If there was a single idea that came out by the end of the day, it was this: Stop bitching about the “have nots” and do something with the “haves.” Nowhere was this more apparent than in Molly Crabapple’s talk where she portrayed herself as an anti-establishment punk artist and author. Apparently, she was kicked out of her school because she was “diagnosed” with some such “aggressive” disorder. Her reaction? Simply put: “Fuck you very much!” She went on to found Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School which quickly transformed from a local drawing community in Brooklyn to a movement with outposts in over 100 cities. In effect, it became a DIY Empire. Artists and amateurs alike swarm to these experiences in droves (both nationally and internationally) to draw glamorous underground personalities that range from burlesque dancers and fetish models to drag queens. She challenged her listeners to stop bitching about the cool stuff that just won’t happen in their community and just go ahead and do them themselves. “Because, really,” she continued, “if you’re not going to do them, they are just not going to happen.” Underneath this daring attitude was the implication that DIY is no small potatoes. It’s hard work. The reason why her presentation stuck in my mind more than any other big names who were in the lineup was that her work embodied the true DIY spunk.
— Insanely flattering blog entry on Pandora’s Box. (via mollycrabapple)
Ahmen
1870, “Hunting Trophies”
“Shikar, or big game hunting, was an immensely popular pastime for the ruling class in India prior to British rule. When the British came into power, elaborate hunting ceremonies were used by Indians and British alike to display their prowess and status to each other. The British influence also brought improvements in hunting technology, which spurred an increase in the capture of game. Dozens of animals were killed in a single day’s hunt and the trophies decorated the halls of the princes’ extravagant hunting lodges. By the late 1870s, the population of many of these rare species had been severely depleted and a government-implemented system for conservation had begun to take hold.”
(via warrenellis)
