KQED Arts

This past year I began writing for KQED Arts, where I write mostly about art and digital culture. It's been fun and a great way to write about broader topics for a wider audience!

Miranda July's newest project We Think Alone is true to her oeuvre and interest in the way we do, or do not, connect with one another. But We Think Alone has less of July's direct voice, as the project is her forwarding you emails from some of her famous friend and acquaintances. Take a peak here.

I also wrote a piece looking at some of the implications of celebrity Kickstarter campaigns and Amazon's newest venture Amazon Fine Art where you can literally buy a Norman Rockwell for over $4.5 million.

Harry and Ernie

For the Reverse Rehearsals exhibition I co-curated at Southern Exposure it seemed only fitting that we make some sort of publication to gather together all of the writing and visual works. Artist and writer Matthew Gordon and I used this as an opportunity to collaborate. We are both active writers and makers so many of our conversations revolve around the ways these practices intersect. It seemed like the perfect project for us to work on together.  

In the past year, Matt and I were both impacted by significant losses in our families, my grandmother and his grandfather. Surprisingly, both deaths triggered a generative chapter for us, particularly for Matt who discovered his grandfather had been a closeted, prolific writer. He has been writing considerably from the stacks of index cards his grandfather ceaselessly used to record his thoughts and musings over many years. Matt and I decided to create a collaborative imprint to work under called Harry and Ernie after our grandparents, with the idea that these sorts of personal losses can give way to creating and producing many more things in the future. 

The process was more laborious and exhausting than we expected but we were thrilled with the results. Here are some quick shots of the final product. 

Hyphen Magazine

A couple of years ago I joined Hyphen Magazine as the Artwell Section Editor.  Hyphen is a niche indie pub, which focuses on Asian American politics and culture. It's a beautiful print and online magazine that, remarkably, is all volunteer-run. To be honest, I've never really experienced an organization like Hyphen. For over a decade, Hyphen staffers (who I might add, all have full-time jobs and lives) have dedicated themselves to Asian American news with unprecedented passion, vigor and generosity. All to produce this magazine. And not one person is paid. Repeat. Not one person is paid.

I approached Hyphen because I wanted an opportunity to practice refining my voice towards one that was more mainstream and accessible. I love academia but am constantly frustrated by how aloof the language can be. I also wanted to be able to write about topics that weren't necessarily art (hello tv and pop culture) or art for an "art world" audience. The art world has a way of speaking about itself to itself, which has its place but I find tedious and ineffective after a while.

I've learned a lot about all the things you'd expect, publishing, editing, writing, non-profit orgs that run on "passion," but have mostly felt so honored, and often in awe of the endless generosity these folks give in their time and talent. This is a labor that is fundamentally rooted in activism. Perhaps not to change policy but to educate, take back the media and contextualize our culture in our own terms. It's been quite a ride.

Since I started, I've been a part of many issues of Hyphen, written about lots of different topics and had the privilege of editing for so many fantastic writers.  Following are a smattering of past pieces published in print and/or online. Wafaa Yasin is a brilliant performance/video artist who I've written about before, but here's a short piece published in Issue 25: Generations. Also, we spotlit painter Taravat Talepasand's beautiful and powerful works in Issue 27: Sex in a six-page printed spread! Occasionally I review music as in the SF band Largesse or Adam WarRock. Sometimes films.  Take a peak if you have a sec!

Reverse Rehearsals: Phase Three

The final stage of Reverse Rehearsals involved 7 amazing writers who came in wrote pieces inspired by the built sets. The closing event including a lovely reading...here are some shots. It was quite an privilege to have worked with all of these talented artists and writers in this experimental and cross-disiplinary experiment!

Reverse Rehearsals: Phase Two

Here are some shots of the completed sets built by Terry Berlier, Patrick Gillespie and Julie Henson filled with the works of Maria Porges, Weston Teruya and Jenene Nagy!

Reverse Rehearsals: Phase One

Nathan Lynch and I co-curated an exhibition that I'm really excited about called Reverse Rehearsals, at Southern Exposure. We were working with the idea of reverse engineering a play (sans the play). The project was iterative, happening in three stages involving 13 fantastic artists and writers. 

We started by inviting artists Patrick Gillespie, Terry Berlier and Julie Henson to build "sets" in the space. The only guidelines were that other artists and writers would engage with their "sets" in some 

Next, artists Weston Teruya, Maria Porges and Jenene Nagy built "props for the sets.

And finally, 7 writers were invited to respond to the completed installations. The entire project culminated with an amazing evening of readings in the space. The writers were Dodie Bellamy, Victoria Gannon, Susan Gevirtz, Kari Marboe, Pam Martin, Kyle Metzner and Michael Swaine.

Here are some install shots of the first stage...!

Kala Fellowship

Last year I was honored to be one of the 2011 Kala Fellows along with eight other amazing artists: Randy Colosky, Alison OK Frost, Seth Koen, Vanessa Marsh, Sandra Ono, Francesca Pastine, Lauren Rice and Gail Wight.  The exhibition was up July 19-Sep 15 and Vanessa, Sandra, Gail and I gave an artist talk on Sep 15.

Below are some in progress shots of the residency works!

Pro Arts 2x2 Solos: Wafaa Yasin

I was invited to write a catalog essay about my dear friend and colleague, the talented artist Wafaa Yasin. Wafaa was selected to participate in Pro Arts' 2x2 Solos series, which is a yearly pairing of emerging artists and curators. The exhibition was an ambitious example of Wafaa's poignant political video work. You can download a pdf of the catalog here.

Making a Scene at SOEX

Way back in Oct 2012, I wrote a catalog piece for Torreya Cumming's project Strange Familiars (or Non-Daguerreian Anti-Portrait Studio for Local Types) at Southern Exposure. Torreya's project was one of three in an exhibition called Making a Scene.  You can download the whole pub here!

Inside the Artist's Studio: Chris Vargas

In March, I was invited to write a profile of Chris E. Vargas who was named Yerba Buena Center for the Art's inaugural Community Engagement Artist-in-Resident. I also got to be on the jury panel for this amazing award. Chris' project and work in general is so smart and relevant. It was such a pleasure to be able to spend some time with him in his studio before he, sadly, moved from the Bay. Chris' work can be seen here and you can read the piece here.

Only A Signal Shown

In the summer of 2012 I joined the Southern Exposure Curatorial Committee. Souther Exposure is a fantastic alternative arts organization in San Francisco and the curatorial committee consists of a rotating crew of around eight artists.

I had an excellent time organizing my first program at SOEX called Only a Signal Shown. A handful of the curators each programmed a one week video exhibition as a part of a month and half long exhibition focusing on video. 

My portion of the exhibition (Feb 15-21), to my great honor, included the fantastic work of Weston Teruya, Ranu Mukherjee, Skye Thorstenson and Mik Gaspay.

Inside the Artist's Studio

Over the past couple of years, I've had the great pleasure of writing a profile series called Inside the Artist's Studio focused on the practices of interdisciplinary artists, for Art Practical. These artists have been generous enough to invite me into their studios and give hours of their time as I poke and prod into their lives and work.  These sorts of interviews have been immeasurably fulfilling for me as it affords me the opportunity to see more than just what an artist makes but why, how and who is behind the work.

We also get to talk about all the other things that make up an artistic practice, from day jobs and families to the works that never make it to the gallery or that aren't art at all.

Matthew Gordon is a sheer force when it comes to prioritizing his art and writing practice in the face of day jobs and distractions of life.

Jackie Im curator-artist-writer-editor extraordinaire may singlehandedly recreate the art world.

And Jaime Cortez whose commitment to non-profit arts funding is as inspiring as his art and writing practice.