“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” -Frank Herbert
Time rolls on, regardless of what we do or make of it. Each of us exists within and throughout it, but when our place is vacated, time carries on. It moves forward without stopping, allowing us to spend a while in its realm before rolling on as we remain behind. Time dictates our days, our years, our very existence and yet we barely give it a thought. We simply live beside it, within it, never much considering that we are the briefly stopping guests in a seemingly endless house.
David Claerbout spoke to us from Hoboken, a district of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. There he has two studios, both of which have somewhat impractical dimensions. He is currently preparing two new works, one depicting the life of a tree as it grows backwards, starting large and getting smaller until one day, 12 years from now, it is dug out of the ground. The other piece he is currently at work on is currently titled The Exploding Birdcage and it explores the phenomenon of birds exploding in their cages when the houses in which they live explode during wildfires. To hear more about these works and other aspects of David Claerbout’s career, listen to the complete interview.
Chris Regner joined us from Milwaulkee. He has a show coming up in June at Kravets Wehby Gallery, where he completed his debut solo show in 2021. The previous exhibition explored the idea of the father figure, and this upcoming show explores other masculine tropes through the examination of Greek mythology and the portrayal of Greek gods. This work stems from Regner’s own upbringing during which he did not have a discernable father figure and allows him to explore how is own father-son relationship might look now. To hear more about the work, the upcoming exhibition and more, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
Consider the nature of time and how very fortunate we are to have a bit of it.
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. David Claerbout recommends reading the written work of Dr. Ian McGilchrist including his new volume, The Matter With Things. Chris Regner discussed the book series Dune by Frank Herbert in terms of the main character, Paul’s struggle with being something of a messianic figure and the struggles that brings.
Deadlines:
The Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists is currently accepting applications. In their own words:
“Queer|Art is pleased to introduce The Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists. Developed and named in partnership with Mariette Pathy Allen, Aaryn Lang, and Serena Jara, this new annual $10,000 grant, awarded to draw attention to an existing body of work, sheds light on the under-recognized contributions of Black trans women visual artists and provides critical support to their continuing work. Winning artists will receive additional professional development resources and further guidance to bolster their creative development in the field.”
For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is June 30.
is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.