My so-called journal

I'm kind of wiped out; this evening a few of us from Rude Mechanical Orchestra joined the demonstration at Sotheby's auction house protesting the abridging of the art handlers' contracts. (They are represented by the Teamsters Local union.) We got to yell ("Union busting is disgusting!") and play Bella Ciao and other labor-friendly songs. Local 802, the musicians' union was there, but didn't play. There were a lot of Hunter College students, who had marched from their campus at Lexington and 68th. I'm exhausted.



I was struck by the language that's grown up around the Occupy movement; I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was playing—and it was dark—but there were a lot of signs pointing to the elite art patrons as the "1%." I went to this because I thought it would be fun, and it was.



"All day, all week; occupy Sotheby's!" We booed and hissed the people entering the auction house as if they were scabs. (They were.)

Bryan Close (above) is a photographer who lost his vending table when Mayor Bloomberg declared a war against artists and stripped artists of their First Amendment rights. The artists are currently in court against the city, but the case could take a long, long time.

Because artists who have set up tables—even ones with prominent signs saying "DISPLAY ONLY"—have been arrested and had all their work confiscated, Bryan has built himself a display to wear and carry on his shoulders. (Artists, apparently, aren't even allowed to have umbrellas or parasols at their stands because it brings the height of the display up above five feet.)

This wearable display is a great way to market his work, of course, because it creates interest, and as long as he keeps moving, he isn't violating any rules; after all, he isn't stationary. It must be exhausting on a hot day like today, though! His website is The Light Dynamic and it includes a blog.