“Adventures In Illegal Art” is a 90-minute storytelling and film presentation by Mark Hosler, founding member of Negativland, with Q and A to follow. No lawyers were harmed in the making of this event.

Pranks, media hoaxes, media literacy, the art of audio and visual collage, creative activism in a media saturated multi-national world, file sharing, intellectual property issues, evolving notions of art and ownership and law in a digital age, artistic and funny critiques of mass media and culture, so-called “culture jamming” (a term coined by Negativland way back in 1984).... even if you've never heard of Negativland, if you are interested in any of these issues you’re sure to find this funny and thought provoking presentation worth your time and attention.
Is Negativland a “band”? Media hoaxers? Activists? Musicians? Filmmakers? Culture jammers? An inspiration for the unwashed many? A nuisance for the corporate few? Decide for yourself in this presentation that uses films and stories to illustrate some of the creative projects, hoaxes, pranks and "culture jamming" that Negativland has been doing since 1980.

Most famous for getting sued for their “U2” single, Negativland have had many years of fun being a thorn in the side of the corporate media and entertainment biz. Since 1980 they have been creating records, CDs, video, fine art, books, radio and live performance using appropriated sound, image and text. Mixing original materials and original music with things taken from corporately owned mass culture and the world around them, Negativland re-arranges these found bits and pieces to make them say and suggest things that they never intended to. In doing this kind of cultural archaeology Negativland have been sued twice for copyright infringement and became the subject of Craig Baldwin’s 1995 feature film “SONIC OUTLAWS”. In 2004 Negativland worked with Creative Commons to write the Creative Commons Sampling License, an alternative to existing copyrights that is now in widespread use by many artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and websites, and in 2008 they were invited to joined the advisory board of a progressive Washington DC-based intellectual property advocacy group. They continue to occasionally visit Washington DC as citizen lobbyists about art, creativity, and copyright law.

Visiting Artist Lecture Series: "Through and Beyond the Flower: Judy Chicago"

Judy Chicago will discuss her recent projects, and address censorship issues that surrounded The Dinner Party and the difficulties of finding a permanent home for the work after several museums, the Congress, and even some students, launched protests. Ms. Chicago will offer her current take on the issue of censorship, especially as she looks back and considers how it affected emerging feminist artists in the 1970s, and what has happened since, providing a much needed historical perspective in studying the issue both past and present.