“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: Malamatina Retsina (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:
Reading: Jane Grigson’s Fish Book by Jane Grigson
Listening: Slaughter on 10th Avenue by Mick Ronson (50th Anniversary)
Looking: The Art of Kazimir Malevich (February 23, 1879 - May 15, 1935)
What Makes Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square (1915) Not Just Art, But Important Art (via Open Culture)
Viewing: Criminal Record (Apple TV+) — created by Paul Rutman, starring Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi
Tasting: Dinner at Sea Soul Restaurant in Tirana, Albania
Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:
Reading: Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Listening: I'm the One by Annette Peacock
Looking: The Art of Augusta Savage (February 29, 1892 – March 27, 1962)
To see a current exhibition featuring artworks by Augusta Savage (and many other important Black artists), check out The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism at The Met in New York City (on view February 25 – July 28, 2024!)
Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp), 1939 by Augusta Savage [Listen to the Met Museum Audio Guide]
Watch the full documentary, American Masters: Searching for August Savage, for free via PBS.org, the PBS app or Youtube!
Viewing: The Space Race (National Geographic & Disney+) — directed by Lisa Cortés & Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, featuring Guy Bluford, Charles Bolden, Ed Dwight, Victor Glover, Frederick Gregory, Bernard Harris, Leland Melvin, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez & Jessica Watkins
Tasting: Dinner at Sea Soul Restaurant in Tirana, Albania
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: “Who’s one of YOUR favorite torch singers?” Here are some of the great responses from the comments:
Ryan Wildstar chose Anita O'Day!
Ryan Elston chose Carmen McRae!
Cheryl chose Etta James!
Katie Kleinhesselink chose Sarah Vaughan, Etta James & Adele!
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 need some new recommendations! And we want to hear from you, our dear listeners and readers. So we’re going try something new, and this week's dinner party question is going to be an open-ended recommendation thread!
So, our question for the table this week is:
What are YOU reading, listening to, looking at, viewing and/or tasting right now?
Choose from any or all of those categories, and tell us in the comments about any books, music, art, films, TV shows or cuisine you're enjoying at the moment.
Something old or new, popular or obscure! Tell us your choice in the comments, and we may feature one of your choices on an upcoming podcast!
Also, don't forget to stop by The Epicurean Vagabonds Substack on Wednesdays, to check out our revamped Mid-Week Libations! Now with audio segments featuring Ryan & Ryan!
And thank you for joining us for Season Two of Aesthetic Arrest!
Cheers to that!
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