“Our life is what our thoughts make it” -Marcus Aurelius
Akira Kurosawa, in his film Rashomon, offered four perspectives of the same event. His film, and many writings and art through the ages, remind us that our experience of the world around us is purely subjective. There is no absolute truth when it comes to the way we go through life. Two individuals may experience the same event standing side by side in completely different ways. One person’s joy may be another’s misery. There is no single answer to how we choose to live. We must seek to do no harm, but how we allow our own perceptions to shape the time we are given is up to no one else.
Dan Piepenbring is the web editor for Paris Review Daily. He took over the position in 2014 and has since put his own editorial fingerprint on the still nascent online presence of the review which went digital in 2010. Piepenbring speaks to issues facing writers today in the age of digital publishing. The concentration of content available online has led to drastically reduced pay scales for writers across the board. “It’s abysmal, frankly,” quips Piepenbring, going on to say that he has lost talented writers because of the relatively low pay for features at the Paris Review Daily, which is a nonprofit. While the internet has hurt writers’ ability to get paid, Piepenbring points out that it has also opened new avenues for certain types of stories. One such story is the tale of Ernest Hemingway’s relationship with a Boston woman whose granddaughter had a collection of love letters penned by the famous American author during this early, whirlwind romance.
Linda Weintraub is, among many, many other things, a homesteader. She continually asks, “what can land be besides beautiful,” and says that she experienced “an impulse” around a decade ago “to reconnect with the material world.” Weintraub reconsidered her dependence and relationship with mass production and technology as well as carefully examining her impact on the environment. This led her to begin homesteading and has informed her work as an artist, curator, teacher, and author. Weintraub offers residencies to MFA students and others during which they explore art through the context of environmentalism. She has a strong affinity for the connection between materialism and contemporary art and has been working to define and establish this connection within the larger academic framework. “So often when the subject of reducing your demands on the environment…is couched in terms of sacrifice and diminishment of pleasure,” Weintraub says. Through her art, she introduces viewers to a source of joy that is structured through a non-typical modern lifestyle. Cost, both to the environment and the human spirit, play heavily in her work.
Additional interviews include: Jill Moser and Ani Kokobobo
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a sharable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.
Books to Read
What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. User Margie Steinman has been enjoying The Art of Rivalry by Sebastian Smee and Tauna Cole Dorn dives into Illness as a Metaphor by Susan Sontag.
Opportunities / Open Calls
Artists are invited to visually represent the man and the music of Fryderyk Chopin. The Fryderyk Chopin Institute has run the annual contest since 1927. Artists may submit up to three drawings and cash prizes are awarded to first through third place winners. Deadline for submission is June 30.
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A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket
It is amazing to realize that no two perspectives are exactly alike. We each see a unique world and experience a unique lifetime. Remaining open to the stories of others allows us to tap into many, many lifetimes.
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Deadlines
Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.
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More Resources – For Artists Only – (weekly articles)
Be the Conduit for Unknowable Questions — Read more here
Nonprofit Spotlight: Banff Centre for Arts and Culture — Read more here
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Popular Writings –
Non-profit spaces to know –
London, UK Non-Profit Spaces – read about some of the best.
Los Angeles, CA Non-Profit Spaces- read about some of the best.
New York City Non-Profit Spaces – read about some of the best.
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Self Illumination –
Conquering Fear – read about methods and Pema Chodron.
The Trap of Self-Esteem and How to Break Free- read more here.
F*ck the Art World, F*ck Consumerism! – read more here.