the uncanny valley of my inbox
"Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"- Kendrick Lamar
Have y’all noticed shit is weird lately? I mean, a week ago (or whatever, idk when) a former president was literally shot in the ear and three days after that the biggest news story was whether a certain vice presidential candidate has or has not fucked a couch. I genuinely wonder if there has ever been a historical moment where so much of the time people were like, “Is this real? Are y’all seeing this?” Let’s face it, we’ve been in a very “Jesus, Take the Wheel” situation for a while now, but here recently it’s felt more like Jesus, build a road. Jesus, we need some fucking infrastructure. I’m not saying we’ve wandered into the darkest timeline or anything because I am well aware that things can (and will) get much, much worse, but things are just off. In the run up to my birthday this week, (That’s right, baby! I’m still alive!), I’ve been engaging in my habitual pre-bday period of reflection. 43 has truly been one of the most impactful, transformative years of my life, which, if you know me, is really saying something. One of the main things I’ve gleaned from the past 365 is that I’d be smart going forward to simply expect any given day to resemble a nightmarish version of one of the quirkier entries in the French New Wave canon— and unfortunately, I do not like Godard that much!
And while I’ve been thinking about this pervasive, persistent feeling of unsettledness, I have been looking at Edwin Georgi, a popular mid-20th-c. illustrator featured in American periodicals like The Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Companion.
Georgi is particularly known for his depictions of society women in a distinctive expressionist style. Apart from print ads for everything from cigarettes to transatlantic shipping to Heinz ketchup, most of his works were created to illustrate short stories. He paints a world that feels posh, privileged, clean, controlled.
He is capable of deeply romantic images— starlit skies framed by lush passionflowers, lovers on a beach in a stolen moment.
But what makes Georgi really stand out among mid-century illustrators are those times when, again, things just feel off. Often, the smiles are too wide, the teeth too white. Under Georgi’s hand, beautiful faces become frozen rictus— mannequins, automatons, entities that look like people but may not be. As Masahiro Mori theorized when he coined the term ‘uncanny valley,’ we have an instinctual aversion when something perceived to be human is revealed as merely human-like. Many of Georgi’s illustrations produce this feeling of eeriness and discomfort. That feeling of “Is this real? Are y’all seeing this?”
The depiction of unnerving too-wide smiles is quintessential Georgi, but its his use of color that truly sets his work apart from that of his contemporaries. It’s clear to me that he was hugely influenced by the post-Impressionists— Seurat’s pointillism is evident throughout his oeuvre, along with more direct references such as Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Moulin Rouge from 1892-95.
Because the one thing you can say about Georgi is if he can make a shadow green, he will. Man loves his green. And he doesn’t care who knows it! And he will sacrifice all sense of realism in its service.
Naturalism is not a concern for Georgi. Often his shadows make no sense or the contrast is greater in just one part of the picture— usually the face. He’s interested in extremes. There’s something of the grotesque; he’s making glamorous monsters. Georgi’s illustrations are subversive in their frequent refusal to simply illustrate. Instead he’s giving us:
I find Georgi’s work— its weirdness, its beauty— thrillingly inspirational. So, if I’m right, and being perpetually prepped for everything to feel at least a wee bit creepy or unreal or downright INSANE, I will be reverse-Georgi-ing. By this I mean, I will be making beauty from the grotesque. 2024 had already been dedicated to romanticizing the mundane, and I have to say, I’m great at it. I excel in finding the swoon-worthy in the tiniest things, maşallah. What I’m talking about here is something different. Reverse-Georgi-ing requires pushing this further, romanticizing-beautifying-WORKING WITH that which feels not just mundane, but profane.
This obviously defines differently for every one of us, but for me, anything to do really with the ways in which technology has been forced upon me as a necessity to live successfully in society absolutely qualifies as profane, pollutes my spirit, is actively perverse and an affront to my preferred vibe, which I would describe as pre-Industrial plus rap.1 Thus, the by-now popular poetic format of creating verse from email subject lines is very much an example of reverse-Georgi-ing, and I am capping off this year with a poem created using only subject lines from emails I’ve received since my last birthday. I’m calling it ‘beyond nostalgia’ which, yes, is the subject line of an email I got this year. I give you:
beyond nostalgia
a lot of things are true.
a year is so long and so short
Expectation
Erasure
No Regrets
Memento Mori
The end is nigh…
You’re on the guestlist…
Save the date!
Last call for Summer Nights!
The countdown is on!
It’s Not Too Late…
Don’t miss your shot!
Don’t miss ROTTING IN THE SUN
Does the past exist?
Are you missing out on all this?
Are you ready for what’s next?
Are you out of balance?
You’re on the list!
ADVICE: A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Would you like to delete your account or keep it?
You are invited to “The Middle East in crisis”
You deserve lots of rewards this payday
the dissonance intensifies…
A Deep Question
”am I hot enough for a good life?”
Look at me!
Don’t Look Away
What Does It Mean to Live Out Your Dream?
Find your vibe match
Smell the roses
Awaken your spiritual heart
Complete your Verification
Complete your Verification
Complete your Verification
HELL YEAH BROTHER
Let’s study the energetics of YOU!
We’re trying something new!
The Power of Crying
Singing Through the Apocalypse
There is no better time to join
You’re on the list!
Good things are on the way
The Best is Yet to Come
the best time…
LEO SZN
All the Things I Want:
Courage
An app to take back your mind
The Viscera of Love
an hourglass of diamonds
Finding My Way Back to Places I’ve Never Been
Crows’ Feet
Climate Nausea
welcome!
You’re on the list!
Speaking of rap, the official song of 44 is “Slut Me Out 2” by NLE Choppa. I will never get tired of it. It will sustain me to 45.