Faces in Places: a High Tech Trek About Town & My Life in Pixtures Txt Mssgs, Prints, & Draw-er-ins

Show went off, but I won't say hitchless. Here's documentation of the results:






One: A-Heads X-Roads


B4 attdN public skool, we R likely ignorNt o BN members n gr8r social bodies. Signs o BlongN 2 culturL Nsti2tions ie. famlys, & BN st8 citizNs, R hard 2 C; BN so ubiquitS. AttainN a highR POV; steppN back & CN these relatnz from afarsa rare gift. 1st skool bellz ring tho & I got that how I was 2 B seen, & how N turn I was 2 C things'd B 4evR altrd. BTWashingtNz magnet prog. aktly drew N its diverse student body partly due 2 its demographicLE regul8d melting o d pot. Lots join Douglass Park 's circLs to blaze pot too, but racial LMNts enter here 2 when dopeN. Just as I was less likely 2 B granted entry into d schol. prog., due 2 mainly fabric8d plastic notions o ethnic ID, then, getN bus'd in, literLE, cross D trax 2 where D only other busroutes R D Brown & Grey~ now I'm seen as N outsider b/c of my cont. education. Even then, superfishL profiles dict8d 4 me a different callN; often last picked if @ all 4 sports, since white boys can't jump: I Dvelopd more as N observNt game playa.

Two: Anamorphosis- holographic abiliT 2 Ncode info discernable diffrNtly from certN POVs Childhood's a special time n life. Ridin all D way crosstown n D bax of yellO buses, I myself'd find ways 2 stay occupied. I imagiNd ashen visages rising from Firebird hoods out D back windows, & what I'd B when I grew up. BN so young I hardly knew where I wuz. So I looked 4 landmarx, & Bsides D StarrCar servS ageNC on SLocustdr, my faverit sight & VhicL 4 loc8N myself arose when d U's quad's crown jewL Bgan gettN construktd; D Beckman Inst. Mr Beck Man fronted ½ D 40 mil 2 finance bldg of a pyramid that'd help reconcile sciNtific & spiritual realms, as presNtd fictitizly in Ric Powers' Galatea 2.0, much like I dreamt D robots servN drinx @ D 1st open house would Bhave there. Technocratic jugRnauts & Ppel R hard 2 control tho, n R complex world, but we do occasionLE Dvelop technoloGs to help, like by Xpanding our linguistic modLN & networkN capacities. AxeNt & parkN sux, provy hurts az much az hELz bodz n soulz, & I kent progRAM bots 4 shIt yErs l8r, Evn after stuDN there. WTF?
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Three: Alma Matter$ On Ma Mind .
I came 2 D U 4 C&U's diffRN charactristx on opp. sides OD right path. N ChampAN, since D rALroadtrax 1st laid groundwrk tieN D trAN, dey call D city o NworlENz, 2 R nek OD woods, D prairEswampwoods've receded makN way 4 "frE NterprIz." Actualy Urbana's ironicaLE named, BcomN D lez urban, if more urbAN & green minded, 1. ChampAN's followed D green $ passN hands, from Chicago, StLoE, indE & D world over, most dramatically beckonN in 1 OD land-grant contrax, frmr Champbana law alum Abe Lincoln's Morill Act made avail.2 start universiTz. Bsides BN flankd by labor n learnN, $ N cents've accompanEd 'R Mum' markedly looseNN change all across D landscAp. Aptly nAmd Green $t's Xpensiv Enuf dat restRaunts & pricy apt bldgs're all who can afford to remAn. Dspite Urbanites' protestations, esp. in recent yrs, UIUC's interests've Bgun 2 closely represNt doze O big bizniz. D figyr O campus's simply come 2B recognIzd 4 her sharp contrasts BtwEn D Ntersect'n O educAt'n & comRs towRN Ovr town.

Four: ...But’ll U still dissect me N D morning?D NtimaC O biznSz tailorN personalE 2 R specific needs has largely been supplantd of l8. Mom N Pop've givN way D playN hands O their offspring, tabling their dreams of a bttr fUchR 4 `em: sometimes by sellN out, oftNr by BN 4st @ shotgun point 2 relinquish their share OD mRketplAz, & w/XponNtialE NcrEsin frequenC, havN their control wrestD away unconshusly. AdvertezmNts play upon R compositd biorythms by percussiv repetition O psychodramas. CompanEz prey upon weak minded Mpreshunable "consumRz'" Dsires 4 symetry N balance; fantaCz, & fears by tapping into imajz which reson8 w/R collective unconshuz; R shard genetic heiritage. Nothing trigRz more of N emotionL rEXN than gAzN n2 anothr loved 1's I's; hence DsignRs gravit8 towards forms which iconiculE resemble facial Xpreshnz N nonverbal Qs. These divorce us from N intimate conXshn 2-D world @ large; D fUchR N past, & commit us 2 cozyN up 2 biZneSz we might know litL about. Who nOz? MayB theyR jest window dresN 4 sho & R dough.

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Five: Hard/Art work’s 4 D `allflowRz
I made drinks nights on D meetmarket that's known as D strip, both @ AJwingRz & ERCafè, & I'd red, D now dead, authR Terence McKenna lots. His Food O D Gods rel8s a vision of History as N unfoldN series O relAshNships Btween species. In dis shamanic model, we're branches on D great tree O life, jutN deterministicalE from where minerLs Bget plants who Bget animals who Bget BNs of pure conshusnez; completN D cycL in selfdetermination & freedom. Dz theorEz rang true lookN upon massz O folks not far from BN automatons; heedN D call O D wild impulsz 4 sex, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fatEfoods, N EvN TV, sports, WIFI, art, & Rtfax that do all D work 4 U. Seems we're out o control; directD largely by XOpheromones; Nature's ads promisN instant gratification; just a shot away; the next DgrE of freedom from or 2 manipul8 realiT. How else 2 xplain N justify D NslavemNt & horrors; D struggLz of war 4 oil n spice in life? Highbred swingN apeing apes on R bax interbreedN omnivorously.

___Six: DeadNdz Toast 2 Noo BegNNz Der Xst long standN traditNs, & then der's novelT. My famly's habchULE gone 2 UIUC 4 3 genRAshNz back now. Gramps dropd out due 2-D DpreshN but was around 2 C D early y'rs O D Illini fenomNon which sawt 2 honor, what D U saw as D custMz O D PpLs who'd inhabitd Dz parts (till uprootN just a few y'rs B4), & 2 fostR comradRE 4 D football team & school. I came thru here, or flunkd trIN, after D skool spirits' imag'd alterd undr D NfluNts O fellO UI FAArtskool alum & actual NAtuv American CharlEn Ttrs. So RAyz a glass 2 er B/cuz undr D gaze she raisd, new focus on what it meant 2 rayz Others' spirits up 2 2 revRNt hIts w/o an Ntimat knowldj O der order N meanN estb. itself N us. I'd Nsti2td new practicez O fightin illin, N my tribe foundN D Universe/city O W/Illinoy; UseN R W/It, W/Ile, & W/Illpower 2 restore a st8 O W/IllBN ware D buffalo'd 1z roamd. While some'll pay upwords of $4/pint 2 achEv alterd mentL st8s, othRs R resistNt 2 change. Tho EvNtually I passD as all things must.

Se7en:_________
__________FreuDNightmares

Conundrums R evident when considRin D lack O creatif vehicLz 4 honest XpreshN XistNt N a world totaLE seen as global mRketplAs. Evrythins bought N paid 4 allready almost; Rx health, R H20, & R airwAvz: all edibL food's been canD, EvN us. But D revolutN 4 truth and justice won't B televizD or financed. I 1z had a lead on a story about true? events in R town that'll nevR probly C D light o day. When I workd @ Papa John's I came to suspect der might Xist a conspiracy Btween biznessS & var. frats & sorors on campus BN coverdup. Cult hazings involviN ritualistic rapes O frosh meat horribly involvN D logos & symbols O many of the local eateries. D guys @ PJ's intim8d R store's mgmt track 1z Ntaild scary things done w/pepperoncinis. Heard Jimmy John's had special JJ's undEz madeup 4 derz, Joe's BrewRy did alchohol enema's b4 analrape, etc. Scariest was how hard twas 2 paz dis info on 2D news. Mebbe it's 2 pornographic & inflammatory 4 WCIA 2 report or worse: mayB D town's fugd 2-D top.

Eight:___________
Things dat go bEEp N D night

I C some Dply NgrAnd problems facin us & light @ D tonLz Nd. R world's been parsed N2 codes & reconfigured N some horrific ways. D lines dat Dvide R country have nvr been more reNforsd, sure. But BN scared's no good rEsN 2 avoid tAkN a long hard look Nside & 2 speak frankly w/Rselves about Dz ishUz D frankNstein supRorganisms we creatd & consti2td N R image've wrought. Many still Nsist upon lookN outside D PObox 4 solutions. Corporations'll go 2 absurd Xtents 2 rebrand themselves 2 improve sALz figs rathr than look inside 2 what made them successful N D 1st plAz. Any 1 who doubts should stick around a corner gas station long enough to see D flurry o changes N marketN stratTGz Dvisd to distract us from D fact we're crazedly useN R lmtd. suppliez o stuff out 2 make new stuff dat Dleteriously FX R Nvironmnt. We're guzzlN up change 2 get us 2 work, when we should B workN 2 get less work, or @ least do stuff dat works beneficiaLE 4 us, by nuzzlN up to D wellspring o ideas N R heads.

Nine: May D Sorez B w/U O*S's revolutioniz'n how things'r seen. N recognizN D influence Rmultifarious backgrounds exert on us vs. livin N worldz madeup by Man alone,powerful outlets've been estb. Free plug-in XteNshnz, 2-D Y of R art, n Dform o both D actual wall space made available here, & defined more broadly;empowRment 2 play w/D work o others' like bldg. blox: no point reNventNe/o's rat race spinnN wheelz's, when retracing evry lightbulb a-ha fromdownloadable electronic formulas's Bcome EZr. Potlatch ethos reMrgethrivumphNt from D belly O D very beast that so nearly ravaged it, LateCapital; w/currNC's flow disconnected from birthplace, indeed, fromanywhere, Bsides next 1/4's' earnings' projections. W/mutable bodiescomposed o replaceable parts, namely; *us*, corporate NtiTies' o-so-loveablepublic faces, put forth 2 brand recognition & triggr oxytocin/emot'nLresponses N us, threaten all! B'n able 2 spy D eye's in sockets, D MobilOil/Mind in Matter logos, 4 that matter's rilE a lightsaber.

~Chri5+()sHer Kasak
(Images of prints left and pix taken/sent w/ Txt Mssgs Nov. 10 2005)
FACES IN PLACES: a High Tech Trek About Town & My Life in Pixtures, TXT MSSGS, Prints, & Draw-Er-Ins
(for inclusion in Open * Source Art’s)
MIND IN MATTER: Constructions of the Built Environment

backstory side of prints left in spots pixtured on map that included that site’s corresponding Txt Mssg Transcript in blank space :