Pause. Even when it seems that nothing is happening, something is happening. Taking time away from being busy to just pause and listen may seem unproductive in our modern world, yet the simple and humble act of pausing, allows thought and inspiration to permeate us. We should all pause more often. As much as possible in fact. Pause to listen. Pause to observe. Pause to read…
Here are a few things that made us pause and think recently..
We thoroughly enjoy reading Patti Smith’s Substack. Patti’s notes from her visit to the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijks Museum with our good friend, Stephan Crasnenscki was a true delight. We could so easily imagine the pair sauntering through the galleries. Patti struck a chord with us when she wrote; “I only took a few photographs, specifically to show you, as I could hardly bare to look at the work through a phone lens.”. It’s a curious habit isn’t it? To compulsively busy ourselves with taking pics of celebrated artworks on our phones rather than pause long enough to actually look at them? It bring to mind words written by Postmodernist icon Donald Barthelme in his celebrated essay “Not-Knowing,”… “Our devouring commercial culture… results in a double impoverishment: theft of complexity from the reader, theft of the reader from the writer.” We think this applies just as much to all forms of art.
Our listening bar venture with Brewery Studios finally opened it’s doors on the 6th of April. Please stop by if you are in Berlin!
It’s wonderful to see so much praise for All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. The film has been nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA among others. So why are we mentioning this? Well, Soundwalk Collective created the soundtrack to accompany the film. And Soundwalk Collective are part of Analogue Foundation’s founding family!
It was heartbreaking to hear of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s passing. We shared the quote below on our Instagram account. We borrowed it from his interview with The Creative Independent in 2021 about how artistic work changes with age. Rest in peace Sakamoto-san.
Cover image artwork by: Yasumi Toyoda (watercolour, collage and mixed media on washi).
