UNITZERO Video Magazine
Latest issue
Issue 05: Triple Threat Love LEtter
Kalamazoo’s poet / author Mark L. Matthews invited us along to film and photograph his live performance at Kzoo’s Black Arts & Cultural Center.
We shot these photos and the film all in a few hours, and it was super chill and easy. Mark blessed us with all his energy. He’s been around the arts and hiphop scenes for a long time, being a show promoter under the banner White Girl Wasted, and operator of Flush Publishing / Flush Promotions. Under FLUSH, he has released his books ?QuestionMark?, Death Before Achievement, and now Triple Threat Love Letter.
Mark’s latest book, Triple Threat Love Letter, is an ode to Mark’s high school basketball coach, Bill Norton, who clearly means a lot to Mark. The book itself is poetry / spoken word, which marks an important distinction between his work now and his previous work within the hiphop community. “open to having a mic in my hand and become zen, no rapper.” With the book comes an audio accompaniment, as well as two DVD’s which have films made by Mark himself featuring home video from different periods in his life.
Mark’s Socials:
Instagram: @flush4life
Website: FLUSH Publishing
Triple Threat Love Letter
Doc / Performance
We had the privilege to have an incredible photoshoot, full of authentic energy. I (Jake) shot portraits on my Mamiya 645 and some BTS shots on my Minolta SRT 202. When we initially talked about collaborating, Mark knew right away we were only going to shoot in B&W. Nick shot 95% of the documentary while we were shooting the photos, so we really came away with an authentic but intentional viewing experience with the film.
Mark L. | Shot by Jake Girolami
Developed in caffenol and scanned by Pauly V.
Triple Threat Love Letter
Sizzle reel
Kzoo is a hub for truly unique art, and Mark L. is no exception. Thank you to Nadia, Dani, and Janine from the Black Arts & Cultural Center for hosting us in the space and for continuing to foster an amazing community for Black arts.
