Today has just been that kind of day where nothing is really appealing. I didn't feel like a human being until I took a hot shower at 4 pm. It's cold and dreary out - I think it rained a bit, but I haven't left the apartment today. A while back, I bought a paperback copy of The Velvet Underground and it mainly sat on my bookshelf. Today I started reading it, and it is kind of hilarious in how puritanical it is regarding the sexual exploits of consenting adults, but then I think about how that manifested itself when the book was published and how that narrow-mindedness continues to impact people's lives - and livelihoods - today. I've been writing down some other books I'd like to read, but what I really ought to do is read - or at least attempt - the books I bought when they were on sale and I haven't opened. I'll have to make another list of those. Side note: I really miss personal ads. Also relevant to the general discussion: how attempts to prevent human trafficking means we now no longer have Craigslist personals. There were some delightful examples in The Velvet Underground (although Michael Leigh did not seem to agree): FE-56: Sweet, affectionate girl of petite physique would like to learn of interesting pastimes with possessive, demanding and dominating lady of around 30; please send all details and photograph; am starved for the right affection. JI-78: Educated, single young gentleman of good appearance would like to meet dominant lady, group of ladies or couples interested in the many phases of discipline and unusual attire; advertiser is mild-mannered and believes in the superiority of women; can travel; will exchange snaps and answer all letters. LK-89: Male interested in meeting he-men engaged in rugged operations or hobbies which occasion wearing of leather garments, also boots, and interested in the subject of discipline; truck drivers who get to this city especially welcome. Some weekly inspiration:
♡ The Federico Zuccari illustrations of Dante's Divine Comedy (link is to Inferno) at the Uffizi ♡ This ArtNews feature on Joseph Beuys, which makes me ask, "If artists can't self-mythologize, who will do it for us?" ♡ Tara Donovan has an upcoming show at New York's Pace Gallery. I love the preview of "Sphere", which is constructed of PETG tubes - she has done similar work with mere plastic straws. Everything she makes is so remarkable.
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Apparently I fell off the face of the planet. As per my last blog post (in September, sheesh mageesh), I have packed my things and now I am in Kentucky, awaiting the beginning of the spring semester. It's sunny and cold today. I paid my rent and deposit and the man in the housing office reminded me of Blake Shelton. "Are you aware of the maintenance number?" he asked me. "I'm not aware of anything," I replied. "I am very familiar with that feeling," he said. Last year - 2020 - actually was fairly productive in terms of work. I feel like I wound up doing quite a bit of drawing, which may also be related to being unemployed for months at a time. The above are six of my favorite pieces from 2020. (The linocut is still at the proofing stage and hasn't been finalized.) Instagram has gotten ridiculous as far as what is and isn't "allowed" - they can ding you now for using "suggestive emoji strings" - they have no actual person who reviews the photos on the app, so at any point I could've had my account deleted for posting a model's photo to my story. Instagram was such that I could repost someone else's photo to my story, immediately get a notice that it had been removed, and then the next time I opened the app I would see someone's entire vulva. Which is fine. I appreciate the tenacity of Instagram models to get their photos deleted and then follow up with posting their vulva. (Sheer panties are clothes and therefore outside of the scope of nudity per the Terms of Service. I think.) At any rate, Instagram was getting really obnoxious and so I decided to download my data and go. I wish that everyone who made money from things like OnlyFans would also decide to go, all at once, and then that might be something that people notice. I mean, you can't even type "OnlyFans" on your Instagram. So they can eat worm. (The good news is the download of your Instagram data contains everything, including your stories and your messages.) I'm trying to get back into the reading habit. I have started Last of the Moon Girls, which is a little Hallmark-movie-esque right now. It's one of those Amazon First Reads, which I will usually download and then never read (I think I have five others that I haven't even looked at yet). I read another one that was also just solidly mediocre. I'm wondering if they're all solidly mediocre. For Christmas, I bought myself May Sarton's Journal of a Solitude, and I finished that on New Year's Day. I also read a really wonderful anthology of femme/butch erotica called Sometimes She Lets Me, edited by Tristan Taormino. (Apparently everyone else is reading erotica during quarantine - so many ebooks were unavailable for checkout!) As with any kind of anthology, there will be highs and lows in terms of what resonates with you - some of the stories were more dreamlike in their style, others more straightforward, but overall a very good read and I think I might buy myself a copy. I've seen people wishing for different directions in the internet they consume, I think people might be ready to move away from things like Facebook and more back into blogs and personal sites, which I think is really great. (I also never left LiveJournal, so, there you have it.) I think that then I might try to shift more into this rather than being on Twitter - although I guess we'll see what the move is. I definitely don't have enough of a following to expect anyone to follow my example! But I'm going to see how that goes.
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AuthorArtist, essayist, divinity school dropout. Here for a good time, not for a long time. Archives
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