Stories that free us, part 2
The Side Woo with Jason Hanasik on Queer Storytelling, Nomadism and Personal Liberation
This week has been a big week. Thank you to everyone who read my post on Wednesday and sent notes. It means a lot to feel connected to people through sharing my story and hope it spurns more vulnerable storytelling from others.
This week’s guest on The Side Woo is Jason Hanasik, someone who has inspired me as I have tried to be more open about sharing my life through writing. He is an eloquent storyteller both in service of others and himself via newsletters, photography and filmmaking.
I have been following Jason since I ended up on his mailing list sometime in 2010 after he finished school at CCA. I remember being impressed by his immediate success after school and the scale of his impact when he took part in creating GAP’s contribution to the It Gets Better Campaign in 2011.
A saying in Journalism is that good stories either trap or liberate people. Stories that free, specifically personal freedom around sexual and gender identity, are the raison d’être in Jason’s work. That’s why I chose “Stories that free us” as the title of the episode.
Coming out is the ultimate story of freedom. It says I know who I am and you are welcome to be who you are. To be a good filmmaker, there are so many pieces of a story that you have to consider. Jason says in our conversation:
When I'm given the gift to shepherd a story, the story comes through me in the process of me directing a film. I’m thinking about everything from the press release down to the set of imagery: is this going to trap a possibly already disenfranchised group, or is it going to offer liberation and freedom in a certain way?
I think it’s easy to get sucked into narratives that trap us about so much in the world right now - climate crisis, about our government, about war happening all over the globe that seems unstoppable. Personal liberation and freedom of our hearts and minds to be who we are is almost the only guarantee we have.
As I write this I see that this is possibly a very Western way of looking at the world. What about community? What about sacrifice for the greater good? In my very American vision of the world, I think you can be both free and secure in your sense of self, and working towards a great good that requires sacrifice and effort.
Accepting your sexual and gender identity, as fluid and confusing as it may be, is the ultimate story of personal liberation because it means that you are at peace with an essential part of who and what you are. By sharing that self-love, you invite others to feel the same. Hearing and watching people share their coming out stories has played a big part in my own articulation and understanding of my identity. (Thank you to those Side Woo guests)
Another topic that came up is the fact that Jason is currently living the digital nomad life. This was of great interest to me having done that for a number of years between 2018 and 2022. The first time I had a lease since I began traveling pre-pandemic was the fall of 2022 when I landed in my cozy apartment here in LA.
Coincidentally yesterday morning, I heard a segment on LAist, a radio station here in LA on the subject. The piece was called “The ‘Digital Nomad’ Lifestyle is Gainting Momentum - It Could Signify Bigger Cultural Shifts”. I was inspired to call in and they had me on as a guest. I join at 16:56. You can listen here.
I decided to call in to share a little about my experience attending artist residencies and working as a digital nomad between 2018 and 2022. I was in my car shaking in my boots as I tried to get my two cents in without my voice breaking. I worry I was too negative about the digital nomad life, but I think what I wanted to impress on people is it was fun and exciting, but not without its challenges.
The piece was about the pros and cons of the digital nomad life. One of the main motivating factors of expats (a term I hate because are we just immigrants?) is a better quality of living, and a stronger social safety net that is offered in many countries outside the US.
Working for a job that pays in USD and living somewhere else, or traveling constantly is one way to game the broken system here in the US. That was the original motivating factor for me to hit the road. I was saving thousands a month in rent by not living in San Francisco and seeing the world at the same time. Plus there was a subsidized art studio, and often a fun community that came with the residencies. I got addicted to the freedom and low-commitment lifestyle that attending different artist residencies offered me. The idea of settling back down gave would me anxiety, like I was being trapped into a life that I knew had not been working.
Not creating roots felt important for a time until exhaustion hit, or my gig work dried up for a month. Suddenly the rootlessness made me feel hollow and light, like a strong wind could blow me away. A coulple years in, too many of those moments made me question my resolve. What was the point of the endless wandering? As I say in the radio piece, in the end I missed home.
Jason and I talk about this conundrum American artists find ourselves in. Being a successful, even famous artist in the US is about more than just fortune and glory. It means financial security in a highly competitive field that is the opposite of lucrative for most.
To be financially stable as a working artist here requires a level of recognition that most visual artists never achieve. And once you do achieve it, the labor required and the risks associated with the shifts in the art market make career sustainability difficult. Plus if you are a successful exhibiting painter, for example, your work schedule is as locked down if not more than the average 9-5er.
Sometimes you just have to opt out of all of it and see what shows up.
To close this rambling post, I wanted to share a sketch that SNL put out a couple years ago. It’s brilliant tongue-in-cheek commentary on the progress the LGBTQ rights movement has made. It feels relevant right now as I juggle the realities of a rooted life.
Yes, coming out feels like a ton of bricks have been lifted from my shoulders. And it is easier than ever for the average American. But then what? Then back to dating and the reality of the imperfect human that you are living in a world of other imperfect humans.
Join me for plein air painting Saturday morning in Glendale - RSVP on Eventbrite
Slowly putting two and two together ... Of course I just saw your work at Minnesota Street because you also went to CCA. I'm there now in the VCS program and was there to see work from someone currently in the MFA program. All making sense now :)