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Aesthetic Repeats and Retrospectives
Aug. 22nd, 2022 11:33 amThe past weekend was very much in the aesthetic dimension. Starting with an (eventual, brief) visit from Wajeeha K to see the "Beauty Lies" exhibition by Rashid Rana on Saturday, and then immediately afterward to the NGV Queer Exhibition with Vanessa and Mel S, two exhibitions that I had already been to and was quite happy to see again. Vanessa is visiting from Aotearoa New Zealand, so a trek afterward to the various opportunity shops along Clarendon Street once was both necessary and quite a delight with various discoveries and insightful conversations with store staff; it is always the perfect way to engage in retail therapy. Immediately afterward that I had Chiara and Adrian C visiting for dinner. Chiara is a former fine artist in her own right, to stay on topic, and it was quite a boisterous evening of animated conversation (the two bottles of New Zealand white that Vanessa purchased for us were quite welcome.
The following day Erica H., came over for a couple of episodes of the fourth season of "Stranger Things", a series that continues to engage on a delicious mix of a 1980s adolescence retrospective with supernatural horror derived from Dungeons & Dragons and Cold War plot elements. The attention to subcultural detail is truly impressive; they even made a subtle Head of Vecna reference. One cannot be helped but be charmed by the "mad revival" of Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill', a song (like many of her works) that is haunting, beautiful, and just a little sad. I am further impressed by the narrative continuation of the thematic juxtaposition between cooperative (D&D group) and competitive (basketball) groups, with the latter going quite psychotic. It is providing a rich motivator for my continuing consideration following "in-group vs out-group" psychology and the proposition that competitive communities, from war to sportsball, are inevitably toxic and destructive. To follow a classic saying from the period ("War Games", 1983): "The only winning move is not to play".
The following day Erica H., came over for a couple of episodes of the fourth season of "Stranger Things", a series that continues to engage on a delicious mix of a 1980s adolescence retrospective with supernatural horror derived from Dungeons & Dragons and Cold War plot elements. The attention to subcultural detail is truly impressive; they even made a subtle Head of Vecna reference. One cannot be helped but be charmed by the "mad revival" of Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill', a song (like many of her works) that is haunting, beautiful, and just a little sad. I am further impressed by the narrative continuation of the thematic juxtaposition between cooperative (D&D group) and competitive (basketball) groups, with the latter going quite psychotic. It is providing a rich motivator for my continuing consideration following "in-group vs out-group" psychology and the proposition that competitive communities, from war to sportsball, are inevitably toxic and destructive. To follow a classic saying from the period ("War Games", 1983): "The only winning move is not to play".
