Established in January 2020, Sub Rosa began as a digital journal dedicated to highlighting points of inspiration—a reflection of the systematic groundwork behind one’s practice. Within these pages, you’ll find the people, objects, moments, locations, and histories that have motivated me.
All views are my own.
Chronicles | October - December 2021
From The High Line to Fair Park, Laura Owen's mosaic at Laguardia Airport, details of artwork at the MoMA, The Noguchi Museum, The Whitney, Ciara Elle Bryant at The MAC, and Virgil Abloh.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Hi there,
I’ve got no words other than this, just images I’ve taken the past three months as I aim to take life day by day. A click on the pictures will direct you to a corresponding article.
Happy New Year.
- A
Fair Park Closing Day, 2021
I?NY, Laura Owens, 2020.
Aristide Mailloll, The River, Begun 1939; completed 1943
Bird Song, 1925 & Downward Pulling #2, 1972 by Isamu Noguchi
Unknown Title, Alexander Calder
Crime Suspect, Gordon Parks, 1957
The Migration Series, Jacob Lawrence, 1940-41
Hope II, Gustav Klimt, 1907-08
Little Id, 1970 by Isamu Noguchi
Akari Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi
Jacob’s Ladder, Helen Frankenthaler, 1957
Off-White’s, Virgil Abloh, 2021
Gaea, Lee Krasner, 1966
SERVER: Lova Ta, Love Ya’, Ciara Elle Bryant, 2021
Cupboard VIII, Simone Leigh, 2018
All images © Alexandra Hulsey
Chronicles | July - September 2021
Keeping the theme of resetting in mind, a breakdown of my influences from July - September 2021 is listed on this chronicle.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Hello,
I’m back from hiatus.
Now, Sub Rosa is a one to three months or, whenever-I-feel, chronicle. I began publishing things I found meaningful as an archive throughout the month for personal and communal benefits. When I’m feeling uninspired or pressured to post, it feels disconnected. So, I took some time to reset which, is a loose theme of what I found inspirational during July, August, and September 2021.
Enjoy!
-A
Art & Photography
Yes and No
One of the first things and artist may learn is; understand the rules of your medium before you break them. Photo No-Nos is a book by photographer and author of The Photographer’s Playbook, Jason Fulford. Photo No-Nos features several contemporary photographer’s approaches to what they deem as off-limits. Each photographer takes the prompt in different directions, from humorous to serious.
Personally, every cliche I could think of; flowers, buildings, sunsets, pets, food, are some of my favorite things to capture. I believe the execution and intent matters more.
Speaking of photo no’s, one is gatekeeping information from each other. Fuck Gatekeeping provides photographers resources on the industry created by Carmen Chan, Emiliano Granado, and Jared Soares. Categories include business, marketing, personal work, and money. Even if you aren’t a photographer, it’s worth checking out. The information is relevant to many careers, and it offers insight into a photographer’s role.
White Rock Lake, Alexandra Hulsey, 2021
An Artists Uniform
Artists often choose their wardrobes in response to their practice subconsciously or not. It could be simple, convenient, eccentric, political, etc. Undeniably a certain look can be associated with a figure for example, Bill Cunningham and his blue jacket.
What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter is a book that archives iconic artists and their clothes. Looking at these wardrobes inspires me to choose clothes I identify with as an artist.
What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter page 168 & 169. Image source: HYPBEAST
Bill Cunningham photographed by Yu Fujiwara in 2013. Image source: Dazed
Text & Image
Teju Cole is a photographer, author, and Harvard University, professor. Golden Apple of the Sun is his most recent book. It includes photographs of Cole’s kitchen counter during the early weeks of 2020 accompanied by an essay responding to harsh truths of America’s history. In discussion with Cole and Pac Pobric for Artnet, the two cover some of the book’s content and purpose. Cole’s work ties concepts to photographs through using text which, I believe informs any image. “It was almost as if the photos knew all those things, but I had to interpret them,” Cole says in the interview. On what it means to be American right now, he states: “We’re being asked to do something intolerable, to witness and understand other people’s pain, and then still move on with life. It’s very difficult to do, and yet it has to be done.”
Teju Cole’s Golden Apple of the Sun. Image source: MACK
DESIGN
Look at Things That Make You Happy Everyday
Oaxaca, La Princesa Y El Sireno. Image source: rafaeluriegas.com
A move from minimal to eclectic or, at least, incorporating more eclectic aspects in the home is happening. A method I’ve always enjoyed is murals.
Rafael Uriegas references religion through the Latin American lens and translates his bold shapely paintings into interior murals. Urigas’s Instagram showcases the diverse surfaces he paints.
Home of Italian futurist Giacomo Balla (18 July 1871 – 1 March 1958) has been turned into an exhibition space by Rome’s National Museum of 21st Century Art. Check out the video below to learn about Balla, his work, home, and the current exhibit.
For more images of Balla’s home, visit the link: Dwell.
dallas
Unearthed
TW: racism & violence
In September, Jim Schutze discussed his book The Accommodation with John Wiley Price, archived on the KERA YouTube channel linked here. Published in 1987, The Accommodation did not sell many copies but, being one of the only books that address Dallas's history of racism, violence, and corruption, it's rare and valuable. Previously, the book was downloadable online for $600, Deep Vellum is re-releasing it for $30.
The Accommodation has limitations, as Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation executive Jerry Hawkins states: “It’s obviously just this one man’s take on this vicious racist story. But it is important. It’s important for sure.” As noted by Schutez, sense 1987, historians have published more in-depth text on Dallas history including White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001 by Michael Phillips and Harvey Graff’s The Dallas Myth: The Making and Unmaking of an American City.
The history of Dallas is veiled, many writings and information have been lost or destroyed, and the topic is taboo. I choose to share information like this because it’s critical to educate ourselves and others. Especially now that House Bill 3979 law has passed in Texas which, is public to view here. House Bill 3979 excludes specific American history from the K-12 curriculums including but not limited to: Women’s Suffrage which is the 19th amendment, The Chicano Movement, The Snyder Act of 1924 granting Indigenous people the right to vote, The Eugenics Movement, The Ku Klux Klan, Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have A Dream speech and Letter From Birmingham Jail, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Emancipation Proclamation, and Brown v. Board of Education.
MUSIC
From Summer to Fall
This is my updated playlist from last year. Dedicated to the transition from summer to fall.
SUPPORT
Migrants & Refugees
Dallas Refugee Project focuses on community and resources for refugees in Dallas. Some of their services provide tutoring, personal items, school supplies, and food. Sign up to volunteer here, and donate here.
UndocuBlack is formed by currently and formerly undocumented Black people. The organization provides community, facilities, and resources like their know your rights section. Donate here.
Black Freedom Factory is a San Antonio-based organization with volunteer opportunities in San Antonio and Houston. Information and updates on current events about social justice are on their Instagram.
Celebration Nation is a Latino Nonprofit centered on equal rights for farmworkers. Volunteer here, donate anywhere on their site.
Missing BIPOC
TW: racism & violence
Among many other alarming statistics, there are 10% more missing Indigenous women and girls than all ethnicities. NIWRC is a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding women and girls from violence. Donations are linked here. Please read the information on missing Indigenous women and girls listed on Native Women’s Wilderness. The data and resources are pulled from UIHI and can be accessed here.
Black and Missing is a non-profit organization with a database for reporting, searching for, and sending anonymous tips regarding missing Black people. They also provide resources such as a downloadable missing persons PDF flyer and information on what to do if your child is missing. You can donate here.
Chronicles | June 2021
Some questions I had this June; Artwork often has a unique power to exist wherever it wants but, what’s that mean for rural Texas residents? What’s the moral thing to do with an unwanted painting? This month also covers local artwork commemorating Juneteenth, an underreported Dallas newspaper’s history, celebrating Gay Pride by featuring artwork post Stonewall and a playlist for making art.
A R T
Conceptual Art’s Agency in Rural Spaces
While I appreciate and participate in work like Caddilac Ranch, I do try to consider alternate perspectives. I revisited a thought after reading the article, There Are Big Ideas In Little Corsicana. Conceptual artwork existing in peculiar, rural places, especially in Texas, confronts its residents invasively. What gives conceptual art the agency to exist wherever the artist wants? The article describes an exhibition space next door to an auto shop but, can one put an auto shop adjacent to an established museum or gallery without a fuss? I can’t think of many other things that have this physical power and adaptability. The clash of critics, curators, artists, and small-town southern residents is one example of its oddity. I think about the people living in blue-collar communities accessing artwork that often connotes a white-collar world, unaccepting in many formats.
Freedom Dispersed
DFW-based artist, curator, and professor Lauren Cross’s installation A Moment of Silence / Let Freedom Ring is part of Nasher’s public art initiative. Her work will be on view until September 19th, located at For Oak Cliff, a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling systemic oppression. A Moment of Silence / Let Freedom Ring commemorates the holiday Juneteenth.
Artists utilizing a space like For Oak Cliff conceptually while considering its accessibility to the surrounding community is an exciting movement I see happening more and more in Dallas.
Read the Nasher Sculpture Center’s statement here.
Painting’s Afterlife
Where Do Paintings Go After Their Owners Abandon Them? is an article that reports on an Instagram feed that archives discarded paintings. It makes me a little sad to see trashed paintings. Even though I have my own collection of unwanted work that’s hidden in corners and drawers. Now I’m reconsidering how I treat unused canvases or prints. I think the moral thing to do is repurpose them or, donate them to thrift stores.
From Jason Osborne’s @abandonedpaintings Instagram account
H I S T O R Y
The Dallas Express 1892 - 1970
TW: Racism & Violence
The Dallas Express one of the most circulated Black-run newspaper of the South. I learned about this history through D Magazine’s, The Real Story Behind Dallas Express which, delves into and critiques Monty Bennett’s re-launch of the newspaper this year.
With headquarters in Deep Ellum, the paper was founded during segregation and neglect for the Black community's needs. Weekly publications covering racist attacks, ways to protect each other, Black-owned business ads, recipes, and more, were sent out. What is archived of The Dallas Express shows important and underreported history, especially in Dallas.
Gay Pride & Post-Stonewall Art
LGBTQ+ people publicly celebrating their community was unthinkable until the Stonewall Uprising on June 28th, 1969. Homosexuality was illegal at this point. Police raided gay clubs and bars, often met with brutality. On the 28th at The Stonewall Inn, the community had enough and decided to fight back. The protest lasted six days and sparked the Gay Rights Movement in the U.S. Now, each year in June in honor of Stonewall, cities around the country celebrate with a Gay Pride parade.
Influential artwork came soon after the Stonewall Uprising, including artists like Nan Goldin, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe, whose work I saw at the Guggenheim’s permanent collection and included pictures of below. Curated by Jonathan Weinberg, Art After Stonewall, 1969 - 1989 is an exhibition dedicated to showcasing this time as an art movement. The first opening was in 2019 at Grey Art Gallery at NYU and most recently on view at Columbus Museum of Art during 2020. There’s also an art book for the exhibition that I'd love to own. In an interview by Artnet, Weinberg talks about themes in artwork post Stonewall and pre AIDS epidemic.
Thomas, 1987 by Robert Mapplethorpe
Andy Warhol, 1986 by Robert Mapplethorpe
M U S I C
I’ve been making a lot of physical artwork lately like coloring, printmaking, painting which this playlist is inspired by.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Images by Alexandra Hulsey unless credited otherwise.
Chronicles | May 2021
May presented me a theme of involving; cloud iridescence, lessons from flowers, how a smell makes you feel, and spatial learning from nature's patterns.
A R T
New Mexico
Last month, I questioned what draws an artist to New Mexico. I found descriptions of inspiration by its space and light. After going myself, I understand the appeal of the quiet landscape. Muted browns and soft greens cover the ground while the sky is vivid, allowing for intense dualities. Although this cloud iridescence pictured above was seen in Amarillo, I think it was a good bookend to the trip. I learned that it’s a phenomenon that occurs when small water droplets scatter light causing us to see colors.
L I T E R A T U R E
Flowers and Symbolism
I think about flowers conceptually because I reference them a lot in my artwork. The article Flowers Are the Ultimate Symbol was an influential read. Jessi Jezewska Stevens covers points in history when flowers and their connection to femininity intertwine.
British dictionaries in the 1800s started to concrete a flower’s meaning to specifically feminine associations of that time, lending to projections on flowers and women via a male perspective. Stevens states that the connection is that both are passively productive. But, with characterization comes abilities for subversion. Using the opportunity to make our interpretations and relationships to flowers become empowering.
“The women in my family tell me that gardens remind them of life. Their flower beds attract actual bees and butterflies, and, in fact, were specially designed as entomological paradises. I look at their wild flowers, weedy and rangy, cheerful in a flash thunderstorm. They are braver than I am, I think, both the flowers and the women. Someday, I will look back on them as those who taught me to accept the final silence; the only ones who ever tried, in earnest, to teach me how to die.” Jessi Jezewska Stevens, Flowers Are the Ultimate Symbol
Aroma and Symbolism
It’s been over a year since Covid-19 presented its consequences. Loss of smell is one for most who catch it and sometimes permanent. In consideration, I’ve been practicing reflecting on what aroma means for me. Aatish Taseer deals with a similar thought in the article, The Fragrances That Changed the Field. Additionally, his writing follows the history of Oudh between and fragrance’s relationship between East and West. He calls on his own experience with aroma as a kid in India in the eighties. In the 1800s, as mentioned before, florals became associated with femininity as well as, pureness, and hygiene. Taseer explains how by the 1970s, woody aromas began to represent feminine freedom, independence, and strength.
Using Nature for Spatial Learning
Alex Wolf, who creates visual systems for spatial learning, was interviewed in the article, The Daily Heller: Visualizing Learning Patterns Through Nature’s Spatial Patterns. Her goal with the Pattern Alphabet is to introduce a way of learning that focuses on understanding spatial awareness to then better understand language and mathematics. She references patterns and growth found in nature to make relations to her simple line drawings. Her system is useable for all ages and AI. The article is really interesting and delves into her motivation, logistics, and studies for the project. I was especially interested because spatial learning was vital for me as someone with dyslexia which, is apparently very common as touched on in the article. You can pre-order Pattern Alphabet on Wolf’s Kickstarter.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Images by Alexandra Hulsey unless credited otherwise.
Chronicles | April 2021
Remoteness leads to freedom and vastness lends introspection, placemaking in South Dallas, earth every day, Joan Miro, and Joan Mitchell.
A R T
New Mexico’s Influence on Artists
I found the article, Why So Many Artists Have Been Drawn to New Mexico, just in time for my road trip. According to the artists who found purpose there, remoteness leads to freedom, and vastness lends introspection. I’m looking forward to what the landscape presents me.
L O C A L
Placemaking in South Dallas
The Better Block Foundation organized the MLK pop-up food park in South Dallas from April 9th - May 2nd, located in the Forest District. The event was an exploration of ways to activate the neighborhood with resources for the community and city. I was pleased to read that community members were involved in making decisions on what the project entails, resulting in the food park occupied by South Dallas entrepreneurs. Perhaps this is a way to sustain communities instead of gentrifying them. The Better Block Foundation is a Dallas-based non-profit that describes its ethos as placemaking, a public planning approach coined in the sixties that focuses on highlighting and fostering assists of a neighborhood.
I’m looking forward to the evolution of South Dallas if done correctly. As such, I’m excited to follow the reclaiming of The Forest Theater. On a drive a couple of years ago, I stopped and read some of the text written in chalk on the theater’s exterior, not fully understanding what it was. It turned out to be an open invitation for neighbors of the theater to express their desires for its revived purpose.
More about The Forest Theater’s History here.
M O R E
Earth Day
It’s not something to celebrate once every year. The intentions of Earth Day require life style changes and the date is just a time to highlight resources. This is a reminder to ask yourself, when and if you’re doing the work. There’s a massive archive on the education resource library of earthday.org. Here are some of my favorite simple ways to make an impact on a individual level; plant pollinator friendly plants, keep your garden chemical free, invest in reusable materials and sustainable clothes.
P E O P L E
Joan Mirό
Joan Mirό Maquette pour la page 52 de À toute épreuve de Paul Éluard, en vue de la publication aux Éditions Gérald Cramer 1949 33,1 x 25 cm Fundació Joan Mirό, Barcelone. Image Source: Foundation Jan Michalski
Mirό was my first favorite artist because of his work’s vibrancy and symbolism. He was born on April 20th, 1893. His family was Spanish goldsmiths which, makes sense when noticing the mechanical aspects of his work. He eventually situated himself within the realm of automatism, a surrealist process of accessing the subconscious to make art. Often sourcing from the repressed parts of one’s mind, Mirό used art to confront viewers with a representation of transcendence in times of turmoil. It feels particularly relevant to celebrate his work these days.
Joan Mitchell
This month I came across opportunities listed on the Joan Mitchell Foundation. If you’re also an artist, there are a lot of great resources to save on the site. Mitchell was born in Chicago on February 12th, 1925, and quickly established herself as a leading young Abstract Expressionist painter. In her biography, she's quoted stating, "I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me—and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed. I could certainly never mirror nature. I would like more to paint what it leaves me with."
One of the Artist Programs include the Professional Development and Resources for Artists. This section is filled with helpful documents for artists in all stages of their careers. The Time Management for Creatives article is a good content example.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Images by Alexandra Hulsey unless credited otherwise
Chronicles | March 2021
Highlighting BIPOC female architects, a guide on how to not fast fashion, a snail goes on a stroll at a zoo, and how to be an ally to AAPI.
A R C H I T E C T U R E
Roll Call
There are far fewer female architects than males, and an even smaller percentage are BIPOC. Deezen featured a list of women architects nominated by other women architects, and I added more names below. If you have recommendations, leave a comment on this blog or my Instagram post!
AFN (Assembly of First Nations) is directed by Chiefs, advocating for Canada’s First Nations. In 2019 AFN assembled a team of Indigenous architects to design Indigenous Peoples Space, a safe gathering space for Indigenous Peoples and their government. The female architects working on the project are Eladia Smoke and Wanda Dalla Costa.
Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao is motivated by social values. Her preliminary artwork will be on view at SFMOMA for the exhibit Tatiana Bilbao Estudio: Architecture from Outside In.
Samantha Josaphat established Studio 397 after becoming the 397th African-American female architect in the U.S. Alongside her practice, she is committed to inspiring generations through the Studio 397 community.
Atelier Cho Thompson, founded by Christina Cho Yoo and Ming Thompson, expressed frustration with architects often not considering their work’s social impact in their 2020 Madame Architecture interview. They work against this notion with projects that highlight diversity.
F A S H I O N
How to Not Fast Fashion
Considering my wardrobe’s afterlife isn't second nature but, I’m practicing being aware of my environmental impact. NPR’s “5 Ways To Make Ethical Fashion Choices" offers a simple guide. The takeaways are; don’t consider your clothes disposable, switch it up by revamping what you already have, resell and donate instead of discarding, check if what you're looking for can be thrifted, and educate yourself on the impacts of the fashion industry. Good On You is a website that offers information on making ethical choices and is also an app you can download to explore what companies really up to.
M U S I C
I’ve made a playlist that makes me think about a snail taking a stroll through a zoo on a spring day.
P E O P L E
TW: Racism & Violence
Crimes against AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) in the U.S. have risen well over 100% in 2020, and many cases go unreported. USA Today’s “Asian Hate Crimes: How to be an Ally to the Community” is an article that lists productive actions to take. Below is a non-exhaustive list of small AAPI businesses to support, helpful resources, and AAPI historical figures.
Nguyen Coffee Supply was founded by 1st generation Vietnamese American Sahra Nguyen. The focus is on the direct farm-to-consumer trade and celebrating Vietnamese coffee culture.
When purchasing a Take Care sweatshirt, you receive access to a life coach session, and 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Mental Health America.
The photo book Chinatown Pretty, created by Andria Lo and Valerie Luu, celebrates Chinatown residents from the East to West coasts. 100% of proceeds go to Chinatown nonprofits when ordering via Bookshop.org. Each month the duo highlights a different nonprofit to donate to, currently Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Yobo Soju celebrates American and Korean culture through small batched soju made in New York. On their site, the company has collected 33 organizations to support.
There are many to show financial support for AAPI communities, do the research, and find what resonates or alternate monthly donations but here are the resources I’ve found. Anti-Asian Violence Resources is a great start.
This month, I learned about the following influential Asian American historical female figures.
Yuri Kochiyama’s activism began in Harlem during the 1960s. As a proactive member in many civil rights movements, she stated, “Racism has placed all ethnic peoples in similar positions of oppression poverty, and marginalization.”
Equipped with academic training, Grace Lee Boggs dedicated her life to social activism. She utilized her knowledge of philosophy to teach and mobilize fellow activists.
May Chen led the New York Chinatown strike of 1982. The call for worker’s rights, permanently impacted labor laws as the employers halted wage cuts, non-paid leave, hired translators, and offered English classes.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Chronicles | February 2021
2020 Nasher Prize winner Michael Rakowitz’s work uses Iraq monuments as a way to reclaim art spaces, the optical illusion inspired wallpapers by Bradley L Bowers, how to responsibly collect Black artists work by Destinee Ross-Sutton, and who showed up and who is responsible for power outages during storm Uri’s in Texas.
A R T
Relics that Confront the Museum
Michael Rakowitz, the 2020 Nasher Prize recipient, takes us through his projects from The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist in Art21’s Extended Play series.
His artwork addresses the Western perceptions, associations, and censorship towards Iraq. Ancient Iraqi relics have been stolen and placed within museums, as well as destroyed on location. Rakowitz uses reclaimed materials to rebuild these structures as their afterlives. If you’re in Dallas, you have until April 2021 to view a selection of his works at the Nasher. Tickets are available here.
D E S I G N
Illusionist Design
I want a wallpaper from Bradley L Bowers for every room in my home! I’m captivated by his designs inspired by optical illusions. Below is Striae Wallpaper / Brass, Ripple Wallpaper / Fuji, and Melange Wallpaper / Tundra, image source: Bradley L Bowers website.
L I T E R A T U R E
Collect Responsibly
Curator, advisor, collector, and gallerist Destinee Ross-Sutton wrote an amazing article, How to Responsibly Collect the Work of Black Artists published by Artsy. The major takeaways are; In the U.S. there are no legal obligations for resale royalties for visual artists. Also, most galleries have no terms or conditions other than mandating payment. Collecting art is an investment and responsibility. You really shouldn’t buy art to resale at a profit, don’t do that. If you have to sell your purchased work, communicate with the artist or gallery and give it 3-5 years. Obviously, take a look at the article it's important stuff to know as artists, collectors, and generally speaking!
L O C A L
Uri’s Affect on Texans
Acknowledging those who showed up during this time & featured ways to keep helping:
Unfortunately, lives were lost during the winter storm, some because of a lack of experience of what to when trying to keep warm. From Afiya Center’s resource guide I learned to; never use a gas range oven for heating, never sit in your car with the engine running and the garage closed, never burn charcoal, use a portable gas camp stove or use a generator indoors.
In relation, it’s not okay to make fun of or judge Texans right now. Also, the comparisons to states that regularly experience frigid temperatures aren’t valid. Instead, imagine no snowplows, salted roads, winter clothes, and add houses built to keep you cool, a corrupt faulty power grid, and little to no experience of walking or driving on ice.
Eastside Gems, a small vintage furniture business took initiative before the temperatures dropped. They were able to raise over $30,000 to secure hotel rooms for homeless neighbors along with food, clothes, bus passes, and new supplies. Donations are exceeding the emergency needs of the storm to continue to help the community.
Feed the People Dallas supplied water, food, and other items damaged by the storm. Let's continue to donate to small and involved organizations like this. If you’re not local to Dallas, show support through with cash here.
Camp Rhonda is a Dallas-based autonomous encampment organized by the Dallas Houseless Committee, a collective of unhoused neighbors, mutual aid organizations, and DSE members. They’re still in need of supplies ruined by the storm and for their abrupt relocation. For guidance on how to help, check their Instagram.
While helping our community, the following shelters in DFW experienced severe flood damage Jonathan’s Place, Mosaic Services, and OurCalling are accepting cash and goods donations.
Knowing why the power outages were so severe:
I encourage us all to do the research but in short, to avoid federal regulations, most of Texas runs on its own power grid called ERCOT.
From the ERCOT website:
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers -- representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and 680+ generation units. It also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 8 million premises in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501 (c) (4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature. Its members include consumers, cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities, transmission and distribution providers and municipally owned electric utilities.
The president of ERCOT said we were minutes away from month-long blackouts. Let's contact the following people with questions, concerns, and comments.
DeAnn T. Walker Public Utility Commission of Texas appointed by Governor Greg Abbott
chairmanwalker@puc.texas.gov
Arthur C. D’Andrea Commissioner of the Public Utility Commission of Texas appointed by Governor Greg Abbott
commissionerDAndrea@puc.texas.gov
Woody Rickerson Vice President, Grid Planning and Operations
“Mr. Rickerson oversees transmission planning, generator interconnection activities, training, and electric grid operations for the ERCOT region”
wrickerson@ercot.com
512-248-650
Bill Magness President and CEO of ERCOT
bmagness@ercot.com
512-225-7076
Chad Seely Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
“Mr. Seely oversees state and federal regulatory and litigation issues related to the ERCOT region, including market, operational, planning, and compliance matters”
chad.seely@ercot.com
512-225-7035
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.
Chronicles | January 2021
Starting off the new year with a look back into history. From the longest running photography atelier, the way fashion reflect social movements, and the Wilmington insurrection.
A R T
Kamoinge: a group of people working together
Established in NYC 1963, Kamoinge’s mission statement remains, “To HONOR, document, preserve, and represent the history and culture of the African Diaspora with integrity and respect for humanity through the lens of Black photographers.” The Whitney exhibition, Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop highlights the collective’s formative years. The show will run until March 28th, 2021 and the exhibition website is very interactive. You can view the installation, learn about the artists, listen to virtual guides, and virtual events are scheduled.
The group successfully formed a community and fostered knowledge to future generations, simultaneously developing their own concepts. It was interesting to learn what motivated the photographers to make work including the civil rights movement and jazz. For an example, here is a link to an audio recording explaining Ming Smith’s experimental portrait of Sun Ra in 1978.
Some of my favorite images from the collection are; James Mannas Jr.’s Peeping Seawall Beach Boy-Sea, Georgetown, Guyana, 1972, Daniel Dawson’s Backscape #1, 1967, and Herman Howard’s March on Washington, 1963.
Exhibition themes and logistics are discussed in this talk between assistant curator Carrie Springer and curatorial assistant Mia Matthias.
Dannielle Bowman, a Cooper Union & Yale Alumni Awarded 2020’s Aperture Portfolio Prize
Photographer Dannielle Bowman is 2020’s Aperture Portfolio Prize recipient for her series What Had Happened. The images document the lives of Black Americans while considering the context of the phrase “what had happened”.
Writer Marjon Carlos and Bowman discuss the series, her previous work, commissions, and her process. It was comforting when Bowman spoke of the ‘art school hangover’ and how she’s worked through it. They also briefly discuss Bowman’s involvement in Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project which is a questioning and confrontation of America’s history.
F A S H I O N
Conceptual Fashion Pushing Boundaries of Wearability
I-D’s article Meeting the Young Designers Reimagining Fashion Silhouettes asks readers to consider how fashion reflects social movements. The following designers are interviewed.
Marco Ribeiro explores circles on his garments, eluding to unity and equality. His editorial photographs are also really compelling because of their colorful and environmental nature.
Sun Woo Chang’s structures are inspired by her experience of moving and the feeling of belonging or not belonging.
Chet Lo’s work has developed through experimentation resulting in a sort of spiky texture that reminds me of the bubble shirts of the early 2000s.
Terrence Zhou’s creates work pulling directly from his personal experience of existing. Aspects of his personality are manifested psychically through color and form.
L O C A L
Jeremiah Onifadé’s Merging of South Dallas and Nigeria
Jeremiah Onifadé’s show Surreal Figures opened at SITE131 on January 9th and will run until March 27th, 2021. Onifadé’s paintings consider the commonalities between the Kaduna Riots that he witnessed as a kid and America’s most recent protest. Art&Seek’s article Artist Jeremiah Onifadé’s Work Captures Life Between Two Worlds: South Dallas And Nigeria delves into his process of creating symbology within brightly depicted scenes. Onifadé’s previous work confront dualities between his childhood and adulthood as well like Blue Dot at a South Dallas house turned gallery for the occasion.
M O R E
America’s History of a Coup
TW: Violence & Racism
The attack on the capital January 6th, 2021, although disturbing to see, did not come as a surprise. After learning about the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, America’s only successful coup, and its similarities to what happened this month, I was motivated to share this history.
Published January 8th, 2021, Race and the Capitol Riot and American Story We’ve Heard Before is a conversation between NPR’s Audie Cornish and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, a professor of African American studies at Princeton. Wilmington’s Lie’ Author Traces the Rise of White Supremacy in A Southern City, also produced by NPR was released January 13th, 2020. It is a more in-depth discussion hosted by Dave Davies. The guest is author of Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup Of 1898 And The Rise Of White Supremacy and investigative reporter David Zucchino. Both podcasts address the history and lasting effects of the Wilmington insurrection.
Before 1898 Wilmington was a city that flourished with Black businesses, elected officials, police, newspapers, and so on. White supremacists couldn’t stand this, which lead to a plan to take over and deprive Black people ability to serve in an office or vote, etc. It was a strategic effort involving other cities, white media, propaganda, and militias like the Red Shirt militia, a terrorist group that threatened to kill Black citizens if they voted. The white supremacist succeeded, and their chosen elected officials took place. After they drove three Black aldermen from office at gunpoint, no black citizens served on the city council until 1972. The literacy test required to vote was placed into law after the stolen election and lasted until 1965. They burned down the Black establishments and murdered roughly 60 people leaving citizens to flee for their life. For perspective in 1898, the Black population of Wilmington was 56%, and today it is 18%.
My intent for Sub Rosa is to provide access to curated information centered on art and activism. Valuing my time as an artist, I’ve been thinking of a way to offer readers the choice to pay for my chronicles. Below is an option to support my project for as little as $1 one time or however you’re comfortable.