Meredith Stern

Meredith Stern (sometimes using the pseudonyms "Merry Death" or "Merry Def") is an artist, musician and DJ living in Providence, Rhode Island.

Meredith Stern
DJ Merrydef spinning records at Nowe Miasto
Born	August 31, 1976 (1976-08-31) (age 35) Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Artist, musician, DJ
Years active	1976-present

Biography

Stern went to George School for high school. She later graduated from Tulane University in 1998 with a B.F.A. in ceramics. While living in New Orleans, she collaborated with fellow artists Brice White and Icky Apparatus to create Nowe Miasto, a do-it-yourself warehouse space that has since hosted hundreds of bands and workshops. While living in New Orleans, she wrote several zines, 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 2003 Stern moved to Providence, Rhode Island. She spent several years working as the Program Director for AS220. She is a linoleum block printer and a member of the Justseeds Artist Cooperative. In 2006 she co-curated (with Pippi Zornoza) the "Pocket Change" printmaking show at AS220 featuring 15 contemporary printmakers. Artists included: Jo Dery, Mike Taylor, Neil Burke, Xander Marro, Kenn Speiser, Pippi Zornoza, Jenny Nichols, Cybele Collins, Meredith Stern, Alec Thibodeau, Kasey Henneman, Shawn Gilheeney, Brian Chippendale 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 printmakers in the Josh MacPhee – Erik Ruin book Realizing the Impossible:Art Against Authority (AK Press, 2007).

In 2008 Stern curated Sustainability, a printmaking show of local RI printmakers and Justseeds 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" on Raw Sugar Records with Nazis From Mars. 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 (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 (of the band Sexy Prison). As of 2009 she plays music in a new project with Reba Mitchell (of Made In Mexico) and Hilary Jones (of Sweetthieves and Arcing).

She had a solo show of prints and collages at the Morning Glory Coffeehouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in February 2009. In March 2009 she collaborated with other members of the Justseeds Artist Cooperative on an art installation at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

She has done radio shows sporadically for over ten years. While living in New Orleans she spun on the World Of Punk radio show. Currently she has a show called Listening Party [1] on BSR radio.

Her work is in the permanent collection of Book Arts at the MOMA.

Meredith has been a vegetarian since 1991 and a vegan since 1994.

She currently lives in the only house in Lincoln Woods State Park in Rhode Island with her partner, film and theater director Peter Glantz.

Her work has been published in several poster collection books, most recently including "Green Patriot Posters: Images for a New Activism" edited by Dmitri Siegel and Edward Morris [2010], Metropolis Books, and "Celebrate People's History!: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution" edited by Josh MacPhee, the Feminist Press [2010]. She was interviewed in 2011 by "The Art Of Dismantling."

References

• Miscellaneous Projects, reprinted from Boot Print Volume #2 by Daniel Tucker
• Art of This

[2]

• The Providence Phoenix
• The Vue Weekly
• The Library Journal
• RISCA website

http://pittsburghgalleries.blogspot.com/2009/02/morning-glory-coffeehouse-events.html

http://www.pe3l.com/?p=278

http://providence.thephoenix.com/music/113649-2011-brings-jon-hope-the-mcgunks-jocie-adams-an/?page=1#TOPCONTENT

http://www.artocalypse.com/2009/03/uwm-union-art-gallery-just-seeds.html

http://thephoenix.com/Providence/Arts/91528-Hootenanny/

http://www.discogs.com/Foreheads-The--Nazis-From-Mars-The-Foreheads-Nazis-From-Mars-The/release/808320

http://www.myspace.com/rawsugarrecords

http://www.artbook.com/blog-excerpt-green-patriot.html

http://www.theartofdismantling.com/2011/04/03/meredith-stern/

External links

• Meredith Stern at JustSeeds
• Meredith Stern's zine Crude Noise at ZineWiki
• Meredith Stern's zine Mine at ZineWiki
• http://www.myspace.com/merrydef
• http://www.myspace.com/teenagewaistband
• http://www.myspace.com/bailebaroque
• http://www.bsrlive.com/archives/show.php?s=287

Persondata
Name	Stern, Meredith
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 31, 1976
Place of birth	Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death