Pressed Coffee 04: June 5 - June 11, 2020
Good morning… here are some good reads from the past week, plus word from Tizziana Baldenebro, the Ford Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), on what she’s reading (or, rather, listening to) this week, a photo of one of my favorite protest signs, and of course a hello from my kitten.
“When the rich rob the poor it’s called business. When the poor fight back it’s called violence…” Sign from day one of protests in Detroit.
Before we dig in…
A couple of resources you should check out right now:
This anti-racist packet compiled by Jasmine Mitchell! It includes so many resources within.
Something you can do this weekend: envision a world without police. Many distributors of knowledge are out there, but we recommend checking out A World Without Police.org.
On Society & Politics
Selected reads of the week:
June 5
“Looting”: The Revolt of the Oppressed
A reminder that racism doesn’t just run in our actions nor solely in the roots of our country, but very much so in our language as well, just like gendering and misogyny do.
Essay from Hyperallergic
June 8
The toppling of Edward Colston’s statue is not an attack on history. It is history.
Wish I had been there.
Written by David Olusoga for Guardian.
A tale of two ZIP-codes: COVID-19 exposes deep disparities in U.S. schools
How those who don’t have the means to school from home have to choose between their education and caring for their families, among other tough decisions that middle to upper class students don’t have to face.
Reported by Brittany Greeson for NBC news.
June 11
Upcoming Trump Rally In Tulsa Faces Backlash Over Race, Coronavirus
This isn’t just bad taste but a direct, symbolically racist response to the current fight against all forms of racism. If you don’t know about the Tulsa Massacre, please watch this video and obviously continue to do your own research.
Reported by Barbara Sprunt for NPR.
On Arts & culture
News and related material in arts & culture.
June 8
THOUSANDS OF ART WORKERS CALL FOR NYC TO DEFUND POLICE, INVEST IN BIPOC COMMUNITIES
“As artists and arts workers, we have the responsibility of imagining and manifesting new and better worlds. In line with this work, we demand the immediate decrease of police presence in response to the #BlackLivesMatter protests, and subsequent divestment from the police and investment in Black communities.”
Reported by Artforum.
Powerful Perspective: These Black Female Photographers are Documenting the Protests Against Police Killings and Racial Injustice
How will these photos speak to us when we revisit the past in the future?
By Victoria L. Valentine for Culture Type.
And more reads…
June 8
How Do We Change America?
“The protests are building on the incredible groundwork of a previous iteration of the Black Lives Matter movement. Today, young white people are compelled to protest not only because of their anxieties about the instability of this country and their compromised futures in it but also because of a revulsion against white supremacy and the rot of racism. Their outlooks have been shaped during the past several years by the anti-racist politics of the B.L.M. movement, which move beyond seeing racism as interpersonal or attitudinal, to understanding that it is deeply rooted in the country’s institutions and organizations.”
By Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for New Yorker
June 10
Signs Are Everywhere
Like the headline says: signs. everywhere.
Christina Catherine Martinez on Drive-By-Art Los Angeles for Artforum
June 11
NASA will set a price on lunar ice. Why?
While people from working-class and marginalized backgrounds are fighting against systemic racism and the horrific brutality against black and brown bodies that has occurred over these past 400 years—that of which has consistently been propelled by capitalist ideology—the United States government and the global ruling elite remain safely in their homes, plotting to tap into the moon-ice natural resource for a new market which they hope to “let private companies innovate” for large profit. :)
Reported by Tim Fernholz for Quartz
30s Book Review
by Tizziana Baldenebro
I began the year reading Lydia Davis's shorts, then Merve Emre's Once and Future Feminist. By March I was only panic-reading the news. Then I tried to digest the pandemic by reading Paul Preciado's "Learning From the Virus,” but also digging back to Virginia Woolf's "On Being Ill," and other seminal texts on illness, ailments, and culture.
At the time George Floyd was murdered, I was in Chicago with my partner, probably reading about a bored celebrity in their mansion or watching Breaking Bad. The world changed overnight. Perhaps because everyone was tired of being either inside or essential; perhaps because Black and Brown people were disproportionately affected by the pandemic; perhaps because of all of the other events that had transpired in the past 400 years, it felt like a time for action…
Tizziana Baldenebro is a Ford Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). Her practice emphasizes critical research and documentation, privileging historically undervalued and underrepresented artists and designers. Tizziana received a Masters of Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.
What we’re loving
Performance, Protest and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker presented by the GLBT Historical Society
Really love the format of this virtual exhibition. It easily welcomes viewers to take their time in not just viewing the art but also learning about the included movements and about Gilbert Baker.
PROGRAM LABS X LUIS VELA LP PRESENTS: "SYNTAX" FEAT. MACHELL ANDRÉ
What art collaborations formed in the digital age of stay-at-home orders look like.
Renaissance: Noir curated by Myrtis Bedolla at UTA Artist Space
“Renaissance: Noir is more poignant than ever as we share these thought-provoking works which depict the social, political, and historical journey of the Black experience through intergenerational narratives...”
Pressed Coffee Conversation 02: You, your friends, your family…
Last week, our Pressed Coffee conversation segment was suspended in order to encourage everyone to have their own conversation, one on race, (anti-)racism, class, white privilege and anti-blackness. It is important that people in positions of privilege examine that privilege, and particularly for white-people to examine their own white privilege. A major part of this movement we’re all living through is to work on revolutionizing our perception of race, class and the United States. Talk with your friends; talk with your family members.
LULA + RAIKOU <3
This time it’s just Raikou and he’s rolling in dirt.
To make an anonymous comment or correction regarding Pressed Coffee 04, please fill out this Google form.
Comments and corrections may also be sent to noxlibrary@gmail.com
