Tag Archives: Smokebrush

Che lives in the Florence Supermax

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Cuban Five member Antonion Guerrero sketchThursday Oct 8 is Cuba’s Day of the Heroic Guerrilla. By a brilliant coincidence perhaps, Colorado Springs is currently plastered with fliers of the heroic guerrilla himself, smiling from the windows of the least likely businesses, courtesy of the Smokebrush Gallery’s current exhibit. The sketch of Che is by artist/poet Antonio Guerrero, member of the Cuban 5 and inmate 58741-004 of the Florence Supermax. Che’s image has been successfully trivialized as a commercial icon, thanks to the Gap et al, but when Che jumps off the T-shirt, in the incarnation of Hugo Chavez or Evo Morales, the revolution lives.

What they didn’t want to see last year

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St Patricks Day Seven minus Elizabeth Fineron and Eric Verlo
What they didn’t want you to see last year… no thrown bottles, no jeers, but crowds cheering for peace! Channel 11 reported “their message was still not received well by everyone” but interviewed only a single detractor who asserted that we weren’t supporting the troops. One out of thousands of friendly waving peace signs. A statistical lie.

Waving from the school bus

Other coverage from KRDO-13, KVOA5/30 and Fox21 was more even handed. The peace message came from others like Kat Tudor with the Smokebrush toaster and its peace toast:

The usual compatible colleagues

And perhaps a new voice, now that the parade allows social messages:

Get Real Colorado

Springs Culture Cast has party for Craig Richardson and Klayton Elliot Kendall of Springs Culture Cast

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Craig Richardson spars with BabetteThe Smokebrush is feting the first anniversary of the Springs Culture Cast enterprise on Thursday night. I love the work Craig and Klayton are doing to illuminate our city’s culture scene. Every weekday the two assemble a four minute segment on local arts. I especially like when their delivery swerves into the theatrical, but I can’t laugh forever at their sledgehammer self-promotion.

Radio segway: “It’s time for the Springs Culture Cast:”

Underwriter credit: “Springs Culture Cast is brought to you by…”

Intro: “Welcome to the radio edition of Springs Culture Cast.”

Reporter: “Hi I’m Craig Richardson with Springs Culture Cast… ”

“…This segment of Springs Culture Cast was produced by Craig Richardson and Klayton Elliot Kendall.

“To explore our video archives, please visit us online at Springs Culture Cast dot com.

“For Springs Culture Cast, this is Craig Richardson.”

Colorado Springs future looking brighter

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Mark Lewis took this photo of Gazette editor and hillbilly blowhard Sean Paige holding court recently in Poor Richards restaurant to discuss his leaving the city daily
Colorado Springs has several attributes which make it a pleasant place to live. Our dry sunny climate of course, and Garden of the Gods, Manitou, The Broadmoor, Colorado College, the Smokebrush Foundation, to leave out quite a bit. Pikes Peak, the Olympic Training Center and NORAD separate us from other provincial backwaters only by giving us a sense that we are on the map.

Since Amendment 2 Colorado Springs has been on the map for our unpleasant demographic. The sagging mental acuity of the Pikes Peak area is something of legend, and lo, increasingly deserved. We owe this to the abundance of military employers, to the continuing influx of fundy revivalists and of course the standard American low expectations for education. But no entity has played a more detrimental role in shaping our pinheads than our city newspaper, the “libertarian” Freedom Communications Gazette. Since the demise/absorption of its competitor the COS Sun, the Gazette Telegraph has warped our city news with impunity.

And none have done it with more mean-spirit and Rush Limbaugh alacrity than Gazette Editorialist Sean Paige. Our own top-tier asshole.

And he’s leaving! Hurray! I wish it had been with tar and feathers. And it’s a rather selfish joy, because doubtless he’s moving somewhere. Wouldn’t it be more noble to know to where, so that instead of passing him off, we could give them a shout and prevent Paige from wreaking his cynical damage in their unsuspecting community?

Reimagining Guernica and Oaxaca

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Mickey Mouse bombs defenseless civiliansThe Smokebrush Gallery has an exhibition of art running through November 19 at its gallery located under the bridge at 218 W. Colorado, on the theme of Pablo Picasso’s epic work in honor of a city destroyed by the Spanish fascists. That city was Guenica, Spain. I enjoyed some of the art I saw during the opening last Friday, and the prices were quite reasonable if one has the desire and money to purchase something there. There was one large painting of Disney Surreal that I liked which was only $200. A total bargain. It would definitely be an attention getter in somebody’s living room, say.

In similar vein to this exhibit, is yet another online video about the events in Oaxaca, which is a surreal montage of video shots mixed with some quite surreal grunge? music. Very effective in communicating the horrors of Mexican government repression in a style that Picasso would certainly have approved of. Check out the sight, and especially the sound, of Reimagining Oaxaca.