“Society is much more easily soothed than one’s own conscience.” -Isaac Asimov
When it is quiet and we are alone, what stirrings and thoughts do we entertain the likes of which we would not reveal in the crowded light of day? Does the liar accept responsibility, in the isolation of home, for mistruths knowingly told? Or the aggressor quietly repent for harm caused? Once out of doors, back among the people, we assume the face we wear day in and out, reveal only those pieces of ourselves that have been deemed suitable for the world at large.
Ketta Ioannidou spoke to us from Brooklyn in mid-September. She spent the summer in her native Cyprus after a few years away. Now returned to Brooklyn where she lives, she works from a studio at her home and benefits from an art supplies store located across the street. When we spoke she was at work on a series of abstract landscape paintings. Much of her work, she says, draws influence from the natural world of Cyprus – the land and the water. One work, in particular, titled Black Spring, draws influence from the life of Henry Miller. Ioannidou began this work during the lockdown period. To hear more about her work, and her re-entry into the world following lockdown, listen to the complete interview.
Beatriz Bustos Oyanedel spoke to us in early September. When we connected, she was at the airport in Madrid on her way back to Santiago, Chile following a meeting and a holiday. During the month prior to our conversation, there had been a number of openings. One in particular was in collaboration with the indigenous community. The exhibition broaches the importance of first nation peoples in South America and brings up a larger conversation about making changes to the constitution to reflect this. To hear more about this important issue and other aspects of Beatriz Bustos Oyanedel’s work, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
We may grant forgiveness en masse for transgressions and yet still weep and rage for them alone.
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.
Books to Read
What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Praxis user Aziz Başan recommends Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Praxis user Jonathan Herbert offers Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov.
Deadlines:
Horizons “Arts-Nature” in Sancy, scheduled from June 18 to September 18, 2022, marks the sixteenth edition of this open-air art exhibition, which draws its originality from the inscription of ephemeral plastic works created specifically for the Massif du Sancy. Artists are invited to submit their applications for consideration. For more information, visit the website. Deadline for submissions is November 24.
From 24 June to 20 August 2021, Marian Goodman Gallery and Holt/Smithson Foundation will present the first exhibition of Robert Smithson’s work in the gallery’s New York space. The exhibition, Abstract Cartography, will focus on a crucial five-year period in Smithson’s development: 1966 to 1971, a time when his “inklings of earthworks” began. This careful selection of artworks will trace Smithson’s radical rethinking of what art could be and where it could be found.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius, and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius. His book, Making it in the Art World, is available now with bonus content here.