“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: 2019 Frano Miloš Plavac Mali (Pelješac Peninsula, Dalmatia, Croatia)
“Living in an old traditional Dalmatian house that his family built nearly 700 years ago in the charming village of Ponikve, Mr. Miloš is the proud inheritor of his family’s love and devotion for wine. He speaks poetically about the old generations from whom he learned the most about wine and olive oil making, describing them as honourable family people who respected their homesteads and were raised with a strong sense of connection to their land. They nourished it and treated it with care and understanding, and that knowledge and respect have been passed down through generations to Mr. Miloš and now he is passing it on to his sons Ivan and Josip.” [Source]
Reading: Orbital by Samantha Harvey
“A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts--from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan--have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. … Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. Profound and contemplative, Orbital is a moving elegy to our environment and planet.” [Source]
Samantha Harvey’s ‘Beautiful and Ambitious’ Orbital Wins Booker Prize (via The Guardian)
Watch her moving acceptance speech here:
Listening #1: Diving Deep Live by Tori Amos
“Tori Amos has long been renowned for never playing the same show twice. … Now, these unique live performances are captured in a new live album entitled ‘Diving Deep Live’ recorded across Tori’s 2022-2023 Ocean to Ocean tour, which spanned 93 dates around the globe. … These recordings stand as welcome reminders of Amos’s brilliance as a virtuosic musician and performer.” [Source]
For a sliver of what Tori Amos can do in a live performance, have a look at her stunningly powerful NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, which was recorded shortly before the 2022-2023 live tour:
And for any fellow superfans of Tori out there (we call ourselves “Ears with Feet”), check out this brilliant full-length interview with Rick Beato:
Listening #2: Still + Bright by Amythyst Kiah (born December 11, 1986 — Happy Birthday!)
“Amythyst Kiah’s new album Still + Bright explores the vast expanse of her inner world: her deep-rooted affinity for Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions, a near-mystical connection with the natural world, the life lessons learned in her formative years as a self-described ‘anime-nerd mall goth.’ … With its sonic palette encompassing everything from fuzzed-out guitars and industrial-leaning beats to gilded pedal steel and Kiah’s exquisitely graceful banjo work, Still + Bright fully affirms her as an artist of both daring originality and uncompromising depth.” [Source]
Official Site of Amythyst Kiah / Official Store / Upcoming Tour Dates!
Amythyst Kiah – Still + Bright Review (via KLOF Mag)
Coincidentally, Amythyst Kiah has cited Tori Amos (see above!) as one her inspirations. Check out her amazing cover of Tori’s song “Sugar” below:
Looking: The Art of María Berrío
“Drawing on childhood memories, dreams, mythological themes and issues at the forefront of contemporary culture, Berrío’s intricate large-scale collages push the limits of conventional portraiture and landscape painting. … Berrío’s technical prowess is demonstrated through the singular process of layering hundreds of pieces of cut and torn Japanese paper on which she adds shadows and delicate details in watercolor, graphite and ink to achieve richly textured, multi-dimensional surfaces. This unique approach—which she has been honing over the past two decades—allows her to evoke both the fragility and the strength of the female figures she depicts.” [Source]
María Berrío at Victoria Miro / María Berrío at Hauser & Wirth / Instagram
Check out the current exhibition, María Berrío: The End of Ritual, at the Victoria Miro Gallery in London (on view until January 18, 2025!)
María Berrío on Masks, Migration, and the Chaotic Magic of Her New Work (via Artnet)
María Berrío’s Multi-textural Latin American Dreamscapes (via Interview)
Viewing #1: Solar System by Brian Cox (BBC & PBS)
“All across the solar system, volcanoes are erupting, storms are raging, and ice is acting in strange ways. And surprises like these aren’t limited to planets: Our solar system is home to a myriad of fascinating smaller bodies, including moons, asteroids, and comets. In recent decades, space missions have brought these neighboring worlds into sharp focus. Now, using the latest scientific imagery and stunningly realistic animations, planetary scientists take us on a journey across the solar system to uncover new revelations about our celestial neighborhood – and illuminate how Earth may be the oddest world of all.” [Source]
Viewing #2: Merchant Ivory - A Documentary Film — directed by Stephan Soucy, about Merchant Ivory Productions and the partnership of Ismail Merchant & James Ivory
“Merchant Ivory (2023) is the first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. … With six Oscar winners among the notable artists participating, these close and often long-term collaborators intimately detail the transformational cinematic creativity and personal and professional drama of the wandering company that left an indelible impact on film culture.” [Source]
Tasting: Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen by Martha Stewart
“Martha Stewart celebrates her landmark 100th book with an intimate collection of 100 treasured recipes, along with stunning photos from her personal archives and the stories behind them. A must for anyone who has ever been inspired by the one and only Martha. … Learn how to cook her mother's humble Potato Pierogi, her decadent Gougères, a comforting Apple Brioche Bread Pudding, and the famous Paella she makes for the luckiest friends who visit her in summer. … From timeless classics to contemporary delights, these recipes reflect storied moments from her legendary, trailblazing career.” [Source]
The recent Netflix documentary about Martha is also worth a look:
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 legendary jazz pianist, McCoy Tyner, who was born today in 1938:
This Week’s Words of Wisdom: McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938 – March 6, 2020)
Calling all jazz fans! Blue Note just issued Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’, a never-before-released 1966 live recording of McCoy Tyner performing with Joe Henderson, Henry Grimes & Jack DeJohnette! Essential listening! One of the best “new” jazz albums of 2024!
Thank you for joining us for Season 3 of Aesthetic Arrest!
Cheers to that!
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