Some guy displaying the poster as posters are commonly displayed on the internet.
We are thrilled to announce the completion of our most recent "supplementary materials" project. As you may (or may not) know, we have been steadily working on an output of non-musical materials over the course of the last few months, materials which enhance and complement the appreciation of the YACHT worldview. There was the Anthem of the Trinity mixtape, a concise compilation of conscious and subconscious musical influences. Then there came our book, The Secret Teachings of the Mystery Lights: A Handbook for Overcoming Humanity and Becoming Your Own God, a primer to our ideology that is available, at this point, only person-to-person at YACHT concerts. Now comes the YACHT Catalogue of Influences 2007-2009.
The YACHT Catalogue of Influences 2007-2009 is a massive, high-quality print poster overlaid with a subtle two-foot trompe-l'oeil varnish that archives, in totality, all of the non-musical influences which went into the primordial soup of our current philosophy and aesthetic. These run the gamut from Star Trek to Nikola Tesla, the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, the "Sacred Mirror" paintings of Alex Grey, Aleister Crowley, Raoul Vaneigem's The Revolution of Everyday Life, the teachings of UNARIUS, the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini, and the Whole Earth Catalog -- to mention but a few. All of the influences are meticulously catalogued, reproduced in full-color, and handily indexed.
The embossed and hand-numbered 2.3" x 3' spot-varnished poster is for sale now at the Marriage Records website and comes shipped in a heavy-duty triangular tube stamped with the YACHT insignia. Click below to order:
We are particularly attached to this project because it speaks volumes of our personal truth about what it means to make art in this age of hyper-connectivity: even while working in a void in Marfa, Texas, where we lived while making See Mystery Lights, the endless ephemera of creation filters through your consciousness until one morning you find yourself with a handful of crystallized ideas inspired directly by the work of those who came before you. Like Buckminster Fuller before us, we consider ourselves to be generalists. In this way, we save ourselves from obsolescence. A band, after all, is an evolutionary entity. It breathes and lives like a creature. And overspecialization, in the animal kingdom, is what causes extinction. The world is large and full of mystery, as well as more interesting and beautiful things than two people can ever fully absorb. This poster is a small slice of it, our gift to you.
Thank you to our good friends behind Veneer Magazine for their invaluable help conceptualizing, laying out, and printing this poster.
Hello "Yogamat," thank you for participating.
We want to begin by saying that it is difficult to have any real conversation in these comments, as such communication is public and generally influenced by both bravado and anonymity. If this is something you genuinely wish to discuss further, we'd love to talk with you about it and we are sincerely open to criticism and plain talk.
In the likely case that you are not interested in having a personal discussion, then we find we are not talking to you, but rather to those that are reading the comments. We consider faithful readers of TeamYACHT.com to be of a friendly disposition, and so it allows us to now speak with honestly and openly.
"Capitalist freaks."
First off, well done. With just two words you've managed to reduce all the latent "Generation X" fears of selling out into a single bold attack. Of course, nothing about the attack is substantial, but as a vague swipe at the artistic and spiritual nature of YACHT, this likely stirs up emotions in many of us.
If you had called YACHT just "freaks" it might have been seen as complimentary. Certainly YACHT is unusual, and to those that hold tightly to an established value system the truth YACHT speaks can seem frightening and odd (i.e. There is no Heaven, there is no Hell). The addition of "capitalist," however, implies that the way they are "freaky" is not cultural but economic. We also assume the crux of your personal offence is not that YACHT is charging money for their poster (posters shouldn't be free, after all), nor that YACHT have made a physical object (you couldn't possibly be protesting their productivity, could you?), but rather that they've chosen to make an object which externalizes that which is supposed to be sanctified -- the "artistic influence." Further, you're angry that YACHT have monetized this object. In the context of a poster they are selling we can only assume you lament the many multi-media offerings from YACHT, and believe them to be false and or "worthless," i.e not worth paying for.
That is a valid belief. However, for one, YACHT offers no guarantees that their own revelations are universal (incidentally, with the name of "Yogamat" we are making the assumption that you are no stranger to beliefs that are not part of the dominant western view of theology and culture). In our perspective of your outrage, we can only deduce you are young and struggling with your own identity, as the offering of the poster is in no way "freaky" or even especially "capitalist."
See, capitalism is an economic system based on private wealth. Those that make things own the profits that those things make. In this way YACHT is not capitalist at all, as the profits from many of their endeavors are earmarked for the purchase of property in Marfa, Texas that will become a public center of learning and education based on the teachings of YACHT. In this way, the poster is actually more an instrument of communism than capitalism.
But of course YACHT benefits from the profits made. YACHT exists in a capitalist society, as do the majority of us. Is YACHT buying expensive champagne and vacationing in Europe? Or is YACHT re-investing that money back into the organization and community that has supported them? We know there are no financial reports out there, but we would ask anyone who suspects YACHT of being "capitalist freaks" to do a little more investigation into the Band, Business, and Belief System of YACHT. These are exciting times we live in, and while they may also seem dark, it is the path through that darkness that YACHT is offering. YACHT changes lives, and that is exciting and worth supporting.
This poster is an ideological map that can guide a person to the same revelations. It's not a poster of the the two members to hang on a teen bedroom wall and it's not a promotional tool encouraging anyone to buy the record or come to a show. Studying these influences will crack the foundation you stand on; Yogamat, that may prove threatening, but we hope you will continue to dig through that rubble and discover the truth and wonder of living your own free life.
Thank you to Yogamat for giving us the opportunity to discuss this further. Remember that you are not alone. There is a community here, and we support one another with love and acceptance.
Remain In Light,
The YACHT Trust
What are you going to "teach" people? what a triangle is? is that manson on the poster as well? New cult start ups?
You don't think you are capitalizing on the ideas of others?
What revelations?
It is nice that the cosmos have revealed themselves to you.
I'm sorry if i am being arrogant and "in the shadows," but your self-righteousness irritates.
Dear "Yogamat,"
Although I can't speak for the myriad of individuals who make up the entity known as YACHT, I can perhaps offer a perspective that may alleviate some of your concerns.
First, it is my experience that the cosmos or aspects of the cosmos (whatever the term "cosmos" may mean to you) may be revealed through a sincere engagement with art and artistic expression. As an art object, the YACHT Catalogue of Influences operates for me as an opportunity to engage with, communicate with, and learn from other humans who are interested in topics I find important and illuminating. The YACHT Catalogue of Influences teaches me because it is a map of other humans' experience of creation. If I engage with it, if I take it seriously, my perspective and my understanding of the universe can expand to include the concepts and ideas stored in the poster. This is revelatory.
Secondly, it would seem impossible to exist on this planet without capitalizing on the ideas of others. Don't all ashtanga yoga teachers capitalize on the ideas of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, regardless of the individual spin they may give their practice? And didn't Pattabhi Jois capitalize on the ideas of Krishnamacharya, who capitalized on the ideas of Patanjali? Creation and productivity can be viewed as a dialogue; by integrating the ideas of others into a new thing (whether it's a concept map of never-before- juxtaposed triangles or a form of yoga practice), we have an opportunity to pay homage to and learn from other people's ideas while making them more relevant and useful for our individual lives.
I hope my thoughts have been helpful.
Remain In Light,
Marcus
Hello "Yogamat," thank you for participating.
We are surprised that you have come back. If you find the work we do to be "self-righteous" then perhaps you'd be happier not paying attention to our practice. Assuming there is some small aspect of YACHT or The Trust that you find appealing, perplexing, amusing, or at least a bit interesting, then we'd really like to discuss it further with you.
Again, discussions here in the comments can only go so far. We'd like to communicate more personally. Perhaps you could contact us (trust@teamyacht.com) directly. While both J. Bechtolt and C.L. Evans are on tour, there are many of us working together and we'd like to meet you in person.
If you are close to one of the following cities then we could arrange to have a member of the Trust meet you: Marfa TX, Los Angeles CA, Bloomington IN, Chicago IL, Atlanta GA, or Miami FL. Obviously both the Christian and secular holiday season make scheduling a bit difficult, but I'm sure we can work it out if you are willing. If you are in another location, then perhaps YACHT will be touring there at some point in the future. Please be in touch.
Remain In Light,
The YACHT Trust
Love your stuff - wasn't sure at first. It's like Ween, The Beat Happening and Kraftwerk all in one.
Here's an idea (for what it's worth) Yacht could make an awesome cover of Daniel Johnston's (I was taught that the apostrophe goes after the "s" to signify the possessive but spellcheck has a different opinion.) "Sorry Entertainer".
Well that my grey-matter spelt.
E...T...C...
craigfRomflorence
YACHT, I am so happy that you are finnally realising more "Non-Musical" Merchindice n_n but I must ask... how would I obtain The Secret Teachings of the Mystery Lights handbook?
i would just like to say that i am in love with your work. i am a complet believer and follower in yacht now, and love every asspect of it. perhaps you could come down to arizona and do a live show. i know many people down here such as myself that would love that. thank you for becoming what is now and believing in what you do.
remain in the light.
♥mandiee
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kahsone/4085829765/