Take That Step #55

Kate Salke

1) From Giuseppe Penone’s show at Gagosian:

Year after year life’s experiences envelope us,
the memories accumulate and form their own substacne
which holds no shape but carries weight.
Each memory is knowledge.

2) I love this story about the origin of painting. So romantic…:

I thought it useful to expand a bit on Pliny the Elder’s account of the origin of painting. In his Natural History (circa 77-79AD), Pliny attempts to make the compendium of information for his time. He discusses metallurgy, sculpture, and painting.

In chapter 5, he writes, “We have no certain knowledge as to the beginning of the art of painting, nor does this enquiry fall under our consideration. The Egyptians assert that it was invented among themselves, six thousand years before it passed into Greece; a vain boast, it is very evident. As to the Greeks, some say that it was invented at Sicyon, others at Corinth; but they all agree that it originated in tracing lines round the human shadow […omnes umbra hominis lineis circumducta].“

Later, in chapter 15, he tells the now-famous story of Butades of Corinth. It was through his daughter that he made the discovery; who, being deeply in love with a young man about to depart on a long journey, traced the profile of his face, as thrown upon the wall by the light of the lamp [umbram ex facie eius ad lucernam in pariete lineis circumscripsit].

3) As I’m headed to Italy… I learned that the Negroni was invented in Florence, and the Bellini was created in Venice (and baptized after the artist):

The Negroni cocktail is widely believed to have originated in 1919 at Florence’s Caffè Casoni, created when Count Camillo Negroni asked bartender Fosco Scarselli to strengthen his Americano by replacing the soda water with gin. This iconic bitter-sweet cocktail, characterized by equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, officially gained popularity in the early 20th century.

The Bellini was created between 1934 and 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of the legendary Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. Inspired by the unique pinkish-white glow of a painting by 15th-century artist Giovanni Bellini, Cipriani blended fresh white peach purée with Prosecco to create the iconic, refreshing cocktail.

4) Francis Bacon:

“Who today has been able to record anything that comes across to us as a fact without causing deep injury to the image?”

5) Jean Paul Sartre on Alexander Calder:

Calder’s objects are like the sea, and they cast its same spell — always beginning again, always new. A passing glance is not enough to understand them. One must live their lives, become fascinated by them.

6) From my philosophy teacher:

Philosophy is a knife you stick between what is and what could be.

7) In Odili Donald Odita’s studio last week, he also talked about philosophy. Plato mentioned:

According to his explanation, nature is a copy of God in the physical world and art is a copy of nature. So art is a copy of the copy.

Then, he said that when someone asked Andy Warhol to talk about his work, he said: "ask Elaine Sturtevant". Elaine made exact replicas of the work of Warhol (and other artists). And, according to Warhol: "nothing is just a copy, everything is unique in its own way".

8) Philosopher Edgar Morin believed that the world is too complicated to be reduced to simple explanations. He preferred the idea of living with ambiguities, contradictions and doubts:

We live in a time of uncertainty. And uncertainty should not only be seen as a threat, but as an opportunity.

You need to learn to navigate an ocean of uncertainties through archipelagos of certainties.

Philip Guston

9) After the longest of winters, I spent the weekend at the beach and it was pure joy. I made this playlist to listen to while napping on the sand, under the sun :)