My dear professor Judie Bamber shared an incredibly intriguing article with me about the painter Agnes Pelton and her strange, insular, and deeply spiritual life. I cannot articulate nearly as well as the article so I’ll provide a link and let whoever happens upon this enjoy the read. Her work is beautiful and I so wish I could see her show at the Whitney in NYC if it weren’t barred from view. I don’t study the occult or theosophy myself but the artist’s that were involved with or led those philosophies often produced some fascinating work, her’s included. It’s surreal reading about it. A woman traveling to the desert to seek her peace through the medium of painting and spirituality? That’s dope.
The colors, compositions, and overall breadth of the pieces feel like you’ve been enveloped by starshine in the deepest night. And, of course, her works involve the motifs of actual stars and arcs of light. And anything that reminds me of the quiet and infinite quality of the desert at night is immediately appealing. There’s sort of an affectionate element to her paintings too, like it isn’t just gorgeous streams of light ascending up and away from the viewer but instead letting tendrils and hands reach down so one may join the journey to the limiteless heavens.
Hardly anything makes me talk like this anymore.
https://news.artnet.com/the-big-interview/agnes-pelton-haskell-interview-1822842
Here is one of her lovely paintings below:
The Blest (1941) by Agnes Pelton
Bonus:
I listened to this melancholic and bewitching track (it’s on a 30 minute loop) while reading the article, it seemed fitting. I won’t get into it here but this particular game is a transcendent experience in itself, rather than a normal cohesive narrative. It’s a visually and audibly impactful journey. So whether you understood it or not, you probably remember seeing or hearing something from it standing out in your mind (at least, that’s how it is for me). 90s kids would know. I used to be frustrated by the turn it took because it was a sequel that shifted drastically but it’s a unique experience and shouldn’t be discounted because of that. I never beat it myself but it still occupies a huge part of my nostalgia. It may even be a large reason why I love the color blue, I didn’t really consider that until now.
I digress. Enjoy the life of this incredible artist with an incredible soundtrack to back your read.