TSC S01—E08: The Belonax Conspiracy

Big news chuckleheads, we’ve got a proper artist in this episode and you’re gonna love him. (That’s an order.)

This week was consumed by a lot of thinking about where TSC is heading.

Is this a creative direction newsletter?
Is it still about hobbies?
Am I diving into the creator economy?
Am I even real?
Is this all a hallucination as we experience the heat death of the universe?

How do I define my ideal reader, and how do I best serve them? Do I stay unhinged and unfocused in hopes that I find fellow weirdos?

ALL OF THIS AND MORE IF YOU KEEP READING. But if you don’t keep reading, you will get NONE of this and LESS.

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📙 The Bookmarks

A bit slimmer on the stinkylinkies this week to get to our feature a bit quicker. That said, we still got into some e-trouble. Check it.

• No one ever accused fashion photography of stagnating, but Vidar Logi is STILL mixing shit up with unique visual concepts that span genres and transcend expectations. (That’s fancy talk for they can’t be pidgeonholed)
  

• An expensive-ass Ferrari being built in multiple colorways in a split screen video HAS ME IN A CHOKEHOLD. Rumor has it that Ferrari are eschewing their signature red for a vintage blue at the Miami Grand Prix. If you don’t watch F1, that’s like if Coca-Cola suddenly put out a Pepsi blue can. Or if Snoop Dogg announced he was giving up smoke but then it was an ad for a fireplace.
  

• Our featured creator name drops this piece, and I figured it was worth hitting the note twice. MERE MORTALS is an immersive and modern take on ballet that’s supposed to be sick as hell and twice as cool.
  

• Things: I finally bought one of those stupid magnetic phone battery things TikTok has been screaming at me about.
  

• This week on Twitter I began posting a few moodboards and excerpts from my Arena. Make sure to follow if you’re interested in inspiration between episodes. I’ll be talking about art, visual concepts, photography, as well as posting more random links.

📸 Featured Creator: Tim Belonax

Tim Belonax is a Bay Area creative director, educator, designer, artist, and friend. He’s ambitious, kind, and has a cute-ass dog. What more could you ask for? Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll think of something, dear reader.

Tim balances his day job in tech with a vibrant art practice that has recently seen him book a solo show at The Compound Gallery, which is a big deal if you didn’t know.

After this feature you’re gonna be BEGGING for tickets. I’m talking hands and knees, the works.

Tim. Hi.
You're approached by someone at a party, and they ask you to tell them about yourself. What do you say?

TB: “It depends on the kind of party I’m at, but I usually start with, "I’m a designer who …” and fill in the part of my practice that might be the closest to their understanding. I might talk about working in tech, being an educator, or just being someone that has too many books.”

Nailed it. How much importance do you place on sidequests and detours in your personal and professional life?

TB: “Sidequests and detours are a key component of my practice. There’s a saying that I really believe in: “The reward is in the process” (which I also borrowed for a book title).

I don’t beat myself up if a detour doesn’t pan out the way I’d planned or if I stumble along the way through a sidequest. It’s all a part of the process for me. I try to remain balanced in how much these other projects consume my energy and time, but I know that I cannot go cold turkey on them. If I’m not investigating something through creative detours, I don’t feel like my best self.”

At some point you decided to take your sidequest from a private thing to being featured in an art show. Was that one pivotal moment? Walk us through going from art as personal expression to art as public expression.

TB: “My show is at the Compound Gallery, which is a part of the Compound Studios. I’ve been a member at the Compound since 2016. It’s a pretty special art studio because it grants members access to so many different tools, from wood working to ceramics, letterpress to silk screening.

It feels like being back in art school. It’s one of my favorite creative spaces to make and think in a different form than other venues.

I’ve been primarily screen printing at the Compound, focusing on the kinds of prints and techniques that would traditionally be seen as mistakes. To organize this work, I started posting it on Instagram under Standard Notice (along with a website of the same name). After a few years of selling one-off pieces in the gallery, the owners were kind enough to take a chance on me when I enquired about a solo show.

It was less of a pivotal moment and more of a slow boil. The Compound is really trying to cultivate a community and help its artists grow. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with them.”

Are there any tangible or intangible ways that expressing yourself through your practice has helped you personally or professionally?

TB: “It’s hard for me to distance my creative output from my personal and professional being. I see those realms as merely presenting different constraints for me to work within. They’re different areas for me to become more of myself.

I feel at my best when I can find a strong conversation between my artistic practice and professional work. But I couldn’t say that there’s a strong divide between them. The greatest benefit of working within these realms is finding a sense of creative flow and providing a deeper context to share with my professional colleagues that they may not see.

In the end, it draws me closer to others and closer to myself.”

Lastly, what's a person, place, thing, song, or link that's inspired you recently?

TB: ”This is easy—the ballet Mere Mortals. I saw one of its encore shows the other weekend in SF with my fiancé and we both left completely in awe by the performance.

It’s about the parable of Pandora but contextualized around our current fascination with technology and AI. I often find ballet a bit outdated at times, but this was utterly contemporary. The fashion, music, and stage graphics were equal players within the ensemble.

It was a masterpiece.”

Amazing. Everybody say thank you to Tim.

He’s a perfect example of a sidequest coming to the forefront or enriching your life as a greater practice. Whatever lights you up is worth doing.

Well, I promised you answers but that was a bit clickbaity and also I’m a notorious liar and/or fibster. This thing is amorphous and will continue to evolve, BUT I think I have a North Star.

Now watch me change this next week.

TSC is a slightly unhinged newsletter about curiosity, inspiration, creators, and a love of the pre-aggregated internet. It’s for anyone who wants brain juice and craves discovery.

This audience might work in a creative industry, are trying to break into one, or they have a sidequest that they seek inspiration for. This audience might also be entrepreneurial (that’s a big word for Elmo), or have aspirations of a creative business.

tl;dr I’m showing curious readers content that instigate curiosity and inspiration. How am I doing? If you read this far, you deserve 2 gold medals.

We want your input!
Got a hobby, link, or creator to feature?
Interested in sponsoring an episode?
Hit us up.

Thanks for reading!

All blues no clues,
Mitch and The Sidequest Club
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