Pressed Coffee 01: May 16-21, 2020
Good morning! Here are some interesting things I ran into on the internet this week, among other material.
Photo courtesy of Lorena Cruz; basket woven by Lorena Cruz.
“I wanted to do the fundraiser so that we could help the families that aren’t being protected, like the most vulnerable populations that fall through the cracks of federal aid because of the government.”
–Lorena Cruz speaking about her recent artwork sale. 50% of the sales were donated to aid undocumented families in Southwest Detroit. Read our full conversation here!
On Society & Politics
On some of the biggest news this week. Let’s get the anxiety-inducing stuff out of the way…
May 19
Hundreds of Mexican Maquiladora workers are dying after back to work orders take effect
In thinking about essential workers and our government’s tendency to prioritize the economy over human lives.
Reported by Eric London for the World Socialist Website
Conservative appeals court to rehear Detroit ‘right to read’ lawsuit
A fight to declare that a basic education is a constitutional right, centered around the City of Detroit.
Reported by Jonathan Oosting for Bridge Magazine
On Arts & culture
News and related material in arts & culture
Ongoing
The Economic Impact Of Coronavirus On The Arts & Culture Sector
An in progress report by American for the Arts, based on surveys and research.
Revisiting March
The year I stopped making art. Why the art world should assist artists beyond representation; in solidarity.
In March of this year, days after the declaration of a global pandemic, the artist Paul Maheke wrote a poetic “open letter,” one in which he finds himself burrowed in a stagnant crisis. I was recently reminded of the prose and the narrative of this letter and thought to include it here. It reminds us that within the arts sector there are persistent dividing lines—ones found in non-profit organizations as much as for-profit ones—that reinforce the bureaucracy and hierarchy of the arts industry. This letter challenges the sense of harmony and solidarity that has been the result of the pandemic-crisis that has devastatingly affected all the organizations and people involved with arts and culture. While reading, you may wonder: is this letter necessary, is it helpful? You may also recognize the letter as an artwork, and in the sense that it is: does that make it more necessary? My other question: will what is being asked through this letter be realized in a post-pandemic arts industry?
By Paul Maheke, published in Documentations
May 18
Untitled, Art Turns To Virtual Reality To Present Next Edition
What does the future of art-focused events look like?
Reported by Artforum
May 20
Exclusive: Watch a Film About California’s Prison System by Sterling Ruby
Synopsis: “STATE is a video compiling aerial footage of California’s prison systems by the multidisciplinary artist Sterling Ruby. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect in prisons, the work is hugely pertinent”
Text by Belle Hutton for AnOther Magazine
The Smithsonian is Collecting Coronavirus ‘Artifacts’ to Document the Pandemic
Collecting techniques that catch history as it’s happening.
Reported by Mikaela Lefrak for NPR
CAS Rapid Response Fund
Just one example of how communities/organizations are working collaboratively in an attempt to relieve devastating losses among museums and artists. The Contemporary Art Society in London, in partnership with Frieze London, has collaborated with artists to create and sell limited-edition face masks to support artists and museums in the United Kingdom.
Have a COVID relief effort you'd like to share? Submit it to noxlibrary@gmail.com!
Baskets hand-woven by Lorena Cruz. Image courtesy of the artist.
This week’s conversation is with the lovely Lorena Cruz, who recently sold handmade baskets to help fundraise for undocumented families in SW Detroit. We had an amazing (but far too short) conversation talking about the populations most vulnerable to a global pandemic; essential workers and the working class; as well as the history of her art practice and how it has shifted under our lockdown situation. Enjoy!
What we’re loving
TODAY, Friday, May 22nd, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit’s Ford Curatorial Fellow, Tizziana Baldenebro, will go live on Instagram to speak with artist Conrad Egyir to discuss his upcoming exhibition, Terra Nulis.
Where: Instagram—follow @MOCADetroit, @TizzianaBaldenebro and @ConradEgyir to tune in.
When: 5PM EST
ONGOING: Speaking of MOCAD, their digital media exhibition platform, Daily Rush, is currently showing its fourth season, presenting the artist collective New Red Order (NRO). NRO’s first solo museum exhibition will be coming this July at MOCAD.
Where: DailyRush.us. Daily Rush is curated by Pat Elifritz, Curator of New Media & Technology at MOCAD
THROUGH JUNE 1:
BROADCAST: Alternate Meanings in Film and Video: Chapter 1, Gagosian Online
This series will be released in “chapters,” the first of which was released May 19.
On Everything Else
May 19
In ‘Dark Mirror,’ reporter concludes: ‘Snowden did substantially more good than harm’
A look at the recent release of Dark Mirror by Barton Gellman, a former Washington Post journalist, who worked with Edward Snowden on the book about his life and trajectory.
“Gellman offers a very human portrayal of Snowden: a loner, filled with zeal and a black-and-white worldview. He also describes Snowden as precise and accurate most of the time, though sometimes prone to self-aggrandizement and exaggeration.”
Reviewed by Greg Myre for NPR
You can now take a bad bunny online course benefitting undocumented workers and food banks
Bad Bunny 101, as the class is called, takes its students through the history of reggaetón to Benito’s political activism. Need I say more!!
Reported by Jhoni Jackson for Remezcla
May 21
Zoom Parties, Missed Proms, Uncertain Futures. High School Seniors Share What It’s Like to Come of Age During a Pandemic
Time reporters talk to high school seniors around the world to get a glimpse of their lives in lockdown and how they see the future.
reading this week:
I’m still working my way through Gore Capitalism written by Sayak Valencia. Valencia is an artist, activist and scholar based in Tijuana. Gore Capitalism, originally published in Spanish, examines the dynamics of violence and gore practices that persist in capitalism—from sex trafficking and gang violence to, primarily, the drug trade. Particularly, Valencia formulates Gore Capitalism with a feminist approach, making gender obviously vulnerable to violence and profit.
At the same time, I have yet to finish Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher and hope to knock that out of the park at some point under lockdown. Fisher infuses his critical theory with multiple references to art and the art market, and its relevance to the 2008 recession can be translated to our current conditions under a pandemic. It feels important to read Capitalist Realism now, not just for its relevance, but also because it will more than likely serve as a precursor to the radical and critically engaging texts that will come out of our current crisis.
– Danielle Francisca
Meet Lula and Raikou!
They’ll be here every week.
Right: Lula (full name Cholula); Left: Raikou (pronounced rye(like the bread)-koo)
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