An Independent Arts and
Art By:
Issue Designed By:
Lilly Dickinson “Nose Flair” @ ___lillypop blips-band.bandcamp.com
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FILMSLINGER Even in the best of times, local independent movie theaters walk a delicate line. Operating outside of the Hollywoodindustrial complex, they rely entirely on the passion and attendance of devoted cinephiles like you. While no business is prepared for a global pandemic, these times are especially difficult for businesses that gather strangers in a small space. Just because cinemas aren’t open doesn’t mean you can’t support them. Here’s how you can do your part to make sure Boston’s beloved havens of movie magic survive their most trying times. THE BRATTLE THEATRE and COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE are nonprofits accepting tax-deductible donations, which can be given on either a one-time basis or as an ongoing monthly donation of $10 or more. They both have membership programs, with multiple tiers of discounts and perks (including discounts, free passes, and FREE! POPCORN!). THE HARVARD FILM ARCHIVE has a membership program as well, which helps support their unparalleled work in film restoration. THE SOMERVILLE THEATRE and the CAPITOL, while not nonprofits, can be supported by purchasing gift cards to be used once they reopen (as can the Coolidge and the Brattle). However you choose to support these institutions is meaningful. Your support helps ensure that these treasures will be there waiting for you on the other side. Stay safe, and I’ll see you at the movies. —Oscar Goff
e d i u G e r u Cult
Phoebe Delmonte, Adrian Alvarez, Julia Baroni, Aud Audrey Sutter, & Hannah Blauner
The 2020 Arts Equity Summit Goes… ONLINE!
While you may be cooped up in the crib for a bit, it doesn’t mean you can’t keep learning how to build your powerhouse—and the Arts Equity Summit has your back! This year’s summit will run for three days— virtually—from April 24-26th. Remaining true to its values, the summit gives emerging artists and cultural leaders of color the foundations and connections needed in order to achieve equitable means… while staying safe and healthy! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this new web-based format will allow fellow artists and leaders to engage from the comfort of their home while still continuing to work together to expand and sustain arts & culture in their respective crafts and communities. This year’s programming will focus on three different “strands” to help guide conversations. These conservations will include ways to structure an equitable organization, being innovative in how you build equity in an entrepreneurial way, and celebrating equity work that is already in place. The summit’s organizers, Arts Connect International (ACI), frequently collaborate with emerging and leading artists of color, “who hold institutional power in the contemporary art world,” in order to provide transformational leadership development that produces accessible, inclusive and equitable spaces. —Lex Weaver
THIS PAPER IS AN ONGOING PROJECT OF BRAIN ARTS ORGANIZATION, INC., A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO, VOLUNTEERING OR OTHERWISE SUPPORTING US: BRAIN-ARTS.ORG
These are Saint Lyor’s Confessions Saint Lyor lets his dark side speak on his debut EP, If My Sins Could Talk. Lyor came on the scene to a strong reception thanks to early breakout track “Gossip” and the fraternity of his Brockton-based collective Van Buren Records. In this eleven-track debut, Lyor offers his confessions with big flex confidence.“I wanted to embrace my vices in a celebratory way,” says Lyor. “Acknowledge my self-destructive desires, and simultaneously take ownership of them in the hopes of becoming a better person, a better man.” The project is a high-energy confessional and, through the catharsis that comes from his honesty, he is able to realize his own definition of success as well as how he intends to get there. The final track is an introduction to Lyor’s alter ego of sorts, Sinnerman, which he uses to navigate his journey. While some might be unnerved by self-exposure, Lyor doesn’t shy away from it. He considers himself a very observant person, sometimes to a fault. But it is this nature that makes him confident in his ability to create music with a message that resonates. “You really have to know who you are, so you can actually then share yourself,” he says. “You have to be sincerely vulnerable. It’s crazy, but there is such a thing as fake vulnerability.” With this project, Lyor also wanted to address the compromises people make to become successful, which he says often come at the expense of morality and character. “It’s something we all deal with when we come to define our own success and what we’re willing to do to get there.” Lyor is focused on “impact and influence—creating ideas that will encourage overall human progress,” he says. “I have faith in who I am, what I’ve seen, and what I’ve learned.” —Cassie Capewell THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL, A LOCAL AGENCY WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, AS ADMINSTRATED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS + CULTURE
Advice for Lovers Yours Truly, Heart Soaked
Q: How do you give someone another chance? How can you let go of any past hurt they caused? My ex and I have been on and off for over a year and she came back again. I want to give her another chance but I’m stuck on past hurt since we tend to have tension from past issues that got mildly addressed. So how do you let go to welcome new positive experiences with the person? A: I want to say this all depends on the type of harm but I’d focus on the potential reasons they caused pain. Rememberthings aren’t always black and white -as much as that could simplify things- it’s just not how feelings work. I’m sure you asked “How could my partner do this to me if they love me?” and that’s valid but what about “I wonder what’s happening in their life to drive them to do this?”. Partnerships are between two people so there are two different lives happening. A way to settle it without getting a defensive answer is to ask what was going on in their life at the time and think of how that fits into your path now. ----- xoxo Heart Soaked
---- Lilly Dickinson
If your email inbox looks anything like mine these last few days, you’re swimming in a whirlpool of corporate copy; eloquent, empty words letting me know about the precautions GEICO is taking to protect me from the coronavirus. But when Delta Airlines writes to say its CEO takes my safety very seriously, it’s hard to give a single F. How can you say you care about my safety when your industry both accelerates and profits from climate change, a longer term threat that will eradicate any semblance of a normal future for me or my children? Ugh. I’m someone with one foot in two local industries that are getting COVIDscrewed: food and freelance writing. (To the editors that ghost their freelancers during a pandemic: there is a special place in hell for you.) But I’m not just concerned about my livelihood. I’m concerned that there will be any small businesses or publications left standing for anyone to work at when all this is through. GEICO and Delta Airlines will be fine. But how will the vinyl record store down the street fare? Or my favorite thrift store? Or the farm I used to work at? Will my favorite café be around when covid-19 skidaddles out of Massachusetts? It is so important that we remain vigilant about giving way to what some are calling “coronavirus capitalism.” As small restaurants and businesses in major cities shut down, leaving workers without income and artists without venues, Amazon just announced plans to hire 100,000 people to cope with the rise in buying on their site. It’s a recipe for disaster. Think about how much you hate Boston’s Downtown Crossing, a historic site that should be bustling with a diverse array of interesting bars, artsy venues and handmade goods—the types of vendors that would carry an awesome DIY publication like the Compass. But instead it’s colonized by Primark, TJ Maxx, McDonalds, and Chipotle. (Ok, they do have Brattle Book Shop… but you have to search for it.) This is not an example of Boston putting its best foot forward. Can you imagine being a tourist with only one day to spend in the city and all you see are your corporate, multinational overlords? If only you could get your hands on a Compass! But we don’t distribute at Primark. YET. That’s the thing about smaller ventures. They, and all the individuality and color they bring with them, get priced out quickly in an economy that favors all things big. Most
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This is my first official return to any Rad Apps articles. I’ve been keeping it fresh for sixteen 250-word miniarticles but given that my word limit, like tech, has changed, I’d like to take an opportunity to once again invite you to use the chat app: ‘Signal’ for all of your chat needs. Last time, I was excited to tell you about Signal because it’s one of the very few endto-end encrypted and open-source chat apps out there. As I’ve mentioned before, open-source means that anyone can look at the source code to ensure Signal does what it says it does. End-to-end encryption means your messages are jumbled into complete nonsense data before being sent out and are only opened by someone else with the correct ‘key’ thereby making the data useless to anyone passively looking at the data. Endto-end especially means that your messages are not opened up in between you and the recipient by anyone such as your phone company, Facebook, or even Signal’s servers which relay the messages. What I’m especially keen to tell you besides all the cool security tech under the hood is that Signal has more or less achieved “feature parity” with the other chat apps out there. This means Signal can do most of, if not more than, what other competing chat apps can offer. Signal can do text, pictures, phone calls, video chat, full emoji and sticker support, reactions, group messaging, selfdestructing messages, and more! Basically there are no surprises which is precisely what makes it so great: you don’t have to learn any new crazy tech to get the benefits of basic digital security. Keep in mind that a lot of Signal’s features such as video calling require both you and your friend to use it: just like Apple’s Facetime. Likewise, the technology behind the encryption demands both people use Signal –if only one party uses it, it will send the text out as regular SMS. All of which bring me to my main point: if most people use Signal for everyday use, it becomes ubiquitous and the benefits of using encryption become complete. According to Google Play stats, over ten million people already installed Signal. Won’t you be one more? Signal can be downloaded from the iOS App Store, the Google Play Store, and directly from https://signal.org.
-------- Kari Vann
F ES
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-------- Daniel Lloyd-Miller
independent shops have only enough to last them two months in the bank in case of an emergency. But as the economy comes to a terrifyingly grinding halt, I am telling you right now that Amazon is not your only option. I’ve also been receiving email newsletters from the small businesses I love and frequent across this area, many of whom have shifted to online orders. Typically, I’m someone who shuns ecommerce entirely. I prefer to get my necessities in person, with as little packaging as possible. But since in-person shopping (outside of basic grocery store essentials) is a virtual impossibility now, I’ve been comforted to see small vendors taking advantage of e-commerce to make ends meet in this tough time, and give people like me and you options. The Somerville Winter Farmers’ Market had to cancel their final market, but they’ve posted a list of vendors that would have staffed it (www.somwintermarket.org/ vendors), with links where you can order food and supplies from them directly. If you’re going to spend money, please spend it where it counts. Many small businesses are still doing pick-ups and deliveries of food. If you feel overwhelmed and need a few recommendations: For fresh, local meats during your covid quarantine, I recommend Lilac Hedge Farm based out of Central Mass. You can purchase a pound of grass fed ground beef for ~$10. Winter Moon Roots has a special going on where you can buy 7 lb of carrots for $20! (Trust a former farmer, that’s a great deal.) Alternatively, if you want a one-stop shop, Family Dinner (sharefamilydinner.com) is a great option. They work with all local food producers— many of whom are struggling to find buyers for their produce now that restaurants are out of the picture—putting together weekly groceries and delivering to your door in reusable baggies (though not sure if they’re reusing bags during the pandemic). My one complaint is that the veggies and meats add up quickly, but I know they keep prices as low as possible. So if you can afford to purchase anything right now, I beg of you: purchase from local, small businesses whenever and wherever you can, so that they’ll still be around when the storm passes. In the meantime, stay safe. Stay healthy. Do not despair, because maybe for the first time since the 1918 influenza, we are literally all in this together. If this goes on long enough, no stone will be left unturned. And don’t hesitate to reach out if you need support, or a shoulder to lean on: vann. karine@gmail.com.
Hi everyone! My name is Sam Correa. I’m a design coordinator at Brain-Arts.Org. I’ve been volunteering for BAO for over a year now and have helped Emma Leavitt, the creative director of the organization, develop the visual identity of Brain Arts. I’m no expert in design. In fact, the reason I decided to get involved was to hone my skills as a visual artist. Developing the brand of Brain Arts has been a great lesson in how simple design can be. Brain Arts as a whole is such a rich collection of creative people who are just trying to be a part of something bigger than themselves. You can see this in the amazing artwork, music, photography, poetry, et cetera, that gets produced for and with the organization. So, when you have a group that’s as transparent and as committed to helping artists as Brain Arts, the brand starts to reveal itself. The collage as a visual identity isn’t something new but it makes perfect sense for Brain Arts since BAO is made up of such a diverse group of creators. When you participate in a Brain Arts event, it physically feels like a collage. There’s always something different going on and you’re always meeting new faces. Even the headquarters, Dorchester Art Project, is essentially a giant collage of a space. Volunteering at Brain Arts has been a very fulfilling experience so, if anyone is interested in the specific things I’ve worked on, check out my website www.samcorrea. me or follow me on IG @samuelcorrea. Reach out if you want to collaborate on stuff. If you want to volunteer for Brain Arts visit www.brain-arts.org -------- Sam Correa
COVID-19 REFLECTION On March 20, the city of Wuhan had forty-eight consecutive hours without a newly infected patient. The first case of corona virus in the city was documented in late December 2019. America’s preliminary patient was not documented until January 20, almost a full month after the cluster of outbreaks in Wuhan. It would be unwise to use Wuhan’s timeline as a way to chart where America stands in the current epidemic. By doing that, you would also be assuming the situation in Wuhan is over. In any case, this country has a long way to go. Some people still don’t believe that the virus is worthy of the pandemonium it has created. Howie Carr, a long-time talk show radio host in the Boston area, has consistently questioned the severity of the situation. He has argued that the virus is blown out of proportion by the liberal news media to help clear the way for more socialism in the United States government. Other conservative talk show hosts have argued that our country should not declare Marshall Law, for it is an infringement of our freedom. At a time where hospitals are beginning to run out of medical supplies, General Motors, Ford, and Tesla offered to mass-produce ventilators, and cruise liners are being used as hospitals, America is still not united. The political and ideological divide that splits our country has not been abridged in the last month. If anything, it has only widened. At first, liberal governors were accused of using the virus to fearmonger. Representative Matt Gaetz even wore a gas mask to the floor of the H.O.R, in an effort to mock the reporting. He was forced to quarantine a few days later. Unemployment has risen to staggering numbers, and many businesses fear bankruptcy. Both large corporations and local
restaurants, bars, and other companies have requested federal aid. American Airlines, for example, along with several other national airline chains, have requested a bailout in the form of over fifty billion dollars. They have argued if the federal government does not provide direct stimulus, they will be forced to cut pay among their employees by over sixty percent, along with sweeping layoffs. These same owners, for the last ten years of economic prosperity, have bought back shares of their companies and have given themselves large bonuses. As a result, they currently have an unbalanced debt-to-cash ratio. This situation will only grow worse. More people will die, and the economy will continue to shrink. Yet there are some silver linings. In countries where a nationwide quarantine has been implemented, pollution levels have lowered. In America, crime rates have dropped considerably since late February. And among everyday people, there seems to be a growing sense of community—one that extends globally. Perhaps when the virus has run its course, and the world has the ability to reflect on its historical impact, it will be remembered for the unification it created among humanity. -------- Nick Blauner
---- Lilly Dickinson
UNDERGROUND FLEX: KAE There aren’t too many R&B acts in Boston that can give you a nostalgic 90s feel. However, 20-year-old KAE is here to restore the feeling. Inspired by acts like Brandy, Jasmine Sullivan, Babyface, Janet Jackson and more, it’s a no-brainer that the Somerville native’s influences helped shape the sound and theme of vulnerability on her debut EP, KAE Alayah. Discovering her singing voice at the age of four, KAE recalls writing her first couple of songs in 6th grade. “I had a yellow, big notebook, and I used to come running home from school and I used to just write in it,” she said. “I used to just write songs without a beat and then I would go and find something that matches it.” Years later, KAE has since transformed her songwriting abilities as she now goes through numerous instrumentals until she finds the perfect one to write to. “Sometimes if I hear a beat, and it speaks to me immediately, I can have a whole song right there,” said KAE. “When I’m on the road or if I’m at home, real quick, I’ll just put some headphones in and I’ll get my notes out and just start writing to it, and if I finish it there, that means the beat was crazy.” With the release of her debut project, KAE Alayah, KAE has not only given us a refreshing sound but shows us what it’s like to go through the different levels of love. As she described her music, KAE wants people to remember how to feel, again – whether it’d be sad or happy. “It’s just music that actually makes you want to feel something, makes you even wanna pick up a pen and write something,” she explained. “I just want you to feel what I’m feeling.” With the city being primarily hip-hop and alternative rock based, KAE has created a lane of her own, yet the singer still feels like she has something to prove. “I knew I was capable of doing something, but I just wanted to prove to everybody that when I say give me a second with this song or give me a second with this video, I really promise you everything I’m doing is worth the wait,” said KAE. “I don’t rush anything. I feel like whatever is supposed to happen, is going to happen, regardless.” Inspired by Aaliyah’s posthumously released self-titled album artwork, the eight-track effort features guest appearances by ETOF and Shimmy. Grateful for the feedback she’s received on the EP thus far, KAE wants everyone to know there is no plan B with her music career and she takes it very seriously. “I just feel like my music speaks for itself and my work ethic and how I perform,” she said. “It’s a part of me that I’m willing to share with everybody and I just hope that it’s relatable.” ------ Tahisha Charles @miixtapechiick
THE TAROT FORECAST The Tarot Forecast is a look at the month ahead in a tarot spread. For April, I pulled The IV of Cups. Cups represent water and our emotions. The IV of Cups is a card of apathy and greed. You may be feeling very disconnected and discontent with your life right now. While that’s understandable, if your focus is on what you don’t have, you will always feel like you never have enough. Are you taking for granted the goodness in your life? Stop that. Check in with yourself. Greed is an emotion that is not logical. The IV of Cups is asking you: When is the last time you took a moment to be thankful for what you have? What in your life are you ignoring because you are focusing on what you lack? The antidote to greed? Sharing. The full pink moon is on Tuesday, April 7th, and for the full moon I pulled The Hermit. The Hermit is here to remind us that there is a fine line between solitude and isolation. There is so much beauty in solitude, especially in our plugged-in, overly-connected world. Being at home alone and on Instagram is not true solitude. Find moments during this full moon for genuine solitude. Moments where you sit in silence with your phone turned off; a walk around your neighborhood without your headphones on. True solitude, like meditation, is a spiritual practice —it takes patience and effort. On the flip side, The Hermit can also represent the negative things that happen when we spend too much time alone. Are you feeling socially isolated right now? Do you know the difference between being alone and being lonely? These are not the same. Loneliness is an emotion that can trigger depression and sadness. How can you find ways to practice solitude without alienating yourself from your community? For the new moon on April 22nd, I pulled The Page of Pentacles. There are four Pages in the tarot, often called Daughters in modern decks. They are a part of the court cards and represent a person in your life or an aspect of your personality. The Page of Pentacles is connected to earth energy and work. This is a personality who is responsible, hardworking, and humble. During the new moon, The Page of Pentacles is asking you: What work can you do to be supportive and kind to those around you? This card is asking us all to not take the spotlight away from those who truly need it. Sometimes you need to be behind the scenes to do the most efficient work. When The Page of Pentacles is out of touch, the energy of the card can become lazy or disconnected from self. Try spending some time in nature if you need to recharge. Be open to answers on how you can humbly be of service. A final card for guidance: Temperance. When I pulled this card, I asked, “What does the world need?” Temperance responded
with healing and renewal. Temperance is asking us all to show up with grace and sobriety right now, in this very moment, for the world. Because our world is on fire! We are inflamed with climate change, tumult, and disease. So we must react now with calm, tempered healing. Depicted on the Temperance card is a person mixing fire and water. How do you mix fire with water? With balance, and with care. Temperance is about taking the extremes of life and bringing them into harmony with one another. In times of chaos and discord, we must come together —meet at the center, for that is where transformation and healing will begin. Balancing fire and water. How do you mix fire with water? With balance, and with care. Temperance is about taking the extremes of life and bringing them into harmony with one another. In times of chaos and discord, we must come together —meet at the center, for that is where transformation and healing will begin. Balancing fire and water is complex and takes patience and skill. How can you blend the polarizing components of your world to live in balance? What small thing can you do everyday to create and promote equity? Temperance is here as a guide to find meaning in your life. Because when you master the ability to mix fire and water to make compromise, you will find meaning. —Naomi Westwater is a witch and musician based in Jamaica Plain, MA. Follow her music and tarot @ naomiwestwater. ------- Naomi Westwater
Hi, It’s 9:13pm on 3/17/20. This week’s been a tornado of anxiety, canned goods, safety texts, and antiseptic due to coronavirus lockdowns. I really hope you, reading this, are ok. This is a monthly column about Bostonarea protest art, the climate crisis, and the urgent need for systemic change. Many problems underlying our current emergency - underdeveloped social programs, wealth inequality, xenophobia, extreme capitalist greed - are also fueling worldwide ecological collapse. The skills, values, and care required to face them both are similar, too. I’m electrified by the ways people are organizing right now. Dozens of relief aid projects, food programs, donation campaigns, and neighborhood safety checkins are being created rapidly. These are care networks built on shared wellbeing, not money or extraction. Last month I said making art helps me feel connected. This month I want to talk process. There are millions of ways to make art with limited resources. Thus, there are millions of ways to make protest art in a pandemic. Art itself won’t prevent extinction or fix society, but it CAN spark resistance, share joy and anger, and feed our spirits. From-scratch Recipe for Social Distance Protest Art: 1) Pick a place you can use for 2+ hours. Example: Bathroom (bless my housemates) 2) Pick 2+ materials you have on-hand. Lipstick, mirror, cellphone. 3) Start playing with the materials. I began with “Face Writing” and “Angry Eyebrows.” “The Red Corner Morticing,” a response to feminist short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” went further... Tiling is a smooth drawing surface...
4) Consider what you want to say, and to whom. Message: Use taxes for human survival, not funding fossil fuel companies. Audience: US residents whose money is being invested in poisoning the world, instead of social needs. 5) How can you say what you want, to the people you want, with what you have? My phone takes photos, makes Instagram posts, and sends emails. The medicine cabinet and toilet could reference the healthcare system, waste, sanitation... 6) Sketch, retry, repeat.. “Medicine Cabinet Shrine” felt off-topic. “Medicine Cabinet Crypt” worked better, the red lipstick writing suggesting blood, resistance, and anger. The tissue shroud over the pills seemed too theatrical... My knuckles are bloody from handwashing. I’m devastated thinking about friends’ struggles. Maybe I can revisit “Face Writing” in a more informed way... 7) Get it out there “In Loo” is a daily Instagram photo series with hashtags #socialdistanceart, #defundpoison and #livablefuture. I write lipstick messages on the mirror and my gesturing, chapped hands. “My sister lost her job. Oil execs paid millions to poison.” You don’t have to know what you’re going to make before you make it. Trying things out is how you learn what works and what doesn’t. From online social distancing galleries to porch singing, people are making and sharing tons of art right now. Resistance art is possible too, and necessary. These are hard times, but climate data shows we’re at the tip of the melting iceberg. Rest well, love, stay put if you can, and fight. <3 Cory xrmass.org
Dear artists, this is what we train for. This moment is a health crisis, a brutal one. It is also a crisis of meaning. It is a crisis of connection, of story. It is a crisis of who we are to each other and the agreements that hold us together. And those are things we artists know how to work on. The script for how we will be together in this time has not been written. Artists will have a huge impact on that story. My longtime dance collaborators and I used to say: All our art making and community building are really just basic training for some future moment of crisis. We were strengthening muscles for the rupture or emergency to come. And here we are. Your skills are sorely needed. If you mostly hang out with artists, you might think your skills as an artist are normal. They are not. Few people have the range, depth of practice, and follow-through to discover and manifest new visions. Artists navigate the unknown. We go in our studios and ask new questions, pushing away from shore and into uncertainty. In this time of roiling uncertainty, we know how to stay awake and responsive, and how to help others do the same. Artists build possible futures. This moment desperately needs futures beyond the sobering medical news and the jarring contortions of policies and markets. We are connectors, conveners, community builders. We understand rhythm, flow, and negative space. Not everything we do right now needs to be doing. Silence is a way of telling. Stillness is movement. We bear witness. We listen to and reveal what it is like to be alive right now. We use what we have on hand to build what we need. We make sculptures from discarded materials, dances out of everyday gestures, music from found sounds. At a time when many are lamenting what is being taken away, we know how to begin with what we have. We create the images and songs and dances and stories that are needed, that comfort and challenge and inspire, that return us to our deeper selves or urge us forward into transformation.
We build alternative economies based in collaboration, barter, D.I.Y. resourcefulness, and repurposing what others do not value. We challenge assumptions and reframe the world. How we see this current emergency and how we see ourselves within it will determine how we emerge from it. Artists look past the noise to deeper, more radical possibilities. I don’t know what your art is. I don’t know your connections to community. But wherever you are, I call on you to unleash your practice as an artist and maker and re-imaginer. In this crisis of meaning, you are first responders. You don’t need to save the world. You need only carry your gifts and skills into this present challenge. A concert out your window. A pubic ritual you and your neighbors can do from your front steps. An expressive moment added to an online conversation. A project to mourn what is lost, a project to invite what is yet to come. Use your collaboration skills to organize your neighbors, or your D.I.Y. skills to build something from nothing. Or declare these weeks of separation an artist residency. Make the art this moment needs. May we be completely safe with our health and bold as all hell in our practice. This is what we train for.
----- Andrew Simonet
DPCD dpcddpcd.bandcamp.com
Will Orchard willorchard.bandcamp.com
Art of the Loop www.artoftheloop.com
Stuck stuckchi.bandcamp.com
Kevin Wynd erased-tapes.bandcamp.com/ album/kevin-wynd-is-secretroger
Couchsleepers couchsleepers.bandcamp.com
Hegemonix hegemonix.bandcamp.com
USA Nails usanails.bandcamp.com
Maya Lucia mayaxlucia.bandcamp.com
Frigid frigidnoise.bandcamp.com
Alpha Error alphaerror.bandcamp.com
Wet Specimens wetspecimens.bandcamp.com
Erin vealstall.com
Freaking freaking.bandcamp.com
Chain Cult chaincult.bandcamp.com
Colby Nathan laughablerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/whimpers
Dyke Mite dykemite.bandcamp.com/ releases
Tom Kovacevic tomkovacevic.bandcamp.com
Oldsoul oldsoulma.bandcamp.com
Thérèse therese.bandcamp.com
Raavi & the Houseplants houseplantsma.bandcamp.com
Bad History Month fathistorymonth.bandcamp. com
Bonsai Trees bonsaitrees.bandcamp.com
Kira McSpice kiramcspice.bandcamp.com Via Intercom intercomintercom.com
more at brain-arts.org
A/O aando.bandcamp.com Amidst these mad times, there is no certainty that events will happen in April. We decided to share below all the artists whose events we intended to list. We hope you can discover something new and keep supporting artists from the safety of your crib!
DJ Why Sham www.bostongotnext.com Leedepee ‘Long Story Short’ EP OUT NOW! ejleedepee.wixsite.com/website
GUNN (cali) ocpunksnet.bandcamp.com/ album/gunn
Final Gasp finalgasp.bandcamp.com Loretta loretta.bandcamp.com
Phlegm disphlegm.bandcamp.com
Cartridge cartridgepunk.bandcamp.com
Proglottid proglottid.bandcamp.com
RAH DIGGA rahdiggamusic.bandcamp.com
Golden Slugs goldenslugs.bandcamp.com
Dee-Parts dee-parts.bandcamp.com
Heavy Hands Lost Film heavyhandsma.bandcamp.com lostfilm.bandcamp.com
Red Shaydez www.chillinintheshade.com “Feel It, Speak it!” Open Mic tinyurl.com/fisimic
Above the Din abovethedin.bandcamp.com
Mystery Gems mysterygems.bandcamp.com
Renegade Cartel renegadecartelband.wixsite. com/rcboston
Helenor www.helenorhelenor.com
Choose Your Power chooseyourpower.bandcamp. com
The Woo Factor @woofactor Sassy @singitallsassy
Chain Cult (Greece) chaincult.bandcamp.com Longings longings.bandcamp.com
FPS friendlypsychicstrangers.band- Bare Mattress (NY) camp.com baremattress.bandcamp.com
Pauline @conformingsucks Karim @just_karim_
Hallelujah The Hills www.hallelujahthehills.com
Strange Fate strangefate.bandcamp.com
Ladygod www.ladygodftw.net
Crushed Vinyl crushedvinyl.bandcamp.com
The Jungle - community music club having fundraiser for staff Gladshot @thejunglecmc www.gladshot.com
Dorchester Art Project - volunGeorgia Maq of Camp Cope teer-run gallery and perforgeorgiamaq.bandcamp.com mance space having fundraiser for staff Kelso of Camp Cope @dorchesterartproject kellydawnkelso.bandcamp. com Kremlin Bats kremlinbats.bandcamp.com Lauren Adams laurenadams.bandcamp.com Bleach Day bleachday.bandcamp.com Actor/Observer actorobserver.bandcamp.com Karl lungbasket.bandcamp.com/ Girih album/feast-day girih.bandcamp.com Sundog sundogsongs.bandcamp.com
Dreamwell dreamwell.bandcamp.com
Risqué Holiday risqueholiday.bandcamp.com/ releases The First Supper thefirstsupper.bandcamp.com Mary Staubitz marystaubitz.bandcamp.com Jeb Bishop www.jebbishop.com Alec Toku Whiting www.idyllwildartsalumni.org/ alumni/alec-toku-whiting Seiyoung Jang www.seiyoungjang.com
Brittle Brian brittlebrian.bandcamp.com Bison Squad woodroomcollective.bandcamp.com/album/bisonsquad-ep Moth Bucket mothbucket.bandcamp.com Pain Chain pain-chain.bandcamp.com Chuck Steak chucksteakhnw.bandcamp. com Greylock greylock.bandcamp.com Palehound www.palehound.com CITIZENS ARREST citizensarrest.bandcamp.com MANIAC maniachc.bandcamp.com
4/28-5/3 69° S (The Shackleton Project) @ArtsEmerson $25-90 general/$20 for Students. ArtsEmerson.org A stylish and captivating take on Ernest Shackleton’s famed 1914 journey through the Antarctic by NYC’s Phantom Limb Company. Puppetry and choreography with music by the Kronos Quartet and Skeleton Key make this especially promising.
TRUE WEST by SAM SHEPARD A legendary performance of a legendary play that is both hilarious and brutally honest. John Malkovich and Gary Sinise play two estranged brothers coming to terms with themselves and each another. Search: “Sam Shepard’s True West - 1984” BREAD + PUPPET THEATRE Based outta Vermont, one of the oldest non-profit theatre companies in the country has been pumping out charming, innovative and completely original performances since the ‘60s. Check out some of their incredible work online, then catch them the next time they’re touring.
Search: “Bread and Puppet Theatre” with “Basic Byebye” or “OR ELSE” A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE by MARTIN McDONAGH One of the most prolific Irish playwrights alive, McDonagh might be best known to the public for writing the film In Bruges and his directorial debut, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. This play is utterly hilarious and the twists demand a rewatch to fully appreciate its craftsmanship. Search: “A Behanding in Spokane” SPALDING GRAY MONOLOGUES An early member of NYC’s Wooster Group, where Spalding first developed his
Tuxis Giant tuxisgiant.bandcamp.com Dew Myron dewmyron.bandcamp.com Oompa www.oompoutloud.com Other Than Boston www.otbband.com NwaSoul www.facebook.com/ Liturgy liturgy.bandcamp.com
Suzanne Friedman www.suzannefriedmanmusic. com
LEYA leya.bandcamp.com
Migguel Anggelo www.migguelanggelo.com
Kids Like You & Me - label, curator, fansite www.klyam.com
Appendix appendix.bandcamp.com Innocent innocentpunk.bandcamp.com Dark Thoughts dark-thoughts.bandcamp.com Conmen conmen.bandcamp.com PCP + the Knives pcpandtheknives.bandcamp. com End of Hope endofhope.bandcamp.com
Lagoons www.thelagoonsmusic.com Closer Bones closerbones.bandcamp.com Feedback Queen feedbackqueen.bandcamp. com Noise Nomads www.feedingtuberecords. com/artists/noise-nomads Murray/Ghandi kevinmurray.bandcamp.com/ album/bounce Green Piece greenpiecema.bandcamp. com
MANGLED mangled666.bandcamp.com
Test Meat testmeat.bandcamp.com
the Big Lonesome thebiglonesome.bandcamp. com
Bellows bellows.bandcamp.com
Lane - LP Release April 14th ! lanetotalwar.bandcamp.com/ album/copse-2
Wolf-Face wolf-face.bandcamp.com
Squitch squitch.bandcamp.com
Zachary Boudrot honestfacerecords.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-glue
Crisman crisman.bandcamp.com Puppy Problems puppyproblems.bandcamp. com Rong songoftherong.bandcamp. com/releases
Queen Crony queencrony.bandcamp.com Spit-Take spit-take.bandcamp.com Notches notchesrocks.bandcamp.com Bad Larrys badlarrys.bandcamp.com Grub Lord grublord.bandcamp.com Fred Cracklin fredcracklin.bandcamp.com Nat Baldwin www.westernvinyl.com/artists/ nat-baldwin.php First Children firstchildren.bandcamp.com
-CEEK FREE ON YOUTUBE
Roof Dogs theroofdogs.bandcamp.com
Northern Skulls thenorthernskulls.bandcamp. com
We are living in crazy times and everything is uncertain. Coronavirus has made shut ins of us all, so try to keep your brains engaged and somewhat productive while held captive. At this moment, the following shows have not been canceled for April. We hope they happen, but if they don’t, check out this list of live productions you can watch online for FREE! A great resource for experiencing live theatre from home is Kanopy, a streaming service that is free to university students and with most library cards. Kanopy is full of high profile productions of classic plays like Shakespeare and Chekhov, and even world class operas. The hidden gems here are Howard Zinn’s Emma and a handful of filmed performances from NYC’s Wooster Group. If avant-garde is your thing, the Wooster Group has been a world leader since the ‘70s with some of the best actors in the game and the visionary Elizabeth LeCompte behind the wheel. Beyond theatre, Kanopy offers a pretty sick selection of films from the criterion channel to stand up specials. Dig in! 4/24-5/24 The Bluest Eye @BCA $25-115 General/$20 Student/$30 under 35y-o HuntingtonTheatre.org Local playwright Lydia R. Diamond’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s literary masterpiece. Beautiful, profound and relevant.
Ko T.C. kotakasugi-czernowin.bandcamp.com
ANCIENT FILTH ancientfilth.bandcamp.com
THEATRESCAPE
Damo Suzuki (Of Can 19701973) www.damosuzuki.com
Pressure Care erased-tapes.bandcamp. com/album/norahs-pathways
autobiographical monologues, that he became famous for and toured with throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. He has published many as books and some have become movies but you can check them out as they were meant to be heard online. Search: “Spalding Gray” with “Gray’s Anatomy” “Terror of Pleasure” or “Swimming to Cambodia” ENDGAME by SAMUEL BECKETT One of Beckett’s most famous black comedies, this production from 2000 includes a cast of Michael Gambon and David Thewlis. Brooding and bleak. Search: “Endgame (Beckett)”
Peelander Z www.peelander-z.com Math The Band maththeband.bandcamp. com Baylies Band bayliesband.bandcamp. com Strobobean strobobean.bandcamp.com New Aura newaura.bandcamp.com Banny Grove niceymusic.bandcamp.com Night Moth nightmoth.bandcamp.com
Will DePiano willdepiano.bandcamp.com
Surreal depictions of life on the internet by Miami based artistDanny Gonzalez @ raredankart and www. raredankart.biz
Meditations For Resilience: recorded meditations inspired by art practice and activism http://www.abbyneale. com/seedlings
Post-internet visual commentary on pop culture @marxjacobs
Otherworldly paintings and photography from Boston & Columbian based @trippylandia www. trippylandia.com
Healing Abstracts by Pharaoh L Monique : www.etsy.com/shop/ PharaohLMonique
We normally provide you all a killer list of arts events happening throughout the area every month, but given the timing and uncertainty of when we are producing this content for publishing, we want to provide you with virtual alternatives to our physical cultural space. Check these links and pages online while you continue to practice social distancing! Hopefully by the time we publish this paper, things will be looking up. We will follow up with an online list of events once the fog clears. Check back on www. brain-arts.org for more info. *all “@”s are for instagram unless noted! RESOURCES Creative Capital hosts workshops for artists, they have a whole page of info on their website www. creative-capital.org/ The City of Boston is also providing a variety of relief funds for various types of creators, artists and small businesses. You have until June 30th to apply. www. boston.gov/artistrelief ONLINE GALLERIES INSTITUTIONS Piano Craft Gallery is starting an online showcase while their brick and mortar is closed @artpcgboston www.pianocraftgallery.com An online curated experience showcasing artists and their process, April features artist S.D. Evans with Gallery Baird IG- @gallerybaird www.gallerybaird.com INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, MAKERS AND COLLECTIVES Oil-painted clothing, accessories and canvases by Renee Silva @ www. nippygibbler.com
Fiber shapes, critters, sculpture and jewelry by Shannon Owen @shannonowenfiber www.shannonowenjewelry.com
Pins, apparel + handmade goods by Maine based Christy Woods @evoleye www.evolveye.co
Self-published comics and poetry zines : www. etsy.com/shop/grigni @ Metal-based sculptor noahgrigni making work from found objects @Derek McGearty Poetry and beautifully curat- www.scrapsapien.com ed website by Nicole V. Basta nicolevbasta.com Jewelry maker Regina McGearty @_walkonPoetry and Chapbook for themoon_ www.etsy.com/ sale from Sophie Klahr shop/walkonthemoon www.sophieklahr.org Illustrations and handColorful and graphic demades including puzzles! pictions of femininity and @kitschcollins WWW. etsy. emotion with Dani Thomcom/shop/kitschcollins as @heart.soaked www. dani-thomas.com Socially active prints, zines and handmade goods Handmade earrings by a www.badcomradeprint. cafe manager, funds go com towards supporting her staff because she had to Small batch ceramics with cut hours! www.etsy.com/ an emphasis on nature @ shop/sweetjamhomemade tessalationstudios www. @sweetjamhomemade etsy.com/shop/TessaLationStudios Pop culture illustrations, pins, zines + merch @ Comics and paintings by panandscan www.panandMaria Photinakis @mphotiscan.etsy.com nakis www.photinakis.com Artist/illustrator and recluse punk MEELZ @funkmastermeelz www.meeeelz.com www.etsy.com/shop/MeelzOnWheelz
Healing jewelry of all shapes and sizes @ thecypruscabinet www. thecyrpuscabitnet.com
Paintings and illustrations from North Shore based Brendan MacAllister @ buzz_macallister
Upcycled and reworked clothing as well as event organizers @avant.garde. vintage www.Depop.com/ avantgarde_studios
Multimedia artist and painter Porter Collins @birdbrain. paints www.portercollins. weebly.com/
Vibrant and graphic ceramics by Lara Cecilia @ceciliaeastwest www. ceciliaeastwest.com/
30 second movies by local filmmakers amidst the pandemic curated by Weird Local Film Fest. Watch the supercut @ weirdlocalfilmfestival or Weird Local Productions on Youtube
Digital Portraits by Natalia (Benítez) Rodríguez @ nanitezi
Illustrator and printmaker Allison H. Heckman @a.h.heckman
Danielle Lauretano is just the most freakin coolest ever drawer and moving image maker www.dtano. xyz
Lawyer turned impressionist painter Tisha Mark @ tishapaints Surrealist illustrator and book maker Jeanyn Caro @ juhkneen
Eco Friendly streetwear, reimagined apparel @ vertical.studios www. shopvrtcl.com
Fine art photography by Juliet Degree @film_ bsides www.julietdegreephotography.com
Illustrator for hire and children’s literature lover @ edafrench_illustration https://www.edafrench. com/
S WHAT' NG PENI
1486 Dorchester Ave
T stop. 2 mins walk from the Fields Corner dorchesterartproject.org Hey all, it’s Emma the Marketing Director for Dorchester Art Project. It is March 15 as I write this, and we have just decided to cancel all events at DAP until April 1, the day this issue officially drops. It’s pretty
much impossible to know what “Dappenings” will look like in the month of April, so I’m taking this space to shout out some of the awesome artists that had to cancel/postpone their events and talk about ways we can support the spectacular, important, fragile, artist-run space that is DAP. STUFF THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN BUT YOU SHOULD STILL KNOW ABOUT: We were gonna have a workshop about Taxes for Artists hosted by Brass Taxes. Check it out! Brasstaxes.com Emerging artist Leedeepee was gonna have her album release party. She is super cool and talented. Go listen and follow @leedepee Artist Kal Anderson who hosts Boston Queer
Maine based interdisciplinary artist Julie K. Gray @juliegray www.juliegray. com Traditional and floral tattoos bySelena Piglet McAlarney @explicit_piglet_ink Illustrator and human person by Danie Maio @ daniemaio Jewelry and designs by Laura Jaklitsch @laurajaklitschjewelry www. laurajaklitsch.com Hand altered streetwear @5pgstudios www.5pgstudios.com Photography and graphic design by Marcelina Roszkowski @m.rcy Playful illustrations and depictions of everyday life by Kate Costello @ kateco___ Drawings and paintings by Emmaline Lipka @ emmlipka
So, this is awkward. As of this writing, we simply don’t know whether any movie theaters will be open in April. Should the fates allow, there’s some amazing programming lined up at some of our best theaters including the Coolidge’s “Midnights with Marty” Scorsese retrospective and the Brattle’s complete Wachowskis on 35mm. Just in case, here are a few lesser-known streaming services to help keep you sane through your social distancing. THE CRITERION CHANNEL: What? A Netflix-esque service focused on good movies? Radical, I know. It should come as no surprise that this is the cream of the crop with hundreds of the best films ever made, along with some choice guilty pleasures, thoughtfully sorted by actual humans into curated collections. SHUDDER: Just as painstakingly well-curated as Criterion, but with a bent toward the macabre. Shudder collects the best of such horror maestros as Carpenter, Cronenberg, and Romero, and is the exclusive home of modern classics like Mandy (2016) as well as BUFF favorite, Tigers Are Not Afraid aka Vuelven (2017). MUBI: This one works a little differently. Rather than menus upon menus of deep content, Mubi only contains 30 movies at a time. Each film is up for 30 days, and every day one film is added and one is removed. Again, curation is key: each film comes with a thoughtful essay on its merits, and is worth your time. TUBI: The wild card. There’s a lot of junk on here, but it also has a lot of gems which you simply won’t find anywhere else. You’ll have to weather some ads, but it’s also 100% free. Diggers will be rewarded. PRIME: OK, so you probably know this one. But what you might not know is that Prime allows filmmakers and distributors to upload their own content. In other words, there’s a lot of WEIRD STUFF lurking below the surface, from microbudget indies to mindblowingly weird b-movies. —Oscar Goff
Multimedia artist Tirzah Maroun @tirzah.maroun Interdisciplinary artist Stenphanie Todhunter @ stephanietodhunterart www.stephanietodhunter. com Painter Christopher Thibault @christhibaulttt www.christopherthibault. com Multimedia artist focusing on women and plants @ amandalaurelatkins Sketches and illustrations by Liam Mahoney @dog_ mahoney www.lmillustration.com Semi-banal, genderless cartoons and other fine art @kuh_schlank www. maxwellfertik.com Inspirational documentary photography and film with an emphasis on social activism @stephaniehouten Some of the raddest most stoke-filled music photography by Alexandra Santos @therealalxsan
Friendly reminder: support local business & their employees When going outside is strongly discouraged or just downright prohibited, there are still ways to support your local cafes, bars, and fooderies! Here’s how: Buy a gift card at your favorite cafe. Make a prix fixe reservation. Save the date for a ticketed dining experience. Give it to yourself, or a service worker friend in need; use it as an early birthday gift, or do it just ‘cause. Order pick-up or delivery. Many businesses have established impromptu delivery or pick-up services that minimize human contact. Check your local fav’s social media account for the most updated info. And be sure to tip on the order as if you were dining in! If your means allow, consider ordering a produce box directly from a farm, or signing up for a local CSA box, like @sharefamilydinner, to support small purveyors far and wide. Don’t know how or where to get produce from local farms? Check out Cambridge/Somerville Winter Farmers’ Market websites to get started. And if you, or someone you know, has a child that typically depends on school lunch, head (safely) to the Breakfast Spot in Roxbury for a free lunch Tuesday through Friday (call 617-363-6380 for more info). —Dana Ferrante
and Trans Figure drawing at DAP (every last Sunday!) was going to do their own mindfulness workshop. Kal rocks. You can support their group with a monthly membership at withfriends.co/boston_queer_trans_figure_ drawing Full time artist and DAP tenant Matt Brennan was going to host a workshop offering tips on how to become a full-time artist! Commission work and become a Patreon member through his site twothangs.com Beyond that. . . Some hardcore shows, techno, raves, music workshop, an incredible art installation, and a queer-friendly church service every Sunday a la powerhousechurchoston. com. Great stuff, no?
We are proud to be able to provide the space that makes all this possible. We want to continue on with this work, and we need your support. We lost $2,500 in rental income that will not be recovered. The best way to support us is through a monthly membership through our Withfriends page at withfriends. co/brain_arts_organization_inc. Or you can Paypal us at dorchesterartproject@gmail. com. We always welcome volunteers and folks who want to contribute other ways so reach out! Just email us at dorchesterartproject@ gmail.com. And lastly, you can always check out what events are happening on our website dorchesterartproject.org ! Come through and show support. Hopefully see you later this month! —Emma Leavitt
Abigail Neale @lavender_menace_press
Runaway
submit your chillustrations!! send to adrian@brain-arts.org
I woke with the first light in an open field of rough and dead grass. This was late in the fall. I could feel in my legs and in the back of my mind that I had been running, at least that I was being searched for. There’s a predictable pattern when you are being chased. You gather your money, and buy a ticket headed far away. You would high tail it to Canada. You would go back home, where breakfast used to be served, when you weren’t on the run. Or you would go to your sweetheart’s place, the second place they check after your mom’s house. I didn’t take those particular routes, instead I took that less traveled, which happened to be the main road which led to the park a few blocks away. That’s what I presume, at least, given that I’d just woken up in a field of sorts. My legs really were sore, my whole body too, either from sleeping outside in the cold or from running away. My conscience wasn’t quite right either, and it was just as tough to say why. I know something went wrong, and I certainly was fleeing, but was I guilty or just of a lawless nature? What did I do wrong, and why was I compelled to run? Whatever it was, it was a culmination, a premeditation. I am not that impulsive, as you can tell by my well thought-out escape. This is not to say there had been a plan, only a passion brewing for a long time, that couldn’t help but manifest through me. And whatever had happened, had been very bad, though I maintain that I was not bad, I am not bad. That being said, I doubt I could prove my innocence, so I left the scene. It would be wrong not to run while being chased, right? While it might be said that I ran simply in order to be caught, I was not going to allow them to. I wanted them to catch me and end this chase, and at the same time I didn’t want to run another step, and at the same time I could not stop. Part of me wanted them to pin me down, face into this dead grass, and yell at me. I wanted them then to collect themselves a bit, and tell me what are and are not my rights, as their captive, if you will. Best of all, I wanted them to tell me what I did wrong, and why I did it, and why it was wrong... that would be the stuff. Then, better still, take me away, take me and not let me choose where I was being taken. Laying in this grass now, I see clearly that I wanted it all to be out of my hands. I preferred that it were all in the hands of somebody far more qualified than myself, a judge preferably, or a lawyer if my runaway reserves would cover one. All this I thought, in the brief moment of first light. At ease with the cold gnawing at my feet and ears and nose. No more running for me! Either they will come and take me, or the cold will, both I prefer to running. —Matthew McGovern
Meme Neck by Kev Gil @kevgil90
The Market by Cagen Luse @cagenmiles
JAM
Comics Credits by panel: 1) Dan Mazur @danmazurcomics 2) Jonny Hiya @jonnysaidhi 3) Skye Thompson 4) E.J. Barnes 5 & 6) Kyri Lorenz @unorthodoxcreativity 7) Levon Gyulkhasian @levon_gm
Jam with the BCR! Submit a comic panel to adrian@brain-arts.org and it may be selected to begin an original and improvised comic page by the Boston Comics Roundtable!
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nose Flairâ&#x20AC;? poster art by Lilly Dickinson @_ _ _ lillypop on Instagram
tear this poster out and put it on a wall! -
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STATING THE STATE OF THE STATE OF THE ART ARTS
^
An
interview with
tim Devin • timDevin.com
&
“I’ve made zines and posters for years. I also like to give walking tours.”
U
“I like to think I’m sharing helpful ideas—and making the world a little weirder in the process.”
G L
“Pretty much all of my projects, I’ve done independently and on my own terms.”
` % 6
“I make a lot of projects with my kid out of junk and recyclables, so that’s us not buying more toys.”
B J A
In 1965 Frank Zappa was a young, aspiring musician, running a small recording studio, writing songs and playing in a blues trio in Ontario, California. The trio was also joined by four go-go dancers in fishnets, which attracted a lot of attention. One night after a gig, a used car seller approached Zappa and asked if he would produce a “love making audio tape” for $100. Frank agreed and one of the dancers, Lorraine Belcher, went to work. “I stayed up most of the night manufacturing this bogus sex tape, fake bedsprings, squeaks and grunts. I overdubbed a musical background and spent hours cutting the laughs out of this thing.” When Frank was about to give the tape over he and Lorraine were arrested and his studio raided. The charges were “conspiracy to commit pornography”. Using royalties from a song he had written he posted bail for Lorraine. Zappa, with not enough resources to mount a suitable defense, pleaded nolo contendere. He served 10 days of a 6 month sentence. In addition he was given three years probation, however this made him exempt from the draft. The incident left a lasting mark on Zappa and fueled his contempt for authority. “You can’t appreciate what a jail is and what goes on there unless someone sticks you in one… In a way, I guess I have to thank Detective Willis and the evil machinery of the San Bernadino legal system for giving me a chance to see, from that perspective, what the penal system is like in this country, and… how ineffectual and how stupid it is.” —Zachary Fairbrother
“I mostly find a shoestring budget works for my ideas, and makes me focus and hone them.”
“I give myself deadlines. I usually miss them, but hey, it’s not like I’m paying myself. So screw you, me!” “I work full time, but I spend at least a little bit of each day working on projects. If I’m in the exciting creative part of the project, then I’ll spend hours each day.” “My day job is a social good, and I’m glad to be doing that.” “Being nice to people has helped me a lot! Plus it’s nice to be nice.”
East Boston, South Boston, Porter Square, Roxbury!
“Boston has a pretty limited infrastructure and support for creative people. But you can still find interesting and successful ways to communicate your ideas—you just have to get scrappy about it.”
O
Help
by
The Sounds of the Planets: Part 2 I returned to my senses weighed down by gravity more acutely than I ever remember. I felt as if I were at the tail end of a cold. Waterlogged and heavy. The image of that great and vengeful planet simmered in the back of my mind. My friend noticed the shift, but didn't react with any amount of surprise. They definitely knew that it might occur, but didn't see fit to inform me. I could see it in the glazed, but absorbed look that casually cascaded over me. Here I want to make clear that I don't feel that I was subject to some experiment or manipulation. From my perspective, it still feels like someone just sharing this bit of universal strangeness. I returned to my life, but struggled to ignore the shift. As the following days, I began to realize something: this phenomenon is as old as the universe itself. For the entire span of humanity, and indeed all life on the Earth, celestial voices have been ringing through the entire fabric of our combined being. I say voices now specifically. There is no doubt in my mind that each of the planets has a will and intent of its own. Maybe everything in existence does, and we're only just now scratching the surface of some all encompassing secret. Not secret. Our own ignorance of the subject doesn't deny the fact that this is all happening out in the open, for us to plainly observe as we climb out of the darkness and feel with more than our own senses. Whether by its own unseen guidance, or common chance, I have become particularly aware of that whose voice I first encountered. That great titan looms in the back of my mind always. That droning vibrates my existence. I can't think straight anymore. My work has fallen apart, and I can only barely get any of this information down. Maybe it would have been better to leave well enough alone. Should we listen? Even now, the thought of approaching my friend in an effort to bring this sound to more people is at war with the thought of tearing down the entire radio telescope. Of course, this would only prolong the inevitable. I'm not sure which of these wills is my own anymore. I think Saturn has something in mind. I know that Saturn, one of the gas giants of our own system has intentions. I think that against an intelligence older and magnitudes larger than even our entire world, resistance might not even exist. We don't even know how or what to resist.
—Michael Coleman
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Viscous Verses It rains. One steps up through the haze of tan and violet to the maze of memory--misty where one stands, twisting, separating strands. The hour's dim, and no one calls; obligation mutely falls through floors of mountains, origin: anonymously you begin.
by Disme Casilio @ dismesmenagerie
The blasted lantern of the nerves lights up the sky, where starlight curves; below, on earth, some few pass by sheer constructs of identity. They swirl and plaster every sense, unto a law of difference: not clear how long, or what direction, subsume the nerves in their inspection.
Plant Care Tips for the Apocalypse
The skeleton's examination evokes, incites, brief procreation: filed away, some future date astonished memories locate.
#1. Save your veggies Did you snag some romaine lettuce? Green onions or celery? Maybe you got basil, cilantro or mint. Pop those babies in some water and give yourself a little more fiber! Bonus: Save seeds from veggies, dry them out on your windowsill and plant in the spring.
The seraphs of pedestrians seep into violets, into tans, breaching desire's boulevards; throw down the last of evening's cards.
#2. Don’t forget to water them! All your routines are out of whack. Set calendar reminders on your phone so you don’t forget to take care of your plants. Or! Stick a cotton string in the soil and the other end in a bottle of water. It’ll take what it needs!
There is no way to formulate identity's raw nervous state: it seems to slip into the world, by stellar facts and atoms hurled
— Ben Mazer April will see the publication of BEN MAZER AND THE NEW ROMANTICISM by Thomas Graves (Pen and Anvil Press).
visit
brain-arts.org
http://ow.ly/ru8x50uKx4 to take the survey online
#3. Time to repot! You’re self-quarantined, so you might as well make your plants happy. If you have any plants whose roots are coming out the bottom it’s time—choose a pot that’s only 2-3 inches larger. Sign up for my online repotting + plant care classes at plantmagic.shop/events-workshops. —Cheryl Rafuse @plantmagicshop
Viscous Verses is edited by Art & Letters (artandlettersmagazine@squarespace.com).
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Compass!
d
ks
into the mythic stratosphere. Ideas formulate the seer. Genesis sans génération. A change of trains at London station.
by Mar Spragge @parasitebeans
spread the
em: compassdistro@brain-arts.org
neil horsky • horskyProjects.com
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