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system76 · 4 years ago

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System76 Spotlight with Adam Balla

Welcome to the first of an ongoing series where we get to know some of the amazing people behind System76! This week, we kick things off with one of our newest members, Adam Balla (AKA chzbacon), who has just joined the Marketing Team as our Content Producer. Learn what makes his content creation heart go pitter-patter, and why his electric smoker is his must-have cooking appliance.

When did you first become interested in Linux computer systems?

When my roommate introduced me to Slackware in 1999, he was working as a Linux system admin and he really got me interested in Linux. I was going to the Art Institute of Houston at the time for a Multimedia Design degree, and the thought that you could create your own desktop operating system really appealed to me. I didn’t need to stare at the same old tacky operating system I’d used for years.

I found myself, like many nerds of the era, at a Micro Center in the early 2000s rummaging through the discount software bins, trying to snag up multi-CD Linux distributions. This journey exposed me to several of today’s most popular Linux distros. One of those was SUSE Linux 5.3, of which I still keep the tattered book on a bookshelf as a reminder. I did however finally find my place in the world of Debian, which is where I essentially live today. Honestly not much has really changed other than using Pop!_OS as my main distribution—though like any Linux diehard, I still love to download, test, and sometimes install all the Linux.

When did you start becoming a champion for open source hardware and software?

It was a few years after that. Once I got back from the Art Institute and I was working in the area, we needed a server for the screen printing shop that I worked at. Knowing about Linux at that point, I was able to set up a server using consumer-grade gear that we could store all of our artwork and assets on. Moving forward, I set up a server for the newspaper that I worked at for a decade, which I know is still running to this day. After using Linux in that sort of environment and knowing it was good enough for a business, I knew it was good enough for me and my needs.

How did you get involved in content creation as a career?

My father was an engineer. When I was young I was always, like most kids, into drawing cars and doodles and cartoons, but I was used to having a drafting table at the house. Computing came around, and my father bought an IBM 486 and one of the original digitizing tablets, and so I got to play around with that. Eventually, he got upset because I was on the computer more than he was, so he bought me an IBM 386 to use.

Around 1995, my dad learned from a coworker about Photoshop. I begged him to get me a copy, and he finally did for Christmas. That’s when I started playing around in Photoshop and really fell into wanting to create for a living. Similar to what my father does, but maybe not as stringent in the decision that I make—no building is going to fall down from my creative process.

And that’s how I got into the whole content creation piece. I created a cover for the album of my high school bands and then started doing work for more local bands. Back then, there were no digital art courses, so I learned a lot by doing and trial/error.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

Working together as a team during the initial brainstorming process. Going through all of the ideas and details, sometimes writing them down, sometimes not, and even laughing at myself at how ridiculous an idea may sound. I love the process of the very first step. I love to set the vision for the project work from there to turn that vision into reality.

How did you first learn about System76?

I first learned about System76 through Chris Fisher and Jupiter Broadcasting. I believe they were reviewing the Leopard Extreme in 2012, on what at that time was the Linux Action Show. That’s when I started to look at System 76 and their offerings and wondered if it would be better for me to build my own Linux desktop, or adopt something and support the open source community. It’s been a little while since then, and I’ve always kept my eye on System76. Then with the release of Thelio, that really pushed me to the point of, “Wow, these guys are creating their own beautiful custom chassis and they’re incorporating different materials together. What a beautiful machine.”

I was speaking to my wife (financial advisor) about purchasing one in 2019, and I spoke to Emma and some other people at System76 about my desire for one, and I don’t know how, but Emma encouraged me not to buy one! And then I was given the opportunity to come to System76 for the Superfan event, where I was fortunate enough to be one of a dozen people who were gifted a Thelio desktop. It sits on my desk to this day; I even bought a larger desk just so I could put it up there and see it every day. I really appreciate the humble beginnings of System76, and I’m so glad to finally be a part of this amazing team.

Let's get into that creative brain. What is your favorite viral video and/or ad, and why do you love it so much?

I have a few ads that I like. I’ve always liked Honda’s messaging and their ads.

I like these ads because of the way in which they go through their history and lineage and the way that Honda itself has marketed its products as “People First” products—very similar to when they introduced their motorcycles to the US with their “You meet the nicest people on a Honda,” campaign. I think that was in 1962, so this was during the height of the motorcycle gang craze. Then comes this little Japanese motorcycle company and markets their products in a completely opposite image from the rest of the industry. They dared to be different and it paid off for them. Selling over 100 million Honda Cubs since 1958. Being given the title of most produced motor vehicle in the world.

This may come as a surprise to some, but I also really love the original Orwellian-inspired Macintosh commercial, which only aired once during the 1984 Super Bowl. Created by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas and Lee Clow. In my opinion, these guys really created disruptive advertising, so much so that the ad still resonates today as much as it did then. While I don’t think you need to incite fear to sell a product, it showed that Apple dared to be different.

I’m not sure what constitutes a viral video these days. I’m not sure if it’s having a billion trillion views or just simply infecting one person who saw your video. One that always gives me a chuckle has to be “News Anchor Laughs At Worst Police Sketch Fail”. The honesty on the anchor's face makes me lose it every time.

When you’re not helping to lead the Open Source revolution, what do you like to do with your free time?

I really like going on walks and taking photos. Photography to me is one of the last honest art forms. What you see really is what you get. I love to tinker and make things, I have a 3D printer that my wife and I purchased as a joint valentine’s gift to each other last year. We started using it right when COVID broke out, so we made around 900 face shields which we distributed to schools, day cares, dentist's offices, anyone who needed one. That’s what we did for about the first 6 months when we first got it. Now, my wife loves to print earrings, for example, and I like to build different fun electronics projects.

I also love to cook, especially for large groups. I just got done with an Easter Weekend + Birthday celebration where we cooked 100 lbs of crawfish, 10 lbs of pork shoulder, sausage, and boudin (which is basically rice and pieces of pork that have been mixed together with seasonings and then put into a casing like sausage). One of my main requirements actually for a place in Denver is somewhere I can bring my electric smoker. It’s a must-have for any Texan.

What are you most excited about with your new role here at System76? To help change the computing landscape as we know it today. Into a future where technology is free and open. A world where you're encouraged to break things, fix things, and learn how they work. Aside from changing the world and stuff, I'm really excited to have a chance to work with such an insanely talented group of people.

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wellesleyunderground · 4 years ago

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Wellesley Underground Interview with Founders (Sara Hess ‘08 and Shavanna Calder ‘08) of Feminist Fashion & Beauty Magazine, MUJER!

Need a break from the politics? Dive into the making of Issue No.2 of MUJER! Magazine. Interview by Camylle Fleming ‘14.

1. Wellesley Underground (WU): Tell us about the origin of MUJER! Magazine and bring us up to speed on the November launch.

Sara Hess ‘08, Editor in Chief: MUJER! has been a long time coming for us. Ever since Shavanna and I were swapping clothes from each other’s closets when we were roommates at Wellesley, we’ve had an interest in fashion and over the years we’d often played around with the idea of doing a fashion related project together. MUJER! came about in late 2017 when I had reached a point of being really frustrated with fashion magazines (all of the ads and the Photoshop, the lack of any real content and focus on hyper consumption). I also was disappointed to see that several of the fashion bloggers I’d followed over the years and enjoyed for their authenticity were following the same route as they transitioned from blogs to Instagram and started posting highly stylized Photoshopped pics that were all sponsored and very phony. Finally, I had recently turned 30 and it then occurred to me that I was older than nearly all the models I saw in the major fashion publications, which is insane when you think about it. I told Shavanna what I was thinking of doing-- a feminist fashion and beauty mag, all models 25+, no Photoshop on their faces or bodies, more racial and ethnic diversity, a focus on more sustainable production and consumption and no ads. Shavanna is an amazing stylist and has a great eye for design so I was super excited when she agreed to be creative director. I was living between Mexico City and New York at the time. I had developed some contacts in the fashion industry in Mexico and really admired the fashion scene there, which is one of the reasons we went with the name MUJER! It took us about 6-7 months to produce the content for the first print edition which was published in September 2018.

2.WU: How did fashion and beauty become sites of contestation and rebellion for you two?

Sara: I grew up in a small town in rural Pennsylvania and was constantly getting in trouble for breaking the dress code at my public school. It’s ironic because I was definitely a major nerd-- not your typical rebel. In junior high, I was really upset to find out I had not been accepted to the National Junior Honor Society. I asked one of my teachers why and he told me that it was because the shorts that I wore to school were often too short. Honestly, it was not my intention to be risque. I was just awkwardly going through puberty and had legs that were too long for my body and it was impossible to find shorts that were long enough and didn’t look dorky. After that, I went through a punk rocker phase, where again clothing is a form of rebellion. I was totally into the early Gwen Stefani punk looks. I would get picked on a lot by classmates but then a few months later everyone would be wearing what I had been wearing before, which would be my cue to change styles because I never wanted to look like everyone else. For me, it became a way to stand out and to push back against conservative influences.

Shavanna Calder ‘08, Creative Director: I can’t say that I’ve thought of fashion for most of my life as a site of rebellion. I just wore what I liked and (especially as a kid) what was on trend.

I had hip surgery 5 years ago and have struggled to be able to wear heels after that. In some ways that forced me to rethink how to dress for formal situations (without heels). Though I am working towards wearing heels again through physical therapy (my profession requires it), I’ve found a certain level of pride in showing other women that we can still look dressed up/professional etc. without wearing heels. Also embracing flatforms has been fun!

I think beauty, more so, has always been a site of contestation and rebellion for me as a Black woman. Growing up and having hair that was different than most of my friends. Makeup and hair supplies that we had to drive an extra distance for. Reading different magazines than my friends because teen vogue (at that time), seventeen etc never catered to me (thank God for Essence). Now, being natural, my hair oftentimes is a point of rebellion/contestation as I educate and ask for the things that I need as a Black artist instead of accepting the burden of sitting in silence.

Founders Shavanna + Sara (above)

3. WU: On social media, you’ve discussed the initiative of “showing women as they actually exist in the world”. Can you describe some of the images you two grew up with and how they are in conversation with MUJER!

Shavanna: In some ways growing up when I did, I feel like I did get to see images of women (more often) without photoshop and a ton of contouring etc because that just wasn’t on trend. It’s one thing I miss about the early 2000’s. That being said, the rest of the content oftentimes centered around ways to get men, look flirty etc etc. For us I think “showing women as they actually exist in the world” goes beyond imaging to the content of the magazine (the stories and issues that are discussed) as well as the lack of harmful ads encouraging women to alter their bodies by buying certain products etc. We are able to highlight a diverse group of female identifying folx and the complexity of us instead of the monolith that I often see portrayed.

4. WU: What are the ways in which your Mexico City base contributes to the core principles of MUJER!

Sara: Mexico City is just my heart and soul. I don’t know how else to describe it. It makes me turn to mush as though I’m talking about someone I’m in love with. The creative and design scene here is out of this world funky and unique and I really feel that I can wear anything going out here at night. People are elegant and cool and put a great deal of thought into how they present themselves. The fashion scene is authentic and fun and nowhere near as pretentious as it is in other parts of the world. We try to reflect this creativity and sincerity in MUJER! as well.

Shavanna: Additionally I’ll say that people have really embraced us there. There is an openness, flexibility and sense of collaboration that has made it super easy to throw any ideas we have out there and run with it (more than I’ve seen in other parts of the world).

5. WU: For those of us who are new to publication production, can you walk us through the steps of creating content, finding models, artwork, all without the filler of advertisements?

Sara: We are also new to magazine production, ha! We started by basically bringing together people we knew from the fashion world here in Mexico City. I have a dear friend, Jenny. She’s a stylist from Sweden and was working on the sets of reality shows here so she kind of kicked me into gear to do the first beauty shoot. She had a lot of experience doing shoots so she helped me get a great photographer and scout a location and models. We’ve really been blessed with meeting all of the right people at the right moment. We found a wonderful lead graphic designer, Celina Arrazola who happened to know the neighborhood where all the printers are and was an expert in hand binding books. Advertisements were never an option so we self-finance the production, which was and is intense.

Shavanna: Yes, as Sara mentioned we’re incredibly new to this and are (honestly) still figuring a lot out as we go. However, generally we come up with ideas/stories together that excite us, that we haven’t seen in other fashion magazines. We then reach out to female identifying folx to help us realize these ideas (because we want to support female entrepreneurs as well). The hardest part will be figuring out how to make it sustainable (and take the more of the financial burden off of Sara) and we’re in the process of sorting that out the best way we can!

5a. WU: Okay, same question. Add COVID, go:

Sara: Now, because of COVID, our plans to do another print edition were derailed so we decided to do a digital edition-- everyone featured sent in their own photos and instead of printing we created a PDF version of the magazine, with Celina’s excellent graphic design of course.

It essentially made printing the way we did with the first edition impossible. That was a very manual process that involved visiting the printer in person multiple times and Celina handbound the magazine, with me struggling to be useful to her by folding the pages. This time we went all digital.

Shavanna: In addition we had to become creative since we could no longer conduct shoots or interviews in person. Everything was done via email (except for Sultana’s shoot which happened pre-COVID). All other photos were submitted by the women in the issue. Whilst I missed many aspects of being in person, in some ways the challenge allowed us to lean in to our mission of showing women as we truly are. It also allowed for us to have a remote intern via Wellesley which was awesome!

6. WU: How do you want to grapple with the plurality of feminism(s) in the pages of the magazine?

Shavanna: By being truly intentional about seeking out diverse voices. By celebrating those voices and by taking our readers feedback to heart. Outside of the folx who are interviewed or featured in our magazine we attempt to employ women in the creation of the physical product as well (design, photography etc). The end result is something that has been touched by women from various parts of the world and from different walks of life.

7. WU: Can you share the story of how the magazine gained its title? How do you respond to any pushback and claims of appropriation from Latinx individuals for your usage of the word “Mujer”?

Sara: For starters, we were founded in Mexico City and at least half of our readers are native Spanish speakers. The publication, like many of its readers, is also bilingual. For the interviews and articles that are originally done in Spanish, we leave them in Spanish, only translating key quotes into English and vice versa for pieces that are originally in English. The title is also a global call to women that goes beyond the English-language paradigm.

8.WU: The fashion and beauty industry can carry both an air of superficiality and apoliticism. Tell us what people get wrong about the experience of working within it.

Sara: I think this is hard for us to get into because we are not really working in the fashion and beauty industry-- we are working parallel to it and trying to pick the piece we enjoy while also creating something new and different for women that makes them feel empowered, not inadequate.

Shavanna: Yes neither Sara nor I really work within the industry (nor have we prior to the magazine). I’ve worked as a stylist from time to time, but that’s about it. For the most part we’ve been consumers who were unhappy with what we were consuming and figured we could do something about it.

9. WU: In an effort to not over-glorify the value of success and “making it”, let’s talk about failure. Can you share with our readers what went wrong in the process of producing MUJER!?

Sara: Before our Chilanga shoot, Shavanna and I got horrible food poisoning. Like, nearly had to go to the hospital.

Shavanna: Yes we were living on pepto bismol and had just started eating plain bread and pasta the day of our shoot, but we powered through! Honestly this magazine has felt like a contribution to society that we were meant to be a part of, so despite obstacles that have come up, we know that we can’t be sidetracked.

10. WU: How do you react to the “self-care” trend and it’s correlation to the consumption of beauty products? Relatedly, how do you two take care of yourselves?

Sara: I’m an introvert who fakes being an extrovert, but I definitely know I need alone time so I try to make space for that. As of late, I try to use more natural/ organic beauty products and just less of everything period. Also sleep. Sleep is so important. Finally, I’ve decided I will deal with drama in my professional life because I feel like that’s where I’m making a contribution that’s important but I try to minimize drama in my personal life as much as possible.

Shavanna: I try to take care of myself by reminding myself that rest is ok and necessary (so hard). Practicing my faith/meditation. Asking for what I need. Going to therapy (physical and mental health). Exercising. Connecting with loved ones (friends and family). Being kind to myself.

11. WU: As a follower of your Insta page, I find myself lingering on your original posts, staring into the faces of the individuals you capture. It makes me realize how my brain has been trained to see the same faces featured in public spaces, so much so that they’ve become invisible. Can you share the favorite photos that you’ve captured and why they stand out to you?

Shavanna: My favorite photos are of Wellesley alumna Solonje Burnett. I’ve always admired Solonje’s fearlessness and creativity and I think we truly captured her essence in these. Though she is beautiful, the interview is about so much more and highlights her as the complex, multifaceted woman that she is (instead of just her beauty routine or what her house looks like).

12. WU: What does the day in the life of an Editor-in-Chief look like? How about a Creative Director?

Shavanna: We’re very collaborative. I don’t think we really have hard and fast rules as to who does what necessarily as much as it’s a partnership. One of us will propose an idea (in between juggling the rest of our lives) and we’ll discuss pros and cons and greenlight what works best and aligns with our values. We also just hold each other accountable. Right now there isn’t a typical day in the life as well just because we both have other jobs (though it would be amazing for Mujer! to continue to take off in a way that allowed us to devote more time to it).

13. WU: Both of you currently have worked with higher education institutions (Harvard + NYU). Can you tell us a bit about your “day jobs” and the types of opportunities they have afforded you in relation to the Magazine?

Sara: While I was working at HBS, I co-authored a case study on Monocle magazine which has helped to inform some of our thinking around the business model for MUJER!

Shavanna: I worked for almost 7 years at NYU, first at Stern and then within the Faculty of Arts & Science. In terms of opportunities? I’d say actually, for me, anyway the two aren’t related. My time at NYU influenced my acting career more so than Mujer! by giving me some flexibility and certainly financial stability.

14. WU: Lastly - a question you ask your features in the upcoming digital issue: how have you been gentle with yourself during this time?

Sara: Uff, I have been eating a lot of ice cream and taking breaks when I need to. I turned off the New York Times news alerts on my phone. I still read the news everyday but this has helped a lot.

Shavanna: Uff indeed. Hm sometimes I remind myself that the fact that I’m functioning is enough. This quote from Audre Lorde has been getting me through: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

Working out and going for walks, journaling, therapy, being in touch with my spirituality, limiting myself on social media (or at least certain groups or accounts), listening to my body in terms of what it wants (whether that be food or change of environment). Talking to friends when I have the energy always brightens my day and constantly reminding myself to take things one moment/day at a time. This is all incredibly hard and I’m grateful to those who have been gentle with me when I struggle to be gentle with myself.

Check out the MUJER! Covid-19 digital issue here: https://www.mujerrev.com/mujer-sale Given the increase in domestic violence and gender based violence around the world during the pandemic, a portion of the proceeds from the issue will go to two organizations helping womxn that are survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking: Women of Color Network - Blue Lips Campaign and El Pozo de Vida.

MUJER! Homepage: https://www.mujerrev.com/ MUJER! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mujerrev/

#wellesleyunderground #wellesley college #mujermagazine #fashion #beauty

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zeroglitchtic-blog · 5 years ago

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Here To Change It All...

Hey Guys -

So hmmm… What can I say? Ok, well I have been working on this Business Plan for the past 13 years. I took the past 13 years and developed a final plan to solve Homelessness, Poverty, and Sexual Exploitation. It took me around 3 years just to get an idea about and to learn how Crypto Currency can fund the entire business. Unfortunately due to Crypto Currency Mining the video cards I need for it are about $4,500.00ea. And I need 20 of them to complete one Build. On another note I invented a game app and the other night I invented another App idea too. It will be cool to get them made for real. Right now I’m kind of in an obsession with this Pastel Goth look and I want to create my own look by taking some Bell Bottoms from this company called Gypsy Rose and a cool Hoodie and then order Bulk Boxes of the same color Boas and a Hemp Back Pack and some clothing LED Lights and to sew them on to the clothing really carefully to get an amazing look and to buy some books on Cosplay Makeup, Glam Makeup, and Tutorials on Makeup for Black People and create my own Glam Goth look. I want to produce the images into products for my new store when I open it. I have worked for over a decade on my plan to rescue the homeless, people in need, exploited kids and adults and it took me three years of researching Ethereum Mining to0 figure out how I would fund my company. One NVIDIA.com Video card will cost me around $4,500.00 to get the best one they have and the most profitable of them and my build that I designed takes 20 Video Cards and brings in around $10K/mo. So I’ll make Hundreds of Thousands of them and fill every business location I gets basement with as many Builds as will fit and warehouses full of them too. Once I get going a lot of people will want for little anymore. I told my fiancé that I would set him up with another personal place of his own, like a loft or something and have several Ethereum Miners there just for him and I’ll show him how to use them and make money with them so that we’ll be on more equal footing and I’ll have legal documents setup that will supply him with his own place and no matter what our relationship turns out to be that I can’t cut him off or affect him in any way to upset his stability and financials. I hope to have it setup before we get married. I plan on having several locations to live over time but one of the very first locations that I get and setup is going to be a three bedroom apartment that I’ll setup to be displayed on my company’s home page in the same way that a 365 degree display of Real Estate Property is displayed except that I hope to use the help of Ad Agents to have special products setup, like displays from Coca Cola, and other Brands and to get the Companies displayed to provide donations for the advertisements.

I hope to land contracts that are with like laundry soap and cleaning supplies and brands of Pre-Paid Credit and Gift Cards, and Electronics, etc. To use only their brands at my locations for special discounts or with some kind of residual donations from them, so things like Bed Bath and beyond and Companies that sell bedding and so on. I hope to get special accounts or even to open Hundreds of Reseller Accounts and purchase from my own accounts. I’ll have fractureme.com High Def Glass Photos hanging on the walls that display images of homelessness and people living in poverty, etc. As the artwork and otherward the location will be setup with Height of Technology in i9t and Luxury and excellent decorations and renovations with new smart appliances and if possible in home laundry too. The entire apartment will be setup to look as if a family lives there that has two kids, a boy and girl and the rooms will be fully setup and stocked with clothing and desks and school supplies, software, text books, reading books, game stations and games, CDs, DVDs, Anime, and Desktop and Laptop on the bed with MP3 Player and cell phone on its charger and even a few pieces of trash in the trash cans and so on, even the adults rooms will be setup the same with a Home Office and files in the living room, etc. Every room will come with their own safes and have finger print and key pad locking doors and in the safes will c0ome an envelope full of cash and several types of pre-paid cards. The computers will be top of the line and Extreme types, totally maxed out, with extensive external Hard Drives and full of useful software that is fully paid for and more. Once the 365 degree walkthrough Video is made than everything will be packed into specially positioned glass cases for display, so like the laptop, cell phones, digital cameras, camcorders, Gift Cards, and some other things will go into displays so that when there are walk trough's to help gain donors less can be stolen easily. I will spend a lot of time setting up the location with a simply safe security system and register everything in the apartment with renters insurance and register them with their own individual companies. I’ll have the entire place setup with services and each room with smaller Ethereum Miners that work and are actively earning money and have monitors on the walls that display the earnings and exchanges pricing in each room. But the apartment will be maintained by my financial Company that I get. Every Account would be active, the lease, the cable, the Home Phone, mobile phones, Internet, and all the individual emails, and all the software will be registered to those emails and even Turn-Key online businesses and so on setup as examples and displays for the apartment and newsletters, and more with ads for the Turn-Key Businesses. The files in the Offices and kids rooms will hold the Hard Copy files of all the Accounts and Registration Info and Gamer Info. Emails and Advertisement info and more, including the online versions, Browser favorite links, and profile saves, address books filled out and more. It seems like a lot but every tiny detail will be through of from every item being photographed and filed with their own insurance, registrations, and receipts, to even unique personally searched out and handpicked USB Drives that are installed with PortableApps.com software and paid versions of the software on those apps and all of it filed and registered both digitally and in Hard Copy.

And there will be a personalized welcome Manual for each person and all their accounts and how the apartment works, the Wi-Fi locks, the smart TV Accounts, their personal safe’s codes, and every computer log-in, how and where to find all their Hard Copy and Digital Account info and if something comes up missing or breaks how to file for renters insurance to replace it and police reports and how to contact their financial Agent for financial Aid and for when they want to go to college or to file a new bill or account for them to manage and also how their personal Ethereum Miner earns them their own money so that they are not tied to their financial allowance’s leash. There will be so much attention to detail because it will be the display house/apartment used for fund raising. It will be decorated and setup with extra details like Artist’s Piggy Banks around the rooms to collect donations and drop safes for people to donate Pre-Paid Cards and Checks and Cash, cell phones and I’ll have a Turn-Key Business in the home that people can buy and donate gift cards and cell phones, clothing cards, and tablets, laptops and to donate money by credit cards too. I’ll even setup cat climbing towers in all the corners and High End cat walks and rests on the walls and toy holders, etc. even Automatic cat boxes that clean and wash their own litter and cat supplies and dog products if the apartment allows dogs and more considerations that are suited for hosting gatherings and even just ease of today’s technological society like a moveable arm under a cabinet in the kitchen that holds a water proof tablet that is dedicated solely to cooking sites, and Home Food Delivery services. There will be cool little personal touches too from unique USB Drives to interesting lamps like this collectors Yoda Lamp and displays of air plants and even like on the desks will be pencils and pens with my company’s custom website on them and possibly even Antique Typewriter on a typing desk with several boxes of extra ribbon and Company Letterhead Quality Paper stacked next to it, possibly with a sheet in the type writer with the beginning page of one of my novels on it or a letter addressed to my First Business Location. And a typed and stamped addressed envelope next to it. I’ll do things like add magazines to the coffee table and things like expensive items will get locked inside display cubes or fastened to where they are. But most of the place will be meant to be fully interactive and the greeters and Hosts of the Donor Parties will be able to show the guests the fully interactive features of the apartment and all of its services, etc. From Posters on the kid’s walls and little Anime and Action Figurines to online Gamer Merchandise of in-game-content from the most popular games like Fortnight and stuff and most of the Books and movies will be excellent Sci-fi Hard Copy Novels of the Greats and books I’ve Loved. The Anime will be Deluxe Full Seasons with all the extra content and really cool 0ones and really good DVD Collections that are kid appropriate and in the parents room they will have more Adult titles like the complete Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal TV Series and Dexter Series, and John Wick Series and other Good Ones and in the kids room will be Ultimate Gamer Setups in a relaxation area away from sight of the desk so the kids won’t game and watch TV while they do homework and out of the bed area so they can have a shut down time and not game and stuff while they are supposed to shut down and sleep and they’ll have an Xbox, Play Station and Gamer Computer with all the VR and Bells and Whistles and even google Home Video Slate Devices on their Desk and By their Beds. The home will have several of them by each sitting area and then the Dot versions mounted on walls around the halls and a water proofed one in the bathroom so that there is whole home connectivity along with all the Tablets and Laptops and PCs connected to the Norton Secured Network as well as smart lights and even security cameras and a Door Peep Hole Device that Projects a large Video of who is at the door and takes photos of who comes to the door and sends it to the owners phone and that also allows for smart lock activation. The apartment will be the epitome of Beauty, Luxury, and Comfort and people that come to the home will be able to view installed manikins that are wearing company uniforms for all around seasons and types, the most expensive being the Winter ne that comes with heated gloves and socks and shoe insoles and Extreme Cold Military Boots and heat shell Jackets and full snow outfits. The outfits will come with their own pedestals that will have fliers on them that explain what the services that they go to are and the equipment needed for each one, like the House Keeping one, the Personal Assistant, the Odd Job, and snow removal, the Food Delivery one and like how much it will cost for the work vans and trucks and snow blowers and shovels and painting/cleaning supplies and the storage unit rentals for the equipment and cost of the uniforms that will each have my company Logo Embroidered on them and on each will be an employee Tag just like all employees will have. Another presentation will be video presentations played on loops on the screens in the living room that explain how my company will hire students fresh out of colleges that are entering the fields of nursing, psychology, and social work, legal aid, and about the services that will come with my company that will help any homeless person with absolutely nothing and addiction issues fully recover their lives with personally adapted services and complete financial support so that even if they are dealing with drug issues that they won’t need to sell their new property or prostitute for funding and that they will receive full support while they attend to their rehab needs as well as fully paid trade and college schooling and financial investments that are everything from timed trust payouts at major age milestones, to retirement and regular funds for travel around the world. There will be full employment programs inside my company and in the mainstream markets and my company will pay companies to keep employees hired and to hire people in need as well as options for customers that do things like use our yard service as incentives to keep my employees hired like getting major yard work done, in ground lawn sprinklers installed and landscaping, home repairs, and other improvements and upgrades to their utilities and home like the best water heaters, Hot Tubs, new Fences and so on to keep my company on contract for lawn care and snow removal and housekeeping and food delivery and so on. It will all be done by professionals in the fields when done and then my clients will up keep it with a flawless and no questions asked insurance and replacement process in case something is ever broken or stolen and there will be tons of other services since everyone in the world suffers from some state of poverty and need, that my company will collect even my customers into my fold and provide them with financial aids, paid schooling, debt payment, and doing things like picking up car and home payments and medical needs. Some families that have Autistic Children or Severally Handicapped family members or people with major medical needs or who are getting too old to take care of those family members, my company will search out and supply them with things like 24/7 live in Aids and money for uncovered medicines or experimental Treatments that their HMOs won’t cover and cosmetic Treatments and more. My company will do more than just that. I’ll use schools of Architecture to create fortified locations of Housing for over 100 Ethereum Miners that will bring in over $1 Million per month and have them built into schools so that teachers will be able to receive Top Pay and the schools will have more than enough for the best in school supplies and equipment and teaching Aids and like an example would be that the limited language learning classes would have a full computer network setup with every language that Rosetta Stone’s Language software offers and every student will have the ability to choose what language to learn. There will be funds for every extracurricular activity and my plans are to adopt the Chinese and Japanese attendance unit where kids swipe in and out of classes except I’ll make it so that kids will actually get paid cash to attend classes and to do homework and extra credit and science fairs and if they aren’t doing well to get tutors and to help others and that it will do things like give economics classes real money and be able to do real things with the money and learn firsthand and school papers and news how to do very real publications and run ads and more. My company will invest in local Mom & Pop shops and the community and get them to keep selling at rock bottom prices but selling High End Products so that the struggling community that uses them will suddenly be able to afford things like really good toilet paper, and snacks for their kids and eat well every day and even though I won’t be able to reach everyone and help the whole city, by proxy the community will become happier and their mood change will make the community better as a whole. I’ll do the same for places that serve food and coffee shops too so that they can drop their prices and use better quality foods and cleaning supplies and decorations and pay better because than the community will be able to come out and eat more and have more family experiences to build a healthier family around and memories and the community will become stronger for it. I’ll do things like take a Digital Camera and GoPro and go to every run-a-way shelter, and battered woman’s shelter and Underground Railro0ad project and Drop-In Center and Teen Challenge Center and photograph the entire area and interview everyone and find out what they need and what needs fixing and what they wish they could provide and install the best beds and most comfortable sheets and fluffiest comforters and turn them into wonder locations and expand their services and get all the kids and people new clothing and school supplies and make it rain and put them on above comfortable expense accounts. I’ll do the same for Orphanages and Un-Adopted kids that are too old, all the while setting up Luxury Apartments and Auction Houses and emptying out every shelter and soup kitchen and giving these Betrayed Souls what society should have done for them from day one. There are a million tiny things that I’ll be doing and I’ll write you all about them in upcoming letters. It took me 9 years to figure out how to do all this and it will take major Donors and Corporate Donors for me to afford to build enough Ethereum Miners to afford to do it quickly. But I’m going to dedicate the rest of my life to thi9s. Mommy Anne is giving me a $10,000.00 Trust and I’ll put it into my first beginner Ethereum Miner and it will only earn me about $2K/mo. And I’ll have to save and buy more of the best NVIDIA Video Cards and add to it. My build will hold 20 Cards and cost me around $88.505.70 to complete and make me around $10K/mo. when done. My goal is to reach 100 builds as fast as possible using Kickstarters.com and every crowd funding site on the internet and every social media network from around the globe. My work won’t just start and stop in Minnesota or even the USA. Once I am at a point where I have enough Ethereum Miners I’ll be able to expand them at a rate of 50-100 or more at a time creating $1 Million/mo. Jumps in income and higher with more donors and my work will jump boarders and I’ll hire kids and young adults from ar0und the world to locate and rescue their needy and sexually exploited and Brothel Children and people living in Poverty. I just hope I can do it fast enough to see it all happen before I die. I would start gofundme.com and kickstarter.com and dozens of other crowd funding sites and spread them across every social media and network possible but I need a cell phone. I’d also write to several Ad Agencies and give them a rundown of my plans and what I want them to do and have them create the Crowd Funding Ads for me because each site is different, has different formats, options for photos and Banners, and voice and the amount of words for each site and burn them onto disc for me and label them so that when I get out all I have to do is cut and paste and upload image 1,2,3 into spot 1,2,3 and know that there’s no grammar errors and I don’t come off sounding like a scam artist but I have no money for that. I’d also like to get Uncle Steve to help me setup my Business Financials so it’s fully tax exempt and so I can do angel giving like write random checks or give out cash or life time paid phones and more and write it off but he refuses to acknowledge me. Anyways… I haven’t written or spoken too many of you in over a couple decades and I wanted to tell you about my new life. Oh I’m an ordained Minister now too. There are several fun things that I want to do that are just to do because they are fun and good for the kid at heart and things that all kids wish they could do. I want to invest a lot into kid’s lives and their fun factor so I want to do things like get big into street fashion from around the world and to create an opportunity for kids to dress in amazing outfits from Japan and that are High Fashion and Cosplay styles and totally awesome so that going to school and dressing up crazy and amazing just becomes a daily part of life. In schools I want to start Drone Racing Programs with Regulation Drones and awesome courses. I want to get schools into robotics and nautical robotics and aerial Drones and to inspire kids to create water cleaners and air cleaners and alternate fuel and to program the most popular Virtual Reality World Communities as classes and to setup classes that have real life work training to them like how to use complicated office copiers and corporate email systems and multi-line phone setups and digital faxes and to change toners and create orders and write and produce proposals for meetings and run projectors and make digital presentations transfer from your personal office to the proper conference room on time and run flawlessly and to be able to do it using multiple types of software and types of the leading tools found in companies today.

I want to create several Safe Zone Houses in Drug Zones that were “Trap Houses” where people use drugs or sell drugs out of and clean them out and fix them up really well and set them up to be locations that street kids can come and Game and to get Hot meals and Great sandwiches at any time Day or Night and that people can come and get Hot Showers and wash their clothing and get Hygiene Products and fresh underwear and new clothing and shoes and Back Packs and school supplies and can get medical care from the nursing staff and have emergency beds Sometimes prostitutes and Drug Addicts need a hot shower, some good food to eat and a place that is safe to sleep at night behind a door that locks where they can feel safe for a moment in the Hell they are experiencing and a locker and safe to lock their property in so that they know that they can actually fall completely asleep without fear that someone will go through their pockets or demand sex. I want to setup each room with as much luxury and comfort as I dare with addicts coming and going and kids without safe homes. I want the beds to be super comfy and to even have weighted blankets and body pillows because weighted blankets give people a sensory feeling of safety and comfort and body pillows allow people to cuddle with someone who takes nothing in return. That is important. The bed must be super comfy and cozy, with too many pillows with a sitting chair that has a throw on it and book case filled with great novels and Manga Books and Built in Computers with a wide variety of Downloaded music and complimentary MP3 Player and paper for writing and an Antique Typewriter with Letterhead typing paper and Envelopes with a sign that says “free mail service down stairs.” I’ll have a laser printer attached to the computer and scanner and hookups for phones available. There will be a decent sound system and gaming counsel with downloaded and installed games on it and Xbox Live Account Active and setup, all secured so it can’t be stolen. There will be an intercom system and by the bed sweets and pamphlets for my Life Recovery Services. The rooms will not be meant for long term stays, usually just one-three days unless there are special and extreme cases. In the common areas will be ultimate gaming setups and multiple mounted TVs that have the ability to connect to wireless headphones so people won’t have to compete for sound if they are watching multiple TVs at once. In the back area will be a full computer lab and education center setup for kids and I’ll have staff that can help anyone with school work they need to get done. Like I said there are a million little things that I plan on doing with my Business. I found a vending company that allows for digital pricing and for an extra $900.00 I can add a credit card processer to it so I’m going to set several types up in different locations. I’m going to use retro ones that take coins and place them in apartment complexes that dispense single serve laundry detergent boxes and fabric softener packs and snack machine pop machine mixes. Than in some locations I’m going to use sources of pre-painted and sculpted fingernails that you can buy off line like on Etsy.com, Tumblr.com, and other sites and put them in machines that are at like malls and possibly schools and arcades and places kids go and have them wired to process credit cards and then put in random packs Pre-Paid Credit Cards with High Balances and advertise the chance to win one. I plan to run donation funding campaigns so that I can afford to supply them free and laptops with paid wireless PCI Cards for free to the kids at St. Jude’s Cancer Research Hospital and other Hospitals and Mental Health Programs that can’t afford to provide them for their patients but who’s patients need a distraction from their extreme illnesses and to do something with their families when they come to visit and for patients to be entertained by with their families. Something that happens to every person with a mental health issue that goes into the mental health system is that they end up losing every possession that they own and their entire apartments full of their lives get tossed in the trash. It’s happened to me 13 times and when I was young and pretty I ended up prostituting to replace over $26,000.00 of property some times. And so do many others. So one thing I’ll do is setup an apartment and property cleaning and packing service that washes all the dirty clothing and sheets and dishes and surfaces and professionally packs everything properly in bubble wraps and garment bo0xes and move and packs the entire apartment, moving it to self-storage units that the patients social security will pay for and for the paranoid patients photos and videos of the process will be taken and delivered on DVDs and the entire apartment will be cleaned and painted back to white with fire resistant paint so that their deposit will get returned to them. Because the mental health system never slows down from sending people back to mental hospitals the business will be a stable service from the start. I want to do some really cool things for kids in schools and all around on buying they super amazing clothing from Japan and China and other fashionable street looks that they normally couldn’t get or are too expensive for them and their families. There was this young boy that actually did it for his school but he got suits and proper fashion and I think it’s really important for kids not to lose that childhood part too soon so instead of suits I want to buy them awesome clothing that fits their aesthetic and that is beyond their reach financially and make it really fund and cool to be able to dress in their own uniqueness and not the regular jeans and T-Shirts. I am also going to download countless tutorials on how to do Beauty Tips like nails crafting, Hair and Makeup techniques from the simple to the extremely complex and to create DVD Collections of all of them and put them in special DVD Cases that hold 10 and 20 DVDs and maybe over 100 Tutorials and then sell them in Genre collections in magazines like Teen Beat and 17 and Girl Magazines. I’ll also do the same for people that are into crafting from the easy to really technical and some from landscaping to building computers and smart mirrors and more and collections of clothing patters and fashion techniques and cosplay techniques and more and sell those in collections in their genre of magazines too. I’ll do the same with cooking tutorials and recipe collections that are all both video and photos and print .pdf formats. I’ll do genres of Home Design and Projects from hanging pictures to making gardens to extreme projects like building underground Prepper Bunkers. Most of these collections I’ll build up over time I spend surfing the internet. I do a lot of Data Mining and read and learn a lot because I'm curious but now I’ll have focused products to create. Something else that I’ll do is assemble teaching tools for classrooms by using paid accounts on sites like curiosity stream and locating lectures and explanations on sciences and other subjects from simple math to high level theoretical math, sciences, biology, space science, robotics and AI, Virtual Worlds. I’ll even put together sex education presentations of different types and present them to multiple schools for review. Some schools don’t allow real sex education, some teach abstinence, others only teach STDs and so on. It will be a balancing act. Some might want diagrams and some might actually allow real images of sex organs and then there are practices of different cultures to consider and explanations of circumcisions and the Muslim culture that clip or burn off female baby’s clitoris and the explanations of their shawls. There are the full stories behind puberty and when females go through maturity and what they need to do when that happens. The changes in Boys and Girls the ages they change at, Birth Control, options of rape pregnancy pill options and the ways that people can give up a child if it’s too much for them instead of killing it. How adoptions work, the options of sperm donations, egg donations, and surrogacy, the birth process, C sections, and vaginal bi9rths, the drugs (epidermal) the effect of drugs and alcohol that will go through breast milk into the baby and HIV and how HIV is inside Breast milk. Types of parenting same sex parenting and relationships and even same sex rapes and domestic violence and more. The healthy beauty behind same sex relationships not just straight ones. Also things like medical issues, Handicaps, Autism, and more and pre born and medical dangers that can happen and what to do, ways to prepare for if your baby has a disability and more. It may take a ton of work to do but once a school accepts the educational program the work will be worth it. I want to create Job skill development programs and more. I want to actually change the entire education system. And the Prison Reform system. I’ll write more about those things in another letter. I (have a ton of personal experiences that give an insight into the world that most people don’t have and motivations that people don’t understand why someone would spend a fortune only to give it all away again. The thing is that money and wealth mean nothing to me. It’s just an annoyance and an obstacle and a social retardant. My Business will solely be about making people and their lives and futures and not about making profits and products. My entire life has consisted of setting up stages and being an advertisement so that I could make money and void of friendships, love, or connections, not even to my own family which has been my greatest sadness. Mommy Anne has been my only connection to hearing about my family’s lives and what’s going on with them my whole life and Aunt Barbie writes me about her farm life but that is about it. Rarely do I get a letter from Julia or Aunt Beverly. Once I went 5 whole years without coming into physical contact with another person or speaking to anyone and I think it really freaked mommy Anne out that I’m not talkative or Haggier but I’ve been conditioned as a child and again since the age of 11yo. When I entered the mental Hospital Systems and group homes never to touch or hug anyone because it’s not supposed to happen in hospitals and group homes which is where I was raised for 89% of my life. I’ve maybe spent 10 hours with my own Brother during my entire life and maybe spoken with him about half that without having actually any meaningful exchanges other than casual polite conversations not counting just being in the same location at the same time. And dramatically less with the rest of my family. I mainly just dressed nice and sat around waiting to be talked to or asked questions. I faced Addiction, Mental illness, multiple sexual assaults, rape that left me with HIV, Contracting HIV, Homelessness twice, forced prostitution, Two Attempted murders on me, a Home invasion and six suicide attempts and child abuse and a laundry list a mile long including starvation and eating out of dumpsters because I refused to prostitute alone without even a card from my family like “Hey sorry you got HIV” or “Too bad you ended up with a mental illness for 30 years” or “Hey heard you are struggling with addiction, that’s rough.” or “hey your homeless, it’s not much but here’s $20 get some dollar burgers at McDonalds.” or “hmmm… raped! Rough.” or “Hay when you are going to bring a boyfriend to X-Mass?” or “Suicide, wish you wouldn’t do that we like having you around.” Once I went into the Hospital after a suicide attempt that involved 3 cop cars pulling me off a ledge on the side of a parking ramp and I weighed 118lbs. I usually weigh 175-180lbs and that is skinny for myself. I know things like friendships and Love from a boyfriend and happi9ness because of the absolute void of it in my life. I know it perfectly and intimately on a deep level because I have never experienced it. It’s an odd kind of knowledge to have. I use to watch YouTube videos and Troll peoples feeds, not so much as to observe their lives as much as to see what they had on their bedroom walls and what they wear and what was around them and try to figure out what it was that gave them all the feelings and excitements and joys in life that I never knew. All my life I never had a single poster on my wall or anything that wasn’t a tool for survival, no plants, no color paint on my walls, nothing that would display warmth or comfort or personality or a Home. And it was all trappings of a stage set that I occupied but never truly lived in. The only thing that had decoration or meaning of any kind was inside my Computers and Hard Drives and my Data Mining Collections of Music, .pdf files, photos, and social media and blogs and modeling photos. Outside of the digital world I had nothing but pain and suffering, rage, and sadness, and isolation, and complete loneness and mental and emotional damage that eventually became so vast and so deep that I had to use as much drugs as possible not just to fight it back and numb myself to it but to even remove myself from the equation, for many years I just stayed alive out of spite of it all. It was one thing that broke me out of my inner bondage and that was a homeless man that I’d passed over a dozen times and he always sat in his spot and I saw him that morning while going to a client’s house and then that night after dancing into exhaustion at a club. It was late and the snow had started to fall but in a ring around his body was a bare circle from his body heat and he hadn’t moved all day. Across the street was a Target and the man had nothing, no food containers around him, nothing. People had walked by him all day and shopping at Target and no one thought once to go across the street and give him a pop or can of soup and I had been a prostitute for years helping dozens of homeless kids and minors with a safe free place to stay, even pulling tricks to pay other people’s rent and maxed out two credit cards buying a fellow meth addict food and toiletries and that one man sat there all day, every day and no one helped him and Target Managers never gave him a job. Shortly after that I came to this Center and for the last 13 years here in this long term treatment program, every single day for hours a day and deep into the night I have written thousands of pages in Journals, collected every magazine and catalog I could find, filled over 45 journals with notes and resources and links and scrap booked and spent my Dad’s entire $4,800,00 inheritance money from when he died on Business Manuals and researched Crypto Currency for 3 years, read 5 books on it and spent years going to every site in the books and checking them out, watching YouTube videos, going onto bulletin boards and blogs until I learned what I needed to learn to design the most powerful Ethereum Miner possible all the while with a goal to end Homelessness, Unemployment, sexual exploitation and to improve the world and fought for years just to have the right to use my free time to write and study. And I solved it. I figured out a social service Business that will fully recover almost anyone's life and it has finally given me an ounce of peace. Now I just need the people here to give me the chance I need to get out and do it and to live a better life than the one that was quickly killing me. I’ve spent 13 years working on my plans and there are a lot of them and I hear repeatedly to focus on one thing but what people don’t understand is that it is all one thing. I’m not helping one or two people. I’m helping over 30,000 homeless people and exploited kids and people living in poverty. One thing can’t solve that. An entire population of people not only need money but a place to live, jobs to support themselves, and other help and those helpers need to get paid and other communities need fortifications to help the rest of the population that is in need and it’s not for one summer or one year or even 30 years. Every year hundreds of kids become exploited, thousands become homeless and more live in poverty and the cycle will continue long after I’m dead. I have to start building the strongest foundation possible that will last and support generations of people now and long after I’m dead and that won’t happen with me getting a pizza delivery job or a lawn mowing business going. I have to start something so revolutionary that those that pick up where I leave will one day be able to change the lives of Millions of people in need and people in need around the world and it will take Huge Donors and Crowd Funding and rewriting of policies and dismantling of antiquated industries and building new ones.

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bigtittyhimmler-blog · 6 years ago

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Luke Turner fights antisemitism

It is without pleasure that I must announce that the door of the third bathroom stall to the left in Berlin Ostbanhof train station has chosen to participate in a virulent antisemitic hate campaign against me by slamming itself shut on my exposed dick, inflicting serious damage to my penile tissue, and causing the end of my dick to turn purple and swell alarmingly. While this attack was shocking, it was sadly not unexpected. Doors have a long and documented history of collaboration with far-right ideology. For instance, the Nazi architect Albert Speer’s designs frequently involved doors or door-like structures. This attack was clearly intended to evoke cruel and disgraceful antisemitic tropes: by mutilating my dick, the door alluded to the notion of the ‘castrated Jew,’ while also mocking the religious practice of circumcision.

This vile attack has forced me to withdraw from the bathrooms at Berlin Ostbanhof train station, where I can no longer allow strange men to fuck me in the ass. I encourage my fellow artists, writers, and curators to do the same. I suggest that the train station be demolished entirely, and replaced with a public showing of my 2014 artwork WHAT IS A TWIG, consisting of a black canvas printed with the words ‘what is a twig’ in a different shade of black. I have written to every company that posted advertisements in the Ostbanhof, asking them why they continue to support structurally antisemitic institutions. While I am still awaiting a reply, I am shocked that trains are continuing at stop at this station, literally platforming abuse.

It should be obvious why this is taking place. The violence against me has severely disrupted #TRUMPISARIGHTWANKER, a performance art piece in which I livestream myself gently masturbating for eight solid days to footage of my previous work, #TWOFINGERSFORTRUMP, itself a video installation that shows me masturbating to my 2017 intervention, #BUGGERTRUMP. (This last work, an extended touring project, was sabotaged by alt-right fascists who perforated one of my testicles with a kebab skewer.) My art aims to create a participatory, welcoming, and loving digital space in which the public is invited to take part in the process of artistic production by telling me how wonderful I am. As such, it’s a powerful rebuke against the politics of racism and division.

I wish I could say that this assault was an isolated incident. However, as a result of my courage in speaking up against people I don’t like, there have been multiple racist attacks on me and my work from within the art world in only the last 36 hours:

Instagram user “@squantblort” published a photograph of a frog sitting on a lilypad. The frog has an unfortunate association with the fascist ‘alt-right’ movement, which has repeatedly threatened, harassed, wedgied, and humiliated me. This image was ‘liked’ by CUNY adjunct Daniel Daintree, a supposedly ‘left-wing’ intellectual who clearly has no problem indulging in racist imagery. I demand that Daintree be fired.

Well-known New York artist Julia Klurpell had a dream about me in which I was a glob of tar floating in a gutter. Associating Jews with gutters, filth, disease, and sewage is a rancid and ugly antisemitic trope, deployed frequently in Nazi propaganda. Despite the art world’s silence on this utterly unacceptable dream, I’m brave enough to insist that there is no possible excuse for platforming racist harassment inside your own head. I demand that Klurpell submit to a full frontal lobotomy.

In the Crafts 4 Kidz workshop in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, an eight-year-old boy failed to spin a bowl on a potter’s wheel, and said that ‘the Turner is stupid.’ Attributing personal failures to Jewish influence is a shocking and vile antisemitic trope. By allowing this child to remain on its premises, the Crafts 4 Kidz workshop has directly platformed hate speech and enabled harassment against Jewish artists. I demand a) a full and sincere apology from the workshop b) that the child be permanently deplatformed from Crafts 4 Kids, along with all other workshops, galleries, exhibition spaces, biennales, and places that look nice, c) that before he’s ejected the child’s ceramics are smashed in front of him, d) that all Crafts 4 Kids employees take turns stamping on the shards of broken pottery, and e) restitution of $1.6 million. Only then can the Crafts 4 Kids workshop begin to repair the damage wrought by its long history of complicity with fascism.

The Louvre is in Europe, a continent historically occupied by Nazis, and contains none of my works.

When I started furiously retweeting myself about all this, twitter user “@homosexual_kumquats” harassed, gaslit, and cruelly taunted me, telling me to ‘calm down dude’ and ‘get a grip.’ This gaslighting is clearly an example of antisemitic denialism, insinuating that Nazi hate crimes like the Holocaust or the eight-year-old boy’s pottery comment were ‘false flags,’ invented by Jews. Who is “@homosexual_kumquats”? How are they connected to the violent hate campaign being waged against me by the door, the frog, the dream, the child, the Louvre, the sky, and the moon? I am going to spend three months exhaustively going through their social media history. I am going to find out where they live, and install listening devices in their home to see if they ever laugh at any joke at my expense. I am engaged in calling out fascism and antisemitism in the art world, and if anyone publicly states that this is ‘bizarre’ or ‘creepy’ or ‘obsessive,’ or that I’m a ‘dead-eyed narcissist,’ or that I’m ‘pathologically fixated on trying to cause suffering for others under the flimsy pretense of fighting oppression,’ or that I ‘hide behind a Jewish identity to deflect any and all criticism of my stalkerish fixations,’ or that I believe ‘all such criticism of myself or my deeply weird behavior is inherently illegitimate and racist,’ or that I’m a ‘big dumb crybaby bitch who can’t stop writing open letters every time someone upsets me,’ or that I’m ‘the heir to the vast Turner-Bianca PLC textiles fortune, and have used that money to buy myself an art career I don’t really deserve, which is kinda par for the course in the industry, but instead of actually producing any worthwhile art I’ve chosen to deploy my incredibly privileged position to mount endless crusades against extremely marginal art-world figures while ludicrously positioning myself as a perpetual victim,’ or that I’m a ‘habitual liar and hysteric,’ or that I’m ‘drunk on moral self-righteousness,’ or that I ‘keep pretending that the contemporary art scene, which is probably the safest place for Jewish people in the world, is actually a hive of antisemitism, because some weirdos who make frog sculptures don’t like me,’ or that I’m ‘riding the coat-tails of a popular and necessary movement against fascism to pursue my own personal vendettas,’ or that I ‘seem to take particular delight in trying to disrupt the careers and livelihoods of young women,’ or that my face ‘looks like a squished bug,’ or that I ‘got my dick trapped in the door at a train station bathroom while jerking off to footage of myself and now it’s turned all gross and purple,’ then this can only be because they’re fascists and antisemites themselves.

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mpslimitedus · 4 years ago

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Reasons to Work with a Professional for Art and Illustration

Designing a website can be tricky. You want something simple and easy for consumers to use, but you also want something visually stunning and engaging.

Most people can set up a simple website, but fewer can design the site from the ground up. Even fewer people understand the relationship between top-quality art and illustration and its impact on consumers. That’s why it’s so important to work with a graphic design professional.

Not sure you need professional design services? Here are a few reasons why you might want to reconsider:

Ease of Conversion from Screen to Print

People often mistakenly believe that print advertising and communications no longer work for today’s modern audiences. The fact is, there are still plenty of consumers who prefer this mode of communication and enjoy it just as much as the digital medium.

To offer consumers this additional value, you’ll need to work with a designer who understands how to convert the imagery and text from your company’s website and digital communications to traditional print.

Flexibility

A design professional possess the ability to create content for numerous platforms and in different styles. It is upsetting not to get your work done well after having invested time and money, so partner with a professional and ensure that no matter what kind of content you’re looking for, you’ll receive it.

An Artist’s Toolkit

When you work with a professional for the artwork to build your website and other digital media, you get the results of a real artist. The content you receive will be of professional quality, with no expense spared and no corners cut. Isn’t that what you want when you invest in services for your business?

Depth of Understanding

When an artist creates something for business or advertisement purposes, they should understand how the colors, images, and styles can impact purchasing decisions. The average person – even a person with a good understanding of basic web design – may not have this knowledge. That’s why it is essential to work with someone who is an artist and designer first. These professionals have a deep understanding of art theory and its impact on consumer behavior which is of help to the companies they work with.

Your company’s success is important. Work with a professional and receive top-quality results you’re paying for! To know more about Graphic Design visit MPS Limited.

#mpslimited Graphicdesign Artandillustration

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teganjadeduffyciandemablog · 4 years ago

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7th -9th December 2020. ABOUT MY PROJECT.

'Creative Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ - TMA1402 module.

For this project I have been inspired by artists such as Andy Warhol, Ruben Ireland, Damien Hirst and Wassily Kandinsky. These artists have inspired me for this project because they have all used bold bright colours in their work. I have mainly been inspired by Andy Warhol’s ‘Marilyn Diptych’ prints due to the bold flat colours that got used. If you put both of Andy Warhol prints next to my final pieces you will see the inspiration, but my work has more character to it due to there being more highlights and textures. Andy Warhol’s work has also inspired my work due to how different his prints are compared to other people’s artwork. When you see an Andy Warhol piece of work you know it is his due to unique the style of his work. I have tried to put more meaning behind my portraits with the brush strokes and materials that got used. All the things these artists all have in common are they all use bright colours and nearly all of them do portrait work. They all have a different style which makes the artwork more unique as it makes them more interesting to look at.

I decided to do portraits for this project because that is what everyone in the group ‘Unexpected Joy’ could work with. I find that portraits have so much meaning behind them due to it being a very old art form. Before photography was a form of capturing portraits of people creating portraits was only through painting, drawing and sculptures due to there not being any technology back when portraits were invented. With a portrait you can capture someone’s story and someone’s identity through a drawing and painting as you will be capturing the raw emotion. Also, you will be capturing the raw image of the human body and what that human body has been through to survive. Most of the time portraits capture the dark side to someone’s life and the happy side due to the scars that get shown. Portraits can also be referred to places and landscapes. It does not always have to be the human figure. These artists that did portrait work that have also inspired me for this project are Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, and Leonardo De Vinci. These portrait artists inspired me because they mainly did self-portraits. Self-portraits is not something that I did for this project due to wanting to capture the people that work in the Queensgate Market instead. Self portraits are something that I am going to be thinking about doing for the next module.

I choose to do paintings instead of doing a portrait out of any other techniques/ materials due to capturing the image better with paintings due to the colours that get used. Paintings are a way of getting all your emotions down on a piece of people and all your ideas as well. Most people want to express their raw emotions and translate that language into a work of art. It all depends on the shapes, colours and textures that get used in the paintings. For example, when you use dark colours and have rough shapes and textures many people will assume that your painting is very upsetting compared to when you use bright colours and have hardly any textures at all.

For the exhibition we was all going to do it with Temporary Contemporary in the Queensgate market in Huddersfield but that all ended up changing due to COVID-19 and it all having to be digital. My project changed due to not being able to hang my paintings on the wall in the exhibition myself and talk to people regarding my work because of the virus.

From the very first blog post that I did on the 7th October 2020 my project has changed dramatically. I originally wanted to go down the Christmas markets in Huddersfield and the people in the Christmas markets by drawing portraits of them but that changed due to the sircumstances that we are all living through right now.

https://www.rubenireland.co.uk

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/portrait

https://www.britannica.com/art/painting

https://www.wassilykandinsky.net/painting1896-1944.php

http://www.damienhirst.com

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/warhol-marilyn-diptych-t03093

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comfsy · 5 years ago

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The Legal Nomads 2019 Gift Guide: Art and Jewelry

I did my first ever holiday gift guide for travelers a few years ago, which was fun to compile. Readers seemed to enjoy the various items, and I was happy to share some of the products that accompanied me on the road. This year, I wanted to do something a little different. For starters, my life is a little different – something all of you already know. As a result, my own gifts to family and friends aren’t souvenirs from far-away places, but fun things I’ve discovered online. I wanted to share some of them here, especially as many are small businesses like myself.

I completed the resulting creative gift guide later than expected, because I could only type in 20 minute increments. I hope you enjoy this gift guide, one that focuses specifically on art and jewelry. There are so many shops with interesting work out there, and sometimes it’s hard to narrow it down.

The items below are from artists that I have supported, some of whom I’ve actually met, and they are all products I stand behind.

Unique Art and Jewelry Gifts for 2019

BECCA JANE DESIGNS

When searching for a gift for my mum’s birthday this year, I thought I would do something a little different. I looked for an artist who could illustrate our family with a beautiful border and then send her a printed copy for her birthday.

I’ve never commissioned this kind of gift before, and Rebecca – the artist I chose – was patient and kind, and we went back and forth a few times until I was satisfied. She even agreed to make my brother as depicted, wearing his favourite martini t-shirt.

I was waiting on this gift guide until my mum received her gift, and she loved it!

Rebecca’s full shop here, and note that she will do other kinds of designs as well, like Save the Dates for weddings, holiday cards, personalized baby blankets, and more.

LEXIGRAPHIQUE

I’ve followed Michael Buchino’s whimsical word work for some time on Instagram, as it combines two of my favourite things: learning, and art. His Insta feed, Lexigraphique, is one of those accounts that I send to multiple friends many times a week.

Before this guide went up, I wrote him to ask if he had any holiday items I could include, and lucky for all of us he was just about to launch the hygge cards below.

You can buy his prints and these cute holiday cards in his Buchino shop, here.

PICTRIXDESIGN

Anne Connell’s shop is a wonder to behold, chock full of paper goods designed — as she notes on Instagram and on her website — with an “absurd attention to detail” She lists herself as a precisionist, and it’s easy to see why. Her artwork is meticulous, delicately crafted, and very unique.

I found her botanical card series first, and clapped my hands with glee. As someone trying to get out in nature during brief spurts of respite from bedrest, they were a breath of fresh air. Her constellation cards, featuring each of the zodiac signs, are a clear crowd-pleaser. I’ve put those two types of cards below but honestly it’s worth heading to see her full shop.

I realize these are listed as cards, but I think they are frame-worthy all by themselves.

Botanical cards here.

Constellation cards here.

And the full shop here.

NICALLENART

Nicola is a long-time Legal Nomads reader, and a fellow lawyer and traveler. She has generously shared bird illustrations and other fun to keep me cheered up when I’ve been down. She’s also a very talented artist, and her cards and other items are rich in puns and joyful artistry.

Nicola’s work reminds me of the children’s’ books I loved most, with creative characters, maps, and whimsical animals. A talented hand-brush lettering artist, she also includes a lot of drawn typography in her work.

From a grumpy owl to a festive sheep, you’ll be sure to find holiday cards to your tastes. And one of my absolute faves is her wedding card below, “Of all the fish in the sea” — delightful.

Nicola’s full shop is here, with specifics from the above illustrations as follows:

Grumpy Owl here

Festive sheep here.

Of all the fish in the sea here.

BIRDSTRIPS

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jess, the genius behind Birdstrips, in person twice. She’s currently in Montreal, and a friend introduced us just before I re-leaked last summer. Her illustrations have grown a huge following on Instagram due to its relatable messaging, and her captions that accompany the drawings are raw and vulnerable. Together, it’s powerful work that makes almost everyone feel heard.

In Jess’ words, the shop comprises “the existential distress of the flightless through the eyes of the flighted.”

You can check out her images and pick up mugs, shirts, prints and more, here.

ABSTRACT AERIAL ART

JP and Mike Andrews, two brothers from the UK are an Instagram favourite of mine. I often share their images with my community because their eye is unique, and their pictures compelling. Like me, they absolutely love to travel. Unlike me, they specialize in photographing bizarre, aerial images our planet using drone photography.

Their goal: to share perspectives of the world otherwise unseen, captured from a vantage point most of us miss. A great gift option for those who love to roam.

Here’s one I love from them: Skyline, a drone photograph of a freighter that looks like a cityscape.

And this aerial view of a beach made me smile:

Their full gallery shop here.

TEKSTARTIST

Jason Markow, aka TEKSTartist is an artist I found a few years ago, and was hooked immediately. His work combines both traditional and digital media, a fusion of techniques that result in elegant yet crisp products. Given that my own products are typographic representations of food, I love that his art includes quotes he’s enjoyed over the years, visually represented in unique ways.

One of my favourites: this flower, “Your Garden, Forever” available here, created by warping and twisting the words from Tennyson’s famous quote – “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.”― Alfred Tennyson

(c)TEKSTartist 2019

And the item below, The Giving Tree, was created by warping/twisting the words from the entire set of text from Shel Silverstein’s iconic book “The Giving Tree”. Buy a copy of the artwork here.

(c)TEKSTartist 2019

Full shop here.

EFFIN BIRDS

These illustrations of birds with curse words sayings are all the rage on Instagram and Twitter, for good reason: they’re hilarious. Crafted by Aaron Reynolds, they do seem to offend some, but as the name suggests exactly what they are it’s hard for anyone to be upset. Don’t like them? Close the tab. Personally, I find them exactly what I need, each and every day. Clothing, mugs, pins, and more at the link, including a new Effin’ Birds book.

Buy here.

TOTE BAGS: TYPOGRAPHIC MAPS OF FOOD

I’m excited to share the new tote bags in the Legal Nomads shop. Previously, I offered a canvas, bull-woven tote of the maps, with the map printed on once side. These new tote bags are black and white – and if people like, I can also swap out the handles to make them red or mustard! – and the design is printed on both sides.*

*If you’d like to swap out the tote bag for a different handle (example here), just send an email to jodi-at-legalnomads.com after you order, and I’ll make sure it happens.

The new tote has sturdy handles and holds up to 44lbs, perfect for errands and/or carrying a laptop without a laptop bag. Food maps of Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Portugal, Italy, and Mexico available.

Shop the new totes here. The full shop is here.

VANRILEY

These beautiful macrame earrings are courtesy of the Van Riley shop, run by a fellow leaker. I wanted to share her work as I know how it is to worry about making ends meet with a CSF leak. If someone in your life loves macrame, please consider supporting her shop!

Macrame earrings and other items, on the VanRiley shop here.

MICAPEET JEWLERY

Given my love of nature, it’s no surprise that I also love jewelry that depicts it in design. I saw these gold leaf earrings recently and ordered a pair as my holiday gift to myself. They’re lightweight — great for anyone with headaches — and they are delicate and just so pretty. I like the contrast of the gold with the emerald green stud in the ear.

If leaf earrings aren’t your thing, Mica also has necklaces, rings, and other earrings in a variety of shapes and sizes. They’re lightweight and beautiful, and oh so creative. Her jewelry is hypoallergenic and nickel-free.

Buy the same gold leaf earrings that I love here, with Mica’s full shop here.

GLDNxLAYEREDANDLONG

Several readers nominated this Etsy shop, and it’s the only one on this list that I haven’t also purchased myself. But when my readers are happy, I’m happy, and I wanted to share what brought them such joy in gift giving.

Chrissy’s shop features personalized, delicate jewelry for those who want to memorialize their care with initials or names. The image below is for the necklace that several readers bought, but her shop is full of other options, including rings, earrings, and pendants.

Personalized initial necklace here. Full shop here.

BEBANGLES

I’ve saved one of the best for last.

My friend Chantelle started Be., a company that sells bangles – but also much more than simply bangles. Chantelle is one of the most open-hearted, vivacious people I’ve ever met, and thankfully I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her in person years ago. Her company’s bangles work well in conjunction with the lightness and curse words of Effin Birds, two small business enterprises that use curse words to make a valid point. In Chantelle’s case, Be. takes a stand against societal norms. Her work aims to support women and girls in a society that often expects airbrushed perfection.

I received a few Be. bangles as a wonderful 40th birthday gift from Chantelle, and my two faves – that came with me to Florida are:

“I’m mostly peace, love, light, and a little go fuck yourself” – product here, and

“I stopped waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel, and lit that bitch up myself” – product here.

I am someone who uses curse words as a form of punctuation, so those two bracelets are perfect. For those with less swear-y tendencies, lots of beautiful options like:

“Be you. The world will adjust.” (here), and

“Speak. Even if your voice shakes.” (here.)

All of Be.’s products here.

That’s it for 2019! A big thanks to my friend Reine who helped pull many of the images and upload them for me, so that I could do this guide more easily. It would have been a 2020 gift guide without her. Hopefully there’s something fun in here for someone in your family.

Happy holidays, and thank you as always for all the incredible support.

-Jodi

The post The Legal Nomads 2019 Gift Guide:<br /> Art and Jewelry appeared first on Legal Nomads.

The Legal Nomads 2019 Gift Guide: Art and Jewelry published first on https://takebreaktravel.tumblr.com/

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ryrepko-blog · 8 years ago

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The Women’s March on Washington

Throughout history art has been used as a powerful weapon in the fight against political and social oppression and injustice. In most every rally or march, there are posters and signs that show what they are fighting for or against. Some with words, others with drawings or digitally made art. These works of art are considered to be Protest Art. Further defined as a broad term that refers to creative works that concern or are produced by activists and social movements. The purpose of protest art is to address and challenge social and political issues like oppression, injustice, and prejudice, and inequalities Although handmade posters can be effective, digitally made art is able to show the cause with any information clearly legible and any art or images with high quality.

Considering the plethora of offensive, sick and demeaning comments Donald Trump made against women, minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, and even the mentally-disabled, it was expected by many that Trump wouldn’t be well accepted by the public. That proved to be true when Inauguration day came and the days, even weeks and months after people all over America marched and rioted in the streets against his presidency. Of these, one of the most peaceful, memorable, and historical marches took place the day after inauguration day, on January 21st, 2017. People in Washington and all over the country took to their streets to participate in the Women’s March on Washington. This would become the biggest one-day protest in history, and drew in around a half million people in DC alone (Women's March 1).

The Women’s March on Washington was a grassroots effort comprised of dozens of independent coordinators at the state level and a national coordinating committee who worked around the clock to make the event possible (Women's March 1). Although the name of the march was the Women’s March, they were fighting for more than just women’s rights. The issues they rallied against included immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, the natural environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, workers' rights, and an overwhelming opposition to our new president (Women's March 1). Protest art that came out of this movement was powerful, well-designed, and definitely helped to make the Women’s March on Washington a successful, effective, and peaceful protest.

Although the Women’s March took place the day after Inauguration Day, planning for the march was in the works well before hand. Art doesn’t just happen, it does take time. Along with the graphic designers who were prompted by Trump winning the election to make their own protest art, one foundation also put out a nationwide public call for art to support the Women’s March on Washington. In early January of 2017 the Amplifier Foundation put out their call for art, and eight days later they had over 5,000 submissions. They eventually narrowed it down to five final poster graphics which were printed and distributed, and finally carried by tens of thousands of people at the Women’s March in Washington and in cities across America (Women's March 1). All artwork was inspired by the mission and values detailed by the WMW manifesto, “We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country” (Women's March 1). Every movement has some type of artwork that is known for its relationship and representation of that movement, and these artworks will forever remind people of the reason they marched that day.

Some of the best protest art from the Women’s March is the protest art made by graphic designers. Although there were plenty of successful handmade posters at the march, some of the most noted, impactful and effective posters are the ones that were professionally-made by the graphic design community. Shepard Fairey, Deva Pardue, Ernesto Yerena and many more designed posters in advance for the Women’s March on Washington (Aldhahi 1). These works easily show what exactly the people were fighting for and against that day. Each of them has their own unique style, from minimal to more detailed and complex, but each poster proved to be effective and successful to the Women’s March’s cause.

The artist who created the 2008 “Hope” poster of then presidential candidate Barack Obama, Shepard Fairey produced a new set of three images that were printed by the thousands and used in the Women’s March titled “We the People”. The three posters feature Muslim, Latino, and African-American women. In an interview with CNN, Fairey explained his reasoning behind the three images and why he chose the ethnic groups that he did. "We thought (they) were the three groups that had been maybe criticized by Trump and maybe were going to be most, if not necessarily vulnerable in a literal sense, most feeling that their needs would be neglected in a Trump administration," Fairey told CNN (Chung 1). He made the images as a contribution to the non-profit Amplifier Foundation, a self-described "art machine for social change" to produce works for the organization's We the People campaign (Chung 1). "It's really about making sure that people remember that 'we the people' means everyone, it means all the people," Fairey said. The campaign's objective was to "flood" Washington with symbols of hope on Jan. 20, in which they succeeded.

The three posters feature three women of different ethnicities, Muslim, Latino, and African American which I think was a great choice to represent the We the People campaign because the great diversity the United States is what has made it the country it is. These images serve as a reminder to president Trump and anyone else who has forgotten what our country was built on. That, we in fact were immigrants to our own country, and have no right to deny people their rights or entry. Especially when one of most famous quotes is “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The color scheme is reminiscent of the American flag, which further symbolizes the idea of freedom. Each poster has a short saying underneath following “We the People”, including, “are greater than fear”, “protect each other” and “defend dignity”. Although short, they are extremely powerful words accompanied by the images of the women. In my opinion these images were extremely effective and rendered with high quality, the simple shading minimal detail works really well and all three go together perfectly as a set.

Ernesto Yerena also teamed up with street artist Shepard Fairey and Colombian artist Jessica Sabogal to create a series for the “We the People” campaign in the wake of Trump’s xenophobia-fueled campaign (Aldhahi 1). “Trump has so many White supremacist connections, he doesn’t care about Indigenous peoples or anyone else that’s working-class or poor. He’s making a lot of moves and laws that are harmful and predatory," says Yerena, "This is the time to create art in solidarity and resistance. Fascism is becoming normalized, and we’re going to be pushing back against that.” Much of Yerena’s previous work is about fair immigration (Aldhahi 1). The poster features a Native American elderly woman with her fist clenched in the air, with the words “We the resilient have been here before”. I find this poster to be extremely successful. The message is clear, it is a reminder of America’s history, and how it is beginning to repeat itself. It’s stating that although it is happening again, the American people will be resilient. The color scheme is really nice, and even though the colors are somewhat muted and dull, because of the high contrast between the foreground and background the Native American women stands out clearly. The blue to light yellow gradient also suggest to me that she’s high atop a mountain with her fist clenched, with nothing but the sky behind her which is quite powerful.

After hearing Donald Trumps concerning comments about many things including the women’s reproductive rights, Deva Pardue, another graphic designer also felt there was a need for social campaigns to encourage activism. In early December, she launched For All Womankind, a design initiative that donates all proceeds to the Center for Reproductive Rights and Emily’s List. “A lot of women didn’t think we had to worry about things like our reproductive rights,” Pardue says. “But here we are, and it turns out we do.” (Why One Designer 1). Pardue spoke with Magenta about her motivation to launch “For All Womankind”. “Post-election, I, like lot of people, felt very super affected and upset by the results. In the initial weeks after, I was kind of depressed and not really motivated to do much. But it’s like the stages of grief; it turned into anger. I wanted to do something, use my skills in some way, but I hadn’t quite figured out how. When the idea for “For All Womankind” came to me I thought, “OK, this is it, I need to do it.” She said there was so much dialogue and passion around women’s rights, but there isn’t really a visually exciting or strong presence in the media, so I thought there was a void to be filled (Why One Designer 1).

She realized that the clenched-fist motif was used a lot in protest art, but none of the hands looked feminine in any way. So, she decided to take that and make it more feminine. Womankind is a play on “mankind,” she felt making it about all womankind was particularly relevant right now given the marginalization of minorities during the election. This comes through in the various skin colors of the illustrated fists in the air, too. This is about more than just American women’s rights, it’s about the female species at large. American policies affect those of other nations, both directly and indirectly. (Why One Designer 1). I love these posters, they say no much without too many words. It reminds me a lot of Saul Bass’ “Clenched Fist” with how minimalistic it is and also some of the jagged edges are also reminiscent of what is seen in a lot of his work. I like the simple color scheme, it’s feminine but powerful and bold with the bright red text and bright red color of the nails, that also show that these are women’s fists. The play on words is really ingenious, and that in combination of the simple illustration of the clenched fists of three different colors and nail polish is enough to tell you what this poster is about.

Overall, the Women’s March had a lot of very interesting and effective protest art. However, I believe the ones that will likely be remembered as the most successful and historical are the works of graphic designers. I chose three different works to critique, all featuring women, but each with their own meaning. To me the “For All Womankind” posters’ main were focus was on female reproductive rights, the “We the People” posters goal was to show women of different ethnicities uniting together against injustice and inequality, and the “We the Resilient” poster was to remind Americans that we have been here before, when we took our land from the Native Americans, and now we are denying and shaming immigrants. Although the fight against oppression, injustice, and prejudice, and inequalities will likely never end, the Women’s March on Washington showed that the American people are prepared to take a stand against what is right. Protest art was a historical piece of this movement and a powerful weapon that challenged socio-political issues, and contributed to the social change by producing knowledge, solidarity, and raising awareness.

References

Aldhahi, Mariam. "The Most Powerful Protest Art from the Women's March." Magenta. Magenta, 21 Jan. 2017. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <https://magenta.as/the-most-powerful-protest-art-from-the-womens-march-afedcf7ff9cf>.

Chung, Stephy. "'Hope' Artist's New Posters Protest Trump." CNN. Cable News Network, 19 Jan. 2017. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/19/arts/shepard-fairey-trump-inauguration-posters-trnd/>.

"Why One Designer Is Making Protest Art More Feminine." Magenta. Magenta, 19 Dec. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <https://magenta.as/why-one-designer-is-making-protest-art-more-feminine-c9992b601e5d>.

"Women's March on Washington." The Amplifier Foundation. The Amplifier Foundation, 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <https://amplifier.org/campaigns/womens-march/>.

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thissurroundingall · 7 years ago

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Henry Andersen

The riskiness of seduction and the plastic language of LA hip-hop in melting pot Brussels.

Nederlandstalige versie

Date of interview: November 23, 2017

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

“Off to Brussels”, that’s what Australian-born artist Henry Andersen (°1992) scribbled down on the note he left for his fellow travellers on his first trip to Belgium. Several years and a detour via Berlin later - where he studied with the Austrian composer Peter Ablinger - he is now officially living in the Belgian capital and wrapping up his Master of Fine Arts at KASK in Ghent.

Just like Henry himself, his artistic practice can’t be easily fixed in time and space. Henry produces a variety of artworks and performances, ranging from a Slow Reading Club dismantling the choreography of readership, to a conceptual album, to architectural installations. His work oscillates between the visual arts, sound art and performance, transforming along the way. Stanzas or The Law of The Good Neighbour for example - a word game piece – exists as a printed work, a performance, a released record and a curated group exhibition.

On a particularly gloomy autumn day, we arrive just in time on Henry’s top floor flat in Ixelles to escape the stormy weather. Australian-born, Henry isn’t particularly used to these sudden seasonal changes “This year I am prepared for a proper winter though”, he smiles. With a portrait of our ancient king Boudewijn overlooking the plant and book filled living room, we discuss his widespread trajectory over a cup of coffee. Moving around the house during the interview to explore what spaces and surroundings mean, he is always elaborating his answers, moulding them in order to scan their borders: a characterising element of his artistic approach.

‘Stanzas’ or ‘The Law of the Good Neighbour’ released on KRAAK

It’s not exactly easy to pinpoint what you do. How do you actually introduce yourself when you meet new people?

(Smiles.) What I do and how I introduce myself are different questions maybe... Generally I just say that I’m an artist and that I mostly work with text. I use written text and spoken text. Sometimes I write myself, sometimes I find text, sometimes I commission or alter text. Almost every project is beginning with text and then the endpoint changes. So I make a lot of performances, some printed material, some installations, some sound recordings.

But always starting from text?

Yes, text always seems to be the starting point nowadays. And then it’s often developed in some kind of collaborative format. I like to work with people around me. It’s a way of being less precious about the finished result, and it’s also usually a much more gratifying and fun way to work.

For example, the record I released on KRAAK is a recording of the readings I do with friends. It’s something I have been doing for years, and it ends up being a documentation of different relationships around me. It means I'm always working with friends to realise the recordings, and that the particular qualities of their voices and their relationships are given a lot of scope in shaping the piece.

There are a lot of really interesting people working in that city, but at some point, I started feeling a little limited with that scene.

You studied music composition in Australia before moving to Berlin. How do you still relate to the idea of being a composer these days?

I wouldn't really call myself a composer anymore. When I was in Germany, I was composing music for others. I was much more involved in producing music for other people to perform, in spaces dealing with experimental, classical music. There are a lot of really interesting people working in that city, but at some point, I started feeling a little limited with that scene. It’s quite dogmatic in certain ways. I had a lot of friends working as visual artists, and I wanted to move more into that setting. So moving to Belgium was a way to formalise that shift somehow, by studying fine arts in Ghent. Since I’m here, I don't think of what I do as being so strictly related to composing anymore.

The kind of composing I was involved with is very reduced, very German, conceptual composition. It’s working with simple blocks of material. It has a lot of parallels with structuralist film-making. So even if I'm making less music now, I think those ways of working still have a lot of impact on how I think about form. The other thing is that as a composer you work very hard at how your ideas are communicated to a player, so I think that interest in different models of communicating ideas – often deliberately leaving stuff a bit vague and open to interpretation– carries over to what I am doing now.

So it was a very conscious shift into visual art as your main thing then?

Yes, but since being here I feel like I'm moving between contexts quite often. I made a record, so I end up performing in music contexts. Now with the Slow Reading Club project, with my friend Bryana Fritz, we end up performing in theatre spaces. It feels like this kind of practice is allowed in Brussels in a way that isn't necessarily the case in other cities.

There's something very nice about that freedom. It means you get to interface with different spaces, different audiences who bring their own frame of reference, different types of attention. It is interesting to think about what’s expected in a particular setting and then decide how much to go along with it, and how much to try to bring in other frames of reference. So for example, with Slow Reading Club we organised a reading in a theatre, Beursschouwburg. We decided to try to use the technologies of the theatre - stage lighting, for example, or even just the fact of gathering a whole group of people together at one time – but to try to push other kinds of durations, other sets of experiences. So the whole thing was very long – about 3.5 hours - and it started at 11pm which means it starts to draw on all these expectations of a party or something. We served people rum, we used a carpeted space. We wanted to play with those different frames.

Slow Reading Club at Batard Festival Photography: Cillian O'Neill

It is interesting to think about what’s expected in a particular setting and then decide how much to go along with it, and how much to try to bring in other frames of reference.

Slow Reading Club at Batard Festival Photography: Cillian O'Neill

(Recently) I noticed his notes in the margin of Foucaults’ Discipline and Punish. He must have made them when he was more or less my age now. I was fascinated by the idea of having a relationship with him at that age.

How does that align with the Wansbrough piece, the font you made based on your father’s handwriting?

My dad’s kind of an interesting guy. (laughs) He made documentary films about particular leftist concerns in the 80s in Australia. When I was stealing some books in my parent's house a while ago, I noticed his notes in the margin of Foucaults’ Discipline and Punish. He must have made them when he was more or less my age now. I was fascinated by the idea of having a relationship with him at that age. I took scans of his handwriting and developed it into a digital typeface I can use myself.

There’s a lot of love in it as a piece, but at the same time it’s a hollowed out, fleshless format - to reduce someone's private handwriting into a typeface and give it away for someone else to use. To display the piece, I ask that a space use the font for any external communication – so any invites, any posters etc. should all be written in this slightly clumsy font. I liked the idea of giving away the responsibility for what content the font would be used for. I wanted to keep it as functional as possible.

If your father was a filmmaker, I imagine you got in touch with art quite early on.

Not so much. There was a lot of literature around when I was younger, my parents read a lot. So I was exposed to literature early on. Also to music, there was some music around in the house. But I hated music until I was thirteen – other than this one CD I had of the Traveling Wilburys. (Laughs)

You hated music?

Yes. It used to really upset me. I didn’t understand why listening to music was something that people would want to do with their time. Still, I somehow ended up in a band when I was a teenager. I played guitar. It just seemed like a fun way to hang out with friends, to be in a band. I got into composition through that.

But I was only exposed to contemporary art quite late I would say. It’s getting much better these days, but there wasn't so much contemporary art around in Perth, at least not so much that I had access to. I started going to much more exhibitions when I moved to Europe. The first year I was living in Germany, the first thing I’d do when I arrived in any city was go to the museums and see all the permanent collections that each city had built up. I learned a lot from just wandering around – about how all these artists related to each other but also just about what sort of work I liked, what I responded to, what experiences were possible in a museum space. I really loved this feeling of just swallowing it all in and being totally fascinated.

‘Stanzas’ or ‘The Law of the Good Neighbour’, was maybe the first time I really worked with language again after university. That was also the summer I was listening to a lot of hip hop, particularly stuff out of LA.

When did this fascination for language occur to you then for the first time?

I had a really good English teacher when I was in high school, she would always encourage me to write prose and poetry. Nothing I made in university had any language element to it though. So then I got a little bit away from it. ‘Stanzas’ or ‘The Law of the Good Neighbour’, was maybe the first time I really worked with language again after university. That was also the summer I was listening to a lot of hip hop, particularly stuff out of LA. Those guys have this amazing, plastic way of using language. Making things sort of flex around the rhyme, even if doesn’t always make sense in terms of content. It’s very elastic and playful, and often really funny as well. The text is sort of caught between being a method of delivering content and an aesthetic object in its own right. That was definitely something I wanted to think about in my own practice.

Gradually, I started to realise that because I'd been adding to the list for such a long time, over years, it started to have this very autobiographical function.

Did you start the word list for ‘Stanzas’ very consciously or was it a playful coincidence?

It was definitely playful. It started at home one night for fun. I didn't necessarily have any plans to make it into a piece, but I enjoyed doing it. Even after the first performance or two, I didn't think of it as a piece. It was a fun thing to do with people I met. Basically, the list is just constructed by adding words which sound like the word before: “human”, “hammon”, “harmon”, “mormon . Gradually, I started to realise that because I'd been adding to the list for such a long time, over years, it started to have this very autobiographical function. When I was living in Germany there were a lot of German words, or place names from around Berlin -“Schlachtensee” for example, which was always my favourite lake to go swimming. Since I moved to Brussels more and more French words crept in but at the start it was very basic things like “jus de pomme”

I organised a lot of readings where pairs of friends would read sections from the list. Sometimes for a public, but more often just in their apartment on a Sunday afternoon or something. I built up quite a big archive before I thought much about how to present it. Then whenever I would be invited to present something, I would think about different ways of making this activity public.

Can you still turn off the list in the back of your head when you listen to people these days or has it completely structured the way you listen?

It’s a nice question. There were periods where I was writing it way more intensively, when I was writing every day. At the moment I write very occasionally. Usually there is a hangover of an hour or so, where after I finish writing I'm still thinking about words in terms of how they sound next to each other, rather than what they mean. It’s a very awkward state to be in if you turn up to a party or something. (Laughs)

Now it only happens when I hear a word that I’m really seduced by. Some words are really seductive, for some reason, because they have a strange sound or they remind me of something really specific.

I think a lot of my work is about being seduced.

There’s definitely a sensual side to your work. How important is that notion of sensuality in your work?

I think a lot of my work is about being seduced. I’m very interested in what seduces me. It’s a good motor for me to start working on something. I don't mean it in a sexual way, more like this whole-body fascination for something. Where it gets stuck in your head. The best example for me will always be being a teenager and listening to a certain band. Where you don't just want to listen, you want to read every interview online, start to dress like them or whatever. It’s some kind of extreme hunger. Something that you feel on a bodily level.

As an adult the feeling is much rarer and usually less intense – otherwise it would be difficult to get anything done - but occasionally I still feel a really bodily reaction to something that peaks my interest. A lot of projects for me start like that.

The folding screens, Paravents, started out like this. I found this image online, of a set of room dividers that were designed by Eileen Gray in the fifties and I was totally seduced by it. I've never seen the original objects, but in the image they seem extremely strange. Like some kind of half-way point between and animal and a wall. They confused me and building them was a way to figure out how to deal with that feeling. I spent a huge amount of time building and cutting and I just guessed the scale in the end. It wasn't the idea to make a faithful reproduction. I’m more interested in the image of them than I am in the actual objects.

Seduction has a vulnerability to it that I like. It’s much riskier than keeping critical distance, it often ends in tears.

So it’s more the fascination for your own fascination then?

Totally. Fascination is an important clue for trying to locate yourself as a body in a terrain where bodies don't necessarily exist: a study of the body where it isn't. This is particularly the case in language. I think language is usually understood as something bodiless: over here is language and over here is the body but the two don't really meet. I like the idea of working with language but being really consequent about the role the body plays in the equation: how does my skin feel when I read, how does the musculature of my face move when I speak etc. More broadly, I think bodies present a challenge because they are non-exchangeable. They are always specific, so they don't really belong to a late-capitalist logic which is so constructed around measurability and exchangeability. That makes them very important, I think.

Seduction has a vulnerability to it that I like. It’s much riskier than keeping critical distance, it often ends in tears. But I like this kind of proximity, this way of dealing with material.

Henrys’ graduation project in KASK, Ghent. Photography: Omar Chowdhurry.

How did you start the Slow Reading Club?

I met Bryana at Batard Festival in 2013 and we kept in touch when I moved to Brussels. We always wanted to work together and we had a joke that we ran a reading group, though we never once met to read together. One night we were drinking together in a bar and for some reason we wrote a manifesto for this fictional reading group – about how to think of reading as something embodied and erotic. It was a fun document to make – lots of slightly crude jokes. Amazingly, we got invited to participate in a festival (kunstenfestivaldesarts) based on the manifesto, so the text came first and the project kind of developed out of that. It was interesting to work on something with this fixed document in the background. I think it kept us on track.

Basically, the whole thing came from the question of how to suspend critical reading. We wanted to try to read texts without using all of these techniques of critical reading and deconstruction that we'd learned through arts education.

Can you completely turn off criticality?

Probably not. But I believe that there’s very tiny brief moment of aesthetic experience before you can put something into language or understand it. It’s not the idea to grasp this state – I think that wouldn't be interesting – but about setting up the conditions for it to emerge. What do you need in space to let that happen? What happens if the lights are yellow for example, what happens if there’s alcohol, or if you have all these other informations of smell and touch interrupting the reading process? What kinds of conditions can we set up in order to let that emerge?

Slow Reading Club at Batard Festival Photography: Cillian O'Neill

What are the plans for the next Slow Reading Club editions?

The texts that we read change every time. Each time we organize a session, it’s a kind of answer to the last one. So for example, for the first session we had a lot of texts that would deal with the nighttime or with a thin edge between the self and the world – everything kind of expanding outwards. So then the second session at La Loge, was about fetishizing confinement, fetishizing enclosure and the walls around you. Then in Batard, we wanted to break with the idea of enclosure and get into this slightly magical thinking where bodies are always changing shape – turning into animals for example. It was a lot of texts about mimicry and doubling.

Next, we'd like to maybe think about coldness. Until now, everything has been performed in a kind of soft, warm space. It’s been a lot about tactility and community. We want to experiment with something a little more alienating.

The manifesto states that SRC aims at the production of some kind of excess, a word that occurs repeatedly in your portfolio. Can you elaborate a little on that?

Excess is everything that doesn’t fit the frame. If you want to make excess make a frame. So excess is somehow like this unknown and unknowable territory that is blossoming out of everything that is happening all the time. It’s a material you can't really handle or make sense out of.

For my record launch at Brussels gallery Damien & The Love Guru in May last year, I was somehow interested in this idea that every time you make something, it generates all this excess that you didn’t mean to generate. I wanted to see how I could deal with that. With the album, I had all these friends that had given their time to make readings. There was this kind of excess of people that couldn’t fit onto the experience of that record. Everyone who had given a reading had some practice of their own – as dancers, writers, artists. I asked everyone who had done a reading to show some excess or overage from their own creations – people showed prototypes, or cut up old works into new ones, Marion Menan showed a film that she had previously use as a backdrop for a dance piece, Eleanor Weber wrote a very beautiful play using a bunch of scraps of her own writing that had not been published because they had been rejected, or cut out in editing or the research had just gone in another direction.

The idea was to make manifest this kind of imaginary community of people who were surrounding the record and to make manifest all of these overages spilling out from their own work. I wanted it to feel like a collection of stuff relating to the people involved, without everyone feeling that they had to put their best foot forward like in a group show.

It was totally not minimal: too hot, too much color, too many people. I loved that with this austere minimalism, the gallery was full of sweaty bodies.

I also wanted it to be a very joyous event. I had done a few readings already in the months before in Brussels, so it didn’t make sense to just do that again. The piece is funny in a way, but also austere and a little disinterested, so I wanted to the launch to be the complete opposite. It was totally not minimal: too hot, too much color, too many people. I loved that with this austere minimalism, the gallery was full of sweaty bodies.

Where do you work or create the most?

It changes a lot, now I’m a lot at home in my apartment reading, but I was working in a wood workshop to make the room dividers for example. I’m also looking for a studio at the moment. I like to have a place to come back to. So I don’t have to think about my washing when I’m working.

I think now more artists should work in office spaces – to get inside the warm carcass of the global financial crisis.

What would be a perfect home or studio for you?

I’ve never really done much to the houses that I’ve lived in. Before I was always in shorter-term rentals, this is the first place I have been for a longer time and I haven’t changed that much. There’s a difference between the kind of architecture I like to think about and the houses I'd like to live in. I'm writing a lot about modernist architecture at the moment, but I don’t know what it’s like to live in those spaces. It might be horrible! Those houses fascinate me, the way they propose a different way of living, but I don’t know if I would actually want to live in one.

As for a studio, for a while I was really into the idea of working in an old office space – blue carpet, potted plants, water cooler. In Britain in the 1980s you had all these YBA artists setting up in old factories because the industrial sector in that country was completely collapsing. It developed into a very specific aesthetic. I think now more artists should work in office spaces – to get inside the warm carcass of the global financial crisis.

And the people here (in Brussels), that’s the main thing. That feeling of familiarity, conversations that can stretch over months, and even years. That’s what makes it feel like home.

Is Brussels home for you right now?

I like it a lot, so I think so. There are a lot of interesting people floating about and it’s the size that I like. Berlin was somehow too big for me. Here the city is small enough that I feel part of a community. I feel like I have an idea of what’s going on in the city even though there’s still too much to see. There’s influx of different sorts of information and I really like the mix of languages. And the people here, that’s the main thing. That feeling of familiarity, conversations that can stretch over months, and even years. That’s what makes it feel like home.

What I find really striking is the excitement that pours out of your work, as though always on the lookout for new possibilities. What is something you’re particularly excited about at the moment?

I’m really looking forward to this winter actually. (laughs) I think that there’s something in trying to love what you normally really hate. I used to hate writing emails, now I started writing these very flowery emails and I’ve started enjoying it more. So yeah, this year I'm trying to convince myself that I enjoy the winter, just by pure force of will.

Interview + translation: Tessa Vannieuwenhuyze

Photography: Tom Peeters

English Editor: Henry Andersen & Steven Kremers

Dutch Editor: Britt Sterkens

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