Collected Item: “Alex Smith Oral History, 2021/03/14”
Title
Alex Smith, aka Alexoteric
Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.
Kit Heintzman
Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.
Alex Smith
Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.
kheintzman@gmail.com
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#Black #queer #music #artist #writer #Afrofuturism #activism #Philadelphia #superheroes #cyberpunk #SciFi #Rock #collage #vegetarian #depression #HealthInsurance #caretaker #vaccine #isolation #empowerment
What is the format of your recording?
Video
In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.
Philadelphia, PA
What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*
Non-binary man
What is the age of the interviewee?
45 to 54
How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*
Black
Describe the oral history.
Self-description: “I’m an artist, writer, musician, and an off-and-on again activist, lecturer, worshopshop leader. I’m coming out of Philadelphia. My work revolves around concepts relating to Afrofuturism; for lack of a better term: superheroes and the conceptual nature of superheroes and the idea of the vigilante and the people’s champions and heroes can walk among us. I use [aesthetics and the immersive ideas of] from science fiction, cyberpunk, solarpunk, biopunk, and Afrofurturism to empower people of color, queer people and to project us into the future and our ideas and culture into the future as well. I use different mediums to do that, my bands Solarized (a sort of noisy punk rock band) and Rainbow Crimes (indie rock, but a little crazier and noisier than many excursions into that). I have written a short story collection called ARKDUST. And I do collage work and soundscapes and curate events like Laser Life, which was a queer sci-fi reading that me and my friends in a collective that I’m in called Metropolarity put together. That’s my praxis right now: a little bit of everything. I view my work as if I’m creating for 18 or 19 or 20 year old Alex, who probably needed some queer Black sci-fi in his life. So, I’m projecting these aspects of myself back to the past to not just nourish my community, but to nourish myself.”
Personal website: alexoteric.com
Other biographical details: Vegetarian, experiences depression, Pew Center for the Arts Fellow, during COVID is the first time in his life he’s had Health Insurance.
Some of our discussion touched on:
Using art to project hope and remaining hopeful during the pandemic.
Afrofuturism as a part of the fabric of activism, how it is imbedded in culture and impacts queer and POC culture. How Afrofuturism exceeds an “aesthetic revival” of representation of Black people in the future and the kind of work that needs to be done to ensure those futures.
Deciding to cancel a show he was organizing in the early days of the pandemic to protect the presenters and audience members.
The everydayness of people dying because they don’t have healthcare access or can’t afford medicine* outside of the times of COVID-19; racism, sexism, and transphobia in the healthcare system.Corporate interests and their influence on policy.
The unreasonable imperative that artists take the pandemic as an opportunity for productivity when many are out of work. It is hard to make art without fuel and without food.
Witnesses barriers in the healthcare while caring for his partner after a stroke 5 years ago, the importance of medical bureaucratic literacy in a “Kafka-esque system”.
Excitement about getting the vaccine.
The pandemic in geopolitical context.
Isolation in practice: Safety precautions and research prior to traveling for a funeral.
Hope for “science married with activism”.
Scholars in the humanities and social sciences need to be more visible, speak in lay person’s terms, do advocacy, and get in the streets.
“Nothing is safe unless it empowers.”
Other cultural references: Netflix, Zombie Movies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Black Panther, Teenage Bounty Hunter, Elon Musk, GoFundMe.
A specific reference is made to the need for his sister’s sickle cell anemia medicine in this interview. She dies a few months later. The GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/memorial-fund-for-elizabeth-graham?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer
For Alex's work see:
alexoteric.com
https://solarized.bandcamp.com
https://rainbowcrimes.bandcamp.com/releases
https://metropolarity.bigcartel.com/product/arkdust-by-alex-smith
https://web.archive.org/web/20210420173825/https://www.pewcenterarts.org/people/alex-smith
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexoteric/black-vans-queer-poc-cyberpunk-super-hero-comic
Personal website: alexoteric.com
Other biographical details: Vegetarian, experiences depression, Pew Center for the Arts Fellow, during COVID is the first time in his life he’s had Health Insurance.
Some of our discussion touched on:
Using art to project hope and remaining hopeful during the pandemic.
Afrofuturism as a part of the fabric of activism, how it is imbedded in culture and impacts queer and POC culture. How Afrofuturism exceeds an “aesthetic revival” of representation of Black people in the future and the kind of work that needs to be done to ensure those futures.
Deciding to cancel a show he was organizing in the early days of the pandemic to protect the presenters and audience members.
The everydayness of people dying because they don’t have healthcare access or can’t afford medicine* outside of the times of COVID-19; racism, sexism, and transphobia in the healthcare system.Corporate interests and their influence on policy.
The unreasonable imperative that artists take the pandemic as an opportunity for productivity when many are out of work. It is hard to make art without fuel and without food.
Witnesses barriers in the healthcare while caring for his partner after a stroke 5 years ago, the importance of medical bureaucratic literacy in a “Kafka-esque system”.
Excitement about getting the vaccine.
The pandemic in geopolitical context.
Isolation in practice: Safety precautions and research prior to traveling for a funeral.
Hope for “science married with activism”.
Scholars in the humanities and social sciences need to be more visible, speak in lay person’s terms, do advocacy, and get in the streets.
“Nothing is safe unless it empowers.”
Other cultural references: Netflix, Zombie Movies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Black Panther, Teenage Bounty Hunter, Elon Musk, GoFundMe.
A specific reference is made to the need for his sister’s sickle cell anemia medicine in this interview. She dies a few months later. The GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/memorial-fund-for-elizabeth-graham?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer
For Alex's work see:
alexoteric.com
https://solarized.bandcamp.com
https://rainbowcrimes.bandcamp.com/releases
https://metropolarity.bigcartel.com/product/arkdust-by-alex-smith
https://web.archive.org/web/20210420173825/https://www.pewcenterarts.org/people/alex-smith
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexoteric/black-vans-queer-poc-cyberpunk-super-hero-comic
On what date did you record this oral history?
2021-03-14T18:05