Category: Lifting Voices

The Artist’s Panel: Intuition

Calin Firlit Leave a comment

Marjorie graduated from UofM with a major in Art & Design and a minor in writing last year. Aside from being an alumni of UofM, she is also an alumni of our very own arts, ink. blog! She is currently working independently and is focused on building her Patreon and getting back into making essay comics after a recent injury to her wrist. She credits her time at STAMPS and various writing programs on campus for providing her with the resources to foster her love of storytelling. She said about UofM’s library system: “There are tons of books that I never would have read and artists that I would never have been able to relate to if I hadn’t been wondering through the Stacks one day.”  If you would like to learn more about Marjorie and experience her impressive work, you can follow her on instagram @marjoriegaber. You can also support her on Patreon by following her profile, Marge Makes Comics. Be on the look out for an upcoming travel comic that she is working on! You won’t want to miss it.

The Artist’s Panel: Intersect

Calin Firlit Leave a comment

For a STAMPS freshman, Victor Luis Garcia already has an impressive list of achievements. He has sat court-side during a Lebron James All-Star game as recognition for his work as an ambassador for low-income aspiring college students, he has had his work on display at SAIC in Chicago, and, just last summer, he was a part of a mural project in collaboration with several renowned Chicago street-artists working to support the BLM movement and the communities where riots were taking place. Victor’s list of accomplishments goes on a lot farther than this, and by looking at his artwork, it is very apparent why. His design and illustration work is impressive and meaningful. He focuses on topics such as LGBTQ identity and intersectionality, and his unique style and thoughtful attention to detail represent these complex issues with elegance. To keep up with the work that Victor is producing and to learn more about his art, you can follow him on Instagram @craboi6.

waves: blacklight

smitty 2 Comments
photo cred: me. in my apartment with my partner.

{trigger warning: childhood illness}

this whole year has brought about many hours of reflection for me and my life. one thing i’ve been thinking about a lot and trying to process is my experience as a cancer survivor. i was diagnosed with stage 4 hodgkin’s lymphoma at 16 years old (my junior year of high school). while i’m in remission now, the trauma i have tied to that experience is something that comes up again and again — especially during something as stressful as a global pandemic. the precautions i take to protect myself and others from the virus (like wearing masks, washing my hands often, disinfecting everything i come in contact with) feels eerily similar to the precautions i had to take while protecting myself from infections while being treated with chemotherapy and radiation.

i don’t talk much about my experiences, and part of the reason for that is because, well, it isn’t pretty. having cancer, being treated for it, fearing that it will come back, and having a deadly virus going around that only intensifies my anxiety isn’t something i can talk about in a few minutes or hours and be done with. i think about it all the time. and i take the pandemic very seriously mostly because of my fears.

i just wanted to let anyone who is struggling with processing or navigating this pandemic know that they are not alone, and things REALLY suck at the moment and it’s okay to acknowledge that. it’s okay to not be okay, and it’s okay to fear the uncertain future ahead of all of us. it’s okay to talk through your feelings with people you love andcare about, including yourself. this poem, ‘blacklight’, is one of my many attempts to do so. fun fact: this is a contrapuntal poem, which means that it can be read in at least two different ways 😉

~~~~~~

 

that moment when you look                                                                            your eyes don’t adjust to the darkness

        it’s just dark                                                                                                             and thick wet black

        and i tell everyone i know it’s just my shadow                                          it’s just the back of the throat, i say

        and they believe me                                                                                           and no one asks further questions

        but i’ve been trying to figure out,                                                                                  like,

 

 

how do i come to terms with the tumors growing in my body?

how long have they been there?

was there a such thing as light before the universe?

did darkness come from a wounded womb?

has anyone found its keyholed belly?

 

blacklight 

 

Artist Spotlight: Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap

vle Leave a comment

Bing Liu, a young Chinese-American director and cinematographer, released his debut feature film, Minding the Gap, in 2018. The documentary accrued positive reception from skateboarders and film critics alike, and racked up several awards and nominations, including one for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.

Minding the Gap is a beautiful, deep film that follows Liu himself and two of his friends, all young men who grew up in Rockford, Illinois, a Rust Belt city plagued with unemployment and violence. Although footage was accumulated over 12 years, the bulk of the focus centers on the most recent few years, when the men are entering adulthood from adolescence.

The documentary follows Liu’s peers Keire and Zack, who struggle to create content lives for themselves after growing up in abusive homes. Keire, an 18-year-old black young man, works as a dishwasher and then a waiter. Throughout the film, interviews reveal that his father was emotionally and physically strict, then passed away when Keire was a teenager. Zack is 22 years old, and works as a roofer to support his girlfriend and their infant son.

Throughout the ninety or so minutes, thrilling scenes of skateboard tricks are interwoven with heartfelt interviews with the subjects. Posed as a film about friendship and skateboarding, the film explores dark but real subjects such as domestic violence and abuse, alcoholism, and toxic masculinity. Information about Liu’s childhood are slowly leaked, through self-narrative and interviews with Liu’s mother. She tearfully addresses the camera, and admits her regret for not interfering or leaving sooner when discussing how her husband/Liu’s abusive stepfather beat both of them regularly. Meanwhile, Keire grapples with growing up and setting up a positive path for himself, while Zack deals with increasingly violent disputes with his ex-girlfriend Nina and heavy drinking. (Liu discovers that Zack has been hitting Nina during their fights). Viewers realize that skateboarding is truly a way through which the men escape their difficult realities, especially during adolescence. Shared trauma and an emotional understanding clearly connects the trio beyond skating.

I won’t reveal the post-script, but it provides a nice sense of closure to the moving film. I was so pleasantly surprised by the content of the film, which touches on the realities of racism, domestic violence, and economic disparity in 21st century America. If you’re an avid skateboarder or a passionate film buff or just searching for a documentary to obsess over, I strongly recommend Minding the Gap. It’ll change your perspective on a lot things.

Old Thoughts on My Body

Mattie Grace Levy 2 Comments

From the rigid 

Rough beige, brown 

Of ripped nails on stubbed toes

 

Ashy feet on rugged heels

Using a finger a shade lighter than my face

I trace the line of my legs.

 

With feet that tap on, or offbeat 

That jump to reach 

That step closer to embrace.

 

I move up to my hips 

Hidden, or accentuated in tight jeans 

That cover the dark skin on my knees. 

 

I’ve had hands encircle them 

Lick them and look at them 

With like, love, or disdain.

 

I’ve moved them in vain 

In ways that make me feel sexy or 

Make people laugh. 

 

I’ve seen them in the mirror 

And how they fit or don’t fit 

With my breasts 

 

That I pushed out to look bigger 

Or suffocated to fit in 

Clothes that don’t fit.

 

I’ve rubbed my skin

As if the color was a stain 

Traced it to map where it came from 

Compared it to that of my loved ones.

 

My arms move up to feel my face 

Where I washed away dirt,

Popped pimples, and hated 

How instead of burning, 

It just blackens with the sun. 

 

 

 

 

Insta: @mattie_tvc15