How To Think Like a Winner by damali abrams
The format of this exhibition space allows me to show a lot of work together that I otherwise have been able to. The two main ingredients or recurring themes in my art/life are pop culture and self-improvement. Over time my work has become increasingly personal, including daily video diaries and performances of readings from my diaries/journals that I’ve been keeping since childhood. Sometimes I think in prose, sometimes in collage, sometimes in video or poetry. How to Think Like a Winner attempts to show the narrative threads between all of the mediums and disciplines that I work in. Rather than placing the works in chronological order, I placed them in [a] conceptual order.
Journal Entry, 1992
One of my first self-help books was a book called How To Think Like a Winner by James C. Lewis. This journal entry from when I was 13 years old is my reaction to that book. I used this image as the postcard for my graduate exhibition at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I was exhibiting a video project called Self-Help TV, a fictional television network that I created a range of content for. Self-Help TV is now a weekly television series on Manhattan Neighborhood Network.
My Future Job, 8th Grade Technology class [my first name is Keisha]. When I got to eighth grade, my school cancelled Home Ec and Wood and Metal Shop. Instead we took “Technology” and made these computer projects.
Please excuse the typos.
Dear Diary, 2010
In 2010 I realized that I had 20 years of journals and diaries (there is one from the 1st grade that I don’t know what happened to so I start counting in 5th grade, which is the first one that I have.) I decided to turn these into books that I could have published and as I started to type them, I felt like I should also be doing public readings of them. The fact that I was still embarrassed by things I wrote, said and did in 1991 was really disturbing to me. The most embarrassing thing, I thought, would be for others to hear this stuff. The curators of the exhibit Real Nonfiction at BRIC Rotunda Gallery, Baseera Khan and John Lutz, asked me to perform at an event called Talent Show. I felt like I had to perform from my diaries.
Lazy, 2005
This is from an exercise in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a self-help book for artists and creative people. Like my journals, I never thought that I would share these. “My fear is my only courage,” as Bob Marley sings and often when I am terrified to do something, I feel like that is exactly what I am meant to do. [Admittedly, this is not always the best strategy but as someone who is riddled with fear and anxiety, I refuse to let my fears completely control me.]
Mediocrity to Magnificence, 1994
I wrote this poem when I was 15 years old. I was at the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe for an event that I didn’t realize included an open mic. I was carrying a poetry notebook from high school that I started using again when I realized that there were a lot of empty pages in it (don’t want to waste paper unnecessarily). When I was a teenager, I always wanted to read my poetry at the Nuyorican so I decided to represent for my 15 year old self, who in a way had written a poem for me, my future self.
[Please excuse the horrendous outfit. It was a freezing New York December night & I did not go intending to be on stage.]
Candi the Caterpillar, 2001
I made this collage book in my senior year of college when I first started making collages on a regular basis for fun.
Dear Diary at SOHO20 Chelsea, 2010
Every time I do this performance, I add or subtract different journal entries, depending on the story I want to tell.
I HATE VOCAL, 7th grade
I handed this in for a poster assignment in Vocal class in junior high. I had been trying unsuccessfully to get transferred out of this class. Shortly after making this poster [and a few trips to the assistant principal’s office], I got my wish and was transferred, appropriately, to Drama ; )
Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better., 2010
This is one of the video promos I made for Autobiography of a Year (2010), a four screen video installation at A.I.R. Gallery. For Autobiography of a Year, I recorded daily video diaries each day of 2009 to answer that age old question, where does the time go? 2009 turned out to be an extremely memorable year—-Michael Jackson died, we got our first Black president and I turned 30, which was what inspired this project. It was a time capsule and a rite of passage that I created for myself.
Autobiography of a Year, 2010
This was the flier image for Autobiography of a Year, made of of video stills and self-portraits recorded with my video camera while recording my daily video diaries. Thanks to my sister Abiola for putting the images together for the flier.
Autobiography of a Year, opening reception, 2010
Shout-out to my homie Metaphysic aka DJ Metaphysic for providing the music for this and many of my other videos.
Affirmation Iron, 2008
I tend to save everything, including appliances that don’t work anymore. A good excuse is that one day I’ll use them in my work. I took this broken iron that I had been saving and covered it in affirmations. These are copies of affirmations that I keep all over my house to remind me to stay positive. [For an explanation of affirmations, see the video below.]
Frederick Douglass Blvd: How to Use Affirmations, 2008
As mentioned earlier, Self-Help TV is a project that was born in 2007 when I was in grad school. It is my own television network that I create a range of programming for. It currently manifests as a weekly television series on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, as well as online at mnn.org.
Frederick Douglass Blvd. is Self-Help TV’s version of Sesame Street, one of my favorite shows of all time. I am not ashamed to admit that I watched Sesame Street until I was like 15 years old….and then I got a life and didn’t have the time anymore-LOL.
All Kinds of High, 2002
Herb Grrl: Rose Petal Lemonade, 2008
As mentioned earlier, Self-Help TV is a project that was born in 2007 when I was in grad school. It is my own television network that I create a range of programming for. It currently manifests as a weekly television series on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, as well as online at mnn.org.
Herb Grrl is Self-Help TV’s “cooking” show.
Herb Grrl: Peppermint Honey, 2010
As mentioned earlier, Self-Help TV is a project that was born in 2007 when I was in grad school. It is my own television network that I create a range of programming for. It currently manifests as a weekly television series on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, as well as online at mnn.org.
Herb Grrl is Self-Help TV’s “cooking” show. I created this video for the exhibit Real Nonfiction at BRIC Rotunda Gallery. The theme of the exhibit was the line between reality and fiction so I left in some things that I otherwise would have edited out.
beautiful, 2006
Ugly, 2005
This is from an exercise in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a self-help book for artists and creative people.
Dear Diary at The Afrikan Poetry Theatre, 2011
Every time I do this performance, I add or subtract different journal entries, depending on the story I want to tell.
Cluck, Cluck, 2001
A copy shop once refused to make a print of this, accusing me of sexualizing a child.
Slut, 2005
This is from an exercise in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a self-help book for artists and creative people.
black girl skyline, 2001
I made this in the Spring of 2001, months before 9-11. As a Black woman in college I simultaneously felt invisible/silenced and like a spectacle.
Me, 2007
I made this video when I was in grad school as part of a video installation called Exorcising My Brown Paper Baggage. It consisted of a white cloth-covered altar with a variety of skin bleaching and hair straightening products as well as products for exorcism from local botanicas.
This video was my first attempt at a video self-portrait. With the chorus “I’m not who you think I am, I’m not what you want me to be, I’m not who you say I am cuz I’m me”, I am speaking to myself as much as external forces. It is a reminder to myself that regardless of the labels that I or others place on myself, I’m just me.
The beat to the song was created by my brother Kinso.
i heart barack, 2010
This is one of the video promos I made for Autobiography of a Year (2010), a four screen video installation at A.I.R. Gallery. (See above for details about Autobiography of a Year.) I think of Autobiography of a Year & Autobiography of a Year II of extensions of the Me video (above). Each video diary is a self-portrait, expanding on aspects of that song.
Blood Moon, 2001
In my drama class in college, I did a monologue from a play called Blood Moon by Nicholas Kazan. The main character is raped by her uncle’s friend, due to her uncle’s neglect. She is impregnated by the rapist, performs her own abortion and then cooks and feeds the aborted fetus to her uncle and his rapist friend.
Karma, 2001
You, 1999
You is a poem that I wrote in 1999 and performed at The Afrikan Poetry Theatre in 2009. Danny was someone who came and signed up for our open mic, Bless Da Mic. I had never seen him before and have never seen him since.
She Who Sees All, 2006
i know i’m obnoxious, 2010
This is one of the video promos I made for Autobiography of a Year (2010), a four screen video installation at A.I.R. Gallery. (See above for details about Autobiography of a Year.)
Lyar, 2005
This is from an exercise in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a self-help book for artists and creative people.
We Were Treated Like Negroes, 2002
Dear Diary with Sam Vernon at Priya Nadkarni’s Salon Series, 2010
After my first Dear Diary performance at BRIC Rotunda Gallery, Sam Vernon told me that she had very similar journal entries and that she would like to collaborate on a performance. Surprisingly, it was still pretty scary but also fun and a great learning experience. I often feel so isolated in my weirdness so it felt really good to have someone I could relate to.
GO!, 2005
Sweetly Sour with Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow, 2011
Jodie and I created this intervention as part of a tART exhibit of collaborations called Sweet & Sour at OZANEAUX Art Space. We intervened from Chelsea to the Armory Art Fair and back again, handing out cheeky stickers on the street. tART is an NYC-based women’s artist collective.
This video is also part of Autobiography of a Year II, a documentary of 2011 that I am creating through daily video diaries that I post online. After Autobiography of a Year (see above for details), I wondered how the project would be different if I were posting the videos online instead of as a video installation. This project answers that question.
Walking with Linda Montano, 2009
Linda Montano is a performance artist who makes no distinction between her life and art. Learning about her work helped me give myself permission to do mine.
Listen, 2005
Rompe Puesto, 2010
In January 2010, curators Blanka Amezkua & Ronny Quevedo invited several artists to create piñatas for a one-night exhibit called Rompe Puesto at The Bronx River Art Center. This video is a short documentary of my piñata from creation to the actual event. The music in the video is by Uppanotch, which includes my cousin who goes by the name Hosannah. As you may notice throughout this exhibit, my work includes a lot of collaboration with family and friends.
Self-Help TV Goes to the Bronx, 2009, Bronx Blue Bedroom Project
photo by Sean “Shadagga” Ferdinand
The Bronx Blue Bedroom Project was birthed by artist & curator Blanka Amezkua. For two years, in her blue bedroom in the South Bronx, Blanka invited artists to create site-specific installations for a month at a time. The artists were required to host a dinner or facilitate a workshop in the space, or both. For mine, I showed most of the videos that I had created for Self-Help TV at that time. Self-Help TV was always meant to be watched at home as well as in galleries. BBBP was the perfect combination of both.
Lugar Incomum, 2009
Blanka and I were interviewed for the Brazilian TV show Lugar Incomum about The Bronx Blue Bedroom Project.
What’s Old is New Again: the Legacy of the Feminist Art Movement of the 1970s, 2010
This is from a panel discussion at SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery in 2010. For my Process Paper in grad school, I wrote about Adrian Piper, Ana Mendieta and Linda Montano. I even sent Adrian Piper a paper that I wrote about her and she responded very generously. And as you can see in the video above (Walking with Linda Montano), Linda Montano has been very generous with me as well. The work of these three artists helped me to shape the intent and content of my current work in a major way.
Dear Diary at The Vent Festival, 2011
Every time I do this performance, I add or subtract different journal entries, depending on the story I want to tell. This performance included images projected on the wall behind me.
Everything is Ok, 2011
Doreen Virtue posts weekly oracle readings online that give guidance for each week. There was one card that came up a few months ago that said “Everything Is Ok”. Distinct from “everything will be Ok”, Everything Is Ok confirms that no matter how things are in this moment, everything is as it should be and all is well.
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Thank you so much for sharing this experience with me!
Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments and critiques: damaliabrams@gmail.com
