[Scpg] Hello/introduction

[janet owen]

Hello,
I have just joined this list, after having been made aware of it by 
Larry Santoyo. I am a writer and curator currently working on a 
large-scale art project in Downtown LA by artist Lauren Bon called 'Not 
A Cornfield'.

The project lasts for one agricultural cycle and reclaims 32 acres of 
polluted soil for fertility and future public use through the planting 
of a field of corn, which is about to be hand-harvested.

Working on the project has opened my eyes to the urgency of 
re-inventing our relationship with the earth, and to the role and 
responsibility of artists (and writers and curators) in this regard. I 
want to 'plug-in' therefore to the communities of people who are 
already thus engaged, find out more about how I and my colleagues may 
contribute, and also let you know about what we're doing with this 
project.

As one facet of Not A Cornfield we have been organizing many events, 
including a series of conversations/presentations/salons. Larry gave a 
marvellous presentation last Friday and upcoming speakers include Betty 
Fussells on 'The Story of Corn' and Manuel Castells.

I've pasted information about our next talk on Friday October 28th, and 
invite you all to join us.

Warm regards,
Janet Owen

Lauren Bon and Friday Night at Not A Cornfield cordially invite you to:

'The Story of Corn'
Suggesting that every cornfield is far more than just a field of corn, 
award-winning author Betty Fussell speaks to the history, science, 
poetics and politics of one of our most ancient food staples.

Friday October 28, 2005 / 7:30pm - 10:30pm
At the Not A Cornfield project site, 1201 North Spring St.

The Story of Corn
“The industrial eater is…one who does not know that eating is an 
agricultural act, who no longer imagines the connections between eating 
and the land." Betty Fussell, 1992

On the five-week harvest of the Not A Cornfield crop begins, Betty 
Fussell, award-winning author of ‘The Story of Corn’, will speak to the 
history, science, poetics and politics of one of our most ancient food 
staples. From its role in Hopi language and rituals, to the history of 
popcorn (2000-year old poppers have been found in Peru), to the present 
moment of this abundant urban harvest, Dr. Fussell will unfold the 
multi-faceted stories of this genetic marvel, rich symbol, and subject 
of multiple myths.

About Betty Fussell
Shakespearean scholar, memoirist, nationally known expert on food 
systems, food policy and the history of corn, Dr. Betty Fussell is the 
author of ten books, including the award-winning Story of Corn. A 
long-time journalist of food, travel and the dramatic arts, her essays 
have appeared in, among many others, The New York Times, The New 
Yorker, Vogue, Saveur, Connoisseur, Food Arts, Metropolitan Home and 
Gastronomica. She has taught writing at Columbia University and food 
writing at the Greenbrier in West Virginia.

About Not A Cornfield Artist Lauren Bon
Lauren Bon resides in Los Angeles and holds a Masters of Architecture 
degree from MIT and a BA from Princeton. Ms. Bon is a trustee of the 
Annenberg Foundation and President of Not A Cornfield, LLC. Her recent 
urban, public and land art projects in the U.S., Hong Kong, Belfast and 
Northern Ireland, as well as her role as a trustee, make her uniquely 
poised to build the capacity of the Foundation in the area of site 
based philanthropy, serving communities through education, civic, 
health, artistic initiatives and programs. Not a Cornfield art project 
is being developed through a grant by the Annenberg Foundation.

About the Not A Cornfield Project
Growing in the historic center of Los Angeles, the Not Cornfield 
project transforms an industrial brownfield site into a cornfield for 
one agricultural cycle. Now the Los Angeles Historic State Park, the 
site popularly known as 'The Cornfield' had remained derelict for more 
than a decade. The project serves as a potent metaphor that provides a 
focus for reflection and action in a city unclear about the location of 
its energetic and historic center.

About Not A Cornfield Salons
The Story of Corn is one of the ongoing Not A Cornfield Salons that 
bring people together in order to share, engage, energize, and enhance 
the organic nexus that is this project.

Address / Contact / Further Information
1201 North Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(323) 226-1158
(323) 226-9430 (fax)
info at notacornfield.com
www.notacornfield.info







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