A Museum of One’s Own: Momma Tried Magazine

Micah Learned and Theo Eliezer, founders and creators of Momma Tried Magazine (Photo: Kelley Crawford)

The Momma Tried studio is everything you would want and nothing of what you’d expect. As Sarah Holtz and I approached the Pauger Street entrance, we were greeted by Micah Learned–co-founder of Momma Tried–on the front steps. Quickly after a warm greeting, Theo Eliezer–the other co-founder and contributor to Momma Tried Magazine–adds to the late afternoon heat with her smile and welcome.

As we step inside, a long hallway with the words Momma Tried hanging prominently in black catches our eyes. The walls in the multi-roomed shotgun are stark white, there are sections where the plaster has crumbled–exposing the usually buried lath–and sunlight streams in from the shuttered windows.

Each room has its own characteristics–owl figurines perched on a mantel, a corner populated with dozens of stuffed animals, reflective umbrellas for photo shoots, artifacts from past publications, a storage area full of costumes and tech gear, and small treasures of inspiration– like the prism we all played with as it displayed its adolescent wonderment on the walls. All of these objects have a life outside the aesthetic realm, and Theo and Micah told us their stories.

Momma Tried Studio (Photo: Kelley Crawford)

Momma Tried is an interdisciplinary art project with a print-only publication at its center. Published in New Orleans, Momma Tried is an exploration of the current trajectory of humanity towards cyborgian identity, artificial intelligence, how ideas can be suggested into existence, and the present mortality of 20th Century perspectives. You can pre-order Issue 3, which will be printed in the fall of 2017, here. To learn more about Momma Tried magazine, you can check out their website as well as follow them on Instagram or Facebook.