The Drag-able

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Mi(tsa) And I guess I am not the most qualified to talk and perhaps that is my undoing's core I can think of big, scary events that make us gather in the streets or in white naked squares helpless to the gaze designed for great speeches, markets and parades for the troops, the students, the peaceful and the free citizens that pace for individual growth and change thorougly wash their hands and clean their face and tho I liked your passion for our common democratic state I can't but see the lines that orient and those that erase what is censorship? The state that in one evening shuts the public media station that used to serve the unified nation while it shouldn't that station that has been framing illegal the migration and talks about terrorists and lazy and unskilled the official fines for gay kisses on prime tv the thankful tollerance as long as we're unseen the murder of the sick body in the middle of the day in the heart of the center by the presence of the crowd by the aknowledged and the accepted and the normal whose violence sets who is normal and abnormal what is censorship? The idea that I am someone else rather than me _____________________________________________________________________________ Mi(ri) I have been doing this since years And I find it funny That after a show people come up to me and thank me for making them feel something and I ask myself if that is what we’re doing here Artists make people feel something Every once in a while They come up to me with a smile Big grin, gratified, happy eyes Taken by surprise? Jokes aside Leaving some words of gratitude They really liked my attitude Gave them some pleasure in their leisure And I can promise, forever It’s always worth to spend some money On the words leaving my mouth, honey I can make you laugh and I can make you cry You say you’ve been touched I tell you why You call us performers, I call us dealers for emotions, you wanna see us perform in motion like hyenas We are here to fill arenas Our stage is a shopping catalog You can buy whatever you want Everyone is coming by to get entertained, to get satisfied Tell me your needs, i’m gonna comply I can do it all, you’d be surprised This mind’s as deep as your self esteem This is why they call me the machine I can give you the tears and I can give you the rage when I come on stage and the show begins Pulling strings like a violin, fueling the souls within My ego is a diamond ring Scene is set, you’re my marionettes I’ll let you feel what you paid for meet the machine you were waiting for Our stage is a shopping catalog You can buy whatever you want Yes, we’re little sluts for attention Guess, we’re a bit nuts with intention But everyone is coming by to get entertained, to get satisfied Tell me your needs, we’re gonna comply We can do it all, you’d be surprised Culture saves us on a daily basis I know enough faces that can make it go to my homie, he knows how to phrase it when you’re lonely, read his poetry My friends making art here, breaking hearts here making music that is too sick I know painters and entertainers and creators and animators Forget the haters of labor that does the haters a favor By giving them the feels everyday fulfilling needs here, being low paid Standing ovation in a basement big applause, no replacement for the big names in the small spaces and the small names are never displaced People are hungry, they wanna see mommy Mommy’s gotta feed them, like a Tsunami Gobble the air coming outta my mouth I model the sphere, I model the crowd You wanna hear my wit and my thoughts give me applause, I’m not gonna pause Try to stop me, it’s your loss If we tryna censor art, what is left to discuss
If we censor art what is left to discuss? but what is right not to say not to explore not to research not to investigate not to disturb not to move not to play around with not to harm not to modify not to evolve not to question what is right not to issue not to challenge not to interrogate not to query what is right not to intrude or not to invade what is right not to mess not to change not to develop not to evaluate not to violate not to bother nor to bore or to trouble what is right not to analyze not to consult not to explore not to investigate not to probe not to estimate not to look into not to care for not to look for what is right not to see what is right not to choose nor to pick to want to hear nor to feel what is right not to deal with not to stand for nor to evoke what is right not to reflect on not to think of not to consider not to remember not to believe in not to mention what is right not to understand not to absorb not to take over not to control nor to check what is right not to collect not to correct nor to connect what is right not to rush what is right not to flash not to smash not to destroy not to crash what is right not to press what is right not to compress not to oppress what is right not to collection not to exhibit not to display not to visualise nor to admire what is right not to not to confess not to say not to convey what is right not to illustrate what not to diffract not to diffuse neither to share what is right not to play with not to start with not to end with not to but
if we censor art what is left to discuss expression and representation are not the same thing i once had a dream if we censor art are we hiding the lies if we censor art are we hiding the truth if we censor art people will still be tired if we censor art what should we talk about are we response-able if we censor art what should we talk about if we censor art who will start a conversation if we discuss art what is left to censor everything starts from within if we discuss art where can we start from within if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion and who is left out if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion free will but in a relational way but with certain limitations if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion free will can be abusive and oppressive and cynical when it makes everything relative is there freedom to un-be if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion free will of being dust accumulated on archived folders of being the expression of denied evidences if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion social pressure does it have a voice or is it polyphonic if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion social pressure is something you cannot escape from if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion the prosecutor cannot have the loudest voice the prosecutor has left the room the public opinion has agency the public opinion has left the room if we discuss art who takes part in that discussion the victim is not alone the victim wants to speak the victim was forgotten if we discuss art will you be able to sleep if we discuss art would you censor anything at all above the ground and below the sky if we discuss art would you censor anything at all below the surface if we discuss art would you censor anything at all i dont compromise with censorship if we discuss art would you censor anything at all if the words are not enough the artwork must speak for itself if we discuss art would you censor anything at all if the words are not enough to censor if a gesture is not enough if the words are not enough to censor what gesture is the next step if we discuss art would you censor anything at all something that hurts you can hurt somebody else if we discuss art would you censor anything at all something that hurts you grows bigger and bigger if we discuss art would you censor anything at all something that hurts you is something that cuts you off if we discuss art would you censor anything at all to hide painful truths a painless truth is a lie if we discuss art would you censor anything at all to prevent damage if we discuss art would you censor anything at all to protect someone you love i dont know if we discuss art would you censor anything at all to protect someone you love then what is your protection about if we discuss art would you censor anything at all within i would smuggle a glimpse of truth if we discuss art would you censor anything at all within this entangled world if we discuss art would you censor art and what is art then if we discuss censorship who is allowed to speak and who has been silenced shall we pretend nothing happened shall we have a coffee one of these days shall we pretend nothing happened wait did you get a new haircut shall we pretend nothing happened what did you have for dinner shall we pretend nothing happened what is your star sign the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast awkwardly in the spotlight the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast awkwardly intertwined and dependent the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast surprisingly aware of what they leave behind the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you cannot speak of anything else because there are no words the conversation ends silence around you makes you think the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you cannot speak of anything else because there are no words this is where it starts the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you cannot speak of anything else dont be afraid to call it proscription the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you cannot speak of anything else what is left to say the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us absence of words is loud and there is no understanding of the why the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us absence of words is loud because something is being forgotten the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us absence of words is loud it is a black mark the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us absence of words is loud it is a ripped off corner the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us absence of words is loud it is redressing mistakes it is makeup on a bruise the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us absence of words is loud it is redressing mistakes it was somebody else s fault the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us it feels awkward again the clouds in the sky discussing about the weather forecast when you dont know what else to say and the silence weighs heavy on all of us there is an elephant in the room the clouds in the sky would they continue their travels the clouds in the sky would they move on
supi: if we censor art what is left to discuss? al: what does art mean to us? supi: A calling A gut feeling you can’t ignore (For lack of a better word) a labor of love A cryptic yet decipherable language A way to say something without actually saying it (some things can’t be expressed through just words) al: the way I can address and express my most pressing thoughts and feelings the way I can address a topic that I am passionate about supi: art as a mode of address...is there always an addressee? sometimes i feel like i'm expressing into a void.. al: do you ever feel uncomfortable to share what you have created? supi: sometimes, when something still feels half-baked or isn’t yet in a digestible state. But at the same time, this uncomfortable feeling is part of the process, and accepting and going along with it can take you to unexpected and even more interesting places. al: when I doubt myself; sometimes I fear what people will think about it. Perhaps I am afraid of harsh critique or feeling that my work is a joke. Sometimes I don't believe my work is good enough. Sometimes I feel I will be misunderstood. Or whatever I do doesn't matter at all. supi: does the environment you’re in shape your practice/creation process? al: all the time. I am so easy to be influenced by things happening around me. I think I am quite sensitive. I observe and feel things and then I need to digest them and get them out of my system. supi: i can relate. it can also be difficult when you're trying to go with the motions and haven't properly digested some things yet / are still in the marinating process. al: when I am forced to create after a quick snack, I feel like the outcome is not really solid. I need more time to process the things before I am able to reflect and turn them into something valuable. But then, when I know what I want to do, I can do it really fast. supi: what do you (or would like to) refrain from in your artistic practice? al: fear and holding myself back. Easier said than done though. supi: but this push and pull is also where growth happens :) al: we're growing up all the time :D supi: is there a common refrain in your creations? An uncommon one you’d like to see more of or experiment with? for me i feel like there is or is taking shape but hasn't quite crystallized yet.. al: I feel like my music is always in different genres. I am constantly trying out new things and aesthetics but then a lot of people still say they recognise my "voice". I guess, the refrain is me. I am looking for one that I can see, but it is actually the one other people see, that matters. supi: ...what is left to discuss?
If we censor art what is left to discuss: the reasons, the motivations behind the censorship of art perhaps. Or would that also be censored? Something like the liar's paradox as mentioned by Dennis the Pillow in Everything is Alive. Is censorship openly discussed when censorship is also taking place? Can censorship be discuss simultaneously while it is happening? "I am lying" says the liar. Would censored art be censored to discuss? A motivation to rename, rebrand, re-contextualise. Be under the radar, under-scrutinized in opposition to overanalysed. If we understand art what is left to discuss? In a book I am currently reading, Weight of the Earth The Tape Journals of David Wojnarowicz, I read the following: "I liked that things carry the possibility for unlimited interpretations." Oh how I like this image. Oh how I rediscover this thought I've had at many occasions: that of a text with million of stories. Well, each set of eyes has a different rhythm, a singular attention span, personal assumptions of certain words and sentences and definitions; some might skip over a sentence, some letters, misconstruct a narration or a structure... so many variables depending of the reader. These different circumstances put together, leave the text to interpretation, leave the "things" with "the possibility for unlimited interpretations." If we misunderstand art what is left to discuss? I am 126 pages into the book and for the first time I smile and fold the bottom of the page, underline this sentence as not to forget its placement. Not that I didn't enjoy the book until that moment, but there is something in this sentence I recognised. Something I wanted to mark down, as to acknowledge it and be able to come back to it at any given moment. Not to censor, rather to underline. What is left to discuss? The ones that I stroke out. I left them out, for they are too concrete. Does it trigger your curiosity? If it beeps, does it trigger your imagination? If it is highlighted, is there any way you would not read it? Probably your eyes would roll back over, again and again. Like marbles, sliding towards the highlighted sentences. Like magnets, drawn to their opposites: a fluorescent body, so unnatural to our eyes that they are not to be missed. Impossible to ignore, a coloured scream. If we underline censorship what is left to art? The questions above triggered me to overlap the acts of highlighting and censoring and deleting. During the Japanese Colonial Period in Korea and from the 60s to the 80s during the military government, a lot of newspapers were censored, published as blank blocks or with blackened lines, a colourless shout. Highlighting and deleting texts within the line are the same movements. They offer different outcomes, with different intentions. To highlight becomes a form of militantism, to delete presents a twisted kind of activism. A space to enhance words, another to strike absence. For now I want to highlight this sentence, "Not to censor, rather to underline".