Thank God she's back

Fiona Apple is back and unbound. Praise the Lord!

My favorite lines from her single, "Fetch the Bolt Cutters":

I listened because
I hadn't found my own voice yet
So all I could hear was the noise that
People make when they don't know shit
But I didn't know that yet

I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill
Shoes that were not made for running up that hill
And I need to run up that hill, I need to run up that hill
I will, I will, I will, I will, I will


Fiona Apple's art of radical sensitivity. (The New Yorker)

Evening glow at Mono Lake (Chiura Obata)

We won't be able to see Chiura Obata's stunning retrospective at the Smithsonian American Art Museum any time soon (sigh), but we can learn about the Japanese American artist and appreciate his work from home.

I read this fantastic article about Obata and learned some fascinating things:

• He was a prodigy, the son of a painter and drawing instructor from Okayama, Japan
• He ran away from home to study art in Tokyo at age 14
• By 17, he won his first major award and was being solicited to paint for magazines and books
• He wanted to break out of what he felt was a constrained existence and immigrated to the US in 1903, knowing no one and having no work
• In San Francisco, he found room and board as a domestic helper and began the learn English and take art classes
• He was painting a streetscape and was jeered and spit on by a group of construction workers; he fought back and was arrested for hitting one of the workers over the head with a piece of iron; the judge, who thought it wasn't a fair fight, declared Obata not guilty of attempted murder
• He began meeting other Japanese American artists and founded the East West Art Society in 1921
• His prints demonstrate his painstaking perfectionism and signature style of blending American and Japanese traditions
• His love of the Sierra Nevadas was first kindled during a six-week visit to Yosemite, during which he created some 150 watercolor sketches
• He was among the 120,000 to be imprisoned in squalid incarceration camps during World War II
• His wife and three of his four children were sent to live in the stables at the Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, California; his family was forced to give up art stores and a studio they owned in Berkeley and Oakland
• He opened an art school and created some 350 paintings during his time in internment, including "Examination Time," which depicted the drudgery and humiliations endured by the prisoners
• His paintings during internment were his way of showing gratitude to nature and a way of keeping himself grounded in hope, "If I hadn't gone to that kind of place I wouldn't have realized the beauty that exists in that enormous bleakness."

Read the entire Smithsonian article here.


Considering the role of art in a pandemic. (Artforum)

Merry feliz joyeux

Masterpiece

Dreamtopia: the best things that happened

I spent a magical two days at Cathy Heller's LA workshop, Dreamtopia 2019. Cathy and her friends didn't disappoint. I knew it would be inspired but I didn't expect an experience so affirming and life-changing. 

Something in me has been shifting as of late. Call it a light switch being flipped in the "on" position. Whatever it is, I think it's the beginning of an enlightened Second Act. 

I'd love to share my Dreamtopia experience with you. Here are the Ten Gifts I took home with me:

Finding kindred spirits - You know when you've found your tribe? Your fellow creative souls? Your sisters and brothers who just get you? They flew in from all over the world (the UK, Australia, Thailand); many braved the 101 and trekked from the Valley to Sunset Boulevard (gasp!); and one guy even drove all the way out to Los Angeles from Georgia. For two days, I felt the love and positive vibes radiating from these 200 perfect strangers (who, by the end of the conference felt like true community).

Don't give up. You're on the right path! - My partner and I have been chasing our own crazy big dreams for the past six years. There have been countless ups and downs. Heartbreaks and breakdowns. Breakthroughs and f*ck ups. Coming so close only to be so very far away the next day. The emotional strain of it all has been so great there were moments where our sanity (and marriage!) felt like it was on the verge of oblivion. But hearing the stories shared at Dreamtopia (animator Saul Blinkoff's incredible journey in fulfilling his childhood dream resonated so deeply with me) confirmed that we are never alone. "Don't give up! You are MILLIMETERS away from seeing your dreams become reality!"

Cathy Heller - She's the girlfriend who kicks your ass in the best possible way. There's a reason Cathy's podcast, Don't Keep Your Day Job, is at the top of the charts and boasts over 5 million downloads. It's because experiencing life with her is like taking big gulps from a fire hose. She is an inspirational POWERHOUSE and helps you plug in to the best version of you. I needed a serious nap after spending two days with her. Wow! (And someone please get this woman her own standup special. She's freaking hilarious!) 

     
Transformation - The first day was Fire. Synapses exploding in the brain. So many ideas. So many connections. Scribbling notes like mad (It's time to expand my audience! I need to seek partnerships! I want to finally write my book(s)! What about my podcast? Need to get going on that, too! And the event! The magazine! The creative collaborations! Let's build community! Aahhh!) The second day was Earth. It was the "Oh sh*t! Where do I go from here?" sobering reality that comes after your feet have landed on the ground.  

The sound bath - Have you ever heard of a sound bath? Me either. I knew nothing about it until I started doing homework before the conference. I found out that sound bath meditation is a calming yet powerful auditory experience for the mind and body via instruments like tuning forks, gongs and Himalayan singing bowls. Honestly it all sounded a bit mawkishly sentimental for me (raise your hand if you're naturally a skeptic like me). At the conference, our sound bath was led by scientist and sound alchemist Shanila Sattar. I'm telling you, I experienced something supernatural. I promise to tell you more in a later post, when I interview Shanila about my experience!

The maze is the key - Illustrator and Creative Pep Talk host Andy J. Pizza (how can you not love a guy with a name like "pizza") shared a powerful story about "the maze." After scoring big with The Indie Rock Coloring Book - an adult coloring book inspired by his final year at art school - Andy felt like he had bypassed the maze. Meaning, he had figured out the code, found the key, slayed the dragon and skipped to the "You Won!" part of the proverbial video game without going through all the levels. Early on in his career, Nickelodeon came knocking on Andy's door, wanting to collaborate. Ecstatic, he sent his sketches. They responded. "This is great for a first pass," they wrote. "Could you send us your finals?" Those were his finals. He didn't get the job. He felt like a failure. Andy had skipped the maze and the world found out. 

After some soul searching (and many nights spent face down on his living room floor - flattened like a piece of cold pizza), Andy picked himself up and found his mojo. He made his own maze: a 100-day challenge to create a new illustrated character every day. Some were awesome! Some, he said, were awful. But he did the work. Every single day. And you know what? Nickelodeon called again. And this time he was ready. "The maze is the key," Andy told us at the conference. "The journey is the point. You can't skip to the end of the game. Well, you can but you will only be cheating yourself."             
H.U.S.T.L.E. - I love fitness guru Jennifer Cohen's Keanu Reeves story. I had listened to it on Cathy's podcast, but to hear it from Jen herself at the conference was amazing. The story: It was 1995. Jen had heard the superstar was in town. Six months earlier, Keanu had rocketed to fame thanks to Speed and was now positioning himself as a "serious actor" - tackling Hamlet in Winnipeg, Canada of all places. Jen had her own dreams of becoming a veejay at Much Music, the Canadian version of MTV. So she hatched the perfect plan: interview Keanu and submit it to Much Music as her audition tape. Cut to opening night at the Manitoba Theatre with Jen waiting outside after the show. She fights her way through the crowd of hundreds and manages to reach Keanu. He thinks she wants an autograph, like everyone else there. "I don't want an autograph!" she yells to him over the mayhem. He seems confused as she explains her request. OK, give me your number and I'll call you, he tells her. She's dubious. "You're not going to call me!" Jen says as she hands him a gum wrapper with her phone number written on it. I will, Keanu tells her. And he does. Two days later Keanu F*cking Reeves is in Jen's living room. She videotapes the interview. Her mother makes them a snack between takes. In the end, Jen didn't get the gig (she was runner up!), but she learned a very important lesson: Find your killer instinct. Be relentless. Don't give up. "Why did you call her back?" Jen's mother asked Keanu that day. "Because there was a fire in her eyes," he replied. 

Naked on stage - I wasn't literally naked on stage in front of 200 people. But I came pretty close, thanks to Amber Rae. The Brooklyn-based artist and author of best-selling book Choose Wonder Over Worry talked to us about the concept of thoughts and feelings. How we are vessels for our thoughts and feelings but we are NOT our thoughts and feelings. "The Ancient Greeks believed our emotions are like visitors," she explained. "So what message does it have for you?"  

Our thoughts, feelings and emotions are like archetypes of ourselves. Amber asked us to join her in an exercise. "I want you to name your archetype, name this character," she said. "The one putting excuses in your head." Who do you think you are? It's too hard. It's impractical. It might never happen. But everyone is doing it already. Amber's archetype was called Grace. She was uptight and wore glasses and had a posh British accent. We all feverishly jotted notes in our journals. Giving voice and shape to our own "devil on your shoulder" characters. I named mine Nancy (maybe subconsciously I was doing some word association and "Negative Nancy" came to mind?). Nancy didn't look like anyone in particular. Rather, she was my shadow. Always with me. Always following me. She's quiet. Kind of an introvert. Very Type A. Always planning and plotting. Worrying. Driven by fear. But deep down, she wants the best for me. Amber called on three of us to share our archetypes. I just KNEW I had to go up there. I didn't want to expose myself, to be so vulnerable. I didn't want to do it, but the next thing I know I'm raising my hand and Amber is looking straight into my eyes. "Here we go!" I said under my breath as I got up from my folding seat and headed down the aisle toward the stage. I'm holding the microphone in my hand, looking out into a sea of faces and my heart is beating like a hummingbird's. Somehow I muster up the courage and introduce everyone to Nancy:

There was silence and a lot of nodding in the audience. Quiet affirmations and positive, loving vibes. "What would you say in response to Nancy?" Amber asked me. I paused for a moment. Then said, "I would tell her, 'I see you. And I thank you. For reminding me who I am and that I don't want to feel like this anymore. I thank you, but I need you to take a back seat now.'" It seems counterintuitive, but I became empowered in my vulnerability. Nancy forced me to come clean, to lay bare my brokenness and insecurities. And in that, I found my freedom. 

Funny is so much better than almost everything else - I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between comedian Wayne Federman (he's that guy you don't know but has been in like EVERY movie and tv show ever) and the hosts of the Self-Helpless podcast (Delanie Fischer, Kelsey Cook and Taylor Tomlinson). They shared how they hone their craft (write every day!), what makes a person successful (learn how to deal with rejection), and how painful moments can be used as a future anecdote that you will share when you are a super successful mogul. 

This gal - Consider yourself lucky if in your entire life, you can count your true friends on one hand. Those are the friends you need to cherish. This woman is the reason I even showed up to Dreamtopia in the first place. It's been a long, arduous road and I was feeling stuck, confused and lost. She knew exactly what I needed. Thank you, Ann.

Dear friends, my wish for you is all these things and more. You were made to create something. We are all makers at heart. You'll never be ready to do it - so you might as well get started now! And most of all: Believe in yourself. Because YOU ARE ENOUGH.

XOXO.  


Stop Writing Alone host and fellow Dreamtopian Nicole Rivera shares her top takeaways from the conference. Yours truly sounds off at 46:00. (Stop Writing Alone)

Is cultural appropriation always wrong?

When New York Times reporter Walter Thompson-Hernandez heard that Chicano subculture had spread to Japan, he had to see it for himself. "Who knew the culture I grew up with had a home so far from California?" Thompson-Hernandez mused. 

So he traveled 5,600 miles from Los Angeles to Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo to interview Junichi Shimodaira, one of the godfathers of the Japanese Lowrider scene; musician and recording artist MoNa a.k.a. Sad Girl; and artist Night tha Funksta, whose drawings focus on the positive aspects of Chicano culture.

I was absolutely fascinated by Thompson-Hernandez's report. How amazing for a culture so different from your own to resonate so deeply and personally. It also sparked a question for me: Is cultural appropriation always wrong?

OK, first let's examine its definition:

cul·tur·al ap·pro·pri·a·tion [Noun] The unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.

When Nicki Minaj released her single, "Chun-Li" (off her 2018 album Queen), I had mixed feelings. On one hand, the song is catchy and I always appreciate a good beat. I also acknowledge the nod to legendary Street Fighter character Chun-Li (I get it - it's generally fun for artists to reference Asian culture because Asian culture is generally cool, duh). But I was annoyed that Nicki's hair buns, hair chopsticks, coolie hats and Asian massage parlor imagery (as seen in the video for "Chun-Li") does a pretty good job of reinforcing Asian stereotypes (especially Asian female stereotypes - ugh). 

"This is such outdated thinking!" I yelled out loud when I first watched the music video. "Why am I still watching this sh*t?" 

Rather than having conversations about appropriation, let's instead hear from the people who actually live the culture every single day. Since we're on the topic of female hip hop artists, why not give a platform to Asian and Asian American artists like Jessi, CL, Suboi, HanHan and Ruby Iberra? These are REAL Asian and Asian American women with firsthand accounts about immigration, stereotypes, misogyny, struggles as minorities, and female empowerment. We need these authentic voices. My daughter and son need to hear these stories. (But I digress...)

Times have certainly changed since Gwen Stefani donned a bindi on the Red Carpet and professed her love of harajuku girls. In 2012, No Doubt pulled their "Looking Hot" music video (with Gwen in full Native American regalia) and later apologized to the Native American community. I think most of us would agree: given the long and shameful history of Native American decimation in this country by the dominant white culture, it was totally tone deaf for Gwen to wear that headdress.

So when is appropriation OK and not OK? Is Chicano subculture in Japan acceptable? Should Madonna not have worn North African garb during her award presentation at last year's MTV VMAs? (Or referenced Hindu art 10 years prior in her 1998 MTV Video Music Award performance?) Was Rihanna's papal-inspired gown at the 2018 Met Gala offensive to Catholics? Is it not OK for Asians and Asian Americans to borrow from African American hip hop culture? 

Do we need to make a distinction between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation? Are we all just going a little bit crazy over this? 

What do you think? 


Three cheers for cultural appropriation. (The New York Times)

Chicano subculture in Japan

Fascinating.


Is cultural appropriation always wrong? (The New York Times)

RIP Karl Lagerfeld

Gems from Karl Lagerfeld in this brilliant T Magazine profile:

"You are never happy in the moment when you ask yourself that question. So I don’t ask myself the question, which means I must be happy. I’ve been lucky. I didn’t finish school. I learned nothing. It is all improvisation. And yet I am not doing badly. Happiness is not something life owes you."

"When things are too positive and too sweet, it is very bad. Too peaceful is very dangerous. You fall asleep. You need to take care of your enemies. Your friends you don’t need to worry about.

"If you don’t daydream your life is a nightmare."

"I’m actually very superficial. And I work on that. I became, as you say, an icon — and this removed me from reality. I don’t go on the streets any more."

"[Alexander McQueen] was unpleasant and poorly groomed but I’m more at ease with what [Sarah Burton] does. Very poetic and very beautiful."

"In one trashy French paper they asked the reader, ‘Are you shocked that [your cat, Choupette] can make so much money?’ Eighty-two percent were shocked, so I sent the editor a letter saying I was sorry to find that 82 percent of their readers were envious people. What can I say? She is the Garbo of cats."

Photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino for T Magazine.

NASA (clothing) is having a moment

My husband went bonkers at the Vans store recently when he came across a collection of NASA-branded clothing and accessories - sneakers, hoodies, jackets and duffle bags. It was like a little boy's I-wanna-be-an-astronaut dream come true, albeit here on earth and not in the outer galaxies.

He walked out of there happy as a kid at Space Camp, eager to wear his new NASA black hoodie and NASA x Vans Old Skool "Firecracker" sneakers.  

Funny because I feel like I've been seeing NASA-themed clothing everywhere these days. Though the trend started popping up a couple of years ago, I'm seeing NASA tees, sweatpants, pins and patches at Urban Outfitters and on Kanye West to my neighbor's kid and the cover of Teen Vogue. 

And with this week's news of NASA's InSight landing on Martian soil, there are more reasons (besides it being cool and geeky and of-the-moment) to celebrate by proudly wearing that official "meatball" insignia.  


NASA has strict guidelines for using its logo.

Hilma af Klint is badass AF

Mind blown by Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944), whose paintings were amongst the first abstract art. Little known during her time, af Klint insisted her work remain a secret until at least 20 years following her death (she said the world wasn’t ready for them).

Fascinated by the spiritual realm, she gathered with a small group of women she called “The Five” - they would meditate, pray and read the New Testament together, then hold seances to try to commune with spirits (quite a departure from her days as a Sunday school teacher on the family farm!). 

On one occasion, The Five received a message from an otherworldly being - who told them to produce paintings that illustrate the spirit world. Af Klint was the only one to accept the task, calling it “The Great Commission.” She began “The Paintings for the Temple” in 1906, which led to a series of 193 paintings and works on paper - with more than 170 currently displayed at the Guggenheim.

Af Klint saw her work filling a round building, where visitors would progress upward along a spiraling path, on a spiritual journey defined by her paintings. Some believe Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the Guggenheim was perhaps inspired by the temple af Klint envisioned. Destiny, or coincidence?

What a treat to see with my own eyes, the work of a badass trailblazing woman. Light years ahead of her time.

Why Hilma af Klint is the perfect artist for our time. (artnet)

A very Banksy Halloween

My BFF had the most brilliant Halloween costume idea this year. "Let's go as the shredded Banksy painting!" he exclaimed as we were brainstorming interesting things that happened in 2018.

Banksy shocked the world when his "Girl with Red Balloon" painting self destructed moments after selling for $1.4 million at Sotheby's in London earlier this month. 

"It appears we just got Banksy-ed," Sotheby's senior director Alex Branczik said in a statement that described the incident as "the first time in auction history that a work of art automatically shredded itself after coming under the hammer."

Oh, Banksy. You're so punk rock!


Banksy's story. (Smithsonian)

Introducing... my magazine

Dear Friends, I'm excited to introduce the inaugural issue of the storyteller!

If you've been following my journey for the past half decade then you know how much I've wanted to return to New York to pursue my writing career. (We all know the saying: You can take the girl out of New York but you can't take New York out of the girl...)

So here I am - 28 years after my very first visit, 16 years after returning for the first time and 5 years since making an extended pit stop in Cleveland - back to living, pursuing and striving in the city of my dreams.

In preparation for my homecoming, I began compiling works for my portfolio. "I don't want to do what's expected; so let's go with something fun, something different..." The result: a magazine featuring my love of a good story and a collection of some of my favorite works. 

Job hunting be blessed!


Read the full issue of the storyteller, here.

Libra mantra

Illustration by Mari Andrew.

I like you, I love you

Ladies, amiright?!


Illustration by Carissa Potter Carlson

It's about time (Beyonce/Vogue cover)

Tyler Mitchell, 23, makes history by becoming the first African American photographer to shoot a Vogue cover (and Beyoncé for the coveted September issue, to boot!). 

He's also one of the youngest ever to land the cover. 

#Epic.


Everyone is talking about the Beyoncé cover. (Man Repeller)

This is America

A graphic and disturbing yet brilliant social commentary on the state of America.


The Childish Gambino video, explained. (CNN)
💥

Hyper-realistic flowers

It's hard to believe these flowers aren't paintings, but actual photographs. The works are photographer Kenji Toma's hyper-realistic tribute to the genre inspired by traditional Japanese painting style.    

Breathtakingly gorgeous and wonderfully deceptive to the naked eye.

How he does that. (Kottke)

Um, yes please (Ocean's 8 trailer)

Cannot wait to see the latest installment of the Ocean's franchise. And at last, in all its women-centric splendor.




Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett are unstoppable.

Fashion prodigy: the maxi gown

There are three things Izzy would put at the top of her "favorites" list: fashion, unicorns & Katy Perry. 

So I decided to surprise her with an early Christmas present: tickets to see Katy Perry in concert. Her response? "O M f*cking G! You're the best mom, EVER!" My response: An equal measure of shock and awe. 

Of course, the occasion is a glorious fashion opportunity - particularly since it's her very first concert experience. And what better reason to raid Mommy's closet? This is what she came up with for tonight's event: my floral Anthropologie maxi dress transformed into an off-the-shoulder gown. Accessorized with chunky jewelry. 

This unicorn blazes her own trail.


School spirit.

See beneath, beautiful

Art + Tech converge in the professional and personal work of Blake Brasher, abstract painter and robotics engineer at Boston Dynamics. Blake discuss emerging trends in artificial intelligence and automation as well as the principles to design, automate and transform the human experience in this environment. 

Listen to Episode 7 of Open Swim, from the team at shark&minnow.

"See Beneath, Beautiful" by Blake Brasher, c. 2015.