Bent Zine #3
“When a man say him do not mind, then him mind.”— Negro Proverb
Image: Carrie Mae Weems (1987)
Johnson O’Connor English Vocabulary Builder (1939)
Unknown to 40 Percent: Penurious
adj. Niggardly, miserly, parsimonious to a fault, excessively sparing in the use of money. Penurious, and the corresponding noun Penury, come from the Latin penuria, and the French penurie, both of which means having to do with poverty.
American Zen Bones: Maezumi Roshi Stories (1999)
3. What is the Bliss Body?
Bernard Tetsugen Glassman once asked Maezumi, “What is the bliss body?”
Roshi replied, “You stupid.”
An Artist You Should Know: Ulysses S. Jenkins
“Ulysses S. Jenkins was one of the first artists of his generation to combine video and performance to address topics of race, history, and the power of the state. He has been active in the Los Angeles art scene since the 1960s, often collaborating with other artists, founding the media group Venice Video News, and later opening Othervisions Studios, a collective performance space and studio. In his art, Jenkins blends conceptual complexity and political urgency with earthy humor as he explores the media’s portrayal of African Americans.
Video: Inconsequential Doggereal (1981) (Link if embedded video doesn’t work)
This video marks the beginning of Jenkins's experimentation with unconventional filming and editing techniques. Inconsequential Doggereal addresses issues of time, broken narratives, politics, and creativity. Jenkins considers the changes in one's interpretations of events and issues over time and the ways in which an individual's understanding can evolve. The video does not have a true ending but rather exemplifies the progression and process of reassessment that the artist narrates throughout. Historically rooted in Dada and surrealist film, this work flashes through scenes of drama and vulnerability, as well as ones of humor and personal interaction.” —UbuWeb
An Image that Moves Me
Commercial Break
Revelator
Who is that naked book turning its pages?
Jittering soul of John the Revelator,
brought on down from the comical gods
With no satisfaction to be heard, just
black-skinned ghosts haunting steep
tipped mountains howling about love-making
We went back to the red-backed lands to gallop
down to see with sight anew--wet golden plains
To feel that tight-heart feeling, that feeling that is blue
A sweet, sweet dew made merry under the barren
& Because what is holy isn’t always free,
we listen to its pearly smoke--
A house with gentle pleasures
A hot-hot song that can’t be housed
Ugly hushed light of day, not a sound of death
But a levee camp moan
If you hear that howling it is that ghost
Riding liquid-free on top of the world
Where everywhere it’s a killing floor chickens and all
Who doesn’t mind the grinning face as long as
it plays its contorted tune--Snap drum set
Evil eye to the moon driving off
Back door open to all
NSFW
Bent Questions: Juan Matos (@juanluis_matos)
So tell me how BENT you are…
Virus or Bacteria? Bacteria
Preferred Pronoun? Alien/Alienness
What Periodic Table Element are you? UUo Ununoctium Unknown
Favorite Object? Rocking Chair
What shape are you? Circle
Give us a texture. Water
Anarchist, Socialist, Capitalist, Libertarian, etc. Anarchist
Favorite person of Color that you disagree with? My dad lol
What sound are you? Fake waterfall sounds at spas
Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, or a Broken Copper Pot? Broken Copper Pot 100%
What’s the last thing you broke? A piece of my friend’s car :- /
The last person, you kissed? Total babe
The best thing about men’s rights activists? The idea of them going extinct
Do you meditate? yes :- )
Are you a Neutron Star, White Hole, or Solar Flare? Solar Flares are sick
Which fetish are you? Klismaphilia, EDERACINISM, Fornifilia, OCULOLINCTUS. OCULOLINCTUS definitely licked a few eyeballs before
Your opinion on Lesbian Separatist. Do your thing
Favorite Mythological Character? Johnny Suede
What type of Cancer are you? : - ( Fuck Cancer
Matriarchal Punishment or Patriarchal Redemption? Can the patriarch be redeemed?
Who do you actually hate? I hate people who hate others!
Best regrettable purchase this month? No Regrets
Finish this sentence. I know Kim Kardashian…would be my friend if she only gave me the chance
Your favorite body of water. Blessing The Atlantic every night <3
What’s the most middle-class thing you’ve done this week? Talked about the art market :- (
I’m only politically correct when…never lol
What’s your favorite scar on your body? across my heart </3
Last time you cried tears of joy. In a dream, I had about finding the holy land
Your most noble trait. My naivety
I know the taste of...eyeballs, they're a lil salty