February 2009 – Robin Amer

Inside Out: Names

Originally broadcast Thursday Oct. 3, 2003. Full listing of Inside Out episodes here.

What’s in a name? In this episode we think about the this word (or words) that precede us everywhere we go. Hosted by Adeline Goss, with executive producer Anna Goldman. Contributors to this show include Robin Amer, Ali Budner, Anna Goldman, and Jenny Asarnow. Thanks to Beth Taylor.

In this episode:

Anna Goldman interviews her friend Mojo (yes, that’s his real name) about just what his parents were thinking, and how he deals with peoples’ expectations of him based on his name.

Robin Amer talks to Sarah McDermott about how she got her very much trademarked corporate nickname.

Ali Budner talks to Luke Woodward about what it was like to change his name when he transitioned.

Jenny Asarnow talks to Rebecca Subar about taking a name, and then leaving it behind.

Then, Ali’s twin sister Brooke Budner tells her about the time she convinced a group of strangers she was someone else all together.

Silk-Screened Comic, Downtown Providence

In 2004 I was in a group show at Myopic Books in Providence. It was a book arts show, and in honor of our opening me and the six other artists in it co-produced a limited run of handmade books that featured some kind of folio or comic by each of us.

My contribution was this little silk screened comic about a young couple who gets kicked out of their home and goes searching through the downtown for a new place to live. If you were around in 2004 (or if you’ve listened to Reconstructing Providence) you know that this was a bad time for artists. Dozens of my friends had recently been evicted from their spaces under inhumane and possibly illegal circumstances; having a stable and affordable place to live was definitely on my mind.

As you can probably tell, I’m a pretty lousy printer. I have no patience for lining things up or for the repetitive nature of the process, but it really took this project for me to figure that out! Even though just about nothing came out right in this project, from the color mixing to the way the ink sat on the butcher block paper to the almost complete illegibility of the text, I’m still attached to this project and feel proud of some of the drawing. I’d like to tackle the comic medium again at some point, sans printing.

“Oh No! Sam & L Jay Have Just Been Evicted! Now What?”

We need to find a place to live.

Seriously.

“For Rent”

Maybe we can live here?

“For Rent: Lofts, $100,000 / month. Cheap!”

No. I don’t think so.

Hey, look.

C’mon.

The End.

Inside Out: Sleep

Originally produced for BSR circa 2003. Full list of Inside Out episodes here.

Normal sleep is not what this episode is about. Instead we bring you stories gasping for breath, visions in the night, the town that couldn’t sleep, and why 8 hours and 24 minutes is probably a good idea. Hosted by Adeline Goss. Featuring pieces by Robin Amer, Rielle Navitski, Jenny Asarnow, Jess Jones, Laura Vitale, and Molly Messick. Executive producer, Rachel Terp.

In this episode:

Addie interviews Hyacinth DaCosta, an aide at the Sleep Lab at Brown University, on what we can consider “normal” sleep patterns.

Robin Amer interviews musician Christopher Smith, who suffers from sleep apnea. The disorder causes him to wake up as many as 25 times an hour. After a full night’s sleep, he’s still not well rested.

Jenny Asarnow presents perspectives on night terrors. Physiological glitch or portal into another dimension? You decide.

An excerpt from Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, in which a sleeping plague descends on the town of Macando. Produced by Jess Jones and Laura Vitale, read by Seth Bockley.

Most students sleep less than 6 hours on weekdays. Molly Messick takes a look at the downsides of the average college sleep cycle.

Thanks to Beth Taylor.