Puff Puff PastJust Seeds
Out of the Shell of the Old
Opening: July 4th, 2008 at 6:00PM
ABOUT THE SHOW
Out of the Shell of the Old, runningthroughout July 2008 at Space 1026, will be a unique collaborativeinstallation/exhibition from members of the radical artists’ cooperativeJustseeds. Based on the theme of “a new world rising out of the shell of theold”, this show will incorporate built environments, video installation, andprinted work to explore both the dark and troubling times we now live in, aswell as our hopes for a better, brighter world. Members of Justseeds will be travelling to Philadelphia from across the country to collaboratively create aunique and exciting body of work
Throughout the month, we will also be hosting a variety of events, frompresentations on radical art history to DJ dance parties to puppet shows tomusic events. Opening on July 4th.
ABOUT THE GROUP
Justseeds/Visual Resistance Artists’ Cooperative is a decentralizedcommunity of artists who have banded together to both sell their work online ina central location and to collaborate with and support each other and socialmovements. Our website is not just a place to shop, but also a destination tofind out about current events in radical art and culture. Our blog coverspolitical printmaking, socially engaged street art, and culture related tosocial movements. We believe in the power of personal expression in concertwith collective action to transform society.
History
Justseeds was originally started in 1998 by artist Josh MacPhee as a way todistribute his art and the Celebrate People’s History poster series. He slowlyexpanded Justseeds to include the work of like-minded artists. In 2004 it grewtoo large to hold in MacPhee’s apartment and order fulfillment was taken on byClamor Magazine and their new online sales venture Infoshop Direct. BothJustseeds and Infoshop Direct continued to grow, but in late 2006, seriousfinancial problems at Infoshop Direct caused it to unexpectedly and immediatelyshut down. Justseeds was left with no functioning website, no order fulfillment service, and over $8,000 in debt; things looked pretty bleak. Amazingly, agrassroots effort of hundreds of people donating relatively small amounts ofmoney helped Justseeds pay off all it’s debt, and a couple of successfulbenefit art shows raised enough money to launch a new and improved website.
During this difficult time, MacPhee reached out to a dozen like-mindedartists and previous collaborators as well as the political street art blogVisual Resistance in order to re-create Justseeds as a cooperative effort.Justseeds was transformed into Justseeds/Visual Resistance Artists’ Cooperative, an artist/worker owned and run cooperative, that launched in thesummer of 2007.
Press or General Inquiries
Contact Aryon at 215.833.5672
He also responds to email.
