“Facts do not cease to exist because the are ignored.” -Aldous Huxley

The truth is increasingly pliable in these days of fast facts and fake news. We live in an age of subjectivity, when objective fact is put to the test against a cascade of competing narratives. Over the millennia, we have slowly emerged from the dark toward a world of evidence. And yet for most, even the most concrete assurances are not enough to shake the foundation of a strongly internalized script. We, all of us, have a natural tendency to lean toward those things that support what we already believe. In a sense we merely bolster our own personal truths, leaving total objectivity to the side.

Mary Mattingly spoke to us once again after a previous conversation five years ago when she discussed a floating barge-based installation. Currently she still lives and works in New York though she has just returned from Colorado where she spent a semester in fellowship at University of Colorado, Boulder. The project that unfolded in Boulder was a collaborative work with systems scientists, graduate students from the university and other artists to create what she calls taxonomical sculptures. Mattingly created a library with four main themes: Commons, Art & Poetry, Ecosophy and Geology. Within each theme were books, objects and sound-based artwork. Mattingly sought to locate art that would fit into these categories and that represented the idea of a tool, that is something that aids in work going forward. To hear more about this project and more, including an upcoming project at Brooklyn Public Library involving watershed stewardship in New York City, listen to the complete interview.

Bob Holman is a poet. In our interview with him, we spoke about two of his works, Life Poem and The Unspoken. Although both are new out right now, Life Poem began 50 years before The Unspoken. Life Poem is one continuous poem written over 100 pages. The Unspoken is a collection of recent and selected poems. It began with the title Bob Holman and the Spoken Word Movement. Holman is generally associated with the spoken word/slam culture in poetry. To hear more about both books, including live readings by the poet, listen to the complete interview.