ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 92 VOL. 12
WE NEED AN
Escape
MINI BOARD @benjaminshinestudio Angel Rivera, nurse at St. Joseph Hospital New Jersey, USA
TULLE FOR GOOD The first time I saw sculpted tulle on Instagram, I had to stop and start digging into who the artist is and how did he get into this. Benjamin Shine told twelvmag. com he’s not sure he would have ever picked up an iron without his background in fashion. For more than a year, I was happy to look at pretty faces in his “Flow Series,” but his new project, “Human Kind,” hopes to accomplish more than gravitydefying originality.
Share with us what you’re thinking about and creating on Twitter @ADDubs or dubbsubs@yahoo.com ON THE COVER
Boom drew the cat on the cover of Issue 85. I asked him to draw a new dad cat and then had it take flight with a bunch of his paper airplanes.
In his new series, “the idea of a strength forged from fragility is expressed literally and metaphorically” as Shine uses one continuous piece of tulle to sculpt portraits of front line workers. Anyone can submit a nomination on benjaminshine.com. “Collectively, I hope this series will represent a global ‘portrait’ of humanity’s
greatest qualities, especially those of strength, courage and kindness, as demonstrated by these inspiring individuals,” according to the site. “My hope is that the works will be exhibited together in the future and I will endeavour to find ways in which the series can further benefit relevant causes too.” —MV
HOW TO DO SOMETHING GOOD Check https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank or the National Diaper Bank https://nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org/volunteer/ Donate blood: https://donate.nybc.org/donor/schedules/zip Text people to remind them to fill out census forms: www.nyc.gov/censustext Request your ballot to vote by mail starting at vote.org Share information responsibly!
—MV
Art Department Weekly is published by Dinosaur Girly Productions, 184 Bay 26th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11214. The entire contents of ADW are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of the publisher. ADW accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. ADW reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors or omissions, and may feature same in other mediums for any and all purporses.
D R A HE
SOMETHING NEW In case no one has recommended it to you yet, let us be the first to tell you that Amy Schumer Learns to Cook is an easy watch. Schumer bartended for maybe a decade in Manhattan while her husband, Chris Fischer, is a James Beard award winner. Episodes have titles like “Lunch Break and Pasta Night” and “Taco Night and Movie Night.” Schumer mixes drinks and Fischer sets the menu based on what he can find. The show is filming in quarantine on Martha’s Vineyard while the baby naps. The nanny is the only crew we see. They not only use cardboard signs as graphics, but we see them writing on the cardboard before walking it up to a stationary camera.
T R NA
R E V O
I
It feels even more real life when Fischer doesn’t laugh at many of Schumer’s jokes and we can see in overhead shots that she has barefeet. But then she pulls out her phone and calls Danny Devito or Jennifer Lawrence to take the show to another level. —MV
“Donuts are so precious to me” -Betty
“Finally! Something to do” -Boom
“It’ll become a song by that bald guy with the name like a dog” -Madeline
“You just compared my angel princess to a serial killer” -Luis
“Thanks for flying with Falcon 9 today” -Bob
“Let’s not throw a parade for Twitter”
WASTE NOTHING I never made a frittata before quarantine, but I also never had a pan I could safely stick under a broiler before quarantine. This is a picture of the first one I ever made in March. Today’s version had chicken and nine eggs and no leftover potatoes. Today’s compelled Luis to say I need to write about frittatas. They are amazing for using up all kinds of leftovers. The other picture is a dump cake from when we had too many blueberries and sour cream. —MV
-Nicolle
“He’s trying to use some powers he doesn’t actually have to solve a problem that doesn’t exist”
June 2, 2020 • Art
-Nick
Department Weekly 3
IT’S A TIE
THE BEST THING ABOUT DADS IS THE WAY THEY MAKE US LAUGH AND SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS
So I tried to support another Black Owned Business for lunch today. It’s called Ava’s Kitchen, just opened end of April. It’s a very clean establishment, but whewww let me tell you about this owner. First off, I asked why there are balloons on my chair, and it’s not my birthday? She talm’bout, mind yah business; those are Mommy’s. I been waiting on my order to get done for 45 minutes, and I’m the only customer here. She was making good progress at first, then she stopped for 20 minutes to go watch Paw Patrol. Overall the customer service could be better, but the cook is a cutie; so I’ll give her another chance. Let’s not give up on Black businesses so fast after one mistake. With permission from @Christophe_Kyle | hashtagprops.com and @myavachristine
FORGIVE ME, FATHER This seemed an appropriate spread for something less holy fathers would also do.
4
Art Department Weekly • June 2, 2020
MORE WITH LESS
I was going to look for 10 printed pictures to make a collage, but why stop at 10? The pictures of the first child are much more thought out than the fourth. When the fourth demanded to be added, though, it was easier to search for her dad’s face on my phone than to find a printed picture of them. The photo quality is different, but the fatherly love is the same. —MV
June 2, 2020 • Art
Department Weekly
5
MR. FANTASTIC
WALLY WEST FLASH
Marvel Legends Hasbro, 2019
DC Comics Multiverse Mattel, 2019
UNDERCOVER BRUCE WAYNE
Batman the Animated Series Kenner, 1998
JOR-EL JIM GORDON
The Bat Vs. Bane Tumbler Lego, 2013
Batman Series 2 blindbags Lego, 2018
DYNAMIC DADS As we are approaching Father’s Day and being a huge fan of the comic (and toy) medium, I decided to put together a list of my favorite fathers in comics. I need to put a caveat on this list excluding adoptive parents or legal guardians (apologies to Alfred, Jonathan Kent, and Uncle Ben Parker) as I didn’t have the necessary action figures to portray them. FIRST ON MY LIST IS JOR-EL. With his planet on the verge of destruction and the Krypton elders having not listened to his warnings, Jor-El packs his son and places him into a rocketship with Kryptonian matrix crystals to safely travel to Earth where he knows the effects of the sun will imbue his infant with powers. SECOND IS ANOTHER FAVORITE COMIC FATHER OF MINE COMMISIONER GORDON. I love the relationship between
Jim and Barbara (his daughter, Batgirl) so much. It is legit one of of my favorites in all of comicdom. He is firm but nuturing and never was he more amazing than when Babs was paralyzed by the Joker.
6
He stepped up in ways fans didn’t think he was capable of. Now back and ambulatory, their relationship continues to flourish. THIRD IS PROBABLY THE BEST AND MOST CONSISTENT FATHER IN ALL OF COMICS, REED RICHARDS. Brilliant but
slightly aloof, there is no greater family man in Marvel. Franklin, who is quite possibly the most powerful character in Marvel, and Valeria, who is one of the most intelligent characters in Marvel, both know they have a father who would do absolutely anything for their wellbeing. Marvel’s first family, is also Marvel’s best family. FOURTH IS A PERSONAL ONE FOR ME, WALLY WEST. Crisis on Infinite Earths
was a seminal comic moment in my life. Barry’s death and Wally rising up as the new Flash was one of the greatest character arcs ever. Wally was my Flash. Wally held the mantle of Flash for years. He grew into the role greatly. He became a wonderful husband to Linda Park and eventually a great father to their twins, Jai
Art Department Weekly • June 2, 2020
and Iris. As DC retconned their history, Wally’s relationship with Linda and his children were wiped out. Except for the fact that Wally remembered them and, in the anguish he felt on missing his wife and children, it led him down a dark road as documented in the brilliant Heroes in Crisis. FIFTH IS A CHARACTER THAT IS BOTH A BIOLOGICAL FATHER (DAMIAN) AND AN ADOPTIVE FATHER (DICK, JASON AND TIM), BRUCE WAYNE. Bruce
loves his Robins. The relationship he has with the individual characters out of costume shape their adventures in costume. He’s a surprisingly present dad who often relies on advice from his guardian Alfred. Shockingly, Bruce is a great father. I would love to have put Clark Kent/ Superman on this list, but just when he was in the swing of being dad, he shipped off his son for an entire summer to travel the universe, only to have him return seven years older than when he left... Dad fail. —LV
ER FATHH E YEAR OF T
DADDING LIKE A DARTH Marlin. Mr. Incredible. Mufasa. These dudes would be inaugural inductees if there was a Disney Hall of Fame for fathers. Meanwhile, Darth Vader—who became a Disney dad when the Mouse House purchased Lucasfilm in 2012— only gets in if he buys a ticket. Though Vader is also voiced by Mufasa’s James Earl Jones, the similarities between he and his fellow Disney fathers stop there. Certainly the galaxy’s greatest deadbeat dad, Vader ditched Luke and Leia before they were even born, leaving diaper changes and night feedings to nanny droids. And instead of teaching his teen twins how to fly T-16s, lecturing them not to do death sticks, or taking them on trips to Galaxy’s Edge in Orlando, he spent their formative years married to his work, brutally subjugating worlds for the Empire. He remained absent from their lives until they were well past puberty, steering clear of awkward conversations about the birds, the bees and body hair. Vader takes a hard pass on warm hugs when he first meets Leia, preferring to poke and prod her with an interrogation droid and then idly stand by as Tarkin makes her homeworld of Alderaan go boom. His first encounter with Luke goes no better when he demands that the prospective Jedi join the dark side. When Luke refuses, couldn’t dear old dad have cut off his iPad privileges instead of his hand!?! And couldn’t he have waited for a better time to reveal the results of the paternity test!?! Or offer to kiss Luke’s boo-boo!?! Sure, Vader forfeits a father-of-the-year award, but he does ultimately sacrifice himself to save Luke’s life, even if it’s only after some serious lobbying from his son. But hey, it’s Father’s Day, so let’s give the Dark Lord a break and show him some love for at least teaching us how not to be a dud of a dad. —Drew Thompson
COMICS CORNER I stopped buying monthly comics in October 2018. It’s the first time in more than almost 30 years that I wasn’t buying monthly comics for myself. Shortly thereafter, I started to subscribe to the DC Universe app. For $7.99 a month I have access to the whole historical library of DC Comics. The one draw back is that first run books are 6 months to a year behind. When I first started interacting with the app, I was so much more drawn to the live action (Titans, Doom Patrol, etc.) and animated offerings (Harley Quinn, Hush) than I was with the comics offerings. I found it a little difficult to get into the flow of the comics on my phone. In fact because I was ahead of where the current books were (because of the release delay) I started to dive into classic runs of books that I had missed. Mid ’80s Legion of Superheroes, sign me up. That has all changed for me in a big way during quarantine. In fact, I must say, I have used the app just about everyday during quarantine. It’s allowed me to catch up with Bendis’ run on Superman and Action Comics, King’s Batman, Snyder’s Justice League, Jones’ Catwoman, while also discovering books like Steve Orlando’s Martian Manhunter. While a completely different experience than thumbing through a paper comic, I’ve come to enjoy advancing panel by panel through the digital edition of the comics. My one recommendation would be to read it on a desktop or larger tablet as opposed to a phone as the narrow phone screen does not let the art breathe. On top of rediscovering my love for comics (albeit in digital form), the live action and animated offerings continue to be top notch. Titans season 2 and Harley season 2 have been so much better than season one. I’m also very excited about the premiere of Stargirl. Episode 1 was very good and I can’t wait for the rest of the season. In all transparency, I’ve yet to delve into the Marvel app as my love for that brand was starting to wane when I gave up the printed books. —LV
June 2, 2020 • Art
Department Weekly
7
MODELING NUMBERS WHEN NOTHING MAKES SENSE, WE CAN PLAY WITH THE DATA WE HAVE
I just saw a meme telling everyone to stop being sheep because, if eight states don’t have lockdown orders, then the rest of the country is obviously stupid. Nevermind that one of those states needs people in processing plants and now that state is 12th in the country for infections per capita. The other seven have some of the smallest populations per square mile. I couldn’t help but comment. I feel slightly more authoritative on calling out stupid shit about masks than I do about other problems in society. My social media feeds are also full of posts about how San Francisco is doing so much better than New York and how Florida doesn’t want any New Yorkers within its borders. While I stopped watching press conferences a while ago, it is an ever present question: How likely am I to catch this? Why do I know more people who have gotten into car accidents after the re-opening than I do people who were seriously ill with COVID-19? Has the rest of the country learned from the mess in the Northeast compared to the stay-at-home orders in the West or are they simply distanced properly to begin with? —MV
LARGEST STATES
LARGEST STATES BY POPULATION
ONE LEGO BOARD AS 1 SQUARE MILE
THE 5 MOST POPULATED STATES ARE NOT DENSELY POPULATED
1 Alaska
665,384
1 California
2 Texas
268,596
2 Texas
3 California
163,694
3 Florida
4 Montana
147,039
4 New York
5 New Mexico 121,590
5 Pennsylvania
Comparing data from census.gov (with a different size for AK than Google reports)
BIGGEST ALASKA
731,545 people 1.2 people/mi2 570,640 mi2
SMALLEST
MOST DEATHS PER 100,000 RESIDENTS
New York
RHODE ISLAND
New Jersey
1,059,361 people
Illinois
1,018.1 people/mi2 1,033 mi2
10 deaths according to Alaska’s health dept.
8
Based on the density of Paris, one Lego person represents 317 1/3 residents per square mile in these models
Art Department Weekly • June 2, 2020
Connecticut Maryland
We modeled almost all of these places in April when talking about regional policies
District of Columbia Rhode Island
THINGS IT’S NOT AS EASY TO DIAGRAM
BIGGEST CITIES BY POPULATION Comparing the density of four of the most populated cities in America to San Francisco and Florida’s five biggest cities
SAN FRANCISCO 17,179.1 people/mile2
881,549 residents
opportunities to contract
How much more likely my family or I am to get sick from visiting the beach this summer than we were in past summers
40 deaths in the city
LOS ANGELES people/mile 2
viruses
Falling down the rabbit hole of @RateMySkypeRoom
911,507
2 8,092.3
germs
residents 44 deaths in the county JACKSONVILLE 1,100.1 people/mile2
Police violence against minorities
CHICAGO
people/mile 2
The reach of Bayer CropScience* What will happen when the one person whose Twitter account should be suspended decides to treat social media like publishers
MIAMI
11,135.9 people/mile2
4
My relief that this spread doesn’t look like complete garbage
HOUSTON 3,501.5 people/mile2
TAMPA
2,960.2 people/mile2
amount felt
3 11,841.8
pleasure
displeasure before
5 11,379.5
PHILADELPHIA people/mile 2
35 Lego people
ORLANDO 2,327.3 people/mile2
TOO SMALL FOR LEGOS 5 LEAST POPULATED PLACES
Wyoming 5.8 people/mi2 Vermont 67.9 people/mi2 Lego people D.C. 9,856 people/mi2 Alaska 1.2 people/mi2 North Dakota 9.7 people/mi2
31
ST. PETERSBURG 3,964.4 people/mile2
now
*Bayer bought Monsanto, so now Bayer CropScience receives huge tax breaks to grow genetically modified soy beans in Puerto Rico, which could really use some help out of debt. Seed companies control like a third of the land, so Puerto Rico has to import most of its food rather than growing it. If you visit cropscience.bayer. com, the company has its eye on “smallholder farms” around the world to address food insecurity. Bayer CropScience wants to help in every way it can during the current crisis... And then I see a doctor saying too much seed oil in patients’ diets is causing the inflamation that’s landing people in hospital beds these past three months and the host says maybe drug companies want people to eating too much seed oil. The conspiracies!
June 2, 2020 • Art
Department Weekly
9
DEAR CORONA DIARY, At the beginning of this, I saw a post saying we all need to journal because this is history and we need to be able to tell future generations what happened. But I find making ADW way easier than scrapbooking—I run out of inches, so my ability to ramble is slightly contained. Also, I’m not about to print memes. In 20 years, we should know Betty embraced the power lip, demanding dark pink at 7 a.m. and touch-ups before going to bed. She keeps redirecting us toward peaks on the quaran-coaster. —MV
QUICK CHANGE I took a picture of the peas on May 14 and May 29. I wish other changes were moving along that easily.
WHAT ARE ALL THESE PLANTS
Sweet peas are pictured above. On the next page, starting at the top, some of the lavender is starting to look like more viable, some of the spinach looks like spinach, pumpkin seedlings sprouted quickly, cucumbers (and weeds) are popping up, carrots that need to be thinned out, and maybe bird seed growing in our blocked fake drain.
10
Art Department Weekly • June 2, 2020
OBVIOUS PLANT This bottle haunted me. Frank’s Every Sauce is ketchup, honey mustard, yogurt and more in one bottle? How?! Oh, it’s not. Obvious Plant makes products to leave on store shelves. The plastic toys are funny, but the video game Very Far Away Horses Game of the Year Edition really made me laugh.
This man mailed checks through the U.S. Postal Service without talking about the number of Christmas cards that get opened by strangers looking for gift cards and checks. The highly publicized stimulus checks are safe? NORMANDY, France — In 2013, British artists Jamie Wardley and Andy Moss, accompanied by hundreds of volunteers, took to the beaches of Normandy with rakes and stencils in hand to etch 9,000 silhouettes into the sand, representing fallen soldiers. ‘The Fallen 9000’ is a stark visual reminder of those who died during the D-Day beach landings at Arromanches on June 6, 1944 during WWII.
June 2, 2020 • Art
Department Weekly
11
FIVE THINGS *
TO DO AFTER ACKNOWLEDGING RACISM AND WHITE SUPREMACY EXIST
Madeline compiled this list based on actions recommended by people who have far more knowledge and experience
Remember white tears don’t help.
If your friend or cowoker who is not white needs to talk, listen without piling on your feelings or knowledge. (Skip to the last point if you do need to talk about your feelings.) Amplify voices of non-white people. We’re stuck in a system where we mainly hear from white people.
Take action. Is joining #IRunWithMaud to be seen running as important as providing security and being sure that other non-white runners in your community are safe? Follow the lead of people who are providing support to a neighbor who was afraid to walk his dog. Share your time, skills, knowledge, connections, etc. Ask for change. Figure out if your local police precinct trains with evidence-based de-escalation tactics. Advocate for it. Attend townhalls and meet-and-greets with politicians. Ask what they are doing to reform the criminal justice system. Advocate for school funding to include staff and materials needed to promote inclusion. When you see stories of people encountering racism at stores, schools, etc., contact the institution to tell them how upset you are by the story. Have your local politicians’ email and Twitter accounts handy so you can constantly remind them you are not seeing the changes you’d like to see.
Fight for a fair economy. Support black
businesses. Start with WeBuyBlack, The Black Wallet, and Official Black Wall Street if you need help online. Donate to anti-white supremacy work such as your local Black Lives Matter Chapter and others listed in the sidebar.
https://medium.com/equalityincludes-you/what-white-people-cando-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234 SOME PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS TO FOLLOW
Your local Black Lives Matter Chapter TheActionPAC.com Blavity Madame Noir The Root The Grio @aliciagarza @thenewjimcrow @Lavernecox @TaNehisiCoats Ally Henny The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls The NAACP Southern Poverty Law Center
Don’t support businesses that profit from prison labor, like Whole Foods and Walmart. ReturnToNow.net has a list. Divest from banks, like Wells Fargo, that finance the Dakota Access Pipeline. Talk to your company, place of worship, city, etc. about divesting from private prisons and detention centers. Contribute to nationalbailout.org and local organizations.
United Negro College Fund
Delegitimize racist institutions is one of
Families against Mandatory Minimums
the core strategies of Showing Up for Racial Justice, a group aimed at breaking white silence. Deciding not to hate anybody isn’t enough. Becoming anti-racist means becoming aware of all the ways one might be expressing or supporting the system that keeps white people in power. For those who are not ready to take action, “white spaces” online allow people to talk about conscious and unconscious biases. Change takes work every day, so no one should be expecting perfection from themselves or anyone else—but there will be no change without work.
12
THIS LIST IS UPDATED REGULARLY
Art Department Weekly • June 2, 2020
Black Youth Project 100 Color of Change The Sentencing Project
A New Way of Life Dream Defenders Showing Up for Racial Justice Grassroots Law Project Flip the Senate UntilFreedom.com
