Callie Curry aka Swoon: TED Talk

Swoon, the street artist some of you may know from her works around town, involvement in projects like The Braddock Library print studio, the Transformazium or Braddock Public Art Projects, gave this talk last year. I think it gives a great idea of her motivations, and creative process.

I've had conversations with a few people who point out that her work, comprised mostly around wonderfully crafted block print portraits doesn't break a lot of new ground. On some level, this is true. I myself think she part of an ongoing trend toward artists interested in sincere engagement with something beyond just the art world.

It works both ways, the the free form collaboration she triggers helps her to do things beyond what a single person could alone. She also is less defined and controlled by the need to please a tiny group of dealers, collectors and curators.

She talks about her major projects, like the raft journeys and her recent earthquake resistant house/public space in Haiti.





FYI, I have little new info on how the Transformazium is going or when it might open. Swoon follows a pretty organic process tending to use the efforts of collaborators and grass roots fundraisers, selling prints and some income from her art sales for funding. They did get a modest grant recently as far as I know.