Successful weekend getaway out to Wimberly, a small idyllic town in the hill country a few hours away from Houston (closer to Austin really). Moony saw his first donkeys and ponies, and I got a kick out of seeing my first llamas, which the wife insists are not as weird as camels (what?!).
It provided for a much needed disruption of the routine we've established at home in Houston. Routine is good for keeping the machine-of-life running smoothly, but terrible at making life interesting. But that's what the not-so-frequent intended disruption is good for. The accommodation, sat on a ranch with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking lush trees and a pond, was a sight for sore eyes and a prime example of design-forward architecture for the countryside. Although a small one-bedroom, the high ceiling and ample natural light made it feel spacious and—dare I say—luxurious. And I'll admit made me long for a proper studio space away from the house, which has increasingly been overtaken by Moony (which, if you've ever had a baby, know is only natural). Not ideal for art-making, which for me requires inducing oneself into an almost trance-like state, whereupon you're fully absorbed in the ideas and world you're creating. Not so easy to do if your child sees themselves an opera singer.
It was good to be in nature for a moment though, and think.
I've been meaning to write for quite a while now, and in particular following the recent Texas blackout. It raised all kinds of thoughts I had in regards to capitalism vis-à-vis failed states, but it also had me playing catch up with much work in need of getting done. That, together with some sudden health issues in addition to a growing child in demand of constant attention has reduced one's days to a consecutive series of stolen moments. 🤪
All I can afford right now is a quick mention of a couple of work things:
One:
Climate change has flooded the Global North and a terrible pandemic has decimated White populations. In comes a museum in the Egyptian city of Tanta to commemorate the history of white people, now reduced to a minority in need of aid. Ahmed Naji writes and I draw for ARTS OF THE WORKING CLASS.
Two:
Chatted with Radix Media's Sarah Lopez about some process stuff regarding THE SOLAR GRID for this year's [virtual] Printed Matter festival! (You can check it out by clicking here and scrolling down-Be sure to check out many of their other wonderful books on offer too!)
Had the pleasure of chatting with Ryan Harvey for HOPE DIES LAST, his fantastic podcast on the intersection between art and protest in the face of injustice and authoritarianism.
The Art Newspaper surveyed a few art practitioners on the Arab Spring's legacy on art. Click, read, and cringe.
Deutsche Welle also did a story on the influence of Egypt's revolutionary street art some ten years ago.
On a completely different note, Pea Protein is a major migraine trigger apparently. 🙂🔫
Every year I get in a mood. Every goddamn year, no matter how hard I try not to.
It's been 10 years. Ten years since the impossible was attempted. Ten years since got a taste of true freedom. Since we attempted to take ownership of our lives and alter our world to the better. Since ego was set aside for the greater collective.
Ten fucking years. I anticipated a few hiccups along the way, but 10 years?
Covid-living is starting to get to me (for like the 3rd or 4th time in the past year probably), so I've taken to fixing myself an elaborate cafe au lait on an almost daily basis now. Not quite bored enough to start messing with foam art, but if things persist I may just get there.
Only halfway through the first month of 2021, and already there are projects. Still more to surface over the next few weeks. Had a great editorial meeting with the Radix crew recently on marketing, production, and some slight restructuring pertaining to THE SOLAR GRID, which I should be able to get back to work on by February.
I have managed to resist all speaking engagements related to the 10th anniversary of the Egyptian uprising of 2011, except this one: FLAP MY WINGS: 10 YEARS SINCE TAHRIR SQUARE because what The Lazours have done with their LIVE IN CAIRO musical and subsequent FLAP MY WINGS album is a truly phenomenal way to carry forth the narrative of the revolution. I can only be so proud to be involved in any way.
In other news: Child has unlocked the power of the full roll over. Farewell to the days when we could happily ignore him without worry of him potentially hurting himself.
It may not look like it yet, but the illustration I'm working on is for an essay that feels very timely with everything going on right now, penned by none other than Ahmed Naji.
Background listening is The Ottoman History Podcast, in particular a surprisingly rich episode on Mamluk Cairo. Surprising because it gets into some delicious details I knew little to nothing about; like the wandering carnivalesque peoples known as Al Ghurabaa` (“The Strangers”) and the odd jobs they performed, the fluid mix of tongues they spoke, and perhaps most interestingly of all... their printing.
“The Strangers” were the first to introduce printing to Egypt apparently, likely some form of woodblock printing (tin matrices were also employed), in languages ranging from Arabic to Coptic and Hebrew (and quite possibly more). Excited to learn more on the subject matter from Kristina Richardson's upcoming book; GYPSIES IN THE MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC WORLD: A HISTORY OF THE GHURABA, forthcoming with Bloomsbury Publishers.
It was in March last year when the Getty Museum in Los Angeles got in touch to record an interview on mythology, propaganda, and culture. This in conjunction with an exhibition they'd been planning on Assyrian art.
Armed with that recording and a few images of my work, Logan then went off and put together this short but striking video:
Woke up this morning to some excellent (and somewhat surprising) news.
(To be expounded upon later so I don't jinx it.)
Here's hoping it's a good omen for the year and decade to come (not just to me but to everyone, really everyone). ❤️
Slept all of 3 hours last night (this morning?), for reasons far less exciting than what would typically be associated with NYE, which I will attempt to remedy for [probably] the remainder of the day.
Orson Welles: Egyptian art and culture dominated the aesthetics of the First [French] Empire.
Henry Jaglom: I didn't know that.
Orson Welles: Study the interior decoration. It's full of Egyptian elements, just as the Deuxieme Empire of Louis Napoleon drew on Arabic and Algerian sources for exoticism. Just as the English used India for exoticism. Paris is full of imitation Arabic places left over from the Second Empire.
A rather trivial passage from MY LUNCHES WITH ORSON which sent me down a rabbit hole of Egyptian revivalism, finally narrowed down to a few books I'd like to probe, namely:
The question is, of course, how on Earth I'm ever going to find the time to read all those. And... it's clearly time I got myself a local library card.
