“There is not love of life without despair about life.” -Albert Camus
To be human is to understand our own mortality. We do not know if other animals live with this knowledge, though we do witness mourning in the animal kingdom. But for humans, the sure knowledge of our eventual demise is with us every moment of every day. It is what drives some to achieve great heights, and it is what plunges others into the depths of darkness and despair. We have no choice but to sit with this awareness, and so it is best we learn to make friends with the finite nature of our own existence.
Jazmin Lopez joined us to discuss her recent exhibition at Transmitter, The Great Dane. The show echoes the 1929 French surrealist film Un Chien Andalou. Lopez worked with the film to reenact the filmmaker’s imagery, which she believes was extracted from dreams. For the installation, she pulled elements from the film, replacing some of the darker elements with Great Danes. The space itself, intended to represent not physical but mental space, was carefully arranged with two grand pianos, theatrical curtaining and, of course, two Great Danes. To learn more about this fascinating exhibition, listen to the complete interview.
Silas Inoue sat down to chat about his recent exhibition, Night Bloom Central at ULTERIOR. The title points to his work with living organisms that prosper without sunlight. At the same time, the title indicated perhaps an unknown train station in an unknown place. One work, Future Friture-Turritopsis Dohrnii (pictured above), features a sculpture of a small jellyfish with the ability to regenerate itself. The jellyfish sculpture is made of cast sugar and floats in cooking oil, representing something immortal created out of elements that can – and do – cut human life short. To hear more about this and other works, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket
Embrace now, worry less about later.
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. Jazmin Lopez recently read In Praise of Love by Alain Badiou. Silas Inoue recommends The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanly Robinson.
Deadlines:
Stochastic Labs invites applications for fully sponsored residencies for international artists, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs. Length of residency varies, but all include a private apartment at the Stochastic Labs mansion, co-working and/or dedicated workspace, shop access, a $1K monthly stipend and a materials budget. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Applications are rolling.
Brainard Carey 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.