Everything is a Mirror
(An Artist’s Field Manual for Seeing Art)
Thanks to everyone who reached out last week.
It was very kind of you.
Especially the few that felt that I may be breaking up with them personally.
Glad you’re still here.
It also triggered a spike in new subscribers and a minor exodus.
If you’re new here, welcome in.
If you give me the time, I think it’s worth me reintroducing myself and my practice.
This is a two-part series to help me reset
We begin with some hard truths:
Everything is a mirror.
What is Art For?
I believe real art is always made for one reason.
It’s for the artist.
For them to experience a process.
For them to go on a journey.
To learn what it’s like to experience a given path.
To see some aspect of reality otherwise hidden.
What falls from the path, the artwork, is simply what’s left behind.
When you break it down and see how it’s made, it works as a map.
Sometimes coherent, sometimes chaotic, but when you follow the path behind them, you get the chance to feel what they felt.
Even for a painter, they’re trying to see—and that action of seeing, in a novel way, for a long period, and recording these sights so they can better understand what they are looking at—those are the brush strokes.
It’s a physical augmentation of active memory.
The more novel, nuanced, and interesting the path the artist takes, the more prized the end result.
But when we look at it, when we observe the final object or experience.
It doesn’t feel like a map
Maps aren’t for feeling
And art makes you feel something, right?
Who is Russ?
I am Russ.
I’m interested in freedom.
If there is any utility in art, it’s that if we look at the world slightly differently, maybe there’s a way to see light, even when all around is dark.
An artist spends a lot of time in the dark, finding a way to see light, and then sharing what they find.
Often, they need that perspective to get out of a tough situation themselves.
Curious minds have a common problem of getting stuck.
It’s not the most academic view.
But maybe what the art world is missing is a way of being seen by the world it claims to reflect.
For me, the art I make has always been a way to see around a corner
to find a perspective I couldn’t see before.
And what’s left afterward is that perspective, captured.
What I’ve learned is that art is a mirror.
Of the times.
Of its maker.
But above all else, of its audience.
Last week, I tried to see another perspective
something close to me, but not me.
Yes, it has my fingerprints all over it.
But over time, those vanish.
While I’m making my work, I’m on a journey to see something new.
Along the way I encounter feelings.
Those are encoded in the work.
But they’ve left me by the time they’re visible.
They’re processed.
Although the remnants of them may trigger something in the viewer, my journey with them has already ended.
So if you’re reading this newsletter and see something that worries you
and it feels like it’s about me
don’t worry.
I’m fine.
But maybe consider that art is a mirror.
And take care of yourself first.
At this stage of the game, I know I’m going to be fine.
I’m lucky like that.
So I use that luck to keep trying to look at the world from new angles,
to take on perspectives that feel unfamiliar or even uncomfortable.
Because I know that over time, we all get stuck in the dark.
And the only way to see the light
is to know how to find it.
For me, the darkness is losing my freedom
And seeing the light is getting it back.
There are a million things that can pull the cloak over us.
Our lives
our relationships
money
jobs
the weather
that trauma we can never quite get rid of
it’s all there holding us back
and I’m just curious to see how much of it I can get rid of.
Over the next few years,
I believe knowing how to do this
is going to be more important for all of us.
I’ve been fortunate enough in the military to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
and understand firsthand how malleable our freedom can become.
The stuff I make,
Is just the stuff left over from me going on a journey.
To make sure I keep my freedom.
And hopefully it’s useful for you too.
Why I’m Here
I wrote my first Hot Girls Like Art newsletter to sell Vogue mirrors.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdcawAd3/
I didn’t like how fashion had made “Hot” about aesthetics
I felt like it’s better connected to the journey of self-discovery.
something more intrinsic.
Over time, the newsletter became something else.
A new medium for me to communicate.
A shared experiment in freedom, perception, and reflection.
If this medium has any utility to me, it’s that I use it for my own growth
to help me understand what I’m doing.
My only commitment to it is that I make one a week.
The format has changed over time.
Sometimes, I share work I’ve made.
Sometimes, work I love.
Sometimes it’s a way to express something I see nearby.
For the most part.
It’s a mirror.
For anyone who wants to follow the route to where I end up,
It’s a map.
I used to run a newsletter to help fifty thousand girls in Miami and London make friends through events.
I’ll always remember how powerful a community can be when it’s built on curiosity, connection, and growth.
Maybe this is a new evolution of what that project did for the world.
Just a little sharper.
If you’re still here, maybe it’s because you see something in it.
Or believe in where I’m going.
Or maybe you’re still waiting for the free stuff.
What next?
The last few months have been kind of crazy.
For those outside “The Art World,” there’s a little panic setting in about how the industry works.
For those who know me, you’ll know I’m not really part of that game.
I took a different route, and it’s beginning to pay off.
I believe that art has the power to change the world
Spiritually, mentally, and physically.
But to do this, it has to have an audience.
And an intention.
Else, it’s just an action in a vacuum, devoid of effect.
I asked a friend to describe good art. They gave me this:
“It takes a novel perspective, delivers it in a unique but culturally relevant way, and stays coherent enough for others to follow the path.”
I hope over time the art I make is “good.”
For both of us..
But, if I’m honest, as long as I’m making it, I’m happy.
This newsletter is part of my art.
I hope you’re enjoying it.
Next week, I’ll be going through how I ended up here.
Normal programming may resume 9 Nov.
Wish me luck.
*Everything is a mirror…
** You are archimedes…