While this newsletter is about sharing art and discussions on the industry through various interview styles, the past few weeks have been quite loaded on my part. But I still wanted to put something out to stay on track and stick to my original goal. This newsletter was about sharing influences. It was made to show artists in general doing whatever they could to pursue their dreams, share their ideas. I find after a big burst of creating I feel burnt out. I turn to books, movies, galleries etc to help. I try and rest my brain a bit by consuming other art. But like a lot of people I find comfort in the familiar. I tend to watch the same three movies to bring out my creative side. So instead of just listing all the things that inspire me, I asked my instagram followers in a few polls what movies, podcasts, books, and general things do they think every artist should consume. I figured it would be great to share with all of you. Maybe you’ll find your new favorite book in this newsletter. I have listed and linked all the answers in hopes that while I get through the sort of hectic bit of time in my life, I can still be of service in someway.
MOVIES:
Tabloid, Dir. Errol Morris— A true story about a woman who kidnaps her mormon missionary ex-boyfriend and the tabloid story that unfolded in the UK as a result.
The Center Will Not Hold, Dir. Griffin Dunne— The story of Joan Didion’s life, how she became the legendary writer we all know today.
Spotlight, Dir. Tom McCarthy—The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists to investigate allegations against priest John Geoghan, who has been accused of sexual abuse of more than 80 boys
The Darjeeling Limited, Dir. Wes Anderson— Three brothers reunite to take a train trip across India with one brother secretly planning a reunion with their mother.
In The Mood For Love, Dir Wong Kar-wai— Two new aquantinces befriend each other after their respective spouses find themselves away from home frequently. Both coming to the realization that their partners are not being faithful.
Paris Texas, Dir. Wim Wenders— Travis, who has been missing for years, is reunited with his family. The reunion is unsettling, and Travis must now put his life back together.
Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho—Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan
Janis: Little Girl Blue, Dir. Amy Berg—Janis Joplin's evolution into a star from letters that Joplin wrote over the years to her friends, family, and collaborators.
Franca: Chaos and Creation, Dir. Francesco Carrozzini—A look at the life of Franca Sozzani, the legendary Italian Vogue editor-in-chief
La La Land, Dir. Damien Chazelle—Sebastian and Mia are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their relationship.
8 1/2, Dir. Federico Fellini—Troubled Italian filmmaker Guido Anselmi struggles with creative stasis as he attempts to get a new movie off the ground. As he tries to sort out his many entanglements, romantic and otherwise, Anselmi finds his production becoming more and more autobiographical.
Grey Gardens, Dir. Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer —This documentary explores the daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate.
Finding Vivian Maier, Dir. John Maloof—A look at the life and career of nanny Vivian Maier and her unbelievable collections of 100,000 photographs.
Basquiat, Dir. Julian Schnabel—A film about the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat and how he went from living on the street, to a successful artist.
PODCASTS:
That Creative Life — candid conversations with the best artists and business professionals in the world
Off Camera with Sam Jones — Long form interviews with various artists about the industry they work in
Unpublished — A podcast about building a sustainable creative life. A place to take your art seriously where you can go to reflect on your journey and build a thriving creative practice.
Longform — A weekly conversation with a non-fiction writer on how they tell stories.
The Great Women Artists Podcast — Interviews with artists on their career, or curators, writers, or general art lovers, on the female artist who means the most to them
A World of One’s Own — Artist Tai Snaith has conducted a series of conversations with mid-career and emerging women and non-binary artists whom she admires
The Jealous Curator: ART FOR YOUR EAR — Inside-scoop stories from amazingly talented contemporary artists
The Week in Art — A podcast bringing you the latest news from the art world, every week
BOOKS:
Hold Still By Sally Mann
The War of Art By Steven Pressfield
Just Kids By Patti Smith
Funny Weather By Olivia Laing
Nadja By Andre Breton
I Feel Bad About My Neck By Nora Ephron
Kitchen Confidential By Anthony Bourdain
Meet Me in the Bathroom: The Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011 By Lizzy Goodman
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City By Nick Flynn
The Year of Magical Thinking By Joan Didion
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou
What If This Were Enough? By Heather Havrilesky
Twentieth-Century Boy: Notebooks of the Seventies By Duncan Hannah
Believing is Seeing: Observations on the Mysteries of Photography By Errol Morris The Jaws Log By Carl Gottlieb
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85: New Perspectives Edited By Catherine Morris and Rujeko Hockley
MISC:
Now this sort of genre I threw into the mix to see what people could come up with. In the above category people sort of listed the same works which I expected. But this section showed a lot of different answers that I quite enjoyed. There was articles
Out There: On Not Finishing By Devin Kelly
Stop Spending So Much Time In Your Head By Darius Foroux
Fran Lebowitz Is Never Leaving New York By Michael Schulman
How To Be an Artist By Jerry Saltz
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold By Gay Talese
Don’t Eat Before Reading This By Anthony Bourdain
Different activities
Rollerskating
Swimming
Going on a walk
Listening to Music
Go to the Library
Do kids activities
Watching the ocean or the stars
Karaoke
But my favorite things that were recommended were just the things we all need
sleep, eating (specifically good food), water, chocolate, wine.
Truth is we don’t need wine or chocolate but sometimes it’s nice to indulge.
That is all I have for you this week. There’s a comment section on substack and I believe that’s a great place to add in some other stuff that wasn’t on the little list me and my followers made. I did happen to do this on the day of the great instagram shut down so I am sure that quite a few more options could be added if we really thought about it. I am always in the mood for good art anyways so I might have to update this list every year. But as of right now I haven’t read, listened, or watched quite a few of these suggestions so I think I’ll get a head start. I hope you find something new on here that inspires you too.
Our next newsletter collaborator needs no introduction, but here’s a little hint: