Welcome back!
Bienvenidos!
For those that used to read any of my earlier work from The Motivation Model, welcome back. I promise to archive those somewhere, someday— maybe. For those who are arriving fresh, know that I’m a firm believer in growth and used to share essays to which I believed were fundamental to the process of leaving ones own comfort zone and expanding into the unknown. Time has certainly marched on since then, however, these findings remain the bedrock for which I’ve chosen to reawaken my efforts in sharing words with you, although slightly modified this time around.
For this phase I feel it necessary to highlight the people in my life that keep the fire burning, the great encouragers and my solid wall of support. Art needs community and we are nothing without one another. This I know for sure. It is because of those who will be exhibited here whom stimulate the inspiration sometimes needed to reach higher and stretch into that deeper water, vulnerable to learn things about ourselves we could not have achieved alone.
It's been over 7 years since the rebirth; my arrival into New York City, the greatest city in the world. I love living here, I also love leaving here. My path has afforded me much discovery and adventure to foreign lands, a privilege for which I am forever grateful. As I said, we are nothing without each other, and these are the people who have shined light along the way.
For this welcome post, we begin with a dear homie of mine, a Tejano, just like me. We went to the same college in San Antonio, Texas but the only thing we knew about each other Is that we were commonly mistaken for one another and to this day, people still ask if we are brothers. Mathew LeJune or Mr. MLJ is a filmmaker, a story teller and above all, one of the hardest working creatives in my circle of friends. That boy is booked, busy and always on the move! We are way overdue for some hot msg out of a little white box and a cold crispy one in a frosty mug. The time shall come soon, I can almost taste it.
Matt began his career shooting in San Antonio, exploring the camera and taking to the streets to capture the vibras of the historical ambiance and all that “The Alamo City” has to offer. We both had been out of college for a few years by this point (still unaware of each other besides the fact that we existed and were in close resemblance), I had been living in NYC for about 3 years and was aboding in Astoria with my lovely partner, Chelsea, who will get her own post soon, I’m sure.
It was around this time, Matt reached out to me and was curious about my endeavors to the big city and was looking to make a jump of his own. So we hosted him for a few nights, as he explored the city and we shared some tips that had helped us along the way. For most people, the battle of entering NYC is usually bound up in finding an apartment that will provide enough of a roof over your head while still leaving some ends in your back pocket to afford a hot bagel or your favorite slice.
It was “Gypsy Housing” that delivered the ticket out of Texas for Matt, a saving grace at the time, though the platform is no longer what it used to be. Now overrun with sleazy, bogus ads for broker fee apartments, it seems to have lost its integral community roots. Nonetheless in 2017 it was exactly what our friend MLJ needed. In a short few weeks after visiting us, he returned, locked and loaded in Bushwick, Brooklyn where he began his own love story, with the city I believe he too loves most.
Since arriving, this man has rocketed himself into the industry, working day and night. A full time filmmaker whose lens has zoomed into new depths and continues to reach for more as he pull us closer to the stories he creates. His editing has evolved into a style unique to himself and Im grateful to be part of his journey. Recently, MLJ shot me in my home studio in a time where I was completing the editions of “Panclocks”; prints from an oil painting made in 2022. What was captured exemplifies the tone and transient theme of my work, “A Sweet Taste of Time”, the essence of being, here, now, the magic forever in the moment.
Thats how it grows.
Thank you Matt!
LOVE, RNR
Mathewlejune.com
@MATHEWLEJUNE
