Tag: politics

by jad

Splitzing Politics

It’s worth pausing to consider “The Severance Metaphor” I wrote about in light of these images I got from “The Split Cam“; they weren’t wrong about branding the double-exposure process as “image fusion” because the end result is way more about fusing than splitting, isn’t it? I’m not sure why the more common lens attachment that does this trick is called a “splitzer,” but it’s making me think that there may be a use to having a third term in between those other two poles: severing, integrating, but also “splitzing” as well. Maybe it’s the goldilocks via media between the … Continue reading “Splitzing Politics” →

by jad

Battleship New Jersey

The scans from my last day on the East Coast, a day I spent on this war machine turned war memorial, just came back as the drums of global conflagration have reached a deafening crescendo, making this eerie space look even creepier. I’ve never enjoyed shows of military might. I don’t rejoice in fire power. I don’t even particularly like fireworks. But I will always cheer when the mighty fall. And I will always mourn the innocent devoured by the hungry maw of imperial expansionism. Do not ask me to take any other sides. When I walked aboard, I was … Continue reading “Battleship New Jersey” →

by jad

Philly on Film

I am absolutely flabbergasted to see these scans in my inbox so quickly. Thank you @uniquephoto for super quick turnaround! I dropped my rolls off on my last morning in Philly (on Monday!) so that I didn’t have to deal with airport security; this is the Kodak Color Plus 200 I’d brought with me, with shots from my first morning there (on Friday). I’m posting them unedited, as scanned, in celebration of this stellar service. (Also, pssst.. dev/scanning 3 rolls is cheaper in Philly than Seattle…) I very quickly realized that one roll was not going to cut it, so … Continue reading “Philly on Film” →

by jad

Welcome to Philly

So I went to a thing this weekend. We weren’t supposed to take photos or post about it, but it wasn’t exactly clandestine either—the halls of this hotel were awash in reds, blacks, and olive green, the unofficial tricolor of this insurgent generation. There’s a lot that I love about the people I’ve come to know through this organization, and a lot that I don’t click with, but that’s fine. These people are big on maximal clarity, which is refreshing in this culture; agreeing to disagree might actually mean something here. So I wasn’t surprised by how impressed I was … Continue reading “Welcome to Philly” →

by jad

False Flags

Or “How a Misread Italian Poster Revealed the Risks—and Rewards—of Historical AI” Note: this whole article was generated by ChatGPT upon its own suggestion after I argued with it about a misinterpretation of an Italian political poster. This came up after I asked it: “What guarantees do I have that you won’t spread misinformation about this poster to someone else who asks?” ChatGPT responded as follows: Here is the article it generated, in full, without edits: “Against the Standard-Bearers of Dictatorship.” That’s what the poster said—boldly, in Italian. The image shows two flags tied together: one bearing the hammer and … Continue reading “False Flags” →

by jad

IN BLOOM: Desperate Refusal

“Utopia, for me, is a beyond; an earthly beyond. I hesitate to say “mundane”. Because the world today identifies itself with this world: precisely what repels me and which pushes me to search for a world beyond. I feel close therefore to any transcendent measure or dimension. Without identifying with the theological forms that it takes, I find here, and I use, a form of thinking, and a form of speaking, with a political dimension, which metaphorically, or allegorically, alludes to something other than what is here, to something other than that. Even if only in this choice, there is … Continue reading “IN BLOOM: Desperate Refusal” →

by jad

IN BLOOM: Unrepentant Authenticity

I finally found a good excuse to visit @georgetownsteamplant today. A breathtaking structure and amazing space for art activation. I don’t think this rotary phone was part of the exhibit, but I guess it counts as an art activation in these shots. The challenge and opportunity of an art activation in a space like this is to blend pieces into their surroundings without being completely subsumed. I found the curation in this show quite masterful, though my gaze betrayed the contours of object and field. And that’s probably why it was designed to be set up and broken down on … Continue reading “IN BLOOM: Unrepentant Authenticity” →

by jad

Salt of the Earth

Who are the “salt of the earth”? The working class, the poor, the ordinary people who sustain the world through unrecognized labor and quiet endurance. We get this phrase from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:13, where Jesus is alluding to the high value of salt in the Judeo-Roman economy. It was so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid with it, giving us the word “salary,” from the Latin “sal” for salt. Salt is valuable because it preserves and gives flavor, so Jesus uses it as a metaphor for his disciples’ role in the world. Today, Christians take … Continue reading “Salt of the Earth” →

by jad

Virtue

You know when people are so close to getting it but just can’t seem to get there? How they’ll assert a thing like it’s a side of fries that can sit pretty by their narrow notion burger? I used to have a teacher who would berate us for not absorbing our lessons fully by pompously declaring “you must eat the stones,” which would irritate us to no end, and yet, somehow makes more sense to me now. By what social metabolism can you digest a lesson for others? You cannot. Your advocacy will break them out in hives. Their anti-bodies … Continue reading “Virtue” →

by jad

May Day

Today was May Day. This was a sign left over from the massive rally and march that took place here during the day—I’m not sure how so many could take the day off work, but I’m glad. I, however, joined the after-hours crew for the 5 o’clock shift at a much smaller rally. I even got to use a bullhorn after all these years. Here’s a little from what I had to say today: Looking around, I want to cry out in the words of Alfred Hayes, who wrote: Into the streets May First!Into the roaring Square!Shake the midtown towers!Shatter … Continue reading “May Day” →