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 | 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 | August 2020
Finding inspiration through artists and history. Including Ruth Asawa, a Japanese American artists whose work was featured on USPS stamps. + more.
A R C H I T E C T U R E
Pandemic Resistant Architecture
Salon Alper Derinbogaz’s project Ecotone is a “pandemic resistant” office designated for Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul. The structure considers communal space, sustainability, public health, and natural disasters. The building integrates nature by employing plants to provide natural ventilation.
A R T
Lwando Dlamini’s Paintings ‘Triumph’
Ebony/Curated is an exhibition space with three locations. In Cape Town, the gallery represents emerging and established African art where Lwando Dlamini’s newest series Triumph is currently showing.
His work addresses violence against Black South African’s and the processes of healing from it. His personal experience with assault has left his vision and memory hindered yet, he shows perseverance in his artwork. Read Amogelang Maledu’s text on Triumph for further context.
RUTH ASAWA FOREVER STAMPS
Ruth Asawa was a California based artist and the daughter of Japanese immigrants. While enduring unimaginable hardship at an internment camp, she focused on drawing and meeting other artists. Consequences of institutionalized racism led her to the famous Black Mountain College where she developed her skills and met her husband, Albert Lanier. She began to gain national recognition in the 1950s and ’60s and is known for creating public art found around her home base of San Francisco. She was a highly regarded teacher, illustrator, and sculpture artist.
Ruth Asawa USPS Forever Stamps.
You can now purchase Ruth Asawa edition USPS Forever Stamps. The series features 10 Asawa sculptures and will make for an inexpensive art investment and help to maintain the operation of the United States Postal Service.
D E S I G N
Middle East and Central Asia Traditional and Modern Crafts
This month Design Milk published an article showcasing the contemporary crafts council, Irthi. Irthi features traditional and modern crafts made by women across the Middle East and Central Asia regions. Irthi has developed five initiatives put into place that create marketing opportunities, offer training, and preserves culture. I highly recommend you browse the virtual gallery space linked here.
Below are my favorite pieces from the 2019 London Design Fair.
Click here to view a complete catalog of the work by Irthi designers.
P E O P L E
Luchita Hurtado
Luchita Hurtado passed away on August 13th, she was a 99-year old experimental abstract painter. Her work is described as spiritual surrealism.
In an interview with Anna Furman last year for The New York Times, she is quoted explaining her ideology of passing on. “It’s not death; it’s a border that we cross. I don’t think I’ll be able to come back and tell you, but if I can, I’ll find a way. If you suddenly see a pink ceiling, that’s me.” Referencing the pink ceiling she remembered waking up to every day as a child.
Sola Olosunde
Sola Olosunde publishes archives of Black history, emphasizing New York City’s. In an article by Iman Stevenson for The New York Times, Olosunde explains that sharing his findings on social media is a way to give nearly anyone a chance to learn. He sources from the New York Public Library, through folks willing to share, and so on. One day he hopes to create a museum, I look forward to that.
Portrait by Winifred Hall Allen. Harlem, Manhattan. 1930. Sourced by Sola Olosunde.
Olosunde often sources inspiring creative work by Black artists like Winifred Hall Allen who documented the Harlem Renaissance. On his Twitter, he shares film images and footage that offer an impactful view of the past, in turn informing our future. To help support his efforts, I urge you to contribute what you can to his Cash App $solasystem and his Patreon.
Accompanied by Winifred Hall Allen's photograph Olosunde's post reads:
Winifred Hall Allen was a New York photographer who moved to the city from Jamaica and opened her photo studio in Harlem. She chose not to exhibit her work and burned most of her negatives because she thought they had no value.