“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Have you ever truly lived among nature? I don’t mean spent an afternoon, a day or even a camping trip someplace wild, but truly lived enmeshed in the natural world? I believe I can say that most of us – myself included – can not make this claim. As I read Erik Brown’s Seat in a Wild Place: seasons on a northern pond, I am drawn in by curiosity about what it must be to have lived alongside nature in full. Of course, Brown observes rather than becomes a part of, which I suppose one could argue is all most humans can hope to do. Perhaps we have irreversibly removed ourselves from the natural world, and even our best attempts to reintegrate leave us as enthusiastic tourists at best.

Erin Milez joined us to discuss many topics, among them her pieces for Works on Paper, a group show that recently ran at Monya Rowe Gallery in NYC. We dove into one work, Telephone, a water-based multimedia work. For most of her pieces, Milez begins with small moments of communication or miscommunication. For the works in this show, she considered foods – specifically fruits – and the communication that might take place in a couple about them. To hear more about this and other pieces from Miles, listen to the complete interview.

Victor Boullet: we spoke to Riley Davidson, who recently curated WEERCHH.WEERCHH.LIVERPUUL.DRAWING. for Lubov Gallery in NYC. The artist requested that Davidson be interviewed as the curator rather than him directly as the artist. The two connected on Tumblr when Davidson encountered his work for the first time. At the time, she had curated a few shows and decided to cold-email Boullet asking to connect. Ultimately, Davidson pitched the idea of some kind of exhibition in New York, and after a few iterations, she pitched to Francisco Correa Cordero, owner and director of Lubov, who took up the idea. To hear more about this show, Boullet’s work and more, listen to the complete interview.

Read the summary of this week's interviews and resources.