–V– by Scott Massey

Not Freemag.05 More like V for Velocity or…

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facebook checks with a quota of likes and surface level comments. Attentions diverted, tasks checked, and now its time to hide in the workshop till morning blinds the eye and shakes the brain to sleep. 1 Number one key rule in the space at all times: do not compromise the journey! If you do, you leave an asshole and you come back an asshole… Elegantly stated by Yvon Chouinard, the process and experience is the only reason to take the trip, its not about the accolades or bragging rights but what you gain from the steps taken (even if some of the steps aren't straight forward). Consideration is more reasonable than ignorance.

This document is no longer free. It never was before, but the title implied a different story, a common misconception that one could take a copy and walk away without paying for the labor involved. Of course it was probably naive to call this small annual pub Freemag.0# (insert # here, this one would be 5 or five but instead its just V ). Free as a title implied the spirit in which the work was created and displayed. The work was not created for a client, it was initiated without a brief and in a spirit best associated with an amateur. There would never be a feeling of failure & there would be no such thing as a wrong turn, there were only exercises or experiments. Through the guidance of a wise professor and fellow classmate at CalArts, it was brought to my attention that I was invested in Infinite Games vs. Finite Games. After reading Dan Carse's book Finite and Infinite Games, it became clear why working on these small books were so fulfilling… there was nothing to lose except time and time seemed to slow down while working in the lab. To be more precise my lab is less scientific than the one described by Denise Gonzales Crisp in her essay, Towards a Definition of the Decorational. The space created for research is more in line with a playground or mechanics' workshop in the basement, sneaking away each night with coveralls still zipped to the top and covered with ink. My space is more physical then digital, of course the digital still has a presence and is the key element that allows my work to exist for others to see. However, my space is big enough to contain all the elements and ideas collected from the outside world. Physical material packed into a bag or shot on film while riding a found bike through a path carved by man in a land that seems somewhat forgotten, while in reality all of life's energy passes bye in a blink of an eye. Its in this space that my process begins. Lead by songs set on shuffle, my iPod is classic and white with dirty smears and deep scratches in glass. The material finds their way into my satchel similar to the way the bike steers itself without the guidance of my hand. A light flickers, eyes and head move toward the target, the body propels and the next element is gathered. The hunt is not forced but instead in sync with what the mind is grappling with, but in a much more friendly and basic manner. When the battery runs out, the search is over for now and its time to move on to the daily routine of being a semiresponsible ‟member of the community” hidden in the hills. Necessary calls are made, numerous emails, one of several

When filing through the archive, its necessary for a pushing / pulling of ideas and elements: tearing, slicing and folding allow for a closer investigation. Marks are found and made, there is a covering up of information, an intense reading of the palimpsest, a digging between the layers and addition of new ones by the sharp snap of juxtaposition. Its not just form and color but information, the left over baggage forever embedded deep in the skin of graphic detritus. The hamburger helper of graphic design, out their and available for everyone to pickup and subvert for their own benefit. Patience allows connections between distant ideas to develop, act like a child and edit less. The mind of a child frees themselves to enjoy new territories and experiences, it is therefore important to constantly look for new angles on mundane tasks and routines. Within this is a key rule, stated by Sister Corrita Kent in her collection of insights, Footnotes & Headlines: A Play-Pray Book. 2 We need more disturbances, more discoveries, more games, embrace the everyday. This entails a critical look at relation labor/leisure, for the most of us we are required to spend the majority of our days working to afford moments of celebration. But why should it be fair for a minority of our population to live a life of leisure while ours must suffer through the daily routine, only to celebrate in a massive way 6 times a year. Why not celebrate everyday? Disrupt your routine and break up the often unsettling, hazy, overblown holidays by creating a gentle structure for gratification. The development of games within work that allows you to gain agency and control over what you produce. An overall slowing down of the self-accelerating state of being, a hands on reexamining of the system and by–products that composes our hyperconscious, surrealist daily routine. Working with what already exists in the world, in our faces, on our hands, flickering in our gazing eyes and firmly imprinted in our minds. Subverting the system to address the inequalities and unreasonable excuses for poor planning, greed and incompetence. Wow, what an obnoxious rant. Its dark in here, but the rising sun is glaring off the screen as I type these last words. This happens a lot. A brief summary of the projects contained within V, it's first important to mention that what is presented are merely fragments of the research and explorations. A bigger and more comprehensive book entitled ALL BLK EVRY THIN is in the final (more like semi–final) stages of being developed. It's also important to state that these projects were created in the hills C AT C H

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— Design / photos / writing: Scott Massey Additional photos: Thea Lorentzen, Masato Nakada, Cathy Lee, Calvin Rye, Alex Pines ©Nohawk, LLC, 2013. ● www.nohawk.com www.rrrproject.com ◯ www.leisurelabor.com

Projects in a transformative space: 1 Smoke & Mirrors, (1 & 116) photos taken of smoke and a women standing in front of a mirror with body segment vertically and slightly off kilter. Taken at MoMA, within the exhibit for Fluxus. A deliberate escape from thesis and trip to NY Art Book Fair. 3 Would You Like to Play a Game!, (2 & 115) physically clipped and scanned men's wear items perfect for a rainy/sunny day spent at the beach or on the way to the office. Also a line from War Games. 4 LL Umbrella Concept Grafitto, (4–113) Brick and mortar branding, step and repeat yourself till it hurts so good you can't get that feeling out of your brain. 5

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Dead Horse, (5–6) produced on the occasion of the FISK Halloween zine, designed the cover and poster for the event. This led to the critical examination of holidays as deliberate and necessary disturbances. Subverting the holiday to create a dialogue about technology and culture. Here/Now, (7–10) film taken while riding on a ten speed around Santa Clarita in search of a food supply, shelter and survalance. Locate, document and train for the end of the world (useful during Sandy). Bookends, (11–24) physical & digital transformation/documentation of information thru a scanner bed and copier with added affects created by fluorescent light. Title

sums up the prompt, also a song by Simon and Garfunkel.

Mtn Size, (57–78) a semi–voluntary day out for grad students during practicum, a much needed disturbance from studio living. Part workshop / photoshoot, the crew of six was strapped with iPods and iPhones. The spirit of the team vs. crew was tested in all day outdoor activities that dealt lightly with the theme of salvage and survival. A Janes Addiction song.

Sentimental X's, (79–90) a collaborative venture into analog film development, use of remnants of a wild party: beads, pills (rice), cheerios, stovers. The ephemeral caught on a roll of tape (film), digitally scanned, blown up, cropped and shared. A Broken Social Scene song.

LL BLK EVRY THIN, (91–100) three color A [no black] digitally generated gradients, used to connotate the transformation of the spirit. The light at the almost end of the tunnel, cliché. A Jay-z & Kanye West song.

8 Cultural War, (25–26) photographed model holding Amazon box with intense lighting, for dramatic effect the fluorescent source of light was placed in the box. An Arcade Fire song. 9 NO MAN IS AN IS—LAND, (27–45) natural transformations from within, outside of the box. A series of collages made within the container of an old National Geographic book about canyons. All photos of people outside were covered up and forced inside containers, left to look outside false window constructed out of paper. Arts & Crafts movement patterns were used to hide humans and cause disruptions in nature. Moments of people sewing. 10 E xpectations, (46) digitally photographed a computer screen in transition between frames and phases. The movie was Stacey Peralta's latest documentary about his 2nd his skate crew Powell Peralata entitled, Bones Brigade: the Documentary. In the eighties we all thought our work was going to be play… A Tame Impala song. 11

Lighten Up, (47–56) physical & digital translations of light as captured by a scanning bed, physical objects placed in front of its view. A formal approach to illustrate the velocity and dematerialization associated with the rate at which information travels.

15 Mountaineerd, (101–112) physical and digital translation of Leisure Labor into pattern & image making. Brick & mortar, mixed in with some amateurish graffito get–up. The life of leisure and luxury is not meant for all of us, someone must climb without a rope. A Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson song. ► ↓ ×

Contact: smassey3@hotmail.com Tumblr: nohawk.tumblr.com arrrchive012.tumblr.com leisurelabor.tumblr.com

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These projects were made in an effort to grapple with the rate at which technology is accelerating and the velocity at which this affects economic, social, political and cultural issues. The structure of this book and the manner by which the components were created leans toward the mix tape more than the concept album; the show in a small darke, yet friendly bar than an amplitheater. There will be no pyrotechnics, your favorite song will not be played, but there will be some moments you may not want to miss. Each section is titled by the song that was played or heard amist the shuffling of paper, bits, and fragments. The inspiration is music, the voice can be found there, the memories still live there and possibly will still remain there as well. The mixtape was made for myself, its selfish, but thats why it was compiled. To remember where the journey lead me and to at some point try to extract the ideas, moments and activities for future use.

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These fragments semi–contained in V are in a state of transition and to a certain degree that is the may I prefer them. However, now that I have spent some time away from the hill, my somewhat hidden playground, the projects need to be permanently set in a form. Nicely arranged with all the components, raw materials, notes, failures, explosions, and polished shiny finished goods for a select few to see and experience at full blast. My research, much like my slightly consistant method of physical activity (long winding bike rides) took me to many interesting crossroads, wormholes and deadends. There was a certain degree of crowd sourcing inolved at the end, but more in the spirit of collaboration and sharing a discovery with others. It is in this exact spirit that the structure of ALL BLK EVRY THIN will celebrate all the failures and findings of my research project. However, this is a process that has taken a lot longer than I had originally planned. The key ingredients have made their way to NY (to NYC and back LI everyday for 4 months), VT, NJ, and MA. They have weathered one of the

hottest summers and one of the worst storms ever recorded on the east coast. And now those lucky devils may have time to live free for another Spring, as I move back and forth between the East & West Coast, as well as up & down the California coast looking for spaces like the one…

Not Freemag.05 Would you like to play a game?

of Santa Clarita in the year 2012. This is important because it is now 2013, I'm at work after work and no one is around, its quiet and my music travels through the thunder dome without an echo. I am not in a cave or a shed, or a charming little work room as I described before. But I would like to get there, to that space where anything can happen and everyday feels like a celebration and everybody is celebrated. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like that yet… but I'm optimistic that opportunties like that will develop in the future. Hopefully this one won't be so expensive but I welcome the involvement of the same people that I met on the hill.

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