“Art is the highest form of hope.” -Gerhard Richter
It is easy, in the moment in which we find ourselves, to fall victim to a kind of despair – for the planet, for our children, for the future of humanity as a whole. And yet each time an artist lifts a brush or births a new idea into the world, this is itself an act of defiant hope. This is saying, into the echo of the chasm, I am here and I will. We will. There will be.
Patricia Lee Stotter spoke to us in late August from Pennsylvania. The news that day was of the bombing at Kabul Airport, news that shook Stotter like it did all of us. In terms of her current work – Stotter is an Emmy Award-winning composer and writer for film and television – she is currently working on a project called Dog Walk Home. The work, which she will compose music for, deals with the stories of veterans who come home with severe PTSD and turn to therapy dogs as a way to begin healing. Stotter recalled the first project she composed for after 9/11, a documentary titled From the Ashes which artists who lived in lower Manhattan at the time of the attack. It is work, she says, that helps her and many artists like her cope when terrible things happen. To hear more of our conversation with Patricia Lee Stotter, listen to the complete interview.
Erik Beehn spoke to us once again, again from Las Vegas where he reports tourism is still in a slump because of the ongoing pandemic. His studio serves a number of functions including a gallery in front and a printshop in back. More recently, he established a woodshop in the space, which also houses his personal art studio. When we spoke, he was working collaboratively on a few ideas as well as revisiting his drawing practice. He also had a two-person exhibition running at the time. To hear more from Erik Beehn, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
Hold fast to hope, write it down, sketch it out, do not let it out of sight.
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. Patricia Lee Stotter had recently finished Apeirigon: A Novel by Colum McCann. Erik Beehn was reading some of the notes of Gerhard Richter when we spoke.
Deadlines:
Public Art for Spatial Justice seeks artists with projects that creatively engage important and timely conversations, bring healing to space and place and/or foster public imagination for a more just version of what is possible. If you are an artist who meets these criteria, check out the website for more information and consider submitting your work for grant consideration. Deadline for submissions is October 18.
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.