CCLaP

Greetings, if this is your first time to the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography; my name is Jason Pettus, CCLaP's Executive Director, and I welcome you. I thought I would take a moment, for all of you who are new, to explain exactly what the center is all about, and what exactly we do. This information is also laid out all pretty-like in a PDF brochure, for those who would prefer reading it that way; simply right-click on this link and choose "Save Link As..." to your hard drive.

CCLaP's mission is to connect underground artists of outstanding quality with the audience eagerly seeking these artists; we do this by maintaining a uniquely personal relationship not only with our artists but with our audience as well. It's to both groups that we seek advice, project ideas, tips on who to feature, even hosts of our live events, workshops and clubs. And instead of maintaining separate membership and artist-development programs, CCLaP combines the two into one, bringing both artists and patrons together in not only a professional but social way.

CCLaP's specific list of products and services can be broken down into the dozens, but roughly fall under one of the following groups:

Live events: Those we usually charge an admission fee for, unless otherwise noted. Includes the weekly CCLaP Slam; monthly CCLaP Showcases; monthly CCLaP Sessions; as well as special events. All events, unless otherwise noted, are $3 for the general public, free for both Members and Fellows.

Creative work: A growing collection of artistic work on display, made by both Members and Fellows of CCLaP, as well as fans and audience members. This collection will also be turned into merchandise, starting later this year, that will be sold online and in general gift stores in the Chicago area; it is the main way our for-profit center plans on paying our bills.

Community events: Those that are usually free to the general public, unless otherwise noted, most also organized and run by our Members and Fellows. Includes workshops on both artistic and business issues; a series of discussion and hobbyist clubs; an entire series of intelligent family events; as well as our special "CCLaP After Dark" series, specifically for those over the age of 21.

CCLaP Online: Special online features we offer only at our website. Includes a regularly-updated podcast; an ever-growing collection of frequently asked questions; a collection of over 30 RSS feeds; as well as a special section called the Sandbox, where artistic work is released under a special Creative Commons license, for other artists around the world to use legally in "mash-ups." This section will also eventually include the "Cafe Network," a new social network CCLaP will sponsor, linking visual artists with the cafes and other retail spaces in Chicago that feature artists, as well as the audience looking for both these artists and venues. It will also eventually include a wiki, maintained by our Members and Fellows, entitled "The CCLaP Guide to Being a Self-Sustaining Artist."

Publications: Starting early in 2007, there will also be a publications section to the CCLaP website, where you will not only be able to download the latest eBooks for free, but also directly order and pay for our latest paper books, to be FedExed or mailed straight to your home. (CCLaP is currently seeking a publications intern for the 2007 winter semester; to get an early jump, contact us now.)

Regular events start in September 2006; CCLaP is currently hosting a series of special one-time events throughout the summer. To learn more about any of these products or services, please click on their category in the sidebar menu.

I know I've been bugging some of you a long time about this now, but the day is finally here: CCLaP is now ready to start featuring your creative work, in all media. To send something for consideration, simply email it to us; or point us to a place on the web where it already exists.

The main point of sending us work, of course, is because of our Fellowship program; anyone who gives us the right to publish three original pieces, in fact, automatically qualifies for free admission to all our live events, or free copies of our first ten books as an out-of-town alternative. We then use this material to not only drive more traffic to this website, and not only to promote you and your work, but also as the basis for our merchandise program, coming later this year, which is the way our for-profit center will end up paying most of our bills.

Remember, you are not giving up final rights to this work by becoming a Fellow; you are still free to do whatever you want with it, just that you're giving us the right to occasionally reprint it as well. Also keep in mind that your work is never edited without your permission, and that your name always appears when it's published. (If you do want us to edit your work, by the way, simply ask; it's a free service we offer all Fellows.) And don't forget, we also ask artists to consider publishing at least one of their pieces in our Sandbox as well, in that case under a more liberal Creative Commons license, so that other artists around the world can use that piece in their own "mash-ups."

We accept just about every type of artistic work out there, from poems to book reviews, photographs to scanned paintings, MP3s and videos as well. No level of expertise or experience required; we simply ask that it be something interesting, something you don't mind having your name associated with. We here at CCLaP look forward to seeing what you all have been working on, and with sharing that work with the rest of our global audience.

For those who are interested in tracking just the newest creative work here, by the way, we have a special HTML page that always shows the latest, as well as a special RSS feed just for those entries.

An upper-class woman gets her first taste of a war-torn country, while a child dreams of a world he can never experience. "Angels," a new short story from CCLaP Fellow Scott Ridgway (bio). if viewing this from the front page or an RSS feed, click the link you see below to read.

A young man from a small town dreams of moving to the big city; then actually does so and realizes that the party ended a long time ago. "Cantaloupe," a new story by CCLaP Fellow Kathryn O'Halloran (bio). Don't forget, Kathryn also maintains a personal journal online, for those who like this story and would like to read more of her work.

Click on the link below to read the story, if you're viewing this from the front page or an RSS feed; or just keep reading, if you're at the archived entry.

He loves cartoons, hates dogs, and needs his mom's permission to go outside. Oh, and he's the leader of the free world. "W the Drunken President and the Flooded State," a new absurdist fairytale by CCLaP Fellow Scott Ridgway (bio, interview). And don't forget, Scott has a personal journal as well, for those who would like to read more of this type of work.

Click the link below to read the story, if you're viewing this from the front page or an RSS feed; or just keep reading, if you're at the archived entry. Caution: This story contains profane language and themes.

Two lovers attend a county fair; one of them gets more than they bargained for on the rollercoaster. "Shiny Things," a new story by CCLaP Fellow Kathryn O'Halloran (bio, category page, RSS feed). CAUTION: This story contains explicit language.

Today's photograph is the first one we've exhibited by new Fellow Brian Heiser (bio, category page, RSS feed). This is one of over 50 photographs that Brian has donated the publishing rights to, and I'm not sure why I picked this particular one as the first; perhaps because it combines so many of the things about Brian's work overall that I like...

--A great sense of formalism, not only in composition but in gray tones;
--A twist towards the surreal, with unique lighting effects that invoke the Victorian Age;
--And a tight focus on subject matter, concentrating mostly on images that are inherently interesting.

Plus, I love that he just candidly took this photo on a contemporary Chicago sidewalk one day, yet looks like it could be a still from a 50-year-old French New Wave flick. That says a lot not only about Chicago, I think, but of Brian's skills as a photographer; you can look forward to a lot more over the coming months.

Please note that this photo's title merely reflects CCLaP's numbering system for Brian's work, and was not deliberately chosen by Brian as this image's name. To see a larger (700-pixel) version, please click on the smaller image above.

By the way, I thought there was something fishy about Brian's original self-portrait! I thought maybe it was just a much older photo of himself, from before I knew him; but then after editing the rest of his submissions, realize that he'd simply mislabeled one of them as his pick for his bio. The one above is actually Brian, which as friends can attest looks much more like him than the last one; it's been replaced in his official bio here as well. As before, click on that smaller image if you'd like to see a larger one. Sorry for the confusion, Brian!