When describing experiences, New York–based artist and author Maira Kalman almost always goes for the extremes: an instance can be at once stupid and smart, miserable and hopeful, sad and delighted. A bittersweet point of view forms the throughline of her work—which spans more than 30 books for adults and children, as well as performance, opera, film, and industrial and set design—and gives each project its distinct ability to encapsulate the reality of being human. Tragedy and beauty can, and will, she believes, appear out of nowhere. In both instances, it’s what one does with it that determines how the event will impact their life.
Kalman, 71, credits this sensibility to credits this sensibility to people and places of significance in her life, specifically to the early death of her husband, the celebrated graphic designer Tibor Kalman, and to her late mother, Sara Berman, in addition to her Jewish heritage and birthplace of Tel Aviv. In tandem with her practice, Kalman makes time to indulge in seemingly mundane activities, such as taking long walks, cleaning, and reading obituaries, which she sees as activators of life. Each gesture is a means for finding clarity in the midst of chaos.
On this episode, Kalman talks with Andrew about observation as a creative act, the allure of books, the importance of not thinking, and performing daily rituals as a means for staying sane.
Show notes:
Edwina von Gal on Gardening as an Antidote
Hiroshi Sugimoto on Photography as a Form of Timekeeping
Ramdane Touhami on Why He Will Never Slow Down
Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Need to Recognize Coexisting Truths
Thaddeus Mosley on Making Art to Be Appreciated for Centuries
Adam Pendleton on His Ongoing Exploration of “Black Dada”
Paul Smith on Imbuing Clothing With Joy and Humor
Lucy Sante on on Transitioning Into Herself at Long Last
Ilse Crawford on Creating Lasting, “Living” Spaces
Massimo Bottura on Ethics, Aesthetics, and Slow Food
Helen Molesworth on Museums as Machines for Slowness
Annabelle Selldorf on Architecture as Portraiture
Walter Hood on Connecting People and Place Through Landscape Architecture
Min Jin Lee on the Healing Power of Fiction
Mira Nakashima on Keeping Her Father’s Woodworking Legacy Alive
Ian Schrager on Consistently Capturing the Zeitgeist
Sanford Biggers on Patching Together the Past, Present, and Future Through Art
Edmund de Waal on Pottery, Poetry, and the Act of Letting Go
Trent Davis Bailey on Finding Family and Community Through Photography
Robert Wilson on the Wonder to Be Found in Time, Space, and Light
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