Favianna Rodriguez

If you're not familiar with the art and cultural work of Favianna Rodriguez, you must check out her blog.

Rodriguez was trained in free neighborhood art classes in the 1980s in Oakland. She has gone on to make work about immigration, economic justice, food justice, the war, and occupations at home and abroad.

Rodriguez writes about her work,

There has never been a movement for social change without the arts, posters in particular, being central to that movement. All art is political, but not all art is overtly political. Protest posters flaunt their politics and court discussion. They can deepen compassion and commitment, ignite outrage, elicit laughter, and provoke action. The power of the poster is that it is produced in multiples, and therefore can be easily distributed for all to see.

In addition to her political posters, she serves as president of Tumis, the woman/people of color owned, community-based design firm.

I Hope It's Warm Outside

It's nearly noon. I showered, sipped my first cup of coffee, and am leaving Hillary's to go too Barricuda's for more coffee and eggs. As we get ready to go, I'm centering myself, moving forward, and preparing to enjoy the day. The Senate is arguing over the economic stimulus package, Iraqis have finished at the polls, the U.S. military is leaving Iraq and entering an escallated era of occupation in Afghanistan. This morning, I'm happy, ready to ground myself in the movie I'm working on, the articles I'm writing, and the day-in-day-out work of programming TV. I hope it's warm outside, but even if not, I'm rekindling an inner warmth, a sense of joy and liberation, a desire to move beyond the chaos of the mundane towards the tranquility and possibility of radical renewal. I love so many people in the world and struggle to love so many others. I recommitt myself to try.

The Unlubed Left

Perhaps it's short-sighted of me me in a patriarchal culture to fret too much over my emotions and the feelings of those I work with; however, I am not convinced that quality work can be done without our emotional lives being fed. Conservative politics excelled because they addressed peoples emotional lives through church groups, fraternal orders, and business leagues. The Left has abjectly failed in creating emotionally supportive, need based structures and in doing so has often touted the importance of efficiency and neglected feelings. Doing so has cost us our ability to move forward--the left is like an rusty bicycle chain--unlubed, loud, and unproductive.

The Photographs of Richard Renaldi

My friend Bart sent me a link to the website of photographer Richard Renaldi, a artist who captures the lonely intimacy of subjects leading lives of quiet desperation. In color and mood, the photographs remind me of the paintings of Andrew Wyeth, an artist Renaldi cites on his blog. Both artists capture characters inseparable from mundane yet dramatic landscapes, illuminated by muted, suggestive colors, the chromatic calm before the storm. Many of Renaldi's subjects look at the camera, caught in untold narratives, self-conscious in a moment of anticipation, perhaps erotic, perhaps violent.

Bloodstained and Tearsoaked

According to David Schimke's article The Morning After in The Utne Reader:

"As philosopher and egalitarian intellectual Cornel West writes in his new book, Hope on a Tightrope, wisdom 'comes from wrestling with despair and not letting despair have the last word. That's why hope is always bloodstained and tear-soaked.

And hope gives us strength to continue to try to...keep struggling for more love, more justice, more freedom, and more democracy.'"

West's notion of hope appears to transcend the easy word many bandy about. It's dialectically entwined with despair. I admire West's quote and look forward to reading his book.

The Tender Land: A Family Memoir

As a person whose family has been haunted by depression, reading The Tender Land: A Family Love Story, Kathleen Finneran's memoir, I felt melancholy, joy, and a will to experience the crazy kaleidoscope of nostalgia that family life can be. From uproarious laughter to outbursts of tears, reading her prose resurrected emotions long buried and a somber love of life unusual for me to feel. I hope you get a chance to read it. Its' stunning.

Occupations and Properties

Check out historian Alan Moore's upcoming blog on spatial occupations, squatting, and other aspects of the social center movement!

Enjoy!