“The goal of an influencer is not to be lovable, and it is not to be unbearable. The goal is to be both at once. In other words: addicting.”
-Caro Claire Burke, Yesteryear
The most compelling online personas walk a careful line between attraction and irritation, drawing people in while keeping them slightly off balance. They cultivate a presence that is engaging, provocative, familiar, and unpredictable all at once, creating a tension that holds attention. By blending charm with just enough friction, they become difficult to ignore and even harder to disengage from, turning curiosity into habit and habit into a kind of dependency.
Stella De Mont joined us to talk about her exhibition, This Life Wants You, on view at Benrubi Gallery until May 23. The figurative work in the show depicts nudes in landscapes. De Mont would like viewers to say the title of the show to themselves, have the echo of the medicine of knowing they should be here. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.
Sarah Alice Moran spoke with us about her show Splat Daisies, on view at McBride Dillman Gallery until May 10. There are multiple narratives woven through the work with her late dog, Pepper, as a central theme. The exhibition is a meditation on how animals can create a link between different worlds, linking us to a place of magic and the earth itself. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in Your Pocket.
How have you approached – or perhaps reproached – influencer culture?
Outings.
Join me at 125 Newbury for Alfred Jensen: Diagrammatic Mysteries
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android, please click here. All weekly essay pieces are here in a shareable format. The full archive of interviews is here.
More Books to Read.
Ours is a community of readers. Tell us what books you’re reading now by adding your titles to our reading list here. Harlan Whatley is reading Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim, by Anton Gill.
Opportunities.
AiR 351 is a nonprofit visual arts residency in Portugal fostering international exchange, research, and community. Hosting global artists, it offers studios, mentorship, partnerships, and public programs in Cascais and Torres Vedras. For more information, visit the website. Deadline is May 3.