Taurus Season
Friends,
How are you holding up? It’s been a month since my last letter and yet it feels like no time has passed it all. Days and weeks run together, unremarkable as a whole. But while I sit in my apartment alone, scribbling unintelligible drafts and crying to decades-old episodes of Degrassi, hospitals across the country are packed to the gills. Patients are suffering, and workers are overwhelmed both mentally and physically. Relatives of those in care are unable to visit or, in the worst cases, even say goodbye to their ailing loved ones. Resources are harder and harder to come by, thanks to a broken healthcare system and a federal government too inept to step in. We’ve been thanking essential workers tirelessly, hooting and hollering as the sun sets behind the skyscrapers, but it’s not enough. This moment calls for action more than anything else. Art-adjacent initiatives like Pictures for Elmhurst, @artbailoutnyc, and Mask Crusaders are some of the many projects rallying artists together, urging us to bring our creative problem-solving skills to the table and to pool our resources for the health, safety, and well-being of the community and the city as a whole. I’ll stop before this all gets too soapboxy (I’m sure it already has!), but collectively organizing and acting to facilitate care are the thickest threads connecting all the signs this month. It will also be important to maintain and support these networks once the nation charts a path toward recovery—whenever that day may come.
xo,
Robert
Taurus
April 20 - May 20
Sometimes an artist comes along whose body of work defines not just a style or trend but becomes synonymous with the cultural moment at large; Keith Haring (May 4) is, without question, part of this special coterie, and who better to revisit during a national crisis, a pandemic that’s catastrophic and yet “invisible” to most? As Robert Farris Thompson wrote in Artforum months after Haring’s death, the artist “had invented an extraordinary pictorial language that spoke to the city, spoke to the ‘80s, spoke to the whole damn world. Inventively he drew the terrors and the pleasures of our times...all by cartoonlike ellipses,” he wrote, adding that Haring “chanted the paranoia out of our system, chalk-tracing parody and paraphrase. All this with a supreme self confidence. I never knew a person who was more certain of his place in world history...”
And in Haring’s final interview, with Jason Rubell less than a month before he passed of AIDS-related complications at 31, the supreme confidence Thompson praised is on full display. It’s remarkable, actually, to hear Haring speak with such certainty about his work and its effects on those that come into contact with it, addressing criticisms with a lucidity that comes from living in and through such a dire time. Conversational highlights still ring true today—he disparages the art market, which was already full of predatory speculation and short-term flipping, and he lashes out at institutions who “are trying to write me out of history,” saying, “even things like the Image World at the Whitney, I have one little appearance on a videotape or something.”
I can’t get the passage below out of my head, and it should stick with you too, Taurus, as it holds the key to understanding the rest of your year.
I think [the subway drawings are] the most important thing I ever did. Yeah, it’s five years of work, thousands and thousands of drawings and when I look back, I can’t believe I did it for so long because I did it way past the time when I would have had to. I think in terms of what it represents and its pure philosophical statement, it is definitely the most important thing I have done. [...] What really bothers me the most about all this was the sort of flack that I got for “selling out.” So much of it was about avoiding that. It’s easy to retain integrity and sincerity by staying in your studio and working, but to stick your neck out on the line and be public and still do it in a way that has some kind of integrity, holds on to this initial notion of why you’re making art in the first place. What is art supposed to be and what’s it supposed to do and some kind of purity of that experience. In the studio, you can keep that purity just by being in isolation but being public seems to be much more difficult. Once you step over that line you can’t go back.
Conviction, Taurus, should be your guide as 2020 continues to take shape, bouncing in and out of chaos.
You’ve changed a lot over the past year and a half—you’re feeling more confident, more steadfast in your beliefs, more certain of what you should hold near and dear. Not that you were a mess before, hun; this transition was so subtle you probably didn’t even notice it was happening before now. And that’s where your power lies.
Why? Because facing the uncertain has never been your strong suit Taurus. (And that’s okay!) You know what you like and you know that the road you’re walking down will lead you in the best direction. Over the past year, though, some new influences—maybe new friends, a change of scenery, or a new job—have drastically affected your outlook and your best laid plans. You’ve been putting yourself out there, becoming more vocal than ever before. You’re done hiding the parts of yourself you once thought others would shame or swat away. The usual anxiety that accompanies such drastic alterations to your actions, (hell, to your core beliefs) has been slipping away or, in fact, never made its presence felt at all. This isn’t because of some temporary funk, and it’s not some coping mechanism to help with all that you can’t control—Taurus, it’s a sign of growth.
Your work’s been changing too, but you haven’t really noticed that either. Your palette has shifted ever so slightly, or an experiment with a new material has slowly taken over and become your new aesthetic staple. Whatever it is, quarantine is not the time for you to be productive, to rush into finishing what you started before this whole mess became unmanageable. It’s time to reflect on how far you’ve come. Reward yourself. The Taurus you were over a year and a half ago would have never dreamed of being where you are now, and you need to recognize that. You faced some of your biggest fears head on and came out overwhelmingly on top. So whatever comes your way in 2020? Don’t sweat it. Stay true to yourself and you’ll hit a stride, one that, when you look back, you may not even believe really happened. But it did Taurus; after all, a steadfast march to success is your hallmark no matter which way the road bends. Don’t forget that.
Taurus season
for those born under…
Gemini: Your anxiety about the current situation is forcing you to act out, frustrating those who are stuck indoors with you. Cue up some virtual yoga to chill out. Hole up in your makeshift home studio for a few days—not to create, but to recenter yourself while enjoying some peace and quiet.
Cancer: A surge of inspiration comes your way this month, Cancer, although it feels half-baked. Roll with it. Embrace the productivity and quiet the inner critic that’s telling you it’s not good enough or it’s an effort made in vain. You’ve been sitting on your hands for far too long.
Leo: Break out of your routines this month. Those few hours a day you set aside for studio time? Play some video games or video chat with a friend instead. And that canvas you primed days ago? You know, so it would be ready to work on this week? Set it aside, get your hands on some fast drying clay instead.
Virgo: You’re prepared for the long haul, Virgo. You ran to Artist and Craftsman once the first case was confirmed in NYC. Before the Governor forced communal studios to close, you were busy setting up your pottery wheel in you parent’s garage. Well, you had a good break but now’s the time to get to work. Oh, and if someone’s in need of a Cadmium yellow or a pound of plaster? Go ahead, give it away—your kindness will be reciprocated soon.
Libra: Something’s got you feeling like a Bitter Betty this month. Maybe your solo show, closed days after its opening, wasn’t included in that “what to see online now that the world’s ending” listicle. Or perhaps your newest body of work hasn’t been featured in your gallery’s digital viewing room just yet. Stop fretting. Sleep a few extra hours. Your time will come when the hysteria’s over.
Scorpio: You’ve been suppressing intense feelings—regret, loss or sadness—for quite some time, Scorpio. And even though this fees like the worst moment to deal with trauma from years ago, you’ve got to dive right in if you ever want to move forward. Use your art as a way to process your emotions and work through it all. Bottling up is never good, you know, and now’s the time time to pop the top off, let the emotional sludge fizzle and drip down the sides.
Sagittarius: You’re determined to not let quarantine stop your grind; you’re energized, ready to go, and moving forward almost as if almost nothing is happening out there. Sorry to say, Sag, but right now, you need to change course. Lay low and be patient. Hold off on Zoom studio visits or open call applications for now. And don’t go to social media complaining about all your lost opportunities—it’s a bad look, babe.
Capricorn: Your anxiety over COVID-19’s got you in a fighting mood, Capricorn, ready to confront anyone you disagree with or find aggravating. Bite your tongue, though, and you’ll come to find that the someone you’re dying to go up against will actually turn out to be your fiercest ally in the near future. They’ll introduce you to new people, and new opportunities, in early summer, so use this time to build up trust.
Aquarius: You haven’t touched a tool in weeks—be it paintbrush, chisel, or knitting needle. You’re too depressed, can’t find the willpower because the world feels hopeless. I get it, Aquarius. But you’ve got to remember, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s brighter than we all think. Keep making but do so without pressure. Go at your own pace.
Pisces: Much like Aquarius, the world’s got you down. Happiness right now is going to take a lot of work, so instead of pressuring yourself to make great strides in your practice, find joy in the little things. Make a small decoration for the kitchen or find a new use for an old, worn thing, and celebrate! Call your folks! Show it off on your Close Friends Insta Story! Staying positive in this dark time is the only thing that’ll get you through—and it’ll lead to success down the line.
Aries: The coronavirus crisis has you craving (and chasing) stability more than ever before. Hate to break it to you, Aries, but it’s up to you to find, or create, a solution to this problem. It’s daunting, I know, but once you start relying on yourself as opposed to others, you’ll be well on your way. Create your own magazine, newsletter, or virtual viewing room. Keep expectations low but know in the back of your mind that it’ll eventually catch on. You’ll hit your stride in early fall—and finally, you and your work will be able to break free.