Maccabi Game Banners

On November 6, 2025 the JCC maintenance crew installed a new series of six 4’ x 8’ banners by artist Michael B Schwartz at the Tucson J, located at 3800 E. River Road in Tucson, AZ

The twelve designs celebrate the key values of the Maccabi Games. 

The creative project was commissioned as a way to remember the excitement of the Summer 2025 Tucson JCC Maccabi Games®. 

The week long Olympic style event drew hundreds of youth athletes from around the world to celebrate and connect. From tennis, basketball and soccer to dance, healthy competition and sportsmanship are central themes. 

The games revolve around six values;

Ga'Ava- Pride

 Kavod- Respect

Amit Yehudit - Jewish Peoplehood

Tikkun Olam - Repairing the World

 

Rina  - Joy

 
Lev Tov - Big Hearted

My assignment was to create simple works that would be easy for participants to help paint. I mixed a color pallet that corresponds to the official colors of the game and the Tucson J. Each banner was hemmed, with space for the trapeze bars. Then I primed each side and transferred the 12 designs with pencil. Each banner has a Hebrew and English side. 

Over several days participants and I painted the vinyl banners. We used trapeze bars to suspend the works from the high ceilings. The whimsical designs look beautiful flowing above people as the move through the brightly lit atrium like hallway. 

If you are in the area stop by and see these works, and while there take a stroll through the sculpture garden & galleries. It’s a busy, fun center with an amazing indoor and out door sports areas, ongoing workshops, lectures and more. 

LIVEARTS 4U: Postal Arts, the Mail Art Movement

The Mail, or Postal Art movement finds it’s roots in the FLUXIS movement of the 1950’s. 
Mark Bloch is often thought of as establishing the movement, having founded the The Postal Art Network (PAN) and maintaining archives spanning from 1978-2009.  The Mail art movement is notorious for circumventing the traditional art distribution systems of galleries and museums. The movement is decentralized, thoughtful, humorous, warm and seems to ebb and flow depending on the mood of the day. 

Today museums keep Mail Art in their archives, understanding that the movement, while still active, remains a distinct part of our cultural memory. The Smithsonian,  Getty, and even Oberlin College maintain beautiful collections. 

This movement has many voices, multiple aesthetics and various ritual practices. Some works you might keep, others get passed on to the next artist. Sometimes a work is diverted to a museum of cultural institution. Artists like Cracker Jack Kid were really prolific, and it was fun to pass on that work to the next artist. One could go further and trace the origins to the anti war sentiments expressed by earlier Dada and Surrealist artists, artist correspondence and absurdist movements. 

Mail, Postal Correspondence and Postcard Arts projects remain part of our contemporary discourse. Artists and cultural workers formally and informally sharing works and ideas via the postal service. Clearly the two dimensionality of digital platforms has offered additional platforms and means of dialogue and collaboration.While this is true, the textural qualities of Mail Art remain crisp and relevant today. 

So. What you will need to get started:

Materials to have ready: 

• Scissors
• Markers
• Stamps
• Glue
• Envelopes
• Blank paper
• Collage materials

Are you ready to apply for a few shows? Here are a few sources to get you going. 

Mail Art Portugal  - a well trusted international source

New Museum of Networked Art: Mail Art Call to Artists

Samples from the Postal Art Project of 1992 (Click on image to see a larger version) 
Works were exhibited, amended, then sent back out through the postal art networks. Other works were donated to various archives and collections. 

Postal Art Broadside, USA, 1992

 

Postal Art Distribution Box, USA, 1992

Stamp Art (1) (2), Global, 1992

Mike Duquette correspondence, Canada 1992

Border Arts Workshop, USA 1992

Spiral Kid, USA1992

Rene Heybach, USA 4 Postcards, 1992

 

Mail Art Network Collage, from Il Dibattito: The Stranger, Italy 1992

Michael Schwartz, USA, Top Secret 1992

Timetrack Poster, Osaka, Japan, 1992

Live Arts 4.U: Eco.Arts.Ology

 

Art.ology: Story Vessels was a subscription based interactive arts project informed by  backyard archeological discoveries. Join me to find out what happened when I started digging in my backyard during COVID. 

Join the conversation:
Wed 6pm Sept 17
Live on Insta @MBSarts

Dive Deeper: 
Arts.Ology: Introduction
What is ArtOlogy?
Investigating a Hires Root Beer Bottle
Apothecary and Druggist Bottles

Order a Digitalized PDF Catalogue of the Art.Ology project, emailed directly to you. 

 

 

Moving Drawing Series #1-5

Conceptual artist Michael B Schwartz will be unveiling a series of moving drawings, live on his instagram account 6pm (MST) on September 3, 2025. 

This series of five “moving drawings” were assembled following the COVID lock-down, and edited in 2022. Schwartz created them with hundreds of stills stitched together using iMovie. Each 1-2 minute long work features a different painting as a background. When viewed sequentially we see an evolution of techniques.

The series was originally shared with a small group of subscribers to the 2020 Eco.Art.Ology project.  This series of animations are a companion to the 2022 Art.Ology Catalogue. You can order a copy of the catalogue on the artists website. 

The artist explains that the objective was to explore new media. 

“The goal was to apply old school concepts, such as claymation and hand drawing, to the new technologies I had available. I’m illustrating this idea that the ordinary can be beautiful. My color field paintings are like looking at clouds, different images emerge and then fade away, I wanted a way of expressing that. The story of course always changes, and these films are capturing one narrative inspired by a painting in that particular moment.”

The five released works include; Run 1, Run 2, Seed House, Fish Story and Moon Island. To enjoy these works you can click this link. 

For more information and full fall 2025 schedule visit: https://michaelbschwartz.com/

Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week features work by Michael B. Schwartz

 

The Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week made its debut on the national arts scene, with over 14,000 attendees descending upon WestWorld of Scottsdale during the four day festival. This past March 20-23, 2025, over 100 galleries from nine countries showcased internationally known and emerging visual artists from throughout the world. The event marked a pivotal turning point for the the Southwestern Art scene.

I was selected to participate in this amazing inaugural exhibit with the ArtLink booth.
I submitted a work entitled “Ganim” (Gardens in Hebrew), created in 2023. It’s an acrylic painting on canvas, 36” x 48” x 1.5”. 

 

“Ganim”

The work represents this idea of rebirth, renewal and growth, while acknowledging our individual and collective suffering. This idea that the “wheat shall grow again” is comforting, to know that there harmony and peace exist in the world, and we must intentionally be it’s stewards.

Check out my website to find more artworks, and perhaps one that’s perfect for your collection. 

Prism/Transitions Installation 2025 Art Link PRISM Gala

 I was honored to be part of the 2025 Art Link PRISM Gala at the Biltmore Fasion Park in Phoenix AZ. This stunning collaboration includes visual art by Michael B Schwartz and the sensational Ruby Farias Designs who created three unique party dresses.

Thank you to her amazing models Vera Rosalind and Anastasia Stock!

The group exhibit will be up through the end of March, 2025 at the Biltmore Fashion Park next to Ralph Lauren in downtown Phoenix, AZ.

“Prism/Transitions” Installation
(5) 57” x 144” Drops
Acrylic on 8 gauge Mylar
Lamenate on Cardboard, Lights, Acrylics
© 2025 Michael B Schwartz

#artlink #artdcoregala #artlinkgala #PRISM #prismgala #artistsaz #artdetour #prismexhibition #MBSarts #Installation #SparksOfLight

Process shots: measuring, weaving, cutting.

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