August 16–22, 2019 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 AWP 11
Working to fi nd our own truth
3guysfrombrooklyn.com
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It Pays to Check with Us
Flushing Bank rewards new
Complete Checking accounts with a
$10 Starbucks® gift card and up to $100.
$10
“Art is the lie that enables
us to realize
the truth.”
Pablo Picasso said that. I
agree, to the extent that there
is such a thing as “truth,” our
own “truth,” rather than some
larger universal “truth.”
This summer, I have been
blessed enough to work with
a group of teenagers, to watch
as they began to chip away at
all the cover-ups life seems to
demand they create, as they
turned off their naysaying demon
brains and just enjoyed
the sheer experience of music
and movement and meditation
and improv and art.
Life is beautiful. Sometimes,
with the weariness
of work and the impossibility
of relating, we can forget
that. But we need to remember.
We need to teach our children
the valuable lesson that
beauty — however we behold
it, however we feel it — needs
to be valued.
It is scary, really — the
idea that we can unlock so
much of ourselves through artistic
means. It puts so much
power in our own hearts and
souls to make things happen.
We cannot blame anyone else
but ourselves. It is up to us
to pay attention to our bodies
and our minds — to do something,
anything, to change the
way we feel when we don’t
like how we feel.
We drummed. Picking
up the theme of the day,
like “trust” or “kindness,”
we played out the rhythm of
the concept, tuning in first
to our own selves and, with
time, to each other. The development
over a month’s time
has been extraordinary, from
timid uncontrolled bursts to
intentional sustained harmony.
Open a new Flushing Bank Complete Checking account and you will be eligible to receive a $10 Starbucks
gift card1 and up to $100.2,3 Plus, all new Complete Checking accounts can get a CASH BONUS up to $200.2,4
For more information, visit your local Flushing Bank branch (locations in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and on
Long Island), speak with a Flushing Bank representative at 800.581.2889 (855.540.2274 TTY/TDD), or go to
www.FlushingBank.com.
Small enough to know you.
Large enough to help you.®
Effective August 2, 2019. 1) Limit one (1) Starbucks gift card per new Complete Checking account, minimum opening balance of $1,000 or more required. Starbucks is not a sponsor or participant of this promotion. 2) New Complete Checking account with
new money only. Existing checking account customers are not eligible. A new checking account is defined as any new checking account that does not have any authorized signatures in common with any other existing Flushing Bank checking account(s).
An existing checking customer is defined as anyone who currently has or has had a Flushing Bank checking account within the last 24 months. New money is defined as money not currently on deposit with Flushing Bank. 3) The Cash Bonus is limited to one
(1) account credit per new Complete Checking account. To qualify for the Cash Bonus, a new Complete Checking account must be opened with a minimum opening balance of $1,000 or more. The Cash Bonus credit will be based on the monthly average
account balance of the first three (3) full months after account opening. The monthly average account balance tiers and respective account credits are as follows: Tier 1: $1,000 - $4,999 a $10 account credit, Tier 2: $5,000 - $9,999 a $50 account credit, Tier
3: $10,000+ a $100 account credit. The Cash Bonus credit will be posted to the account on or about the end of the subsequent month following the account’s three (3) month anniversary. A 1099 will be issued in the amount of the account credit. The new
Complete Checking account must remain open, active and in good standing for six months. If the account is closed prior to six months or prior to receiving the credit, the account credit will be forfeited. Other fees and restrictions may apply.
Notwithstanding the Cash Bonus offer, a minimum deposit of $25 is required to open the Complete Checking account. 4) This offer is limited to one Complete Checking account per household. Minimum deposit required to open a new Complete
Checking account is $25. No minimum balance required to be eligible for the Bonus. Direct Deposit– You will receive $100 for signing up for and receiving a recurring direct deposit. Each direct deposit must be $250 or more. Tax refund checks
do not qualify as direct deposit. Direct Deposits must be completed prior to 90 days after the account is opened. Debit Card Purchases – You will receive $50 for the completion of 5 debit card purchases. Each debit card purchase must be $25
or more. Online Banking bill payments – You will receive $50 for completing 5 online banking bill payments via Flushing Bank’s Online Banking portal. Each online bill pay must be $25 or more. Debit Card Purchases and Online
Banking bill payments must be completed prior to 60 days after the account is opened. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ANY CUSTOMER CAN RECEIVE IS $200. The compensation will be credited to the checking account on or about
the end of the month following the completion of the above qualifying transactions within the required time after account opening. A 1099 will be issued in the amount credited to your account. Other fees and restrictions may
apply. The promotion and offer are subject to change and termination without prior notice at any time. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark
“Can you feel it now,
how to play out the different
themes?” I asked them
recently, knowing myself the
answer but happy to see their
nods of agreement. It doesn’t
really matter what I think,
it is up to them to believe in
their ability to express themselves
rhythmically.
We meditated on the
themes as well, focusing in
on our bodies and our breath,
attempting to push along undesirable
thoughts and stay
in the moment. At first, no
voices joined me in the extended
output of breath, in the
“om” that signifies the primordial
vibration of the universe.
Now, at the end, we create
a beautiful shared chant.
We can get in tune.
We used paints, markers,
chalk and glitter and sat outside,
along the Eastern edge
of Prospect Park Lake, to see
how to capture our own perspective
in watercolor. Like
Picasso and so many artists
throughout history, we
now had the hubris to replicate
beauty with our own
hands.
We saw how other artists
express themselves through
various media with visits to
the Whitney Biennial and the
amazing Open Call exhibit
at The Shed. We followed up
with artist Kiyan Williams
by video conference after the
kids sat for a long while in
front of the non-gender-conforming
artist’s site-specific
installation, Meditation on the
Making of America, on the
exploitation of Africans in
the diaspora. What emerged
was the idea of artists as coalition
builders, as changeagents,
as the dissectors and
doers whose creativity causes
a change of frequency and vibration
for both social issues
and personal emotions.
We made delicious summer
rolls with chef Sung Uni
Lee , trying new ingredients
and listening to our bodies’
true needs in terms of nourishment.
The kids worked
seamlessly together to create
the delicious lunch they
ate with relish.
We danced in two different
Brooklyn dance studios
with the awesome teacher Jess
Grippo, a force who believes
in reclaiming our sense of self
through moving our bodies
openly and creatively. Jess
helped the kids choreograph
their desired and undesired
character, and dance out their
purpose. The beaming smiles
of all four teens as they chose
movements that expressed
their thoughts, and worked
together to form them into a
collaborative dance, were a
highlight of the summer.
We did improv in my living
room with the venerable
Ruby Frazier of Drama for
Success, acting out kindness
and how to create a dynamic
life through games and scenes.
After a brief nervousness, the
kids were amazingly adept at
playing out their concerns and
their resolutions. Life, after
all, is merely a stage.
We did a deep meditation
and painted on the terrace
amidst a variety of healing
crystals with artist Agni
Zotis in her Chelsea studio/
home. With this work, we
tapped into Agni’s philosophy
of life and art that she
talked about recently in The
National Herald:
“Everything in consciousness
is vibrating energy in
the process of transformation.
There are similar patterns
that occur in molecular
structures, in nature, and the
universe, reflecting the relationship
of the microcosm to
the macrocosm. Painting allows
me to channel creative
flow states with pure expression
transcending all boundaries.”
Achieving a “creative flow
state” was indeed our goal as
we toured The Vessel, a series
of spiral staircases overlooking
the Hudson and much of
Manhattan, listening to ourselves
as we decided which
way to climb and descend.
We continued the theme by
working with Brazilian artist
Claudia Vieria at her Chelsea
apartment, replicating her
own use of drawn and taped
lines to connect the body and
space by creating tape “drawings”
on the glass of her beautiful
balcony high above the
High Line. What a blast.
Fearless
Living
By Stephanie Thompson
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