ArtWalk's - 5 Cool Things - 11/5/21
A weekly newsletter by Aaron Massey
5 COOL THINGS
It’s already November 2021. 2022 is less than sixty days away. I feel like it’s March 2020. Where are we?
1) FILM/TELEVISION
FARGO - (HULU/FX)
Created for television by Noah Hawley, this four season anthology is the direct by-product from, you guessed it, Fargo, the 1996 Joel and Ethan Coen film of the same name. However, the stories are completely different than the original movie.
The execution (pun intended) of this show has had me coming back for more each season. As an anthology, each season brings on a new cast of characters, sometimes in different eras, set around the midwestern region of the country. The fun part is when you see the overlaps that occasionally occur between seasons. Strong acting from a growing list of: Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Chris Rock, Jesse Plemons, Ewan McGregor, Jessie Buckley, Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Bokeem Woodbine, Jason Schwartzman, David Thewlis, and Ted Danson, just to name a handful. Whew. I left a lot out too.
The cinematography is nothing short of gorgeous, and the storytelling has you ripping through episodes at an aggressive pace. The show is dark, but mixed with a perfect balance of subtle comedy and pacing. Here’s a taste from the Season One Trailer:
2) MUSIC
NF - (American Rapper/Songwriter)
Nathan John Feuerstein (NF) had caught my ear a few years ago, with his well known mainstream hits like Let You Down, and Lie. But it was this past year when I became a true fan, after he released his album CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE).
Like so many people probably did, I had only heard NF’s softer, mainstream songs. When I put on his latest album, I realized I had made a big mistake. CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE) was the raw collection of aggressive, yet beautiful poetics of lyricism. A lot of people will compare NF to Eminem the first time you hear him, but I believe NF has absolutely settled into his own style of storytelling. Which there’s no better example than that of the song (and music video) STORY:
If you need to let some steam off, or going for a workout, or just want to sit down and listen to a powerful artist, then look no further. NF is worth the time.
3) ART
LOUISE BOURGEOIS - (French-American Artist, Sculpture/Installation)
There are sometimes people in this world, when you see them, when you look at them deeply, whether it be through a photograph, or in the flesh, that you feel a sense of calming, of fondness, of connection. That’s how I feel about Louise Bourgeois. Maybe we met in a previous lifetime, but I feel fastened to Bourgeois, in some weird sort of ethereal friendship.
Maybe I am speaking nonsense. Maybe it is just the art that she creates, that I feel so close to. Having started as a painter in her young age, Bourgeois transitioned mainly to sculpture, eventually leading her to create her most well-known pieces like Maman, a massive spider sculpture which stands over thirty feet tall.
“The Spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver. My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother.”
— Louise Bourgeois
Outside of all of her spider sculptures, Bourgeois detailed many other works around the human body, leaning into abstract expressionism to showcase the inner turmoil that she obtained from her father as a young girl.
You can get a raw sense of the human that was Louise Bourgeois, in this intimate telling of a story regarding her father.
More information about Louise Bourgeois can be found here: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/louise-bourgeois-2351
4) BOOKS/WRITING
E.E. CUMMINGS - (American Poet)
Take for example this:
if to the colour of midnight
to a more than darkness(which
is myself and Paris and all
things)the bright
rain
occurs deeply, beautifully
and i(being at a window
in this midnight)
for no reason feel
deeply completely conscious of the rain or rather
Somebody who uses roofs and streets skilfully to make a
possible and beautiful sound:
if a(perhaps)clock strikes,in the alive
coolness,very faintly and
finally through altogether delicate gestures of rain
a colour comes,which is morning,O do not wonder that
(just at the edge of day)i surely
make a millionth poem which will not wholly
miss you;or if i certainly create,lady,
one of the thousand selves who are your smile.
- E.E. Cummings
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/e-e-cummings
Click this link to BUY E.E. CUMMINGS, COMPLETE POEMS, 1904-1962, on Amazon
5) PHOTOGRAPHY
ROBERT CAPA - (Hungarian-American War Photographer & Photojournalist)
Robert Capa is considered one of the greatest war photographers to have lived. A life that spanned only forty years, Capa took part in some of the most dangerous places the world has experienced, including World War II, the Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the first Indo-China War, where he would ultimately meet his fate after leaving his Jeep, and stepping on a landmine while attempting to move ahead of the troops to photograph their advance.
Capa is known as being the only civilian photographer to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day, 1944, where he managed to capture 11 images, or that is all that survived the day some claim. More information can be found on Capa here: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/robert-capa?all/all/all/all/0
I will let his photography do the rest of the talking:
"If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough" - Robert Capa
Loved Fargo & wanted more....much more.Just rewatched Billy Bob's incredible ''Sling Blade.'' Even better after all these years.And,who could neglect E.E.Cummings? Wow...Capa was really in the thick of it! Thanks Aaron...