“a walk is only a step away from a story, and every path tells.” -Robert MacFarlane
Something has been lost. Children see it, animals, too. Some of us retain the sight as we grow and move into the bright, busy world. But to many – far too many – the wonder and connectedness of nature have simply slipped away. We exist indoors, a species removed from our habitat, installed within controlled settings, devices in hand to distract us from the world we once knew.
Marci Vogel joined us in mid-September from L.A. She recently moved from her home of 24 years to the Village Green neighborhood of Los Angeles. The area has a lot of green space and trees and Vogel says she feels fortunate to have landed there, especially during this strange time. A poet, writer and translator, Vogel collects and recently began writing on typewriters. As part of her position at the University of Southern California, Vogle receives a research budget that is typically used for travel, but as there aren’t many opportunities to travel at present, she has used her budget to have typewriters from far-flung places like Italy travel to her. To hear more about her experience working on a typewriter and more, listen to the complete interview.
Austin Thomas was delighted to speak on the phone to us (and a landline at that) from New York where she works at Fashion Institute of Technology as the exhibitions manager at the art and design gallery. She began an exhibition program that showcases faculty, students and alumni. Previously, Thomas was director of Pocket Utopia gallery and she is an artist in her own right. Most recently, she has been creating prints inspired by the city around her with geometric patterns based on the architecture she sees while walking around New York. To hear more about what goes on at the gallery at F.I.T as well as Thomas’ own work, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
Spend time – deliberate time – getting to know the natural world once again.
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. To learn more about the writings of Marci Vogel, visit her website. Austin Thomas was reading the book Visualizing Nature: Essays on Truth, Spirit and Philosophy edited by Stuart Kestenbaum.
Deadlines:
The Kitzbüheler Ski Club and the BTV are accepting submissions for poster design for their annual Hahnenkamm Ski Races in 2023. The tradition of having poster designs by independent artists began in 1987. This year, the competition is open to international artists with the intent of bringing this event to the world stage. For more information and to submit your design, visit the website. Deadline for submissions is December 15.
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.