Upgrade! NY
February 2006

Cynthia and Paul conversed about the joys and pains of collaboration between a visual artist and a composer in a work that required a complex meshing of skills and concepts.

Cynthia Beth Rubin and Bob Gluck discussed their conception and construction of Layered Histories. They also described their respective previous works incorporating themes of Jewish cultural heritage, and explored how their ideas about the underpinnings of culture informed this collaboration, as well as the 1998 animation Inherited Memories, by Rubin, with music by Gluck (to be shown at the upcoming LA Jewish Film Festival).

Upgrade! NY
March 2006

Surajit Sarkar discussed his work with the A Deep Fried Jam trio and the community art initiative in India the Catapult Arts Caravan in relation to the media consumption in India.

Surajit Sarkar lives in New Delhi, India. He has held positions as varied as photocopier salesman, bank officer, primary school teacher and developer of curriculum for primary school children and teachers alike. Since 1991, he has worked with video, at first in mainstream television writing and directing a highly successful weekly science & tech program on Indian national TV network. He moved to documentary film making, and has worked on subjects ranging from agriculture, education and the uneven costs of ‘development’. A number of these have been recognized nationally and internationally and have won prizes in film festivals in India and abroad.

Upgrade! NY
April 2006

Upgrade! Anniversary Brunch marked the seventh year in graffiti style,

with Evan Roth and James Powderly of the Graffiti Research Lab, and stencil artist Josh MacPhee.

Josh took us on a whirlwind tour through the history of illegal street markings (Street Art 101), with a focus on the history of the street stencil.

Evan and James talked about how the Graffiti Research Lab was formed. They demo’d the tools they’ve developed and gave out materials to make LED Throwies. Some of Evan’s students presented their projects and/or concepts based on the work of James and Evan. We concluded with a little Throwies experiment/happening.