Another page from the novel-in-progress Grand Meeting of Failures

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The reason art movements were prevalent during the twentieth century is because political movements were prevalent during the same period. Communism, Socialism, Anarchism, Fascism (and in a different way Capitalism and Libertarianism) each had millions of passionate, organized followers who often reformatted their lives around collective practices for bringing their chosen ideology into greater prominence. A battle as to how society should best be organized. Many of the same people who were organizing politically were also organizing artistically. Or knew the people who were organizing artistically. Avantgarde artistic forms were made and fought for in relation to avantgarde political formations. To get out ahead of current artistic practices, and to get out ahead of current political limitations, took place parallel to one another and intertwined. The removal of the Berlin Wall is often seen as a kind of marker, both in time and in relation to tail end of an ideological shift. A moment when capitalism won the so-called Cold War, and Communism was no longer generally seen as a viable option. And, it seems to me, art movements suffered a similar defeat.

At the same time, I have absolutely no belief in that way of framing these events. The former Soviet Union was never Communism, or at least wasn’t from the moment Stalin took control. And Capitalism won using only dirty tricks. The dirty trick of assassinating or overthrowing any leaders who didn’t tow the line and the dirty trick of giving certain people temporary “democratic freedoms” in order to dissuade them from amassing enough collective power toward Socialism and Communism, and then removing those freedoms when they were no longer required. Don’t go over to Socialism or Communism, they said, because we have these “democratic freedoms” that make our society so much better than any other, when such freedoms were only part of a temporary propaganda campaign for Capitalism that was never meant to last. Of course, it is Capitalism that is now in decline – perhaps a victim of its own success with no other world system to keep it in check. Unfortunately, Capitalism is now rapidly being replaced by Technofeudalism, or hopefully something better if we can summon the collective political will. Art movements might return if radical politics also returns. If we can once again believe in its possibilities. Those possibilities were once based in the idea of progress, and since progress is a lie, we will need to find another basis. Things do not progress, they go in circles like the seasons. These were all thoughts and questions I had sitting in the back corner of that very large bar, watching all the people who had absolutely no interest in any plans we might be hatching. And our disagreements were also connected to an underlying agreement that something had to be done. Yet we were always arguing about the what, the approach, the strategy, the tactics. Everything was like being up against impossible odds, where the house always wins. We were trying to convince each other to fight for something. We were trying to measure how much solidarity we might spark. How much we could trust and count on one another. It was extremely unclear what our art movement might become.



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Coastal Lines Press

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"Coastal Lines Press is a collective of writers in Gaza. Our goal is to turn words into life-saving supplies for our families. We thank the global network of creators and distributors who make this fundraising publication possible. Like vessels at sea, our zines travel from coast to coast, drawing lines of human connection and solidarity. Follow their journeys and our stories."

More info here: https://www.coastallinespress.com


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working title

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I may or may not have started a new novel today. Possible working title: Grand Meeting of Failures

Possible opening paragraph: "I decided I would be the historian of the movement. No one gave me permission, it was something I had to decide for myself. That is, if there even was a movement. If it didn’t all just fizzle out. The rumor was that if the Night Manager likes your work, you don’t need to pay your tab. The rumor that started it all. We might imagine how. One of us had been drinking and when it comes time to pay they’re told they don’t have to. They inquire about the reason, are told some work they made was deeply moving to the Night Manager. Then it happens again, this time to a different artist. Word begins to spread. It might be seen as a form of curation. A way for artists most cherished to keep coming back. Musicians, performers, writers, image and object makers, filmmakers, and those of no fixed discipline. Most of the clientele continue to pay for their drinks, subsidizing a small number of artists who are no longer asked to. The place is large. A few hundred who pay each night and a few dozen who do not. It doesn’t take long to find each other. We gather in the back corner. Soon many of us are coming four or five nights a week. This was all before I arrived. I am repeating pure hearsay. But it was also around the same time I arrived. Somebody mentioned this back corner to me and I immediately knew I had to check it out. I introduced myself to the first likely candidate and soon into our conversation it occurred to me to ask if anyone was keeping a record. When the answer was no, I heard their reticence as an invitation."

Another sentence for somewhere later in the book: "I’ve always imagined an ongoing game where the purpose is to try to invent an art movement."


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[I'm still working on my third trilogy (with all three books based loosely around questions concerning the desire for utopia.) So if I manage to keep going with this Grand Meeting of Failures, I suppose it would be book number ten, which for some reason feels significant to me. But often there are a lot of false starts before I find one I want to continue with. So let's see...]



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Boycott of the Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art

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We, MFAs Against Genocide, are a collective of recent and prospective graduates in the Montreal arts community and are reaching out to you as you are a signatory to PACBI. As a collective, we are organizing an institutional and individual boycott of the Stephen and Claudine Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art Fellowship. We are asking for your support in order to increase our pressure, and to call on artists, cultural workers, academics, and institutions to refuse together to be complicit in artwashing.

The fellowship, which is awarded annually to Concordia and UQAM studio arts graduate students, is funded by Claridge Inc; Stephen Bronfman's Montreal-based private equity firm that, in 2015, opened a parallel firm in Tel Aviv focused on Israeli tech investments. These investments include Cyberbit, a a cyber security, warfare, and espionage company that lists the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as one of their key clients. Claridge Isreal is also invested in D-fend Solutions, which provides counter-drone technology to clients including the Israeli ministry of defense and the United States departments of War and Homeland Security. In August of this year La Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec announced that it is in the process of selling off its investments (valued between $400M - $600M CAD) in Claridge Israel; we believe it is long past time for our institutions to do the same and divest from the Isreali occupation and genocide. For more information about the award, the campaign, and our demands, please see our website: https://mfasagainstgenocide.cargo.site/

the art that strikingly knows it’s own futility

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"Where is the art that strikingly knows it’s own futility but stumbles forward compellingly, anyway, because as an artist you have no choice?"

(From my 2011 manifesto: Manifesto for Confusion, Struggle and Conflicted Feelings.)



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Some favourite records of my 2025 (so far)

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Back in July I did a list of Some favourite books of my 2025 (so far). It occurs to me now that, around the same time, I could have also done a list of Some favourite records of my 2025. So this is coming a bit late (and a bit too close to my end of year list.) But I'm doing it now because Bandcamp Friday is in two days (Oct 3rd), so you might want to support some of these amazing artists. (Also, as is my habit, some of these records didn't come out during 2025.)

Moses Sumney – Sophcore
Adrián de Alfonso – Viator
Quinton Barnes – Code Noir
Quinton Barnes – Black Noise
Elle Barbara’s Black Space – Word on the Street
Nourished By Time – The Passionate Ones
DJ K – Radio Libertadora !
Pink Siifu – BLACK’!ANTIQUE
Qur'an Shaheed – Pulse
Destroyer – Dan’s Boogie
Frog Eyes – The Open Up
Fievel Is Glauque – Rong Weicknes


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