#stuff with similar artistic choices. maybe not the same because i am 26. but similar. coming from similar places.

[bmpmp3]

its interesting as someone who used to be a bit closer to the very online capital A "Art Community" but is now a little more outside of it and focused on local art academia etc instead because the former always compliments me on "art style" and the latter always compliments me on the supposedly bizarre subject matter choices i make... its not bad its just interesting to see those two bubbles and how surprisingly separated they can be. unfortunately for them both, my art style is only Like This because i have a learning disability that slightly colours every line i draw and the unusual compositional choices like only drawing one eye and shit is because i was on deviantart in 2009 <3

[taylizmasterpost]

Liz After the Agency (September 2012 - September 2014)

So, Liz is spiraling. Her mental health isn’t doing great. And she was just asked to leave The Agency (presumably to take care of herself, although the public reason given was for her to start a solo career). Things are bad.

However, in the darkness, there’s always a light. And the light for Liz, in this case is her neighbor, Bryan Brown.

24 September 2012 - Liz and Bryan tweet at each other for the first time:

17  October 2012 - Taylor writes This Love:

Now, this COULD be about Liz, considering the back and forth. However, I’m more inclined to believe Taylor wrote this about Swiftgron’s first break up, right after they got back together, which you can read more about here. 

The same day, Liz makes a vague tweet about jealousy:

It’s crazy weird to me that the same day Taylor is celebrating getting back together with Dianna and writing This Love, Liz is pissed off and jealous about something. Coincidence? Maybe. But I don’t think so.

22 October 2012 - Red is released. According to a later interview with the photographer who did the Red booklet (who happens to be Liz’s current roommate), Taylor based the concept of the photoshoot on some headshots they’d taken for Liz: 

“Taylor is a mutual friend of ours. Stephen and his brother were friends with her years before, and I became friends with her separately. What ended up happening was one of her background singers needed headshots. When Taylor saw them a few months later, she came to me and was like, “Liz showed me the shots you took of her, and I need my album to look exactly like that.” Clearly, this was a no-brainer. I said, “OK!” Before then, I’d been kind of burned out on music photography. A lot of the shoots were super controlling. I needed a new perspective on the field itself and wanted future shoots to be very free-flowing — just the artist and a minimum crew. Luckily for Stephen and me, that’s exactly how Taylor presented the Red album shoot. So it was just the three of us shooting everything together. She wanted everybody else to remain off set, allowing for a more personal and intimate experience.”

So, I don’t know why Taylor did this. Maybe she wanted to look like a hipster for the Red album and Liz was the best she knew. Or, maybe, she wanted to scream to those who knew her well that this album was about LIZ HUETT. 

In this series of Liz headshots, there’s also one specific photo of Liz wearing the Stevie Nicks moon necklace that Taylor possibly gave to her:

Is this possibly one of the reasons why Taylor wanted to mimic them for the Red album? 

Later that day, Taylor goes on Good Morning America and says she wrote a new song “like two days ago” (probably talking about This Love?)

And after that, Taylor tells the LA Times that Begin Again and State of Grace are about the same person:

“There were a few track list choices I knew I was going to make way in advance,” she said. “I knew I wanted to bookend the album with ‘State of Grace’ and ‘Begin Again’ because they’re inspired by the same person who inspired a few songs on the record. I wanted to start and end the album with the first and last song I ever wrote about that relationship.”

“Then in between those songs, I wanted to paint a picture of the ups and downs I’ve experienced in life and love, not necessarily in the order it happened chronologically,” Swift continued. “I like to spread the emotions out in a way that never makes you feel like there’s a sad lull, then a burst of four songs in a row about joy. At the end of the day, I make a track list based on what my gut feeling tells me.” ‘Begin Again’ is my song version of a cliffhanger ending. Throughout the whole album, there have been songs about the trials and tribulations of love and loss, and there at the end of the record it starts all over. As soon as I wrote that song, I knew exactly where I wanted to put it.”

Now, I don’t think this means Begin Again is about Liz. I think it means that Liz is the past relationship in the song, and Dianna is the present. And Liz actually has a song called “Good About Her” that kind of mirrors Begin Again and I find that HILARIOUS and also kind of a smoking gun.

26 October 2012 -Taylor goes on Katie Couric. Katie asks if Taylor’s ex in WANEGBT got the message and Taylor says she “hasn’t heard from him since” and also mentions “some of my exes like to write really long emails.” Now, if the song is about Liz, this is a lie, because she definitely did get lunch with Liz after WANEGBT came out. However, I think it’s fair that what she’s hinting here is that things did not end well in that messy relationship.

25 October 2012 - Liz quote tweets Caitlin about crying on the treadmill to All Too Well :

8 November 2012 - Liz releases Never Know on YouTube:

The lyrics that make me think this is about Taylor are the “now and then I catch myself singing your old song.” ESPECIALLY in the context of that treadmill tweet and Liz probably having written this during her Nashville sessions over the summer. However, it could also be about Jason, who, as we know, was a struggling musician before he became a photographer.

18 November 2012 - Taylor shoots the MV for IKYWT, wears the same black and white shirt she wore around when Liz first joined the band. Liz calls the news of her leaving the Agency “bittersweet.”

And “bittersweet” is the exact same phrasing that around a week later Taylor would say the ex who most of Red is about used to describe listening to the album:

19 November 2012 - Ali Puliti tweets about listening to two Liz demos -- Blessed Are the Brokenhearted and Dammit, meaning this song, which wouldn’t be released until 2018, was likely written during those summer 2012 songwriting sessions:

When the song was eventually released by Jana Kramer in 2018, Liz posted this on Facebook:

The song also notably contains the lyric “cause I could hear you in the kitchen, playing your guitar” which REALLY REALLY makes me think of Taylor. Although it could maybe be for Jason, who was also a musician.

Here’s the story Liz told about the song:

“‘Dammit’, actually, was a story that I lived out. Like, I was with somebody I was, you know, getting very serious. We were talking about starting a life together and we even had this house, like, picked out in the city where we lived and we would drive by it and be like ‘one day when we buy that house’. And, so, when we broke up, the pain of, like, saying goodbye was really, you know, really intense, but it was also mourning the loss of the hypothetical future. So, it was like saying goodbye to the past memories and stuff, sort of what we almost had and that’s where that song came from. So, honestly, I didn’t write it for anyone else, but myself, truly. But, um, it’s beautiful that music has such a way of resonating with someone who might not even know and they connect with it so much that another artist would want to sing it. It’s such a high compliment.”  

And here’s a quick clip of Liz singing it. So, seems like a Jason song, if not for the fact that she wrote it almost a year after they broke up and kept it hidden for years before eventually giving it to another artist.

13 December 2012 - Taylor’s birthday. Liz does not wish her happy birthday. This, to me, is the biggest evidence that there’s some amount of bad blood between them at this point.

14 December 2012 - The Music Video for IKYWT comes out. Taylor wears a shirt she wore a LOT when TayLiz was first a thing in 2009. She also wears a key necklace, which will be important later.

17 December 2012 - Liz posts a picture from Claire’s birthday party using a picture without Taylor in it (even though it seems fair to assume Taylor would’ve been invited).

20 December 2012 - Liz tells a fan her favorite song from Red is All Too Well:

21 December 2012 - Liz wishes Claire happy birthday. Further signaling bad blood with her and Taylor since she didn’t bother to do it for Taylor.

9 January 2013 - Liz releases Blessed Are the Brokenhearted:

Here she describes love as “burning up out of control” which is the same phrase Taylor used on Red -- “burning red” -- and Begin Again -- “I’ve been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end.” Also, the idea of love as an out of control flame really does describe their relationship.

20 January 2013 - Liz releases One Hand on the Wheel:

Here, much like in Red, Liz describes a relationship using the metaphor of a car. The relationship is messy, maybe even toxic. There’s even a lyric that sounds like it could be out of treacherous: “Being wrong shouldn’t feel so right like it does / But it does.”

22 January 2013 - Liz releases Wreck of Who I Am.

This is the song that is the strongest evidence for me that Liz WAS going through some mental health stuff over the summer when she was doing all this songwriting, and that that Reddit post about running into a drunk Liz who said she was fired for being “out of control” seems somewhat accurate. Here Liz sings about her battles, the way she’s losing them, and asks her younger self what she would think if she saw her now.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on Liz and Bryan (since unlike her and Jason there’s no need to use them to say much about TayLiz) but, despite his flaws, he was the person to pick Liz up off the ground when she was feeling this way, so he should get some credit for that.

Sometime around this - Liz releases Stones. Similar upbeat nature to Blessed Are the Brokenhearted with mentions to some of the struggles of Wreck of Who I Am.

Choice Lyrics:

When you’re knocked off your throne And lying on your back Things will never be so clear Cause when you see it all like that Sooner or later it comes around Yeah we all taste that bitter truth But all the stones you’re throwing now Will be the ones they throw at you

Also with these batch of songs, we get Sun Out of the Rain:

So baby, hold on, the storm will roll away It may be pouring down, but it’s only for today A million pieces might be falling into place And when there are no words to say We’ll make the sun out of the rain

29 January 2013 - Chantelle Paige posts a picture of Liz and Taylor and talks about a “sad night turned awesome.” Once again, I think this is a throwback from that night in 2012.

2 April 2013 - Liz goes to therapy. Her and Bryan are dating at this point.

2 September 2013 - Liz tells a fan on twitter that she hasn’t been to any of the Red shows, which to me definitely backs up that fan account of Liz being bitter about being fired.

23 December 2013 - Liz wishes Taylor Happy Birthday. This seems like a peace offering to me, considering they haven’t spoken in like a year and she refused to do this the earlier year. Also worth noting that Swiftgron is on its last legs at this point.

1 March 2014 - Sara Evans releases Put My Heart Down, which was co-written by Liz and is about walking away from a toxic relationship:

Now, from what I know of Liz and Jason, this doesn’t seem like their dynamic at all. It’s too soon for it to be about her and Bryan However, it does remind me a LOT of what Taylor was writing about on Red. Her are some choice lyrics:

I never pictured us fighting this much Thought we were figured out, but it’s so messy now Your words cut so deep and I think you should leave

Put my heart down and walk away This kind of love is dangerous So pack up all your things, just leave some air to breathe A million toxic tears fallin’ like rain over here This is the final hour The end of our story tonight And I don’t wanna fight

Now, please go listen to Treacherous, Battle/Let’s Go and Story of Us and tell me this is not the same relationship.

Bonus though, this song is copyrighted for 2014, making it make even LESS SENSE for it to be written about Bryan. 

17 July 2014 -  Timothy James Brown releases a song called Change My Mind that was co-written by Liz. I’m out of video links, so here are some choice lyrics:

All the horses became soldiers Dark as night to drag me away A complicated kind of heartbreak When you promise somebody you’ll stay

I know you’ve been hurting I know more than most I don’t have the courage Where you’re going, I can’t follow

To me, this reads as Liz making peace with leaving the Agency. She recognizes her demons, and how they ruined her relationship with Taylor, and says “where you’re going, I can’t follow” because she’s not in a good enough place to keep touring with Taylor.

So things are looking bleak in TayLiz land. However, Liz seems to be recovering! She’s writing songs acknowledging some problems in the relationship and her own battles, and she’s also in therapy and dating Bryan. It’s time for some reconciliation. But first, let’s see what’s up in Taylor-land:

Liz References on the Red Tour

[survivor-guyana]

Immunity Results #3

Meet Your Judges!

DAN

Hi sisters, it’s Dan, king of half faced selfies, here to roast your lip syncs

NEHE

Hi sisters, it's Nehemiah, king of not winning a game he deserves to win, here to judge you guys like you never been judged before, p.s Tim stop stealing my role as the one straight black guy in the org community

CHARLOTTE

hi sisters, i’m back from the dead and ready to roast some bitches. i honestly don’t remember if i’ve played more than one main season but i was in kuang si and really that’s the only one that matters. not sorry!

CONNOR

hey sisters, hope you missed me because im still not coming back.

DENNIS

Hi sisters, I was forced to write this start. But entertain me

JESS

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn't know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

HOSORORO

Dan: 31/50

Theme: 5 - No real theme tbh, I guess the editing incorporated some nice colors and stuff. I wish y'all could have been more in sync with a theme tho. Maybe I'm just being critical.

Creativity: 5 - The editing was creative, I liked the effects and the added little bits that went along with the lyrics. I think the difference between this video and the others tho was that the others tried something new and exciting to spice up their videos. Was it more creative? Maybe? There's nothing wrong with picking a bop and lip syncing, but it's 2019 ladies, spice it up.

Effort: 7 - She may have bought that hair, but y’all yanked it right off. I think some of you really tried harder than others, but I stan when people just do their best and record where and when they can. It shows dedication and I like that shit. I think that the effort into learning the lyrics without reading them off the screen and dedication to filming in the car kind of showed y'all want this.

Composition: 7 - BITCHHHHH I’M GAGGGGGT. It’s 240p, but honestly Ariana Grande who? Whoever edited this made it seemless, but honestly the low quality needs to get clocked a few points.

Entertainment Value: 7 - The dancing, the outfits, the lip sync skills? A bitch was entertained. While the other videos tried to make things new and exciting, y'all delivered what I think of as more of a successful project.

Jess: 34/50

Theme 8/10. If I had to say the theme, I'd guess that it's "bad bitches" which you all are.

Creativity 5/10. If a 0 is 1 person playing basketball instead of lip syncing at all, and a 10 is a full out choreographed dance number done by your entire tribe, I think this falls solidly in the middle. I don't think there is a lot about this that sets it apart from past music videos I've seen, but I don't think it is bad.

Effort 8/10. It seems like most of your tribe members were at least majorly involved and tried to make this good! And you all put effort into the dancing/attitude you had, it felt like everyone tried to match their actions to the song.

Composition 6/10. I think the editing is good and it matches the timing of the music which is nice, the cuts are usually on the beats! But it did get a little repetitive after a while, like I felt as though the same thing was happening throughout the whole video and there wasn't a variety in the images/cutting style/etc. I also think it was hard to tell if the video was in sync because for some reason y'all are in 2007 and only uploaded this at 240p???? Are you guys all over the age of 45 why did you do that. Finally, the flickering glitter filter was cool at the start, but I wish you'd spiced it up and not just used that throughout the entire video, also at points it was a little distracting due to the bright colours that would pop up.

Entertainment Value 7/10. Six of these points are for the girl who was in the car because she was killing it and I loved her. I took points off for a similar reason I had above -- it felt like the video was one note and I wish you guys had a little more variety throughout.

Dennis: 38/50

Theme: 6/10 Creativity: 8/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 8/10 Entertainment: 8/10

I know I will get alot of hate comments for this, but this in general is not really a song to lipsync too. EITHER WAY I think you did a good pretty good job with it. All of you seemed to enjoy yourself and the editing was enough to keep my attention throughout the whole video. I didn't really get the theme, but overall it was a very entertaining Lipsync!

Connor: 35/50

Ok this is good. You clearly all worked together artistically so that your individual shots were coherent. Im not crazy about the pink strobe kinda thing going on through the entire video but you were all performing and this is well done. Theme: 7 Creativity: 6 Effort: 8 Composition: 7 Entertainment Value: 7

Charlotte: 42/50

Theme:  IF THE THEME WAS FABULOUSNESS YOU ACHIEVED IT. ARIANA WOULD BE PROUD.  8/10

Creativity:  I feel like you could have done a little bit more with some of the lyrics but all in all I loved this video and now I'm just being picky. 7/10

Effort:  See above. I think you could have done a little but more but keeping the pink aesthetic through your editing and ALL THAT DANCING werk werk werk.   8/10

Composition:  Love. That. Aesthetic. 10/10  PLUS YOU'RE ALL IN THE SAME CAMERA ORIENTATION I LOVE THAT. LOVE THAT FOR YOU.

Entertainment Value:  FUN, ENJOYABLE, FLAWLESS, NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. 9/10

Nehe: 44/50

7 8 9 10 10

Now this is a fucking music video work bitches work

TOTAL: 224

ARAKAKA

Dan: 29/50

Theme: 7 - Annoying advertisements? Trying to show the effects of product placement on our every day life? I loved it haha I was shook.

Creativity: 6 - V creative, but was it really a music video? I guess parts were but I also was like so lost after a while. I think song choice is always important and I was so bored during the song parts. I wish you had made the song part as creative as the ad parts.

Effort: 4 - Honestly the effort was misfocused on the ads and less on the music video, was I mad about it? only like 50%. the song was boring and just kinda blah so it was interesting

Composition: 5 - Choppy, but I can’t edit so rip

Entertainment Value: 7 - Honestly this how to video taught me so much and I’m shook. THE POPCORN I LITERALLY SCREAMED. While I nodded off during the music video portion, I stanned the ads

Jess: 32/50

Theme 6/10. I think your theme was ads? I didn't really understand it but it was fun and unique.

Creativity 8/10. I have never seen anything like this that's for sure.

Effort 4/10. It seemed like everyone in your tribe was in the video I think? But most of the stuff you guys submitted was 1 take/shot and wouldn't have required a lot of editing, which is the most time consuming/effort requiring portion of the challenge so...

Composition 5/10 The editing of the commercials was pretty good, but it didn't flow as well as it should have because the audio levels were a bit all over the place. Also at one point it was in colour and out of focus but I wasn't sure why? Also a+ for doing your video in 1080p (@ other tribes take note). Since the actual music video portion was just one shot, I feel like I can't really give you a higher rating than the other tribes in this category.

Entertainment Value 9/10 First frame: a guy in a Stitch onesie with a bottle of tequila and a mug that says "ray of fucking sunshine"?? I laughed immediately. Then I was shook when later I realized it was actually a shot glass and was close to the camera and it got even better. This whole video was wild and I had no idea what was going to happen so I was pretty entertained.

Dennis: 45/50

Theme: 8/10 Creativity: 10/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 9/10 Entertainment: 10/10

This is probably the last kind of video which I expected in a challenge like this. I think it was really creative and connected entertainment with comedy and a nice little theme. I am very impressed good job!

Connor: 20/50

“””””Acting””””””” “””””””Edgy”””””””” Eggs?? Im vegan. What was the point of this? Was there a point? Pop corn girl gets you an extra point but this is not a music video. To quote bandersnatch, you chose the wrong path.

Theme: 3 Creativity: 6 Effort: 4 Composition: 4 Entertainment Value: 3

Charlotte: 34/50

Theme:  I've been out of the ORG world for awhile but is this what music videos are now??? I feel like the music video of your video was sorely lacking. YouTube loves ads but not that many!!!!! I did think the ads were pretty creative though so I marked up points for that below. 6/10

Creativity: See above. 9/10

Effort:  It wasn't just straight up lip syncing so I gotta reward you guys for that. 8/10

Composition: That black and white switching to color towards the end got me fucked up. 6/10

Entertainment Value:  To quote the person sitting beside me: "OMG another ad?"Cute concept, not sure it works as a music video but you tried.  5/10

Nehe: 35/50

6

6

6

7

10

Honestly this was something i never seen before and i enjoyed it hahaha

TOTAL: 195

TAKAMA

Dan: 26/50

Theme: 6 - Cats? Bikes? Awkward White People Dancing? Are these the themes you went for? If so, y’all killed it haha, but it wasn't cohesive and I don't get what y'all were going for really.

Creativity: 5 - honestly, I stan an original song choice bc I haven’t seen this before, but also, a song like this needs to be sold and I don't know if y'all pulled out all the stops. I would have liked to see more passion from some of you in the props and theatrics department.

Effort: 5 - Some of you seemed to try a little harder than others, but overall y’all were feelin it

Composition: 5 - A little choppy, but I can’t edit for shit so like good job?

Entertainment Value: 5 - Okay Miss Tim with that bike balance, idk your name sis (maybe Jones) but striped sweater, pm me on skype – dan.disbrow so I can buy it ty. Other than that I don't really remember much besides a lot of cringey dancing.

Jess: 29/50

Theme 1/10. Tbh I don't really know what the theme was here, did you guys forget this category??

Creativity 4/10. Pretty much the same reason that I gave Hororo's tribe a 5, I'm giving you a 4. I am taking one point off because they at least did some stuff to make their video more unique/specific to their song whereas I think you guys could have used this editing style/dancing/etc to any song and it would have also worked, so it wasn't super unique.

Effort 9/10. Everyone who was in the video seemed really into it and did a good job having fun! But this is a 6 person tribe... one person wasn't in it and they weren't the editor?? You should vote them out if you lose.

Composition 9/10. The editing flowed well, you showed everyone on the tribe a pretty decent amount, and everyone's individual videos were pretty on point for lip sync? Usually when people film on their webcams it's not in sync, but these were all really good! You lose one point because the video quality was low and wasn't 1080p which it really should be.

Entertainment Value 6/10. I liked everyone's attitude and dancing and I loved the cats. I originally had 5 but then I remembered the cats and went back and added another point. But I wish you guys had done something unique for each mini song, like maybe divided them up amongst your tribe, or had people change outfits or something? If you had done that, I'd have given you way more points for theme and entertainment value. But because it was kind of repetitive/one note, it's hard to say I was REALLY entertained the whole time.

Dennis: 37/50

Theme: 9/10 Creativity: 7/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 7/10 Entertainment: 6/10

Comment: What stood out for me in your video was the theme. I assume that you wanted to mimic the fans v faves theme with a riff off and I thought that was actually quite smart. Everything else seemed to be for me what I would expect from a lipsync, but besides the theme nothing that stood out to me especially.

Connor: 27/50

The lip sinking is a little off at times (im coming back to this part, in the middle / two ish minute point-on it is not good) and I think the transitions from song to songs could have been smoother, but I think this is creative in terms of it being a mashup. I think there could have been more “music video” aspects to it. In addition to y’all singing. EXTRA POINT FOR THE CATS ( stripped sweater??? who is this??? Queen????)

Theme: 5 Creativity: 6 Effort: 6 Composition: 4 Entertainment Value: 6

Charlotte: 28/50

Theme: Was your theme Pitch Perfect? Like, I'm not sure whether or not there was anything you guys planned out but it really just seemed kind of randomly thrown together.  5/10

Creativity: I liked the cats? 6/10

Effort: See above. I feel like y'all just kind of threw this together? It was missing something for me. The person in the stripes pulled it together for you though so 7/10

Composition: Y'all really out here in 2019 not filming in the same orientation? I'm deducting 50% for that. It's a travesty. Also, if one person does a filter and no one else does, does it really make sense? IDK.  3/10

Entertainment Value: ... again, I liked the cats. Plus the stuff with the bicycle was weirdly entertaining.  7/10

Nehe: 31/50

TOTAL: 178

Thank you judges!

That means, Takama, I will be seeing you that tribal council on January 28 at 10 pm est.

[sheepbutthead]

Do them all?

Hey thank you, Anon.

65 Questions You Aren’t Used To

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

All the time. I’ve been grappling with the thought that this is just a big simulation and I’m just a brain floating in a jar.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

I’m actually fine with the dark. Sometimes my anxiety gets the best of me though. So like a 2? 3?

3. The person you would never want to meet?

Everyone’s favorite walking, talking orange: Donald Trump.

4. What is your favorite word?

That’s tough, there are a lot of good words. Salubrious is good. Gentle is good. Cro-magnon makes me think of crunchy cereal.

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

The Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

“Dear god what a fucking fuck.” and “There’s cat hair all over my sweater and it’s killing me.”

7. What shirt are you wearing?

I’m wearing one of my favorite sweaters. It’s burgundy and has a stitched squares pattern.

8. What do you label yourself as?

Jewish (barely), white dude, awkward, sensitive in the worst way someone could be sensitive, somehow still apathetic to the point of concern, (very) amateur musician. 

9. Bright room or dark room?

It depends on what I’m doing. If I’m working or eating I like a bright room. But typically I like soft yellow light or just natural window light.

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

Forcing myself to sleep so I wouldn’t overthink anymore.

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

Probably 5. Being 19 feels weird.

12. Who told you they loved you last?

My mom. I just took her to the doctor for a evaluation type thing.

13. Your worst enemy?

Tangling things. Like blankets, string, messy rooms, jackets, drama, emotions. Also needles.

14. What is your current desktop picture?

A very old picture of the square in Jacksonville.

15. Do you like someone?

Yes, I’d say so.

16. The last song you listened to?

Whale by Yellow Ostrich. I’ve been getting into them lately.

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

I don’t know, I’m generally against killing people. I’d hate to be responsible for anyone’s death. Unless maybe it was someone who did horrible horrible things to people. Like a serial killer or a Hitler situation.

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Now THIS I’m kinda ok with. I’m still usually not cool with violence but I’m also human. Probably Trump if I wouldn’t go to jail for the rest of my life. So maybe just one of or both of the Paul brothers.

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

I’m not sure of the moral implications for this one either. I guess maybe Gordon Ramsay so he can teach me how to cook or just cook for me all day. I’d be happy with one of the Chris actors from the Marvel movies because they all seem like fun, cool people and they’re also very hot. I guess we’d just hang out all day and do stuff. I would stare a lot.

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

I don’t know. I’ve been told my eyes are nice. Maybe my ears?

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

I think I would be a pretty hot girl actually. Of course I would take that genitalia for a spin. I can’t really think of much else to do as a girl that I couldn’t technically just do as a guy. Maybe experience a period?

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

I play trumpet, I guess. That’s not much of a secret. Or a talent. I can drive stick. I can whistle pretty well. I’m good at not only destroying property but also relationships.

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

Rabbits. I hate them. Yet I dated someone who loved them. Electricity makes me nervous.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

Fuck dude, I don’t know. That’s a lot of different combinations. I’ve been enjoying egg sandwiches lately.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

I’d probably put it into my bike for repairs and stuff. Anything left over would just be saved for gas.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

I’d love to go to Santorini but definitely not how I’m dressed now. Iceland would be cool to go to. Also Quebec for the Winter Festival.

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be?

I haven’t had enough alcoholic drinks to really make a good decision here. I will, however, take a lifetime supply of Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale. 

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

Jesus, imagine the pressure and responsibility. We settle our arguments with whoever can rip the phattest vape cloud. Or maybe just rock, paper, scissors. No need for a fair and educated trial when you can just leave everything to chance and get fucked by fate. But seriously, probably like a vow of honesty. Everyone’s super honest to the point of destroying relationships but we all at least have our shit out there. And we all understand and don’t judge. Pretty much a giant safe space for my bitch ass.

29. What is your favorite expletive?

Fuck nugget, fucking fuck, or motherfucker. Basically just fuck. Or panty waste.

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

I hate this scenario and I think about it all the time. I still don’t know what I would grab. I think maybe my homecoming crown, diploma, or maybe my keyboard. I don’t know. I could list so many things that I would also choose. I hate this question.

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Easy, cheating on someone. Fucking stupidest, most hurtful, self centered, damaging thing I’ve ever done. I’ll regret it until I’m dead and I can never make up for it.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

What a life I live. I’m cool with Canada, Iceland, or maybe Denmark.

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

My sister.

34. What was your last dream about?

Trying to talk to someone I used to know and being having a developing “hates me then doesn’t” buddy buddy relationship with their dad?

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

I am a good space heater. That’s about it.

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

When I was little I had to go to the hospital because of dehydration. One of the doctors thought my appendix was about to burst and they almost sent me in for surgery before another doctor came in and corrected them. Mom was pissed.

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

Oh yeah, several times. Although we don’t get many opportunities in the south.

38. What is the color of your socks?

Red and black.

39. What type of music do you like?

All kinds. I think my main genre is either some sort of electronic music or alternative rock and similar variations.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

sunsets definitely. Because when it’s done you can watch the stars.

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

I’m a fan of whatever has the most chocolate. I like peanut butter ones too.

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer)

I don’t care about sports that much, friend.

43. Do you have any scars?

I have one on my finger that I don’t know where it came from, one on my nose (that I also do not know the origin), another one on the same finger because I was young and held the knife the wrong way so that it closed on my finger, and a lot of self inflicted stuff.

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

I have graduated and I’m not entirely sure. I used to know. Some kind of creative. It’d be cool to work in the movies. Maybe a concept artist or something like that.

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Maybe my personality. Just generally not such a fuck. I wish I was more driven. 

46. Are you reliable?

I think I am 75% reliable. Maybe 85%.

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

Do I end up like Dad? 

48. Do you hold grudges?

I can hold them for a little bit but I usually drop it or find a way that made it my fault.

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

A horse and a some kind of dinosaur. So we could ride big lizards that like apples and sugar cubes. Or maybe a dog and an elephant so we could have really big dogs with really big ears.

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

I’ve had a lot. I had a conversation on using the wendigo that lives near my house as a last resort for affection.

51. Are you a good liar?

I’m pretty good. Not great. But I can lie kind of ok. Maybe I’m not that great a liar.

52. How long could you go without talking?

Probably a week.

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

My old bowl haircut from when I was young or when I had really long hair. The long hair wasn’t that bad really. I just didn’t take care of it.

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

Yes, several times.

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

I can do the typical crappy English accent and maybe Scottish.

56. What do you like on your toast?

Usually just butter.

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

God knows. Probably a willy.

58. What would be you dream car?

I actually use to drive my dream car. I love old Volkswagen Beetles. I’d love to put an electric engine in it like that one company does. I think they’re called Zelectrics.

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

I sing occasionally. Only when no ones around. I don’t do much else besides maybe style my hair with the shampoo.

60. Do you believe in aliens?

Yes, definitely. I think it’d be against logic to believe otherwise.

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

More than I’d like to admit. I don’t really believe it; it’s more of a casual thing. But also, I can’t help but be pulled into it.

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

J, K, W, G, Y, and maybe Q.

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

I’m tempted to say dragons because they’re basically like flying dinosaurs with fire breath and cool lore. But on the other hand, dinosaurs ACTUALLY existed and that’s amazing in and of itself.

64. What do you think about babies?

I think they’re cute and they smell weird. Never hand me your baby, I will be very nervous. They’re also loud and you don’t know if they’ll turn out to be good people no matter how hard you try. They’re also amazing and they blow my mind. I do not want one. Probably ever.

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of.

Welp.

[356mission]

Interview with Brian Sharp and Jon Pestoni

Interview with Brian Sharp and Jon Pestoni

January 2017


Conducted on the occasion of Brian Sharp’s exhibition opening at 356 Mission Road on January 14th on view through March 26th, 2017

Jon Pestoni: What preparation goes into the work? For example - When I walked into your studio I saw sketches, which I’ve never seen before. And they were little cartoon-like sketches with a border around it. Much the way an architect would do. And then there's a shape inside maybe it has some color in there.

Brian Sharp: These paintings are made with a handful of "moves"; stripes, numbers and text, tree shapes and fruit shapes, smudge outs and rollovers. The sketches came after the paintings, so they aren’t prep sketches. I wanted to figure out if there was any cross-pollination I could explore. How I could use the existing imagery to get into a new painting. After I had a few paintings resolved and I started taking them apart to figure out what each one was made of – three moves in this one, four in that one, and two moves there.  So those little drawings are basically a single move, or a card in the deck.

JP: Are they always vertical? What is the height?

BS: Yes. The height is 68 inches, which is how tall I am... I don’t know if that’s important or not... it's a measurement people have used in the past.

JP: And on linen?

BS: Yes -- I don’t use it because of a specific tooth or surface or the way it takes paint off the brush. I size it and use a drywall taping knife to apply many coats of gesso in full strength so the “fabric appreciation” aspect of it really is irrelevant... there's something about the color of it, and the relationship it has to the wall, it separates the "painting" part / the surface from the wall.  It’s a color thing, it offers more of a break - the color of canvas is so close to the color of the wall and I favor the separation the linen provides.

JP: For the striped paintings, is the width of the stripe similar to the depth of the panel? Your eye scans the faces of the paintings and then as it comes off a painting it gets that one last stripe before it hits the wall.

BS: It works that way in some of them. The stripes are really just a way to have something new to deal with, a way to fracture the surface, instead of a complete paint out/over, I use a large ruler and a spackling knife and scrape the stripe out. The depth of the canvas is actually more specific, it just so happened that the width of the knife is the same as the depth of the panels. But this is something I really like: finding a commonality through working...and this connection, knowing Stella’s striped paintings and his specificity - choosing to make his early paintings with stripes the same width as the depth of his stretchers as a way of uniting or getting information out of the support to inform the imagery, I guess it's like these three things came together and I liked that…I really try to stay busy and look for things, work and pay attention and find relationships – sometimes from the paintings, sometimes from somewhere else.

JP: Are these compositions motivated by the tools you use? Tools like drywall knives, rollers, things like that. In some of the paintings there is text and definitely small brush work. In other paintings it feels like the paint was applied with an application other than "fine art.”

BS: Yeah, it’s true, I can be handy and I really enjoy odd jobs – building cabinets, or simple furniture – those things have a function and when it’s functioning it’s done. This also means that in addition to brushes and palette knives, I have other tools around, and these have definitely come into the work. Not because I want to make paintings about construction or complications or pleasures of a vocation but because they are the tools at hand for the most sensible, economic application of oil paint to panel.

JP: Do you ever make a scrap book of images or pictures that you like before you make a body of work? Things that maybe you collect or does it all come from responding to previous painting moves?

BS: I don’t keep a scrap book, I’m not that organized, I do though have boxes and boxes of stuff that seems too important to trash and this work comes a bit out of that back catalogue, in very random ways. As for the other part – as a catalyst for the recent paintings, I've started them where the previous body of work ended. For instance - if the last move for a previous body of work was to put spots on them - I start the new paintings at that place or resolution, and use it as the initial set of imagery to begin the questions and answers. It’s a way to…

JP: Open it up?

BS: Exactly, and it gets knocked back and forth, painted, painted out, there’s a dialogue.

JP: So which is the real you? Bringing it in, or taking it out?

BS: I wish I knew. I make problems so that I can solve them, a mess to clean up, the back and forth and the conversation between the “me viewer” and the “me maker” is a big part of the work. So both… it’s always two forces for me. I start with a history and there are moments when I go, go, go, and I don’t get anything, and next day I wipe out / paint out. It’s always this call and response, sometimes a painting sits for weeks on the wall and I don’t know what should happen next…sometimes those are done…other times the moves lead very quickly to the next move.

JP: How do the paintings develop from one body of work to the next? If at all?

BS: I work a lot but I don’t show often, so there’s some growth and development that's wrapped up in storage. I think about making a skyscraper... it’s fascinating to me while a crane is mounted to the top of this structure and steel is being welded, the skeleton is being made up top, the first floors are already dry-walled, plumbed, carpeted, marbled, whatever - essentially functioning as we understand how a building is supposed to – so the practice is like a never ending skyscraper, only I have the benefit or luxury of improving each floor because of what I know about the floor underneath it. It would never work this way for architecture. I see it as an ongoing, everlasting project. The exhibition is when the hand gets pulled out of the deck.

JP: What are the steps to make these paintings different from one another?

BS: The resolution for one painting rarely resolves another painting, what it does though is give me something to answer to, something to negate, something to spark another move. So there is repetition, just not repetition, usually, in resolution... I’ve thought about the work differently in the past couple of years, I used to let the parameters the work set dictate what could or couldn’t get into the painting, I would leave things out because it seemed unrelated or something. But then I realized that this is just a painting - there are no rules. I was talking about collaborating on some paintings with a painter friend and I always seemed to work myself into a place where I could anticipate what I thought his move could be, how he would respond to my marks and I was like – wow, that would really finish this thing. We never got around to collaborating but at a certain point I realized me being him was just me being a more objective me and why shouldn’t I just go for it? It was like collaborating with myself - which, as you know, a painter and I guess other artists too - there is a lot of conversation between painter and painting. A lot of offense and defense... between a person and stuff but also right there on the surface, a person controlling and negotiating stuff...

JP: One thing that makes it look like they go together is that they're all the same size. It seems like you are trying to guide the viewer in how to look at the paintings. It’s like a cheese plate: there’s a place to start and then you move in that direction clockwise or counterclockwise. Are you activating space by having the viewers ping-pong around the room?

BS: There is not a starting point. There will be I suppose, but it’s really based on formal decisions. I am very particular about the installation part of the work - for me it's like the last step is putting it together -- what kind of rhythm, what kind of sense I can make out of it, a show is different than a group of paintings. It is like a cheese plate but with a different palette.

JP: While they look different, there is a thread. Good paintings tend to stand on their own and also play well with other paintings. Your stripe paintings can function as a break in the installation. We also return to the size of the tools: this is the width of the knife; this is the brush size. And then in the next painting you are using all these tools to different effect.

BS: I'm not always in the same mood, my music choices vary day to day, I don’t always eat the same thing...in contrast, I’m also a creature of habit. I am intrigued by dysfunction but I ultimately want to make something worth looking at, so I think I tend to take these things on a trip and bring them back home…other times they find themselves on that road.

JP: But do you start with what you know?

BS: I would say not all the time. I don’t want to sound cliché but I think there’s some real truth to making yourself vulnerable, working out of it, putting myself into an uncomfortable position and figuring it out. Painting is such a solo endeavor. I'm by myself all day, I ask the questions, I answer the questions, I have this conversation with myself and in an effort to keep that conversation interesting I push it to uncomfortable places and find my way out or just stay there and keep it in that uneasy zone. We've talked about honesty and truth and being real, and not to sound cheesy but painting can be revealing, or it feels that way, or I want it to. They’re like sandwiches and each one is different, but they're all sandwiches made of the same stuff, some with some of this and some with less of that... so what does it reveal? Uncertainty? Bad decisions? Insecurity? Comfort with all that? I guess I don't really know but the picture is affected, and I think it's what makes it and keeps me interested in the painting.

JP: If there was one thing that you hoped the viewer walked away with after seeing this work, what would you want that to be?

BS: I like a slow reveal that continues to provoke and I like finding answers at extremes. Take David Byrne’s dancing in the Talking Heads video for "Once in a Lifetime" -- it doesn’t make sense all, but it makes all the sense in the world.  It's seriously ridiculous and ridiculously serious. I haven’t really touched on this but I think sometimes you have to go way out, to the point of silly, and bring it back to get something earnest. And the questions sometimes are more interesting than the answers. I don’t know if I have the answers. I guess I want people to deal with these things the same way they would deal with other stuff, take it in, make connections, make assumptions, make sense or don’t make sense of it, you know – it’s here and it’s real.

JP: You once told me that someone responded to your paintings by saying they were about nothing. I’m wondering if that response is in the work before it starts. Are you interested in negotiating between making something and nothing in all of these paintings? You're giving us something and taking something away at the same time. You're not trying to pin anything down, but with this back and forth of nothing and something, you get a painting to look at.

BS: Yeah perhaps. They are what they are... a by-product of working. It reminds me of a quote that I recently found in one of those boxes of stuff, and I’m not sure who said it (maybe Peter Acheson) but it seems very fitting and it goes like this: “Painting is a search for a language but then a push beyond whatever place one has gotten to… testing over and over if the container holds water, spirit, meaning. So subversion is a key methodology. Hence, no real expectation of having a style but rather the presentation of a sensibility, and the good old-fashioned persistence of a practice. This is what the audience needs, the confirmation of people practicing.”