a few of my favourite things...

I haven't written anything that wasn't for university in a while, and I have a lot of half-written pieces for my blog that I don't have the energy to finish at the moment so in between longer, more researched posts, I have decided to introduce a little series called "a few of my favourite things". For this series, I will be discussing the various forms of art that have recently (in the last few months) sparked my interest, whether it be art, fashion, films, music, books or anything else that I have enjoyed.

The other day I was going through the blog I had when I was younger and I would do posts similar to this but in the form of Zoella-style monthly favourites consisting of a few cheap makeup products I had bought from Superdrug that weekend and occasionally a book I liked. This series, however, is slightly different in the sense that it is a list of things I actually like and I am unlikely to talk about makeup since I wear the same mascara I have used for years and one red lipstick that I will remain forever loyal to.

So, before I return to the university work that is filling me with immense dread, here is some of the art I have consumed as of recently. 

Starting with books as I have a couple on this list. I began reading the Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath in November and as the book is the size of a brick it is not one I read in one sitting, I have only been picking it up occasionally if I am in the mood for Plath or feel like I need a break from another book I am reading. What I have been loving most about Plath's journals is how funny she is and how I feel like I am a friend or in on a secret when I am reading some of the passages. Most of her entries at the beginning, from 1950-53, are about boys and dates which are unfortunately relatable but mostly humourous and reflect on both the excitements and disappointments of the young dating experience. I imagine later in her journals they get extremely sad considering what we know of Plath's life, but the start of her journals (or what I have experienced so far) are hopeful, youthful and sweet. I feel this book will be with me for a while as I pick it up sporadically so perhaps I will be revisiting it in a future "a few of my favourite things" post.

I also read Veronica by Mary Gaitskill in November. This book is a glamourous look into 1980s New York following the friendship between Alison, a former model who worked in Paris, and Veronica, a kooky, free-spirited middle-aged woman. Gaitskill's stylistic descriptions of this so-called glamorous existence are mixed into the off-putting, almost repulsive scenes both in Paris and New York and in the fashion/modelling industry. Alison's effortless mystique and Veronica's eccentric charm made them an endearing pair to read about, Veronica was an unconventional motherly figure in Alison's messy life. Gaitskill uses music and nostalgia in this book to transport her readers to another time and place, her descriptions are deeply visual and her gentle treatment of relationships in Veronica is infatuating. This was my first time reading Gaitskill, and I am eager to immerse myself in her language again.

The next is a film I watched in October although it is technically not out in the UK yet, and that film is Pearl. The perfect, unhinged and charming horror film set in 1918 in rural America, following Pearl who lives on a farm with her neurotic mother and ill father. Pearl wants nothing more than to be a star, dancing on screen, and she will do anything to make her dreams come true. I am actually writing a full piece on Pearl but I still wanted to mention it in this post as I adore this film and Mia Goth, whose performance in Pearl is otherworldly. This film has already become a cult classic, stealing the hearts of girls who are obsessed with complex female characters and Mia Goth's sweet, doll-like quality; she is always a delight to watch on screen. I cannot wait to see it in the cinema when it comes out in the UK, I imagine the experience will be a million times better and the final scene (If you know, you know) will only be more powerful.

Lana Del Rey recently announced her next album Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard and released a song with the same title. I never usually crave a new Lana album as she has so many, they never get boring or feel overplayed and I feel I am always discovering something new from her despite knowing her entire discography by heart, however, I really am looking forward to this album. The song Ocean Blvd is beautiful, I had it on repeat when she released it. The lyrics are poignant as she implores those listening not to forget her like the forgotten, but beautifully preserved, tunnel under Ocean Boulevard. Lana more recently released A&W (or American Whore) her second single from Ocean Blvd, a 7-minute masterpiece combining the best of Lana Del Rey; it is sad but in a sexy way. Since I have loved both singles, I know the rest of the album is going to be a hit!

This last on my list is more of a concept, although I do have art that relates, and it is what I like to call "girlish clutter" or personal altars when you add a candle and a rosary to the mix. Perhaps this is me romanticising how messy I am but I do love cluttering all the pretty things I own on surfaces in my bedroom. In my university course last term on feminist art in 1970s America, a couple of artists were mentioned that used clutter and femininity in their work. The first I remember was Audrey Flack who set up arrangements of jewellery, makeup, perfume, photos, flowers, fruit, ceramic figures and jugs, glassware and more, and painted them in a photorealistic style inspired by traditional still-life paintings with a modern, feminine twist. Although we did not look at Flack in great detail, she stood out to me as she too saw beauty in the chaotic arrangement of pretty things. The next is Jere Van Syoc who I discovered in The Great Goddess issue of Heresies, a feminist publication from the 1970s that we were looking at in the course. I can't find much at all about Syoc apart from the four pictures in Heresies from her photographic series My House. This series consists of photographs of all the altars she had created in her home and her bathroom with a wall of Goddess figures. I can't wait to get my own house someday and fill it with altars and pretty clutter like Syoc, and I thank both of these women for validating my mess and making it look like art in my mind! 

In a way, these posts are like girlish clutter in the form of writing...

  

Audrey Flack, Still Life paintings

  

Jere Van Syoc, My House

Thank you for reading my rambles on some of the things I have loved recently, I hope you enjoyed and like this concept as an ongoing series on my blog!

Also, in case you missed it, I wrote a piece on Marie Antoinette (2006) for Delude Magazine that you can read now on their website → www.deludemagazine.com/sofia-coppola-marie-article

Love, Bella ♡

Instagram: @venusincouture and @bellabbloss