

Rosanna

[geekster]

I got the impression from reading the burningman site that only a VERY FEW artists are gifted tickets. But I can see why they might do that since one might be tempted to use the grant to buy a ticket, gifting the ticket ensures that all the grant money goes to art. Thing is borg1 owns the tickets. BORG2 isn't having an event so they don't have any tickets to gift. In that case, having to buy tickets at full face value, they are probably just better off increasing the grant by $200 and letting the artist decide to use it toward ticket or art.

[Saffron]

In that case, having to buy tickets at full face value, they are probably just better off increasing the grant by $200 and letting the artist decide to use it toward ticket or art.

I agree with you Geekster, that maybe the grant should be increased, but wouldn't it be nice if BM worked with BORG2 and gifted the tickets to anyone that is putting in that much effort to build art. After all the art is still in 'Their Event'.

R

[sake]

and gifted the tickets to anyone that is putting in that much effort to build art

That's a good idea. Everyone putting in a bunch of effort to make art should get in free. The tickets for yahoos will be $1,000 each and none of them will come. Of course, we won't have any infrastructure, but who cares? Only art matters, right? And deciding how much effort is "that much" should be a piece of cake, so we won't get any free riders on the bus. Damn, that's brilliant!

After all the art is still in 'Their Event'.

Wow, is that ever offensive!!! If it isn't still "our event" (i.e. yours, mine, borgs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) then fuck you very much. I thought this was all about how borg2 can help make this chaos we all jointly are responsible for better for all of us, to prove that there's a better way of encouraging good art. If you think you are some hired artist making art for someone else's event, then go fuck off and make your own event.

[geekster]

Believe me, NOBODY in BORG2 is talking about gifting tickets to ANYONE as far as I have heard.

[zzberlin]

[Bob]

Doyle!

[Q]

and gifted the tickets to anyone that is putting in that much effort to build art

That's a good idea. Everyone putting in a bunch of effort to make art should get in free. The tickets for yahoos will be $1,000 each and none of them will come. Of course, we won't have any infrastructure, but who cares? Only art matters, right? And deciding how much effort is "that much" should be a piece of cake, so we won't get any free riders on the bus. Damn, that's brilliant!

After all the art is still in 'Their Event'.

Wow, is that ever offensive!!! If it isn't still "our event" (i.e. yours, mine, borgs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) then fuck you very much. I thought this was all about how borg2 can help make this chaos we all jointly are responsible for better for all of us, to prove that there's a better way of encouraging good art. If you think you are some hired artist making art for someone else's event, then go fuck off and make your own event.

[Q]

Welll,
I screwed up that last post, and clicked submit before I typed anything.

Sake, can you keep the fuck off if stuff toned down a bit?

What is your real question here?

Does M.I. think it is their event and everyones event or an event where they are hired to produce art?

I know many of the folks from M.I. and I would guess that you could not be mroe mistaken.

I am sure that you and everyone else out there wants to know what they are going to do for art at Burning Man through BORG2. Thieir platform has some really good content in it, and some plans that will probably lead to some substantial changes in the way Burning Man is run, as it regards art, overall.

Q

[~AngelA~]

MI has my endorsement as an entity fit with the ability to procure mind-blowing art. Oh, and my endorsement has nothing to do with my penchant for the country, although ring-tailed lemurs really tickle my kitten.

Seriously, I have compared all of the candidates, and MI has more than exceeded the qualifications for BORG2 guest curator.

Register to vote today!!! http://www.borg2.org

[TheNetworkGirl]

No one in the BORG2 is waiting for free tickets.

If Burning Man comes up with Free tickets like they have for other Artist groups in the past we will leap in excitment! If we were to get said, free tickets -- I think it should be the peoples choice in regards to which artists should get them. The total value of the ticket price should be calculated into our over all fundraising goal. Everything with value counts. Additionally, if we had any free tickets we could potentially auction them off as another fundraising possibility. IF ANYONE is GETTING FREE TICKETS and you want to support BORG2 donate them! Or if you baught a ticket and can't go DONATE it to the BORG2.

VOTING UPDATE!!! Must Pre-Register by Midnight Sunday, TONIGHT!!

Go To -->
http://saucer.spaceship.com/mailman/listinfo/bep
Enter your email address.
Your email address will be entered into an election database. Only people who have pre-registered will be able to vote. DO IT NOW!

BORG2 Democratic art-making at its best!
Vote Jan. 18th - grab a beer and celebrate Jan. 19th

You do not have to be from the Bay Area or even go to Burning Man to be a part of this. Your vote is just another way to say that you care for Art and want more of it. This is only the beginning for the BORG2.

[beatdizzy]

Quote:
and gifted the tickets to anyone that is putting in that much effort to build art

That's a good idea. Everyone putting in a bunch of effort to make art should get in free. The tickets for yahoos will be $1,000 each and none of them will come. Of course, we won't have any infrastructure, but who cares? Only art matters, right? And deciding how much effort is "that much" should be a piece of cake, so we won't get any free riders on the bus. Damn, that's brilliant!


Quote:
After all the art is still in 'Their Event'.

Wow, is that ever offensive!!! If it isn't still "our event" (i.e. yours, mine, borgs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) then fuck you very much. I thought this was all about how borg2 can help make this chaos we all jointly are responsible for better for all of us, to prove that there's a better way of encouraging good art. If you think you are some hired artist making art for someone else's event, then go fuck off and make your own event.
Quote:
and gifted the tickets to anyone that is putting in that much effort to build art

That's a good idea. Everyone putting in a bunch of effort to make art should get in free. The tickets for yahoos will be $1,000 each and none of them will come. Of course, we won't have any infrastructure, but who cares? Only art matters, right? And deciding how much effort is "that much" should be a piece of cake, so we won't get any free riders on the bus. Damn, that's brilliant!


Quote:
After all the art is still in 'Their Event'.

Wow, is that ever offensive!!! If it isn't still "our event" (i.e. yours, mine, borgs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) then fuck you very much. I thought this was all about how borg2 can help make this chaos we all jointly are responsible for better for all of us, to prove that there's a better way of encouraging good art. If you think you are some hired artist making art for someone else's event, then go fuck off and make your own event.

[/quote]

Borg2 is a part of the BMORG to the extent that it is operating within the Black Rock City Structure. If Borg2 can work with BMORG to get artists tickets - as the artists of BMORG get also - hell's yes - what could possibly be bad about that? I dont think Mada expects it/anything - but Mada saying that they will try to have their artists treated in the same way as the BMORG's artists I think THAT is highly commendable

[sake]

No apologies. I still find the statement "their event" offensive for the reasons stated.

Swampdog started this mess by asking a (probably dumb) question following Madagascar Institute's platform statement that they wanted to get free tickets for artists (paraphrasing).

Will all BORG2 members be expecting free tix?

It sounds like the answer to his question is that Borg2 wants the flexibility to include free tix with grants at their option, as Borg1 does. Borg2 wants a little sugar to spread around for the benefit of their granted artists, which seems like a reasonable goal.