Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board.
Top Comments has been treated to a few diaries this week about Netroots Nation, and I was planning to follow them up with a diary of my own. But due to an unexpected turn of events today, that ended up being too daunting an undertaking. Instead, I’d like to write about the day before I left for New Orleans.
The BF and I have been meaning to take a day trip to Houston’s Museum District for quite some time now. I’ve lived here about seven years now, and I’ve never found the time to take advantage of the museums that are just a short METRORail ride away.
The day before I left for Netroots Nation, we decided to finally spend a day at the Contemporary Arts Museum. I’m going to be honest upfront: I am not well cultured when it comes to art—especially contemporary art. My brain does not quite work that way. I’ll also be honest when I say that, while we were looking around on the first floor, I found myself thanking the gods that admission was free. See? I’m just not really the kind of person who can appreciate some works of art, especially the stranger stuff in the Contemporary Arts Museum.
But, as bewildered and disappointed as I was with the main floor, I found myself unexpectedly moved when we ventured downstairs. We didn’t know this—we just went to the museum on a whim—but there was a special art exhibit downstairs featuring the work of Cary Leibowitz, also known as “Candyass.” If you’re like me, you might not have heard of Candyass, so here is the blurb we found at the exhibit:
Cary Leibowitz: Museum Show is the first comprehensive career survey and solo museum exhibition of the work of American artist Cary Leibowitz (b. 1963, New York). Over the course of thirty years—from 1987 to the present—Leibowitz has developed a distinctive, influential body of work that addresses issues of identity, kitsch, modernism, the art market, and queer politics. His work manages to seamlessly blend comedy and neurosis in such a way that questions about appearance and identity become a running commentary on the self/other. As he told the Village Voice in 1990: “The defense I’ve always had about my work is that, all right, it might not be like genius stuff and it might not be earth-shattering and it copies a lot of other people, but it’s documentation. This is some guy who grew up in the suburbs in 1963 and he’s gay and he’s making work and a gallery’s showing him.”
Since the early 1990s, when he became widely known as “Candyass,” Leibowitz has carried on with a consistent interdisciplinary practice driven by anxieties, neuroses, lowbrow aesthetics, and premonitions of difference. Through the years, Leibowitz has refined his ability to translate his feelings of inadequacy into art by combining aspects of his obsession with popular culture, hero worship, progressive politics, fine art, and Jewish identity with elements of therapy and self-loathing, institutional critique, social commentary, and stand up comedy.
From a recent article titled “Savoring Candyass” in the Houston LGBT magazine OutSmart:
With Candy Land colors, wry camp humor, and a healthy dose of kitsch, the New York-based artist has explored his gay and Jewish identities in a series of text-based works for the last three decades. While his work seduces the viewer with its pop-art insouciance, it also plumbs the depths of darker emotions: the pain of growing up as a gay kid, bullied by others and targeted for being Jewish.
Writing in the New York Times, art critic Martha Schwendener observed of his work,
“Mr. Leibowitz plays sleight of hand with art, history, and identity, suggesting that you use whatever materials are at hand, from self-deprecation to cheap ceramics. He describes himself as a ‘loser’—and yet he’s a gallery-represented artist with a second career in managing art auction houses. In this context, marginality and power are complicated. In true borscht-belt fashion, Mr. Leibowitz wickedly turns the tables, advising that when current politics and the odds are stacked against you, you should make fun of the whole thing.”
Again, being honest: The first thing I thought when I walked downstairs was, “Okay, what in the fuck is this?”
But, as I walked and looked at the different pieces, I started to “get” it, mainly because I could identify with much of the exhibit. Leibowitz’s works are mainly text-based, whether on wood “canvas” or on ceramics, and they are full of self-deprecation and neurosis. The BF still doesn’t “get” the exhibit, but for me, it was like venturing inside my own neurotic brain. In fact, it was as if my neurotic brain had thrown up and covered an entire basement. It was horrifying and hilarious and ugly and beautiful and brilliant all at once.
I didn’t get many pictures, but here are a few that I took of the different art works (unfortunately, I did not get any of the ceramics, but you can find them on Google):
And then there were these, which just made me laugh:
And I actually got the last set of matching mugs at the gift shop! They cost $17.76—which kind of bothered me, because it seems like they should have cost $17.87.
If you’re so inclined, you can see more Cary Leibowitz art on the Google machine.
And now, for something completely different: The “Mac” portion of my “Candyass and Mac” diary. Aside from museums, the other place the BF and I have had on our list of places to go is a Houston mac and cheese eatery called Jus’ Mac. Yes, you read that correctly—an eatery devoted solely to mac and cheese. Since it was the day of crossing things off our bucket list, we finally went for lunch, and the food pics were too good to let go to waste.
You might be wondering, “How many ways can you really eat mac and cheese?” Oh, sweet summer child. You can eat it with buffalo chicken, with chili, with potato, with chicken parm, with truffle, with bulgogi and kimchi slaw—hell, you can eat it with freaking chicken and waffles if you want. Did you really ask how many ways you can eat mac and cheese? The possibilities are endless.
Oh, and if you really want to say “fuck it,” you can also fry it. We started off with some fried mac balls, which came with marinara sauce. (Everything came out in cute little cast iron pans! Which I promptly touched right after the server told me not to...)
The BF got mac and cheese topped with chicken tikka masala. I tried some—it’s a better combination than you might think.
I got something called the “Pit Master” mac and cheese, which comes with brisket and barbecue sauce. It was everything I’d hoped and dreamed it would be.
Maybe I should have titled this diary “Candyass and Fatass.” Did I mention that this was before New Orleans? Don’t worry, I’m back on the straight and narrow.
NOTE: I may not be online until after this publishes tonight. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves, and I’ll be back as soon as I can!
Now, on to the tops…
Top Comments (August 10, 2018):
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Note: Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
Highlighted by Ballerina:
Is this (destined for tomorrow’s Top Mojo) comment by ruscle about Ben Shapiro’s miserable entitlement.
Highlighted by ProudNewEnglander:
Is this comment by Californian in exile about how Tim Walz in MN would have another vote, residence-permitting.
Highlighted by TimG831:
Is this comment by James Earl on the prospects of ‘our side’ working the media as conservatives have for forty years or more, with insights into factors pertaining. TimG831’s comment is also a good one!
Highlighted by ozsea1:
Is this excellent, should-be-a-diary comment by canadiangal with some insights into the Canadian health care system!
Top Mojo (August 9, 2018):
Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
Top Pictures (August 9, 2018):
Tonight’s photo quilt is courtesy of jotter!