Page 20 RAIN September/October 1984 ACCESS: Grassroots Art Wallflower Order Dance Theatre Collective PO Box 3549 Berkeley, CA 94703 Both times 1 have seen Wallflower Order 1 have left the performance with adrenaline flowing and passions stirred. Wallflower's unique and lively performances—mixing dance with strong political commentary, theater, song, sign language, and martial arts—sometimes provoke laughter, sometimes tears, and sometimes new insights. They always inspire renewed commitment to the struggle for a better world. Wallflower is an all-women collective that has been performing and giving workshops since 1975. The name wallflower is a symbol of the group's challenge to female stereotypes: These women do not wait to be asked to dance. Their dance powerfully portrays a variety of themes in women's lives. Most performances serve as fund raisers for organizations committed to social change. Wallflower's workshops aim to "teach people how to transform their own cultural and political ideas into expressive art forms." —FLS Street Murals, by Volker Barthelmeh, 1982,120 pp., $11.95 from: Alfred A. Knopf 201 East 50th Street New York, NY 10022 About 100 color photos of street murals from all around the world are presented in this beautiful book. It has gotten "oohs" and "ahs" from everyone I've shown it to. In addition to the photos, there is a short but informative history of the mural art movement. Street murals can help beautify a community, and they can also provide images to enhance community identity and promote solidarity. If community residents are involved in the design and execution of the mural, they can feel empowered by the process as well as appreciative of the product. Brian Barnes, one of the artists featured in the book, stresses the importance of community participation in his work: "The most impressive way of people being involved in art is undoubtedly through mural painting. After lengthy discussions with local people as to the content of the image, the wall is prepared and squared up. Then, from a scale design, 1 draw the image on the wall with charcoal, and people of all ages set to painting in the area. Depending on their manual dexterity, they paint what they can. If it's only background, color, or portraits, all can be proud of the finished picture." —FLS Wallflower Order (Photo by Martha Stewart)
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