Last time I wrote, I alluded to a new project but didn't get into details because the email was already quite long. That project has since ended so now it's time to tell you about it.
Back on September 10th, with little fanfare, I began a new daily project. My Courtroom Artist Residency—where I brought artists to observe criminal court with me—was ended by COVID. My daily publication QUARANZINE hit the 100 issue milestone, which felt like a good stopping point. I wanted to start something new that accounted for the time we are living in, while combining aspects of both of these previous ways of working. I liked the idea of having something I'd work on every day, but that could be done with short bursts of focus, at any time of day, with basic materials that I mostly had on hand. So began Public Collectors Police Scanner.
Public Collectors Police Scanner was a daily meditation on policing in America (and Chicago specifically) with an eye toward an abolitionist future where we no longer depend on police forces to solve common social problems. Every day, for up to an hour, I would listen to the various zones throughout the city and take notes on the comments made by dispatchers and responding officers or supervisors. My art supplies were a ream of paper, some pens, correctional film, a few rulers and stencils, an alphabet rubber stamp set I bought years ago but could never figure out what to do with, and a blank clock rubber stamp that had been cast off by a Chicago school.
For 75 days, I listened to the police scanner channels using the website Crimeisdown.com. The only day I missed was November 2nd because I refused to listen to the police on my birthday. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased calls for the police to be defunded or abolished, escalating homelessness, the election and the final months of Trump’s Presidency, and very little State or Federal relief coming through to people who need it, I listened to 911 dispatchers and the officers that are sent to respond to calls.
I listened to every part of the city at various times throughout the morning, afternoon and evening and wrote down things I heard, without editorializing. I produced one page of observations a day. Sometimes I chose to fill the entire sheet of paper. Other times I stopped when I decided to stop for a variety of reasons. Over time, my note-taking became more refined—maybe even elegant—but the kind of things I heard changed very little no matter when I was listening, or what part of the city I was listening to. To preserve my own mental health, I limited my listening to one session per day.
I have included a selection of pages in this email. You can see every page of notes on my Tumblr here.
CONTENT WARNING: Please note that the writing that emerged from these listening sessions includes many descriptions of violence including domestic battery, child abuse and neglect, suicide, gun violence, and numerous accounts of other forms of violence.
In the next few months I will make a publication that compiles every page of my notes, as well as an essay about the project. Look for news on that in the next newsletter.
PUBLIC COLLECTORS POLICE SCANNER event for
Lucky Pierre Free University - Sunday, December 6, 2020
On Sunday, December 6th at 2 PM CST, I will discuss and read from the project Public Collectors Police Scanner for Lucky Pierre’s Lucky Pierre Free University. The event will be held on Zoom and as you might guess from the project name, it’s free. You can register here.
LUCKY PIERRE FREE UNIVERSITY ”Home School” is a continuing series of on-line presentations, workshops, performances, discussions and unclassifiable events. LPFU hosts scholars, activists, educators, artists and performers, doing what they do and sharing what they know.
New Publication: MOM UPDATES by Bruce George Wingate
In the midst of working on my Police Scanner project, I also produced a new publication, which also happens to include its own trigger warning, but it’s still something much sweeter and often hilariously funny.
In 2017, after the passing of his father, musician and “minor 80s cult figure” Bruce George Wingate moved from Danbury, Connecticut to Central Florida to assist his 84-year-old mom. Not long after landing in The Sunshine State, Wingate began to post regular MOM UPDATES on Facebook detailing their conversations and life together. This booklet compiles a near complete collection of these status updates from the last few years.
Bruce George Wingate was one of the guitarists in the influential New Jersey hardcore band Adrenalin O.D. He has since played in The Brunch Mummies, New Reagans, The Earls of Sandwich, and Total Dick among other groups. His mom happily consented to the publication of these musings and exchanges and specifically chose Cherry as the optimal paper color for the cover. She is looking forward to sharing the booklet with her friends.
Between author copies and Bruce’s rabid fan base (as well as fans of Bruce’s mom) over half of the print run has been decimated in a little over two weeks. I wasn’t expecting to be filling so many mail orders! If you want this, maybe don’t delay too much. It’s just $5.00 and available here.
As always, thank you for following and supporting this work. I am cautiously optimistic that 2021 will be a better year than 2020 but with the social distancing expected to continue for some time, examples from my publishing practice will likely be our primary means of physical contact. As always, you can find all past publications that are still available here. Paper doesn’t feel as good as a hug, but it’s better than social media.
Hugs,
Marc / Public Collectors
Public Collectors organizes exhibitions and events, participates in exhibitions organized by others, creates exhibition opportunities for collectors, teaches, lectures, responds to research inquiries, and makes its own publications. The administrator of Public Collectors is Marc Fischer. He is based in Chicago, Illinois.
