This was an inspiring read. I've been thinking and rethinking my position as an artist in this wild time. The last 3 years i've been excited by the idea that this era might see the rise of truly subversive artists. In my own way i've been poking at the proverbial bear within my own work. One a massive scale we're seeing corporatized art, artists, journalist fall in line. I can speak to film and how the industry was on its way to falling in line in advanced 5 years ago.
My question is always this though- in consideration of the history of art, is this cycle part of the program? Have the powers that be already calculated. the cycles of artistic rebellion? They're privy to the same history as we are.
I think we overestimate the “powers that be”. I think they’re more interested in keeping their pockets lines that rebellious creation. The only time they seem to care is when their pockets are impacted.
Also, I’m not too sure they are privy to the same history. I think their history starts from a place where they are the victors. They don’t consider the subversion as legitimate.
Toni Morrison once wrote that those who wrote racist narratives never conceived that we would talk back. I sit with this often.
I enjoyed reading this a lot. i've been thinking about what the avant-garde is in 2025, and glad to have come across your thoughts. I have yet to experience 'Eusexua', and I admit I was a little dismissive of it as something that might not relate to certain things in my life, or ways in which I live my life, particularly celibacy.
I've had to ask myself questions on the avant-garde after stumbling upon some right-wing corner of Substack by accident where it seems like writers who believe they are avant-garde are actually just throwing women, POC and queers under the bus and calling it "radical". My discontents have been festering.
I don't use "legacy social media" and feel like this was the elephant in the room in your essay. Perhaps there are less and less ways of "connecting" in this world, but movements in the past existed without Instagram and I have to ask myself - how radical can we truly be when we rely on systems of communication and dissemination that are inherently, for lack of a better word, "toxic"? I think it's hard to get around this because social media still has some social capacity, but get around it we must.
Many thanks for your writing, I am interested to read more!
This was an inspiring read. I've been thinking and rethinking my position as an artist in this wild time. The last 3 years i've been excited by the idea that this era might see the rise of truly subversive artists. In my own way i've been poking at the proverbial bear within my own work. One a massive scale we're seeing corporatized art, artists, journalist fall in line. I can speak to film and how the industry was on its way to falling in line in advanced 5 years ago.
My question is always this though- in consideration of the history of art, is this cycle part of the program? Have the powers that be already calculated. the cycles of artistic rebellion? They're privy to the same history as we are.
I think we overestimate the “powers that be”. I think they’re more interested in keeping their pockets lines that rebellious creation. The only time they seem to care is when their pockets are impacted.
Also, I’m not too sure they are privy to the same history. I think their history starts from a place where they are the victors. They don’t consider the subversion as legitimate.
Toni Morrison once wrote that those who wrote racist narratives never conceived that we would talk back. I sit with this often.
I enjoyed reading this a lot. i've been thinking about what the avant-garde is in 2025, and glad to have come across your thoughts. I have yet to experience 'Eusexua', and I admit I was a little dismissive of it as something that might not relate to certain things in my life, or ways in which I live my life, particularly celibacy.
I've had to ask myself questions on the avant-garde after stumbling upon some right-wing corner of Substack by accident where it seems like writers who believe they are avant-garde are actually just throwing women, POC and queers under the bus and calling it "radical". My discontents have been festering.
I don't use "legacy social media" and feel like this was the elephant in the room in your essay. Perhaps there are less and less ways of "connecting" in this world, but movements in the past existed without Instagram and I have to ask myself - how radical can we truly be when we rely on systems of communication and dissemination that are inherently, for lack of a better word, "toxic"? I think it's hard to get around this because social media still has some social capacity, but get around it we must.
Many thanks for your writing, I am interested to read more!