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 | September 2020
In this post, you’ll see a building that offers heat to entire neighborhoods, a hotel and library that sits within the forest, and an event center built of fungus. Other topics include a prolific botanist in celebration of Mexican Heritage Month, art world news, and a free guide to making pottery. I also created a Spotify playlist inspired by the transition of summer to fall.
A R C H I T E C T U R E
2020 Deezen Design awards
The annual design event, Deezen Awards, features work from a range of designers, architecture firms, and studios. These are three of my favorites from the shortlisted projects.
The Growing Pavillion is a Company New Heroes event space made of timber and mycelium designed by Pascal Leboucq.
2. The Bunhill 2 Energy Centre by Cullinan Studio supplies heat sourced from the London Underground for over 1,000 buildings.
3. Capsule Hotel and Bookstore in Village Qinglongwu by Altlier tao+c sits within the forest.
A R T
David Zwirner’s New Gallery Directed by Ebony L. Haynes
David Zwirner Gallery is one of the most influential commercial galleries in the world. To offer perspective owner, David Zwirner has ranked in the top five of ArtReview’s Top 100 for eight consecutive years. The list aims to note the contemporary art world’s most “important” figures. In 2018 the gallery was estimated to be worth $500 million.
It was announced this month that a new Zwirner gallery will be developed with Ebony L. Haynes as the director, who will be hiring all-Black staff. This is a historical transition towards racial equality for the art world which far too often has been a complete disservice to BIPOC.
Learn Pottery Basics
Ceramic artist Alex Blais has developed The Free Pottery Guide, a curriculum for the self-taught potter. There are two options, handbuilding or throwing. Each technique has a curriculum broken down into four modules. In either selection, you’ll find tasks and resources. Blais intends for the project to have a community effort aspect. Use the hashtag #abcpotteryguide on Instagram if you’d like to showcase your creations.
Related:
“The quest to understand something new is a key factor to building the resilience necessary to weather setbacks and navigate life’s volatility.” A quote from Kerry Hannon’s piece “To Build Emotional Strength, Expand Your Brain.” In Hannon’s article, she explains how the process of learning something new is healthy for your brain!
Photography of Kacey Jeffer
Photographer Kacey Jeffer revisited his series Uniform by featuring his photographs on New Yorker Photo’s Instagram. In the posts, Jeffer’s states, “Growing up, I had never seen any relatable images of people I knew or people who looked like me. I wanted this project to fill that void. Uniform is a celebration of visibility, representation, and individuality, as told through the wearing of school uniforms.” The portraits were taken at schools in Nevis, which is Jeffer’s hometown.
Click the images to be directed to the original posting featuring snippets of conversations had with the school children.
Images sourced from New Yorker Photo’s Instagram account.
L O C A L
For a Dreamer of Houses
With only minutes to spare, my friend and I were able to run through, For a Dreamer of Houses at the DMA. The exhibition features a range of work and artists whose commonality is interpreting the concept of home. I was thrilled to see one of my favorite names on the wall, Jacob Lawrence. I was also pleased to experience many pieces alongside Alex Da Corte’s Rubber Pencil Devil (the neon house that has been circulating social media).
Below are interior detail shots of Francisco Moreno’s installation titled, Chapel.
Moreno is a Dallas based artist. His piece featured in the DMA is a large scale installation with a light wood exterior that invites you to walk the narrow path of its chapel-like structure. From wall to ceiling, you’ll see hand-drawn depictions of figures and shapes. It feels both overwhelming and contemplative.
For a Dreamer of Houses will run until July 4th, 2021.
M U S I C
I made a playlist inspired by the transition from summer to fall, enjoy!
Listen here.
P E O P L E
Ynes Mexia
September 15th - October 15th marks Hispanic Heritage Month. In celebration, Fort Worth Botanic Garden featured a bio of Ynes Mexia. I was inspired to do more research about her.
Mexia was a Mexican-American botanist during 1925 - 1937 and the most accomplished in her profession. She lived between Mexico and the U.S as a child, and after ten years in Mexico, she headed to San Francisco at age 39. San Francisco is where she found a love for plants, motivating her to obtain a degree in botany at the University of California Berkeley. At 55, all on her own, she traveled back to Mexico on her first botanical exploration which lasted two years. There, she accumulated over 1,500 specimens, 500 of which were new discoveries. This included a genus of Asteraceae, commonly known as the daisy. After this point, Mexia had visited Alaska, the Amazon River, Peru, and many more destinations. She didn’t stop working until a before she passed of lung cancer in 1938 at age 68.
The stories of her personality nearly outmatch those of her accomplishments. She was known to travel through dangerous terrain, ride horseback, opted to sleep outside, and ingested poisonous plants for the sake of science.
My information provided is truly only a small fraction of her story if you’re looking to learn more.
Cleo Wade
INTERMIX carries multiple collections of women’s clothing and accessories. This month they’ve published the first of an online series titled In Conversation With Women. Artist, poet, and activist Cleo Wade is filmed speaking about confidence. Candidly, I find a lot of conversations like these pretty cringy but, I found her perspective refreshing and relevant.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18th. In a 2016 article published by the Washingtonian, a glimpse into what sort of things Ginsburg enjoyed is described. In her office at this time, she played opera, hung art loaned from the Smithsonian on the walls including; two Rothko’s, Max Weber, and Josef Albers, and she had always loved the theater. I’m interested in delving into more obscure moments in a person’s history to showcase that there’s always something to learn, work to do, and that human beings are more complex than we know.
To better understand her role, there are eight Associate Judges and one Cheif of Justice that make up the Supreme Court of the United States. Taken from uscourts.gov, the duties of the Supreme Court is to; ensure that each branch of government recognizes the limits of its own power, that popular majorities cannot pass laws that harm and/or take advantage of minorities, that the changing administrations do not undermine the fundamental values common to all Americans, i.e., freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and due process of law. Members of the Supreme Court are granted life tenure unless impeached. To achieve this position, you must be nominated by the president, and the Senate votes to confirm the nominee.
Ginsburg was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993. In her lifetime, she was faced with being the only or, one of the few women in the room numerous times throughout her career. She is remembered as an instrumental force in confronting gender-based stereotypes and ensuring women’s rights are protected.
Although the motivation to fight for racial equality wasn’t as prolific. In 1978 she ruled against Oneida Indian Nation in obtaining part of their land back from the state of New York in a large legal battle. Additionally, she lacked an understanding of contemporary concerns of police brutality and prison reform. For more on where she stood on racial issues read The Marshall Project’s, RBG’s Mixed Record on Race and Criminal Justice.