RX #2
cinematic pulls, pretty pics, thinkers, and a potential money saver
happy 2 bring u issue 2!
moving forward, I’ll try to hyperlink these as much as possible. when it comes to music, i’ll mostly list bandcamps. for other stuff, probably a wiki. let me know what other links might be helpful to you.
a big influence for RX was my favorite part of early 2010s internet: stumbleupon, tumblr, tastekid (now tastedive & also now not as good), and wiki rabbit holes. basically any pre-algorithm, human driven media discovery. there’s nothing quite like it…
if you like:
photography, capital Q Queerness, lower case g gays, “gaze”, the gay gaze, considering texture, bodies, spaces, the Body and its interactivity with Space, subjectivity, the Subject, the Object, hot people, penises…
you’ll love:
TRANCE - PAUL MGAPI SEPUYA
I love seeing artists quietly reinvent or reimagine their work. I met Paul shooting back in 2018 for
. I finally saw his work exhibited in person at Bortolami last month, and wow. I’m going to gush a bit. The entire exhibit has a textural sumptuousness that makes me feel what I can only describe as eye-hungry remembering it. And it’s not just the hot guys.In this exhibit, Paul introduces new dimensions and materials to his visual world with dazzling results. Printing on aluminum gives photos like the one below a gleam that casually invites your gaze and then dares you to look away (as if you could; there’s this feeling you might miss something).
Instead of looking at the photos, I couldn’t help but stare into them, bouncing between focal points, feeling my previous thoughts dissolve as new thoughts about the next focal point coalesced—rinse, repeat. Trance earns its title by endlessly deconstructing and reconstructing itself, hypnotizing you.
In all its self-reflexiveness, contradiction, and multi-faceted frankness, Paul's work is a topography of Queerness. Queers, without life’s typical paths, must perpetually create themselves, imagining an alternative life while also trying to live it. It’s been said before, but Paul shows it.
See the show before it closes on March 1st, or check out his new book.
Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Gallery Gazing Ball (DSCF3246), 2024, Dye-sublimation print on aluminum in artist’s frame, Artwork: 14 × 14 in (35.5 × 35.5 cm) Framed: 14 1/4 × 14 1/4 in (36 × 36 cm)
if you like:
saving money, vocab words, saying fuck you to corporations…
you’ll love:
KARENCALLING
I used to report all my cards lost every January so I could hard reset all my subscriptions (I still recommend it, but I have magazine subscriptions now and don’t want to lose those). So this year, I deleted one by one. During this process, I caught a few subscriptions that were ROBBBBBBBBBBING me in a way I was like, “Something can’t be right.” I was so pissed that I called one company just to complain.
I used to do telesales, so I’m not new to this disgruntled phone call shit. I thank Godexx for my time at DePaul University’s telefund center & BAM Membership Center cus I convinced a Certain Company to cut my yearly bill in half just by complaining. I will walk you through: