A scar
is yesterday
It doesn’t stab through lonely bones
or bite at freckled wrists.
It only
sits–
flacid.
— The corpse of a memory
that I have
forgotten.
Callous and benign
in a garden of blooming nerves–
Trying hard to imitate
the rosy shades
of life being felt.
But still-
it does not fit
Still
it does not See
that
it is not the same
and it
can never be—
“The Scar” by Angie Hoover-Hillhouse
Artwork: The Rising Sun by Peter Campbell
Kitteh People by Eugenia Loli
Owls are Cool by Ashley Percival
Mr Walrus by Animal Crew
Fish Bowl TV by Vin ZZep
Night Smoke by Eric Fan
Mr Rhino by Animal Crew
Before Piper leaves to spend her first day and night in prison, she crawls on top of her boyfriend: “we have to make this the stuff of fantasies,” she whispers. And then they struggle through their tears to force one, last meaningful fuck.
This, says tv, is what women are. They can be smart and interesting, but above all, they must be nymphos. The entire scene is very beautiful and quite real, but it made me think about how instrumental women are in their own objectification. Television shows get this wrong a lot for me; men are wrongfully vilified as the sole source of objectifying remarks that reduce women to hot, horny things.
But the dialogue in Orange is the New Black, a show with an almost entirely female cast, seems to get closer to the truth. Sexual confinement cannot survive unless women adopt chauvinistic ideas as their own and then push them into the world: “ I am a catch because I am beautiful, and smart, and I want to fuck ALL the time.”
We have come a long way, baby, but there is no arguing that women internalize and perpetuate their own sexual oppression. Of course it is empowering for a woman to own her sexuality! For a woman to know what she likes and let it be known, but there is a problem when we believe that intellect is secondary to sex-drive. In a time where identity is intensely contrived, this sort of idea can force the element of performance into areas that should be reserved for intimacy or at least sincere pleasure.
It is true that we didn’t start this damn thing, and that the god damn patriarchy must be stopped, but it’s also true that self-objectifying comments come from women. We make them about ourselves and we make them about other women, sometimes without even realizing it. In Orange is the New Black, an ultimately empowering show, we can still find traces of self-subversion and self-objectification.
I would like to pretend that there is some external force bashing me into submission, telling me that sex- how much I want it, how much I have it, and whom I have it with– is the foundation of who I am.. but I have no doubt that I perpetuate these problems in my own way.
Anywho, do you think my hair looks cute in my default pic?
–
Angie
At 12 I didn’t have that
homoerotic
best friendship that I’ve
seen in movies–
I never eased my sweaty
palm into yours
and we never
shared powdery-pink
kisses during sleepovers
just for practice.
I always slept on my side
clinging to a small square of
purple sheet
instead of with you
forehead
to forehead
in a sea of plush blankets
You were always different.
Sometimes Lisa
sometimes Brie
Jenny, Mia, Amy
and those faces in between.
and I always felt alone with you
because we never touched.
–all of you so far away
and me too
smart to reach.
But
I choose to have
your girlish warmth–
—lipstick—
— secrets—
youth
A mirage of adolescent love
to make myself
feel
whole
by Angie Hoover-Hillhouse
The women
are made of
heaven’s ruby lips
and honey-colored stares–
——–They are
those
chills
that prickle covered arms
in the brisk night air-
and
——— those
mysterious
flirtations
that warm dead fingers
with the electricity
of
promise.
but deep
in the bones of their pretty feet
—–deep
in the pits
of their brown bellies
is a passion sickened
and pale.
-Too old and beaten
to come
to life
for me.
-Angie Hoover -Hillhouse
the spirit of her
chaste
young
body
rests behind my slanted eyes—
a geisha
with
porcelain skin
and a heart painted onto
her
voiceless mouth.–
so graceful
as she
dances with paper fans
in silky robes.
—sleep —
—sleep—
For I am strong.
A woman
with feet unbound.
Legs bare
hands free.
And she
is
–a face
weak
and wading
in the milky water
Sunday Morning by Angie Hoover-Hillhouse
Artwork: The Porcelain Mist by Elle Hanley Photography
I am a professional zombie
Being a zombie has been a huge part of my life for the past three years.
It’s strange. I never watched zombie movies growing up. Even now, I don’t care for them too much. I mean, sure, after my first stint as the undead on stage, I tried to watch ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and a much more palatable ‘Zombieland’. And I’ll admit to being addicted to whatever Netflix will serve me up of the ‘Walking Dead’. But zombies don’t interest me much more than the average person. In fact, on ‘Deadliest Warrior’, when they pitted zombies against vampires, I was rooting for the vampires.
So why do I do it?
This is me getting my zombie make up done by famed artist Gary Tunnicliffe. He’s also done make up like this :
Not that I’m attempting to name drop or anything (yes I am). But this is what I turned out like :
That day I got to rip out Scott Ian’s neck with my teeth, and learn valuable tools for adding to my already extensive zombie-makeup knowledge. (The tragedy is I had just gotten my teeth whitened the day before. Poor planning on my part.)
Some helpful hints for good zombie make-up :
* Start with pale skin. Something off-color, like a sickly white, a gray, or a stale light green will be ideal. You don’t have to cover your skin, but key points, such as the cheeks, forehead, and lips will work fine.
* You don’t need contacts, but they help.
* Favorite make-up palate : Ben Nuy’s bruise palate. A mix of those four colors will make you look like the undead in no time!
* Find a way to make your facial characteristics look inhuman. Pale out the mouth, use black and dark shades to make your nose look deformed, or the symmetry of your face to be disturbed.
* A little blood and dirt never hurt nobody. Slather some on in key places for the finishing touches.
* Ultimately, zombie make up is about your own creativity. Feel free to take risks, use different colors, use veins, gashes, cuts, and dirt to your own creative fulfilment. I’ve never met two zombies that look exactly alike. So remember, when it comes to being a zombie, you can be whatever you want to be.
by Vanessa Cate
Today begins our newest series:
Art, poetry, and miscellaneous pieces that explore isolation, abandonment, imprisonment, separation, and loneliness
Artwork: The End of a Love Affair by Hugo Barros
The Show Tell Project 