Taste of The Week 12/10/23

Key words: Jennifer Packer and her arts, The Boy and the Heron, outfits of the week, and climate colonialism.

Dec 11, 2023

Hey, how are you? Before we get started on today’s Taste of The Week, I would like to invite you to pause for a few seconds to think about the ethic of our attention. I write this column so I can be more intentional on the beautiful things around me and perhaps inspire others to do the same. There are things in this world that truly deserve more attention than others, such as beauty, truth, and kindness. So please, please pay attention to the people who are suffering, the innocent kids and adults that lost their basic human rights in Palestine. It is never too late to pay attention, and it is never too late to start talking about them. For more resources, please check out @so.informed.

ART

Jennifer Packer is my artist of the year. I’m deeply in love with her monochrome style. Colors are so evoking, expressive, and lively in her hands. I was struck with rich emotions the first time I saw her work, regardless of whether those emotions are accurate or not. You should also check out these two interviews of hers: A Conversation with Jennifer Packer and Jennifer Packer: The Eye is Not Satisfied with Seeing. Sometimes, we like an artist’s work without liking the artist, but Jennifer Packer is so intelligent, sensitive, and smart that I’m drawn to her personality.

My favorite work of hers is ‘Fire Next Time,’ inspired by one of James Baldwin’s greatest works (you should definitely read it if you haven’t). It fills the blank space one has after reading a masterpiece. You know, the silence you feel when you finish the last page and shut the book. I have no idea how she did it but she did it beautifully.

Obviously, I can’t afford her original, so I was on a hunt to find a poster/print I can purchase. I found and purchased the poster of her The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing exhibition from Serpentine Galleries. It is $11, and someone is selling it on eBay for $220 – thank me later.

(Paintings by Jennifer Packer)

WATCH

I went to see The Boy and the Heron yesterday. A few comments without spoiling any plotline. It is extremely beautiful but confusing, building up with tons of metaphors. I probably didn’t catch 90% of the metaphors (if I’m even aware of them). Hayao Miyazaki has all my love (I watched Spirited Away at least 100 times), so I know for a fact that I will buy the ticket no matter what movie he makes. Watching The Boy and the Heron feels like I’m standing in front of a secret garden that I’m not allowed in. I’m desperate to get into Miyazaki’s spiritual world, knowing probably it won’t happen so I keep appreciating from a distance. It is frustrating and fascinating. I don’t have much to comment, but the whole discourse got me thinking about what is a sweet balance between self-expression and storytelling. Is a story worth telling if nobody can get it? I don’t have the answer, but I do want to point out that people are a lot harsher on filmmakers than writers, as films are closer to the commercial. Nobody is going to hate on Gabriel García Márquez because he wrote books that only a few can understand. It is the consumerist mindset that we need to change. “We spent the money so you’d better give me something” mindset doesn’t work in the art world.

FASHION

It is hard to get dressed in the Midwest winter (besides, my job is fully remote, so I have nearly zero motivation to get dressed during the weekday). Here are three outfits I wore in the past two weeks.

(Screenshots from my TikTok)

THOUGHTS

For those who don’t know, my full-time job is in the sustainability industry. Therefore, I was furious when I saw the title of this Atlantic article: ‘War in the Congo Has Kept the Planet Cooler.’ It is extremely unhinged and problematic. The article itself is not as bad as the title, however, it still remains very indifferent towards the core issue — climate colonialism. This type of indifference and almost emotionless journalism makes me uncomfortable. People’s struggles and pains are examined and summarized onto paper as a ‘topic,’ ‘research interests,’ or ‘subject’ for the privileged.

We demand more diversity in every industry because we can’t have more of this bullshit.

If you want to learn more about climate colonialism and land grab, please check out this YouTube video and this report.

(I can’t make this up, screenshot from the Atlantic article)

TikTok gave me something gold this week. ‘We don’t actually miss college; what we really miss is experiencing a walkable community.’ So true; it is the walkable community, the food/friends/library/entertainment/needed infrastructures within our reach that we miss. A few months ago, I moved from a city with a 77 Walk Score to another scored 70, and as someone who does not have a driver’s license, my quality of life dropped to hell.

A quick read for more information: 10 Years Later, a Return Trip to ‘Walkable City’.