all or nothing #11 - who are you becoming?
table of contents
1.events 2.words 3.missed connections 4.horoscope 5.listen 6.watch
»looking back
+spamtember+
Sometimes a single idea can change the world, inspiring billions of people to unite behind a common goal and make a difference. With today’s current climate, it definitely feels as if there is more dividing us than keeping us together, but there’s one thing everyone can get behind, and that’s SPAM! The curator and artist Shuang Cai rallied various visual artists to create a spamtastic group exhibition which spanned mediums such as sculpture, interactive installation, photography, and many more all centered around Spam. A longer recap of the show can be found here!
»looking forward
+queer anxieties closing reception+
Leave your anxiety in 2023 and come party with us like it's 2024! This party is going to be so epic you’ll forget what happened on January 6th a couple of years ago. What better way to start the year than with queer art and All Street? So come through on January 6th at 6pm to our East Village gallery at 77 e 3rd St.
+all street festival of film+
Everyone’s new year resolution is to maximize their gains and get right at their local Equinox, but not at All Street. Our New Year’s resolution is to spend more time watching tv, specifically MOVIES. That’s why we decided to put together a little film festival. From January 12th - 14th, our Chinatown location (119 Hester St) will become a cinema! So if you’re tryna get cultured cop some free tix here.
words
+transform by cs+
Do you know who Rodimus Prime is? To an untrained ear those words probably sound a bit silly, but it’s a genuine question. I know this newsletter tends to teeter on the edges of the absurd and we make use of a lot of snark, but at the heart of it is a vulnerability, trying to demystify and challenge the often pretentious nature of New York’s art world. We try not to take ourselves too seriously because we’re all anxious and stressed, so we see no reason to contribute to the heaviness of it all. That’s what brings us back to Rodimus, a guiding light when things seemed rather dark. Admittedly, the chances of you actually knowing who Rodimus Prime is are pretty slim. First off, you would have had to have been exposed to or an active fan of the original 1986 animated Transformers movie. Now a lot of people saw this movie, but it was nearly 40 years ago. While the character of Rodimus Prime has popped up a bit throughout the Transformers franchise, this was most definitely his one shining moment. For context, in this masterpiece of a film Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, dies, leaving his squad without a leader to fight against the Decepticons. When all hope is seemingly lost, a young autobot rises up to become Rodimus Prime, truly transforming in the process. So let me tell you why I'm writing about this niche character from a cartoon movie that came out over ten years before I was born. For starters, Rodimus Prime is black. For those with any objections to that FACT, his name is Rodimus. There weren’t a lot of positive representations of blackness in children's media when I was growing up, so we’re going to claim Rodimus. But interestingly enough, Rodimus wasn’t born “Rodimus Prime.” His given name was Hot Rod. Now Hot Rod was a typical, charismatic hot head type character that had a great deal of potential but would always get in his own way. Ultimately, however, he rose to the occasion and earned the “Prime” name. I was pretty young when I first saw the movie and, for some reason, this storyline — and particularly the moment the character I knew as Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime — really stuck with me. I was captivated by this transition. I rewatched the movie over and over again with a particular interest in this scene. Transformers are the physical manifestation of transition. They begin one way only to transform into another state. They are constantly reinventing themselves: from cars to animals to airplanes to dinosaurs, their evolution is only bound by imagination. While it is not lost on me that Transformers are fictional extraterrestrial humanoid robots, like all superheroes in popular media, they were meant to entertain and be role models that sold action figures, but also provided an escape for many into a world of fantasy. Looking back, I realize I was so enthralled by Transformers and Rodimus Prime because they represented escape and an opportunity to transcend beyond what was known or expected. Starting from a really young age, there’s a constant societal expectation of one needing to live up to potential. However, the concept of potential and resulting success operates in an extremely abstract manner that ultimately doesn’t really exist. While on its face championing one’s potential can lead to unbridled creativity and imagination, it also indirectly implies that who you currently are isn’t enough. The attraction to newness and ingenuity stems from a desire to escape from one’s current circumstances, everything people do is shrouded in a loose promise of growth, change or hopefully full transformation. There’s nothing wrong with hope and having goals, but there’s also no need to put so much weight on a single night or day to prompt some life-altering moment. It’s nice to think of New Year’s as a reset, but even when the clock strikes 12 and the little imaginary numbers on your phone screen change, you’re still you and that’s fine because you’ve gotten yourself this far already. Now here at All St, we can get moody and dramatic sometimes, but we’re optimists at heart. We have some pretty lofty aspirations for the year ahead and we hope y’all will stick around for what’s next. It’s going to be fun and things are going to get pretty weird in the best way possible. And just know that when things get too tough, remember you got the touch. You got the power.
missed connections
+spamtember #1+
You: a hunk of meat
Me: a reformed carnivore
Description:
I’m going vegan in the new year. I was hoping to have one last hurrah with you before swearing off meat forever, but apparently it just wasn’t meant to be.
+spamtember #2+
You: the ruler of spamalot
Me: a loyal subject
Description:
From mounds of lifeless pink flesh into a universe of meaty wonder, the way those slabs of spam morphed in your hands was truly magic. I don’t know if you identify as an artist or a chef, but either way, I haven't been able to get you off my mind. Considering what you were able to do with spam I can only imagine what you could do to me.
+every new years party+
You: left early
Me: too late
Description:
You said to find you right before midnight. It was a plan… or so I thought? Guess not.
horoscopes
+Aries+
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll know you tried and that’s half the battle. If we ever want to conquer space, we have to let the aliens know we’re strapped and ready.
+Taurus+
There’s no reason to be overwhelmed by the prospect of starting a new year, considering you’re here you’ve survived long enough to learn how to read, which means you’re also capable of reading the news, which means you’re more than likely aware of the very fragile state of the world right now. So are your problems really that significant in the scheme of things?
+Gemini+
Write down your New Year’s resolutions then take a picture of the list, then print that picture, then photocopy it, then take a picture of the photocopy and print it out again. Get lemon juice and a pipette, squeeze out a single drop of lemon juice on every vowel on your list. Leave the list out in the sun for precisely three hours. Don’t take your eyes off of the list the entire time it’s in the sun. If not already obvious, please don’t look directly at the sun during this process. After three hours, the paper should be sufficiently dry. Immediately crumple up the piece of paper and put it in your pocket, make sure the pocket has no holes. Wait for the third Saturday of this month and take the list to the nearest creak. Submerge the paper into the water and walk away. If all the steps are followed properly then absolutely nothing will happen and trust us, that is the best case scenario.
+Cancer+
Whether going left or right it will be alright because on the other side is just more sides.
+Leo+
A new year is simply a state of mind. Every morning can be a new year when you abandon the concept of time.
+Virgo+
Resistance is your body telling you to stop resisting, such as hesitancy is your body telling you to stop hesitating. Those who ignore their body's warnings will follow an ominous path of utter self isolation. Without self-awareness, how can you be aware of others? And without others, you are alone.
+Libra+
If water can be a solid, liquid, and a gas, then imagine your potential for change, considering that more than half of your body is composed of water.
+Scorpio+
All pain can be champagne depending on how you spell it. So this new year, see through the sham of tradition and know you can gain without pain.
+Sagittarius+
Akin to an Ouroboros, cycles have no beginning nor end and are symbiotically reliant on one another to continue existing. While a circle may not be able to be broken, it can be drawn and therefore drawn upon. Harnessing the power of such sacred geometry and using the measurements to equal out your life’s grand calculus will balance all earthly fractions of concern.
+Capricorn+
Matter can neither be created nor destroyed, so the only thing to do is to fluctuate between states of being. Such fluctuations exist on a spectrum of time, effort, and intention. You’re surrounded by microscopic particles and atoms, some you can see as part of a larger form but most are entirely invisible to your eye. So remember not to look for change but to feel, internalize, and become it.
+Aquarius+
Be patient. Just wait a little bit longer. And keep waiting. And keep waiting. Then wait some more. And after you’ve waited long enough you’ll realize if you wait even longer you’ll eventually die and never have to do anything. So what are you waiting for?
+Pisces+
This will probably be a tough year for you.
