all or nothing #23 - what will you make happen?
table of contents
1.events 2.words 3.missed connections 4.horoscope 5.listen
»looking forward
nature of being opening
sometimes seeing is believing, but often the nature of belief requires feeling. this new group exhibition curated by hayley ferber is the culmination of Residency Unlimited’s 2024 NYC-Based Artist Residency Program, showcasing the work of four extraordinary artists: Koyoltzintli, Ruth Jeyaveeran, Nia Imani Winslow, and Lin Qiqing. come through for the opening reception this thursday, June 20, from 6-8 pm to at our Chinatown location (119 Hester Street, New York, NY, 10002).
~current~
autonomy
let’s test the boundaries of liberty and justice for all. where does liberty end; where does it begin? perhaps at the intersection of art. come find out. the group exhibition is on view through june 30th at our east village location (77 East Third Street, New York, NY, 10003).
«looking back
east village zine fair
we sold some zines. got reacquainted with some old pals. handed out a few business cards. basked in the sun. sold some more zines. hung out with j. cole’s bike. overall, it was a success.
words
+i came, i saw, and i saw some more…+
Last night I saw I saw the TV Glow. Ever since I saw the movie’s trailer I've been dying to write that sentence. I absolutely hate the way the double “I saw” looks and sounds, but there’s no alternative. “I watched” has the connotation that it was on a TV or computer at home, while “saw” maintains the allure of having potentially ventured to the cinema. My favorite part of writing is how every sentence is essentially a puzzle with a million potential right pieces; I could have restricted the opening to be something like, “Last night i went to the movies to see I Saw the TV Glow,” but, for whatever reason, those pieces don’t fit today’s puzzle. So alas, last night I saw I Saw the TV Glow. It was the LES Regal on a discount Tuesday, so you already know it was jamming. Also, here’s some game for free: I’m not sure who doesn’t know this yet, but movies are cheap on Tuesdays and not just Regal, but AMC, too. Stay woke to discounts. So, anyway, we pulled up, obviously a couple minutes late because who gets anywhere exactly on time these days, and, of course, our seats were taken. Now, the trailers hadn’t quite started yet. It was still in the weird pre-trailer trailer parts, but it was still kinda dark and people were getting cozy. The Delancey Regal has the good recliners seats, but not the like duo seats that essentially become a leathery sex bed; these seats are nice, but there’s these big dumb wedge armrests that don’t budge, or lift at all. The theater was pretty full at this point, but there were still some open seats. And, of course, there were some people already in our seats. They were certainly approaching hella cozied up, but luckily they weren’t fully locked in yet because of the obtrusive arm rests, so there was still an opportunity to interrupt. They did have snacks all laid out, though, and their bags and various articles of clothing just strewn out everywhere. To make matters worse, they were in oversized hoodies and sleep pants, so they had essentially moved into these seats. A decision had to be made. Just let it rock, throw up a lil cowabunga hand sign, find another seat, and be a major chiller, or say, “Excuse me,” like a freaking poindexter-sellout-cop-wannabe, and politely ask them to get the f*ck up. Naturally, we did the normal thing. We took the open seats next to the people in our seats. As the credits started, though, I couldn't relax. My eyes were glued to the door. I obsessively watched person after person enter, my gaze fixed as they fumbled around in the dark looking for their seats, just praying they weren’t coming for ours. Slowly, the movie theater got absolutely packed. There wasn’t an open seat left other than the cursed front row seats, of course. Statistically, it seemed impossible that we wouldn't be asked to get up and the dread was overpowering. My body was tense, my brow had accrued noticeable perspiration, and my nails were digging into the leather armrests. For lack of a better word, I was tweaking. I thought my skin was sure to catch fire as my skeleton imploded, just sucking all of my being into a void that existed in the pit of my stomach, but, miraculously, the movie began and no one came for our seats. The first ten minutes were still pretty brutal to be honest, but the haunting soundtrack and saturated visuals quickly sucked me into the midnight realm of The Pink Opaque. My disbelief was suspended. I was munching on popcorn by the handful. I had finally reclined in my seat and I was fully enthralled. Suddenly, a flashlight turned on near the entrance, illuminating a couple of shadowy figures. They started walking up the stairs toward my row. They continued past my row, then walked down to the entrance, then up again and back down, double, triple, and quadruple checking their phones in the process. They were confused. I was confused. At this point, we were already halfway through the first act; they’d never be able to follow the movie now. Their lateness demonstrated a complete and utter disrespect for cinema. It was appalling. Slowly, my anxiety morphed into hate. They then meekly started back up the stairs and entered our row. I was in shock. My heart started to pound, my false sense of relief had immediately been shattered. After awkwardly scooting by everyone in the row and apologizing for obscuring the view they landed on us, bent over, with an outstretched arm displaying the tickets on their phone screen. No words were exchanged and I bounced up with extreme shame, intensely gesturing nonverbal apologies. In a single extremely non-smooth movement, I got up from my seat and slid my phone out, displaying our tickets to my neighbors who then haphazardly started grasping at all their belongings and scurried away to another group, who then did the same thing and, before I knew it, a cascading domino effect had been unleashed upon the theater, with people getting booted from their current seats to then reclaim their proper seats. It was madness. A cacophony of cringe. Stuttering whispers, weird hand movements, and graceless shuffling created a suffocating atmosphere as if a room full of socially inept animals had all descended upon earth without the ability to communicate. I found comfort in this being essentially a collective issue, but there was a tinge of paranoia that everyone had blamed us for jumpstarting the chaotic game of musical chairs. In reality, though, everyone was too caught up in their own world to have identified where things had actually originated, but I still knew. One quick moment of discomfort in asking the real culprits to move would have spared me and probably everyone else in the theater the drawn out torture of participating and watching strangers interact, which I think everyone in the world can agree is the worst thing in the world. I wasn’t the only one in the wrong seat, so in theory the onus is just as much on me as anyone else in the theater, but since I’m the main character of this story (AKA a narcissist), the only way to actually have changed the outcome of this story would have been to stop hoping and start doing. Instead of just seeing the TV glow, maybe we should all start making the TV glow.
missed connections
+6.8 paintings from the secret place reception
You: had a great fall
Me: ready to put you back together again
Description:
you sat leaned up ‘gainst the wall, resistant to all the horses and men, but despite their best efforts it was only i who cracked your shell
+6.14 autonomy reception
You: freedom personified
Me: trapped in my own head
Description:
if life is a choose your own adventure game, then all i want to do is choose you
+6.15 printed matter east village zine fair
You: were wearing a super cool grey all st tee
Me: asked where you got it from
Description:
you led me to the table of the extremely cool and underground all street gallery and told me all about the collective’s super fire happenings and projects. i obviously got super caught up reading on of their mesmerizing zines, so by the time i looked up, you were gone and i didn’t even get your name :(
horoscopes
+Aries+
i can’t lie to you. you’re not going to have a good week and no amount of hope will change that, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.
+Taurus+
the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so avoid casting stones and, instead, lay your own brick for the foundations you want to build.
+Gemini+
ring! ring! ring! and, no, that’s not an informal proposal. get your mind out of the heteronormative capitalist gutter. diamonds aren’t forever, but the traumas of war are. but, anyway, that ringing in your ears isn’t tinnitus, either. that’s the call to the motherduckin’ wild and you’re about to get absolutely feral. the first and last step to manifesting is worshipping the moon and the only way to truly tap into lunar energy is through finding your inner dog, and unleashing the wells of lupine energy dwelling deep in your soul. so, get on all fours, take a deep breath, let your lungs fill with the thick, humid, nyc june air, and release all the pent up frustration and microplastics with an earth-shaking guttural howl. hold the note. don’t stop howling. keep going. dig deeper. get louder. open your mouth wider. let it all out. don’t hold onto anything. now, if you precisely followed the above directions, you should be feeling approximately 40,000 pounds lighter. now that you’re light as a canary, it’s time to bring your wild to the streets. hit the sidewalk. no leash, just strut. do your best cringe tobey mcquire in spider-man 3 impression as you walk down the street. then, go to the nearest pet store and loudly conspire about an elaborate escape plan with whatever confined animals they have there. be loud enough so the people who work there hear you. if anyone asks if you need help, walk out immediately, but first grab one of those free dog biscuits they keep on the counter and defiantly munch on it as you stare the employee in their eyes. once you’ve swallowed every last bit of that dry-ass dog biscuit, leave the store. return to the store once a week and repeat. then, when the time is right, put your escape plan into motion.
+Cancer+
tears tell you when you’re sad, spit tells you when you’re thirsty, urine tells you when you need to use the bathroom, and blood tells you when you’re hurt. but none of that matters for you. all you need to think about is sweat because every second you’re not sweating you’re not trying hard enough.
+Leo+
get familiar with the term “superposition.” although summer hasn’t technically started yet, you’re in for a long couple of months. so, when things are looking dim, just look to the sky and know that the sun may be shining, but that doesn’t mean the moon isn’t shimmering above, too.
+Virgo+
it’s coming. don’t jinx it. keep it a secret. if you tell anyone about it, then it will become their it. and it will morph in their minds and then it will never be the same. so, keep it way on the low, low, low.
+Libra+
whether to be or not to be is not about belief, but rather a chosen state of being.
+Scorpio+
a famous Canadian once said, “the boy manifested it. that boy knew it was written,” and yet the book continues to surprise. even for the most confident, nothing is certain and, thus, you must not fixate on typos, but just keep on writing.
+Sagittarius+
one big break will just leave you broken. although glue exists, nothing can cover the cracks created under pressure.
+Capricorn+
avoid acidic foods in the coming days. you’ll soon be experiencing a stomach ache and will want to stick to a rather plain diet until that passes.
+Aquarius+
you can’t spell fantasy without fanta. while some people might think that’s a coincidence, you’re not “some people,” and you know that’s not a coincidence. so, crack open a fanta and taste your fantasies.
+Pisces+
all of your dreams are just inevitable failures.
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
lydia nobles, waiting in violet, oil on canvas.
ayanna dozier, the artist must search deep inside himself for inspiration (color),digital chromogenic print.
both artworks are on view in the group exhibition autonomy through june 30, 2024, at all street’s 77 east third street location.