higu rose #3
i didn't proofread this one either
hi hi hi!! it’s me.
hello to my homies i met a couple weeks ago at CAKE! i hope you haven’t been bored since then.
if you are in pittsburgh, come visit me at the Pittsburgh Art Book Fair this weekend (Sept. 28-29)!
the PABF runs on saturday and sunday from 10AM-5PM at the Carnegie Museum of Art. it’s free! everyone tabling will be masked! you should mask too! come by and see everyone’s cool books. or you can go to the Three Rivers Pow Wow instead (i am a little salty about missing the Pow wow).
YINZ CITY #6 UPDATEZ
you can now read YINZ CITY #6 online at yinz.city ← that is a hyperlink.
i put off sending this email in part because i wanted to list the physicals on etsy first, but, hm, well, you see, i slacked off because september had a lot going on. but you can pick up a copy at the PBAF this weekend!! whoa!!
so, speaking of september having a lot going on—
Hallowed Hills Artist Residency
i have the unbelievable opportunity to be part of Folk Lab’s Hallowed Hills artist residency! i am bad at explaining things, so i will rely on the explanation Folk Lab provides:
"These Hollow Hills" is part artist residency, part public programming, and part arts and culture festival. Melding art and activism, it will illuminate Western PA's role in shaping Appalachian cultural identity through art exhibitions, workshops, and events that engage our local communities. The project addresses the historical under representation of Western PA within the broader Appalachian narrative, empowering local artists and communities to celebrate their cultural contributions and initiate dialogues on socioeconomic, environmental, political, and folk themes specific to the region. Operating within a decolonial equity framework, the project challenges dominant narratives and elevates justice-minded perspectives in Appalachian cultural heritage work. We aim to reimagine Appalachian cultural traditions in a contemporary context that reflects the diversity of our local communities today.
With a multicultural, interdisciplinary artist residency running from September 2024 - 2025, folkLAB's ten resident artists will collaborate with local folk artisans, community leaders, historians, and activists through workshops and dialogues which will ultimately inspire the artists’ work.
i’ve done art collaboration in which we work side by side, but this is the first time i’ve worked so closely and intimately with anyone. and everyone is so wonderful, both in their craft and their presence!!!!!! i’m honored and amazed that i get to share space with 9 other incredible artists. the residency takes place in four parts over several months; earlier this month we spent a week doing workshops to learn from local practitioners and each other. it was an intense experience, but very worth it; i’m thinking differently about my art and my part in this place i love. really fucking moving stuff here, yall! please forward to whatever the hell we make!
etc
there’s a running among my friends who consume anime/manga… that i never like anything mainstream and i only read manga no one has ever heard of (or that hasn’t even been officially translated). this is tragically true, and it sucks for ME because often times the shit i want that HAS been published in english has been out of print for a decade. this is especially a problem with shoujo manga from the 2000s.
so lately i’m fucking obsessed with Limit by Suenobu Keiko.
Limit is a 6 volume series about a group of highschool girls who are the only survivors of a bus accident which kills the rest of their class and their teacher. the girls are stranded in a remote forest valley and must scavenge to stay alive, all while dealing with the baggage that comes from being highschoolers who were engaged in brutal school social hierarchy.
this manga fucking rocks. Suenobu’s art is fucking next level and the composition of the pages is just… SO GOOD. you can only get this with shoujo manga (i’m exaggerating but shoujo pioneered the art of fucked up open-ended panels). i can’t get enough of the linework, and the eyes especially KILL ME! the way these girls emote is bonkers. every page rocks my world. some of the plot is a no-brainer but much of it is a wild ride. obsessed. so good. i think this is one of those series that people will (annoyingly) point to and say “see? shoujo isn’t JUST highschool romance!”
absolutely criminal that this is out of print in english, but perhaps not surprising because no one cared about “manga for girls” for so long. the only volume i haven’t picked up or read (yet) is volume 6, but i’m losing my mind thinking of what comes next and how the series will end. you can find illegal scans online, though for some reason chapters 14-19 are nowhere to be found.
WELL! that’s all from me today. thanks for getting thru such an image-heavy post. have a good week!
-higu <3
