Q&A with creative laureate Mosley Wotta

Published 2:15 am Thursday, March 26, 2020

Who: Jason Graham, aka Mosley Wotta, or Mo Wo for short, is a longtime Bend musician, visual artist and poet now in his second year as Bend’s first-ever creative laureate. Early last month, he released “This is (Not) All There Is,” a seven-song recording that captures Graham’s positivity in tunes such as “Nigh at the Museum”: “All walls fall, all flags tatter, you are loved, now tell me what’s the matter. GO! Magazine reached out to Graham via Messenger for his take on life right now amid the chaos and confusion of life in the era of the coronavirus.

Q: With the state of things right now, do you feel your role as creative laureate has changed or shifted?

A: I would say yes, to put it mildly. Everything has changed. Now our culture is one of consideration and consequence. We are not able to simply wash our hands of this hardship and move on. We must confront our imbalance and recalibrate. In practical and immediate terms there is a coalition of bright minds and keen hearts forming support for members of our creative community and beyond. ScaleHouse, BendFilm, High Desert Museum, Arts and Culture Alliance, At Liberty, Deschutes Public Library, Oregon Humanities are some the folks doing work in record time to help protect, promote and fortify our cultural equity. Additionally, artists in our community are raising funds by selling digital music. We just raised $500 for the LOFT (Living Options For Teens), which is a youth shelter in Central Oregon. All money raised was from music sales!! Absolutely astounding. Anything that helps all of us is a model worth exploring!

Q: How are you spending your time in this period of social distancing?

A: Sitting. Exercising. Raising family. Making art. Resting. Reading. Crying. Laughing a lot. These things matter if anything does.

Q: Any advice you’d offer folks who are struggling with isolation right now?

A: We need time to not keep our cool. We need space to freak out. To not handle this well. It’s OK not to be OK. To be upset with not knowing what happens next. Pillows are good places to yell at the gods. Pillows are a good place to punish with a fist. Pillows are good places to build a sob factory. Our children, our partners, our pets, ourselves, our shelters need our care. What we care for does not need our punishment or tantrums, save that for your pillow. Feel stuck? Your imagination does not have boundaries, go there. Also, I have been thinking about folks trapped in unsafe environments. My opinion, if you are in an unsafe place, an abusive relationship, a place that will not care for you. Plan your escape and GET OUT. Also, if you can do more than you are doing DO MORE. WE GET WHAT WE GIVE.

Q: What are you listening to and reading these days?

A: The BLUES. N.K. Jemisin — “The Obelisk Gate.” Lao Tzu — “Tao Te Ching.” Michael Pollan — “How to Change Your Mind.” David Goggins — “Can’t Hurt Me.” Martin Luther King Jr. — “Who is My Neighbor.” Angeles Ariene — “Gathering Medicine.”

Q: What have been the most memorable moments of your tenure as a creative laureate?

A: More than I can count. This has been an amazing experience. Honestly though, the best parts usually didn’t come with any fanfare, and usually in conversation, and usually in acknowledgment of what needs to change if we are ever going to make progress. Guess what though? That change is happening now.

Q: What, if any, silver linings do you see in this period we’re living in right now?

A: If nothing good comes easy, then this must be a very good time, an extremely good time, as we are going to have some very hard choices. Some extremely hard choices. GOOD. We are being given an option to move from “me and mine” to “us and ours.” To reject profit as paramount and care for each other, as we are being asked to do NOW. And we have known from a very early age that we were made for something important, something meaningful, born of a generous ingenuity. If we were looking for a sign, this is it.

Q: You’re well known for your positivity. How do you keep your chin up in trying times?

A: This could be the chance we get to get over our petty and devastating wars. Wars over resource. Wars over identity based prejudice. Wars over class. Wars over worship. If we want, this could be the chance and change of all of our lifetimes. If we want to meet the need, we can. There is no other boat #row. SO VALUE YOUR WORTH. GET EDUCATED. GET ACTIVATED. GET CREATIVE. GET THROUGH. These are not optional.

— David Jasper, The Bulletin