Stray Light Grey by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe at Marlborough Chelsea
Out/Not of this world lectures:
Trisha Donnelly Lecture at VCU
Perhaps one of the most unbearable and incredible lectures I have ever attended. From a questionable broken hard drive, to a loud piercing sound piece played at full volume implying sculpture, and even a white puffy shoe acting as a moment of respite for the artist, it was definitely mystifying. Though, if anything, I left more intrigued and enamored with her work even if only a handful of pieces were actually shown during its entirety.
Nancy Burson at SPESE: Daytona Beach
This one came out of nowhere and reenforced how enlightening the question and answer period following a lecture can be. After offering an anecdote about how the (then) approaching doomsday of December 21st was going to change the world, an audience member asked Burson to expand on the nature of her insight. A long silence gripped the room for what felt like minutes as she (seemingly) debated how much of herself to share. What followed was a deeply personal moment during which not the apocalypse was discussed but a hope and belief in a new era of consciousness, where god is not looked to but instead humanity itself finds that the answers we seek are within.
Music:
Nocturne by Wild Nothing
Exercises – CFCF
Bloom – Beach House
Fin – John Talabot
Clear Moon – Mount Eerie
EP – Twigs
For the first part of the year, absolutely critical listening for epic car rides from the mountains of Appalachia to civilization and back again, now perfect for the I-95 Corridor.
Exhibitions:
Stray Light Grey by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe at Marlborough Chelsea
A time machine. One of the most unique gallery experiences I have ever had.
Sunburn by Chris McCaw at Candela Gallery
Couldn’t have asked for a more welcome show to kick off my time in RVA. Coupled with his terrific book of the same name (published by Candela Books) it was nice to see how easily it transitioned to the walls of Chelsea only a few months later.
Artist’s Choice curated by Trisha Donnelly at MoMA
Not only does Donnelly fill a room with some of my favorite photographs, period (Eliot Porter’s Birds of North America), but this could be the perfect follow-up to her lecture with picks from MoMA’s collection, including: microprocessor diagrams, a painting by Patrick J. Sullivan entitled, “The Fourth Dimension,” a set of photograms by Bernice Abbott depicting wave patterns, and even a pyramid shaped ionizer. It all makes sense now!
Books:
Pix or It Didn’t Happen by Abbey Lee Sarver (Self-published)
When everything is mediated by the screen, a new visual language is inevitable. POIDH pretty much nails it.
Cyanotypes by Hugh Scott-Douglas (Mousse Publishing)
Purely psychedelic cyanotypes.
Poem by Fredrik Averin (Self-published)
Using the translucency of paper this little gem strings together smart, funny, and dirty 3-word poems that disappear as soon as you turn the page.
