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Right, bit of a slight different one today. I read loads of other posts on here and I never really share them, which is a bit rubbish of me to be honest. So here’s 7 of the buggers I’ve read over the last week. Go and give them a follow and a read, subscribe if you like too.
1. Does Political Art Cost You a Career?
by Shagun Singh
Sadly, she lost a whole group of friends because they didn’t want to talk about colonialism, and then she went digging (as she so expertly does each post) into whether speaking out actually costs artists anything. Turns out you only ever hear about the Banksys, how brave. No neat answer at the end either, which I definately respect. Made me think of the Salon des Refusés we’re doing at Studio BRUT (it’s all work that got turned down somewhere else), entries close 8 November if you’ve got something sat in a drawer or something that some asshold slated and you felt a bit sad, get it out, be loud and proud.
2. There are not too many creators on the internet
by Amie McNee
Amie’s pumped up in this one (I love her rants, she really cares about us artists). There aren’t too many of us, nobody’s listening, that’s the problem. And when it’s someone else’s turn you should actually ‘shut up and listen’. Fair point.
3. Unpolish yourself
by Courtney Romano
Starts in an acting class in Hell’s Kitchen with the radiator clanking away. A bloked in her class said “energy cannot pass through tension” 18 years ago and it’s been stuck in her head ever since. Probably in mine now too, ahhh. She’s on about artists online all copying the same template, and with the way I paint, yeah. Reminds me of my threw year old’s favourite song.
4. The Open Call List #139
by Aidan Avery
For the photographers out here. Aidan does the wading through open call shit every week so you don’t have to, 31 calls this week, 16 free to enter. He only puts in ones that are fair to the artist, which shouldn’t be rare but is. There’s a lot off piss-takers out there, vanity galleries galore.
5. Everything you can see
by Austin Kleon
Austin’s ten tings of the week. There’s a William Kentridge quote in there about the serious and the (Steve) light, and the absurd sitting somewhere in between. I’ll be tea-leafing that one.
6. Success That Costs You Everything Else Is Too Expensive
by Marc Randolph
Not an art one. Marc co-founded Netflix and he’s saying a sprint is meant to be short. If you’ve been sprinting for two years, that’s not a sprint, that’s just your life now. Day job, studio, painting in between... bit close to home that one. I do love his wise posts every now and again.
7. Composting
by Katherine May
Short one. She wrote down an old poem years ago, loved it for a week, lost it, and now she can’t find it anywhere, I can feel her annoyance. It’s about forgetting mattering as much as remembering. Free to read if you claim it through the free post thing on Substack.
That’s me for now
Anyway, that’s me. If you’ve read something good lately, chuck it in the comments below. Let’s get reading.
Cheers. Next one’s Wednesday. Subscribe and it comes direct to your inbox.