As artists, when we talk about what is required of us to make art worth purchasing, we rarely question what seems to be “normal”. What we do question is, our worth as artists and as artists who have something worth selling. What we don’t realize is that we are encountering the collective solidarity of the wealthy and capital itself to say what should be considered “normal”. In that, we should always experience art in very controlled environments, that art objects are precious and this is not by accident. And what’s worse, this mentality at some point affects the art its self, it abides by that code. There’s far more that Brad Troemel knows than I do about this subject, and instead of explaining, just watch his stuff.

Anyway, “Work Prints”, which was my first photo show ever, happened on Saturday, February 1st, 2020 at East and West in St. Louis, MO. Had I known it would be the last time I would be in a gallery-adjacent setting, I think I would have taken more photos of my own event lol.

The photos were all taken on 35mm film (primarily Kodak Portra 400) using a Pentax K1000 and a Canon ELAN 7NE. They were shot over the course of the first year and a half that I took photography “seriously” (which is to say, since summer 2018). This collection was chosen for their use of space, material and color. I hope for the viewer to see their own connections amongst the pieces.

The title, “Work Prints”, comes from the lowest tier print service a Chicago-based print shop offered. While I didn’t end up using said services, I felt the title was exactly what I intended with the pieces: photo prints & frames were readymades, easy to access, just enough to meet the need. I wanted to try my hand at alternative frames (mostly because I don’t know how to properly set a photo, nor the means to do so), so I scoured the internet and landed at the now-canceled ULINE. The “Vinyl Tag Protectors” were just right to suspend the pieces, adding a clear border around the images, w/ the yellow color code to draw just enough attention that this is in fact, not a frame. (I’ve stared at the pieces long enough to forget what’s happening to it, and I hope you will too.) The intent is to be approachable. Beyond it being inexpensive, it is not precious. Bend it, cram it in a backpack, pour beer on it, the art will stay unharmed. And if the print inside moves around? Shove your hand in there and make it right again. Use this as a moment to unlearn what we’ve been told about art and the art you own. Call it a “performance”, I don’t care. It’s yours.

To purchase a “Work Print”, find it here.

With the ‘Shelter-in-Place’ or law enforced quarantines in effect in an increasing number of major cities and states amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many creatives, (read: those with steady incomes doing WFH) have begun to reflect the past few weeks staying indoors. With this enforced free time and the removed concept of FOMO, it’s spilling into their work. From starting ‘quarantine’ labeled Instagrams. (I.E. Quarantine Times, Quarazine, or even #QuarazineFest ), changing your twitter handle to something COVID-19/quarantine related (see below), and podcasts responding in different ways. I was even half tempted to call this a ‘quarticle’. 

I feel a sense of existential and ordinary dread being creative and ‘capitalizing’ to make this time seem ‘productive’. Regardless of our stance on ‘the hustle’, folks I know from every creative spectrum have been uniquely making this a time for ‘creativity’. Personally, I have found myself deeper into movies, Wikipedia, Adobe tutorials and finally getting my guitar to not sound like shit in Ableton. 

What I can’t help but notice though, is that not even a world-wide pandemic can stop ‘multi-disciplinary studios’ posting pandemic-influenced streetwear fits, celebrities posting ‘just spreading a little joy today to those who need it’ videos (often of that really cute little girl who’s super good at nylon string jazz guitar and singing), or major brands from making their logos spread apart for a social distancing social media opportunity (among the most egregious, McDonald’s spreading the golden arches apart while not offering hazard pay or sick leave to its over 500,000+ employees.) Small to world-wide, nothing has really changed in the creative world.  What I’m trying to get at is the following:

Is there nothing that could happen in this world that will make for a mass halt of performance in late capitalism?

In a conceivable mass annihilation, is that event even an option for giving up the proverbial ghost? 

Is there no event that could possibly humble us to our core that we collectively join hands (even 6-10 ft apart) and walk away from the routines of production?

Could you always sell something to the *other* last person on earth?

How can brevity/irony still able to persist even in mass disruption? Is it already too late to get in the streets? Or is making light of these situations a means of survival? Is “keep calm and washing your hands” an actual means of preservation, not just a shirt that some local, kooky apparel company can make? Is “Reality” endorsing Bernie the truest, yet dumbest thing ever?

Now. 

Is the ability to sit and ask this question/write this post an immense privilege? Yes. Do those on the frontlines get to put this in perspective or ruminate on the turmoil? No. Did your IG post thanking those grocery store employees mean anything? Maybe. Is this Tumblr post, in 2020, in some attempted Baffler/Jacobin style blog post, meaningless? Almost certainly. But with this in mind, I can’t help but take stock of this foreseen, inconceivable moment, from real hard-working folks fighting for their and other’s lives to moments of brevity (neolib or otherwise) or even my own simp/cringe tweets (notwithstanding). 

What can be done is self-preservation in the pursuit of the betterment of others. Stay light, but don’t fear heavy. Stay the fuck home. Help yourself help everyone. Solidarity forever.

In the meantime…  *PLAYS OPN* xD