Meredith Stern (sometimes using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s "Merry Death" or "Merry Def") is an artist, musician and

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

living in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

Biography

Stern went to

George School George School is a private Religious Society of Friends, Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks ...

for high school. She later graduated Cum Laude from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...

in 1998 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics. While living in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Nowe Miasto, a

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and se ...

warehouse space that has since hosted hundreds of bands and workshops. While living in New Orleans, she wrote several

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

s, including ''Mine: An Anthology of Women's Choices'' and ''Mine: An Anthology of Reproductive Choices'', and published several issues of a personal zine called ''Crude Noise''. In 2005 Stern moved to Providence, Rhode Island. She spent several years working as the program director for

AS220 As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...

. She is a

linoleum Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canva ...

block print Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is creat ...

er and a member of the

Justseeds Justseeds Artists' Cooperative is a decentralized, worker-owned cooperative of thirty artists throughout North America. Justseeds members primarily produce handmade prints and publications which are distributed through their website and at confe ...

Artist Cooperative. In 2006 she co-curated (with

Pippi Zornoza Pippi Anne Zornoza (born 1978) is an American interdisciplinary artist working in visual art, performance art, and music, and co-founder of the Providence-based artist collective Dirt Palace and Hive Archive. Biography Zornoza received a B.F.A ...

) the "Pocket Change" printmaking show at AS220 featuring 15 contemporary printmakers. Artists included: Jo Dery, Mike Taylor,

Neil Burke Neil Burke is an American musician and artist. He is known as a former member of several hardcore punk and noise rock bands, most notably Born Against and Men's Recovery Project. Burke is currently a poster artist, graphic designer and screen ...

Xander Marro Xander Marro (born 1975) is an American artist, underground puppet maker, and arts non-profit director based in Providence, Rhode Island. Work She is a member of the Dirt Palace, a feminist art collective, where she makes movies, puppet shows, ...

, Kenn Speiser, Pippi Zornoza, Jenny Nichols, Cybele Collins, Meredith Stern, Alec Thibodeau, Kasey Henneman, Shawn Gilheeney,

Brian Chippendale Brian Chippendale (born July 22, 1973) is an American musician and artist, known as the drummer and vocalist for the experimental noise rock band Lightning Bolt and for his graphic art. Chippendale is based in Providence, Rhode Island. Brian ...

and Katie Truskoski. Also in 2006, Meredith and Erik Ruin collaborated on "Rude Awakenings" a two-person art show at Art of This Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stern also orchestrated the chapter “Subversive Multiples: A Conversation between contemporary printmakers” on

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

printmakers in the

Josh MacPhee Josh MacPhee is an artist, curator, stonemason and activist living in Brooklyn, New York. Career Josh MacPhee's work as a socially-engaged artist and designer focuses on production and distribution of political graphics. Originally from Hollis ...

– Erik Ruin book ''Realizing the Impossible:Art Against Authority'' (

AK Press AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned. History AK was founded in Stirling, S ...

, 2007). In 2008 Stern curated ''Sustainable: Visions for a Living Planet'', a printmaking show of local RI printmakers and

members. Her first band was called the Foreheads and featured Alec (Icky) Dunn on Tuba, and Stella Schumaker on guitar. In 2001 they released a split 7-inch on Raw Sugar Records. In 2002 she played music with Deanna Hitchcock in a band called The Accident. In 2003 she played in a short lived band with Adee Roberson (of the band New Bloods) and Lacey and Billy in a band called Blood Truck. From 2007 to 2008 she played drums in the band Teenage Waistband with Jo Dery (artist) who sang, Mikey Stoltz (bass) formerly from the band Reactionary 3, and Kate Gronner (formerly of the band The Coughs). They released 2 cassette tapes. From 2008-2009 she played drums in Chastity Wig, with Mike Stoltz, and Robert Pickle. As of 2009 she plays music in a new feminist identified music project calle
Whore Paint
with Reba Mitchell (of Made In Mexico) and Hilary Jones (of Sweetthieves and Arcing). The band was interviewed in 2013 by Jaime Lowe for

Bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places *Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

. Whore Paint was mentioned as a notable band in the December 24, 2013, issue of the Providence Phoenix in an article titled "Reeling through 2013." They also spoke at a panel at Wesleyan University in 2013. In 2013 Whore Paint released a full-length LP on

Load Records Load Records was an American experimental music-oriented independent record label based out of Providence, Rhode Island. "Load Records might possibly be in possession of the world's most challenging record roster," writes Mark Hensch of Thrash Pi ...

and a music video directed by Peter Glantz. In 2012 she coordinated a print portfolio project called "This is an Emergency!". The project combines visual images and intergenerational essays. Over 2 dozen people collaborated to create work about gender justice. This portfolio is now in University archives around North America including the

Sarah Doyle Women's Center The Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender (SDCWG), formerly the Sarah Doyle Women's Center, is a center at Brown University, which "seeks to provide a comfortable, yet challenging place for students, faculty, and staff to examine the multitude ...

at Brown University,

Keene State College Keene State College is a public liberal arts college in Keene, New Hampshire. It is part of the University System of New Hampshire and the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Founded in 1909 as a teacher's college (originally, Keene Norma ...

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design or NSCAD, is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The univ ...

, and many others. She had a solo show of prints and collages at the Morning Glory Coffeehouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in February 2009. Her first solo show in Providence, RI was in April 2014 and was titled, "Generations , 8 Chapters Blooming" which featured a series of large collages and porcelain platters. The show was featured in the April 10, 2014, edition of the Providence Journal in an article titled, "Politics, Activism, and Cool Cats." The work was also reviewed by Greg Cook for the Providence Phoenix in an extended article about her and the work titled, "Personal Politics." In March 2009 and May 2013 she collaborated with other members of the

Artist Cooperative on an art installation at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

. In 2012 she was part of the installation of the Justseeds "Agit-Prop and Intervention" show in Berlin, Germany. In 2011 she was part of installing "Refuge" at Gallery Alkatraz in the 29th Graphics Biennial in Slovenia. In July 2008 she collaborated on a Justseeds installation titled "Out of the Shell of the Old" at Space1026 in Philadelphia, Pa. In February 2020 she had a solo show of printmaking and ceramic work at the AS220 Project Space in Providence, Rhode Island. It included 20 relief prints in her "Cooperation Cats" Series and the 32 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She also collaborated with her 4 year old child on several ceramic mugs and teapots. She has done radio shows sporadically for over ten years. While living in New Orleans she spun on the ''World Of Punk'' radio show. She also had a show called
Listening Party
' on BSR radio. Her work is in the permanent collection of Book Arts at th
MOMA
the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

the RISD Museum and the Newport Art Museum. Meredith has received project grants from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Puffin Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Rhode Island Foundation, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and Choice USA. She received the RISCA Merit Fellowship in Drawing and Printmaking in 2017 and the RISCa Fellowship in Drawing and Printmaking in 2019. Meredith has been a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat ( red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetaria ...

since 1991 and a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

since 1994. She currently lives in Rhode Island with her partner, film and theater director

Peter Glantz Peter Glantz is an American director of theater and film, notably the films ''Lightning Bolt - Power Of Salad'' and the music video DVD ''Pick A Winner'', both released through the record label Load Records. About He recently co-wrote, wrot ...

. Her work has been published in several poster collection books including "''Green Patriot Posters: Images for a New Activism''" edited by Dmitri Siegel and Edward Morris

010 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the ...

Metropolis Books, "''Celebrate People's History!: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution''" edited by Josh MacPhee, the Feminist Press

Wunderground, and World War 3 Illustrated. She was interviewed in 2011 by
The Art Of Dismantling
" She has spoken at several colleges including Keene State College with

Sue Coe Sue Coe (born 1951) is an English artist and illustrator working primarily in drawing, printmaking, and in the form of illustrated books and comics. Her work is in the tradition of social protest art and is highly political. Coe's work often in ...

at Wesleyan University, at the University of Connecticut Dodd Center at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. In 2013 Meredith presented an artist talk on the Brown University campus entitled "Hear Us Roar! Surviving Contemporary Patriarchy Through Subversive Creation." The July 7, 2013, issue of the Providence Journal discussed her upcoming artist talk at the RISD Museum titled, "Getting Dirt Under Your Nails" as part of the ''Locally Made'' Exhibit. In March 2023 she spoke at her alma mater, Tulane University in New Orleans.

Artistic Style

Meredith Stern is a feminist artist and curator who uses linoleum block prints and print collages as her primary medium. Her work focuses on cooperation and mutual aid. About her work she writes, "I hope to celebrate the ideas of love and peace and encourage everyone to believe that these ideas are possible for all of us. The path towards peace is a world where we all work together to erradicate ic?fear and war and greed and competition. At the heart of social change, is mutual aid and cooperation which are the methods towards liberation for everyone." Her work uses an "intersectional feminist interruption" which she describes as a way "to create a path towards gender equality that operates beyond binaries, that specifically addresses the intersections of domination and discrimination between various forms of oppression. This framework depends on us working collectively and actively to shift our thinking, our institutions, our society and our culture." Her artistic influences include

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African American sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in th ...

and

Wangechi Mutu Wangechi Mutu (born 1972) is a Kenyan-born American visual artist, known primarily for her painting, sculpture, film, and performance work.German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

Russian Constructivism Constructivism is an early twentieth-century art movement founded in 1915 by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko. Abstract and austere, constructivist art aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space. The movement rejected de ...

, and

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

. She often uses cats as the characters within her prints so the viewer can "allow themselves to be transported into the activities being presented in a fantastical and playful way."

Representation in other media

She is featured in a documentary called "RI Art Archive Project: Female Forces: Women in RI Art" released in 2016 which features a dozen Rhode Island women artists and archivists. She is featured as an artist in Dr. Joseph Chazan's NetWorks 2016 documentary project of Rhode Island artists which screened on Rhode Island PBS. Her work has been used as set dressing in several tv shows and movies including the 2014 remake of Annie, the 2018 film

Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' is a 2018 American biographical film directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by Lee Israel. Melissa McCarthy stars ...

And in an upcoming film featuring Pete Davidson and directed by Judd Apatow called

The King of Staten Island ''The King of Staten Island'' is a 2020 American comedy-drama film directed by Judd Apatow, from a screenplay by Apatow, Pete Davidson, and Dave Sirus. It stars Davidson, Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Maude Apatow, and Steve Buscemi, an ...

References

External links

Meredith Stern at JustSeeds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Meredith 1976 births Living people American women drummers American feminist artists American feminist musicians 20th-century American Jews American Quakers American printmakers American women printmakers Intersectional feminism 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American women artists 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American drummers George School alumni Artists from Rhode Island Tulane University alumni Quaker feminists 21st-century American Jews