Video from The Harsh Desert Exhibition

My friend Stacy Wiedmaier recorded this video of The Harsh Desert’s opening gala. It is quite amusing listening to their conversation regarding which pieces are popular with what demographic.

I missed out on all the excitement of my first exhibition, because I was in the Philippines conducting training with the 31st MEU. Many thanks to the people that made my exhibition possible, Stacy, Michael, Juan, Ryan, and especially Rick. Rick was going through intensive chemotherapy during the duration of my exhibition, but somehow managed to wake up at 5 in the morning to conduct an interview with KMIR 6. I am grateful for what he has done and for putting such a classy exhibition in my absence.

The Harsh Desert opened with critical and popular acclaim in February, 2008. It has had a successful run and I am definitely ready for a bigger exhibition. I am planning a much bigger exhibition of my work for this year’s season, one that will encompass more of my work and not just from Iraq. Though, I will most likely still use the stronger and emotional pieces from the previous exhibitions in the new ones. The question is, of course, is finding an appropriate venue that can accommodate the scope of the exhibition. Choices, choices.

The different paths an artist chooses to take in his eventual creation of art is a journey that has long held a fascination for me. The processes undertaken, the challenges faced, or the relationships that grew or suffered or neglected in the pursuit of art, some of the questions that not sufficiently explored when discussing most art forms.

Art permeates our lives and do have consequences, whether in the enthusiastic consumption of it or the joyful, pride-filled creation of it. We must not content ourselves in being mere passive consumers of art, but must be active explorers of its various consequences. Not only must we critique the art, we must also critique the profound effects it has in our lives.

I created Articles to explore the consequences of art. I solicit contributions from various artists, writers, and anyone involved in any creative endeavor to explore these questions. What sacrifices have they made for their art? How has their art changed lives? No topic or question is taboo or irrelevant.

In the first issue of “Articles,” we are joined by Linda Woods, best-selling author of JOURNAL REVOLUTION and Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, who encourages us to “be the boss of your own art”; long-time blogger Liz Fine who shares with us her exploration into the consequences blogging has had in her life; and digital artist Devin Swick who explores the processes that went into his art.

→ Read Jayel Aheram’s “Articles.”

→ Got something to contribute? Send your writing to Jayel Aheram.