Book: _Elements of Indigenous Style_ (2018, Gregory Younging)

Posted by Drittens.

I don’t usually recommend books because, well, what’s the point? It’d almost make more sense for me to make a list of which books I think people should avoid. Anyway.

It’s kind of shocking that I didn’t know this book existed until about a month ago - Elements of Indigenous Style, by Gregory Younging (1961-2019). This is part of the summary from the back cover:

“Elements of Indigenous Style offers Indigenous writers and editors - and everyone creating works about Indigenous Peoples - the first published guide to common questions and issues of style and process…”

Depending on who you are, you’re probably thinking right now, “Wow I really need that…” or maybe “Wow that sounds so boring…”

If you think you might need this book, then yes, I promise you need it even more than you already imagine. And if you think it’s probably boring, you’re going to be thrilled at how wrong you are as soon as you start reading it. It’s not only exciting because of how useful it is, it’s also fascinating because of how the author chose to present the information. It’s filled with excellent teaching. I’m learning so much about colonialism, history, epistemology, writing, and more. I send my sincere gratitude to Dr. Younging for this important treasure.

We don’t have any good bookstores around here. I had to walk almost 200 miles to get this book. Totally worth it, though.

Pinky Show in TRUTH IS CONCRETE book

Posted by Kim.

The Pinky Show is in another book. This one is orange and the fabric cover feels really good. It's called Truth is Concrete. A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics (336 pages, hardcover, published by Sternberg Press, Berlin, GERMANY). There are entries by 99 artists, theorists, and activists in the book, but of course my favorite part is Pinky & Bunny's part. The first two pages look like this:

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This is the publisher's description:

This handbook is a stand-alone publication, emphasizing the “usefulness” of the different artistic approaches collected. It is a toolbox and a manual with contributions by key protagonists in this field. One hundred texts describe very different strategies and tactics, written by their inventors and/or practitioners from all over the world, mapping the broad field of engaged art and artistic activism today. Additional essays focus on the philosophy, structures, and modalities behind the many battles to make this world a better place.

With further contributions by Jonathan Allen, Udi Aloni, Corina L. Apostol / Artleaks, Hector Aristizábal, Saki Bailey / Teatro Valle,  Artúr van Balen / Tools for Action, Katherine Ball, Andy Bichlbaum / The Yes Men, Reverend Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping, Leah Borromeo, Andrew Boyd, Tania Bruguera, Santiago Cirugeda / Recetas Urbanas, Collective Authorship, Corrupt Tour, Gabriella Csoszó / FreeDoc, Minerva Cuevas, Neil Cummings, Diedrich Diederichsen, Charles Esche, Noah Fischer, Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius / raumlaborberlin, Sérgio Miguel Franco / Pixadores, Andrea Fraser, Isabelle Fremeaux, Christine Gaigg, Ganzeer, Federico Geller, Guillermo Gómez-Peña / La Pocha Nostra, Marina Gržinić, Núria Güell, Erdem Gündüz, Hans Haacke, The Haircut Before The Party, Stefano Harney, Carl Hegemann, Justin Hoffmann, Khaled Hourani, Iconoclasistas, The Institute for Human Activities, International Institute of Political Murder, Janez Janša, Khaled Jarrar, Jeudi Noir, Anna Jermolaeva, John Jordan, Janice Kerbel, Jisun Kim, Omer Krieger, the laboratory of insurrectionary imagination, Kalle Lasn / Adbusters, André Lepecki, Lexxus Légal, Lawrence Liang, Liberate Tate, Geert Lovink, Matteo Lucchetti, Lucifer / Church of Kopimism, Oliver Marchart, Leónidas Martín, Joana Mazza / Observatório de Favelas, Tomislav Medak, Thomas Meinecke, Jasmina Metwaly / Mosireen Collective, Antanas Mockus, Jean-Luc Moulène, Rabih Mroué, Michal Murin, Marina Naprushkina / Office for Anti-Propaganda, Neue Slowenische Kunst, Occuprint, Robyn Orlin, Ahmet Öğüt / The Silent University, Sibylle Peters, The Pinky Show, Srđa Popović / CANVAS, Public Movement, Raivo Puusemp, Richard Reynolds, Irit Rogoff, Ned Rossiter, Philipp Ruch / Center for Political Beauty, Yekaterina Samutsevich / Pussy Riot, Florian Schneider, Frank Apunkt Schneider / monochrom, Susan Schuppli / Forensic Architecture, Shared Inc., Inna Shevchenko / Femen, Gregory Sholette, Stevphen Shukaitis, Toma Sik, Kostis Stafylakis / Kavecs, Mladen Stilinović, Kuba Szreder, Claire Tancons, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Ultra-red, the vacuum cleaner, Dmitry Vilensky / Chto Delat?, Marina Vishmidt, Joanna Warsza, WochenKlausur, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Jacob Wren, Stephen Wright, Kàddu Yaraax, Wu Yuren, Salam Yousry, and Slavoj Žižek.

I put this big list here so that you can see who we are family with in some way - very useful for internet searching and learning new things. For example many people may already know Pussy Riot or The Yes Men or Slavoj Žižek, but maybe you don't know Minerva Cuevas? Or Antanas Mockus? Or Reverend Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping? Please look them up. All of us have something in common with each other.

By the way, Pinky & Bunny's entry in the Truth is Concrete book was created specifically for the book. It's also in our Project Archive though - here - if you can't wait and have to read it NOW.

~k.