M@$#3D Crew Presents: A Mashed Art Experience

It was a wonderful experience to have been able to be a part of Philly Youth Media Collaborative’s last SLAM contest on January 18th, 2013 for my video “Light”. Check out the album of photos I took of the event here! or click on the image below to see the full album.

Now the Philly Youth Media Collaborative (PYMC), headed by Laura Deutch, is doing a new initiative called The Mashed Art Experience where they provide rising artists in Philadelphia a platform to showcase their talents and create opportunities for them to connect with a larger group of artists, instructors and organizations.

This initiative is taking the form of an amazing event that will be held today on Friday, March 22, 2013 from 5:30 – 8:30pm at WHYY 150 N. 6th Street (North of Market at Race St.) where OVER 30 innovative, talented and creative artists under the age of 25 will be either performing or showcasing their work.

Some of the things they’ll be having include a Fashion Show, Youth Vendors, Media Making, Live Music, Live Dance, Clothing Swap, Photo Booth, and much more. So come on out and support this event and meet the artists and organizations in your community! Here is the event’s Facebook event. Make sure to join it and invite your friends and here is the link to PYMC’s website with more information on the event.

Also like PYMC’s facebook page to stay up to date with events and opportunities, they are a great central resource to learn about all the different kinds of Youth Media Programs and opportunities in Philadelphia. Their website can be useful to young people who are interested in gaining media production skills as well as teachers, parents and program providers who want to learn more about youth media in Philadelphia. See their mission, vision and goals here! The Scribe Video Center, which is the community video production center where I first gained my video producing experience as a (paid!) intern, is one of the many members of the Philly Youth Media Collaborative. So, as you can see, they are all doing something right and great!

New Temple Contemporary Videos!

Here are the freshly edited Temple Contemporary videos I did. They are the full talks by Nicole Martorano Van Cleve and Dan Berger at the event “Mass Incarceration in America: Advocacy, Art and Academy” on Nov. 29, 2012. Informational and inspirational. Enjoy.

Dr. Van Cleve’s video: https://vimeo.com/57418386

Dr. Berger’s video: https://vimeo.com/57429725

You can see the 13-minute video highlights here or read more about the event here, “Mass Incarceration in America: Advocacy, Art and Academy” on Nov. 29, 2012…

Deep Roots II – Short 5min Version

Hello Everyone,

Did you see the full Deep Roots II documentary in my previous post? Well, if you haven’t gotten the chance to sit down for 25 minutes, it’s ok! Here is a short version I edited down to 5 minutes! Check it out, share it with your friends and maybe you’ll be intrigued to watch the full version, which truly is fun filled and educative. And some good news! The 5 minute version of Deep Roots II will be featured on a show by Bonnie MacAllister on the tv channel PhillyCAM. More on that soon.

Here is the full version:

You can go here to see Photo Albums on Facebook on the event Deep Roots II and the screening at The Bainbridge Club.

And you can go here for a page with all of the information about Deep Roots II.

Deep Roots II – Full Documentary Online!

“Deep Roots II – Days and Nights on the Farm” the Full Documentary is online! Thank you to those who made it to the premiere screening at The Bainbridge Club on December 1st. The hall was filled with more than fifty people and it was truly a wonderful experience to  see people who participated in the video, people who are dear to me and people who I did not know personally!

“Deep Roots II” focuses on the use of art on farms to spread the message of the importance of local urban farming and being conscious of how to support your community through collaboration…

“Deep Roots II — Days and Nights on the Farm” is a documentary produced by Michelle Saul-Yamasaki of the multi-media art installation by Meei-Ling Ng, that took place on October 6th and 7th, 2012 in collaboration with Weavers Way’s Mort Brooks Memorial Farm and their Farm Festival and in conjunction with the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) and lighting designer Jackson Kay. The aim of this event was to spread the message that urban farms by necessity need to be multi-use spaces not just for growing food. Meei-Ling Ng and her collaborators took a unique approach to raise awareness on the importance of farming by expanding the audience past foodies to art lovers and beyond. Meei-Ling’s multimedia art installation featured sculptures using repurposed and recycled farm materials that focus the viewers’ attention to the many facets of urban farm life. It included a multimedia bee keeper sculpture, a farmer sculpture, light shows (to see life on the farm at night) and functional art that the farmers utilize in their daily tasks such as the decorative chicken tractor.

Collaboration was another key theme of the event and of this documentary also. Meei-Ling collaborated with many, from light designer Jackson Kay to Farmer Rick, farm educators to high school students (Central and Friends Select), Anna the director of POST to photographer Sang Cun and Michelle Saul-Yamasaki, the videographer. This amazing collaboration resulted in a great turn out of people, an amazing art installation that everyone enjoyed and learned from, many became interested about becoming a part of Weavers Way Co-op and those involved met new friends while eating and enjoying music. And with the collaboration of Meei-Ling and Michelle Saul-Yamasaki, they were able to capture this great event and the people that made it happen to then share it with more communities and continue spreading this message to inspire other communities. It would have been impossible if it wasn’t for everyone collaborating in the name of something they believe in…

Please check it out, share it with people, groups and organizations who may find this meaningful and let us know what you think! Feel free to leave a comment below, comment on Ponder Tree’s Facebook Page or through email. (pondertreemedia@gmail.com)

List of Collaborators
Video production – Michelle Saul-Yamasaki www.pondertree.com
Artist/Event Producer – Meei-Ling Ng www.meeiling.com
Farm and Educators – Weavers Way Co-op and Weavers Way Community Program (WWCP) www.weaversway.coop
Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) www.philaopenstudios.org
Location – Awbury Arboretum www.awbury.com
Lighting Designer – Jackson Kay www.facebook.com/JKConceptsDesign
Photographer – Sang Cun www.SangCun.blogspot.com
Music – Painted Blue www.myspace.com/PaintedBluegrass
Trailer used on the Bee Keeper Sculpture – “Vanishing of the Bees” www.vanishingbees.com
The Bainbridge Club – www.bainbridgeclub.yolasite.com/

“Deep Roots II” – Film by Michelle Saul-Yamasaki

(Thanks to Meei Ling for designing this wonderful poster.)

The Holiday Pop-Up Art Show is a three day event filled with local art to shop for the holidays, food, live music performances by various artists and a local documentary being screened!

And I cordially invite you! The documentary being screened is of “DEEP ROOTS II  – Days and Nights on the Farm” that I, Michelle Saul-Yamasaki,  shot and edited. It will be screened December 1st at 6:30PM at The Bainbridge Club on 15th and Bainbridge! Come to as much of this entire event as you can, but I would love for you to come see this video that I shot and edited in collaboration with Meei-Ling Ng of her art installation Deep Roots II…

For full schedule of performances and participating artists, go to South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA) or go to the Facebook Invitation which you can join and share!

About the documentary of Deep Roots II
“Deep Roots II – Days and Nights on the Farm“ took place on October 6th and 7th and it was amazing. (See Deep Roots I here.) Deep Roots II was a multi-media art installation by Meei Ling in collaboration with Weavers Way’s Mort Brooks Memorial Farm and their Farm Festival and in conjunction with the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) and lighting designer Jackson Kay. The key messages of this event were to raise awareness and appreciation for the farmer and for the gifts of nature and the danger that they’re in, such as bees. Also a key theme was collaboration.

See you there!
Michelle Saul-Yamasaki, your classmate, neighbor and friend.
A Temple University Film and Media Arts student.

Like Michelle’s Ponder Tree’s Facebook Page or follow her blog by adding your email on her www.pondertree.com site.

This Community Needs You

At BOOKMACHINE presents: Dia de Los Muertos Collection by Miss Holly Bliss. Photo by Chantal DeFelice.

Article by Guest Writer Jeremy Dean Harrison

Are you reading this? Chances are your mom or dad cut out this article, maybe printed it up and put it on the fridge with a magnet… RIGHT WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT! Or maybe, I bet you are in a coffee shop, with paint or colored pen marks all over your hands from “working” late last night. Maybe you had a glass of wine or two at the big art opening last night, and you are slowly starting your day. Any way you like it, This community needs you.

I am an artist. I paint, draw, sing, read, write, play guitar, write songs, go to the coffee shop, attend art gallery opening to support and promote friends, and I promote on social media… I am an artist. But most important, I am a community leader. There is nothing wrong with artists being community leaders, teachers, politicians, business owners… It is necessary! It is imperative to the fabric of our social imaginary. We are the leaders. Artists are the visionaries of the future. It is time that educated artists take charge of the education development, pedagogy practices, the police stations, the finances… well… maybe not the finances… but we must keep our eye on our community. If we fall away from our civic duty to work and promote our community, all is lost in our art. All of our art work is for nothing… get it… “art work… not hard work…”

Whatever. We are the leaders of this generation and it is our inalienable right to explain the difference between liberty and freedom to children. It is our civic duty to protect children from poisonous candy… We need to teach our brothers and sisters that exercise is mandatory for the general welfare of all! Imagine how much electricity we could produce in New York right now, if EVERYONE exercised for 30 minutes extra a day, just to help the people who are cold and hungry. Instead,  we tell ourselves… I want to be an artist. Phooey… I don’t know what phooey means but, it is similar to e = mc2, I think. We are the community leaders, we might as well get paid for it. Let us inspire the world to greatness. Lets help our children move away from imperfection. Let us make exercise mandatory for all and capture that energy to produce heat. Lets come together… right now… “John Lennon”… but seriously… This is not a joke. Go get a job. It is your civic duty to work in your community. There are many city and state job openings for good hearted intelligent people with college educations and artistic visions. Lets put art, music and sports at the forefront of education priorities. Getting a job is not easy… but life is not supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be challenging and challenges are FUN. FUN. Is a cool band by the way.

I challenge you, artist, with a beautiful smile and a college education, to go down to your local city employment office and turn in your sharp, well educated resume. Make some money, get some security, land some consistency and move out of your parents house and buy your own appliances… WHERE NO ONE CAN EVER TELL YOU NO AGAIN. You can use the money and the free vacation time to pay for your art! Funny right, but it is a great deal. Plus you get great health benefits for you and your loved ones. It is what us, as real artists should do. I am talking to you! @ you know who you are… lol… btw…

Plus… Not to mention, This community needs you. The kids need your guiding spirit. The families need your loving nature. AND we all need your beautiful smile and leadership ability. Come on, are you serious? What do you have to lose? Get a job and be the artist you deserve to be.

THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU!!!

~ Jeremy Dean Harrison can be contacted at JeremyDeanHarrison@gmail.com

Jeremy Dean Harrison has a masters in Political Theory, a Bachelors in Political Science and Psychology and a minor in National Affairs. He is an expert in the global digital economy and loves to use social media to promote legitimacy, transparency, consistency and success. Jeremy is a leader, a poet, a screenplay writer, a philosopher, a problem solver, an entrepreneur and the singer/songwriter of “gladhappylove”.

Deep Roots 2 – October 6th and 7th

Here is a photo from the first video shoot of “Deep Roots II – Days and Nights on the Farm”!!! I will be collaborating with Meei Ling again this year for her new Deep Roots installation that will be taking place  at the “Weavers Way Co-Op Farm.” I am very excited for the art installation and farm festival!

Go here for more info on the event, which will be taking place Oct 6 and 7: http://www.meeiling.com/current2.html and Go here to see the video I did of “Deep Roots 1″ : https://pondertree.wordpress.com/portfolio/videos/deep-roots-video/

See full album of photos here.