all or nothing #25 - what’s worth celebrating?
table of contents
1.events 2.words 3.missed connections 4.horoscope 5.listen
»looking forward
nature of being closing
everything deteriorates over time. paper crumbles, textiles unweave, and people die. for you, that’s hopefully way in the future, so to keep your mind off the final milestone of life, come on down to the closing reception of nature of being this sunday, july 21, from 6-8 pm at our chinatown location (119 hester street, new york, ny, 10002).
~current~
my need for tender loving care
care comes in many forms, often involving time. the greatest declaration of love is giving one’s time; once given, it is lost forever. so, give us some of your time and see the group exhibition, my need for tender loving care, on view through august 3rd at our east village location (77 east third street, new york, ny, 10003).
words
+skipping stones+
Since we perceive the movement of time as linear, it's hard not to associate aging with success; everything we want to accomplish is in a future in which we’ll inevitably be older. For the sake of pride, integrity, and self-confidence, if you hope to achieve your dreams, you must put faith in the older version of yourself. In certain ways, this gives you a benchmark to always be striving for, but it also leaves ample room to be let down. No matter how much you achieve, that idealized future will never come, no matter how long you chase it, or how hard you work to materialize it. You’ll never be able to fully experience your future self because even if you undergo drastic changes, it is impossible to simultaneously perceive and exist in your present self. You can imagine what the younger version of yourself might have thought of the person you currently are, but it’s all just speculation. Despite knowing the laws of physics and our inability to literally time travel, we perpetually maintain hope of reaching the future. From this hope comes the worship of our unseen potential and the mysteries of what’s to come. The shadow side of this blind faith in tomorrow, however, is the looming potential of death. As a coping mechanism to subdue the fears of facing down the void, there’s the promise of wisdom and enlightenment that comes with age. While death may seem scary now, by the time you’re actually going to die you’ll likely have so much perspective and lived experience that death will be no scarier than knocking on the door of a stranger’s apartment; you don’t know what's on the other side, but it’s not necessarily anything to be scared of. Well, I’ve looked into the teary eyes of a usually very even keeled octogenarian on their deathbed and they didn’t give me any profound life advice they just said, “Please! I don’t want to die,” over and over again – until they fell asleep. As you could expect, this experience was unsettling, to say the least. The fear and desperation they demonstrated underscored the concept of an ever-changing finish line. At 20 years old, it’s easy to fantasize about what you’ll do by 30 because those ten years feel like a given. While many concrete things may happen over the course of a decade, it’s less about what actual milestones are reached, but the fantasy of what may come. After a certain point, though, nothing can be taken for granted. At 80 years old, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and the illusion of tomorrow starts to collapse. You probably think this whole piece was about getting you to stop being so concerned with the future and live in the present. But no. That's not the takeaway. The takeaway is that life is complicated and there are no simple or easy choices. However, even among seemingly bad options, there’s typically an option that’s less bad. We've established that finding true resolution and satisfaction is impossible, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop trying. We just have to try within a scope of managed expectations. I wouldn’t trust an 81 year old to do a lot of things. I wouldn’t trust an 81 year old to play point guard in my rec league, I wouldn’t trust an 81 year old to catch me doing a trust fall, I wouldn’t trust an 81 year old to use politically correct terminology, and I especially wouldn’t trust an 81 year old to recognize an asymmetrical “war.” But I would trust an 81 year old to give good pudding recommendations and ideally not be a complete fascist. Hopefully, you and I can learn to trust an 81 year old to become president; if we don’t, the fantasy of tomorrow will become a whole lot darker.
missed connections
+7.10 nature of being artist talk
You: a collage of everything i wish i was
Me: a sliver of paper ready to fit into your masterpiece
Description:
you said hello as if we knew each other, so i figured there’d be another opportunity for me talk to you, but i don’t think we actually know each other. i would have remembered your face and now i’m just dying to see you one more time.
+7.13 my need for tender loving care opening reception
You: tall, fashionable, and tender
Me: needy, shy, and unremarkable
Description:
you were quietly reading a bell hooks quote to yourself, but before you could finish it, i fell in love with you. now, when i think about love, all i think about is you.
horoscopes
+Aries+
you’re going to win at life. congrats!
+Taurus+
every time you think it’s going to happen, it’s going to get just a little bit further away, inching just out of reach, but the farther you stretch, the greater you grow.
+Gemini+
yerrrrrrrr. you already know what it is. we gone start out this week with a light stretch, so get up out ya seat and get those feets moving. left! right! left! right! jog in place, jump in place, dance in place. stop. be still. don’t move a muscle. if you properly committed yourself to the warm up, then you should feel your heart beating out your chest right now and beads of sweat should be accumulating on your upper lip. focus on that involuntary movement while you keep your body entirely still. feel your heart beat, pump, flexing, contorting, and growing inside of you, keeping all the systems in your body flush with blood and good vibes. imagine the internal void of your chest that houses the fleshy center of your cardiovascular system. consider its fragility, consider its involuntary commitment to keeping you alive. that’s not just a friend or family member, that’s your only real ride or die. suppress every impulse in your body from raising your hand to wipe away the sweat pooling in the crevices of your oily face. let it drip, drop, roll, and congeal in and out of your pores. all of this is happening both because of and independently of you. it’s a miracle and a curse. the ability to recognize where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going is the only way to know you’re alive. sometimes, in order to keep living, you have to stop and take stock, because you never know when you’re going to need to buy more cheez-itz, or - better yet - when you’ll need to stop eating cheez-itz all together. so, if you haven’t already started moving yet, good, you passed the test. keep still until i tell you otherwise, or you reach enlightenment, whichever comes first.
+Cancer+
it’s not that you want a trophy. you need a trophy. how else will you know you won?
+Leo+
you may ask what’s the point of planting seeds if you never get to see them blossom? well, it’s simple. someone else will and they’ll never know it was you, then they’ll carry on with their day, and that will be it.
+Virgo+
your past will come be coming back to haunt you in the coming days. you mustn’t let this distract you from your future. keep your eyes forward and looking towards what’s next. if you don’t give into the temptation of going backwards, you’ll be greatly rewarded.
+Libra+
ask not how many licks does it take to get the center of a tootsie pop, but rather how many licks does it take until you’re ready to stop licking and start taking a bite out of life.
+Scorpio+
a famous Canadian once said, “the finish line is where I like to pull up and start from,” but that would mean the finish line is also the start line, and thus you’re stuck in a constant loop of chasing a nonexistent end.
+Sagittarius+
the only way to pass a kidney stone is with time and pain. a whole lot of pain. and some pushing. and, apparently, some water, too. so, i guess actually a lot of things. but all those things make a whole thing. look not at life’s things, but at its wholes.
+Capricorn+
miles are just imaginary measures of distance based on a system of imperialism. the only way to impede the imperialists is to stop counting your steps and start cherishing them.
+Aquarius+
if someone asks you for directions, don’t tell them where they want to go, tell them where they need to go. you may just end up saving their lives.
+Pisces+
you’re just headed nowhere fast.
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
emma june, the male gaze, oil on canvas.
livia weiner, so we wont forget, oil on canvas
bow young, i've got my brother's back but not his mind, acrylic on canvas
all artworks are on view in the group exhibition my need for tender loving care through august 3, 2024, at all street’s 77 east third street location.