“The aesthetic experience is a simple beholding of the object . . . you experience a radiance. You are held in aesthetic arrest.” - Joseph Campbell
Aesthetic Arrest: Mid-Week Libation
Wildstar’s Wednesday Libation: The Bloody Mary “Chaser”
“Chaser” is a nod to the surname of Ryan Elston’s cousin, Mary Chase, who visited us here in Athens last week! She wrote about our great experience (including a visit to the purported prison-cave of Socrates) on her wonderful blog, which you can read here. On the last day of her visit, Ryan Wildstar showed her how to make his perfect Bloody Mary!
Ryan Wildstar’s Recipe:
1 liter tomato juice (no additives)
6 to 7 heaping tablespoons of celery salt
10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup of beef bouillon (1 full cube dissolved in ½ cup boiling water)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons sea salt (less or more depending on your love of salt or dietary restrictions)
For a spicy bloody mary, I add 30 ml of Tabasco (you can add more or less, depending on your spice-level preference)
A large tumbler with a sea-salted rim, served with the garnish of your choice – celery stalk, olives, lemon wedge, pickled peppers, etc.
Reading: Love Is A Dangerous Word: The Selected Poems of Essex Hemphill by Essex Hemphill
“The incendiary, sensual poems of Essex Hemphill, in a new landmark selection. For three decades, the legacy of the revered writer, editor, performer, and activist Essex Hemphill has been lovingly sustained through xeroxed copies of his few published works. They are as potent now as they were in the 1980s. With tenderness and rage, Hemphill’s poems unflinchingly explore the complex, overlapping identities of sexuality, gender, and race; the American political landscape; and his own experiences as a black gay man during the AIDS crisis.” [Source]
A Classic Collection of Black Gay Poetry Returns to Shelves (via Publishers Weekly)
Listening: In Honor of Jazz Appreciation Month: The Music of Vi Redd (1928 – 2022)
“It's really a shame that the world only got two Vi Redd records. … This record is a sterling example of what the music lost in the name of its phallocentricity. Vi Redd demonstrates a thoughtful tone and a careful respect for those around her. Her solos are pithy and directly to the point. Her singing, as always, is a fragile joy. Quite honestly, there's really nothing quite like her records. … Buy these records.” [Source: Rob Ferrier at Allmusic]
Vi Redd’s final recording was Now’s the Time! — a stunningly beautiful 1977 album featuring an all-women lineup of amazing jazz instrumentalists, including Marian McPartland, Mary Osborne, Lynn Milano & Dottie Dodgion! You can listen to this album on Youtube:
And here’s a clip of Vi Redd performing with the Count Basie Orchestra:
Looking: The Art of Vorja Sánchez
“Vorja Sánchez is a Barcelona-based artist known for his intricate, dreamlike compositions inspired by nature. His work merges fantasy with scientific observation, drawing from organic forms, ancestral myths, and the studies of 19th-century biologists.” [Source]
“In Organic Harmony, Sánchez's signature visual language balances vibrant creativity with meticulous technical detail, his strange and beautiful creatures seem to leap from one work to the next. Full of references to legends and ancestral traditions from diverse cultures, each piece invites closer inspection, enticing viewers to lose themselves in the detailed, hidden stories and relationships between creatures and the biomorphic forms surrounding them.” [Source]
Check out the current exhibition, Vorja Sánchez - Organic Harmony, at Beinart Gallery in Brunswick, Australia (on view April 27 - May 18, 2025!)
Hundreds of Fantastic Creatures Inhabit a Sprawling Universe by Vorja Sánchez (via Colossal)
Clouds From Vorja Sánchez’s “Interventions” Appear Like Giant Ghosts In Rural Landscapes (via Bored Panda)
Viewing: Ernest Cole: Lost and Found — documentary about Ernest Cole, directed by Raoul Peck (coming to Hulu on 4/29/25!)
“Ernest Cole, a South African photographer, was the first to expose the horrors of apartheid to a world audience. His book House of Bondage, published in 1967 when he was only 27 years old, led him into exile in NYC and Europe for the rest of his life, never to find his bearings. Raoul Peck recounts his wanderings, his turmoil as an artist and his anger, on a daily basis, at the silence or complicity of the Western world in the face of the horrors of the Apartheid regime. He also recounts how, in 2017, 60,000 negatives of his work were discovered in the safe of a Swedish bank.” [Source]
Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film (via The Conversation)
The Anti-Apartheid Photographer Who Was Stranded in America (via Hyperallergic)
Tasting: Dinner at Rozalia in Athens, Greece
“Nestled in the heart of Athens at Valtetsiou 59, Rozalia is much more than just a restaurant; it’s an authentic culinary experience waiting to be savored. … Furthermore, the restaurant thrives on bringing people together. It’s not uncommon to see university students and tourists alike enjoying a casual meal over small plates paired with a selection of local wines. … Ultimately, Rozalia encapsulates what Greek dining should be—authentic, leisurely, and delicious. … With an ever-evolving menu that honors traditional recipes, Rozalia stands as a testament to the beauty of Greek cuisine.” [Source]
So that’s it for this week! But we’d like to end with this week’s words of wisdom, a quotation from poet, editor and activist Essex Hemphill:
This Week’s Words of Wisdom: Essex Hemphill (April 16, 1957 – November 4, 1995)
Thank you for joining us for Season 3 of Aesthetic Arrest!
Cheers to that!
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