a seat at the table

Editor’s Note: Faithful readers of Dark Matter will perhaps recall the righteous fact of Will Maddoxx. We met years ago in a classroom and have kept right at it together as collaborators in learning community. My trick where I write the word “CULT” on a board and follow it with a teeny tiny “ure?” That’s me copying what Will did on a dry erase board before I walked in one day. All genius is borrowed. Anyway, the above image is Will’s work. It’s called “On the Edge of an Abyss, I am Finally Seen.” I was recently moved by words Will had for me via text. They are shared below with Will’s permission.

People in nyc were pretty shocked that this could happen again, and there were some tears this morning in class. I was pretty disappointed, but mainly a little rage-y. Took a mile walk to a gallery this afternoon and saw works by my favorite painter Cecily brown. I’m feeling uncertain about the future after today, both with world events and where I see myself in the future- I got into the art world wanting to get the voice, power, money to make things better for people but I’m thinking that’s naïve the more I learn about the art world the more I feel like it caters to millionaires and billionaires and people like the sexual predator who was elected into office today, who commodify beauty

I’m maybe starting to relate it more to “politics” or the thing people deem as “getting into politics,” where it can feel like you need to compromise and compromise in order to get a seat at the table, and I feel like I’ve always been very UNcompromising, so yeah- feeling uncertain. Sorry to dump, how are you, specifically? How’s your family?

I shan’t change- I think I’m frustrated but I’ll alchemize it 💅✨ I imagine you may be feeling similarly