Issue 35 February 2024

Issue 34 November 2023

Issue 33 August 2023

Issue 32 June 2023

Issue 31 February 2023

Issue 30 November 2022

Issue 29 August 2022

Issue 28 May 2022

Issue 27 February 2022

Issue 26 November 2021

Issue 25 August 2021

Issue 24 May 2021

Issue 23 February 2021

Issue 22 November 2020

Issue 21 August 2020

Issue 20 May 2020

Issue 19 February 2020

Letter from the Editor –Lindsay Preston Zappas
Parasites in Love –Travis Diehl
To Crush Absolute On Patrick Staff and
Destroying the Institution
–Jonathan Griffin
Victoria Fu:
Camera Obscured
–Cat Kron
Resurgence of Resistance How Pattern & Decoration's Popularity
Can Help Reshape the Canon
–Catherine Wagley
Trace, Place, Politics Julie Mehretu's Coded Abstractions
–Jessica Simmons
Exquisite L.A.: Featuring: Friedrich Kunath,
Tristan Unrau, and Nevine Mahmoud
–Claressinka Anderson & Joe Pugliese
Reviews April Street
at Vielmetter Los Angeles
–Aaron Horst

Chiraag Bhakta
at Human Resources
–Julie Weitz

Don’t Think: Tom, Joe
and Rick Potts

at POTTS
–Matt Stromberg

Sarah McMenimen
at Garden
–Michael Wright

The Medea Insurrection
at the Wende Museum
–Jennifer Remenchik

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Mike Kelley
at Hauser & Wirth
–Angella d’Avignon
Buy the Issue In our Online Shop

Issue 18 November 2019

Letter from the Editor –Lindsay Preston Zappas
The Briar and the Tar Nayland Blake at the ICA LA
and Matthew Marks Gallery
–Travis Diehl
Putting Aesthetics
to Hope
Tracking Photography’s Role
in Feminist Communities
– Catherine Wagley
Instagram STARtists
and Bad Painting
– Anna Elise Johnson
Interview with Jamillah James – Lindsay Preston Zappas
Working Artists Featuring Catherine Fairbanks,
Paul Pescador, and Rachel Mason
Text: Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos: Jeff McLane
Reviews Children of the Sun
at LADIES’ ROOM
– Jessica Simmons

Derek Paul Jack Boyle
at SMART OBJECTS
–Aaron Horst

Karl Holmqvist
at House of Gaga, Los Angeles
–Lee Purvey

Katja Seib
at Château Shatto
–Ashton Cooper

Jeanette Mundt
at Overduin & Co.
–Matt Stromberg
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Issue 17 August 2019

Letter From the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Green Chip David Hammons
at Hauser & Wirth
–Travis Diehl
Whatever Gets You
Through the Night
The Artists of Dilexi
and Wartime Trauma
–Jonathan Griffin
Generous Collectors How the Grinsteins
Supported Artists
–Catherine Wagley
Interview with
Donna Huanca
–Lindsy Preston Zappas
Working Artist Featuring Ragen Moss, Justen LeRoy,
and Bari Ziperstein
Text: Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos: Jeff McLane
Reviews Sarah Lucas
at the Hammer Museum
–Yxta Maya Murray

George Herms and Terence Koh
at Morán Morán
–Matt Stromberg

Hannah Hur
at Bel Ami
–Michael Wright

Sebastian Hernandez
at NAVEL
–Julie Weitz

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Alex Israel
at Greene Naftali
–Rosa Tyhurst

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Issue 16 May 2019

Trulee Hall's Untamed Magic Catherine Wagley
Ingredients for a Braver Art Scene Ceci Moss
I Shit on Your Graves Travis Diehl
Interview with Ruby Neri Jonathan Griffin
Carolee Schneemann and the Art of Saying Yes! Chelsea Beck
Exquisite L.A. Claressinka Anderson
Joe Pugliese
Reviews Ry Rocklen
at Honor Fraser
–Cat Kron

Rob Thom
at M+B
–Lindsay Preston Zappas

Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age
of Black Power, 1963-1983
at The Broad
–Matt Stromberg

Anna Sew Hoy & Diedrick Brackens
at Various Small Fires
–Aaron Horst

Julia Haft-Candell & Suzan Frecon
at Parrasch Heijnen
–Jessica Simmons

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Shahryar Nashat
at Swiss Institute
–Christie Hayden
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Issue 15 February 2019

Letter From the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Letter to the Editor
Men on Women
Geena Brown
Eyes Without a Voice
Julian Rosefeldt's Manifesto
Christina Catherine Martinez
Seven Minute Dream Machine
Jordan Wolfson's (Female figure)
Travis Diehl
Laughing in Private
Vanessa Place's Rape Jokes
Catherine Wagley
Interview with
Rosha Yaghmai
Laura Brown
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring: Patrick Martinez,
Ramiro Gomez, and John Valadez
Claressinka Anderson
Joe Pugliese
Reviews Outliers and American
Vanguard Art at LACMA
–Jonathan Griffin

Sperm Cult
at LAXART
–Matt Stromberg

Kahlil Joseph
at MOCA PDC
–Jessica Simmons

Ingrid Luche
at Ghebaly Gallery
–Lindsay Preston Zappas

Matt Paweski
at Park View / Paul Soto
–John Zane Zappas

Trenton Doyle Hancock
at Shulamit Nazarian
–Colony Little

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Catherine Opie
at Lehmann Maupin
–Angella d'Avignon
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Issue 14 November 2018

Letter From the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Celeste Dupuy-Spencer and Figurative Religion Catherine Wagley
Lynch in Traffic Travis Diehl
The Remixed Symbology of Nina Chanel Abney Lindsay Preston Zappas
Interview with Kulapat Yantrasast Christie Hayden
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring: Sandra de la Loza, Gloria Galvez, and Steve Wong
Claressinka Anderson
Photos: Joe Pugliese
Reviews Raúl de Nieves
at Freedman Fitzpatrick
-Aaron Horst

Gertrud Parker
at Parker Gallery
-Ashton Cooper

Robert Yarber
at Nicodim Gallery
-Jonathan Griffin

Nikita Gale
at Commonwealth & Council
-Simone Krug

Lari Pittman
at Regen Projects
-Matt Stromberg

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Eckhaus Latta
at the Whitney Museum
of American Art
-Angella d'Avignon
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Issue 13 August 2018

Letter From the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Letter to the Editor Julie Weitz with Angella d'Avignon
Don't Make
Everything Boring
Catherine Wagley
The Collaborative Art
World of Norm Laich
Matt Stromberg
Oddly Satisfying Art Travis Diehl
Made in L.A. 2018 Reviews Claire de Dobay Rifelj
Jennifer Remenchik
Aaron Horst
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring: Anna Sew Hoy, Guadalupe Rosales, and Shizu Saldamando
Claressinka Anderson
Photos: Joe Pugliese
Reviews It's Snowing in LA
at AA|LA
–Matthew Lax

Fiona Conner
at the MAK Center
–Thomas Duncan

Show 2
at The Gallery @ Michael's
–Simone Krug

Deborah Roberts
at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles
–Ikechukwu Casmir Onyewuenyi

Mimi Lauter
at Blum & Poe
–Jessica Simmons

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Math Bass
at Mary Boone
–Ashton Cooper

(L.A. in N.Y.)
Condo New York
–Laura Brown
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Issue 12 May 2018

Poetic Energies and
Radical Celebrations:
Senga Nengudi and Maren Hassinger
Simone Krug
Interior States of the Art Travis Diehl
Perennial Bloom:
Florals in Feminism
and Across L.A.
Angella d'Avignon
The Mess We're In Catherine Wagley
Interview with Christina Quarles Ashton Cooper
Object Project
Featuring Suné Woods, Michelle Dizon,
and Yong Soon Min
Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos: Jeff McLane
Reviews Meleko Mokgosi
at The Fowler Museum at UCLA
-Jessica Simmons

Chris Kraus
at Chateau Shatto
- Aaron Horst

Ben Sanders
at Ochi Projects
- Matt Stromberg

iris yirei hsu
at the Women's Center
for Creative Work
- Hana Cohn

Harald Szeemann
at the Getty Research Institute
- Olivian Cha

Ali Prosch
at Bed and Breakfast
- Jennifer Remenchik

Reena Spaulings
at Matthew Marks
- Thomas Duncan
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Issue 11 February 2018

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Museum as Selfie Station Matt Stromberg
Accessible as Humanly as Possible Catherine Wagley
On Laura Owens on Laura Owens Travis Diehl
Interview with Puppies Puppies Jonathan Griffin
Object Project Lindsay Preston Zappas, Jeff McLane
Reviews Dulce Dientes
at Rainbow in Spanish
- Aaron Horst

Adrián Villas Rojas
at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
- Lindsay Preston Zappas

Nevine Mahmoud
at M+B
- Angella D'Avignon

Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960- 1985
at the Hammer Museum
- Thomas Duncan

Hannah Greely and William T. Wiley
at Parker Gallery
- Keith J. Varadi

David Hockney
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (L.A. in N.Y.)
- Ashton Cooper

Edgar Arceneaux
at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (L.A. in S.F.)
- Hana Cohn
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Issue 10 November 2017

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Barely Living with Art:
The Labor of Domestic
Spaces in Los Angeles
Eli Diner
She Wanted Adventure:
Dwan, Butler, Mizuno, Copley
Catherine Wagley
The Languages of
All-Women Exhibitions
Lindsay Preston Zappas
L.A. Povera Travis Diehl
On Eclipses:
When Language
and Photography Fail
Jessica Simmons
Interview with
Hamza Walker
Julie Wietz
Object Project
Featuring: Rosha Yaghmai,
Dianna Molzan, and Patrick Jackson
Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos by Jeff McLane
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA
Reviews
Regen Projects
Ibid Gallery
One National Gay & Lesbian Archives and MOCA PDC
The Mistake Room
Luis De Jesus Gallery
the University Art Gallery at CSULB
the Autry Museum
Reviews Cheyenne Julien
at Smart Objects

Paul Mpagi Sepuya
at team bungalow

Ravi Jackson
at Richard Telles

Tactility of Line
at Elevator Mondays

Trigger: Gender as a Tool as a Weapon
at the New Museum
(L.A. in N.Y.)
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Issue 9 August 2017

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Women on the Plinth Catherine Wagley
Us & Them, Now & Then:
Reconstituting Group Material
Travis Diehl
The Offerings of EJ Hill
Ikechukwu Casmir Onyewuenyi
Interview with Jenni Sorkin Carmen Winant
Object Project
Featuring: Rebecca Morris,
Linda Stark, Alex Olson
Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos by Jeff McClane
Reviews Mark Bradford
at the Venice Biennale

Broken Language
at Shulamit Nazarian

Artists of Color
at the Underground Museum

Anthony Lepore & Michael Henry Hayden
at Del Vaz Projects

Home
at LACMA

Analia Saban at
Sprueth Magers
Letter to the Editor Lady Parts, Lady Arts
Buy the Issue In Our Online Shop

Issue 8 May 2017

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Kanye Westworld Travis Diehl
@richardhawkins01 Thomas Duncan
Support Structures:
Alice Könitz and LAMOA
Catherine Wagley
Interview with
Penny Slinger
Eliza Swann
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
taisha paggett
Ashley Hunt
Young Chung
Intro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
Reviews Alessandro Pessoli
at Marc Foxx

Jennie Jieun Lee
at The Pit

Trisha Baga
at 356 Mission

Jimmie Durham
at The Hammer

Parallel City
at Ms. Barbers

Jason Rhodes
at Hauser & Wirth
Letter to the Editor
Buy the Issue In Our Online Shop

Issue 7 February 2017

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Generous
Structures
Catherine Wagley
Put on a Happy Face:
On Dynasty Handbag
Travis Diehl
The Limits of Animality:
Simone Forti at ISCP
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Ikechukwu Casmir Onyewuenyi
More Wound Than Ruin:
Evaluating the
"Human Condition"
Jessica Simmons
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
Brenna Youngblood
Todd Gray
Rafa Esparza
Intro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
Reviews Creature
at The Broad

Sam Pulitzer & Peter Wachtler
at House of Gaga // Reena Spaulings Fine Art

Karl Haendel
at Susanne Vielmetter

Wolfgang Tillmans
at Regen Projects

Ma
at Chateau Shatto

The Rat Bastard Protective Association
at the Landing
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Issue 6 November 2016

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Kenneth Tam
's Basement
Travis Diehl
The Female
Cool School
Catherine Wagley
The Rise
of the L.A.
Art Witch
Amanda Yates Garcia
Interview with
Mernet Larsen
Julie Weitz
Agnes Martin
at LACMA
Jessica Simmons
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
Analia Saban
Ry Rocklen
Sarah Cain
Intro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
Reviews
Made in L.A. 2016
at The Hammer Museum

Doug Aitken
at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Mertzbau
at Tif Sigfrids

Jean-Pascal Flavian and Mika Tajima
at Kayne Griffin Corcoran

Mark A. Rodruigez
at Park View

The Weeping Line
Organized by Alter Space
at Four Six One Nine
(S.F. in L.A.)
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Issue 5 August 2016

Letter form the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Non-Fiction
at The Underground Museum
Catherine Wagley
The Art of Birth Carmen Winant
Escape from Bunker Hill
John Knight
at REDCAT
Travis Diehl
Ed Boreal Speaks Benjamin Lord
Art Advice (from Men) Sarah Weber
Routine Pleasures
at the MAK Center
Jonathan Griffin
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
Fay Ray
John Baldessari
Claire Kennedy
Intro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
Reviews Revolution in the Making
at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel

Carl Cheng
at Cherry and Martin

Joan Snyder
at Parrasch Heijnen Gallery

Elanor Antin
at Diane Rosenstein

Performing the Grid
at Ben Maltz Gallery
at Otis College of Art & Design

Laura Owens
at The Wattis Institute
(L.A. in S.F.)
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Issue 4 May 2016

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Moon, laub, and Love Catherine Wagley
Walk Artisanal Jonathan Griffin
Reconsidering
Marva Marrow's
Inside the L.A. Artist
Anthony Pearson
Mystery Science Thater:
Diana Thater
at LACMA
Aaron Horst
Informal Feminisms Federica Bueti and Jan Verwoert
Marva Marrow Photographs
Lita Albuquerque
Interiors and Interiority:
Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Char Jansen
Reviews L.A. Art Fairs

Material Art Fair, Mexico City

Rain Room
at LACMA

Evan Holloway
at David Kordansky Gallery

Histories of a Vanishing Present: A Prologue
at The Mistake Room

Carter Mull
at fused space
(L.A. in S.F.)

Awol Erizku
at FLAG Art Foundation
(L.A. in N.Y.)
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Issue 3 February 2016

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Le Louvre, Las Vegas Evan Moffitt
iPhones, Flesh,
and the Word:
F.B.I.
at Arturo Bandini
Lindsay Preston Zappas
Women Talking About Barney Catherine Wagley
Lingua Ignota:
Faith Wilding
at The Armory Center
for the Arts
and LOUDHAILER
Benjamin Lord
A Conversation
with Amalia Ulman
Char Jansen
How We Practice Carmen Winant
Share Your Piece
of the Puzzle
Federica Bueti
Amanda Ross-Ho Photographs
Erik Frydenborg
Reviews Honeydew
at Michael Thibault

Fred Tomaselli
at California State University, Fullerton

Trisha Donnelly
at Matthew Marks Gallery

Bradford Kessler
at ASHES/ASHES
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Issue 2 November 2015

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Hot Tears Carmen Winant
Slow View:
Molly Larkey
Anna Breininger and Kate Whitlock
Americanicity's Paintings:
Orion Martin
at Favorite Goods
Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal
Layers of Leimert Park Catherine Wagley
Junkspace Junk Food:
Parker Ito
at Kaldi, Smart Objects,
White Cube, and
Château Shatto
Evan Moffitt
Melrose Hustle Keith Vaughn
Max Maslansky Photographs
Monica Majoli
at the Tom of Finland Foundation
White Lee, Black Lee:
William Pope.L’s "Reenactor"
Travis Diehl
Dora Budor Interview Char Jensen
Reviews Mary Ried Kelley
at The Hammer Museum

Tongues Untied
at MOCA Pacific Design Center

No Joke
at Tanya Leighton
(L.A. in Berlin)
Snap Reviews Martin Basher at Anat Ebgi
Body Parts I-V at ASHES ASHES
Eve Fowler at Mier Gallery
Matt Siegle at Park View
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Issue 1 August 2015

Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
MEAT PHYSICS/
Metaphysical L.A.
Travis Diehl
Art for Art’s Sake:
L.A. in the 1990s
Anthony Pearson
A Dialogue in Two
Synchronous Atmospheres
Erik Morse
with Alexandra Grant
SOGTFO
at François Ghebaly
Jonathan Griffin
#studio #visit
with #devin #kenny
@barnettcohen
Mateo Tannatt
Photographs
Jibade-Khalil Huffman
Slow View:
Discussion on One Work
Anna Breininger
with Julian Rogers
Reviews Pierre Huyghe
at LACMA

Mernet Larsen
at Various Small Fires

John Currin
at Gagosian, Beverly Hills

Pat O'Niell
at Cherry and Martin

A New Rhythm
at Park View

Unwatchable Scenes and
Other Unreliable Images...
at Public Fiction

Charles Gaines
at The Hammer Museum

Henry Taylor
at Blum & Poe/ Untitled
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Buy the Issue In Our Online Shop
Distribution
Central
1301 PE
Anat Ebgi (La Cienega)
Anat Ebgi (Wilshire)
Arcana Books
Artbook @ Hauser & Wirth
as-is.la
Babst Gallery
Baert Gallery
Bel Ami
BLUM
Canary Test
Carlye Packer
Charlie James Gallery
Château Shatto
Chris Sharp Gallery
Cirrus Gallery
Clay ca
Commonwealth & Council
Craft Contemporary
D2 Art (Inglewood)
D2 Art (Westwood)
David Kordansky Gallery
David Zwirner
Diane Rosenstein
dublab
FOYER-LA
François Ghebaly
Gana Art Los Angeles
GAVLAK
George Billis Gallery
Giovanni's Room
Hamzianpour & Kia
Hannah Hoffman Gallery
Harkawik
Harper's Gallery
Hashimoto Contemporary
Heavy Manners Library
Helen J Gallery
Human Resources
Hunter Shaw Fine Art
ICA LA
in lieu
JOAN
Karma
LACA
LaPau Gallery
Lisson Gallery
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M+B
MAK Center for Art and Architecture
Make Room Los Angeles
Matter Studio Gallery
Matthew Brown Los Angeles
MOCA Grand Avenue
Monte Vista Projects
Morán Morán
Moskowitz Bayse
Murmurs
Nazarian / Curcio
Night Gallery
Nino Mier Gallery
Nonaka-Hill
NOON Projects
O-Town House
OCHI
One Trick Pony
Pace
Paradise Framing
Park View / Paul Soto
Patricia Sweetow Gallery
Praz-Delavallade
Regen Projects
Reparations Club
r d f a
REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater)
Roberts Projects
Royale Projects
Sean Kelly
Sebastian Gladstone
Shoshana Wayne Gallery
SHRINE
Simchowitz
Smart Objects
SOLDES
SPRÜTH MAGERS
Steve Turner
Stroll Garden
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
The Box
The Fulcrum
The Hole
The Landing
The LODGE
The Poetic Research Bureau
The Wende Museum
Thinkspace Projects
Tierra del Sol Gallery
Tiger Strikes Astroid
Tomorrow Today
Track 16
Tyler Park Presents
USC Fisher Museum of Art
UTA Artist Space
Various Small Fires
Village Well Books & Coffee
Wönzimer
Outside L.A.
Libraries/ Collections
Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD)
Bard College, CCS Library (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY)
Charlotte Street Foundation (Kansas City, MO)
Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA)
Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD)
Midway Contemporary Art (Minneapolis, MN)
Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA)
NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Alfred, NY)
Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, CA)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY)
University of California Irvine, Langston IMCA (Irvine, CA)
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
Yale University Library (New Haven, CT)

Art in Isolation with
Diedrick Brackens

Diedrick Brackens: darling divined, 2019. Exhibition view: New Museum, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and The New Museum. Photo: Dario Lasagni.

In the coming weeks, Carla founder and editor-in-chief Lindsay Preston Zappas will be hosting chats with members of the L.A. art community via Instagram live on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

The following was edited for web from an Instagram Live conversation on March 25, 2020 at 5:30 PST. Click here for previous interviews in this series.

Lindsay Preston Zapaas: So how are you doing? Tell me what your routine has been looking like over the last week or so since our world has been turned upside down? 

DB: Right right right. I mean I feel like I’m having this conversation with everyone, but I feel sort of like a mix of things. Like [I’m going] from one great feeling to a nervous anxiety-ridden day. I’m doing a lot of things whether it’s in the studio, or around the house, or laying in bed at odd hours of the day…

LPZ: Yep. Sounds about right.  Same. I feel like the emotions come in waves. My mode is to be productive through this, and fix things, and work through it. But I am trying to slow myself down because I don’t think that’s always the healthiest mode. And I’m sure that relates to you and your work in the studio too…

DB: Yeah. I was sort of setup to have a pretty busy spring. So, I’ve had two shows canceled, some talks, and all these other things. Which makes sense—it’s the world we’re living in—but at the same time, there’s a natural way when you start preparing for a show, that you sort of fill up all this energy and rush to get the work done. And, now that it’s all on hold I have this kind of pent-up energy… The place where you would naturally come down off of it, I don’t feel quite right about because there’s not that sort of celebration, or the talking, or the sharing of the work. So that makes it kind of complicated. 

LPZ: Right. So do you feel like in the studio you kind of expect or rely on that moment of putting things out into the world, and then getting that feedback?

DB: Yeah, right. I think that circulation piece is a little lost for myself—and for other folks—and I think this [social media livestrams] have been doing a good job of filling in that gap, but there’s something hard about missing those things that are so normally experienced in-person and that [lack of] contact that has been hard. 

LPZ: So what routines have you found most helpful to you this week? What are you doing?

DB: I’ve been working to navigate that part. So, a lot of what I’ve been doing outside of just reaching out and talking to people—like I’ve never FaceTimed to this many people: I’ve been reading, I’ve been writing, I’m doing all of the domestic things that I usually don’t do, because I frankly never feel like I have the time, or like it can wait. But I’ve been sort of vegged out as much as any of the other productive things…as my scruffy appearance probably tells…

LPZ: No you look great, per usual. I think all of those things are wonderful, like taking time, doing some housekeeping on yourself and your actual house. All of those things are really important to do. 

To go back to what you were talking about earlier, this misplaced energy, or having this energy to work but not knowing where the other side of that goes…can we dig at that a little further?

DB: I think some of it for me, just having this time to think and really sit with my thoughts. I’ve been thinking about sharpness and clarity because I think often, speaking for myself, I think a lot that with art school, or these things that train you, you can come away with a lot of talking at or around things. And, I feel like I’m sitting in this moment watching the world burn, and I feel like being more exact and clear about what our terms are. What we want, especially as we go forward and start making art that touches on this moment. It feels so important. I think that I’ve also just been, for myself, returning to why it is that I am an artist. And I mean that in the sense of like… I feel so removed from that very first moment that I decided to be an artist, before I thought about making my living at my passion. And I feel like a lot of folks are panicking about what the financial fall out that this will be, and I guess as important as that is, I think I’m also reminding myself: what are the things that you wanted to say and do with this gift? The skill that you have. And that’s been really important in helping me calm down.

LPZ: I just took a deep breath as you said that. Yeah, I’ve been seeing a lot of people posting things like that there’s this pressure to be in the studio right now. But then that is also combated with this feeling of being so stressed out, and maybe it’s not the best state to be producing work that’s really thoughtful and rich. 

DB: Oh my God. I’m so here for the introspection and sitting still, and all of that. I think there is something great to being able to work without the distractions that we normally would have if we weren’t quarantined. I’m definitely feeling that mixed in with all the stress, there is that feeling of relief of not having to show up and output in the way that we would normally have to. And, I think that frankly (laughs), I was talking to a friend about how she thinks that people who are continuing to grind or psychotic probably. I think one of the other reasons that I’m laying in bed every day is that I’m like “oh you’re so tired.”

Diedrick stitching. Image courtesy of the artist.

LPZ: This is such a big question, but was so many of us in this precarious position. All artists basically are small business owners, right, like we all have our own enterprises.. all of the galleries in our community and everyone. What do you think we need right now to do as a community?

DB: A lot of my friends and colleagues who are old enough to remember these things as adults sort pinpoint 9/11 and the financial crisis as what this feels similar to. I can’t index to that moment, and so for me I keep thinking about… like this is the first moment I’ve ever thought that in a very real and not abstract way, “what if I can’t pay my bills? What if the art does not continue to sell… or the art of my peers?” 

And I think it really starts me asking questions about thinking about how pitched the art world is to this one particular model of sustaining itself. And of course, I start thinking about what institutions can do, and what artists can do as they collaborate with each other to sustain themselves financially. I think it’s important—like, when I was talking about that idea of being clear—to say that with this financial piece, I don’t I think most artists want to live in a world that’s chained to capitalism, but we unfortunately do. I’m just wondering how then we generate income and continue to make the things we want to make, and stay alive. I know there are some models to do that, but that is not how the whole infrastructure works.

LPZ:  It’s a really interesting moment right now with all of that kind of breaking apart. All of the structures we’ve relied on in almost every facet of our society is crumbling or being exposed as being very volatile and fragile. And it’s a really unique moment I think to be able to sort of unearthing other models and start from scratch. This, what we’re doing now [Instagram Livestream], this is one thing a lot of people have been doing. This kind of digital moment is great for now, but I’m curious how some of this innovation might stick. And how some of it might pave new pathways moving forward too.

DB: Truly truly. And I think it’s like building more infrastructure so that when moments like this happen… Like I don’t think it’s doing away with being able to make a living by selling objects. But, when those moments arrive, how then will artists be compensated for their time and their energy and their ideas? And especially as the new normal is moving to digital platforms, how does someone make three-dimensional objects and participate in that space?

LPZ: I’m curious about your studio… I do a little bit of weaving and I feel like for me it does turn into this meditative thing where I’m listening to podcasts or music or books on tape and just kind of like going and weaving. Like do you feel like the loom and your studio right now can be that meditative space for you during this time?

DB: Yeah, on some level. And I think there are two sides of the same coin for me: writing and weaving. They both access that same sort of meditative introspective space. But frankly, I feel like often I have to do the weaving, and the writing can wait. And we have a couple more weeks of this, so I feel like I can do both in a way that feels equitable right now. But, yes for sure [weaving] is a space where I can kind of relax and think and feel my whole body. I’ve always loved that about weaving, so it does feel like a centering thing as much as it is about what gets made ultimately.

LPZ: Ok, to shift, what have you been reading? You mentioned you’ve been reading.

This book has been in my mind to read forever: Wild by Cheryl Strayad. It’s this book where she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail. I tend to think apocalyptically just on a normal day. But in this moment I’m like what if I have to survive off the land cuz everything collapses (laughs)? So it’s like, I should read that.

I was already reading these two by Danez Smith: Don’t Call Us Dead and Homie.  So, I really love poetry. It is what I write a lot myself, secretly. These books are epic. And, Danez is positive, queer, and talks a lot about their life with living with being positive. So I think it’s accessing this different sort of illness but also thinking again about this idea of the epidemic.

Borrowed Time by Paul Monette. This is also more about the AIDS crisis. I’m already thinking about epidemic and some of these things, and it has been nice—nice is not the right language to use—but it’s been an interesting thing to think about [in light of what’s going on now]

I think everything should read this book by Zora Neale Hurston: The Sanctified Church. There are several passages where she’s talking about witch doctors. Stories she collected from folks in the South, particularly Florida, of the sort of Faith healers, and witch doctors, and folks that through metaphysical means could cure folks of their ailments. So again she’s talking about what people do when they’re sick, and how they think about getting better. Especially how that relates to spirituality. Spirituality for me, and I think even beyond thinking about religion, it’s like how do we grapple with our bodies when they don’t do what we need them to do or what we want them to do?

LPZ: Wow. So profound that sounds amazing. 

DB: One more: Cecilia Vicuna (New and Selected poems)  is an artist that I admire so much and I think does that thing I was talking about: someone who makes three-dimensional objects, but also writing is so much of her practice. So it’s collected poems of her work and they’re in Spanish and English. And she talks a lot about the collapse of the environment and has been doing so for over 40 years in her work. So it sounds strange to say timely, since the world’s been collapsing forever, but it feels timely.

Diedrick working in the studio. Image courtesy of the artist.

LPZ: I was going to ask you before if you feel like those themes were things that you’re thinking about in your work already. Obviously it feels so on point with what’s going on in the world right now to think about negotiating spirituality, and illness, and our bodies, but I can also see that kind of running through your work in the past.

DB: Yeah, I think it has been an undercurrent in that it’s an interest that I’ve thought about forever. I’ve thought about textiles as a great medium to think about healing and protection by virtue of the way that we interact with them in our lives. But, in the forthcoming show (dates to be determined) that I was working towards, I was sort of running headlong into thinking about the AIDS crisis. Both as this kind of historical and present thing. I’m thinking about the idea of the plague or epidemic. So I think it’s another reason that I’m having trouble getting back into the studio, frankly, because I’m trying to think through this all, and now we’re like experiencing it. 

LPZ: Earlier you were thinking about the role of an artist during all of this, and we had emailed a bit about that. Are you thinking about that in a large-scale way too? Just like the role of an artist in a society (and while that society is crumbling)?

DB: Earlier when we were emailing, I was thinking that I don’t have an answer and I felt very dark about it… like [artists] don’t have a place in this. Like everyone just needs to stay home and be quiet. And I think that part of it really goes back to the support, and communicating and locking in with each other. Because even just sitting here [with you], even though it’s digital, I feel more energized and I’m thinking “oh everything is going to be fine.” 

But, I think I’m in the space that everyone needs to continue with the work that they feel passionate about, whether that has a direct relationship to [what’s going on] or not. Because, I think about it from a historical longview perspective. Like the things that people are talking about and thinking about matter and will be important to someone in the future to see. So I’m hesitant to think that people should marry their art to this moment because there are so many other things that we want to say and talk about. 

So, it is like, just rest and enjoy that time, and go back to what your mission is. Like why you were an artist in the first place. And I think that that answer for folks hopefully will be there, as opposed to the knee-jerk response that you have to respond to this thing [as its happening]. And I feel like a lot of my peers are having that conversation, and struggling about what do I do with this. 

LPZ: Yeah, I feel like it mirrors certain conversations that we are having when Trump got elected. I feel like a lot of artists were like “oh my gosh, do I need to make political work now? Does my art need to change? Do I need to address this in my work?” And, you don’t. We don’t all want to look at Trump art we’re not all going to want to look at COVID-19 art.

DB: But, I do think that I got a lot of permission from the Trump election. After he was elected I was sort of like “what is there to lose? I’m just going to say the things that I want to or need to.” And I think maybe there’s a similar outcome here.

This review was originally published in Carla issue 20.

Diedrick Brackens: darling divined, 2019. Exhibition view: New Museum, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and The New Museum. Photo: Dario Lasagni.
Diedrick Brackens: darling divined, 2019. Exhibition view: New Museum, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and The New Museum. Photo: Dario Lasagni.
Diedrick Brackens: darling divined, 2019. Exhibition view: New Museum, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and The New Museum. Photo: Dario Lasagni.

Lindsay Preston Zappas is an L.A.-based artist, writer, and founder and editor-in-chief of Carla. She is an arts correspondent for KCRW. She received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2013.

More by Lindsay Preston Zappas