“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: Domaine Tselepos Amalia Rosé
Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:
Reading: Borges: Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (translated by Andrew Hurley)
What I Lost When I Translated Jorge Luis Borges — by Andrew Hurley (via Inverse Journal)
Purchase or listen to Ryan Wildstar’s song, “Dazzling Asterion”:
Listening: Caracoles by Orquesta Akokán
Looking: The Art of Ashley Suszczynski
Across Rural Europe, Ashley Suszczynski Photographs Remarkable and Ancient Masked Traditions (via Colossal)
Viewing: Mami Wata (2023) — written & directed by C.J. "Fiery" Obasi, produced by Oge Obasi, cinematography by Lílis Soares, music by Tunde Jegede, starring Evelyne Ily Juhen, Uzoamaka Aniunoh & Rita Edochie
Tasting: Wedding Anniversary Dinner at The Balcony Restaurant & Bar in Athens, Greece
Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:
Reading: The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality by Angela Saini
Who Made You King of Everything? Angela Saini on the Origins of Patriarchy (via The Guardian)
Listening: Bamako*Chicago Sound System by Ballaké Sissoko and Nicole Mitchell
Nicole Mitchell and Ballaké Sissoko Explore Their Connections (via Popmatters)
Looking: The Art of Penny Siopis (from the current exhibition, Penny Siopis. For Dear Life. A Retrospective, at the National Museum of Contemporary Art [ΕΜΣΤ] in Athens, Greece)
All images from the Penny Siopis. For Dear Life. A Retrospective Press Kit:
Penny Siopis. Note 4, 2013. Glue and ink on paper, 24 x 32 cm. Catherina and Michael Roets. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist
Penny Siopis. Pinky Pinky: Blue Eyes, 2002. Oil and found objects on canvas. 41 x 50 cm. Private collection of Teresa Lizamore, Johannesburg. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist
Penny Siopis. Restless Republic: Groundswell, 2017. Newspaper cuttings, glue, ink and found object on canvas. 300 x 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Amsterdam. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist
Penny Siopis. Three Trees, 2009. Glue and ink on canvas, 200 x 250 cm. Private Collection, Johannesburg. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist
Penny Siopis. Who is Pinky Pinky?, 2002. Oil and found objects on canvas, 152 x 91 cm. Private collection of Theresa Lizamore, Johannesburg. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist
Penny Siopis. Ambush, 2008. Μελάνι και κόλλα σε καμβά. 200 x 250 εκ.. Συλλογή Skinner, Γιοχάνεσμπουργκ
Check out the current exhibition, Penny Siopis. For Dear Life. A Retrospective, at the National Museum of Contemporary Art [ΕΜΣΤ] in Athens, Greece (on view until November 10, 2024!)
Viewing: Mami Wata (2023) — written & directed by C.J. "Fiery" Obasi, produced by Oge Obasi, cinematography by Lílis Soares, music by Tunde Jegede, starring Evelyne Ily Juhen, Uzoamaka Aniunoh & Rita Edochie
Tasting: Anniversary Dinner at The Balcony Restaurant & Bar in Athens, Greece
So that’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue!
So here is this week's question for the table:
For Season 3, we want to know which of our weekly recommendations resonate with YOU, our beloved listeners and readers!
Out of everything we talked about on this week's podcast, which of our recommendations are most interesting to YOU?
What piques your interest? What are you excited to check out? Or maybe we discussed something that you've already read (or seen or heard or tasted) and enjoyed as we much as we do?
Tell us about it in the comments!
And thank you for joining us for Season 3 of the Aesthetic Arrest Podcast!
Cheers to that!
Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Mami Wata, Borges, Orquesta Akokán & Our Anniversary Dinner at The Balcony!