In this episode of Paranormal Borders, we welcome EJ Massey—also known as The Legendary Blythe Bizzczar and founder of the digital art collective Abstraction Universe.
EJ is a multidisciplinary artist, composer, editor, and DJ who has developed a bold and dynamic visual language that fuels Abstraction Universe’s long-form YouTube content, as well as short-form pieces across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Learn about EJ’s creative process, his unique approach to digital storytelling, and the forces—seen and unseen—that shape his vision.
The PARA/normal Borders Podcast is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation and the California Humanities, a partner of the National Endowment for the Humanitites.
See more from EJ!
Instagram: @blythebizzczar / @abstractionuniverse
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AbstractionUniverse
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Photo Credits and Image Sources:
- [0:00:40] Screenshot from Joules of Bizzczar: The System, 2024, video collage. Courtesy of the artist. Video credit EJ Massey.
- [7:45]Abstraction Universe
- Screenshot from Joules of Bizzczar: Wormhole Grace Jones The Pretenders, 2023, video collage. Courtesy of the artist. Video credit EJ Massey.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuyqWAk03zo
- Screenshot from Joules of Bizzczar: Bjork X Death Grips – Black Quarterback, 2021, video collage. Courtesy of the artist.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F1oWiAaWYw
- [23:20] Photograph of Android Jones’s Samskara (2018) film exhibited at Wisdome, Los Angeles. Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times. Image credit Luis Sinco.
- [23:36] Screenshot from Joules of Bizzczar: RadioInactive Bury Me Standing Lite, 2023, video collage. Courtesy of the artist. Image credit EJ Massey.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvbVTRZ3nMs
- [36:54] Photograph of SoBe energy drinks. Courtesy of Foodie.com. Image credit Steve Cukrov.
- [40:49] Wizards and Warriors video game for Nintendo Entertainment System (1987). Courtesy of Acclaim Entertainment. Image credit Acclaim Entertainment.
- [42:58] Album artwork for Mean Dinosaur’s debut album Mean Dinosaur (2007). Courtesy of Above Ground Records. Image https://www.discogs.com/release/17174986-Mean-Dinosaur-Mean-Dinosaur?srsltid=AfmBOooxePWKCY9p_2KaC7TUCuzrabfHAvk8hxyXkIJuDLUa9A4q1XPUredit George Gore. https://www.discogs.com/release/17174986-Mean-Dinosaur-Mean-Dinosaur?srsltid=AfmBOooxePWKCY9p_2KaC7TUCuzrabfHAvk8hxyXkIJuDLUa9A4q1XPU
- [45:22] Screenshot from “pimp council” scene in Black Dynamite (2009). Courtesy of Apparition and Destination Films. Image credit Shawn Maurer. [50:21] Photograph of Thai Elvis performing. Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times. Image credit Gina Ferazzi.
- [55:24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus#/media/File:Alexander_Ivanov_-_Christ’s_Appearance_to_Mary_Magdalene_after_the_Resurrection_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg; Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, 1835. Courtesy and image credit?
- [55:24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristo_Negro_(Portobelo)#/media/File:Cristo_Negro_(Black_Christ)_-_Iglesia_de_San_Felipe_(01).jpg; Photograph of Cristo Negro wooden statue in Iglesia de San Felipe in Portobelo, Panama. Image credit Adam Jones.
- [55:38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Christ#/media/File:Buddy_christ.jpg; Photograph of Buddy Christ prop from Kevin Smith’s 1999 film Dogma. Courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Miramax International. Image credit Robert Yeoman.
- [1:26:58] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#/media/File:Yin_and_Yang_symbol.svg; Yin and Yang symbol derived from Taoism, a Chinese philosophical and religious tradition. Image credit Klem.
- [1:34:54] Joules of Bizzczar: The System Transmitting Shortly, 2023, video collage, “0:58.” Courtesy of the artist. Video credit EJ Massey.
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Selected resources and recommended reading for further research:
- The Social Phenomenon Surrounding Black Cosplay: The Unseen Toll of Racial Battle Fatigue by Ashley Borjon, California State University Stanislaus
- Imagination, razor blades and ganja: How Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry changed the sound of popular music by Randall Roberts for The Los Angeles Times
- The long history of how Jesus came to resemble a white European by Anna Startwood House, University of South Carolina
- Video of Lee Scratch Perry performance at Summerjam 2011
- The Jungian Shadow by the Society of Analytical Psychology