Hello and Welcome to my very first newsletter! As I let my mind air out from being overstuffed with dense theories, I’m ready to let my fingers run across my keyboard without the forced structure of academic writing. Throughout my time in both undergrad and grad school, I never had the time to reflect on the images that I find on the internet, art that I see in museums/galleries/countless publications, or expand the ideas that marinate in my mind. My intention for this newsletter is to visualize my stream of consciousness with a structured theme. As I’ve never written in a casual format, please bear with me as I work out these to-be-stretched muscles. At the end of each newsletter, I will provide a wide-ranging list of links to things that I made me think or products that have made my life more enjoyable under I Like This. As this is my first go at writing casually, everything is subject to change. Even as I finally sat down to write this, my ideas from my initial conception evolved into the text you’re currently reading. Since March, my aversion to spending time on my computer only increased with my imposter syndrome. I am still processing the amalgam of feelings that have been brewing in my mind with regards to academia and the expectations of writing, but a succinct summarization is: I hate it there. The regurgitation of material and thought without the guidance nor encouragement to think beyond what has already been said has shaken me to my core because the desire to contribute something new while being stifled in the process is beyond discouraging. I cannot find the right adjectives to articulate how I feel. Additionally, it has reinforced my desire to tear down the gates that keep information insulated to a small circle. Why waste my time, stress, and ideas if they can’t be widely shared? Anyways, thank you to everyone who subscribed awhile back. It is refreshing to be free from the confines of school so I can make the effort to devote my free time to fulfilling my grandiose creative endeavors. It truly means the world to me that people want to read my ramblings.
Into the belly of the beast, I return…
I didn’t leave the few block radius that I reside in on the Upper East Side from March until August when I had to return the 41 library books quarantined with me throughout my thesis writing h̶e̶l̶l̶ process.
My first ~major~ art adventures occurred within the past two months, meaning it took me longer than a 20-minute walk to get to my destination. My first excursion was a visit to the rightfully maligned Whitney museum (no place or person is above critique, especially when they do blatantly terrible things! I can spiral down this hole forever, but I’ll return to it another time.) I have been waiting to see Making Knowing: Craft in Art: 1950 - 2019 and Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist throughout quarantine and couldn’t wait to make the trek to the Meatpacking District to see them.
For some reason, the one thing the Whitney never fails to do is display incredible exhibitions on women artists I have never learned about. There are only a handful of solo exhibitions that have made an impact on me, but Pelton’s paintings hit differently. After living in Water Mill, Long Island she moved to Cathedral City, a small subsect of Palm Springs where she was able to illustrate her spiritual reality through her paintings. My dearest family members live there and the soft pastels depicting dream-like landscapes made me miss them more than I already do. The works I enjoyed the most were:
Memory, 1937, Oil on canvas
First Spring Garland, 1926, Oil on canvas (P.S. This is how I was born)
Day, 1935, Oil on canvas
Future, 1941, Oil on canvas
Making Knowing: Craft in Art: 1950 - 2019 included a wide range of media and favorite artists, but the standout was truly Liza Lou’s Kitchen made between 1991- 96. This installation consists of found objects completely bedazzled. According to the wall text provided by the museum: “Despite the work’s alluring surface, a biting critique emerges from beneath the shimmering veneer. An excerpt of a poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) speaks to the subjugation of women in marriage. In this context, the cheerfully branded products in Lou’s Kitchen expose the contradictions that run throughout the marketing of American household goods, which promises the delights of homemaking while strategically ignoring the gender inequality of the traditional division of labor.” This was my personal pièce de résistance of the exhibition.
Some detail images for your viewing pleasure:
My second venture was to one of my favorite art institutions in NY, Dia: Beacon. The scenic train ride along the Hudson unstudied my excitement and soothes my nerves every time I visit. This being my first time completely out of the city only heightened my excitement for a different scenery than the one I was stuck in for the majority of the year. I can’t think of a more appropriate museum to visit in the corona-age, as the expansive space makes for pre-designed social distancing.
Due to the massive size of many of their holdings, they don’t rotate the galleries frequently, but the standouts from this visit include:
This sculptural Sam Gilliam titled Double Merge from 1968
Dan Flavin, untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection), 1973
And this Walter De Maria (The Equal Area Series, 1976–77) that reminded me of oversized bangles
I Like This:
Welcome To Your Bland New World: A dissection into the unifying blandness of brands trying to stand out in an overflowing market. I keep thinking about this article since I first read it.
Shelby Ivey Christie Is Making Fashion History More Accessible With Twitter: One of my favorite fashion historians making analysis accessible in the most digestible medium.
Grace Wales Bonner's Visions of Black Style: Hilton Als wrote this beautiful profile on the designer, also accompanied by Silvia Rosi’s photographs.
Is Photography An Effective Form of Therapy? I have always felt photography makes the quotidian spectacular. I fully believe that the process of making photographs allows for meditation on reality and helps process the various feelings and situations we face.
The Remains of the Heyday: Are Subcultures Still Possible? Long Live Subcultures! One of my favorite courses in undergrad focused on the sociology of subcultures. Subculture: The Meaning of Style was a recommended book in the course that I still want to read.
Like many products by Uniqlo, the price point and quality are unmatched. I recently purchased their Airism Masks and they have been my favorite masks to wear to shield against the unrelenting COVID-19.
Saved for Later:
Credits:@another__kind, @voguemagazine, @kimcoolmom, @mintgreendaisyvintagegoods, @underpinningsmuseum, @vansantenbolleurs, @tmagazine, @90sanxiety, @untitledinspiration, @thisismold, @sargentsdaughters, @somewhereiwouldliketolive, @press_sf, @c.a.daily