Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Alan Carr, Silo, Guo Pei, Nikki Giovanni & Searching for Soul Food!

“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. Cheers to that!

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Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:

Reading: A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter by Nikki Giovanni

Purchase here.

• 'Because I just love it': Nikki Giovanni celebrates 80 years with Knoxville on her heart (via Knox News)

• Poet Nikki Giovanni pens heartbreak and laughter in 'A Good Cry'

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Listening: All of This is Chance by Lisa O’Neill

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

Official Site of Lisa O’Neill

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Looking: The Art of Master Ceramicist Yary Livan

Chrissy Theo Hungate Art

Chrissy Theo Hungate Art on Instagram: “Sometimes it’s hard to say good-bye! Recently sold through LexArts. Gaia; Earth Mother, 2022, wood-fired ceramic, 9.5″x 5″, #lexarts #ceramicsculpture #middlesexcommunitycollege #yarylivan”

May 3, 2023

Loading Dock Arts

Loading Dock Arts on Instagram: “Vase by Yary Livan, Cambodian Master Potter and National Heritage Fellow. #woodfiredkiln #pottery #vase #yarylivan #lowellma #loadingdockgallery #westernavearts”

January 11, 2023

Critical Craft Forum

Critical Craft Forum on Instagram: “A ceramist and teacher, Yary Livan #yarylivan has a legacy of dedication to his craft and his community. Livan is one of perhaps only three Cambodian master ceramists to have survived the 1975 Khmer Rouge genocide and the only one known to be living in the U.S., where he shares his artistic knowledge with the next generation through classes and apprenticeships. Livan began his studies in 1971 at the Royal University of Fine Arts in the capital city of Phnom Penh where he majored in ceramics and painting and focused on traditional Khmer ceramic forms and ornamentation. Khmer ceramics date back to the sixth century and come in a number of forms, including bells, bottles, bowls, figures, storage jars, pots, and urns. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot, took power in Cambodia and began a systematic genocide, primarily targeting artists, writers, and intellectuals and ultimately killing two million Cambodians. Livan survived by using his knowledge of ceramics to build wood-burning kilns needed to manufacture roof tiles. He spent most of the 1980s and 1990s moving from one refugee camp to another, arriving in the U.S. in 2001 and was granted political asylum in 2002. In 2002, Livan became a Visiting Artist, Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard; that year he was the recipient of the Mima Weissmann Award for Study of Ceramic Arts. During his three-year residency at Harvard, Livan was introduced to new technologies, glazes, and as well as a vibrant community of ceramists. In 2003 he began teaching at Youth-Art-in-Action, an after-school and summer program for urban youth at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Livan taught traditional Cambodian and contemporary sculpture, including modeling, carving, mold making, and casting. He was co-teaching with founder Margaret Rack when the program achieved the 2005 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award (formally known as Coming Up Taller) from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Since 2005, Livan has taught ceramics classes at a number of Lowell schools, and in 2010 he was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council Traditional Arts Apprenticeship to teach an arc”

May 15, 2023

Vidya V

Vidya V on Instagram: “Classic|Contemporary - ca. 13th century Angkor Period stoneware was the inspiration for ceramicist, Yary Livan’s wheel-thrown and carved, elephant vessel. The Cambodian artist, who survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, reinterprets classical forms and techniques. Swipe left, to see all images. #ceramics #ceramicsculpture #pottery #stoneware #ironglaze #yarylivan #elephant #cambodianart #angkor”

October 20, 2022

Jennifer

Jennifer on Instagram: “Crazy about this large vase by Cambodian ceramicist Yary Livan. Yary works from a traditional wood fired kiln, and is a National Heritage Fellow. You can see his work in the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell MA. #artpottery #loadingdockgallery #westernavearts #lowellma #yarylivan #woodfiredceramics #cambodianart”

November 11, 2018

Loading Dock Arts

Loading Dock Arts on Instagram: “Ceramics by Yary Livan on display @loadingdockgallery #ceramics #loadingdockgallery #yarylivan #lowellartists #madeinlowell #cambodian”

May 15, 2023

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Viewing: Silo — starring Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Tim Robbins & Harriet Walter (Apple TV+)

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Tasting: Searching for Soul Food — starring Chef Alisa Reynolds (Hulu)

Stevie Wonder’s favorite chef has a new ‘Soul Food’ show on Hulu

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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:

Reading: The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey

Purchase here.

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Listening: Visages Baroques by Raphaël Feuillâtre

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

Official Site of Raphaël Feuillâtre

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Looking: The Art of Fashion Designer Guo Pei

Guo Pei

Guo Pei on Instagram: “Our new exhibition Guo Pei: Art of Couture is now live at @BowersMuseum in Orange County, California! Take a closer look for the first time in North America, Guo Pei’s Chinese Bride collection, and 40 other exquisite gowns. #guopei #guopeiparis #artofcouture #guopeiatbowers Video: @lagirl310”

December 20, 2022

• Official Site of Guo Pei

• Guo Pei Collections & Articles at Vogue

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Viewing: Changing Ends — created & co-written by Alan Carr, starring Oliver Savell, Alan Carr, Shaun Dooley & Nancy Sullivan (ITVX)

Changing Ends review – Alan Carr’s childhood makes for relentlessly funny TV (via The Guardian)

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Tasting: Searching for Soul Food — starring Chef Alisa Reynolds (Hulu)

• Official Site of My 2 Cents LA / Instagram

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That’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue! So each week we are asking a “dinner party” question for everyone joining us here at our table. Last week we asked: “What’s your favorite dessert?” Here are some of the great responses from the comments:

• Christina picked tiramisu!

• kde picked her grandmother’s custard pie with fresh raspberries!

• Katie Kleinhesselink chose key lime pie and baklava!

• Brenda Bryson chose cream puffs!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses! That was last week . . . but we don't want this week's dinner party to end either!

So here is this week's question for the table:

This week we discussed the amazing fashion designer Guo Pei. And As Joan Rivers once asked on the red carpet: “Who are you wearing?” But this isn’t a red carpet . . . so we’re asking you:

Who’s one of your favorite fashion designers?

Past or present, whether you can afford to wear them or not. (Let’s just say we love a lot of designers whose clothes aren’t exactly in our price range.)

Tell us in the comments and we’ll share some of your responses on next week’s podcast!

And if you can, please don't forget to donate to our crowdfunding campaign! We need your help to make Season 2 a reality!

Cheers to that!