YOLO. It's a contemporary cliche, but it's true. Today my uncle passed away. He was only 54, but hadn't been truly living in years. He was fixated by demons of passed emotional hurts and locked in a battle between the reality of morbid obesity and the ideal of universal body acceptance. Eventually this struggle came to be his personal identity, until it imprisoned and conquered him. There was so much more to him than his size. He was outspoken, a true big personality, who wasn't afraid of being contrarian or ruffling feathers. He loved cooking, technology, vehicles and movies. When he was young he loved to draw. He had an intense need to be close to family. He took in relatives for years at a time, and made nearly daily phone calls to his…

I was hesitant to write this article, as it does not fit with my previously stated intentions for this blog, or my current general desire to stay out of political commentary. It is an involvement that has never benefitted me in the past. However, I felt at the same time it was nearly impossible not to think about what effect the election of Donald Trump may have on the visual arts. It is Remembrance day, and a mere 3 days after an American election that so clearly seems reactionary and supportive of extremist views. On this day we remember the lives lost fighting, among too many other conflicts, a world war that featured another election of an outsider politician. He too espoused extremist views and offered shortcuts to salvation to a demonized population exhausted from the…