Boston Compass #123

#123 AN INDEPENDENT ART & CULTURE GUIDE

Issue Designed By: Phoebe Delmonte, Adrian Alvarez, Julia Baroni, & Hannah Blauner

ART BY:

HOW BOSTON’S INDIE CINEMAS ARE WEATHERING THE STORM

SHELTER IN PLACE GALLERY @shelterinplacegallery WHEN:

As a film critic—and, moreover, as a film lover—I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. While the ongoing pandemic affects every aspect of American life and business, few realms face as existential a threat as the moviegoing experience, which predicates itself upon strangers sidling shoulder to shoulder and shoveling snacks into their mouths with their bare hands. Still, I have to believe that the passion of cinephiles around the world is too strong to keep the world’s theaters from reopening once the storm passes. What’s more, the Boston area’s truly special cinema scene is tenacious, and is finding inventive ways to persevere.The most exciting development has been the advent of the “virtual screening.” Indie distributors such as Magnolia, Oscilloscope, and Kino Lorber have been partnering with local moviehouses (including the Brattle, the Coolidge, and the Somerville) for digital rentals of their new releases; when a title “opens,” you can rent it through the theater’s website with a portion of the fees going to help keep the lights on. Likewise, The pandemic has done nothing to stop the flow of special guests—thanks to Zoom, the Brattle is continuing its post-screening Q&A’s with the DocYard, and the Coolidge continues to host seminars with local film critics and professors (as well as THE ROOM’s Greg Sestero).

Of course, the programming itself isn’t the only charm of the theater experience, which leads me to perhaps my favorite development: the Somerville and Capitol Theatres have been holding semi-regular Popcorn Pop-Ups, which allow you to pre-order your favorite concessions and pick them up at the window. And of course, you can continue to donate, become a member, and/or buy gift cards to the theater of your choice to use when they reopen--which, it must be stressed, they can only do with your help.

—Oscar Goff

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“Out of limitations, new forms emerge,” said Fauvist Georges Braques.

Emerging from our current spate of limitations, the Shelter in Place Gallery

HOW MUCH:

from Eben Haines allows the isolated artists of Boston to exhibit large-scale at time when studio space is at a minimum. Originally conceived in 2019 as a personal project to work through the crummy weather that left his studio inaccessible, Eben revisited his 1:12 scale model of a loft studio space as COVID closures impacted his work with the MFA. Its new purpose? “Get people unstuck from crisis mode…especially now when time is abundant but resources are near zero.” The gallery hosts rotating shows of 100% original artwork created to scale. When installed, the illusion is complete and the exhibition reads as fullsized. The experience is heightened by Haines’ painting skills, which transform featureless balsa wood and foamcore into weathered beams and worn bricks. Exhibiting artists join in on the verisimilitude by packing art into miniature wooden crates or rolling them on spindles with glassine. However, it is light that distinguishes SIP Gallery from other virtual galleries. The miniature factory windows and skylights drop a crisp spot of sun or flood the walls with a hazy glow that draw you into the gallery space and highlight the material care that the artists and gallery operator have put into the show.

As to the future, Eben is uncertain, but hopeful: “Maybe it will be installed in a gallery’s window someplace as a way to exhibit those impossible shows, maybe it will disappear on a shelf in my studio!” Until then, “Keep those submissions coming!” Submissions require sample images, a proposal for the space, dimensions, and a short statement.

Complete instructions and full gallery dimensions are visible at https://www.instagram.com/shelterinplacegallery FREE

MOST HIGH KINGDOM’S “THE VIRUS” AYOOOO! Boston based rap collective Most High Kingdom just dropped another banger, titled “The Virus’’.

The track, a breath of fresh air WHEN: amongst the seemingly endless days of social distancing, Anytime! attacks the root of the probWHERE: lem that is Coronavirus. Us. https://smarturl.it/ Or more specifically our lack MHKTheVirus of awareness. With the world HOW MUCH: on pause—as shown in the Free on streaming empty shot of the usually busy services or buy on Amazon, iTunes or Boylston Street—a lot of us are at Google for $1.29 home bored but even more so many of us are struggling to survive. Coronavirus full-on exposed the world’s lack of preparation and cooperation, which allowed the issue to grow into the catastrophe it is today. All of this makes one wonder how we got here. One line on “The Virus” breaks it down clearly “There’s not enough love in the air, these are hard times.” But it’s not all bad news as this track is truly an anthem of resistance and positivity in these seemingly dark times. The track is a classic upbeat boom bap full of heavy hittin’ bass, punchy snares, and a smooth transition exquisitely produced by the one and only Gib DJ (@ gib_dj). The group, made up of Milkshaw Benedict (@ milkshawbenedict), Najee Janey (@najeejaney), and $ean Wire (@sean_wire), show off their skill as they pass the baton between hype, lyrical suave, and almost spoken word with ease.

Simply put the track is fire...

I have nothing left to say besides stay home and go bump that s*** right!

—Stephen Lafume, edited by Liz Smith

—Adrian Alvarez

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THIS PAPER IS AN ONGOING PROJECT OF BRAIN ARTS ORGANIZATION, INC., A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO, VOLUNTEERING OR OTHERWISE SUPPORTING US: BRAIN-ARTS.ORG

THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL, A LOCAL AGENCY WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, AS ADMINSTRATED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS + CULTURE

NOTES FROM THE CREW Hello Compass readership! My name is Audrey Sutter, and last month I was a junior studying journalism at Boston University; now I’m writing this and all my assignments from my home in Austin, Texas. I’m the EIC of a magazine called The Beat and the host of two radio shows on WTBU. I’ve also been the Compass’ design intern since the beginning of December 2019.

I’ve gotten the unique opportunity to be a part of a massive period of growth for the Compass. In January, we switched up the design of the paper entirely with the help of guest designer and paragraph styles enthusiast Jenny Bergman. February’s issue was our 10-year anniversary issue. We expanded to a full eight pages in March, and I was added to the team of Compass page designers. Then came April, and COVID-19, and the revolutionary efforts from the Compass team to keep our community safe, healthy and informed.

In short, it’s been a pleasure to see this paper grow and evolve through some pretty

extreme times. One of the main things EIC Kevin Dacey, founder Sam Potrykus and I talked about at the beginning of my internship was making sure the Compass was doing everything it could to serve its community — the independent arts community, the Dorchester community, the Boston underground community. I believe we’ve risen to that goal and will continue to rise in the wake of COVID-19.

Remember to reach out for ways to get involved in your community. We’re still here, and we’re keeping it that way.

AUDREY SUTTER

----------------------------------- KARI VANN THE LETTER

ADVICE FOR LOVERS Q: I’ve been talking to someone online that I’m really into from OkC. I haven’t had such a connection with someone before. Next step would normally be to meet, but that’s not possible during quarantine. I don’t want this to fizzle out but I can only text so much till I wanna meet to see if we have the same chemistry in person. What can I do?

A: This quarantine is definitely going to set the dating situation back, but there are ways to get creative. I do think with online dating we tend to say too much through text before

Sometimes, I write letters to corporations.

In fact, that was the initial inspiration for this column! In general, I’d like to use this precious real estate talking about more than the fact that everything we buy is garbage, and also focus current issues that matter— much more on Covid-19 next month! But I’m still happy to sprinkle in some of these “love letters” to consumerism. For now, enjoy one angry letter I wrote a long time ago to a company, complaining that their product (which used to be high quality) is crap now.

It’s been altered for creative purposes, but the response is intact. Enjoy, and may it resonate with your inner curmudgeon.

we meet as a way to not “waste time” and I think that’s counterproductive. Hopefully you can still get out and meet up with this person for a walk. Send each other pictures of your face masks so you can pick them out for each other and bring a tape measure! If you’re not equipped emotionally or physically to brave the outdoors at a time like this, perhaps the classic video chats or phone calls could hold you guys over for a bit. When relationships are still little seedlings it’s important to have that eye contact or voice to navigate.

------- XOXO HEART SOAKED

-------- Kari Vann

Dear Corelle Brands LLC, My Armenian family has been long time lovers of Corning Ware’s products. In the past, they were always high quality, and simply, but well-designed, from the blue cornflower emblem to the architecture of the dishes. So central to the women of my family are your products that now that I’m starting my own family, I’m inheriting the vintage dish sets belonging to my mother and aunts. I’m pretty stoked on them.

My bridal shower recently came around and I was told to create a registry on Macy’s because it is, apparently, the only place the Armenian women in my family will shop. I made a registry, but was disappointed with the options. Everything looked the same.

Everything looked like crap. Then, I saw that hopeful cornflower. Though production halted on the model sold during my parents’ generation, Macy’s was advertising a special “60th anniversary edition,” which matched the sets my mother gave me. On the day of my bridal shower, I got the dishes as a gift from my cousin. Later at home, I inspected them next to my old ones.

I guess I just want to say: DID YOU THINK I WOULDN’T NOTICE? Even the cornflower ornament looks cheap in the newer version—laminated on top as opposed to baked into the pyroceram. So I did a little research. Much about your company has changed since my parents’ days. The company that started Corningware, Corning Glass Works, was founded originally down the street from me in Somerville, Massachusetts. (I actually didn’t know that—fun fact!) By the nineties, Corning Glass sold its consumer goods division to the owners of World Kitchen and, like countless baby boomer, legacy brands still living in the shadow of their former

glory, shuttered its US factories and moved production to Asian countries. Slowly but surely, the quality of Corningware’s goods eroded. A common complaint in online reviews I found was that the dishes have a habit of exploding in people’s ovens. One review I read said a glass lid shattered when the reviewer took it out of the oven, sending a shard into his brother’s eye. He had to go to the emergency room. So congratulations, Corelle Brands corporation! Using costcutting, shortcut techniques and privileging profit over quality, you have turned a family heirloom into a spontaneously combusting death machine!

So how did we get here? To me writing this letter? It’s because the cunning Corelle Brand LLC marketers saw that Corningware’s antique pyroceram casserole dishes, like the ones my mom owned, were making a killing on Etsy and antiques dealers’ websites, where women like me were desperately scavenging for a goddamn high quality casserole dish. So what did they do?

Instead of bringing back the quality and craftsmanship of the original dishes, they appropriated a nostalgic brand that means so much to so many people and bastardized it under the guise of a “60th anniversary.”

I guess what I’m really wondering is this: Why continue this charade? Who is actually profiting off this? And what does profit really mean in this context? Why not just let the legacy end on a high point? Maybe because the connection between the company and the people it sells to has long been severed.

It’s hard to care about the deeper integrity of your product when your sole allegiance is to fiscal growth.

But “fiscal growth” can only tell us so much about the well-being of our society.

We’re more than just consumers. We are people. We care about traditions and piping hot meals and we have standards—though some of us may have forgotten about them. I’m sad that the world my mother and aunts live in is clearly gone. I mourn for my generation and what’s in store—for the environment, for the economy, and for our poor, little households, for which we have to scour antique shops, just to find dishes and flatware that match the quality of what our mothers once had.

---Sincerely Yours, Kari THE RESPONSE Thanks for reaching out! We’re sorry to hear of your disappointment with the stoneware baking dishes. We’ve forwarded your feedback to our design team for review. For a current listing of our pyroceram products, please see the link below: https://www. corelle.com/search?qry=Stovetop%20 Pyroceram. If you’d prefer to chat with us, we are also available by using the link below.

Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm EST. https:// www.corelle.com/chat.

Sincerely, Alana, Corelle Brands

SHARING DIGITAL PERFORMANCE SPACE

I recently attended a limited seating performance of Playback Theatre performed

by First Drop Theatre. I wasn’t breaking quarantine: First Drop performed from Bangalore, India and I watched (and participated) from the USA as others joined from China, Australia, Sweden, and elsewhere. We were all on Zoom together.

For the uninitiated, Playback Theatre is a performance art whereby the theatre troupe requests stories from the audience and “play it back” to them. Like general improv, Playback utilizes a variety of styles and to guide the series of performances, themes are usually denoted beforehand. Playback shares many aspects with improv, but also includes personal stories from the audience, making each performance unique. This mode frequently provides space for people to drop emotions from their shoulders as the format is extremely freeing; its venn diagram touches expressive arts therapy nearly as much as improv theatre. Playback intends for the audience not to remain passive, but to become part of a larger ‘string’ that connects everyone in the room together.

Because the person running the performance, Dr. Radhika Jain, explained at the beginning that they wished to create a safe space, I took no screenshots or videos.

This is no different then requesting audience

members not photograph or record video with their phone during a material performance and is crucial for encouraging vulnerability. This digital space immediately cast down any notions of office Zoom chat memes--we quickly felt comfortable with each other. Normally, audience members are encouraged to meet the people around them. During the performance, Radhika split us off into smaller groups to speak with one other in separate virtual rooms. Nothing is perfect, and while our first ‘breakout’ had perhaps too many people at 10, the second was a much more intimate one-onone. The audience warmed up and more stories flowed: anxieties, loss, enthusiasm, frustration and confusion. Bottled up in their homes, people spoke--then we watched the troupe play back to us all. We shared this cathartic storytelling environment facilitated by performance art in a truly unique and contemporary way.

As the performance wrapped up, I felt gratitude for the privilege of joining this moment and also excitement; my eyes wide open to new possibilities to connect despite the social distancing mandate. Despite everything, we can still make art together and we can still breathe together and, I think, we can make it through this: together.

-------- DANIEL LLOYD-MILLER

GILMORE TAMNY @GILDEDY

TRASH IS TRAGIC Hello my trashy babies! Inspired by the Bureau of Linguistical Reality, I’ve penned three new words to describe pandemic realness: emergatory, noun. Origin: “emergency” and “purgatory.” In crisis, but all forward action is suspended in a purgatory-like state.

“Seeing fossil fuels sicken my community, yet having no political recourse to fight it, I can only watch as the problem worsens. I feel stuck in a state of emergatory.” raw jaw, verb. Origin: “raw dog.” The act of venturing into public without a face mask during a pandemic. “The CDC recommends wearing a face mask in public, but Donald decided to raw jaw it.” street slaw, noun. Garbage on the street mixed with vegetation, water, dirt, and dog piss, becoming a formless and depressing heap of wet pollution. “Trash collection fell behind when the pandemic hit. Damp mounds of street slaw line the sidewalks of my neighborhood.”

I’m not gonna lie: my low-waste priorities have been challenged by quarantine. The bulk bins and farmer’s markets have closed, making zero-waste food shopping nearly impossible. I’m making some garbage, but staying positive. Here are some strategies for squaring environmental sensitivities with our collective pandemic duties.

Charlie Baker’s reusable bag ban. The plastics industry is using the pandemic to cast reusable bags as supervillains, describing them as “virus laden.” But according to the NYT, there’s no independent data to support their claims.

Plastic lobbyists often cite one study to argue that reusable bags are “carriers of harmful pathogens.” The study “found that reusable plastic bags can contain bacteria, and that users don’t wash reusable bags very often. The study was funded, however, by the American Chemistry Council, which represents major plastics and chemicals

manufacturers. The study recommends that shoppers simply wash their reusable bags, not replace them (NYT).”

The plastics industry will continue to mislead the public regarding the supposed “health benefits” of plastic bags long after quarantine ends—it’s important to resist the narrative. In the meantime, my local grocery store allows me to sidestep the ban by placing my groceries, unbagged, into the cart after checkout. I take the cart outside and fill my backpack there. This is seen as a safe alternative.

Toilet unpaper. Toilet paper is the only product designed to pass through the sewage infrastructure. I learned this sexy fact while touring a wastewater treatment facility in Lowell. Flush any other item, and you run the risk of triggering a shit geyser. Still, it’s understandable that people would resort to wiping their butts with cotton balls during a TP shortage.

To conserve TP, consider cutting an old shirt into small squares. Use them to dab yourself after pissing. Throw used wipes into a container, kept near the toilet. Clean in the laundry.

Are you squeamish about wipes mingling with clothes in the laundry? Fact: your underwear already has a little piss on it. Quit clutching your pearls! There are zero health concerns associated with having some piss in the mix - ask any baby, they practically drink the stuff.

Wishcycling. Your low-waste groove has been disrupted by the pandemic, and you feel guilty. Avoid wishcycling as a coping strategy. Sneaking garbage into the recycling in an attempt to avoid difficult emotions is no bueno. It leads to wasted resources and contamination (that’s when a bale of recycling is treated as waste because a few pieces of garbage snuck in). Reuse what you can and most importantly, cut yourself some slack.

------------------ MELANIE BERNIER

THE TAROT FORECAST The Tarot Forecast is a look at the month ahead in a tarot spread. For May, I pulled The Sun reversed. When The Sun card appears in reverse, it means you are only able to feel the negative in your life. True, you may be feeling deep sadness or depression right now--however the reverse Sun does not represent negativity itself, only that you are stuck and unable to see past the darkness.

The Sun card asks you: What is keeping you from letting the warmth of the sun flow into your life? Remember--there is golden, healing light all around you, but you must allow it inside.

May 1st marks the halfway point between Spring and Summer. So, for May 1st, I pulled The Hanged man which brings to us a message of sacrifice and acceptance. The Hanged man is here to say: With nowhere to go, how will you learn to accept your surroundings? This card acknowledges that there is suffering in learning to let go, but practicing non-attachment and accepting what you cannot change is a vital part of transformation. If you hold onto things too tightly you will be dragged and weighed down. How can you find ways to practice letting go?

I also pulled the VIII of Pentacles reversed, for May 1st. This card is about work, skill, and craftsmanship, but in reverse highlights the lack of ambition and focus many of us are feeling right now. To rediscover your motivation, this card calls upon you to make something with your hands. Try to get back

in touch with work for the sake of the craft, not for a paycheck, you will find meaning that way.

For the full moon on May 7th, I pulled the Son of Pentacles -- this dependable and hardworking energy is a welcome sight! This card asks us all to be trustworthy and steady.

Moving slow is the best way to get things done right now. The Son of Pentacles also encourages you to find a routine, what is something you can do everyday to ground yourself in Earth energy?

Two cards appeared when I pulled for the new moon on May 22nd: IX of Cups reversed and IX of Swords; both intense and ominous.

The IX of Cups reversed speaks to our emotions and warns us of dissatisfaction and emotional instability, while the IX of Swords appears as all our nightmares, worries and fears taking over our minds. But these cards, like the reverse Sun, represent how we are feeling and thinking, not reality. Take care, many of the cards this month signify trying times. When a reading is strewn with difficult cards, they come as a warnin--not as a prediction. Your thoughts and feelings may be deceiving you now, but make sure you are not being lost to fear or sadness. Go slow. Reach for the light & it will find you.

Naomi Westwater is a witch and musician based in Jamaica Plain, MA. Follow her music and tarot @naomiwestwater.

-------------- NAOMI WESTWATER

GABRIELLE BURGESS

@ohitsgabrielle.png

Hey folks, I’m lonely. How are you?

This is the 4th edition of the Extinction Rebellion Boston Protest Art Column in the amazing, activating & absorbent rag known as the Boston Compass.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a global, decentralized, nonviolent rebellion against the structures of power that fuel ecological collapse. We are fighting for the survival of humanity--because the climate crisis is an immediate threat to our species as well as billions of others. ...all that is a HELL of a lot to think about when I can’t even hug family members.

My name’s Cory and I’m an artist working with XR Boston. The pandemic has hit everyone really hard, and not equally. XR groups are focusing a lot on well-being and environmental justice, and there are dozens of online events on these specific topics as well as protest actions. However, I’m writing this article in mid-April, and many May events are still in development.

So instead I’m going to talk about boats.

I feel like we’re all in small, separate water vessels right now. We’re floating together but unable to touch. Some people have yachts, some have leaky canoes, and some are clinging to life rafts. Staying afloat is Priority #1.

What is your boat like?

CABINS I really hope you have a safe place to stay. Many don’t. Even if you are physically safe, home or residence can feel like a cage.

What are some things you do to feel more ok in your space? I try to separate what I do and where: Kitchen = cooking food, eating Bedroom = sleeping, internet Desk = work (NEVER on the bed) Outdoors = walking, phone calls, eating on the front porch Living room = shows and video calls, chatting with roommates, reading

Protip: I never wear sweatpants on video calls. People don’t know I’m wearing them, but I KNOW. Pants are a focus tool.

ANCHORS What helps you feel real and grounded?

My anchors: Family & friends - calls, emails, making gifts Music - uptempo stuff especially Outdoor time Exercise - walking, stretching, biking Hydration - look up “water boredom,” it’s a thing. Warm water with ginger or lemon is great.

Art - sketching, phone photography, etc...

Writing / logging SAILS What helps you feel accomplished?

Mostly I’m just trying to keep above water, but these things carry me a little further: Directly helping others, like dropping off groceries XR video calls More complex artworks Finishing projects Sidewalk chalk climate art This whole boat metaphor is personal, but it’s also an XR art project we launched in April.

For the duration of social distancing, we’re inviting folks to make folded paper boats (or any kind of boat art) and decorate them with words of resistance and resilience.

Examples: The Sea Is Rising and So Are We Save Our Species We Rise Up The boats represent isolation, rising tides, survival, the skill and craft of ordinary people, and the collective work needed for a livable future. Send a photo of your boat art to xr.boston.art@protonmail.com Love and safe passage,

------------------------------------ CORY (xrmass.org)

UNDERGROUND FLEX Femme Fatale (the remix) Female DJs are on the rise in Boston.

Two new faces to the scene, DJ Gops and DJ utastelesshoes, both found themselves pursuing careers that didn’t offer much creative expression, which led them to DJing as an outlet.

DJ Gops is a full-time nurse (a hero!) and loves it, but she says “DJing has been my dream job since I was 10.” It felt like the right time to buy a controller. From the jump, she’s been spinning a variety of genres including rap, afrobeats, Bollywood, Latin, house, and alternative. Early on she found a mentor in Tori Doublecup, another dope female DJ in Boston, and soon she landed some small gigs through friends at places like Sneaker Junkies for Open Newbury Street and the Queer Makers Market.

DJ utastelesshoes comes from a musical family and learned a lot from her brother, QuixotetheDJ, when she decided to pursue her own craft. She features diverse underground artists in her thrilling and heartfelt mixes, often drawing inspiration from her Cape Verdean culture. Her firstever live set was at Art Basel in Miami, and after a strong reception at this standout cultural event, she knew it was 100% what she wanted to do.

She got to work right away on her own brand, Immortal Bitches, the first volume of which is a party featuring live sets from badass femme DJs. The theme is gothic,

supernatural, kinky, and fun, and as the name suggests, it’s all in bold celebration of the resiliency of women. “I wanted to create a platform for female DJs to elevate from… have people pay attention to who we are and how creative we are,” she says. “We’re freakin’ amazing.”

There’s great fellowship within the scene, and both DJs credit other spinners and producers for their inspiration and mentorship, including edenamhara, Mia Carucci, DJ Stamz, baby indiglo, and GIB DJ. When it comes down to it, both of these women just want to make people dance and put people on to new music. DJ Gops says, “It’s the best feeling to play a song and even just six people dance to it. That’s all I care about, that’s all I want to do for as long as I can.”

Dj utastelesshoes says, “The only reason I’m a DJ, and make mixes, and created Immortal Bitches, is to support. I want to support artists, with whatever they’re doing.”

Immortal Bitches Vol. 1 was scheduled for a mid-April release, but was postponed due to COVID-19. In a similar spot, DJ Gops landed a residency at Bastille Kitchen that is also on hold until restaurants can reopen.

As we wait for it to be safe to party, you can show them support by checking out their mixes on SoundCloud. They’ve got you covered with lofi vibes and quarantine dance parties alike.

------------------- CASSIE CAPEWELL

MORE AT BRAIN-ARTS.ORG Arts Emerson’s “Together Apart Series” Ongoing! Subscribe here! www.artsemerson.org/ Online Aviary Gallery (aviarygallery.com) P art gallery showing online exhibitions!

Bang On A Can Marathon (marathon2020.bangonacan.org) Iconic, beautiful, extremely diverse 6 hour new music marathon LIVE online May 3rd! NY based with strong ties to MA. Boston Area LGBTQ Youth (www.bagly.org/calendar) 5/1 Trans/Non-Binary meeting (zoom) 5-6pm 5/4 Women’s meeting (zoom) 5-6pm 5/12 Peer mental health meeting (zoom) 5:306:30pm Boston Got Next (@ bostongotnext) aka DJ Whysham is hosting a regular radio show on SparkFMOnline “Lunch Is Ova” every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-3pm. sparkfmonline.com Boston Neighborhood Network (bnnmedia.org) Close out Netflix and Hulu! Support a strong, local tv studio like BNN! Offering live online programming of all kinds including one of our favorites Farenheit TV (fareheighttv.com).

Brandie Blaze (@brandieblaze) Local rapper Brandie Blaze is hosting week-

ly “Beat My Face” live streams where she interviews other artists about their makeup routine!!

Every Thursday at 6pm on IG Live (Virtual) Comedy Shows During Quarantine A working list curated by Angela Sawyer www.brain-arts.org/ blog?post=virtual-comedy-shows-during-quarantine The Comedy Studio Broadcast Including programs like Tales from the Inside: Live storytelling by comics from Boston and more.

Wednesday at 8 More programming at www.thecomedystudio. com/broadcast Deep Cuts Deli & Brewery Hosting live stream shows every Sunday on their IG Show Love From Home! @ deepcutsrocks. And they made a shirt to raise money so def buy that shirt.

Disposable America (@disposableamerica) Allston based record label jumps on the livestream cure! Check it!

Dusky Peril Arts Initiative presents “Let’s Make Something Together” A virtual panel discussion centering the South Asian diasporic experience in a conversation about the importance of building community through the arts.⁣⁣ www.tinyurl.com/duskyperilpanel⁣⁣

While the local theaters have shut down through the summer (at least), theatre companies all over the world have opened up their archives online for FREE. Ironically, theatre has never been more accessible or affordable, so take advantage while you can.If you are in the position to, please consider donating a little something to the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund (TCBF.org) or directly to a local company.

The reality is, many smaller companies may not survive this shutdown. Show our artists some love when they need it most. Tips? Email TheatrescapeBoston@ gmail.com —CEEK STREAMING FOR FREE Thru 5/9 Mala by Melinda Lopez The one-woman show by local playwright and actress Melinda Lopez, which premiered at the Huntington Theatre in 2018, is now FREE to stream. A charming and moving show, highlighting the complicated love between family and different generations.

WHERE: Streaming via WGBH.org Thru 5/17 Boston Theater Marathon XXII: Special Zoom Edition This annual showcase of

local talent cannot be stopped by COVID-19.

Tune in every day at 12pm for a ten-minute play reading via Zoom (you will need the app). Check out the full schedule online and enjoy the smorgasbord.

WHERE: Zoom app. Info via BostonPlaywrights.org My dear Lewis by Kyle Loven A very cool and surreal one-man show employing puppetry, video and music to reflect back on one man’s life. The brainchild of Vancouver-based performance and visual artist Kyle Loven.

WHERE: Link via Kyleloven.squarespace.com

EmpowerHer Virtual Market!

Presented by Boston Women’s Market May 1-31 www.bostonwomensmarket.com/bwm-empowerher-market ERASED! Tapes (www.erased-tapes.bandcamp.com) Mega rad DIY label releases a MASSIVE compilation album representing various parts of the underground to benefit Cosecha and Families for Justice as Healing.

Girls Rock Camp Boston (@grcboston) A beloved organization adapts beautifully to the crisis with livestream open mics and punk rock aerobics. Check out their Youtube channel for music instrument tutorials of all kinds!

Haley House (@haleyhouseboston) Community organizer and soup kitchen provides much needed relief in this crisis! Donate today and see their live streams from various artists online.

Harsh Noise Support Network Get your dose of live noise music with this rad series of noise artist streams @harshnoisesupportnetwork on IG Haus Witch (hauswitchstore.com) Your favorite witch-ware vendors bring their services to the web with tarot readings, energy healings, workshops, and more!

Birdheart by Julian Crouch and Saskia Lane A completely charming puppet show, transforming simple materials into a medley of characters. A must-see at only 24 minutes long. Watch with the kids if you have em.

WHERE: search title on Vimeo Schaubühne Arguably the coolest theater space and company on the planet. The Berlin theater has been a hotspot for bold and challenging productions since 1962 that have been a huge influence on theatre throughout the world.

They are streaming a play from their vaults every single day from noon to 5:30pm. Check the schedule for which ones have English subtitles, but if you’re a true theatre head, every show is worth watching for the visuals alone.

WHERE: Schaubuehne.de Mabou Mines One of the most original

HER MUSE Collective (@hermusecollective) Powerful group representing womxn and their allies streaming DJ sets every Thursday and Sunday with handy how-to and tutorial videos by artists in between!

INPUT/OUTPUT (@inputoutputmag) Zine/podcast/performance series dedicated to supporting women and non-binary artists working in creative music.

Inside Out Virtual Open Mic Every Thursday 8-10pm Zoom: 662-513-689 Sign-up: www.tinyurl.com/ fisimic Jungle Community Music Group One of our favorite local venues has had to close their doors but you can follow their booking team on IG and keep up to date with the live streaming performances they are hosting ! Carissa Johnson @fuelheartproductions / Eva Davenport @lyricsbyeva / Heather Timmons @ tinyoakbooking Non-Event presents experimental and new music with their virtual @ Home Series (www. nonevent.org) Quarantunes Daily live streamed performances presented by Western Mass venues and businesses: Shea Theater Arts Center + Hawks & Reed + The Stone Church + Dwellings + PRIA Music Marketing

Solidarity Supply Distro supported by Makeshift Boston and Lucy Parsons Center An amazing effort to help vulnerable individuals during the Covid-19 crisis.

Donate $ today! Email for more info: bostonsolidaritysupplydistro@protonmail.com Stay Silent (staysilentpvd.com) Bolstering the hip hop community as usual, but online this time!

Check ‘em out for live DJ sets!

Watertown Free Public Library (www.watertownlib. org)Their regular educational resources go online: virtual art classes, digital libraries, and more.

Weird Local Virtual Film Festival #2 DIY film organizers throw their second virtual fest with YOUR submissions!

Submit your 40 second film to weirdlocalfilmfestival@gmail.com by May 10th and look out for the premier of every film May 16th! @weirdlocalfilmfestival on IG for more info!

Wrong Brain (wrongbrain.net) - Gay Paper Mache!

Wednesdays 6-9pm will be an Instagram Live from your Studio Marathon – we encourage you to work on a project at home and join into our Livestream from your studio, bedroom, kitchen, basement, or wherever!

and engaging theatre companies working today, NYC’s Mabou Mines have been leading the way in experimental theatre since their inception in 1970.

Taking their cue from the Living Theatre and European avant garde collectives of the time, the founders include legendary artists JoAnne Akalaitis, Lee Breuer and Philip Glass among others. Each week they are streaming a piece from their archives--a rare and spectacular treat.

WHERE: MabouMines.org

WHERE: WoosterGroup. org and Kanopy

Wooster Group Another NYC treasure and phenomenon in experimental theatre, the Wooster Group is streaming one full production from their archives each week. A handful can also be found on Kanopy, which is accessible with most student IDs or library cards. Their shows will make you think of theatre in a completely new way--favorite productions include Rumstick Road and their take on Hamlet.

Metropolitan Opera House Enjoy an opera a night courtesy of the Met, starting at 7pm and available for 24 hours. Originally filmed as part of a screening program in movie theatres throughout the world. This is an incredible opportunity to experience world class artists at no cost to you.

WHERE: MetOpera.org

National Theatre Live Experience the London stage without paying the exorbitant prices, as NTL is streaming one of their popular productions at a time online for FREE each week, starting every Thurs at 2pm. These are big-budget shows with big-name talent. Subscribe to the channel for updates on what is to come.

WHERE: National Theatre Live’s YouTube channel

Yoko Miwa Live streaming Concert Boston based jazz trio performs May 1, 2 ,8 ,9 www.facebook.com/Yoko.

Miwa.Trio

As a member of the Brain Arts Organization and Dorchester Art Project community, we encourage you to share your at-home studio works and processes with the hashtag #LockDownArtUp — let’s stay connected and share our creativity.

Wild times call for creative measures. As avid culture consumers, we need to figure out a way to support those who make what means the most to us~ What can you do to support artists around you both locally and digitally?

—This is a great time for artists to build their online following, share their links, photos, etc.

—Have you purchased a handmade good or piece of art lately? Share a photo of that piece in your house.

—We are all stuck at home, hooked up to the mainframe. Promote your friends from outside of Boston. Stay connected.

—Commision an artist to make a thank you for an essential worker in your life, they deserve it. Or a custom zoom background for all those work calls!

—Have an artist that you adore online? Reach out to them and ask if they will teach you about their techniques This is also an ultra-weird time to be a maker and creator. All this brand new free time on our hands, but how are we supposed to make art during a global crisis?!

It’s absolutely alright to feel stuck, but we’re here to support you! Here are some ways to get your art out there.

—Have a balcony art show. Hang work out for the whole neighborhood to see!

—Send postcards to other artists.

—Zoom open studio! Get feedback you need with as many people as possible, no wine or cheese needed!

—Offer to teach children online, give parents working from home a break and teach a kid how to do origami or draw a tiger.

—How about this wild idea - don’t make, take a break! Download The Sims, try out skateboarding again, the whole world is on hold. Artists occupy their free time with their work when society functions as normal. Get away from it all.

—Be sure to check our Artist Resources post on brain-arts.org/blog as we continually update it with the latest in artist grants and opportunities!

Check out these artists offering classes, opportunities or handmade goods: Renee Silva of NIPPY GIBBLER is a local artist and educator specializing in teaching drawing and painting to middle and high schoolers but happy to work with all and at any skill level! We aren’t going to let a world crisis stop us from having a fun and engaging Art time. She oil paints clothes in her custom streetwear line.

Send an email to reneecsilva5@gmail.com for booking and rates Buy clothes at www. nippygibbler.com

Katie Finocchiaro of Sunshine Daydream Productions is offering to teach painting tips, tricks and techniques for making successful and cohesive abstract paintings with acrylics. She’s on Zoom and Facebook live.

She is taking donations but will teach groups of 15 for $50.

Contact her through her website at www.sunshinedaydreamart.com Miami based, Danny Bryan Gonzalez will teach you the best selfie angles and how to use you ~aesthetic~ for art! He is also an art history wiz. danny@raredankart.biz @raredankart.biz www.raredankart.biz $20/half hour

Lucas Spivey has been teaching artists about their business for a while through his hit podcast, Culture Hustlers. He is an artist with an education in business and he wants to help share the wealth of knowledge we all have!

Check out the podcast at www.culturehustlers.com Feel free to reach out to him for a more personalized lesson for a small fee.

Compass homie Danielle Lauretano is an illustrator, framer and animator will teach you classes online!

Email danielle.m.lauretano@gmail.com Check @aloe_obscura for what she does Email for rates

Alec Hutson wants to teach you drawing in Adobe Illustrator! Reach out for rates. @alechutson www.warbirdcreative. com alec.b.hutson@gmail.com

Carly Manoflieber will teach you animation including 2D and motion graphics! @instrumental11seconds Carly.manoflieber@gmail. com 35/hour starting but flexible for different budgets and needs!

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Howdy ho, things are still closed up at DAP as far as theater and gallery events go, so the only thing truly “dappening” these days is our awesome squad of tenants who have been staying busy in their private, isolated, socially-distanced studios :) We wanted to introduce you to some of the newbies: Nuno Miguel: Nuno, Fields Corner native, creates smooth, realistic charcoal portraits of influential figures. The precision within the rendering in these drawings is mindblowing. He also makes videos! @nuno_artpage on Instagram.

Jess Johnson: Jess is a mixed-media artist that tackles so many dimensions and mediums in one piece. She creates hand-cut collages, and

Zachary Bos is now booking one-off Zoom tutorials on writing & publishing: how to ideate, how to compose and revise, how to identify potential publication venues, how to submit, and how to monetize. Each session offers networking advice and introductions, custom-curated examples of writing comparable to your own out there in the published marketplace, and feedback on writing at a stage of development. Open to writers working in poetry, translation, short fiction, CNF, and experimental forms. email zakbos@gmail.com One-hour consultations can be booked for $28 Pen & Anvil Press is reviewing chapbook and collection proposals for small press publication.

Queries can be sent to press@penandanvil.com.

Alex Miklowski is selling her art and videos as well as booking tattoos in the future @alexmiklowski @sugartatty www.alexmiklowski.com Contact for rates Steve Santusuosso is a professional interior designer who is offering tutorials of Sketch Up! A 3D Modeling software. FREE with proof of any donation over $10 to Brain Arts Organization <3 steven.santosuosso@ gmail.com

rion; for extra fun, you can watch both to contrast and compare!

Carly Lieberman specializes in motion graphics and 2d animation. Hire her for your project or company!

35/hour starting but flexible for different budgets and needs! @instrumental11seconds Carly.manoflieber@gmail. com

Once again, we find ourselves FILM: BERLIN ALEXANDERin a curious situation: at press PLATZ (1980) dir. Rainer Wertime, movie theaters remain ner Fassbinder closed, and it would be a STREAMER: The Criterion fool’s errand to predict when Channel they might reopen. If the situ- RUNNING TIME: 931 mination persists, the only movies utes you’ll be watching for a while Originally aired in 14 parts will be in the confines of your on West German television, HerMuse Collective has own living room. But every mad auteur Fassbinder’s launched “Quaratings”, cloud has a silver lining: now sprawling adaptation of Ala series of tutorials and how-to videos from artists is the perfect time to catch fred Döblin’s novel has long up on the films you’ve always been shorthand for an unall over meant to watch, if only they wieldy masterpiece. Now’s @hermusecollective weren’t so long. So, in the in- the time to finally scratch this terest of both furthering your one off the bucket list.

Here are some institutions and galleries offer- cinematic education and burning through the tedium, here FILM: TWIN PEAKS: THE REing online art engageare some of the longest gems TURN (2017) dir. David Lynch ment: you can watch while quaran- STREAMER: Showtime tined.

MoMa of New York is of(available through Hulu) fering free online courses, RUNNING TIME: 1080 minFILM: THE IRISHMAN (2019) utes check their website dir. Martin Scorsese .

Is it a movie? Is it a TV show?

STREAMER: Netflix Mass Art Made (Their Who cares? David Lynch’s RUNNING TIME: 209 minutes 2017 event series is nothing annual spring sales) will be online this year, check Look, I get it if you never got short of a miracle: a return to back as it’s in its planning around to Marty’s digitally de- his best-loved work that not aged mob epic; three and a only honors its predecessor, stages now half hours is nothing to sneeze but quite possibly surpasses at. But now that you’re a full- it. It’s wild, it’s messy, and Members of the Camtime indoor cat, you have no it’s without a doubt Lynch’s bridge Dance Complex excuse not to watch this ca- most ambitious work (yet). are offering Instagram reer highlight from one of the Live lessons and performances daily. Follow them greatest American directors FILM: The films of Frederick who ever lived. As a bonus, Wiseman to stay connected. you get to see Al Pacino eat a STREAMER: Kanopy lot of ice cream.

Manifest Boston is RUNNING TIME: Very, very offering a ton of free long FILM: FANNY AND ALEXAN- Cambridge resident Frederworkshops and talks for DER (1982) dir. Ingmar Berg- ick Wiseman is an occasioncreative-minded folks. https://www.manifestbos- man ally overlooked treasure: STREAMER: The Criterion over the past 53 years he ton.org Channel has produced nearly as many RUNNING TIME: 312 minutes gripping documentaries on Central Square BID is When Bergman’s Oscar-win- American life-- often exceeddoing lots of Instagram ning classic was released to ing three hours each-- and, Live content from local theaters, it weighed in at a at 90, he shows few signs of Cambridge creators: workshops, fitness classes, hefty three hours. But that slowing down. Fortunately, if performances, check it out version pales in comparison you have a library card, you to the expanded cut that was have access to his complete @centralsqbid aired as a Swedish miniseries. filmography via the free KanAssets for Artists is offer- Both versions are on Crite- opy app.

—Oscar Goff ing lots of free webinars What’s in your pandemic pantry? In for artists in Connectirecent weeks, spin-offs of this quescut, Rhode Island and tion and cascades of answers have Massachusetts. Develop flooded social feeds and spurred yourself! Google “A4A many an ‘uplifting’ article in naWebinars for a Posttional news outlets. I don’t give a COVID World” damn what’s in your pantry. I want PROVISIONING FOR A PANDEMIC to know, what’s in your communiLacking a studio, learn some free software! ty’s pantry? What are we doing to help one another stay Sketchup - 3D Models safe and nourished in this crisis? We may be holed up in our Blender - 3D animation own caves, but now is especially not the time to succumb to and drawing the egotistic eco-terrorism of a single-serving size container.

Sculptris - 3D animation Here’s a few ways to think beyond your bread box: and drawing First, plan ahead! Send out a call, check in with others, make Processing - interactive a goddamn list. Don’t leave your house without asking what computer coding your roommates, friends, or eldery Aunt who lives 30 minKrita - drawing and paint- utes away needs. Make each trip worthwhile for the commuing nity at large. Does your roommate shop on Tuesdays? Great, Unity - build AR/VR and pick a day later in the week for your weekly (or biweekly trip) videogames and ask if they need anything before heading out. When Open Tunez - 2D animayou’re ready to buy, buy big, or stay the f home. If you don’t tion think you’ll get through all the food, then great! Drop it on Shortcut - Video editing a friend’s porch, or a friend of a friend’s porch. Post about

your surplus on social media. Whatever you do, don’t let it go to waste. Support your community, as much as your means allow. Remember that cafe whose WiFi you used every (normal) Saturday afternoon? Now’s the time to pay it forward. Many cafes, bakeries, and specialty shops are selling bulk ingredients online (see Forge Baking Company).

Check local businesses’ websites before heading straight to the grocery lines. For bulk veggies, check out Red Fire Farm, Brookford Farm, or Freedom Food Farm for some seasonal options. For meats, see Lilac Hedge Farm. And for all your baking then incorporates animation and her own music into them, creating an entire sensational experience. @jessneeds, Elmendorf Baking Supplies & Cafe has got you covered and then some. cx_ on Instagram | www.soundcloud.com/jesscx If you or someone you know needs help buying groceries (or can deliver groceries to others), head to mutualaidmamas.com for more info (Medford & Somerville resShamara Rhodes: Sham aka DJ Whysham is a idents only). For more mutual aid networks, check out Boston Public Libraries blog Dorchester based DJ, who was also nominated for post “COVID-19 Mutual Aid Resources.” Virtual/Socially Distant Events: best DJ for the Boston music awards in 2019 (bow bow bowwww *airhorn noises*) She has a very active role within the Boston music scene and her efforts stay strong even through pandemic times. Sessions and performances are still in the making. Also, follow her brand @bostongotnext. @DJWhysham on Instagram.

Jo Nanajian (ME!) Jo is an abstract artist with a focus in charcoal, she uses her strong monochromatic range to create largescale drawings, each about 8ft long. She also creates fashionable masks that were in effect long before the virus but are now a focus in order to assist during these times. Jonanajian.com @nanajivn Can’t wait to be open again soon! Miss y’all!

—Jo Nanajian

—Wine classes from Rebel Rebel: virtual, natural, from the comfort of your couch. Each class is $10 per person!

Check their website, social, enewsletter, etc. for more details on how to sign up.

—Guac to ragu, knife sharpening to cocktails, follow @

ofjuliet_mediaverse (and peep their venmo where you can donate to support their staff at www.ofjuliet. com/television) for virtual culinary classes from the folks at Juliet in Union Square (and company!).

—Rumor has it some live cooking demo content is coming from the team at @ meimeiboston —Shake it up with some

bartending tutorials on Instagram from @barnoirboston, @backbarunion, and @tendstotravel Cook the Books is going virtual with a special “Pantry Edition” hosted by Watertown Librarian Aimee Lambert.

Tons of traditional and non-traditional, pub games/event going online, brought to you by the folks at Aeronaut Brewing. https://www.aeronautbrewing. com/events/ —Dana Ferrante

“Blood and Breed”

submit your chillustrations!! send to adrian@brain-arts.org

Over a cocktail before Easter Dinner, dogs were primarily discussed. For all their scents and excrements, how could we fault them? They serve as fit material for conversation, with them present we can forego talk of ourselves, our wishes, and dreams as-of-yet unfulfilled. After all, these two dogs furnish enough material that our talk never falls fully quiet.

On Easter, the topic was a walk that morning, where an altercation took place between another dog and Xena, our aptly named ‘warrior princess,’ whose feist matches her eponymous and fictional heroine. The lily-livered pup across the street dared to test her, and Xena was obliged to pin this problem to the asphalt by force. You see, her breed is ambiguous: the ears and face are squarely set, which to some suggests pitbull blood. This pet theory does not sit well with Mother, who applies herself to subduing the suggestion, for it’s almost as insulting as it is outrageous.

Seated squarely next to the pup in question was a nearing-ninety-year-old, who did not pick up after the meaning of my mother’s remarks. Grandma’s advanced age and retreating hearing filtered out Mother’s tone, which said indirectly that Xena was a black lab and that was that. This escaped Grandma, who was quick to attribute Xena’s bad behavior to bad blood. To her this seemed a clear case of cause-and-effect: pitbulls bite folks, and are aggressive to boot, a view reinforced by her purported expertise on dog breeds, and the respective blends of their bloods.

Me, I sipped my beer, brooding to myself whether she could be swayed one way or another. Or would such a sway prove too high a toll for her already over-taxed heart? I opted not to rock the boat, and watched her self-steady and sip the crême de cacao cocktail in her hand, with the matter altogether settled in her mind. Mother did look a tad displeased, yet petted Xena with warmth. She was proud of the mutt nonetheless, despite her having pinned another pup on its back this morning, and put her teeth to its neck. The mutt looked up, and seemed to smile, unmoved by our talk.

—Matthew McGovern

Abigail Neale @lavender_menace_press

Meme Neck

by Kev Gil @kevgil90

The Market

by Cagen Luse @cagenmiles

JAM

Comics

Credits by panel: 1) Jack Ryder (pencils) @cartoonistjack Dan Mazur (ink) @danmazurcomics 2) EJ Barnes 3) Adrian Alvarez @mawfko 4) E.J. Barnes (ink) 5) Dan Mazur (pencil) James Mobius (ink) @unorthodoxcreativity

Jam with the BCR! Submit a comic panel to adrian@brain-arts.org and it may be selected to begin an original and improvised comic page by the Boston Comics Roundtable!

by Javon Morris @kiddquotes

Poster art

tear this poster out and put it on a wall! -

----------------------------------------

East Boston, South Boston, Porter Square, Roxbury!

Help

spread the

Compass!

em: compassdistro@brain-arts.org

You know those little houses you see when you’re skippin’ down the sidewalk? Like someone shot a cabin in the woods with a shrink ray gun, picked it up and plopped it on your block? Well those little things may just be a little light amongst the bleakness of your current isolation. They are called Little Free Libraries. Normally these gnome homes serve as book swap stops. Drop a book, grip a book. No cost, just a good ol’ trade. A valuable asset in these times of overproduction and overconsumption.

They are an even more valuable asset in these times of social isolation. Take that dusty book off your shelf and get to reading!

Or give up on it and bring it to a LFL to trade it for something more appealing. Hey, while you’re there snag a Boston Compass! Yes--you can still find us out in the world. While most businesses are closed, we have nowhere to drop this rag, so we decided to stock up one of our favorite free resources, Little Free Libraries. Find us in the boxes of Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline and every borough of Boston. We’ve been printing a limited supply, so pop down there right quick to snag an exclusive copy.

One more thing! LFLs are also being considered sharing boxes right now which means people will be stuffing them with food, personal care and household items. Check littlefreelibrary.org/sharing-box-map to see which ones have been turned to sharing boxes. Check this other map to find your local LFL for books and the Compass littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap. Books have been deemed safe by the CDC for not being able to harbor COVID-19 very well, but please take precaution when using these resources. Sanitize! Wash up!

Stay well!

—Kevin Dacey

Viscous Verses

1.

Today I break quarantine rules I sneak down a fire escape To see spring in the city I see the spring and this couple They walk as if they're eighty or maybe ninety They hold hands and look up To the stars or blooming magnolias I stop Would I be their Joe Black?

Unwittingly breathing Death Aren't lovers left alive?

I turn around and go back home The spring belongs to them Not to me Not today

2. and if you must forget me my love then forget me – don’t touch poison don’t touch my body with your thought - let it wither don’t touch my body let the spirit kiss it don’t touch it with a word or even a breath let it wither near my real body

Victoria Amelina, translated from Ukrainian by the author.

Oksana Lutsyshyna, translated from Ukrainian by the author and Olena Jennings.

Victoria Amelina is a Ukrainian novelist living in Boston. Excerpts from her novels about the city of Lviv have been translated into English and published under the titles "The Fall Syndrome" and "Dom's Dream Kingdom"

Oksana Lutsyshyna is a Ukrainian poet hailing from Lviv, and currently living in Austin, TX. A collection of her poems in English, Persephone Blues, was recently published by Arrowsmith Press in Medford, MA.

"Turtle Stack" Ultimate @get_ultimate

and my real body is beyond the fanciful seven seas and my real body is that which is between us and in my real body the rivers rush and my real body has a hundred hearts and eyes and if you must forget me my love and if you do touch my body my burden with your thought let it go as I let you go let it go into the forever endless

Viscous Verses is edited by Art & Letters (artandlettersmagazine@squarespace.com).

Anton Karas’ iconic zither music to the movie “The Third Man” happened by a twist of fate. While director Carol Reed and actor Orson Wells were drinking at a café in Vienna after a long day of shooting the film, they overheard Anton in the background playing for tips. Instantly, Reed knew that was the music he wanted in his film. Carol approached Anton after the show but he spoke no English and none of Reed’s party spoke German, so staff and patrons helped translate Reed’s offer. At first, Anton declined because it meant having to travel to England--but he eventually agreed and recorded 40 mins of music over six weeks. The composition that became the most famous was “Harry Lime’s Theme,” a song he had written but not performed in 15 years. He said of the song: "when you play in a café, nobody stops to listen… This tune takes a lot out of your fingers. I prefer playing 'Wien, Wien', the sort of thing one can play all night while eating sausages at the same time." The music was a huge success--after the release of the film, it sold more than a half a million copies within the first two weeks. Many versions of the song have charted, resulting in around 40 million in sales. For a period, Karas had a successful touring career but ultimately his soundtrack was a one hit wonder. Disliking the limelight, he retired in 1966 saying that he preferred to play to locals who understood him, his language and music.

—Zachary Fairbrother

"Small Hours"

STATING THE STATE OF THE STATE OF THE ART ARTS

^

An

interview with

My rooMMAtes

"

Steph Germaine: “I just go with my inspiration, and things I see and find...it is constantly emerging and evolving into projects, ideas, fascination and possibility.”

@

“You’re talking to the cheapskate of all cheapskates: reuse, recycle, compost, repurpose, dumpster dive, go out during trash days—obviously not now…but generally, it’s all scavenging, hunting at flea markets, thrift stores, and building things from scraps, even.”

N

Greg Zukauskas: “I primarily work in digital video, coming to fruition in the form of short films and music videos... I also consider myself both a musician and a DJ, and sometimes these mediums overlap in one way or another in the studio.

I guess I like to share things with the world that I think are funny or beautiful.”

,

“Get based—get inspired—have an artgasm—do something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do—that should inspire you to make something.”

+

Mike Higgins: “My always wise but currently urgent advice: stay away from loud talkers who won’t shut up.”

P O

“Maybe it seems like now you have a ton of time to do your art, but maybe also the muse is frightened and hiding in the forest. Instead, take advantage of the shakeup and do ‘something else’. The point is to not feel pressured that you must do your art; maybe it is time to have some new, fresh, different experience that will fruitfully feed into your art later.”

neil horsky • horskyProjects.coM

The road rolled out before me: An endless black tape etched with yellow and white that wound through the wooded road. I had been driving a few hours now--mostly in silence, save for the roar of the breeze against the open window. I glanced at the clock, just past one in the morning. It was so dark. The thing about driving while surrounded by woods is that encroaching darkness. As much as I can, I try not to look into the trees. I don’t actively think about it, but there’s some primal fear that I might catch the glint of eyes staring back at me. I can’t really explain it, but I was actually nervous about putting the radio on. It might distract me, put me at ease, but also dull my senses. It was an odd thing: but being alone, who would take note?

I swallowed hard. Beside the dark forest all around, something else nagged at the back of my mind. Something more than just animals going about their secret business. I felt a dull tingle all over, and shifted in my seat. Over and over again reassuring myself that it was just to clear up blood flow. Though, it wasn’t pins and needles. It was like the static of a large electrical appliance. Like touching an old tube television and seeing the sparks dance on your fingers. Of course, without the crackling brightness.

The hairs on the back of my neck were bristling, and I brought a hand up to rub gingerly. Despite my isolation, I tried desperately to play it off as if it were a normal thing.

Alone, I tried to pretend that I wasn’t on the brink of a panic attack from some unseen menace. I reeled at the thought. The momentary distraction that came with the absurd notion was welcome. Something in the seat behind me shifted.

I froze. There it was. That was the reason. There was something definitely wrong.

The joyous epiphany gave way to instant dread. I was overcome with helplessness. Do I stop? Do I turn around and see the face of something or someone with heinous intent?

Barely keeping the car on the road, I lifted a shaky hand to adjust the rearview mirror.

Painstakingly, I shifted the glass down. The seat. The empty seat. Nothing more. My nerves steeled, and I hazarded a glance behind me.

Nothing. Emptiness. Nowhere to lie in wait for an unsuspecting victim. Elation rolled over me, but it was short lived. I still had that terrible feeling. Exactly how long was this road? The woods were deep enough, but not more than twenty minutes or so, certainly.

I idly looked at the clock again. It was past three. More than two hours had passed under these brooding boughs. Something was very wrong. I pushed down hard on the gas, and refused to let up until I was free of the menace of those woods.

—Michael Eisan

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