#it's nice knowing that an artist whose work i greatly appreciate and admire‚

[decamarks]

FINALLY got this book earlier today and as soon as i put it down on my bed to read it, a rainbow started refracting off my glass of water and directly onto it. gay people are REAL!

[briangroth27]

The Get Down Part 2 Review

I enjoyed the second part of Netflix’s The Get Down and I’m sorry it ended up being the last. This show was exciting, engaging, and completely outside what I normally watch—I’ve never been a big fan of the 70s, disco, or hip-hop—but I loved it and found a new appreciation for all three. I’ll definitely miss these characters and this aesthetic, but I’m glad they found a way to wrap things up in a (mostly) satisfying way. Unlike other reviews I’ve read, I didn’t have a problem with the release structure of this season. Dividing it into “Parts 1 and 2” didn’t throw me at all, first because it’s just branding and second because I always felt Part 1 had a solid beginning, middle, and end. It also had a cliffhanger to leave you wanting more, just like any other show’s season finale. With the new cartoon sequences and the time jump, Part 2 feels so different stylistically that if they had been released together, it would’ve felt jarring and weird.

Full spoilers...

After The Get Down Brothers’ victory at the end of Part 1, they’re reveling in their success while trying to build dream lives for themselves. Zeke’s (Justice Smith) struggle to identify himself in light of his (and everyone else’s) dual lives through his Yale application letter was a perfect encapsulation of this, while also serving as a nice reminder of what happened in Part 1. That duality was a great build off of Zeke giving a speech promoting Ed Koch (Frank Wood), but then immediately running off to perform for the very people Koch was against. The pull between Zeke’s future at Yale/his internship with Mr. Gunns (Michael Gill) and his future as a musical superstar formed a strong backbone to Part 2, and I imagine the looming choice between disappointment now with a good future promised by Yale/Gunns and a dream life granted by music in the present that might have no future is one a lot of people can empathize with. My circumstances aren’t anywhere near as dire as Zeke’s, but I certainly struggle with working towards my dream career or giving up and settling for a routine 9-to-5 job that has financial stability. I think the show did justice to this struggle, but it could’ve been a bit more fleshed out (though Part 2’s shortened episode order may’ve truncated that arc). Zeke’s clear discomfort with navigating the casual racism at the Yale club but still wanting to keep his hopes of college alive despite Shaolin (Shameik Moore) showing up—and then choosing Shao when things got way out of hand—was great to watch. I liked that Zeke stood up for Shao and didn’t rat him out to Gunns, even though it meant giving up his shot at Yale and the internship. That defense made their final split at the end of Part 2 even more heartbreaking, when Zeke discovered Shao had allowed Boo-Boo (Tremaine Brown, Jr.) to sell drugs. It was smart to make their connection to the drugs Shao was pushing not just a way to get rich, like Boo-Boo was trying to do, but a situation that could actually get Shao killed if he stopped, which made it much more complex than Zeke—whose quitting over this felt totally right—wanted to see. Zeke and Shao’s final fight felt perfect and tragic (and was perfectly acted by Smith and Moore), and Zeke scoffing at Shao’s real name when the “kung fu superhero” blinders were finally off was excellent. I feel like Zeke fully understood that even though he’d been best friends with this guy, Shao wasn’t going to stop dragging him into his world (whether it was Shao’s choice to do so or not) and Zeke couldn’t save him, so he had to save himself by cutting Curtis out. I really liked the reversal of the end of Part 1 that the destruction of The Get Down Brothers created: there, he chose rap over the system, but here he bails on his music to go back to Yale.

It would’ve been interesting to expose Zeke to the punk rock scene after Gunns’ daughter Claudia (Julia Garner) discussed it with him. I get him not wanting to explore it after they kissed since it was so closely tied to her, but it would’ve been a neat to at least get his thoughts on it. If the series had more time, rock’s war with disco could’ve made for a good obstacle for Mylene’s (Herizen F. Guardiola) career as well and the musical divide between Claudia’s interests and Mylene’s career would’ve made them direct rivals in an interesting way. That said, I’m glad Zeke came clean about his kiss with Claudia to Mylene instead of trying to hide it for an extended period of time, which helped to defuse the potentially explosive drama it might’ve otherwise caused. Their fight over her saying she was single on TV felt a little too well-worn: it would’ve been more original to subvert expectations and have Zeke understand the demands of public images himself, since he’s somewhat famous too. Regardless of that cliché plot point, the show definitely had me rooting for Zeke and Mylene, even knowing that something tragic was racing at them. Smith and Guardiola had great chemistry and totally sold their romance in both their happy and harder times. Zeke talking Mylene down from Misty Holloway’s (Renée Elise Goldsberry) excellent “Backstabbers” attack was one of those great moments between the two of them. I also loved the knowing goodbye she gave him when she told him she was leaving at the end of the season; that she didn’t repeat “forever” when she said she loves him was heartbreaking. However, the renewed hope that fills Zeke while doing his poetry in his impromptu studio session—the beginning of his recording career, no doubt—was the perfect reaction to his heartbreak. In the end, it was just him and his rhymes, and that’s not only supremely fitting, but a nice segue to the flash-forwards of adult Zeke (Naz) rapping alone on stage. Zeke’s poetry with his future self was very well done (and extremely well-acted) and makes me tear up every time I watch it, while overlaying it with Mylene’s “See You on the Other Side” was a very cool mirror of the Get Down Brothers sampling “Set Me Free” for their battle at the end of Part 1. Reuniting Zeke and Mylene at the very end was extremely fulfilling—I’m choosing to believe that silhouetted trio was the actual Soul Madonnas, not just a tribute—and gave their romance something of a happy ending. Even if that isn’t them, or if it’s not supposed to imply Zeke and Mylene finally got back together, I think he was still waiting for her—and maybe only for her—just like Francisco (Jimmy Smits) waited for Lydia (Zabryna Guevara). No matter what, Zeke and Mylene will always be connected by their music.

Mylene’s journey away from gospel music and into a more sex-laden atmosphere worked really well as a parallel for her growing up and moving beyond the confines of her religious upbringing, even with as blatant as her father (Giancarlo Esposito) being a literal preacher was. I did appreciate and enjoy Mylene finally getting out of that situation with her dad before he died, though, and Guardiola was great at portraying Mylene’s attempts to break free as well as her confidence when it came to taking hold of her group’s future. I also liked the internal drama within the Soul Madonnas that was stirred up by Yolanda’s (Stefanee Marin) concerns about them becoming too sexy, but I thought it should’ve lasted longer. As I’ve seen pointed out elsewhere, her return to the group an episode after ratting out the plans for their sexy show was jarring. I felt like that was a major missed opportunity for Mylene to step up as leader to work out a solution all three of them felt comfortable with while also digging into Yolanda and Regina’s (Shyrley Rodriguez) perspectives more. Personality-wise, Mylene was already a good balance between Yolanda and the more fun-loving, assertive Regina, and it would’ve been great to see her become the balance within the group as well. Seeing her step into a leadership role within the Soul Madonnas would’ve not only given her a new struggle (one that paralleled Zeke and Shao’s fight for the future of the Get Down Brothers, now that I think of it), but would’ve better built her arc towards taking control of her career from Roy (Eric Bogosian). Had Mylene gotten the chance to show him and us that she could handle internal dissension and be a strong voice within the group through the Yolanda incident, it probably would’ve sold Roy agreeing to her terms a bit more. Standing up to him and threatening to walk out of her contract—and Roy caving—may have been unrealistic, as others have noted, but I still liked that she got that moment. Given the necessarily rushed nature of the season, Roy having the sense to keep his talent happy was an emotional win I can get behind, even if it doesn’t make business or real-life sense. 

The other thing I would’ve liked to see in regard to Mylene is where she sees her music going. “See You on the Other Side” implies she won’t fully transition to the full-on sexy thing, but is she content to only do ballads? We know she greatly admired Misty Holloway (at least until Ruby Con), so did she want to be the next Misty or something original? Where does her artistic instinct take her, and what kind of music does she want to be making? Would she have considered pioneering a new style? Would she have tried to dabble in punk rock as that started to challenge disco (and rock ultimately defeated it)? That would’ve been a cool way to pit Mylene’s style against Zeke’s (and Cadillac’s (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II)) in a potential Part 3, give her an entirely different sort of challenge as she tries to adapt to that style, and create an entirely unexpected way to wrap Claudia back into the storyline; maybe she could’ve inspired Mylene to try out what’s out there, since early punk rock was inclusive of women. Of course, those all feel like Part 3 developments. In Part 2, I still would’ve liked to see more of her opinion of what her music should be.

I liked that Mylene and Shao fighting over Zeke’s future gave a much more personal stake to the hip-hop vs. Wall Street nature of Zeke’s two potential paths. That the two of them were the most important figures in Zeke’s life and were fighting over him gave that triangle an interesting aspect that could’ve been fleshed out more, but I liked what we got. I could easily buy that Mylene’s barb about Shaolin being romantically interested in Zeke was more than just an offhand insult. So many characters commented on his and Zeke’s friendship as something more than platonic, like everyone was seeing something he didn’t see (or didn’t want to admit) himself, that I think the writers were definitely hinting that he’s gay or bi. Even Fat Annie (Lillias White) gives a knowing smile when Shao says Zeke isn’t his boyfriend. Shao also immediately understood what was going on between Dizzee (Jaden Smith) and Thor (Noah Le Gros), even though when he “caught them” they weren’t doing anything remotely sexual, which to me implies he's been there, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Though their friendship was real and he definitely depended on Zeke to provide lyrics to his music, so of course he wouldn’t want to see Zeke head off to Wall Street, I think Shao really might’ve loved him. Perhaps the superhero ninja persona he crafted wasn’t just to cover up the fact that he had no one, but to hide his true identity as well. After all, the only person he really lets his walls down for and tells his “secret identity” to is Zeke. Of course, you can share your deepest truths with your best friend just as easily as with the person you love without it meaning you love your best friend too, but in this era it seems telling that Shao’s ultra-masculine alter-ego only comes down for Zeke in a desperate effort to make him stay.

It’s sad that Shao didn’t ever seem to have had anyone and needed Zeke a whole lot more than Zeke needed him. That made their split all the more heartbreaking. The push and pull over who was actually leading the Get Down Brothers—Zeke or Shaolin—worked well to build their growing conflict to the breaking point. Once they were there, I thought it was a beautiful and heart-rending note to have Shao resort to a Fat Annie movie when Zeke tried to walk away from him. Speaking of Fat Annie, Shaolin falling into dealing angel dust was disappointing given how strongly he’d only cared about being a DJ in Part 1. It’s tragic that moving it for Cadillac was the only way to keep his music going, particularly as it directly led to the end of his DJ career. It’s even more tragic that Shao ended up staying with Annie to protect the rest of The Get Down Brothers after getting even Cadillac out of her grasp. As sad as that is (and Moore sold Shao’s defeat perfectly), it felt like an earned end for him and satisfyingly explained why Fat Annie would let Zeke and the others get away. I wish we were getting a Part 3 to show him escape her grasp.

Adding Dizzee as a secondary narrator was an interesting choice, but it would’ve worked better if the show had honestly and more deeply explored his secret life. That would’ve justified and smoothed over the feeling I got that he was so unconnected from the main plot this season. Aside from Dizzee getting yelled at by his parents (Karen Aldridge, Ron Cephas Jones) alongside his brothers, Get Down Brothers gigs, and accidentally taking the tainted angel dust, it felt like he was existing in a slightly different show that didn’t really reconnect with the rest of the plotlines. As I’ve seen pointed out elsewhere, Part 1 had him doing his own thing too, but still made his connection to the rest of the plot a lot cleaner and more important when he introduced “Set Me Free” to the real tastemakers of New York and made it a hit. Here, even when he collided with the subplots of other characters, like taking the supposedly very dangerous tainted angel dust, he just got a little sick for a minute (which was weird in and of itself) and then continued doing his own thing. That said, his narration and the cartoon segments played into not only the heightened reality of Part 1, but the comics and 70s cartoons the guys would’ve been into as well. I like the interpretation I’ve seen elsewhere that (most of) the cartoon sequences are idealized versions of what the characters were experiencing, like the animated scene that follows their victory at the unity concert where all their comic book alter egos are reveling in their success before the real world comes crashing down around them and their dreams. That was probably the most successful use of the cartoons. On the other hand, there were some animated sequences that were literally just a character arriving at/leaving a building, which felt awkward and pointless. There didn’t seem to be any thematic reasoning for those moments to be animated and the transitions between real and cartoon characters were awkward and disruptive when used that way.

The biggest disappointment about Dizzee’s arc this season was how shy the show was about his burgeoning sexuality. I expected much more to Dizzee coming to terms with being either bi or gay and they literally didn’t even dare speak that love’s name, which was a bizarre choice for a season that also featured Ruby Con and numerous drag queens. It was weird that Dizzee and Thor weren’t able to ever kiss, even when they were painting each other. Dizzee inferring that Boo-Boo wouldn’t ever understand what he was going through was perfectly tragic (and it was a very well-acted scene by both of them), but I wish we’d gotten to see him take a chance and tell his little brother the truth. It would’ve opened Dizzee’s arc to the rest of the characters and Boo-Boo (and the rest of them) trying to deal with it could’ve been a solid dramatic arc. At the very least, a scene with Shao giving Dizzee some comforting words (whether Shao is into guys too or not) would’ve been great. Since Dizzee didn’t tell anyone, feeling (and animating himself) as an alien made a lot of sense and worked, and Jaden Smith conveyed the pain of knowing he couldn’t share his secret very well. I thought for sure this Part would do an AIDS storyline given the time period and the impact it had on the gay community and that would’ve been a powerful, important story to tell. I’m not sure I could’ve handled that level of heartbreak given everything else that went down in the finale, but I did go into Part 2 expecting tragedy heading for Dizzee and Thor. However, what the show gave us instead felt pointless and needlessly mean. My impression was absolutely that Dizzee got hit by the train and that was not a satisfying conclusion to his story at all. Not only did they not let him kiss the guy he was in love with, but half the gay couple gets killed? Come on. The two of them never fit into flamboyant stereotypes about gay guys, but “bury your gays” is an even worse cliché. It felt like a cheap shock that didn’t need to happen. I don’t think the series would’ve had any less of an impact had they just been happy together and it didn’t gain anything by (maybe) killing Dizzee.

Comparatively, Boo-Boo and Ra-Ra (Skylan Brooks) didn’t get much to do this season, and that’s a shame. Boo-Boo’s stint in the drug trade was certainly unexpected and it was disappointing to watch him get wrapped up in that lifestyle, even if all three Kipling brothers’ reaction to their parents grounding them for the drugs they found was funny. Like Shao’s predicament, it was tragic that it was the only way he could see to raise his social status. Regardless, Brown, Jr. clearly had a blast as Boo-Boo briefly hit the high life with this dangerous gig. Boo-Boo’s ultimate arrest was sad and shocking; maybe I was “stuck on hope” or looking for a Hollywood ending, but I didn’t actually expect Boo-Boo to end up in prison. Along with Dizzee’s apparent death, that definitely brought the fantastical nature of the show back to the ground with a stark reminder of the realities of life. That could’ve easily upset the tone of the show, but I think it worked.

I liked Ra-Ra thinking about the future and dabbling in making what The Get Down Brothers do truly profitable and long-term. His sojourn into the Universal Zulu Nation territory was a cool introduction of that style and I liked that he wasn’t welcome because The Get Down Brothers had been marked as drug dealers. The positive culture there was a nice counterpoint to what we’d seen so far and I wish the show had time to explore it more via Ra-Ra’s perspective. I wish it weren’t so animated though; if the animated sections are to be considered the characters’ dream worlds, why is the real salvation from Fat Annie the gang finds in Ra-Ra’s trip animated as well? At first that felt incongruous, but perhaps it’s because the guys aren’t really saved from Fat Annie at all. They get out of her contract, but she still gets Boo-Boo arrested and they still break up. In any case, I wish we’d gotten more of Ra-Ra this season. Brooks brought a great, distinctive energy to Ra-Ra and I would’ve liked to see more of that. Trying to woo Tanya (Imani Lewis) on the phone was so funny and sweet, and this half of the show could’ve used a bit more of his innocence and optimism. I also would’ve liked to see where his forward-thinking got him in the future. He’s one of the main characters and deserved at least a hint at his destiny. 

Cadillac’s love for video games and disco made for a really fun and unique gangster, while his desire to go to space was a great, unexpected reveal! I’m sure Abdul-Mateen II had an absolute blast playing this character and he’ll definitely remain one of the most memorable parts of the show. It was awesome that even Cadillac felt like he got a complete ending to his arc in Part 2. I liked that the unity concert actually changed Cadillac’s mind and got him to successfully break free of Fat Annie. Agreeing to let the Get Down Brothers go after Shao acknowledged their common bonds of abuse by Fat Annie and their desires to be free was a great moment and I really liked both characters at that point. I loved that he’s going to use his freedom to work on his own music, even if his time as a music producer never felt fully fleshed-out in either Part of the series. However, that may have been the point. His revelation about not ever really focusing on his Super-High Voltage Records label all this time felt like a wake-up call to people with goals everywhere: he’s gotten nowhere on his dream at least partially because he never really buckled down and tried. For me, that was a surprising connection to a character who seemed like he’d be completely nefarious and unrelatable at first! I would’ve liked to see him struggle to make it as a producer as Disco died in a potential Part 3. That said, there were a few bumps in the road for Cadillac’s development. It seemed like there was a bit of disconnect between the end of Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2: I felt like he was far more prepared to get revenge on The Get Down Brothers at the end of Part 1 and thought he already knew where they’d gotten their sound system and records, but that reveal was saved for Part 2. It’s possible I misread his moment watching them perform at the end of Part 1, though. His continued obsessive “love” of Mylene was creepy and didn’t amount to anything, so I don’t know why it needed to persist beyond Part 1 (or even past the pilot). On the other hand, I’m so glad that neither that nor Mylene’s producer Shane’s (Jeremie Harris) somewhat teased interest in her ever became anything. I didn’t need to see her sexually used or abused by some skeevy adult in power.

Besides, Mylene’s father using her was enough. As blunt as a man of God trying to keep his daughter holy was, it was cleverly twisted by Ramon trying to exploit Mylene’s career to increase the standing—and the trappings—of his church. I liked that his ambitions became just as gaudy and “godless” as he feared Mylene’s career and soul would become, hurting himself and those around him in the process. His presence even actively drove her to the drugs he feared her fame would expose her to, like when she used cocaine to calm her nerves when he showed up at the Ruby Con. As strong an example of how much impact he had on her as that was, however, it was a somewhat bizarre one-off moment (perhaps in an expanded season, she’d have her own drug problem to parallel what Shao and Boo-Boo were doing). On the other hand, his controlling nature extending into beating his wife felt cliché and unnecessary. I hated him so much in the end that I didn’t care he died; in fact, I was happy to see him go. That said, I wish there’d been more fallout to his suicide than Mylene overcoming it as a survivor (though a strong Mylene is always a good thing). While Ramon probably became the villain of his own story without realizing it, Fat Annie reveled in her ill-gotten empire. She was a great villain and the implication that she’d been abusing both Shao and Cadillac made her feel evil in a far ickier way. I’ve seen people say killing the cat was too much, but I think they did it to prove she really would kill more kids. Perhaps the writing could’ve given her some more dimension and motivation, but she never felt like a one-note character to me (possibly because her performance was so entertaining). I liked that Francisco was finally revealed as Mylene’s actual father and the fact that he “slept alone” since 1960 was sweet. Though it was a little rushed and sidelined, his end felt earned. I feel like we should’ve gotten more of Lydia’s reactions to everything happening with the two men in her life, as well as her daughter’s career, in far more detail than we did. I also would’ve liked more from Jackie Moreno (Kevin Corrigan) than the couple of songs he wrote for Mylene and his support in the contract renegotiation scene. He seemed like such a presence in the first half the series that it was odd he was so sidelined here. It would’ve been nice if more had been done with the three kingdoms of Hip Hop pioneers—Kool Herc (Eric D. Hill, Jr.), Grandmaster Flash (Mamoudou Athie), and Afrika Bambaataa (Okieriete Onaodowan)—as well before they came together to save the kids from their contract with Fat Annie. If we’d known them better, seeing them unite for this moment would’ve felt like a bigger deal. 

I liked the way the teens’ success in Part 1 segued into the manipulation of that success by the people behind Zeke and Mylene in Part 2. That made for a surprising (if inevitable) bittersweetness to their wins at the end of the first Part while giving them new battles to fight that didn’t feel like retreads of the first half of the series, even if many of the same players were involved. For example, the dance/rap-off between the Get Down Brothers and Cadillac’s disco music at Les Inferno was really entertaining and a great restructuring of Zeke and Cadillac’s dance-off over Mylene in the pilot. Fat Annie’s record contract for the Get Down Brothers worked well as a plot for me and I liked that the final rap battle wasn’t just about freeing themselves from that contract, but about proving that using a band just isn’t the same. That said, I really liked the gut-punch reveal at the end that the first hip-hop record did use a band. That sort of historical irony played really well, and had the show continued it seems like that sort of thing might’ve been the battle of a potential Part 3: as I saw pointed out on IGN, it’s ironic that Mylene is such a disco revelation too late in the game for that genre, while The Get Down Brothers arrived on the hip-hop scene a bit too early. I would’ve liked to see the characters navigate the changing trends in music and it’s a shame we won’t get to see more of their stories. Having so many of the main characters meet bad ends was sad, but felt real (even if I’ll never buy that dark/depressing is inherently more “realistic”).

Although I liked a lot the new songs, none of them matched “Set Me Free” or The Get Down Brothers’ winning mix from the end of Part 1 except “See You on the Other Side.” That one had a lot of emotion packed into it and was perfectly used to wrap up the show. The remix of Gonna Fly Now (the Rocky Theme) was cool too; it’s also used directly after they win the Unity Concert and right before their dreams are crushed; like Rocky, they go the distance but don’t really get to win. I loved the heightened reality this show lived in, while the Soul Train-type show Platinum Boogie was a fun bit of 70s atmosphere and I loved how outlandish the Studio 54-esque Ruby Con nightclub was, both thematically and design-wise. The truly creepy and unnerving intro to Episode 4 was very effective and surreal; so effective that I’m not sure the rest of the club or the episode lived up to what the intro promised, even if it still mostly worked. The use of stock footage from the real-life 70s intercut with the glossier night clubs and modern film quality still plays very well too. This world was so unique and well-constructed that it feels like we lost something special with the show’s cancellation.

I’m going to miss The Get Down, these characters, and this world. The actors were excellent across the board and I can’t wait to see more of them in their future projects. Despite some missed opportunities for exploring the characters more (mostly caused by the truncated season), this was a great, satisfying conclusion to the show. In regard to actual events, these 11 episodes may be fictionalized and softened (from what I’ve gathered from other reviews), but they’re still an entertaining insight into an aspect of history I never knew about. If you never gave The Get Down a chance, it’s definitely worth checking out!

Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!

[fenfyre]

Ive got a question! How do you manage to write continuously? Ive been struggling a lot in that area since I dont write that often, but when i do its 4k words. You seem to write pretty regularly. Do you have some tips for those who fail to do so? And how can my writing attract attention? when i post something and it only gets 2 likes and no reblogs its pretty unsatisfying... keep being awesome! and keep up the great work~ -a secret admirer who hopes that their english grammar didnt sound too bad

First of all thank you for your message and please don’t worry, your English is fine! I wouldn’t have known you’re not a native speaker if you hadn’t mentioned it (but maybe that’s cause I’m also not a native speaker, who knows).I am definitely no authority on good writing habits and there’s as many different ways to write as there’s writers out there. But you asked how I manage to write regularly so I’ll just tell you about my habits. Just keep in mind this is what works for me personally, you can tweak and change my tips however you want to make them fit for you!I think it’s important to mention that I don’t always manage to write as much as I do right now. That’s mostly because I have a lot of free time at the moment. When I’m stressed I write way less, maybe once or twice a week or not at all. Because then I’m tired and don’t have any motivation left after a long day at uni and let’s face it, writing is damn hard. But I also greatly enjoy it, creating something makes me feel good about myself and helps me cope in difficult situations. So when motivation is low and I feel like just crawling into bed instead of sitting down in front of the laptop I try to remind myself that writing is not some chore I need to get done but that it’s something I truly, deeply love and that I’ll feel so much better after getting a few words down.That’s one of the first steps for me. Making writing precious and part of my me time, thinking of it as a form of self-care. Maybe keeping a little writing journal can help with developing a positive attitude towards writing. Just jot down a few words about your mood before and after each writing session. If you’re similar to me you might notice a trend that looks like this “Before: tired, annoyed, anxious. After: proud, more relaxed and happy”Then I make sure to choose a time for my writing where I can be uninterrupted and focus just on the task on hand. Maybe that’s early in the morning before classes, in the afternoon after work or at night before bed, all depends on when I can make time to be productive for a bit. I get cozy, make myself some tea and get a few snacks, put on some music (I generally like instrumental or sometimes indie for the smuttier stuff) and get to work. Before I start I always have a certain goal in mind, usually to hit 750 words. That was the number to hit every day during a challenge I took part in years ago and that kind of stuck with me. I work in 25 minute intervals, taking small breaks to review my process and it usually only takes me two of those to hit my goal. See, I’m not a particularly fast writer, I average about 900-1000 words an hour and getting down 4k like you in a single setting would be near impossible for me, even on a good day where I do nothing but write. But that’s fine, everyone has their own style. I managed to build somewhat of a habit, 50 minutes of writing a day. 50 minutes of me time to reboot and refresh and that accumulates with time into longer stories.I also recently started using a free app to track my writing, where I can put in what projects I’m working on with overall and daily word count goals, a writing log and graphic charts to track my progress, reminders to write and all kinds of neat little gimmicks. It’s called Writeometer in the Playstore if you want to take a look. It also keeps track of your writing streak so there’s an extra nudge not to slack off when you’ve built a nice one. Definitely helps to keep the momentum going!Another big motivation for me is to post here, get a bit of feedback and feel like people are waiting for more. I’ve been really lucky with and so grateful for all my sweet followers who keep supporting me, reblogging my things and sending cute messages. But it’s hard to get out there and I understand the frustration of working hard on something, being proud of it, wanting to share it and not getting any feedback at all. I’ve been there. Still am a lot of the time, depending on what I’m working on. I’m not a big name myself and I deeply appreciate every note floating my way.It’s hard for writers on tumblr. Fics are so much harder to consume than fanart, you can’t tell by a single glance if you like them and want to share them, blobs of text don’t look cute on blogs and many people don’t take the time to work their way into a story when they’re just idly scrolling down their dash. That doesn’t mean artists don’t deserve every bit of the attention they’re getting! It just would be nice for writers to be recognized as well. But that’s not something we can really help so here’s a few things you can do:Get out there, make friends and have fun with them! Reach out inside your fandoms and see if you can get connected, maybe visit streams of artists you like to get to know people (shoutout to fabulous sintral, I still love you all very much I’m just a little shit!) or just beat down your anxiety enough to message someone whose blog you enjoy. Offer to fill prompts or write fic for fanart you adore. It’s insanely flattering to get art for your fics or fics for you art and if they brag and squee about it, that’s exposure. And you made someone happy! (This isn’t to say you should only try to make friends to get more notes on your work, that’s kind of a dick move. I’m just saying that getting connected is fun and will help get your stuff out there).It’s also helpful to not chill in mostly dead fandoms all the time (like me) (sorry snk fandom I heard there’s shit happening again soon. Hang in there). I got the most feedback on the Yuuri on Ice fics I wrote when the fandom was at it’s peak. So where there’s actually lots of people there’s more chances of being recognized. Though I also understand if your passion lies somewhere less crowded. Don’t force yourself to write something just because you think you might reach more people with it.Overall I’m not an expert on how to best attract attention. I think a lot of it is just luck and persistence. Keep writing, keep putting yourself out there, have a good time and in the end you’ll find cool people with similar interests. At least that worked for me?All the best to you, anon! And if there’s any more questions feel free to send me another message.

[whoistayla]

Art Spaces - Interview Task PP200

My name is Tayla Van Loggerenberg and i run an alternative art space in Berlin, Germany. Below is a Q&A about my experiences as an organiser of an alternative art space, and what the art space entails/stands for. 

Q: Hi Tayla, super exciting to finally be able to meet you! How have you been? 

A: Hey there, i’ve been great thanks! Nice to take some time out to chat with you, also very excited! let’s get cracking, shall we? I have a lot to get done for the opening of this months exhibition on Friday night. Curating is risky business! 

Q: No problem! We’re just so excited to finally get to speak to you about your space “Blue Fever”. Well, I guess the first question would be what was your inspiration behind this space? 

A: Well, i’ve always loved the unconventional and after visiting a place in Bali called Pretty Poison, which is a skateboarding/tattoo parlour and bar, it gave me the idea to start an alternative space for art and artists of all kinds, a place where not only can we all hang out but share work and fun in a different and less formal setting. Also places in JHB like No End Contemporary Art gallery gave me the idea to merge the two concepts of both places that both excited me equally. Keep things exciting ya’ know? 

Q: That’s wild! What kind’s of events do you throw at this space ‘Blue Fever’? 

A: Okay, well it’s a rather broad spectrum of things we do here at Blue Fever. But to put it into words as eloquently as possible, Blue Fever is a contemporary alternative space for artists to come and showcase their work as well as relax and have a couple of drinks. We do many different things but on a much more grounded and casual level. We’ve hosted two very small and simple auctions where we gather a circle of artists and friends and allow for them to bid on artwork. We have a small bar with a liquor license and each month we have a new artist show casing work, and we’ll throw small studio-like parties at Blue Fever once a week for the duration of the show, but the parties will be themed with the subject matter of the work that’s up. Blue Fever also host workshops for artist to share knowledge and skills, as well as host a band once a month for one of the studio parties thrown within the month. 

Q: Wow! That sounds like a real challenge but super exciting nonetheless! May i ask how you finance this space? And what weer your initial motives behind Blue Fever? 

A: Of course! So, basically we charge small entrance fees for the studio parties for extra revenue, and each artist that hosts a workshop also charges a fee. Luckily our rent for the space isn’t much and we manage to keep up with that for now. We get income from workshops aswell, as those are open to the public too. We do take donations as it is a very grounded and casual space, we understand that the art industry can be incredibly exhausting and toxic so I’ve created this space as a safe, playful and welcoming venue for artists of all kinds to enjoy and use in interesting ways. I also strive to show case work from younger & more up and coming talent. 

Q: what are some challenges you have faced with bringing Blue Fever to life?

A: If i’m honest, it’s got a lot to do with financing the space. As i previously mentioned, our rent isnt much (thankfully) but we do struggle a bit financially at times. Which is why we are currently in the process of figuring out a new yet ethical way to go about charging artists a small fee for admin or advertising of their work in the space. Although i do have an investor/sponsor from a South African art collector who is my dear friend, Mr Oliver Powell. He believed in my vision and so his help is greatly appreciated. Another challenge I face is keeping the artists happy, as being a curator of the work and space is a huge blessing and curse all at once. 

Q: That sounds very stressful, and you must be super happy to have Mr Powell assisting in your vision! 

A: Og for sure! It’s only temporary for now though, which is why we have been reviewing ways to get a decent income flow without having to charge artist and the public too much. We want everyone and anyone to be able to come in and view the work. I mean, the space is just one square room with a lovely tarred floor. 

Q: Who are some fellow artist/friends that have utilised your space? and who has been your favorite one to deal with?

A: I exhibited work from my beloved friend Michaela Younge, as well as Kate Munro and Stuart Dodds. I know all of these artists on a personal level so working with each of them has been an absolute dream. All of which are Cape Town artists, I always feel very proud when I get to exhibit my favourite artists from Cape Town, here in Berlin. 

Q: Blue Fever is definitely the epitome of an alternative art space, I’ve never heard of such a thing in my life but maybe that’s what we need around here? 

A: perhaps, haha. I just want to showcase work from people i admire and create a safe & experimental space within the art world because I feel as though there is not enough spaces like this and the art world can get very toxically competitive. Here at Blue Fever, we work as a community of artists and stand against the toxic competitiveness of the contemporary art scene. 

Q:Thats really beautiful, kudos to you Tayla! Look’s like we’re out of time, thanks for chatting to us! Best of luck with the new show opening on Friday! One last question, whose show is it and what time will it be opn?

A: Oh silly me, I didnt even tell you haha. The artist is Tiago Rodruigues, another favorite cape town artist of mine. The show opens to the public at 7 pm on Friday, be there or be square!

[promomagazine]

Why Is Artist Etienne Gros So Obsessed By The Body?

By:  Kyle Johnson

Born in Saint-Dié des Vosges, France in 1962, Etienne Gros is a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and, of course, a distinguished artist who delves into his work with a keen empathy for the female form. Often mixing the abstract with the figurative, his work forges an inspiring story of an artist who’s mastery for methods, mixed with an enthusiastic curiosity for new media, gives rise to an impassioned mode of expression strictly his own.

This article first appeared in the pages of the 12th issue of ODDA Magazine.

Q: You’ve said, “The body is for me an obsessive theme.” Why are you so obsessed with the human body? Where does that obsession come from?

A: I said that because it is an observation since I have always painted, I draw or I make sculptures representing the body or parts of the body. But what has changed or evolved is that I am looking for beauty and I use the theme of the human body for that. It’s a pretext. I use the body as a subject capable of conveying an emotion.

Q: When naming your creations, why do you tend to avoid “titles too faithful or too descriptive?”

A: Before giving a title to a painting I let it rest in my studio for several days, sometimes several weeks. This time lapse allows me to observe it and, only when I know that I will not retouch it any more, I can sign and name it. The painting speaks for itself and I prefer to give it a more subjective title of what it evokes or simply because a colour, graphics or a detail reference. This will be an abstract reference such as “White Point, Yellow Right, Back Line, Approach… etc.”

Q: In 2006, what were your thoughts on being awarded the Grand Prix Azart at the Mac Art Fair in Paris?

A: I had the pleasure to be selected at this event in which I decided to present on my space few tables but large formats. I did not expect this award and it is always nice to receive the recognition of a jury as well as that of the public.

Q: While studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris you worked under Ferit Iscan, Olivier Debré and Vladimir Veličković. Describe this experience and illustrate how these masters influenced your artistic style.

A: It was always wonderful participating with them and I had great experiences, I would not say that they influenced my artistic style because I was always looking for a purely personal approach but their advice helped me indirectly to develop my own Artistic language. I greatly appreciated the courses of anatomy and living model, as well as visits to great museums like the Louvre, in which I admired and drew the paintings and sculptures of the great masters who represented the human figure in all their power and beauty, like the slaves of Michelangelo, the pictures of Titian, Gericault, David, and Ingres.

Q: From where do you derive your artistic tastes and influences for your projects? What was your inspiration for the Les Mousses sculptures?

A: In my series of sculptures in foam, there is an aesthetic aspect that reminds one of the vestiges of the Greek and Roman sculptures, an idea of universality. It is this confrontation that interests me between marbles, stable matter, and foams which are rather unstable and perishable therefore more alive and closer to our human entity.

Q: In your work, you often seem to mix the abstract and the figurative. Describe your personal style and what it says about you.

A: At first my blank canvas is on the floor, then I apply my colours without worrying about the final result. I create an abstract disorder, rich in colour and matter that will be the basis of my picture. I then put it on the wall and I observe it for a long time and suddenly comes out a precise image, then I begin to sketch lines and to sculpt shapes in this abstract matter. I put my order in my disorder. My painting is in this fragile limit between the abstract and the figurative. It often happens that people who discover my work do not immediately perceive the body parts I paint. And I like it a lot!

Q:Out of all of the artistic processes and/or mediums that you have used, what is your favourite? Why?

A: I am a painter first at all, and my favourite medium has always been painting. However, I’m a grown-up child and I still need to explore other mediums. If I’m at sea, I will sculpt sirens of sand, detecting in the pebbles the shape that I will make appear with few strokes. At the river, I would practice the land-art by drawing with water figures on white stones that will evaporate. Nature and its elements inspire me …   I have started my work on “smokes” by playing in my studio with the carbon deposit of a candle and then I improved this technique with oil lamps. I used different sizes of lamp’s wicks to vary the intensity of the carbon deposit and thus control the result, as a painter does with a brush.

My foam sculptures started the day I started playing with a piece of mattress. So I began by kneading this foam with my hands, then by slightly stretching this material, creases appeared, and I found that I could give it the shape of a body or part of a body following my imagination. But what seems most surprising to me is the rendering and the similarity of this sculpture in foam with our own flesh: colour, soft and malleable texture, and all these small holes that made me immediately thought of the pores of the skin. But when I let go off my fingers the moss turned to its original form. It was then that I thought of a skeleton of wire to maintain this flesh. In addition, foam is a ubiquitous material nowadays. We are born, we sleep, we make love and we die on this material…

 Q: For each of the following experiences, describe how they have shaped your creative process:

1.) Being born in Saint-Dié in 1962

2.) Graduating from École des Beaux-Arts in 1986

3.) Working and living in/around Paris

4.) Acquiring your own studio in Ile de France

A: I come from a large family of 10 brothers and sisters at the foot of the Vosges Mountains, and since an early age, each one of us took part in the household tasks, which gave us a sense of work and discipline. Moreover, my mother had the obsession to develop in each one of us a sense of curiosity and access to culture. There were a lot of books and Lp disks at home, I remember Wednesday afternoons when there was no school, we participated in a program on the national radio France Musique called “Les enfants et la musique” where it was necessary to make a drawing inspired by a music score or a symphony of a relevant classic musician whose identity was not revealed.

Listen, imagine and draw! Then the drawing was sent to the radio station and the following week the speaker announced in his soft voice the names of the winners. It was a joy to hear sometimes this name on the radio and after a year I even received the first prize over the whole year and I got my first radio as a gift. At the same time, I have always continued to drawing, bricolage and gardening, as I have always loved contact with nature.

During the high school years, I went to school of drawing evening classes and my only objective was to return to an art school after my graduation. Then when I arrived in Paris and I was accepted into the school of fine arts, my life changed. I was in wonderment with a bulimic desire to discover all the marvels and museums of this city. I read, I visited all the art galleries; I nourished my curiosity in all art fields. I attended all the classes that the school offered me; I always drew and painted in search of a personal expression.

In 1986 I graduated but living on art was complicated. I quickly gave up of presenting my work to the art galleries, where the always polite comments were the same: “It’s very good, continue, you’re still young, come back in a few years.” That depressed me! So I decided to present my work in art fairs that is how art galleries started to uphold my work. During all these years I first worked on a wall of my apartment, then in a larger collective studio, to finally have my own studio.

Q: When you’re not creating, what do you enjoy doing?

A: I take deep breaths; it can be contemplative breaths, artistic breaths, breaths of travel, human breaths…

Q: What are you currently working on and what can we expect to see from you in the future?

A: I continue on the human figure theme, but I realize that my painting is more sculptural; the material is akin to stone with always this carnal side at the same time. The body appears more in 3D volume as if it wanted to leave the canvas. I cannot know how my work will be in the future; I go ahead every day with the surprises of the moment.

Q: What was the most unpleasant reaction you had something you thought was going to be exciting?

A: These are not really unpleasant but rather amazing reactions. About three years ago a collector had ordered me a painting and he did not seem satisfied with the result because he wanted a man’s back and saw a woman’s back. The picture was sent to his home. Together with the gallery owner we called him to try to understand, it took us 1 hour to find an explanation. He had simply hung the painting upside down on his wall and we understood it in relation to the positioning of the colours. These confusions interest me a lot and I love when my paintings play with it.