Take That Step #52

1) On the balcony of the Whitney Museum, the current biennial features a partnership with Hyundai Motor Company. It is a site-specific work of Kelly Akashi exhibited on the fifth floor of the museum, Monument (Altadena), 2026 — a chimney that functions as reconstruction and memorial. Akashi lost her studio in the Eaton fires in January last year, and the chimney was the only thing left. The sculpture serves as a meditation on survival, rupture and the fragile permanence of what remains.

“The act of rebuilding is not simply about material endurance; it is a deliberate labor of care, an engagement with history, and an act of reclamation. In laying each brick, my sculpture mirrors the gestures of memory itself, emphasizing that remembrance is not given, it is constructed through care and persistence. Each brick carries the record of labor and material transformation; together, they compose a new body that holds the traces of its past.”

2) Her work reminded me of one of Carlos Drummond de Andrade’s most beautiful poems, “Residue”. Excerpt below, full poem here.

From everything a little remained.
From my fear. From your disgust.
From stifled cries. From the rose
a little remained.

A little remained of light
caught inside the hat.
In the eyes of the pimp
a little remained of tenderness,
very little.
(…)

So from everything a little remains.
A little remains of your chin
in the chin of your daughter.

A little remained of your
blunt silence, a little
in the angry wall,
in the mute rising leaves.

A little remained from everything
in porcelain saucers,
in the broken dragon, in the white flowers,
in the creases of your brow,
in the portrait.

Since from everything a little remains,
why won’t a little
of me remain? In the train
travelling north, in the ship,
in newspaper ads,
why not a little of me in London,
a little of me somewhere?
In a consonant?
In a well?
(…)

From everything a little remains.
Not much: this absurd drop
dripping from the faucet,
half salt and half alcohol,
this frog leg jumping,
this watch crystal
broken into a thousand wishes,
this swan’s neck,
this childhood secret...
From everything a little remained:
from me; from you; from Abelard.
Hair on my sleeve,
from everything a little remained;
wind in my ears,
burbing, rumbling
from an upset stomach,
and small artifacts:
bell jar, honeycomb, revolver
cartridge, aspirin tablet.

From everything a little remained.

And from everything a little remains.
Oh, open the bottles of lotion
and smoother
the cruel, unbearable odor of memory.

Still, horribly, from everything a little remains,
under the rhythmic waves
under the clouds and the wind
under the bridges and under the tunnels
under the flames and under the sarcasm
under the phlegm and under the vomit
under the cry from the dungeon, the guy they forgot
under the spectacle and under the scarlet death
under the libraries, asylums, victorious churches
under yourself and under your feet already hard
under the ties of family, the ties of class,
from everything a little always remains.
Sometimes a button. Sometimes a rat.

3) I visited a boat this weekend which was anchored in NYC. In the presentation the captain made, he said that the rule of coexistence for the crew follows this order:

First, you take care of the boat. Then from your boat partners. Finally, you take care of yourself — “ship — shipmate — self”.

Beautiful, no?

4) The other day, my friend Flavia used an expression I had never heard before: “don’t budget your feelings.”

The advice suggests that we should not restrict, suppress or ration our emotions to try to protect ourselves. Trying to control feelings arises from the fear that if you give yourself too much, there will be nothing left. While, in fact, what tends to happen is the emotional energy being replenished by connection and authenticity, rather than diminished because of “delivery.”

Danica Phelps

5) I watched — and loved! — the new documentary about Paul McCartney, Man on the Run. The film focuses on the years following the end of the Beatles. The singer was only 27 when the band finished... It’s shocking to think that they produced all those legendary records before they turned 30! The film also covers the death of John Lennon. Since then, I just want to listen to Wings. I’ve since been in love with Linda McCartney (who’s also responsible for much of the footage we see in the doc)! Highly recommend:

6) I’m preparing an online art history course. I thought I’d talk about NY using the museums of the city to structure the classes. What other topics do you find interesting in the arts?

7) Love as the road loves those who get lost — Mar Becker

Michael Heizer

8) My brother and I are big fans of Los Hermanos. The other day he sent me old songs from the band and I went down the rabbit hole — I spent the rest of the day re-listening to the classics. This playlist here is great:

9) Who else is excited for the weekend of the Oscar? A friend told me to check betting sites to see which movies are with chances of victory (see here). I watched almost all the main competitors and today I would say I’m rooting for Hamnet to win best picture or, at least, better director.

10) This weekend I went with a group of friends to a karaoke. My feeling is that the best ideas of what to sing always appear after the program is over hahaha. So I started a playlist with hot songs to try to remember when I’m on the stage (unfortunately here we don’t have the option to sing Brazilian hits in NY!). Here.

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