Welcome to the sixth issue of OVERLAP ⧉



Hustles, archives, legacies

I celebrated a milestone birthday yesterday. If I’m fortunate to live as long as my grandparents, I’m rapidly approaching the halfway mark. That may sound a bit morbid, but it doesn’t feel that way. Instead, it’s a good excuse to consider what kind of artist I want to be right now — and how I want to be viewed in the future.

For answers and inspiration, I’ve been looking to the past. A few exhibits and documentaries have stuck in my mind.

Last weekend, I saw “Paintings for the future,” the exhibit of Hilma af Klint’s work at the Guggenheim. Her meticulous planning and foresight is almost as remarkable as the art itself; af Klint believed the world wasn’t ready to see her work when she made it, so she left instructions that her art was not to be shown for at least 20 years after her death. I was struck by her commitment to her vision. It must have required a fierce focus on the future — at the expense of external validation during her lifetime.

Over the winter, I visited an exhibit of Vivian Maier’s color photography at the Howard Greenberg Gallery. Maier’s work wasn’t shown until after her death, but unlike af Klint, no one knows how (or if) she wanted her photographs to be presented. A documentary tells the story of a nanny who produced an enormous archive by photographing during spare moments; it’s hard to tell how she saw herself and what she wanted her legacy to be.

Last fall, I watched “In No Great Hurry,” a film about New York artist Saul Leiter. Though he worked as a fine art and commercial fashion photographer for decades, he was largely unknown. Leiter was considered a member of the “New York School” of 20th-century photographers, but had his own style — and it was sometimes out of sync with trends in photography. His work was rediscovered during the last few years of his life, when a monograph was published and the documentary was filmed.

At some point, every artist must choose a hustle. Some focus on charming the gatekeepers who will put their work in the right place, at the right time, for the right price. Some focus on cultivating relationships with their own audiences, producing work that’s designed to appeal to a certain type of customer. But there’s a third path. I love how af Klint, Maier, and Leiter eschewed recognition to serve a more distinctive vision and build an archive. Their lives and work are dramatically different, which shows there’s more than one way to approach this particular hustle. Their resilient legacies make me wonder if adding to an archive over time — instead of pursuing fame and fortune — is the hustle most likely to stand the test of time.

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This weekend, I’ve been thinking of Robin Sloan’s flip-flop concept — pushing a piece of art back and forth between digital and physical formats. I spent yesterday printing cyanotypes, which started as iPhone photos; then I scanned the prints for this email, which may eventually end up as a zine or small book.

Flip-flopping is a nice way to inject some purposeful chaos into the creative process. The fifth issue of this newsletter was about the benefits of chaos — intentional and otherwise. I heard from a few people who also struggle to write within the confines of an orderly, prescribed process; it’s nice to know I’m not the only one.

I’d love to hear what you think — reply to this email or send a note through my website. You can also forward this to a friend or two and invite them to subscribe. All the archives are online, if you’ve missed any previous transmissions.

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Auntie Jess recommends:

The Center for Fiction — The highlight of my Sunday was an outing with friends in downtown Brooklyn. We visited this “home for readers and writers” for the first time; it won’t be the last.

SPORTea — My local pencil purveyor introduced me to this tea, which is delicious hot and iced. The branding is so bad it’s almost good, but it truly is The Ultimate Daily Beverage®.

SnotBot — My boss emailed me this link with no context, just one line that said “Thought you'd be interested.” With a name like SnotBot, obviously, I was!

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Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear from you — hit reply to share your favorite local hangouts, daily beverages, resourceful inventions, or anything else that’s on your mind.

Until next time,

Jessica

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