looking beyond, walking beside
Films, projects and stories that continue to unsettle and inspire me.
Inkcap - reaping what we sow
INKCAP newsletter is a combination of curated information about the environment and a weekly newsletter looking more in depth about issues that concern us all (well, most of us). This week (mid Novermber) Sophie (the editor) has put the article online for the first time. Her success is growing and she now has support for her work. An article on song, ritual and harvest in Gaelic speaking parts of the UK has beautiful pictures AND two versions - one in Gaelic. An experiment and a statement about the link between words, sounds and the land that really speaks to me. Only thing that’s missing is a link to a sound file of people singing the ancient songs while reaping to their rhythm,
bayo akomolafe
Bayo Akomolafe attracts me by his attention to cracks, faults and crossroads in the development of culture, individual and collective. He speaks from the body in a way that is always entrancing. And he speaks from before and behind the body as an academic AND a man who grew up in Nigeria, bringing shamanic awareness to that head-centred world. He is now living in India and writes / speaks from his role as a father / husband in these crazy times. This is a link to a YouTube discussion from Dartington on the topic of 'The Gods of the Discarded.
FUNNY WEATHER
Olivia Laing - a book subtitled Art in an Emergency. Essays and articles about artists, their lives and their stories - that's what attracted me to the book. I'm still dipping into it rather than reading it. Today I read about Derek Jarman, his life and his work, particularly his garden. Olivia Laing says that by reading his diary 'Modern Nature', she "developed a sense of what it meant to be an artist, to be political, even how to plant a garden (playfully, stubbornly, ignoring boundaries, collaborating freely)."
I can give you another flavour of the book from a chapter about David Hockney. He once said, 'If you come to dead ends you simply somersault back and carry on'. Olivia comments that 'The English are perennially suspicious of this kind of acrobatic ability, finding it easier to commend the diligent ploughing of a single furrow. When faced with negativity or bafflement to new avenues and experiments, Hockney's response has often been to note tersely that he knows what he's doing. Learning to look, that's what he's been up to, and learning too that looking is a source of joy.'
The image is from the book cover: Untitled (Face in Dirt) 1992-93 from the Estate of David Wojnarowicz and P.P.O.W, New York. Clicking here will take you to a Tate article by Olivia Lang - lots more images and thoughts about art.
I can give you another flavour of the book from a chapter about David Hockney. He once said, 'If you come to dead ends you simply somersault back and carry on'. Olivia comments that 'The English are perennially suspicious of this kind of acrobatic ability, finding it easier to commend the diligent ploughing of a single furrow. When faced with negativity or bafflement to new avenues and experiments, Hockney's response has often been to note tersely that he knows what he's doing. Learning to look, that's what he's been up to, and learning too that looking is a source of joy.'
The image is from the book cover: Untitled (Face in Dirt) 1992-93 from the Estate of David Wojnarowicz and P.P.O.W, New York. Clicking here will take you to a Tate article by Olivia Lang - lots more images and thoughts about art.
IN THE GROUND OF OUR UNKNOWING
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An extract from an article by David Abram, asking the questions we are all starting to wonder about - how do we, can we emerge in a better state than when we became locked-down. “The future will be sculpted ... by the elemental friendships and alliances that we choose to sustain us, by our full-bodied capacity for earthly compassion and dark wonder, by our ability to listen, attentive and at ease, within the forest of our unknowing.”
You can read the article by following the link, above, and you can explore further by watching the New Story Film. There's a link to the trailer and the freely accessible film by clicking on the image. |
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brain pickings
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Maria Popova curates this wonderful site and weekly newsletter celebrating art, science and literature in their overlapping glory.
Check it out. This short video. with animation, is one of the best examples, in my view. You might also enjoy a recent 'Life Scientific' episode on the BBC in which Dan Greene was able to enthuse me about String Theory. |
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Joe lambert - storycenter
patient voices - digital stories
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Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner, dear friends and dedicated facilitators of story, have created and now maintain a live, free archive of three minute videos - digital stories - shared and created by participants over many workshops. The stories are used around the world to educate, challenge, inform and improve healthcare and make connections between people, one personal story at a time. Click on the image to find out more.
Added April 19th 2020 |
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a letter from the virus
A short, beautifully poignant film for these days of listening and learning, from Yama Morisen.
There are subtitles.
There are subtitles.
anna halprin - returning home
View more amazing stories (and donate) on the Culture Unplugged website
Director: Andy Abrahams Wilson | Producer: Andy Abrahams Wilson
Genre: Documentary | Produced In: 2003 |
Story Teller's Country: United States
Tags: Americas, Health, Spiritual Awareness, United States
Synopsis: The body is our home, as is the larger body of the earth. When these two bodies move in harmony, a dance unfolds. Both are made whole. "Returning Home" is a breathtaking and groundbreaking dance documentary in which 80-something Anna Halprin, pioneer of postmodern dance, uses movement as a means of connecting the individual to nature, and art to real life. In collaboration with performance artist Eeo Stubblefield, Halprin moves along thresholds of earth, wind, water and fire, discovering lessons in loss and liberation. Whether surveying the charred remains of her home, or her scars from cancer and aging, Halprin finds beauty and meaning even in the destructive forces of nature. A testament to the importance of honoring the human and earth bodies, this unforgettable film takes us on a mythic and very personal journey home.
Director: Andy Abrahams Wilson | Producer: Andy Abrahams Wilson
Genre: Documentary | Produced In: 2003 |
Story Teller's Country: United States
Tags: Americas, Health, Spiritual Awareness, United States
Synopsis: The body is our home, as is the larger body of the earth. When these two bodies move in harmony, a dance unfolds. Both are made whole. "Returning Home" is a breathtaking and groundbreaking dance documentary in which 80-something Anna Halprin, pioneer of postmodern dance, uses movement as a means of connecting the individual to nature, and art to real life. In collaboration with performance artist Eeo Stubblefield, Halprin moves along thresholds of earth, wind, water and fire, discovering lessons in loss and liberation. Whether surveying the charred remains of her home, or her scars from cancer and aging, Halprin finds beauty and meaning even in the destructive forces of nature. A testament to the importance of honoring the human and earth bodies, this unforgettable film takes us on a mythic and very personal journey home.