great(ish) pt 46: oil, fire, sour drinks
Hello! I've just come home from an afternoon at the theatre where I saw an excellent updated version of Henrik Ibsen's Pillars of Society. The play is, among other things, about the false promise of money – how fitting, then, that this is the last time I'll be using Tinyletter, a service that is being shut down by its owners at Mailchimp because "our business priorities have evolved, and we’ve been laser focused on building tools to serve marketers and help small businesses grow." To say that I'm not very online these days is an understatement – I don't enjoy it and I no longer need to use social media as part of my job. But I'll still be sending out increasingly sporadic emails on our increasingly commercialised, off-putting internet, from elsewhere (where you can also find an archive of emails I've sent).
Today: ruminations about the purpose of art, and various artistic works about fire, oil and human relationships.
Article: Creativity for a Regenerative Tomorrow? by Björn Müller and Sonja Schenkel
The authors of this working paper provide a thoughtful analysis of what the purpose of arts and culture can be in our time, which is or should be a time of eco-social transformation. While this may sound theoretical and possibly only relevant to those who work in the field, I found it encouraging and clarifying, especially their focus on questioning routines and rituals. At one point they speak of cultural end-of-life care and midwifery: supporting us in saying goodbye to objects, routines, a whole carbon-intensive way of life is just as important as showing us new ways of being.
Film: Roter Himmel (Afire), directed by Christian Petzold (2023)
Quite simply one of the most thrilling cinema experiences I've had recently. I'd strongly recommend not watching any trailers, just go for it, trust me and Christian Petzold. Four young people spend time at a summer house in North Germany. Forest fires rage nearby while they focus on art, friendship, hook ups. Writing. I'd usually rather not watch a film with a writer protagonist, and yet – this was absolutely mesmerizing. There's a scene where Paula Beer recites a poem (!) that I think about surprisingly often. I loved it.
Book: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (2022)
I always loved Kate Beaton's web comics about historical figures (1980's businesswoman!). Her graphic memoir about working in Canada's oil industry in the mid-2000s is much sadder and darker, but also a totally fascinating glimpse into a different life and time – as you all know I really love learning about how things are made. In this case, what is being "made" is extracting bitumen from "oil sands". Ducks digs into many things: rape culture, oil culture, student debt, loneliness and Canadian self-perception. I read it in one go.
Learning: Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant (2023)
Speaking of oil sands: I read Fire Weather right after I read Ducks, not knowing when I picked it up that the forest fire chronicled here destroyed Fort Murray, the town Kate Beaton lived and worked in about a decade earlier. If you, too, want to learn more than you ever thought you needed to know about fires and why they're getting worse and more dangerous, this is the book for you. If you want to know why people are slow to react when disaster is imminent, even visible (!), Vaillant has some interesting things to say. Needless to say, it's absolutely terrifying.
Other: Averna Sour
I live near a very old-fashioned hotel bar, where I can occasionally be found eating too many nuts and drinking an Averna Sour. Is this a location-specific drink? The internet seems to suggest that it's not particularly popular elsewhere, but I'd suggest giving it a try if you're that way inclined. Herbal and lemony – what more could you want? (I'm also partial to sage tea with lemon and honey for a similar vibe.)
That's it for now. See you around and take care!