Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Butterfly in the Sky, Letters from a Black Widow & The Greatest Night in Pop!

“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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This Week’s Apéritif: May Wine (White Wine, Sparkling Wine, Strawberries, Woodruff, Honey, Orange & Lemon)

[Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

• The Perfect May Wine Recipe for Spring Celebrations (via Outdoor Apothecary)

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Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:

Reading: The Selected Poems of Li Po (translated by David Hinton)

Purchase here.

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Listening: Letters from a Black Widow by Judith Hill

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

• Official Site of Judith Hill / Instagram / Upcoming Tour Dates!

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Looking: The Photography of Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882 - 1966)

Self Portrait by Alvin Langdon Coburn [Public Domain]

1) Vortograph, 1917; 2) Gertrude Stein, 1913; 3) The Coal Cart, 1911; 4) The Thinker (George Bernard Shaw), 1906; 5) Vortograph, 1917; 6) Portrait of Michio Ito, 1913; 7) Vortograph of Ezra Pound, 1917; 8) The Octopus, 1912; 9) Portrait of Ezra Pound, 1913 [Public Domain}

Michio Ito Wearing Fox Mask Designed by Edmund Dulac, 1915 by Alvin Langdon Coburn [Public Domain]

• Click out this great video about the life and work of Alvin Langdon Coburn, from Ted Forbes at The Art of Photography!

• Look Into My Vortex: The Astonishing Experimental Photography of Alvin Langdon Coburn (via The Guardian)

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Viewing: The Greatest Night in Pop — directed by Bao Nguyen, featuring numerous interviews, including Lionel Richie, Dionne Warwick, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis & Sheila E.

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Tasting: Turkish Tahini Helva (recipes from Chef Refika Birgül)

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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:

Reading: Who's Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler

Purchase here.

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Listening: Letters from a Black Widow by Judith Hill

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

• Official Site of Judith Hill / Instagram / Upcoming Tour Dates!

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Looking: The Art of Melissa Cody & Current Exhibition - Melissa Cody: Webbed Skies at MoMA PS1 in Queens, NY (currently on view until September 9th, 2024!)

All images above from the MoMA PS1 Press Kit: 1) Melissa Cody. Carbidopa-Levodopa Release. 2009. Wool warp, weft, selvedge cords, and aniline dyes. 27 x 17 in. (68.6 x 43.2 cm). Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 2) Melissa Cody. Into the Depths, She Rappels. 2023. Wool warp, weft, selvedge cords, and aniline dyes. 87 x 51 9/16 in. (221 x 131 cm). Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 3) Melissa Cody. Lightning Storm. 2012. 3-ply aniline dyed wool. 14 × 20″ (35.6 × 50.8 cm). Courtesy the artist. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 4) Melissa Cody. Path of the Snake. 2013. 3-ply aniline dyed wool. 36 × 24″ (91.4 × 61 cm). Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 5) Melissa Cody. Deep Brain Stimulation. 2011. Wool warp, weft, selvedge cords, and aniline dyes. 40 x 30 3/4 in. (101.6 x 78.1 cm). Image courtesy Minneapolis Institute of Art; 6) Melissa Cody. Under Cover of Webbed Skies. 2021. Wool warp, weft, selvedge cords, and aniline dyes. 36 3/4 x 25 1/4 in. (93.3 x 64.1 cm). Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 7) Melissa Cody. Untitled. 2022. Wool warp, weft, selvedge cords, and aniline dyes. 106 x 56 in. (269.2 x 142.2 cm). Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 8) Melissa Cody. White Out. 2012. 3-ply aniline dyed wool. 17 × 24″ (43.2 × 61 cm). Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York; 9) Melissa Cody. The Three Rivers. 2021. Wool warp, weft, selvedge cords, and aniline dyes. Installation view of Melissa Cody: Webbed Skies, on view at MoMA PS1 from April 4 through September 2, 2024. Photo: Kris Graves.

All images above from the MoMA PS1 Press Kit [Source]

• Melissa Cody at Garth Greenan Gallery / Instagram / Works for Sale (via Artsy)

• Check out the exhibition, Melissa Cody: Webbed Skies, at MoMA PS1 in Queens, NY (currently on view until September 9th, 2024!)

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Viewing: Butterfly in the Sky — directed by Bradford Thomason & Brett Whitcomb, featuring interviews with LeVar Burton and the team behind Reading Rainbow

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Tasting: Greek Semolina Halva (recipe from Chef Akis Petretzikis)

• Click here for the printable recipe!

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So that’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue! And we also want the Epicurean Vagabonds and our Aesthetic Arrest Podcast to continue. And in order to do that, we need your support!

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Cheers to that!

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That’s it for this week! What are your reading, listening, looking, viewing and/or tasting recommendations?