all or nothing #31 - what don’t you care about?*
* not a rhetorical question :( someone plz answer me in the comments
table of contents
1.events 2.words 3.missed connections 4.horoscope 5.listen
»looking forward
a nightmare on all street 2
spooky season has arrived. well, if you’re like us, it never really left. the life of an artist is really just a life of perpetual haunting. the hallowed halls of all street are really just a ghostly museum of dreams that have materialized then slowly evaporated through deinstall and spackled walls. but it’s october and halloween is coming up so we have to celebrate right? and who better to celebrate with than us? so saunter on down to 119 hester st on october 26th at around like 8ish to experience and join in on the festivities of all street’s tortured artists.
»looking back
cesar finamori opening
making eye contact with strangers is easy, but the hard part is holding it. ‘cause it’s a gamble. you could be inviting a lot of potentially negative things or, on very rare occasions, something absolutely life changing - in a good way. the only way to sus out the difference, though, is with practice. and what a coincidence: we have an entire gallery full of both spooky and beautiful faces for you to gaze upon to get the hang of it. cesar finamori’s solo exhibition beneath the masks, presented by blackmore, j., will be on view till the 25th at our east village location (77 east 3rd street).
words
+how to unsuccessfully try less+
i'm so cool i didn't even write this newsletter until the night before it was due. pretty impressive, right? it's not even that i was too busy. i just didn't care enough to. and, besides, my genius requires no effort. the true sign of intelligence is how little one has to try. and, believe me, i am really testing the bounds of that. 'cause if i'm being honest all i really have to do is show up and things work out for me. this sh*t is god given. well conceptually at least, because i obviously don't believe in god, because that whole religion thing is way too much effort. and even if shit doesn't work out, who even cares anyway? caring was the old me. but the person you see before you today is cool, calm, and collected, even in the face of the most insurmountable odds. and do you know why? because one day you and everyone single person that has either been mean to you or that you're scared is currently judging you is going to be dead one day, and all of your experiences and their opinions will disappear and none of it will matter. we like to think that our art will outlive us and that, in today's internet age, we're actively creating an archive that other people will one day discover and comb through. perhaps our ancestors or alien researchers or just run of the mill fans will spend hours examining our vacation photos to disneyland and analyzing our comments on that one youtube video we forgot wasn't on our burner account and scouring through our most controversial picks on letterbox'd. in theory, we're all making our mark on the world so the world won't be able to forget us. with every instagram post, spotify playlist, and substack sent we're achieving digital immortality. it's a comforting way to look at things. almost like we're building and nurturing a mini-digital version of us online. and with each piece of our lives we share we're creating a more accurate representation of ourselves. the virtual avatar has friends (or followers), memories, a birthday, a unique taste in music and movies that can be directly quantified with a tailor made algorithm, and any other pieces we chose to bestow upon our little semi-sentient copies made up of pixels and code. one might be satisfied knowing a little piece of them will exist out in the world as long as wifi and amazon's web servers are still a thing, but what if we could dig a little deeper by directly imbuing our consciousness into a computer? would that feel like extending one's life or just creating a cheap store-brand copy? right now, we don't know but we will find out. the singularity may not be reached in our lifetimes, but if it's been thought about, then it's probably inevitable. as cool as immortality sounds, it also seems like a whole lot of work. which, you know, as a certified cool cat, is sort of the antithesis of the vibe. but then again, my distinction as a certified cool cat is entirely self-determined. you don't know if i'm actually cool; you're just taking my word for it. truth is, i lied in the beginning of thisessayreflection?thing?: i wrote this a whole week before it was due. and it's not actually due. i very much set my own deadlines. so all of that is to say that everyone that tells you they don't want to be an immortal cyborg is a liar.
missed connections
+9.30 billie allen documentary screening
You: said “hey”
Me: said “ok“
Description:
and that was it. so, am i crazy, or are we soulmates?
+10.4 beneath the masks reception
You: down for whatever i’m up to
Me: up for whatever you’re down for
Description:
the world spins on an axis i won’t claim to understand. one minute north is south, the next east is west. i’ve never been good with directions, but the only thing i know is that when i’m with you everything feels right.
+10.14 columbus indigenous people’s day parade
You: a flower in bloom
Me: an awestruck gardener
Description
the difference between you and a flower is that flowers grow in a garden and you’ve taken root in my heart.
horoscopes
+Aries+
nothing i say will change the outcome of your life.
+Taurus+
yeah, it’s tough out there. maybe grab a cigarette and a glass of water. kick your feet up and just chill.
+Gemini+
maybe you should grab a seat. or, better yet, find a friend. a pet would also suffice. just something to brace yourself. something to hold. something to squeeze. but not too tight. if you love something, set it free. if it comes back, it's yours. if not, it was never meant to be or you just didn’t hold on tight enough. it’s really all about balance and finding that sweet spot of showing that you care enough to want to keep them without suffocating them. luckily, though, you’re not a chimpanzee, so your grip is not deadly, unless we’re talking about a hamster, gerbil, or some other small rodent, then you do have to be really careful about how tight you squeeze.(RIP rocky, agamemnon, and clarence). and sure. we’d all like to be the cool cat that’s never without a pair of designer shades, posted up with a brew and backwards hat that lets their pets, friends, and lovers run around the streets without a leash, but let’s be honest, if you’re reading this newsletter, you’re not one of those people. we think it’s cool to care. or, more accurately, we think it’s physically impossible not to care and eventually that care becomes anxiety and eventually that anxiety becomes scorn. once you reach this place of harnessing malevolent feelings, you have two potential paths to take. you could ignore it until it results in an ugly outburst that will likely alienate you from everyone you love, or you could channel all that darkness into a new medium, harnessing the ancient tradition of alchemy to transform raw emotion into something tangible, important, and valuable, like art. so, it’s simple. make art, or die alone. la elección es tuya, muchacho.
+Cancer+
you could try to do better, or not. it doesn’t really make a difference to me.
+Leo+
they say you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, but you also make 100% of the shots you don’t take, too. so take shots, don’t take shots, do what you want.
+Virgo+
if you think i have the answers to your problems, then you problems are probably too big to be solved. my advice: give up.
+Libra+
i don’t know who said it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. i think what they meant to say that at the end of the day you’re still just going to be alone.
+Scorpio+
a famous Canadian once asserted, “i'll be there for you, i would care for you,” but despite his greatest efforts of care, those he cared most about didn’t return his care at the end of the day.
+Sagittarius+
so, you basically have two options in life. lust for power at all costs, or just don’t. i’m not saying one option is better than the other. i’m just saying.
+Capricorn+
the only thing separating an apathetic person from a pathetic person is space.
+Aquarius+
just because it seems like no one cares about what you do doesn’t mean no one cares about you. you’re not the sum of your accomplishments.
+Pisces+
i cant even with you today.
playlist
+Send us your writing, ideas, notes, observations or anything you want to gallery@allstnyc.com to be considered for future editions of all or nothing+
image credits
artworks by cesar finamori for his exhibition beneath the masks, organized by blackmore, j., on view through october 25 at all street gallery’s 77 east third street location.