CARS

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Vol 2. Issue 3 May 19, 2020 cars rods voitures automobility oil


this zine is taken care of by: ______________________ (your name/institution here)

pianorecitalmagazine.tumblr.com instagram.com/pianorecitalparties vimeo.com/bigbag


CONTENTS:

A t

Car Appreciation photos by Friends....1

U o

• HISTORY/CRITIQUE A lot can happen in a year............................3 Automobility and Film.........................17 What happened in 1903 Map..................3 • CHATTING Introd. Bali Racer....7 SadMoodBoard.....15 Zine Review of the Day: Adrift.............30 Car Talk: an Interview..........................39 • NEWS abc7: Nia Wilson's Stabber on Trial................27 A Call for Attists + Submission Info.........................41 Good for your Ears.........................37 Poems.....................34


ONE OF THESE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

Lego Buggies by @shelley.x

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@jsleeee

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A lot can happen in a year...

For 11 years from 1896 - 1907, No New States had formed. The south of U.S. was in debt and under reconstruction post civil war. Oklahoma, Arizona, Alaska, DC, New Mexico and Hawaii have yet to become states (be purchased, defined, etc.). Yet, 1903’s main events in popular culture and automobility shows us how active people were to get a move on. 1861-1865: the Civil War

1903

May 23: First “Great American Road Trip” by car Begins June 16: Ford Motor Compay established. July 19: The First Tour de France race began July 26: First “Great American Road Trip” by car ends Dec 10: the 1st female to recieve a Nobel Peace prize, Marie Curie, recieves a quarter of a Nobel Peace Prize Dec 17: The Wright Brothers fly the first motorized aircraft

1914-1918: World War I 1920: 19th Ammendment

1932: Amelia Earhart Flies the Atlantic non-stop in 15 hours 1939-1945: World War II

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TOYOTA TERCEL SR5 portland, oregon


INTRODUCING: BALI RACER MASCOT

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This is Bali Racer. The two motorists on one vehicle make it a complete and singular Racer. And Bali Racer is the current Mascot of PRM. Here is the story of how it caught on. In the Summer of 2018, I completed a stage of my life. So to celebrate, I flew to Bali, Indonesia for a week with 3 close companions of mine. If you have not been to Southeast Asia before, like me, here is what I did. I prepared for the tropical weather, and made 2 to 5 trips a week beforehand for swimsuits


and eco-friendly sunscreen. Kaiser hooks it up with a typhoid shot and diarrhea pills, and you’re set. It is going to be more glamorous when you get there, just tell yourself that. I recalled that I was going to a town racked with tourism, and was openly concerned about the inequities of travel. When I should have been studying the itinerary made by Elise and Sonia, I read papers on the Bali economy (and honestly retained none of it). I understood, like Hawaii, Bali isn’t a rich island and tourism is its predominant economic strength. Bali’s beauty typically published in ads hides poverty and appealed to people and my planners who accompanied me on the whole trip. I was sad, a bit too, carrying this chip on my shoulder that I was following the footsteps of every vegan vlogger as an antithesis to my post-graduation mood of housing and labor activism. With this righteousness I silently demanded the questions, What was I here for? Why all this economic inequality? Cultural appropriation? What I was there for, I remembered from time to time, was to be with my fantastic, trustworthy friends and to experience something new. We had a cab driving service, a common


way of traveling as a tourist where you pay a driver to chauffeur you and your party to any destination in Bali for the whole day. Kusnati was one of the two drivers that we had and he drove us in a mint-condition 6-seater Suzuki Karimun. Both drivers had moved from Jakarta, Java, Indonesia for the financial promises of Bali’s tourism. I don’t remember the specifics of how they became drivers. Although, with this information I was heeding the signs of economic struggle. But I am so grateful for our drivers because they were simply doing a job. They made my friends and I feel welcome, safe, and brought us to the places that we dreamed about. They were doing what was needed, and a highly niche job at that. I was able to see the nooks and various patches of Bali because of these drivers, rice paddies and coffee plantations, lush and green. I saw beaches, went to a popular poolside club where we could flirt with the charming bartenders. We passed the not so popular clubs too. We saw the dilapidated, bathroom-less and vacant storefronts that were queues of a wobbly economy, packs of stray dogs. The quiet country and where there was most life, like the small shopping districts which buzzed and rumbled with motorbikes and pint-sized Suzuki Karimuns. We had the treat to see the ways Bali generally got around, to their workplaces, their schools—with and without

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helmets. There came a time early on in the trip when I broke down. I broke from constantly ebbing at my pity how I had too much privilege, I was wrong for participating in this adventure, galloping and engorging in vacation time, while children had to sell postcards for pennies to “save up” for school. I didn’t understand that I was so easily ticked, I was focused on the

negative, so I told myself relentlessly that tourism felt superficial, for the gram only, perpetuating the ideas of Bali as wildly beautiful or rustic with simple people. I saw temporariness, tourists and workers kidding themselves. I saw desperation in the “Big Sale” or “Going out of Business” signs in those broken-down stores. They were signs of a fair but struggling attempt to suckle from an economy that was at the volatile


whims of the Australian, American, and Western demands and tastes. Inarticulately, and panicked, I told my friends I wanted to leave, but we had just arrived at our stop which was 2 hours from our hotel, and knew we must stay. I was evoking the most sheltered and naive part of me, unused to the hawkers, or brand-new hotels already falling apart, contractors breaking rubble with jackhammers in flip flops. Everywhere we went, people asked us if we were American or Chinese. Hostesses exclaimed in admiration of the light skin, light eyes and height of Sonia, Elise and I; and Jonathan’s height. It fell on me every time that life was so different in Bali. But I didn’t know. I didn’t know it was inappropriate to kick my friends’ in the emotional nuts out of nowhere as we were taking selfies with monkeys and the valleys of rice paddies. Well, perhaps I did know better. Still, I didn’t know that I was forcing my own image onto Bali and its inhabitants. I had this fixation that everyone was suffering. I forced this onto my observations of tourists, including myself and my party. I felt guilty and wanted people to feel it too. The night after my meltdown, Elise Sonia and

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I sat down together. I saw that they seemed perfectly at peace with the weirdness of Bali, so I asked if they felt any morsel of what I did. They nodded, sure it was different than what they expected but acknowledged they didn’t feel guilty of anything. And when I began to unfold what I saw as unfair, they heard me and my complaints entirely. They opened their minds, they asked questions where I learned terms and philosophies of worker exploitation, etc... Since we were experiencing the same, new places through travel, they could put themselves in my shoes, as could I. This conversation might have caused me anger from cooing and passive energy. Especially since the two said in the end that inequality is almost nothing we can change right now, we just have to be conscious about it. However, my friends’ conclusion didn’t invalidate me, or make me feel ignored. Instead, it helped me to be grateful, to attempt to see the silver lining, and to treat people how I want to be treated no matter where I go, where I am, what kind of government is in place… They had a point, and I too. They had shortcomings, I too. In a way, their unradical opinion pushed me beyond my understanding. I am grateful for this, because since then I've gone in directions where I keep my focus on positive change, not negative.


The experiences of communicating my feelings on this topic to people with different opinions led me to a mindset that was more helpful to me. I veered away from jumping to conclusions on the trip, and was more relaxed and ready to try new things. I also focused on watching my surroundings to ease me. I used photography to get into the moment, instead of get away. I tuned into the cool morning breezes and the companionship of my friends. I tried to watch without judgement. Bali Racer was what captured my spiraling mind on those 1-2 hour drives to our destinations. I watched the motorists inch out from our car’s left, then slither alongside, then bolt away down the road. Another Suzuki Karimun or Racer would wedge between us, but I’d keep focus on the one until they disappeared. I do not know who those Racers were, where they were going. The road which Racers, travelers, motorists take are not linear and never directly positive. They’re in motion and in a specific cadance to remain a balance, symbolic of what can be and already is. The Bali Racers everywhere were beauty, dark skinned, dark haired, moving along with the wave, loosely joined to the flow of traffic, and unforced.


Image Search of Suzuki Karimun above and Bali, Indonesia below.


A PREVIEW A PROCESS "OUTLINE"

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sad moodboard by andie


writing is hard..

Have I really been working on this since December?


Automobility, TV, and Cars by andie Automobility and cars introduce individualistic thinking when planning schedules and where one can go. Motor Companies had the power to highlight this new ability to travel on one's own when television and marketing became increasingly prevalent in the late 1930s to 1960s. The automobile industry was set apart from train and horse travel, as it was distinctly autonomous. However, Motor companies, after creating a supply and empire of workers, had the complex task to emphasize the usefulness of cars since people were so hesitant to cars because of safety and price, to name a couple factors. In examining Master Hands, a short industrial film made by the Jam Handy Organization in 1936, and other cultural references where cars appear, I attempt to show that the Auto Industry and it's film making partners were actively seeking ways to persuade investors and consumers via new film technology, politics, and propaganda, really. First of all, automobility is the 20th century phenomenon where people desired getting to places on their own on a machine. Trains were not for example a part of this craze because trains are dependent on other people's schedules. But Bikes, motorcycles, and cars were the machines that people flocked over, at least a

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"The captivating technology of motion pictures could provocatively exaggerate the usefulness of cars,"


subgroup of mechanical engineers and the like. Check out our history corner "What happened in 1903" and our timeline to see that there was in fact an underground automobility revolution! You'll find out that the beginnings of Harley-Davidson and Ford Motors came out of the mechanics subculture of racing. The first Car was invented around 1880 in Europe. Cars between that period and 1913 were hand made, highly expensive, and also very unreliable. However, according to history it was Ford, in Detroit, Michigan, which had used factory, conveyor style "assembly line" production that was part automated, part machinery, and built by workers. 1,000 cars a day could be made. And this scientific approach and speed, theoretically saved Ford enough time and money to lower the prices of cars for consumers all over the world. In Master Hands, one can get a great glimpse of all the moving parts of a car factory. Parts were created in a foundry, which is the workshop where work-

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"Cars became the nation's obsession, something that flickered people to be in touch with the future" ers heat up vats, smelt and pour liquid metal into moulds. And on the shop floor (not in the foundry), workers fit together pieces or feed other parts into a giant hole puncher for sheet metal. The film has grand, dramatic music to emphasize and mirror the complex work of the factory. But as my film professor in 2018 said, it was an industrial film, a style of film that is meant to educate or promote a brand or message. So if that is so, what is the purpose of the film? The purpose of the film must be theorized and set against the social atmosphere. In 1936, four months after the release of the film, General Motors workers went on a unprecedented strike. During the Great Depression in 1929, GM laid off workers which had impacted the remaining workers with understaffing and overwork. Increasingly, cars


were becoming more of a popular demand, so the factories had even sped up production further. So workers, with their stress levels piqued, unionized in 1936 for the sit-down strike so that their employers can make agreements for better pay, or safer work conditions. I believe the purpose of the film is to give viewers a sense of pride in the auto industry and sort of ameliorate potential public apprehension about the morality of the industry's labor exploitation. Most likely, for the car companies, the film ideally drew in interested customers.Throughout the film, which has no actors speaking, shows off both the the technological advancements of the auto industry and film too. It foreshadows the relationship which the film and auto industry take on, where television is used to show what is perceptually normal, grand, effective in elevating your status or way of life. This is a summary of my Months long research of Cars and Automobility. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you would like more information, feel free to contact me, or ask me to write in more depth. The film is available on Yoochoob and Library of Congress. Just search Master Hands (1936).

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Drake’s Beach October 27th

The introduction of Master Hands


HISTORY: WHAT HAPPENED IN 1903? Pink Stars from West to East: • Jackson and Crocker begin their travels in SF on May 23, 1903 • After getting lost in Oregon, they found Bud, a bull dog in Idaho • Arrived in Omaha Nebraska on July 12th • Chicago, July 17th • Pulled onto 5th Street in New York, New York, July 26th, 4,500 miles and 63 days later Red Stars from West to East, 3 big 1903 recorded history in automobility • Wisconsin: Harley and Davidson develop a motorized bicycle in Wisconsin • Michigan: Henery Ford Establishes Ford Company • North Carolina: Orville Wright flies the first aircraft For more: History Channel: history.com “The First Great American Road Trip” Vintage News: thevintagenews.com “Childhood friends William Harley & Arthur Davidson designed their first “motor-bicycle” in 1903

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By Undie Cartes

SF

SF to NY on car May-July 1903 by Jackson + Crocker

Harley Davidson Madison, WI Ford Detroit, MI

Orville Wright Kitty Hawk, NC

NY


Shannon in her first car, taken November 6th and December 14th

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Harbor Bay Hot Rods 2019 @ La Val’s

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CAR QUESTIONS?

ASK JAZZ! EMAIL OR DM “ASK JAZZ” TO BIGBAGPAPERS@GMAIL.COM ON IG @CHILL.JAZZ


@enne.focus


by Andie Nguyen

This Day’s Zine Review

ADRIFT

Year Published: 2019 Created by Adrienne Peña aka Enne.Focus

Adrienne Peña, a friend and photographer currently living in SF, curated Adrift after a photographic, solo day trip to Half Moon Bay. The images in this zine are striking and up-close nature shots of the foundational parts of a beach—seaweed, bubbles, driftwood. But, these aren’t just any seaweeds or logs! Adrienne's detailed photography is described as "macro" in the camera world. Adrift highlights that there's always more to than what meets the eye. Many of Adrienne's works are in this genre, or shots from bike rides. The artist and 'Felicity' have a young YouTube worth checking out too. The 32 pages inside are in a greyscale dream— black and white, shot on both film and iPhone. The overall product has a professional feel and look. You can purchase one via Piano Recital Mag or the artist’s Instagram + YT: @Enne.Focus ... Retails $10!

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MODELS: BRANDON RAMOS, ANDREA F NGUYEN. PHOTO BY HANNA CHEN


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POEM CORNER

For some Strange reason,

Alameda has some nice cars We don’t really ever go distances that far People who care about their travelling metal coffins are the funniest people out there They won’t eat or sleep until som-ething is right nor will they spontaneously buy buy buy (ot without the reaseach) One or two I know of can talk about mufflers or highways and trades all day until something else crosses that mind Every retold discovery, with a glimmer in her eye click it or ticket ride or die the passenger with its head out the window like OUT the window has a zoomed in view of what’s passing by The best seat in the house is the one by you

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Justice for Nia Wilson

prm - cars - 2020

Story by ABC7

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- An Alameda County Superior Court judge on Tuesday ruled that a trial can go forward next month for a transient man facing a murder charge for the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Nia Wilson at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland last year. At a hearing Monday in the case of John Lee Cowell, 29, Judge James Cramer said he needed

additional time to study legal issues surrounding Cowell’s mental competency to stand trial for the killing of Wilson and the injuring of her sister on July 22, 2018. Cramer ruled Tuesday that the trial could proceed starting on

Jan. 6, but ordered an additional evaluation of Cowell’s mental competency, Alameda County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Teresa Drenick said. Cramer had suspended criminal proceedings against Cowell on Dec. 27, 2018, saying there was “substantial evidence” that he was not mentally competent to stand trial.


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A playlist for you... The Pack - In my Car Harriet Brown - Driver’s Seat Car Seat Head Rest - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales Drive My Car - Barbra Casini Quartet Ridin’ Round - Kali Uchis Ryd - Steve Lacy

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vroom vroom


car talk

an interview by Andie

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Christmas morning, at my grandparents’ home in Chula Vista, San Diego. I am Speaking to my Grandfather, Salvador Ferrer, of 87 years old. My Aunt Ellen, his daughter in-law, is with us as well. Ellen calls Lolo by Dad. Andie: Ellen, Lolo [Salvador], what was your first car? Ellen: A Ford, I got my first car in college. Lolo: Chevrolet A: When did you get your first car? E: Like ‘83, ‘85?.. ‘83 L: The Chevrolet. In Illinois, And we drove from there to here [Southern California, ‘61] E: Oh yeah! With Roland and Thea. They were toddlers. L: It look us a week to drive down. We’d drive for 5 or 6 hours then sleep and stop at a hotel--motel A: How much was gas then? L: Fifteen cents. 15 cents. A+E: Oh wow. Yeah.. A: And how much was gas in the 80s, Ellen? Like 2 dollars? E: Oh no

L: No, not even. A: Like a Dollar? L: *tilts his head yes* E: It’s so much now! E: Dad, wasn’t gas in the 90s or 80s super cheap too? Or some law didn’t allow us to buy gas every day? L: Yeah, there was a ration. A: Why? Was there a war? L: A shortage, 80s I think. E: Ration, yeah that’s right. A: There was an “Oil Crisis” L: Yes, that. E: oil shortage A: oil crisis, There’s an oil crisis now! L: No! We don’t have a crisis A: We have too much! That’s a crisis to me.


A Call for Artists by Shannon and Andie For the future issue #5, of Piano Recital Magazine, we want to capture the emotions and spirit of, and actions being taken by artists, communities, and local businesses as they return to work after being hit by the Global coronavirus epidemic. We have named this issue 'Comeback.’ Inspired by the many acts of altruism (selfless giving) made available to us through news clippings, conversations with friends, and when we were personal recipients of these acts, as curators of this Zine, we decided to act upon our inspiration. We had many thoughts- How are we/they going to make a comeback from losses in finances and human life? Governor Gavin Newsom’s Shelter in Place order of Thursday, March 19, 2020, had confined a majority across California. We have collectively experienced lows generated by deaths, loss of business, and reduced opportunities to socialize. Some Americans have even

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pushed back, protesting for #openamerica. Asian communities saw a spike in hate-crime cases against them, as they were unjustly blamed for their heritage and Wuhan being the source of the outbreak. On the other side of the globe, Chinese officials have acknowledged unfairly targeting foreigners, especially of African descent, with forced coronavirus testing. Yet in chaos lies hope and opportunity. Some gestures are very loud, like the operatic performances on Italian balconies, the laughter found in rekindled friendships or the narratives that nurses are sharing from the front lines of worry, pain, fatigue, and determination. For some individuals, the epidemic has brought people an opportunity to move onward despite uncertainty or pain. We have had a long reflective period, and it has opened up many vulnerable ways of sharing. As the curators, we want to collect interviews, art pieces, poems, and other works from our inner circle to expand our perspective and our hearts on the themes of loss, degradation, and eventual comebacks. We want to make Piano Magazine Issue 5 a very explosive issue., through the theme of ‘Comeback,’ and you can help. A comeback is a term to describe when musicians and bands release a new album after a long period of not releasing. If musicians and bands can have comebacks, what about each of us?


What does ‘Comeback’ mean to you and how has life changed, or is changing from your effort to ‘Comeback’? Your submission may be featured on our Comeback Issue. (Minimal guidance - You can get as messy or gritty or polished you want.) We will take 150-1,000 word essays, poetry, or photography that answers the prompt. Please submit your works by July 31, 2020, at midnight. Include name and contact information IG @Pianorecitaparties Email: bigbagpapers@gmail.com


Layout Design + President Andie Nguyen Editor and Collaborator Shannon Wong Editing Support Irene Xu Contributing Artists Adrienne Peña • Shelley Wang • Judy Lee Models Brandon Ramos • Izzy Lepiz • Jasmine Ho Special Thanks Murry Soriano • Ken Yuen

To Subscribe or Order previous copies: bigbagpapers@gmail.com pianorecitalmagazine.tumblr.com instagram.com/pianorecitalparties vimeo.com/bigbag https://issuu.com/pianoallstars


Piano Recital Magazine is a publication and media outlet that covers issues on gender, the environment, and the arts. We are dedicated to highlighting local. both up-and-coming or established, independent writers, artists and businesses. Things we consider the arts: design, sports as medicine, art as therapy, poetry, music, performance art, food, cuisine, making a podcast, creative writing, journalism, sociology, history, economics, fashion, architecture, graphic novels, photography, films, gardening, ANYTHING that has a process and makes the

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