Art Aggression

Hey, cunts.  Being a woman does not obligate me to feel offended, debased, or impotent by the presence of art in museums by artists who abused women in their personal lives.  I am not bothered and I am not sorry I am not bothered.  I can manage all on my own to direct my energy toward activities calling for change in law enforcement and the legal system in regard to abuse issues.  I do not have to ignore pivotal works that changed the direction of art just because Andre this or Picasso that.  We can broaden the conversation and modify context but the art is still part of the history of art.  Learn how to deal with your purposely over-sensitive trigger syndrome and deal with shit.

Gone

Sometimes I remember little things that have been lost.
The notebook of poetry and observations
and other bits I wrote on that trip.

A bundle of love letters written  
by a nineteen year old who detailed his days 
and gently phrased his affection.

A bracelet bought from a street stall in Boston.

A small stuffed panda with ripped seams at the armpits.

These are just material things.  They say the best things are memories.
But memories are not fact, memories are oft inaccurate.
Those things were constants, fixed points
of the experiences and faces that presented those gifts.

Lines Composed On the Drive Home

Old men with their stump teeth

eating stinky cheeses

and singing beer soaked songs

of a sadder, more glorious day.

Central Connecticut State University Destroys Student Murals on Public Property

I found this update today in my headline feed:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Br0_tV-wrz9GtnJyuSH_CDyWKREd68GjW2BFlnq6WjY/pub

And I wrote a letter to CCSU President, Jack Miller. 

Mr. Miller;

As an alumna of Central Connecticut State University, a former employee of CCSU's Art Galleries, and a Master of Arts in Art and Design History, I find the University's action of destroying thoughtful and esthetic works of art on public grounds disgraceful and humiliating.

This action could be undertaken only by an authoritarian or coward who has no other way to make a mark on the community he is said to serve except to engage in a radical exercise of pedagogic narcissism. Many of the works in question reflect topics and issues these students pursue through their education and study. Do you really feel threatened by a math student who finds beauty in string theory? In destroying these murals, you are saying that there is no room for creative learning or interdisciplinary development at CCSU.

Congratulations on undermining the student population in the Art Department and embarrassing the University generally with this obscene and petty action. I now feel ashamed to associate myself with the institution and have lost any hope that CCSU creates an environment of free thinking, critical inquiry, or informed self expression among its diverse body of students and faculty alike.

Shame on you.
Krista Azzara
CCSU Graduate 1993, BA English Literature
Kingston University Graduate, 2008, MA Art and Design History

Update May 16

This email arrived in my inbox yesterday from Mike Alewitz, Professor of Art at CCSU.

Dear Friends,

You are among dozens, if not hundreds, of concerned individuals that have written to stop the wanton destruction of our murals.  I have posted a selection of these at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jEPzbK1IP6B5qKuLe3zEcehLbfCtU7kfIWtNm00pLik/pub

In response to the flood of protests against the mural destruction, President Jack Miller of CCSU is sending the following or a similar message:

“There seems to be some false information being spread by people.  The facts are simply these.  It is a longstanding written policy of the University to remove murals after each semester, although we normally don't do it that often, nor have we in this case.  We do it mainly so that new murals can be painted by our students.”

or

“It is not true. They are periodically “destroyed” which means painted over so students can paint new ones. This is done by longstanding policy and everyone is aware of that policy. Thanks for your interest."

Facts:

There has never been a time, in the fourteen years of the program, that murals been painted out to provide space for other students.  There are thousands of empty walls and numerous buildings that have no murals at all. 

There is no policy calling for the periodic destruction of murals.  The rare removal of a mural was always done in consultation with faculty.

Neither I, nor the students, were notified prior to the destruction.

President Miller’s statement to you, and similar comments to the press, is completely untrue.

Thank you for supporting academic and artistic freedom!

Regards

Mike

Updated 5-22:

http://academeblog.org/2014/05/21/why-bureaucrats-fear-art/





 

Be Critical of Your Own Team, Too

So I was following Abortion.com for a while on Facebook because it is a good way to keep up with the news and actions on the rights campaigns.  Recently, they posted an article about easing adoption laws in Ohio and the relation of that to the restriction of access to abortion services in that state.  The status line they gave to their post was this, "The problem is that it has been historically proven that Forced Birthers do not desire to adopt and take (care) of children."

And that is something I was curious about so I asked them where I could find evidence of this claim.  Now, I am pro-abortion; anyone who wants access to services should get access without question or interference.  But I don't like unsupported statements, even if they make a point that supports my views on an issue.

They suggested I look at what the GOP is doing right now and pasted in a picture of the face of Jesus.  Which was strange to me and I asked if the GOP was really post-carding Jesus online, to which they took offense.  And then they asked me to "Please explain how the GOP presently choosing to not cover 40,000,000 americans with healthcare is a humane and pro life concept . . ."

In fact, I never made any mention of that and my views on GOP interference in health care is not relevant to whether or not Abortion.com will provide me the statistical surveys that prove their conclusion that forced birthers do not adopt or care for children.  I pointed this out and persisted in my singular question.

They responded by stating, ""We have asked over a million Christian Anti Abortion Pro Death Anti Lifers if they have adopted a frozen embryo that they believe to be a baby , and zero in absolute numbers, and zero percent have adopted a frozen embryo."  And that's pretty extensive on their part so where can I find the link to the stats to see that evidence?  Any good skeptic won't simply take your word for it; just offer up the substantive proof that you have done this and quantified the numbers. 

I probably shouldn't be that bent but it really rubs me the wrong way that any organization thinks they can ignore this basic level of exchange of facts, particularly when much of what that organization is concerned about is the false and unsubstantiated claims of their opposition.  By not revealing their statistical analysis for this, Abortion.com's statements appear hyperbolic.

Here's the thing: Abortion.com made a statement and it carries authority because it is a statement made by a legitimate, organized agency.  They have an obligation to provide evidence to support such claims if they are questioned, specifically because of the authority their group commands.  Interestingly, the comment I made pointing this out to them was deleted from their thread. 

They have also informed me that to identify as pro-abortion because I support access to services is "inaccurate".  Also a claim they cannot verify.  I imagine most people who support the right to these services will identify as pro-choice, fair enough.  I do not because even pro-life is a choice and I find "choice" an apologetic view.   To this, I should ask if Abortion.com thinks there is a correct personality and perspective required of all persons who support this right.  I haven't asked; they clearly aren't capable of answering such a thing.  I did ask if the web exchange was with the same person or if everyone in the organization is that feeble minded.  That's my fault and their defensive avoidance became frustrating for me.

So now they have let me know that their site is for those who are educated at the graduate level and who work in the ob/gyn profession.  Well, that's news to me -- and if you've ever seen the persuasive and emotional types of posts they share, that should be news to you.  In fact, their website exists to help you get in touch with a provider if you are seeking services and their Facebook page posts just as much opinion as they do news,  much of which is in the social/political realm, not the medical.  And if someone never finished college, she isn't smart enough to follow the information or want to be in touch with the news? 

"Our guess from what you have written is you do not have the graduate level education and experience in OB, Gyn, Reproductive Endocrinology, and Maternal Fetal Medicine, needed to discuss these complicated issues.  Please tell us if we are mistaken."  Now, I am not trained in women's health but I do have a master's degree, though I don't know what that has to do with anything.  What complicated issues?  Women's rights over their own health is a conversation best left to the medical community and not open to all women?  That's news.

And how complicated can it be to provide one answer to one question -- a link to the survey analysis that proves forced birthers do not adopt or care for children?  Not having training in women's health means I simply am too incompetent to look at that information and make sense of it?  Thank you very much for trusting me, a woman, with information.

Here's the post.
And here's their website, in case you know anyone who needs it.

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!

I sent a note to my Congressional Representative, Elizabeth Esty (D, CT-5).  While I agree with her vote on the recent food assistance bill, I am disgusted at the result of the House vote.  Here  is an article about the bill and House vote. 

And here is what I had to say in response:

Exactly what happens in Congress? Here's a thing -- let's cut the defense budget since even DOD said they don't need the allotment. Let's get rid of oil subsidies. Eliminate loopholes on corporate taxes. How are those of us who make the choice to stop paying student loans so we can eat the cause of the problem?

And as far as the farm subsidies go: I want regional agriculture with a greatly reduced reliance on food being grown and transported at 3000 miles to market. If we're going to cut back in our personal lives, tell people they just can't have strawberries all year long. Limit the amount of food that is imported, make reasonable exceptions for items that can't be grown in smaller growing regions.

Stop subsidies to companies who grow crops primarily for packaged and modified food manufacturers and give better protections to farmers who grow food for direct consumption.

And here's a crazy thought: start creating jobs, raise the minimum wage, and create standards that guarantee adults full time hours at full pay with overtime -- then maybe we can buy our food for ourselves. Or pay our loans.

It's All I've Got

In light of the Zimmerman ruling, a friend of mine who is black asked his circle what he should tell his son.  Dude, I don't know what you should tell your son.  But what can I say about it?

Injustice exists.  Not just where you are but everywhere.  Sometimes people are treated unfairly, are hurt, are damaged, are killed.  When that happens as a result of human actions against others, it is wrong.  Always.  Not just when the victim looks like you or lives like you or eats like you or believes like you or has sex like you...  It is wrong, period.  Always. 

Much of what happens is a result of what some people assume or believe about other people.  Many of the ideas we have about one another are sometimes right and often wrong.  That is true about a single individual whom you judge on gossip rather than personal interaction, and it is true about groups of people whom you judge by stereotype rather than personal interaction or fact checking. 

So it's a cliche but it's true that you should be part of the solution.  This means you should treat people with the same courtesy you would expect for yourself.  And it is also true that this is not the answer or the real solution to the real problem.  But you have to have a premise and an expectation on which to judge people by their actions. 

Be angry.  Which is not to say you should be mad at others all the time.  But be angry that injustice and inequality persist.  Accept every struggle as your own.  Because it is.  When your son is at an age where he can hear this there will be other examples but these serve as noteworthy:  Recently, the NAACP took a stand for gay rights, Occupy has organized for civil rights on multiple fronts.  In the 1960s, labor and black civil rights activists sometimes partnered.  Everyone's struggle is your struggle even when it isn't because it is.  You cannot expect others to see us as "in it together" if we are not. 

Know how to use that anger.  It is the reaction that tells you something is wrong and it is the motivator to do what is right.  But it is not the form your response should take.  You can be angry about injustice and make that known without engaging in harmful behavior.  Hold others accountable to that standard.  Make anyone who wants to engage with you -- or the appropriate social agencies -- engage from the intellect, not the emotion.  Because one cannot respond until one stops reacting.  Know the difference between reactive and responsive.

Do not believe in invisible forces like "them" or "society" or "the system" for why things happen.  Do not expect invisible forces like them or the system or even a god to fix it or explain it or make it right in the end.  None of those invisible forces ever will -- YOU will, people will.  When we make people or causes invisible we have no way to find them, confront them, change them.  Identify who, what, and how.  Demand to know why.  And then demand a solution.  Or get with others and look for one.

Expect that life is unfair and people will judge you unfairly.  Black men are dangerous, women are incompetent, Latinos are lazy.  You may not be able to win the debate or overcome the obstacle each time you find it.  But take it to a new forum.  Be engaged in some way.  

Acknowledge that prosecution influences persecution.  Go after the penal system, or agencies within it, for perpetuating unfair law enforcement.  Demand we do better there.  Understand how the way that part of our society works influences how different people are percieved differently, how that reinforces stereotype generally and discrimination more broadly. 

Do not run from confrontation when someone challenges your ideas and views about life.  Do not expect to always agree on these but embrace the opportunity to be questioned on your views -- and to examine them yourself.  Those who reject this kind of confrontation only exacerbate misunderstanding and perpetuate the social conditions that give us discrimination and persecution. 

Cooperate and collaborate with those who are not like you, do not think like you whenever possible.  Do not surround yourself with these people as your friends, however.  If they do not believe you or "your kind" have the same rights as everyone else, they are not your friends.   

None of this is new.  This may not be particularly insightful.  It may not protect you from real harm.  But none of us is truly protected from real harm.  There is risk.   That's life.  That sucks; it's deflating.  Maybe you tell your son to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  Eric Holder just gave a speech about this very idea in having to talk to his son.   Some of us care.  About people in general.  About people specifically.  About white America and black America and religious America and atheist America and male America and female America and straight America and gay America.....  And some of us care about humans beyond even those tags and beyond our borders.  You could tell your son that I care about him and want his experience to be better than what it might have been in the past.  And that maybe he can want the same for everyone.

Get Over It

See how the internet works? Say this: "As a woman, I am tired of women who dress like sluts then cry sexism when people salivate for their visible bodies" and everyone in the thread will read into it implications that aren't there. How do I know? I said it. Yeah, that's right.

 

You wouldn't expect this from someone who thinks it's perfectly legit that women should be allowed to go topless in public as a measure of equality. But laws are one thing. Personal behavior is another. I didn't flinch when I saw the topless woman last summer in NYC. Just like I don't flinch at topless men. But if you are dressing in a manner meant to accentuate for the purpose of garnering attention for your physical sexual parts then don't complain that anyone wants to stare at your parts.  Just like you can't be topless at work, you probably shouldn't be showing us your tits leaping out of your intentionally low scoop tee during the course of a shift.  While I do think much of our cultural dysfunction regarding sexuality comes, conversely, from trying to refine sex and sexuality, I also think there's a time and place.  And I think sometimes what you put out will come back to you.

As to the rest of it -- men cat calling to women out for a run or whatever... It's stupid and unnecessary. But it's also harmless. And it's sort of human nature. The laugh is we think we are born more refined than we really are.   So women don't do it as much to men -- that means nothing.  Maybe we should. 

 

 

 

Armory Show Notes, Unedited and Without Reflection

Daniel Ratcliff Unt (rent app superimp)

Brenna Youngblood

Marc Francis -- Trojan
(photo)   ?  delinitation
                   music
                   points
                   location

WHEN WILL TONY OURSLER DO SOMETHING ELSE?

Tom Thayer "paint + puppet strings"
                 stage set
Alyson Shotz "weaving"
             pinheads and white thread

By-passing Hirst -- fuck that prick

Any time I see a painting on the floor, I want to kick it.

John Baldessari
         Missing Examples 1-6
           board overlaid on
B/W photos -- movie sets?
             Gaps in crowd
                     -- missing info
                          -- people or things?
                          -- action?
                          -- is missing the
                              focus of crowd?

               -- misinformation?
               -- known v. unknown?
               -- Relative importance?

               -- dichotomies/dualities?

(1) left + rt flanks face
middle (removed)
          smiling, waving
                      -- parade?
WHERE? (Hotel de la Bourse
                   1930s? 40s?)

K Johnson

     tracing imperial decay over
     BA wait room

             (Julie Mehretu?)

line drawing
                              -- coded?
                              -- historical
                              -- alpha/num systems
                                         -- traceable history?

                    -- mapping
                    -- architectural remnants?
                               -- allusion

B/A logo representational
   -- symbology
   -- allusion/illusion

           -- types of economies
                     -- monetary
                     -- emotional
                     -- political

white on black -- ghostly or overlay
of history onto "nothing"
       -- suggests failure erasure/collapse
       -- deconstruction/renew cycle

3d vanish pt -- disapp to rt
               -- signify to RIGHT?

               -- off center?
               -- symmetry vs. balance?
                             -- literal?
                             -- pictorial
                             -- figurative
                             -- literary?

email Suzanne re: drawing
_____________________________________________________________

Abigail Reynolds
           cut + folded vintage book plates

Daffodil field cut away to
              unemployment protest (80s?)

Torquay beach cut away to
                  floral pool?
Riverbank + 3d cut out
           Rows of hay bails
           + theater stage?

_____________________________
Marlborough Gallery Chelsea              

John Komer
   Helle, Cherie, Jasmine 2011
_________________________________________________

Max Wigram Gallery (603)
             -- book covers + title pages

Jose Disilva
    A  Brief History of Sculpture
            photos of sculpture on site
            are cut out of photo
____________________________________________________

IRRITATING CONVERSATIONS
FROM BITCHY PRIMA DONNAS EVERYWHERE

-- self indulgent
-- self absorbed

OMG! I'M AN ART MAJOR!

Jose Disilva
      Untitled
      cardboard boxes
      recut + hung as Judd's

             [____]

             [____]

             [____]

             [____]

             [____]

sport brand names
         Depends, Karo, Bimbo
         Pinol, Roma, Coraflex, Mattel
         Ajax, Great Value

-- permanence vs. decay of
            materials?
same statement possible?
           -- not minimalism?

           -- to compare to Judd

                   Quality of material?

                         ?  size, scale
                                 exactness?

innocuous becomes obvious

elevation
of material?
of form?
attack on past?

Tobias Burnstrup
           Hope

           Urban Decay

                    -- which "Hope"?

___________________________________________________________

Ward Shelley
              -- timelines

    Fluxus --
          makes you think:
                Powhida, what an asshole


(Darmstadt Circle
for Concrete Poetry)
____________________________________________________________

Edward Burtynsky
           Pivot Irrigation # 19


Rachel Lee Hounanian
   Dinner for Two: Wedding Cake
             -- projected images
                 across dinner table
                 messaging and playing
                         games --
                               see only their faces

-- smell sugar of cake
-- mouse "eating" cake

formailty of setting
               juxtaposed by poor social skills
                             -- lack of engagement

                             (lack of) engagement
                                       -- relevant?
                                                    -- wedding?
_________________________________________________________

Greasy curators never disappear

Michael Wolf -- Architecture
                       of Destiny

Garlak Gallery
        (purple solar system)
_______________________________________________________________

"ours is a rare form of
emotional contagion, fiercely
guarding the lost
tongues  of old souls"
______________________________________

AFRO EINSTEIN
______________________________________

"Whoever said less is
more figured it out
 a lot faster than I did"

I need all day to read
the Fluxus history

Leandro Erlich
         Captive Reflection 2013

                        -- Adam's Okno?

window > imagery

I Wish

That I had been more daring in my twenties.
That I stayed in London.
That I attended Candace's wedding and the Graduate Show 2008.
That I shipped my chair home.
That I had been more fun as a big sister.
That I remained a voracious reader.
That I pursued writing.
That I had space and opportunity to pursue research.
That I could talk with Martin more.
That the perfect job would fall into my lap.
That visa laws were more flexible.
That nations of the world considered all of us global citizens.
That I had worn more sunscreen.
That I liked wearing my glasses.
That I could motivate to walk more often.
That I liked to work out.
That it was easy to write a cover letter or self appraisal.
That I had local friends.
That I was more creative.
That I could stop trying.

I Decline to Participate

I was in the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum today where the main exhibition is United States.  The theme of national identity is only one theme employed by artists' work here and the broader concepts of united and states are what underlie this exhibition.  While I was looking around I could occasionally hear bits of a recording of children reciting the US Pledge of Allegiance and it got me thinking just how much I hate those phrases.  Let me tell you why.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indvisible with liberty and justice for all.

I pledge allegiance to the flag...
To the flag?  What about to the people, the citizens?  Nowhere in this pledge is there a vow to commit to the people of the nation.  We will pledge to a piece of cloth.  Less abstractly, to the Republic for which it stands.  I mean get the fuck out.  A republic is a governmental construct through which the people are represented and which acts as the forum for addressing the people's problems and institutes good policy to improve their lives and protect their rights.  Or should, anyway.  That's all nice and good but again that is not about making a commitment as a citizen to honor and respect the rights and lives of all citizens -- of all peoples who comprise the population.  This phrase is about generic loyalty to a government construct as if  the government is the purpose of the people when in reality, the people are the purpose behind good governance. 

one nation under God...
Now this is plain false.  Since the point has been made frequently enough, I will refrain from the details about the addition of this phrase coming in the 1950s.  Let's just review for one quick minute here, however, that this is not a nation under any god.  How do I know?  I've read the Constitution.  And while I am no scholar on the matter, I have read a little into some history about the views of the founders and their desire that matters of religion and faith be separate from public life, government activity, and not used as a measure for civic engagement.  Yeah, there was some disagreement on this but the fact remains this is not a nation founded on any belief in any god.

Further, to use this belief as a measure of one's civic engagement is improper.  If I go to work, pay my bills, respect the law, respect my neighbors none of that counts because I don't believe in a god?   So much for that commitment to the people of the nation.  Oh, right.

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Unless you lived under a rock for the last four years you should know this simply isn't true.  Look at the political rhetoric against anyone who isn't white, against women, against Muslims and atheists, et cetera ad nauseum, and there's no way you can think there isn't a popular desire to divide and conquer.  Private, local militias are growing, domestic terror continues, hate groups gain popularity, racism has increased even among young persons, bullying, the "religious" using their dictates to persecute gays and immigrants, blah blah blah.  Indivisible.  Ha! 

Liberty and justice are a laugh.  To use just one example, let's look at the recent year of voter obstruction as practiced by the Republican party.  Members, pundits, elected officials have actually gotten on television and said out loud, to a national audience that they essentially want to reisnstate Jim Crow.  "Yes" is the answer when multiple party officials are asked if voter ID laws would have helped Romney get elected.  Some have even stated the party wasn't aggressive enough on this and that is why the reds lost the election.  And for all their misinformation about socialism and the rise of fascism under Democrats, suppressing the right to vote is a fascist tactic.  So, by the way, is factless propaganda.  It's not all Republicans who want to keep certain people from voting and it's not only Republicans who want it.  Plenty of home grown "revolutionaries" want the same thing -- and worse, they want to remove "undesirables" from society entirely.

How about an economic system that unfairly disenfranchises black and hispanic citizens?  How about a prison system that works in tandem with this economic structure to ensure that these people are targeted and incarcerated at disproportionately higher rates than white citizens?  Liberty and justice certainly cannot be the driving force behind an educational system that enables children in families of means and leaves behind the poor.  But it works better for the private prison system that there always be an underclass who is more vulnerable to committing crime than getting a good job and being fully engaged in our social life economically, academically, culturally.  Better, too, if they are pigmented so as to be more easily targeted as criminals. 

This pledge offends me.  It is offensive.  It is a petty utterance that does not encourage dedication to one another and makes our current reality seem only more outrageous.  I make no public utterance of it for any reason. 

New Dialogs in Art of the Contemporary

Post modern.  Post modern.  Post modern.  Post modern.  Post Modern.  Post Modern.  Post.  Modern.  Post modern.  Post modern, post modern, post modern, post modern.  Post-modern.  Post modern.  Revisionism.  Post Post Post Post Post Post.  Modern, post.  Ipso, modern.  Post facto.  Post modern.

Post modern, post post post.  Modernist, modernity, modernism.  Past.  Past post.  Post.  Post Modern.  A posteriori.  Posterior.  Behind.  Post modern.  Modern post.  Modernism, concept.  Duchamp.  Cranial posterior situational relativism.  Post post post.  Post post.  Post.

Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.
Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.
Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.
Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern.  Warhol.  Post modern. Warhol.

Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.  Warhol.

Painterly post painterly post.  Post painterly.  Painted post, modern, post modern.  Post post.  Neo new.  Modernist post modernism.  Post post post modern modern modern.  Post modern.  Post.

Post modern.  Deconstruction.  Post modern.  Fluxus.  Post modern.  Contemporary.  Post modern.  Conceptual.  Post modern.  Relational.  Post modern.  Dialectic.  Post modern.  Mininalism.  Post modern.  Installation.  Post modern.  Performance.  Post modern. 

Post modern.  Post.  Modern.  Post modern.  Post modern post modern post modern post modern.  Post modern. 

Conversation with a co-worker

Him: I was in the diner and this homeless guy was telling his friend about how his girlfriend was murdered and I was, like, uh, I'm trying to eat.
Me: Did you say that to him?
Him: No but it was disgusting. He didn't even order food and I was trying to eat.
Me: So this man was homeless and his girlfriend was murdered and you just made it all about you? And how it wrecked your meal?
Him: Uh, yeah.
Me: That's why I think you're a dick.

Open Letter to a Dick

Hey, Romney, I get a refund every year on my income tax but not on my payroll taxes which, on the average, constitutes about nine percent of a low wage person's pay. I don't get food stamps because I don't pay rent as someone lets me sleep for free in a walk in closet and 15.5k gross annual income makes me too wealthy for MedicAid; the temporary coverage I had came with a high deductible and I could use it only because I needed an expensive procedure that met the threshold. If I qualify for temporary restricted care again, I probably won't be able to use it because a $4,443 deuctible is absurdly high -- and purposely so.  I don't have a full time, full paying job because there are so few available in my field -- so, yeah, I think I am entitled to some government help, you stupid shit.

A Cover Story

I recently sent a cover letter with my resume to an arts space in Harford, CT whose job ad asked for an "interesting cover letter".  What does that mean?  I don't know but here's the letter:

"You have asked for an “interesting” cover letter as part of the submission for the Visual Arts Manager position open at (deleted).  Interesting is such an interesting word.  In fact, dictionary.reference.com defines it as “1. engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity, 2. arousing a feeling of interest,” which I find is not interesting but boring, if accurate.

As it happens, “interesting” is used for a variety of meanings.  When one is uncertain of the quality or value of a subject, “interesting” is often applied.  It is also used sarcastically when a subject is decidedly uninteresting.  And while a person or thing may hold one’s attention, “interesting” is still too ambiguous to explain why one’s attention is held. 

It is curious then that you would choose such a word to describe the type of letter you are seeking from applicants.  I am sure that cover letters are boring and tedious to read – they certainly are that to write.  But wouldn’t you prefer something clever or amusing or creative?  Surely these adjectives better describe the art and programs (deleted) offers to the public, and reflect the manner in which the gallery seeks to connect with the Hartford community.  After all, it is called the “Creative Cocktail Hour.”  Surely, Real Board (Games) is fun and Improvisations are celebratory, not merely interesting. 

And why limit yourself to a selection of “interesting” candidates? Are you unsure of the qualities and experience you seek in such candidates?  Just what do consider interesting in others?  If you are hiring a Visual Arts Manager capable of juggling the daily tasks of the job, curious about art and current events, and eager to engage with the Hartford community then you need someone who is dedicated, creative, intelligent and possessing a fun, lively personality.  I like to think these are the traits that define me and are more specific about my ability and perspective than merely “interesting”.  I would like to work with an arts organization that embodies these traits and hires others who exhibit them which is why I am submitting my resume and cover letter to you.  

I would not be at all interested in working with (deleted).  I would, however, be delighted to work with an organization as exciting and important as yours."

 

I don't know if I will get any response to this but I have applied to this particular center multiple times with no response other than a curt we-said-we'd-let-you-know-if-we-cared when I attempt to follow up.  So this time I sent a risky letter and am not contacting them to see if they read it or have considered meeting me.  I don't really know anyone in that area who is involved with this center so my chances are greatly diminished from the get go -- this is not my excuse -- art is a stingy bitch, I know -- but at this point why not have some fun with this whole job thing? 

Disappointed; A Criticism

Recently, I attended a presentation at the Westport Arts Center as part of a group and our expectation was to hear about the exhibition Landscape: Scene/Reseen and various artists who contributed.  I rarely do these things and was rather excited by the opportunity to spend the day with people I admire, meeting others involved in promoting the visual arts and hearing their thoughts on the content in their own space.

We sat down in rows in front of the vista window and the Director of Visual Arts proceeded to ask us why we find art important.  Before any answer of substance was investigated, she was off on a very long diatribe about her own career and all the very impressive things she has achieved, important networks she has created.  I know this Prime Minister and that CEO and this group supports us thanks to my efforts. 

Don't get me wrong; in the arts these connections are necessary to building and maintaining an institution.   Having all those names and faces in your schmooze folder matters.  It matters a lot.  Those names and faces help get you the money and exposure your institution needs.  (There is a vicious cycle issue here at which I am sure you can guess but suffice it for now that these networks help.)

But that was not the reason for my being in that room on that day.  I was there to hear about the art work on view.  I was curious why they chose that topic and those artists and those specific works.  What makes the theme and those works meaningful?  What is the basic message you hope people take away with them?  How does that work resonate with you?  Here's something -- ask us how or why that work resonates with us, after all we did come to look at it.

But no, don't stop at merely telling us why your ego is so huge, please, indulge us with photos of you meeting with some of those very important people in those very special museums you mentioned.  I cannot begrudge a person for working so very hard and creating a real presence for an arts center and carving out a solid career for herself in the course.  But I can criticize the refusal to differentiate one type of audience from another.  I can criticize the fact that in the course of two hours we never had real opportunity to look at the art and discuss any questions or themes it presents.  We were there specifcally to view the exhibition and talk about it.  I was amazed at the arrogance it took to dismiss such genuine curiosity as if our interest in the art was secondary or meaningless.  Let's refresh; her first questions were why we care about art and why we are involved in the arts. 

When your own accomplishments become so important to you that you overlook the reason your institution exists, that you dismiss the interest and curiosity visitors bring with them then you are somehow failing in your real task -- to share the arts with the public.

I still don't know why I should go to the Westport Arts Center or why it is an important space or what kind of relationship they seek with the community of which they are a part.  I have no idea why the Center finds Landscape a relevant exhibition of works in the contemporary.  I do, however, have a suspicion that they are full of themselves in stereotypic Westport fashion.

Love Poem

I have this image in my mind
of me throwing my arms around your neck
and you wrapping yours around my back,
turning them toward my ribs.

I feel your weight
and hear your breath
and smell your desire.

And yet I don't know
who you are
or if we will ever meet
or if you even exist.

A Note to the Righteous

Dear Religious Leaders Opposing Obama's call for marriage equality, 
Religious and government institutions are decidedly separated here. You don't have to like it and you don't have to perform the rite for homosexuals if it is contrary to your religion. As a society, we don't all agree on the basis for morality or the need for religion. We do, however, have to live in the same space under the same civil construct and as such, the US Constitution is more important than the Bible, Qu'ran, Torah, and so on. You would do well to consider the relationships you foster with other people to be of more immediate significance than the private "relationship" you have with a "god".

Letter to Connecticut Governor, Dannel Malloy

Dear Mr. Malloy;

I recently saw this petition pop up online and I think it is rather glib and abstract.  It certainly contains a lot of fancy rhetoric but what are the policy platforms?  What is your specific initiative?  Don't you think you should have perhaps included the background or relevant links on the issue?

Also, regarding the state of schools; that issue is connected to wage rates, the growing poverty in the state, under-employment, and hunger.  What are your plans to put adults back to full time work at full time pay, thereby enabling parents to properly house and feed their children so that they may perform at their best in school?  While substandard education may be a problem in CT, the problems behind the achievement levels and graduation rates go far beyond the structural context for formal educational systems.  It has been shown that personal financial instability and hunger negatively impact learning and achievement in school children.  I'll even start you out with a basic citation for that here.  

And beyond the scope of the state's schools, what are you doing for wages and personal economic wellness generally?  Clearly, there's not much if the legislature is any measure -- at least judging by this article in the Courant.

I don't like your politics and I wish there had been a better, more progressive candidate on the ballot last time around.  Perhaps you can win me over just a little with some answers.

(Writer's note: As of August 7, 2012 there still has been no reply from the Governor's office.)

Coffee House Recitation

There was a time when if it didn't cause you pain to get it out
it wasn't a legit experience.
Those days are gone -- gladly.
Now I am too old, the coffee sours me
and I wonder if the stomach spasm is just from the coffee.
I come to the tiny table with cliches and memories and the last traces of dreams.
Something pulls; I lean in, I lean back; something stays, retracts.
Moving; that's how things make sense -- moving in a sort of stasis in a singular place.
Spilling myself across the table.  Sloppy.

That hasn't changed -- the careless handling of containers.
But the contents have gotten hotter, darker, more acidic, bolder.
And it causes me pain to drink it in.
And I like it.