🍍 "Getting to Know One Another"

Can I Ask You a Personal Question?: 1

There are so many games are about asking people personal questions: Truth or Dare, Never Have I Ever, Two Truths and a Lie, etc. Why are we so interested in knowing what lives at the depths of someone else? And why are we interested in the especially intimate, even risque? Is it because we each have so many truths about ourselves that we keep hidden? Maybe the idea of turning it all into a game makes it easier to come clean, to share those secrets with other people who have just as much to lose (and gain). 

Thankfully, our curiosity about the personal often comes through in art. This week, we’re sharing two illustrations by Joseph Verrastro that showcase the human desire to get personal with one another. Showcased in at the Hop is a certain gaze, as if one subject has just asked something daring, and the other is exhilarated by the thought of answering. Muses also centers on a gaze, but perhaps the subjects are unsure of whom to connect with just yet.

Send your pieces on the theme of Can I ask you a personal question? to tartmgzn@gmail.com until July 31; as always, writers and artists of color are especially encouraged to submit. All media are welcome, but we’re really eager to see more short stories this time.

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Images

By Joseph Verrastro

In the small sampling of work offered here, my intent was to leave the figure as a simple sketch set against a more lively background, much like the hectic world we find ourselves in today, akin to solace amidst the chaos. In at the Hop the pair of dancers may be getting to know one another and are locked in each other's gaze. The Muses appear to be in search of someone or something to get personal with. 

at the Hop

Muses

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About the Artist

Joseph Verrastro is an American artist born, residing, and at work in Buffalo, NY. A purveyor of light, color and form, Joe's work is a dynamic reflection of his interests in history, science, nature, music, food and its history, along with the visual arts.

✨LAST SLICE✨

My two favorite drag queens lose their minds during quarantine and also talk about the most intimate things ever. On a personal level for me, drag queens are the only thing that have been getting me through this shit time; and my pansexuality is truly peaking because of it. — Katy