"periods of numb emptiness"

in

Though I’ve been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, I never felt it accurately described my brainpain; BPD felt more apposite and, while my current med cocktail keeps the worst of it at bay (most of the time), the ping-ponging between feeling everything and feeling nothing but emptiness (generally skew this way) is fucking exhausting. Hopefully this excellent piece is the start of deeper research into an under-examined aspect of the disorder.

Why might the same person feel too empty and too full of feelings? The most likely answer lies in the concept of identity, or the internal sense a person has of who they are. Having a well-developed sense of self provides life with meaning, guides behaviour, and can be a psychological resource in times of distress. When a person has an unclear, disorganised and unstable sense of self -- as is frequently the case for those diagnosed with BPD -- they will have deep questions about what they should be doing and what should matter. Some people whose identity is not well integrated go back and forth between periods of emotionally intense efforts to figure out who they are and periods of numb emptiness

YES

in
Unfortunately, this is what all of the internet is right now: social media, owned by large corporations that make changes to them to limit or suppress your speech, in order to make themselves more attractive to advertisers or just pursue their owners' ends. Even the best Twitter alternatives, like Bluesky, aren't immune to any of this--the more you centralize onto one single website, the more power that website has over you and what you post there. More than just moving to another website, we need more websites.
in

via PRINT Mag:

Comics drawing, aka cartooning, has more in common with typography than with traditional drawing: the drawings in comics are meant to be read, not just looked at...

I tried to teach myself to handletter by looking at examples of 1920s original commercial art, specifically those done for the Valmor cosmetics company, original scraps of which were sold by the Chicago novelty store Uncle Fun and run by Ted Frankel, who had inherited the company's entire back catalog. I learned more from looking at those old inked and whited-out boards than I did from all of the old instruction books I tried to puzzle out, which always seemed reluctant to give up their secrets. These Valmor originals, many of which were by African American artist Charles Dawson, also affected the way I ended up drawing comics, which was to work more typographically than drawing-ly, for lack of a better word.
in

via artnet:

Eno and Adriaanse’s book looks at why people create art, how it helps people, and the role it plays in keeping communities together. It’s a concern that is as pressing now as it ever has been. What Art Does explores “the function of fictional worlds—such as pop songs, detective novels, soap operas, shoe tassels, and the hidden language of haircuts,” the pair explained in a press release. The result, they say, is potentially “a new theory of art.”

the front cover of Brian Eno's book

The book has a complex and unique release strategy. Initially, What Art Does will be available as a limited edition of 777 copies with each one signed and enclosed by a unique slipcase, hand-painted by the authors. This first edition will be released on December 3, priced at $225, and available exclusively on the experimental creative platform Metalabel in North America and through Enoshop outside of it. Following this, a black-and-white PDF will be available for download for 7 days, for just $1. Thereafter, physical and ebook editions will be available from Faber, after January 16, 2025.