Author: Jason
Type: Letter
Date: January 27, 1992
Artwork: Xerox image and sketches/scribbles
This is the first letter that was sent in an envelope together with another behind it, which I posted before, and linked here.
Aside from how sweet this love letter is, with a curatorial eye, I look at this now and see more patterns emerge. Look at the crane and the towers in the xerox, and the little sketches. These towers arise with such strength- in a way they remind me of the photo I had sent Jason of the smoke stacks. Now that I look, the photo followed this letter by a few weeks. We were sending back and forth this imagery over and over, sharing shapes and ideas. Did we mean them to be as phallic as they look today? I can’t remember, but I remember and can identify with the sense of excitement expressed here anticipating being together for a visit.
Speaking as curator, I wonder about the other part of this letter and how it relates. Is it the “letter from yesterday” mentioned, or not? I read it, as a seperate letter, written after this one, but maybe not. It doesn’t seem that disconnected, or does it?
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this past relationship with Jason, and my current relationship with Brad. Brad loves this project by the way, and is super suportive that I’m doing it. Did I feel these ways about Brad at the beginning of our relationship? Or is the intense excitement Jason and I share in these missives unique to us and that time and place? Or is it just that since we were separated by distance, there is a record of these feelings in these letters, and no such evidence survives for Brad and I since we had local phone calls and got together close to daily. Brad and I were practically living together, very shortly after meeting. I drempt of living with Jason, but our year-long relationship never led to that.
As I’m writing this, I keep staring at the picture xeroxed onto this page. Xerox copying was such an important merdia for me as an artist back then. Today, I am both drawn to it, in the way it has bold lines and shapes, and at the same time, I miss the level of detail and nuanced sades of color that is a part of my work today.
Thomas
Had the strangest day yesterday and even wrote you a letter at the end of it. But it was all to disconnected and I didn’t want you to get something like that just before I arrive. And besides, I feel good this morning and it’s a little cold here in this diner so I’m thinking of your warm arms only five days away. MMM! So I work today, some of my own, some of theIRS. Maybe a haircut? Maybe I’ll get my nails done… for you. Anything for you. Just kidding.… about the nails that is. I still have a lot of freelance to finish up before Saturday – but I want to paint. Whatever. This is going nowhere so I love you and will see you this weekend and we’ll have fun and all that. It will be good to be together.
Peace
