THE XENOPHILE
SUMMER 2023
this image: detail from a worrisome spectacle, by Frank Whipple
For our first official volume, we chose the theme “The Xenophile”
Please see the bios below for information about the wonderful artists who contributed artwork for this volume!
Tim Davis is a visual artist, essayist, and songwriter who lives in Tivoli, NY with his wife, painter Lisa Sanditz, his son Bix, and his cat, Hellzie. He spends as many days as possible wandering around the hamlets of upstate New York with a camera being The Bear Who Went Over the Mountain…to see what he could see. He teaches photography at Bard College, writes songs about things like McMansions, song lyrics, and waterfalls, and listens to music with friends by a fire in the woods. Tim’s photographs and videos have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.
“I am a xenophile. I am currently writing about the ethos and epistemology of the Photo Expedition, and I think of it as a practice that is xenophilic in nature. I’ve been coming up with quizzes to determine whether you’re suited to going on a Photo Expedition, and they all hinge on the sense of whether it is natural to your constitution to look outward, to walk into the unknown, to want to talk to strangers, and to hunger for new and unprescribed experiences. Those things are all, at heart, xenophilic.”
For more info see: www.ohthattimdavis.com instagram: @ohthattimdavis
ellbeedee (they/them) is a queer poet & witch. They make work inspired by their dreams, their magic, and the way they navigate the world.
As a nonbinary & mentally ill person, their creations reflect their experiences as someone who doesn't fit into any distinct category of identity or medium. They live with their fiancé in Minneapolis, and have been focusing recently on book & textile arts alongside their writing endeavors.
“my experience with writing on the xenophile theme led me to thoughts of space & the universe! i think that's where i'd be most excited to travel and explore, i have a deep love of ideas of what other planets would be like, even if we probably won't find out what it's like in our lifetimes.”
For more info see: www.ellbeedee.art instagram: @ellbeedee17
Jenna Hamed is an artist based in Queens, New York with roots in metro Detroit and Jerusalem, Palestine. Jenna’s background in tactile-driven analog practices has influenced her current documentation methods via image-making, poetics, archiving, and the book format. For each of her projects, she uses the element of surprise, values of repetition, tensions between mysticism and skepticism, and an awareness of the Inescapable Gaze.
“A common theme for me when I travel to a foreign country is that I like to try the fruits, so I offered some of the still-life images I have made of fruit here. They were all made with film and an analog camera.”
You are unlikely to find most of Jenna’s artwork easily, as she produces publications, prints and writings in limited or unique editions, distributed when, where and to whom she chooses. You can find Jenna’s writings and images in small press publications like Faint Line Press, Newtown Literary, Koukash Review, Parapraxis, and others.
For more info see: www.jennahamed.com instagram: @j7md
Jeanne Lutz is a poet and writer who grew up on a small dairy farm in southern Minnesota, and although she travels the world as a life-long learner, her sense of home and belonging to a place remains with the land she grew up on. Jeanne attended the National University of Ireland Galway, and spent two years in Japan.
A Pushcart Prize nominee, Best-of-the-Net nominee, and winner of the Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose, Jeanne is the author of Until the Kingdom Comes (Atmosphere Press).
Jeanne divides her time between the family farm, giving tours at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Italy.
“After contemplating on this theme for a while, I realize that what I value most is making meaningful connections with kind and generous people who have a knack for happiness and a talent for loving life. Their geographical location, cultural cuisine, or melodic language may add charm, but for me, it comes down to people, people whose quality of awareness makes the universe sizzle and sing.”
www.jeannelutz.com instagram: @lutzguild
Alayna N. Pernell (she/her) is a visual artist, writer, and educator from a small town called Heflin, Alabama, who currently resides in Milwaukee where she is an Associate Lecturer of Photography and Imaging at the University of Wisconsin.
In her artistic practice, Alayna examines the harsh realities and complexities experienced by Black American women. Through her work, she hopes to create space for healthy dialogues to occur using her skills as a visual artist with a primary focus on photography and writing.
“I hold firm to the idea that in order to promote understanding, love, and empathy between each other, it is vital to have difficult conversations.”
For more info see: www.alaynanpernell.com instagram: @alaynapernell
Ronald Pizzoferrato is a Venezuelan visual artist currently residing in Bern, Switzerland. Ronald investigates social phenomena and conflict through international projects related to identity, migration, violence, poverty, and decolonization. Ronald uses interviews, observation, artifact collection, photography/videography, and audio recording to document his research. His goal is to decolonize the way stories are told about 'othered' people. Since photography contributed to the exoticization of people during imperialism and colonialism it is crucial to, through this medium, provide authentic representation and work to deconstruct Western visual authority.
“For the past two years, my ethnographic research has focused on the San Benito in Cabimas, Zulia State, and how their faith combines and harmonizes with Catholicism that is strongly influenced by African culture. I have explored the practices and rituals that fuse elements of both religious traditions, revealing the cultural diversity of this region and its unique and exceptional religious syncretism.”
For more info see: www.malandrophotos.com instagram: @malandrophotos
Isabelle Skoog is a painter and illustrator currently living in Minneapolis, MN. Following her training in sight-size portraiture in Florence, Italy and an artist residency at the Chateau Orquevaux, Isabelle Skoog continues to develop her art and style while traveling between Minneapolis and France.
She draws on her memories, travels and people she has met to create her colorful compositions
using gouache paints and colored pencils.
Isabelle’s illustrations have been used to accompany articles in France Magazine and for many different local and international brands.
“I decided to interpret Xenophile with images of the countryside of France but with the Eiffel Tower kind of “ruining” it because that is how people automatically see France.”
For more info see: www.isabelleskoogart.wordpress.com instagram: @izartwork
Robert Stewart is the writer, artist, and publisher of the sci-fi adventure series, Afterburner Tales of The Cool and The Wicked. His stories infuse elements of film noir and science fiction in a retro-futuristic homage to classic film noir and sci-fi.
Robert attended the San Francisco Academy of Art, where he studied Art History and Illustration. When not creating comics, Robert can often be found on stage where he plays guitar in a bay area blues band in San Francisco, his home base.
“As a huge sci-fi fan, the concept of the xenophile elicits the memory of a lexicon of starships, graphic novels, and pulp adventures. Most of all the realization that we all experience a reality that is singular and unique to each individual. In a sense we are all xenophilic by default., each person creating their own perception of the universe, shaped by individual personalities and experiences.”
For more info see: www.afterburnercomics.com instagram: @afterburnercomics
Frank Whipple is a self taught collage and assemblage artist who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. He works primarily with vintage books and papers sourced from early to mid 20th century advertising ephemera, antique photographs and engravings, and other well seasoned bits of memorabilia from his vast collection. Frank’s surreal imagery corresponds to his lifelong interest in science fiction, fantasy literature and film.
Having been a dealer in used and rare books for many years, Whipple’s collages originally began
with recycling damaged books, photos and other ephemera, building new compositions using the images found in the materials. “The items, having lost most of their utilitarian value with the passage
of time, regain purpose as abstract works of art, creating beauty from the archaic and discarded.”
He has exhibited his work at numerous galleries
and his collages have also been utilized for film sets and record cover designs for LA music groups.
For more info see: frankwhipple3collage.com instagram: @frankwhipple3
Intoxicats are a Minneapolis/Hawaii-based supergroup with a penchant for infectious pop, shredding surf riffs, and smooth tiki grooves.
“Originating from Tropical Islands and Frozen Tundra, Intoxicats were born of a fevered haze one steamy summer night on an island in the middle of the Pacific.
Picture Gilligan’s Island with access to MTV, Get Smart, Hawaii 5-0, and I Dream Of Jeannie re-runs.
Couple with an open bar tab.
Shake.
Serve.
You get the picture.”
For more info see: Intoxicats.com instagram: @thoseintoxicats
Intoxicats Currently in Good Membership Standing Are:
Amy Meyer - Vocals, Drums, Percussion
Sarah Roddy - Vocals, Percussion
Michele Rundgren - Vocals, Percussion
Rick Meyer - Vocals, Guitars, Bass,
Keys, Drums, Percussion
Matthew Kirkwold - Vocals,
Guitars, Uke
Noah Levy - Drums, Percussion
Isaac Levy - Bass
Michael B Nelson - Trombone, Horn Arrangements
Kenni Holmen - Saxophone, Flute, Woodwinds
Steve Strand - Trumpet