Kelly Anderson and James Beckman
The Ante: Art Collective
www.antewire.com
Kelly Anderson is a senior at Columbia College Chicago. He is 22 years old and planning to graduate in the fall of 2005 with a major in Digital Media Technology and a minor in Media Management. In the future he hopes to own and manage a successful creative business. Growing up in the small town of Northfield Minnesota, Kelly began working with digital media before he could even drive. He remembers teaching himself HTML at the age of fourteen and editing his first videos by high school. After graduating, he attended the college in Moorehead Minnesota, but after one semester realized that he needed something more. He decided to move to the big city. He has always been an independent kid. He works hard and would rather see the fruits of his efforts working towards his own causes rather than those of a large corporation. He is currently focusing attentions on the Ante:wire, and has been developing his skills in project management as he redesigns the Ante: collectives website (www.antewire.com).
James Beckman is one of the founding members of the ante: art collective, based in Chicago's west town area. He spend his childhood in the Pfalz region of Germany as well as the mountains of Burlington Vermont. A camera given to him by his grandfather altered his path from the political science arena to the art world. He began at Columbia College in 2002 in the Photography department, shooting a variation on fashion photography people described as ?hyper-sexualized' and ?darkly moody'. Later he moved into the fine arts department where his mentors included text artist Adam Brooks and Performance artist Mathew Wilson (www.industryoftheordinary.com), as well as conceptual artist Phil Berkman. James now works predominately in the areas of installation and performance, but regularly produces works in every medium from pinhole photography to fiberglass resin sculpture. In the ante: art collective, James does a little bit of everything as well, from promoting the gallery (his ?official' role) to curating the current two-person gallery events, each month through May of 2005.
Session 1: Student led Session: The ?Do it Yourself' Mindset
The session will begin with an explanation of what the ante: art collective is, as well as a history of the group; from its inception by two art students to its current incarnation of six like-minded individuals working on the various branches: the ante:room gallery space on Grand Avenue, the antewire.com digital domain project, and the antre:thesis fiction magazine (whose third issue was released the last week of January 2005) We will then move into the focus of the discussion.
The ?do it yourself' mindset is crucial to the entirety of our collective. The professional art world can be a very intimidating place. Established gallery owners seem to be the only people to have a voice in the arts community, and this can be a deterrent. We want to emphasize that just because you are a student, or even just because you're ?young', doesn't mean you should put off ideas that might normally be reserved for the professional world. Finding those in your community who are dedicated to their craft is important. We will discuss ways to promote your cause and find others like yourself who are equally motivated in the fight against lethargic attitudes. Finding these people are crucial; it is otherwise easy to find yourself overwhelmed with projects and tasks.
Aside from the issue of motivation and community, they will also address their experiences with organization within the group. The horizontal structure of the collective, their weekly meetings, the importance of open communication, as well as committees that have been formed within the collective will be discussed in detail. The session will then conclude with a question and answer session.