Quiet Day at Home

#109: LindaLay and DJ Kenny Summit (Compact Disco), papyrophilia, Andrew Leland, Guerrilla Girls, Kaarina Kaikkonen, Mon Rivera, Andre Watts x 3.

Here and Now

No more talk of bugs, I promise. Today was a quiet day at home, relaxing, doing a lot of reading and a little work. Today I was juggling several reads: Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States by Zoe Baker; Blade of Dream (part 2 of the Kithamar trilogy) by Daniel Abraham; and The Here-and-Now Habit, by Tara Brach and Hugh G. Byrne.

A few days ago I went to see artist LindaLay’s installation, “Love Life and Laughter” at Compact Disco, a new micro club dance (and drinks) venue in Monterey. Her monstrously joyous work looks great in this space, and I hope to see more of it there. Compact Disco is run by her partner DJ Kenny Summit. Looking forward to some fun evenings there in the future.

LindaLay at Compact Disco, July 2023. Photo: Jean Vengua.

They’ve even got the disco balls!

Disco balls at Compact Disco. Photo: Jean Vengua.

ART

Paper making is a wonderful art. I think I’m turning into a papyrophiliac, especially for handmade paper. I got these from Melissa and Jeff Smedley (who run Vinecycle Tours, thus, the table grapes box):

Can’t wait to make some art! I did this small piece on their paper last year:

“Here’s Looking at You.” Ink and graphite ink on handmade paper, 1/2023. By Jean Vengua.

RABBIT HOLE

• Andrew Leland on his weakening vision, braille, and making a commitment to read with visual aids. He also considers how Borges dealt with his anxiety about going blind by learning a new language. Listen to a sample from his book, The Country of the Blind.

• Guerrilla Girls in “Bodies of Knowledge” (In Art21):

• Kaarina Kaikkonen makes large, textile-based installations. “Inspiration, for me, starts with a kind of suffering. It comes from a problem that is unsolved.” Kaikkonen speaks briefly about her art as she chooses materials (in Louisiana Channel). See link above for a view of her installations.

• Buddhism and meditation influence my art and art process. Christianity was introduced during the colonization of the Philippines and it still tends to dominate the religious environment, often in syncretic forms. I’ve found little information on Buddhism in the archipelago, although the discovery of the “Golden Tara of Agusan” statue in Mindanao (dated 9th-10th century A.D.)¹ suggests Buddhism had a presence there. But lately I’ve found some online sites linked to local Philippine sanghas and meditation centers. Mon Rivera runs the Filipino Dhamma Community site on Facebook. In this interview (Insight Myanmar Podcast) he talks about his journey of meditation studies in Myanmar and practice of Theravada Buddhism:

SOUNDINGS

• R. I. P., Andre Watts. It was so difficult choosing which video to play. So here are two performance videos and one interview. First, Watts playing in Japan: Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, Yoav Talmi conducting:

• Andre Watts gives you advice—about advice. Boston Conservatory commencement address, 2021:

• Watts playing Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1988, Conductor Zubin Mehta:

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1. Unfortunately the figure was purchased and taken to the U.S. in 1922. It is now on display in Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.