“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
-Winston Churchill
We have arrived at a new threshold. The year stretching out before us is perhaps no less certain than any other, although it feels rife with the unknown. Gingerly we step, careful to keep our expectations managed, exhausted from a year of isolation, of fear, of loss. We allow ourselves moments of cautious optimism, we think we see a light, distant but growing, at the end of the tunnel. Waking up every day is a feat of courage. We face a world over which we have absolutely no control, meet each new day with the resolve to step forward, again and again, never allowing discomfort to knock us from the path entirely.
Tamy Ben-Tor lives and works in Brooklyn. When we spoke in early December during what, at the time, was the peak of the pandemic, she was working on videos while performance is on hiatus. She is also working on a collaborative artist book to be published soon. In fact, this strange time when things are on pause has been beneficial for the continued creation of this project. There will ultimately be two books, one titled Archive which will be a collection of projects over the last 12 years between Tamy, who is a performance artist, and her collaborator who is a painter. To hear more about this project, as well as the role of the publisher in this project which is quite a bit more in-depth than just publishing, and to hear more about Tamy’s videos and find links to view them, listen to the complete interview.
Jenny Roesel Ustick is a muralist in Cincinnati. She explained that while 2019 was a banner year for her work, 2020 has been rather a different story. She was able to complete a mural project in July at a festival called Walls for Women celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage, but otherwise, her work as a muralist has largely been on hold. In the absence of active projects, she has poured a great deal of energy into planning future work. Her work for the festival honored women who have been marginalized and erased throughout history. This was a challenge within her medium which typically depicts uplifting material. To hear more about this project and more, including insights about Confederate monuments, listen to the complete interview.
Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
Go boldly into this new year.
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.
Books to Read
What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Tamy Ben-Tor is reading The Secret Teachings of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner. Jenny Roesel Ustick is reading Teaching to Transgress by Bell Hooks.
Deadlines
The Apeture Portfolio Prize seeks to identify trends in contemporary photography as well as highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition. First prize winner receives $3,000 cash and an exhibition in New York. The winner as well as four runners up receive a digital feature at Apeture.org that will be featured across social media channels. Additionally, the winner, the four shortlisted artists and 20 runners up will benefit from a one-on-one session with Apeture’s editor. For more information, visit the website. Deadline is January 8.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius, and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.