FRIDAY THE 13TH: The Art Idiot Returns
Testing, testing… is this thing on?
Yeah, yeah, whatever it’s been a while.
It’s been (almost) a year since I last hit publish on The Art Idiot; for some, most, this is my first visit in their inbox (& thanks to all for having me). Perhaps it’s not proper newsletter etiquette to acknowledge my absence, but this is my publication and I choose transparency. Regardless of my hesitations with returning due to my evident issues with regularity, the shooting star that speedily graced the sky on my last night in Telluride assured me that I am on the right path, regardless of the pace in which I move (or write).
Amidst the hiatus, I’ve dedicated more time to developing the podcast with my co-host, and most recently, I’ve begun to write a bit for RogerEbert.com. Although The Art Idiot as a newsletter has been hiding, The Art Idiot as a person has not. Here are some snippets, along with links, to a few of those works.
THE TELLURIDE TEA: Diary Entries from the 2024 Telluride Film Festival
“Similar to that of Vegas, Telluride Film Festival has an unspoken ethos of “What happens in — stays in —.” While part of me wants to keep all of its secrets to myself, I can’t help but become an open book when it comes to talking about Telluride and its infamously exclusive film festival.
…
How magnificent it is to document my reflections as I ascend and descend the mountainside via the gondola. Twelve to fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time before I slam my laptop shut and boogie to my screenings both at the mountain top and down in the town of Telluride. This year I was able to patron 6 of the 10 theaters, most of which are transformed from a venue of a different kind; ice rinks, school auditoriums and rec rooms, and conference centers in the middle of the mountains become the destination for cinema lovers and filmmakers worldwide.”
Film Festivals: A Place for Found Family and Cultivating Community
“We come together to be captivated and entranced; we are all continuously contributing to preserving and enhancing the experience of those who sit beside us. Of course, the cinema is a religion-neutral house of worship, yet there is something quite divine and faithful about our unspoken, agreed-upon theatre etiquette; our community guidelines give us the feeling that we belong to something greater.
…
There is no hierarchy to public places where it is acceptable to be alone, but movie theaters and film festivals are two of the unchallenging venues to blend in and go unnoticed: it’s dark, it’s quiet, and everyone is (or should be) focused on one thing, the movie being screened…On the other hand, going to the movies alone never quite feels lonely since there are likely (hopefully) going to be others in attendance. I must note that there is a particular distinction between being alone and the feeling of loneliness. Even if one sits solo through a screening, the film medium and overall centering of visual storytelling deny the cinemagoer any feeling of loneliness because the attempt that most movies make is to draw in the viewer and make them feel as if what they are witnessing is their true reality. It is perhaps one of the most acceptable forms of escapism.”
As more critics should do, I like to reflect and criticize my own work. Reading some of my previous writing makes me wince. I like to think it’s similar to that of actors who don’t watch their movies because they hate seeing themselves on screen; hopefully, we are both simply being too hard on ourselves. Although I sounded a bit like Nicole Kidman’s AMC trailer, my passion and intentionally, semi-cheesy poetic profession of love for cinema-going simply takes over any inkling of aloofness I have left.
If you are unfamiliar with this reference, I hope my disappointment face permeates through your screen and that you visit your local AMC expeditiously. Grace is given to those who patron other cinema conglomerates, like Regal and Marcus, and to the art-house and local cinema aficionados.
More than ever, I’ve made a point to watch my movies on the big screen, “the way they were made to be seen,” corny again, I know. Before my lack of criticism reaches a point of no return, let me be clear that the (majority of) movies of 2024 are only worth watching on the big screen; they will not survive capturing attention spans from one’s home television, only scale and grandiosity are saving them. We’re in the post-strike drought, distribution desert, and whatever other ridiculous label we can attempt to give the state of the industry. Despite it all, I show up again and again; my hope in “Hollywood” will never die.
Featured Films will return in the next issue!
Coming soon: short reviews and ratings of my Telluride lineup and a couple of extras of some early Fall releases. Sneak peeks from my Telluride dispatches can be found here: narrative features & documentary features.
Book Blurbs…
I reached my annual book goal back in June; I haven’t reached my annual book goal…ever. Kudos to my kindle, Chicago Public Library, and Spotify’s audiobook library. Notable reads from the first nine months of the year:
My Husband - 4 stars
This was an enthralling read. I, too, have the tendency to let my love consume all of me; not as much as I once did but I know it’s still there. I’m both the wife and the husband, the chaser and the chased, the lover and the loved one. My love language will always metaphorically ask, “do you want to play a game?” I need banter and competition and wittiness and tiffs and reciprocal silliness.
Not exactly a love story but certainly a translated thriller, which I can imagine is that much more alluring in its original language.
Sula - 5 stars
This has been on my to-read shelf for the longest; my cup is overflowing with the knowledge and questions that I now have upon completing Sula; Toni Morrison is meant to be read slowly. In some ways, I wish I had the opportunity to delve into this with my high school IB English babes, but I know I wouldn’t have the same understanding of its depth as I do now. I am sure in 10 years I’ll understand even more.
My fellow critic, Camille Bacon, wrote this Sula Syllabus, which sparked me waiting 7 weeks for a copy from the library. I already understand why this is a yearly read for many; I can’t wait to crack open a paperback copy.
The Employees - 4.5 stars
On a work trip earlier this year, multiple, and too many to be coincidental, people were reading this book.
Each page is essentially only filled halfway, like a journal entry, which seems like a certified easy read, but the weight and mystery of those snippets keep the pages turning and the questions coming. The dystopian drama has a rich tie to real-world contemporary art yet also seems reminiscent of the science-fiction canonical story, Rendezvous with Rama (which I am currently reading). The quotidian life of a 22nd-century world is captured, what is usually summarized and boiled down to “death and taxes” is rather composed of objects and coworkers.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, via audiobook - 3.5 stars
This is not my first time reading the brief book by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I don’t think it’ll be my last. Although it’s written for those in a hurry, there is great difficulty in conveying all that’s happened within and beyond our known universe since the beginning. I’m left with a lot of questions; I wonder about my alternate selves and wonder where the astrophysicist idiot is. I’d be curious to know how the kids’ version of this text compares; maybe I’d be left with fewer questions.