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one thing i feel really proud of about push picks is that i haven't fallen down the trap of what i refer to as recommendation perversion. let me clarify: the cult of consuming products that other people have to bring you closer to a sense of self realization. that's how i define recommendation perversion. i read this article called "is recommendation making us nutso," that i've been contemplating feverishly. the open tab scene on my laptop is so extreme and frankly gives me anxiety. anyone feel me on this?
“Best Of” And Recommendation Culture Has People Over Identifying With The Choices They Make and Humanizing Brands And Companies.
"Best of" lists and recommendation culture have us over-identifying with our purchases, as if every item we buy broadcasts our support for BIPOC, ethical businesses, flaunts our taste, minimizes our carbon footprint, or certifies us as decent humans. It's understandable to resonate with brands that align with our values—like vegans championing cruelty-free labels—since corporations heavily influence our culture and values. This dynamic lets us use our wallets for personal expression and advocacy. Yet, we might be giving too much credit to these companies. After all, their main game is profit, not necessarily aligning with our personal interests.
what i aim to do with push is NOT to divorce us from recommendation; and i'm certainly not proselytizing gatekeeping (which is a creative solution for some thinkers). rather push is meant to feel conversational and intimate: learning what's swimming through someone's mind as a way to bring you closer to them and their work. don't get me wrong, i'm always so drawn to learning about the influences that draw someone to a particular idea or action or even purchase. that said, i most certainly want some more freedom in the department of consuming as a false measurement of community. if you find a link for something to buy here (ie: my hat, thank you again to all those who supported the newsletter by purchasing), the suggestion is deliberate and with great intention.
speaking of authentic community, i recently accomplished something i'm wildly proud of. i joined the board of the gorgeous summertime gallery, a space in east williamsburg that supports neurodivergent artists to create a more inclusive art world (you'll learn more shortly). but did you hear me I'M A BOARD MEMBER!!! the work is remarkable, the artists so brilliant, the fearless leaders so devoted, and the community so soulful and purposeful. i am so humbled and honored to feature the two co-founders in this very issue. without further ado...
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Anna Schechter lives in her beloved, salty Red Hook. Anna is the cofounder and Studio Director of Summertime Gallery, a nonprofit studio, residency and gallery that champions neurodiverse artists and a more inclusive art world. Anna also has a therapy practice in Brooklyn where she works primarily with couples and families. Anna has been working at the intersection of disability and arts since 2006 and most recently led the Manhattan-based artist collective YAI Arts. Anna believes that everyday should be the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.
Sophia Cosmadopoulos is a professional beach bum and NYC enthusiast. She lives and loves (in) Alphabet City and is the Cofounder and Gallery Director of Summertime Gallery. Sophia has been working at the intersection of arts and disability since 2004. Before starting Summertime she was the Gallery Manager at LAND Gallery, and has worked at Pure Vision Arts, AHRC, YAI Arts, and HAI. She is also a writer and has most recently contributed artist interviews to Nonconformers: A New History of Self-taught Artists by Lisa Slominski. One day she will own a poodle.
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what kind of life do you want to live?
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Anna: A life bursting with flowers, joy, four foot banana splits and oversized everyday objects like giant toothbrushes.
Sophia: A life full to the brim with kindness and difference and beauty and wildness.
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summertime's current project
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Summertime is hosting a five month puppet residency with a neuroinclusive troupe of artists working towards That Paradise Place, an erotic, musical about the love, sex, and fantasy lives of artists with disabilities. They’ve transformed Summertime into a puppet making workshop complete with bottles of papier-mâché nipple wine and seven Miss Piggy heads (and counting).
The troupe is crafting handmade puppets — from cardboard masterpieces to marionettes to full-body foam costumes — mostly using found objects and trash scavenged on the street. The show debuts the first weekend in November, at the Abrons Art Center.
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Summertime is thrilled to be working with our longtime friend, collaborator and past artist-in-residence Raquel Albarran on her second solo exhibition with the gallery. Raquel, who lives and works in Puerto Rico, creates gleefully grotesque colored pencil drawings of amputated toes, easter eggs, rooster embryos, juicy hamburgers and severed heads. With a die-hard fascination for the “cute and creepy,” Raquel records *almost* every toe she’s ever met in a comprehensive archive, documenting the length and width. She names each toe — creamy snail toe, skinny monkey toe, meatball toe and zombie toe, to name a few. A show that’s not to be missed — flip flops enforced!
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summertime's social impact project
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Summertime! We’re an art studio, gallery and residency that showcases and celebrates artists with and without disabilities on Ainslie Street in Williamsburg.
We have shows, parties and events all through the year and we love transforming our space into the embodiment of each artist’s inner world, paying tribute not just to what they make but who they are. Black walls and disco balls, chlorine scented candles, 4 foot babkas, live performances by the Subway’s famed Saw Lady. Come bask in it all.
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summertime's film of the week
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Anna: Big. Reliving my childhood dreams with this one and my current adult apartment fantasy. Have been hunting down that Empire State Building lamp for years.
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Sophia: The Beach to remember summer is coming and is always happening somewhere.
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summertime's song of the week
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Anna: Wale Numa Lombaliya by Rail Band (a summery delight by a Malian band from the 70s)
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summertime's article of the week
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Anna: Bringing Outsider Artists In — Summertime beautifully captured by journalist Steven Kurutz. He chronicles dream artist Dean Millien’s residency with us which culminated in an exhibition of tin foil sculptures akin to Noah’s Ark at the disco. There was even a ten foot foil crocodile!
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Sophia: The Hotel Guest Who Wouldn’t Leave in the The New York Times — I love a long and winding story about a New Yorker successfully cheating the system.
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summertime's food of the week
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Anna: Our friend Priscilla Frank makes the most beautiful and chaotic cakes. They’re full of dried flowers, edible glitter and whispered blessings for all who imbibe. She made one for my dog, Frankie. Also the mozzarella from Caputo’s in Carroll Gardens. Get it salted, then add more salt and eat it right away.
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Sophia: Anything from my friends Sarah + Sarah’s Kismet cookbook. But if I had to choose one thing, their schmaltzy potatoes sent from heaven. Also! These Indian pastries from Jackson Heights are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. There’s never been a more perfect color combo than silver, orange, pink and maraschino cherry red.
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summertime's flower + bread picks
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Anna: Living Bread. It’s this dense, delightful bread from a teeny bakery under the BQE called ACQ. It tastes like moss, in the best way.
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Sophia: Any dyed deli rose, carnation or daisy. I love deli flowers — they last forever, are so perfectly tacky and beautiful and they cost less than a sandwich. Sometimes they’re even spray painted. I love imagining someone taking a spray can to an already perfect thing and making it less perfect.
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and a few picks from push...
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zsela at it again with my new favorite song.
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who doesn't love arthur russell? find me here on july 12th.
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speaking of the west coast
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will absolutely be reading this...
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thank you mold for introducing me to ritka kedia's work
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beautiful article by the new yorker on Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member in the US.
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I love this wiki for art studies for so many amazing articles!
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we hope you are warming up and that you enjoyed another installment of push picks. as always, if you like what you read, forward it to someone or encourage them to sign up. it would mean the world to us 🌎
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