“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!
This Week’s Apéritif: French Connection cocktails paired with Gougères (Choux Pastry Cheese Puffs)
Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:
Reading: À rebours (Against Nature or Against the Grain) by J.-K. Huysmans (translated by Robert Baldick)
Listening: Afro-Harping by Dorothy Ashby
Looking: Château de la Napoule: A medieval castle on the French Riviera that was turned into a fantastical work of art by the American couple Henry Clews Jr. (artist) and Marie Clews (architect) in 1918.
“Art is a peaceful and spiritual occupation and must flourish brightly to offset the horrors of war and maintain the balance of the human mind.” — Marie Clews
The Sculpture of Henry Clews Jr.:
[Image source: La Napoule Art Foundation at lnaf.org founded by Marie Clews in 1951]
Viewing: The Holy Mountain directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky (4K Restoration Version)
Article about the 4K Restoration Editions of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Films
Tasting: Pickle Power - Homemade Pickled Cucumbers, Pickled Green Tomatoes & Pickled Cabbage from Our Favorite Produce Market! (Tirana, Albania)
Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:
Reading: Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020 by Carl Phillips (Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry!)
Listening: Brand New Life by Brandee Younger
Official Site of Brandee Younger
Looking: RuPaul’s Beverly Hills Mansion — Interior Designer: Martyn Lawrence Bullard (working with architect Christopher Hatch McLean and landscape architect James Hyatt, with inspiration from legendary 1930s women designers and interior decorators: Dorothy Draper, Frances Elkins and Elsie de Wolfe)
Read the full article (with many great photos!) at Architectural Digest!
Viewing: Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean — directed by Robert Altman, written by Ed Graczyk, starring Cher, Karen Black, Sandy Dennis, Kathy Bates, Sudie Bond and Mark Patton
Click here to stream/rent (multiple platforms), though the full movie is currently on Youtube:
Tasting: Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods (2nd Edition) by Sandor Ellix Katz
“Resistance takes place on many planes. Sometimes it must be dramatic and public, but most of the decisions we are faced with are mundane and private. What to eat is a choice that we make several times a day, if we are lucky. The cumulative choices we make about food have profound implications.
Food offers us many opportunities to resist the culture of mass marketing and commodification. Though consumer action can take many creative and powerful forms, we do not have to be reduced to the role of consumers selecting from seductive convenience items. We can merge appetite with activism and choose to involve ourselves in food as co-creators. Food has historically been one of our most direct links to the life forces of the Earth. Bountiful harvests have always been occasions for celebration and appreciation of the divine.” — Sandor Ellix Katz, from Wild Fermentation
That’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue! So here is this week's question for the table:
This week we talked about some amazing examples of architecture and interior design. So here's our question for the table:
What's one of YOUR favorite (or most impressive) buildings - inside or outside or both - that you've ever visited in person? Maybe it's the architecture, or the interior design, or the furniture, or the garden . . . or any combination of those factors! 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!
Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Cher, Karen Black, RuPaul, Jodorowsky, Afro-Harping & Pickle Power!