Inspiration Log: Moonlight, City of Women, On Being with David Whyte, The Rabbit Box, and Khatia Buniatishvili
Inspiration log is my weekly collection of 5 things that have touched me creatively.
1) Film: Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins
I first heard about this film on an episode of the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour. Then I saw it on a Sunday morning. I listened to the movie soundtrack until I fell asleep that night. It's incredibly artful, subtle, and raw. I loved the open-ended storytelling, the juxtaposition of music with cinematography, but most of all, I loved it for its emotional honesty. Perhaps this is the quality in storytelling that I value most.
2) Map: NYC as a City of Women (Rebecca Solnit)
I went to a talk at Columbia with Rebecca Solnit, where she posed the question with this map: what if all the subway stations, landmarks, and statues were named after women? How would that change our experience of the city, and the way that we interact with others? One point she made really resonated with me: that as women were historically confined to the domestic, private sphere, a "public woman" meant prostitute, while a "public man" meant intellectual. I don't tend to be particular cognizant of gender politics, but this talk (along with recent events) have given me a new awareness.
4) Vintage children's book, The Rabbit Box by Joseph Pintauro
This is a 1970s children's storybook made for adults by the poet, priest, and playwright Joseph Pintauro and the artist Norman Laliberté. I'm not sure to what extent it's inspired by Alice in Wonderland's white rabbit, but its poetry reminded me of snippets of Lewis Carroll's writings to Alice Liddell - haunting and beautiful. I feel inspired by the handwritten typography.
5) Music: Motherland by Khatia Buniatishvili (solo piano)
These days I find myself laying down on my bed, mid-day, to listen to certain songs on repeat. This week it's been these two solo piano pieces performed by Khatia Buniatishvili. The Mendelssohn piece is a brief, playful delight. Für Alina (the last song in the album) is much more ethereal, minimal, almost transcendent. Also: love this album cover.
