John Fekner Research Xtra

The Battle of Living

2012-02-02T16:14:00.000-08:00

World AIDS Day December 1 2011

2011-12-01T09:17:00.001-08:00

May our streets always be filled with freedom of speech

2011-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

#N17 A Day to Disrupt all that is Corrupt

2011-11-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

BOOM! POW! CRASH! I SEE THE WHOLE CONGRESS! AND THERE'S NOBODY IN IT!

2011-11-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

THIS WAR IS BEING FOUGHT WITH CARDBOARD AND MARKERS

2011-11-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

THE ROAR OF THE CROWD THE SMELL OF THE SUITS

2011-10-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

#OccupyWallStreet

2011-10-05T19:47:00.001-07:00

THE ROAR OF THE CROWD THE SMELL OF THE ECONOMY

GrrrREAD GREED scream it ☑ stream it ☑ scroll it ☑ float it ☑

2011-07-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

Today Is A Good Day To Die - Battle of Greasy Grass -The Battle of the Little Big Horn

2011-06-25T06:33:00.001-07:00

Kickwriting Jack and Neal got behind the wheel and the words came rumbling after

2011-05-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Work Sweat

2011-04-02T14:48:00.001-07:00

Give A Damn-Donate to Japan http://www.redcross.org/

2011-03-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

We Overfeed Our Heroes Until They Explode

2011-02-11T07:09:00.001-08:00

Time to Scissor the Censors

2010-12-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

blu is pronounced blue

and wojnarowicz is pronounced voy-nah-ROH-vitch

and censorship is the reigning pronouncement of censorship!

David Wojnarowicz A Fire In My Belly

2010-12-19T09:49:00.001-08:00

www.charitywater.org

2010-12-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

Donate: www.charitywater.org

John Lennon ...turn off your mind relax and float down stream

2010-12-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

The Remains of Industry and Decay

2010-11-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Trunz Meat Factory in Brooklyn was one of the first sites where the three-foot high cut letter stencils were used. The abandoned factory in Greenpoint was adjacent to the elevated Brooklyn-Queens Expressway where passing motorists could see The Remains of Industry and Decay.

Although the empty factory was structurally unsafe, there was a surprising discovery deep within the bowels of the building. Two brothers had setup living quarters with a large bed, table and a nearby fire hydrant for bathing.

At this time, I would carry around audio equipment recording interviews with people who were living on the streets. The project was documented throughout the entire demolition process. “The project was not just about a building coming down, but about the erasing the remains of a human presence…the demolition team was well aware that there were people living inside; they were bulldozing the building whether the brothers came out or not.”

We Are The Target Of The Singles Market

2010-09-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

We must believe in Mother Earth prevailing over man’s careless destruction of our natural resources.

2010-05-12T12:00:00.001-07:00

Environmental Works by John Fekner & Don Leicht

Upon evening’s first shadows
The dogs licked their warrior masters wounds
Barking in the blowing dust
They ran beside the horses
So helpless were we as babies
So hopeless now as adults
Gathering the spilled oil
From the water
Isn’t it ugly of a task?
As standing on the shoreline
With these fallen birds
And burning plastic bags.

Don Leicht 1993

Another Threat of Environmental Disaster

2010-04-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

Arbor Day Harbor Day April 30th, 2010

Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky
Kahlil Gibran

All projects by John Fekner except The Daze of Toxic Water with Andrew Ruhren

Berlin Wall(s)

2009-11-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

In 1986, I was invited to Berlin to participate in a group exhibition featuring collaborations by German and New York artists. A visit to East Berlin makes a strong impression on me, and subsequently, on the work I create in Germany.

I work on three separate wall installations over the course of a few weeks. The first, a spray-painted fragmented wall that appears to be breaking apart indoors is installed at Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst e.V. ( NGBK). Next, I spray-paint Beton Puzzle, (translates ‘Concrete Puzzle’) on the Berlin Wall near Checkpoint Charlie. Like so many others I questioned the purpose and existence of this gray barricade, which is finally broken to pieces a few years later on November 9th, 1989.

I collaborate with Cologne artist Peter Mönnig on Wall-Hall-A, an outdoor installation at Potsdamer Platz, next to the Berlin Wall. The project references Valhalla (Walhalla) in Nordic mythology, and stands as a vacant temple facade not for the gods, but as a reflection of the street punk block culture in Berlin.

The Wall-Hall-A project can be seen at a pivotal point in Wim Wenders’ 1987 film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin).

John Fekner

11/9/2009

When will the next wall fall?

Top 50 Cash For Clunkers

2009-08-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Where have all the clunkers gone?

Once the junk is removed,
progress will be defined only
by the limits of the human spirit.

And as always, for now and the forever,

growth will always supersede decay.

Disappearing Places of Spirit, Newark, New Jersey.

2009-03-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

Mortal Wound in Newark

a mourning like no other morning
the sun rose up
to show support

the crew was laughing drinking coffee
their wrecking ball
had never failed

a final mass and a church stood empty
stillness
then a blasting whistle

a test of strength that didn’t crumble
solid stones
and mortared walls

an ensuing battle with snapping cables
the bell tower
taking months to fall

a clash between man and structure
all that’s remains
is leveled ground

the chorus echo and clinging silence
stained glass pieces
on ice and snow

We Shall Remain. A Tribute to Native Americans in New York and Ontario, Canada.

2009-02-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

The Highway Indians project stretched from one end of the Long Island Expressway at the Queens Midtown Tunnel entrance to Manorville on the eastern end of Long Island, NY. The project focused on Native Americans history and land rights, as well as a reminder to respect their beliefs, customs and heritage.

Many, if not most, of our Indian wars have had their origin in broken promises and acts of injustice on our part. President Hayes, First State of the Union Address. December 1877.

Itchycoo Park, The Detective Show. Gorman Park/85th Street

2008-12-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Richard Artschwager

Gordon Matta-Clark

Don Leicht

Carolyn Conrad

Alan Bertoldi

Ted Stamm

Frances Hynes

Robert Rakita

Frank Olt

Rudy Montanez

Karen Shaw

Lucio Pozzi

Elisa D'Arrigo

Lou Forgione

Thomas Bang

Russell Maltz

Len Bellinger

Gorman Park, aka Itchycoo Park, also known as 85th St. Park,
is among the first locations in New York to have street art/graffiti/stencils.
In 1968, the words Itchyoo Park were painted in large white letters
on the front of the parkhouse. Additional street works
were seen here in 1969 and again in 1977, 78 and throughout the 80s.

The Detective Show ran from May 7-June 30, 1978.
Artists were invited to create site specific work during April.
Gordon Matta-Clark, Don Leicht, Lucio Pozzi's "Painted Rubbish",

Frank Olt, Len Bellinger, Karen Shaw, Richard Artschwager's "BLPS",

Frances Hynes, and Claudia DeMonte among others, created art work

throughout the park.

Thanks to artist Len Bellinger for the photo documentation.