The Infernal Machine

On escaping the doomscroll

You and me both, kid

Thank you so much to the hundreds of monsters who have signed up since I started posting regularly on substack. As an independent artist with a giant mouth, your subscriptions help me do the work I want, unconstrained by collectors or corporations. I am truly grateful. If you like my art, you can also buy my books and prints.

A few items of housekeeping.

I’ll be speaking at the following events

February 15, 3pm New York City
@ P.P.O.W Gallery. I’ll be giving a tour of the brilliant Rajkamal Kahlon’s gallery show.

February 28, Boston University
@ Conference on the Jewish Left. I’ll be speaking at 3:50pm about the Jewish Labor Bund. Go register here.

My essay on The Bund for Funambulist is now free online

I have some very nice new serigraphs you might consider buying

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I recently read two essays that made me cheer in the way that one does when they read their unformed thoughts nailed exquisitely down on paper. They were Clementine Morrigan’s “My existential terror is not for sale” and Janus Rose’s “You Can’t Post Your Way Out of Fascism”. Each makes a similar point: we can’t stop the coming tech fascism by spending our lives hypnotized by social media platforms run by billionaires. Even as we try to inform ourselves or raise awareness for one of the ever-increasing barrage of horrors, we are enriching toads like Zuck and Muskrat. As we tear each other apart according to the dysfunctional logics that their platforms incentivize. as scroll through child snuff films bracketed by ads for Adderall substitutes that don’t work, we are feeding our lifeblood to their bank accounts. We stare into our LED screens until the physical world seems pallid by comparison. We scroll. Our lives tick by, ever more isolated and disembodied. We have to pry their trap from our hands.