Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Taken

“I was born from loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss and loss.

And loss.”

-Sherman Alexie

History is a lie. What we are told to be true is the result of generations of colonization covering up the systematic trampling of those who were here before them. Our children are still told the tales of men brought forth as heroes, the truth carefully curated out of sight. National stories are told by the victors while those in defeat are left to fade into oblivion. At what cost has human civilization continued to roll its way across the lands and seas?

Demian DinéYazhi´ is presently putting together a performance in collaboration with indigenous artists that he calls an extractive performance. DinéYazhi´ is very interested in extracting things from bodies, communities, political ideologies, and so forth. For this project, DinéYazhi´ goes to places like thrift shops to see what objects he finds to get to know what this says about the community he’s in. He often sees evidence of deeply embedded racism toward brown and indigenous people. To hear more about this work and his other projects and activism, listen to the complete interview.

Andrei Farcasanu lives and works in Barcelona where he is currently developing two bodies of work, The Quiet Sense of Nature and Timeless Interventions. Both portfolios contain hundreds of photos already but Farcasanu continues to build them. Farcasanu works in strictly analog photography primarily in black and white using negative film. To hear more about his process and these two main portfolios, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:

To truly understand ourselves, we must be willing to encounter those things of which we are the most ashamed.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Demian DinéYazhi´ has been reading poetry of late – one book he’s spent time with is alphabet by Inger Christensen. Andrei Farcasanu is reading Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes. 

American Indian and Alaska Native artists are invited to apply for the 2020 Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) Mentor Artist Fellowship (MAF). In their own words, “The Mentor Artist Fellowship’s goal is to improve creative development, artistic rigor, and
intergenerational cultural and traditional knowledge perpetuation by fostering the growth of
Native artist mentors and apprentices and empowering them to play an integral role in their communities.” For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline is September 30.

Deadlines

Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.

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