Hello everyone! Just a quick update—I’m hard at work on the next installment of the Pierre Cardin essays and there are some fun collaborative pieces coming in the next few months from the archive. Also—by popular demand—I will be sharing more writing on disability, illness and culture in addition to these fashion archive essays.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out with feedback and appreciation for Blind Archive. Many of you expressed interest in learning more about how my work on projects like Death Panel and Health Communism informs the essays I write here, and I’m happy to share other small pieces of writing on disability specifically to help broaden everyone’s perspective on the conceptual manifestation of the archive. In the meantime, I wanted to share some recent work from other spheres…
[Image description: Etching by Francisco Goya — Los desastres de la guerra, plate No. 79, “Murio la Verdad” (1st edition, Madrid: Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, 1863). Femme figure wrapped in loose light dress with a flower crown in her hair lays on the ground facing the viewer with arms crossed. Her head droops slightly, gesturing at a figure in unconscious repose, or death. Around the figure are sharp beams of light emanating from all around the body. The beams of light are barely bright enough to illuminate the crowd which surrounds the body. Standing over the body are various figures, at center is a bishop in full ceremonial dress, with arms outstretched as if to bless the body and head bowed. The bishop’s left hand is up, palm towards the viewer, with his finger and his thumb in the shape of an L. The right hand is open, palm down, hovering high over the body as if to contain the beams of light and press them downwards. To the right of the bishop is a figure, face hidden, who is collapsed with grief, also wearing a light colored dress. To the bishop’s left are two workers, the foremost figure is wearing a shroud and carrying a shovel, as if to bury the body. Behind these four figures are more people with their backs turned to the viewer, arms outstretched and palms facing a growing crowd. On the far back left of the picture plane is a strange man, who stands out. I wonder who he is, and why he is there and why he seems so eager to gaze upon the body. He is almost smiling. Is he eager for proof of the death of truth? Or is he rushing forward in anguish? His face is blank of tangible emotion but clearly expressing something, but regardless of his impression, the way in which he has been rendered guarantees that he stands out in stark contrast to those around him. He is bald with an angular face and bright round glasses. Mouth open, cheeks jowled. Now that I have noticed his urgent gaze I can’t stop looking at him, it is unclear why the artist included this figure though I get the sense, knowing Goya’s work, that this is in fact a real person the artist knew. Perhaps this is because of my low vision, but to me he looks a bit like an 1800’s doppelgänger of Donald Rumsfeld.]
Mental Hellth
I sat down for an interview for P.E. Moskowitz’s newsletter, Mental Hellth, to talk about SPK, disability justice, reclaiming physical and mental illness to fight against the state, and the need for broad solidarity to fight back against neoliberal austerity. I think we had a really important conversation, which I encourage everyone to read both parts of. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.
Sick Note
Next, I authored an essay for Libby Watson’s newsletter, Sick Note, about the long and arduous process of my Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application. I break down each step of the undertaking in detail, highlighting the administrative burdens, contradictions and biases which make this system of benefits eligibility so fraught. Libby’s coverage of healthcare in America is unparalleled and it was an honor to be able to contribute to the project. Read the full piece here.
Medicare for All Week 2
Lastly, the Death Panel just wrapped our second annual Medicare for All Week series. This year’s special is over 7 hours of interviews, each covering health justice and the fight for Single Payer in America in a way you’ve never seen before. Our guests this year include Libby Watson, Dr. Adam Gaffney, Arrianna M. Planey, Justin Feldman, Dean Spade, Nathan Tankus, and Marshall Steinbaum.