This “recipe” is my contribution to Jesse Malmed’s POME project and publication which debuted in June 2019 at Seattle Freezer project space in Seattle, WA
This recipe is not for everyone. In fact, procuring these ingredients will be prohibitive for many, both in their cost and scarcity. However, it is this author’s opinion that this rich and savory, yet pretty conventional recipe is worth the tremendous effort– with fulfilling results that satisfy the soul every bit as much as they do the appetite! Optimally, this recipe requires two sets of hands. Rule number one is to share the labor as equally as possible, though each of you will bring your own skills to the kitchen. Pay attention to your fellow cook, if they are putting in more of the effort on the stew, it will be your duty to focus on the crust. And importantly, if one of you is arduously nurturing the pastry dough, the other cook will have to seriously step up their effort. This will likely be the most complicated recipe you have ever tackled, but remember, have fun!
Ingredients:
1 savings (at least 50K, likely an inheritance)
1-2 MFAs (student loans included)
Gallery representation
2-3 part time gigs (self employment, adjunct teaching, contractual labor, et al)
An egg or two, mixed with baby batter to form a soft dough
Chill the savings as long as possible.
Bring MFAs to a simmer. Do not skim out any teaching positions. Reduce to a tenure track position. If you do not find an ideal consistency, season with part time gigs accordingly. Do not over-crowd the pot, you will want to leave room for the addition of more ingredients later. Add gallery representation, which will require stirring, at least every two years. This is your “career stew.”
Roll out savings into a thick, yet seemingly manageable mortgage. Press this crust into any vessel that it will fit (flyover city, suburb, rando college town, etc.) Add the stew.
The mortgage will develop flaky layers of bills, taxes, and unexpected costs as the savings cooks out.
Meanwhile, carefully add the pastry dough to the oven (Note: this ingredient could cross contaminate the carefully developed tenure track portion of the stew.) Bake for nine months into a lovely pastry.
Taste for the bright, ecstatic flavor of unconditional love.
To support the pastry, which will also increasingly develop its own layer of bills, the career stew will need to be thickened with gigs. The tenure track base of the stew will not be hearty enough to support the weight of the pastry alone.
Keep an eye on the stew, it will require constant stirring. An MFA based in studio practice, can stick to the bottom and burn (it can be easy to lose track of the stew while you tend to the pastry.) This ingredient is essential for the development of the tenure track (and gallery representation), not to mention the overall flavor of the dish. Season with institutional group shows as necessary.
You might find that one MFA will be cooked out at his point, this is okay for the structure of the pie, though some seasoning may be lost in the process.
You might want to bake off another batch of pastry dough, whether deliberately planned or awkwardly timed.
Carefully, constantly, tend to your pie, as you build its delicate crust.
Enjoy with one or two adult beverages and Netflix, when you have time.
American (Middle Class Artist) Pie
This “recipe” is my contribution to Jesse Malmed’s POME project and publication which debuted in June 2019 at Seattle Freezer project space in Seattle, WA
This recipe is not for everyone. In fact, procuring these ingredients will be prohibitive for many, both in their cost and scarcity. However, it is this author’s opinion that this rich and savory, yet pretty conventional recipe is worth the tremendous effort– with fulfilling results that satisfy the soul every bit as much as they do the appetite! Optimally, this recipe requires two sets of hands. Rule number one is to share the labor as equally as possible, though each of you will bring your own skills to the kitchen. Pay attention to your fellow cook, if they are putting in more of the effort on the stew, it will be your duty to focus on the crust. And importantly, if one of you is arduously nurturing the pastry dough, the other cook will have to seriously step up their effort. This will likely be the most complicated recipe you have ever tackled, but remember, have fun!
Ingredients:
1 savings (at least 50K, likely an inheritance)
1-2 MFAs (student loans included)
Gallery representation
2-3 part time gigs (self employment, adjunct teaching, contractual labor, et al)
An egg or two, mixed with baby batter to form a soft dough
Chill the savings as long as possible.
Bring MFAs to a simmer. Do not skim out any teaching positions. Reduce to a tenure track position. If you do not find an ideal consistency, season with part time gigs accordingly. Do not over-crowd the pot, you will want to leave room for the addition of more ingredients later. Add gallery representation, which will require stirring, at least every two years. This is your “career stew.”
Roll out savings into a thick, yet seemingly manageable mortgage. Press this crust into any vessel that it will fit (flyover city, suburb, rando college town, etc.) Add the stew.
The mortgage will develop flaky layers of bills, taxes, and unexpected costs as the savings cooks out.
Meanwhile, carefully add the pastry dough to the oven (Note: this ingredient could cross contaminate the carefully developed tenure track portion of the stew.) Bake for nine months into a lovely pastry.
Taste for the bright, ecstatic flavor of unconditional love.
To support the pastry, which will also increasingly develop its own layer of bills, the career stew will need to be thickened with gigs. The tenure track base of the stew will not be hearty enough to support the weight of the pastry alone.
Keep an eye on the stew, it will require constant stirring. An MFA based in studio practice, can stick to the bottom and burn (it can be easy to lose track of the stew while you tend to the pastry.) This ingredient is essential for the development of the tenure track (and gallery representation), not to mention the overall flavor of the dish. Season with institutional group shows as necessary.
You might find that one MFA will be cooked out at his point, this is okay for the structure of the pie, though some seasoning may be lost in the process.
You might want to bake off another batch of pastry dough, whether deliberately planned or awkwardly timed.
Carefully, constantly, tend to your pie, as you build its delicate crust.
Enjoy with one or two adult beverages and Netflix, when you have time.