“To study the enemy you have to get under his skin. When you’re under his skin you start to see the world through his eyes.” -Terry Pratchett
Do not be too quick to judge those who you don’t understand. Every one of us carries a weight that is unseen by the world and yet can consume us to our very core. We exist in an age defined by immediacy, where we believe we understand all there is to know in the flash of an instant. Humans – all of us – are complex and truly take a lifetime to unravel in any meaningful way. Do not assume, because you have heard one remark from someone with which you may not agree, that this negates the possibility that you share common ground, common struggles, common belief.
Clement Page joined us from Bristol, England where he spends part of his time – the rest he spends in Berlin. He has a new solo studio that allows him to work away from home, something he had been unable to do during the pandemic when he only had access to a shared studio space. Since 2014, Page has focused on painting, exploring how to directly involve the viewer in his work. To achieve this, he uses mirrors as a substrate, allowing viewers to literally see themselves in his paintings. To hear more about this and other aspects of Page’s work, listen to the complete interview.
Sébastien Léon spoke to us from LA where he has been working with glass sculpture for the last several years. COVID made it difficult for him to travel to his native Europe – Léon is from France – but when he was able, he took an extended trip to Venice where he learned from glass blowers in Murano. He was utterly charmed by Murano, which he found quite free of tourist crowds. To hear more about this and more, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
The world is too small and life too short to write off entire populations.
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 is here.
Books to Read
What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Praxis user Dan Tran recommends Lives of the Artists by Calvin Tomkins. Meanwhile Praxis user Carole Louise Guthrie has been revisiting the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez including Love in the Time of Cholera.
Deadlines:
The Clay Studio in Philadelphia invites artists to apply for a funded residency program. This year, all selected artists will be able to attend the program at no cost and will receive a small monthly stipend. The program offers the opportunity for artists to develop their work while networking within a community of peers for up to three years. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is April 1.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists and the most recent (2021) is Making it in the Art World.
[…] m burgess spoke to us in mid-March from their studio at the Elizabeth Foundation. They are presently at work on a piece that began about seven years ago that is just reaching a point where it can be edited into a whole. They have been spending as much time in studio as possible, and while there they attempt to achieve presence. Some days this is tremendously difficult. m watches pigeons swoop from the roof of the studio building. They have built something of a relationship with the birds, offering them chickpeas at the window. This act of noticing the pigeons and communicating with them in a way has been a profound act of presence. To hear more about m’s work and pursuit of presence, listen to the complete interview. […]
[…] m burgess spoke to us in mid-March from their studio at the Elizabeth Foundation. They are presently at work on a piece that began about seven years ago that is just reaching a point where it can be edited into a whole. They have been spending as much time in studio as possible, and while there they attempt to achieve presence. Some days this is tremendously difficult. m watches pigeons swoop from the roof of the studio building. They have built something of a relationship with the birds, offering them chickpeas at the window. This act of noticing the pigeons and communicating with them in a way has been a profound act of presence. To hear more about m’s work and pursuit of presence, listen to the complete interview. […]