Creatively, I consider myself a blue-collar artist. I did not go to a fancy art school or leverage a Yale MFA for the golden ticket into the art world. I make my art as part of my every day life. I sympathize with the every day workers specifically in the creative field. Right now there is a writer’s and an actor‘s strike in Hollywood, something that I personally support. In a larger sense, I am a supporter of unions protecting the rights of workers.
Recently, I joined a union myself. Not a worker’s union per se, though some might consider it an art workers union. I recently joined an online group, called the Union of International Mail Artists. This group has been active for decades, and centers on the sharing of artwork via the Postal Service. Their credo aligns perfectly with how I feel personally about my art. I believe in sharing freely and I really enjoy when art has no financial entanglements attached to it. The main activity of being a member of this group is finding mailing addresses of members on the UIOMA website and then sending these members artwork through the mail. It has been a satisfying endeavor so far for me, sending out my handmade postcards to strangers around the world. Perhaps even more satisfying is having random pieces of art show up in my mailbox on my front porch from time to time.
There is a subversive anti-establishment streak that permeates this group that appeals to my own small version of fighting the system. Sometimes finding like-minded people out there in the world is all a person needs to be reminded that they are not alone, and that they are on the right path.
The union forever!
"New York, You're Bringing Me Down: Dirty Blvd. Edition" Free e-zine
Yesterday was my birthday, but today you get the gift. I've been playing around with the images from my most recent zine, and decided to do a "re-mix." I wanted to capture the dirt and muck of the streets of NYC, at least the way I remember them years ago. I had Lou Reed on my mind (and in my headphones) as I worked on these images, hence the edition name. As a way to say "thanks" to all of you for supporting my creative endeavors, I'm making my re-mix version available for free as an e-zine. Click on the image below for a look at the layout, and to download your own copy, gratis.
A scuzzed up version of my latest NYC zine, free to download.
If you really like it and want to purchase a physical copy, I've set up sales on MagCloud.
Link to purchase is below.
A "scuzzy" version of my most recent New York zine. Looks like it was dragged through the gutter. Pretty much how I felt when I was shooting these images. Channeling the ghost of Lou Reed.
