“Only by trying on other people’s clothes do we find what size we are.”
-John Lennon, Sky Writing by Word of Mouth and Other Writings
We go through life with only our perspective, witnessing the world through the lens of our own experience. But we can do our utmost to learn about how others see the world, witnessing their truths to the best of our ability in addition to our own. In this way, we begin to reshape how we approach things, perhaps shifting long-held beliefs and learning new ways of thinking. So, while indeed we spend our lives rooted in our own experience, there is no reason to exclude the experiences of others in the vast resources from which we draw to make sense of the world.
Andrew Edlin joined us to discuss his gallery, including a recently-run show titled Unaccompanied Conversation. The idea for the show has been germinating for a long time, beginning with Edlin’s representation of the John Byam estate. Byam was a completely unknown artist who lived in Upstate New York, working in his family’s trailer park. Byam created wood carvings, which first came to Edlin at an outsider art fair, and he has been showing it ever since. He felt the work tied to the other artists in the show, and so this exhibition was slowly created. Listen to the complete interview to hear more about this exhibition and outsider art in general.
Mark Yang sat down to talk about his show, Birth, which ran until February 17 at Kasmin Gallery. Yang originally didn’t want a title for the show, finding it difficult to come up with a word that encompasses all the various works he’s made. This title came from the first painting he made for this show. Titled Birth, 2023, the painting was created around the time when Yang himself became a father. To learn more about this show and other aspects of Mark Yang’s work, listen to the complete interview.
A few words to keep in your pocket
What have you learned from others, particularly those whose perspectives differ greatly from your own?
Outings
Join me at Jack Shainman Gallery for Echos of Circumstance
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.
More books to read
Ours is a community of readers. Tell us what books you’re into these days by adding your titles to our reading list here. Praxis member Sandi Ludescher recently started Trust by Herman Diaz.
Opportunities
The Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program, established in 1967, grants six visual artists a year of focused work with housing, stipend, and exhibition opportunities, fostering New Mexico’s art scene for over 50 years. To learn more and apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is March 15.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics and is currently faculty at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World. He also has a new book coming out in the Spring of 2024, The Problems in the Art World: An Artist’s A-Z Action Guide, which is available for preorder.