Temporary Services

Supermax Subscriptions seeks to connect the surplus of well-traveled citizens to a population that never goes anywhere: prisoners in American supermax prisons.

As most of you know, frequent flyer miles often expire before it is possible to save enough of them for a free airline ticket, seating upgrade, or other costly prize. Supermax Subscriptions asks people with these surplus miles to exchange small quantities of unused miles for magazine subscriptions to supermax prisoners. For as few as show more 300 miles, you can give the gift of a yearly magazine subscription to a prisoner with little or no reading material.

The first goal of Supermax Subscriptions is to provide every prisoner in Tamms C-MAX supermax prison with at least one magazine subscription. Men in Tamms are in their cells 23-24 hours a day in permanent solitary confinement. The men have been there for years on end, many for ten years. They have no communal activity, no phone calls, no programs, no education, no work, no librarian, and virtually no reading (mostly children’s books). A magazine subscription is one way to give these men your support. Your gift will not be taken for granted.

This project is a collaborative effort by Tamms Poetry Committee, Laurie Jo Reynolds, Sarah Ross, Temporary Services, and you!

Airlines: Check these airlines to sign up for a mileage awards plan, check your travel mile balance and to find out how to redeem miles for magazine subscriptions: AMERICAN AIRLINES, DELTA, STAR ALLIANCE, UNITED, other airlines may apply. You are also welcome to purchase magazines if you don’t have any frequent flier miles. show less

In this booklet, reprinted correspondence between an anonymous artist and curator reveals the clash of attitudes that can occur when controversial source material induces ass-covering by an institution. The back-and-forth over references to child pornography and corporate logos underscores the problematic logics that arise through sponsorships of non-profit spaces.

"This is the 6th booklet in the Temporary Conversations series and the 88th Temporary Services publication.
For us, the Temporary Conversations series is not just a fun opportunity to sit down and talk to someone we like about their work (in this case, for well over two hours!); it is also a chance to put a lot of fresh information out into the world. In Peggy Diggs' case, her projects are infrequently given sufficient space in print to unfold in the detail they deserve. This is an show more extraordinarily generous interview, filled with a lot of heart and clear, focused recollections on the circuitous paths Diggs' collaborative projects take."
- http://halfletterpress.com show less

"Framing The Artists is an overview of many examples of [film and television] characterizations. The reviews that follow are but a few examples of portrayals of artists and their work in film and television. We have watched hundreds of hours of video and concede that our research has only just begun.
This guidebook and a parallel DVD and installation we have produced are the first output of ongoing research that Temporary Services is undertaking. The DVD includes clips of scenes from films show more and television shows that highlight some of the best and worst portrayals of artists that we have found. These clips are organized into various categories--for example, clips of fictional and real artists talking about their own work, and scenes where fictional artists behave in an inappropriate manner.
Continuing stereotypes of art and artists in mainstream media reveal to us the real impact (or lack thereof) that artists have on the world around them. The minimal presence of living, working, visual artists in these media spheres contributes to the kinds of generalizations and misunderstandings that many people seem to have about the power and function of the visual arts. It is our contention that by continually watching, cataloging, and analyzing these portrayals, artists can also gain a better understanding of their own responsibilities to their viewers and how stereotypes hurt their ability to effectively communicate their ideas."
- inside front cover show less