011. Procrastinated Reliquary
Hello friends,
As you've guessed from the title, this particular letter contains distractions. Lots and lots of distractions. So many distractions you'll have to lock yourself in a medieval dungeon plunged into utter darkness in order to avoid the tsunami of distractions you have just released by opening this email.
Okay. Maybe not that many distractions, but definitely a few bits and bobs that have kept me entertained as I nursed a pre-finals sickness and a strong avoidance of completing work. So take a seat, pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy either a small digital study break or a reward for getting through the final assignment that has been giving you hell.
//
TOUCH
While I haven't been reading anything new this week because of finals, I thought I would include one poetry collection I read as a final send-off for my science fiction poetry class. Sherwin Bitsui is a Navajo science fiction poet who writes about lore in postmodern civilization and the history of the Navajo people across the landscape of Arizona. His language is startling, riddled with insects and uranium. When I think of the genre of southwestern gothic, his name now comes to mind after finishing this collection.
Oh boy. So I watched the first season of Riverdale over the summer and it is the most ridiculous hot mess of a teen drama I have ever seen and I loved every minute of it. In true procrastinating-during-finals form, I decided to binge-watch all of the current episodes of the second season (I'm assuming there will be more in the spring?). This season, this show, this cast, these plotlines are absurd! And the perfect TV guilty pleasure cocktail. The second season definitely doesn't feel as cohesive as the first (mostly due to the show trying to expand its world and branch out into new characters, as second seasons usually do) but that over-the-top drama is reaching new heights (I'm trying really hard not to spoil anyone). Please reply if you love Riverdale (not a show you should take too seriously, trust me, we also don't speak of the fact that Cole Sprouse is in it) and I'd love to discuss the new season with you! Also, can we just talk about the gothic CW Sabrina the Teenage Witch remake? And the possible tie-in to the Archie comics world of Riverdale? Oh boy.
LOOK
I've been enjoying Lisa Sanditz's paintings so much I decided to make one of them my phone background ("Cat Shit Pastoral" from 2009, also pictured above). She paints these hyperreal landscapes, saturated with a color. Sanditz herself has talked about she's fascinated with the way painted and physical spaces interact. Scroll through her landscape pieces and you get a sense of waste piling up, terrain smeared and mangled by the unnatural, that something is spoiling and yet it somehow manages to retain its beauty. You can see more of her work here and I would also suggest reading this awesome interview Sanditz did with Bomb Magazine
Susanna Majuri is a Finnish photographer. She specializes in these gorgeous underwater photographs. I'm not always a big fan of underwater photography (can feel really gimmicky at times) but her photos is so dreamy and mesmerizing. They're like surrealist Renaissance paintings, with such lush landscape backgrounds and gorgeous suspended compositions. Check out more of her work here.
Ivan Bilibin is a 20th-century illustrator known for pieces inspired by Russian folklore. Illustration is one of the more neglected parts of art history (in my opinion), and I think his Medieval-style pieces are an interesting step away from the Art Deco, Pre-Raphaelite, and Art Nouveau styles during his career. His works frequently appeared in Russian books, and I'd love to see them incorporated into a tarot card deck? Could someone make that happen? They're just so lovely and remind me of the illustrations in the Romanian fairytale books I grew up with.
LISTEN
If you're interested in podcasts, documentaries, and/or the rise of global capitalism but can't be fucked to catch up on 20+ episodes, I'd suggest giving Containers a listen. Only 8 episodes long, this audio documentary examines the history of shipping containers and the global shipping we know today from big-picture topics like government agreements and vessel construction to more micro-level issues of the shifting relationship between dock workers and automation. I wasn't really familiar with the subject going in, but it's a great primer on the history and future of this massive economic system. If 8 episodes aren't enough, I would suggest checking out Cargoland which uploads regular episodes about the intricate web of the global shipping industry.
The Spotify algorithms led me to Wildly Idle (Humble Before the Void) by Hand Habits. I have been digesting this album the way one tries to digest the clear winter light after days of sallow clouds and stinging ice. Everything is so beautifully composed from the audio arrangement to each song's lyrics ("In a world so pure / You owned the boundary where I stand / and where I can't ignore"), leaving you with lingering feelings of lightness and longing even if you zoned out or left this on in the background. Tracks that ran sweet, sweet laps around my aching heart? "Flower Glass", "Nite Life" and "Book on How to Change". Listen to it here.
One particular tune I've kept on repeat for the past 2 weeks is Kelela's track "Keep It Cool". I love her sound, a kind of cyberpunk R&B that rolls off your ears with a certain sinister smoothness. The kind of song you put on when you're trying on lingerie or just taking a breather. Check out her debut album (one of my favorite pieces of music from this year) if you're left wanting more.
I was going to put off talking about this podcast until my next letter but seeing that a bunch of people on the Internet were freaking out about the alien sighting (turns out it was a rocket launch) over L.A, I thought I would give a shoutout to Orbital Path. If you want to learn more about space but don't know where to start, I'd recommend checking this podcast out. The show is hosted by astrophysicist Dr. Michelle Thaller and she covers topics from aliens to the Sun to measurements of time and theories on different dimensions. Whether you're a hardcore lover of the stars or just want to know a little bit more about our universe, give it a listen.
LICK
I've seen Gus Dapperton's face all over the Internet for the past few weeks but I finally caved and clicked on his music video for "Prune, You Talk Funny" (not the gif pictured above but that's because I was too lazy to make one in Photoshop). The visuals for this video are so lush and sweet, a visual palette cleanser for a girl who's been staring at computer screens for way too long. Not just a great tune, but amazing 80's influenced fashion, set design, I could go on but you should go see for yourself.
Recently, as a procrastination tactic, I dug myself into the Internet hole that is the flower arrangement/florist industry. One of my favorite companies to Instagram-stalk has got to be Metaflora. Their arrangements are gorgeously designed pieces of architecture that need to be watered. Even the smallest details are taken into consideration, such as the vases, the exact cut and shape of the plants. If you want to kill some time and treat your brain to some soothing floral arrangements, definitely go check them out.
We all know about Pantone's color of the year. This company is known for their color guides and swatches, but all of this originates in their factor in New Jersy. I recently found this video which interviews some of the workers. Pantone's workers need near-perfect color vision to work at the company and are tested each year to make sure that they can differentiate between similar colors. Go check it out if you want to see if you can work at Pantone or just want to learn more about the company's iconic colors.
And if you've ever wondered what 18 venus flytrap plants being fed at the same looks like, click on this delightfully strange video.
CLICK
So I got tickets to see Sophie for the second time next February and I'm already planning my outfit for it. If you don't know who Sophie is, she's one of the reigning queens of PC music. Sasha Geffen recently profiled the artist for Vulture. Not only is it just a damn good profile, but it's really interesting hearing about Sophie's interests (like the fact that she's very into transhumanism) especially since, early on in her career, she was a bit more aloof. I'm always a sucker for a good profile and this one is definitely worth reading.
I ended my semester with the final exam for my Neo Dada and Pop Art Class (that whole week was a hot mess but let's just leave that in the past where it belongs). After taking that course, which was honestly really interesting and introduced me to a lot of new artists who I'll probably be looking at more in-depth over break, I was reminded of Cathy Park Hong's essay "Delusions of Whiteness in the Avant Garde". Even though this piece talks about poetry and literature, there are definitely aspects of it which can translate to the history of avant-garde art (a history who's canon remains dominated by white cis men despite its 'radical' descriptor). We did not give artists of color very much attention over this course, their work was not seen as fitting into the institutionalized aesthetic of white avant-garde art movements (that is not to entirely dismiss their work, yes it was radical at the time but these white artists were not the only ones making art). Hong's response? "Fuck the avant-garde. We must hew our own path". A really great, informative piece of writing about identity, subjectivity, and experimentation.
Now for some poetry:
First off, this great piece by Fatimah Asghar titled "Pluto Shits on the Universe". Gotta love her biting, musical lyricism ("I chaos like a motherfucker. / Ain't no one can chart me"). Truly, a love letter to the forgotten planet of our solar system.
Then we got "Ars Poetica for PK" by Sarah Kay. I have yet to write an ars poetica poem (a poem that explains the "art of poetry") but I've been avoiding that undertaking by reading pieces such as Kays. This poem is heartbreaking, the kind of piece you don't mean to stumble through because of the form and subject matter. ("in the army body rises and falls depending on what / they are telling him to do or devour")
One lovely poem to keep you company in the winter chill (or the hot sun if you're in Florida like me) is Octavio Paz's "As One Listens to the Rain". This poem is just so beautiful, soaked in longing. "it's raining, light footsteps, a murmur of syllables," I could cry.
Lastly, I really enjoyed Paul Tran's poem "Border Field State Park". This is the first of his work I've read and honestly, I left this poem with a sense of wonder. Such lush, visceral writing, "your god / forgot to imagine your entire smile" // Working on this letter was quite odd seeing as I started it right before finals and I'm finishing it now, a little more than a thousand miles away from New York back in my childhood bedroom (it's about 1 am where I am, and I managed to procrastinate finishing this letter too). Procrastination is a funny thing, it takes on so many different shapes. I feel like procrastination is a kind of mental hunger, your brain begging you to consume something else whether it be stress-baking (I don't do this but would happily consume the treats of someone who does), scribble down notes, watch beauty blogger videos while meticulously organize my emails into different folders for almost 3 hours (okay, this i am guilty of) or looking at pictures of those fuzzy cows. School coming to an end is always really weird because it feels like, for at least a few weeks, I can finally read and watch and do things I've been putting off since the summer. Seeing as I was sick as a dog right before my exams, I'm now trying to avoid winter break burnt out, trying to give myself a break but also trying to make use of my time. I'm not sure how this will pan out, but I've got a hefty reading list and a lot of internet links to click on so expect some pretty fun letters in the coming weeks. Please, if you find some weird shit or watch something or listen to something that you think I'd like, send it my way.
Speaking of letters, I will try my best to get out on Sunday but I am going to visit relatives this weekend and I honestly don't know when I'll be back so we shall see. I've also started working on my end-of-the-year wrap-up letter so keep an eye out for that if I stop fucking around on Youtube and get my shit together (it's the cooking videos that suck me in every time!). That's all I have for now. My brain is working at a mile a minute and my stomach's rumbling so I'm taking that as a sign to finally go the fuck to sleep. Stay in homeostasis folks! It's chilly out there.
Until next time,
Ellie