When independent curator and writer Marvin Heiferman’s partner died from Covid, he found himself utterly bereft. Having to navigate “the gap between public and private experiences of death and grieving”, he created an amazingly beautiful and poignant form —art form really — on instagram.It is a complex and nuanced tribute to the ephemeral experience of daily life.
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One of the best down-and-dirty cooking lessons I’ve seen is pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz’s vast Instagram Story about “soup mother”. And some wonderful writing about deep joys of daily impromptu cooking is woven through her instagram posts. So here are excepts from both: the very liberating wisdom of an inspired, busy, passionate cook.
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Texas Beeworks‘ Erika Thompson’s videos have become a sensation, documenting her adventures calmly moving whole colonies of bees out of hives that that have formed in the midst of people’s lives: under a pool umbrella, in a patio chair, an old tire, a water meter, compost bin, the walls of a house. They are mesmerizing to watch as much for the view into the workings of wild hives as for Thompson’s relaxed, fearless self-assurance.
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After reading a New Yorker article on America’s biggest selling books, many of which are “self-help” I realized I’d read many of them and none helped me help myself (although plenty of other things in my life have). Soon after, I stumbled on the penultimate self-help advice.
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I rely on my tightly edited instagram feed to bring ideas and wonders right to me when I need them. Then a powerful quote from Saul Bellow sparked an essential question.
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Traumatized by seeing her aged face on Zoom, actress Kathryn Grody rants, despairing and conflicted, to her son Gideon as he films her with his iPhone. It is one of the many illuminating moments captured on @Mandy Patinkin, documenting the everyday life of actor Mandy Patinkin, Grody and Gideon as they shelter at their upstate NY cabin.
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A therapist friend once described the idea of reverie as a tool for healing; dreamy meditation and daydreaming, free of anxious thinking, has a powerfully restful effect. That state is what I found myself in after I stumbled on these tiny videos…
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After a particularly rough period of her life, artist and gardener Lorene Edwards Forkner embarked on an unusual daily practice, that quietly taught her some very big lessons.
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At the New Yorker, cartoonist Roz Chast takes on the kind of equation we are seeing everywhere, of “experts” assessing the level of risk in commonly enjoyed activities of human existence.
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We’ve watched this small, beautiful gem from Francis Alys several times during the past week, amazed by how such a seemingly simple little video can have such power.
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The past week or so, the same message arrived through a variety of sources: in an email sent by a friend, a poem stumbled on on instagram, a notice of a museum exhibition…
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When we saw this image from New Orleans-based filmmaker Garrett Bradley, we thought: that is a perfect exhortation to start the day. Then we read THIS:
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Columbian artist Oscar Murillo’s view of his singular seat on a airplane flight as a sacrad studio space will change your view of air travel.
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An insightful quote from legendary poet, film-maker, artist, Jean Cocteau has had a number of people we know thinking hard about it and how much it resonates: a tiny therapeutic bomb that catalyzes change.
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At designer Pamela Hovland’s instagram, we were stunned by this image of “cloud studies” by J.C. Dahl, Norway’s greatest landscape painter. He reminded us of others who view clouds as Nature’s display of poetry…
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The most refreshing and instantly illuminating site we’ve seen lately is Nitch, rich with unexpected little blasts of unique perspectives and ideas…
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Two teeny videos and a poem, for those in need of refreshment, a shift of view or just plain RELIEF from whatever is going on.
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Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe became a surprising meme when his flamboyant technique of salting meat went viral. Though many are transfixed by his rather, er sensual handling of meat, I love that he put SALTING on the map.
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Spotted on Christoph Niemann’s Instagram #AbstractSunday: Beach ON/Beach OFF, a strangely inspired sand creation. It echoes our psyche: it’s time for Beach ON and to get a small hunk of summer and rest. We’ll be back just after Labor Day. In the meantime, you’ll find more inspired sand as art material here and here and here and 4,000 illuminating paths…
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Photographer/filmmaker Gigi de la Torre sent us this sign with an incisive observation:
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