cool stuff i found #40
rasim's miniatures, lansing and shackleton, thinking music
the above work was painted by Muhammad Rasim, an Algerian painter who threw himself into the world of Islamic miniature art. depicted above is a “Ramadan Night” in a street of Algeria, and ultimately a portal into a reality that doesn’t entertain colonial history even as an afterthought. the vibrancy of the public sphere drawn out feels extra warm and cozy as it’s set against the backdrop of a night sky and tranquil sea. but what really gets me about this work is that it does feel like a portal. the ornate borders around the piece resemble that of a page in a mus-haf (a physical copy of the Qur’an), and in a metaphorical sense feels like wahi — an inspiration — of sorts. read more here.
welcome to the 40th edition of CSIF. for those of you who are new, i tend to write a short reflection paired with 3 things i’ve curated for you to consume: 1) an essay to read, 2) visual art of some sort, 3) music to listen to. the purpose is to distill the best of whatever content I come across on the internet or IRL into a single newsletter. hope you enjoy this series.
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
i’ve been reading Endurance by Alfred Lansing — and it’s a page turner. it’s a story of a failed, but epic journey of Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. it’s a grueling story of human resilience despite the odds. i heard about it from a podcast (i forget which one) and it inspired me enough to pickup the source material despite knowing the story. the writing is brilliant in that it immediately captivates you from the get go. in some sense it’s written more like a novel with how well Lansing strings sentences together. anyhow, i hope the passage below encourages you to pick it up as well.
i’m recreating what’s below. i won’t tell you when, and i won’t tell you how. but i will do it.
here’s a mad men themed playlist (well at least visually lol). i used it as i was writing this. hope it makes it into your week. notable song to listen for is apéro spritz - saib
Thanks for reading this edition. Share this with your friends, your grandma, or your neighbor. And if you made it to the end of this essay and you didn’t just scroll, dm me the words “thinkin” on either twitter or instagram. or leave a comment! As always,
Sincerely,
Haroon