“The aesthetic experience is a simple beholding of the object . . . you experience a radiance. You are held in aesthetic arrest.” - Joseph Campbell
Aesthetic Arrest is our weekly dip into the Epicurean pleasures we’ve been enjoying lately. Now with TWO ways to enjoy our curated splash of inspiration and culture! Cheers to that!
Click above to listen to our Aesthetic Arrest Podcast, featuring R&R discussing our reading, listening, looking, viewing and tasting recommendations of the week!
Take a deep-dive into our Aesthetic Arrest: Mid-Week Libation! Below is a splash of interesting cultural gems to explore — videos, music, art, articles, recipes and more. Something different every week!
Aesthetic Arrest: Mid-Week Libation
Wildstar’s Wednesday Libation: Roc D’Anglade Rouge (Vin de Pays du Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon, France)
Reading: Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill
“Year of Wonder introduces readers to one piece of music each day of the year, artfully selected from across genres, time periods, and composers. Burton-Hill offers short introductions to contextualize each piece, and makes the music come alive in modern and playful ways. … Thoughtfully curated and masterfully researched, Year of Wonder is a book of classical music for everyone. Whether you're a newcomer or an aficionado, Burton-Hill's celebration will inspire, nourish, and enrich your life in unexpected ways.” [Source]
How a Brain Injury Changes Your Relationship to Music: Clemency Burton-Hill on Surviving a Brain Hemorrhage (via Sonic State)
Healing with Music Playlist - Clemency Burton-Hill shares a small selection from the many musical tracks to which she turned during her recovery from a brain hemorrhage in 2020.
Listening #1: Merci by Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott
“Merci is a deeply personal expression of gratitude, a celebration of the powerful relationships that keep music alive. This effervescent recording is rooted in the compositions of Gabriel Fauré, whom Stott calls her ‘musical soulmate,’ and follows the arcs of his inspiration and influence, from the creations of his teacher Camille Saint-Saëns and his friend and supporter Pauline Viardot to works by his student Nadia Boulanger and her sister, Lili. Merci is testament to the gift of friendship, to the connections among performers, between students and teachers, and across generations that make music magic.” [Source]
Listening #2: How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean by Joan Armatrading
“Well, the title of my new album is How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean. I have no answers and I haven’t met anybody who has, but I hope we get rebooted to something a bit more balanced. I think we’ve become polarised because when you’re face to face with somebody, things such as body language and eye contact stop us doing certain things. That doesn’t happen on social media, then it spills into the real world. We’re not going to get rid of all wars and disagreements, but the album title is asking how on earth do we get out of this situation that we’re in and get back to a nicer place.” — Joan Armatrading [Source]
The Reader Interview: Joan Armatrading (via The Guardian)
Looking #1: The Art of Lou Benesch
“Inspired by her adoration for nature and folk tales, Lou’s creations are an enchanted mix of plants, animals, anatomy, and mythological creatures. The vivid water-coloured surreal compositions give an insight into her mystical imagination, expressing the duality of universal themes and personal ideas of the world. With images coming to her almost as visions and an indescribable pull to record them, the uniqueness of her art speaks to the instinctual process in which they are formed.” [Source]
Official Site of Lou Benesch / Instagram / Prints for Sale / Works for Sale (via Artsy)
Dreamlike Creatures and Spiritual Symbols Merge in Lou Benesch’s Watercolors (via Colossal)
Artist Spotlight: Lou Benesch (via Booooooom)
Lou Benesch’s Mythical Artworks are Inspired by Folklore, Animals and Literature (via It's Nice That)
Looking #2: The Art of Anne Samat
“Samat's work is informed by the textile traditions of Malaysia, particularly those of the Iban people of Sarawak, the largest of Malaysia’s 13 states. Combining items that we are familiar with from our homes, gardens, and surroundings, the traditional method of weaving gives way to a unique approach; instead of using thread as weft, we see rattan sticks (palm stems); instead of using a resist dye to color the thread, Samat threads together strands of yarn to create a single, completely new and original strand, which she likens to the act of a painter mixing colors on a palette. To these she adds plastic rakes, bejeweled masks, beads, belts, forks, spoons, keys, plastic swords, metal jewelry, and even wooden horse harnesses that attach to, hang from, and are incorporated into the exuberant textiles that she weaves, transforming textile into sculpture.” [Source]
Anne Samat at Marc Straus Gallery / Works for Sale (via Artsy)
Check out the current exhibition, Anne Samat: The Origin of Savage Beauty, at the Marc Straus Gallery in New York City (on view until December 21, 2024!)
Anne Samat’s Kaleidoscopic Weavings Find Beauty in Unexpected Places (via Artsy)
Viewing: Two Fantastic New Collections on The Criterion Channel! John Waters’ Adventures in Moviegoing & Directed by John Waters
“The one and only ‘Pope of Trash,’ John Waters has always pushed the envelope of independent cinema to bizarre, grotesque, and subversive extremes with a sense of humor and panache that makes the outrageous infectious and the blasphemous a blast. … Waters’s gleefully perverse, wickedly funny films are celebrations of the outsiders, iconoclasts, and weirdos who refuse to conform.” [Source]
Also, check out one of our favorite visits to the Criterion Closet here:
Tasting: Chef’s Table: Volume 7 — featuring chefs Nok Suntaranon, Kwame Onwuachi, Ángel León, Norma Listman & Saqib Keval (Netflix)
“Volume 7 of Chef’s Table continues the series’ tradition of featuring culinary masters across the globe who are redefining today’s food landscape. This season’s lineup features a diverse group of chefs, each bringing their unique perspective and creativity to the table.” [Source]
Hungry for More? Chef’s Table Is Back for Volume 7 (via Netflix)
So that’s it for this week! But in the tradition of our Mid-Week Libations, we’d like to end with this week’s words of wisdom, a quotation from poet Rainer Maria Rilke:
This Week’s Words of Wisdom: Rainer Maria Rilke
Thank you for joining us for Season 3 of Aesthetic Arrest!
Cheers to that!
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