Events
@The Jazz Cafe
Thursday 12th May
Tickets Here: The Jazz Cafe
Pioneering a new sound for Brazilian jazz music, pianist Amaro Freitas and his trio present a heavily percussive approach to jazz, indebted to Pernambuco traditions as it is to Coltrane, Parker and Monk.
Interviews
Unique, warm and thought provoking!
Please share with us who you are and what do...
I create art under the name Oddist Jones. Why? Because it's better than my real one. I'll be 48 this coming June, that makes me one of those wacky Geminis, you know, double the pleasure and all that. I'm married, been with my wife now since 1993 and we've been married since 2000. We have two great children and 3 very hungry cats.
Primarily I create analog collage art but have and will create works digitally. Analog collage just means that I cut out the images I use for my collage pieces by hand. From picture books, magazines, basically anything that has great images can be used, I've even used images from calendars. I then assemble them by hand. The only digital step with creating them this way is scanning the piece when it's done for making prints. I also create assemblage/found object art work.
I love these two styles because of the hands on tactile nature of them both. Idle hands are the Devil's playthings after all, so I like to keep mine busy.
Can you tell us about your process?
Both art forms, the collage and the found object/assemblage art have very similar processes. When it comes to my art I like to think of myself as a hunter-gatherer. As a family we go to thrift stores very often, my wife is an online reseller and that's where she finds most of her inventory.
I go to hunt for books, magazines and various little pieces of bric a brac, ephemera, jewelry and other baubles and stuff. I so love that part, the hunting. Aside from the previously mentioned thrift stores, I visit library sales (so many books and magazines to be bought at very low prices), swap meets, yard sales basically anywhere and everywhere I think I can find the good GOOD that I'm looking for.
I'm also an avid walker, I'll take long walks alone or sometimes with my daughter and along the way I pick up stuff that I find in the streets, the roads, trails wherever it is that I find myself that day, If I see something that grabs my attention I'll scoop it up and bring it home. I gather everything together and bring it home where it can sometimes wait for years to be used. I've got little bits and bobs I've been carrying around for over a decade!
After the hunting and gathering for me, in regards to books and magazines and such I'll pore over them and select a few pages that catch my eye right away and I'll use these to cut out my images for later. I'll easily spend hours at my cutting table working the images from the page with my trusty cutting blade. I totally lose myself in this part of the process. It's definitely one of my favorite parts. It's very zen as you take your time and breathe deep and evenly as you make your delicate cuts. I find it meditative and relaxing.
While I'm cutting I'm saving images for later but some just jump right out at me practically begging to be used right away. I love when this happens as the piece almost puts itself together. Some pieces can just happen like this quickly and easily, others need more time to gestate and be born.
I try to let the my work come about as organically as possible, like I'm tuned out and someone or something else is using me to create...I love that experience and the feeling of taking a bunch of different items and things that, on their own, mean little to nothing and then putting them all together to make something new and unique...the power of and feeling of creation is a hell of a drug.
What is your favourite work that you’ve produced so far and why?
As far as my collage work is concerned I would have to say that is "Page 37". The piece is so haunting, the barren skeletal tree branches suggest the coldness of winter. The floating arms and lips, they speak of something there and not there at the same time, ghostly. The flower being held delicately, it's a dark grey but you know in your mind that you should see color, but it's grey, not dead but not alive at the same time.
I left in the text from the original page along with the page number, where the piece gets its title. To me, this piece conjures up the thought of a reader being so enthralled with what they are reading that they entered the page and got lost in it, never making it to page 38...
I just feel like it really speaks loudest to my morbid sensibility, wholly I think it's a very striking and beautiful work.
Has your skill or ideology changed over time?
I would say what's changed most for me is my patience. Now that I'm older I've learned not to rush pieces, like it's ok to start a piece and leave it until it's done, not try to force it all at once. It used to be that anything I was working on needed to be done that day at the very least, regardless of the effect on the work. This led to many missed opportunities I'm sure, artistically speaking.
Working fast like that made me a strong graphic creator but I think a lot of my earlier work lacked content and voice because of it. Back in the day I did all my art digitally, I wanted color changes fast and easy. I wanted whatever design or image I was creating finished fast and with no clean up needed and not having to wait for paint to dry, let alone glue.
These days I'm not afraid to start a piece and walk away from it if we (the piece always has a say in the process now) are not feeling it at the time. I still don't have an abundance of patience to watch paint dry but I'm certainly getting better with it.
What music do you like to listen to when you work?
Well, actually, I find that when I'm working, cutting paper especially, I tend to listen to people talking. I'll listen to a true crime Youtuber or podcast, sometimes it's history. I'm a big fan of history docs and the like. I find the added voices comforting and calming as I'm doin' my thing. I don't always even wind up really paying attention. I just really find that I like the additional voices. I guess it's the feeling of company maybe, someone watching over me. Either way they really help drown out those troublesome voices that come from inside the head...know what I mean???
Now when I do listen to music while I'm working, and this is mainly during the design phase I would say that my favorite bands are Faith No More, The Misfits, Mr Bungle I'm mostly into hard rock , heavy metal and punk but sometimes you want something little more mellow, like say Fiona Apple and Regina Spector or maybe Amy Winehouse. I guess it really all depends on the mood, the day of the week and which way the winds ah blowin'.
Any future plans or projects in the pipeline that we should look out for?
As far as plans go I'm finally going to start selling my work online. I've sold a few things here and there online but I have no real designated sites that I do it from. Mainly someone seeing something on Facebook or Instagram and hitting me up about buying.
I've primarily, over the last many years, done all my selling outdoors at markets or indoor in solo and group shows, so I'm thinking that I need to get over my lack of knowledge and experience selling online. I have set up an Etsy shop and started a profile with the print on demand site Society 6 and I'm hoping to have my first ever website up and running by this summer. You can find me on any social media platforms and online selling sites under the name Oddist Jones so all you have to do is search my name.
I'm really planning on trying to make this art thing my full time work, not just my passion. I wanna finally combine the two things. I wanna give following my dreams a try so if your readers like what they see they can help support my goals, I'd definitely appreciate it.
As far as projects, I'm really excited to get started on this new assemblage piece. It consists of some old porcelain doll parts, an old, distressed wooden hinged box and a model of a human heart. The doll parts came from an estate sale a few years back but the wooden box and the heart were both found recently at local thrift stores.
I've been waiting for the weather to get warmer so I can work on it in the garage and since today Spring has sprung on us I feel like that time is rapidly approaching. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to name it, picking titles for some pieces can be so daunting, like this one here. I'm at a loss for a good title so far...maybe your readers might have a few suggestions?
All images/art courtesy of Oddist Jones
Instagram: @oddistjones
Facebook: Oddist Jones
Feature
By Guest Writer S. Quanaah [Saladin Allah]
Intellectual Property: How Protected Are We?
It is an actual fact that the United States is the most "litigious society" in the world. Litigious means 'prone to engage in legal maneuvers or lawsuits.' Our disagreement with that statement does not change that actual fact nor does it prepare us to do something about it. That actual fact is especially important to understand in this digital age of content harvesting, online marketplace expansion, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and a 552.17% increase in NFT trademark submissions between August 2021 and January 2022.
In my article The Content Era: 2022 is the Year of Creatives and Entrepreneurs I explained, "we are now in a Content Era. Streaming services are in global competition over it, Podcasters and Bloggers need it to survive every week and it's like that Frank Lucas [American Gangster] blue magic to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube users. For THAT Economy to sustain itself Content must be consistently harvested from Creatives and Entrepreneurs who are sometimes trafficked through digital internet rings..." Content is another name for intellectual property [IP] or legal assets; the basis of this article.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, many people took advantage of that time to learn new things and develop new skills. I've known folks who completed Herbology courses, Music Engineering programs, and apprenticeships in different industries. While I had already studied the subject, I invested my time into learning how to file provisional patents, utility patents and trademarks. One of the things that I immediately learned is the small number of patent and trademark lawyers, especially black lawyers, in this specialized area and the increasing demand for their services. By learning this skill I became more proficient in this specialized field of law. Even more proficient than lawyers who worked in other areas of law.
My reasoning for learning this skill was to ultimately provide this service to folks who had no knowledge and/or capital to file a trademark or patent; which costs about $400 to trademark something and about $18,000 to patent an idea. In addition to the various projects that I was already involved in, and my peripheral research, this investment began my direct experience with securing legal assets or intellectual property. None of this article is based upon a casual Google search, a Wikipedia scan, or hearsay from folks on YouTube talking about what they have never done and do not own.
Before we go any further let me first define what a legal asset or intellectual property is. A legal asset is defined as “real or personal property that has value.” Intellectual property [IP] refers to “valuable assets that we legally own such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; symbols, names, and images.” The value or worth of a legal asset or intellectual property is inherent. Meaning, it is essential or built-in its creation. It is not an asset because someone acknowledges or likes it or not. It is an asset because its nature is valuable. It is sort of like when we say the Black folks are divine. Our value is not because someone acknowledges or likes it or not. We are divine, or an asset, because our nature is valuable. When we create inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; symbols, names, and images they are also valuable.
If you have been following the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in response to the United States sanctions on Russia, Russia has stripped away legal asset/intellectual property rights from U.S. companies doing business in Russia, along with foreign companies from 23 other “unfriendly” territories. According to the high-profile trademark attorney Josh Gerben, “companies like McDonald's and Starbucks that have left Russia to protest its invasion of Ukraine can do little when Russian businesses steal their trademarks. In fact, trademark applications were filed in Russia this week that bore a striking resemblance to marks belonging to Ikea, Instagram (FB), McDonald's, and Starbucks.
These companies can't immediately fight back because challenges for unauthorized use are largely limited to Russian courts.” For those of us who have carelessly looked at legal assets/intellectual property as insignificant, even after seeing Black folks get countless ideas stolen from us since slavery times, this political power move by Russia to shift the global economic landscape should make us reconsider our stance on the value of legal assets/intellectual property.
If this is insignificant, Russian would not have made such a significant move. When we do recognize this value, the questions we need to ask ourselves are what can we do to legally protect ourselves and our assets in a litigious society? Do we have health and dental insurance? Do we own property? Do we have a Last Will and Testament? Do we own any patents or trademarks? Do we have any life insurance policies? Do we have a marriage license? These and various other legal protections are just some things to seriously think about, especially for our families and future generations.
CONFIDENTIALITY
With this knowledge of legal assets/intellectual property, I was able to successfully file a provisional and utility patent for a unique fuel cell technology.
Before my business partner and I even discuss this patent with companies we ensure that a three-year NDA [Non-Disclosure Agreement] is signed and notarized first. Because of our invention's inherent value, an NDA is a standard legal document that is used to protect the value and confidentiality of legal assets/intellectual property before you discuss them. This is the reason why we should not openly discuss specific matters related to a trademark filing, a patent, or any legal assets/intellectual property in the public domain. It compromises the security of those legal assets/intellectual property.
When the Washington [now "Commanders"] NFL football organization sought to rename their team they never had public discussions about the potential name of the team. In fact, they went as far as filing the original trademark in a foreign country whose trademark databases are difficult to search online. Months later the organization then filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office [USPTO]. Knowing that this trademark information would be publicly available and published with USPTO, their filing was protected because the trademark application was based upon the earlier filing date in the foreign country. See, once a trademark is filed, there is a 30-day window to oppose/challenge its registration after the USPTO publishes the application for opposition.
Following the above method of filing in a foreign jurisdiction is a workaround to limit the public's capacity to oppose a registration. If Lebron James has received legal guidance from a patent and trademark law firm then I am sure that he used this method before it was recently announced that he filed 4 new USPTO trademarks in the names of LEBRON JAMES, LEBRON, KING JAMES and CHOSEN1 related to the metaverse. Understanding this, when people openly discuss the specifics of a legal asset/intellectual property in a public forum it only informs the public of three more facts related to our litigious society:
1.) Those people do not actually understand or possibly do not own legal assets/intellectual property.
2.) Those people are legally vulnerable, and a liability to others, because of their ignorance of law and tech illiteracy.
3.) Those people are actively promoting "trademark squatting" where someone other than the original owner(s) can acquire that legal asset/intellectual property and sell it back for a profit.
I was once involved in confidential discussions regarding a unique legal asset/intellectual property that I personally secured in order to transfer ownership to a collective body of people. While I did not have those who participated in these confidential discussions sign an NDA, I did emphasize the importance of privacy and requested that they not share the specific details of those confidential discussions in the public domain. A short time after, I was disappointed to learn that some of the participants were sharing those specifics, and misinformation regarding this unique legal asset/intellectual property, in the public domain.
While I did cover a great deal of legal territory using a power-point presentation that included an extensive FAQ segment, it was unfortunate to learn that some of those who participated in those discussions did not understand the importance of confidentiality or simply did not care. Either way, lacking that carelessness is a liability in an expanding litigious society.
So I ask again, what can we do to legally protect ourselves and our assets in a litigious society? Do we have health and dental insurance? Do we own property? Do we have a Last Will and Testament? Do we own any patents or trademarks? Do we have any life insurance policies? Do we have a marriage license? These and various other legal protections are just some things to seriously think about, especially for our families and future generations.
This society is drastically changing with the exponential growth of technology. Those changes are not favorable for those of us who have little to no control over any legal assets/intellectual property. As black people cross the diaspora, we cannot allow those changes to happen around us. If we don't get it together we will be talking about these days, like our elders reminisce about the olden days, with no visible evidence that these days ever even existed. Except for a street sign, of course, to mark what once was.
S. Quanaah [Saladin Allah] is an author, educator, human rights commissioner in the city of Niagara Falls, and founder of the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters [Google #AtlantisBuild]. Email: atlantisbuild@gmail.com