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ufolojoy's conception
In September 2022, as an anniversary gift, Virginia bought me Allen H. Greenfield's Saucers and Saucerers. I read through the entire book immediately. I like to make notes when I read and use post-it notes to mark pages, either noting a theme, a sentence or phrase I enjoyed, or marking a page to reference later when doing research. I made a note in a latter section of the book where Greenfield, writing in the 1970s, was feeling disappointed by and disconnected from the ufology community at that time. I paused and examined the current discourse in the ufology field, which mostly consisted of online bullying and name calling, and I wanted nothing to do with any of that. Thinking about a more joyful ufology community, I wrote a note that simply said, "Ufolojoy."
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I finished Saucers and Saucerers and put it back on the bookshelf and eventually started reading something else. About six months later I was feeling disjointed and disconnected from my work as an illustrator and designer. I had many projects started, nothing completed, and I was feeling lost. Around the same time one of my favorite authors and longtime experiencers used their platform to exclaim there's only two genders and that's how we were created! These authors, in their books, often write about alien visitors who have come to warn us of our own destruction. They write about our "space brothers" who want us to love our fellow man, save the planets, stop the wars, etc. And then these same authors go on social media platforms and spew out hateful and harmful rhetoric. You think these advanced alien beings, who are often depicted as being non-binary mind you, give a shit about our made-up gender constructs!?
I was growing even more frustrated with the state of the ufology community. At the time, for my own satisfaction, I had been reading through different esoteric and ufological literature and materials, connecting dots here and there, and picked up Saucers and Saucerers again. A note I had written to myself was waiting for me on the inside cover, "The world needs Ufolojoy!" Virginia and I immediately set out to create the zine.
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With Ufolojoy we want to foster joy, inclusivity, and a safe space within the paranormal, ufology, and even the design community. Virginia and I at heart are both artists and we love to create. We just want to make fun and joyful art and share it with you and share the art and the artists who inspire us (check out our blog!) and try to make the world a better place while doing it.
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- Brian
more about brian
WHO: Brian J. Giordano (I took her last name because it's the cooler last name... and there's too much trauma with the Smith name).
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WHAT: I work primarily as a digital artist. As an artist I explore themes of childhood trauma through the lens of early 90's nostalgia, ufology, folklore, and the paranormal. I'm interested in using the language of hope and futurism instilled in the Sci-fi genre to focus on concepts of mental health in relation to enforced gender roles and societal expectations - and I came here to party!
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WHEN: Circa 1984. In 1989 I saw a goblin in my bedroom. In 2006 I met Virginia (I was in Florida, she was in California). I sent her some letters and paintings and told her to watch David Lynch's Dune. In 2008 I asked her to be my girlfriend and then moved across the country to be with her and we've been together since! I am an art school drop out and studied Illustration and design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.
WHERE: People ask me where I'm from and it's hard to answer. I grew up a military brat, we moved every three years. The longest state I lived in is California (1991-1997, 2009-2017), so I'm pretty comfortable now saying that is where I am from. Currently, we reside in the high desert in the great American Southwest (Vegas)!
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WHY: For my inner child, and for my actual children (they're cats).
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HOW: Star Trek, comics (X-Men and Daredevil), heavy metal, coffee, jazz music, magic, aliens, Virginia, our cats, Bill & Ted, Science-fiction and Fantasy books, homemade pizzas, and Sega Genesis.
more about virginia
WHO: Virginia Giordano.
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WHAT: I work primarily in ink, graphite, acrylic, and clay. I enjoy creating stylized portraits with symbolic narratives that feature people who don't exist but who are part of subcultures that very much do exist. My recent work has focused on the relationship between Heavy Metal, traditional gender roles, personal and historic mythology, with a good dash of nostalgia and fantasy.
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WHEN: Born in 1986. In 2006 I met Brian. In 2012 I earned a BFA with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. That same year I started Bath Sabbath.
WHERE: Currently Las Vegas but the heart frequently traverses to Los Angeles and back again.
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WHY: For our sons (pictured below).
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HOW: Comic books, coffee, cats, power metal, Romanticism, tea, Medievalism, magic, lingering Catholic guilt, Brian, Fantasy books, the color orange, Pre-Raphaelites, eyeliner, pickles and mustard.
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