thewalruscall-blog

[thewalruscall-blog]

Defining Art by Defining Risk

Let there be no art where there is no risk. And what I mean by that is: let there be no bullshit where there is art. Let everyone who would call themselves an artist be held to the standard of what we call a hero. Which is not to say that only heroic feats can be art, but rather to define the art not at the resulting salable product, but the action that may (or may not) have produced the thing that we call the art. And that action is a metaphor, perhaps, but it is primarily an ACTION, and all actions have consequences, and some consequences are undesirable. And it is the actions which contain risk that I would like to define as  Art, as distinct from actions that contain no risk that I would like to define as Bullshit.

Take karaoke, for example. The point of karaoke is not to make art, and yet, I would argue, it may be the most accessible form of Art in our culture. When someone finds the courage to get up in front of a crowd of strangers and mangle a radio hit, but really try to sell it, that is a risk. A petty risk, but the fear of public failure is so disincentivising, it’s amazing people enjoy it. Most people can’t imagine getting up their themselves, until they watch someone really get into it, despite being mediocre at best. A truly committed karaoke performance transcends talent, it engages the audience at a deeper level than entertainment, I dare say it is genuinely life-affirming. And once you’ve witnessed a person of middling skill command a room through sheer power of expression, the seed of desire has been planted. The fear of the risk becomes the thrill of the action, and the action is defying society’s expectation that we be afraid of each other. The act of karaoke is commanding attention, despite one’s class status as a humble proletariat. It is making a fool of yourself despite all the social anxiety that screams this will most definitely HURT YOU DON��T YOU DARE. It is demonstrating how deeply you have been moved by a song that you would summon it’s transformative power to this very room and share it with everyone in attendance. 

I honestly believe karaoke is radical. I believe art that does not challenge the paradigm is complicit. I believe artists who are complicit with the paradigm have no right to call themselves that. I wish only to engage further with art that is comprised of action, and that action must be subversive. For those who have not historically been allowed entrance to the gated Academies of Art, any creative act is subversive. For those of us who are inside those gates, we must hold ourselves to a much higher standard, find ways to speak truth to power, sacrifice our platform in order to signal boost others, and examine our access to opportunities to either confirm the paradigm or subvert it. Choose your choices.

[thewalruscall-blog]

Boggs School

Hi Hannah, I’m trying not to dump too many thoughts and ideas on you too fast but I want you to know more about the James and Grace Lee Boggs school near me on the East side of Detroit. I know that charter schools are highly problematic but this one is very unique. James and Grace Lee were radical labor organizers in Detroit during the 60s and 70s. They worked their whole lives, as an auto-worker and a school teacher, respectively, while simultaneously publishing some of the most important discourse on race and revolution central to the plight of the global working class. Their relentless, practical approach to building the Black Power movement is widely credited as an catalyzing factor in Detroit's Rebellion (aka race riot) of 1967. After the fall out of the Rebellion, their ideology softened somewhat, as they felt responsible for tending to their communities, now suffering greater than ever before. Their focus for social justice changed to be rooted in what their namesake Boggs School now calls Place-Based Education—the notion that teaching children the true history, science, economy, and humanity local to their shared community is the most important tool box for change. In particular, teaching children to grow food, build resources, and supply the needs of the community directly. At least, that is my understanding having never worked with them, but I am reaching out now in hopes that I can help them with their mission regarding food justice. You should really watch a documentary on netflix called American Revolutionary: The evolution of Grace Lee Boggs. No one person has inspired me more so far in my life than the late Grace Lee, who passed in her home in Detroit shortly after I moved here and had just learned about her life and her mission. She is the truth. I’m reading her biography right now (very slowly) and just couldn’t keep it to myself any longer! You must know! :) http://www.boggsschool.org

[thewalruscall-blog]

Sick Woman Theory

Hi Hannah, I’ve been wanting to write you every day since we left Seattle, but I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to correspondence and the more I put it off, the more I have to say, and the feeling that I can’t possibly attend to it now just keeps growing! The major news is that I lost my job on Tuesday in a dramatic standoff over dirty jeans, as predicted! But the timing feels right on point, because I’ve needed to cut this off for a long time now, and I think my week away was just what I needed to remember what matters to me when I’m not there and how incompatible this job is with who I’m becoming. I’m so excited to move forward on my indoor gardening plans and to reach out to all the people who have offered me opportunities that I had to decline while I was busy. There are so many interesting things I can be doing right now and sewing jeans is not one of them! So, thanks again for harboring us during our lengthy escape from our day-to-day, it was clearly very stimulating. The sudden change, for me, was also somewhat overwhelming, and I feel like I didn’t get to tell you all the things I wanted to share with you, about my journey with my health, and all the valuable things I’ve learned the hard way. I keep thinking of things that I wish I had remembered while we were together, and I’m starting to try to bookmark topics as I think of them, so I can compile some of the more useful bits for you over time. For starters, I wanted to share with you this very long but very important essay I came across online called Sick Woman Theory—perhaps you’ve heard of it. http://www.maskmagazine.com/not-again/struggle/sick-woman-theory I’ve chosen this as the first Tool in my Wellness Kit because I think the first thing we have to confront when we start to identify as chronically ill is our regret. We talked about this in Seattle and I didn’t know how to say it at the time but I know you have so much remorse surrounding the circumstances of your life. I also carry a lot of shame regarding the circumstances of my illness and my choices that led me here. For the first year after my diagnosis I smoked cigarettes, because suddenly tobacco seemed no worse for me than gluten, and trying to say no to All The Things seemed so futile it made me want to act out, like an angsty teenager. The more I tried to understand the root cause of my illness, the more clear it seemed that I had abused myself until I broke my ability to bounce back. It seemed like, in those 3 years I spent in NYC trying to prove to myself that I was not weak, I had permanently lost my ability to be strong. I took the job at Detroit Denim because I was broken, and I couldn’t pull myself together on my own. I needed the structure of a full-time, repetitive, manual labor job to get myself out of bed, eat regularly, meal prep, and otherwise dictate the habits of a productive member of society. Without that I was simply unable to address many of the health complications that were muddled up with my irregular work/sleep/eating schedule maintained while waiting tables or freelancing. I spent the last two years there carefully observing the patterns of my pain, and the subtle symptoms one can perceive only when one does the exact same thing every day for weeks on end. I became an expert on what soothes me and what sets me off through much trial and error. Mostly, I have concluded that many of the requirements of my full-time job ignore or exacerbate my existing symptoms, and are generally antithetical to my health plan at large. However, I don’t want to discredit the enormous asset to my healing I have found in repetitive hand work. I truly believe that craft is a uniquely human need, that our brains and bodies require the kind of unifying exercise found in repetitive, creative, practical activity. It is not the same thing as Art, as I understand it, but sometimes I think it may be more noble in fact, to make truly useful things, thoughtfully and beautifully. I do all my best thinking when I’m sewing. It’s been terribly frustrating letting all those ideas go without documentation, only because I’ve been on the clock. All this is to say that, when I first read Sick Woman Theory, I felt seen in a way that I hadn’t felt since losing my sense of health, but more remarkably, I felt stronger because of my illness, for the first time ever. I felt the shared strength of everyone the author describes in the manifesto, and the urgency to organize around the ideas contained within it, for all of our sakes. Most importantly, I felt relief flood through me, because reframing my narrative within Sick Woman Theory gave me the perspective to forgive myself in a really meaningful way. Sickness is not the deviation, it is the status quo. And my weakness is what connects me to everyone who needs me. It is my humanity. It is the fire of survival that burns brighter in those who know it can be snuffed out quicker than you’d think. My only real piece of advice for coping with chronic illness is that you must forgive yourself as if forgiveness is a daily medication. It must be budgeted for, like laundry. You are trying, harder than most, and every day there will be failure. You must imagine that the illness is a demon who wants you to hate yourself. Chronic illness feeds on shame, regret, and neglect, and late-stage capitalism requires those things to be at all-time levels in our society. Everything in your feedback loop might be telling you otherwise, but take it from me: you are a very good mother. Your sons are exceptionally bright and respectful young people who are very lucky to have you and Stephen as their parents and friends. You are accomplishing so much, every day, even when it feels like you can’t get anything right. In summary: finding the balance between focusing on your health goals and forgiving yourself for just getting through the day is the MAJOR KEY to staying sane while adjusting to life with chronic illness. I am still in the early stages of finding that balance, but I’ve come so incredibly far from the unstable, dysfunctional, bipolar mess I was before my diagnosis. I can see that you are adjusting well, as well as anyone can hope to with as much on their plate as you have. Even though I can’t imagine facing what you are facing, I do feel like I've learned so much about how to help myself and ultimately live with myself, and it would be really gratifying to share that with you in some slightly useful way. This turned out much longer than I intended, and yet, I’ve still only just scratched the surface of all the things I want to discuss with you! All for now! Joe sends his love and gratitude for your hospitality as well. Cheers, Marguerite

[thewalruscall-blog]

For Hannah

And all the Zak women who have ever called out to Her, the Walrus, Goddess of Matriarchal Frustration, in order to find the strength to carry on.