THE PHILADELPHIA FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL or “PHILLY F/M” for short is a four-day festival taking place at over 30 music and film venues, with free outdoor stages, day parties and a record fair. Philly F/M will take place on Thursday, Sept 23 – Sunday, Sept 26th, 2010 and will feature a wide variety of regional, national and international musicians and films. The festival strives to be an annual event that effectively merges independent film and music in new and exciting ways. Instead of segregating them to different venues, the festival will combine the aural and the visual in dynamic settings to engage and foster new audiences for both mediums. Philly F/M will combine screenings with live performances, present a live, improvised film scoring series, screen music shorts and documentaries, curate a local music video expo to tie in the city’s rich musical landscape and screen outdoor films in unique settings. Philly F/M is headquartered at 2424 Studios (2424 E. York Street) in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood. In addition to serving as the Philly F/M headquarters, the “Skybox” will host a record fair and exhibitor area during the festival. This two-day (Saturday/Sunday) event is free and features record vendors and a variety of exhibitors showcasing their music and film related products.

 http://www.phillyfmfest.com/

Artspace Liberti presents its fall show, In3s, paintings by Stephen Evans, Timothy Gierschick II and Matthew Sepielli.  This exhibition runs from September 3- October 23, 2010.  There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 3rd from 7:00-10:00PM featuring a music performance by Good Dust.

These three painters represent three different approaches to non-representational work but all share an affinity for the process of creation and the experiential nature of looking at art. 

Matthew Sepielli’s paintings explore a “what-if” approach to creating art.  What happens when you combine oil paint, Vaseline, glue, white out and other materials into a painting?  Sepielli is interested in the relative “alchemy” of art- combining familiar materials in something unfamiliar, unknown and somewhat unknowable.  
To quote Sepielli: “It is my goal to make works whose physical structure and identity produces a meaning inherent to the moment one encounters the physical object of the work and one whose identity morphs from the moment one encounters the work, to the time one leaves it and remembers it and thus returns- though changed upon a second encounter.”

Conversely, Stephen Evans’ work investigates a more minimal and calculated approach to painting.  The application and development of the works are more deliberate and controlled.  Evans taps into Kandinsky’s views of painting that there is an “initial, physical, and optical reaction to an image that takes place in the eye, but that it may also go further to touch on another level of a being: the emotional and spiritual level.  I believe that the formal issues of art are perfect vehicles for the allegorical, and may further more leave the message to supersede the artwork itself.”

Somewhere between these two approaches lies the work of Timothy Gierschick II.  His paintings appear simultaneously calculated and improvised.  His work is a slow call-and-response.  Gierschick’s paintings are as much an internal dialogue as they are a conversation with the world.  Like Sepielli, his materials are often recycled and repurposed.  Prescription pads, found wood and latex paint are salvaged and reborn, combining seemingly unrelated materials.  Within the structure of the work, color and shape combine and set next to one another in an Albers-like method of communication.

The artists’ reception will be held on September 3rd from 7:00-10:00PM at 2424 E York St in Philadelphia between Gaul and Cedar Sts.

While the gallery does not maintain regular viewing hours, visits can be scheduled by appointment.  Please e-mail us at artspaceliberti@gmail.com to arrange a visit.  Viewing is also possible during Sunday church services between 10:30AM-12:00.  Artspace Liberti is a multi-discipline arts venue organized and maintained by liberti church east.

Artspace Liberti: http://artspaceliberti.blogspot.com

Stephen Evans: http://sevansbooksontape.blogspot.com/ 
Timothy Gierschick II: http://www.gierschickwork.com/ 
Matthew Sepielli: http://matthewsepielli.blogspot.com 

Good Dust: http://www.gooddust.com

Saturday, May 29
9-10 pm: Introductory Tango Class (included in price)
10 pm-4 am: Tanghetto Concert & All-Night Tango Dance with social dancing & tango performances

$35 with advanced purchase/ $40 at the door (discounts available for full-time students with ID).  Tickets & more information at: http://philadelphiatangofestival.com

A 4 am breakfast at our neighborhood French bistro, The Pickled Heron, will be offered at the conclusion of the event.  Tickets to the breakfast must be purchased separately at http://philadelphiatangofestival.com/menu.html)