Broad sun-stoned beaches.
White heat.
A green river.
A bridge,
scorched yellow palms
from the summer-sleeping house
drowsing through August.
Days I have held,
days I have lost,
days that outgrow, like daughters,
my harbouring arms.
–Derek Walcott / Midsummer, Tobago
Today is August 12, 2023. On this day, Christopher Columbus arrives in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World (1492); American inventor Thomas Alva Edison makes his discovery of the phonograph (1877); Henry Ford’s company builds the first Model T car (1908); William Somerset Maugham’s acclaimed Of Human Bondage by is published (1915 ); A dedication of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Home as a national shrine is held (1922); East Germany begins construction of the Berlin Wall serving as a symbol of the Cold War and separating East Berlin from West Berlin for 28 years (1961); Echo 1, the first communications satellite, is launched by NASA (1960); IBM introduces its first Personal Computer (1981); On this day 6 years ago, then U.S. President Donald Trump at a press conference hails the phrase “very fine people on both sides” in reference to the one-sided violence in Charlottesville, provoking widespread protests and resulting in the resignation of 16 members of the Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (Art & Politics in America).
On this day August 12 was born German artist Hans Haacke (1936), and died Jean-Michel Basquiat (1988).
Welcome to the .142nd edition of Prescriptions. Here is our review of the week in the arts.
Julie Blackmon, Floatboat, 2022
Summer Lovin’
Summer is the season that could live on forever. Summer Lovin’, the latest exhibition at Robert Mann Gallery, showcases a selection of intimate moments and faded memories gone with the tide. Artists include Cig Harvey and Henry Wessel, among others. On view through August 18, 2023.
Elizabeth Blackadder, Still Life with Orchid, 1990, The Scottish Gallery
Edinburgh Art Festival 2023
Edinburgh Art Festival, the first under the direction of Kim McAleese, announces a program that connects the city of Edinburgh with a global dialogue through exhibitions, performances and events. On through August 27, 2023.
Kenneth Goldsmith
I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness
My entire poetic production is founded upon Wittgenstein’s later writings. Although it has sat on my shelf for decades, I never actually read the Tractatus… I always loved the idea of it. –Kenneth Goldsmith. Published by Eris, 2023.
Gummo / Director Harmony Korine
76 Locarno Film Festival
The 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland is set to be as bold and vibrant as ever, with a program that will see cinema engaged in conversation with both its history and its future. Closes August 12, 2023.
Edith Dekyndt
Edith Dekyndt / L’Origine des Choses
Inspired by Bruno Latour’s “actants” Edith Dekyndt defines her compositions and her objects as “patient” because all these objects that she activates are waiting to be found, repaired, transformed. On view through December 12, 2023.
Riti Sengupta, Slowly disappearing into clouds / Courtesy of the artist
Rencontres d’Arles 2023
Every year, Rencontres d’Arles captures our world’s state of consciousness. Its photographers, artists, and curators help us to see with keener acuteness, the transformations we are living through. Some featured artists and exhibitions include Gregory Crewdson, Diane Arbus, Saul Leiter, Agnès Varda, and Wim Wenders, among others, as well as members of MYOP including Adrienne Surprenant, Oan Kim, Chloé Sharrock, Stéphane Lagoutte, and others. Through September 24, 2023.
Cyprien Gaillard, Lesser Koa Moorhen, 2013 / Photo Boros Collection, Berlin © NOSHE
Boros Collection / Bunker Berlin #4
In the Collection’s new presentation #4, the commodification of our physical beings is repeatedly and poignantly objectified. It presents a completely new excerpt of the collection in the bunker. Featuring works of Julian Charrière, Thomas Eggerer, Cyprien Gaillard, Anne Imhof, Alicja Kwade, among others. Ongoing at Boros Foundation / Sammlung Boros.
Our 6th year Anniversary
Earlier this summer we celebrated our sixth year anniversary with some 4,000 pages published in our growing archive and over 3.5 million visits strong. A very exciting journey it has been, indeed. With our sixth year anniversary musings, we continue to move forward.
