[SIC] 175: Artisanal Computing

Vol 4, Number 19

Jan 13, 2022

But you CAN pay, if you want to. It helps. Monthly or yearly, or founding support (which includes post-Omicron dinner at my house, if you’re in / can get to NYC). I’m open to offering other benefits, if you’ve got ideas.

Feel free to share, too.

Hi all.

Couple special developments this week. First, I’m introducing a “Five Questions For” interview-let as a section with this issue, starting with the excellent artist Cynthia Talmadge (who gave me the idea to do it). Let me know what you think.

Second, [SIC] Talks returns this week with a special three-way chat with Exo Dynamics founder Thobey Campion and New Computer Corporation CEO Benjamin Palmer. Both longtime friends, they’ve put their renegade minds together to launch The Crypto Lexicon - a new blockchain-based project that looks really interesting to me. They’ll explain further, but do tune in, either live at 4p ET / 1p PT today, or thereafter in my grid @dietznutz.

Speaking of: [SIC] Talks alum Chris Black’s “My Internet” appearance on Embedded included a link to [SIC] that brought a bunch of new readers this week - thanks Chris and thanks everybody for joining. Glad to have you here.

Thanks also to @bompasandparr for the shout out on their IG, which brought more to the party too. And of course my gratitude to Celeste, Iolanda, Kevin, Matt, Ruju, David, Rando and Josh for submissions this go-round.

OK? Cool. Now, to the good stuff.

x B

Installation view of “Franklin Fifth Helena” @ 56Henry Gallery

5 Questions For: Cynthia Talmadge

I discovered Cynthia’s work through the frequently-cited Halsey McKay Gallery; I love it for its unusual medium (painting and sand!) and attention-to-fine-detail (a quality I don’t really possess). The explanation/writeup of her most recent show “Franklin Fifth Helena,” which is on view at 56Henry Gallery (through 1/30), as seen in the image above, is really worth the read. Here’s what I asked her via email, and how she responded:

[SIC] Weekly: What are your favorite sources of daily information? Do they overlap with sources of inspiration for your work?

Cynthia Talmadge: "Because I’m in studio mostly I listen to news and audiobooks a lot. BBC World Service is updated frequently and tends to have more international stories which I appreciate. I like nonfiction, I’ve enjoyed everything by John Krakauer. Free Love Utopia to the Well-Set Table: Oneida by Ellen Wayland-Smith was about the history of a wedding registry favorite and ubiquitous piece of American domesticity which turns out was started by a group of radical New Englanders who chose polyamory over Puritanism in the 1800’s! Wild. I also liked The Buried by Peter Hessler which toggles back and forth between ancient Egyptian archaeology and the Arab Spring. A Libertarian Walks into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling was a really funny and illuminating book about a small libertarian town in New Hampshire with an out of control bear problem that gave me a whole new understanding of the state and maybe even our country? I also have a huge collection of audiobooks on North Korea."

Judging by your IG stories, you do a fair amount of traveling. What’s one place that you’ve been recently that’s worth mentioning?

"Uzbekistan! It’s got it all. Central Asia is somewhere I’d really like to visit more."

It’s an average Thursday afternoon. Where do we find you, and what’s keeping you busy?

"Hopefully in studio. I’m working on some sculpture projects right now so I might be on zoom with my 3D modeler trying to figure stuff out or maybe painting."

Who do you admire? And what for?

"I admire filmmakers like Todd Haynes who have to have a broad range of knowledge to create a huge spectacle which is a movie. I also love Rodrigo Koxa, a big wave surfer, who had a terrible surfing accident and had to deal with PTSD and basically reached what seems like some kind of state of spiritual enlightenment and went on to break the record for surfing the biggest wave at Nazarè. I admire anyone doing their best, trying to be excellent with some amount of sincerity. I love people who try really hard, even too hard, which has become criminally uncool lately but I think Tracy Flick is going to be back in fashion in a big way soon."

What can [SIC] readers help you with?

"I love movie and audiobook recommendations! Also travel tips for the country of Georgia if you’ve got them :)”

Detail from “Franklin Fifth Helena” @ 56Henry Gallery

=====SIC 175: Artisanal Computing=====

Trends

Tyler Cowen of frequent info source Marginal Revolution, interviewed about the state of things / Noahpinion
Trendwatching and trend naming have become such popular hobbies that even professional forecasters are beginning to tire of it / Vox via Understanding TikTok
[SIC] homie John Ortved notes that cigarettes have made a comeback with a younger crowd who knows better. / NYT
Corollary: the New Trend in Healthcare is to D.I.Y. / WSJ
Welcome to “The Age of the Seasoned” writes Rishad Tobaccowala / The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past
Related: Millennials are finally spending like adults, (tho … inflation) / Bloomberg
Does that mean the Gen Y aesthetic is finally over? Or nah? Curbed via Lean Luxe
New shit to replace it: “casual instagram.” TikTok via The Trend Report
Zoomer green is the new millennial pink / The Guardian via After School
It's not a knockoff, it's an Authentic Bootleg. GQ via Public Announcement
Corollary: 5 Design Trends that will shape 2022 / It’s Nice That

Style

Balmain's designing a collection of clothes and accessories inspired by Barbie, in styles for women, men and avatars (via NFT) / Axios
What exactly is fashion’s obsession with the metaverse about? As RAFTM Rachel Tashjian observes, It's about the money, honey / GQ via Lean Luxe
Gen Z sellers are reshaping the vintage market / Linear Commerce via Fashionista
What if you could read a fashion label like a Food Label? / NYT
From Louis Vuitton to Harrods: Luxury takes on skateboarding / Vogue Business via Public Announcement
Is workwear the next untapped market for direct-to-consumer brands? / Thingtesting

The Arts

Is art still a questionable investment? / The Art Newspaper
Related? The new galleries giving back. Disillusioned with the traditional system, modern gallerists are rethinking ways to show – and sell – artworks / FT
While a Barbara Kruger retrospective mixes capitalism and its critique. Kruger never seemed to mind that the very world she critiqued co-opted her style and spit it back into advertising / Hyperallergic
Meanwhile YBA star Tracey Emin is turning a former Margate bathhouse into a free art school / It’s Nice That

Entertainment + IP

Jesse Pearson introduced me years back to the fiction of Charles Willeford and Jesse’s intro to Willeford’s “Cockfighter” is a good one. Likewise the book, if you like verité / hard-boiled storytelling / Apology
Corollary, from Matt O’Mara: "Bit of light listening for you!" [Harsh Reality: the story of Miriam Rivera] and [The Assault on America] / Apple
The Dance Divas: 1988-1998 podcast is an ode to “women of New York City’s underground dance music scene” / BBC via The FACE
Mother Earth’s Plantasia, the 1976 album recorded specifically for plants by electronic music pioneer Mort Garson was recently reissued / Slowdown.tv
Sofia Coppola’s Gen-X pop culture show revisited / W Mag
The big dream of Yonkers: to be the 'Burbank of New York’ / NYT
Revisiting the DIY club scene known as ‘bloghouse' LA Times via Music Redef

Platforms & Influencers

This is a very dumb headline: “Sources Say Kanye West Has a Plan” / Vanity Fair
Related: S/o to [SIC] homie Nick Tran - "Jeen-Yuhs" is a doc series about ‘Ye coming soon to the ‘Flix / Hypebeast
Upfront’s Greg Bettinelli has been keeping a database of over 235 venture firms and decided to share it publicly. Linkedin via Protocol
LinkedIn is rolling out a social-audio feature that will be focused on letting users host interactive, live virtual events / TechCrunch via Future Party
Streamer Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragus became the face of the “hot tub meta” and she announced this week that she was acquiring an inflatable pool company. Daily Advent via Garbage Day

Marketing & Advertising

TikTok Is Fueling Hollywood Marketing Campaigns / Deadline
Gary Vaynerchuk launched a new production studio, Eva Nosidam, to create ads that don't feel like ads. / AdWeek
How huge can a TikTok Duet Get? / NYT
What a bumpy CES Means for Brands and Live Events / Ad Age
From David Bloom: “A new DTC marketplace focused on NFTs about wine and spirits, on which cognac brand Hennessy will drop its first token” / Robb Report
Related: the 'Puppy Bowl' Is Issuing NFTs / Ad Age
Related: what Bored Apes Can Teach CMOs About Guiding Their Companies Into the Future / Adweek
Also there’s a Discord where marketers learn about Web3 / Marketing Brew
Tracksmith made a film about its Team Manager attempting to run a sub-4-minute mile for the 20th consecutive year, on New Year’s Eve…. / Tracksmith

Media Business

From Iolanda Carvalho: "Nic Newman's Digital News Project --- Reuters Institute + University of Oxford (+ Google) trends and predictions report for 2022. Key Quote: 'Over the last few years, we have seen the coming together of two powerful ideas. The first is that online journalism needs to be paid for and the second that journalists may need to behave more like social influencers as they build relationships and communities.’” / Reuters Institute
Hence, [SIC] homie Sara Fischer proclaims a bull market for media elites / Axios
While Brian Morrissey predicts we’re “entering a long-overdue cycle of media innovation” aka the Roaring 20s of digital publishing / The Rebooting
Hence, Dirt started a DAO / Substack
While The AP is launching an NFT marketplace for its photographs / AP
“Suck Dick, Carry Narcan” is the more-provocative-than-maybe-necessary title of this Rave New World interview with the founder of Dirty, a newish harm reduction initiative in the form of a fashion and sex magazine. Really interesting, cool synthesis. / Rave New World

Metaverse & Web3

From Ruju Jasani: "Tip for [SIC]- Must read AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future. It’s a collab between science fiction writer Chen Quifan (I highly recommend his debut book The Waste Tide) and venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee (CEO of Sinovation Ventures). The chapters are a cool blend of science fiction and technology forecasting…” / Amazon
Bobby Hundreds answered a bunch of questions about the NFT scene in plainspoken terms / Instagram
Related, from Randy Irwin: "Quality” [Moxie Marlinspike’s Web3 critique] / Twitter
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin responds to Moxie / Reddit via Marginal Revolution
While Coinbase founder Balaji Srinivasan compared the state of things to Netflix selling DVDs via Protocol
Then there’s the argument that Video Games Already Do what the metaverse just promises / Wired
But maybe Gamers Don't Want NFTs?! / VICE
Speaking of games, from ‘Celeste Blewitt: The Australian Open is the metaverse's first grand slam’ / AFR
And they did the Matrix on a Cow. / Twitter via Today in Tabs
Related; the economics of the metaverse using video game business models as a starting point / The New Yorker via Protocol

Food & Drink

Taco Bell is launching a subscription program: one taco of their choice every day for 30 straight days, for $10 per month. / CNBC
Fake Bourbon is so hot right now / NYT
KFC is getting into the fake chicken business. The restaurant chain has partnered with Beyond Meat to offer Beyond Fried Chicken / Input
Related: from Josh Gardiner: “Read this [“Welcome to the (Synthetic) Meat Space”] last night on my first plane ride for a year. Missed the views, not the seats. Found it really interesting from this ethics vs law/curiosity pov” / Wired

Miscellany

This Stunning 16th-Century Roman Villa comes with a former Playboy centerfold, the widow of the former owner, who says she won't leave. / Airmail
The wild and wonderful world of estate sales / New Yorker
The Triffid’s day has come. We’re making furniture from invasive species /FT

Things to Do

LA - go see fave artist and skate legend Ed Templeton’s art show / Instagram
From Kevin Johanessen: TV users, check out fave new band Geese on the Late Show / Twitter
Get lit: Head Hi invites artists, designers, collectors, craftspeople of all levels, everyone and anyone to submit a lamp for the third annual Head Hi Lamp Show. / Google