Master of All Jacks
Through a re-imagining of the initial sequence of the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), the fantasy world of cinema and the reality of Judy Garland’s complex life collide. Instead of taking Dorothy to Oz, the twister transports a young, hopeful Garland into the future where she encounters her disillusioned adult self. After the Rainbow is the second work in the Dark Matter series, an ongoing cycle of video installations that are concerned with personal and historical experiences of time, and how these relations are mediated by screen technologies. Begun in 2005, each work in this series takes the form of a séance fiction where encounters are staged between the past and future selves of a deceased screen star. Materials: Donnie Darko (2001), Easter Parade (1948), Judy, Frank and Dean: Once in a Lifetime (1962), The Manson Family (2003), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Planet Terror (2007), Vertigo (1958), The Wizard of Oz (1939).
"Flogging the Freelancer" is a blog post a day about freelancing in the gig economy. Browse the archives here.
My LinkedIn profile is sort of a complicated beast. To me, it makes sense: everything is words. To others, it may look all over the place. Am I a journalist? A blogger? An editor? A copywriter? A pundit? A photographer? A comics maker? An author? Am I a jack of all trades or a master of none?
On the one hand, it probably would've been better to have picked a niche and stuck with it. Say, journalism. And just done that. Improve those skills, sell those tools, climb up that ladder.
On the other hand, it was my ability to diversify and apply my tools across multiple categories that enabled me to survive as a freelancer. To be a marketer and a reporter. To write copy and to create fiction.
In, say, 2000, my income was approximately $50,000. Half of it was from freelance writing and half of it was from TV appearances.
In, I believe, 2012, my income was approximately $100,000. Half of it was from freelance journalism and half of it was from freelance copy writing.
Looking back, I can't say I'm sure what's the best path. Why should I limit my abilities? Or did I create a kind of ceiling for myself? Perhaps I followed where things led me, to this place.
You can connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and you can email me here.