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Kaleidoscope #6: Trick Mirror

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A few days ago, I started reading a book that has been sitting on my “to-read” pile for months: “Trick Mirror” by Jia Tolentino, a collection of essays on self-delusion. Some of the essays are about the Internet, a lot of them are about feminism in the 21st century, and one examines Tolentino’s stint on a reality TV show. 

So far, “The I in the Internet” has stuck with me the most. In this essay, Tolentino traces the Internet’s humble beginnings to its current form as a time-draining, soul-sucking monstrosity. She then explores how “likes” and “retweets” have taken the place of real-life activism. How a surprising parallel can be drawn between scrolling and “rat behavior” (staring at our phone is rarely rewarding, but we keep at it on the off-chance that it will next time). And finally, how the Internet forces us to always be performing. We always have to be “on” for everyone — our family, our friends, our coworkers, and strangers all at once. So much of this resonated with me. I couldn’t help but think of all of the times I’ve read a headline on Twitter, “liked” the tweet, and kept scrolling without ever taking the time to read the article or think more critically about the issue. 

All of this has got me thinking about what’s working on the Internet (and what’s not) in today’s context. Gal Gadot and friends’ “Imagine” cover was practically booed off the Internet. Why? I think it’s because it’s easier to see through celebrities’ “retweet” activism and for their performances to feel fake. On the other hand, something that I’ve really enjoyed seeing are random livestreams on Instagram and Twitter from some of my favorite artists. They too are performing, but I think the difference is that they are explicit about the purpose of their performance. Gadot’s cover sounds like millionaires’ pity, a favorite musician’s livestream sounds like your favorite music.

Maybe what’s most comforting about the Internet right now though, is what Tolentino condemns as rat-like: scrolling. Tiger King and Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters have made for fresh Internet fodder. The collective experience of quarantine has made for a daily new batch of memes, challenges, and viral videos. And honestly, it’s all pretty comforting. My immediate reaction to reading “The I in the Internet” was to get off of the Internet forever. By the next afternoon though, I had succumbed to the blue light. I have too much time on my hands not to give in to pleasant, mind-numbing distractions. Still, I think that it’s incredibly important to be critical of the Internet itself, as well as the content it produces, as people are glued to their screens now more than ever.

The Bummer Game

Elizabeth S Leave a comment

Last summer, I had the opportunity to live and work in Ann Arbor. From the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park series to the Ann Arbor Art Festival, there were a variety of events and activities to enjoy. Along with these, I went to parks, restaurants, and other parts of the city I hadn’t been to previously. One place was the Ann Arbor District Downtown Library (AADL). I made frequent trips to the library, not only for books, but for the events led by the library’s incredible staff and guest speakers. In addition to being fun and educational, many of the events were part of the AADL’s Summer Game.

The AADL’s annual Summer Game consists of finding codes, solving puzzles, and more via the library’s catalog and branch libraries. There are also opportunities to earn online badges, rate/review items in the library’s catalog, and log what you’ve been reading. There are also codes at various locations in Ann Arbor, encouraging participants to explore the city. These codes and challenges are used to earn points that can be redeemed for an array of real-life AADL prizes at the end of the summer.

I had a blast playing the Summer Game and received some awesome prizes (shout-out to Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library). So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out about the “Bummer Game.” With everyone hunkered in their homes for an unknown period of time, the Bummer Game offers a neat distraction from boredom or stress. The game includes online puzzles to solve for badges and points, which can be used toward the 2020 Summer Game. For Summer Game fanatics, this is a great way to gain a head start in earning points to spend on AADL merchandise at the end of July. For new players, the Bummer Game could be a nice introduction into the Summer Game. Either way, it is a cool activity to curb boredom and switch up your Netflix and quarantine routine.

Both the Bummer Game and the Summer Game are unique opportunities to discover new books, trivia, and more. Besides offering points and prizes, the Bummer and Summer Games present interesting ways for people to learn about history, art, literature, and more. Like its summer counterpart, the Bummer Game doesn’t require a library card, just an online account which you can use to keep track of points and order prizes.

Click here to start playing today!

Extraordinary Slippers: Nicole McLaughlin

vle Leave a comment

Nicole McLaughlin is a Boston-based artist and designer who produces one-of-a-kind fashion creations. Her zany accessory designs, including a slipper made out of tennis balls, or a vest fashioned out of cereal bags, span all sorts of materials and brands. I came across Nicole McLaughlin’s Instagram page over a year ago, intrigued by the hype surrounding upcycled clothing.

The young designer has also achieved more fame due to her footwear and accessory collaborations with popular brands, such as HighSnobiety, Reebok, and Opening Ceremony. She now boasts an impressive following of 384,000+ on Instagram.

McLaughlin’s compositions are the kind of simple but wonderful creative explorations I wish I could make–some designs are hilarious but impractical, others visually delightful. A graphic designer by day, she fabricates her personal experiments for the fun of it. McLaughlin’s designs are always pleasantly surprising–I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of her work to come.

All images via Nicole McLaughlin

Salvador Dali

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I recently finished Dali the Paintings, an amazing collection of Salvador Dali’s works accompanied by commentary and an interesting account of his life by Robert Descharnes and Gilles Neret. I’ve written about my particular interest in surreal art before, and Salvador Dali was one of the most influential leaders of the movement; as he said himself, “the only difference between me and the Surrealists is that I am a surrealist”. He was well known in popular culture for being eccentric and arrogant, and many of his works are iconic today. In reading through his biography, I was surprised by how much depth there was to him as a person, and how much his personality and art style changed throughout his life. I definitely recommend reading Dali the Paintings if you have the time, even if you aren’t typically interested in art history; the story itself is stranger than fiction. However, instead of reviewing his life, I thought I would highlight some of the most interesting paintings, provide some context, and explain why I find them so fascinating.

Atavistic Ruins after the Rain, 1934 by Salvador Dali
Atavistic Ruins after the Rain, 1934

One of the first paintings I ever saw by Salvador Dali was Atavistic Ruins after the Rain, and it is easily one of the most memorable. I was struck by how different it was from the fine art that I was used to; it was strange and other-wordly, with a feeling of gravity and oppression that was completely unusual. After learning more about surrealism and Dali, I realized that I enjoyed the ominous and unexplainable atmosphere of surrealism just as much as the amazing technical mastery. Most of my favorite works by Dali were made around this time, when he was 30 and leaving his group of surrealists for popularity in America. I find these paintings to be the most haunting, with similar landscapes based on the Catalonian cliffs of Spain where Dali grew up. Many of his motifs were first introduced during this period, such as the crutch, the standing figures, and the soft, melting architecture. In general, this painting represents to me what makes Dali great, not only as a painter, but as an artist of atmosphere.

The Elephants, 1948 by Salvador Dali
The Elephants, 1948

Another iconic painting by Dali is The Elephants, painted in 1948. There is a lot of important context needed in order to understand this painting relative to Dali’s life. Firstly, Dali was greatly affected by the bombings of Japan in 1945; he turned to mysticism, and adopted a unique belief in the atom and nuclear physics as the closest representations of God. These new beliefs led to prominent religious imagery in his paintings and a new form of atomic surrealism. This painting in particular has a nuclear feeling, with its red sky and barren landscape, and the elephants carry giant religious obelisks. Dali was also affected by the death of his older brother who died before Dali was born. His brother’s name was also Salvador and they bore a strong resemblance; as a result, Dali often said that he felt as if he was already dead. This feeling comes across in paintings such as this; even the decay and fragility of the elephants induces anxiety.

This is an incredibly brief introduction to Dali and it’s only the tip of the iceberg as to why I find his work so fascinating. I will definitely be writing more about surrealism in the future, but in the meantime I encourage you to explore the movement yourself. I recommend learning more about Dali and his works as well; he was prolific and each painting is an entire artistic universe.