Art at the End of the World
“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” - Toni Cade Bambara
Hey friends —
It’s been almost a year since I last wrote you all, which is not surprising because I often have spells of quietness in my writing. But I hope you’ve been well in the time since we last connected.
Originally I’d wanted to write sooner, and write about how having a breast reduction surgery had given me a new lease on life. How it’d alleviated my back pain and helped my mobility and clarified what care looks like for me. Then I waited too long and thought, maybe I can write about my 40th birthday, and how I felt like a brand new person, and how I wanted to lean into that. But I waited too long again, and got sucked into the vortex of rapidly increasing responsibility at my job. Then I mounted a photographic art show, it was a success! And I thought I’d write about that too, but time got away from me again.
So here I am today — writing directly into the CRM (big no-no), but writing earnestly because if I don’t I’ll wait and miss the momentum at my back. The world has felt like a never ending, maddening apocalypse since 2020, with each new year bringing its own fresh hell. Just this past weekend it was announced that the U.S. bombed Iran, and that familiar ‘oh shit’ feeling gathered in the pit of my stomach. Not another life-altering world event that will throw our financial systems/global economy/personal lives into disarray, that will pitch more people into the miserable war machine. Something I’ve been wrestling with is: how do you organize yourself in the face of chaos? How do you make sense of all the crazy, awful, incendiary shit we see on our phones and computers and in our everyday lives?
Art at the end of the world. That sentence whispered gently when my mind was roaring with rumination. It stopped me long enough to remember the art that had sustained me and helped me navigate the early days of the pandemic — Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower.” That piece of fiction was critical for helping face the reality that was before me, and I still find it useful now. Though written in the early 90’s, the book is set in 2024, and the main character, Lauren Olamina is living during a breakdown in her society. She has to figure out how to survive in a rapidly changing landscape that is beset with violence, climate change, and political instability. Not the most upbeat content to be reading while stuck in the house on quarantine, but it radically shifted my posture towards upheaval with this quote:
“All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change.”
Things are changing every day. Some for better and some for worse — but as long as you have breath in your body, you have the ability to shape this world. Art can be a powerful tool for that. I see it as a way to beautify our lives, even when things seem bleak as fuck. This is why I continue to take pictures on my silly little camera, pictures that are serious and pictures that are fun and pictures that make my heart burst with joy. I also believe art is a place where we can process, reflect, and tell the truth about the ugliness around us. Worlds are always ending, but that also means that new possibilities are concurrently being born, and there is still use for art in the liminal space in between.
A few more things:
I mounted an art show (!) in April of this year. I’m selling prints, and half of the proceeds will go to the NorthStar Church of the Arts, which is where my show was held. They lost their funding because of Trump Federal Cuts, and it would mean a lot if you’d support. Many of you came to this newsletter from an interview I did with Anne Helen Peterson about photography two years ago over at Culture Study. I can’t believe how much my love of photography has grown in that time! You can follow my photography IG @strict_photos and BlueSky.
It is really hot out. If you can, consider donating water and food to your local community fridge/mutual aid/food bank.
Three book recommendations — Matriarch by Tina Knowles (listen to the audiobook), The Serviceberry by Robin Wall-Kimmerer (also listen on audiobook, its only 2 hours long, less if you listen @ 1.25x) and How to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde.
Anyway, I hope y’all are doing well and taking care. Drop me a line in the comments about what artsy-creative stuff has been keeping you alive!
T.
I needed this today! Thank you so much for this gift. I also had a breast reduction in April and even though there have been a few set backs, it's fantastic wearing t-shirts again.
You are absolutely right that every year feels like a new catastrophe and it's exhausting.
Art, community, and mutual aid will get us through this.
Are you familiar with Birds, Art, Life by Kyo Maclear? It's been grounding me lately. That and watching our neighbourhood crows take care of their fledglings.
LADY T!!! I enjoyed reading as always and look forward to checking out the books you recommended. I've been doodling, and I've started painting again, but now I'm playing with watercolors. Sensory walks have been my thing lately. I've been noticing how all of nature is art and how nature often overwhelms the built environment, for our benefit.