Writing
Mass Police Reform Timeline
This was a project that came out of years of research in collaboration with Mass Police Reform and the Blackstonian which has spearheaded efforts to reform policing locally in Boston and beyond. With this project we sought to provide context for conversations that were happening locally and nationally about policing, especially after the murder of George Floyd in MN. The goal with this timeline and websites like Shot by the Police and other public information initiatives we have done was to harness the energy and focus of the moment to look right in our own backyard at the long history of abuse and killing of innocent civilians by BPD, to look at their history since their inception as the first police force in the country and to point out the some of the consistent problems and how they have been addressed or more often, not. Starting with the birth of policing in America as a public service of property protection in a time when humans were considered property, we walk through years of incidents, reports, political and bureaucratic developments and stories of the impact of policing on the people of Boston & Massachusetts. I invite you to explore the full timeline and if you have data points to contribute to please reach out as this work continues. Mass Police Reform Timeline
The Stowaway
My latest story is something of a prelude / introduction to my space pirates story, a longer piece I have had in various formats and stages of developments for the last 10 years. I wrote this to get me back in the direction of that story and try introducing some old as well as new characters to the universe. < Read ‘The Stowaway’ > Please share your thoughts. For those who have read the story, there is some further information below. Acknowledgments I would like to thank all of my friends who helped me work through these ideas and came up with names or helped me revise, in particular Shaddae, SPNDA and Byrd. Artwork I drew the opening and closing illustrations by hand and colored them on the computer. You can check out that project in my Portfolio >
Stick It To Em – Sticker Making Party for Demz, Mike Brown, Eric Garner and all victims of police brutality.
Using Art to Advocate for Justice, Police Accountability and Victims of Police Brutality RSVP via Facebook Join me for an evening of art making. We will be making stickers (see examples) that pay tribute to victims of police brutality and killed by officers or that have more general messages like “stop police brutality” or “don’t shoot”. These stickers will be made available to organizers locally and sent out to other states. Attendees are free to take stickers at the end of the night as well. Brought to you by: Voices of Liberation Scope Urban Apparel Pen and Sword Political Pirates Hosted by: Make Shift Boston RSVP via Facebook
The Artifact
My latest story is about kids who find some lost technology. < Read ‘The Artifact’ > Please share your thoughts. For those who have read the story, there is some further information below. Acknowledgments I would like to thank all of my friends who helped me work through these ideas and came up with names or helped me revise, in particular Shaddae, TJ, whoever the kid who had me work on his comic “Boom Boom Clap” was and Byrd. Artwork I drew the opening and closing illustrations by hand and colored them on the computer. You can check out that project in my Portfolio >
Dial-A-Drug
My latest story is about a device that can simulate any drug on demand and the first case of a potential overdose. < Read ‘Dial A Drug’ > Please share your thoughts. For those who have read the story, there is some further information below. Acknowledgments I would like to thank all of my friends who helped me work through these ideas and came up with names or helped me revise, in particular Byrd, Shaddae, Richard, Dre, Dion and SPNDA. Artwork I drew the opening and closing illustrations by hand and colored them on the computer. You can check out that project in my Portfolio >
Full Power Ahead
I have a short story I have been working on and I finally have it to a state where I am ready to share it with folks. < Read ‘Full Power Ahead’ > Please share your thoughts. For those who have read the story, there is some further information below. Epilogue I love stories about space but I am also someone who looks at our history and especially our present with a great deal of criticism and skepticism. I guess what was missing for me, in the narrative of mans first brushes with far away stars, were the mistakes, and not just the funny ones like who forgot to put the exit coordinates into the hyperdrive, but the kind of deep, widespread, costly mistakes we have made as a species throughout recorded history. The tragic bad decisions we have carried out on one another, our planet and every living creature on it. I wanted to show our first grand misstep in front of the galactic audience. Just as on Earth, we have a romanticized notion of how things came to be that often ignores the horrors that preceded it, I wanted to show us not in our finest hour, making a mistake that would be the shame of any educated Earthling enjoying their space empire for centuries to come, just as slavery and genocide are inextricable from our history and conditions here in America. Like many mistakes it was not out of the blue, not totally unjustified, not without a reason. Just not a good enough reason, one that when viewed through a less xenophobic lense was undeniably a mistake. Inescapably a disaster of our own creation. Not all stories are happy, certainly not in real life. And that’s OK if we learn from our mistakes. Acknowledgments I would like to thank all of my friends who helped me work through these ideas and came up with names or encouraged me to follow through, in particular Shaddae, EJ and SPNDA. Artwork I created the illustrations using images made available to the public domain by NASA.
Endless Landscape Project
About a month or so ago I started a new project: The Endless Scape. It grew out of stickers with cityscapes on them that I have been drawing ever since high school. These early cityscapes have since been scattered to the wind, given away and posted in sketchbooks and throughout the world. While stylistically the start of the Endless Scape may seem indistinguishable from these early stickers, the project itself is a vast departure from these one off images. So far there are over 60 panels in the Endless Scape, although my plan is to just add to this forever. As each new sticker is drawn, the scene expands, across various kinds of landscapes and through various mediums and styles. My only rules are the format: Label 228 postal stickers and that the scene must continue uninterrupted from one to the next. Other than that I can do anything, go anywhere. So join me on this journey: endlesslandscapeproject.tumblr.com >
For Jobs and Freedom
On August 28, 1963, civil rights leaders, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” This event, which drew hundreds of thousands of supporters to DC was where the now historic “I have a Dream Speech” was delivered. While this is undeniably one of the most significant moments of the period, I had never thought of materials required to mobilize such a gathering might look like – now I know. I was shown some scans of an original program / portfolio which are an amazing resource for any activist, but particularly people interested in political art and the way art has been engaged in the service of movements and revolutions throughout history. I’ve seen lots of black and white photographs of posters, signs, banners and flags made for the march, but seeing this “collection of graphic collages… created specifically as a memento for those who participated in the historic March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs” is amazing. This booklet contained several collages which “depicts mans inhumanity, his cruelty to his fellow human being” and served as “a reminder of generations of generations of hope, of sacrifice and of faith.” It was made by the artist Louis Lo Monaco. I had not known about him before and while information is sparse, this is his best known work and can be found in the library of congress. The collages are gorgeous to me, using lavish amounts of black and limited splashes of red and blue in really elegant ways. At the same time, they combine powerful / striking and disturbing images in a way that forces you to confront the realities of the time – something I think all (good) artists do.